Dr. Who Series 7 Discussions *Spoilers*

Hey folks, so I just finished the first episode of the new season of Doctor Who, which is now on series 7 since the reboot. I couldn't really find any recent discussion pages on Giantbomb about the show so I thought I'd start one. First and foremost I didn't come into this season with the highest expectations, they just finished the big mystery about Rivers Song which was 3-4 years in the making and with the transition to new companions I didn't really know what to think. When the episode started I must say I was heavily disappointed with the way Rorie and Amy entered into the series with their impending separation. Throughout the first episode I kind of felt they were trying to push how big an emotional pull this should be but I didn't really feel it because of how it resolved itself by the end of the episode. Plus all the history their relationship has endured over the past two series, for god sakes Rorie waited 2,000 years for her. With that in hand it feels to me the two characters were just there biding their time till they wave farewell to the doctor for good. I'm getting the feeling because of how close the Doctor is to Amy (knowing her since she was a little kid) the only way to take Karen Gillian's character out of the series may be to kill her off, here's hoping otherwise. The introduction of newest supposed companion Oswin played by Jenna-Louise Coleman I thought was great, she was smart, whitty, and could play the fool at the same level Matt Smith plays the current Doctor. The ending came out of nowhere for me and has got me intrigued to whats to come in this series that I hadn't felt before, and if Oswin will indeed be a companion for the Doctor. Can't wait for episode 2.

Agreed, I enjoyed the first episode quite a bit. I do agree that it was a bit clean how they fixed Amy and Rorie's marriage by the end of one episode, but other than that everything was great. Having the Daleks call upon the Doctor for help was a nice little surprise (even with what happened at the end after the shield was lowered). And I thought the new character introduced was a great one, although I'm not sure how it's even remotely possible for her to be a companion now? She was a Dalek, and then she died. When they first introduced her she seemed very companion like to me, but with that ending...that doesn't seem likely (although I guess with time travel, he could go back and save her? but that would make an insane paradox). Overall I though it was great, can't wait for next week.

@Carnage1290: Reading other blog posts on the subject of Oswin, they brought up the idea of the possibility of Dr. Who for the first time ever having a Dalek companion. I know its absurd, but would be pretty hilarious. It would kinda be like Luke and R2-D2.

@I_Stay_Puft: WHAT?!?! That sounds insane, I can't even picture that. Plus, wouldn't that kind of defeat the whole purpose of the companion, as the human analog that the viewers can relate to as they get introduced to all the crazy stuff that happens in this show. The Luke, R2-D2 comparison is kind of cool, but that doesn't seem like that could work at all. Having to hear everything the companion says with the Dalek level of voice alteration also seems like it would get kinda old.

Well she's meant to be crazy smart right? Maybe in those last moments she figured out how to teleport herself out of there. I reckon Oswin would make a great companion, a companion smarter than the Doctor would be awesome.

@Carnage1290: I was thinking since she could hack into the Daleks network and essentially erase the doctor from their memory, she could maybe augment her voice with like the voice of k-9 the robot dog or something. But yeah if I had to listen to the Dalek voice in each episode it would get pretty annoying.

@Inkerman: I guess if you considered River Song a doctor "companion" she was somewhat smarter then the Doctor only because she had information he did not for a time. But yeah that would be pretty cool.

Actually, now that I think about it, when they show the scenes of her going crazy during the transition to a Dalek, isn't her entire body in the suit? So maybe he could just open the suit up and unplug her or something, although with the way they portrayed that conversion I thought it was more of an entire conversion, where her mind is the only actual part left of her. Plus at the end of the episode after she accepted what happened to her it felt like she accepted her death if she was stuck in that condition, and decided to save the Doctor.

I'm expecting that when Oswin does become the Doctor's companion, it will be in human form and be explained away by some sort of time paradox. The memory loss stuff in this ep will also make it easy for them to explain away stuff. The Doctor probably already has some sense of loyalty and admiration for her because of what she did to help him escape the Daleks, so I imagine he'll end up breaking some of his own rules to bring her along.

Also, it seems possible to me that when the Doctor and pre-Dalek Oswin meet up, she might not actually be super-intelligent. Most of the smart stuff she was able to do seemed like it was probably just enabled by her being in Dalek form.

@Carnage1290 said:

Actually, now that I think about it, when they show the scenes of her going crazy during the transition to a Dalek, isn't her entire body in the suit? So maybe he could just open the suit up and unplug her or something, although with the way they portrayed that conversion I thought it was more of an entire conversion, where her mind is the only actual part left of her. Plus at the end of the episode after she accepted what happened to her it felt like she accepted her death if she was stuck in that condition, and decided to save the Doctor.

Yeah I think they were just showing her conversion in those flashes, in the suit I assume she looks like a Dalek, all mushy and deformed. Considering how the Dalek's feel themselves to be so superior on all levels, I don't see why they would keep her body, especially if she didn't use it. If she did appear as a companion Dalek, I reckon the Doctor would transfer her mind into something else, like a robot.

I can imagine her souffle baking skills becoming a running gag with her if she appears again in the same manner as the Doctor and Amy's running gag of fishsticks and custard.

Oswin Oswald was the girl who became the Dalek.

Clara Oswin was originally reported to be the Doctor's next companion.

@Mike76x said:

Oswin Oswald was the girl who became the Dalek.

Clara Oswin was originally reported to be the Doctor's next companion.

A version from an alternate dimension?

@Mike76x said:

Oswin Oswald was the girl who became the Dalek.

Clara Oswin was originally reported to be the Doctor's next companion.

Could always be a name change happens all the time.

Anyway I though it was a good episode. Last seasons start left me frustrated by the pure amount of Steve Moffatness going on, I love the guy but sometimes I don't want questions I know I won't get answers to until end of the season. This one on the other hand felt like a good beginning part of another journey and was a good mixture of warmheartedness and dark tones which is where I think Doctor Who is at it's best. Oswin was a good character and I didn't see the twist coming. The entire Pond conflict was kind of forced and hard to believe, conclusion was spotty as well. Oh well, guess I'm strapped in for the rest of the season.

@I_Stay_Puft said:

@Mike76x said:

Oswin Oswald was the girl who became the Dalek.

Clara Oswin was originally reported to be the Doctor's next companion.

A version from an alternate dimension?

I'd guess a relative, or that spatial genetic multiplicity thing they did with Gwynneth/ Gwen Cooper.

@Irvandus said:

Could always be a name change happens all the time.

Anyway I though it was a good episode. Last seasons start left me frustrated by the pure amount of Steve Moffatness going on, I love the guy but sometimes I don't want questions I know I won't get answers to until end of the season. This one on the other hand felt like a good beginning part of another journey and was a good mixture of warmheartedness and dark tones which is where I think Doctor Who is at it's best. Oswin was a good character and I didn't see the twist coming. The entire Pond conflict was kind of forced and hard to believe, conclusion was spotty as well. Oh well, guess I'm strapped in for the rest of the season.

Did you see the Pond Life prequel?

Having the same actress play different characters has precedent in the modern doctor who. Watch the battle of Canary wharf, Freema Agyeman who would later play a companion (Martha Jones) is seen playing Adeola, an employee of Torchwood. It was addressed a few episodes later when Martha said she had a cousin who worked at Canary Wharf.

Couple of things that have me scratching my head

-Oswin looks directly at the camera in her final shot. Clearly it's scripted but to what end? it'll probably make more sense when we understand her relationship to Clara Oswin.

-How much did Oswin remove from the collective Dalek memory? Forgetting one person, okay bit of a stretch. But not knowing to fire on a time lord jumping out of a TARDIS on their own ship? Was she able to remove the entirety of the time war from their memory?

I like the idea that Oswin and Clara are the same person from different points in her own time line. Given the guilt the doctor's been experiencing over companions since the stolen earth about turning companions into weapons. Leaving the Ponds behind to protect them while there still alive. If Oswin/Clara are the same the Doctor could be trying to alter her timeline to prevent her from being on the Alaska when it crashes.

@Mike76x: So I'm assuming in the clip the reason why he erased the message at the end was he wanted the Potts to live a normal life without him? I mean you leave a squid butler at a friend's house for a few months without picking him up I'd think he probably would want to avoid the Potts all together.

Is anyone else put off by Oswin erasing the Dr from the collective minds of the Daleks? I don't like how they are going to remove all that history from the Dr. Who universe. It was a great ending to the episode but it feels hollow. Do the Daleks have a memory of the time war? Do they know of Time Lords but not just the Dr? There are too many questions left unanswered for me. Overall it just seems an easy way out for the writers and I hope they do not use it to retread old story lines.

I generally didn't like the episode up until the end. It was pretty predictable that things would go wrong but once the tears and emotion came into play, it was a lot better.

I don't like Amy. I never believed her relationship with Rorie, except the episode with future Amy. I really hope she gets replaced soon. Especially if it's Oswin somehow, she was awesome. I don't think it'll be Oswin though. Maybe she'll come back in a sort of River Song way but I don't think she'll be the companion.

Generally I'm not a fan of Matt Smith either. He has grown on me but I liked David Tenant a lot more, maybe even Christopher Eccleston. Matt Smith never really had the gravitas of a doctor. When Matt Smith is angry at someone I know he'll get the job done but I'm not confident in him. But when David Tenant was angry...oh shiiiiiit, someone's getting trapped in a mirror or something. I have liked Matt Smith in a few episodes though. The Christmas Carol episode was pretty good. He has a nice whimsy to him sometimes, and yes...bowties ARE cool.

So yeah, an ok start to the season. Excited to see Rorie's dad in the next episode but other than that the preview for the next episode looks a bit weak. I'll keep watching though. Love me some Doctor Who even if it's not top tier.

@benefitevil said:

Is anyone else put off by Oswin erasing the Dr from the collective minds of the Daleks? I don't like how they are going to remove all that history from the Dr. Who universe. It was a great ending to the episode but it feels hollow. Do the Daleks have a memory of the time war? Do they know of Time Lords but not just the Dr? There are too many questions left unanswered for me. Overall it just seems an easy way out for the writers and I hope they do not use it to retread old story lines.

I'm not the biggest fan of the Daleks so didn't really care much with erasing the Doctor from their existence. With most characters once they start getting played out its so easy for Steven Moffat and the other writers to keep reaching in that well of the same Dalek stories or go with a fresh reboot of the antagonistic relationship between the two. Like the companions and the doctor himself, sometimes making what's old new again simply works.

Well spoiler alert for episode 2, we got a very Dino Crisis 3 feel with dinosaurs in space. The episode felt like a throw away episode till maybe the very end when the Doctor and Amy addressed the state of their friendship as we find out this is the first time they've seen each other in about 10 months. I can slowly see The Pond's getting use to life without the Doctor as they settled for the comforts of home rather than another one of the Doctor's crazy adventures, The Doctor's look when they were floating up in space said it all. I think for me the first few episodes of this series will be more to do with the idea of Amy growing up. They always played with the idea that the 10th doctor was Amy's imaginary friend and that at times of need he was there, but as she grows older she's realizing she doesn't need him as much as the doctor needs them.

Wasn't particularly happy with The Doctor's willingness to throw Filch into a bunch of missiles. I understand that they felt that would make it satisfying for the audience, although I'm too humourless to find much pleasure in it, but it just seemed totally out of character for him to just straight up murder someone.

I've never really felt that Moffat lived up to his promise when he took over. He's far too fond of the "badass" quip but it always comes across as incredibly hokey and lame, and where I'd hoped some of the gurning slapstick of the Russel T Davies era might go away, there's still rather a lot of it. I suppose at a certain point that's just where I'm running up against the fact that it is supposed to be a kids' show, so I can't really complain that not every episode is super cereal moral dilemma stuff.

"Dad, do you have any vegetables in your pants?" "Just my balls...golf balls! With grass residue."

Almost turned it off right there. Didn't much care for this one either, definitely felt throw away, just another space adventure.

Dinosaurs in Space was a pretty fun episode, though I was kind of shocked at how the Doctor just totally wasted Solomon in the end, it felt really out of character. I'm glad to see that they're bringing Amy's term as the companion to a close though, I never liked her character. I've heard rumours about this being Matt Smith's last season as the doctor, too. Can anyone confirm that? I like Smith a lot but I've not grown as attached to him as I did with Tennant. It'll be interesting to see a new Doctor.

Now that the first half of this series has finished (the half with Amy and Rory), I am going to bring back this thread to talk about it and to see if people think that their send off was good.

I think the final episode was easily the best. It seemed like it was actually thought through and the characters of Amy and Rory felt real to the characters they were rather than just caricatures of who they were at points in other episodes this series.

I really loved the last episode; it was the first one that felt like every scene and moment was properly thought through and scripted for a reason rather than a couple scenes in other episodes which were clearly put in just to look cool.

I am also being vague even though this thread says spoilers are ok as I'm not sure that it has aired/finished in the US yet and don't want to spoil it early for anyone by being careless.

@Dixavd: Doesn't air for about another six hours in the US, so thanks for the vagueness. From your impressions it sounds like a good send off, so I'm looking forward to seeing it.

It started off a little more than past episode. Then I was about to right it off as pretty floaty...you know like Dinosaurs in space episode or ...the Pirates episode. However once it got into it hooked in and went all the way then it just turned realy good at the significant moments.

I have to say the send off is perfect and I simply cannot figure out how you can break that final little box that Moffat has wrote. To note there is no box in the story I mean its the send off of Amy and Rory its locked you cannot break it. Id even go far as to say Deadlocked/Fixed time to use Who terms.

So finally watched the last call of the Ponds and I for one am pretty speechless at the moment. I was really hoping for a giant bombastic ending to them you know go out with a bang but instead it was kind of meh with hey the Pond's are alright and lived to a ripe full age just somewhere the Doctor will never see them again and in a time zone and city they're unfamiliar with so now lets move on with the story. I seriously felt like Moffat could of given them a bigger send off then that or maybe a send off that episode 4 was perpetuating where they grew up and moved on. they are both alive and well and the Doctor drops by every now and then to say hello but they've started a life and family and don't necessarily go with him on his adventure. I like the tiny nod to the first few episodes of the 11th doctor's run and will be rewatching them on Netflix hopefully for better closure, who knows maybe my thoughts will change after awhile.

@Dixavd: I'm probably going to rewatch this episode again, I wasn't expecting this to be the last episode of Rory and Amy. Maybe rewatching it I'll get more appreciation to how the episode was structured.

Doctor Who Season 7 part 2 is starting up again this Saturday March 30th. Anybody else excited as me and planning to watch it this weekend? Wonder if it will jump right where the christmas special left off, either way I'm super excited for this weekend.

@i_stay_puft: Yeah, I just rewatched Asylum of the Daleks a few days ago, and I plan on rewatching the special before this weekend. I'm definitely interested in seeing how exactly they're going to handle Oswin and whatever the nature of her existence is. Regardless of how that is dealt with though, she's been an extremely charming character to watch thus far, so I'm looking forward to getting a full series with her.

Yeah I'm very interested to see how they develop Oswin's character.

Finished the newest episode of this season and I must say I got several nostalgic moments from this episode of previous Doctors. The Doctor's new look has definite call backs to David Tennant's Doctor and I get the feeling they are really pushing a Doctor and Clara relationship that the previous Doctor had with Rose Tyler. I get the writers wanna change things up with the new companion but the way the Doctor is interacting with Clara just doesn't feel like the current iteration Doctor, that's just my opinion. Probably the major theme of this season has to be Who is Clara? We probably won't get an immediate answer cause of how long that River Song B.S lasted but the third iteration of Clara so far is pretty much the same person with the same personality and same set of skills (super hacker). I really liked how she is different from other companions to where she can stand toe to toe with the Doctor and put him in his place while also at the same time doesn't get romanticized by the thought of the Doctor and what he offers. I just gotta think that Clara is nothing more then a different iteration of herself and for no apparent reason the Doctor is jumping to parallel universes and meeting the same gal. Doctor Who has kinda become my Hideo Kojima "show" where they can pull this story out of their ass and It still makes sense, and so far this episode has kept it so.

I thought it was pretty good, much better than most of the first part of this season. I like where they're going with the whole "what makes Clara special?" theme. So i'm really looking forward to the next couple of episodes.

also in case people haven't heard:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/DOCTOR-WHO-ANNOUNCES-ALL-STAR-CAST-FOR-50th-ANNIVERSARY

Get hyped!

Was reading around and somebody pointed out this hidden easter egg if you missed it the first time around from the latest episode. Book was written by Amy Pond.

Not sure if anybody has watched the latest episode "The Rings of Akhaten" but for the most part seemed like a pretty average episode with a few emotional dialogues towards the end. We do get to see a few tidbits of how Claire's parents meet and the significance of the leaf inside her book. The one thing I probably took from this episode that might play some significance down the road was when the doctor and Claire were walking through the markets and he made a reference to going to Akhaten frequently with his granddaughter. He was probably referring to Susan Foreman, his granddaughter and the companion of the 1st doctor, which I thought would be cool if Claire had some connection to the Doctor's lineage. I've only seen the Doctor Who revival and haven't seen any of the old Doctor Who serials in a while, but think I may start watching it. I heard Tom Baker portrayal as the fourth doctor was pretty iconic and synonymous with the Doctor till Tennat and Matt Smith showed up so might start from there since the older stuff is on netflix now.

I didn't care much for yesterday's episode. I felt like the entire point was to show us how brave and caring Clara was and how she'll be as a companion. But, that's every companion since 2005.

I did find the reference to his granddaughter interesting. Since the show came back I only recall his family being talked around in an "I don't want to discuss it" sort of way. I was thinking it might tie in to the upcoming anniversary episode.

It definitely felt like a set up episode, trying to establish some character connections and plot devices that will be used later in the series. I find that the more powerful the 'enemies' in a doctor who are the less interesting the whole interaction is. The Doctor is best when he can split his time between zainy camp counselor, wizened academic, and lonely depressed god. In the past though they've had some really impressive payoffs from filler episodes like this so I'll give Moffat the benefit of the doubt, I just hope next episode is more interesting than "Doctor Who fights a video game end boss!"

Totally agree on the last episode being average - nothing more, nothing less. It sets up Clara as a caring person even without the Doctor by her side and establishes her ability to be independent despite being a "companion." The story also goes through the repeated routine of the Doctor "testing out" his new companion. I think the Doctor asking Clara to give up something special for the space moped was a deliberate move. It allowed him to observe her willingness to make a sacrifice in order to have an adventure and save another being. Conversely, this exchange also lets the audience see the Doctor's more human side, specifically his greediness. Not wanting to sacrifice his Sonic Screwdriver is understandable, but he had Amy's glasses as well. Not wanting to part with it, he made his companion do "the dirty work." One thing I really liked though the symbolism made in the episode. The idea of souls being stories is a great analogy that fits Moffat's fairytale vision of Doctor Who.

I'm not sure if there is anything that can be pulled from this episode as being a clue to later episode story arcs. The whole "I've been here a dozen times with my granddaughter" just sounds like a classic Who reference for fans. I think there can be something about Clara not being able to open the TARDIS when trying to hide the queen. Clara specifically says "I don't think it likes me." With the Doctor constantly saying that she "is not possible," this tidbit could be a clue to what makes Clara special. It reminds me of how the TARDIS ran to the end of the universe to get away from Captain Jack in Series 3, who himself was an impossible person by being immortal/fixed point in time.

Just watched the latest Dr. Who episode "Cold War" and just wanted to share a few thoughts on it. First glad to see they've come back to dealing with some aliens again, been so long since we've dealt with the big baddies of the universe and none so more than the Ice Warriors which I believe are a race from past Dr. Who arcs. We didn't get any further information on Clara which is kinda a bummer considering how many episodes are left in the season, but we do get a further glimpse into Clara's character. She's so far turned out into a really cool companion as she is someone who isn't really afraid of anything when she volunteers to speak to Sarlac, but I think it also kinda hit her later on when she realized that "shit hit the fan" when she saw those dead corpses. That everything in Who's world is all not fantasy and games. I must say that the special guest starring role by the Tron guy as the russian doctor who loves 80's music was great and seriously looked liked the first Doctor. Would of blown my mind if he was the first doctor and him and the eleventh had just crossed paths.

Just saw these and thought I'd share, these are new poster shots for the next few episodes. Would be interesting to explore the depth of the Tardis since we haven't really seen much of the Tardis in the 11th Doctor era.

@i_stay_puft said:

Just saw these and thought I'd share, these are new poster shots for the next few episodes. Would be interesting to explore the depth of the Tardis since we haven't really seen much of the Tardis in the 11th Doctor era.

Episodes revolving around the Tardis are always welcome, as far as I'm concerned.

@i_stay_puft: Return of the Cybermen! I'm looking forward to it. It looks like they've maybe gotten a bit of an Iron Man inspired redesign.

@chaser324 said:

And some dope-ass Chrome plating.

@chaser324: Yeah, looking forward to that one! Its the episode that Sandman and American Gods writer Neil Gaiman did. I Can't wait to see what he does with the Dr. Who universe.

@i_stay_puft said:

Damn! Now, I'm extra looking forward to it. Neil Gaiman is amazing.

Oh shit! I didn't know he was writing an episode. That's really exciting.

He's written one before - perhaps the highlight of Series 6, The Doctor's Wife. But yeah, Neil Gaiman + New Cybermen = potential awesomeness.

Yeah I knew he wrote that one (and I agree it's a really great episode). Just didn't know he was writing one this season.

@i_stay_puft said:

Just saw these and thought I'd share, these are new poster shots for the next few episodes. Would be interesting to explore the depth of the Tardis since we haven't really seen much of the Tardis in the 11th Doctor era.

I'd like the Cybermen poster without text as a wallpaper please.

Finished up the latest episode "Hide" and I really enjoyed this episode. Found the professors companion Emma who I guess is some sort of psychic, her description of the Doctor as being untrustworthy and having ice in his heart kinda weird but really hit home to the Doctor's description of himself. The Doctor in his eyes is a man who has difficulty tying himself down to people cause they all eventually leave him at the end. Another interesting moment happened during Clara's teary moment in the tardis after witnessing earth's life cycle. The Doctor's response to her after she asked if he cared was "she's the only mystery worth solving," is there a deeper meaning to this or the statement pretty much is what it is. At the end we got some really great interaction between Clara and the Tardis showing signs that their is still pretty much a personality held within the Tardis and @andorski previous post about the relationship between the Tardis and Claire probably playing a larger role proving true as from the previews showed for the next episode, "Journey to the Centre of the Tardis." I can't wait for the next episode because I don't think we've had a Tardis based episode since the "Doctor's Wife" episode Neil Gaiman wrote a few years ago.