In the twelfth episode of series two of Doctor Who, WE WERE NEVER FUCKING PREPARED. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who.
I can’t. I just can’t. I cannot believe like half the shit that just happened. RUSSELL T DAVIES, YOU ARE A (sometimes) GENIUS.
I can’t fathom that this episode opens with a monologue by Rose that outright says that she dies and then, 44 minutes later, I’m still on the edge of my seat, wondering who this is going to play out.
This is the story of how I died.
For the entirety of series two, the ongoing myth-arc concerned the word “Torchwood,” first mentioned at the end of the last series and dropped in nearly every episode since then. We knew the Torchwood Institute was formed due to the events in “Tooth And Claw” and we saw the Institute’s power in “The Christmas Invasion.” The word wasn’t as mysterious as the phrase “bad wolf,” and I’m glad that this wasn’t executed in the same way the second time around. We’ve known all along what Torchwood was, but in “Army of Ghosts,” we learn what Torchwood has done.
The Doctor takes Rose to visit her mother and we find out that the world has completely changed since the last time they were there. Now, “ghosts” walk about the world, seemingly harmless, and visit the people they once loved. I found it very fascinating that the Doctor generally just accepts the weirdness of the world, yet was instantly suspicious about the existence of ghosts. It was a nice change of pace to see the The Doctor act suspicious, and here it leads him to the Torchwood Tower. Nothing like a healthy serving of doubt, right?
I will say that I expected Torchwood to be a bit more malevolent based on the first few minutes inside the Institute. When we meet Yvonne Hartman, as she strangely congratulates the Doctor, I was worried that she was going to utilize the Doctor for something against his will. When she says that anything is alien belongs to Torchwood, I worried about a repeat of Henry van Statten: they considered the Doctor their property. (Hauling away his TARDIS in a truck certainly didn’t help.)
But as the episode progressed (and the Doctor consistently asserted his authority), Ms. Hartman began to operate with much more respect for the Doctor than I initially expected.
The thing is, though, that this episode highlights how Torchwood (and humans in general) meddle with things they don’t understand, not just to discover more about their world, but to do whatever they can to exploit it. In a way, this episode is the polar opposite to “The Impossible Planet.” Yes, those humans were also looking for an energy source, but a great deal why they were motivated to descend ten miles into a planet orbiting a black hole was out of extreme curiosity. The situation for them was far more dangerous than what Torchwood deals with here.
In “Army of Ghosts,” it appears Torchwood is in control of the ghosts that have mysteriously appeared in our world. But then things just get super weird and creepy.
That goddamn sphere. Just seeing it, even knowing that it’s not real, is immensely unsettling. The mechanical hum it makes, the precise manner it must have been constructed with, and the sheer mystery of what’s inside it….ugh. Gives me the creeps.
Fairly early into this episode, we’re given confirmation that it’s going to be Cybermen-based, which also confirms that the “bridge” that Torchwood is using to harness the power of the ghosts is actually a bridge to the parallel world where Cybermen actually exist. The thing is….man, this episode does a fantastic job of answering my questions and then still completely surprising me.
I wasn’t that amped on another episode dealing with the Cyberman, as I didn’t find them particularly frightening the first time around. However…good lord, I love parallel universes. (Heeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, Fringe, heeeeeeyyyyyyyyy.) When the Doctor is taken to observe the sphere, it terrifies him. (By the way, why is he always wearing 3-D glasses? It’s cute as hell, but I don’t get it.) He spouts off a lot of expository explaining in that very matter-of-fact manner that he does: this sphere is the actualization of a theory that one could build a ship to cross “the Void,” which is the empty space of nothingness in between parallel universes. So, my first guess was that whatever traveled in the sphere had actually gotten out: it was the Cybermen we saw earlier.
Holy shit, I was so wrong.
This episode also separates the Doctor and Rose and we see more of her growing confidence here, but when she tries to use the psychic paper on the scientist in the room with the sphere, it unfortunately doesn’t work. (Can I get some of that basic psychic training?) That’s when Dr. Singh orders his assistant Samuel to check the locks. Samuel….who is actually MICKEY SMITH.
MICKEY!!!!1 oh my god HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE. Did he come in the sphere? I DON’T GET IT BUT I LOVE IT SO VERY MUCH
This is the precise moment when Davies’s script immediately turns into SHIT IS SO REAL. He is not fooling around at all. Because those converted Cybermen employees? They start controlling the ghost shift, opening the breach into a parallel universe. Oh, and that sphere? It starts to come to LIFE. Oh, and those ghosts? They’re not ghosts. THEY’RE CYBERMEN FROM A PARALLEL UNIVERSE. Does that make the Cybermen scary? Yes, it does.
I was never prepared. NEVER PREPARED.
The Doctor: But I don’t understand: the Cybermen don’t have the technology to build a void ship. How did you manage it?
Cyber Leader: The sphere is not ours. We followed in it’s wake; its origin is unknown to us.
The Doctor: Then what’s inside?
no. NO NO NO NO. Are you serious? If Mickey doesn’t know what’s inside (meaning he did not travel inside it) and the Cyberman just followed it through the void, WHAT ON EARTH IS INSIDE THE SPHERE.
Knowing this was part one of a two-parter, I thought the episode would cut away before we found out. Instead, the sphere slowly opens and FOUR FUCKING DALEKS COME OUT OF IT. And some other weird thing.
DALEKS???? ARE YOU SERIOUS HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE
My brain cannot handle this. There is no way I am even remotely prepared for “Doomsday.”
THOUGHTS
- Who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS. Oh my god, I LOVE IT.
- “Please, when you come to write my official biography, please don’t say I traveled with her mother. Well, I have a reputation to uphold!”
- “So, you find a breach, probe it, the sphere comes through, 600 feet above London, BAM! It leaves a hole in the fabric of reality. And that hole, you think: ‘Should we leave it alone, should we back off, should we play it safe?’ Nah, you think: ‘Let’s make it bigger!’ “
- Daleks. And. Cybermen. I can’t. I can’t even function.
- HOW DID MICKEY GET ACROSS. WHAT THE FUCK.
- I feel like I am no closer to learning how Rose dies than I was at the beginning of this episode. Bravo, Davies.
- Does Jackie count as a companion now? Technically?
- MICKEY!!!!!
- Can I expect Jack Harkness to show up? I WOULD BE EXCITE.
- WHY 3-D GLASSES.
- Guys I am so scared. 🙁
I'm so glad you liked this episode! I am a huuuuge fan of this two parter, so I'm happy that you're enjoying it! When are you going to post your Doomsday review?! DNW to wait. LOL. Also I have a busy day tomorrow so if you post it tomorrow I shall be late to the party. WOE.
After the initial opening monologue of ominousness, the episode opens with a brief montage of how happy and awesome the Doctor and Rose were together so that we can have a maximum feeling of dread in contrast with that monologue. Heh.
Rose sees the Doctor as the man who rescued her from a boring life where nothing happened. Now she’s a part of this wonderful life on the Tardis and she never wants to leave. She plans to stay with the Doctor forever, and the Doctor grins back at her, happy to be secure in the fact that he’s not alone anymore.
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You know, I think that it’s really telling that the Doctor asks Rose, “how long are you going to stay with me?” Some people mentioned in the “School Reunion” post that generally companions tend to leave the Doctor and move on with their lives. But that kind of has to suck for the Doctor because maybe sometimes the companion might be ready to leave, but the Doctor might not be ready for him or her to leave. (I can think of one time when this happened on Classic Who.) But with Rose he has someone who is really and sincerely planning on staying with him forever. (And aww… look at them just smiling at each other…)
Throughout this episode we see how she and the Doctor just WORK together. They just fit. Rose even laughs at the Doctor’s stupid jokes- an invaluable trait in a friend.
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The Doctor: Who ya gonna call!
Rose Tyler: Ghostbusters!
The Doctor: I ain’t afraid of no ghost!
I love Rose in these two episodes. I love that she comes home with loads of washing for Jackie. Haha. I totally do that too. I’ve been known to put off laundry for a couple of days when I know that I’m going home soon just so that my mom will do it. I am totally a grown up… Yep.
Jackie is afraid that Rose is becoming something other than human. And maybe she is. Rose will always come back to see her mum, but once Jackie’s gone, there isn’t really anything left on Earth for her. Is that so bad? Rose has found a new life and in her eyes, it’s a better life than the one she had. Why should she feel like she has to conform to and live the life she was born into? Sure, she’s becoming more like the Doctor, but so what? She’s still Rose.
The Doctor, of course, is great in this episode, especially in his interactions with Jackie. The Doctor’s totally gone domestic. I love it when Jackie plants a bit ole kiss on the Doctor. The Doctor and Jackie have come a long way. Then the Doctor and Jackie are thrown together at Torchwood and it leads to some classic Doctor and Jackie banter. Also the look on the Doctor's face when he realized Jackie is still in the Tardis is priceless.
Yvonne Hartman: According to the records, you're not one for traveling alone. The Doctor and his companion – that's a pattern, isn't that right? There's no point in hiding anything, not from us. So where is she?
The Doctor: Yes, sorry, good point. She's a bit shy that's all.
[the Doctor opens the door to the TARDIS, where Rose and Jackie are hiding and grabs Jackie, pulling her out]
The Doctor: But here she is, Rose Tyler. She's not the best I've ever had. Bit too blonde. Not too steady on her pins. A lot of that
[the Doctor makes a movement with his hand to indicate she talks too much]
The Doctor: . And just last week she stared into the heart of the time vortex and aged 57 years. But she'll do.
Jackie Tyler: I'm 40!
The Doctor: Deluded. Bless. I'll have to trade her in. Do you need anyone? She's very good at tea. Well, when I say "very good" I mean not bad. Well, I say "not bad" – anyway, lead on. Allons-y – but not too fast. Her ankle's going.
Jackie Tyler: I'll show you were my ankle's going!
Also, this bit:
Yvonne Hartman: [pointing to Rose's image on the laptop] So this is?
The Doctor: That's Rose Tyler.
Yvonne Hartman: [looking confusedly at Jackie] Then she is?
Jackie Tyler: I'm her mother.
Yvonne Hartman: [laughing] You travel with her mother?
Jackie Tyler: I was kidnapped!
The Doctor: Please, when you come to write my official biography, please don't say I traveled with her mother.
[Jackie looks at him accusingly]
The Doctor: Well I have a reputation to uphold.
The other brilliant thing about this episode is… Mickey! The triumphant return of Mickey Smith! I don’t really have much to say about his appearance in this episode other than the fact that I love him, and I did an excited seal clap when he showed up the first time I watched this episode.
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As far as the plot for this episode goes, it’s a decent set up. I like the idea of “a foot print doesn’t look like a boot”. The first time I watched this, I did not pick up on the fact that the ghosts were Cybermen. The reveal and exposition of Torchwood is interesting as well. And of course, surprise!Daleks at the end.
I was a bit annoyed when the Doctor implied Jackie's tea making skills are rubbish. I seem to remember her tea reviving him last christmas! God!
I'm glad you're here as a Rose fan since it feels like the majority of established fans don't like her. 🙁 I'm watching along with Mark and I've loved her since the beginning and to me she's only gotten better as a character. I felt like I heard some vague spoiler about Rose dying a long time ago so at the end of "Fear Her" and throughout the whole beginning monologue for this one I was crying. So oversensitive am I!
And I pretty much went SQUEEE MICKEY MICKEY MICKEY! OH MY GOD IT'S MICKEY!!!! for a good 5 minutes when he appeared. I had to go refill my water to give myself time to relax again before diving back in.
heh. I feel the need to represent for Rose fans. I've been reading Mark's blog since back when he was reading Prisoner of Azkaban, and when Mark announced that he as doing Doctor Who I was kind of filled with dread, knowing how fandom thinks of her. So I made it my ~duty to see that she gets some love in the comments. hahaha. ILH a lot though. I think she's a wonderful character
it feels like the majority of established fans don't like her.
Yeah. I actually tend to stay away from main fandom because I got sick of being dragged into debates where I had to defend Rose. I stay to my nice little corner of the fandom that is filled with Rose fans and it's good times. Although weirdly enough Radio Times (a pretty major magazine here in the UK) did a poll last autumn about people's favorite companion (even including Classic Who) and Rose was #1. So apparently people out there do love her still, even if they aren't on the internet.
I don't understand the Rose hate. I LOVE Rose.
I don't LOVE Rose, and I think she is flawed, but actually to me that makes her more interesting to me. I like her as a character, she brings a lot of interesting stuff, baggage and so on, and her and the Doctor's rapport is such a pleasure.
Thank you so much for sticking up for Rose! Some of that's just because I'm just a huge Ten/Rose shipper, but a lot of it's because I LOVE her arc. I love the way she grows, I love her infectious sense of adventure, and how brave she gets and my heart just fucking ACHES for her because travelling with the Doctor is inevitably tragic. I think "School Reunion" and "The Girl in the Fireplace"—hell, even "Rose," via Clive's website, do an excellent job of showing that the Doctor leaves tragedy, heartbreak, and a body count in his wake. A thing we can't discount no matter how much he saves the planet/universe. I identify with Rose so much in that way, in choosing love even when you know love means tragedy and that there isn't a way out of it.
I also love her physically that she looks like a totally normal girl. She's not too skinny, she just looks human. I love her wardrobe, all those hoodies and her too much eyeliner and her black roots. (Did anyone pick up on the red hoodies and the Bad Wolf thing in series 1? No?)
I love Billie Piper as an actress. She lights Rose up, and that's what Rose is supposed to do for us, because it's what she does for Nine/Ten. She lights him up, and she lights me up.
"If we end up on Mars I'll kill you." Oh, Jackie.
I actually really, really didn't enjoy the continual put-downs of Jackie. Seriously, what has that woman ever done to Ten except protect and assist his skinny ass whenever she could?
I don't think it's REALLY put downs, you know? More playful teasing insults. That's just their relationship. They tease each other and pretend to dislike each other but obviously care for one another, I.E. Jackie's "I'll protect them BOTH" in Love & Monsters.
I agree, it's like how he calls Mickey "Mickey the idiot". He's clearly developed some affection for Mickey and doesn't really think he's an idiot. As we all know, the Doctor has some emotional issues, possibly he's showing affection. That, and Jackie gives as good as she gets.
It just didn't feel like that to me – the jabs at her age and her appearance, especially, made me want to reach through the screen and smack him. I most certainly don't expect relations between those two to be all sweetness and light, but I know affectionate mocking when I see it, too, and what I sensed wasn't that, but simple offhand contempt.
Beyond the hug in the Christmas Special, I just don't see the increased affection that Ten supposedly has for Jackie. The height of the Doctor's relationship with her was when he sent Rose back in "The Parting of the Ways". Other than that it was mostly abysmal and much less than what Jackie deserved. But I feel that way about the way Ten treats a lot of his friends.
Oh yeah, if it felt like that to you, I can ABSOLUTELY see why it bothered you, it just never FELT that way to me. Probably because I have an affectionately teasing relationship with quite a few close friends of mine and the way the Doctor treats Jackie here is almost identical to the way we treat each other. I can absolutely see your end of things, though.
God, witnessing someone go through "Doctor Who" (especially the revival) for the first time is the most entertaining experience ever.
Completely agree. I'm loving this way more than I should. Mark, you've come a long way from going "The Doctor is an alien?" ;p
another agreement…. this is so fun 😀 I have been looking forward to this all day… cannot WAIT for Doomsday.
I hate to say it, since it's probably the most overused expression round these parts, but SO UNPREPARED.
I love the bait-and-switch aspect of the Torchwood setup. We think it's going to be an evil organization, then it turns out that it's sort of okay– misguided in its approach, but the people in charge aren't horrible. But then, Torchwood causes this disaster that lets the Cybermen and Daleks into our world, and it's not because of _evil_ intentions. It's the human tendency to try to harness and use something we don't fully understand, which can ultimately do more damage than bad intentions.
That said they were trying to harness the void for the good of the British Empire not the human race. And they do kinda suffer from 'too dumb to live' syndrome when they find ghosts appearing everywhere when they experiment with the mysterious hole in the universe and don't think "you know, maybe we'll stop until we've figured out what these things actually ARE".
The Ghostbusters gag made me cringe a bit, but the revelation of Mickey was squeee-worthy. I love the new badass Mickey.
I love the Ghostbusters joke – maybe it's partly a generational thing?? Of course I've no way of knowing if you're older or younger than me. But Ghostbusters is a good memory from when I was a kid.
And of course I just really love how utterly lame the Doctor's jokes are 😀
same here! i flipped with happiness when that joke was made <3
I love it too, and I'm a step away from having watched Ghostbusters when it first came out. It just seems like a perfect example of another thing the Doctor would geek out about!
I'm not from the Ghostbusters generation, but it made me smile. It just seems like the kinda thing the Doctor would do.
Although, you gotta wonder what happens when the Doctor makes a cultural references to a time/place his companion doesn't know about. It would be awkward. XD
first off…. i cant wait till you see the next episode!! AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!
and… FYI… there is a TARDIS BEANIE on sale on ebay!! i bought a jayne hat from this lady, then asked her if she could make the tardis hat (and i gave her the link to how to make it)… and she has just put them up on ebay
OMG, want!!!!
get it then!! lol!! my jayne hat was so well made… and she agreed to make the tardis hats and notified me when they went up today. i havn't even told my daughters about it so they can be surprised
My sister has worn one of the actual Jayne hats. (There's 3 I think.) A friend of her bf bought it in a special auction years ago. Needless to say I am insanely jealous of her.
i would be too!!! the guys here at work have gotten used to my jayne hat… so my tardis hat cant get here in quicker
OHMIGOD YOU ARE NOT PREPARED
*breathe*
Ok, so much I can't say, two parter and all, but imagine the sheer insanity of waiting a week for this to end?
It seemed like everywhere was buzzing with theories and opinions.
This episode is not without it's flaws on rewatch (when the initial insane excitement has faded) but over all the pacing is excellent and that's what carries it.
Oh Mark,don't start asking who is technically a companion and who isn't… Doctor Who Fandom is NOT always pretty.
I go by the rule that anyone who's flown in the TARDIS is a companion. So yes to that one guy Adam, Mickey, and Jackie as companions.
Although there is a significant exception to that rule, but only one I can think of, that isn't a companion for narrative reasons.
I like that rule, except I'm not so sure about Jackie. She was sort of kidnapped and unwilling. I mean, the Doctor had forgotten she was there! She'd be the best companion ever, though.
But Mickey and Adam? I don't get how they'd get out of lists, they were invited to travel!
Well, Ian and Barbara, the two very first companions ever, were kidnapped by the Doctor.
Yes, the Doctor kidnapped them. He was a bit of an old git back then.
Yeah, I know, I was thinking of them when I wrote that, lol, I love that episode.
Still, generally he doesn't usually kidnap companions. At the very least, he knows they're in the TARDIS.
Well, he's still kind of an old git. Just has a younger face and is generally less crotchety.
Two thumbs up 🙂
I like the idea of flying in the TARDIS being the rule… but maybe a "willingly" clause should be added? 😛 Or possibly flying in the TARDIS with the purpose of adventure, rather than some necessary transportation, like Jackie?
i go by the rule that if they've flown with him for more than one episode, they count.
The problem is, whatever definition you try to use, you can always find a character that fits the bill but isn't generally counted and/or one doesn't fit but is counted.
i have seen this episode 4-5 times and that opening speech STILL gives me chills. I was not prepared, and you are not prepared
"This is the story of how I died" – too spoilery to comment on, still. But so close to being able to! I've wanted to talk about this for ages.
I do love that television montage at the beginning – especially the soap opera.
Hey, this is the first time I noticed the music during the "Ghostbusters" moment is very reminiscent of the Torchwood opening credits theme. Which makes sense considering the rest of the episode.
The void ship being undetectable makes me cringe like hell. I guess you can handwave it by saying it's undetectable to 21st century human technology, but I just won't accept that it's ACTUALLY undectable. It's visible, meaning light interacts with it. And that's going to be measurable. Please get (better) science consultants, DW. And, you know, listen to them.
In conclusion, MICKEY!!!
This is the first time I noticed the Torchwood music in the episode as well.
Can you imagine how hilarious the soaps would be if they could use dead people as ghosts? I'm just imagining the ouija boards and exorcisms and 'dramatic' confrontations with exes and murders.
Plus, you can't really tell them apart so you could have massive love affair plots a la identical twin plots, only…worse.
I was just saying as I rewatched this episode last night, that I wish there was a way to re-experience something again for the first time. The first time I saw this episode it was so full of OMG WTF and I really miss that! When we first see Mickey – BAM. When the Cybermen appear all over the world – BAM. When the Daleks come out of the sphere – BAM. I have to say, Mark, that I love reading along with you for just this reason – it's the closest I can get to seeing it all for the first time all over again!
I love this episode to pieces, and part 2 as well, and even though I've seen it before, I'm STILL NOT PREPARED.
It's just like HRHP – I never thought I'd be able to re-experience either Harry Potter or Doctor Who again 'for the first time' but this is fantastic. Mark – you rock 😀
Mark, you are right – in this episode we see what Torchwood has done.
Just bear in mind something that's been subtext since Tooth and Claw — Torchwood was created BECAUSE of the Doctor and Rose. They were the impetus for its creation, and they caused it. Everything that happens with Torchwood can really be traced back (and blamed?) on the Doctor and Rose's actions in episode 2.
Yep. I love that the Doctor (and Rose's) actions have consequences, even if it's not immediately apparent.
Exactly … this is one of the details that Davies inserts into scripts which is why I love him. It's not an obvious plot point that is going to be flashed in neon lights while you are watching the show, but it's a nuanced detail that makes you go "ooooh yeah!" when you stop and think about it, and it adds a layer of additional depth and poignancy to the story.
Oh God, Doomsday. You are so not prepared.
I haven't seen this episode in forever and I'd forgotten how good it is!
Also I loooove that mention of The Eternals. They feature in one episode of Old Who (Fifth Doctor) and are an amazing creation. Not sure if you want details, in case you decide to watch it.
I think you need to watch the next episode immediately tbqh.
<img src=http://i.imgur.com/9WbMQ.gif>
TRUTH.
Also, how have I not seen that gif before? It's fantastic.
I love that gif! Have another:
<img src=http://i.imgur.com/usHki.gif>
LOL LOL LOL. Why so wonderful, David Tennant?
I don't even remember the context for that gif and it just makes it better. Flawless human being etc
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LOL LOL LOL. Is that from Casanova? I have yet to see that. I can only hope that is is as epic and amazing as Blackpool, David Tennant's other magnum opus.
Casanova is great! I mean, RTD wrote it, so that is really all you need to know when it comes to what to expect, lol. I only saw it once a few years ago but I've sort of been meaning to watch it again because I remember enjoying it, plus I accidentally watched it out of order (DAMN YOU MISLABELLED FILES) so I should probably give it a proper runthrough one day.
Plus it's great for a round of Spot The Future Doctor Who Actor. I thought I had a gif with the Zach from Impossible Planet in it but apparently I don't so here's a different one:
<img src=http://i.imgur.com/Ybjzz.gif>
Maybe I shall hunt down a copy of Casanova instead of finishing my reading this evening. Yes…. this seems like a good plan. You have persuaded me with gifs.
(PS I like how we are having two different conversations with each other on two different websites at the same time.)
I support this endeavour wholeheartedly! He wears blue contacts though, which I did not consciously notice but when I found out I was like "so THAT is what was wrong with his face", lirl.
GIRL That is nothing, I often have multiple comment threads going with someone while also talking to them on MSN.
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It's also written by RTD. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
"You love your wife. I love your wife! Aren't we on the same side?"
LOL LOL I don't remember too many scenes with clarity but I do remember that bit.
I also love that during the production apparently he kept bugging RTD and Julie Gardner for a bit part in New Who and they already had him in mind for Ten, so they had to keep deflecting him. I just imagine all these conversations being like PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE COME ON I WILL PLAY A RANDOM CYBERMAN PLZ PLZ PLZ with RTD and JG being like "nahhh."
ROFLMAO!! That mental image is priceless!!!
Oh my gosh, yes it is. It kind of paints this image for me of when you're trying to surprise a friend, but along the way you have to lie and deflect and they feel a little bad and you have to weigh, is it worth it?
In this case it totally was. 🙂
PLEASE RTD!! I’LL BE EVEN A GUY WHO DIES 5 MINUTES IN!!
NAHHH.
I would love it if he did play a random cyberman at some point hehe
I heard that this is actually David Tennant:
<img src = http://i55.tinypic.com/2a8s42a.gif>
(From the Series 2 boxset blooper reel)
Ok, that didn't work. How do you embed pics?
So close! No spaces around the equals sign and quotation marks around the url.
<img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/2a8s42a.gif"> Tada!
(This is going to be really awful for me if it doesn't work.)
I think he narrated an episode of Doctor Who Confidential or something? He was probably so pleased with himself.
Yeah I saw some kind of … thing… I think it was pre-s1, like promo or whatever, about rebooting Doctor Who, and it took me a couple minutes to realize HEY THIS GUY DOING THE VOICEOVER SOUNDS FAMILIAR. Which was sort of how I felt about that polar bear video as well, lirl.
It was called Another Dimension, or something like that, and it was a run-though of all nine Doctors. He probably had already agreed to the part (he was definitely asked before the series had started airing) and so they had him do the voice-over as an in-joke.
BEST. LINE. EVER.
WHY SO AWESOME, RTD?
YOU MUST! It's absolutly fantastic!
And yes, Blackpool is amazing and full of awesome.
Yes, it's Casanova, which I love – IMO Blackpool edges it but love them both. And Casanova has a special place in my heart for being the first time I (knowingly) watched David in anything.
(I did see him in Rab C Nesbitt when I was a lot lot younger, but given the part he played it took me a long while to make the link!)
Casanova was amazing! Although I watched it when I was 16 (?) and in my parents house so that was… awkwardddddd
I'm not terribly fond of Casanova myself – and oh, that rat-tail on Tennant is unfortunate – but Blackpool is indeed the shiznit.
This episode makes me want some kind of fan art of Daleks and Cybermen yelling at each other:
"EXTERMEEEEENATE!"
"BAH-LEEEETED!"
Anything else I could say would be spoilery, so I'll leave it at that.
Homestar Cyberrunner?
I'm going to keep this short because, well, I forgot to rewatch today and my notes from a few days ago aren't particularly helpful. I'm also slightly worried I'll mix up things that happen next episode for what happens in this one.
I haven't watched Eastenders in years but the clip of Peggy Mitchell shouting at the ghost still makes me rofl. Although, I'm trying to remember if this episode aired before Den came back or after he'd left again. I have a feeling it was after. I swear I don't actually watch it anymore.
I love that Jackie gets to go along for a ride in the TARDIS at last, particularly the reveal of her just sitting up on the balcony thing. "If we end up on Mars, I'm gonna kill you!"
MICKEY! Yay he's back, and being awesome.
Yeah that's about all I can remember off the top of my head without spoiling all the things.
Umm, rewatch? We're meant to rewatch along with Mark? Is this a bad time to admit I've been going off memory of episodes probably seen….. oh, at LEAST 6 months ago if not a lot longer all this time?
I wouldn't say you have to and there's probably a fair few who don't watch along as well. I do because I haven't seen some the episodes in a while and can't remember the smaller details or don't want to accidentally spoil because I've mixed episode info up. Also I just enjoy rewatching the show.
Heh, I'm actually more worried that I remember them clearly enough to write 1,000 word essays on 'em without a rewatch. In the immortal words of Comic Book Guy: Life Well Spent!
Yeah, I agree, that's what I do too. I try not to comment much on the ones I haven't rewatched in case I spoil something without meaning to.
Personally, I rewatch along (or "along" — I got, like, half a season ahead at one point) with Mark because, well, I love the show and this gives me a proper reason to rewatch it and the Confidentials. As opposed to all the other times I've rewatched the show. >.>
No I've just been doing it because my memory is really crap (especially when it comes to these first two series). I mean, some episodes I don't bother with but that's usually because they're my favourites and I've already seen them enough that I don't feel the need to rewatch specifically.
That and I got the DVD box set of series 1-4 the other week and wanted to watch all the discs to make sure they worked.
Eh, I've been rewatching with Mark mainly because it's an excuse to watch the it all the way through again. Also a little because I don't want to slip up an accidentally post a spoiler if I forget exactly what happened in a particular episode.
Hee. I've been going entirely off memory for most of S2 because it's the one DVD set I don't own. (I just don't like the season enough for that.) But even for S1, I've just watched the thing so many times I can spew detailed meta pretty much on command. You're among (geeky) friends here. 🙂
I love how low key mickey's appearance is.
He just kind of walks up from behind, leaving us all double taking and squealing where the HELL did you come from???
Then he pulls out a huge-ass gun and it gets even better.
Yeah, I gotta say I really love bad-ass Mickey, lol. He was kinda wishy-washy at the beginning of the show and now … BAMF Forever!!
Umm, considering where Cap'n Jack pulled his gun from this time last season could we maybe avoid the phrase 'huge-ass gun'? That way squick lies…
Huge Ass-Gun. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
XKCD is always relevant. http://xkcd.com/37/
Thank you for catching that reference. And yes, XKCD FTW!
"Mickey Smith, defender of Earth!"
FUCK YEAH.
Mickey is fantastic! His smile there is great. I have no idea how he traveled throught the Void but I'm so glad he's there.
And, in my book, totally a companion, he traveled with the Doctor for a few episodes (not even kidnaped!). I had no idea thee was some controversy.
I think it was controversy over Jackie as a companion, rather than Mickey.
‘This is the story of how I died’ – We told you that you weren’t prepared Mark.
I love when Doctor Who does TV and all the British tv personalities get involved. Ghostwatch, Trisha, Eastenders! Aw, sneaky office romance. On rewatch I just thought doooomed. ‘They can shoot me dead but the moral high ground is mine.’ When Yvonne talked about shooting down an alien ship because of ‘violating air space’ I thought the Doctor said it was a Jaffa sun ship. I also love how the Doctor explains the problem with traveling between universes with the shattering window. Jackie raises a great point about what happens when there’s nothing there to come home to and you’re just stuck wandering.
Mickey. Even for the short time he's in this episode you can really tell that he's grown into himself.
<img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/99oy9j.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
It's strangely fun acting like someone's gone for good when you know they'll be back by the end of the series.
I love how politely sinister Torchwood is. It’s all cheery smiley, we're very people friendly, oh btw don’t bother lying to us, we’ll tell you what we want when we want. Also, you're our prisoner. And then you have the wonderful addition of British imperialism. ‘If it’s alien it’s ours.’ ‘For the good of the British Empire.’
I love the concept of the Sphere and the Void making nothing very creepy. ‘My people call the Void. The Eternals called it the Howling. Some people call it Hell.’
I love the Torchwood music in it’s early form over the first appearance of the ghosts when the Doctor runs outside. Actually so many great bits of it throughout the ep. I’m surprised none of that ended up on the soundtrack but I suppose they had 2 series worth of music to get on one disc before they realised how popular the music would be.
Surprise, the Sphere contains Daleks! YOU ARE NOT PREPARED!
Jackie raises a great point about what happens when there’s nothing there to come home to and you’re just stuck wandering.
Yes, so poignant, since we know this is the Doctor's situation.
So true about the Torchwood music! Mind you, I still can't believe that the "Everybody Lives!" theme from The Doctor Dances didn't end up on the album – especially since I remember hearing an extended version of it in the background of one of the radio documentaries they made about the show in the first year. I've wanted it ever since, it's one of my favour Murray Gold themes 🙁
I don't think there's much I can say about this episode (besides HSDKJHA;KFHAKJSHDFKJAHDF omg omg) without spoiling for Doomsday so Imma just
<img src="http://i33.tinypic.com/35ismx5.jpg" />
I absolutely love this two parter. Torchwood! Mickey! Cyber- oh okay the Cybermen aren't really my favourite, but Daleks! Surprise Freema! Jackie! Rose! Doctor! 😀
This GIF rules.
OHHH GODDDDD I WAS SO SCARED FOR YOU TO REACH THE END OF SERIES 2 AND NOW YOU ALMOST HAVE. MARK I AM SADDENED. SERIES 2 IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE. But yeah, awesome finale episodes, these are. And the 3D glasses are explained. And YOU ARE NOT PREPARED but that's kind of a given.
As much as Cybermen bore me, I do love the faceoff here. The whole idea of the voidship is wonderful. Something that clearly IS, but it exists outside of all our understanding of physics. And more Mickey!
The 3D glasses are the cutest prop ever y/y.
<img src=http://i53.tinypic.com/5ajexu.gif>
The whole idea of the voidship is wonderful. Something that clearly IS, but it exists outside of all our understanding of physics
I love the way you put this. I mean. We accept the idea of parallel universes, at least in the context of the show. And if they're parallel they're separate. And if they're separate, there's something between them (of course, that's within the frame of our physics so who knows). But if there's something between them that's NOT a universe, or part of the universe, we have absolutely no way to understand it! It's mind boggling and circular and that's why I LOVE IT!!
Overall I really like this episode but there's a couple of things that, when I rewatch, do stand out as problems. More on that in a bit. First the good:
"This is the story of how I died" – expected (and to be fair common) audience reaction: noooooooooo! My reaction: Snoopy Dance. Sorry but I'd well and trully had enough of Rose and was ready for a new companion. I was also quite excited about RTD being brave enough to kill a companion, really shocking but it felt right somehow. And I don't mean that in a nasty way either, it would take something that final to stop Rose travelling with the Doctor, anything less would seem like a bit of a cop out really.
The premise was a good one, the Torchwood stuff was interesting (if a bit predictible, they were never gonna be a force for good were they?) and it's very well put together. The pacing feels slightly… odd somehow but actually I think maybe I mean it feels a little old school Who as very little really happens until the last five minutes and yet somehow it's still interesting and enyojable. Tennant's on great form here too and keeps the more manic side under control to deliver a great performance. Probably the best the Doctor has been since Girl in the Fireplace for me. And it's a FANTASTIC cliff hanger, even if I seem to remember it being spoiled in the Next Time trailer for Fear Her somewhat (although how the hell did Mickey sneak a BFG into Torchwood? I mean it's not exactly a subtle gun is it?).
Now the problems… one isn't really the fault of this episode and by the invasion pretty much being bypased it's mitigated somewhat but the lack of menace in the Cybermen two parter earlier in the season comes back to bite here. Let's face it, they weren't exactly death on two mechanical legs in that outing and were REALLY easily defeated and that means they don't quite set the heart racing as the second biggest baddie in Who history should. Sorry, make that the second biggest baddie in CLASSIC Who history… the reason for that edit will become clear in time. Plus that little arm laser thingy is kinda pathetic even if it was necessary to give them something approaching long-range weapons. Talking of which, considering they're meant to be from a parallel earth and were built and sealed inside factories which didn't feature that mod in the original design, the ol' Cybusmen seem to have some pretty advanced tech. Just saying. By skipping the invasion and having them in place from the get go you do work around some of those problems, and the shot of the kid running upstairs (where it's always safe) to find a Cyber coming DOWN was great. Evil to the point of wondering if RTD had been taking lessons from Da Moff in how to make sure not a single kid slept that night but great.
Now my main beef with the episode, and I just know how ridiculous this sounds. I am willing to forgive Who tech that works like magic in every occasion EXCEPT on current day Earth. Actually it can even work like magic if there's a throwaway 'alien tech' line to explain it but if it's built on current human standards I do expect it to make sense. As I said, silly. But anyway… about those switches.
You discover a hole in reality and build a tower block to reach it then figure out a way to open it. You figure it might not be a great idea to let just anyone open it in case it's Cthulhu's own personal escape tunnel so make a system that has two huge physical levers, at a good ol' distance from each other, as a safe guard. Maybe you install some electronic assistance, a sort of 'fly by wire' system to make sure everything stays in sync. I'll even grant that system could be over-ridden to open up the hole. BUT there isn't an engineer on this planet that would go to all that trouble and fail to put a very very large red SCRAM button (in fact, two of 'em, one by each lever and maybe another by the door) which when hit physically break any connections between whatever mechanism opens the highway to the Dungeon Dimensons and any possible control system. Obviously Torchwood employed the same designer who thought walkways without handrails over miles-deep pits would bring a little touch of style to the Death Star. Yes yes, it's required by the story and I'll overlook it as the rest of the episode is so good but it breaks my suspension of disbelief every bloomin' time I watch this.
While we're on the subject… kinda convenient that Torchwood employees can be taught to recognise psychic paper, no? Might have been an idea to mention that was possible at some point this series.
Aaaanyway, yep, good episode moving into very good territory a lot of the time. Nice job RTD.
I still don't like Rose. I think she's a Mary Sue (and not the awesome kind like me).
SARAH JANE 4 LYFE. Unless Ace is around with her 'splosives.
I have a type. Does it show?
Hmm…I'm guessing your type includes Ms. Pond. Am I right?
No. She's good, but has not yet kicked quite enough behind to become a favorite. Donna, on the other hand…
Rory, though, is my type of guy. I want to keep him in my pocket.
Donna is my favourite NuWho companion and Rory is all kinds of awesome. 🙂 But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? 😉
Guys, seriously, Spoilers?!
I upvoted you from -2 to -1, but I get the feeling Rose stans will be undoing that soon so I am commenting to say that I AGREE on the Mary Sue thing. Especially considering [spoilers spoilers spoilers but I bet you know what I mean].
I'd say my favorite companion, but I think that counts as a spoiler since he doesn't know who any of them are yet.
The test is, can you see this companion attempting to beat the shit out of a Dalek with a baseball bat? If not, s/he is not worthy to be a companion.
When it is no longer spoilery, perhaps I will post my opinions :-).
“anything less would seem like a bit of a cop out really.” — NO FUCKING KIDDING.
LOL x 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVJWgNmh1io
SNOOPY DANCE!
(I love Rose, so no snoopy dance for me, but I love Nick Brendon's snoopy dance. Someone needs to make a gif, because I can't.)
Umm, seriously, why am I getting down voted for this? Getting a tad irritating when trying to lay out an honest appraisal of the episode, putting a lot of thought and effort in, yet end up walloped for it.
This is going to sound dorky: when ever I pass Canary Wharf I always think Torchwood! 😀
Me and my mum styed in a flat in canary warf while she was doing a talk at a conference. I kept thinking something really Dr Who was going to happen. I kept an eye out for a blue box.
There wasn't one.
That's so sad. Like when you try to accio something in real life and nothing happens. 🙁
It's okay, I walk past a huge statue of Queen Victoria every day, and my mind frequently goes to "Tooth and Claw". The rest of the time it goes to…an episode we haven't seen yet. I'm sure you get my drift.
you have no idea how difficult it was for me to sit through the movie The Young Victoria without thinking about random Doctor Who references…so distracting.
Hahaha, not gonna blame. I wouldn't think "Torchwood" but I would think "From Hell".
DOOMSDAY is easily one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes. YOU ARE NOT PREPARED
NEVER PREPARED
I don't know Mark, after all this time immersed in nutty fandoms you'd think you'd be a tiny bit pepared 😉
But you never will be. These things will always shock you and that is why you are excellent.
I have the soundtrack and I play "Doomsday" a lot. And cry.
Did anyone else think "Orannis" when they saw that sphere? Or is that too obscure?
I didnt think that, but you win for the reference XD
Oh my gosh, I didn't. Because it was too small, I think. In my mind Orannis is huge. BUT NOW I WILL THINK OF THAT FOREVER.
Yeah, it's too small to really look like Orannis but it was still the first thing I thought of. Made it ten times creepier, that's for sure.
Indeed.
Strangely, the sphere made me think of Kerrigor rather than Orannis (probably since it's gold-ish rather than silver).
I hypothesized about the contents accordingly.
Kerrigor? That's interesting. I'm just glad other people even knew what I was talking about.
Hmm, no connection to Kerrigor for me personally. But I'm glad to have found some fellow fans on here. I knew other Mark fans loved The Old Kingdom, from recs he's gotten and such. 🙂
Oh, Mark. <3 Your level of preparedness is so consistently, astronomically low. And it's so very endearing.
They're 3D glasses. I wear 3D glasses now. 3D glasses are cool.
Also STILL NOWHERE NEAR PREPARED.
reading this literally made me giggle out loud. thank you.
They are now you've written that! <333
Well damn, now I just want season 6 to show up.
*RESISTING URGE TO INSERT GIF HERE*
*finger to lips* Spoilers.
When anyone says "Spoilers" on this blog, does anyone else always hear it in the voice of a certain character about whom I can say no more?
It is a crying shame that a certain character has not shown up yet, because they and a certain gif they star in could be like, the mascot of the comments section.
When said character does turn up, I predict a sudden massive influx of that gif. I'm looking forward to it.
I have been looking forward to this review since you started!
Let me just add to the chorus of voices saying: MARK. YOU ARE NOT PREPARED!
Edit: Let me also say that this two-parter was the very first DW episodes I ever saw. And after Doomsday, I knew that I had to watch this entire series.
The glasses are explained, (with probablely one of my favorite lines EVER from doctor who. EVER)
Oh mark, have some tissues man. Im worried about you!
Love from London 🙂
Cybermen on their own = meh
Cybermen plus Daleks = FUCK YEAH.
"If we end up on Mars, i'm gonna kill you!"
"I'll show you where my ankle's going!"
I love you so much Jackie. Please never ever change!
How does she get her ponytail so high? She must have some mad hairdressing skills!
3D glasses are full of win. David Tennant wearing 3D glasses, double win.
Murray Gold's music gets more and more epic! I fear that one day he'll run out of epicness. I love his music so much, almost as much as i love the show itself. I dread the day when he decides to leave. The deleted scenes, without the music, always seem so flat and lifeless. But once Murray's worked his magic it brings the show to life and makes it so rich and dramatic.
Hello Adeola. 😉
I love Rose's voice over at the start of the episode, when she says "then i met a man called the Doctor", you can hear how happy the thought of the Doctor makes her.
I have a few opinions on how alike Billie Piper and Rose are, but i'll save those until Monday. (or tomorrow?)
I love when Rose says "I'll just keep on travelling". You can see in her face that travelling in the TARDIS when she's old and grey isn't want she wants anymore. Which is why, i think, she was okay with the idea of settling down and getting a mortgage in The Impossible Planet. Though she doesn't want to admit it to Jackie, so she lies, but her eyes always give her away.
Yay for Mickey being back! But i don't like how 'yay war and guns' he's become. He's changed too much for me to believe he's the same guy. But maybe it's a good thing he's changed so much, he's no longer following Rose around and being jealous of her adventures because he's capable of having his own adventures now. But i still prefer Mickey the idiot.
You think you weren't prepared for this episode?! YOU ARE STILL SO NOT PREPARED.
I can't really think of anything else to write because my brain is just saying this over and over again "SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE".
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh! So many things I want to sayyyyyyyyy! But: SPOILERS! So I shall wait impatiently for tommorow's review.
Yeah, I hate the Ghostbusters nod (I do not like Tennant's gurning, sorry but I don't). The soap parody goes on way too long but apart from that, I am a big fan of this episode.
MICKEY!!!!1 oh my god HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE. Did he come in the sphere? I DON’T GET IT BUT I LOVE IT SO VERY MUCH
THIS WAS EXACTLY MY REACTION WHEN I SAW HIM! "OMG OMG MICKEY YAAAAAAY!" And then when Rose was all doe-eyed and said "It's great to see you" he just went "Yeah, you too (but I'm totally more interested in the monsters)". Yay for Mickey getting over Rose. 🙂
By the way, why is he always wearing 3-D glasses? It’s cute as hell, but I don’t get it.)
Mwhahaha, you'll see.
"This is the story of how I died." – I was a bit weirded out because Rose looks pretty alive to me despite the incredibly blue filter.
Isn't Jackie amazing? 🙂
I agree with you a lot, hahah. Definitely agree about Tennant's gurning in particular!
I love the word "gurning", but I wish that Tennant's acting wasn't the impetus by which I learned it.
AH MAH GAD I just re-watched this episode to prepare for your review, and it's SO GOOD. This is my face when Mickey shows up:
<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3lVOb8wvDlE/TTfH_DBETRI/AAAAAAAABEI/VK_puGTsQwM/kurt_what.gif">
And my face when the Daleks come out of the sphere:
<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3lVOb8wvDlE/TTfI9qmmjEI/AAAAAAAABEk/4DHJST3d2pU/spn_scared.gif">
OMG SO MUCH AWESOME. You are STILL not prepared for part two! I hope you're not waiting until Monday to do the next episode, you might die of suspense.
I will try my hardest, but I have guests from out of town staying with me all weekend, so I might not get a chance to. :/
And I'd probably be rude to ignore them for 45 minutes, right?
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
Naaahhh, it's *only* 45 minutes, after all.
Well, 45 minutes plus however much time it takes to post.
Weelllll, 45 minutes plus the time it takes to post plus the time he'll spend in shock over how completely unprepared he was…
That post just read in my head in Ten's voice. I will assume that was intentional, because it makes me happy.
Oh man, what a terrible place to be stuck between episodes. Well, I guess if you don't get to it this weekend, you will have built up a proper appetite while waiting!
You know, we had to wait ONE WHOLE WEEK, WITH SEVEN DAYS AND A LOT OF HOURS! Surely Mark can wait those two days and have a small taste of our suffering.
I didn't, since I only started watching DW a few months ago and got to marathon it all.
BUT NOW I AM CAUGHT UP AND HAVE TO SUFFER WITH YOU. OMG SEASON SIX, I NEED YOU.
Hah, that's how I started, too, basically marathoning through seasons 1-4 in about a month; and then, quite fortunately, season 5 started the next week, and I was kind of okay with waiting a week between episodes then (being in a foreign country distracted me a bit).
but now, season 6 needs to get here sooner (do you hear me time?! go faster?!) – especially after the teaser they gave during the christmas special. such things are not okay.
I started watching a month or so before the Series 4 specials started (the first Christmas special with David Morrissey), so I had the fun of watching all of the show, and then I had to wait months for a new 60 minutes of show, and then wait months more.
Luckily, I spent the rest of the time discovering Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, which… helped ease the waiting periods.
But, if we could upvote starting Series 6 sooner, I would. SERIES SIX NOW PLEASE! *Stephen Colbert grabby hand*
This is about what I did. I'm pretty sure Mark Watches is saving me from absorbing season 6 spoilers like an alien from Clom (sorry, SORRY), which has been my coping mechanism in the past.
I'm being pretty good about Series 6 spoilers. Basically, I mostly only see what the Blogtor posts, which is enough news to keep me informed without going overboard into spoiler territory. Right now, he's not posting much about Series 6, which is probably good… for now.
MMWAAHHAHAHAHA!!
((OMG, when is it starting, I need it now!))
April, I think? Season 5 started on Easter weekend, so sometime vaguely around there.
Normally it's around Easter time in March/April. However they're going to be splitting series 6 in half so that we'll get the first seven episodes in Spring and the rest of them in Autumn.
I've yet to decide how I feel about this. On one hand less of a giant gap between new episodes, but on the other it's smaller doses with probably a huge, evil cliffhanger inbetween.
Doctor Who is going to be the death of me.
I've been watching since the new series started so I'm used to the long gap but we've never had a mid-series break before so I am terrified of what the cliffhanger is going to be because we've never had anything even remotely like that before. The longest we've had to wait is an extra week once a series for the Eurovision and they normally give us an amazing rest of series trailer to make up for it. (I still have so much love for the series 3 mid-series trailer but spoilers.)
Yeah, I'm kind of scared of whatever they have in mind for the inevitable cliffhanger that will come midseries.
That's tragic. My laptop is getting old and doesn't handle video well, I don't have TV, and usually I wait for the series to come out on DVD to watch it. *le sigh*
OMG ARE YOU ME? XD I marathonned it last summer and now I am going through epic suffering, woe, as I wait for series six. Need it nooooooooooooow~
THIS. I laugh every time someone says HOW can you POSSIBLY wait TWO WHOLE DAYS- though I guess his is a matter of willpower, where those watching in real time were at the mercy of the BBC.
Wow, I really hope you aren't waiting until tomorrow to watch the second part, let alone Monday. I don't know how people lived a week without watching it (I imagine it was rather like how I managed the S5 finale break…breathing very slowly in an out and trying very hard not to think about it and trust in The Powers That Be).
I generally forget about Army of Ghosts as a separate entity from the second half, but it's actually quite a good episode with some really excellent twists and turns.
My reaction to the Daleks coming out of the sphere:
<img src="http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/ppyajunebug/vwegh.gif"/>
S5's finale was the first I had to watch live. My god, that was a painful week, especially considering it had a fantastic cliffhanger (as most 2-parters do).
That was genuinely one of the most painful TV weeks ever. It's only outstripped by the entire series of Battlestar Galactica. You wanna talk cliffhangers? RDM will give you some cliffhangers!
Actually, I can top that. The Book of Fire, for Avatar. ALL OF IT. BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT IT'D BE A GOOD IDEA TO PUT LIKE 6 MONTHS BETWEEN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEASON AND THE END OF IT. I don't even want to think about the pain oh god make it stop please i'll do anything just ma
OMG BSG did that too! The worst was the break between S4 and S4.5 after "Revelations." They literally took the entire show and THREW IT OUT THE WINDOW AND I WAS ALL O___O AND THEN THEY WENT AWAY FOR LIKE 5 MONTHS. SO MUCH RAGE. I SEVERELY DISLIKE MIDSEASON BREAKS.
My worst DW cliffhanger actually came in S3. I was capslocking all over the place for a week.
A++++ GIF!
YEEESSSSSSSSS.
TOO MUCH… HAIR.
Firefly is my favorite show ever ever ever ever ever. Over Doctor Who, sadly.
It's awfully hard for me to choose between Doctor Who, Firefly and Buffy. They all kind of occupy the top space in my mental Inventory of Favorite Things, subsection TV Shows.
Firefly is the first Joss Whedon show I ever saw, so I was surprised by anything typical that Joss does. I also became part of Whedonesque at that point, so I got to really immerse myself in the fandom and it was great. I didn't watch it when it was on the first time, so I didn't really see Firefly until 2005. But in my mind it is utter perfection. There are episodes that are Not As Good as other episodes, but even those Not As Good episodes are miles better, in my opinion, than some of the bleh Doctor Who eps. I'm sure if Firefly kept going it would have had more bleh episodes, but.
Angel/Buffy occupies my second slot. Doctor Who is my third. I still am a bigger fan of ensemble casts than the duo in Doctor Who. And I can't decide if I like Angel or Buffy better. My favorite characters are in Angel (Fred, Lorne) but my favorite episodes are in Buffy (The Body).
I prefer Buffy over Angel. Angel has some amazing characters (<3 Fred forever) but I don't adore it like I do Buffy. Not sure why. Perhaps because it doesn't have Giles ;-).
I think if Firefly had been allowed to keep going and had maintained its level of awesome, it might have edged out Buffy for me. Firefly started out 100% win, Buffy took a little while to find its feet, IMO.
I feel like Doctor Who has a slightly higher rate of fail than Buffy, and I see virtually no fail at all in the little of Firefly we have. Still, I couldn't manage to pick between the three.
All of this, just, exactly. Overall though, I think I prefer Doctor Who and Buffy to Firefly just because they've contributed so much more to pop culture than Firefly has. But between Buffy and DW? Can't choose.
I once made charts to evaluate my " mental Inventory of Favorite Things, subsection TV Shows." I think I might be a little obsessed with TV.
At the time Doctor Who beat all other shows, but Firefly and Buffy were still near the top. I need to update it now to add Vampire Diaries, which would really give DW a run for its money 😀
Mickey! Cybermen! Torchwood! DALEKS.
I love the scene in which the Cybermen cut through plastic. I always love those little touches that hark back to Classic episode like "Earthshock" and ""Tomb of the Cybermen." That's when you can tell how much the production team really loves this show and it's legacy.
Also, Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler) is as old as the Cybermen. She was born on the same day Episode 1 of "The Tenth Planet" aired, the debut of the Cybermen on Doctor Who.
I think this is one of RTD's strongest works to date, and a much better finale thus far compared to S1's. I love Eccleston deeply, but he got mostly shafted on his finale. Hokey game show plot that went on a bit too long and a nonsensical reveal, topped off with a literal deus ex machina, made S1's finale not very good. That's not to say Eccleston didn't have his moments, but on the whole, not very good.
I definitely agree with you, Mark, regarding the much better handling of the seeding of Torchwood throughout the series. "Bad Wolf" was so terrible, hahah. Now, we just need to hope that Doomsday can keep up the quality. Though I suspect you already know the answer to that, somehow…
When Rose announced that this was the story of how she died I was
<img src="http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lf1b3zdRUC1qztbk7o1_250.gif">
Then when Mickey showed up I was
<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lfdtxakER31qgpf31o1_500.gif">
And waiting for your review of the next episode I am now
<img src="http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lfcy7zMBMW1qa9pg6o1_500.gif">
THESE ARE AMAZING GIFS.
I will never get sick of that Michael Scott NO! gif. Ever.
Community gifs >>>>>>>> all other gifs
TRUFAX.
Holy crap but I love this two-parter.
Jackie insisting on kissing the Doctor when he and Rose turn up.
The Doctor running around like an overexcited chimpanzee with his Ghostbusters set-up and 3-D glasses (ALL WILL BE EXPLAINED).
Yet another example of the Doctor's capacity to be easily and completely distracted by total irrelevancies. Ten is the king of "Oooo, shiny!"
The Doctor: I like that, "Allons-y". I should say allons-y more often. Look sharp, Rose Tyler, allons-y! And then it would be really brilliant if I met someone called Alonso, 'cause then I could say "Allons-y, Alonso!" every time…you're staring at me.
Rose: My mum's still on board.
MICKEY SMITH! I totally missed his sneaky little entrance the first time I saw this episode and was like WHERE THE HELL DID HE COME FROM?? and then the next time I saw him earlier and suddenly it made sense.
"They told me you like to make a mess." Truer words were never spoken.
The opening sequence KILLS me. Every time.
The Doctor: How long are you going to stay with me?
Rose: Forever.
I'll…just be over here with a box of kleenex. It's been said, but YOU ARE IN NO WAY PREPARED. Cannot wait for Doomsday.
Just so you know, I am in love with this comment.
I loved his "Allons-y, Alonso!" bit.
I MADE THIS:
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/spiderine/DALEK%20PURL/IMG_0345.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
An example of woolly thinking, if you ask me! :p
HIS NAME IS DALEK PURL.
AHAHAHAHAHA THAT IS AMAZING.
As Ten would say, you're very very clever.
That is amazing!
Thank you so much!
Did you see the exterminknit with the little dalek squidlet inside?
NO OMG! I'll have to make one!
THIS: http://featherandfan.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/fo-…
Exterminknit! I love that word! Brilliant! Molto Bene!
*giggles* That is brilliant. Seriously talented, you are.
I'm also now imagining the Doctor snuggling into bed with his little dalek plushie…
A friend of mine knitted a gray one. She hangs a little Christmas ornament from its plunger so it'll look more cheerful.
I want to know how to knit JUST SO I CAN MAKE THIS. It's seriously been hanging around in my tabs since Christmas. Nice job!
You win one internets!
I started watching Doctor Who when you started, and I've been powering through the seasons these past few weeks (at beginning of season five now). This two parter was when I completely and totally fell in love with the Doctor, and I felt the show started to be really strong emotionally. I've been all excited for you to get to this part, so I could see your reaction, because mine was all mostly being edge of my seat, shouting "WHHAAAA??!?! Noooooooooooooooooooooo".
Doctor in 3D glasses = me melting
I was s big Doctor Who fan as a kid in the 80s, but for various reasons I was not able to watch the new series when it premiered. Army of Ghosts was my first encounter with New Who, and with the exception of "Rose," I don't think there could possibly have been a better introduction to the new series. Daleks AND Cybermen in the same episode? It was an old-school Whovian's wet dream. I didn't understand who the heck Mickey was, but it was still one of the best experiences of my Doctor Who-related life.
Er, that's because the pic was taken before I put the bottom on. Whoops! *sheepish*
Hahaha, I think it looks adorable. BTW, fantastic name!
Thank you!
YOU WERE NOT PREPARED. WE WARNED YOU.
Seriously, Doctor Who season finales do tend towards awesome. RTD really knows how to do awesome. I love the themes that build so slowly that you don't even see them for a long time.
Loved the Doctor's reaction to Jackie's hugs and kisses.
Love the goofy devices he builds out of spare parts.
Love the way he talked Yvonne into not opening the portal. Talking to her didn't work? OK, he'll sit and watch.
So much more goodness to come.
"Seriously, Doctor Who season finales do tend towards awesome"
I'll for sure give you epic, but I don't think I can give you awesome since there's an upcoming DW finale I just think is magnitudes of stupid.
spoilers!
The Penultimate Tardisode:
A reporter tells his Editor about a story so big, he thinks it will be the story of the century – the story of Torchwood. His editor asks him to get the story for her, and so the reporter is shown passing secret envelopes, looking through files and photos, several of which feature the Doctor. The reporter is sure that Torchwood goes back as far as "Queen Victoria, right up to the explosion on Christmas Day and is "connected with the Ghosts that have been appearing lately".
He then returns to his Editor with his findings, only to be told that there have been "complications", and is dragged off by several mysterious men. Meanwhile another man talks to the Editor, and says that Torchwood thanks her for her co-operation, before leaving her with a replacement front page story about school exam results.
The reporter is last seen in a straitjacket, protesting as he is hauled away: "I'm not mad! Torchwood exists! I know the truth about the Ghosts!"…
Personally, I find it amazing that after the last episode, there was still enough cheese left in the cupboard for this.
It's Doctor Who as run by Russell T. Davies! There's an inexhaustible supply of cheese! 😉
My theory is that the Heart of the TARDIS serves a double function as a cheese generator.
Haha, fantastic theory!
I now wonder if I've misheard the 6th Doctor's 1st line all these years. Maybe he actually said, "A cheese, my dear. And it seems not a moment too soon."
That would definitely explain the costume! And Mel.
I covet the jacket Rose is wearing in the beginning of this episode when the Doctor asks her how long she is going to stay. I WANT IT!
Nice to see Mickey again. Jackie is wonderful, as always.
Jackie as a companions was my FAVORITE part of this episode. So hilarious.
I will reserve my thoughts on the episode as a whole until next time.
For, like, months after this aired, I'd add that little soupcon to an anecdote by completing it with, "…and that's when the Daleks showed up."
Because if you want a cooler story? JUST ADD DALEKS! Hee.
Hey Mark. Time to give this trivia!! Now let’s go before I ramble about Doomsday and how great it is.
A. The working title for this episode was Torchwood Rises.
B. This is actually the first use of the Doctor’s catchphrase. 9 had Fantastic and 10 had Allons-y. Allons-y is French for let’s go.
C. Graeme Harper’s penchant for including a distorted image of a main character is present in this story. I’ll mention the next time he does it.
D. You can actually hear the Torchwood theme in the background of this episode.
E. Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler) was born on the same day Episode 1 of DW: The Tenth Planet – the episode that introduced the Cybermen – was first broadcast. No really. BAD ASS.
F. Most fans do say that Jackie counts as a companion due to this episode.
G. The 3D glasses help the Doctor see Void stuff. His words not mine. 10 is like a Buffy character sometimes.
H. It is believed that Tangled by Disney references it. The main character Flynn Rider told the story and introduced it as the story of how he died.
Again if there’s errors in this or facts I missed tell me. See you for Doomsday. Oh YOU ARE NOT FUCKING PREPARED.
I'M NOT SURE IF G. IS A SPOILER OR NOT.
Was the answer mentioned in this episode?
SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!!
FDKASINFGAOISNJFCAPO
Oh shit! I forgot that the use of the 3D glasses was a spoiler!!!
FORGIVE ME MARK!!
You could delete this post and post the rest of the info in a new thread. Maybe Mark hasn't read it yet.
Where's the delete button!!!??? I need to hurry before Mark kills me!
Argh! You need an account.
There's nothing to be done now. D:
The blue Delete link is at the bottom right of your post. I was going to add something to your facts, but I'll wait. It works just as well for the next episode.
I have no delete function!! I'll repeat this first. SORRY MARK!!! Thought the episode said that. I'm a dumbass.
You can throw in your addition nyssa. I can't lose this post.
Well that's odd. Anyway, I was just going to add to point C above (way up there) to say that Graeme Harper is the only person to work as a director on both Classic Who and New Who.
G is kinda spoilery :/
H. I'll bet you a shiny nickel that "Army of Ghosts" was not the first story to begin "this is the story of how I died", and that Tangled was doing no such thing. 😛
I'm sure. How about a shiny dime?
Hands sabra a shiny dime.
I'm just going with what the TARDIS wiki siad.
You've been led atray by them before, as I recall. 😉
The TARDIS wiki lies to you!!!!! It lies!! 😉
*cough* Sunset Boulevard anyone? Not sure if it uses that particular phrase but pretty sure it's the first film that's narrated from beyond the grave.
I love your little factoids. 🙂
Army of Ghosts rates 4 for scariness.
And that's without the knowledge that Daleks show up, since that part got cut out of their preview episode.
These episodes… all I can say is…
BUMBUMBUM
Jackie Tyler in the TARDIS – YESSSSSSS!!!!
Other than that, I can't say anything else until "Doomsday." So, have some of these:
<img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/Jenny_Wildcat/Doctor%20Who/funny-pictures-cat-dr-who-bbc-budget.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
<img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/Jenny_Wildcat/Doctor%20Who/9dbd46e2-bc2a-4b91-84a5-88cc774364d8.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
(BTW – Mark, how do you stand reading "Catching Fire" one chapter at a time AND being between cliffhangers in "Doctor Who?" My hat's off to you)
SPOILERS!!! No bloody spoilers!!
Did I just say bloody? Wow I need to stop watching British things.
I'm so glad I'm not the whole one who has suddenly started using "bloody" as well as other British type phrases/words when communicating things. *internet high five*
Just remembered something about this episode! The shot from Canary Wharf when Jackie was looking out and realising where they were comes from an episode of the Apprentice. I always mentally hear the Apprentice music when I see that shot and it's a bit distracting!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOLYCRAPTHISEPISODEOMG
Hmm, this seems to be a pretty popular episode with people. I, however, was very VERY far from impressed. I have seen both parts and I ended up correctly predicting many of the turns the story would take. I predicted that the ghosts were Cybermen before the Cybermen were actually hinted at, for example.
Anyway, my by far and large biggest complaint is the appearance of the Daleks. Am I the only one to feel that every appearance they make (and I know there will be more because, come on the writers just can't resist!) cheapens the Doctor's backstory? This is the guy who had to kill his entire race and planet to eliminate the Daleks and while the Time Lords are gone (unless future episodes prove this wrong) the Daleks keep on popping up. It pisses all over his sacrifice and we don't even get the decency of seeing a real emotional impact on the Doctor because of it. (At least not with Ten.) It just completely ruins things for me. They never should have made up that backstory if they were just going to continue using the Daleks as reoccurring villains!
Also, Daleks for the season finale again? I hope they don't make a habit of this. I wasn't blown away by the joining of Daleks and Cybermen, either. It felt like the writers wanted to do something big for the end of the season and all they could come up with was, "Hey, let's put two big villains in the SAME episode!" And it ended up being ridiculous because the two villains had nothing to do with each other, really. It was as if they had two separate stories going at once, but were trying to mash them up into one. It felt like a jumbled mess to me.
I did love the 3-D glasses, though. And my favorite part was the applause the Doctor got from the Torchwood people. XD He was so weirded out by it. lol
I agree in that I don't like that feeling of: AND THERE ARE CYBERMEN! AND THERE ARE DALEKS! TOGETHER! OMGOMGOMG!!
It's like, aren't we clever, putting them both of them together for the finale?
But it IS clever because it's never been done before and it's awesome.
And no, that Daleks somehow survive while the Doctor loses everything doesn't cheapen the Doctor's backstory, it's a very important part of his ongoing story in the RTD era.
It is awesome, when the ball opens it's incredible! And now, rewatching, it's so obviously a Dalek "ship" that I can't see how we all missed it. It's just that looking back, I sort of see Davies and the producers going like "No one will see that coming, we're geniuses! How can we throw more things into the episode?!" and it feels very self-congratulatiory.
It's very impressive, but it annoys me.
Hiding things in plain sight is good writing. And the way he does it in this episode is to use our own expectations against us. Series 1 introdued (or reintroduced, depending) the Daleks mid season and then they showed up in the finale. Series 2 (re)indroduced the Cybermen and so we kind of suspect they will be in the finale. So, with that firmly in mind, RTD confirms our expectations very early in Army of Ghosts…even though the `traditional` big monster reveal comes at the end of episode 1. And that structure is maintained because the big monster reveal *is* at the end of the epiosde.
We *didn't* see it coming and it *is* genius, so I don't see why you should be annoyed about that. And it's only self-congratulatory in the sense of being pleased at having writen a brilliant, explosive finale and kept it a secret until transmission. And that is a hell of an achievement in this multimedia age.
It's the combination of Cybermen + Daleks that makes me go meh. As MowerOfLorn says below, it's the geek's dream come true. Who's stronger the Hulk or Superman? What would happen with the Daleks and the Cybermen together?
I find it the fanboy thinking behind it very obvious and, while I don't mind it in itself (I did like Sarah Jane's episode) I do roll my eyes at "Let's add more monsters!".
I do agree the execution was excellent.
If it were a case of adding more monsters for the sake of adding more monsters, I'd agree. But when it's done for sound story reasons and well executed then to me, it ceases to be fanboy thinking. And if it's well written and well executed, I don't really see what more one can ask for.
Nah, I feel the same way about the Daleks reappearing as you do. It also feels like it cheapens "Dalek" in particular.
As for Cybermen and Daleks in the same episode… well, my feelings on that, will not come till part two. Heh.
This really isn't one of my favourite episode. Its not that there's anything wrong with it…I just don't feel as pulled along by the narrative as some other season finales.
I do disagree with you about the daleks and cybermen. It turns out it had been long debated in the fandom which group would win, so I can see why it would appeal to so many. That being said, I really hate how much the daleks are used. I already find them to sound like screaming pepper pots, and I wish we could go longer without them popping up again. They're like space cockroaches!
The Daleks definitely start suffering from diminishing returns at this point. "Dalek" establishes how scary one Dalek is. The S1 finale is like OH LOOK NOW THERE ARE A BAJILLION, and okay, that's a logical escalation. But after that? They just get worse and worse.
To avoid spoiling Mark, I will say that I'm really disappointed in what has, or has not, continued to, or not continued to happen with the Daleks. Their future appearances, or lack of future appearances, has really started to irk.
KURT GIF! <3
OH GOD MARK YOU ARE SO NOT PREPARED AND THERE IS NO WAY YOU EVER CAN BE.
This episode.
Oh, JESUS, THIS EPISODE.
I have nothing I can say that isn't spoilers, so have an Eleven stating the obvious:
<img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/bdwton.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
Right-click, save, upvote. <3 Yum, Eleven.
bwahahahaha. Oh, Eleven <3
DALEKS???? ARE YOU SERIOUS HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE
I LOVE THIS ENDING SO MUCH. I mean, we haven't seen the Daleks ALL SEASON. I don't even think they've been mentioned. They're not even really on your mind at this point. The Doctor vanquished them; they're gone, whatever. So when four of them pop out of that sphere it's like HOLY FUCKING SHIT WHAT.
(Although I think this was one ending the BBC preview either outright spoiled or so strongly hinted at that it was like what are you guys doing you assholes. But maybe not too much because I watched the previews and was still WTFed. Maybe. Or maybe I was WTFed in advance and so I was excited when it happened.)
Can I expect Jack Harkness to show up? I WOULD BE EXCITE.
So is this a meme, using "excite" for "excited"? Where did it come from?
You know who I blame?
<img src="http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae244/Gary_Stringer/Barrowman.gif" border="0" alt="Barrowman!">
A++++ gif usage.
Perfect gif usage. 😀
That GIF is even more appropriate here. 🙂
I would guess that "I am excite" is a memetic offshoot of the "Son, I am disappoint" meme, but I'm not really sure about that. It could just be a meme based on a typo, like "pwn."
I don't know that meme either!
My understanding is that the "Son, I am disappoint" meme started as an exploitable comic. The first two panes were blank so you could do anything you wanted to them, but the other two were this:
<img src="http://knowyourmeme.com/system/icons/199/original/1exploitableiamdisappoi.jpg?1250863355">
So a lot of people drew their own versions of the comic, then others added the text to other images/screenshots, and then "son, I am disappoint" phrase leaked into conversations.
The fact that it leaked into conversation divorced it from its original fatherly-disapproval context, so a lot of people didn't know where it came from and dropped the "son" part, to just "I am disappoint."
Oh yeah. He's big on apologizing.
The 3D glasses. Aren't they silly? In a cute way. Don't worry about those, a line in the next part might tell you about them, so just sit tight and enjoy the ride. 🙂 Well, what I actually mean is a line about them made me laugh and for me that's enough.
No more said, I won't risk spoilers for one of the best (if not The Best) series finales of DW. Every season 2 part finale is absolutely mind-bogglingly great. Just my opinion. =3
VERY big. I could psycho analyze him but that's not fun.
Do it!!
(maybe in later episodes?)
Well I don't pshcyho analyze but I CAN say how the events leading to a regeneration form a Doctor's personality.
Well, if it's not spoilery tell us! I have my own theories and it would be interesting to hear yours!
I really wish Ten would quite putting down Jackie. JACKIE IS AWESOME, DAMMIT. Seriously, after the expression of devotion in "Love and Monsters", that little thing just annoyed the crap out of me.
But! But but but. As you said, there are lots of cool things being thrown around here – Torchwood's corporate culture, the inexplicable "ghosts", and Mickey (yay!) being back. I will refrain from saying any more (even though I really, really want to point to a couple of things) because I don't even want to begin to hint at spoilers. YOUR PREPARATION IS INADEQUTE, MARK.
Well, that's cause Ten's a bit of a git. He hides it much better than Nine did, because he's much more charming (I'm a Nine fan but you couldn't call him 'charming'). Really, the problem is that when he is a git, the writing and characters tend not to pull him up on it because "Oh Ten, you're so cute!" comes into play.
Shaking and crying, these episodes are epic.
DALEKS. MICKEY.
"(By the way, why is he always wearing 3-D glasses? It’s cute as hell, but I don’t get it.)"
You'll find out! 😉
I really can't say more for fear of spoilers other than the obligatory YOU ARE NOT PREPARED.
Heh. We mostly hang out on livejournal. My username over there is fauxkaren, if you have an lj and want to friend me. There are a couple of good communities on lj to find other Rose (and Doctor/Rose) fans. Namely, the Doctor/Rose fix community (http://community.livejournal.com/doctor_rose_fix/) and there are also a lot of Rose fans over at a rewatch community (http://community.livejournal.com/dwrewatch/)
as a dedicated lurker on doctor/rose fix, I can second the fact that everyone there is mad awesome. I really need to start commenting there. XD
All I can say on this episode is Daleks! Yay!
Because that's the only thing that breaks through my being hypnotised by the pretty that is Freema Agyeman. Oh my.
*sigh*
I am a straight female and sometimes in the episode I just found myself staring at her. I genuinely think she is physically perfect. Have you SEEN her eyes?*sigh*
Gosh yes, she is gorgeous. <3
Pingback: Tweets that mention Mark Watches ‘Doctor Who’: S02E012 – Army of Ghosts | Mark Watches -- Topsy.com
This was the first episode of Doctor Who that I watched properly, and at the time I had an ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE phobia of robots. Seriously, when the Cyberman burst out from behind the white plastic I literally jumped about half a metre and screamed. Then for the rest of the episode I couldn't look whenever the Cybermen were on-screen.
Then at the end and the Daleks came out of the sphere, my parents who had watched Classic Who when they were little were like, "OH NOES IT'S THE DALEKS!" and I was like, "Pfft, Daleks, Cybermen are heaps more scary."
These two episodes are so intense. Oh, God! Next one!!!!!!!!
Everything I think has been said in a million different comments that I just upvoted, so I will just say that I just watched Doomsday and WHY IS THERE NO REVIEW YET FOR ME TO COMMENT ON. I can not wait until Monday.
"They can shoot me dead, but the moral high ground is mine." One of my favourite lines uttered by The Doctor. Made even better because it's uttered by Tenant's Doctor. I've used it several times in arguments and debates. I was so excited that you'd gotten to this episode. And then my internet didn't work and I went shopping and almost forgot that you'd posted. Waiting for Monday for your Doomsday post is gonna suck. Waiting for the second review on two parters is just as bad as waiting for the next disc on two parters.
I actually had to rewind a bit, because as soon as I saw Mickey, I jumped off my bed and began dancing around my room. I really do love Mickey more than the Doctor (well, most of the time).
Loved hearing the Torchwood music in this episode. Didn't watch Torchwood series until I'd finished Doctor Who. Now I actually know what it is. Love things like that.
Oh hai there, Freema Agyeman! Wait? What?
I really do love Rose's hair in this episode. It's such a nice length and style. Wish I could get my hair to do that. *shakes fist angrily at section of frizzy hair*
(as she watches as she types) I love when Mickey turns around and is all "Shhh" *cheeky smile. *swoon* ILY Mickey Smith ILY 4EVA! Such a BAMF! UNF!
Oh yeah, forgot to mention: LOVE The Doctor's 3D Glasses. Was confused and amused the first time I saw them.
I've never liked the Cybermen. They are robot like things, that kill people. That is like my second worst fear after zombies in things that might be part of/cause the apocalypse. This episode just made them creepier!
I kind of sort of really dig the Blue (or is it Black or a dark silver) Dalek. Sort of pretty, in a creep metal thing that wants to kill you sort of way. ha ha.
Without even seeing the next part (from what I remember about it… OH GOD!) Not prepared, Mark. I wasn't. See you Monday (unless you surprise post tomorrow!)
>Waiting for the second review on two parters is just as bad as waiting for the next disc on two parters.
Try waiting a week for a part 2!
…Or several months as will be the case with this year's series! *goes quietly insane*
I'm gonna be on real time for series 6! Oh god! I already go insane with my tv shows (such as SPN, TVD, Castle) but now I have to wait for DW too? 🙁
"They can shoot me dead, but the moral high ground is mine." One of my favourite lines uttered by The Doctor. Made even better because it's uttered by Tenant's Doctor.
It's actually a nod back to the TV movie and the Eighth Doctor. 🙂
I'll have to look into that. I didn't start watching DW until a few months ago and I started with New Who.
Yeah, I think that's it for catchphrases, atm. His other, shall we say, foreign language catchphrase hasn't appeared quite yet.
I'm fairly sure, when actually watching it on tv, that the time travel element of the show sometimes breaks out of he screen and engulfs the watcher in some sort of chronic anomaly. This is the only way I can explain that 45 minutes of episode flashes past in nanoseconds and then the (alleged) week's wait for part 2 takes aprroximately a million and one years.
Doctor Who makes time travellers of us all. Vworp. Vworp. Vworp.
*Channels Doc01*
Time and relativity! Hmmm? That's where the answer lies, heh heh. Yes, I'm sure of it! Time and relativity!
I started bawling as soon as this episode opened. I think I'd heard rumours that Billie was leaving the show, which led to me yelling 'GODAMMIT RTD YOU'RE ACTUALLY KILLING HER OFF? BASTARD' at my TV.
…Yes, yes I do get emotional over TV 😉
Need your part 2 review right now! I really liked this two-parter. I'm not too fond of the Cybermen and frankly, didn't want another finale with the Daleks, but the bombshell when they emerged at the end was such a mindfuck that I didn't care.
I totally get emotional over TV. Watched a couple of Series 5 episodes last night (won't say which ones to keep from spoiling Mark) that had me balling.
There is no way anyone could have ever been prepared. Anyone. Even if someone spoiled the ending, I don't think anyone could avoid the punch that comes with it.
With monsters in every episode, sometimes you become desensitized to them. You get scared, but that logical part of your brain knows that they will be defeated by the end of the episode. The best thing about this episode, for me, was that by the cliffhanger, that logical part of my brain was gone. I was completely and utterly horrified and scared, sitting there going – Daleks AND Cybermen, HOLY SHIT WE'RE FUCKED. And it never even occured to me that things would work out in the next episode. I was literally convinced it was the actual end of the world.
And that, my friends, is the best testament I can give to Russell T Davies.
I've not watched this episode for years. Now, I'm going to watch it tomorrow in a hungover state. Things are going to get tense.
I keep checking the site this weekend hoping you'll break from your no reviews on Saturdays and Sundays cause come on you can't leave us hanging in the middle of a two-part finale like this for the whole weekend!! To borrow from the Harry Potter review days…
<img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/ncc8w4.jpg">
I couldn't imagine waiting for this second part for a whole week when it originally aired after all the setup and unanswered questions in the first part.
I don't really have much to say that wouldn't spoil the next episode, so let me just say one thing:
Every time the Doctor makes a reference to "the Eternals", I can't help but picture Q from Star Trek.
I also didn't think much of the 3d glasses at first because this is Ten and he's eccentric like that.
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