Comments on: A 1963 blue police box

A 1963 blue police box

Artw — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:36:20 -0800

Meanwhile in the TARDIS - two bonus 'mini-episodes' from the fifth season of doctor who. Can't wait to see the next season? If you're overseas it may get to you a bit quicker, as the BBCs iPlayer goes international. Bonus link: Amy Pond by way of Alphonse Mucha, by Bill Mudron.

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:36:29 -0800

'Doctor Who' star Matt Smith on the new season, Weeping Angels and sonic screwdrivers

By: jbickers

jbickers — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:46:41 -0800

Man, I loved this season of Who sooooo much. The stories were so great, the interplay between the Doctor and Amy was so much fun, and Matt Smith just stepped into that role and OWNED it. Love this season. That said, the first clip doesn't make any sense. Why is she asking so many questions, and why is she shocked by his bowtie, when she's been drawing pictures and making models of him (with a bowtie) since she was a little girl? oh god I'm trying to apply logic to a doctor who storyline

By: Zozo

Zozo — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:48:11 -0800

Fantastic. I liked David Tennant well enough while he was in the role, but Smith's nuanced, unselfconscious performance has retroactively ruined him for me: Smith's the first actor to play the Doctor as truly alien, and he absolutely nails the tension in this ancient, immensely powerful being who just happens to look like a 26-year-old professor. Plus, he's dreamy.

By: infinitywaltz

infinitywaltz — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:49:05 -0800

This is the season that turned me from "vaguely interested and aware of" to "raging fan of" The Doctor. We've since watched the entire rebooted series, including all of the specials, and are now watching the classic series, starting with the first Doctor, in chronological order.

By: Riptor

Riptor — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:53:15 -0800

jbickers, "the raggedy Doctor" was wearing the 10th Doctor's clothes (hence the raggedyness from The End of Time). He only changed into his new outfit when he scared away the Atraxi in The Eleventh Hour

By: eyeballkid

eyeballkid — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:53:25 -0800

I can see why the first clip was cut. Their interaction is pretty grating. If I'd seen that as some kind of preview I would have lost hope for the last season (which turned out to be one of my favorites, the twin punch of Matt Smith and Karen Gillian on top of Moffat's production made for great television). Plus, he killed her at the end of the clip, so that's kind of messed up.

By: weston

weston — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:55:17 -0800

Talking of which: Does anybody have any information on where they might be filming in Utah in November (or any idea how to find out)?

By: jbickers

jbickers — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:02:22 -0800

Riptor, that's why Steven Moffatt is my hero. He actually writes Who stories that have internal logic. Thanks for that. Eyeballkid, doesn't the second episode begin with Amy hovering outside the Tardis, inside a protective shield?

By: Old'n'Busted

Old'n'Busted — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:02:51 -0800

The stories were so great, the interplay between the Doctor and Amy was so much fun, and Matt Smith just stepped into that role and OWNED it Yea, we were ready to give it a miss because you know, David Tennent owned it so much, but man, were we so surprised. My wife actually cried when the voice-over was documenting how Plastic Rory stood by the cube for 1900+ years. And then got pissed when me and my daughter (correctly) guessed he was going to show up in the next scene.

By: jbickers

jbickers — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:06:14 -0800

Oh, and as for the "iPlayer going international" component: The BBC reckons fans will pay up to $10 (around £6) an episode Umm ... yeah. That will never happen. A buck, perhaps, and probably not even that.

By: Old'n'Busted

Old'n'Busted — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:11:46 -0800

Okay, the 2nd bridge clip was a hoot. Rather deep line for a kiddy show: "if you make all of space and time your back yard, all you have is a back yard".

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:21:31 -0800

The BBC reckons fans will pay up to $10 (around £6) an episode That sounds a little much, and not entirely realistic - for comparison the iTunes pricepoint for season 5 episodes is $1.99, though I suppose you could justify charging a little more if you release them simultaneously with UK airing.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:23:46 -0800

I really must go back and finish playing the games...

By: Hactar

Hactar — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:24:16 -0800

As much as I liked the first four seasons of the reboot and they did pay homage to the past, it took them till the fifth season to visually show this. Before, it seemed the doctor simply stretched back to the ninth doctor, before then you really didn't know much about him being on earth. This season, in episode 1 you get to see all 11 doctors, solidifying the line. "Does earth have a protector?" indeed. And then they do the same for the companions. Which made me smile. ("Is that a leather bikini?")

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:25:02 -0800

The BBC reckons fans will pay up to $10 (around £6) an episode Yeah, that's pretty much mental... especially as it's all over the torrents almost as soon as it's gone out (or so I've heard)

By: eyeballkid

eyeballkid — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:25:04 -0800

Eyeballkid, doesn't the second episode begin with Amy hovering outside the Tardis, inside a protective shield? I remember it differently. He shoves her out into space and she implodes in a bloody cloud. And then he replaces her with an updated cyberman/cylon model that looks like a human. Later the Pandorica box changes her back.

By: eyeballkid

eyeballkid — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:25:21 -0800

Italics are fun!

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:33:05 -0800

The BBC reckons fans will pay up to $10 (around £6) an episode Yeah, that's pretty much mental... especially as it's all over the torrents almost as soon as it's gone out (or so I've heard) First rule of not having your stuff pirated: If it's readily available and at a decent price point then people will get it that way, otherwise it's the torrents.

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:35:57 -0800

(Of course the "estimated" and "up to" most likely mean "pulled out of the air on the spur of the moment)

By: charlie don't surf

charlie don't surf — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:40:07 -0800

Plus, he killed her at the end of the clip, so that's kind of messed up. I guess you missed the episodes where they float around in space outside the TARDIS, inside its protective field.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:40:57 -0800

I remember when the first episode of the last series was late going up on the Iplayer... oh the wailing on the internets was deafening.

By: eyeballkid

eyeballkid — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:44:27 -0800

I guess you missed the episodes where they float around in space outside the TARDIS, inside its protective field. *smacks forehead*

By: eyeballkid

eyeballkid — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:45:28 -0800

Hamburger tags are fun (and apparently necessary)!

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:45:32 -0800

Well, they probably had to digitally remove Graham Norton.

By: Rock Steady

Rock Steady — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:45:50 -0800

I would lurve to get a poster of that Amy Pond illustration for my 9 year old daughter who has become a huge Dr. Who (but mostly Amy) fan.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:54:06 -0800

Now I've got around to actually watching the clips that's actually a pretty interesting explanation for the companions (though I've still not forgiven the 'wheezing groaning is coz I leave the brakes on' cobblers... )

By: ZeusHumms

ZeusHumms — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:54:32 -0800

The BBC reckons fans will pay up to $10 (around £6) an episode I'd consider paying that much on a monthly basis for general access to iPlayer, but not for one episode of anything. It's like they based that price on the bare-bones DVDs they put out before the season DVDs.

By: charred husk

charred husk — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 11:25:04 -0800

fearfulsymmetry: "(though I've still not forgiven the 'wheezing groaning is coz I leave the brakes on' cobblers... )" Why not? Grabs TARDIS manual out of Romana's hands, looks at it and tosses it on the ground. "Rubbish."

By: Ad hominem

Ad hominem — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 11:34:47 -0800

Didn't like last season, too many crying statues and not enough Satan Pit! I guess unlike you guys I like the spectacular insane episodes and not ep 3 of "Oh no, amy has a weeping angel stuck in her cornea"

By: philipy

philipy — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 12:02:50 -0800

$10 per episode is most likely a typo, a misspeak or some other kind of misunderstanding.

By: Virtblue

Virtblue — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 12:17:28 -0800

iPlayer will never go international the torries would rather kill it before it does. It would make for a stronger BBC and that is diametrically opposed to the torries goals. The BBC was really lucky to only get a 16% cut.

By: smackfu

smackfu — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 12:31:18 -0800

Don't they sell Doctor Who to Sci Fi for US broadcast? Wouldn't Sci Fi be a little upset if the BBC started showing it online themselves?

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 12:36:50 -0800

"Ripped canvas." Hmmmmmm... wondering (damn you)

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 12:57:14 -0800

smackfu: "Don't they sell Doctor Who to Sci Fi for US broadcast? Wouldn't Sci Fi be a little upset if the BBC started showing it online themselves?" It's on BBC America now, SyFy dropped it since it was too SciFi.

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 13:00:12 -0800

It's pretty much their biggest hit, though I suspect it would have been bigger if they'd have done it simultaneously.

By: Windigo

Windigo — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 13:02:27 -0800

I ♥ RORY SO HARDCORE SQUEEE (But seriously, I do!)

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 13:11:27 -0800

Now if Comcast would just give me BBC America in HD ...

By: colfax

colfax — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 13:29:51 -0800

I forget how happy the TARDIS sound makes me when I haven't heard it in a while. No matter what, hearing it again always feels like getting really good news.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:46:17 -0800

More extras clips here - it's behind the scenes stuff including one where Gatiss reveals himself to be insanely knowledgeable fan with the in-est in-joke ever (quelle surprise)

By: saulgoodman

saulgoodman — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:23:23 -0800

Thanks for this. I can't wait to actually see the first Matt Smith season. (And does anyone know, when are the new episodes coming to Netflix? Netflix's selection goes all the way up to the regeneration to Matt Smith's Doctor now, and there's some kind of placeholder graphic for the next season when you search for the show, but that's it. Any announcements I missed?)

By: Solon and Thanks

Solon and Thanks — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:24:03 -0800

Space Gandalf! I really really love 11. And the most recent season. and Rory and Amy. and Steven Moffat. I just have to pinch myself, I can't believe there's such good time-travel scifi on television.

By: PhoBWanKenobi

PhoBWanKenobi — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:27:26 -0800

I forget how happy the TARDIS sound makes me when I haven't heard it in a while. No matter what, hearing it again always feels like getting really good news. Mmm, yeah, ditto. Made me grin. Okay, the 2nd bridge clip was a hoot. Rather deep line for a kiddy show: "if you make all of space and time your back yard, all you have is a back yard". Great clip. I think it's a perfect illustration of how Moffat better understands how to execute romantic plotlines for the Doctor--or how to execute them to maximize fangirl giddiness, at least, which is exactly what it brought out in me. I've always--and I don't think I'm unusual here--liked my sci-fi men to be, at their core, utterly untouchable. Spock. Data. Kai from Lexx (shush). The why is probably pretty obvious: by being unattainable in their on-screen incarnations, I fangirls can imagine that ~~I'm~~ they're the one special enough able to break the character's resolve and be romantically engaged with him. The Doctor seems like he should be one of those characters, and in what I've seen of the older series, usually is. He might have followers, but never lovers. He's brilliant, clever, sometimes beautiful, but mostly untouchable. RTD didn't seem to get why this was appealing. I think he might have believed that he was catering to fangirls by matching him with Rose, an everygirl. But what it actually does--particularly in the season where he's mourning the loss of Rose while rejecting Martha (ech)--is to make him pedestrian. Just another guy, moaning about a girl who is Like Us, but Not Us. And that's one of the problems with Rose (and I like her as a character). She's clearly, clearly not his equal, but we're meant to believe she's the most worthy. And, though I really like Amy and think she's pretty awesome, she's really similar to Rose in a lot of ways. Gorgeous and clever and cool. But not . . . not as cool as the Doctor! Not his equal! Moffat's been careful in the way he writes the women that he matches romantically to the Doctor. Reinette, for example, isn't just a common but beautiful girl, but the mistress of a King-- brilliant in her own right, cultured, refined. River Song, is, likewise, his equal. She flies the TARDIS better than he does, for Christ's sake. She's brilliant, a bit wicked, mysterious, mature, confident. We don't need to be convinced that these characters are worthy; they just are. Of course, the romances he has with both these women are ultimately doomed. I suspect that's significant, too. I like the careful way these tensions are played with in the clip. The Doctor isn't desexualized, for example. We don't hear about any Lungbarrowesque reproductive looms. But he also never confirms to Amy that he is, in fact, a bloke. Because he's not a bloke. He's the Doctor!

By: ArmyOfKittens

ArmyOfKittens — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:42:03 -0800

Kai from Lexx (shush). The dead do not shush. all day by the Xev I lay all day by the Xev

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:49:32 -0800

I forget how happy the TARDIS sound makes me when I haven't heard it in a while. No matter what, hearing it again always feels like getting really good news. I'll just repeat a comment I made in another Who thread - A couple of PCs back I hacked Windows so the start up audio was the tardis taking off and the close down audio was the tardis landing* *yes they are different** **nerdcore 4 life

By: Lucinda

Lucinda — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:50:34 -0800

(And does anyone know, when are the new episodes coming to Netflix? Netflix's selection goes all the way up to the regeneration to Matt Smith's Doctor now, and there's some kind of placeholder graphic for the next season when you search for the show, but that's it. Any announcements I missed?) DVDs became available yesterday. (And stupid me mis-timed the return of my last disc, so they got it on MONDAY instead of YESTERDAY and they sent me something else.) Don't know about streaming episodes though.

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:52:04 -0800

yes they are different It's just the same sound played backwards and forwards, isn't it? (also when the TARDIS leaves a location there's a second, slightly higher pitched, echoey version of the sound, which is clearly what you hear once the TARDIS has gone round a time-corner)

By: Space Kitty

Space Kitty — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:26:19 -0800

Ok, I'm posting this without reading any of the previous comments because I only just finished season two this week. I know I'm hoping against hope, but is there any possibility of reading this thread or seeing the links without encountering epic spoilers? Even with three seasons to catch up on, I still want more. /obsessed

By: meese

meese — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 18:17:26 -0800

Man, I love Doctor Who. Especially Matt Smith. I remember when he was first cast, and everyone was all "omg!!! noob!!!" But there was a short little interview and, in it, Smith was trying to explain something -- he brought his hands up and did this strange little twirly-fingers move as part of his explanation. With that move, it was just completely clear: this guy is young, but he's perfect for the part. I'm hoping someone can help me: when BBCA aired season 5, did they truncate the episodes? I know Sci-Fi used to do that, and I saw some conflicting reports on different websites (like Pajiba). And I really did try to search for this info, but I never could find a good source. I really want to know if I missed even a single minute.

By: Hactar

Hactar — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 19:38:15 -0800

Space Kitty, you can read the thread without epic spoilers, as you just finished season 2 and thus know about Rose. The clips, OTOH, won't make much sense. Well, the second one might. But, honestly, you're better off waiting until you catch up. I know that sucks, but it's worth it. Also, if you want more Doctor, Dreamland, an animated episode is out in the wild and might actually be on youtube. I don't feel bad about mentioning this, as as far as I know, it isn't out on any DVDs.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 19:51:07 -0800

I had more trepidation about Smith than either Tennant or Eccleston, but he did find himself quite readily about a third of the way in. I do like his weirdness, but I don't think he's the first actor to play the Doctor weird and alien, it's just his weird and alien. For instance, I really loved the Ninth Doctor's haunted desperation and urgency. You could sense how that worked with Rose, whether you wanted to lean toward the human romantic interpretation or something broader, because he was trying so hard to deal with the disaster of the Time War. It was a nice way for them to acknowledge the reboot. What I like most about Smith's portrayal is that he lets the Doctor be more than a bit of an ass. It's part of his being alien and not caring about piddling human-level concerns, to be sure, but it's really endearing in comparison to Tennant's constant winning-ness, which was part and parcel of the weaknesses of RTD (who on balance I like, but whose faults I readily acknowledge). This season, in episode 1 you get to see all 11 doctors, solidifying the line. There were, of course, things like John Smith's notebook in Human Nature. It's clear, though, that they were cautious about reintroducing the entirety of the canon all at once.

By: ZeusHumms

ZeusHumms — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 20:05:24 -0800

Also, if you want more Doctor, Dreamland, an animated episode is out in the wild and might actually be on youtube. I don't feel bad about mentioning this, as as far as I know, it isn't out on any DVDs. Actually, it was released on DVD last month.

By: seanyboy

seanyboy — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 07:02:41 -0800

By: PhoBWanKenobi

PhoBWanKenobi — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 07:49:11 -0800

I'm pretty happy for Americans to download and watch the stuff I paid for, but not so happy to pay the bandwidth for them to do it. Either pay for the iPlayer or use torrents. If you don't think that's fair, you're welcome to move to the UK, and spend $150 a year on your mandatory TV license. I find all this hemming and hawing over the iPlayer kind of weird. Sure, it kind of sucks that your government makes you pay for TV, whether you want it or not. But I've paid significantly more than $150/year to get a cable package that includes BBC America, specifically for the opportunity to watch Doctor Who months after you guys. I've also paid money to iTunes and Netflix for the privilege. At $10 a pop, we'd be paying more than your mandatory TV license to be able to watch the episodes online. It's not that we object to paying for content. It's that we want a fair--and realistic--price. This isn't.

By: seanyboy

seanyboy — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:47:20 -0800

In case my gripe made me sound mean... I'm all for a fair and reasonable price also. I'd be quite happy seeing people paying non UK peeps paying a dollar an hour (for example) to watch/download whatever they wanted. 1$ for Doctor Who and another 1$ for spooks with a final 50c to watch Eastenders. It doesn't suck that I have to pay for TV. I love my BBC, and IMHO it's fantastic value for money. What would suck is if I had to pay for you to watch TV. I think we're actually on the same page here.

By: seanyboy

seanyboy — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:48:32 -0800

oh for edit after posting facility. I meant... I'd be quite happy seeing non UK peeps paying a dollar an hour (for example) to watch/download whatever they wanted.

By: PhoBWanKenobi

PhoBWanKenobi — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:50:59 -0800

Yeah, sounds like it! It sounds like one of the proposed models for an international iPlayer would be ad-supported, which makes sense and would alleviate the burden British tax players might feel. Since ad-supported TV has worked fine over here for quite some time, I doubt you'd get much scoffing about it on this side of the pond.

By: seanyboy

seanyboy — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:55:48 -0800

I actually have a bit of a problem with it being ad-supported. Apart from the fact that it's just another nail to pop in the chamber of James Murdoch's anti-BBC nailgun, I quite like the idea of the Beeb having no adverts. For anybody. I want you to see my socialist broadcast network the same way I see it.

By: PhoBWanKenobi

PhoBWanKenobi — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 09:09:09 -0800

By: ZeusHumms

ZeusHumms — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 09:21:57 -0800

I agree with you in theory, but having watched ad-supported TV my entire life, I think it's actually a pretty nifty model for getting content to viewers without requiring the viewers actually pay. The not-paying part is pretty nice. In exchange though, we get shows that pander to the needs and desires of the advertisers. There's a time and place for that, but it's a slippery slope to start on. I'd rather pay explicitly.

By: w0mbat

w0mbat — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:04:40 -0800

The Tardis sound was made by scraping a door key on the strings of a piano. I've seen the piano.

By: Legomancer

Legomancer — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 12:07:59 -0800

Different strokes, I guess. I really felt let down by this season. I loved Matt Smith's Doctor, but Amy was a complete zero to me. Just...nothing there. I really didn't care about her relationships and honestly hoped Rory would get away from this girl, cause he could certainly do better. Also, the scripts just felt like drafts to me, with too little happening and none of it making a lot of sense. I've loved Moffat's contributions to the show in the earlier season, but this felt loopy and disjointed and oh god it's Buffy all over again, isn't it? Here are my more drawn out thoughts, if you care (spoilers): http://www.daveexmachina.com/wordpress/?p=4156#more-4156 http://www.daveexmachina.com/wordpress/?p=4435#more-4435