Well now. That was a pretty good introduction to the new companion, Martha Jones. Suitably epic and energetic, and maintaining the usual frenetic pace and fantastical elements.
She seems like she’ll be a good match to David Tennant, and will fit in rather well.
This episode had a few good elements in it, though I wish the Judoon didn’t look so much like Sontarans, without actually being connected with Sontarans. I did like their mostly benign role of law enforcers, outside of looking menacing and threatening. Just like Police should be.
I think this will be a fine series. I look forward to it.
Isn’t the US SciFi channel going to start televising the new season next year, as they’ve done in the past?
I’ll look forward to seeing this one tomorrow – thanks for the heads up GuanoLad that the new season has begun. Wasn’t quite sure when it would happen.
There’s always a certain amount of exposition when a new companion is introduced. She needs to realize that the Doctor actually is who he claims to be. Taking a whole hospital and putting it on the Moon worked really well. After living through that, most people would be able to believe any amount of impossible things.
I’m not sure how I feel about Martha yet, but Tennant as the Doctor has certainly grown on me (though I still prefer Eccleston). The writing is sharper now than it was when Russ Davis brought it back, they’ve learned from their mistakes.
Unfortunately I live in a Doctorless country. Apparently many years ago there were half-assed attempts to show some seasons on the lesser cable channels but by and large Doctor Who just doesn’t exist here. I had been vaguely aware of the series for a while but a few months ago I saw my first episode and loved it immediately. Doctor Who definitely became my favorite sci-fi franchise.
I had been looking forward to the new season and it didn’t disappoint me. So far Martha looks like a great character. She is different enough from Rose to allow a different and interesting relationship. I liked the tenth Doctor from the beginning but of course the fact that he was my first Doctor helped a bit.
I wish you hadn’t mentioned the dreaded phrase “tenth doctor” because, going on past form, this thread will now degenerate into a pointless debate about how many Doctors there have been, and how many there can be.
I will say only that I too live in Atlanta and I watched it today and thoroughly enjoyed it. Also for the Atlanta folks Doctor Who is going to be on WPBA on Sunday nights at 7 although I know neither when they will begin nor if they will be new or classic.
Thanks, GuanoLad! I wasn’t sure if there was enough interest to start a thread, so I’m glad you did.
I’d been waiting excitedly for three months for this series, and I have to say, it was worth it. The last two series started off relatively weak compared to later eps of each, but this one seems to starting strong. (We’ll see next week. I always get nervous about historical-figure-of-the-week episodes, but they’ve been among the best eps lately.)
Having Doctor Who, Torchwood, and even the nascent Sarah Jane Adventures all on hiatus at the same time has left a big hole in my life. Thank God this series started at the same time Battlestar Galactica finished!
The best line in the episode was towards the end: Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden . . . except for cheap tricks.
I liked Martha’s reaction to being on the moon. A nice contrast to the bride at Christmas. I also liked the fact that they got the whole sexual tension thing out of the way right from the start. She isn’t replacing Rose, which is what I was worried about.
I whole “slab” thing made me notice something. Between the slabs being solid leather, the “hydroscoop” the Judoon used, the “blood control” a year ago, and the Autons in the pilot, they’ve really embraced the idea that sufficiently advanced (and alien) technology is indistinguishable from magic. I’m not sure I like this. It is better than the Star Trek reliance on pure technobabble, but I do wish they’d at least try to make things plausibly scientific some of the time.
Anyone else dying to see how they tie things in with Torchwood at the end?
I can’t find anything concrete, but the general idea I got from the web is that it will be like last season. We got to see it mere months later, in the Fall, not having to wait a whole year.
If I can find a definite answer, I will post a new thread to alert all the USA Whovians. Unless someone beats me to it.
ETA: Don’t know what they’re going to do about that Christmas episode, tho.
Saw the new episode this morning, and surprisingly (considering how much I love Rose and was completely heartbroken at how she left) I enjoyed it immensely and actually like Martha. As long as they don’t try to develop another romantic relationship between she and the Doctor. I like that he cared enough about Rose to mourn the loss of her for a bit, even if he is a great big giant flirt most of the time. It was refreshing to see him spurning the new girl’s advances.
I like that the new girl questions things a great deal, reminds me of myself it does. Paraphrasing: “What do you mean, ‘the Doctor’. What’s your name? People can’t just call you ‘the Doctor’!”
Really well done, lots of funny moments (the Doctor ejecting the radiation through his shoes, and pretending to be a normal human to fool the Plasma-sucker lady - am I the only one who kept thinking they were calling her a “Plasma-whore”? ).
And for my fellow Americans who are jonesing to see the new episode, I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this, but there are certain sites out there that do make the new episodes available for viewing online. I’m just sayin’.
Can’t wait for next week! Unfortunately, I was not able to view the preview for the upcoming week’s episode, can someone spoil it for me (in a spoiler box, of course)?
Degenerate : Verb. to become worse or lower in standard : to lose good qualities.
I was using the correct word . I was referring to what happens on this board when most Dr. Who threads turn into pointless discussions about how many Doctors there have been.
I think it was a solid effort. It didn’t blow me away but it’s exactly what we’ve come to expect from the new Dr. Who.
So far the new companion is likable, though it has occurred to me that one of the changes from old to new undermines the companions a bit. In the old series since the Doctor didn’t control where the TARDIS went there was a ready made excuse for people to stick with him. They needed to be with the Doctor until they got someplace where they felt they could safely hop off the merry-go-round. Now the companion has to have a certain attitude to be willing to stick it out since there’s no reason the Doctor couldn’t just drop them off any time they feel like it.
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