# Doctor Who Series 9 discussion (spoilers as it airs) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 19, 2015, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754 "2015-09-19T11:40:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/1 "2015-09-19T11:40:59Z")
Obviously, I mean the revival is in its ninth season, not the entire show. Anyway, it premiere’s tonight with the episode The Magician’s Apprentice. I re-watched most of last series on Netflix and I really have come to appreciate what Peter Capaldi has done with the character. I can’t wait for some new episodes. The summer tv drought, at least for my wife and me, ends tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/2 "2015-09-19T21:00:46Z")
So it’s a stab at Genesis of the Daleks for the 21st Century? Cool. There’s a cultural reference that will probably be lost on any non-Brit under the age of about 40 or so. Here’s a clue: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QAPjRWGhLeM/hqdefault.jpg "BBC TV Play School") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAPjRWGhLeM) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/3 "2015-09-20T01:17:54Z")
Well, definitely a half-episode. I wish they had aired both parts tonight. It was good, but nothing amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Memnon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Memnon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Memnon)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/4 "2015-09-20T01:21:20Z")
I really liked it, and I hope part 2 is equally good. Also, is it me, or have the production values gone up quite a bit this season? The sets and special effects look much better than they did last year. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/5 "2015-09-20T01:36:36Z")
> [@Tithonus](#): > > Also, is it me, or have the production values gone up quite a bit this season? The sets and special effects look much better than they did last year. I think the effects and sets look about the same. Good, though. Nothing too bad. Only the cgi snake was overly fakey, but I don’t mind effects on TV shows. I know their budget is limited. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/6 "2015-09-20T02:08:36Z")
I was wondering when we’ll see Arya stark. …and who she is really. The Rani? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/7 "2015-09-20T02:17:26Z")
I wonder if they have finally decided to go full Kenny. Just cut out the filler and have the Doctor kill all the Daleks forever in every episode. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/8 "2015-09-20T02:59:58Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > So it’s a stab at Genesis of the Daleks for the 21st Century? Cool. > > There’s a cultural reference that will probably be lost on any non-Brit under the age of about 40 or so. Here’s a clue: > > [https://youtu.be/QAPjRWGhLeM?t=2m54s](https://youtu.be/QAPjRWGhLeM?t=2m54s) I’m so glad I grew up on Wonderama. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/9 "2015-09-20T03:47:18Z")
Is it really true that all episodes this season are two-parters? If so, how odd for the modern revival. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/10 "2015-09-20T04:13:46Z")
Does anybody else think it’d be great if, whenever Clara exits the series, Missy became the regular “companion” character for the Doctor? How cool would it be for the two old Time Lords mates to go gallivanting around the universe together - one trying to save everyone and everything he encounters, the other randomly dispensing chaotic evil destruction in between dainty sips of tea? ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/11 "2015-09-20T05:15:30Z")
I thought this episode was excellent and I have hope that the following episodes will be at least as good. One technical question. Was this episode shot on video, or film sped up to double speed like “The Hobbit” was? ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/12 "2015-09-20T05:22:38Z")
I like the way you think, **Don Draper**! The kid who played young Davros, did anyone else notice the similarity in appearance to Maisie Williams? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/13 "2015-09-20T08:39:13Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > I was wondering when we’ll see Arya stark She appears in episodes 5 and 6. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/14 "2015-09-20T08:59:13Z")
It was OK, the first 20 minutes could have been dispensed with, and as always with Moffat you’re left with the feeling that the same story could have been told much more simply without the noise and clutter: what was the point of snake-dude other than to do Sith impressions? And the tank and guitar stuff? Sorry, that’s bad fan-fiction. The idea that an older and bitterer Doctor than the one in Genesis of the Daleks abandoned Young Davros and thus contributed to his fear and hatred, which resulted in the creation of the Daleks was an interesting one, but falls apart under any examination: what was the Doctor doing on Skaro then anyway, that he should just happen across the one person whose destiny he could so critically shape? Did he not know where he was? And when Davros first met the Fourth Doctor, why did he not recognise him as the Tardis piloting sonic screwdriver tossing Time Lord who had failed to save him? The guy’s a genius, surely he should have twigged as soon as he learnt that the guy who he’d captured was a Time Lord. And with the Daleks from various eras hanging out and partying, it seems the NuDaleks have been erased from the time stream. Nice to see the [Special Weapons Dalek](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/PSD4RFEzRWs/hqdefault.jpg) was invited, though. On the plus side, I like the chemistry between Missy and the Doctor; it’s a real call-back to the Jon Pertwee/Roger Delgado dynamic. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/15 "2015-09-20T09:13:20Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > One technical question. Was this episode shot on video, or film sped up to double speed like “The Hobbit” was? It’s shot on HD video. _The Hobbit_ wasn’t shot on film, they used 5K video at 48fps. Were you watching on BBC America? Apparently they broadcast the episode at higher than normal speed to fit in ads. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/16 "2015-09-20T09:16:58Z")
And sorry, Moffatt, but you’ve gone to the Doctor Faces His End And Puts His Affairs In Order and The Tardis Has Been Destroyed well too many times, not to mention the one labelled Companion X Has Totally Been Killed OK. It doesn’t have any dramatic weight when we know it’s all going to be resolved and reset at the end of next week: you want the narrative heft of killing characters without carrying the dramatic weight of actually making the deaths stick, and it’s just cheap and lazy writing. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/17 "2015-09-20T10:18:09Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > It’s shot on HD video. _The Hobbit_ wasn’t shot on film, they used 5K video at 48fps. > > Were you watching on BBC America? Apparently they broadcast the episode at higher than normal speed to fit in ads. I wish people wouldn’t nitpick. I just mentioned film and video because I thought it would work better in conversation than saying 24fps, 25fps, and 48fps And anyway, yes, I saw it on BBC America and from time to time I could tell it was faster than 24fps. It kind of made the episode look strange at times, but I guess it’s better than cutting out content to make room for commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/18 "2015-09-20T10:20:36Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > And sorry, Moffatt, but you’ve gone to the Doctor Faces His End And Puts His Affairs In Order and The Tardis Has Been Destroyed well too many times, not to mention the one labelled Companion X Has Totally Been Killed OK. It doesn’t have any dramatic weight when we know it’s all going to be resolved and reset at the end of next week: you want the narrative heft of killing characters without carrying the dramatic weight of actually making the deaths stick, and it’s just cheap and lazy writing. Funny, I totally agree with this, and yet I liked the episode anyway. I do think it’s funny though how they flip-flop between the TARDIS being indestructible in some episodes, and not in others. In past episodes they mentioned a force field, so I guess it’s not always turned on. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/19 "2015-09-20T11:09:36Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > I wish people wouldn’t nitpick. I just mentioned film and video because I thought it would work better in conversation than saying 24fps, 25fps, and 48fps > > And anyway, yes, I saw it on BBC America and from time to time I could tell it was faster than 24fps. > > It kind of made the episode look strange at times, but I guess it’s better than cutting out content to make room for commercials. You specifically said you were asking a technical question. Technically, there is a difference between film and video, and this seemed to be the question you were asking. I don’t see how answering that question could be seen as nitpicking. Especially since I also answered the question you wanted an answer to but didn’t ask. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754/20 "2015-09-20T11:35:51Z")
I thought the opening was one of the best ever on TV What’s your name? Davros…! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-series-9-discussion-spoilers-as-it-airs/731754.md?page=2)