tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post3240751263404673889..comments2024-03-13T06:23:10.057-04:00Comments on Of Dice and Pen: Doctor Who - The Bells of Saint JohnMichael Ray Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15651916698207855060noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post-73931820019563935442013-04-30T14:41:58.535-04:002013-04-30T14:41:58.535-04:00The problem for me is that there are too many epis...The problem for me is that there are too many episodes where the Doctor isn't all that apalled by horrendous suffering going on around him.<br /><br />For example the season 5 Christmas special, where he doesn't even bat an eyelid at the atrocity of the frozen people in Kazran's vault.<br /><br />Same about Amy. She was not that affected by horrible stuff happening to people around her, and even her own baby daughter either.<br /><br />That makes the show rather cold and unappealing for me, because why should I watch such an assembly of at their core cynical characters?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post-39130408379153117572013-04-03T08:10:10.861-04:002013-04-03T08:10:10.861-04:00Yeah, you have some good points there. In the case...Yeah, you have some good points there. In the case of the two Doctors, I simply assumed it was a case of they noticed one leaving the shop and focused on that one. Although there are cameras everywhere, they actually had to check different cameras individually and so once they were following what they thought was the Doctor, they never bothered to check back at the cafe since they didn't think they needed to.<br /><br />As for your final point, yes, I've noticed that. I actually intended to discuss it in this review and somehow managed to forget. The Doctor does initially seem only interested in saving Clara, only demanding that Miss Kizlet download her. When Miss Kizlet tells him that she can't be downloaded without downloading everyone, then he decides to save everyone. While it's probably just down to his method of delivery (after all, the Doctor does tend to put extra emphasis on his companions' safety and he is trying to figure out what's going on before Clara is caught), it does make the Doctor seem less interested in the welfare of others.Michael Ray Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15651916698207855060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7735644144263744003.post-48690727008146826212013-04-03T01:37:31.647-04:002013-04-03T01:37:31.647-04:00Hey there!
great review, and you made some very g...Hey there!<br /><br />great review, and you made some very good points. I have a couple of notes that I'd like to add:<br /><br />1)First is about the pacing - you mentioned how slowley the head of the wifi robots turn, and how people would just go around staring instead of reacting in some more logical way. While you are right saying this is annoying, it's actualy a problem that's always been with Doctor Who - like the Daleks never shooting and all around slow, not very menacing villains. So nothing new here.<br /><br />2)You were happy that The Doctor got to defeat his villains in a smart way that used their own weapons against them. The only problem with that is that the way he tricked the villains makes no sense. He is revelead to still be sitting in the rooftop cafee and having a drink, while his robot was the one heading towards the "shard". One might wonder how all of a sudden the villains were incapable of seeing the real doctor, given that they were established to have cameras everywhere and they managed to very quickly find him a few times before - he was literally sitting in a place where we already had a scene with the villains approaching him there. How did they NOT notice the two doctors?<br /><br />There is a thing that really bothers me about this episode, though, and it's a theme in Moffat's writing that I don't care about. Did you notice that The Doctor didn't seem to care *why* people were being trapped inside the internet? sure enough he managed to stop the people reponsible for that, but once he saved his girl, he lost all interest in the subject and just wondered off. That is very much not the way I'd expect the Doctor to behave, especially after in several stories in previous seasons (like "The Sauntaren Strategem", "Dalkes Take Manhatten" and others) where the Doctor notices the bad guys are acting in an unusual way, and his attempts to find out what the motivations are for the villain often lead to his ultimate victory over them. Did the Doctor just assume the threat was neutralized? much worse, did he just not care why people were "killing" their fellow human beings in such an obviously cruel and random fashion? There was a time when Doctor Who was a show about a wonderful man who would try to understand anyone, and would always give you a second chance because he can understand where you (or anyone) come from. Now it's about a man obssesing about a girl who defeats bad guys because they are BAD and they wanted to hurt his girl. Etay Livnenoreply@blogger.com