Heads up! Dr Who starts Saturday....

[her_welshness]

Frankly I spent most of that episode being bored. I appreciate the ideas (such as 'I Am Legend' esque-thing going on) but I am sick to death with bloody Daleks.

Great cast for next weeks episode 

[TimO]

I had my suspicions that something like that was going to happen, ...

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... but I just wondered if Soufflé girl was just going to turn out to be another one of the humanoid Daleks.

I quite liked her, someone who knew more of the answers than the Doctor, just for once.  They should have kept her around.  The Doctor having a Dalek companion could have made for some interesting storylines.  Is there any reason why his companions should always be humanoid? (K9 wasn't, although he possibly wasn't strictly speaking a companion).

There were some gaping holes in the story though.  Why did the Daleks think there would be a problem, if everything organic that hit the planet became Dalekoid.  Why did they decide that it was OK to destroy the Asylum, when previously they'd been squeamish about it (although I do like the idea of Daleks thinking hatred was beautiful!)  How come Amy miraculously reverted, and didn't continue to become a Dalek, after leaving the Asylum?  Presumably her body was still infested with the Nanobots.  For that matter, why didn't they then continue to destroy the Earth, when they returned, Nanobots are like that, they tend to become a big problem very fast, given enough energy and material (the old Grey Goo problem).

[Rig of Jarkness]

Isn't Soufflé girl the new companion ?

[bobb]

I reckon they go back for her. They wouldn't let her die...

[TimO]

Isn't Soufflé girl the new companion ?

Hmm, she does appear to be, having just done a quick Google on the New Companion.

I wonder how that's going to come about?  They've had companions (and similar) appearing on the show in the past, but have gotten around it with various trickery.

Eve Myles (Gwen in Torchwood) appeared as one of her ancestors in a much earlier Cardiff, and Freema Agyeman played Martha Jones cousin in an early Episode (based around Torchwood London funnily enough!)

I think plausibly bringing her back, is going to require a novel bit of writing.

[TimO]

I reckon they go back for her. They wouldn't let her die...

... but keep her as what?

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Will she appear as a Dalek companion (and whilst I think it's a good idea, it could be a bit radical for the show), but continuously going back to her humanoid internal alter-ego?  That may work, but would be a bugger sometimes for the storyline.

A Dalek companion would also be a bit difficult for the many stories which are based on the Earth, or somewhere very similar, where there aren't many Daleks around.  A Dalek is also a bit too powerful, being able to shoot it's way out of problems.  As a character, it could too easily escape from problems that are more of an issue for the more fragile humans that normally inhabit the episodes.  It's always difficult when you have someone or something too powerful in a programme, you have to artificially invent ways to limit the power.

Or will they somehow magically revert her back to human form?  In which case, arguably they ought to do that for all the other humans who had ended up being converted, like the ones in the Dalek Parliament that he left?

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

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There were some gaping holes in the story though.  Why did the Daleks think there would be a problem, if everything organic that hit the planet became Dalekoid. 

It wasn't

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that they thought it would be a problem, so much as you can't send people to a planet where they'll be turned into Daleks if you want them to facilitate the destruction of the Daleks where they are, because once they turn into Daleks, they're not going to carry on destroying the planet.

[TimO]

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There were some gaping holes in the story though.  Why did the Daleks think there would be a problem, if everything organic that hit the planet became Dalekoid. 

It wasn't

(click to show/hide)

that they thought it would be a problem, so much as you can't send people to a planet where they'll be turned into Daleks if you want them to facilitate the destruction of the Daleks where they are, because once they turn into Daleks, they're not going to carry on destroying the planet.

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That was why they gave The Doctor, Amy, and Rory the bands (but had useless, not very good elasticated straps on them), but doesn't explain why the crashed spacecraft was going to be a problem (or indeed how it got through the force field that you think would have stopped it), if all of the inhabitants just became Daleks, and presumably Daleks with the intent to make sure that no one escaped, otherwise they're a pretty useless adjunct to a jail system.

[TimO]

The trailer for Episode 2, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, is up now, although it looks very similar to the bit at the end of Episode 1.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/kWdKU752rK4&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/kWdKU752rK4&rel=1</a>

[Valiant]

If we're going to have dinosaurs on a spaceship, can we please have a guest appearance by Samuel L?

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/amYzBQMT4VI&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/amYzBQMT4VI&rel=1</a>

[a lower gear]

I reckon they go back for her. They wouldn't let her die...

... but keep her as what?

(click to show/hide)

Will she appear as a Dalek companion (and whilst I think it's a good idea, it could be a bit radical for the show), but continuously going back to her humanoid internal alter-ego?  That may work, but would be a bugger sometimes for the storyline.

A Dalek companion would also be a bit difficult for the many stories which are based on the Earth, or somewhere very similar, where there aren't many Daleks around.  A Dalek is also a bit too powerful, being able to shoot it's way out of problems.  As a character, it could too easily escape from problems that are more of an issue for the more fragile humans that normally inhabit the episodes.  It's always difficult when you have someone or something too powerful in a programme, you have to artificially invent ways to limit the power.

Or will they somehow magically revert her back to human form?  In which case, arguably they ought to do that for all the other humans who had ended up being converted, like the ones in the Dalek Parliament that he left?

My guess is that the Doctor will take the Tardis back to just after the crash of the 'Alaska' and extract her before she becomes infested with Dalek nanobots.

Genius level assistants (such as souffle girl seems to be) have always posed a scripting problem however  - the main role of assistants are to ask the Doctor clueless questions so he can explain to viewers whats going on / what he's going to do / why he's doing something (OH! and to scream a lot, and to give older male viewers something to oggle). As genius assistants don't need to ask clueless questions, the script has been problematic and hence they've  have been written out pretty fast in the past.

It'll be interesting to see what transpires this time. 

[mcshroom]

I reckon they go back for her. They wouldn't let her die...

... but keep her as what?

(click to show/hide)

Will she appear as a Dalek companion (and whilst I think it's a good idea, it could be a bit radical for the show), but continuously going back to her humanoid internal alter-ego?  That may work, but would be a bugger sometimes for the storyline.

A Dalek companion would also be a bit difficult for the many stories which are based on the Earth, or somewhere very similar, where there aren't many Daleks around.  A Dalek is also a bit too powerful, being able to shoot it's way out of problems.  As a character, it could too easily escape from problems that are more of an issue for the more fragile humans that normally inhabit the episodes.  It's always difficult when you have someone or something too powerful in a programme, you have to artificially invent ways to limit the power.

Or will they somehow magically revert her back to human form?  In which case, arguably they ought to do that for all the other humans who had ended up being converted, like the ones in the Dalek Parliament that he left?

My guess is that the Doctor will take the Tardis back to just after the crash of the 'Alaska' and extract her before she becomes infested with Dalek nanobots.

Genius level assistants (such as souffle girl seems to be) have always posed a scripting problem however  - the main role of assistants are to ask the Doctor clueless questions so he can explain to viewers whats going on / what he's going to do / why he's doing something (OH! and to scream a lot, and to give older male viewers something to oggle). As genius assistants don't need to ask clueless questions, the script has been problematic and hence they've  have been written out pretty fast in the past.

It'll be interesting to see what transpires this time. 

That's what they keep Rory for isn't it (except for the oggling bit). It wouldn't be the first time they've written someone out after one episode though.

Oh and TimO. I think, having just watched the Pond Life videos and the first episode back to back, the PL videos might actually run 2,3,4,5,1

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

My guess is that the Doctor will take the Tardis back to just after the crash of the 'Alaska' and extract her before she becomes infested with Dalek nanobots.

I think we should all remember that timey-wimey is all wibbly-wobbly and therefore things might not be as they seem.

Besides, if he does that, then she's not there to help him when the Daleks fire him at the planet, so he and Amy and Rory all die in the asylum.

[Dibdib]

I have heard gossip elsewhere, on somewhat tenuous grounds, but food for thought that:

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The next assistant is The Doctor's daughter. Which would explain the genius thing, I guess.

[TimO]

Well, she'd need some serious plastic surgery along the way (although I guess a regeneration could solve that problem).

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... but didn't she say that she'd crashed after her first trip into space?  If she was the Dr's Daughter, that wouldn't have been the case.  For that matter, wouldn't she know who the Dr was, or was his name not mentioned in her hearing?  If she was his "daughter", then a whole load of what she's said and/or done wouldn't really seem that consistent.

[citoyen]

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The Dalek conversion would have thing wiped her memory, so that could account for her not knowing who the Doctor was...

But, tbh, I find it doesn't pay to go looking too closely for plot holes because it only tends to spoil your enjoyment of it. I thought it was a cracking story and bits of it made me smile with glee, eg the Doctor adjusting his bow tie as Rory and Amy repair their marriage. And using the Dalek's self-destruct mechanism as a weapon against it was very neat. I also like the idea of the war veteran Daleks with PTSD.

I thought the twist was pretty obvious early on but it was nicely done. And she seems like a really strong character. I'm not that fussed about the details of how they manage to rescue her, or how they reverse the conversion process for her and Amy - I'm sure it will be something highly improbable, but hey, this is Doctor Who we're talking about and it was ever thus - if this were the Jon Pertwee era, they would just reverse the polarity.

d.

[mattc]

But, tbh, I find it doesn't pay to go looking too closely for plot holes because it only tends to spoil your enjoyment of it. I thought it was a cracking story and bits of it made me smile with glee
...

Amen! It's Dr Who (a kids programme with robot dogs and time travel), not flippin John Le Carré!

[TimO]

Heah, some of the fun is in picking the plot holes to pieces!  If we just sat here and said how great it all was, the thread wouldn't have hit 103 pages!

[tiermat]

Fantastic line from the trailer for next week....

"Dinosaurs.....On a spaceship!"

Surely every young boy's dream Doctor Who episode tv program?

[TimO]

Fantastic line from the trailer for next week....

"Dinosaurs.....On a spaceship!" ...

It's not just a line, it's the episode's title!

[TimO]

Interesting, there's another prequel to the first Episode, that only seems to have been shown in the US, not over this side of the pond for some reason.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q1r2dQkB1fY&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/Q1r2dQkB1fY&rel=1</a>

[citoyen]

Heah, some of the fun is in picking the plot holes to pieces!  If we just sat here and said how great it all was, the thread wouldn't have hit 103 pages!

Fair point! I just like letting myself get swept along by it though.

And I thought it was a really strong episode overall. I'm very pleased there's going to be no big story arc over this series - they've got a bit bogged down over the last few series with trying to make it bigger and better and even more cataclysmic. They need to get away from that and...

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...making the Daleks forget they ever knew the Doctor is a good start.

d.

[TimO]

The Wikipedia entry for "Asylum of the Daleks" says:

... Whether Coleman's later character is the same as Oswin has yet to be confirmed. ...

But people have also pointed out that Moffat had denied that Jenna-Louise Coleman would appear before the Christmas Special, so Moffat, like the Doctor, lies.

It would seem difficult to bring her in as a companion, but ignore her earlier appearance altogether.  Some have suggested that she could either appear as an ancestor of Souffle Girl, or possibly could appear from earlier in her own time line (albeit that then requires her to have forgotten about this somehow, before appearing on the Asylum Planet).

It'll be interesting to see what they do.  I suspect they'll be a bit more imaginative than any of those suggestions, both of which seem a little predictable.

Apparently there were around 25 different types of Dalek in that episode, being extracted from pretty much every previous appearance that they had made over all the preceding series!

[TimO]

Only three and a half minutes long, but worth watching.

BBC Doctor Who website: Life Cycle of a Dalek

... if you want to experience what a Dalek is like, sit on an office chair and put a dustbin on your head for six hours, and then you've pretty much got it ... and obviously once you've been in there for hours and hours on end, the natural character of hating all of humanity just comes really naturally to you ...

[tiermat]

It would seem difficult to bring her in as a companion, but ignore her earlier appearance altogether.  Some have suggested that she could either appear as an ancestor of Souffle Girl, or possibly could appear from earlier in her own time line (albeit that then requires her to have forgotten about this somehow, before appearing on the Asylum Planet).

I can see that being easy to script.  In this episode the Doctor says the first thing that goes with the nanobots is the memory of love, and love itself....