S10.E08: The Lie Of The Land

[LoneHaranguer]

8 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

Sure the Doctor takes on companions but after a few short years (which probably seem like little more than weeks to him given his life span) they leave and they will always die long before him.

If that were an issue for him, you'd think he'd show more interest in taking on a non-human companion.

[tv-talk]

So at the risk of repeating themes from a bunch of posts I havent read...I'm going to say that I like this season quite a bit even tho in many way it's awful. Does that make sense? This past episode is epitome of that, so much wrong with entire concept of the Monks and on top of that they weren't explained at all. For whatever reason they happened to show up in a Pyramid and need to be worshipped. Yawn. Oh wait, was there actually a connection to Anicent Egypt?? DOUBLE YAWN. Just a lame villain and a lame story that per usual had to be 'greatest threat ever to earth' and in a way supersede everything that came before ie what was a simulation and what wasnt stretching all the way back? Were the Cyebrmen (for instance) real or just a portion of the simulation so Monks could figure us out??? DUMB and in keeping with the "right this second is greater than anything that's ever happened previously in history of the show" theme that plagues DW.

 

HOWEVER...No Clara! That's all it really takes to lift DW back to watchable and enjoyable enough. The interplay between Bill and the Doctor coupled with doses of Nardole is what carries the show. Clara was just so wholly awful and the way she was written terrible, her dynamic with the Doctor just pure crap, at least now we can get back to 'mediocre' and go from there. I find Bill fairly great, the 1st episdoe where she explained she had "fatted" the girl she was interested in I knew I'd like her overall. Is it that she simply isnt Clara? I dont know but it's really, REALLY refreshing to have solid dynamics between the Doctor and his TWO companions. Saved the series imo, even if stories have lacked in a way. 

I dont know where they go from here but at least I want to watch again, that alone is big step in right direction.

Edited June 9, 2017 by tv-talk

[ganesh]

Outside of the three parter, I've found the season to be fun and entertaining. 

[call me ishmael]

1 minute ago, ganesh said:

Outside of the three parter, I've found the season to be fun and entertaining. 

I agree.  Part of the reason the 3 parter was so disappointing was that the season had started strongly.

[Llywela]

5 hours ago, tv-talk said:

Were the Cyebrmen (for instance) real or just a portion of the simulation so Monks could figure us out??? DUMB and in keeping with the "right this second is greater than anything that's ever happened previously in history of the show" theme that plagues DW.

Do you mean the Cybermen in the Doctor's voiceover montage at the beginning of the episode? That was part of the fake history the Monks had implanted in everyone's heads to make them believe they'd always ruled Earth as benevolent 'protectors'.

[KirkB]

I'm fine with the bad guys motivation making no sense, or even with them seemingly not having any, if they are one shot and done enemies. They appear in an episode, do some not so nice things, and are promptly dispatched by the Doctor/companion/random passerby/whatever at the end, never to be seen or heard from again. "We designed them to look cool" is fine for that. But here the problem is, IMO, the monks weren't that unique, cool or interesting, and we were forced to watch their exploits for three whole episodes, at the end of which we don't know any more than when we started. Yes, they seem to be one shot bad guys (though it's always possible we'll see them again) but there is a difference between a literal one shot (ie episode) and stretched out over three hours slog. I don't need to know the thought or intention behind their every action, but even a line from the Doctor saying "Oh by the way, it turns out they really love our jammy dodgers, best food in the universe" to explain their presence here would have been...well, not satisfying, but at least it would sort of qualify as an explanation for why they monks were here in the first place, if not why they did what they did. I might even accept "They were just bored", since once people started fighting back it wasn't as much fun anymore could explain why they just up and left.

Edited June 9, 2017 by KirkB

[jhlipton]

On 6/4/2017 at 2:49 AM, Llywela said:

Speaking of which, at the end when she was supposedly crying over all the people she's killed (and the Master once accidentally wiped out about a third of the universe, so, you know, she's been responsible for a hell of a lot of death), she said to the Doctor, "You never told me about this part," as if this is something he's been through himself, which - no, the Doctor has never been 'bad' and then turned good, and has never been a murderer, so no, this is not something he's been through and therefore is something he has no experience of, therefore obviously he couldn't have told her what to expect about the process of 'turning good',

On 6/4/2017 at 1:11 PM, ganesh said:

you have a great story like Pompeii where the Doctor has to set off the volcano. 

The Doctor isn't a murderer, but this Pompeii line shows that he has allowed people to die, for the greater good.  Some times the actions of the Good Guys cause death and destruction to innocent people (see the conversation in Clerks about plumbers and electricians on the Death Star).  The difference is that the good guys do think about the death they've caused -- thy go through the "hard part".  That's the way I read her comment.

 

On 6/5/2017 at 5:36 AM, FiveByFive said:

my favorite Bill line: "Why do you have a woman locked in a vault? Because even I think that’s weird – and I’ve been attacked by a puddle.”  True Bill, very true! 

If I hadn't already loved Bill,this would have done it!

[catrox14]

Okay, is it me or did I hear the opening notes from 'Sherlock' being played by Missy, when they first went to see her? 

[marketdoctor]

It’s not just you—I just rewatched it.  She also played “The Entertainer”, which was the theme from “The Sting”, so it could be two Easter Eggs there.  What’s more, she refers to the Doctor as “estoy caliente”, which, when applied to a person, means “hot” in the erotic sense—which was a nice in-joke.  (Or I heard it wrong.)

Missy also said “awk-ward” in the same sing-song voice that Moriarity used on Sherlock, so there’s all kinds of awesome (and the burning an entire city to the ground line was cold, but awesome as well.)

Just give Missy an acting award before she has to steal one.

[catrox14]

Just now, marketdoctor said:

She also played “The Entertainer”, which was the theme from “The Sting”, so it could be two Easter Eggs there. 

I recognized the Entertainer, but what is the Easter Egg WRT to it? or just that it was The Entertainer?

[marketdoctor]

The 

Easter egg was that The Sting was about a con job, so she was signaling (The Doctor, us, herself?) that she was doing a long con.  (Or it's a red herring, but I doubt it.)

[LilJen]

On 6/3/2017 at 9:14 PM, Avon.Blakes7 said:

Just watching it now and questioned my sanity; "where have I seen this plot before?" Instantly thought of the Silence and how they were supposedly "here all the time!" ;-( 

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I love how The Doctor's chewing out Bill; probably won't last and will apologize later! OMG, shot! Part of a master plan I guess! Like Bill would shoot ANYONE for real!

That's exactly what I said a few minutes into the episode. Monks = Silence.

On 6/4/2017 at 3:03 AM, AmyVS said:

I liked it as I was watching it, but now I'm thinking... yet another episode where the solution is thinking about love REALLY HARD.

Yep. Or about Doctor Who. Either way, the world is saved.

[John Potts]

On ‎04‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 8:03 AM, AmyVS said:

yet another episode where the solution is thinking about love REALLY HARD.

 

16 hours ago, LilJen said:

Or about Doctor Who

It does strike me that for a show that (generally) opposes the idea of there being an all powerful entities (ie. God(s)), they really do love to write stories that emphasize that if you are prepared to sacrifice yourself (and possibly the world!) for the Doctor, you'll be saved.