...NEW DR WHO TOINIGHT, EPISODE 13, THE PARTING OF THE WAYS. 18/6/05...

[wrighty47]

As with the rest of the series, I thought it was marvellous entertainment. Oh, I could pick spots off it if I wanted to but I can't be bothered witheven the most obvious ones.

I loved that vertually no one got who Bad Wolf actually was, and even if it wa a little contrived, it had us all deliberating for weeks.

The ending was a little "where did that come from?" but hey, it's Doctor Who not some super pseudo interlectual sci-fi piece that requires a phd to follow the plot.

Brilliant entertainment for Saturday evenings and i'm gonna bloody kiss it for the next few months.

Too early to comment about David Tennent, but I do feel he's gonna have very big shoes to fill. Mind you, I hated when Jon Pertwee was "regenerated" back in 1974, and look how that turned out!  :)

Alan!

[The Amstor Computer]

Pretty much.

Screen-grabs of the Dalek Emperor, the regeneration and the kiss between the Doctor and Rose, plus - IIRC - a lot of hints as to what "Bad Wolf" really was. If you'd been reading the tabloids - and to a lesser extent, the broadsheets - through the week, you'd have had the whole damn episode knackered by the time Friday rolled around.

I knew CE was likely to die in this episode, and I suspected it *might* be the Dalek Emperor returning, but if I'd known that in advance it would have really spoilt the experience for me.

This has been the one thing on TV that I can sit down at every week and not know quite what to expect, and that I can come away from feeling that I've shared the whole thing with millions of other people. Knowing what happened in advance would ruin that special part of the show, and I hope that the BBC can keep a tighter lid on what the papers know next time around...

[Bolt-01]

Just watched the last two eps, and loved it. Total entertainment. I thought Rose was going to arrive too late and that She would emerge from the TARDIS to find the Doctor the only living thing in the area.

Still enjoyed what they did though :)

Bolt-01

[McNulty]

I very much enjoyed this series and I loved this conclusion. This entire series has been more closely interlinked than previous ones, with the possible exception of "The Trial of the Time Lord" back in the days of Colin Baker. I had my doubts over Christopher Eccleston with his leather jacket, but he really showed himself to be a worthy doctor. I suppose every one of them brings something to the role.
I am eager to see the next series...

[The Amstor Computer]

Grr. I've just read that Mediawatch are lodging a complaint with the Beeb over the kiss between the Doctor and Jack.

Twats.

[Artificial Idiot]

It had to happen though, didn't it? I mean, somebody was about to complain about it...

Just watched part of it again. I liked Tennant at the end, if that's anything to go by he should be quite good...

[The Amstor Computer]

I just think it's such a shame that a show with - IMO - such a positive message (and this episode in particular) becomes a target for people like Mediawatch because of a platonic kiss.

"I WILL BE THE EMPEROR...GET FLIDOR GOLD, QUARTZ AND ARKELLIS FLOWER SAP...I MUST HAVE A SPECIAL CASING."

[paulvonscott]

Well, it just shows Mediawatch for what they are. I think they'll find very little sympathy in general beyond Gary Bushell, and others who would like to exterminate all gays.

Just found out my old amstrad twin deck video didn't record Dr Who, and so... tomorrow, when I'm sobre, it's going in the fucking wheely bin.  I'd try it now, but I'm afraid of Autons.

[paulvonscott]

Looking up media watch, I was confused to see that they seemed quite sensible, that's because I was actually looking at mediamediawatch, the people who watch mediawatch.

Mediawatch are obviously mentallists of the most devoted kind.

Link: http://www.mediawatchwatch.org.uk/index.php" target="_blank">They watch the weirdos

[Richmond Clements]

That was bloody great!

The best bit: watching Casualty, and my son commenting that it'd be great if a Dalek arrived in the hospital and exterminated everyone.


And as for Bad Wolf: maybe I picked it up wrong, but I got the impression that it was the TARDIS that was doing it?

[The Amstor Computer]

I think you picked it up slightly wrong, Rac. Here's my reading of it:

After being sent back to her home by the Doctor, Rose notices the words "Bad Wolf" scrawled all about her. She realises that if the words are appearing here, and in the future and everywhere she and the Doctor have been, they *must* be some kind of message to her.

She redoubles her efforts to force her way into the Heart of the TARDIS so she can try and make it return her to the Doctor aboard the GameStation. She eventually manages to open the panel, and gazes into the Heart. The TARDIS dematerialises, returning to the GameStation.

By this time whatever is in the Heart - called the Time Vortex here, IIRC - is running through Rose, giving her almost godlike powers. As she emerges from the TARDIS she sees the Badwolf Corporation logo and finally realises what "Bad Wolf" means:

It's a message from her self at *this point in time* to her earlier self, convincing her to return to this point with the power from the TARDIS so she can save the Doctor and destroy the Dalek fleet. To close the loop, she must now send a message back through time that will appear wherever she goes and at that crucial moment earlier in this episode. Latching on to the first pair of words she sees - "Badwolf" - she uses the power of the TARDIS to cast this message across time and space.

So, we've got a classic paradox - without having seen the message, Rose wouldn't have known to keep trying to force the TARDIS to return to the Doctor, but without having returned to him, she would never have been in a position to send the message in the first place - and a rather neat resolution of "Bad Wolf".

[Endjinn]

Well I loved every minute.

Looking forward, I think Tennant's going to be mighty. He can do the madness, and if his (albeit minor) role in the new Quartermain is anything to go by, he can do the dark stuff too.

Roll on Xmas.

[Wils]

Just finished watching it and my views follow general consensus as well. I particularly liked the regeneration sequence, and Tennant's opening lines were suitably quirky.

(btw, Endjinn; *was* that you I spotted at the Fantomas gig tonight?)

[Mangamax]

Can't really add to what a friend thinks:

"Oh how I was looking forward to this episode. Last weeks was great,
and all week I've been waiting with baited breath to see what
happens only to feel like a 1940's child who waited all week to see
how Flash Gordon escaped from the horrible mop monster of Mars only
to find on seeing the recap that he never even met it in the first
place.

what a crock of badly paced, piss poorly written shite.


Let's for old times sake list what was wrong with the episode shall
we?

The paceing.  It was soooooo slow. Endless cut a ways to Rose and
her thick ass family when everyone wants some Dalek action.

The plot. Was there one?

The ending: What was that? It was the Dr Who equivilent of
saying 'the wizard did it' to cover up the huge plot holes. Having a
character become godlike to resolve the problems then convieniently
losing the powers is so old it's pathetic. Does Russell T actually
watch tv and films? Is his role model George Lucas?

And now some general nit picks.

A big fuss is made of Mickey needing a bigger vehicle to open up the
Tardis. Erm Hello????? It was the bleeding chain that snapped not
the mini giving out? A bigger truck should have made no bloody
difference as they used the same piss arse chain? Perhaps the wizard
did it?

Why did Rose make the whole Bad Wolf thing so criptic? Why not just
leave a note on the fridge? It's like trying to remind yourself to
fill the car up with petrol by having the cat leave alternately
coloured lego bricks around the house.

Why spend a whole episode making the 'plot device' machine only to
not use it or even make a big fuss of it? What was the point? To
keep the Doctor out of the action? Why do it? It makes no sense?

The Doctor couldn't use the weapon because it would destroy earth
too. Erm... didn't they just say the population had been almost
wiped out by the dalek's continent moving weapons? And why would the
Daleks destroy the population when two seconds earlier they were
planning to use them to make more daleks?

What exactly was the point of the tv shows plot from last week? The
daleks wanted to keep the population subdued for invasion? But then
wipe out the planet instead?

Rose becomes Buffy. Why? What a shite idea. Poor writing at it's
worst. Perhaps the wizard did it?

The regeneration. It looks more like poor Chris had had a dodgy
curry. Why does he think gurning is a good way of getting over
emotion? Wouldn't it have been better to have had the Doctor die in
a slightly more heroic way? I can think of about 30 ways off the top
of my head that would have had more dramatic interest."

[Richmond Clements]

But apart from that, you liked it right?



Amstor: yeah, your read sounds better than mine, but mine's quicker to say!
Much like Mangamax's 'A wizard did it', 'The TARDIS did it', is snappy.