Doctor Who Social Club
A community for discussing all things Doctor Who.
Rules
1 Be constructive
All posts/comments must be thoughtful and balanced.
2 Be welcoming
It is important that everyone from newbies to longtime fans feel welcome, no matter their gender, sexual orientation, religion or race.
3 Be truthful
All posts/comments must be factually accurate and verifiable. We are not a place for gossip, rumors, or manipulative or misleading content.
4 Be nice
If a polite way cannot be found to phrase what it is you want to say, don't say anything at all. Insulting or disparaging remarks about any human being are expressly not allowed.
5 Spoilers
Utilize the spoiler system for any and all spoilers relating to the most recently-aired episode. Spoiler protection will not be granted to information that is out in the mainstream media.
6 Keep on-topic
All submissions must be directly about the DW franchise (the shows, movies, books, etc.). Off-topic discussions are welcome at c/Quarks.
7 Meta
Questions and concerns about moderator actions should be brought forward via DM.
Upcoming Episodes
| Date | Episode | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 05-10 | DW 2x05 | "The Story & the Engine" |
| 05-17 | DW 2x06 | "The Interstellar Song Contest" |
| 05-24 | DW 2x07 | "Wish World" |
| 05-31 | DW 2x08 | "The Reality War" |
| TBA | TWB 1x01 | TBA |
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A really nice episode that improves on the already-quite-good first installment in pretty much every way.
Jack works a lot better once he's integrated into the main plot - he actually fits in quite seamlessly. He's still not quite as charming as he's clearly meant to be, but I think it's a big step up from last episode.
The "go to your room" bit is a lousy way to solve a cliffhanger that I nonetheless find very amusing. I'd also completely forgotten about the banana gag. Good stuff.
Jack suggests Pompeii on volcano day as a good place to visit if you're running a con. Hmm...
Nancy continues to be an outstanding character, balancing vulnerability with authority and toughness. Her confrontation with the owner of the house works really well, though it bumps up against problematic-yet-appropriate-for-the-era topics.
We get our first mention of Villengard, the weapons manufacturer that gets occasional shout-outs to this day.
The two-parter as a whole manages to seed its major plot developments - the nanogenes and Nancy secretly being Jamie's mother - without making it glaringly obvious - no small feat.
And, of course, we get the "everybody lives" monologue. It's iconic for a reason.
The banana gag was great, and I think it starts to signal the doctors ongoing hatred of guns. He was quite quick to grab one at the end of Dalek, but now he's more critical of them.
As for the cliffhanger resolution, I would struggle to answer if you asked me to name one episode where a cliffhanger was resolved well.
For fans of the original series, that moment beautifully spoiled most of the time war plotline before the official reveal. The Doctor has always hated guns, but seeing a living Dalek broke him.
Spoilers for The War Doctor and "Genesis of the Daleks" plots.
The Doctor's greatest sin is starting the time war, (Genesis of the Daleks) when the Gallifreyan's sent him to prevent the Dalek's ever being created. His second greatest sin is failing to get the job done.
We have known since those two 4th Doctor plot points that the Daleks were probably destined to destroy Galifrey. (The War Doctor plotline)
But the doctor picking up a gun so quickly upon seeing a living Dalek - pretty solidly confirmed it had already happened.