Doctor Who Club of Australia

Reject Companion · Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 3 Location: Sydney

I like this episode...not for the monsters, and no...i'm not a huge Sarah Jane fan...but i do like how we get a different perspective on the Doctor's relationships (which were clear cut plutonic in the classic series)
... i am basically liking the extra "dimensions" in relationships that the new series shows although the lovey bits do get a bit sickly sometimes.
...the episode actually made me feel sorry for Sarah Jane Smith's situation...something i didn't expect to consider....

Speckled Jim · Joined: 14 Jul 2006 Posts: 136 Location: Auckland, Un Zud

Seems that the majority of people rated this one; I think it was better than Tooth and Claw and hugely so over New Earth, but overall, Season 2's storylines just can't hold a candle to Season 1.
My main wish is that they'd stop the headache-inducing editing; School Reunion was cut up and executed like a flippin' breakneck MTV video. I know there's the 45-minute format to consider ... maybe I'm pining for the days of the four-episodes-with cliffhangers set-up ...
And yeah, another story that just wasn't as astounding as Dalek or the Season 1-ending Bad Wolf trilogy. A Godmaker code that gives you the answer to life, the universe and everything? Seriously, is it that simple to become totally ominpotent? I mean, at least Douglas Adams was taking the p*** when he came up with all that.
Anyhow, rant over. As people have said, the story was mere background here, and this was one for the fans. Seeing SJS again was like visiting an old friend, that part where she saw the TARDIS and the Doctor was behind her ... top stuff, I wore a smug grin for the next 10 minutes.
Still loving Rose, too. I know people are eagerly rubbing their hands for her comeuppance, but she's definitely not worn out her welcome yet. She's like Ripley in Alien. Or perhaps Alien Resurrection, with her genes being tainted by the innards of the TARDIS ...
And as for Mickey joining the crew, I'm only tolerating this in anticipation of an Adric-style untimely end.

SharazJek · Joined: 12 Aug 2005 Posts: 902 Location: Hobart, Tasmania

Tegan · Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 1:05 pm Post subject:

Theta Sigma · Joined: 26 Jun 2005 Posts: 4430

Yesterday saw the "Don't Forget Your Past.." trailer just after The Way We Were: For Better or Worse and again prior to the Collectors Doctor Who special and after that program saw the "You Can't Back Time...". Quite a nice joke of the headline for the former trailer while I found the latter trailer to be very lovely with the song "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" being played.

charlie · Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 9:31 pm Post subject:

It's fun spotting Torchwood everywhere. Wink

Commander · Joined: 27 Dec 2005 Posts: 57

Thought this was a great episode. I agree that this one was very cut up though, and basically jumped from one scene to another, but to defend it - it wasnt an episode about the Finches.

You cant help but feel sorry for SJ in this one, and K9 was an amusing addition.

What I didnt understand was how Rose thought she was the only one - surely she would have seen photos or something somewhere in the TARDIS.

The series has definitely improved each episode thus far for Series Two.

Dazzler · Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 11:23 pm Post subject:

I enjoyed this episode. The re-appearance of Sarah Jones and K9 was awesome. I also loved how jealous Rose seemed to get of Sarah but eventually end up liking each other.

I'm happier with the role Mickey has taken, it seems so much more fitting for him. He's been a part of the series since day one and it makes sense for him to be a bigger player. My only real complaint with this was I wanted to see so much more of K9, and I wanted to see K9 join the crew! Seriously, great episode, although I enjoyed the first two a lot more.

Commander · Joined: 27 Dec 2005 Posts: 57

Its kinda weird, in Series 1 everyone liked Rose and noone really liked hanger-on Mickey, now its changed and Rose is starting to become a little more cocky, whereas Micky seems much more DTE.

Nb. in response to charlie's previous question, the First Doctor/Susan did appear to recognise the Cybermen planting the bombs on the scanner screen inside the TARDIS during the Five Doctors.

Theta Sigma · Joined: 26 Jun 2005 Posts: 4430

Prior to the ABC broadcast I last saw this episode at a club screening last month.
Someone who is a Buffy fan said as soon as he saw Tony Head said this: "He looks familiar."
Tony Head was the librarian in Buffy and now he is the headmaster in Doctor Who. Quite a promotion.
Love the correctimundo line.
Like the music when the kids were using the computer.
When Lis Sladen turned up someone said "Battlestar Galactica". This is most probably because it is something that I have noticed for a couple of years now and that is Lis Sladen and Mary McDonnell from Battlestar Galactica shares a remarkable resemblance with each other.
Another person said that he had a huge crush on Lis when he was a kid. You would not believe how big his grin was upon seeing her.
For people unfamiliar to Sarah, the club president had to explain that Lis was from the original series.
From the dialogue it seems Sarah has no memory of her appearance in The Five Doctors. This is fine with me as I do not like her being in that story.
Mickey's "Missus and the Ex" line got a huge laughter.
Mickey and Rose were very dismissive of K-9 upon seeing him yet Mickey realises that he is the tin dog. That also got a huge laughter.
So funny that it took Mickey a while to realise he and K-9 were in a car while he tried to figure out how to get into the school.
Also laughter at Finch's shooty dog and bad dog lines.
The school explodes. I find this reminiscent of the Buffy finale Chosen which Tony Head was also in which also had the school exploding.
Sad that K-9 got killed off.
Mickey finally joins the TARDIS crew.
K-9 Mark IV is revealed at the end. When I first saw the episode, it took me a short while to realise this was Mark IV as I somehow thought it was Mark III reconstructed again. Oh well.
Like the music at the end.
As this episode ended the club president mentioned a spin-off featuring K-9. He thought it was a live action series, I therefore had to clarify to him that the spinoff is called K-9 Adventures and it was animated. (This was before K-9 co-creator Bob Baker revealed recently that K-9 Adventures was live action but with a CGI K9.)

mortigitempo · Joined: 30 Jul 2006 Posts: 30

OK... it was better than Tooth and Claw
Which was better than New Earth

But puhh-lesae... I mean it really wasn't that great...

It was nice to see Sarah-Jane and K9 return, but bringing them back into the episodes doesn't really make it good by itself.

- The Doctor still has absolutely no personality or character... even watching highlights of Eccleston's performance puts him to shame.. all the other Doctors had some sort of character.... I mean I know it takes time to adjust to the role, but he isn't even really given a chance.

I think this mainly stems from the way-too fast editting... I think someone mentioned above that each episode is like an MTV video-clip - a very accurate description. Everything happens so fast that there is no time for character or plot development

Add into the mix the soundtrack - I mean its great that the show has some money to get an orchestra in - but it is SOOO over the top... so much so that the show is just too loud! Half the time you can't even hear the dialogue clearly - the editting is just way too busy - too much noise and too many shots, with no spaces between them. I'm not sure if that is Russel T's perogative but geez....

On the plus side - the stories are good on the whole... but it seems to me as if the writers are still writing 4x30minute episode stories, and then squahsing them into 45 minutes... There is no time for the story to develop, for any intrigue or suspense to occur, for there to be any mystery... take this story for example:

- Who are these mystery creatures at the school... its all quite interesting and tension building up, and then all of a sudden in about 2 seconds "oh yes they must be krillitines who feed on people and take different body parts" - wow... they really drew that one out
- Secondly, what about their ridiculous plot to take over the world??? I mean in 5 seconds the doctor goes "oh i know what they are doing... they are cracking the code to the universe"... i mean puh-lease... its dreadful.

I think the story idea is good.. it just needed more time then the Doctor deducing the entire story in 4 seconds flat... the same occured last week in Tooth and Claw... that could have been a great 2 parter...

Hopefully the Cyberman episode will be good... there is much more promise in the two-parters.

Anyway.... it was better than New Earth (thank god)/... at least this one HAD a storyline.

Blue Box · Joined: 15 Jul 2006 Posts: 9 Location: Melbourne

I think this story was good. But it would have been excellent if it had been a two-parter. Back in the old series the Doctor was brainy. Now he appears to be almost psychic- I appreciate that he's several hundred years older and wiser, but figuring out what's going on so quickly is just ridiculous.

That being said, I absolutely loved the character moments- especially when Sarah Jane walks in on the TARDIS all lit up and looking spooky and she looks like she's just seen a ghost. I also liked Rose and Sarah bonding over the same thing they were competing over. And the Doctor's face while watching them laugh at him was priceless.

I wanted to smack Rose. Last season she was easy to relate to, a human scooped up by a Time Lord and taken to see the universe where everything is so alien. Now she's all "oh yeah, I'm cool, I've seen all this before, how cool and special am I??" When she got all, "you never told me there were others!" um, yes sweetheart he did last season. "I've travelled with a lot of people over the years but you're setting new records for jeopardy friendly." Get over yourself, thankyou. For this reason I'm glad Mickey is on board the TARDIS now, at least we'll get to see some more of someone being in awe of the universe.

Some of the lines were cheesy, and often repeats of something already said in other episodes. SJS's "I wouldn't have missed it for the world" is something Rose said last year in Dalek. Other bits made me cringe.

Honestly, I expected better after all the hype. But it was still good and I liked it more than Tooth and Claw.

montypython · Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 4:36 pm Post subject:

I was hoping for a bit of a tear-jerker, but couldn't squeeze them out. I guess it's coz I never saw SJ in the old series. Still, it was a good episode. I love the "We are in a car" line. So how did K9 escape?

Blue Box · Joined: 15 Jul 2006 Posts: 9 Location: Melbourne

montypython · Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 5:40 pm Post subject:

Blue Box · Joined: 15 Jul 2006 Posts: 9 Location: Melbourne

Yeah, last year to prevent people putting the first eps online they transported the tapes marked "Torchwood" instead of "Doctor Who".
Did that even work? I seem to remember "Rose" being on the internet before it was aired in the U.K.

g,uest · Joined: 17 Feb 2006 Posts: 361

g,uest · Joined: 17 Feb 2006 Posts: 361

Tegan · Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 2:44 am Post subject: