Rate & Discuss 4.9: Forest of the Dead

[Pip Madeley]

Skellingtons! Shadows! Donna Noble has been saved! Eeeeek!



No spoilers/voting before 7.45pm please!

[Rob McCow]

I'm sure it'll be Tree-mendously Dead-Licious.

[Andrew Curnow]

Well done to Rob for being the forest reply on this thread.

[Dirk Gently]

If I said that these posts were a bit premature, wood I be barking up the wrong tree?

[Stuart Wallis]

Wooden it be nice to have some more tree puns?

[Dirk Gently]

I just twigged what you said. I think I'll stick to what I know & leaf the tree puns to others.

[Wayne]

I'm waiting for Ralph to appear so we can branch off into a Pertwee conversation.

[Pip Madeley]

Leaf off you lot!

[Si Hunt]

What time is it on tonight?

Si.

[Wayne]

Now Si!

[Ralph]

I was never in doubt when the show was on in the golden era

[Wayne]

@Ralph

I'm not in the mood for it tonight.
I'm recording it whilst it's on the background, & i'm gonna watch both parts together later. I always think you appreciate the 2 parters better viewed as one.

[Matthew T]

Wasn't sure last week but thought it was marvellous this week. I gave it a 9. Very soppy though

[Rob McCow]

That was great!

It looked great, the dialogue was great and the resolution to all the mysteries was great.

Great!

Although there was a bit too much philosophy at the end.

[Dirk Gently]

Quick one from me as I have to go out.

I gave it 9/10. It lost a point for some faults in technology with the green flashy lights & bits of over the top music but other wise brilliant!

This is one that I want to watch again, as Wayne said, with both parts together in one go.

[Zbigniev Hamson]

7 from me. I liked the story, but there was too much of that Doctor-as-mysterious-avenging-God b*ll*cks like that which ruined (for me) the end of The Family of Blood last year (or whatever the title of the second part was). If I wanted that sort of thing I'd go and have a wank over the New Adventures.

[Zbigniev Hamson]

Well... an avenging God crossed with the Fonz at any rate.

[Philipnet]

Ten out of ten out of ten out of ten!

I loved it, which is bloody good as some two-parters trial off on the second part or they have to pad it out a bit .

I got the computer reference: 4022 people have been saved. Very neat. But I never figured out that it was an actual person as the computer. I liked the Doctor Moon character/planet tie in.

I liked the love interest/romance angels that Moffat wrote, he does seem to do that well.

And then having The Library being housed on the home planet of the Vashta Nerada, nice twist .

[Lord President]

Loved it!

Scary and emotional, hinting of horrors to come, virtually everything a good DW should be.

Only failed to make a 10/10 due to the swarm standing down so easily!

Great to see a hint of Troughton for next week!

[Andrew Curnow]

This may sound odd, but I think I enjoyed it. I'd need to watch it again I think, because it was such a 'busy' episode with lots of stuff going on. There was some very moving stuff (and also a jolt for me, because when Donna's bloke first appeared in longshot, for some reason I thought it was Paul McGann!) of which I found McAvoy's failed attempt to call Donna the most touching.

Liked the finger-clicking (will we see more of that I wonder) and the whole thing with the name was well-handled.

[SiHart]

Around this time last year i was writing that i found a Steven Moffat dull, boring and tedious. This year I couldn't be thinking more opposite. I really, really enjoyed tonights episode. It was a really satisfaying conclusion to the story, that unlike The Doctor Dances didn't flag and run out of steam ahlf way through the episode and unlike Blink was a satisfying use of the consequences of time travel. And a great use of Donna, to do something different with her, away from the main plot, but still use her intelligently and well.

Like Andrew I found the fact that she didn't McAvoy again really touching, when he obviously saw her.

Poor River Song. But hooray for a happy ending! Does this mean now, like in Time Crash the Doctor will invent the modifications of the sonic because he's used it before? How very paradoxical, eh?

Wonderful stuff! This is a very consistent, brilliant season I reckon.

Next weeks looks very like A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C Clarke... since we've just done The Time Traveller's Wife that seems fair! More literary Doctor Who!
Si xx

[WhiteCrow]

At the moment all I can say is "wow - more Moffat magic". Makes me think the series is in good hands.

[Si Hunt]

So are we supposed to think he could open the TARDIS doors by clicking his fingers all this time, he just never tried it? Surely this means "Marco Polo" could have been six episodes shorter!

Si.

[Andrew Curnow]

Post that on OG, you'll cause a riot!

I must admit, although I loved the scene, I do wonder how we were supposed to interpret the 'flinger-clicking' scene - is it, as you say, something he could have done for a long time but has only ever thought of it now because River mentioned it? Or is it a deep secret that he doesn't usually reveal, but thought he would this time since River had already let the cat out of the bag? And never mind Marco Polo, we could have been spared The Sensorites if Hartnell had got to the end of his nineteen tumbler spiel and then said, "But stuff them, flat-footed furry-headed sash-wearing neighbours of the Ood, I can open it like this, hmph!" Click.

[WhiteCrow]

I think the finger clicking / opening the doors just hinted that the Tardis and he are the last of their kind and have kind of become more connected over the years. There's always been a deep affection between them.