Rate & Discuss 4.11: Turn Left

[Pip Madeley]

Rose is back! SQUEE!



As Donna's world collapses, she finds help from a mysterious blonde woman - but can Donna and Rose stop the approaching Darkness?

No spoilers/voting before 7.30pm. Ta!

[Zbigniev Hamson]

I'm not sure 4/10 deserves a SQUEE

[Pip Madeley]

Even the most jaded sort of fan would have a tiny squee in them at 4/10.

[Zbigniev Hamson]

Surely not with an exclamation mark though. I think I could only manage a dribble at 4/10

[Dirk Gently]

I don't know what Z.H is moaning about, he won't be rating it any kind of squee.

[michael]

well that was good

[Matthew T]

Fantastic! Gripped me from start to finish. That beetle looked a bit fake though

Wow at the next week trailer!

[Pip Madeley]

Another quality episode from RTD

BAD WOLF!

(but yeah the beetle was really fake )

[WhiteCrow]

Ah - poor Donna really was put through the wringer there.

Felt a lot like a Star Trek episode in parts.

Very dark in parts, and once again Catherine Tate excelled herself.

The future's not looking too great for Donna, which is a shame!

Oh and we've been Bad Wolf'd again!

[Alex]

I struggled with the first fifteen minutes or so, and found Tate to be a bit annoying during that time, but once everything started going severely shite I really loved the episode. Kudos especially goes to Bernard Cribbins who put in a magnificent performance (especially during the labour camps bit), but the highlight for me was (probably all rather predictably), seeing Rose return. God it was great to have her back, though she did highlight how rubbish (imho) Martha and Donna are.

Anyhoo, bar the opening bit I thought it was gripping stuff, and I didn't even miss the Doctor too much - and I just can't wait to see next week's episode now!

[Captain Tancredi]

Really rather good, with some top-notch central performances and a real sense of things getting gradually worse as Britain takes one blow after another without the Doctor and turns in on itself, but at the same time life-affirming and emphasising the power of self-sacrifice.

I couldn't help an ironic laugh at the line "It's Leeds or nothing!"- rather timely at the moment given that my interview in Manchester didn't work out, so it kind of sums up where I am career-wise at the moment...

[Dirk Gently]

Doctor Who in China? No, it’s an alien planet!
Turn right, not left. Well at least that answers why the title anyway.
Rose, vanishes! Martha, dead! Sarah Jane, dead! Then Rose is back & has a face to face with Donna!
Nice links to the Christmas Specials.
BAD WOLF!!!

I actually can’t find fault with that episode. It was well paced, interesting & totally watch-able. In fact I’ll be watching it again tomorrow. It was totally absorbing for me; I just couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. The mystery, the premise of what it would be like with out the Doctor, the fact that Donna is far more important than we thought is an interesting concept & really makes me eager for the next episode. I love the fact that they used a concept of just one decision can change so much in someone’s life, I’m sure we can all think of a time when we chose to go one way or the other & also some times we even recognise the moment as its happening.
All in all an excellent episode, I wasn’t blown away but excellent all the same.

Shame about the beetle though.
9/10.

[Pip Madeley]

Chan-Did anyone spot Chipo Chung as the fortune teller?-Tho?

I thought it was brilliant. Jacqueline King and Bernard Cribbins both gave superb performances, as Alex said the 'labour camps' bit was so sad, a fantastic moment for Cribbins. King meanwhile was brilliant as the mother with no hope or confidence in her daughter & the world around her, missing her husband more than ever... as for Tate and Piper, nothing needs to be said, they were AWESOME. I didn't miss the Doctor one bit...

... loved the Cloister Bell at the end. SQUEE!

[Zbigniev Hamson]

Did Billie always lisp that much?

The beetle was rubbish.

Apart from that... I have literally no idea what to rate it or even think of it. I mean, I enjoyed it, but I don't feel like I just watched an episode of Doctor Who. It was like a reeeeeally extended pre-credits sequence or a clip show or something. And I was quite aware watching it how much knowledge of previous episodes you needed to actually understand what all the alien invasions were about or WHY the world would turn out that way without the doctor. I can imagine a lot of people being REALLY confused by what they just saw.

But I think if you're a fan and actually remember all those other episodes, watch Torchwood and actually know who Sarah Jane Smith is and why you should care, then that all worked quite well. But even then it only works in the here and now, when we're all stuck in the present and haven't seen the end of the season. I don't think in 5 or 10 years time anyone's actually going to think "ooh, I think I'll stick Turn Left on, that's a good story", even if they give it 10/10 today.

In fact it makes me think how great it was 10 years ago to sit in a cinema and watch those Phantom Menace trailers. It really was an enjoyable experience at the time, but these days you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who'd actually get excited by the thought of sitting down to watch the Phantom Menace, let alone to watch the TRAILERS for the Phantom Menace. But then, at the time they were great and served their purpose perfectly, and I suppose that's just what Turn Left did.

So... I have absolutely no idea what to give it. N/A. 5 +/- 4. Something like that

[Zbigniev Hamson]

Oh and having "Chinaworld", but having it apparently not be a human colony or have anything to do with Earth was a bit of a strange decision. And it clearly confused the continuity announcer.

[Dirk Gently]

...but these days you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who'd actually get excited by the thought of sitting down to watch the Phantom Menace, let alone to watch the TRAILERS for the Phantom Menace.

No, not really. I'm really fond of the Phantom Menace & no amount of criticism to-wards it will convince me otherwise.

[Zbigniev Hamson]

Ah but do you get EXCITED at the thought of watching it? And I don't mean in that sense

Also there's still the question of How the Pompeii girl earlier in the series saw something on Donna's back when it doesn't appear it was actually there in that timeline.

[WhiteCrow]

It's interesting, these Doctor-lite stories are a bit of a necessity I know to balance the Christmas specials.

However they've been interesting because it does allow us to weigh up the mythology of the Doctor, how he appears to people who are involved with him, but not as directly as one of his companions. In a way this was touched upon a but in the pilot, when Rose finds a website dedicated to him.

I think this has been better than previous attempts, allowing a companion to take centre stage, it doesn't feel quite as forced. Of course in a way this kind of story was covered a bit in the Sarah Jane's Adventure, with the episode which featured Jane Asher. Ho hum.

[WhiteCrow]

Ah but do you get EXCITED at the thought of watching it? And I don't mean in that sense

Also there's still the question of How the Pompeii girl earlier in the series saw something on Donna's back when it doesn't appear it was actually there in that timeline.

But the soothsayers were able to see the past but also possible futures (they saw some elements of the future but not say "that mountain is going to explode").

[Zbigniev Hamson]

Well, I suppose. That's not the explanation they gave at the time for them not predicting the explosion though. And also the "something on your back" comment wasn't a prediction of any future, it appeared to be about something that was actually there on her back in that scene.

[Alex]

Apart from that... I have literally no idea what to rate it or even think of it. I mean, I enjoyed it, but I don't feel like I just watched an episode of Doctor Who. It was like a reeeeeally extended pre-credits sequence or a clip show or something. And I was quite aware watching it how much knowledge of previous episodes you needed to actually understand what all the alien invasions were about or WHY the world would turn out that way without the doctor. I can imagine a lot of people being REALLY confused by what they just saw.

I don't think you're being fair to the average viewer there, unless it was someone who had never seen the show before at all. Even people who watch only once a while would know that the Doctor always saves the world, and that without him everything could go horribly wrong - as it did here - to know the exact details wasn't that important if you ask me.

But I think if you're a fan and actually remember all those other episodes, watch Torchwood and actually know who Sarah Jane Smith is and why you should care, then that all worked quite well. But even then it only works in the here and now, when we're all stuck in the present and haven't seen the end of the season. I don't think in 5 or 10 years time anyone's actually going to think "ooh, I think I'll stick Turn Left on, that's a good story", even if they give it 10/10 today.

Whilst I did have some issues with the first 15 - 20 minutes, as a vision of how life on Earth could go horribly wrong I thought it was very effective, with a thrilling climax too. If that side of things didn't work for you than that's more than fair enough, but I thought they were handled really well and did make for a great story.

So... I have absolutely no idea what to give it. N/A. 5 +/- 4. Something like that

But surely the best way to rate it is not to think about all the possibilities of how other people might react to it, or how you might feel in a years time, and just rate it out of 10 on how much you personally enjoyed the episode just now?

[Dirk Gently]

...and just rate it out of 10 on how much you personally enjoyed the episode just now?

Precisely. An excellent point.

[Pip Madeley]

Of course in a way this kind of story was covered a bit in the Sarah Jane's Adventure, with the episode which featured Jane Asher. Ho hum.

The Doctor mentioned the Trickster - the beetle was one of his brigade.

... did anyone spot Donna's friend was the ditzy blonde bird from ITV shitcom Babes In The Wood? Natalie Walter:

[Zbigniev Hamson]

But surely the best way to rate it is not to think about all the possibilities of how other people might react to it, and just rate it out of 10 on how much you personally enjoyed the episode?

That bit wasn't about how other people might react to it, it was just me not knowing myself. I enjoyed it, but I probably only enjoyed it because of things it was promising. Kind of like "Utopia" last year, I switched off feeling like I'd enjoyed it, and looking forward to what would come next, but on reflection there wasn't very much actually IN the episode that amounted to much in itself.

As for the first bit about the casual viewer. I think if you can remember 2 Christmases back and actually remember all these invasions then you will know that these were events that happened anyway and the differences are about the Doctor just not being around. Whereas if you DON'T remember these stories then I think you would get the impression that all these alien invasions are actually happening because the Doctor isn't there. It's a subtle distinction but one which alters the tone quite a bit I think.

[The Secretive Bus]

Well I'm gobsmacked: an RTD penned episode that I thoroughly enjoyed! It's been far too long ("Smith and Jones", in fact). After last week's dismal offering I wasn't expecting much but this episode really blew me away. Even the humour complemented everything else rather than being delivered as "This is a comedy moment!" style shenanians. The fact that "It was all a dream!" should have annoyed me but proceedings were given a lot of weight so that nothing felt inconsequential. And Judoon next week! Yay!

9/10, let down only by a bit too much sarcastic shouting from Donna (having a go at her office team whilst a hospital disappears?) and a pretty naff beetle prop. Really looking forward to next week's.