A quick question...

[MacNimon]

Due to working quite a lot of overtime, decorating, working in the garden - taking advantage of the good weather, and babysitting a baby which seems to constantly demand loads of attention when my favourite tv show is on (!) I've fallen a few weeks behind with all my television viewing. My last episode of Doctor Who was the Silurian 2-parter. For all that I've been really enjoying the new series, I've just not been able to find time to catch up (...and it doesn't help that Mary controls the telly with a constant diet of daily soaps )

Anyway, I've got a simple question: as I've been avoiding spoilers, reviews and discussion threads as much as possible over the past few weeks I don't know much about the recent episodes. If I can only find time to watch a single episode of DW between now and Saturday, can I skip the Van Gogh and Lodger episodes without it ruining my enjoyment of the 2-part finale? Are they stand-alone episodes which I can come back to in weeks to come or do they have any major plot threads/revelations which lead into the final story?

No spoilers please, a simple "Yes" or "No" will suffice. I'd really like to enjoy the final episode along with everyone else but I don't want to spoil my enjoyment by missing out on any major plot threads either!

Thanks!

[SiHart]

I'd watch The Van Gogh one but not the Lodger if i were you Kenny.

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

That sort of works as a general rule as well.

Si.

[Dino]

No you shouldn't skip the Lodger! Suffer it like the rest of us did!

[Stuart Wallis]

James Corden's in it! Of course you should!

[MacNimon]

Thanks guys! I'll see Van Gogh tonight hopefully, will skip the Lodger (for now if necessary) and watch the 2-parter Fri/Sat. That's my plan! Fingers crossed!

I hate falling behind with anything, although you can get away with it early in a series when there's plenty of time to catch up but it's worse when it happens near the end...

[Darren]

Although The Lodger (which imo was excellent) has that scene right at the end, so you may want to catch it.

[Zbigniev Hamson]

And also the thing involving the thing, that might turn out to be relevant in the last episode, who knows. It's not relevant for the first part though.

[MacNimon]

I managed to catch Vincent last night while taking my turn feeding and bathing Small Fry, I really enjoyed it but as usual when babysitting it's impossible to give the episode my full attention. I like peace and quiet, with no interruptions, when trying to watch something so I think there's a few episodes I'll come back to for a quick second viewing.

I just hope we're not babysitting on Saturday night...

[Zbigniev Hamson]

I still think you might want to watch the Lodger too, but other people don't, and I can't think of a way to say why I think that without giving it away anyway.

[Jason Thompson]

I think that until we see what happens on Saturday night, how are we supposed to know if The Lodger has relevant plot threads in it or not? I suspect it does, especially given Moffatt's statement in the DWM preview that every single episode leads up to the finale...

[Rob McCow]

Sometimes I think it's fun to do these things the other way round - i.e. to watch the conclusion then see the episodes leading up to it. Then when you see the earlier episode you get the thrill of spotting the moment that feeds into the later episode. If you see what I mean.

[matthewsch]

Sometimes I think it's fun to do these things the other way round - i.e. to watch the conclusion then see the episodes leading up to it. Then when you see the earlier episode you get the thrill of spotting the moment that feeds into the later episode. If you see what I mean.

One of the first Doctor Who episodes I ever watched was Turn Left - when I first saw it, I had not seen a single episode of Series 3 OR 4!