To think that Doctor Who should be dark? **Warning - contains spoilers**

[Ir1na]

And tonight's was not anywhere near too disturbing? I rather liked it, although not too sure about the female Master!

[Ir1na]

I must admit some of the recent storylines have been a bit too far-fetched though! The Moon is an egg, really?

[Nessalina]

ARGH! Spoilers!!

[Ir1na]

Nessalina Sorry!! Can MNHQ edit my title to say (spoilers) please?

[SugarPlump]

Well yes it should, that's one of the great attractions of Capaldi, well for me anyway, that it has gone back to the darker, grumpy, hartnall and baker like doctor.

You are however going to get people who prehaps only like doctor "new" who are going to say they can no longer watch it with their children. Although our parents watched it with us and it was dark.

Stephen moffett is also pretty good at the dark, well turning every day in to the most terrifying thing ever, a child looking for its mother should not be scary however "are you my mummy" is possiably the scariest phase, and stone statues are not scary, well as long as your looking at them and you don't blink.

As for some of the lighter, what you call more far fetched story lines, I think there's a place for that in doctor who too, Matt smith, and Patrick trout on were partially good at the humour.

[Idontseeanysontarans]

Changing the structure of the series affected the whole dynamic I think. The scares used to be strung out over half a dozen episodes but audiences now demand instant results - Moffat would be much better at writing a classic style series that built up the tension and fright - especially for Peter Capaldi, he does dark and a little creepy so well.

[SugarPlump]

Oh I agree in many ways, maybe neither Capaldi or Moffat are able to fulfil the protential to be as dark as the older series, because of that, that the tension used to built up, which is why it seemed a lot darker.

I'm actually really looking forward still to more capaldi and seeing how the dark and creepy, damaged time Lord is devolped, because he really is the best actor to bring that in again.

[RobinHumphries]

Yes the dynamic changed with the stand alone episodes but Russell T Davies was very good at writing story arcs where you'd watch the last episode in a series and then have to watch the behind the scenes program so that they could spell out all the clues you had missed.

In our household we wondered how long Clara would last for when they announced a new doctor.... Maybe it will be different with a new companion.

I was annoyed that the mistress is the master. I was hoping it was going to be the Rani

[itsmeitscathy]

?? spoilers

[Dawndonnaagain]

We worked out very early on who The Master was. Really like it. Love, love, love Capaldi. Also like the nods to so many other things, which Russell T. Davies did too, the reference to Malcolm Tucker, for example!

[IAmNotAMindReader]

Absolutely it should be dark. It had a generation of kids hiding behind cushions still unable to tear themselves away.
With good acting and writing it is possible to convey the horror and danger of a scene, involve real feelings without being visually graphic. That's what makes the best stories successful.
When Dr Who returned I found Christopher Eccleston to be the best. The stories were a bit lighter but the darker elements were always close to the surface. Especially where the Dr himself was concerned.

With the subsequent Dr's there was an element of Lalalala everything's great see how perfect it all is and nothing bad ever happens. With such a rich history to draw from and the back story the show was reintroduced with, I think that was a deliberate choice. A choice to have the main character himself being in denial about the darker aspects of himself and the universe around him because he'd seen too much. It served to peak the interest of old fans and the change brought in new ones. For the character to progress the show always had to move towards elements of the old style. That's what made it successful. It was only stagnation and god awful stories that let it down before. It went too children's tv towards the end and did it badly.
Good writing and something for both age groups is where it does best.

[ghostyslovesheep]

I Loved last nights episode - I've found this series a bit hit and miss although PC has grown on me massively

and yes I LOVED the Malcolm Tucker ref last night

[Idontseeanysontarans]

I missed the Malcolm Tucker reference!

[trikken]

Thought last night's ep was the best of the series so far. Did not ejoy a few of them. The Robin Hood one was okay but kill the moon was awful and didn't enjoy the mummy one very much. First one was brilliant too. We twigged the missi thing the first time we saw her too. Liked the cyber men eyes on the doors in last night's.

[nocoolnamesleft]

I just loved the detailing on the doors. I was just going "those look almost like cybermen eyes" when the tanks began to drain....

[VileStatistyx]

oh, so the woman is the master then? I did wonder.

I hate 2 parters so I haven't watched this one, I'll record next week's too and then watch them back to back.

But I am probably the only person in the world who actually quite likes a good spoiler.

I also google films I intend to watch, so I can find out the ending.

I may be a weirdo.

[itsmeitscathy]

I just watched it, that episode alone made me forgive so much. Missy is excellent, capaldi is fast becoming my favourite doctor and Clara, my Clara, oh so many lovely lines.

Was a bit at the Steve jobs reference though!

[BookABooSue]

I like that this series has been darker. 'Listen' scared me with the red blanket and Cybermen are the Doctor Who villians I used to have nightmares about as a child and as an adult but I like to be scared by Doctor Who.

I did say to dh that there will probably be a generation of DCs who now grow up thinking they'll never get cremated but I think that's ok.

[SexualBernieClifton]

I was very annoyed that the denouement of the skeletons being cybermen was totally spoilt by the trailer shown last week.

[BalloonSlayer]

I thought last night's episode would have been a whole lot better if there hadn't been a trailer for it with bloody cybermen in it! It would have been a fab shock/surprise if we hadn't been so comprehensively warned. But as it was, DS1 and I kept saying to each other "so when are the cybermen coming then?" and then giving each other knowing looks. Shame.

The Malcolm Tucker reference was when the Doctor showed someone the psychic paper which looked (to them) as if it had ID on it, the person said "why is there so much swearing on it?" Can't remember what the Doctor replied.

[BalloonSlayer]

x-post with Bernie

[JennySense]

I can only measure this series by the fact that my youngest has hid under a blanket at some point during every episode... which hasn't happened previously.

[TheLyingOldBitchAndHerWardrobe]

He said something like 'I internalise a lot of anger'

Fab stuff.

[CrumpleHornedSnorkack]

Loved last nights episode! So many TToI references, DH and I both shouted "Olly!" when CA came in and the swearing on the psychic paper was great.

I was way off with Missy though, I thought she was Jenny!

[Idontseeanysontarans]

Vile I do the same with spoilers - I really don't mind them at all

[VileStatistyx]

They make me more interested, not less. I wonder if it's linked to my general impatience in life

Jenny! I'd forgotten about Jenny. I am surprised nothing has ever been done with her.