Dr Who has really gone off, hasnt it?

[Snog]

Dr Who used to be genius...it`s gone really downhill now hasn't it?

Donna' s 'You want to mate ??!!' When she agrees to travel with the Doctor has me in stitches every time I see it

I always felt Martha had a hard act to follow, coming after Rose and so I cut her plenty of slack

Oh and agree Aitch that Clara at Christmas was more rounded and interesting as a character. In 7b so far, she's just some sort of cipher as far as I can see.

Laura yep, Donna and "mate" always reminds me of that scene I liked Martha when she was being clever and strong. The puppy dog eyes bits, not so much.

i liked martha, she was in some great episodes. i wonder if her and donna had the better stories because they weren't in some ginormous 'special companion' story arc? mind you, i suppose donna was... hers was just better.
we have the box sets and i'm surprised by how irritating i find rose now.

I disliked the way that Rose came back. It just seemed a bit rehash-y. She had her moment, she got to say goodbye and then... back again. It was an anti climax, I thought.

And my DD was annoyed that Rose got the doctor clone. As she rightly pointed out, you can't just substitute one person for another just because they look the same, otherwise identical twins would actually be interchangeable.

Martha was in some cracking stories, I agree. Blink is an amazing one -absolutely terrifying, although, again I didn't like the Weeping Angels brought back and everything explained, as they did later. Over explaining is one of my bugbear. Hence I hated the reintroduction of River and that story arc. And the Mel's episode - I couldn't watch it all.

I loved it when River was introduced in the library and we had to guess the relationship.

Besides, she said then that the Doctor was younger than when she had known him. Well, he certainly wasn't any older as Matt Smith

Blink was indeed one of the best ever episodes. Maybe in part because Martha was only in it for about a minute

I don't like Freema's acting. The 'I'm bringing you back to Earth!' line Martha says at the start of one of the Master episodes makes me squirm every time. And the scene when she threatens to blow up the Earth with that wossname key, I can't look directly at her it's so excruciating.

I can't even watch her in Old Jack's Boat.

They did 'feisty' well with Rose. They completely overdid it with Amy and her scowling and pouting and 'Shut up!' every five minutes.

Donna wasn't super brave or very clever but she was great because she was emotionally very mature - a more realistic character trait than bloody 'feisty' again. I would have loved another season of Donna.

I so wanted Clara's 'thing' to be superior intellect so the Doctor/companion relationship was given a new dynamic. Perhaps they think audiences would feel threatened by, or just not interested in, such a female character.

Oh the Osterhaagen (sp?) Key. Yes I agree that Freema is a bit am dram. She often sounds as if she is backroom person who had a script shoved in her hand and was told to just have a go. Her scenes can be very squirmy

I will champion her though because at the time, Rose left some big boots to fill.

i honestly think of all of the actresses, JLC could have everything here. and there was one bit, right at the end of the last ep, where she wiggled her mouth in a way that i thought 'YES, THAT IS WHO I WANT HER TO BE'. oh hang on, you've not seen that bit.

SPOILERZ.

:P

bring back the master

I'm so glad to read all of you saying basically what I think about these female companions, and Matt Smith, and the general quality of characters and writing.

I have these conversations occasionally with men and it's so so obvious that they don't give a shiny shit if the female sidekicks are badly written. Hair, legs, um yes a bit of saucy backchat - all great in their world. It's utterly tragic.

I don't want to reduce it to appearances (but I'm going to): Matt Smith is a very odd-looking man and I find I just don't want to look at him very much. I suppose that's just a matter of taste and really I shouldn't care, but I actually find myself wincing at his more slack-jawed and adenoidal moments.

I'm sorry to say I think that JLC suffers from 'being pretty on the page' ie all the bits go together and she should be good looking, but she's just annoying.
Of course all that could be completely overlooked if there were proper scripts and decent acting but I don't think either of them has the personality to pull it off, nor the chemistry, and the material is shite too.

Bah.

I would also like 'feisty' to be banned form all future Dr Who publicity material.
It's a nebulous word and since they mean it to be 'contrary and irritating' I think they should just say that, really.

justt seen Matt smith and David tennant on somebodies facebook doing the 50th filming

have watched the gaiman episode again, seemed better, less muddled on second viewing, and clara does move up a gear.

I liked Sally Sparrow, Donna and Rose.

sally bloody sparrow, too busy nobbing about with baz luhrmann...

at nobbing about!

I agree with that. I have enjoyed moments of DW since and I like Matt, but I looked forward to every episode when DT was DW, it was exciting and emotional and I cared about the companions/characters. Amy Pond was really annoying in her 'Dad fodder' clothes.

Aitch I'm trying to weigh up whether you not-so-stealth-boast more when you really like an ep. I think that may be the case

A lot of these eps seem to be better on re-watch, actually. I am clinging on to the belief that when we're at the end of this series or reach the 50th the whole SM/MS tenure will just make more bloody sense in retrospect.

mrsjay I'm reminded of that line of River's back in the Stormcage, something along the lines of having multiple doctors on her birthday

And yy - feck off to the fiesty - let's have the formidable and formidably intelligent!

WAAAAAH.

i have just watched 'the doctor's name' or whatever it is called (apart from final moments, which aren't shown until transmission). ep13.

all is forgiven.

all hail the moff.

can i just say for the record that Saul Metzstein has done some fine work this series? he's obviously their Victorian specialist.

dammit Aitch the rest of us have to WAIT THREE BLOODY WEEKS

But glad it seems like there is a payoff in the finale - about bloody time!