The Time Monster: Rubbish

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:25 pm

Another casting spoiler!

SPOILER! (select to read)
Whilst it's not impossible he's playing a regenerated Master the fact the only photo we have of his is standing next to John Simm (in different costumes suggesting they weren't filming a change over) makes it likely they're different characters. There is a chance he's a fraud with a Time Lord costume, but I'd be surprised if they did that so soon after The Next Doctor.

In terms of easiest to bring back Rassilon (dead anyway but some sort of computer ghost, would actually give them a way to feature a Time Lord without bringing more back) or Omega (off in his little Universe) would probably be the best bet.

One thing I do remember about the early/mid 90's was a strange trend for American shows to do better over here than back home (in terms of percentage of the population watching and what Channel 4 or whatever would consider a success compared to NBC). The aforementioned Dark Skies and American Gothic,Babylon 5 at one point had 4's highest AA index result (for the end of season 4, they then promptly dumped the next season in a rubbish mid mourning slot) and most obviously Due South which the beeb would up financing (and as soon as they put money into it they dumped it in a stupid mid mourning timeslot, I spot a pattern). Plus things like Superman pretty much carried on as strongly over here after it had started to die in the States. Even the X-Files came close to being cancelled in America during the second season whilst the first was making great guns on the beeb.

Blimey, remember the days you were entirely dependant on wacky TV stations to actually see the latest episodes of American shows? It was like the dark ages.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:40 pm

SPOILER! (select to read)
Twatty Indyboy, Kevin Bishop's bulimic sidekick AND Simm? Christ, turns out there's always a chance to find a new low to stoop to...

If Dalton's in a shot with the Master, I'd say all bets are off, TBH - could be anyone and anything (it's not such an arsepull having him as Wablulock The Renegade We've Never Heard Of if, say, the Master's gone and recruited him or whatever... The Rani largely works because both the Doctor and the Master recognise her instantly, which somehow doesn't feel as forced as if it was just the Doctor - that and she was actually pretty small-time). And this is all assuming Dalton isn't simply some sort of 3D playback thingy.

How've they kept Biggins, though? He was shot in the gut and then funeralised, all in full view of the Doctor. Sure, not enough to off the Master, but surely enough to wipe out the CBeebies incarnation? They could at least burn him up a bit (Hell, give me a bunsen burner plus three minutes with Simm and I'll save them on the makeup budget)...

I thought he was off to take the world by storm and not get typecast anyway...

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:51 pm

SPOILER! (select to read)
Did anyone really think that was the real Master who got cremated? All that teleporting back and forth in the last few minuets the Master could easily have slipped a clone or something in. Which is nothing else is fairly typical for him.

Whilst footage of the hoody Master was shown at comicon the only thing we have of Dalton is a screengab from RTD's leaving video (where he Simm and Tennant are singling the Proclaimers), the fact there's been no other leaks or on location pics suggests the brief recording thing might well be it.

You know, I don't think I've seen The Daemons all the way through since the BBC 2 repeat. Even then it seemed terrible.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:06 pm

SPOILER! (select to read)
Not so much "think" as "want" here. Tenner says the explanation makes the Doctor look like an idiot, though. I think that'll make it the full set of cliches in record screen time for the Simm Master, making that speech at the end of "Utopia" look even more stupid.

Halfshell · Post by **Halfshell** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 9:36 pm

Cliffjumper wrote:They seem to have grown out of the habit, they went through a phase of switching anything that was halfway successful over (Ground Force, Changing Rooms), when the sensible thing would have been to use it to double-team the commercial channels.

Nah, they still do it. They switched QI, and Torchwood's three "series" have all been first-aired on different channels.

Halfshell · Post by **Halfshell** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:12 am

The Moffatt Bright New Dawn may definitely not be all it's cracked up to be, going by something I've just read... historical celebrity and returning villains in the same episode. Hoo-****ing-rah.

AndyTurnbull · Post by **AndyTurnbull** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:28 am

Oh no.

Feel free to unleash spoiler tags and share what evil you have learned.

Andy

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:35 am

SPOILER! (select to read)
Churchill. Daleks. World War II. Sounds like a combination of at least three prior scripts, but Winnie done right could be a lot of fun, and genuinely interesting unlike Christie.

That's at least three returning things looking likely in the first Smith season. That doesn't bother me so much though, the new Doctor's debut year will usually (and rightly really) have a lot of "No, this really is still the same program honest" stuff in it.

AndyTurnbull · Post by **AndyTurnbull** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:49 am

That could work, provided they make it a one-off.

SPOILER! (select to read)
The interminable two-part Dalek story in Season Three still makes me shake my head at the sheer pishness of it all.

Andy

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 1:15 pm

My Christ, this sounds dreadful.

As I said above, Moffat's not going to have a lot of leeway in what he does with the series - Cartmel got to rebuild the thing from scratch because the BBC didn't give a shit (they should, however, now go back and give him a cut of the profits, because if he hadn't, the new stuff could well have not happened). This time there are toy sales, magazine sales, What's on TV covers and LCD celebrity guest appearances to consider - the BBC want someone to do exactly what RTD has been doing, and if Moffat tries to do anything radical he's going to be replaced in case it alienates the 8-12 demographic.

The best we can hope is that he's got less of an ego and doesn't get as wrapped up in his own ideas/scripts being faultless (which considering his last script was a compilation of his previous ones and in a smaller way every bit as self-indulgent as the Season 4 'epic finale', I'm not entirely optimisitic about). And that's it.

Halfshell · Post by **Halfshell** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 1:20 pm

Cliffjumper wrote:My Christ, this sounds dreadful.

It gets sounds-dreadfuller...

SPOILER! (select to read)
The Daleks are supposedly working for our Winston, to eliminate the Nazis. Death to the Third Reich!

Executed well, it could be genius... alternatively, it could make Genesis look subtle.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 1:24 pm

This is really looking like a car crash... Smith could be John Hurt and this'd still be derivative shit.

AndyTurnbull · Post by **AndyTurnbull** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 1:24 pm

Oh no that sounds ripe for descending into wankery.

Andy

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:45 pm

SPOILER! (select to read)
On the other hand the "Nice" Daleks thing has worked well in the past, both in Evil and several of the spin off's. Waiting for them to reveal their true colours can actually be fairly tense if done right.

Just trying to be glass half full.

Was the Magazine a bit embarrassed by season 24? I'm just looking at Lee Sullivan's try out art which is of McCoy and... Peri. Someone must have really hated Mel.

Halfshell · Post by **Halfshell** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 11:46 am

Just spotted this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-1-4- ... 713&sr=1-5

In the comparative value stakes, that's stunning for a BBC release.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 12:10 pm

Mmm, that is tidy, considering the BBC will happily charge ~£12 for three episodes of the new stuff, just to take advantage of people with impatient kids.

Halfshell · Post by **Halfshell** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 12:37 pm

Cliffjumper wrote:Mmm, that is tidy, considering the BBC will happily charge ~£12 for three episodes of the new stuff, just to take advantage of people with impatient kids.

Which still works out at a better runtime-to-cost value than the Classic stuff. Even if it doesn't really compare on the quality of content/extras.

Has there been any indication whatsoever on what 2010's DVD releases are going to be? I'm convinced the only thing stopping them announcing a Key to Time reissue is my flat-out refusal to buy a second-hand copy, on the grounds that I got the entirety of Babylon 5, Farscape and The Wire for about the price it's currently going for.

AndyTurnbull · Post by **AndyTurnbull** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 1:17 pm

Nothing yet that I've seen.

I'm with on The Key To Time. They need to get another reissue of it out and soon. I want one and refuse to pay the funny money it's going for.

Andy

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 2:02 pm

I paid for it on video once (which must've set me back, what, £70?), and my parents helped fund the thing. Therefore I'm fully within my rights to have found alternate distribution. That and a third of it is diabolical. And another third of it is dodgy.

Halfshell · Post by **Halfshell** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 2:18 pm

Cliffjumper wrote:I paid for it on video once (which must've set me back, what, £70?), and my parents helped fund the thing. Therefore I'm fully within my rights to have found alternate distribution. That and a third of it is diabolical. And another third of it is dodgy.

That's the thing.

The Wire clocks in at 60 episodes at an hour each (actual hours, not tv hours, it's made by a proper channel) and common consensus has it being one of the greatest programs ever made.

The Key to Time is, what 26 episodes at 25 minutes each? Making it just shy of 11 hours and with common consensus having it being largely dubious.

I found the complete series boxset of The Wire on the secondary market for about £65 (brand new, imported, after delivery). And it's an HBO show so it's got the exact same "no adverts, have to support ourselves somehow" get-outs that the BBC can spout.

What was the original RRP for The Key to Time?