So Who series 6 started with an episode that was essentially 45mins of constant WTF.

Has Moffat lost the plot or is he a complete genius?

Discuss!

I think if you rewatch the episode next week before the second one it'll make alot more sense as its a 2 parter and seems to have a plot that would have worked better shown as one big episode.

I'm going to rewatch again this week, but after first-view, I thought 'Impossible Astronaut' was totally 'meh'.  Not impressed at all.  I think I dislike two-parters as series openers in general, maybe.

And they added that Amy narration bit to the opening (which in theory explains the gist of the show to new viewers) and then started the series with "half an episode" that was, indeed, a lot of WTF.  Bad call.

So, I've never seen an episode of Dr. Who.  I won't be able to catch the premier tonight because of family stuff.  My wife and i have been getting into more sci-fi shows lately, and I'm wondering which season I should seek out as a good introduction to the series.

Which season/version(?) would be best for a newbie?

Grab the first season of the new series and go from there(it should be on netflicks if you have access to that) the older stuff is good aswell but you wont really need to watch any of it to understand the basics of the doctor as the new series covers all the relevant stuff as it goes.

Best story I can recomend for a newbie is from the Classic series. Specificly the Colin Baker era. He was far from the best Doctor but he was a very intense and interesting one who was basically murdered by bad plot.

The story is over 4 half hour episodes. It's called Vengence on Varos. No knowledge of the back story is needed to appreciate it at all.

The Doctor and his annoying whiney assitant Perri (no ofence Nicola Bryant but your voice was not made for the talkies era) arrive in a prison complex monitored by a 24 hour live TV broadcast. It is full of deadly traps and guards and the object of this "game show" is to escape with your life. With TARDIS in desperate need of refuling with a rare mineral found on this planet the Doctor and Perri have to face "the game" live on air in order to escape the brutal madness of planet Varos.

It's funny it was written to parody Mary Whitehouse moaning about on screen violence but seen today it can be taken as a pastichie of Big Brother. A much more subtle one than the end of the first Ecclestone Season.

the new doctor is as unpopular with UK audiences (at least those fans of Dr Who I know) as he is with the rest of the world.

even to a casual watcher he fails to inspire on many levels.

Quote from: Ian Warner;453335Has Moffat lost the plot or is he a complete genius?

I'm leaning toward genius. What we're looking at is the intersection of three time travelers and monsters that can make you forget about them a second after you stop seeing them. It should look like swiss cheese.

For a bit, anyway. If the second half is as scattered as the first, then I'll lean away from genius.

Seanchai

The new doctor is actually very popular with most audiences so not sure where you got this unpopular crap from lawbag, i for one find that he's recaptured alot of what made the earlier doctors adventures fun and shed the need for angst that RTD seemed to shoehorn into the doctor companion relationship with every new series.

The only people who don't like Smith are the whiney David Tennant fans.

And they were only made worse by his massive fanwank of a departure.

Agreed, I really like Smith, I just didn't care for this ep.

i definitly think it'll stand up better watched back to back with episode 2 as it seems like a movie cut in 2 from the way its been structured.

I'm not sure I like having three "companions" but aside from that it wasn't too bad. I went in knowing it was a two-parter but didn't stop it from being irritating.

They showed some great episodes from last season first, and I watched them. The new season opener was a big letdown after watching the Pandorica.

I'm liking the multiple companions. It reminds me of classic Who.

Seanchai