...NEW DOCTOR WHO TONIGHT, 16/4/05, ALIENS OF LONDON...

[Byron Virgo]

Well couldn't you argue that the fact that every time they step out the bloody box they find themselves in some sort of tricky situation to be a somewhat unlikely plot device, if you're really going to be that obsessional about it?

It's a kids programme, for god's sake - lighten up!

[Sorry, but I've just had to spend the last half hour explaining to my parents who these "pig men hiding in skins" were supposed to be.]

[SamuelAWilkinson]

Well, to make a nerdy TARDIS-based lecture...


Originally, the TARDIS was utterly buggered, and sent the doc and his companions on compeletely unpredicatable paths through time and space. Then, following the third Doctor's release from his exile on Earth, it worked ok for a bit, but gradually got more and more buggered 'cos of a lack of maintainence, since it had only a crew of one (or, tops, two) Time Lord when it needed a good deal more. Remotely, though, the Time Lords on Gallifrey could operate it all they liked, presumably via the space internet or something.
Famously, of course, the chamelion circuit has always been buggered, leaving it looking like a police phone box. Except that one time where COlin Baker managed to turn it into a Hammond Organ for a while. That crazy guy.

[paulvonscott]

It was a chair back in pertwee's time.

[Quirkafleeg]

I seem to remember the Fourth Doctor fitted some sort of 'randomizer' to avoid getting found by the Black Guardian after the Key to Time sequance.

God, I'm more nerdy than I thought.

[Wake]

I started watching it but got interrupted and didn't discover I'd failed to record it properly until after todays repeat.

Does anyone have a video I can borrow?

Cheers,

Wake

[Banners]

Thought it was full of nice ideas, but poorly executed. From the pig, to the fart jokes, to the poorly-designed aliens at the end, all a bit naff. However, it gets 10/10 for the beautiful Penelope Wilton's presence alone.

Also, it seems too soon to have come 'home'. In things like Trek and Quantum Leap, going home was a huge event within the series. Going back to contemporary London and Rose's family so soon seems to me to hint at a lack of imagination, and an over-reliance on soap-operatic elements - at the expense of Sci-Fi.

And did I really hear Rose say to The Doctor "You are so gay!"...?

M@

[Tiplodocus]

I watched it with my wife and two boys. We all enjoyed it. The FART gags got to me a bit but overall it won - Boyfriend Mickey comes out of this episode a lot better than he did in the first one - which is nice.

Medium Sized Tips even had a couple of his mates around to watch it - they have 7pm on Saturday night set aside now - which is how it should be.

Tiny Tips loves it though doesn't really understand it - aliens, spaceships etc - I've trained him well.

But is it a bit TOO childish?  I can watch something like THE INCREDIBLES, MONSTERS INC and TOY STORY without having to resort to the excuse of "Oh, it's for kids" so why not WHO?

(Apologies If I've got this all wrong - I don't recall watching much Doctor Who after Tom Baker - probably the odd Peter Davidson) so we may always have had to make this excuse about it being for kids but I don't think so.

[Dudley]

Yes, Rose did tell the Doctor "That is so gay".

[opaque]

I thought it was amazing.
Although the one thing that sticks out as being bad is the whole who takes over from the Prime Minister in line of sucession bit.
Just because the cabinet/deputy Prime Minister is out of London doesn't mean they aren't able to take charge! That's the biggest problem with it for me. Now if they'd made the character the deputy that would make more sense.
Or had the cabinet killed off by being on a pleasure cruise on the Thames at the time ;)

[Lord Running Clam]

Last week on the Doctor Who Confidential,the show shown after on bbc 3,it was said that the tardis was surposed to be crewed by 6 time lords.If this is right I guess that could have something to do with it.