500: The Next Doctor

my insomnia payed off...has anyone seen this yet other than me?

500: The Next Doctor

Please keep in mind that that this episode has already aired in the UK. This thread will probably contain LOTS of spoilers. If you don't want to ruin the fun, you may want to come back once the episode airs on SciFi.

greenk9 wrote:

my insomnia payed off...has anyone seen this yet other than me?

Yep, I've seen it. I liked parts of it very much and I thought the visuals were magnificent. The acting on the whole was pretty good. The cybershades were plain silly though.

I keep forgetting that episodes are discussed in this area, and not under general discussions.

Anyway, I thought it was an average romp, which had some disappointments, especially the quickly wrapped up conclusion.

yes oz I was a tad disapointed in the cybershades- loved the masks but the rest of the body looked like a cheap gorilla suit but that being said this episode reminded me about how well doctor who fits in the victorian era. Loved Hartigan- very subtile a performance as in contrast to the over the top performance of the racnoss. As far as the xmas specials the christmas invasion is still my favorite but this one was a fun romp. Cinnur I too felt that the ending was too fast...oh well. I really am hating the waiting for the next special it is far too far away...sniff.

As for this episode- Morrisey was a triumph- I enjoyed Tennant and him in Blackpool and was thrilled to see them pair up again. Thank goodness they did not break out singing (Ref to Blackpool of course).

Glad to see The Doctor fight an alien menace in a time period other than the present day for this Christmas special. Still ended up being a huge alien menace threatening the world, but at least it was in another century.

Loved the giant steampunk Cyberman vs. The Doctor in hot air baloon. That was so Jules Verne. (That's gonna be one helluva BAF. Better get to work Character!)

So, will The Doctor choose the appearance of Jackson Lake for his next regen? After seeing Morrissey in this ep, I'm very much hoping so. I think he'd make a damn fine #11.

Had a moment of giddy geek glee when Jackson views the history of The Doctor on the info stamp and we get a peek at docs 1 - 10.

Overall a very fun episode.

tthanks to the internet i seen in online and like it, very well done imo

The thing I disliked about the show was the cyber king. It was so over the top and ruined the show for me. Hartigan was fine as was Morrisey. There were a lot of holes in the story and once again the time restriction made things go too fast (why was Jackson's son all alone on the rap, what was with the supposedly long swing up onto the ramp). The cybershades were nothing more than guard dogs. Why can't RTD learn that bigger does not mean better (case in point, the TARDIS tugging the earth back in its home) - that is one thing I am definitely not going to miss when he leaves. The best were the scenes between the Doctor and Jackson especially the last scene - why he doesn't have a companion now - because it breaks he's heart when they leave.

Overall a great ep. From the opening moments of the two standing side by side exclaiming Alonz,(?not sure on spelling)
all the way to the reveal of Jackson lake's origin's to Miss Hartigan's ending. Just a straight forward romp with the Doctor unraveling the mysteries and giving the right kind of help to those who need it. I am trying to remember and at no point during this new series can I recall an ending where the Doctor agreed to stay with anyone that wasn't going to be or was a companion. Maybe Mr Lake will reappear?

I enjoyed the episode quite a bit (this year I'll take anything I can get). I do think the ending was a bit over the top, but that's what the Christmas specials are all about and I have come to terms with that.

I think I would have preferred it if they had put a little more effort into the shade/steampunk cybermen and just skipped the cyber-king nonsense. Maybe only one real cyberman made it through and he was building an army of steampunk cybermen from spare parts.

All in all, a silly adventure story that was rounded out by a clever twist.

Really good episode!

Although that massive cyberman thing was a bit over the top.

disapointed that David morrissey wasnt really the doctor. He would have been cool!

I really liked the "sonic" screwdriver and Miss Mercy Hartigan.
I have no idea why everyone went kablooey at the end or why cybermen need to steal orphans for labor.

mattix wrote:

Really good episode!

Although that massive cyberman thing was a bit over the top.

disapointed that David morrissey wasnt really the doctor. He would have been cool!

I originally also thought the gigantic Cyberman was to much as well.
However is it any more over the top than when in the Tom Baker or Jon Pertwee stories that have dinosaurs in London?

Morrissey looks like he would have made an interesting Doctor.
Now that they know who will replace Tennant the idea of the future incarnation and the present incarnation getting involved in a Tennant story seems like an interesting idea.
It has always been that a past Doctor(s) comes forward to the present. Here is the opportunity to reverse that idea. An interesting twist, I think.

just downloaded yesterday have yet to watch.
available via itunes under tennant specials fyi

Really liked this after finally watching. LOVED the Doctors memory stamp that showed all previous docs. I thought the cybershades looked great a cybermat extreme. I don't think the cyberking ruined it at all. It was more the tardis/bln being used as a chase vehicle that was the blemish. Seriously they couldn't notice this in time and shoot him down?

I loved this episode the first time I saw it...still loved it the next few times, and since I rewatched again recently, I'm commenting...The Next Doctor has become one of my all time favorites! The scenes with Tennant and Morrissey are fantastic...Jackson Lake's parallel sonic screwdriver and TARDIS were priceless. Wonderful scenes where Jackson Lake leads the cheers for the Doctor, and where the Doctor admits his heartbreak, but then changes his mind and joins Jackson for Christmas dinner...just a wonderful episode all around, including the Cyberking!

Out of all the 10th Doctor Specials I enjoyed this one the most. Of course the cybermen are my favorite villians so that helped. I really liked the interplay between the Doctor and the Jackson Lake character and Rosita was perfect.

I voted for average. It wasn't great but then again none of the specials have been... outstanding... Although, Rosita struck me as someone who would have traveled with the sixth Doctor. I'm not sure why.

Christian wrote:

I voted for average. It wasn't great but then again none of the specials have been... outstanding... Although, Rosita struck me as someone who would have traveled with the sixth Doctor. I'm not sure why.

I had never thought of that Christian, but yes, I do think Rosita would have made a wonderful companion for the Sixth Doctor.

She just reminds me of like Grant Markham if you've read some of the Sixth Doctor's Missing Adventures...

I thought it was pretty good.

Having seen almost all of Season 5, and just rewatched this episode (I was missing DT) I've got to say, I wish this guy, Morrissey, were the 11th instead of Matt Smith. He was absolutely fantastic, I think, when he was acting like the proper Doctor in the beginning.

I wonder if I'll ever get used to Matt Smith :\

khana wrote:

Having seen almost all of Season 5, and just rewatched this episode (I was missing DT) I've got to say, I wish this guy, Morrissey, were the 11th instead of Matt Smith. He was absolutely fantastic, I think, when he was acting like the proper Doctor in the beginning.

I wonder if I'll ever get used to Matt Smith :\

I agree FULLY!

My friend Artanyus and I already have Morrissey as our fanon 12th Doctor and for the most part, I tend to skip 11 in my stories because he just lacks a lot of character and for the stuff that I like to write, a random and obnoxious Doctor is not easy to write.
~

a1cmustangpilot wrote:

khana wrote:

Having seen almost all of Season 5, and just rewatched this episode (I was missing DT) I've got to say, I wish this guy, Morrissey, were the 11th instead of Matt Smith. He was absolutely fantastic, I think, when he was acting like the proper Doctor in the beginning.

I wonder if I'll ever get used to Matt Smith :\

I agree FULLY!

My friend Artanyus and I already have Morrissey as our fanon 12th Doctor and for the most part, I tend to skip 11 in my stories because he just lacks a lot of character and for the stuff that I like to write, a random and obnoxious Doctor is not easy to write.
~

Yesh, he would have made an excellent Doctor. (plus my aunt thought he was cute)
Maybe doc 11 will get better at time goes by. ~shrug~

Though the Cybusmen were boring as usual....plus just how many did Lumic actually had made?! I think Revenge or Earthshock Cybermen would have been great here (There was supposed to be a scene in Stolen Earth/Journey's End where we see the Shadow Proclamation, which included a classic Cyberman), imagine the Revenge or Earthshock Cyberleader exchanging some choice words with that woman in red?

The Castellan wrote:

a1cmustangpilot wrote:

khana wrote:

Having seen almost all of Season 5, and just rewatched this episode (I was missing DT) I've got to say, I wish this guy, Morrissey, were the 11th instead of Matt Smith. He was absolutely fantastic, I think, when he was acting like the proper Doctor in the beginning.

I wonder if I'll ever get used to Matt Smith :\

I agree FULLY!

My friend Artanyus and I already have Morrissey as our fanon 12th Doctor and for the most part, I tend to skip 11 in my stories because he just lacks a lot of character and for the stuff that I like to write, a random and obnoxious Doctor is not easy to write.
~

Yesh, he would have made an excellent Doctor. (plus my aunt thought he was cute)
Maybe doc 11 will get better at time goes by. ~shrug~

Though the Cybusmen were boring as usual....plus just how many did Lumic actually had made?! I think Revenge or Earthshock Cybermen would have been great here (There was supposed to be a scene in Stolen Earth/Journey's End where we see the Shadow Proclamation, which included a classic Cyberman), imagine the Revenge or Earthshock Cyberleader exchanging some choice words with that woman in red?

Lumic only made a handful, but when he started full production of the Cybermen and they converted him, they became self sustaining, and they pretty much started "upgrading" other people. In one respect they are like the Daleks, the first chance they got they threw off the shackles of control and took control of their own race and did what was necessary to ensure it survived. In this case they just made more Cybermen from humans.