Doctor Who (39) 13:02 The Flux (part 2): The War of the Sontarans

nixie

pixie druid
Staff member
Supporter
Joined
May 4, 2005
Messages
7,367
Location
I may live in Yorkshire but I'm a Scot
I was feeling rather put out that the Lupari storyline seemed to be forgotten, then Karvanista appears to save Dan from certain death, made me laugh.
Starting to make more sense, we know how the Sontarions are there, hopefully next week the Swarm and his companions and how there is a planet called time will become clearer.

I know there are a lot of flaws, why is the doctor unaware of the Lupari, how does she not know about planet time and temperal temple thing, but its fun and I'm impressed.
 

AlexH

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2017
Messages
1,526
Location
Staffordshire, UK
Not classic modern Who, but I enjoyed it, including some of the humour. I'd just made a bad pun about causing pandemonium then John Bishop went on to make another.

I've wondered before why there haven't been more multipart stories in Doctor Who and that aspect seems to be benefitting the series after two episodes. I also felt I could have watched the second episode without seeing the first, which might have helped any kids (or adults) out trick or treating last week.
 

MemoryTale

Good with a stick
Joined
Sep 27, 2011
Messages
789
Location
Gainsborough
This felt a lot more cohesive than last week as it only had two plotlines to go between, technically three if you count the Doctor and Dan's adventure being separate stories.

I liked the Sontarans being back to being a ruthless army as opposed to the running joke they became under Stephen Moffat, even if they did go with some of his running jokes, and while I liked some callbacks such as Lynx claiming the Earth for the Sontarans, it also distracted me a bit since the solution was almost exactly how the Doctor won in The Sontaran Experiment.

Still not sure what to make of Dan, he seems very comic relief with none of the pathos that made Graham stand out.

I'm still liking Swarm and Azure, not entirely sure where their Darkseid lookalike friend came from, though I have a theory and it's not a nice one. I'm liking the slow build up of their story with the ruins, and I expect it's the story that will be tying all of this season together.
 

Dave

Non Bio
Staff member
Joined
Jan 5, 2001
Messages
22,262
Location
Way on Down South, London Town
I enjoyed it, including some of the humour.
I'm still liking Swarm and Azure, not entirely sure where their Darkseid lookalike friend came from, though I have a theory and it's not a nice one. I'm liking the slow build up of their story with the ruins, and I expect it's the story that will be tying all of this season together.
I agree with both. The third "Darkseid" super-villain was called 'The Passenger'.

I think the manic nature of the plot often stems directly from the manic nature of the JW version of the Doctor. There were earlier Doctors that were similar, even William Hartnell had his moments, so I think any criticism of that is unavailing, however, it does make the plot very difficult to follow. Given this should still be essentially a children's TV series made for children, such convoluted narratives are too complex, even though I like it.

The cgi battle with the British Army against the Sontarans reminded me heavily of the game Age Of Empires with the cheat code PHOTON MAN in use, where the Roman Army's battle is marked by the appearance of a futuristic looking spacesuit armed man with a laser gun.
 

REBerg

Registered Alien
Supporter
Joined
May 27, 2013
Messages
5,395
Location
Kepler-440b
Not classic modern Who, but I enjoyed it, including some of the humour. I'd just made a bad pun about causing pandemonium then John Bishop went on to make another.

I've wondered before why there haven't been more multipart stories in Doctor Who and that aspect seems to be benefitting the series after two episodes. I also felt I could have watched the second episode without seeing the first, which might have helped any kids (or adults) out trick or treating last week.
So, one could surmise that the series is panning out for you. :)
I love the idea of defeating a superior alien technology with a good swing of an iron pan. It's a skill easily acquired, compared to putting a rock through a small hole with a slingshot, which might take a few centuries to perfect.
Swarm and Azure are an intriguing couple. Are they an evil version of Gomez and Morticia Addams, or are they more like Herman and Lily Munster?
 

Vince W

Towel Champion
Supporter
Joined
Sep 9, 2011
Messages
5,154
Aaaaand we're back to nonsensical hyper Doctor failing to impress in thought or action. The Sontarans, like most Who villains, are a complete joke and treated as such. After a bit of promise in episode 1 this is spiralling out of control quickly.
 
Last edited:

REBerg

Registered Alien
Supporter
Joined
May 27, 2013
Messages
5,395
Location
Kepler-440b
Aaaaand were back to nonsensical hyper Doctor failing to impress in thought or action. The Sontarans, like most Who villains, are a complete joke and treated as such. After a bit of promise in episode 1 this is spiralling out of control quickly.
I wondered, as I watched the Sontarans' inability to hit a moving target surpass that of Stormtroopers, if these "warriors" had inherited their technology from much brighter and more skilled ancestors. Still, the commander did fulfill his desire to go horsey back riding. :LOL:
 

Vince W

Towel Champion
Supporter
Joined
Sep 9, 2011
Messages
5,154
I wondered, as I watched the Sontarans' inability to hit a moving target surpass that of Stormtroopers, if these "warriors" had inherited their technology from much brighter and more skilled ancestors. Still, the commander did fulfill his desire to go horsey back riding. :LOL:
And hitting them with a wok. Ugh. Dan might as well have said the Sontaran's shoes were untied. Ghastly.
 

Dave

Non Bio
Staff member
Joined
Jan 5, 2001
Messages
22,262
Location
Way on Down South, London Town
Wasn't Earth a totally insignificant planet to the Sontarans? It only became vaguely important to them when it became the middle of the battlefield in their war with the Rutans. But given that the Rutans appeared to be seaweedy squidy things then I doubt that made it very much more important.
 

Vince W

Towel Champion
Supporter
Joined
Sep 9, 2011
Messages
5,154
Wasn't Earth a totally insignificant planet to the Sontarans? It only became vaguely important to them when it became the middle of the battlefield in their war with the Rutans. But given that the Rutans appeared to be seaweedy squidy things then I doubt that made it very much more important.
Yeah. Rutans were space jelly-fish who were completely war oriented like the Sontarans. They were shapeshifters as well. They would be a good species to bring back now with the advanced cgi able to make them come to life.
 

BAYLOR

There Are Always new Things to Learn.
Joined
Jun 29, 2014
Messages
22,026
Yeah. Rutans were space jelly-fish who were completely war oriented like the Sontarans. They were shapeshifters as well. They would be a good species to bring back now with the advanced cgi able to make them come to life.

With Straxx, I got to like the Sontarans a bit . You know what could be fun? A miniseries revolving around the Sontarans . Setit on Sontaran battle ship going for one combat mission to another. A band of bothers type storyline .
 

Matteo

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Messages
893
Well...better than last week's episode as it was more coherent. And Swarm and Azure are interesting, also the planet called Time - though the Doctor should be aware. But Sontarans not being able to hit a moving target (at least when those targets are principle characters)?? pfft!
 

Similar threads


Top