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

[nixie]

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.

 

[CupofJoe]

I liked Mary Seacole and the British Hotel.

 

[AlexH]

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.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Just watched the second episode and it has left me wondering is John and his wok vs the Sontarans cooler than Ace and her baseball bat vs the Dalek. It has been quite a discussion point in our house.

 

[MemoryTale]

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.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I liked Mary Seacole and the British Hotel.

it was great to see it but now it has sucked into Horrible Histories songs.

 

[Dave]

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.

 

[MemoryTale]

I agree with both. The third "Darkseid" super-villain was called 'The Passenger'.

Thanks, I didn't catch their name

 

[REBerg]

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?

 

[Dave]

Which would make the Passenger, Lurch?

 

[Vince W]

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.

 

[REBerg]

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.

 

[Vince W]

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.

And hitting them with a wok. Ugh. Dan might as well have said the Sontaran's shoes were untied. Ghastly.

 

[Dave]

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.

 

[REBerg]

And hitting them with a wok. Ugh. Dan might as well have said the Sontaran's shoes were untied. Ghastly.

That was my favorite part!

 

[Vince W]

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]

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...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!

 

[Vince W]

A band of bothers type storyline .

If you mean Larry, Moe, and Curly then I concur.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

That was my favorite part!

Mine too - for me that sort of thing is very Classic Dr Who.