Doctor Who SE30E09: "Forest of the Dead"

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-06-07 02:10pm

And lo, masses of fans started wondering just what the hell Song whispered in his ear...

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-06-07 02:38pm

Well, it started weak, but I'll be damned if the ending didn't make up for it.

"I'm The Doctor, and this is the biggest library in the Universe. Look me up"

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-06-07 02:42pm

Okay, ending just got better.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-06-07 02:44pm

Okay, ending just got better again.

Darth Nostril · Post by **Darth Nostril** » 2008-06-07 02:45pm

Bounty wrote:"I'm The Doctor, and this is the biggest library in the Universe. Look me up"

That was such an awesome line

Post by **NecronLord** » 2008-06-07 02:46pm

Everybody lives Rose!

What is this, story number 5 or 6 with a kill-count of 0?

Lost Soal · Post by **Lost Soal** » 2008-06-07 02:47pm

NecronLord wrote:Everybody lives Rose!

Kinda.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-06-07 02:49pm

Lost Soal wrote:
NecronLord wrote:Everybody lives Rose!
Kinda.

Meh, close enough. They're conscious, immortal and can experience anything that was ever written down; I'd call that a decent deal.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2008-06-07 02:50pm

NecronLord wrote:Everybody lives Rose!

What is this, story number 5 or 6 with a kill-count of 0?

Perhaps. As River says, everyone once in a while, when The Doctor calls, everyone lives. I expected a "The Doctor Dances" type ending, just didn't think about how it would happen until I joined the dots with Doctor Moon.

Another great episode, it's just too bad the finale isn't by Moffat. I still have my fears over the rest of the season.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2008-06-07 02:51pm

Bounty wrote:
Meh, close enough. They're conscious, immortal and can experience anything that was ever written down; I'd call that a decent deal.

Plus, CAL could bring them back via the teleporter anyway. I'm sure they could convince the Vashta Nerada to allow them safe passage should they want off planet.

2000AD · Post by **2000AD** » 2008-06-07 02:51pm

When he left the screwdriver on the diary I was expecting The Doctor from the future to turn up and take it (Just his hand or something, not a full shot)

Post by **NecronLord** » 2008-06-07 02:53pm

I was expecting him to leave the diary to the Vashta Narada or something.

Post by **NecronLord** » 2008-06-07 02:54pm

Oh. And it turns out the planet was a space-Pyramid!

Incidentally, I assume the surface of the planet will be (largely) left to the Vashta Narada. Presumably allowed to overgrow with critters for them to consume.

El Moose Monstero · Post by **El Moose Monstero** » 2008-06-07 02:55pm

Felt like Return of the King; good, but a bit clunky. Still miles better than the rest of the episodes, but not as good as last week. Lots of things I liked, a few things I didn't, but I can't put my finger on why it didn't feel smooth.

It didn't help that our reception started to go at the end, I'll have to catch the last 5 mins properly to hear what was actually said, although our reception did tune back in for 'everybody lives'.

I'm off to fish out the Doctor Dances. That ending remains one of my favourite scenes of the new Doctor Who.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-06-07 02:55pm

NecronLord wrote:I was expecting him to leave the diary to the Vashta Narada or something.

The best fake endings are the ones that would work just as well as real ones. I was fully expecting the episode to end on that shot of the diary with River's VO - which made him running back all the better.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-06-07 02:57pm

Lots of things I liked, a few things I didn't, but I can't put my finger on why it didn't feel smooth.

The first twenty minutes went into Exposition Overload. CAL, Dr Moon, the teleporters, the pulped wood=paper=books idea, the deformed girl... take on its own, all these ideas were interesting, but they were all dumped on the audience a bit too quickly.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2008-06-07 03:09pm

LOL, Moffat on Confidential.

"There you go. It's got life saving functions too now," on the screwdriver.

EDIT: Also, the "square gun" may have been Capt. Jack's that he left in the TARDIS and River found and used.

Darth Nostril · Post by **Darth Nostril** » 2008-06-07 03:31pm

Or the Doctor duplicated it's function in his screwdriver, remember that Jacks gun had the ability to close the hole up afterwards

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2008-06-07 03:41pm

That would explain why the wall wasn't replaced if he jury rigged a similar function for the screwdriver.

Post by **NecronLord** » 2008-06-07 04:07pm

I'm pretty sure it's the squareness gun prop too. Though they supposedly let Barrowman keep it.

When he left the screwdriver on the diary I was expecting The Doctor from the future to turn up and take it (Just his hand or something, not a full shot)

Michael Jayston!

Darth Nostril · Post by **Darth Nostril** » 2008-06-07 04:07pm

Plus the weapons factory that created the gun was turned into a banana plantation by the Doctor, Jacks gun probably wound up as the only existing example of it's kind in the universe
Given the size of the sonic screwdriver I would guess there's a limit to the number of functions that could be jury rigged into it, after all the ability to magic up an emergency escape route is of considerably more use, closing it up would be secondary

A lot of questions answered - on his last visit the Doctor gave River his screwdriver .... after he gimmicked in a "soulcatcher"
And she knew his real name, the only way to get him to totally trust her

Lost Soal · Post by **Lost Soal** » 2008-06-07 04:12pm

Darth Nostril wrote:Plus the weapons factory that created the gun was turned into a banana plantation by the Doctor, Jacks gun probably wound up as the only existing example of it's kind in the universe

Right, because he was the only person to use that fatory. Their are probably thousands of those things in existance.

And she knew his real name, the only way to get him to totally trust her

Also because she's his wife.

Darth Nostril · Post by **Darth Nostril** » 2008-06-07 04:42pm

Lost Soal wrote: Right, because he was the only person to use that factory. There are probably thousands of those things in existence.

(corrected your spelling mistakes for you)

Not if the Doctor went far enough back that the factory never existed
Jack was a former time agent, he still had the technology to travel in time after he left, if he was outside the timestream when the Doctor changed things he would still have the gun even though they never existed anywhere else

Lost Soal wrote: Also because she's his wife.

Source for that claim? All we've got is supposition and speculation
Yes there are hints in the episode "the only time I would ever say that ..."
but that's not concrete proof they're married

andrewgpaul · Post by **andrewgpaul** » 2008-06-07 04:51pm

No, Jack remembers the factory exploding. The Doctor blew it up, not prevented its construction.

The squareness gun was definitely not just a new function of the screwdriver.

Post by **NecronLord** » 2008-06-07 04:57pm

Oh. One detail I liked 'to the end of the universe [...] and actually I've been.' Are we to assume that River's Doctor went and did something about the Toclafane's tragic end? I rather hope so.

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Doctor Who SE30E09: "Forest of the Dead"

Episode rating

Doctor Who SE30E09: "Forest of the Dead"