Cold War (3309/709)

[cosmichobo]

When the TARDIS disappeared, I certainly wondered if it was the HADS, but then thought it must have been some kind of remote, activated accidentally by the Russian officer via the sonic... When 11 was bashful at the end, explaining, I knew it was going to be it... A great little nod to the 2nd Doctor's era, in a story featuring the 2nd Doctor's probably 2nd best known enemy.

I was a bit worried when the Ice Warrior escaped his suit... especially then seeing very "Alien/s/3" type over-head attacks... The scene where they talked to him I think probably was a bit too much CGI for me, but it wasn't enough to bring the episode down - as compared to last week's very disconnected CGI planetMonster...

My 5 year old's attention was probably only with the story 50% of the time... Of course, he has no knowledge of the Cold War, and whilst I debated changing this fact, I ultimately decided he doesn't need to know - now - how close we came... (And indeed, "we" were on the brink 20 years before that with the Cuban Missile Crisis...)

David Warner's character... Very suspicious IMO... I was expecting more - maybe something directly leading into the next episode - ie him to kidnap Clara at the end or something... And at the end - I thought the missing TARDIS may be a lead into the next episode... But no...

All in all, yes, agree, it has to be one of the best of S7.

[Nolamom]

I love David Warner, but I love him more evil than as a kindly old professor. Even so, great job.

[min min light]

Funny how much taste and oppinions can differ. I enjoyed last weeks episode which most people here didn'd but couldn't make much of this one.

I know, I wasn't so crazy about either of them but at least last week's was visually interesting. I was bored for long stretches of time in this one, and Clara is still too nebulous for me to care about her. And I'm not familiar with Classic Who, so there's no thrill of seeing the old enemies.

I envy everyone who's loving this season.

[cosmichobo]

I envy everyone who's loving this season.

I think I heard of that person...

[Quizziard]

Medium to good, I suppose. I was watching in a hotel room, delaying going down to dinner, so was weirdly under pressure already. The overall story was pretty routine, but reasonable for Doctor Who. Nice touch in concept to remove the Warrior from his armour but not sure about the implementation: Scaldak's face just didn't seem right (not sure it would physically fit the proportions of the helmet, for a start). As for the armour, if he couldn't escape the chains whilst in the suit, how could it escape when empty? And, what no-one's mentioned, wasn't it largely solved by another intense Doctor speech?

[fumblesmcstupid]

Why are these dumb***** shooting ******* bullets in a ******* SUBMARINE under*******water? Are they out of their ******* minds? Do they not understand that bullets make holes in things? FCOL!

Unintelligent Buffoons.

[Sealurk]

Just watched it again. Still love it

Okay, the technical aspect is a bit poor (can a missile boat even launch an ICBM from that far down? Don't they need to rise to a launch depth?), but for a one-off episode that is - let's be fair here - focusing on other slightly more important things I found it easy to overlook.

Absolutely adored the design of the Ice Warrior's armour, and the Martian within. Even more, I like how it is so menacing and threatening (especially when Skaldak is openly moving through the sub's passages in full armour and shrugging off Kalashnikov fire, which looked very impressive and intimidating), yet it isn't intrinsically evil. It has the potential for good AND evil and the fact that it can consider annihilating an entire planet but can also show mercy makes it much more complex, interesting and ultimately threatening than a lot of Who monsters. It's unpredictable, yet has a code of honour. It can be enemy or ally.

In short, I think the Ice Warriors are my new favourites! Maybe not as clever as the Weeping Angels or the Silents, but certainly more layered and interesting than the Daleks.

I really hope we see Captain Zhukov and Professor Grisenko again. I especially loved the quick dialogue between Zhukov and Skaldak and something approaching mutual appreciation and admiration between two veteran warriors with a noble cause, even if they were opposed.

Perhaps overthinking this, but the HADS... did the TARDIS pick the South Pole because in the event Skaldak did trigger a nuclear holocaust, it would be among the safest places on Earth?!

[Coco Pops]

Much better episode then the "rings of Potterville" from last week

Loved the Ice Warrior that was so cool. Loved the ET homage when they left. Loved most of the episode. Only grip was the obligatory gay joke. What's with that? And no not meaning that in a bad way. It just feels like something shoved into almost every episode just because they can.

I can forgive that the sub had a ton more room inside then it would in real life. Part of the price of a TV production.

[Coco Pops]

I love David Warner, but I love him more evil than as a kindly old professor. Even so, great job.

I loved him as Sark in Tron

[BruTak]

Why are these dumb***** shooting ******* bullets in a ******* SUBMARINE under*******water? Are they out of their ******* minds? Do they not understand that bullets make holes in things? FCOL!

Unintelligent Buffoons.

A 7.62mm round from an AK-47 will not penetrate the interior pressure hull of a Soviet Delta II-class nuclear submarine.

[Flyboy]

A 7.62mm round from an AK-47 will not penetrate the interior pressure hull of a Soviet Delta II-class nuclear submarine.

And even if it would... you deal with one problem at a time. Oh look, there's a Martian coming to kill me, but oh noes, I can't shoot it... I might damage the sub...

No... I'll go with my first thought, which was 'Five Rounds Rapid!'

[P-90_177]

And even if it would... you deal with one problem at a time. Oh look, there's a Martian coming to kill me, but oh noes, I can't shoot it... I might damage the sub...

No... I'll go with my first thought, which was 'Five Rounds Rapid!'

...Shame Ice Warriors don't have wings.

[MasySyma]

I was not expecting much from this episode:

1. I hate submarine episodes. Every show does it, and it usually results in a terribly shouty, boring episode.
2. I tend not to like MG episodes. I think Idiot's Lantern is far worse than Love and Monsters.
3. Series 7 has not impressed me, and my excitement for the show has significantly diminished.

All that said, it was not a horrific episode. I'm not saying it compares to anything in Donna's year, but it wasn't as bad as last week.

The Good:
The Ice Warrior. I liked the look of the alien and that his species is still around.
The Professor. I like that actor better as a villain too, but I appreciate Who not aiming for the obvious as it has done so often lately.

The Meh:
Most of it. The episode wasn't that bad; it just wasn't that good, funny, or entertaining either.
I think I understand people's issues with Clara this time although I like her. This episode feels misplaced. On one level it's her first go back in the past episode, so we need the world not ending in 1983 comments, but on the other side, she was not the focal point, almost like when the companion has been around for a bit.

The Bad:
The sub was hilariously too large. If you can't fit a seven foot ice warrior in a sub, set the story somewhere else.
Shouty Doctor. Something about the way 11 yells bothers me. His voice cracks. I like him when he talks like a sane individual. Too bad he is not allowed to do that often.

In a strong series, this episode would have been a filler episode sitting in front of the finale. It's Midnight redux. It's sad that it is a refreshing change for series 7.

[Greenee]

I know, I wasn't so crazy about either of them but at least last week's was visually interesting. I was bored for long stretches of time in this one, and Clara is still too nebulous for me to care about her. And I'm not familiar with Classic Who, so there's no thrill of seeing the old enemies.

Nice, not to be alone here. Clara beeing nebulous doesn't stop me from liking her. As long as I don't now more about her, I take her as another girl, who wants to see the universe, the Doctor piecked up.

I envy everyone who's loving this season.

Well, now that's a bit harsh, isn't it?

And, what no-one's mentioned, wasn't it largely solved by another intense Doctor speech?

Actully, it wasn't, was it? He DID try his speechthing like alwayes, but (again, like last week), it was Clara who did the job. Thinking about it, it reminded me of the eppisodes with chirchil and the Daleks, where was Amy's words, not the Doctors, who stoped this bomb-thing. DIffrent kontext, I know, but it shows, that the doctors comanions are often much mor empathic than he is. He tries, but sometime he doesn't quite understand what realy matters to others.

[Girlbot]

Not my favorite episode. I think my favorite part was the Ice Warrior Ship. It was fantastic.