Hide (3310/710)

[cosmichobo]

Certainly felt some tinges of Ghostlight, and general 7th Doctorness about this episode...

The miss-pronunciation drove me nuts... and they could have got something that looked like a Metabilis crystal... (I know, I'm old)

The TARDIS really likes you... said the Master to Chang Lee... The TARDIS really doesn't like Clara... And thus - I know her secret!

Ready?

Clara is in fact, Capt Jack... after a sex change...


The story had my son hiding behind a dozen pillows, clutching his toy dog... But at the end when he found out the "monster" was just in love, he came out from hiding with a big smile... I too liked that twist... Very nice.

[min min light]

The story had my son hiding behind a dozen pillows, clutching his toy dog... But at the end when he found out the "monster" was just in love, he came out from hiding with a big smile... I too liked that twist... Very nice.

Awwww!

I enjoyed this one, so I'm glad to know I didn't just go off Who for some reason - I was starting to worry when I didn't like two in a row.

[Coco Pops]

What was with the very abrupt ending?

He tells the monster to get ready to jump then end credits? What the?

Did they run out of time for an ending? On a time travel show of all things haha.

The TARDIS almost talking to Clara. What the?

If there was one door where she was where did that cable come from? Is there a door on the other side where the cable comes out? WTF?

Who wrote this junk?

And why did Emma tell Clara not to trust the doctor?

[Sealurk]

What was with the very abrupt ending?

He tells the monster to get ready to jump then end credits? What the?

Did they run out of time for an ending? On a time travel show of all things haha.

The main story was done, we know what happens next based on what's happened before. It can be quite an effective tool for story telling, not least because it leaves you thinking. It's the same reason we don't really see what goes on in the TARDIS between adventures - it's just not that interesting.

The TARDIS almost talking to Clara. What the?

Yeah, considering that in The Doctor's Wife the Doctor wishes he could talk to the TARDIS all the time and is told it doesn't work like that, the voice interface seems to have become a bit more than just an alternative control mechanism... or is specifically because it was Clara? We know there's something weird going on there and the TARDIS doesn't like her, so maybe that has something do with it.

If there was one door where she was where did that cable come from? Is there a door on the other side where the cable comes out? WTF?

Who wrote this junk?

Neil Cross, who wrote 'The Rings of Akhaten' and is also the writer-creator of the BBC's rather good police thriller 'Luther'. Compared to 'Akhaten' I thought 'Hide' was a drastic improvement and easily one of the best episodes of the series (and now I understand why they wanted Cross to write a second episode... shame it didn't work out as well), but each to their own.

And why did Emma tell Clara not to trust the doctor?

Because we've known for a very long time that the Doctor has a dark side and has done terrible things. Besides, Rule #1: the Doctor lies. It's a pretty established part of the show's mythology.

[Blencathra]

I've just been reading a very interesting conversation on Twitter between various Who Producers, Execs and the DWM Magazine editor about the mispronunciation of Metebelis.

From what I can gather, Matt pronounced it correctly during read-through and shooting but much later said it wrongly at ADR (dubbing). There was nobody there who knew the correct pronunciation to put him right. Later still both Marcus Wilson and Steven Moffat noticed he'd said it wrongly, but by then it was too late to do anything about it. And yes it will be said wrongly on the DVD as well, as there was no time to sort that out either. So apologies all round. They did laugh though and say that it must be that either the TARDIS translation circuits were a bit dodgy or it's the way the Spiders say it.

[stargatefan234]

Yeah, considering that in The Doctor's Wife the Doctor wishes he could talk to the TARDIS all the time and is told it doesn't work like that, the voice interface seems to have become a bit more than just an alternative control mechanism... or is specifically because it was Clara? We know there's something weird going on there and the TARDIS doesn't like her, so maybe that has something do with it.

The Voice Interface is definitely more than just that, the "Fish Fingers and Custard" moment and this episode, but IMO it's definitely alot LESS than a full blown conversation, which is what the doctor wanted.

The Voice Interface is definitely more than just that, the "Fish Fingers and Custard" moment and this episode, but IMO it's definitely alot LESS than a full blown conversation, which is what the doctor wanted.

EDIT: as for the miss-pronunciation... so what, maybe that's just the way the 11th doctor says "Metebelis", if the incarnation had a Scottish accent and pronounced it "wrongly" no one would care

[MasySyma]

Oh that was dreadful. Please stop letting this writer compose episodes.

The Good:
The genetic connection was interesting.
I also liked that the ghost wasn't a ghost.

The Bad:
Almost everything else.
The plot was slow, and the ending was rubbish.
What could have been a great opportunity to introduce a new, second companion was wasted.
Clara was underused until the ending, and her mystery was not advanced.
The monster in love? Really? And the proof? He looked more inclined to eat this girl. More story was needed.
A mini-epic doctor speech. Sigh.
More useless banter. Sigh.

Another weak series seven episode. This one was as bad as 42.

[Quizziard]

What I like about this forum is that we are getting almost the entire range of responses. And yet no sniping, biting or flaming. Doctor Who fans are definitely more civilised than other people...

[Blencathra]

Agreed.

What a great episode! It reminded me very much of 1970s episodes, very gothic and creepy. The monster was excellent. I like that we didn't see much of it. Keeping it in the background with just quick glimpses through mist or behind trees was very effective. It certainly gave me the creeps. Last night I had to go & collect my daughter from her friend's house down a long dark tree lined lane. I felt very edgy.

Other super stuff

The Cloister Bell
Metebelis 3
The Eye of Harmony

And there were some other things I noticed that I'll put on my Clara's identity thread.


Some excellent quotes

"Nice action on the toggle switches. I do like a toggle switch."

"...your companion"
"Assistant"
"Oh, it's 1974, you're the assistant".

"I'm giving you a face."

"I dare you. No takesy backseys."

"Ignorance is bliss. What's the opposite of Bliss?"
"Carlisle."
"Ignorance is Carlisle."
(It's not that bad! - Blen)

"Let me in, you grumpy old cow!"

"Time travel is impossible. The paradoxes-"
"...Resolve themselves, by and large..."

After two decidedly mediocre episodes, Doctor Who is back on track.

Liked "Hide" a lot, it hearkened back to proper old school scary Doctor Who from the late 70s.

My only quibble (aside from Matt Smith's mispronunciation of Metebelis) was Dougray Scott's character was far too young to have served in WWII.
Assuming Dr. Palmer is the same age as Dougray Scott (47), then he'd only have been 17 or 18 when the war ended in 1945.

I did wonder about that. If we push his age to 50 or 51 then it is just about possible. That would give him a date of birth of 1923, so he could be a contemporary of the likes of Peter Hilton who joined Bletchley Park in 1942 aged 18, or Stephen Grady who joined SOE in 1942 aged 17 & won the Croix de Guerre. Perhaps Professor Palmer's extreme guilt was related to his youth at the time, as he struggles to come to terms with what he did at a young age.


Finally, my shippy heart was squealing with delight. I do love a good romance.

[BruTak]

What I like about this forum is that we are getting almost the entire range of responses. And yet no sniping, biting or flaming. Doctor Who fans are definitely more civilised than other people...

Obviously you're not a member of Gallifrey Base then?

[Blencathra]

Something else I forgot to mention, did everyone get the joke when Clara and the Doctor couldn't find the hat stand so she could put away her umbrella? The reason it's gone is because Matt has it. He took it home as a souvenir.

[Coco Pops]

Something else I forgot to mention, did everyone get the joke when Clara and the Doctor couldn't find the hat stand so she could put away her umbrella? The reason it's gone is because Matt has it. He took it home as a souvenir.

I kind of got the joke, but didn't know Matt pinched the prop

[Purple Glow]

It's the same reason we don't really see what goes on in the TARDIS between adventures - it's just not that interesting.

Well, -anything- can be interesting if written correctly. I do miss filler. I miss episodes being 4 episodes / 90 minutes long. That extra half hour allows more time to fill out characters and make them more "real". But in modern times its criticized as being useless "padding", and stories now feel WAY too streamlined to the point where almost every scene has meaning. That makes it too easy to predict where the plot is going because when you only have 1 hour to tell a story, any scene that doesn't have a point gets cut, so every scene must have a purpose. So when you see something strange happen, you realize immediately its a tipoff.

With 90 minutes, you get more latitude to simply explore characters without caring about advancing the story. Which also throws you off when trying to figure out what is going to happen next, and keeps it exciting, imo.

[Purple Glow]

The Voice Interface is definitely more than just that, the "Fish Fingers and Custard" moment and this episode, but IMO it's definitely alot LESS than a full blown conversation, which is what the doctor wanted.

The Voice Interface is definitely more than just that, the "Fish Fingers and Custard" moment and this episode, but IMO it's definitely alot LESS than a full blown conversation, which is what the doctor wanted.

EDIT: as for the miss-pronunciation... so what, maybe that's just the way the 11th doctor says "Metebelis", if the incarnation had a Scottish accent and pronounced it "wrongly" no one would care

What funny about the Voice Interface is that for years I had this idea for a fan fiction of a freshly regenerated Doctor trying to enter the TARDIS for the first time. My idea was that it doesn't allow him access because it doesn't recognize him for some reason, and when he tries to use the key, the TARDIS projects a hologram of the previous Doctor outside the TARDIS standing next to him as a security protocol. The new Doctor gets a funny scene where he argues with his old self about what is going on, and then it turns sad as the "hologram" Doctor realizes his time has passed. The hologram asks "So I regenerated...did it hurt?" The new Doctor somberly says "Always." And with that, the hologram Doctor releases the security protocol, the TARDIS shines a light on the new Doctor to do a quick scan and get his data. The TARDIS uses that to rebuild the hologram and we see the old Doctor hologram fade away, replaced with an image of the new one. Briefly we see two copies of the new Doctor stand there until the hologram shuts down and the TARDIS gives access.

The idea is totally ruined now, especially with this episode where the hologram is shown outside the TARDIS. Bleh. They stole it! haha jk

[cosmichobo]

Lovely idea, Purple!