I thought Eleven might be fitting.
1) The Doctor didn't destroy Gallifrey because he had too, in order to INEXPLICABLY stop ALL Daleks. He destroyed Gallifrey because his people were power-mad, Barbaric, Narcissistic, Dangerous megalomaniacs who would have destroyed the Universe themselves. This might have been less numbing if it was at all mentioned in-character.
2) Speaking of Ten, he was out of character. The whole thing to do with Elizabeth reminded me so terribly of Girl in the Fireplace, and thus all the complaints about his laddish, lude, 'along for the ride' behaviour stand relevant here as well. Please also remember that this is the Ten coming out of 'The Waters of Mars,' and about to enter 'The End of Time', where he is dark, brooding, power-mad and in full grasp of the knowledge that his people are monsters.
3) The plot involved many holes, unexplained events and frankly lazy writing. (For example, what happens to the Gallifrey in 'End of Time' now?) How did they get into the Time War? Who knows. Weapon we've all never heard of before did it. Literally 50th anniversary of a very clever show had the plot of 'Just God Powers because' – and what hurts the most is that people are calling this wonderful. Also, near the end, where John Hurt explains that he simply won't remember and that's just accepted. Just thrown in there, so lazily. Why won't you remember? What happens if you had to delete yourself from your own History in order that the Doctor never remembers? Hence no one knows you.
4) The ending was the reworked final plot from Blink. In Blink, Sally and Lawrence – through guidance of the Doctor – have the TARDIS vanish and thus all the Angels end up defeating themselves by staring at one another. In this episode, the same thing happens, only we replace the TARDIS for Gallifrey. It is not a good thing for the same writer to be reusing his old plots.
5) There was nothing that Billie Piper's character could not have done as simply 'Bad Wolf'. The level of power she has as that entity is the same as 'The Moment'. Why then did Moffat chose to make his own character for her instead of calling back to another writer's work? I wonder. Does anyone seem a pattern emerging here? The only reason to write a new character is if something new is required. If he wished for a new character in and of this 'weapon', more could have been done with it. For example – a conscience is by nature is Conflicted. Why not have an angel-devil situation happening? Imagine John Simm on one shoulder and Billie on another.
6) Following along these lines, it was also pointless for John Hurt's Doctor to exist. It was, once again, more evidence that Moffat writes characters only for himself. Paul McGann was willing and able to be involved. And, with no offence to a fine actor like John, it would have meant so much more.
7) How did the first Doctor know to start doing this thing so long ago in his life, for an event he knew nothing of? I'm all for the cameo's of the old Doctors, and new ones. It was exciting. But it needs to make sense. A cameo has NO NEED to be just 'for the sake of being there.' It is lazy writing.
8) Stop calling the Doctor clever. You sound like a phone sex operator or a year 7 tutor. You're calling him clever now for things that aren't even mildly clever. It feels like some giant joke. Like Moffat has literally looked at the criticisms put unto himself, and amplified them by ten – and yet, oh well, people eat it up.
9) The Butchering of a great Historical figure. We've had many on the Show – take Churchill, for example, or Queen Victoria who ended up creating Torchwood. They are always played for intrigue – to a) teach the audience about history and b) add some new, sci-fi element to the character, such as how they held off an alien invasion or something. Elizabeth was played as some kind of over-the-top Panto Dame declaring her love for the Doctor every five minutes and acting as if she could not live if he did not marry her.
10) Speaking of making fools of women – we have the character of the Scientist wearing Four's scarf. Her turning to the camera when in mortal peril and begging to be saved by the Doctor was so very uncomfortable – and she did this twice. She doesn't even know the man.
11) What really hurts, though? Is the lack of callbacks. We had footage of the Doctors, and a lovely scene at the end. But every new scene, I was expecting to see a face that I recognized. I can't think that many actors involved in the show would turn down the chance to be part of this 'global event', especially considering how many of them were gushing at the fact they were even in Doctor Who at all. As we cut to the Gallifreyan War Council, I was expecting to see Timothy Dalton as Rassilon, as we opened to the School, I was thinking we might see Susan, or a child of Susan's and the Doctor coming to see her. No older companions were mentioned, not even Sarah Jane Smith. Lazy writing makes me angry, but this breaks my heart.
1) The Doctor didn't destroy Gallifrey because he had too, in order to INEXPLICABLY stop ALL Daleks. He destroyed Gallifrey because his people were power-mad, Barbaric, Narcissistic, Dangerous megalomaniacs who would have destroyed the Universe themselves. This might have been less numbing if it was at all mentioned in-character.
2) Speaking of Ten, he was out of character. The whole thing to do with Elizabeth reminded me so terribly of Girl in the Fireplace, and thus all the complaints about his laddish, lude, 'along for the ride' behaviour stand relevant here as well. Please also remember that this is the Ten coming out of 'The Waters of Mars,' and about to enter 'The End of Time', where he is dark, brooding, power-mad and in full grasp of the knowledge that his people are monsters.
3) The plot involved many holes, unexplained events and frankly lazy writing. (For example, what happens to the Gallifrey in 'End of Time' now?) How did they get into the Time War? Who knows. Weapon we've all never heard of before did it. Literally 50th anniversary of a very clever show had the plot of 'Just God Powers because' – and what hurts the most is that people are calling this wonderful. Also, near the end, where John Hurt explains that he simply won't remember and that's just accepted. Just thrown in there, so lazily. Why won't you remember? What happens if you had to delete yourself from your own History in order that the Doctor never remembers? Hence no one knows you.
4) The ending was the reworked final plot from Blink. In Blink, Sally and Lawrence – through guidance of the Doctor – have the TARDIS vanish and thus all the Angels end up defeating themselves by staring at one another. In this episode, the same thing happens, only we replace the TARDIS for Gallifrey. It is not a good thing for the same writer to be reusing his old plots.
5) There was nothing that Billie Piper's character could not have done as simply 'Bad Wolf'. The level of power she has as that entity is the same as 'The Moment'. Why then did Moffat chose to make his own character for her instead of calling back to another writer's work? I wonder. Does anyone seem a pattern emerging here? The only reason to write a new character is if something new is required. If he wished for a new character in and of this 'weapon', more could have been done with it. For example – a conscience is by nature is Conflicted. Why not have an angel-devil situation happening? Imagine John Simm on one shoulder and Billie on another.
6) Following along these lines, it was also pointless for John Hurt's Doctor to exist. It was, once again, more evidence that Moffat writes characters only for himself. Paul McGann was willing and able to be involved. And, with no offence to a fine actor like John, it would have meant so much more.
7) How did the first Doctor know to start doing this thing so long ago in his life, for an event he knew nothing of? I'm all for the cameo's of the old Doctors, and new ones. It was exciting. But it needs to make sense. A cameo has NO NEED to be just 'for the sake of being there.' It is lazy writing.
8) Stop calling the Doctor clever. You sound like a phone sex operator or a year 7 tutor. You're calling him clever now for things that aren't even mildly clever. It feels like some giant joke. Like Moffat has literally looked at the criticisms put unto himself, and amplified them by ten – and yet, oh well, people eat it up.
9) The Butchering of a great Historical figure. We've had many on the Show – take Churchill, for example, or Queen Victoria who ended up creating Torchwood. They are always played for intrigue – to a) teach the audience about history and b) add some new, sci-fi element to the character, such as how they held off an alien invasion or something. Elizabeth was played as some kind of over-the-top Panto Dame declaring her love for the Doctor every five minutes and acting as if she could not live if he did not marry her.
10) Speaking of making fools of women – we have the character of the Scientist wearing Four's scarf. Her turning to the camera when in mortal peril and begging to be saved by the Doctor was so very uncomfortable – and she did this twice. She doesn't even know the man.
11) What really hurts, though? Is the lack of callbacks. We had footage of the Doctors, and a lovely scene at the end. But every new scene, I was expecting to see a face that I recognized. I can't think that many actors involved in the show would turn down the chance to be part of this 'global event', especially considering how many of them were gushing at the fact they were even in Doctor Who at all. As we cut to the Gallifreyan War Council, I was expecting to see Timothy Dalton as Rassilon, as we opened to the School, I was thinking we might see Susan, or a child of Susan's and the Doctor coming to see her. No older companions were mentioned, not even Sarah Jane Smith. Lazy writing makes me angry, but this breaks my heart.