[The Terror]

It felt that Moffitt didn't have faith in Peter Capaldi to win over the audience and needed to have Clara's character do the convincing. Which is pretty ridiculous, since Capaldi was great in the role.

[Rushy]

He probably just wanted to avoid the same uproar that happened when Matt Smith replaced David Tennant. It didn't really matter that Matt Smith was a good actor, people wanted to whine anyway.

[markjo]

It doesn't matter how good of an actor Capaldi is.  The question is how good of a Doctor is he?  Whenever anyone steps into a well established part (actor, singer, whatever), there is always an uproar.  It doesn't matter that Doctor Who has done it 11 times before, people still want their Doctor.  I say give it a few episodes to see how Capaldi settles into the role.

[Ghost of V]

He probably just wanted to avoid the same uproar that happened when Matt Smith replaced David Tennant. It didn't really matter that Matt Smith was a good actor, people wanted to whine anyway.

I really haven't seen that many people complaining about Capaldi, before or after his debut.

The entire community seems to be taking it very well, with the exception of teenage New Who fans who liked Doctor Who because of the sexy Doctor (Claras). I feel like the Matt Smith thing was thrown in for that specific group of people.

[rooster]

Matt Smith is sexy? Hahahahhahahahahahahaahhaha lol okay

[Ghost of V]

Matt Smith is sexy? Hahahahhahahahahahahaahhaha lol okay

Judging from your track record: you're not qualified to decide who's sexy and who's not.

[rooster]

That's not true. My girlfriends and I largely agree on men. Just the other week a few of us gushed over the babe at a party.

The majority of Who women are attracted to Tennant, that's the "attractive" one. Smith's personality is very charming but he looks like a caveman.

[Ghost of V]

Birds of a feather

[Saddam Hussein]

I just looked up what you guys are talking about.  They really had the old actor show up just to say to the audience another character that this new dude is the same Doctor?  That's dumb.

[EnigmaZV]

I think this new doctor is very promising.

[rooster]

Birds of a feather

I don't think any of the doctors are attractive, but Tennant is definitely the one most females love.

[Ghost of V]

Birds of a feather

I don't think any of the doctors are attractive, but Tennant is definitely the one most females love.

I think Tom Baker is incredibly attractive.

[Ghost of V]

I'm assuming most of you have seen the latest two episodes, Into the Dalek & Robot of Sherwood. Both were very interesting episodes.

Into the Dalek was interesting for a few reasons. Mainly, the Doctor's behavior. I found it very telling when he practically facilitated Ross's death by tricking him into swallowing a tracker. I feel like any other incarnation of The Doctor would have tried to find another way (or even avoided this option all together), but perhaps there really was no other way? Regardless, 10 & 11 would have brooded over something like this, but it doesn't seem to bother 12 at all. 12 is certainly a darker incarnation of The Doctor, and it's starting to feel a bit out of character at times (maybe this is being done on purpose?). Despite that, Peter Capaldi's Doctor is much better than Smith's hands-down. I could go into this further but I don't feel like it right now. 8/10

Robot of Sherwood was... OK. It kept me interested mostly because of Capaldi's performance. We see a lot more of the 12th Doctor's personality here, including his extremely competitive nature in regards to Robin Hood, his reliance on trickery and sleight of hand to further his goals (reminiscent of most other regenerations), and a penchant for childish stubbornness, which is all very endearing. I especially liked the scene where he beat Robin Hood in a sword fight using a spoon. Despite his aged look, The Doctor can still kick your ass. Other than that, pretty bland bare-bones episode. 6/10

[Lord Dave]

I've been bad.
Didn't see Robots of Sherwood nor will I see today's episode.

But otherwise I agree.  Reminds me a little of the first doctor.

[Ghost of V]

I've been bad.
Didn't see Robots of Sherwood nor will I see today's episode.

But otherwise I agree.  Reminds me a little of the first doctor.

Indeed. I believe Peter Capaldi is the same age William Hartnell was when he first started playing the Doctor. The parallels are there.

[Lord Dave]

I've been bad.
Didn't see Robots of Sherwood nor will I see today's episode.

But otherwise I agree.  Reminds me a little of the first doctor.

Indeed. I believe Peter Capaldi is the same age William Hartnell was when he first started playing the Doctor. The parallels are there.

Plus the whole "First" doctor they share.  He's the first of a new regeneration set.

[Ghost of V]

I've been bad.
Didn't see Robots of Sherwood nor will I see today's episode.

But otherwise I agree.  Reminds me a little of the first doctor.

Indeed. I believe Peter Capaldi is the same age William Hartnell was when he first started playing the Doctor. The parallels are there.

Plus the whole "First" doctor they share.  He's the first of a new regeneration set.

Was just about to add that to my post. You read my mind.

It seems like this is being done on purpose.

[Ghost Spaghetti]

Listen is currently competing for title of Ghost's Favourite Doctor Who episode. It’s creepy, understated, claustrophobic and delightfully ambiguous. It reminds me a little of the old ITN series Sapphire and Steel or ‘Midnight’ from 10’s era. It’s so refreshing to not have a ‘monster of the week’ and for us to actually have something to ponder over when the credits roll. Is there a shadowy ‘hider’ following everybody? Was the thing under the bedspread just a child or was it something more sinister? Even if they’re real, are they actually evil; after all, they seemed to want to communicate, not kill.

Also, such an improvement on last week’s Robot of Sherwood which is competing for 'worst episode of new-Who' (but still losing out to 'Gods and Monsters').

[Ghost of V]

Listen is currently competing for title of Ghost's Favourite Doctor Who episode. It’s creepy, understated, claustrophobic and delightfully ambiguous. It reminds me a little of the old ITN series Sapphire and Steel or ‘Midnight’ from 10’s era. It’s so refreshing to not have a ‘monster of the week’ and for us to actually have something to ponder over when the credits roll. Is there a shadowy ‘hider’ following everybody? Was the thing under the bedspread just a child or was it something more sinister? Even if they’re real, are they actually evil; after all, they seemed to want to communicate, not kill.

Also, such an improvement on last week’s Robot of Sherwood which is competing for 'worst episode of new-Who' (but still losing out to 'Gods and Monsters').

God and Monsters? Do you mean 'Love and Monsters'? I actually like that episode, but I have to overlook some bits of it (Concrete face, for one...).

I have mixed feelings about Listen. It is similar to Midnight (which is one of my favorite DW episodes), but there's no real villain in Listen and I am having a hard time trying to figure out what significance the episode has overall. It was very slow, and when it finally built up it was very anticlimactic. I'm getting annoyed with Clara fiddling with The Doctor's past, and this episode is no different (and it's hard making sense of it to begin with). Now that we know the barn from Day of the Doctor was presumably where the Doctor was born and grew up... does that mean The Doctor was not born on Gallifrey? I was under the impression that the barn was not on Gallifrey in Day of the Doctor. Of course, he could have been born on Gallifrey and relocated, but that seems unlikely. This episode pretty much retcons The Doctor's past, making him a Wild One instead of Gallifreyan, which I find... weird. Regardless, this episode had the best opening scene of any episode I've seen so far: The Doctor sitting indian-style on top of the TARDIS, and a glimpse into what he does when he is not around Clara... perfect! 6/10

Another thing I noticed, it seems like this season is focusing on how wrong The Doctor can be about what's going on around him (among other things). In almost every episode we've seen so far The Doctor has been wrong about what is going on. This episode he thought there were monsters/whatever hiding under our beds (etc), last episode he was convinced Robin Hood was a robot (when he wasn't). Into the Dalek shows the Doctor trying to reform Rusty with his memories, only to have it backfire (making him wrong again). I love 12, but I wonder if this has any significance. The Doctor has been wrong about things before, but they seem to be putting a lot of emphasis on it this go.

Also, I'm tired of Moffat making Clara Oswald the most important person  in The Doctor's life. She's been a companion for a season & a half and she's now the most pivotal character in regards to the Doctor's past. It sort of shits on everything we knew about The Doctor. At this point, if Missy somehow went back and killed Clara before she entered the Doctor's timestream everything would collapse and The Doctor would die. Perhaps this is what Missy is trying to accomplish. Regardless, Clara is still my least favorite companion and I can't wait to see her go after this season.

Another thing that bothered me: Orson Pink is said to be the "first human Time Traveler", and he's only "100 years" in Clara's future. This opens up a huge can of worms. Not only do we not see time traveling humans almost ever in the series, but the ones we have seen are certainly not from 2114 (they are from much much later in Earth's future, see episode: Hide). I guess Moffat just wasn't thinking straight when he wrote that bit. It seems like a glaring plot hole.

[Ghost Spaghetti]

God and Monsters? Do you mean 'Love and Monsters'?

That's the one. There are literally no redeeming features in it for me.

but there's no real villain in Listen and I am having a hard time trying to figure out what significance the episode has overall.

I liked that there was no villain, and I prefer isolated stories to Moffat's increasingly ridiculous story arcs. The fact that we still don't know what, if anything, these monsters are or what they want is creepy and haunting.

does that mean The Doctor was not born on Gallifrey?

There are deliberate parallels with Danny Pink in this episode, and it seems unlikely that the adults speaking are his parents, perhaps he was born on Gallifrey and sent to a children's home on one of the Time Lord's other planets/ moons?

I also hate Clara. She's really good when she's just being normal and matey with the Doctor. I hate the overwrought 'Impossible Girl' elements to her character.