I think I read too many articles online conjecturing about all the amazing things we might see in the TARDIS, especially things from past stories. When that didn't happen, I was a little disappointed.
It also had one of those endings that magically negates all the interesting things that happened over the course of the episode. It was so blatant that the the script even acknowledged some of the ridiculousness of it, but I still preferred the place we were at before the Doctor fixed everything.
One interesting thing we did see, though - the crib. It didn't look the same as River Song's, at least to my eyes. Was it the Doctor's? And if so, why was there a toy TARDIS with it? The TARDIS didn't look like a police box until the Doctor (and Susan, as well, I believe, were long past the crib stage). Was there another child in the TARDIS at one point that we've never heard of, perhaps?
The TARDIS is like Snoopy's doghouse. It is so much grander when you only hear about the pool, the bowling alley, the library, etc. and don't see them.
Yeah, I'm torn. Part of me wanted a multi-part episode so we could have seen more of the Tardis and the other part of me agrees with you.
Ugh... I may be done with Doctor Who for a while. On BBC America, there are these little "behind the scenes" things during the commercial breaks, and in one of them, Moffat talks about how now, everyone writes the Doctor perfectly. That's crap. Matt Smith, I have no problem with, but the writing has gone so far downhill, that I don't know if it can recover.
All the stories, lately, are so fantastical and illogical... it's as if it doesn't matter if they have a coherent plot or not, as long as A) Matt Smith runs around yelling and looking like he's screwed up ad really CARES, and suddenly has a great revelation... and B) we don't find out anything else about Clara, but are led to believe there is SO MUCH more to know. (Clara, by the way, has ZERO personality, and I could care less what her story is, and would just as soon see her thrown into the sun.)
I'm tired of Reset Buttons, and the Doctor stepping on, weaving through, manipulating, and otherwise molesting his own timeline, to go back 2 hours and hand himself the solution.
I'm tired of "Love saves the day".
I'm tired of the thing that looks evil is really misunderstood.
I'm tired of the companion is the key to everything, and could bring about the destruction of us all.
Moffat's best works were The Girl in the Fireplace and Blink, and they were, in my opinion, the best of the series to date, but he seems to have turned out to be a pony with very few tricks.
I'm still enjoying it, but that pretty much covers the things that have annoyed me for some time about the show
It's funny, I was eager for Davies to go by the end because of his recurring themes, but now Moffatt's brought his own to the show, and what initially seemed fresh is starting to become repetitive.
I realized the other night that while I liked Oswin and Victorian Clara, I'm just not as impressed by modern day Clara. I'm not sure why she's traveling with the Doctor, since his interest in her seems very stalkery. The revelation of what she is better be pretty darn impressive, and I hope it happens this series, and isn't dragged out to next year.
I liked this episode. I liked everything about it until the reset button. I have never been a fan of those and it's not exception here. I loved all the nods to the classic stuff and even the older stuff from the new series. Hearing #9 was a hoot. It was an okay episode but the ending didn't do it for me. On the bright side, we get Strax next episode. That makes me so happy.
I would love a series of Lady Vastra, Jenny and Strax so much. Not instead of Doctor Who but as just another spin-off. I love the interactions between those three characters and I think they could do some interesitng episodes with those characters. I still want a Strax action figure in his Victorian outfit.
Ugh... I may be done with Doctor Who for a while. On BBC America, there are these little "behind the scenes" things during the commercial breaks, and in one of them, Moffat talks about how now, everyone writes the Doctor perfectly. That's crap. Matt Smith, I have no problem with, but the writing has gone so far downhill, that I don't know if it can recover.
All the stories, lately, are so fantastical and illogical... it's as if it doesn't matter if they have a coherent plot or not, as long as A) Matt Smith runs around yelling and looking like he's screwed up ad really CARES, and suddenly has a great revelation... and B) we don't find out anything else about Clara, but are led to believe there is SO MUCH more to know. (Clara, by the way, has ZERO personality, and I could care less what her story is, and would just as soon see her thrown into the sun.)
I'm tired of Reset Buttons, and the Doctor stepping on, weaving through, manipulating, and otherwise molesting his own timeline, to go back 2 hours and hand himself the solution.
I'm tired of "Love saves the day".
I'm tired of the thing that looks evil is really misunderstood.
I'm tired of the companion is the key to everything, and could bring about the destruction of us all.
Moffat's best works were The Girl in the Fireplace and Blink, and they were, in my opinion, the best of the series to date, but he seems to have turned out to be a pony with very few tricks.
Ugh... I may be done with Doctor Who for a while. On BBC America, there are these little "behind the scenes" things during the commercial breaks, and in one of them, Moffat talks about how now, everyone writes the Doctor perfectly. That's crap. Matt Smith, I have no problem with, but the writing has gone so far downhill, that I don't know if it can recover.
All the stories, lately, are so fantastical and illogical... it's as if it doesn't matter if they have a coherent plot or not, as long as A) Matt Smith runs around yelling and looking like he's screwed up ad really CARES, and suddenly has a great revelation... and B) we don't find out anything else about Clara, but are led to believe there is SO MUCH more to know.
I agree to a certain extent. The plotting has been very weak. And I'm hating getting to the end of the episode and thinking "WTF just happened!??" the s5 and s6 finales come to mind in particular, but that's also the case in several other eps.
(Clara, by the way, has ZERO personality, and I could care less what her story is, and would just as soon see her thrown into the sun.)
I'm feeling the same way. She hasn't given me much reason to really care about her.
I'm tired of Reset Buttons, and the Doctor stepping on, weaving through, manipulating, and otherwise molesting his own timeline, to go back 2 hours and hand himself the solution.
I'm tired of "Love saves the day".
I'm tired of the thing that looks evil is really misunderstood.
I'm tired of the companion is the key to everything, and could bring about the destruction of us all.
Not sure we've had so much of all of these. Certainly the reset button in this week's ep - but when else has he helped himself timewise (aside from the very clever s5 finale - which was a bit muddled in the end, but I loved the crossing timelines parts).
When did we get "love saves the day"? Evil being misunderstood is such a broad and common SF trope, hard to criticize that.
I guess amy was kind of the key to everything - so Clara is a bit of a rehash in that sense.
Moffat's best works were The Girl in the Fireplace and Blink, and they were, in my opinion, the best of the series to date, but he seems to have turned out to be a pony with very few tricks.
Well, don't forget his 2 part Silence/Forest River intro ep - I loved that one.
I'm still enjoying it, but that pretty much covers the things that have annoyed me for some time about the show
It's funny, I was eager for Davies to go by the end because of his recurring themes, but now Moffatt's brought his own to the show, and what initially seemed fresh is starting to become repetitive.
I had the exact thought, lately! I loved Davies' run but was definitely tiring of it by the end (and thought that 10's finale was overly sappy/poor). So I was psyched when Moffat took over, especially b/c I loved the eps he had written. But now I'm thinking perhaps time to give someone else a chance to play in the sandbox.
I realized the other night that while I liked Oswin and Victorian Clara, I'm just not as impressed by modern day Clara. I'm not sure why she's traveling with the Doctor, since his interest in her seems very stalkery. The revelation of what she is better be pretty darn impressive, and I hope it happens this series, and isn't dragged out to next year.
Clara's motivations are definitely unclear. I forget - did she even give any when she joined him in the 7B premiere? Is it just to have an adventure? She's not only a cypher to the Dr, she's a cypher to us. I'm thinking it's the writing - but don't know the actress enough to know if she's contributing to this as well.
I'm still enjoying it, but that pretty much covers the things that have annoyed me for some time about the show
It's funny, I was eager for Davies to go by the end because of his recurring themes, but now Moffatt's brought his own to the show, and what initially seemed fresh is starting to become repetitive.
I had the exact thought, lately! I loved Davies' run but was definitely tiring of it by the end (and thought that 10's finale was overly sappy/poor). So I was psyched when Moffat took over, especially b/c I loved the eps he had written. But now I'm thinking perhaps time to give someone else a chance to play in the sandbox.
I realized the other night that while I liked Oswin and Victorian Clara, I'm just not as impressed by modern day Clara. I'm not sure why she's traveling with the Doctor, since his interest in her seems very stalkery. The revelation of what she is better be pretty darn impressive, and I hope it happens this series, and isn't dragged out to next year.
Clara's motivations are definitely unclear. I forget - did she even give any when she joined him in the 7B premiere? Is it just to have an adventure? She's not only a cypher to the Dr, she's a cypher to us. I'm thinking it's the writing - but don't know the actress enough to know if she's contributing to this as well.
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I think Clara mentioned wanting to travel in her debut, but that's a pretty vague reason. I feel like we missed an episode along the way that would have set things up better.
I haven't heard anything about Moffatt moving on, but I think I'd be fine if he did. It's been a decent run, but I feel like Amy Pond was the story he wanted to tell, and without that, he seems a little lost.
And if, as rumors are starting to indicate, he really isn't going to bring any of the classic Doctors back for the 50th, even though most of them have made it clear they would like to participate, then I'll really be ready for him to move on. I get that he may think it doesn't always make for the best story, but it's the 50th, and probably the last chance we'll have to see some of these actors in the role.
And if, as rumors are starting to indicate, he really isn't going to bring any of the classic Doctors back for the 50th, even though most of them have made it clear they would like to participate, then I'll really be ready for him to move on. I get that he may think it doesn't always make for the best story, but it's the 50th, and probably the last chance we'll have to see some of these actors in the role.
I had not heard this - and I can't beleive it's true (not for the least of reason in that they recently released a picture of 10 & 11 standing in front of the TARDIS!). If Tom Baker & Peter Davidson don't show up in the 50th, I will be bitterly disappointed for exactly the reason you state! Hell, I'd be disappointed if every living Dr isn't in the episode (altho I guess Eccleston has been a bit of a holdout?). I loved the Time Crash short we got with 5 & 10, and would love to see the whole slate in the 50th!
And if, as rumors are starting to indicate, he really isn't going to bring any of the classic Doctors back for the 50th, even though most of them have made it clear they would like to participate, then I'll really be ready for him to move on. I get that he may think it doesn't always make for the best story, but it's the 50th, and probably the last chance we'll have to see some of these actors in the role.
I had not heard this - and I can't beleive it's true (not for the least of reason in that they recently released a picture of 10 & 11 standing in front of the TARDIS!). If Tom Baker & Peter Davidson don't show up in the 50th, I will be bitterly disappointed for exactly the reason you state! Hell, I'd be disappointed if every living Dr isn't in the episode (altho I guess Eccleston has been a bit of a holdout?). I loved the Time Crash short we got with 5 & 10, and would love to see the whole slate in the 50th!
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Tennant claims he's the only Doctor coming back in a new interview.
I'm still hoping this is all an elaborate attempt to keep it secret, since the only actors they've revealed were all about to be seen shooting on location. Maybe there are secret scenes being filmed on set. But the actors themselves keep saying they haven't been asked.
I'll be curious to see what we actually get and try to stay away from all the news about who is and who isn't going to be in the anniversary special. I will also be disappointed if not classic characters are involved. I would love love love to see Paul McGann in his new Big Finish Audio outfit. I guess we'll find out when the special airs.
Just a thought on Clara. Companions are usually "lured" into the Tardis by the intrigue of travel to alien worlds, distant pasts, or unimaginable futures. Clara is very different. The Doctor pursued her to travel with him. It would stand to reason that she be a bit coy and distant. I'm finding her to be a breath of fresh air. I've had enough of the doe eyed companion fawning over the Doctor.
Ugh... I may be done with Doctor Who for a while. On BBC America, there are these little "behind the scenes" things during the commercial breaks, and in one of them, Moffat talks about how now, everyone writes the Doctor perfectly. That's crap. Matt Smith, I have no problem with, but the writing has gone so far downhill, that I don't know if it can recover.
All the stories, lately, are so fantastical and illogical... it's as if it doesn't matter if they have a coherent plot or not, as long as A) Matt Smith runs around yelling and looking like he's screwed up ad really CARES, and suddenly has a great revelation... and B) we don't find out anything else about Clara, but are led to believe there is SO MUCH more to know.
I agree to a certain extent. The plotting has been very weak. And I'm hating getting to the end of the episode and thinking "WTF just happened!??" the s5 and s6 finales come to mind in particular, but that's also the case in several other eps.
(Clara, by the way, has ZERO personality, and I could care less what her story is, and would just as soon see her thrown into the sun.)
I'm feeling the same way. She hasn't given me much reason to really care about her.
I'm tired of Reset Buttons, and the Doctor stepping on, weaving through, manipulating, and otherwise molesting his own timeline, to go back 2 hours and hand himself the solution.
I'm tired of "Love saves the day".
I'm tired of the thing that looks evil is really misunderstood.
I'm tired of the companion is the key to everything, and could bring about the destruction of us all.
Not sure we've had so much of all of these. Certainly the reset button in this week's ep - but when else has he helped himself timewise (aside from the very clever s5 finale - which was a bit muddled in the end, but I loved the crossing timelines parts).
When did we get "love saves the day"? Evil being misunderstood is such a broad and common SF trope, hard to criticize that.
I guess amy was kind of the key to everything - so Clara is a bit of a rehash in that sense.
Moffat's best works were The Girl in the Fireplace and Blink, and they were, in my opinion, the best of the series to date, but he seems to have turned out to be a pony with very few tricks.
Well, don't forget his 2 part Silence/Forest River intro ep - I loved that one.
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Amy was the key to everything, Donna was, too... sort of.. she became "DoctorDonna" and had to have her mind erased.
Love saves the day.. remember the magic leaf? Sigh... and that same trope has been so overused over the past few seasons.
Crossing his timeline... the previous episode, about he haunted house... he has the psychic send him back so that when Clara zips through with the Tardis, he can bring the misunderstood non-evil thing back with him. Made no sense... where was his other instance? They should have both ridden back on the tardis, right?
I just miss the insane brilliance of Blink... where the story makes no sense until all of the pieces fit together and you finally see what Moffat is doing. These episodes are the opposite... I enjoy them until about halfway through, and they become rambling, incoherent, drunk, annoying noise. And then BOOM everything is fixed. I hope it gets better.
Well, don't forget his 2 part Silence/Forest River intro ep - I loved that one.
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Amen! I just re-watched those episodes last week.
As for the current companion, I'm kind of fond of Clara, or at least what I've seen so far of her. Clara's reason for tagging along hasn't really been established, and perhaps that's intentional (i.e. another reason why the Doctor finds her so enigmatic). My biggest issue with this season isn't so much with the character Clara, it's with the lack of cohesion between episodes. I find Doctor WHO works best when there's a bigger mystery unfolding from week to week (e.g. Bad Wolf, the Silence, the crack in the universe etc...). Now granted, I only started watching Doctor WHO religiously when Christopher Eccleston debuted, so that statement only pertains to the seasons I have seen. Perhaps there is a bigger mystery unfolding and the clues have all been there from the start, but for goodness sake throw the viewer a bone. I want to be teased like I was with the Silence, or the reoccurring crack in the universe. I want to be the donkey chasing the unobtainable carrot on the stick. Even if I can't quite reach the carrot, at least I know it's there.
I wonder at the wisdom of these "ghost" episodes. Are we actually supposed to think something is haunted? It's ALWAYS an alien, time traveler, creature from another dimension, etc.
I mean, once you've seen Scooby Doo pull off the rubber mask a few times you start to get the idea.
Have they ever had an actual ghost or haunting on Doctor Who? I can't think of any off the top of my head, and I think the Doctor actually said something like "there's no such thing as ghosts" during "Hide".
Amy was the key to everything, Donna was, too... sort of.. she became "DoctorDonna" and had to have her mind erased.
Love saves the day.. remember the magic leaf? Sigh... and that same trope has been so overused over the past few seasons.
Crossing his timeline... the previous episode, about he haunted house... he has the psychic send him back so that when Clara zips through with the Tardis, he can bring the misunderstood non-evil thing back with him. Made no sense... where was his other instance? They should have both ridden back on the tardis, right?
I just miss the insane brilliance of Blink... where the story makes no sense until all of the pieces fit together and you finally see what Moffat is doing. These episodes are the opposite... I enjoy them until about halfway through, and they become rambling, incoherent, drunk, annoying noise. And then BOOM everything is fixed. I hope it gets better.
True about Donna - although that wasn't a Moffat ep. - but point taken. And right about the leaf, too. Although that is more of a fiction trope than the show repeatign itself, right?
As I see it, there was no timeline crossing in Hide. Once the Dr. realizes that there's a 2nd alien, he goes back into the other dimension (but not back in time) and then Clara comes in the Tardis to rescue him (again, not traveling back in time, just revisiting that dimension again). And then, IIRC, he DOES ride back from that dimension with her. Hide was probably my favorite ep of 7B because it DID make sense! lol
I don't think the incoherence is part of this season in particular - I think it appears to me one of the Moffat trademarks for his whole run - there's a bunch of eps over the season which had me scratching my head - I think the chaos you're referring to is a bit of his style and that's not all that appealing to me (for example, the magical leaf episode you refer to didn't really make sense to me other than "oh - so you're telling me that's what happened? OK. sure.). When he can take that chaos and reign it into a more focused coherent episode, much better. And I'm not saying that for the eps he's written alone - but for the eps as a while under his stewardship.
Got the first two discs of the first season from Netflix yesterday.
Watched "Rose" and "The End of the World" last night.
Enjoyed 'em.
It gets much better, in my opinion. Maybe I was just too attached to the classic series, but it took about half the first season before I enjoyed it. And I'm not sure they've ever topped that season's finale.
Got the first two discs of the first season from Netflix yesterday.
Watched "Rose" and "The End of the World" last night.
Enjoyed 'em.
It gets much better, in my opinion. Maybe I was just too attached to the classic series, but it took about half the first season before I enjoyed it. And I'm not sure they've ever topped that season's finale.
Looking forward to seeing the improvement.
I was very much *not* a fan of the old series, hence my prolonged resistance to finally jumping in.
Got the first two discs of the first season from Netflix yesterday.
Watched "Rose" and "The End of the World" last night.
Enjoyed 'em.
It gets much better, in my opinion. Maybe I was just too attached to the classic series, but it took about half the first season before I enjoyed it. And I'm not sure they've ever topped that season's finale.
Looking forward to seeing the improvement.
I was very much *not* a fan of the old series, hence my prolonged resistance to finally jumping in.
ONE OF US! ONE OF US!
My wife felt exactly the same way that you do. She hates pretty much everything she's seen of the original series (she caught part of the final story, "Survival," with me one time and to this day occasionally talks about "the one with the fake cat that was even less convincing than Toonces"), but agreed to give the new series a shot with me because, as I pointed out, I watched a hell of a lot of Dawson's Creek and The OC with her.
Week one she said "Yeah, that was alright."
Week two she said "That was pretty good."
Week three she said "Hey, Doctor Who is on tonight."
At which point I knew that I had won and was, in fact, living the dream at long last. \:D/
Have they ever had an actual ghost or haunting on Doctor Who? I can't think of any off the top of my head, and I think the Doctor actually said something like "there's no such thing as ghosts" during "Hide".
Yeah, I don't think anything spiritual actually exists in the "Who-niverse." That's why whenever they tease some monster or ghost you always know it's just a misunderstood alien or whatever.
Comments
It all reminds me of Oscar's trash can...
It's funny, I was eager for Davies to go by the end because of his recurring themes, but now Moffatt's brought his own to the show, and what initially seemed fresh is starting to become repetitive.
I realized the other night that while I liked Oswin and Victorian Clara, I'm just not as impressed by modern day Clara. I'm not sure why she's traveling with the Doctor, since his interest in her seems very stalkery. The revelation of what she is better be pretty darn impressive, and I hope it happens this series, and isn't dragged out to next year.
My feelings exactly
(Click the banner to view.)
Edit: I'm wondering if it could be a form of one of these. (Note: more potential spoilers.)
When did we get "love saves the day"? Evil being misunderstood is such a broad and common SF trope, hard to criticize that.
I guess amy was kind of the key to everything - so Clara is a bit of a rehash in that sense. Well, don't forget his 2 part Silence/Forest River intro ep - I loved that one.
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I think Clara mentioned wanting to travel in her debut, but that's a pretty vague reason.
I feel like we missed an episode along the way that would have set things up better.
I haven't heard anything about Moffatt moving on, but I think I'd be fine if he did. It's been a decent run, but I feel like Amy Pond was the story he wanted to tell, and without that, he seems a little lost.
And if, as rumors are starting to indicate, he really isn't going to bring any of the classic Doctors back for the 50th, even though most of them have made it clear they would like to participate, then I'll really be ready for him to move on. I get that he may think it doesn't always make for the best story, but it's the 50th, and probably the last chance we'll have to see some of these actors in the role.
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I'm still hoping this is all an elaborate attempt to keep it secret, since the only actors they've revealed were all about to be seen shooting on location. Maybe there are secret scenes being filmed on set. But the actors themselves keep saying they haven't been asked.
I'm finding her to be a breath of fresh air. I've had enough of the doe eyed companion fawning over the Doctor.
When did we get "love saves the day"? Evil being misunderstood is such a broad and common SF trope, hard to criticize that.
I guess amy was kind of the key to everything - so Clara is a bit of a rehash in that sense. Well, don't forget his 2 part Silence/Forest River intro ep - I loved that one.
e
L nny
Amy was the key to everything, Donna was, too... sort of.. she became "DoctorDonna" and had to have her mind erased.
Love saves the day.. remember the magic leaf? Sigh... and that same trope has been so overused over the past few seasons.
Crossing his timeline... the previous episode, about he haunted house... he has the psychic send him back so that when Clara zips through with the Tardis, he can bring the misunderstood non-evil thing back with him. Made no sense... where was his other instance? They should have both ridden back on the tardis, right?
I just miss the insane brilliance of Blink... where the story makes no sense until all of the pieces fit together and you finally see what Moffat is doing. These episodes are the opposite... I enjoy them until about halfway through, and they become rambling, incoherent, drunk, annoying noise. And then BOOM everything is fixed. I hope it gets better.
I just re-watched those episodes last week.
As for the current companion, I'm kind of fond of Clara, or at least what I've seen so far of her. Clara's reason for tagging along hasn't really been established, and perhaps that's intentional (i.e. another reason why the Doctor finds her so enigmatic). My biggest issue with this season isn't so much with the character Clara, it's with the lack of cohesion between episodes. I find Doctor WHO works best when there's a bigger mystery unfolding from week to week (e.g. Bad Wolf, the Silence, the crack in the universe etc...). Now granted, I only started watching Doctor WHO religiously when Christopher Eccleston debuted, so that statement only pertains to the seasons I have seen. Perhaps there is a bigger mystery unfolding and the clues have all been there from the start, but for goodness sake throw the viewer a bone. I want to be teased like I was with the Silence, or the reoccurring crack in the universe. I want to be the donkey chasing the unobtainable carrot on the stick. Even if I can't quite reach the carrot, at least I know it's there.
http://bigfinish.com/news/v/doctor-who-the-light-at-the-end-cast-update
I mean, once you've seen Scooby Doo pull off the rubber mask a few times you start to get the idea.
..............................
RE: Clara
She is hot...and that is satisfying me for now.
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As I see it, there was no timeline crossing in Hide. Once the Dr. realizes that there's a 2nd alien, he goes back into the other dimension (but not back in time) and then Clara comes in the Tardis to rescue him (again, not traveling back in time, just revisiting that dimension again). And then, IIRC, he DOES ride back from that dimension with her. Hide was probably my favorite ep of 7B because it DID make sense! lol
I don't think the incoherence is part of this season in particular - I think it appears to me one of the Moffat trademarks for his whole run - there's a bunch of eps over the season which had me scratching my head - I think the chaos you're referring to is a bit of his style and that's not all that appealing to me (for example, the magical leaf episode you refer to didn't really make sense to me other than "oh - so you're telling me that's what happened? OK. sure.). When he can take that chaos and reign it into a more focused coherent episode, much better. And I'm not saying that for the eps he's written alone - but for the eps as a while under his stewardship.
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Got the first two discs of the first season from Netflix yesterday.
Watched "Rose" and "The End of the World" last night.
Enjoyed 'em.
I was very much *not* a fan of the old series, hence my prolonged resistance to finally jumping in.
My wife felt exactly the same way that you do. She hates pretty much everything she's seen of the original series (she caught part of the final story, "Survival," with me one time and to this day occasionally talks about "the one with the fake cat that was even less convincing than Toonces"), but agreed to give the new series a shot with me because, as I pointed out, I watched a hell of a lot of Dawson's Creek and The OC with her.
Week one she said "Yeah, that was alright."
Week two she said "That was pretty good."
Week three she said "Hey, Doctor Who is on tonight."
At which point I knew that I had won and was, in fact, living the dream at long last. \:D/
Good trailer
:O)