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Tonight's Doctor Who episode about Vincent Van Gogh was exceptionally good and would appeal to many people who normally never watch it. It is repeated this Sunday at 7.00 pm and next Friday 11 on BBC3 at 9.00 pm.

It was written by Richard Curtis and is as good as anything he has written including Goodbyeee... the final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth.

Watch it for the television treat of the year.

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Xochi, I thought it looked more like a turkey rather than a chicken
It was James who suggested it was a chicken  I actually thought that was one of the weaker aspects of that episode... invisible monsters and a little bit of CGI doesn't set them up too well for being a species we might want to see in the future! 
Xochi
The new Doctor Who computer game is now avaiable for download <here> It's currently for the PC but a Mac version will be available from the 15th.

For PC users you need Java installed. For your convenience this is a <link to the Java website>. Mac users have Java built in.

When you get to the download page, it is advisable to run the system check first as the Download with system check option is initially disabled. My pc is 3 years old and failed the processot test, but it still works fine. If you wish to bypass the system check, click on View all download options and proceed.

This episode is called City of the Daleks. I don't know what type of game this is yet but it's done by the same man who did the Broken Sword series of point and click adventure games.
El Loro
Last edited by El Loro
An update on the new Doctor Who computer game.
It seems that this is the first of 4 episodes, and this one features lots and lots of Daleks (so far they are all red). It has the feel of the real thing and is helped that the key parts are played by Matt Smith snf Karen Gillan.
As I suspected, it is a point and click adventure game, mouse/keyboard controlled. Instructions on contol automatically appear when you approach an object. Some of these you can only examine, some are objects to use elsewhere, some are collectables (these are cards with notes which at present seem to tie in with the series episodes).
Although you start of as the Doctor with Amy just following, I think during the game you will need to control Amy. The Doctor can talk with Amy and with other characters they meet.
As with the Broken Sword series, there are some tactical action scenes - the first being to avoid the Daleks' rays.

My first impression is that this is a reasonable stab at a Doctor Who computer game. Being orientated at the family, it seems to be quite easy to solve the puzzles and is quite intuitive to play. I hope though the helping instructions don't keep on appearing throughout the game as that will become an irritant. I've only played the first scene so don't know how long the game is.
El Loro
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I cannot take to Matt Smith (... and I have tried ) and Amy Pond annoys me! Last night's episode was excellent though - I was in tears..... it was a cut above! So I will continue to persevere with trying to like the new Doctor
I surprised myself by liking Matt Smith, didn't think I would.  But yesterday I found myself missing David Tennant, its his cheeky humour I miss.
squiggle
Reference El Loro Today at 15:03:
My first impression is that this is a reasonable stab at a Doctor Who computer game. Being orientated at the family, it seems to be quite easy to solve the puzzles and is quite intuitive to play. I hope though the helping instructions don't keep on appearing throughout the game as that will become an irritant.
The tutorials are "On" by default. You can turn them off in the game settings.
Eugene's Lair
Reference El Loro Today at 19:31:
 Thanks for letting us know
NP. My laptop's processor is actually below the minimum official spec for the DW game, so the first thing I did on downloading was go through the settings trying to tone-down things like graphics to try and make it playable.

As it turned out, it hasn't been too bad. There's a noticable mismatch between the audio and video during the "set-piece" sequences, and it's really noticable on the title sequence.
However the gameplay itself has been OK so far.
Eugene's Lair
I wasn't initially keen - how many more historical earth characters are we going to bump into? I want other planets!
But the bit that got me was when they took him to the present day, to see his paintings in the Musee D'Orsay, and show him how much they mean to people today.
I really wish that could have happened and the real Vincent could have somehow known that it wasn't all hopeless.
Demantoid
Reference Demantoid Today at 13:18:
I wasn't initially keen - how many more historical earth characters are we going to bump into? I want other planets!
Thus has been one of the big complaints about DW ever since the "reboot" - it's just too earth-bound. even when they do visit outer space, it tends to be earth spaceships or earth colonies. One of the reasons I liked the "Crash of the Byzantium" story, with its shades of "Aliens"...
Eugene's Lair
Reference KaffyBaffy Yesterday at 12:10:
my only problem with this series is the 'monsters' - I want more Daleks and Cybermen and less mutant fish, lizards and poultry.
The problem is that you can't have the Cybermen or the Daleks every week. One of the obsevations of the "old" series was that whenever the producers felt the series was in difficulty, they brought back the Daleks. There's only so many times the Daleks can return for "one last, climactic battle", and besides: not everyone has been happy about the "remodelling" of the Daleks (IMO, it had more to do with commercial motives than anything).


Personally, the most recent monster reminded me of Gilliam's Jabberwocky. As for mutant lizards: I assume you're talking about the Silurians. In fact, they are an old monster that first appeared when Jon Pertwee was the Doctor. The newer lot just have better make-up...
Eugene's Lair
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But the bit that got me was when they took him to the present day, to see his paintings in the Musee D'Orsay, and show him how much they mean to people today. I really wish that could have happened and the real Vincent could have somehow known that it wasn't all hopeless.
Well, taking the very real risk of you shouting at me again , I have to say I agree with every word
squiggle
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There's only so many times the Daleks can return for "one last, climactic battle", and besides: not everyone has been happy about the "remodelling" of the Daleks (IMO, it had more to do with commercial motives than anything).
Yeah, I understand that... doesn't stop me being disappointed though.   I was very disappointed in the new 'sports model' Daleks.. and my friend (whose little boy is my Dr Who buddy) only commented.. 'Great!  Now I have to buy six more model figures in different colours...'

For me - Daleks are red... apart from the gaffer who's black.
Kaffs
Reference KaffyBaffy Today at 14:52:
I was very disappointed in the new 'sports model' Daleks.. and my friend (whose little boy is my Dr Who buddy) only commented.. 'Great! Now I have to buy six more model figures in different colours...'
Exactly my concern. When they introduced the new Daleks, I felt that the only things missing were a price tag and a sign reading "Available in time for Christmas!".
Eugene's Lair
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how many more historical earth characters are we going to bump into?
If you go back to the very first series of the original Doctor Who with William Hartnell (whose photo has popped up a couple of times this series) the stories alternated between aliens and visiting past historical events.During that series we met Marco Polo, the Aztecs and Robespierre in different stories. In the second series we met Nero and Richard the Lionheart. So this is in keeping with the original series
El Loro
Reference: Loro
If you go back to the very first series of the original Doctor Who with William Hartnell (whose photo has popped up a couple of times this series) the stories alternated between aliens and visiting past historical events.During that series we met Marco Polo, the Aztecs and Robespierre in different stories. In the second series we met Nero and Richard the Lionheart. So this is in keeping with the original series

So? I want aliens! And not that giant chicken from last Saturday, either.
Demantoid
I think the above postings show that Doctor Who caters for a variety of people - some prefer the historical ones - some the aliens.

And in due course what is the cause of the crack in the fabric of time will become clear, and it may turn out to involve both historical characters and aliens, and it may involve something else (I have a suspicion but I'm not going to say what).
El Loro

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