**Spoilers** Series 6, Episode 10 - "The Girl Who Waited"

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So tomorrow's episode is supposedly a Doctor-lite one, and is also apparently a tear-jerker in places (either that or the early reviewers are all big softies). Now the bad news - it's being written by Tom McRae, the man who wrote season 2's pretty poor Cyberman two-parter. Again, I think this is a standalone episode

Let's have some clips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJu27cPS85A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUG77IEy6BA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht6wBPidk4g

Trueskill3r

Hey guys what channel and time is it on my sky box used to record it for me but it wont now anybody tell me the time and channel?

aidan_walsh

BBC1, 7.15.

Trueskill3r

Thanks man Cant wait

Yahew

looks good.

Yahew

Tour de force by Karen.

Cormic

I enjoyed the episode - thought old Amy's make up was done very well.

Penn

Really well done episode, and both Amy and Rory were fantastic

pixelburp

Another excellent episode, and incredibly bitter-sweet. Old Amy's tragic story was heart-wrenching, especially when you realised there was only ever going to be one outcome. Gillen & Darvill really deserve props for really fleshing out these characters. Too soon to suggest their the greatest companion(s) ever?

It also looked a million dollars - I dunno who directed this episode but credit where credit's due, it was really well-directed. Series 5/6 in general have been epic in their visuals, this was another step from that.

Doctor DooM

Wow... the world looked so lonely and sterile... writing was great... idea behind it was so good.

It was awful sad, I need something to cheer me up now. But some really good TV.

I am so glad the Doctor didn't find an answer. Very glad his darker side appeared again. Rule 1, the Doctor lies. I really disliked him for what he did to Rory, which is the whole point.

Dr Who is no longer for kids though, for reals.

Yahew

Don't lecture me, blue box man, flying through time on whimsy. All I've got, all I've had for 36 years is cold, hard reality

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Doctor DooM wrote: »

[...]
I am so glad the Doctor didn't find an answer. Very glad his darker side appeared again. Rule 1, the Doctor lies. I really disliked him for what he did to Rory, which is the whole point.

Dr Who is no longer for kids though, for reals.

Yup, so once again I find myself wondering what kids (and their parents) make of this new direction. Surely they must be scared, confused... maybe a little bored by the lack of running action?

(not me btw, should point out that I love it)

Ridley

First time I've been convinced that Amy actually chose Rory over the Doctor.

Possibly the strongest episode of the series. Only mild complaint about the episode was disabling the 'droid with a painting. He must have been an awful Roman.

Amy and Rory seem altogether too fine about not being there for raising their daughter, y'know?

Manach

An excellent episode, coming directly after last week's meh effort. It tossed around some excellent concepts on love and loss, though it vaguely reminded me of the DS9 episode 'Time's Orphan'.

thought it was excellent and very touching

but

she did make some fuss about 36 years compared to him waiting, what was it, 900 years?

Cookie33

The make up on older amy was fantastic! Another chance to show the cruel side to the Doctor. Always feel so bad for Rory esp when he had to chose between his wife and his er.. wife! Wasn't fussed on the robots, bit too boring for my liking

Penn

bluewolf wrote: »

thought it was excellent and very touching

but

she did make some fuss about 36 years compared to him waiting, what was it, 900 years?

The difference was though, Rory chose to stay with the Pandorica for 2000 years. He knew he'd be alone and made that choice. Amy was waiting for them to come, not knowing when they were coming. And when they didn't, it was harder to deal with the fact she was alone.

Barrington

Barrington wrote: »

The difference was though, Rory chose to stay with the Pandorica for 2000 years. He knew he'd be alone and made that choice. Amy was waiting for them to come, not knowing when they were coming. And when they didn't, it was harder to deal with the fact she was alone.

yeah, i answered that in my head after posting and you're totally right, it's just something that struck me

Yahew

The robots were a McGuffin.

Yahew

Barrington wrote: »

The difference was though, Rory chose to stay with the Pandorica for 2000 years. He knew he'd be alone and made that choice. Amy was waiting for them to come, not knowing when they were coming. And when they didn't, it was harder to deal with the fact she was alone.

She knew they would take about 40 years, and would come as she had the conversation with her older self, except it went a bit differently.

Sarn

Great episode. Amy and Rory make a great set of companions. It was getting a little tiring having the female companion falling for the Doctor. Rory really needs to work on his combat skills though.

The Doctor also dropped a nice bit of info on how to avoid his death. As he knows when he's going to die he can work on how to avoid it.

ríomhaire

Yahew wrote: »

The robots were a McGuffin.

Not sure you know what a McGuffin means.

Yahew

ríomhaire wrote: »

Not sure you know what a McGuffin means.

I say I do.

TheIrishGrover

Yahew wrote: »

I say I do.

No, pretty sure you don't. If anything, the whole centre was, or, given that the point of the story (IMHO) was the love between Rory and Amy the the dual time nature itself was "the mcguffin". But, to be honest, given the nature of this episode it's irrelavent.

Anyway, thought it was an excellent episode. Thought it was only pretty good until Old-Amy and the doctor made eye contact. You knew what he was going to do but it still had a punch and the heart-to-heart could have been mawkish (As it would have been with RTD) but they pulled it off. And, oh yeah, I HATE aging makeup, it almost never works but it looked fantastic in this episode.

Yahew

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

No, pretty sure you don't. If anything, the whole centre was, or, given that the point of the story (IMHO) was the love between Rory and Amy the the dual time nature itself was "the mcguffin". But, to be honest, given the nature of this episode it's irrelavent.

Anyway, thought it was an excellent episode. Thought it was only pretty good until Old-Amy and the doctor made eye contact. You knew what he was going to do but it still had a punch and the heart-to-heart could have been mawkish (As it would have been with RTD) but they pulled it off. And, oh yeah, I HATE aging makeup, it almost never works but it looked fantastic in this episode.

If the story was really about the love between Rory and Amy then - you are right - all the other stuff was a McGuffin, a fairly ill defined term. The robots were harmless - there was nothing to learn about them, nor do we really have a new planet to add to the Canon, because we never saw the planet, nor do we know what happened to the people on it with regards to the plague. I was answering the comment "Wasn't fussed on the robots, bit too boring for my liking". They didnt matter.

so if we agree that the Robots ( and or the planet if you wish) were not important, my point stands.

Doctor DooM

A Mc Guffin is not ill defined, nor were the robots one, and you I'm afraid sadly do not understand what it means, it is something the main characters need to attain to resolve the plot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin

Yahew

Doctor DooM wrote: »

A Mc Guffin is not ill defined, nor were the robots one, and you I'm afraid sadly do not understand what it means, it is something the main characters need to attain to resolve the plot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin

Even by your own link you prove my case.


The MacGuffin is common in films, especially thrillers. Usually the MacGuffin is the central focus of the film in the first act, and then declines in importance as the struggles and motivations of characters play out. It may come back into play at the climax of the story, but sometimes the MacGuffin is actually forgotten by the end of the film.

If it can be forgotten the McGuffin is clearly not essential to the plot, nor - your definition - something people need to obtain.

The central focus in the first act was the problem with the robots. They, however, were not the real story - it was a Amy-Rory love story whose struggles and motivations we saw play out. The middle bit had some perfunctory "fights" with the robots, and they came back in the later part. But even that was unnecessary as the strory was not about defeating the robots. The last scene could just as easily have been the protagonists running towards the tardis because it had to leave and the Doctor shutting the door on old Amy, regardless of whether the robots were in pursuit or not.

Clearly and evidentially they were McGuffins.

BaconZombie

Duckjob

Very strong standalone episode I though. Had to give it a second watch today to get the finer details.

The bitterness Old Amy harboured towards the Doctor really packed a punch, and I thought the Rory/Old Amy had towards the end was particularly gut wrenching.

I also loved some of the humourous lines, like Rory: "I'll be alright, I've got my... wives." Also, the "Rory" robot with the silly smiley face drawn on it.

I think this is when Dr Who shines so brightly, when it manages to extract both humour and tragedy from the same events, and binds them so skillfully together.

Excellent stuff.

Just saw it there. Remarkable episode.


I'm actually a little weepy

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I particularly loved the little moment where Amy rationalises how a girl like her could fall for a dork like Rory. It was a sweet little moment among sweet moments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUyZjfjAAPE