Doctor Who 5x11 - The Lodger
 

Not sure about this one.

I liked it, but the best part was the next time preview at the end.

Nice to see that twat James Corden getting his vacuous mush twatted in by the Doctor.

No that's pretty unfair as Corden is a decent actor and the whole episode was pretty funny. But seriously, have you SEEN this? I don't know who is acting the bigger twat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyNvy...eature=related

all that matters in that video i think is that patrick stewart's suit is probably worth more than corden's house

I actually thought that Next Time preview was a bit much. Usually I tolerate the trailers but this latest one reminded me why I think they should just be done away with altogether.

you're probably right, but I'm impatient and so the trailer is the next best thing to seeing the next episode

However, Patrick Stewart did kinda die on his arse there though. Personally I thought James Corden was justified by his response, and did it in what I found was a rather funny way.

I liked this episode, though certain things bothered me, like the hitherto unseen TARDIS bluetooth. Lucky he had that bit of brand-new kit on him right when he needed it, eh? I also could gag over the "love saves the day" ending, which, like the Bracewell deactivation, proves that RTD did not corner the market on mawkish non-endings to his plots. Worth noting that both authors came to Who under RTD's reign.

BUT...the rest of it was very enjoyable and quite, quite funny. It's great seeing the Doctor at loose ends in the everyday world. He's fine on an alien planet or chairing an impromptu peace summit, but stick him in a living room and he's utterly lost. If the TARDIS is a device for hopping between genres, the "will-they-or-won't-they flatmates" and the "whacky friend turns loveable schlub's life upside down" domestic comedies are definitely new ones, and as alien to the Doctor as Vortis was to Ian and Barbara.

Oh, and that totally leaves out the flat-mate upstairs. These sequences were very, very effective and creepy. If this thread of the program hadn't been wrapped in sitcom antics, I think it would have been very scary. Alas!

I agree, Danny. The "Next Time" trailers this season have been WAY too long, and this was the longest yet. At least RTD kept them short and sweet.

Still, it looks like a fantastic finale. River Song mentioned the Drahvins (from Galaxy 4) among the alien baddies lined up for a shot at the Pandorica. That makes me smile. :)

I'm considering freezing myself until the next episode arrives, anyone know how much antifreeze is safe for human consumption?

Hooray! This is why I no longer expend the effort writing reviews myself; I always remain hopeful that someone will come along and sum up my thoughts for me. :) (Well, that and I worry about being shot down for disliking an episode…)

Fully agreed on the convenience of the TARDIS Bluetooth and especially the ending. "Victory of the Daleks" is my least favorite episode of the season by far up to this point, but this episode now takes second for me. It was quite enjoyable (mostly because of Matt Smith) but the ending really let it down, in my opinion. (Also note the RTD-era-style lack of compelling explanation for exactly WTF was going on.) Though I would consider giving it a point higher than I voted in the poll.

I consider the turning point of the episode from "generally good" to "oh dear" to be Craig's "I want you out" bit, followed by the Doctor conveniently explaining everything to him telepathically (where's some good old classic-style Doctor verbal wit weaseling his way out of the situation?), followed by the rather contrived and soapy ending. Sad face.

I too take strong note of the fact that what I consider to be the weakest writers of this series wrote for the show first under RTD. I think that's very telling.

Most certainly.

Agreed once again. What little we got was very effective and I would have liked more. On second viewing, I especially appreciated the "Thank you, Craig, but I do not require your help" line.

I think it would have been quite awesome to just do the montage of clips from previous episodes, then cut to credits. (Maybe one or two brief flashes from the next episode.) That would have given a real "holy shit, something big is coming" sense. Ah well. Wasted opportunity.

Agreed.

Speaking of how they should probably do away with the "Next Time" trailers, did anyone else see this?

Oh yeah, I should probably say what I thought about this episode, to keep on-topic, huh? Well, I enjoyed it. Seems they were trying to make a sort of comic relief episode, and I think they succeeded as far as that goes. I'd say more, but I'd just be repeating what others have said already.

Oh, by the way, I must have been half-asleep, or just not paying attention; did they ever reveal who tried to build that TARDIS? I mean, that's a pretty damn big deal, isn't it? What race other than the Time Lords (and the Daleks) even came close to having that kind of technology?

That's great news! I'm actually getting the DVDs this year, so that's great.

No, you weren't asleep. That's among my biggest problems with the episode. It was never explained or justified. It seemed like incredibly lazy writing just for a shock moment, then thrown away. It was a waste, and it's why I rated the episode so low.

I'd wait until we see what the business with the Pandorica is before we make assumptions. Might have a very good explanation.

Also, not the first time in canon where Time Lord tech has been reverse engineered. Also not the first time it was a fuckup and the Doctor had to fix it.

I didn't think it would be related to the next episode… but maybe. I'll give it a chance.

Yeah, don't really think it's related.