Lyric from "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor Doctor)" goes here

[sabinelagrande]

So, flist. Am watching New Who, finally (which, in the time it's taken me to get started, has turned not quite so new anymore, hasn't it?). Here's my question for you: which episodes, if any, would you recommend not watching for whatever reason? Episodes that weren't any good, episodes that pissed you off, or any other reason- I am wondering what to skip, but I am also sort of fascinated by what makes people hate an episode.

Please note that I have a place in my heart for all the Doctor's incarnations and all his friends, so "Skip all the episodes with Amy/Nine/Martha/River/Jack/etc in them" is nonresponsive. Assume I'm not spoiled for anything (though I am, for quite a bit of things- when in doubt use blackout text).

This entry was automagically crossposted from http://sabinetzin.dreamwidth.org/313371.html. comments over there.

Comments

[niav.livejournal.com]

Series five episode two (The Beast Below) is, atmosphere wise, actually a very enjoyable episode but it always sends me into a crazy rage just because of Eleven's sheer hypocrisy at the end. If, like me, you get really quite pissy when the Doctor starts being a sanctimonious little hypocrite, I would recommend not watching it for the sake of your blood preasure. :(

[runpunkrun]

"The Idiot's Lantern" in series 2 was just really boring. Also that season, "Fear Her" which is a fine episode, but involves A LOT of TV WHISPERING. A good half of it is just this girl talking in a hoarse -- yet really loud -- whisper. It's so irritating.

[theniwokesoftly.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but Idiot's Lantern had some really awesome Ten and Ten/Rose moments. So I'll forgive it for that. I also tend to imitate the Wire when I'm hungry, and it cracks me up.

[clavally.livejournal.com]

I'm also going to say avoid "The Idiot's Lantern" and "Fear Her" for the same reasons as the other person said. Whenever I re-watch Doctor Who, those are always the episodes I skip. Also, if you're watching on Netflix, "Love and Monsters" has technical issues and the sound doesn't match the video. My niece confirmed that for me, so it's not just my computer going nuts.

In the 4th series, skip The Unicorn and the Wasp, just because it's a boring filler episode and I'd say watch the first five minutes of Midnight and the last 5 minutes since those are the only enjoyable bits to that episode, the rest just drags a bit.

[valentinite.livejournal.com]

Love and Monsters is the only one I'd edit out. Massive hitting my embarrassment squick/sitcom squick the whole way through, very little Doctor or companion (intentional, because of filming/timing issues), and an ending that made me RAEG. I will not elaborate unless you want me to because it is a major spoiler for the episode to explain why.

The others that people have mentioned may be mediocre/boring but I found them fun to watch.

There's a couple others I tend to be less fond of because of also hitting, at least here and there, my embarrassment squick. The Shakespeare Code, The Lodger are the two standouts there, but it's just a couple of moments, not the entire eps.

Then again, I freaking adore Paradise Towers so what do I know. (Which, since the name probably means nothing to you, is one of the least-liked episodes of classic Who, and I love it in all its cheesetastic glory.)

[theniwokesoftly.livejournal.com]

I did not like Love and Monsters except for the slapstick bit at the beginning. And I did not like Midnight in series 4 at all.

You know, I found a large portion of series one to be boring, even though I love the characters. I liked Doctor Who but wasn't overly upset when I missed a good chunk of the series because I was cavorting about Italy. Series 2 I watched in three days and I was in love.

When you get to the specials between series 4 and series 5, The Next Doctor is good, Planet of the Dead is ok, but Waters of Mars sucks. End of Time is fine again and I adored all of series 5 and what's aired of 6. There isn't much Doctor Who I don't like- even the badly written or plotted episodes have some great moments to them.

[shadowenangel.livejournal.com]

I concur with the general dislike for "Idiot's Lantern" (though it does have some great moments), "Love & Monsters", and "Fear Her". I accidentally skipped "Boom Town" my first time through, and didn't really miss anything, but it has a recurring villain that I don't really care for, anyway. I also thought "The Unicorn and the Wasp" was kind of boring, possibly because it follows a sort of mystery novel template, and you know how I feel about that.

I'm thinking of doing a guide to watching new Who, but I'm not sure anyone would be interested.