Signed. Stamped. Approved.

I recommend you see it a second time. Somehow, it's even better the second time around.

I am, tomorrow Probably sunday as well.

-Fred

My second time will be in IMAX.

Oh yes.

Oh yes.

I'm making my FIRST TDK experience will be in IMAX, today!

Bests, Rockefeller

So get this - we get there and the theater's packed - and here we were thinking that a Sunday afternoon the weekend after opening weekend ought to be a bit slower then the initial opening rush - luckily (or was it), however, the front row was completely open. Well, I don't know if anyone here has had to ever sit in the front row of an IMAX experience, but I'm telling ya, I've never gotten so disoriented during a movie showing before in my life! I did enjoy the film, but I don't know yet how much I missed - I think I'm off to see it again next weekend on a more 'manageable screen'

Bests, Rockefeller

For IMAX it's better to sit in the middle, maybe slightly more towards the back than the front. At least thats my experience and something I heard one of the attendants say once. Then you get the full affect of the big screen but not too much that the illusion of being immersed isn't broken (I've only been to the 3D experience stuff so far). I've sat towards the back before and the illusion was really broken by being able to see all the black surrounding the screen when looking square on at the middle of the screen. And I wouldn't sit at the front because I don't want an aching neck But then I don't like sitting at the front at any cinema, I always like to roughly find the middle both vertically and horizontally. So I can see everything at once but aren't too far back.

And that concludes my seating discussion.

I dunno yet if I'll see a 'normal' non 3D film at the IMAX. I've considered having a go in the past but thought it might be a bit overkill lol. I did go to see some anime films at the IMAX (Ghost in the Shell, Perfect Blue, Akira) during a film festival but it ended up being normal cinema screen size... I wasn't the only one disappointed. It was still awesome though seeing such films (well I mainly prefer Perfect Blue, especially to Akira *gasp* yeah I know but I can't help my preferences) on a big-ish screen and with the great sound.

Agreed here. It's impossible to over-rate this film. It really deserves the credit it is receiving. I'm first in line for the blu-ray, I may even make a return trip to the cinema.

The tenth Doctor, Joel? Didn't know there were more Who-fans on this board! Nice one!

-Fred

Yeah nice avatar Joel!
I'm pretty sure marinedalek is also a Who fan heh (but you probably already knew that).

And well I like Doctor Who too. Just when the recent revival started up I had started watching some of the older episodes (mainly the Tom Baker era, I also quite liked Troughton, I guess I like the comical quirky ones so I like how David Tennant plays it with a bit of wild comic flair at times). I'm loving the Tenth Doctor. David Tennant is doing an awesome job! And I won't say any more because I'm in the UK so we might be ahead of you in terms of the current series of Doctor Who, wouldn't want to spoil anything. The most recent series just finished up here, so no more Doctor Who until the Christmas special ;_;

For IMAX it's better to sit in the middle,...

Well, everyone has their own preferences. I always sit in the front row. If I go into a theater and someone is already in my seat, I leave and come back another time.

Also at the IMAX. Usually, the attendants try to talk me out of the front row. The fools!

I insist that the screen fill my field of view. I don't want to see the edges of the screen. Sore neck? No problem. In the front row I can stretch out, slouch down, and most seats tilt back anyway.

I know. Some people hate it. They don't like to have to turn their heads or move their eyeballs and are afraid they might miss something if they can't see the whole screen at once. I respect that and can understand it, but it's not for me. I like to BE THERE, when I'm watching a movie. I like the screen to become my world, and the only place that happens is wayup close.

Did I mention that I'm also very near-sighted and don't hear too well. So front and center is essential for me.

Didn't know there were more Who-fans on this board!

Count me in. Been a Dr. Who fan since the Tom Baker era. I don't think we had Dr. Who over here (in the U.S.) before then.

When I was still in graduate school, Dr Who was shown on a local station for half an hour every day at five o'clock. I would just about kill myself every day trying to get home by five so I wouldn't miss it. (As you know, every half-hour episode would end in a cliff-hangar - very addictive!) It was getting really difficult, and my work was suffering. That's when I finally bought a VCR so that I could program it to tape the episodes and then I could relax.

DrPaul wrote: I insist that the screen fill my field of view.

You'd have to pay me very well to be your optician, future Mr Magoo.

Huuuuge fan of Doctor Who Since I was 4 years old in fact (1989). I grew up with the re-runs of the Sylvester McCoy era that used to show after kindergarten at around 4:30PM. From there I got into the Pertwee era, then Hartnell, then Tom Baker, followed by Peter Davidson. Unfortunately I never caught much of the Colin Baker or Patrick Troughton Doctors. I must make more time for them at some stage.

I'm a fanatic of the new series. While I like David Tennant, a fair bit of me misses Eccleston too, there was so much potential, he left just as he was really fitting into the character. The last 3 episodes of series 1 are a testimony of this. But the latest series is pretty cool too. So far, my favourite season is number 3. I thought the latest XMAS special was...ordinary. But The Fires of Pompeii was classic WHO, next week's ep is the second half of the two parter, The Sontaran Stratagem. There's a really good setup there, lets hope Part 2 pays it off.

What do we think of RTD's departure? I personally think it's a welcome change. I support the show's move forward with the change of producer. While RTD has been nothing short of instrumental in brining the show back and widening the level of appeal it now has, I think it's time for some new ideas. I've noticed some concepts are beginning to repeat themselves. The alien invasions, the historic episodes, the Doctor-lite episodes, the Psychological episodes...while those are all great, the show can only recycle those ideas so many times until it ends up in the state that it did in the late 1980's.

I think JJ Abrahams expressed similiar sentements for Star Trek, describing it as a shark that didn't move which ultimately contributed toward its current inert state. I can't wait to see what Moffat brings to the table, "Blink" is one of my favourite episodes of the entire series. I predict that we'll see less of the corny, campy humour we have occassionally been subjected to (ie: a dump master eating Micky, farting Aliens masquerading as politicans and taking over 10 Downing Street, an Absorbalon etc....). Instead, i'm hoping for slightly darker, more serious stories that will make us think and really challenge the audience while also tapping into our emotions in the way that we react and relate to the characters.

Once again, this is not to say RTD hasn't served the series well, quite the contrary. However, RTD over the last couple of years has developed some trends which are becoming slightly more noticable with each passing year. RTD (in my opinion) departs the show at the peak of his form and will thus be a cherished relic amongst the DW legacy.

Now, back to Dark Knight

Thanks DRPaul, it was interesting to hear the other perspective. To each their own!

Joel:
I kinda stopped reading Doctor Who news and stuff. partly cos of time and partly cos I felt I wasn't enjoying the show as much getting bogged down by some of the debates going on in fandom :s So I didn't know about RTD leaving, thats pretty interesting.

The stuff I didn't like about the newer series is mainly the emotional lovey dovey stuff regarding the Doctor and his companions having a romantic attraction to him. And also all the repeating melodramas of the companions families. Of course companions need to have a story too, but it felt like the companion drama became more important than the adventure and fantasy storylines at times. It started to feel a bit like a soap opera when it kept going back over that type of ground... and I've never really liked reality TV, I usually go for escapism and irreverent entertainment like fantasy and comedy. And yeah some of the more crude humour got a bit over done earlier on...

That is why I have really enjoyed the most recent series. As the companion was quite adamant about not being romantically involved and was just a good friend looking for fun adventure. Plus she didn't have much attachment to her family, she has a relationship with them of course but it didn't feel as if it was the main point of entire episodes so didn't get to be too much of a soap opera. So the focus shifted more on to the adventure aspect again I feel. Also Catherine Tate really surprised me as a companion, I thought eh? Catherine Tate in a semi-serious role? But personally I love her character! And I do like quirky humour so I really enjoy them bouncing quips and jokes off each other. It could be really hilarious at times. Yet she could also do serious aspects as well in ehr own little way. So overall it was really cool.

We all have our different preferences (like the seating discussion above!) and I didn't seem to get into Eccleston, sorry! Maybe he was just a bit too serious and dark for me. But he did wonders for getting the show into the mainstream again and it's just my personal preference as I know someone else who loved his portrayal.

But I guess I wouldn't like the series to become too serious again, I really appreciate humour in a show. I really like David Tennants lively character and the way the comic side was dealt with in recent episodes. I think they got some of the balance with humour down better recently, maybe because the companion is a comedian so it felt a bit more natural than some of the forced humour with earlier scenes/companions. I think my ideal is if they explore more different alien worlds and planets or areas of the universe but still have various quirky humour sprinkled throughout balanced with the serious aspects. I enjoy X-Files but I probably wouldn't of enjoyed it as much if it was all serious drama and dark espionage/horror and didn't have all the humour and quirky or sarcastic banter between Mulder and Scully. And there was also the parody/comedy episodes. To each their own of course! And I can't really say too much cos I'm ahead of you all in the story probably. Otherwise I would say more.

Anyway I hope the future of Doctor Who has something for everyone. I guess its impossible to please everyone but hopefully it will have enough of a balance to please most of the people most of the time!