apart from the absorbalof and the sketchy ending following elton was a good story and it was interesting to see him from his perspective get closer to Jackie and then she realises hes a weirdo. I have worded this badly have fun debating
Well, I rated it 4/5 so I agree with you.
3 Likes
I think Love & Monsters (the only use of an ampersand in an episode title, I believe) is a great episode. We all know fans like Victor…
4 Likes
I find it to be good little episode, Jackie is a treat in it and L.I.N.D.A is a fun group. It is interesting to see the Doctor from an outsider’s viewpoint, much like Torchwood’s “Random Shoes”. The monster design choices made does drag it down a bit and quite frankly that line about Elton and Ursula’s relationship is just wrong on so many levels… how on earth did that not get scrapped in editing
9 Likes
I genuinely love the episode. It just feels so fun, and LINDA is such a wonderful found family, I remember my sister being stunned when rewatching with her after I told her this was one of the most hated episodes. People just keep bringing up the one line, but apart from that the entire episode is a joy from start to finish for me personally.
The idea of a group of people that come together to investigate the Doctor that end up caring more about each other than what they’re originally out to do, is just such a nice story. I love every character in it, and I don’t know how people have such animosity for it. It was such a nice change of pace. Though almost all of them dying does bring it down a bit…
5 Likes
The one line is unfortunate and really should have been cut, but as you say, the rest of the episode is joyous.
I especially like the recreation of previous episodes from Elton’s point of view and would have loved more of that if budget had allowed.
It would be a bit like dismissing all of The Caves of Androzani because of the rubbish Magma Beast.
7 Likes
In general I will always prefer a doctor who story that tries to do something interesting and ends up with a messy execution versus a story that’s boring. Say what you want about love and monsters, but it’s definitely not boring
12 Likes
I think it’s a good episode, too.
2 Likes
Conceptually good idk about execution its a weird one. Random Shoes from Torchwood however has the same vibes with it focusing on some other guy but that one I think is a 10/10
1 Like
Elton Pope is looking for the Doctor. TV Club is joining another club for this week’s discussion - the lovely L.I.N.D.A.
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8 Likes
Love that they tried a totally different approach here. Elton is a super likeable main character and London Investigation ‘N’ Detection Agency is such a fun group.
Bridget & Mr. Skinner 
The Absorbaloff is not a bad idea for a monster, but the design of it is ridiculous. There must have been some seriously rubbish designs in that competition if that won…
Best Jackie Tyler story by far though!
And then Rose turns up at the end, and is just super annoying again. Can we get to the end of Doomsday soon? I need something to cheer about 
3,5/5 
for a flawed story that still is in the top 3 of series 2, damning it with faint praise that…
Oh look, I came through that without mentioning paving slab sex 
Oh…
15 Likes
I think that this episode is one of the most underrated episodes of RTD1. It is fun and I love the interactions with LINDA. The only problem is that the monster design doesn’t work at all. It might have worked in a different setting but this story would have been so much better with a more serious monster (or no monster at all). 4/5
14 Likes
Surprised by how much I liked this as I didn’t remember it fondly. Think this was genuinely funny with some really heartfelt moments.
Took some notes as I was watching
- The scooby doo esque joke in the opening has some obvious cuts. Real lack of polish.
- Always nice to see callbacks to past stories
- Linda is obviously a bit of a stand in for Who fans. I think it strikes a nice balance of poking fun a bit whilst still being appreciative
- The inclusion of Jackie really makes the Ep. She gets some great comedy moments but the standout is the more emotional bits. RTD really hit the nail on the head first time with companion families.
- The Abzorbaloff design is very silly but I don’t hate it
Stories vary on whether having the Doctor come into your life is awful or wonderful. Love and monsters gets it right that it’s both.
14 Likes
It’s a weird one in that the slab joke and the bad boss design overshadow it, but it definitely had some things going for it. I do like Elton, and the the whole group he had going. I love ELO, and “Mr Blue Sky”. Jackie Tyler is always great.
It was a bit of a missed opportunity when we had Ryan and his youtube channel not to bring back Elton. They also absolutely should bring Elton and Ursula back in Big Finish…
16 Likes
I don’t actually mind the silly design that much because of the way they put it to use. From the Doctor and Rose’s perspective (and so also the viewer’s), this is just another silly monster, like so many others. This one is even more ridiculous than usual and is defeated in a minute or what.
But this time the story isn’t about how we jump into the episode and defeat the killer monster, but it’s about those that the monster killed. The characters that we see walking into dark rooms at the start of an episode, from whom we cut away and play the opening/cliffhanger sting over. Those characters that are usually made fun off for being stupid, for the scene being cliche, and for the portrayal being generally seen as silly.
But we see these kinds of people live their lives, and see what a huge impact only a silly gag monster has on them. The Doctor and Rose only see that silliness, but for once, we as the viewer, see the very grounded drama behind it. The Abzorbaloff looks dumb from the usual Doctor perspective, but is a real threat from the perspective of the victims, and I think it does its job at enforcing this divide of perspective very well.
15 Likes
I don’t plan on rewatching this yet, but I remember I really can not stand this story at all.
5 Likes
I’m a big fan of a lot of the domestic stuff RTD does and I love it here, it’s jsut a shame about the ending.
The scene with Jackie in the laundrette (“I’d been trained for this”) is just hilarious and gets me every time, Jackie is always fun to watch, and the one off cast here are all great too
11 Likes
An oddity, for sure, but an oddity that I do enjoy. This story is so very polarising and I don’t think it deserves the poor reputation that it is perceived as having. I absolutely agree that the joke at the end is misjudged, though the beating heart of this story is characterisation. Every time I watch this, I enjoy spending time with Elton, Ursula, Mr Skinner, Bliss and Bridget. Moreover, as @BillFiler, @SweetAIBelle, @joerack, @Owen have noted, Jackie is simply marvellous in this story.
It’ll never be a favourite of mine.
It’s far from perfect.
But, by 'eck, it’s fun, heartwarming and wonderfully different!
12 Likes
I noted it too!!!
Dont’ forget me!!!
/lh
10 Likes
While the idea of a Doctor-lite story is good, and will be shown in the future to produce some of the best serials, this one is just a miss for me.
I don’t really like any of the actors. Peter Kay can take a long walk off a short pier as far as I’m concerned. I didn’t connect with any of the characters. The “comedy” isn’t intentionally funny.
They got something on screen which is a miracle, but for that I can only give it a 1/5.
6 Likes