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Doctor Who is an archetypal show. I can only think of a handful of episodes that don't follow that idea, and most of them are bad. In fact, the entire premise of mystery man saves the day is an archetype, as is the Doctor.

The Beast Below didn't follow that pattern.  It was not the Doctor who solved the mystery that time, but rather was Amy.  And the big revelation of that show was humanity was caught in a loop of discovering truth and then choosing to forget it instead of deal with their own cruelty and selfishness (much better than a baby is your mom).  And Amy's discovery was about the true character of beings who are the last of their race (a lesson which the Doctor could use a refresher on at this point in this season).

Have you seen most of Ace's episodes or watched most of the Old Who in general (I'm assuming no if you didn't recognize the Curse of Fenric)? If not it seems silly to judge her, but anyway, I've always said that Rose was Ace 2.0, and Martha was Ace 2.1. She was really innovative compared to former companions.

No I haven't seen any other Ace episodes, and I haven't seen much Old Who.  And I don't care if Ace was innovative for her time.  Citizen Kane was innovative for it's time, but watched today it just isn't that interesting.  Perhaps if I was watching Who in the 60's I would've been impressed with Ace, but watching her now (in what you say is one of her best episodes), I'm nonplussed.

And a question mark isn't subtle but a bright scarf is?

I'll give you the scarf isn't subtle, but at least it's more unique, and it's also useful as the Doctor sometimes used it as either a weapon or a means of escape.

you're now complaining about a budget show? When you told me that wasn't what Doctor Who was about?

I understand that it is not what the show has been about, and is not why it has been popular with a very small number of people for a very long time.  But the fact that the special effects and acting have reached a point where I can reasonably suspend disbelief is a big part of why I'm watching the show regularly now (and so are a lot more other people).

Bad finale. Boring, overdone, and too short. There was a mediocre build up to one of the most pathetic and lazy endings I've ever seen. And herp herp herp derp herp derp, let's put a clone in there. That's original! Hahaha, now we can kill anyone for entertainment! Better than the flesh, I guess. I know Moffat got his start writing soap operas, but this isn't Dallas.

Also, Moffat lied. He said no loose ends. There are more loose ends this season than last season. Next time a new Moffat episode comes out I'm going to blow if off for texting and scones.


On an unrelated note, RIP Brig

Good red herring was good. You have to admit that.

List of all the loose ends, please.

I liked the finale.  It did seem to wrap up a LOT of stuff from this season, and had some classic moral dilemmas.  Should River kill the Doctor or figure out a way to keep him alive even if it means risking the entire universe?  Should the Doctor keep avoiding his death (which he could have infinitely) or face it head on?  Should he allow himself to be killed in order to save the rest of the universe?  Should Amy take revenge on the woman who stole her child and turned her into a brainwashed psychopath?

I felt like each of these decisions was given time to develop, and the characters really had to face the outcome of their choices.

On a more shallow note, it was fun to see pterodactyls in a London park and hot air balloons carrying cars.  I liked the creativity.  I also enjoyed seeing an explanation for the eye patches, and to see the good guys turn them around to use them good, and then the bad guys to turn them around again to use them for bad.  I always like twists like that

all the questions, besides the one about Amy, are pretty blatant. Even the casual watcher would know the answers without much thinking.

Oddly enough, I would have personally answered ALL 3 questions differently.  If I were Amy I would NOT have taken revenge by killing my enemy.  If I were River, I would NOT kill someone even if it meant saving the rest of the universe.  And if I were the Doctor, I would certainly keep on time traveling indefinitely before returning to the time and place where I was supposed to die.

You changed your guesses. Initially you were wrong, wrong, wrong.