Doctor Who

[GhostMachine]

I wish they'd animate more First Doctor stories (especially THE MYTH MAKERS and THE CELESTIAL TOYMAKER), but I guess they're going to do all of the missing Dalek stories before that ever happens.

 

[TheWho87]

56 minutes ago, GhostMachine said:

I wish they'd animate more First Doctor stories (especially THE MYTH MAKERS and THE CELESTIAL TOYMAKER), but I guess they're going to do all of the missing Dalek stories before that ever happens.

I'd like to see Master Plan and Wheel next on the animation list, although Toymaker would be interesting although it would need audio editing, and we really do need Marco Polo at some point.

[Lineker]

 

[Adam]

I will obviously be very sad to see her go. She has been brilliant in the role so far and really reinvigorated my love for the series.

[Colly]

I really like her but the material she's had to work with has been bang average for the most part sadly. At least Bradley Walsh got some banter.

[TheWho87]

The sooner Chibnall goes the better, I always said the downfall of the female Doctor would be down to writing and he just fucked it up. What makes it worse is that most will blame Jodie for it, she wasn't great, but she could put a small shine on those turds. But I guess that's their escape clause to hide behind, their blaming Jodie so it's just the sexists.

Lets just ignore the only writer who had any previous was Chibnall, and his history was littered with shite stories (Cyberwoman anyone?), with the rest having previous for daytime soaps. And let's not forget Chibnall's plan of fuck everything that happened before, this is his show now, he's starting over from scratch.

I just hope he doesn't do too much damage on the way out, but he'll likely fuck the classics over anain, maybe by shoehorning his bullshit into that 6B arc bollocks.

 

[GhostMachine]

Chibnall cannot leave fast enough. He's hot garbage. The whole Timeless Child thing has plot holes AND comes off like bad fanfic. And any explanation for Ruth - if he actually deigns to give us one - is probably going to be unsatisfying. Even total bullshit if she's shoehorned in as a past incarnation that isn't between Troughton and Pertwee. Hanging's too good for him if she's revealed to be pre-Hartnell. 

On the other hand, Jodie did a great job with the material she was given. I wish she'd stick around to see what she can do under a showrunner that actually knows what they're doing.

*edited to add* Anyone else sick to death of the Daleks?

 

 

Edited July 29, 2021 by GhostMachine

[Vamp]

For all the speculation about who will replace Jodie the big question is who will replace Chibnall. I know he's not hard to replace at this stage but there doesn't seem to be any obvious front runner or anyone groomed for the spot. 

It was interesting to see how little the Doctor Who Thingy in London references Chibnall's era on the show. There was a Kerblam robot (not integral to the plot) and an attempt to situate something after a Chibnall plot point that kinda weakened the impact of that plot point to do something more suited to the RTD era of the show (actually, in the process it ignored a Moffat development but not in a way that challenged it). It very much feels like a whistle stop tour of all the greatest hits of new Doctor Who and that ultimately feels like the greatest hits of RTD and Moffat. Even the tempo of the show feels like a Moffat episode. 

Then again there's also one "gritty" moment that feels like it's from an entirely different show altogether. 

 

My only real problem with the Timeless Child is it makes the Doctor a bit too special super being. I think its an interesting thing to hint at, because that adds to the mystery, but once you start revealing it that mystery diminishes anyway. And it makes the basics of the show a bit more complicated. It doesn't seem like any of the past 3 show runners have wanted to spend any time with the Time Lords (although I'd argue that RTD's era kind of ends up being more about the Time Lords than any other era of the show) and Chibnall's not only killed them off (again) but given an excuse for Doctor Who never having to worry about them again (because the Doctor can now be interested in whatever species she is). I've got no problem with bot spending anymore time with the Time Lords but also we seem to spend quite a bit of time in New Who establishing reasons why we're not spending any time with them. 

As for daleks, I actually think Chibnall's done a decent job there. They've only appeared twice, right? And both times he's done something a little different with them.

 

 

 

[TheWho87]

Not a fan of the animation style they are using for Web of Fear, thankfully it's only for one episode.

 

[DFF]

My word, that looks cheap haha. 

[TheWho87]

Looks like we're getting two missing stories animated by the end of the year...

 

The other being the already announced Evil of the Daleks.

Edited September 15, 2021 by TheWho87

[Kyle]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-58682472

 

Quote

Screenwriter Russell T Davies is to take charge again of Doctor Who, the sci-fi show he helped revive in 2005.
 

Davies, who was the fantasy drama's showrunner until 2009, will take over when Chris Chibnall departs next year.
 

"I'm beyond excited to be back on my favourite show," said Davies, who resumes his role as the show prepares to mark its 60th anniversary in 2023.
 

One of his first responsibilities will be to decide who takes over the Tardis following Jodie Whittaker's exit.
 

The actress is set to hang up her Sonic Screwdriver after one more six-part series and three 2022 specials.
 

"There's a whole series of Jodie Whittaker's brilliant Doctor for me to enjoy, with my friend and hero Chris Chibnall at the helm," Davies continued. "I'm still a viewer for now."

Chibnall said it was "monumentally exciting and fitting" that Davies would be back in charge for the series' 60th birthday.
 

"Russell built the baton that is about to be handed back to him," the writer and producer continued.
 

Davies revived Doctor Who in its current incarnation with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and remained for David Tennant's time as the Doctor.
 

Steven Moffatt took over when Matt Smith took on the role, staying to supervise Peter Capaldi's stint as TV's indefatigable Time Lord.
 

The success of Doctor Who's relaunch led Davies to create two spin-off shows, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
 

After leaving the show in 2009 he enjoyed more acclaim with TV dramas Years and Years, A Very English Scandal and It's A Sin.
 

Piers Wenger, the BBC's director of drama, said the news of Davies' return would "delight Doctor Who fans across the globe".
 

"We are thrilled that Russell is returning to Doctor Who to build on the huge achievements of Chris and Jodie," he continued. "Russell, it's wonderful to have you back."

This is exciting news. I fell off just before the first Capaldi series, but RTD being back might hook me back in.

[Vamp]

I'm a big RTD fan and think he's been the best show runner since they've brought it back but it feels a bit desperate and underwhelming. 

I just wonder what he's got left to do with Doctor Who. 

[Naitch]

I would say I'm apprehensive but the writing since Chibnall took over has been so bad that I tapped out after about five episodes. Even finding out about stuff after then just made me glad I'd stopped watching.

Personally, I felt that the Moffat era was much closer to the original tone of the classic series, until it fell off a cliff with the awful Clara stuff anyway. The Eccleston and Tennant series' just felt like a pastiche of the character and concepts. But, hopefully, RTD will be able to get the lore back in order again, even if it means lampshading what Chibnall has tried to do with it and then just cracking on with a new plotline.

[GhostMachine]

This is great news!

Chibnall will NOT be missed.

[Josh]

I’m a bit mystified when people drag the last couple of series. I was suuuuper on board with it as a bit of a soft reboot that was sorely, sorely needed after the bitter mess Moffat made. And I loved both that incarnation of the Doctor and her companions.

All that said RTD was a fantastic show runner and I have faith he’ll do just as well a second time around. If I understand correctly, the only reason he left last time was because of his partner’s declining health from brain cancer. It seems he actually still had a great interest in the show and more he wanted to do. With having had time to grieve and process, it looks like he’s fully ready to go.

My only gripe with it all is that I hate this feeling it creates of, “Those last two series were the worst, thank God they’re gonna undo all that mess!” I still quite like it.

[GhostMachine]

7 hours ago, Josh said:

I’m a bit mystified when people drag the last couple of series. I was suuuuper on board with it as a bit of a soft reboot that was sorely, sorely needed after the bitter mess Moffat made. And I loved both that incarnation of the Doctor and her companions.

All that said RTD was a fantastic show runner and I have faith he’ll do just as well a second time around. If I understand correctly, the only reason he left last time was because of his partner’s declining health from brain cancer. It seems he actually still had a great interest in the show and more he wanted to do. With having had time to grieve and process, it looks like he’s fully ready to go.

My only gripe with it all is that I hate this feeling it creates of, “Those last two series were the worst, thank God they’re gonna undo all that mess!” I still quite like it.

Chibnall has left us (so far) with a few headaches.

The whole `Timeless Child' thing is straight up garbage, and Ruth cannot be a past incarnation of the Doctor without either some serious retconning or shoehorning her in between Troughton and Pertwee (since we never actually saw the regeneration). Even if the `Timeless Child' crap is true, there's a plothole: The faces from BRAIN OF MORBIUS were shown as past incarnations of the Doctor. But the Doctor was mindwiped at some point prior to becoming the Doctor, so he would not have even remembered being them. Those faces have to either be Morbius, or Morbius was a hell of a lot more powerful telepath than was shown! The Doctor being essentially immortal with unlimited regenerations also makes Clara's heartfelt plea to the Time Lords to save the Doctor by letting 11 have a new regeneration cycle meaningless.

We still don't know where the current Master fits in, but he has to be a part incarnation due to using the Tissue Compression Eliminator. My guess is that he might be the one that ends up becoming the decayed one from DEADLY ASSASSIN. I've no doubt we'll get a post-Missy version, but this should not end up being it. 

The Doctor also using the term fam' also makes me want to cringe whenever I hear it.

I have read comments from people crapping all over the current Doctor, but I honestly think its mostly people who have a problem with a female Doctor or the material she's been given. Whittaker has been fantastic.

 

 

 

[TheWho87]

I don't think I've seen anyone (beyond Twitter edge lords) complain about the gender of the Doctor, it's all been about the writing, the only people I see mention the Doctors gender as an issue tend to do so as an excuse to dismiss criticism of the show.

 

 

[Josh]

Yeah, I have no problem with the things you have listed. They never bothered me at all. And I feel like the show has made similar logical pretzels countless times before. Hardly anything new.

[Skummy]

I'm not a fan of RTD at all - I think he has an inflated reputation for being the showrunner for David Tennant, which is where a lot of newer fans joined the series. That run had some great moments and great performances, and some of the best (non-Rory) companions of New Who, but also some of the absolute dirt worst episodes ever, and some of the wankiest writing. It was a running joke with some of my friends that you could explain anything away by hand-waving and saying "Time War did it".

While in theory I liked that RTD mixed up a "monster of the week" format with clues spread throughout the series that would pay off in the finale (Bad Wolf, etc.), but he was abysmal at writing two-parters. Or rather, the second part of a two-parter. The first part would be fantastic, a solid cliffhanger, and then they'd just utterly fail to stick the landing. Most egregious of all was John Simm as the Master aging The Doctor into a tiny little goblin, and the day being saved because everyone clapped their hands and said, "I do believe in fairies". 

He also had a habit of upping the stakes too much - it seemed like every series the fate of ALL OF TIME AND SPACE had to be in the balance. Oh alright, is it any worse than the last time? There's no tension there because obviously you're not going to end all of time and space. It was frustrating because the low-key character notes were the best part of the series - Wilf knocking on a window was more impactful than whatever baddy was threatening the entire universe this week. Under Moffat, at least at first, and under Chibnall in theory (though rarely in execution), the stakes tended to be more personal, so you were more genuinely emotionally invested.

 

In general, I just think Doctor Who under RTD was a bit too much of a romp. Too much running about and quipping like action heroes, not enough overwrought moralising and metaphor.