Doctor Who 2022

[tommers]

I thought Dhawan was excellent. I like Jodie Whittaker too. I watched with my daughter who cried at the end. She really likes Jodie Whittaker.

She didn't know who David Tennant was.

She thought Yaz and the Doctor might kiss but they didn't.

 

[danny la rouge]

Suppose they might come back it.

Well, Chibnall has gone now, so it’s up to RTDII (we’re calling him that in the hope he’s learned some lessons) to decide what to drop and what to pick up.

I see the Timeless Child thread was abandoned, as I always thought it would be. Hopefully RTDII glosses over that, too.

For those dissing JW, you’re wrong: she’s great. For those dissing Chibnall’s writing: you’re right, he’s just not very good at it. Not everyone can be. For those bemoaning the BBC once again poorly serving Doctor Who in the publicity stakes: you’re right, it’s mystifying. For those of you yelling at each other and calling one another Nazis: ffs, it’s a television show. I’m sure there’s football threads for that kind of thing.

 

[CNT36]

Spoiler

So what was the Masters rationale for the regeneration? Besmirch the Doctor's name, kill the Doctor, steal endless regenerations or conquer stuff? The Master hated that regeneration came from the Doctor so why the hijacking? Seems a lot of effort

 

[danny la rouge]

Spoiler

So what was the Masters rationale for the regeneration? Besmirch the Doctor's name, kill the Doctor, steal endless regenerations or conquer stuff? The Master hated that regeneration came from the Doctor so why the hijacking? Seems a lot of effort

Spoiler

Regenerating “as the Doctor” made no kind of sense to me at all. He didn’t look or act like the Doctor. He just wore some 80s jumper or other. He could have done that without the glass boxes and the fake planet run by a creature disguised as a child!

Although I did like the Dalek and the Cyberman exchanging glances when he did the Ra Ra Rasputin dance.

 

[elbows]

are they really at the point where they’ve devalued daleks, the cybermen and the Master soooo much that they have to have them all at once just to create credible threat? (Probably — they all still can’t shoot for toffee).

Thats not a new problem, it goes very far back to really quite early on in the original run. Its an issue in general when dealing with a format where the hero always wins, and the Daleks had a rather prolonged credibility problem during the era when they couldnt navigate stairs. Playground jokes about the stair problem were not dealt with in the show until 1988. But any broader resolutions of this enemy credibility problem that have been managed over the decades are only ever short lived.

And once again it was a breathless plot with zero pacing, like something you’d play on a screen during a cinema based rollercoaster.

Pacing issues doom me to the distant past in general when it comes to tv and cinema. A cross between modern pace and the trudgery of the original series would be my preference, but its not something I usually dare to expect. I forced myself to watch this latest episode for nostalgia reasons given some of the special guests. I survived.

I liked Sacha Dhawan though. So there’s that.

Worked especially well as Rasputin.

I nearly fell off my chair when I was watching a bunch of the original series and found them occasionally taking the piss out of themselves.

 

[danny la rouge]

Thats not a new problem, it goes very far back to really quite early on in the original run.

And indeed any tv show with a main character who really does have to survive to be in the next episode.

To be fair, companions do occasionally die or get trapped in parallel universes.

 

[belboid]

Pacing issues doom me to the distant past in general when it comes to tv and cinema. A cross between modern pace and the trudgery of the original series would be my preference, but its not something I usually dare to expect. I forced myself to watch this latest episode for nostalgia reasons given some of the special guests. I survived.

Agree with you on this. The problem isn’t pacing, per se, it generally follows an absolutely classic three act structure and hits its beats at the right spot. It doesn’t give you much chance to sit back and let what you’ve just seen sink in, you’re straight onto the next bit. Good for skating over plot points (okay, I’m still not sure what nicking the pics was really about) but also makes things less satisfying - even when the story does wholly work.

 

[kabbes]

You deal with the problem of peril inflation by really carefully rationing your villains, though, and by introducing new ones as necessary. You don’t do it by having the doctor fight the daleks so often that these supposedly terrifying monsters are actually now outclassed by two middle aged people brandishing a single baseball bat.

 

[danny la rouge]

You deal with the problem of peril inflation by really carefully rationing your villains, though, and by introducing new ones as necessary. You don’t do it by having the doctor fight the daleks so often that these supposedly terrifying monsters are actually now outclassed by two middle aged people brandishing a single baseball bat.

As galaxy-conquering psychopathic space Nazis go, they were always a bit rubbish. Ian and Barbara used to spin them around back in the days of the First Doctor.

 

[strung out]

You deal with the problem of peril inflation by really carefully rationing your villains, though, and by introducing new ones as necessary. You don’t do it by having the doctor fight the daleks so often that these supposedly terrifying monsters are actually now outclassed by two middle aged people brandishing a single baseball bat.

You say that, but...



(but yes, agree with your point)

 

[danny la rouge]

As galaxy-conquering psychopathic space Nazis go, they were always a bit rubbish. Ian and Barbara used to spin them around back in the days of the First Doctor.

https://64.media.tumblr.com/f40735d75dbc8f1af8f1280f937f1f5e/tumblr_o659gzZWHE1vrw9uoo1_250.gifv

 

[Chz]

The Ace and Tegan stuff was as cringy as fuck, and neither of them can act. The story was terribly overblown — are they really at the point where they’ve devalued daleks, the cybermen and the Master soooo much that they have to have them all at once just to create credible threat? (Probably — they all still can’t shoot for toffee). And once again it was a breathless plot with zero pacing, like something you’d play on a screen during a cinema based rollercoaster. And by creating so many threads, you’re left afterwards gradually remembering how much was unresolved.

I liked Sacha Dhawan though. So there’s that.

I'd give Janet and Sophie a break. They haven't been on screen for decades, and they weren't exactly RADA material in the first place. (Though Sophie does a lot of voice work and is actually pretty decent at that) Daleks and Cybermen being paper tigers is nothing new under the sun, either. Which just leaves the standard CC theme of throwing 20 ideas at the screen and picking three at random to actually follow through on. Why was the Master Rasputin? Pretty much for a bad throwaway gag - there didn't seem to be any other rationale behind it.

 

[Cloo]

I did find it a bit silly in the last 10 years whenever the Daleks are mentioned everyone, including the Doctor is like 'Oh my god, it's the terrible, undefeatable, terrifying daleks, we are all doomed', despite the fact the Doctor has sent them packing multiple times.

 

[kabbes]

In the Ecclescake and Tenant eras, they did actually obtain a good scary vibe.

 

[CNT36]

You say that, but...

View attachment 348702

(but yes, agree with your point)

At least that time they explained it wasn't a normal baseball but space magic.

 

[Gromit]

I stopped watching doctor who because every single episode had to include a piece about hey the doctor is a woman now deal with it. The repetition of the same bit got tiresome. I can't recall how many episodes I gave it to settle down but I seem to recall it was a fair few.

I started to watch the last show in detail but I ended up skimming forward, skimming forward and being pretty much underwhelmed by the whole thing.

Imagine my surprise when they included a piece where an old man says 'hey what do you mean she' and then they ignore him.

Finished as they begun!

Was disappointed the new chap didn't get a look in. Tennant has stolen his thunder. Which is a bit mean.

 

[Santino]

Fuck off, Gromit

 

[Gromit]

I was thinking about this after watching Who.

In the Anne Rice vampire books the oldest of Vampires seek young companions to teach them the spirit of the time so that they can continue to enjoy and function.

Is Who doing a similar thing. Did it become so woke and virtue signalling to reflect the woke decade we are in. Are we in the hand wringing Louis years?

 

[kabbes]

Fuck off, Gromit

 

[T & P]

There’s clearly a Star Wars nerd in the creative team. Among other things I noticed the lines ‘I mean you no harm’ and a close paraphrasing of ‘this xxx has information critical to the survival of xxx’.

Also, whatshisface’s ship bear more than a passing resemblance to an X-wing fighter, not to mention the machine in the sky thingy that looked like the Death Star’s cousin.

 

[kittyP]

Just got around to watching it and thoroughly enjoyed it.
But then I am amazing at suspending my disbelief and setting out to enjoy something so much that I normally do

Sacha Dhawan was absolutely scenery chewing but that isn't mutually exclusive from utterly glorious.
There is definitely a place for over the top, arch villainy sometimes imho.

And (also imho( Jodie Whittaker has been excellent!

 

[SpookyFrank]

In the Ecclescake and Tenant eras, they did actually obtain a good scary vibe.

Because they were used sparingly, and because the Doctor had an actual emotional response to them besides, 'wait there while I defeat you'.

 

[strung out]

Between 1968 and 1982 there was only one Cybermen story. One Dalek story between 1975 and 1984.

They were absolutely terrifying when they did appear.

 

[tommers]

I’m still not sure what nicking the pics was really about

He didn't nick them, he put his own face on them. Which doesn't make any sense either, but looked quite funny.

In fact I'd forgotten that happened. And the volcanoes.

Must not think about it.

Why was he in 1916 Russia?

 

[kabbes]

None of it made any sense at all regarding the motivations of any of them. It was all just breathless spectacle, with each scene having just enough vague link to the next one to manage to keep it running forwards. Just never take breath and look back and you might just get away with it. Except afterwards, when you think wtf was that?

Chinballs is a terrible writer.

 

[strung out]

Was Broadchurch any good? Never seen it, but everyone absolutely raved about it.

 

[danny la rouge]

Why was he in 1916 Russia?

To do the Boney M thing.

 

[kabbes]

Was Broadchurch any good? Never seen it, but everyone absolutely raved about it.

I remember that one of the latter series was quite good. Not spectacular but quite good

 

[Karl Masks]

Between 1968 and 1982 there was only one Cybermen story. One Dalek story between 1975 and 1984.

They were absolutely terrifying when they did appear.

I heard it was something to do with the Terry Nation estate: their contract says that the Daleks must be used on a regular basis or the BBC forfeit their right to use them at all

 

[danny la rouge]

I heard it was something to do with the Terry Nation estate: their contract says that the Daleks must be used on a regular basis or the BBC forfeit their right to use them at all

That's not actually true. It's an enduring urban myth, though. There was in any case a large team behind developing the Daleks. Nation set the concept idea, but did not finish it alone. Indeed, the way they look is down to Raymond Cusick. Their iconic design is more enduring than the original story.