Sci-Fi, in the context of Doctor Who. An overwhelming majority of episodes have featured aliens/monsters. You disagree ?
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Sci-Fi, in the context of Doctor Who. An overwhelming majority of episodes have featured aliens/monsters. You disagree ?
Sadly true. There's more to SF than that, though. For instance the time travel theme gave the writer in Demons of the Punjab an opportunity to discuss how we erase parts of our identity, while the aliens in that represented, appropriately on November 11, 2018, remembrance. In the excellent Series 10 story, World enough and Time, a spaceship close to the event horizon of a black hole exhibited relativistic time distortion which drove the plot.
And I agree, but episodes Demons of the Punjab and Rosa, shouldn't be the main attraction to Doctor Who, nor should they be the norm (as in drama over sci-fi). That's not to say that episodes should not include self-reflection, but it should be balanced, or in a position behind the sci-fi. There are many stories in the old series, that were used as tools to convey messages about the society at the time, and therefore self-reflection, but they didn't dilute the sci-fi or put the Doctor at the back of the story.
Stories such as the Sun Makers or even Genesis of the Daleks. You could argue that Genesis included one of the hardest decisions the Doctor ever had to make, considering whether he had the right to commit genocide. All of the Doctor's arguments with Davros over the years etc.
The example you gave above of time travel allowing the writer to discuss, identity etc, yes it was a good story, but the Doctor need not have been in it, neither did the aliens. It could have been Torchwood finding an alien object that allowed them to travel to Punjab etc. Time travel was just the door the writer used to get his foot it, is how it comes across to me personally, and then it was discarded so that he could tell the tale that he had actually wanted to, imo.
In my mind, Demons of the Punjab, could easily have been a periodical drama on BBC 1, without the sci-fi, the Doctor and the aliens, and it would have worked just as well. And that's the problem with this current series in my eyes, the Doctor simply has not been needed, or had a commanding role in any of the stories.
Yes, there are excellent stories that don't really feature the Doctor that much, such as Blink, or even Love and Monsters, which I am fond of, but they weren't the norm in a series. The Doctor doesn't have to win every battle, or always control everything (Waters of Mars), but the Doctor has to be relevant to the story, and not just a useful subplot or side character.
It's like making a film in 20 years called Star Wars Episode X, and have only the Ewoks in it as the main characters, having the whole story based on Endor, with Jar Jar as the hero. No real enemies to speak of, no space battles, no Jedi or the Force, and boldly claiming that it's still a main stream Star Wars film.
Imo, CC has neutered the Doctor and done a disservice to JW.
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I am sorry but as someone who is Asian I say fuck no. Doctor Who has a vast audience and our story is so rarely told in the media and is befitting to be on Doctor Who to educate the audience that;
- India used to be part of the British Empire,
- Indian actually did fight in the world war, this is something that never gets taught at school,
- That the British rushed the Partition in 6 weeks resulting in turmoil and unrest between the two nation that still exist to this day.
Yeah, and I'm asian too.
I didn't say that the story shouldn't have been told, what I said was that it shouldn't have made the Doctor feel like a side character, or irelevant plot detail. There's no reason that there couldn't have been a real alien threat that the Doctor takes care of. Stories can have layers upon layers of plot, and it doesn't necessarily diminsh, or take away from the main plot in any way.
Funny you should say that. I've often pointed to my favourite episodes, Midnight for example, because I believe the writing has this feature: that it need not necessarily be an episode of Doctor Who. Douglas Adams even recycled events and characters from City of Death and Shada as the first Dirk Gently novel. The Series 9 double episode featuring the Zygons, with its famous Osgood Box, could be an international espionage thriller.
I don't mind if some people think Doctor Who is sometimes only a format for otherwise excellent drama. I happen to agree that, at its best, this is often the case.
No Christmas special is bloody weird. For the past 13 out of my 21 years there has been a Doctor Who Christmas Special.
Midnight was a beautiful episode that balanced everything perfectly, the sci-fi, the drama, and self-reflection. But, in the Doctor Who universe, no one apart from the Doctor would have been able to resolve the issue (yes, fair enough the stewardess sacrificed her life to save the others, but you get my point). Not every story in a series should revolve around a threat that Torchwood, or River Song, or Martha Jones could handle by themselves. The Doctor should always be a force to be reckoned with, or at least be weary of, and so far in this series, the 13th Doctor has been anything but.
Doctor Who stories/episodes are about the Doctor (not necessarily to the same extent in every episode), but it shouldn't feel like the Doctor was added to a story at the last second, just so one could make the argument that it was a Doctor Who story, if that makes sense. I mean, imo, the Doctor had more of an active role in the two episodes of the Sarah Jane Adventures than the 13th has had at any point the current series so far.
Maybe that describes the underlying issue for me: the 13th Doctor feels like a passive participant in the series so far (as opposed to an active protagonist).
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I believe the point is that Doctor Who in that situation finds himself powerless, his cleverness turned against him. He would have been thrown out and died if the stewardess hadn't acted heroically. He didn't resolve the situation, his attempts only helped the creature to turn most of the passengers against him.
I actually don't. Midnight was unique in that it is the one episode where the doctor is as helpless as normal human's he's trying to protect. He doesn't know what the alien is, he can't fix Mrs. Silendri, he can't even convince the passengers he's with to trust him. The only thing that sets him apart is that he was willing to get up close and examine the alien as it repeated everything, but all that accomplished was him being the one to ultimately free the creature from it's cage. And the stewardess being the one to stop it by sacrificing herself was outside his control or influence. He even wasn't an inspiration for her, it's not like he gave her the bravery or compassion to put herself on the line, she already had that in her absent of the doctor.
Far more than even what 13 is doing, the Doctor was absolutely irrelevant as a unique entity and the major theme of that specific episode was the Doctor coming to grips with the fact that for once, he's as helpless as anyone else and has to live with the fact that he's damn lucky that someone else managed to play the hero or else he'd be dead right now.
I get the overall point that the Doctor should be atleast a little bit of a superhero in most of the stories' he's in, but Midnight is like the single episode where that is subverted in every way.
The loss of Christmas Day is a bummer because it was just a great big tentpole day for the series, and New Years Day isn't nearly as busy. It was a place to draw casual viewers into the series - I don't think Series 4 would've fully broke the records it did without the incredible teeing up of Voyage of the Damned (still the most-watched episode of the modern show), etc. But alas. I don't think this form of Doctor Who would really fit at Christmas anyway?
But it was the Doctor that solved the mystery. He was still clearly defined as the protagonist.
The point was that he was still central to the story, and he solved the mystery, it wasn't someone else that worked everything out etc. Like I said before, the Doctor doesn't always have to win, or be the smartest person in the room etc, but still has to have a purpose (narratively, if that's the best word), in the story. The passengers would have all have died had the Doctor not been there, imo.
Sorry, not getting that at all. The origin of the creature remains unknown. He's the protagonist, but ends up quite powerless.
Im actually genuinely upset they've scrapped the Christmas episode. I might just do over time at work now, otherwise it'll mean more time with the family.
By mystery in this case, I was referring to what the creature was doing and how etc.
Are you sure your remembering that right? Because he didn't solve anything. He spent the entire episode constantly asking the creature "What are you? What do you want?" until he got taken over. He kept throwing out questions, but not once did he get an answer...atleast not until the creature answered for him by taking over his body. That counts as much as solving the mystery as a detective trailing a suspect in a murder who walks into the police department saying "I murdered the person your investigating, here's how I did it."
As for being the protagonist, 13 is pretty clearly defined as that. It's on her behest that things like going to the Partition of India happen, and she's the one investigating the aliens, following them, using the scifi technology. She as a purpose by being the vehicle by which these stories are able to be observed.
I get what your overall trying to say, that you want the doctor to be a bit of a superhero, but again, Midnight is the worst possible example to use for this argument. The Doctor, by design, did nothing in that episode. Absolutely nothing, except exist as a vehicle for perspective by which we get to see the story unfold.
Yeah maybe Midnight was a bad example of what I'm trying to convey, but even then, the story was centered around the Doctor's inability to get anything done, and in that context, the Doctor was still active. The Doctor hasn't been central to any story in this current series imo, and if that applied to one or maybe two stories in a series, that would be ok, but I can't think of any series, especially at the beginning of a Doctor's tenure, where they've had less of a role to play in the story, than this series. It would have been a bit more acceptable to me, if this had been the 13th Doctor's second series.
It's not that I want the Doctor to be a super hero exactly, I mean he never was in the old era... I don't know, it's hard to explain lol. I can see it in my head, just can't get the words out!
re 13, she a lot less of an active role (character wise), than any other Doctor imo. She may be doing the same actions as previous Doctors, but the actions don't convey the same... sense of grandeur? I think maybe CC wanted to tone down the super hero side, but he went too far in the opposite direction, if that makes sense?
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In Caves of Androzani, the Doctor could do jack shit, and the whole thing ended in a blood bath. So it's not like there is no precedence in the Doctor taking a backseat.
How is two historicals every single story? The Doctor took out the P'ting, the Doctor took out Tim Shaw, the Doctor saved everyone in the Ghost Monument planet, the Doctor came up with the plans in Arachnids in the UK.
Wasn't it Ryan who led the spiders into the room (to, uh, humanely eat themselves to death) and the crane operator who took out Tim Shaw and everybody else with the Doctor who made it to the TARDIS -- upon which, after seeing it disappear, the Doctor promptly gave up and resigned them all to death? lol
Hey, never said the plan in Arachnids wasn't stupid. As for Tim Shaw, the Doctor already had him trapped with that bomb plan of hers, the crane guy took advantage of his imminent departure. And I don't see how the Doctor having a moment of weakness means that she didn't help them escape.
Ok, let me ask you this: How would you sum up the 13th Doctor (without referring to her being female, or having a Yorkshire accent) ?
I would sum her up as kind and barmy.
I would sum her up as kind and barmy.
Very empathetic. Slightly neurotic in a way that other doctors haven't been, but far more empathetic. All the doctors have been kind, 10 in a bit of a standoffish, distant way, 11 in a wacky fun kind of way, 12 in a grumpy kind of way, but 13 cares about you and wants to comfort you and have you included in her adventures. However, she's also very vulnerable, so she breaks more easily than the other doctors do. I feel like I see her more upset than most other doctors in general when something goes wrong.
In Dinosaurs on a Spaceship by Chibnall didn't Eleven actually straight up murder the guy at the end, blowing up his ship?
The bizarre stuff Thirteen has done this season reminds me of that. Like killing the droids in a more creative way rather than just using guns in Episode 2, or how she dealt with the spiders. It all makes me really think Chibnall is not someone who gets the character.
The bizarre stuff Thirteen has done this season reminds me of that. Like killing the droids in a more creative way rather than just using guns in Episode 2, or how she dealt with the spiders. It all makes me really think Chibnall is not someone who gets the character.
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It would have been better if it were more of a think before shooting kind of lesson, but the way it was done made the Doctor have this weird, nonsensical morality. That said, modern incarnations of the Doctor are consistently hypocritical, especially Tennant.
Tennant may have been contradictory over different episodes - he didn't end up being a "no second chances kind of man" - but I don't remember his episodes ever having such weird nonsensical morality within individual stories like Thirteen has had.
Doctor Who must be one of the most mismanaged shows in television history. Even with the nature of the show being that you can swap out castmembers whenever you want, the BBC has continuously struggled to get a yearly series out, is incredibly inconsistent with start dates leading to potential dwindling interest, and now not even being able to guarantee a series in 2019, and missing the Christmas special for the first time in the revamp...
One of these times they're going to take a year off, bring it back, and nobody is going to care. Honestly, Jodie is doing fine, but outside of one stellar episode in 'Rosa', there's nothing about this series that's worth the time it took to get it out. I almost forget that it's on, and that hasn't happened at all since the first episode in 2005.
One of these times they're going to take a year off, bring it back, and nobody is going to care. Honestly, Jodie is doing fine, but outside of one stellar episode in 'Rosa', there's nothing about this series that's worth the time it took to get it out. I almost forget that it's on, and that hasn't happened at all since the first episode in 2005.
IIRC there was talk of the BBC considering a planned hiatus after the Chibnall era while Season 11 was in production but I guess it depends on how the ratings work out over the next few years.
So it looks like no one dies in the Finale as they are all in the synopsis for New Years episode??
How uneventful.
It's possible Graham dies in the new years special but i doubt it. I think the three of them will at the very least get a second season or three
I think I know what you mean. You said it earlier. Each episode should represent a puzzle or mystery that Doctor Who eventually resolves. I agree that this is the most common format over the history of the show.
One example of a particularly egregious departure from that is Sleep no More, which shows Doctor Who and Clara just passing through. It uses a found footage framing to show that he has horrifically failed. Moreover, in a chilling reveal, the very broadcast itself is the mechanism by which Doctor Who is thwarted.
This wasn't a popular episode, but I have often given it repeat viewings. It's pretty innovative writing, and any Reece Shearsmith performance is fun to watch. It may technically be Doctor Who, but the delivery at the end is squarely in Number 9 territory in terms of theme. Gatiss (a former colleague of Shearsmith prior to Number 9) uses a found footage horror genre framing to satirise the trite "Doctor Who solves all your problems then zooms off" framing. That's good writing, but it will clearly be unsettling to those who prefer a weekly reassurance that the mad man in the box is out there fighting evil and winning.
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Have just been reading DWM. Apparently the Fifth Doctor Blu-ray set has some actual new HD elements for five of the stories as they have the original film negatives, as opposed to the Tom Baker set which was all upscaled.
So I'm trying to catch up with the show, only at episode 3 right now. I liked the premiere but thought the space race episode was kind of lame. I really dug this Rosa Parks episode though. I dont recall nuWho tackling racism so directly like this. It especially made things interesting with Yaz and Ryan, since time traveling is always going to be a shitty prospect for minorities.
I have to say, having a large companion group is a lot more fun since they can bounce off each other more and offer more perspectives than wide eye wonder and bafflement. Especially like that since theyre all so different.
I have to say, having a large companion group is a lot more fun since they can bounce off each other more and offer more perspectives than wide eye wonder and bafflement. Especially like that since theyre all so different.
First season Tom Baker with a wig and really lame written episodes.
Don't get me wrong, I love 13 the way she is, I love the nice group of companions, but the Writing this season so far is even worse than the worst episodes of 12. Also, breaking with the christmas episode tradition is stunning. NuWho was part about of our Christmas tradition for over a decade now :(
I wish there were better episodes this season, I wish the last few seasons would care less about the American market and bring back some traditional British seasoning like the Eccleston and Tennant runs had, and I wish someone would tell the BBC to get their act together.
Also, give me scary Daleks back.
I love that the doctor has become an expository device rather than an all powerful god. I'm really loving this new season and new writing so far. I like that they let secondary characters' drama take the first stage. And I'm learning things about history to make things even better!
Finally saw this last night, and I feel like the show's worked its way out of its new-showrunner unsteadiness.
First-- absolutely solid story, very moving, interesting characters and conflict.
- No weird plot/setup stuff like in the first few episodes
- No weird dialogue or actions from the Doctor that makes you wonder who she is
- No underwhelming element or aspect that feels like it's there just for the heck of it
Now, I'd love a bit more over the top in the coming episodes to round out the season, but if this and Rosa are the template for the show, it's pretty solid.
First-- absolutely solid story, very moving, interesting characters and conflict.
- No weird plot/setup stuff like in the first few episodes
- No weird dialogue or actions from the Doctor that makes you wonder who she is
- No underwhelming element or aspect that feels like it's there just for the heck of it
Now, I'd love a bit more over the top in the coming episodes to round out the season, but if this and Rosa are the template for the show, it's pretty solid.
Only seen the first 4 episodes and Jodie is fantastic. I like the companions but it can be uneven with who they want to focus on. Also the stories themselves outside of Rosa and kind of lame if I am being completely honest. It has been kind of a rough start to a new doctor who by all accounts is hitting it out of the park. Just feels very uneven
I have to say that for all my dissatisfaction with Chibnall's writing and the consequent concerns for the next few years of the show, one more good episode will put this series comfortably above Series 8 and 10 for me.
Did you not watched the last christmas ("Twice Upon a Time", not "Last Christmas" =P) episode?
Maybe they die in the new year special. Which is probably why they didn't want to show it at Xmas. Though I guess that's never stopped Eastenders.
I can't imagine the writer of Broadchurch isn't going to let his characters look miserable for long stretches.
I can't imagine the writer of Broadchurch isn't going to let his characters look miserable for long stretches.
Nobody's going to die because the cast is massive and none of them have had a proper chance to develop. If you're going to have a TARDIS crew that significant and have them all full-time, you really need to commit to them being around for a few years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPi2ny1r7rM (same video but noticed embeds being broken a lot so adding the url too)
Something pretty trivial, but I don't think they've actually reintroduced what psychic paper actually is have they? Feels like it's been absent for a while before this season too. Did Capaldi ever use it at all?
It's also a bit depressing that all people can speculate about is the death of characters we've just been introduced to.
That would be lame as hell if one died this season or in the special.
On another note, anyone else noticed that Graham calles the Doctor "Doc" when she's not around? He did it twice during the last episode. And she must hate that, just like the previous incarnations. I was like "oh you're lucky she didn't hear you".
Capaldi definitely used it, and often.
He addresses her as Doc, too. She doesn't object.