Doctor Who-ERA |OT| It's Almost Time... But Not Yet

[CD_93]

How are we two weeks away? Feels like it has flown since Christmas.

‘Doctor Who’ Regenerates: How Ncuti Gatwa’s Historic Casting, Russell T Davies’ Return and a Disney+ Deal Revolutionized the Franchise

15th Doctor Ncuti Gatwa, series stalwart Russell T Davies and companion Millie Gibson preview the new era of 'Doctor Who.'

variety.com

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Gatwa just has so much fucking charisma, more than any past Doctor. I can't wait to see him in a full series. I do hope he's able to get some serious and sad moments too but for now I'm just kinda excited to have some fun with him.

Click to shrink...

It's exactly the shot in the arm the show needed. I love Tennant and I loved Capaldi, and both of them are kind of "my essential Doctor" in different ways, but I think Gatwa's charm and presence is so absolutely perfect for what the show needs in the current era that I am so thankful that they were able to get him.

This is absolutely no shade at Jodie, I think she's a talented actress and I've liked her in everything I've ever seen her do, but I think that Chibnall absolutely flubbed using her effectively and it really feels like Rusty knows exactly how best to use Ncuti. I'm still 50/50 on Millie, I feel like to some degree my brain thinks she looks just enough like Jenna Coleman that I keep comparing her subconsciously to Clara and I don't think her personality is strong enough to overcome that (yet), but I'm more than open to seeing how Ruby develops over the course of this season. Like Jenna, she seems to be extremely well-suited for period-specific wardrobe changes, though, and I always like seeing the Doctor and companion trying to blend in during historicals.

 

[APZonerunner]

It's exactly the shot in the arm the show needed. I love Tennant and I loved Capaldi, and both of them are kind of "my essential Doctor" in different ways, but I think Gatwa's charm and presence is so absolutely perfect for what the show needs in the current era that I am so thankful that they were able to get him.

This is absolutely no shade at Jodie, I think she's a talented actress and I've liked her in everything I've ever seen her do, but I think that Chibnall absolutely flubbed using her effectively and it really feels like Rusty knows exactly how best to use Ncuti. I'm still 50/50 on Millie, I feel like to some degree my brain thinks she looks just enough like Jenna Coleman that I keep comparing her subconsciously to Clara and I don't think her personality is strong enough to overcome that (yet), but I'm more than open to seeing how Ruby develops over the course of this season. Like Jenna, she seems to be extremely well-suited for period-specific wardrobe changes, though, and I always like seeing the Doctor and companion trying to blend in during historicals.

Click to shrink...

A big part is knowing how to use the lead really, especially in this show where the personality of the lead becomes so key to the personality of the incarnation in question. And yeah, that's a big part of where Chibnall struggled. Jodie is so destined to be incredible in Big Finish, really, where writers will zero in on her best bits from the show and elevate it.

Mind you, I think the biggest problem with Jodie's Doctor - which starts with Chibnall - is that she's just way too passive way too often. It's so often the case that she's just... the story happens around her. Nowhere is it more clear than when she gets put into prison by a relatively B-tier baddie and just wallows there for years until Jack shows up and breaks her out in about five minutes. It's sort of a funny thing, where I feel like under Moffat the Doctor was a little too much, feared and all-powerful and known by everyone, while under Chibnall it flipped back in the opposite direction where a lot of the time 13 is just sort of along for the ride in a lot of stories.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

A big part is knowing how to use the lead really, especially in this show where the personality of the lead becomes so key to the personality of the incarnation in question. And yeah, that's a big part of where Chibnall struggled. Jodie is so destined to be incredible in Big Finish, really, where writers will zero in on her best bits from the show and elevate it.

Mind you, I think the biggest problem with Jodie's Doctor - which starts with Chibnall - is that she's just way too passive way too often. It's so often the case that she's just... the story happens around her. Nowhere is it more clear than when she gets put into prison by a relatively B-tier baddie and just wallows there for years until Jack shows up and breaks her out in about five minutes. It's sort of a funny thing, where I feel like under Moffat the Doctor was a little too much, feared and all-powerful and known by everyone, while under Chibnall it flipped back in the opposite direction where a lot of the time 13 is just sort of along for the ride in a lot of stories.

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Yeah. Thirteen feels like a passenger in her stories more often than not. And sometimes that's very useful - sometimes the Doctor is BEST used as a passenger in the greater story of the universe, or of the companion, or of the location they're visiting. But when that concept is relied on too often, it becomes just as rote as Big Moffat Hero Speeches, just in a different direction.

It kind of feels like to some degree Chibnall wanted to make Thirteen the 'my cool time-travelling history teacher!' archetype - like Ms. Frizzle with a TARDIS - but the problem would up being that her joy almost always either feels ill-timed, or is sacrificed for her more awkward, unpleasant character traits, more often than it actually adds to episodes.

 

[APZonerunner]

Interesting interview comments from RTD where he talks about the Sonic redesign being driven by - of all things - RTD thinking that the 'pointer' design led to the Doctor pointing it at threats a lot, like a gun, and he didn't like kids copying that. Thus the flat TV remote-esque design. Really interesting comment. Like, he is right - Moffat even identified this and mocked it in Day of the Doctor, with the War Doctor looking at 10/11 pointing their screwdrivers menacingly at soldiers aghast, thinking it silly. That was something RTD's era introduced - the past screwdrivers weren't held in a way where it could be pointed 'at' something in that way, and though Eccleston didn't do that, Tenannt was doing it in practically every episode, as did Smith. And Capaldi used it less, but then closed out his era by literally pointing it at Cybermen to kill them, also, to be fair.

It feels like he's spent a lot of time thinking about decisions he's made, and musing on things the show has said since. The Davros stuff spoke to that and this feels like another example, really.

 

[Eintopf]

Yeah. Thirteen feels like a passenger in her stories more often than not. And sometimes that's very useful - sometimes the Doctor is BEST used as a passenger in the greater story of the universe, or of the companion, or of the location they're visiting. But when that concept is relied on too often, it becomes just as rote as Big Moffat Hero Speeches, just in a different direction.

It kind of feels like to some degree Chibnall wanted to make Thirteen the 'my cool time-travelling history teacher!' archetype - like Ms. Frizzle with a TARDIS - but the problem would up being that her joy almost always either feels ill-timed, or is sacrificed for her more awkward, unpleasant character traits, more often than it actually adds to episodes.

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And what makes it even worse is that Chibnall's companions felt so one-note as well. I don't mind the doctor taking a backseat to let the companions shine, but they barely do in his tenure. The only one that left an impression on me was Bradley Walsh only because the guy's pretty charismatic whether he's acting or hosting a quiz show. If anything, the Chibnall companions remind me of party members in older JRPGs where they periodically say a pretty shallow line that doesn't move the plot in any way but does remind you that they still exist.

 

[Paradox]

Interesting interview comments from RTD where he talks about the Sonic redesign being driven by - of all things - RTD thinking that the 'pointer' design led to the Doctor pointing it at threats a lot, like a gun, and he didn't like kids copying that. Thus the flat TV remote-esque design. Really interesting comment. Like, he is right - Moffat even identified this and mocked it in Day of the Doctor, with the War Doctor looking at 10/11 pointing their screwdrivers menacingly at soldiers aghast, thinking it silly. That was something RTD's era introduced - the past screwdrivers weren't held in a way where it could be pointed 'at' something in that way, and though Eccleston didn't do that, Tenannt was doing it in practically every episode, as did Smith. And Capaldi used it less, but then closed out his era by literally pointing it at Cybermen to kill them, also, to be fair.

It feels like he's spent a lot of time thinking about decisions he's made, and musing on things the show has said since. The Davros stuff spoke to that and this feels like another example, really.

Click to shrink...

It's a slightly odd take because I don't think the shape necessarily has much of an impact on whether a kid is likely to use it as a gun or not. Kids use everything as a gun. It's more down to the intentionality of it - if you have the Doctor pointing it at bad guys or making things explode then that's how kids will mimic it. I don't think having the 15th Doctor still using it like that, only now it happens to looks like a TV remote will make much difference.

I feel like RTD currently seems hot on making a lot of 'progressive' statements, but primarily seems concerned with the imagery above anything else - the sonic, Davros, 14 not wearing 13's clothes. Like, great, you put a ramp on the TARDIS, don't then have a wheelchair user be shown it and not be invited to try it (I know Shirley will inevitably get a trip aboard soon, it was just a dumb oversight).

 

[VorpalNonsense]

should we return to classic vertically held sonics

 

[Radiophonic]

It's a slightly odd take because I don't think the shape necessarily has much of an impact on whether a kid is likely to use it as a gun or not. Kids use everything as a gun. It's more down to the intentionality of it - if you have the Doctor pointing it at bad guys or making things explode then that's how kids will mimic it. I don't think having the 15th Doctor still using it like that, only now it happens to looks like a TV remote will make much difference.

I feel like RTD currently seems hot on making a lot of 'progressive' statements, but primarily seems concerned with the imagery above anything else - the sonic, Davros, 14 not wearing 13's clothes. Like, great, you put a ramp on the TARDIS, don't then have a wheelchair user be shown it and not be invited to try it (I know Shirley will inevitably get a trip aboard soon, it was just a dumb oversight).

Click to shrink...

I would agree on the sonic take; if you don't want the Doctor using the sonic screwdriver as anything but a basic tool, then make sure writers don't get lazy and use it as anything but that. The sonic being essentially a magic wand has been a writer's crutch far too many times. The Doctor zapping something, looking at the sonic, and then spitting out some exposition makes no sense at all, but we just roll with it. The Davros thing bothered me because it seemed unnecessary - I've been watching Davros in various stories for decades and never equated him with being a wheelchair user in the sense that I see wheelchair users in everyday life. Davros is what Davros is, a mad scientist who rides in a Dalek transport. And the idea that someone would equate the two...I find hard to believe.

 

[APZonerunner]

I would agree on the sonic take; if you don't want the Doctor using the sonic screwdriver as anything but a basic tool, then make sure writers don't get lazy and use it as anything but that. The sonic being essentially a magic wand has been a writer's crutch far too many times. The Doctor zapping something, looking at the sonic, and then spitting out some exposition makes no sense at all, but we just roll with it. The Davros thing bothered me because it seemed unnecessary - I've been watching Davros in various stories for decades and never equated him with being a wheelchair user in the sense that I see wheelchair users in everyday life. Davros is what Davros is, a mad scientist who rides in a Dalek transport. And the idea that someone would equate the two...I find hard to believe.

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I think the Sonic as a tricoder or whatever is fine, honestly. The issue is if it resolves the plot too quickly (The Power of Three always comes to mind for this) - it's a bit like breaking the golden rule of resolving the story by the TARDIS allowing them to escape.... the TARDIS is a great tool, but it can also suck the threat out of the narrative, so you have to put it in a box. And while episodes have successfully made 'TARDIS saves the day' work (The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit comes to mind for this one), you have to go to great lengths to do it right. The same is true for the Sonic, I think.

But RTD has identified - it is true that 10, 11, and 13 all pointed it at enemies as if it could hurt them a lot. 12 does it less, but then in his penultimate episode he's literally detonating explosives and blowing up Cybermen with it. At that point, how different is it from the Doctor using an anti-cyberman gun? And maybe that's something he doesn't want - it feels a bit sensitive, but I get it.

should we return to classic vertically held sonics

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The mad thing is Smith uses his in this way on a few occasions in Series 5, and then points it around like a weapon for the rest of his run.

 

[Ashes of Dreams]

I like the Sonic being pointed, it feels cooler and makes more sense to me. The issue is it being written as a gun or magic wand, not how it's held.

But as always I am down to see how the new way feels.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I liked Fourteen using it to make screens. I thought that was a nice bit of sci-fi that helped the Sonic feel less like a magic "bullshit button". Hopefully that's retained in Fifteen's era.

 

[GambitPool]

I just saw a Doctor Who Series 14 promo in theaters. That Disney marketing lol

 

[Ashes of Dreams]

I rewatched all four Specials last night. First time I've rewatched them since they aired.

The Star Beast is still a bit of a mixed bag imo but I don't have anything new to say about it. I really like the middle portion of the episode, I think all of Donna's family are great in it, The Meep is a lot of fun. But the resolution is very rushed, the techno-babble behind Rose feels strange to me, the beginning of the episode didn't need the extra recap on top of what comes into the episode naturally, and most of all... I actively HATE the resolution to the Doctor-Donna problem. Her being able to just let the knowledge/power "go" and it being some "you silly Doctor" moment completely robs the whole storyline of it's weight and makes the original S4 ending worse. They should have just made it so having a child solved the issue entirely, the "giving the power up" stuff doesn't land for me. This is going to bother me forever. lol

Wild Blue Yonder is great. Just a fantastic, scary, interesting adventure. Nothing to say about it other than I'm glad we got one episode of Doctor and Donna just having a sci-fi adventure like this. The Doctor initially getting which Donna is which wrong at the end is kind of heartbreaking but he realizes it due to science so I guess it's all fine. lol

The Giggle is my favorite episode of the bunch. It feels like a proper big Doctor Who finale and I think just about everything it's got going on works for it. I love NPH as the Toymaker, such a fun charismatic villain that managed to feel goofy and intimidating at the same time. I love the puppet play of the Doctor's history. I love the Spice Girls assault scene. The Bigeneration is... not well explained but intentionally so. I don't really understand if 15 is still supposed to be after 14 since he implies he gets better because 14 WILL but that doesn't really make sense to me. But we have time to figure that out.

Church on Ruby Road is... good. I love Gatwa as the Doctor, he's so charming. I like Ruby fine enough. The Goblin plot isn't the best thing in the world but we've had much worse Christmas Specials in the past. A solid episode. The Goblin song is goofy but fun. I don't really like the look of the new Sonic but I did notice that... I mean he's still pointing it at things. lol

Overall, a triumphant return of the era of Doctor Who I loved the most. And that includes there being occasional misses, because there were back then too.

Moving forward into Season 1, I think these are the main questions left hanging for me:
- Who is The Meeps "boss" that The Meep threatens to tell of the Doctor?
- Who is "The One Who Waits" that the Toymaker ran from? Same as Meep's boss?
- Did the Toymaker "making a jigsaw" out of the Doctor's "history" play a role in The Timeless Child plot or is this referring to something else?
- Who picked up the tooth the Master is trapped in?
- Who are Ruby's parents and why did they leave her?
- Who is Mrs. Flood and how does she know what a TARDIS is?

 

[CD_93]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0c0qitaqs0

 

[RetroMG]

Moving forward into Season 1, I think these are the main questions left hanging for me:
- Who is The Meeps "boss" that The Meep threatens to tell of the Doctor?
- Who is "The One Who Waits" that the Toymaker ran from? Same as Meep's boss?
- Did the Toymaker "making a jigsaw" out of the Doctor's "history" play a role in The Timeless Child plot or is this referring to something else?
- Who picked up the tooth the Master is trapped in?
- Who are Ruby's parents and why did they leave her?
- Who is Mrs. Flood and how does she know what a TARDIS is?

Click to shrink...

- Who is Isaac Newton's housekeeper and why did she also appear in the club where Ruby was playing? It has been confirmed that it's the same actress (Susan Twist) and that it was intentional.

 

[Grue]

Susan Twist

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Is that legitimately her name?

If so, that's amazing.

 

[RetroMG]

Is that legitimately her name?

If so, that's amazing.

Click to shrink...

That's the actress' name, yes. Apparently she was on Coronation Street.

 

[Ashes of Dreams]

- Who is Isaac Newton's housekeeper and why did she also appear in the club where Ruby was playing? It has been confirmed that it's the same actress (Susan Twist) and that it was intentional.

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Missed that one entirely.

 

[mclem]

So, er, looks like something's Going On.

The intro to Match of the Day was... different.

Match of the Day - 2023/24: 04/05/2024

Gary Lineker introduces highlights of the day’s five Premier League matches.

www.bbc.co.uk

Spoiler: For those without iPlayer access

The Doctor takes Match of the Day on a trip through time?!! | Doctor Who - BBC

What in the time travel is going on with Match of the Day?!!Watch #DoctorWho on #iPlayer from 11 May"Subscribe and 🔔 to the BBC 👉 https://bit.ly/BBCYouTube...

www.youtube.com

I wonder if this might be the start of a promotional thing across the week of the Doctor turning up on random shows?

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I rewatched all four Specials last night. First time I've rewatched them since they aired.

The Star Beast is still a bit of a mixed bag imo but I don't have anything new to say about it. I really like the middle portion of the episode, I think all of Donna's family are great in it, The Meep is a lot of fun. But the resolution is very rushed, the techno-babble behind Rose feels strange to me, the beginning of the episode didn't need the extra recap on top of what comes into the episode naturally, and most of all... I actively HATE the resolution to the Doctor-Donna problem. Her being able to just let the knowledge/power "go" and it being some "you silly Doctor" moment completely robs the whole storyline of it's weight and makes the original S4 ending worse. They should have just made it so having a child solved the issue entirely, the "giving the power up" stuff doesn't land for me. This is going to bother me forever. lol

Wild Blue Yonder is great. Just a fantastic, scary, interesting adventure. Nothing to say about it other than I'm glad we got one episode of Doctor and Donna just having a sci-fi adventure like this. The Doctor initially getting which Donna is which wrong at the end is kind of heartbreaking but he realizes it due to science so I guess it's all fine. lol

The Giggle is my favorite episode of the bunch. It feels like a proper big Doctor Who finale and I think just about everything it's got going on works for it. I love NPH as the Toymaker, such a fun charismatic villain that managed to feel goofy and intimidating at the same time. I love the puppet play of the Doctor's history. I love the Spice Girls assault scene. The Bigeneration is... not well explained but intentionally so. I don't really understand if 15 is still supposed to be after 14 since he implies he gets better because 14 WILL but that doesn't really make sense to me. But we have time to figure that out.

Church on Ruby Road is... good. I love Gatwa as the Doctor, he's so charming. I like Ruby fine enough. The Goblin plot isn't the best thing in the world but we've had much worse Christmas Specials in the past. A solid episode. The Goblin song is goofy but fun. I don't really like the look of the new Sonic but I did notice that... I mean he's still pointing it at things. lol

Overall, a triumphant return of the era of Doctor Who I loved the most. And that includes there being occasional misses, because there were back then too.

Moving forward into Season 1, I think these are the main questions left hanging for me:
- Who is The Meeps "boss" that The Meep threatens to tell of the Doctor?
- Who is "The One Who Waits" that the Toymaker ran from? Same as Meep's boss?
- Did the Toymaker "making a jigsaw" out of the Doctor's "history" play a role in The Timeless Child plot or is this referring to something else?
- Who picked up the tooth the Master is trapped in?
- Who are Ruby's parents and why did they leave her?
- Who is Mrs. Flood and how does she know what a TARDIS is?

Click to shrink...

I've been rewatching the specials this weekend to prepare myself for next week, and I think I mostly agree with your review, though I think Wild Blue Yonder is my favorite of the quartet. The Giggle is GREAT, and I really enjoy almost all of it, but WBY is just my kind of Doctor Who episode, and I put it up there in my "top episodes of the show" list.

Church is fine, but it's almost exclusively carried by how amazing Gatwa is. The rest of the episode is pretty standard DW+Christmas special+companion debut, and I feel like I've seen all of those beats enough times by now that I'm largely desensitized to them. It's fine, but I think a weaker Doctor performance would've really torpedoed it. Which is why we're lucky Gatwa is already pretty perfect in the job.

My theory on the bigeneration is that when 14 finally does "die", so to speak, his regeneration energy will cross back over time to the point the Giggle takes place and form 15. Basically a predestination loop.

 

[milamber182]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0c0qitaqs0

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Thought I heard Yaz and Captain Jack...

 

[Ashes of Dreams]

I've been rewatching the specials this weekend to prepare myself for next week, and I think I mostly agree with your review, though I think Wild Blue Yonder is my favorite of the quartet. The Giggle is GREAT, and I really enjoy almost all of it, but WBY is just my kind of Doctor Who episode, and I put it up there in my "top episodes of the show" list.

Church is fine, but it's almost exclusively carried by how amazing Gatwa is. The rest of the episode is pretty standard DW+Christmas special+companion debut, and I feel like I've seen all of those beats enough times by now that I'm largely desensitized to them. It's fine, but I think a weaker Doctor performance would've really torpedoed it. Which is why we're lucky Gatwa is already pretty perfect in the job.

My theory on the bigeneration is that when 14 finally does "die", so to speak, his regeneration energy will cross back over time to the point the Giggle takes place and form 15. Basically a predestination loop.

Click to shrink...

Yeah I totally get why someone would like WBY over Giggle. I'd even say that I think WBY is probably the "better" episode. I love how the villains feel more alien than anything we've really dealt with in a long time, maybe ever. Only reason Giggle takes it for me is how much I enjoy NPH's performance as The Toymaker. Plus I'm a sucker for the big finales. Both episodes have a legitimate shot at being in my Top 10 episodes.

As for Church... at least it's better than the Christmas Invasion. lol
But I agree, a weaker Doctor would render the episode much less enjoyable.

And I would be fine with that Bigeneration resolution. Though who knows what they plan to do. It'd be weird if they both regenerated into two different people and we actually have have two Doctors now.

Thought I heard Yaz and Captain Jack...

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I hear who people are saying they hear as Jack. I think the subtitles call them "The Rogue"?
I would be SHOCKED if it was actually him though. BBC blacklisted him and even just a few months ago he was on instagram talking about how heartbroken he was that he wasn't invited to be part of the 60th. I don't know if RTD has enough pull to bring him back in despite all that. Would certainly be a huge controversy at this point. As much as I miss the character, probably best they just let it be.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Yeah I totally get why someone would like WBY over Giggle. I'd even say that I think WBY is probably the "better" episode. I love how the villains feel more alien than anything we've really dealt with in a long time, maybe ever. Only reason Giggle takes it for me is how much I enjoy NPH's performance as The Toymaker. Plus I'm a sucker for the big finales. Both episodes have a legitimate shot at being in my Top 10 episodes.

Click to shrink...

Oh, Harris did a great job as the Toymaker, he was an amazing capstone antagonist for that little mini-saga. And a great foil for Tennant as an actor, which really added a lot.

 

[Paradox]

Thought I heard Yaz and Captain Jack...

Click to shrink...

Pretty sure the American Barrowman-ish voice is Jonathan Groff in Rogue (who, tbf, people think is playing a Jack-like character)

I rewatched all four Specials last night. First time I've rewatched them since they aired.

The Star Beast is still a bit of a mixed bag imo but I don't have anything new to say about it. I really like the middle portion of the episode, I think all of Donna's family are great in it, The Meep is a lot of fun. But the resolution is very rushed, the techno-babble behind Rose feels strange to me, the beginning of the episode didn't need the extra recap on top of what comes into the episode naturally, and most of all... I actively HATE the resolution to the Doctor-Donna problem. Her being able to just let the knowledge/power "go" and it being some "you silly Doctor" moment completely robs the whole storyline of it's weight and makes the original S4 ending worse. They should have just made it so having a child solved the issue entirely, the "giving the power up" stuff doesn't land for me. This is going to bother me forever. lol

Click to shrink...

See, there was a lot of stuff in TSB that I found clumsy and poorly handled (including the Rose/non-binary stuff), but I've actually come to like the DoctorDonna resolution. My interpretation of it is that the Donna of S4 literally could not let go because she had nothing else in her life. She was entirely dependent on the Doctor, and had reached a point where she essentially assumed that without the Doctor, or at least without her life travelling with him, she was worthless. And so flashforward 15 years to where she's built her own life, and has a family she values above all else, she can, when given the choice, actively decide to 'let it go' because the Doctor and everything associated with him is no longer all she has.

Now, is that moment almost entirely undermined by the stupid 'male-presenting' joke? Absolutely. But I think the core of what is there and the implications work for me. I think with a few tweaks it would've worked a lot better for people. Or maybe my reading is entirely wrong it really is meant to be a silly 'women are better at letting things go than men' moment *shrug*

 

[Ashes of Dreams]

See, there was a lot of stuff in TSB that I found clumsy and poorly handled (including the Rose/non-binary stuff), but I've actually come to like the DoctorDonna resolution. My interpretation of it is that the Donna of S4 literally could not let go because she had nothing else in her life. She was entirely dependent on the Doctor, and had reached a point where she essentially assumed that without the Doctor, or at least without her life travelling with him, she was worthless. And so flashforward 15 years to where she's built her own life, and has a family she values above all else, she can, when given the choice, actively decide to 'let it go' because the Doctor and everything associated with him is no longer all she has.

Now, is that moment almost entirely undermined by the stupid 'male-presenting' joke? Absolutely. But I think the core of what is there and the implications work for me. I think with a few tweaks it would've worked a lot better for people. Or maybe my reading is entirely wrong it really is meant to be a silly 'women are better at letting things go than men' moment *shrug*

Click to shrink...

I mean that would be better than what we got but they don't really imply that at all imo. They treat the "you'd know what we should do if you were a woman" thing as the actual resolution. Even then, I don't think I'd like any resolution to it that implies Donna could have survived if she just let it go back then, I think it undermines the drama and emotions tied to both characters. I can live with them undoing the memory wipe, I just hate how they did it. Feels too easy and cheap.

 

[Paradox]

I mean that would be better than what we got but they don't really imply that at all imo. They treat the "you'd know what we should do if you were a woman" thing as the actual resolution. Even then, I don't think I'd like any resolution to it that implies Donna could have survived if she just let it go back then, I think it undermines the drama and emotions tied to both characters. I can live with them undoing the memory wipe, I just hate how they did it. Feels too easy and cheap.

Click to shrink...

I think I'm probably the opposite to be honest. I'd like the ending of S4 more if it was actually more of a choice, and was purely because the Doctor and Donna were so wrapped up in each other they couldn't consider any alternatives. I've never liked the whole 'You must NEVER do X' or 'There's absolutely NO WAY BACK' because, inevitably, someone like RTD is always going to renege on it and have to write a slightly unsatisfactory reason as to why suddenly Donna can remember or why Rose can come back from another universe or why the Master can actually come back to life. I much prefer when it just seems like there's no other options, but its mainly because the characters are so blindsided that they're just not considering the obvious solution.


In other news I thought this video was kind of amazing. Someone has gone back and plucked out clips from Classic Who to describe all Modern Who episodes:


View: https://youtu.be/u6KpedjE_uo
Personal chuckles for the ones for Doomsday and The Woman Who Fell to Earth.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I think I'm probably the opposite to be honest. I'd like the ending of S4 more if it was actually more of a choice, and was purely because the Doctor and Donna were so wrapped up in each other they couldn't consider any alternatives. I've never liked the whole 'You must NEVER do X' or 'There's absolutely NO WAY BACK' because, inevitably, someone like RTD is always going to renege on it and have to write a slightly unsatisfactory reason as to why suddenly Donna can remember or why Rose can come back from another universe or why the Master can actually come back to life. I much prefer when it just seems like there's no other options, but its mainly because the characters are so blindsided that they're just not considering the obvious solution.

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Case in point, RTD has already undone the "I banish you from this reality forever" ending for the Toymaker. The official RTD-written novelization of The Giggle makes it abundantly clear that the Toymaker is just biding his time waiting for the next game to begin.

 

[Ashes of Dreams]

Case in point, RTD has already undone the "I banish you from this reality forever" ending for the Toymaker. The official RTD-written novelization of The Giggle makes it abundantly clear that the Toymaker is just biding his time waiting for the next game to begin.

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tbf the implication that he'd return was in the episode too. "my legions are coming"

 

[TheGamingNewsGuy]

View: https://youtu.be/yjnUkuUurDc?si=7WlyOYWucs3iF-9M

 

[Dwebble]

Case in point, RTD has already undone the "I banish you from this reality forever" ending for the Toymaker. The official RTD-written novelization of The Giggle makes it abundantly clear that the Toymaker is just biding his time waiting for the next game to begin.

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Fair's fair- James Goss wrote that, not Davies.

 

[Wallace Wells]

Reviews have dropped the first two episodes. Looking really good so far. IGN called Jinkx Monsoon a scene stealer and the says she delivers a killer performance

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Reviews have dropped the first two episodes. Looking really good so far. IGN called Jinkx Monsoon a scene stealer and the says she delivers a killer performance

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Also very clearly naming Jinkx's role as "The Maestro", which is almost definitely Davies poking fun at the idea of bringing the Master back that quickly but not actually doing so.