Spoiler! Doctor Who: Spoiler Thread

[Btvs fan]

I don't think the Doctor necessarily needs gravitas. He isn't so much a thousand-year-plus old being when he regenerates and gets a personality rewrite, but a brand new one with a brand new personality that happens to have a thousand years of memories.

Though if they'd chosen the actor I wanted - Colin Salmon - I think he definitely would have had gravitas!

He's a different personality but he still has the memories and experiences of his previous lives and still a highly intelligent individual. Gatwa portrayed none of that. Though it's not completely his fault. The writing and directing were terrible.

I saw online that Moffat was an uncredited writer and partner for Davies during his first run and it shows because its as different as night and day. Though I don't think Rusty is trying anyway. He came back for the paycheck no other reason. He's definitely not interested in good writing Dr Who that's for sue but simply using the name brand recognition.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

My god that was terrible. The writing was truly atrocious with contrivance galore and the show using fantasy instead Sci fi with Goblins and that ridiculous musical number. As for the acting !. Sorry but the new Dr lacks the gravitas of 1000 Yr old being of infinite knowledge. While his new companion could be replaced by a plank of wood and I don't think you'd know the difference.

Maybe that's because Davies said that he wanted it to go into more of a fantasy setting instead of being strictly sci-fi and he wanted to write it as if it's an eight-year old watching. And eight year old doesn't really care about gravitas, moral lessons, good writing and acting; they just want something fun and funny.

 

[The Bronze]

Watched all 4 of them now. Not convinced I need to jump in for a full season but it wasn't too bad. A lot of it is just retreading the same path, nature of going on so long I guess. Also definitely this:

And eight year old doesn't really care about gravitas, moral lessons, good writing and acting; they just want something fun and funny.

I'd rank them like this:
1. Great Blue Yonder
2. The Giggle
3. Ruby
4. Star Beast

 

[Btvs fan]

Watched all 4 of them now. Not convinced I need to jump in for a full season but it wasn't too bad. A lot of it is just retreading the same path, nature of going on so long I guess. Also definitely this:

I'd rank them like this:
1. Great Blue Yonder
2. The Giggle
3. Ruby
4. Star Beast

Rusty has definitely been ripping ff old episodes and plots. Very noticeable when rewatching old episodes, like Im doing now (good the writing was 100 times fresher) Great Blue Yonder for instance was ripping Midnight arguably the best Rusty episode on the show (and 1 he probably had some uncredited writing help from Moff) but in a much more dumbed down way.

Still like you said, it happens with a lot of shows and writers. BtVs was noticeably ripping off old episodes by Season 7.

 

[Nix]

I really enjoyed the Ruby Road episode. I love that he seemed carefree and was enjoying himself. It was sad in places and funny in others. I love him as an actor and am looking forward to May to see what he brings to the show on the rest of the episodes.

 

[TheMaster666]

I just saw the Christmas Special.


Ruby: I'm an orphan.

Me: Oh good, that means for once we can skip the boring companion's family backstory/melodrama

RTD: NOOOOPE


I thought at the end he'd give her the chance to meet her real mom, since the DNA test was a bust. Thus introducing her to the Tardis and time travel. I'm surprised it didn't go that route.

I'm also a little disappointed we don't get the classic post-regeneration nuttiness. Think the iconic fish fingers and custard craving or "New teeth. That's weird." Instead the episode begins with him already past all of that. Ruby gets 90% of the focus, and somehow I come out the other end with only a faint idea of what her character is supposed to be.

Like "The Giggle," as campy and ridiculous and non-sci-fi as this episode is, I can't help but laugh at how fun it also is. The song-and-dance routine on board an air-pirate ship manned by little gremlins is just so bonkers yet undeniably hilarious. That's the trademark RtD camp.

It's funny, when Ruby climbed up a ladder in the sky up through the clouds, I joked to myself, "What, are they taking plotlines from Super Mario now? Is she going up to the cloud level to collect all the extra coins?"

And to my amazement, they actually did take the flying airship concept from Super Mario 3, et. al. That was pretty funny.

_____________

The new Doctor looks great. Very dashing man, and I love the new costumes. Great outfits, and he already gets several variations in this episode alone. He has a pretty thick accent, even for a British dude. It's going to take some time for me to get used to that accent. A little overly emotional at times for the character, but so was David Tennant. I think that might just be par for the course in a RTD era.

I'll definitely keep watching the new episodes as they come out. Everything since the David Tennant specials has been enjoyable enough to watch; it hasn't put me off or bored me the way the Jodie Whittaker episodes did (the handful I managed to watch anyway), but it is still a far cry from the show's best, even by the 2005 series standards.

__________

Ultimately, the episode came off feeling rather cliche. In the nearly 20 years since "Rose" (the pilot episode), every single companion since has, without fail, been a pretty young girl from present day Britain. (Okay Chibnall era did have some other companions but still all from present day England.) It's just so formulaic. This is a show where just about anything is possible, and the writers of the most recent episodes are totally flexible when it comes to ridiculous plotlines anyway, but somehow they lack the creativity or the guts to write a companion from any other setting or time period, with a different set of culture or values. Or even have companions that aren't human at all but robots or aliens.

 

[NotASlayer]

Ultimately, the episode came off feeling rather cliche. In the nearly 20 years since "Rose" (the pilot episode), every single companion since has, without fail, been a pretty young girl from present day Britain.

I'm curious, did anyone else think that Millie Gibson resembled in appearance Jenna Coleman to a degree?

 

[TheMaster666]

He's a different personality but he still has the memories and experiences of his previous lives and still a highly intelligent individual. Gatwa portrayed none of that. Though it's not completely his fault. The writing and directing were terrible.

I saw online that Moffat was an uncredited writer and partner for Davies during his first run and it shows because its as different as night and day. Though I don't think Rusty is trying anyway. He came back for the paycheck no other reason. He's definitely not interested in good writing Dr Who that's for sue but simply using the name brand recognition.

Well it's also about 17 years (unbelievable) since he first started out, and don't forget even back in Season 1 there was some pretty goofy, stupid characters and episodes. Don't forget the Slitheen aka the literal fart monsters, or the S2 episode "Love and Monsters." Much of the criticisms that were applicable of RTD in his original run similarly hold again now. I say, give him time, I think the new character and new Dr. will grow on us over next year's new season. Hopefully some of the guest writers might be able to give us some more serious, grounded stuff. Moffat famously wrote some of the best episodes of the original RTD era, from "The Doctor Dances" to "Blink." With any luck he might pen an episode or two in the season to come.

Post automatically merged: Dec 27, 2023

Watched all 4 of them now. Not convinced I need to jump in for a full season but it wasn't too bad. A lot of it is just retreading the same path, nature of going on so long I guess. Also definitely this:

I'd rank them like this:
1. Great Blue Yonder
2. The Giggle
3. Ruby
4. Star Beast

I agree with this ranking, only I would switch 1 and 2) so that Giggle is my favorite and Great Blue Yonder my 2nd favorite. Mainly because I'm biased as a Neil Patrick Harris fan. (I actually have the real life "Bro Code" and "The Playbook" which the writers of the show actually published in real life. Barney Stinson is the greatest!!!)

 

[Btvs fan]

I just saw the Christmas Special.


Ruby: I'm an orphan.

Me: Oh good, that means for once we can skip the boring companion's family backstory/melodrama

RTD: NOOOOPE


I thought at the end he'd give her the chance to meet her real mom, since the DNA test was a bust. Thus introducing her to the Tardis and time travel. I'm surprised it didn't go that route.

I'm also a little disappointed we don't get the classic post-regeneration nuttiness. Think the iconic fish fingers and custard craving or "New teeth. That's weird." Instead the episode begins with him already past all of that. Ruby gets 90% of the focus, and somehow I come out the other end with only a faint idea of what her character is supposed to be.

Like "The Giggle," as campy and ridiculous and non-sci-fi as this episode is, I can't help but laugh at how fun it also is. The song-and-dance routine on board an air-pirate ship manned by little gremlins is just so bonkers yet undeniably hilarious. That's the trademark RtD camp.

It's funny, when Ruby climbed up a ladder in the sky up through the clouds, I joked to myself, "What, are they taking plotlines from Super Mario now? Is she going up to the cloud level to collect all the extra coins?"

And to my amazement, they actually did take the flying airship concept from Super Mario 3, et. al. That was pretty funny.

_____________

The new Doctor looks great. Very dashing man, and I love the new costumes. Great outfits, and he already gets several variations in this episode alone. He has a pretty thick accent, even for a British dude. It's going to take some time for me to get used to that accent. A little overly emotional at times for the character, but so was David Tennant. I think that might just be par for the course in a RTD era.

I'll definitely keep watching the new episodes as they come out. Everything since the David Tennant specials has been enjoyable enough to watch; it hasn't put me off or bored me the way the Jodie Whittaker episodes did (the handful I managed to watch anyway), but it is still a far cry from the show's best, even by the 2005 series standards.

__________

Ultimately, the episode came off feeling rather cliche. In the nearly 20 years since "Rose" (the pilot episode), every single companion since has, without fail, been a pretty young girl from present day Britain. (Okay Chibnall era did have some other companions but still all from present day England.) It's just so formulaic. This is a show where just about anything is possible, and the writers of the most recent episodes are totally flexible when it comes to ridiculous plotlines anyway, but somehow they lack the creativity or the guts to write a companion from any other setting or time period, with a different set of culture or values. Or even have companions that aren't human at all but robots or aliens.

Rwandan Scottish to be precise.

I agree about the companions. They could do something different definitely.

To me he just doesn't feel like the Dr and it feels like Rusty isn't even trying to write Dr Who either.

Admitting he's switching to campy fantasy was a clue. Saying he changed Davros because he didn't want a bad guy in a Wheel Chair is just dumb (and another clue) . Hello Darth Vader arguably the most iconic villain of all time is a disabled guy strapped to a life support system !!

As for the 4th Wall breaking moment urgh 😑

Post automatically merged: Dec 27, 2023

Well it's also about 17 years (unbelievable) since he first started out, and don't forget even back in Season 1 there was some pretty goofy, stupid characters and episodes. Don't forget the Slitheen aka the literal fart monsters, or the S2 episode "Love and Monsters." Much of the criticisms that were applicable of RTD in his original run similarly hold again now. I say, give him time, I think the new character and new Dr. will grow on us over next year's new season. Hopefully some of the guest writers might be able to give us some more serious, grounded stuff. Moffat famously wrote some of the best episodes of the original RTD era, from "The Doctor Dances" to "Blink." With any luck he might pen an episode or two in the season to come.

Post automatically merged: Dec 27, 2023

I agree with this ranking, only I would switch 1 and 2) so that Giggle is my favorite and Great Blue Yonder my 2nd favorite. Mainly because I'm biased as a Neil Patrick Harris fan. (I actually have the real life "Bro Code" and "The Playbook" which the writers of the show actually published in real life. Barney Stinson is the greatest!!!)

The Giggle was good because of Neil Patrick Harris and the scene with the puppet show about the fate off all the Dr's companions. "That's all right then"

But the Bi Generation did Gatwa dirty (Keeping Tennant around to bring back in case he messes up)
and having him run around in his underwear for no other reason than Davies wanted to perv felt wrong.

Rewatching The Eleventh Hour ...now that/this is a brilliant Doctor introduction episode in comparison and Matt Smith puts his own stamp on the Dr while being different to Eccleston and Tennant.

Speaking of Eccleston. Did anyone see his response to the question on if he would return ?

 

[The Bronze]

I agree with this ranking, only I would switch 1 and 2) so that Giggle is my favorite and Great Blue Yonder my 2nd favorite. Mainly because I'm biased as a Neil Patrick Harris fan. (I actually have the real life "Bro Code" and "The Playbook" which the writers of the show actually published in real life. Barney Stinson is the greatest!!!)

Yeah it's close. Think The Giggle had the best first half. Fell apart a bit by the end. Bi Regeneration and a game of catch is very daft/convenient even by Who standards.

Ruby's mum will be a big plot point, previous companion or something similar.

 

[NotASlayer]

Ruby's mum will be a big plot point, previous companion or something similar.

But please, please don't let her be Missy!

Oh! Maybe Susan?

 

[Btvs fan]

But please, please don't let her be Missy!

Oh! Maybe Susan?

Possibly the Rani ?

 

[Bop]

Personally I think Ncuti's confidence is selling him, it's like he hasn't got a doubt in his mind that he's The Doctor and he seems to have a good understanding of the character and that confidence is infectious.

I love when The Doctor is a subversion, e.g. From the outside Troughton's doctor comes across as a sweet, funny, childlike little man but at his core, like all the doctors, he's got strong confidence in himself and what he believes in, he's very old and wise, and he's curious. I think Ncuti showed all of those core qualities in the special. It's just with Ncuti's Doctor the outside is that he's very youthful, modern, optimistic, cheeky. That sort of personality change is fine because every doctor has a different personality, it's just the core that remains the same.

Spiritually the Christmas special felt like 'Rose' from 2005, and that's fitting because Ncuti's first season is officially called series 1. There's now three categories of Doctor Who, the classic show, 2005- 2022, and 2023-.

So it fits that Ncuti's doctor isn't being weighed down with the baggage from the previous era.
It all depends upon the future stories but right now, based just on The Giggle and The Church on Ruby Road I like Ncuti's Doctor.

 

[Btvs fan]

@NotASlayer Romana was a lover and a great Companion. It would be terrible of Davies to make her the villain though I could imagine him doing it

 

[Cohen]

I think Ncuti showed all of those core qualities in the special. It's just with Ncuti's Doctor the outside is that he's very youthful, modern, optimistic, cheeky. That sort of personality change is fine because every doctor has a different personality, it's just the core that remains the same.

I love his performance! It’s a breath of fresh air from Twelve’s darkness, and Thirteen’s Jodiness.

Spiritually the Christmas special felt like 'Rose' from 2005, and that's fitting because Ncuti's first season is officially called series 1. There's now three categories of Doctor Who, the classic show, 2005- 2022, and 2023-.

Yes, I got a sense of that too. Ruby reminds me of an updated Rose, being 19 and living in a flat with her mum. I hope we get a few more episodes with her family in the next season.

But is this next season officially going to be series 1? I thought Davies just said that was their frame of mind when writing and producing the series? I’ve heard that’s how series 5 was viewed when Moffat took over too.

 

[Bop]

Yes, I got a sense of that too. Ruby reminds me of an updated Rose, being 19 and living in a flat with her mum. I hope we get a few more episodes with her family in the next season.

But is this next season officially going to be series 1? I thought Davies just said that was their frame of mind when writing and producing the series? I’ve heard that’s how series 5 was viewed when Moffat took over too.

I love getting to know the companion's family and home life, I feel closer to them that way.

I know it's definitely going to be called season 1 on Disney Plus and I'm assuming it will be called series 1 on Iplayer too since they've made a whole new category for it instead of putting it with the 2005-2022 stuff.

 

[TriBel]

In the nearly 20 years since "Rose" (the pilot episode), every single companion since has, without fail, been a pretty young girl from present day Britain.

According to Wikipedia, there have been 33 companions since "Rose" - and a third have been men. John Barrowman, Noel Clarke, Arthur Darvill, and Bradley Walsh were not "young girls" - nor was Catherine Tate.

 

[Cohen]

I wish the companions leaving didn’t have to always be tragic. Like some of them could just be like “time for me to chart my own path”.

 

[Btvs fan]

I wish the companions leaving didn’t have to always be tragic. Like some of them could just be like “time for me to chart my own path”.

The majority of Dr Who Companions are chart my own path or the Dr leaves them though.

Post automatically merged: Dec 28, 2023

According to Wikipedia, there have been 33 companions since "Rose" - and a third have been men. John Barrowman, Noel Clarke, Arthur Darvill, and Bradley Walsh were not "young girls" - nor was Catherine Tate.

Barrowman wasn't really a companion, more a guest appearance. Clarke tagged along with Rose. Same with Darvill and Amy Pond. Walsh was part of a huge collection and was arguably the best of the Chibnall bunch but that's a very low bar.

Rewatched the 11th Hour (13 years ago !) And it's as different as night and day in terms of writing quality. Anyone whose defending Ruby Road needs to go see that. Then you'll know what RR is so poor

 

[Bop]

Rewatched the 11th Hour (13 years ago !) And it's as different as night and day in terms of writing quality. Anyone whose defending Ruby Road needs to go see that. Then you'll know what RR is so poor

Eleventh Hour is the best introduction episode for a Doctor ever, but that's a very high bar so it's not really saying much that The Church on Ruby Road isn't as good as that one.

Post automatically merged: Dec 28, 2023

I wish the companions leaving didn’t have to always be tragic. Like some of them could just be like “time for me to chart my own path”.

They do that in the Classic show but often it feels very out of the blue. And sometimes this gif would apply.