Doctor Who

[calsnowskier]

Kinda ambivalent about the Giggle honestly. Not great, not awful. NPH's performance as the toymaker was the best part. So far Gatwa looks like he'll be a fun and watchable doctor, but it's very early.

Still wouldn't be surprised if they pulled that Valeyard twist with Tennant. They have to do something with the Valeyard eventually, and this setup is as close as they will ever have to making it easy to pull off. Plus, we know Tennant plays a great villain from some of his other roles.

I love regen episodes as a rule. I don’t think I have seen one yet that hasn’t gotten the feels a-flowin’. And this one is no exception.

The story itself it a bit meh, but that is Doctor Who, so I can’t really blame the dog for barking.

I need to find and watch the trial arc of 4. I have seen a ton of analysis’ of it, but I have never actually watched it myself. Hard to have a real opinion of the Valeyard or the Timeless Child without watching that arc. Arguably the most important arc in the history of the show.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

im a little confused by the split... if they split into 2, does Gatwa's Dr. know everything the previous drs know??

was the split entirely about stress??

 

[calsnowskier]

im a little confused by the split... if they split into 2, does Gatwa's Dr. know everything the previous drs know??

was the split entirely about stress??

We don’t know yet. But it seems that instead of a regen, it was a straight up copy instead. Moving forward, they are 2 different entities, though.

not explained WHY this happened, though.

 

[Ottermatic]

I quite enjoyed the church on ruby road.

Ncuti Gatwa's doctor reminds me of early Matt Smith, with that manic energy and enthusiasm. I like his rendition very much so far and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with the main season come Spring.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I quite enjoyed the church on ruby road.

Ncuti Gatwa's doctor reminds me of early Matt Smith, with that manic energy and enthusiasm. I like his rendition very much so far and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with the main season come Spring.

I didnt love the episode... but it wasnt terrible... and a decent introduction to the new companion.. Also, there was a strong implication in this episode that the Dr is at least part Human... i wonder if that will be explored more this season... im sure we will learn about the companion's true origin... they made it too mysterious not to...

 

[Ottermatic]

I didnt love the episode... but it wasnt terrible... and a decent introduction to the new companion.. Also, there was a strong implication in this episode that the Dr is at least part Human... i wonder if that will be explored more this season... im sure we will learn about the companion's true origin... they made it too mysterious not to...

i didn't get that sense at all.

I think you're referring to the scene where he claims he was abandoned and adopted.

to me, that's a direct reference to Jodie Whitaker's timeless child plot. he was abandoned by his own people and adopted by the Galifreyans

 

[MilkSpiller22]

i didn't get that sense at all.

I think you're referring to the scene where he claims he was abandoned and adopted.

to me, that's a direct reference to Jodie Whitaker's timeless child plot. he was abandoned by his own people and adopted by the Galifreyans

i am talking about that scene... but i also remember different times in this show where they implied the Dr was at least part human... so maybe i saw more into that...

I think it was just the way gatwa said it...


but i know it is a popular theory that the Dr is part human... and it makes sense... I mean, why are all the companions human, and why does the dr spend so much time on earth...

 

[calsnowskier]

i didn't get that sense at all.

I think you're referring to the scene where he claims he was abandoned and adopted.

to me, that's a direct reference to Jodie Whitaker's timeless child plot. he was abandoned by his own people and adopted by the Galifreyans

IIANM, he has only referred to himself as “half human” once, and that was in 8s movie. Most Whovian scholars agree that was one of his his many untruths about his age/origin.

Unkess he IDENTIFIES as half human. He is oddly attached to Earth. He always regens with a human face. Most of his companions have been human (granted, not all). He spends an inordinate amount of time dealing with Earth issues (though, tbf, we only see a small percentage of his actual adventures, so he may have multiple planets that he looks after).

 

[calsnowskier]

i am talking about that scene... but i also remember different times in this show where they implied the Dr was at least part human... so maybe i saw more into that...

I think it was just the way gatwa said it...


but i know it is a popular theory that the Dr is part human... and it makes sense... I mean, why are all the companions human, and why does the dr spend so much time on earth...

Handles, K-9, Mistress Vestra, Susan, Romana, Adric, Nysa, Strax, Nardo…

 

[Ottermatic]

IIANM, he has only referred to himself as “half human” once, and that was in 8s movie. Most Whovian scholars agree that was one of his his many untruths about his age/origin.

Unkess he IDENTIFIES as half human. He is oddly attached to Earth. He always regens with a human face. Most of his companions have been human (granted, not all). He spends an inordinate amount of time dealing with Earth issues (though, tbf, we only see a small percentage of his actual adventures, so he may have multiple planets that he looks after).

he has said many times, at least as far back as tom baker's fourth doctor, that humanity is his favorite race.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

he has said many times, at least as far back as tom baker's fourth doctor, that humanity is his favorite race.

and as someone abandoned, he does not really know his true origins... i think he believes or wants to think he is part human...

And if you believe that, then any little implication whether it was a real implication or not, will seem like either dramatic irony, foreshadowing, or that he deep down KNOWS he is part human...


Point is... i dont know whether my interpretation of that scene was a real implication or not... But i definitely read it that way...

 

[calsnowskier]

he has said many times, at least as far back as tom baker's fourth doctor, that humanity is his favorite race.

Truth.

But that does not equate to him being 1/2 human.

 

[calsnowskier]

and as someone abandoned, he does not really know his true origins... i think he believes or wants to think he is part human...

And if you believe that, then any little implication whether it was a real implication or not, will seem like either dramatic irony, foreshadowing, or that he deep down KNOWS he is part human...


Point is... i dont know whether my interpretation of that scene was a real implication or not... But i definitely read it that way...

I 100% took that as RJD confirming that the Timeless Child is not going to be swept under the rug and is, in fact, hard canon and is absolutely part of the Doctor’s past.

 

[Ottermatic]

Truth.

But that does not equate to him being 1/2 human.

agreed.

I actually hope they make him at least part Osiran.

The Pyramids of Mars has long been one of my favorite classic DW stories, and I think is long overdue for a televised sequel. (Yes, I know of the big finish follow-ups to it, but I don't consider those the same thing)

 

[calsnowskier]

What are your thoughts on the first 2 episodes?

I didn’t mind the CONCEPTS, but I couldn’t stand the execution of either. Space Babies was them really leaning in to the fact that the show is, end of day, a kids show, so I am OK with that, I guess. But the Maestro episode was straight up trash. I was hoping they would move away from the Whitaker era, but it looks like they are leaning into it instead, ratings be damned.

 

[calsnowskier]

Episode quality aside…

I am very excited to see the Ruby Christmas storyline develop. If they are going where I THINK they are going, it could be MASSIVE.

While not technically a spoiler, this does represent what a lot of online speculators think…

Spoiler

Ruby is either Susan, or Susan’s daughter. Susan has a TARDIS key, and was left in ‘60s England so she could live a life.

My additional thought is that she could be Susan, but her mother is Jenny. Possibly, at the end of Gibson’s run, she will regen and Gatwa will leave her with David Bradley, closing the loop (she would legit be the Doctor’s granddaughter but closes the thought that he was a “kept man” at some point in his past).

 

[MilkSpiller22]

What are your thoughts on the first 2 episodes?

I didn’t mind the CONCEPTS, but I couldn’t stand the execution of either. Space Babies was them really leaning in to the fact that the show is, end of day, a kids show, so I am OK with that, I guess. But the Maestro episode was straight up trash. I was hoping they would move away from the Whitaker era, but it looks like they are leaning into it instead, ratings be damned.

yea... it was trash... didnt mind the maestro itself... but the "twist at the end" was unbearable... not into musicals, so if every episode is going to have a song and a dance, i might have to stop watching...

so far my fear about Gatwa has not yet been proven wrong... that his queerness is too much of a plot device...

 

[calsnowskier]

This season is just getting worse and worse. Dr Who is becoming a really bad Black Mirror bite.

And it is making me long for the Whitaker run.

 

[calsnowskier]

So far this season, I would have to rate the episodes in this order…

6) The Devils Chord - to be given the honor of being the worst from this shit show of a season is truly impressive. Might just be the absolute worst episode of Who ever.

5) Dot and Bubble - No cogent storyline. The Doctor and Ruby are hardly even in it, and really they both only act as Mary Sues for 90% of it. And the Woke-meter broke on this one. I seriously have to decide if I will even bother continuing the show at all at this point. The show has been absolute garbage since the War Doctor, and that was 10 years ago now.

4) The Church on Ruby Road - I hate musicals. It is a genre I have never been able embrace. But if you ignore the “musical-ness” of this episode, I guess there is SOMETHING here to salvage.

3) Space Babies - I didn’t particularly enjoy this episode, but it was a valiant call back to the origins of the essence of the show. It is kids programming. And I respect that.

2) 73 Yards - No resolution to ANYTHING that happened in this episode, but I am giving it a slight stay of execution because I suspect it was a setup episode that will pay off later. But the fact that this episode ranks so high is a strong indicator that the show is absolute garbage right now.

1) Boom - I wasn’t a huge fan, but given the competition for best episode of the season…. I guess some episode had to win?

 

[MilkSpiller22]

So far this season, I would have to rate the episodes in this order…

6) The Devils Chord - to be given the honor of being the worst from this shit show of a season is truly impressive. Might just be the absolute worst episode of Who ever.

5) Dot and Bubble - No cogent storyline. The Doctor and Ruby are hardly even in it, and really they both only act as Mary Sues for 90% of it. And the Woke-meter broke on this one. I seriously have to decide if I will even bother continuing the show at all at this point. The show has been absolute garbage since the War Doctor, and that was 10 years ago now.

4) The Church on Ruby Road - I hate musicals. It is a genre I have never been able embrace. But if you ignore the “musical-ness” of this episode, I guess there is SOMETHING here to salvage.

3) Space Babies - I didn’t particularly enjoy this episode, but it was a valiant call back to the origins of the essence of the show. It is kids programming. And I respect that.

2) 73 Yards - No resolution to ANYTHING that happened in this episode, but I am giving it a slight stay of execution because I suspect it was a setup episode that will pay off later. But the fact that this episode ranks so high is a strong indicator that the show is absolute garbage right now.

1) Boom - I wasn’t a huge fan, but given the competition for best episode of the season…. I guess some episode had to win?

i agree that this season has been very bad so far... im still going to watch, more because there has been nothing else new on tv recently...

i actually liked 73 yards... maybe it was because the DR was not in it at all... not sure... probably my favourite this season so far... had a good mystery feel for most of the episode... not sure whether the conclusion paid off for me...

i also did not mind devils chord until the musical number that ended it... that ruined that episode for me... so much that it probably was my least favourite as well...

Dot and Bubble had very interesting ideas... and wasnt bad... felt more like a black mirror episode... until it wasnt... the characters were unlikable, but that was by design... so i am kind of on the crossroads on that episode... ill give it credit for the attempt... just not an entertaining watch...

boom was the only CLASSIC DR WHO ESQUE episode we have had so far...