The Doctor Who thread

[You Know Who]

I had to watch it in two sittings. I ultimately enjoyed it BUT

Spoiler

really disliked the death fake-out with Donna near the climax. We had that in the previous episode so it didn’t work a second time and it was also a disservice to the relationship between the Doctor and Donna, even bearing the fifteen year gap in mind. The 99.9% line at the end doesn’t fix it.

Plus I’ll be really upset if we don’t see more Wilf in the next episode.

My reaction to The Star Beast on the other was pretty much @Donomark’s to Wild Blue Yonder verbatim:

On 12/3/2023 at 10:39 PM, Donomark said:

I've not enjoyed an episode this much in a long, long time.

 

 

[Donomark]

Spoiler

I took the fake-out as the Doctor going "Okay I just need to know for sure and the only way to do it is with the TARDIS". Like, him finding out Donna inside with him was fake wasn't a surprise, it was what he was testing. 

Also, unfortunately, I'm pretty sure RTD has said that was all Bernard Cribbins had filmed.

 

[Missy]

Interesting. I could go along with that.

And yes, that's it.

[dc20willsave]

Thoughts on The Giggle:

Spoiler

Holy crap, that was a good story! Like, I just had so much fun with watching it. Okay, yes, NPH's bad accent I could give or take but then just... EVERYTHING! Bigeneration, Ncuti running around in just his pants, Donna being a badass repeatedly, Mel! Plus, hints for things to come. This might be the first time ever that I've left a regeneration story without being sad because the possibilities of Two Doctors, Two TARDISes, Donna working for UNIT, the skies the limits!

[Missy]

Me: Why do people crush on The Doctor?

Also Me: I will raze planets just to be near Ncuti Gatwa's smile.

[You Know Who]

46 minutes ago, Missy said:

Me: Why do people crush on The Doctor?

Also Me: I will raze planets just to be near Ncuti Gatwa's smile.

I think it's fair to say that anyone who hasn't seen him in Sex Education is in for a real treat. 🙂

[Donomark]

Spoiler

I am still wrapping my head around the bi-generation thing, but only logistically. I've spent the last 13 years with this show understanding one thing, and this new thing will take some time. But I'm not mad about it! It's pretty wild, and it gave my favorite Doctor a genuine happy ending, which I think thematically was well deserved. Much of Tennant's Doctor is defined by tragedy, but he's such a positive character that it felt right, even if it was wild AF.

I actually thought this episode kicked fucking ass for 2/3rds of it. Everything with the Toymaker was awesome, especially once he and the Doctor first confronted one another. The scenes with the puppets I found to be genuinely creepy, and I'm honestly not often creeped out by Doctor Who. I think the one thing I found lacking was how they "beat" the Toymaker. It was so lightweight it was hard to take at all serious, so that can't be it, right? But everything in the episode aside from that I adored.

 

 

[Missy]

Spoiler

What I adore about the bi-generation is it followed up on Donna and Rose telling The Doctor to "just let it go." He heard them and reacted as The Doctor would: he split into two. Fifteen literally released his trauma, he pushed it away. In other words, he just let it go.

So while 14 still has to deal with it and heal, 15 is allowed to move on. Not only does it give 14 space to live and breath and process with a family, it also tells the audience that self reflection is good while providing 15 a bit of a reset.

 

[Pan-dub]

Spoiler

ICYMI

 

[Donomark]

4 hours ago, Pan-dub said:

  Hide contents

ICYMI

 

 

[Davedevil]

Spoiler

It was very much an RTD finale with a wrap-up that leaves you scratching your head with the logistics of everything, but the emotion made things worth it.

Looking at the entire New Who era as having an arc to it, with the Doctor cyclically healing and getting worse, but now finally settling down, brilliant work here.

I don't see the show being the same thing when it comes back with Gatwa, and maybe it was for the best that RTD stuck around to shepherd it to that next new phase.

 

[Missy]

Been seeing a lot of "They didn't mention Martha" and "They didn't mention Yaz" rage tweets.

They only mentioned the people who died (Amy, Clara, Bill, Adric, River, Sarah Jane) or whom The Doctor can never meet again (Rose).

Yes it would have been nice to hear certain names, but that wasn't the point. Naming living companions muddies the waters for fan service.

[Donomark]

Yeah that shit was obvious, anyone complaining about that is actively being obtuse. 

[Missy]

Re-posting from my Twitter: There have been so many "The Doctor's never slowed down, eh?" tweets with images of 11 and The Ponds, 11 on Trenzalore, and 12 and River. And it feels like people are willfully missing the point to score points.

In those cases, and others, The Doctor wasn't ready to "heal thyself."

It took an intervention from his best friend and himself to make The Doctor realize self-care is paramount in life, the universe, and everything.

The arc of 14 is one of looking inward, realizing it's not selfish to put your mental health first, letting pain go, and rebuilding.

[Donomark]

Thinking more about it, I like the reasoning for 14 to be the Doctor that leads into a break because previously during the Moffat era, it feels like the Doctor stopping is just told to us after the fact or over a time skip. We never see him actually lead into it. His retirement after 24 years with River, or Matt Smith's living on that planet for hundreds of years (I've never liked that, I dislike that element of the special). With Tennant's Doctor, it's a culmination of his character history. And Tennant's been the one Doctor consistently stapled with emotional trauma like I said before, so it really feels earned.

[Missy]

It also mirrors The Meta-Crisis Doctor settling down with Rose. Even though he loved her, he could never take that leap. He could never settle down and just live, not even if Rose asked.

But Donna and 15, basically, staged an intervention, making The Doctor realize he was going to snap / and or die if he didn't take serious time to breathe.

[Missy]

Oh, so apparently the house at the end of The Giggle is The Doctor's, not the Noble home rebuilt.

So where did The Doctor acquire the cash to buy a home? My head canon: all of his unclaimed UNIT pay starting in the 1970s (or 80s). He's been kept on their books, that's actual canon, so they would owe him a lot of money.

[dc20willsave]

Plus if it's been held in the bank, all that compounded interest has most certainly added up!

[Missy]

Oh yes! The Brig absolutely would have set that up for The Doctor, if only to get the money off the books.

[dc20willsave]

Thoughts on the Christmas Special:
 

Spoiler

Overall, I enjoyed it. We are seeing some of RTD's old habits coming back (Seeding a mystery at the beginning of the new series, silly monsters, the Doctor doing a lot of running, Mom as a supporting character) but damn if I don't care. Towards the end of the episode, I found myself thinking, "Mrs. Flood is such an interesting name to give to a one-off character" up until that stinger. Between that and the mystery of Ruby's Mother, I hope that's all the mysteries.

Above all other things, I don't think I have ever been more attracted to a Doctor until Gatwa. Between just being hot and his raw charisma, I am so excited to see what he does.

 

[Pan-dub]

For context:

Spoiler

Anita Dobson is a well known classic soap-opera star who's been active since her heyday who, while also being married to Brian May of Queen, is enough of a well-known actress in her own right that when she wasn't in much of the episode you knew there was a lot more about her to come. 

The extent of that is yet to be seen and I still found it exciting to see my suspicions confirmed. 

Honestly I was mostly just very relieved that even though the Doctor being portreyed by someone who is black AND gay, my father-in-law kept his 70s values to himself during the show. Especially in front of the kids. 

I've really enjoyed watching the recent specials and this episode with Evie and Link. Evie's lapping it up and, though a bit wary of being scared, has been fine. Link (currently 5) didn't watch specials 2 and 3 because he said he was too scared, choosing instead to play on the Switch but have a look when something exciting happened. It's fun family viewing and I'm glad to be a part of it. 

[Donomark]

15 minutes ago, Pan-dub said:

For context:

  Hide contents

Anita Dobson is a well known classic soap-opera star who's been active since her heyday who, while also being married to Brian May of Queen, is enough of a well-known actress in her own right that when she wasn't in much of the episode you knew there was a lot more about her to come. 

The extent of that is yet to be seen and I still found it exciting to see my suspicions confirmed. 

Honestly I was mostly just very relieved that even though the Doctor being portreyed by someone who is black AND gay, my father-in-law kept his 70s values to himself during the show. Especially in front of the kids. 

I've really enjoyed watching the recent specials and this episode with Evie and Link. Evie's lapping it up and, though a bit wary of being scared, has been fine. Link (currently 5) didn't watch specials 2 and 3 because he said he was too scared, choosing instead to play on the Switch but have a look when something exciting happened. It's fun family viewing and I'm glad to be a part of it. 

That's awesome.

I too really enjoyed. It's definitely silly, but being so with it's whole chest. I loved the darkness of the last two specials, so the series/character earned a little lightheartedness. Reminded me of Unicorn and the Wasp, which is one of my favorites.

2 hours ago, dc20willsave said:

Thoughts on the Christmas Special:

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Above all other things, I don't think I have ever been more attracted to a Doctor until Gatwa. Between just being hot and his raw charisma, I am so excited to see what he does.

 

I have to agree, I found myself thinking "He is objectively sexy". I'm sure the various Doctor stans would pipe in to "Well actually" but Ncuti Gatwa is the first one I've found to be a sex symbol kind of Doctor. 

[dc20willsave]

Spoiler

Something to keep an eye out for: since the Mavity gag continued into this episode, I fully expect it to be something that comes up again before the end of the season. Someone is going to say "Gravity" and it's going to be a hint that they're not from this reality, that they're from outside reality, or they're a Time Lord.

 

[Missy]

Mrs. Flood has to be a Time Lord.

1. The name is too weird.
2. Her reaction to seeing The TARDIS dematerialize was perfectly normal, but then she acts like it was nothing and calls it by name without anyone having said it in front of her.
3. She nudges Ruby to leave with The Doctor, manipulating their union.

So, who is she? The Master, The Monk, The Rani, The War Chief are all options, of course. Could be someone new. Don't know. But, no matter who, I'm wondering if she was actually Noah.

Why:

1. I mean, her name.
2. The ark had to be bigger on the inside.
3. Noah lived to be 950 years of age.
4. Myths are becoming reality.

Maybe it won't play this way. Maybe she's a one-off oddball neighbor. But I've got my eye on her.

[Donomark]

I figure she shouldn't be the Master and maybe not even the Rani because that is so much like Missy's first appearance happening simultaneously with then-new Doctor Peter Capaldi. If she were a nefarious Time Lord, RTD would rightly be accused of swiping, I'd feel.