Doctor Who is back!

[ColtCrazy]

Didn't like it as much as the 50th (I'm a Baker fan so that kind of set the bar high), but thought it was pretty good. Felt the guest at the end kind of took away from the good bye with Clara….thought that lacked. Still, lots going on and I thought it went well. Excited about Capaldi. I think he'll do well.

[JediKooter]

I really enjoyed the episode last night and definitely looking forward to Capaldi's Doctor. He seems to have a original series Doctor feel to him...if that makes any sense.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

Didn't like it as much as the 50th (I'm a Baker fan so that kind of set the bar high), but thought it was pretty good. Felt the guest at the end kind of took away from the good bye with Clara….thought that lacked. Still, lots going on and I thought it went well. Excited about Capaldi. I think he'll do well.

Totally agree with your first point - but in that regard I'd venture it's probably safe to assume that the viewing public still likely views Clara as the "new companion" and when looking at this Doctor, she won't be the companion that people immediately associate with him the way that Amy Pond will be.

Right?

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Totally agree with your first point - but in that regard I'd venture it's probably safe to assume that the viewing public still likely views Clara as the "new companion" and when looking at this Doctor, she won't be the companion that people immediately associate with him the way that Amy Pond will be.

Right?

That's a fair point. Pond was to Smith as Rose was to Tennant. It's even stronger, probably, since Smith's opening was all about Pond and the time rift.

I wonder if they will ever go back to having multiple companions as they did in the old show. I know they've had couples (Pond/Rory and Rose/Mikey), but I remember Baker had 3 at one time. Seems the focus in the new shows is the one to one relationship between the Doctor and his companion.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

That's a fair point. Pond was to Smith as Rose was to Tennant. It's even stronger, probably, since Smith's opening was all about Pond and the time rift.

I wonder if they will ever go back to having multiple companions as they did in the old show. I know they've had couples (Pond/Rory and Rose/Mikey), but I remember Baker had 3 at one time. Seems the focus in the new shows is the one to one relationship between the Doctor and his companion.

There have been lots of times the dcotor had several. All of the episodes of the 1st and 2nd had at least two or sometimes three. If you count UNIT personnel for the 3rd then he often has more than just the lady, and the 5th always had at least two except for the last episode. I like the larger crew. Some of my favorite companions have been men like Harry Sullivan and Jamie McCrimmon and Capt. Jack.


I'd also like to see more compelling emotional arcs for companions. The Doctor often has people that just come aboard because he offers them randomly. But sometimes we've seen them with much better backstories. Take 2nd doctor companion Victoria. In a Daleks serial, her only parent, her father, sacrifices himself to save the Doctor- a plot line that happens a lot. He left his daughter an orphan, so the Doctor takes in this 14-15 year old girl because he feels beholden to her father. After a few serials of Cybermen, Ice Warriors and other nasties, she stays behind when they find a nice older couple who never managed to have a child, and becomes pseudo-adopted by them as her new family. That;s a really jilting arc to see in the companions. I'd love to see more of that.

[sterlingice]

I fell like I've written this same screed at the end of every Matt Smith season: The entire Matt Smith era blurs together in my mind. I don't think Moffat knows quite how to use his tools over the course of a season, which is a real shame since his single episodes were so good.

Just to use one illustration, the last time we saw Gallifrey, it was a Russell T Davies grandiose over the top Master episode with Timothy Dalton guest starring. This time, all we get from going to that really important well is a beam of light and another regeneration that could have happened at any time but we took hundreds of years to do it.

And Moffat's best single episode assets become overused: River Song gets dumber as the series goes on and the Angels go from terrifying to commonplace. How did we go from the writer whose episodes created Captain Jack, River Song, and the Angels just sputter along? Home many times under Moffat have we had Daleks, Cybermen, and "all the doctor's enemies" brought together just for the hell of it: at least 3, right (Pandorica, Good Man Goes to War, Time of the Doctor)? Earlier episodes focused on just one because, well, monolithic evil is hard to write well.

Somehow we also get the silly red herring of the Doctor dying, not once but twice. If there's one thing you know won't happen in the show, it's the Doctor dying yet we tried that out twice for whole season plots (Impossible Astronaut and Trensalore). The mystery of his name went nowhere but how could it really- there's just not much meat there?

Amy's character arc is ok- the fish fingers and custard thing started out really well- but then she became kindof generic like Martha. Rory gets the best emotional moment in their whole arc in the season 5 finale, tho the plot to that didn't quite make sense. And there's an insignificant amount of emotional heft when they disappear, even with the Angels shoehorned in. Clara is an odd mystery and I liked the way they resolved that plot with the Doctor's time stream. However, I don't think Jenna Louise Coleman is all that good of an actress.

I'm hoping that with a new Doctor, we get a new way of doing the show. It's not Matt Smith's fault, but I feel the show has lost its way. Russell T Davies overwrote messes but it's better than just meandering around in the dark.

SI

[JediKooter]

Ok, when the heck does the new season of Doctor Who start with Peter Capaldi?

[MartinD]

Originally Posted by JediKooter

Ok, when the heck does the new season of Doctor Who start with Peter Capaldi?

There doesn't appear to have been an official announcement yet, but current thinking seems to be that series 8 will be shown on the BBC in the UK in the autumn of 2014.

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by MartinD

There doesn't appear to have been an official announcement yet, but current thinking seems to be that series 8 will be shown on the BBC in the UK in the autumn of 2014.

Thank you Martin! Hopefully we will get it here in the states around the same time as in the UK. Would make for a great autumn with Doctor Who and The Walking Dead.

[Critch]

BBC ran a trailer for the new Doctor Who at halftime of some soccer match today:



Personally I cannot wait for August 23rd.

[JediKooter]

Anyone catch the first episode of the new season? Not a bad introduction to the new Doctor in my opinion and looking forward to the rest of the season.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by JediKooter

Anyone catch the first episode of the new season? Not a bad introduction to the new Doctor in my opinion and looking forward to the rest of the season.

Yeah - I'm still processing it. I watched it, and I have it on my DVR to watch again before I can really come to any conclusions.

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Yeah - I'm still processing it. I watched it, and I have it on my DVR to watch again before I can really come to any conclusions.

I know what you mean. I had to watch it twice because it seemed like I had missed a couple of things, but, it was just me.

[Coffee Warlord]

Sick of the Daleks, but I'm liking Capaldi in the role.

And you heard it here first. My official prediction for how the finale plays out:

Spoiler

More and more people will 'die' or whatever, to wake up in Missy's little lair. She is training them to hate the Doctor, and will unleash them (playing on his guilt of not being able to save them) upon him at the end of the season.

[DaddyTorgo]

Anybody close to Beacon, NY?

http://imgur.com/a/lMhBq

[Critch]

...and two and a half years later, Capaldi has quit.

It's not been a great time for Doctor Who, down more to the writing than Capaldi.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Critch

...and two and a half years later, Capaldi has quit.

It's not been a great time for Doctor Who, down more to the writing than Capaldi.

They got 3 seasons and 3 Christmas specials out of him. Isn't that par for the course?

[Comey]

It was also well-known that Chris Chibnall, while happy to write with Capaldi, is looking to start totally new, too. So, this was the most logical thing to do.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by General Mike

They got 3 seasons and 3 Christmas specials out of him. Isn't that par for the course?

This.

[Thomkal]

Don't watch the show, but saw this announced, and its certainly an interesting choice...

Doctor Who Announces Jodie Whitaker As Thirteenth Doctor

[Critch]

I've been a Doctor Who fan since I was a mini-Critch way back in the 70s, Jon Pertwee was the first (and still the best) that I remember, but I gave up about halfway through Capaldi's last season. Every week I'd spend my Saturday evening downloading the latest episode, I'd sit and watch it with no laptop to distract me from the tv, and then when it finished I'd say to my wife "well that was crap" and she'd make fun of me for watching a children's tv show.

To avoid the appearance of being a grumpy old man who'd given up on Doctor Who because of the rampant PC craziness of a female Doctor, I decided to catch up again.

Over the last week I've finished off the last half of the Capaldi run (generally crap), and watched the first 6 of Jodie Whittaker's run. I've liked her as the Doctor, she's fitted in well, but I think she's doomed to the same fate as Capaldi. A good Doctor let down by bad writing. It's not awful, it just doesnt have the highpoints that used to make it worth watching. Since the reboot a Doctor Who season has generally been a mix of good episodes and filler episodes, over the last couple of seasons it's become all filler.

It's apparently been announced that 2019 is being skipped and there wont be a new season until 2020, so hopefully the delay will give them time to get back to get back to a worth-watching level.

[AlexB]

Agreed. I watched the first few, but gave up. I really liked her, thought the two younger characters had potential, but the writing was terrible. In the reboots, there have two standouts in Tennant and Smith, Ecclestone was good, but The last two doctors have suffered from poor material

I think it was Stephen Moffatt that was the driver: as soon as he took a reduced role with Capaldi it got worse, and now he’s nothing to do with the writing it’s sanctimonious and preachy instead of humourous and edgy. No real story arcs have hurt this series too.

Notsure of the scheduling there, but it got bumped to Sundays and NYD instead of Saturdays and Christmas Day, which is never a good sign.

[Bobble]

I'm a more recent Whovian but I have to agree. I liked Capaldi and I like Jodie as well. Both actors brought a lot to the role. I just think the writing is poor. Some good material in there. I enjoyed the recent return of a much-hated villain but there were too many plot holes, dead ends, puzzling choices, and crappy jokes. Is this the best they can do?

[sabotai]

Same here. I think both Capaldi and Jodie are good Doctors, but the writing has been terrible. I'm only a few episodes into Jodie's season, but so far it's just "monster of the week" episodes.

Even with some of the issues I had with the Tennant and Smith writing (there were some episodes that were stinkers in there), there was always a good, season or multi-season long plotline that pushed the series forward. First season of Capaldi, the season long plot was bad, and then the next one was bad....and the next one.

I guess they didn't even bother with a season long plot line for Jodie's first season.

[sterlingice]

Good news (I think): Russell T. Davies is back in charge:
Russell T Davies to return as Doctor Who showrunner | Doctor Who

SI

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I fell like I've written this same screed at the end of every Matt Smith season: The entire Matt Smith era blurs together in my mind. I don't think Moffat knows quite how to use his tools over the course of a season, which is a real shame since his single episodes were so good.

Just to use one illustration, the last time we saw Gallifrey, it was a Russell T Davies grandiose over the top Master episode with Timothy Dalton guest starring. This time, all we get from going to that really important well is a beam of light and another regeneration that could have happened at any time but we took hundreds of years to do it.

And Moffat's best single episode assets become overused: River Song gets dumber as the series goes on and the Angels go from terrifying to commonplace. How did we go from the writer whose episodes created Captain Jack, River Song, and the Angels just sputter along? Home many times under Moffat have we had Daleks, Cybermen, and "all the doctor's enemies" brought together just for the hell of it: at least 3, right (Pandorica, Good Man Goes to War, Time of the Doctor)? Earlier episodes focused on just one because, well, monolithic evil is hard to write well.

Somehow we also get the silly red herring of the Doctor dying, not once but twice. If there's one thing you know won't happen in the show, it's the Doctor dying yet we tried that out twice for whole season plots (Impossible Astronaut and Trensalore). The mystery of his name went nowhere but how could it really- there's just not much meat there?

Amy's character arc is ok- the fish fingers and custard thing started out really well- but then she became kindof generic like Martha. Rory gets the best emotional moment in their whole arc in the season 5 finale, tho the plot to that didn't quite make sense. And there's an insignificant amount of emotional heft when they disappear, even with the Angels shoehorned in. Clara is an odd mystery and I liked the way they resolved that plot with the Doctor's time stream. However, I don't think Jenna Louise Coleman is all that good of an actress.

I'm hoping that with a new Doctor, we get a new way of doing the show. It's not Matt Smith's fault, but I feel the show has lost its way. Russell T Davies overwrote messes but it's better than just meandering around in the dark.

SI

This still feels accurate 7 years later. And then we had both Capaldi and Whitaker, who played fine doctors, let down by mediocre directing, bad writing, and bad showrunning. There never seemed to be any vision for the "big picture" the last few seasons. There were season-long plots but the overall feel of the show felt aimless. I'm now longing for RTD's overwritten messes, having seen the alternative. I mean, at the end of the day, it's Doctor Who so overwritten and over the top is to be expected, some.

SI

[Critch]

I've just caught up on the three 2023 specials and the Christmas episode with the new doctor and assistant and I liked them all. First time in years I've liked four episodes in a row.

They weren't perfect, a couple of them had the usual Russell T Davies problems (good idea, good storyline, cant write an ending) and the Christmas episode was a bit silly as Christmas episodes always are, but overall it was the best run of episodes in years. Good to see David Tennant back as the Doctor even if it was only for a short run.