Doctor Who Megathread

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

New episode was good.

Spoiler alert: The Star Beast (special, 2023)

Show

The trans stuff felt kinda forced (kongress noted on Discord that they could've done this sort of thing in the Whittaker era--and Donna even makes note of 13 toward the end of the episode--but Chris Chibnall just... didn't), but all in all I liked it.

Spoiler alert: joke about Rose's deadname

Show

If I were given the name "Jason" at birth I'd want to trans my gender too. Of course, I transed my gender with a much better deadname, but nevertheless.

[Mr. Smith]

Finally caught up.

It's a step down from any of the 2022 Specials, the very stale theme remix certainly is, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but Chibs was more subtle regarding the social commentary

That said, the vibe, characterizations, and pacing still feel more like the height of RTD, if muted, rather than that of the excesses [by which I mean the melodrama].

Donna is fun as ever, and for what RTD & Co. wanted, Tennant does good. The villain for the episode is quite good, and I like the build up to The Celestial Toymaker. Also the TARDIS inside is amazing.

Star Beast B-

[Middle-aged Europe]

After I had been a bit underwhelmed with last week's kind of standard monster story, this week's Wild Blue Yonder truly marked a return to form with a scary-ass mindf**k episode that seemed to be function as a (somewhat kid-friendlier) cross between The Thing and Event Horizon.

[Mr. Smith]

Not gonna say much about last week's episode, 'cuz there's really not much to say for it until Old Man Wilfred returns. It was just there really.

But this week's episode, now this is the one we deserve, even if I'm still not quite sure I like the ending, or maybe I should say, I don't believe Tennant's Doctor deserves it...would've been much happier if this had been Smith's part or Capaldi's [but especially Smith]...but like I said before, for what the aim was, RTD & Co. "understood the assignment".

I appreciate that regeneration used some musical touches from the very first modern regeneration, which brought forth Tennant in the first place.


Hmmm,

Wild Blue Yonder: C
The Giggle: B

[GeorgiaModerate]

Not gonna say much about last week's episode, 'cuz there's really not much to say for it until Old Man Wilfred returns. It was just there really.

But this week's episode, now this is the one we deserve, even if I'm still not quite sure I like the ending, or maybe I should say, I don't believe Tennant's Doctor deserves it...would've been much happier if this had been Smith's part or Capaldi's [but especially Smith]...but like I said before, for what the aim was, RTD & Co. "understood the assignment".

I appreciate that regeneration used some musical touches from the very first modern regeneration, which brought forth Tennant in the first place.

Really? I quite liked last week's episode (apart from the rather silly and pointless opening bit with Newton). It reminded me of scary, psychological episodes like Blink or Silence in the Library.  But to each his own.

I haven't had a chance to watch the latest one yet.

[MasterJedi]

I don’t mind what happened but somehow people like it. If this was done by Chibby and 13 it would have been reviled. Fanbase is a joke.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Spoilers for The Giggle...
















so, RTD basically just opened a huge f***ing door for Tennant to return on a recurring basis in future episodes in maybe Christmas specials or series finales or something. No convoluted plots as to why the Doctor happens to meet one of his former incarnations. I certainly can live with that.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Finally got around to watching The Giggle. That was insane.

Spoiler alert: The Giggle (special, 2023)

Show

My first thought was a Big Finish series following the Fourteenth Doctor after the events of this episode, but before he either officially becomes the Fifteenth Doctor or dies (depending on how exactly the bigeneration works) but I'd be just as down, if not more, for him being a recurring character in the Gatwa years.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Just watched the Christmas special.  That was truly demented (in a good way)!  It reminded me a lot of "Rose", the initial episode of the Doctor Who revival in 2005 -- perhaps not too surprisingly, since RTD has returned to take the helm as showrunner again.

And the question that I'm sure we're all asking:

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

WHO IS MRS. FLOOD?

[Mr. Smith]

Finally watched the special and I have to ask:  Why did we have all this David Tennant nonsense, when Gatwa is already more interesting than anyone since Eccleston?!...at least Matt Smith at a minimum.

It's just amazing how quickly he slipped into it.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Finally watched the special and I have to ask:  Why did we have all this David Tennant nonsense, when Gatwa is already more interesting than anyone since Eccleston?!...at least Matt Smith at a minimum.

It's just amazing how quickly he slipped into it.

He practically bubbles over with energy and charisma.  And Ruby is adorable.  I'm really interested to see how the upcoming season goes.

[Perlen vor den Schweinen]

I didn't care much for "The Giggle." I thought it was cramming too much into 50-minute story. Lots of good moments on their own, but when everything was put together, the final product... was not what I would call "cohesive." Lots of tonal whiplash and unexplored ideas as a result.

I am glad that there were few details of the bigeneration and the TARDIS duplication. Either it's able to be written off easily with few implications, or it's Not A Good Look with a lot of Not Great implications. Given 15 is described as "older" and does not "have the baggage" of 14 because he "went through rehab" as 14, I am of the stance that 14 eventually becomes 15... no "two separate Doctor" entities scenario.

The ending did make me cry (specifically, the scene in the TARDIS), but... long-story short, I say it is a corny and poorly-built conclusion for the 14th Doctor (and corny for "the Doctor's retirement" in general). Such is the nature of having so little time to start and finish an arc.

Regardless, I liked "The Giggle" because it was fun and had good character moments. 6.5/10 or something ig


Christmas special review coming later.

[Mr. Smith]

Finally watched the special and I have to ask:  Why did we have all this David Tennant nonsense, when Gatwa is already more interesting than anyone since Eccleston?!...at least Matt Smith at a minimum.

It's just amazing how quickly he slipped into it.

He practically bubbles over with energy and charisma.  And Ruby is adorable.  I'm really interested to see how the upcoming season goes.

Me too, which is not what I would've said when I initially heard Davies was coming back, and especially not after hearing it wouldn't immediately follow Whittaker.

[dead0man]

the wife just had to show me something from the newest episode before I left for work tonight.  There was some sort of big monster eating stuff (babies?) off of a conveyor belt and a bunch of smaller monsters were watching another small monster sing a song, and there was like call and responses and other clearly choreographed things.  I had no context and thought it was insane, my wife had context and also found it insane.  WTF was that?

[GeorgiaModerate]

the wife just had to show me something from the newest episode before I left for work tonight.  There was some sort of big monster eating stuff (babies?) off of a conveyor belt and a bunch of smaller monsters were watching another small monster sing a song, and there was like call and responses and other clearly choreographed things.  I had no context and thought it was insane, my wife had context and also found it insane.  WTF was that?

It was insane, but it worked.

[Mr. Smith]

the wife just had to show me something from the newest episode before I left for work tonight.  There was some sort of big monster eating stuff (babies?) off of a conveyor belt and a bunch of smaller monsters were watching another small monster sing a song, and there was like call and responses and other clearly choreographed things.  I had no context and thought it was insane, my wife had context and also found it insane.  WTF was that?

Just another Dr. Who episode ofc.

[Perlen vor den Schweinen]

Christmas special review coming later.

7/10. Gatwa is charming through the whole episode.

I have seen that RTD wants to make the world of Doctor Who more "magical" - as if it wasn't already. If anything, "magic" will probably become the quick handwave instead of some kind of technobabble... while technobabble is basically "magic" anyway, it forces the story to justify why some extraordinary thing is happening, versus... magic. Even the swiftest explanations help a great deal. Such "magic-y" handwaving was used in the Christmas special to explain the motives of the goblins.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Gatwa certainly is likable which counts for something. He seems to portray one of the most humane, most empathetic Doctors yets - which is a stark contrast to the darker incarnations such as (in recent times) Capaldi.

[The Dowager Mod]

I'm a bit tired of the "mystery Box" trope.

[k120]

Christmas special review coming later.

7/10. Gatwa is charming through the whole episode.

I have seen that RTD wants to make the world of Doctor Who more "magical" - as if it wasn't already. If anything, "magic" will probably become the quick handwave instead of some kind of technobabble... while technobabble is basically "magic" anyway, it forces the story to justify why some extraordinary thing is happening, versus... magic. Even the swiftest explanations help a great deal. Such "magic-y" handwaving was used in the Christmas special to explain the motives of the goblins.

I thought Moffatt already did that schtick?

[Perlen vor den Schweinen]

Christmas special review coming later.

7/10. Gatwa is charming through the whole episode.

I have seen that RTD wants to make the world of Doctor Who more "magical" - as if it wasn't already. If anything, "magic" will probably become the quick handwave instead of some kind of technobabble... while technobabble is basically "magic" anyway, it forces the story to justify why some extraordinary thing is happening, versus... magic. Even the swiftest explanations help a great deal. Such "magic-y" handwaving was used in the Christmas special to explain the motives of the goblins.

I thought Moffatt already did that schtick?

I had RTD's comments from this article in mind when writing that post:

Radio Times: Doctor Who boss says show is "taking a sly step towards fantasy"

Much of Doctor Who's "sci-fi" is very soft to the point of being fantasy, but it's always been this way from its early days. From RTD's comments + "The Church on Ruby Road," a "genre shift" sounds more like a way to say "the weird concepts will have less explanation."

Matt Smith's tenure played into the "fairytale"... uh, vibe. I'd say that is what was "magical" about it.

[MasterJedi]

Rumor is Moffatt is returning for this years Christmas special.

[MasterJedi]

Also officially comes out May 10/11 depending on time zone. First two episodes released same day.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Rumor is Moffatt is returning for this years Christmas special.

Nice.  Now if only we could get Georgia Moffett back as well (to clear up one of the greatest remaining loose ends in the new era).