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Post by Silvermoth on Jan 11, 2020 23:19:40 GMT
I like the new doctor but I’m a bit bored of the master. Oh well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Lenny Henry was fun anyway
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nkp1993
Goods Engine
I'm on Twitter now!
Posts: 221
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Post by nkp1993 on Apr 10, 2022 14:24:16 GMT
I feel the writers(Chibnall) don't really know how to write for Jodie Whittaker, so ever since, and perhaps a bit before, she was introduced as the new Doc I've been immersing myself in Big Finish audios. I've got myself a majority of the monthly adventures, and nearly every special that's been released since they ended with #275. Of course I'm still a fan of the TV series, new and classic, but the audios are currently where it's at for me. The Paul McGann material is especially welcoming. Pity he never got the screen time he deserved but at least he got justice in "Night of the Doctor".
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gambo1946
Shunting Engine
A fan since i was one or two years old,
Posts: 88
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Post by gambo1946 on May 9, 2022 11:00:06 GMT
Just heard the news this morning that Ncuti Gatwa has been cast as the fourteenth doctor. I haven't seen him in any roles but my sisters have seen him in sex education and apparently he's quite good. I trust Russel T Davies' judgement and I hope they do good and i wish them well Can't wait for Tegan and Ace's return in the centenary (possible also Jo and the 1st, 6th and 7th doctors) though
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Post by Nicholas on May 11, 2022 10:34:50 GMT
Honestly, the excitement I have about an incoming new era, new Doctor and return of a showrunner some of whose content I did enjoy is surpassed by... the relief that Chris Chibnall will be departing as showrunner. The way he 'develops' 'plots', 'characters' and 'arcs' is just... not written to a competent standard. We have disjointed stories, cardboard cut-out characters who lack reactions, depth or consistency and the plot just jumps from exposition-heavy thing to exposition-heavy thing not because any of it makes sense, but because it's what the writer wants to tick off as having happened within the story. So many of Chibnall's stories under his own tenure lack three simple things: motivation, explanation and ramification. Motivation of why a character is acting a particular way or wants a particular thing and also why now in particular, explanation of how it has been made possible and what has had to transpire to get from motivation of wanting something to happen to it becoming a reality, and ramification of it actually having a consequence to either the story or the characters within the story. Take as an example 'Revolution of the Daleks'. We start off with the Judoon having captured the Doctor and locked her away inside an asteroid prison. Why? Well, it would likely have something to do with the events of 'Fugitive of the Judoon' but a full on-screen explanation is never given, and as to 'why now?'... well... who knows? The cliffhanger in the finale before this episode which is a Christmas special is them just randomly teleporting into the TARDIS at the end, not directly related to anything else from the rest of the episode. It also ends with a trying-hard-to-be-the-RTD-era-again outcry from the Doctor of 'What? What? ...What?!' that, as ever when Chibnall tries to lift something from that era and graft it onto his own, is never earned as much, never pays off as much and just feels like an empty carbon copy out of a desire to relive snippets of situations and dialogue from a better era without putting the work in to make it better. We all know the glaring 'out-of-universe' explanation as to why and why now is because Chibnall wanted it to happen, but 'in-universe' no care is given to consider a satisfying motivation. Explanation? Nope, none is given as to how it can be that the Judoon can just teleport into the TARDIS which it's often quite a big deal that nothing can get through the doors of. Ramification? It takes a few minutes and it sort of gives a reason for Captain Jack to be in the episode (again, I could do a whole other motivation, explanation, ramification rant for this but) basically just because, 'out-of-universe' Chibnall wants it to happen as a key-jangling exercise to lure back in many of those viewers he's lost, but then... there is no ramification. The Doctor arrives back on Earth in the middle of an uprising of impure Daleks. After her prison break, do the Judoon try to, you know, come after her again after going to either the effort of or not-an-effort at all of seemingly of capturing her? Nope. And no measure is made by the Doctor to ensure against it simply happening again. She gets captured at the end of one episode and then it gets quickly, easily, carelessly resolved at the beginning of the next without it having any consequence. It could be considered a reoccurring problem with Chibnall cliffhangers either being resolved by so big a ridiculous coincidence that you can never invest in any problem because you know the writer will pull out some nonsensical, disappointing contrivance or the cliffhanger will be presented as never having been much of a problem anyway. End of 'The Woman Who Fell to Earth'? The Doctor accidentally teleports herself and the three other main characters into deep space. Beginning of the next episode: By sheer coincidence not one but two spaceships warp-jump into exactly the same spot (which is established as basically being a no-go dead area of space later) at that exact same moment just out of sheer coincidence to teleport them on board. End of 'Spyfall Part One'? Oh no, the Doctor's trapped in an infinite alien environment. Big problem. Resolution at the beginning of 'Spyfall Part Two'? Ada Lovelace (who we had not met before this point) appears of no where, not knowing how she really got there herself, and they simply... exit the environment together. End of 'Village of the Angels'? Cliffhanger: Oh no, the Doctor's now a Weeping Angel. Big problem! Resolution at the beginning of the next episode: Oh, yeah, that's not a problem and was never a problem; now she's not. End of 'Survivors of the Flux'? Oh no, the Doctor's going to be disintegrated when Storm's hand brushes against her? Big problem! Resolution at the beginning of the next episode: she just steps back a bit; that's not a problem and never was a problem. The BBC occasionally offers the episode's scripts of some of its series for its Writersroom as tools to help writers learn about how a script works as examples. Occasionally they release Doctor Who ones and sometimes I read them. The script for 'Heaven Sent' (you can even read it here yourself: downloads.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/DW9-EP11-Heaven-Sent.pdf), a tragic, claustrophobic, twisting story where the Doctor is held in a surreal torture chamber castle that contra-rotates, reimagining its architecture every time he makes a confession to this lurching, towering veiled creature stalking him throughout the environment is masterful. The detail given in the script notes to set up all the things needed for later and the care in scripting the five-minute scene about 45 minutes in of fast-paced snipping to things we've seen earlier repeating and how this is communicated clearly to the people needing to use the script to work from to direct and shoot and edit it with each 'snippet' is meticulous. Each 'snippet' is assigned a letters to ensure we know exactly which previous moment we're seeing again and how some scenes subtly change. It's simple to follow, not just for anyone reading it but for someone making it. In comparison, a couple of years ago I read Chibnall's script for 'Spyfall' (Part One: downloads.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/doctor-who-s12-ep1-spyfall-part-one.pdf and Part Two: downloads.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/doctor-who-s12-ep2-spyfall-part-two.pdf,) and many parts are... barely a script you could use to film something. One scene sees the Doctor teleported to a surreal environment, supposedly the realm of the Kasaavin, the Chibnall describes this environment as 'Infinity' and then fails to really give any description of the environment. Go and watch the episode to see how this environment was realised and then read the script notes here. It's evident the script is insufficient towards working as not even a blueprint and not a drawing board to start from. Other people would have had to have done a lot of creative work for themselves because the script offers nothing here. Everything reads like a first draft that was never re-read through and not completed. And the finished product, unfortunately, ends up being an episode that is broadcasted giving the impression that script still wasn't properly read through, too. I remember a comment on the original Facebook link declaring they'd been released was from someone claiming to be an English teacher or lecturer stating they'd use these as an example for their class of how not to write a script, and I can quite believe that comment, because reading it makes me want to go through it with a red pen. Another complaint is how this era thinks it's doing well on the inclusivity front but just... gets it wrong. Ryan is, for me, a prime example and why this complaint hasn't been made more really does confound me. Ryan is established in the first episode as having dyspraxia. In the first episode he is trying to learn to ride a bike, something that having dyspraxia would hamper. It's not brilliantly clear why it's an important thing for him or his family for him to be able to do, but... it seems a little odd that you'd put someone through this kind of torment knowing it's something that this disability is going to make very difficult or not possible for them to do. Later in the same episode he scales a crane. His disability is inconsistently portrayed as being a problem when Chibnall thinks it might add something to his character (although I strongly feel a disability is not really a substitute for a personality when it comes to writing character) and then not being a problem when it would otherwise hinder the plot. The other characters even verbally applaud him and tell him they're proud of him when he 'overcomes' his disability in a way that it means it doesn't slow them down or present a problem without them having offered him any assistance. What? A lot of disabilities can't be 'overcome' like this as if, when you concentrate and apply yourself, the disability just... goes away and instead of giving praise when someone attempts to, the people around Ryan should be making efforts to take his ability into consideration and look out for him and try to ensure he's accommodated when they're running from danger. Instead they leave him to his own devices when they're scaling ladders. They are two different disabilities, but imagine the same mentality of him persevering to 'overcome' his disability or 'putting his disability to one side' being applied if he were in a wheelchair. Then, of course, there's some of the big issues with lore-altering revelations that disregards the whole of the rest of the 50-odd years worth of the show and its legacy, but... I've already gone on a while. I could go on for pages and pages and pages, but this video below, despite some whacky humour, if you stick with it or just break it down and watch it in parts does a really good (albeit five hour) job of dissecting a lot of problems that Chris Chibnall has brought to the show for me.
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Post by Princess Viola on May 11, 2022 21:43:31 GMT
The Chibnall era was honestly the first time since I started watching Doctor Who (which is definitely not as long as some people, I only started watching in 2012) where I just didn't care to catch the episodes when they premiered over here on BBC America.
I think with the exception of the 13th Doctor's first few episodes as well as everything from Flux onwards, I would just wait until my local library got the DVD release of the seasons and then borrow them to watch them then.
Someone on a Doctor Who subreddit said something along the lines of 'Chibnall's scripts feel like they're first drafts pushed as final scripts' and honestly? I agree completely.
Ah well, no hate towards Jodie or any of the other cast, they're not at fault for poor scripts and I am looking forward to the final special at least. (If partially because of Ace, who's one of my top 5 companions)
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Post by fobhew22 on May 11, 2022 22:28:46 GMT
Nicholas I really wish I could complain about Doctor Who as eloquently as you have I do very much agree with a lot of what you're saying. No disrespect to Jodie Whittaker, who has consistently done her absolute best with the material that she's been given, but the Chibnall era has been the first that I've not yet been tempted to go back and rewatch. There's been a lot of issues with the quality of the scripts. There's been numerous episodes where the side characters have felt fairly one-note, or there have been so many of them following the Doctor round in a gaggle that it's difficult for anyone to shine. As you say, cliffhanger resolution has also been a bit of a problem - they're teed up as massive, and resolved in a lazy handwave in the opening seconds of the next episode. The companions have struggled to stand out as well - it took Yaz three seasons to get anything meaningful to do other than follow the Doctor round and ask questions (again, no disrespect intended to Mandip Gill - when she did have something to do, she did it well), whilst Graham and Dan have only really been carried by the charm imbued by Bradley Walsh and John Bishop. In recent years, I've found myself in a vicious cycle of being excited for new episodes, disappointed at what I see, and then instantly excited again by a good-looking 'Next Time' trailer. I am hopeful for the 'centenary special', but I do worry that it's going to be that overstuffed that half the characters and plotlines will be wasted in the same way they were in the final episode of Flux. It would be a great shame if that were to happen, particularly with returning classic companions in the mix. I am at least excited by the casting of Ncuti Gatwa - whilst I've never seen him in anything, he's exactly the kind of up-and-coming actor that ought to be cast as the Doctor, and I can't wait to see what he can do with the role, as well as see the return of RTD to the writer's chair.
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Post by Nicholas on May 12, 2022 8:53:55 GMT
I would love to believe that Jodie Whittaker's last episode in her tenure, also the centenary special for the BBC, is going to be good and not another Powerpoint of exposition. But... here's what we've got to cover, or for me at least, ideally, what ought to be covered within, presumably, an hour or a little more. What we need in Thirteen's last episode: - A set of circumstances leading to the pocketwatch being opened - An explanation about Thirteen and Karvanista's association - How the Ruth Doctor fits in, (is she really in the Doctor's past. Really, though? Not her future?) and perhaps more context on her relationship with Mark - What the Ruth Doctor did during her lifetime, particularly her actions for Division - How the Ruth Doctor came to have a telephone box TARDIS before the First Doctor stole the TARDIS we know today - How many previous regenerations the Doctor has had before her 'First', including a look inside that floating wooden illogical house - The circumstances surrounding her being robbed of her memories by Division/the Time Lords? Was it something she consented to or was she forced? - How much did Division interfere in the course of the Universe's history - Does Tecteun's death mean Division is over or are there still agents operating? Does command fall to someone else? As she says herself "It's complex, but I suppose, yes, right now, leadership falls to me." - Is Tecteun really dead? (seems a bit odd to me that after lifetimes of experience with the Ravagers she just stood there without a plan or defence in 'Survivors of the Flux', let them approach her and kill her) - The birth of Vinder and Bel's child - More context on who The Grand Serpent was and what happened to him - The state of the Universe after being devastated by the Flux and maybe getting around to addressing of fixing that (perhaps using Division's seed bank that was going to be used in the 'next' Universe) - The triple genocide of the Doctor maybe having some repercussions, and the moral consequences of it - How were the Daleks able to return out of vengeance for having all been wiped out if... they'd all been wiped out, in 'Eve of the Daleks' - An acknowledgement of the conflicting morality within Thirteen's tenure (it's not okay to use guns, but it's fine to let someone else push the detonate button?) - More context on the Mouri and how they regulate time. - The nature of time and space before the Mouri - More context on Time (The Ravagers' Saviour) - What would have happened had Space been destroyed and Time dominated, as per the Ravagers' motive - What lies on the other side of the wormhole the Doctor came from - How she came to be on this side of the wormhole - The Doctor's true species, nature and heritage (- Ideally restoring Gallifrey and the Time Lords again) - Perhaps covering how it was that the Master was able to obliterate the planet so easily where an entire species of Daleks failed, unless it is all some sort of deception by the Master or the Time Lords to stage its destruction - A resolution to the Dan/Di storyline - A resolution to the Thirteen/Yasmin storyline - Thirteen's regeneration
What we're also getting: - The Master - The Daleks - The Cybermen - Ashad - Kate Stewart - Ace - Tegan - Ryan and Graham - Probably a storyline that hankers to be 'The End of Time' again I mean... it's a lot to fit in. And it's undoubtedly Chibnall we're going to be trusting to pull it off. Not that I feel he's investing too much in his resolution to it all, as he has stated he fully expects his controversial changes to canon to be ignored anyway.
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Post by WhitehouseFilms on May 12, 2022 10:43:25 GMT
Before Ncuti Gatwa was announced to be the next Doctor, I had this random idea of how the next Doctor would have been introduced. So say Chibnal had his finale and it ends with Jodie's Doctor regenerating. I heard that it's to take place outside the Tardis, might be true, might not be. I have read that when RTD wrote End of Time Part 2, he stopped writing when David regenerated and handed SM the script so that they can write their version of the new Doctor. This can be the same for here. So Jodie is starting to regenerate, very emotional moment. The regenerating rays are glowing brighter and brighter before the famous explosion of light erupts. This now leads to RTD to pen his opening to the next doctor. And what does he write? {Spoiler}"Go to credits."
No teaser trailer. Nothing. We want to keep the identity of the new Doctor a secret till the next series premiere.
Start of the new series.
Opening credits. We see the time vortex but no Tardis. Only the title is seen, no actors credits. Only the writer's.
We emerge and find ourselves in a kind of space concentration camp somewhere in a lone galaxy. Each prisoner is a captive of the new CyberMasters being held in preparation for a new batch to be made. The Master is in his glory as he sets about the rebirth of the Timelords. We focus on one group held in one of the huts. Each of them were people whom had heard rumours of the Doctor and how she created the CyberMasters. Some think he/she is evil while others say he/she's a hero. Theres some who were driven mad by not knowing who or what the doctor is. Now the Doctor is present throughout all this, but the idea is for the audience to guess which of the prisoners is the Doctor. Each of them has a sort of trait the Doctor has, but is it really him/her? We don't know. Hence the name, Doctor WHO.
This then builds up the tense on whether the Doctor will appear but when they do, we find that they were in plain sight of the audience, but they were too busy focussing on something else to notice.
I would say how the Doctor appears. But then as River Song is famous for saying, "Spoilers" The series would then focus on restoring the time lords back, but this proves difficult as the CyberMasters are in different periods of time and it's up to the doctor to locate where they would be and how they can be defeated without the fabrics of time corrupting. This would also include explanations as to why things in Chibnal's era were not right. It's the Master's way of sending the Doctor in a false state of mind, thinking they are of another kind when really he was working on his biggest takeover. But thats what I think really. I'm not a proper Whovian to properly understand the science-y bits, but thats what I'd gather on how the new series would focus around.
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Post by OldReliableIronNo.2 on Dec 15, 2022 2:26:55 GMT
I will never stop loving this moment (down below):
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Post by OldReliableIronNo.2 on Feb 8, 2023 2:37:49 GMT
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Post by OldReliableIronNo.2 on Oct 17, 2023 10:09:15 GMT
A truly underrated masterpiece from one of the show’s golden eras, Planet of Evil is a story that deserves more recognition. I believe it to be one of the greatest examples of sci-fi and horror mashed together. A hidden gem begging to be dug up. By far and away my favourite serial!
Fun fact: At one point in the story, the Doctor quotes William Shakespeare, of whom wrote The Tempest, the inspiration for the 1956 film Forbidden Planet, which in turn was one of the inspirations for Planet of Evil, the other being Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
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Two Red Engines
Goods Engine
Childcare worker, published author, and all round awesome!
Posts: 493
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Post by Two Red Engines on Oct 17, 2023 14:07:35 GMT
Not going to say anything about Tennant returning, Gatwa being the fifteenth Doctor, or the Chibnall era, because (despite the fact that Tennant also played my favourite incarnation, the Tenth Doctor) I feel it has already been said. What I will say, however, is that I found the performance byWhittaker herself to be highly enjoyable as the Doctor. Whittaker knew next to nothing about the show, but what she did seem to be aware of was that it was a pre-established franchise with a sizeable audience, most of which had to some degree grown up watching it. She just literally gave it her all, and worked so hard to ensure that her performance was of a very high standard. Although I may find the emphasis on inclusivity and universal suffrage to be annoying (though only if it gets in the way of the narrative, rather than being cleverly woven into it), I have always enjoyed watching the show if only because of her Doctor! And perhaps the fact that she hadn’t watched the show prior to being the Doctor could add to her character, as it demonstrates an interpretation of the role from a fresh pair of eyes.
EDIT: One other, completely unrelated thing I will also say is this: YouTube. Soundcloud. Audio. November 23rd. Ten. Keep an eye out for a little something from me.
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Post by OldReliableIronNo.2 on Nov 13, 2023 10:27:40 GMT
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Two Red Engines
Goods Engine
Childcare worker, published author, and all round awesome!
Posts: 493
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Post by Two Red Engines on Nov 22, 2023 19:56:26 GMT
Here it is! I'm pleased to present to you all my very own Doctor Who story, 'The Right Choice', starring the Tenth Doctor! It shall premiere at 5:16PM GMT, on November 23rd (tomorrow) - exactly sixty years to the minute since the first broadcast of the first ever Doctor Who episode, 'An Unearthly Child'! Hope you all enjoy it!
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Post by OldReliableIronNo.2 on Nov 22, 2023 23:40:16 GMT
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Two Red Engines
Goods Engine
Childcare worker, published author, and all round awesome!
Posts: 493
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Post by Two Red Engines on Nov 23, 2023 17:17:13 GMT
Happy 60th anniversary, Doctor Who!
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Post by OldReliableIronNo.2 on Nov 24, 2023 2:10:32 GMT
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Post by Princess Viola on Nov 24, 2023 3:49:40 GMT
It's already nearly 11pm here, so I'll have to celebrate the anniversary tomorrow instead.
Will either put in some of my DVDs and watch them on TV or watch some serials on Tubi. They actually just put on pretty much the entirety of the classic run for free on that service. Just like on iPlayer in the UK, it's missing An Unearthly Child (but they, I have that story on DVD) but unlike iPlayer it also is missing the orphaned episodes of otherwise incomplete stories and, when it comes to animations, it only has the stories where they did animated versions of all the episodes and not ones where only the missing episodes were animated (so no Reign of Terror, The Tenth Planet, The Moonbase, The Ice Warriors, The Web of Fear or The Invasion, sadly).
Hilariously I ended up buying some jelly babies yesterday, maybe I'll give them a try while watching - seems fitting.
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Post by Galloping Sausage on Nov 25, 2023 20:15:23 GMT
It's already nearly 11pm here, so I'll have to celebrate the anniversary tomorrow instead. Will either put in some of my DVDs and watch them on TV or watch some serials on Tubi. They actually just put on pretty much the entirety of the classic run for free on that service. Just like on iPlayer in the UK, it's missing An Unearthly Child (but they, I have that story on DVD) but unlike iPlayer it also is missing the orphaned episodes of otherwise incomplete stories and, when it comes to animations, it only has the stories where they did animated versions of all the episodes and not ones where only the missing episodes were animated (so no Reign of Terror, The Tenth Planet, The Moonbase, The Ice Warriors, The Web of Fear or The Invasion, sadly). Hilariously I ended up buying some jelly babies yesterday, maybe I'll give them a try while watching - seems fitting. I found out about it thanks to you. What's odd is that "The Macra Terror" has the first three parts in monochrome, yet the final part is in color.
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Post by OldReliableIronNo.2 on Dec 15, 2023 12:48:51 GMT
50 years since Elisabeth Sladen's debut as the soon-to-be quintessential companion, Sarah Jane Smith, in The Time Warrior.
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