Doctor Who tonight! One of the best episodes I have ever seen! Did you see it?

[LavendarGreen]

If you didn't see it, PLEASE get it on catch-up on BBC iplayer. It was about Rosa Parks, the activist in the civil rights movement in the 20th century (I'm sure you all knew that!) It was one of the most moving, well-written, brilliant episodes of anything I have ever seen.

So well acted, well written, and very educational. Brilliant, brilliant brilliant. Well done to all involved! Including Vinette Robinson who played Rosa.

Do watch it if you can. Excellent piece of television! I am soooooo loving Jodie Whittaker as Doctor Who!

I think who ever is writing it doesn't get Dr Who and never watched it as a child.

Although I don't think it was ever for quite young children.
I remember watching it from behind the sofa when I was about 7 years old with my friend and her older brother laughing at us.

I think trying to make it a family show is a mistake if you are trying to attract 8-80 years olds but scripting it solely for children and expecting adults to watch.
Making stand alone episodes just means you don't have to watch every episode.
There isn't any continuity.

I think we need to agree to disagree about this.
I think the fact that he was just a racist and got punished by being zapped to the arse end of nowhere with no resources was a good thing.
I don’t think we need a reasoned argument about why his behaviour was wrong in the same way we don’t need a reasoned argument about why murder is wrong, it just is.
We can’t zap all racists but we don’t have to listen to them either (sadly not as effective as zapping).
Always good to discuss other interpretations though

oliver your the one that doesnt get doctor who

Its always been a family show it started as a childrens programme

I enjoyed it. I'm 50 and have been watching Dr Who since I was 7 and hiding behind the sofa (that episode with green sluggy things anyone? Tom Baker era)
I'm glad to get back to simpler story lines..I almost gave up during the long complicated Matt Smith series where Amy was River's mother!

Dr Who has always tapped into historical events.. as it should she travels in a TARDIS!

DIdn't quite match the Van Gogh episode though... that actually makes me cry when Bill Nighy just stares after him!

We don't know yet if evil racist will be featuring elsewhere- I wouldn't be surprised if we meet up with him again.

They need to bring back David Tennant.

The Van Gogh episode was sublime.

Last night's had the promise of being good but the character's aren't well enough established and I still have no sense of who this Dr is. Atm it's just Jodie Whitaker. Rosa Parks was brilliantly played and well executed but it lacked depth.

Maybe it did start as a children's programme but it scared the living daylights out of kids and if anything became a cult TV programme.

It also had continuity. This series I doubt you would miss much if you only tuned into a couple of episodes.

From what people have said whilst other series had its historic episodes it was written in such away as to not resemble a year 3 history lesson.

The reason the ratings were going down could be attributed to the lack of consistent times it was put out on a Saturday evening. It also had too long between series.

Now they seem to have thrown in the towel. Acknowledged that this series isn't going to be very good so moved it to Sunday and padded it out with names or people you would recognise from northern soaps or other northerners with Bradley Walsh as the token southerner.

Where are the scary characters with the weaponry that scared the living daylights out of you.

So far there has been a tall alien with a gun and some electrified worms, some more aliens with guns and some paper ribbons.
And (I didn't see the most recent episode)
what appears to be a rascist.

As a life long Dr Who fan who was watching it before a lot on here were born. I was really looking forward to a new series and has been severely let down. To say I don't get Dr Who is laughable.

Maybe I do get it and can see the passing of what was once a great series.

white campaion who in fact was the one going ok pets get off the bus and who cares if rosa isnt asked to move ..

It wasn't that he didn't care. It was that he didn't want to be one of the people who forced Rosa to get arrested - we'd already established he knew a lot about the incident and hated that it was needed. He was desperate to not be someone else causing hurt. Probably made worse as they had been friendly with her earlier so it would have felt like more of a betrayal to poor Rosa.

I did cry a bit at the end I admit. But it did feel a bit of I was being lectured. I can't criticise people who are sitting down to enjoy some escapism and object.

The Van Gogh episode makes me cry EVERY time. Buckets.

Also in think racism time traveller is going to be another long running winding tangled plot. We've already had the Skarpa hint and the timeless child comment - all three are sure to come up again and again.

@corythatwas

Haven't got time to do the stats on this, but given the time David Tennant's Doctor alone spent with English school boys on the eve of WW1 and with trade unionists in the New York in the early 20th century and in 17th century Versailles, as well as with Agatha Christie, Shakespeare, Van Gogh and the inhabitants of Pompeii, I'd be surprised if the ratio for History: Other Planets was any less than 1:3. And plenty of didactic topics: pollution, traffic jams, trade unionism etc. Nobody seemed to notice or complain until it's Black History.

Good points there. ^

The majority of posters seemed to enjoy it, and also 'get' that Doctor Who is a TIME TRAVELLER who will ultimately unleash some hostorical events.

A few posters (not many thankfully,) seem to be a bit annoyed that the way blacks were treated in the past (by white people) was highlighted.

Makes me wonder why.

And to say it felt like a year 5 lesson in school is just ludicrous.

It clearly made a few people feel uncomfortable.

oliversmums I have been watching since the very first episode, I loved it!

You didn’t think it was padded out with northerners then?

I hate Doctor Who, and always have done. However, I switched the tv on 15 minutes early last night for Strictly, and was very pleasantly surprised. I didn’t even realise it was Doctor Who at first, but just the last 15 minutes alone had me gripped, and I thought it was an excellent subject matter.

I’ll be watching the whole episode on catch up later.

Helmet, Bradley Walsh is from Watford!

Didn't love it.
I watch Dr Who for escapism not a history lesson

I enjoyed the episode. However there is one thing that Jodie Whitaker does that is really starting to irritate me.
When she takes her sonic screwdriver out of her coat, she does such a flamboyant movement, in my mind like "En Garde" in fencing that I'm expecting to see a foil or epée in her hand but it's just the screwdriver. It's over the top acting that none of the former Doctors needed to do so I'd wonder why she thinks its a good idea...
Apart from that, I think she is settling into her role (but I'm still expecting a dead body to turn up on the shores of Broadchurch and for her to pop along to solve the murder, kind of like a cross over episode)

And yes. I know they do historical ones from time to time but they're not usually so fact filled. By comparison the actual SF part if the plot was very weak

Hence the token southerner comment

yet didn't warn Ryan & Yaz, nay, even seemed SURPRISED when they first encountered racism.

David Tennant Doctor told Martha Jones asking about racism in Tudor England to which he shrugged and said he didn’t know but to just do what he did and walk around like you owned the place.

A black history program told me there were a few black people in Tudor England. Henry VIII had a balck a trumpeter who asked for and got a pay rise - but racism wasn't prevelant so episode didn't have to deal really with the issue.

I wonder if it was harking back to that - and re-addressing idea that racism can just be ignore.

It did make my children think - they were asking why all previous Dr Who's had been white men.

All those northerners! Who knew eh?!

I liked it. Rosa had such a screen presence. I really felt for Bradley that he didn’t want to be there at that moment forcing the issue when he was still mourning for his wife. I have found his character hardest to settle in but I think that helped.

It was good . The woman playing Rosa was excellent. Great at the accent, and looked so much like her. Very well done. Good episode.

Was a brilliant episode and sparked a history project (I home school) I don't remember learning anything about black American history at school! It's such an important part of history even though we in the UK. I hope we can look at other influential women from the past and see how they changed history x

Agree with you winging. We didn't have black history either. Interesting stuff.

@Oliversmumsarmy

Acknowledged that this series isn't going to be very good so moved it to Sunday and padded it out with names or people you would recognise from northern soaps or other northerners with Bradley Walsh as the token southerner!

@helmetbymidnight

Didn't you think it was padded out with northerners?!

@MnerXX

All those northerners! Who knew eh?

I know right! All these dirty scummy Northerners in these great tv programmes. Ewwww, they should get back up north and work in't pit where they belong, or stay on't dole, never mind doing well for themselves!

Leave all the great jobs to the suvveners, especially the Londoners. They are terribly important you know, and waaaaaaay more special and clever than Norveners.

Getting ideas above their station indeed. Nasty iccle norveners Grrrrrrr......