Doctor Who

[Deborah54]

This will be my 12th Doctor. I’m a big Doctor Who fan. Happy memories of Sat with my dad watching cyber men and darleks.
But what the hell has happened? I’ve just finished, well I managed 25 mins, before I couldn’t take it anymore the 1st episode with the new Doctor and sidekick. Awful acting with a ludicrous plot (yes I know it’s fantasy) but it’s never been this stupid. Can’t help but think the BBC aren’t bothered and think they can put out anything and we’ll watch. Russell T Davies should have his pens taken off him and spare us anymore pain.

I can’t be the only Doctor Who fan who thinks like this. Absolutely Gutted 😞

Rogue could be jack, but I think it’s more likely to be a new character to with a similar spirit. With the reset it seems more likely they picked up an opportunity to create someone new. Plus d&d dice do not scream Jack Harkness. This rake has a nerdier side that lets us identify with him even more and place ourselves in his shoes.

I like Rogue, but not so much the episode as a whole.

I really enjoyed it. Loved the shape shifting bird aliens.

I really liked that episode. Great fun! Telling the bestvepisodes gor me wrote the ines nit written by RTD. It must be hard being the showrunner and writing

Have just watched, not read any of the comments. Just wanted to say, that was Fa-bu-lous!

Now going to read the thread.

I loved that one. Possibly because I also love Bridgerton and jonathon Groff. But aside from that despite the rubbish baddies it felt quite real emotionally in a way the other episodes haven't so far.

The chemistry between the Doctor and Rogue was HOT 🔥 🥵 😍

I quite liked this, except for the snogging when Ruby was about to die! And the dig about the aliens targeting anyone who didn't look British - I'm fed up of clunky political messaging, I just want to be entertained with stories about aliens and time travel. Oh, and I think the Dr would make more effort to find Rogue, rather than immediately accepting his loss. But I loved the notion that aliens watched Bridgeton and wanted to cosplay in British history!

I'm really not loving it at all. I don't think either of them has any personality.
Just hoping that RTD can pull it out of the bag for the finale.

Enjoyed that!

Although - is it bad that until 6.45 this evening I was not consciously aware of the existence of Jonathan Groff? From what I’m seeing in reviews it seems I’m the only person in the galaxy thus afflicted. Anyway, he was ok; bit wooden but a nice foil to the dazzling Doctor.

The Den of Geek review really is excellent - and sent me down a rabbit hole.

Absolutely loving the confirmation that RTD lied!

I enjoyed it.

The thing that annoyed me was the multiple explicit references to Bridgerton, which will date it. Ruby could do one "OMG it's so Bridgerton!" because that would be in character for her but the others could be dropped. Much though I admire Shonda Rhimes, (because this is absolutely about the TV show not the books) she did not invent the Regency romance genre and is not solely responsible for its popularity: that'll be one J Austen with help from Andrew Davies/Colin Firth.

Did they not learn anything from the episodes where our heroes battled evil robot versions of Trinny and Susannah and Anne Robinson?

I prefer it when the Dr isn't so emotionally involved with characters, he used to be more aloof

No personality??

So fed up of shows (not just The Doctor) falling in love after ten minutes of knowing someone. A bit too R&J for my taste.

Otherwise it was ....OK. No strong feelings either way.

They weren’t in love, though? There was… potential.

The ring was a dramatic gesture - as requested by the doctor - with a seed of sincerity.

I actually enjoyed this episode at the time, but thinking about it more, why the does the Dr have to cry every episode. Why does someone else have to save the day, why does he come across as so useless and a complete wet blanket.

This whole series has been just really odd. You can't just lose yourself in the story, it's all very stilted and meta and just weird. I think I may no longer be a fan of RTD, seems to have disappeared up his own rectum. I liked years and years and thought cucumber was great, wasn't such a fan of it's a sin, was a bit flashy and shallow feeling to me (everyone else seemed to love it).

If you watch Rose, there are daft bits in it like the whole Mickey thing but it's engaging and brings the viewers along. Ironically this episode, not written by RTD had the best jokes and dialogue of the whole series for me and seemed like a standard episode.

It just doesn't seem to know what it's trying to be, can't imagine any kids imaginations have been captured by this new series.

I know the next series has already been made but after that I reckon it might need a bit of a rest again. Ratings are okish for these days but engagement seesm low.

Overall I enjoyed it. Agree with the Captain Jack comparisons.

I did think after an episode that was about racism to put a black Doctor into upper class Regency England and not have any reaction to him was somewhat jarring. Every single person in that room will have owned a plantation in the Caribbean.

Have you watched Bridgerton? The whole point of that series of books / TV is based on the idea the King George married Queen Charlotte, and Charlotte was black. As such, regency England in that series doesn’t have limitations on societal roles by race because the king made marrying across race, and so sharing your lives across race, acceptable and society embraced it.

if you also watch the series about Charlotte and George starting out you find out it was still a fight to get there in that universe but one that succeeded.

As a PP said, by placing an episode so firmly in the world of another series you risk the fact that many people watching your series won’t have watched the other!

I think the endless comments (well OK four or five comments) about Bridgeton might have been the scriptwriters get out clause to why there wasn't even a smidge of racism. (I get the feeling that the writers can't be arsed in dealing with the reality of isms that the Doctor would experience (in earth settings) when not a white male. Which is daft because it's an ideal situation as the Doctor would be experiencing the difference in treatment directly).

I'm just not into these episodes - I too had a similar thought about the crying @JaninaDuszejko. Must admit I did tut - especially as I think it was almost identical way on first shot of crying - single tear from left eye.

“Must admit I did tut - especially as I think it was almost identical way on first shot of crying - single tear from left eye.”

That’s why I’m wondering if it’s intentional. That imagery is almost too identical. Like they purposely recreated the shot. I’m going to be mightily disappointed if it’s laziness rather than a specific plot point!

I think you are right and it must be intentional. All the doctors have been emotionally different so it’s fine with Ncuti being a crying doctor, but the visuals are quite specific.

I don’t watch Bridgerton and so didn’t know that 😀 thanks

i enjoyed it as it made sense. but it annoyed me when the doctor just left Ruby and went of romancing. one minute he could only trap one baddie and the next minute he could trap them all. Ruby was stuck yet Rouge freed her.

wish he would stop crying.

Oh goodness! I hadn’t thought, until the posts above, that the writers won’t have factored in people who haven’t seen Bridgerton. It’s going to be incomprehensible to that section of viewers.

Intrigued by the comments on the single tear possibly being significant to the story arc. @Pixiesgirl I’m still assuming the people making things look pretty on screen have fallen in love with how tears look falling down his particular face. They’ve probably spent weeks in editing rooms experimenting with lighting and speed and whatever else because they haven’t had this opportunity with any other Doctor. (With the Fugitive Doctor they unfortunately dragged out the Strong Black Woman trope so didn’t have much scope for tears.)

I don’t mind that he’s a wee bit inept at the moment - all the 21st century Doctors have been a little unsteady on their feet early on. And they are also probably painfully conscious of not wanting him to appear at all threatening as a character. So in Boom we had him stating rather calmly what universal destruction would occur if he were blown up by the mine, but in person he gives the impression he’d run away from a spider.

Although I found it all a bit superficial and overly sign-posted it was a relief to have different writers - a breath of fresh air.