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 😞

Ridiculously I’m now wondering how Louise and Carla and Cherry and Ruby are all getting on together, now the dust has erm … gone away. Whether each person’s status has shifted, who feels resentment, who feels in or out of favour …

Maybe because my real life family relationships are a bit shit right now, I’m hoping they’re all still feeling blissfully happy, and will continue to do so.

I still wish the Doctor could get back a bit of confidence and arrogance. It was the missing ingredient with 13 and I feel like they have toned down Gatwa as well. I want that that I am super-smart swagger back.

Essentially we should have had Dot & Bubble as the first of the new season - rationalising his comparative lack of certainty and swagger going forward. Because no amount of Doctor-y smartness could get those people to believe in him …

The pointing at the road sign was so ridiculous it's really annoyed me. Firstly you would just think it in your head and not point and secondly, as you said, there was noone there to see her pointing. It was a risky strategy too, she could've ended up being called lamppost.

That was such a stupid ending. The whole Ruby's mother business what a waste of time! Just to get people speculating on the internet? If she's just an ordinary person let her be an ordinary person instead of doing something that looks like you haven't really thought your story through and then gave up at the last minute!

Ugh, the pointing!!

Yep, still annoyed at the pointing.
Had hoped it was going to be River.
She got pregnant at the end of her two decades at the singing towers with Peter Capaldi, realised she was going to be dead soon, so went to Ruby Road before her demise in the library.
She was pointing at the Tardis to say "Look at that Suteckh on your love!"

Oh and her pain at giving up her daughter, like her Mum Amy had had to in turn, manifested as snow because Pathetic Fallacy. Also why Ncuti was crying all the time without realising it. And why 73 yards Amy was able to go back to her younger self.

Okay, it's not perfect, but it's still better than what we had!

good idea, April. ESP as River has the cloak from THofRS!

@AprilPoisson that is all absolutely beautiful.

Would it be too soap - or the legitimate creation of a Tardis dynasty?

That would be a much better ending- especially with the whole granddaughter business being brought up. I do love River. I use anagrams of her name for all my passwords though so she's always on my mind! I wonder if they wanted to do something more complicated but then there were issues with Millie? I thought she was a great actress! If she was the Doctors child, he couldn't really have dumped her and buggered off.

I really like that idea. Do you fancy taking over from RTD?

I've realised that I don't believe this doctor could make the hard decisions that are necessary. The others hated doing it but would end worlds if they had to. This one I just can't see it.

I think the job's a poisoned chalice tbf and the scenario above would have also caused issues (River's marmite iirc) and would she abandon a baby, having not had parents herself. It would have made sense with Ncuti's closeness with Ruby though as that seemed an instant thing rather than slowly built up.
It would not have made sense with River's jollity in the library (she was quite bright and breezy before meeting her peril).
Could he have just dumped Millie if she was his DD? Potentially, there could have been some mirroring with Susan and he left her on Earth after she met someone. Or she did a Georgia Tennant and flew off on her own, taking the memory tardis back to see River before she died (although wouldn't that cause a fissure/bring back big, black creatures?).
Maybe Ruby could have started a degree in archaeology?!

I've realised that I don't believe this doctor could make the hard decisions that are necessary. The others hated doing it but would end worlds if they had to. This one I just can't see it.

I think that was the point of Sutekh. Tom Baker didn’t kill him, any more than the “Egyptian aliens” did - he left him in a time tunnel to die.

Fifteen did actually kill Sutekh, though he didn’t want to!

I guess we've also ignored the possibility that Ruby could have been the daughter of a female incarnation of the Doctor.

New York Times season review

Loved NG, dissed Disney-fication.

It is NOT the first same sex kiss. That would be Ten and Captain Jack.

Plus an exuberant peck from Eleven to Rory

And later, Bill and the Pilot, IIRC.

I’ve yet to watch the episode a second time… hoping I’ll like it more on second watch but fearing I’ll like it less! Might have to settle with loving the cliffhanger episode before it… but that’s kinda spoiled a bit now I know the ending. Big fan of Mrs Flood though, especially as I’m old enough to have watched Anita Dobson in EastEnders. I get the feeling she’s loving this, whoever she turns out to be!

And kudos to Bonnie Langford, she was brilliant - it really redeemed her from the Eighties squealing version of Mel she had to play.

I mentioned it upthread - it was mentioned on reddit, what with Jodie being blonde.
I just think making Ruby's Mum ordinary was a cop-out, undoing the mystery RTD had deliberately set up.

Well that was crap. Not sure I will continue watching after that. I decided to go back and watch from Christopher Eccleston again, and 20 years on it is still outstanding. I gave up at some point during Matt Smith's tenure, but got back into it with Jodie Whittaker. It takes a lot to stop, as I have been watching since I was about 4 in the 80's. But my brand loyalty is stretched thinner than Cassandra now.

Every living being on the entire universe turned to dust and still feels like denying an old lady cup of tea was more evil.

Bill should have had longer
I liked Bill

Millie is great
She played a great part as Kelly Neelan in Coronation Street .
She left for this role I believe but in the soap is meant to be abroad .. so its been left open for her I assume

I’ve read three Doctor Who novels this week - none in the least memorable.

Thank heavens for the return of The Bear …

Not good news …

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/07/19/disney-may-ditch-dr-who-bbc-deal-after-second-season/

Though nothing certain there.

The thing is, that season as a whole just wasn't very good and even the best episodes and the overall arc had holes you could drive a truck through. Not as bad as Chibnall but it was weak.