Doctor Who- this might be the last straw even for me.

[TinselAngel]

For fucks sake

Juno Dawson as a writer.

Yeah, but I bet the time you started watching Dr Who you were a child. I still like things I liked as a child/teenager but when they continue the series do they choose to make it "grow" with their original fans, or keep it as something primarily targeted at children? Dr Who has been going for ages and always tried to do the latter at least until the reboot. I guess Harry Potter is an example where the plot/characters aged at the same rate as readers would maybe.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying things you liked as a kid. There is something wrong with people who expect TV shows etc to recreate the exact feelings they had as children watching the show for the first time because that isn't really possible - the daleks aren't as scary. Etc. Fan boys trying to recreate the experience of childlike wonder for people their own age not children removes some of the majic IMO.

Yeah, but I bet the time you started watching Dr Who you were a child

No, actually, I got into Dr Who as an adult.

You have a point, although I'm always confused as to why there are no Bajorans who, upon learning about the wormhole aliens' true nature, decide that they have no faith any more and become atheists.

And I'm sure the Bajorans being a generally stubborn people also helped them in fighting off Cardassian oppression, but I still find them irritating. I think Lt. Shaxs on the USS Cerritos is about the only Bajoran I don't find irritating 🙂

I always felt that the ST writers thought it was perfectly sensible that people would think aliens and gods were the same thing.

I always felt that the ST writers thought it was perfectly sensible that people would think aliens and gods were the same thing.

Over exposure to Ancient Alien theorists who believe exactly that.

You have a point, although I'm always confused as to why there are no Bajorans who, upon learning about the wormhole aliens' true nature, decide that they have no faith any more and become atheists.

Yes but that may be a cultural bias because of the Christian insistence that faith is so important, as per the story of Doubting Thomas.

A similar thing was teased in the original 1970s BSG, which was much more upfront with the Mormon cosmology than the remake.

Hated Tennant's doctor esp when stupid 4ose stuff started. HE'S NOT FUCKING HUMAN fgs.

Treat it with respect, it's been going long enough and should be proper sci fi by now but you keep forgetting that it was many many children's intro to the genre and we all survived and even, wow, since the 60s, still enjoy sci fi without ill effect.

Get back to your roots, you damn writers, back in your box until you become capable of doing the job with respect.

It seems, according to the internet & tabloids, that Doctor Who is on the rocks as Gatwa is quitting (apparently his regeneration scene has been filmed):

Yes, I saw the news in the papers yesterday. It’s hardly surprising, I guess.

Doctor Who’s future in doubt as Ncuti Gatwa ‘heads for exit’

https://www.thetimes.com/article/66966a86-34db-4867-90a8-a9ed40e6059c?shareToken=f639bf5329b1555004995085428bbfed

I guess Gatwa wants to exit before he is known as the doctor who finished Dr Who off. Though it is probably too late for that.

Good breakdown from a (former) superfan

I'll just leave this here:

https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Doctor-Who-The-Nest-Cottage-Chronicles-Audiobook/1787536386

Way better than any of the recent TV series!

Bizarre that RTD managed to revive Do Who to great acclaim and then to come back and kill it.

Hubris?

Shame because I thought he was good. It's been on its arse for a long time and poor Ncuti Gatwa has been left holding the baby at the end. I think most of it has been poor writing, mainly from Chris Chibnall but RTD hasn't done enough to revive it and instead of going back to its roots has just written a space soap opera. He was never my favourite writer anyway. Some of his stuff with Tennant was risible ( I agree re the Rose nonsense that just bored on and on, infecting Freema Agyemans time as well). He got away with it because Tennant attracted a lot of non Sci fi fans who did want a space romance.

Bizarre that RTD managed to revive Do Who to great acclaim and then to come back and kill it.

TBH fair it was already mortally injured by Chris Chibnall and the timeless child nonsense.

I did see some reviewers like critical drinker express skepticism RTD would actually be the thing to save it - as he'd changed with age and time in usa and I've subsquently read that in first run there were more people higher up saying no and reining him in.

TBH at this stage a hiatus- while many fans go back to audio books and old episodes probably is the best thing it can do before everyone gives up and ditches it completely.

Perfect time for a “rest” for a few years. RTD is to be congratulated in bringing it back so successfully but time to handover to someone else.

I’m reminded of Lucas going back and “upgrading” the original Star Wars film and the umpteen spin offs. Stop buggering about with it because you’re destroying what made it successful in the first place. Disney milking every last penny out of it (again…)

Yep, Disney have managed to damage both Marvel and Star Wars with their oversaturation. They probably can't be bothered with Who, so it's easier to rest it. Although they haven't bought the franchise just distribution rights so it's up to the BBC if they can it.

They've not just oversaturated the franchises, they've Disneyfied them. Sooner or later everything they own conforms to the house style.

But I don't see Disney carrying on with Who. They're not in the best place financially and are cancelling stuff where they actually own the IP.

There's a really interesting tug of war happening with James Bond right now, where Amazon now own the distribution rights and they're clashing with Eon, who are used to having more or less total creative control while their partners put up the money. That isn't how Amazon do business. I'm sure Amazon also want streaming content to fit with how customers consume media now, while Eon want a big theatrical movie release every four to five years to fit with how we consumed media 40 years ago. So Eon have effectively gone on strike.

That's another franchise that could do with its unofficial hiatus lasting a bit longer. Eon seem to have run out of ideas a while ago, and even if they hadn't... well, if Amazon wanted to make a spinoff Moneypenny sitcom, it wouldn't be a dumber idea than some of the things Eon has done in the past.

I agree re the Bond franchise. Who cares anymore when you can see any number of decent andceven crappy ( night agent season 2) spy things on Netflix/Prime? Only the tabloids and, I presume the Broccoli family?

Bond was always a bit tongue-in-cheek, not taking itself too seriously. It also worked best in a previous era where women were adornment or for shagging and a suave British gentleman saved the day. It doesn’t really work so well when you have strong female secondary leads and trying not to come across as sexist and imperialist. It becomes a different things. Not saying we should go back to how it was just that the concept doesn’t work so well now.

A bit of trivia; in the films Bond asks for a Martina ‘shaken not stirred’ but in the books it was always ‘stirred not shaken’ as in Bond was stirred but not shaken by whatever action he had just participated in.

It can always be reinvented, but it's been going an awfully long time and might just have run out of steam. And it seems the Broccolis would rather not make anything right now.

But even super long running franchises do die sometimes. Who's even heard of Sexton Blake nowadays?

For these reasons, I’m not hopeful for the Buffy TVS reboot - I think the original was of its time and very much a product of a writers’ room that was largely on form, I don’t think the reboot can hope to recreate what was very much lightning in a bottle.

https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-woke-point-comment/

I’m not a fan of Dr Who and I’ve probably only watched a couple of episodes but reading this opinion piece, I can honestly say that I’ll never watch it again.