tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.comments2023-07-22T14:39:32.423+01:00 THE TIME MEDDLERPaul Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02927027468227544676noreply@blogger.comBlogger651125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-26760085864733789582023-07-22T14:39:32.423+01:002023-07-22T14:39:32.423+01:00I'm sorry, I just can't stomach this era o...I'm sorry, I just can't stomach this era of Doctor Who. The characters are utterly devoid of character, the story has little story, and the social and political messages are so basically done, it feel like someone wrote the ideas down an the back of a ciggy packet, and then transferred them word for word into the script.Julienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-26596302301481703092023-03-24T20:25:53.761+00:002023-03-24T20:25:53.761+00:00There's something extremely challenging about ...There's something extremely challenging about the idea of a single person regenerating multiples times into people who although share memories, are actually quite different. There should be no issue with the idea of a Doctor being radically different to his/her predecessor, but there has to be some thread of continuity somewhere, and this Doctor just seems totally detached from any that came before. That may have been a deliberate decision, and I think it could have been done well, but as is seemingly the case these days, there really isn't enough time given to any of it. It just seems different for different's sake, or maybe to raise awareness of something or other, but if the story isn't there to match and support, then what's the point?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-37264702364211568772021-04-20T14:51:12.904+01:002021-04-20T14:51:12.904+01:00Looking back now I really appreciate the enthusias...Looking back now I really appreciate the enthusiasm Russell had for the show. He was always striving to make it bigger and better. Sure he overreached from time to time, and ideas-wise seemed to exhaust himself fairly early on, but his desire to keep pushing the show on to greater things, really was admirable.Aid-l-vicenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-20264017231175764042021-04-20T14:46:38.013+01:002021-04-20T14:46:38.013+01:00I actually miss the old Captain Jack from season o...I actually miss the old Captain Jack from season one. Back then he was the perfect mix of mysterious, dashing and funny. Then Torchwood darkened him down to the point of tedium, only for them to now bring him back in a more upbeat guise. If he says FABULOUS just once, I'm out.Hesperusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-53672509429242875402021-03-28T13:57:14.497+01:002021-03-28T13:57:14.497+01:00This feels like the season where the Doctor and Ro...This feels like the season where the Doctor and Rose's relationship was on fire, but nobody seemed able to regulate it. Seeing two people so entranced with each other, so clearly enjoying what they were doing, was addictive viewing. But against the tragedies often running in the background, the mirth and joy frequently felt misplaced and occasionally uncomfortably inappropriate. Thankfully Russell managed to balance the elements better in season 4.The Countnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-44443805232133011032021-03-27T14:02:55.516+00:002021-03-27T14:02:55.516+00:00I didn't think this was that great. It's b...I didn't think this was that great. It's better than most modern episodes, but it's still pretty weak in my book.Sythernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-73685219195141765652021-01-14T14:59:20.075+00:002021-01-14T14:59:20.075+00:00STAAAAHP!!!!!STAAAAHP!!!!!Paul Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927027468227544676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-86724460792011513312021-01-14T14:53:26.681+00:002021-01-14T14:53:26.681+00:00Reeblocked?Reeblocked?Chronotishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00039037385333722352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-38353271476409364942021-01-14T14:52:38.254+00:002021-01-14T14:52:38.254+00:00One more dad joke and you're blocked.One more dad joke and you're blocked.Paul Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927027468227544676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-8150723380856292292021-01-14T14:43:28.512+00:002021-01-14T14:43:28.512+00:00I'd watch. At least the show would have sole.I'd watch. At least the show would have sole.Chronotishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00039037385333722352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-64618813831224232752021-01-14T14:37:48.930+00:002021-01-14T14:37:48.930+00:00Proposing a new spin-off show called Doctor Shoe.Proposing a new spin-off show called Doctor Shoe.Paul Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927027468227544676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-19270801498103109812021-01-14T14:35:31.763+00:002021-01-14T14:35:31.763+00:00I'd prefer watching two shoeboxes interact. Be...I'd prefer watching two shoeboxes interact. Better acting and at least they likely have something inside them, even if it's only shoes.Chronotishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00039037385333722352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-8322239671053139682021-01-14T14:30:50.794+00:002021-01-14T14:30:50.794+00:00Yeah, I noticed some visual weirdness when Jack an...Yeah, I noticed some visual weirdness when Jack and the Doctor were escaping, but assumed it was to do with the breakout ball effects. I think the stilted nature of Ryan talking to the Doctor is what you get when two emotionally disconnected characters try to have a heart to heart. It can be done well, but with Chibnall it's like watching two shoeboxes have a conversation. Paul Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927027468227544676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-33656783920724229922021-01-14T14:04:49.457+00:002021-01-14T14:04:49.457+00:00This was recorded before the pandemic? That's ...This was recorded before the pandemic? That's weird, because a lot of the two character closeup shots looked a bit fuzzy to me, as if two images had been spliced together. Jack and the Doctor running, for example. But I also thought the Doctor and Ryan's talk seemed oddly stilted, almost as if the two parts had been filmed separately or at least filmed with the two actors at a safe distance from one another. Soaps are currently struggling with making pivotal personal moments seem intimate, solely because of the COVID restrictions. and I assumed Doctor Who was struggling with the same sort of setup. CBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-70911282065307990052021-01-12T14:58:26.007+00:002021-01-12T14:58:26.007+00:00@Orion I'm not sure who you're really talk...@Orion I'm not sure who you're really talking about now. I don't think I've ever said the show should be more like the Moffat years, in fact I've even complained when Chibnall has tried to mimic his predecessors because it's just doesn't play to his strengths. Chibnall needs to do his own thing, but he needs to (a) draw compelling characters we care about (two have just left and I couldn't care less about either of them), and (b) encase the teaching moments he clearly wants to include inside solid stories.<br /><br />As for the Doctor being a woman, I was rather pleased to see Jodie Whittaker take over the mantle of the Doctor, and if she's eventually replaced by another woman, that's fine with me. I just don't think Jodie's been given the best material to work with, her character is too bland (I think possibly because Chibnall wanted a woman in the role, but was afraid the public wouldn't take to it, so he balked at the idea of exploring what such a change would mean for the character), and the blame I always dump squarely on Chibnall's shoulders. He's the one writing this stuff. He's the one crafting the story arcs, season arcs, and character stuff.Paul Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927027468227544676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-12479249007599033182021-01-12T13:24:25.259+00:002021-01-12T13:24:25.259+00:00It just feels like so many people want the show to...It just feels like so many people want the show to return to its "glory days", return to a male Doctor, and start telling Moffat-style stories again. If you keep judging a show by a set of standards long gone, you'll never enjoy it.Orionnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-40464317673289792482021-01-11T16:32:34.889+00:002021-01-11T16:32:34.889+00:00@Orion I'm not sure the evolution that took pl...@Orion I'm not sure the evolution that took place with the NuWho is comparable to what's happened with Chibnall. Yes, the show changed in 2005, but it retained the things which made it Doctor Who. Chibnall seems to have gone out of his way to strip it of those things to the point where it currently feels like a spin-off show. It has a Doctor Who flavour (as did SJA, Class, and TW), but it just feels detached from what the show both was and is.<br /><br />But that's just my opinion. Other people may like the current formula, but I can't view it from their perspective. I can only view it from my own and sadly find it lacking in so many areas.Paul Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927027468227544676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-50195503335745603962021-01-11T15:59:04.283+00:002021-01-11T15:59:04.283+00:00Orion, maybe you should try not to take the opinio...Orion, maybe you should try not to take the opinions of others too personally. You like the show as it currently is, others do not, that does not mean they need to evolve (with the obvious exception of the NMD crowd). Mark Greighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12984193299389764649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-10497223861961530072021-01-11T13:48:08.802+00:002021-01-11T13:48:08.802+00:00I think a lot of you naysayers would enjoy the sho...I think a lot of you naysayers would enjoy the show more if you stopped judging it against how it used to be and started judging it on what it now is. New Who isn't the same as Classic Who, but it's still a good show. Likewise the Chibnall era isn't the Moffat era. The show has evolved. You should try to evolve too.Orionnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-44210638747700626902021-01-11T13:42:14.308+00:002021-01-11T13:42:14.308+00:00It seemed strange to me that Graham and Ryan's...It seemed strange to me that Graham and Ryan's intention was to carry on their adventures without the Doctor, despite establishing earlier in the episode that doing things without her hardly ever produces results.Drizzynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-7202304887177103372021-01-10T14:20:49.447+00:002021-01-10T14:20:49.447+00:00>>And yet many see them as being as close as...>>And yet many see them as being as close as the Doctor and Rose when they're not even as close as the Doctor and Nardole.<br /><br />Funny and true... lol.Paul Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927027468227544676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-44868752723350067802021-01-10T14:17:39.988+00:002021-01-10T14:17:39.988+00:00Up until now I've always thought that Bill'...Up until now I've always thought that Bill's been the least developed companion of the modern day show. But seeing Graham pushing Ryan on his bike again, although I suspect meant to show their lives having come a full circle, instead made me think how little any of the present-day group have progressed. <br /><br />Somebody on one of the DW forums made a list of how often the current companions meaningfully interacted, and sometimes it was so noticeably little that there was conjecture on it being part of some complex overreaching plot arc. <br /><br />Pity it wasn't, but Mark's right, it's not there in the subtext at all. But I think they know that some fans want it and they put in tidbits that can be interpreted one way, but are meant another.Mestre Painoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-67093378605790075322021-01-10T10:07:40.828+00:002021-01-10T10:07:40.828+00:00I just don't get what people see in Thasmin, b...I just don't get what people see in Thasmin, beyond the obvious shipping potential. As characters neither is well developed and their relationship with each other is virtually non-existent. If you edited together every conversation they two of them had across the last two season would you even get half an episodes worth of material? And it would all be exposition exchanges, I can't think of a single instance where the two of them have a meaningfully heart to heart. And yet many see them as being as close as the Doctor and Rose when they're not even as close as the Doctor and Nardole.Mark Greighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12984193299389764649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-39177754581821084482021-01-10T03:09:48.318+00:002021-01-10T03:09:48.318+00:00I'm not sure whether they're committing to...I'm not sure whether they're committing to Thasmin either or just messing the viewer about. On the one hand Yaz appears interested in the Doctor, but it never seems to develop into anything and can frequently be understood in platonic terms.<br /><br />If they do plan on putting them together I hope they just get on with it. I can't imagine a showrunner who scraps the whole writing team, insists on a female Doctor, sidelines Murray Gold, and refuses to do a Christmas episode gives a flying fuck about people objecting to a lesbian couple.<br /><br />At least I hope this is the case. This feels like the sort of story he should get right.Mestre Painoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768269625740412102.post-26459151934071828462021-01-10T02:43:14.963+00:002021-01-10T02:43:14.963+00:00You think season 13 will have a shape? This is Chi...You think season 13 will have a shape? This is Chibnall we're talking about here. He's about as concerned about shape as Homer Simpson.Dirk Gentlynoreply@blogger.com