It's the lack of mainstream publicity with just over three weeks to go that's surprising. They've got in Bradley Walsh one of the most popular people on British TV, who should be an ideal weapon for bringing back some of the lapsed general audience but he's nowhere to be seen.
Series 11 News & Spoilers
- Thread starter StCoop
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It's the people not like us that they need to be reaching out to.
Isn’t that what they are doing with the trailers showing Whitaker? Do you think showing a cyber man or some weird creature will lure people “not like us”? Or showing people how the show is now really different will lure them?
Realistically, I’ll probably keep watching if the first few episodes are better than the worst indignities of seasons 25 and 26. And even if they aren’t, I may and up seeing out the season in a triumph of hope over experience. But I don’t really expect there to be an issue.
From the excitement friends I know who have been applying for Red Carpet tickets for Sheffield, this seems to be a strategy that works for the target audience.
It is weird that people won't get to watch the show, but when I think about how the Moffat-era screenings led to tribalisation among the haves and have-nots, and the "ooh, I know something that you all don't" trolling kind of attitudes.... I have to say I think this version is fairer, and going to raise expectations without sparking flames between the seens and haven't-seens which otherwise detract from the mood they're trying to create.
(Though I say this as someone who could get press screeners if I wanted to, even though I don't do so.)
Proper DW fans, especially us old timers, are going to watch no matter what, because it's Doctor Who. For myself, I only have Who, The Orville and Discovery to look forward to any more, and of course death.
I admit, I wa part of that "seens and haven't-seens" once. I got tickets to the "Asylum of the Daleks" screening in New York, and Facebook reminded me recently of my gushing reaction to it at the time. I look at that episode now, and all I see are the missed opportunities. And I remember the New York screening for "The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon" the year earlier (which I didn't attend) and the reactions from those who had seen both parts together in one sitting.
Looking back, with events like that and the World Tour with Capaldi and Coleman, I get the feeling that Moffat and the BBC aimed their Doctor Who marketing at a specific audience (social media savvy, college educated twentysomethings with disposable income) and ignored all of the rest of the potential audience.
I doubt Chibnall has any say over the adds or what they show. Don't they have a marketing department for something like that? Then toss a bunch BBC suits above him I am guessing he could have little input, especially since this is his first year and we don't even know if people will like the show.
Jason
I was at that (AotD) with my son.
I have to disagree. There are many aspects and some of my favorite stories in science fiction that dont solely reflect the present, and especially one's reflection of political ideology. There are many science fiction movies and shows that explore larger more interesting and less divisive themes, like future fears, future struggles which the human race has yet to experience. Those types of adventures are much more interesting to me. The 1st Daleks serial from the classic series was a main one that stands out in my mind. The petrified forest from a war torn world. mutations in personal metal tanks. City ruins and genetic adaptations from a world war on an alien planet. A play of sorts on the theme of HG wells morlocks and Eloi. But the current focus or reflection of current and historical relevence is over used, and bereft of imagination that science fiction was built on. The exploration of the unknown and the unimaginable which adds the human factor and sees where it leads. Yes, some science fiction did its job telling alagorical stories for modern issues, but now that seems to be the whole point, which frankly is annoyingly boring and gets snarky and one sided. Seems harder to find actual good science fiction these days without relying on such a dated and infuriating trend. Rather then imagination and innovative ideas with the human condition woven in, we get thinly veiled diatribes and overt messaging. A sad lack of vision, is all I can see. Maybe someone one day will revive that feeling and writing style. Can't say it's anytime soon. At least from what I can tell. But then again, as you guys were saying.. I guess I'm just not "a people like us" kinda fan.
Without any examples, I’ll have to say, nope. Science fiction was always about who we are and what we we do with technology. Look at Frankenstein, it’s a cautionary tale about just because you can do something, should you?
Up and down the science fiction landscape, it’s all about us in the present it was written. Look at the first Dalek story, it’s about a civilization post nuclear war...gee, what might’ve been on the minds of people in the early 60s? The Cybermen, what happens to us if we keep replacing parts: do we have souls? Ursula k. Le Guin, Philip K Dick, Octavia Butler, Issac Asimov, Robert Heinlein were all writing about our world through the lens of sci fi. Even Star Wars, it’s not coincidence that a man who was against the Vietnam War wrote about fighting an oppressive state.
this claim of a “new trend” in science fiction is BS. Its straight white sci fi fans uncomfortable with welcoming people into their club.
Are there exceptions? Sure. The thin bang bang rat gun adventures that are utterly forgettable.
But, do go on...
I guess stories about the human condition should just ignore that there are many different kinds of humans and focus on straight white men exclusively. It's implies that only straight white men count as human, but we'll ignore that too.
I think you need to take a chill pill. No one's saying that in here.
Absolutely not. I am even going to sign up. Everything I've read and almost everything I've watched - my guess is that the stories may or may not be good sci-fi, but the cast will be entertaining and incidental music will be excellent in its own right. It's still a wait and see. Every era has always had pros and cons and not often are scripts so consistently awful. Even the worst scripts have a scene or two that are genuinely good or great.
No. Some people are saying that. They dance around it, back away when called on it, and then dance around it again. It’s the old canard “it used to be good, but these new trends, it’s not as good as it once was, when there were no politics in the stories.” What are the new trends? Who are the new writers getting attention?
It’s not a lack of imagination on the part of the writers, it’s a lack of a willingness on some readers and writers to engage in something that might be different than they are used to.
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Sometimes there IS a lack of imagination among the writers. Not always. But not never. Logic, too.
As with plot holes and logic gaffes, politics has always been there, perhaps in more subtle forms. Or forms people don't pick up on - especially if seen at a young age or if the mind isn't adequately developed. Or perception or perspective or any number of other variables.
As with plot holes and logic gaffes, politics has always been there, perhaps in more subtle forms. Or forms people don't pick up on - especially if seen at a young age or if the mind isn't adequately developed. Or perception or perspective or any number of other variables.
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Why am I not surprised you'd rather watch something about imaginary problems that might some day happen to you, rather than something about real problems currently happening to others...
That's nothing new, though.
Again, it's the canard, "Back in MY day, back in the GOOD OLD DAYS, things were GREAT! Not like NOW." No. There was some good things and some bad things, some great things and some terrible things. But, one thing that WAS different was representation. Whose stories could be told. What stories could be told. And by told, I mean published.
I'm sorry, but, quite frankly, it's a dog whistle, the whole "back in the day, things were good, writers knew how to write."
I just wish they would focus on story, I don't personally care about ongoing angst regards the human condition. If it's background or is about humanity as a whole, fine, but tedious lecturing and preaching is just that - tedious. I've been watching Doctor Who since I was not allowed and did that stereotypical hiding behind the couch thing - scared to watch. Last thing I want to do is fall asleep because it's 'lesson' time. I grew to like Capaldi but his Doctor and his companions and even Missy were exhausting in their portrayals. Damn that Clara she tried my last bit of patience. I hope this new Doctor and the companions just get on with it. If they indulge in a pile of sanctimonious preaching I will tune out. I want STORY, drama, aliens... journey. Though I'm beginning to wonder why it is taking so long to get this show on the road. That inadequate ceiling shattering promo didn't help. What was that all about?
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