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Spoilers The Power of the Doctor grade and discussion thread

How do you rate The Power of the Doctor?

  • Total voters
    68
I really enjoyed that, though maybe as a nuDW fan as opposed to a classic one, I would have appreciated it more. Though yes, I did recognise the former Doctors. ;)

It was worth watching the episode for the Master and Rasputin. :D

Graham came back!

I loved the end scene with the former companions in their special Doctor group where they could safely talk about their experiences.

Tennant being back at the end was a fun moment to keep us all wondering about the anniversary special next year. The perfect mindfuck to keep us in suspense.
 
The Day of the Doctor is also a mess, and in some of the same ways, actually, though it at least tries to tell a story about the weight of the Time War and to set a new direction for the show. I’m not a fan of the way it does so, but at least the ambition is there. Likewise, Doomsday and Journey’s End and The End of Time, underneath all the glorious fanwank, are driven by what happens to Rose and to Donna and to the Tenth Doctor. They make choices that drive the action and that tell us things about them as characters. Not necessarily deep and complex things— this Is Doctor Who we’re talking about— but Rose’s obsessive devotion to the Doctor, Donna’s sense of inadequacy and ordinariness, and the Tenth Doctor’s dark, selfish streak are elements of their characterization that get paid off. The Power of the Doctor, by contrast, repeatedly shoves both Thirteen and Yaz to the side so it can squeeze in six other Doctors, seven previous companions, and an assortment of recurring friends and foes. The point isn’t the loose ends of plot at the edges, but the absence of any unifying thread at the center.
 
I'm of the opinion that The End of Time and Twice Upon a Time were not great departure stories. TEOT at least is elevated by every Wilf moment, Timothy Dalton as Rassilon, and Murray Gold's score. TUAT has a lot less going for it in my opinion and I wish Moffat had left after The Doctor Falls. Parting of the Ways and Time of the Doctor are great, though. It seems to be easier to do a regeneration story when it's not also the showrunner's departure.
 
Wasn't Moffat coerced to do TUAT because Chibnall wasn't ready to start yet and they (ironically) didn't want to lose the Christmas Day slot?

I'm pretty sure one day we're going to find out that if Moffat hadn't carried on way too long, and if Chibnall hadn't taken the job at all, that the show might have come perilously close to another hiatus.
 
Brendan Moody said:
The Day of the Doctor is also a mess, and in some of the same ways, actually, though it at least tries to tell a story about the weight of the Time War and to set a new direction for the show. I’m not a fan of the way it does so, but at least the ambition is there. Likewise, Doomsday and Journey’s End and The End of Time, underneath all the glorious fanwank, are driven by what happens to Rose and to Donna and to the Tenth Doctor. They make choices that drive the action and that tell us things about them as characters. Not necessarily deep and complex things— this Is Doctor Who we’re talking about— but Rose’s obsessive devotion to the Doctor, Donna’s sense of inadequacy and ordinariness, and the Tenth Doctor’s dark, selfish streak are elements of their characterization that get paid off. The Power of the Doctor, by contrast, repeatedly shoves both Thirteen and Yaz to the side so it can squeeze in six other Doctors, seven previous companions, and an assortment of recurring friends and foes. The point isn’t the loose ends of plot at the edges, but the absence of any unifying thread at the center.
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Sure there was a unifying thread: The Master's ongoing hatred against The Doctor and his intention to destroy and erase her from existence. His plan was messy and incoherent and all over the place, but so have most of his plans since Ainley.
 
Australis said:
And end the Master. I don't want monster raving loony Master any more. I see a tall, lean man, a devil's smile with Spock's beard, in a sharp suit, and he casually shoots his cuffs while saying, "Ooohh, Doctooorrrr..." as his sinister plans to take over the Earth run like clockwork.
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It's been almost fifty years since we had a Master like that. Chibnall's not to blame for any of the Masters between Delgado and Dhawan.
 
An A from this casual Dr. Who fan.

I liked how they incorporated past Dr. Who principal actors in this one and enjoyed the return of the two original Who series companions. I loved the David Tenant reveal at the end too (my favorite Doctor from the revival series run, so looking forward to what they do with him until the actual 'new' Doctor regenerates in.)

I also busted a gut laughing when they actually included this in the episode and had The Master dancing to it...:guffaw:
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Seen something that suggests Tom was asked to come back but wasn't able to make it. Hopefully that's due to work commitments not his health.
 
It was a very good episode. Jodie's best. If only more of her episodes could have been as good as this because she is great as the Doctor when everything falls into place. It was a lovely regeneration scene.
Seeing 8th and Renegade Doctors....:wah:
Will the Renegade Doctor be something to explore in future episodes? Because things definitely weren't tied up there.
Seeing Tennant again "What?!" was a joyful emotional flashback to the cliffhangers of the RTD era.
Overall, brilliant episode. More!
 
Evil Headhunter said:
I feel like some people forgot this was an anniversary special. They've always been over-the-top ridiculous affairs. It's one thing to complain about not having fun with the ride (I, for one, did no matter how senseless), but it's another to complain about its incoherence. Is it really significantly more incoherent than The Five Doctors or "The Day of the Doctor" or any of the other multi-Doctor adventures? I agree the inclusion of the Daleks and the Gallifreyian Cybermen were excessive but some people seem to act like Chibnall is the only one who ever did that.

And yes, it also acts as Jodie's swan song but I still think she had a great conclusion to her era. Honestly, I don't think her final story (from a character perspective) is any worse than The Eleventh Doctor sitting around being all maudlin for a whole episode until Clara knocks some sense into him or The Tenth Doctor doing a universe tour about not wanting to go or The Twelfth Doctor stubbornly resisting regeneration for a whole episode until The First Doctor knocks some sense into him. So why is this so different?

I get it. People hate Chibnall. I agree he's not the best writer of big arcs or big events (but I still think he does some solid individual work like Moffat, just not at the same caliber), I really feel like people forget about some of the crap Davies and Moffat gave us.

Either way, I'll be glad to get away from ceaseless Chibnall hate (although that won't stop certain people from still going out of their way to do it).

Just in time to return to Davies hating (hopefully that won't be me again). :lol:
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The Five Doctors is perfectly coherent, and the perfect anniversary special. It even works as an entry point to Who in many ways, and was written by Terrance Dicks. It is literally perfect in every way. :p
 
Evil Headhunter said:
I really feel like people forget about some of the crap Davies and Moffat gave us.
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Completely agree with this. It's why the subset of people carrying on like Davies is the greatest thing ever and everything will now magically be better are particularly annoying. And as much as I liked the majority of Moffat's era, it had its share of utter clunkers, too. The rose-coloured glasses through which their eras are viewed - Davies especially - are more like blinders for some (but that's people, I suppose).

I don't hate Chibnall. I am disappointed that an outstanding actress too often didn't get material worthy of her talent and unfortunately that's on Chibnall. There's no question that the vitriol he attracts is very much over the top at times, though.

The Knappos said:
I think (hope) that time will show that she, like Colin, was at the mercy of the material she was given.
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Absolutely this. Baker is still the Doctor who was saddled with the poorest material, but this era is up there as well.

Steve Roby said:
It's been almost fifty years since we had a Master like that. Chibnall's not to blame for any of the Masters between Delgado and Dhawan.
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Certainly not. The character is obviously a major part of the Who mythos but it's time (no pun intended) to move on and bring in someone new, IMO. It won't happen, of course, but it ought to.
 
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