Feelings Halfway Through The Series

[Kibbin]

I'm going to start out by saying that so far I think we're doing far better than Moffat did with the episodes. The series is definitely on an upswing for me compared to what the show was before Chris came on board.
Having said that it seems that while Chris can do character moments he's struggling with the bigger, weirder and plot bits of the show in comparison. While I like the idea of team Tardis Yas has not had anything to do thus far and feels like she could be left aboard the Tardis without anyone noticing. Why did they advertise what a new, large, diverse team they now have and then have Chris helm the first half of the series? Why not spread his out and showcase some of the new voices the are bringing in? The Doctor feels like she's just doing Tennant lite at the moment and hasn't really shown us what kind of Doctor she's going to be. I don't mind analogies and morality tales in who but some have been a bit forced and on the nose (Trump). Also while I like the new run time and think there seems to be less pulling and answer out of their bottom at the last minute to wrap the episode up with the episodes now seem to be kind of fizzling out toward the end rather than building to a decent climax.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

I will say, I like that it feels different from Moffat's era. But I also think we haven't seen the best of it yet.

 

[Professor Zoom]

The thing is, they've bought themselves time. They've repackaged it to look pretty with new cinematography and new music, they have diverse casting and a female Doctor and social justice issues to check the "Representation" box, which pleases the blogs and Twitter greatly....so no TV critic is going to complain about it for awhile. They have deposited a LOT of credit in the bank in terms of the press with the new show.

It's left to us fans to go "Ehhhh…." I kinda feel that I'm greedy at this point. The show is all-new, yet it hasn't excited me yet. It's....charming. Charming is fine....I just want to be excited by it again. It hasn't excited me in several years. Is that greedy? I guess. It's just that I don't watch that many shows anymore. Shows I'm interested in are all on hiatus. Doctor Who is the show I've also watched the longest at this point, so I feel a special kinship to it. I'll be sad if I lose interest in it.

“Us fans...”?
You don’t speak for me.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

“Us fans...”?
You don’t speak for me.

I must've missed the part where I said I did speak for you....or "ALL" fans. I said "us", as opposed to "we", which would've been grammatically incorrect. Maybe I should've said "the"? Regardless, stop splitting hairs. The fact of the matter is that "fans" (as demonstrated by the very existence of this thread) have issues with the new season. That's all I meant.

Stop getting mired in semantics and stop thinking that when someone states an opinion, it automatically means YOU.

 

[Steve Roby]

You meant ”some fans.” It’s not a grammar issue.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

You meant ”some fans.” It’s not a grammar issue.

I just clarified what *I* meant. Others are doing it for me and getting bent out of shape over something minor. It's ridiculous.

 

[Professor Zoom]

I must've missed the part where I said I did speak for you....or "ALL" fans. I said "us", as opposed to "we", which would've been grammatically incorrect. Maybe I should've said "the"? Regardless, stop splitting hairs. The fact of the matter is that "fans" (as demonstrated by the very existence of this thread) have issues with the new season. That's all I meant.

Stop getting mired in semantics and stop thinking that when someone states an opinion, it automatically means YOU.

@Steve Roby nailed it in one. State your opinion. But when you say “us fans” or “the fans” either you speaking for all fans or implying I’m not a fan.

I hear you when you say you aren’t enjoying the season, and that’s cool. I am. And I’m a fan. I wouldn’t presume to say “us fans”. Or any version of plural. I would only speak for myself.

 

[CuriousCaitian]

I think if I were to sum the season/series thus far up in one word it would be 'promising'. Plenty of good elements, a measure of aspects I'm uncertain about, and a distinct feeling that things haven't - beyond, arguably, Rosa - really hit full stride yet. Hopefully they'll at least click up a gear or two before the end of episode ten.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

@Steve Roby nailed it in one. State your opinion. But when you say “us fans” or “the fans” either you speaking for all fans or implying I’m not a fan.

No. All I meant is fans in general. I'm not implying anything. Everyone else is inferring. Is that plain enough for you?

I wouldn’t presume to say “us fans”. Or any version of plural. I would only speak for myself.

The only people presuming here is others. Not me.

 

[Professor Zoom]

No. All I meant is fans in general. I'm not implying anything. Everyone else is inferring. Is that plain enough for you?

And I’m suggesting that perhaps you shouldn’t speak in general terms for the fans.

And speaking of the semantics you hate: yes, we are inferring what you mean by the literal words you used.

If I had to speak about the fans in general, it seems to be a split. Some are enjoying it, others aren’t.

The only people presuming here is others. Not me.

No one is presuming. We are responding to your words. Your specific word choice.

 

[Mr Awe]

It's enjoyable, but there's room for improvement. While I still look forward to watching the new episodes each week, so far I haven't really felt inclined to rewatch any.

Yeah, I haven't either.

 

[Awesome Possum]

I'm enjoying it, it's a high point of the week for me. Jodi's Doctor is just delightful to watch.

 

[Mage]

Right now, I'm sitting here aware of the fact that we'll (my girlfriend and me) will be watching Dr Who tonight, but not with the giddy excitement I had during the early years of nuWho. I still enjoy it to a degree, Jodi is mostly fun sofar. But the episodes haven't been stellar, and the social commentary is far from subtle. Instead of making it a organic part of the episode, I feel the writers are going out of their way to push our noses into social statements. Which is fine in of itself, but the entertainment value is going down for me. I feel like there is a group of writers/producers/showrunner(s) out there now feeling the need to educate us, instead of entertaining. It's very possible to do both, as Doctor Who has proven in the past. Right now, it's just not very subtle and a distraction of the show itself.

I'm really liking the companions. No 'Impossible Girl' or 'Bad Wolf' or anything. Just a group of folk, doing their thing. I will still finish this season, and I hope it's gonna feel a bit more like Doctor Who I know. Which, frankly, it hasn't been for a few years.

 

[SpocksOddSocks]

I'm liking Jodie Whitaker more than I expected. I never had a problem with the doctor being a woman, but when it was announced, I was rather disappointed it wasn't an older woman.

Whilst she had already been in a two part episode, I was really hoping for someone like Meera Syal (still think she'd be a great doctor).

 

[Csalem]

I am enjoying the series. I like Jodi as the Doctor. I also look forward to the episodes each week, mostly with a sense of intrigue than anything else. It is a good series and I want to see more but nothing truly stands out for me yet as being a classic episode, villain or moment.

 

[StCoop]

Another week, another episode where the Doctor does nothing much and is mostly ineffectual.

Don't get me wrong, we were long past the time when Moffat's style of Doctor Who had to be swept away but I'm increasingly worried by the way the first female Doctor is being sidelined in her own show and not allowed to be a forceful presence in the way the rest (except maybe Davison) were.

If anything it smacks of going along with the bullshit notion that a strong man is to be admired but a strong woman is a bitch, so she has to be nice and safe and bland instead.

 

[Xerxes82]

Yeah, I'm already checked out. This latest episode (Demons of the Punjab) physically put me to sleep. I don't watch Doctor Who to be bored.

And that's exactly my problem with this series, it's boring. The Doctor is boring. She feels like such a massive downgrade in competence from the previous incarnations. I actually like the companions, especially Graham and now Yaz, but not enough to watch them week in and week out. And I find myself tuning out completely whenever the Doctor takes center stage.

I'm glad the people that are enjoying this season are into it, that's good. We don't all need to like the same things, or agree on stuff. But me, I'm done. I'll maybe check out the next series just to see if they tweak the formula, find a mix that can do the things they want to do with the show now but appeal more to me as well. But my time with Doctor Who is, at least for now, at an end. I've got better ways to spend an hour of my week.

 

[kirk55555]

All I can say is that this the most bland, forgettable Series of NuWho, bar none. Not technically the worst (Parts of Series 8 make it the worst NuWho series for me), and the episodes are more bland then bad (although Arachnids was so damn boring it pretty much crossed the line into bad, and Rosa was such a shitshow I'm almost tempted to just call it plain bad, too), but I can barely tell you what happened in any of these episodes after I finish them.

The companions are somehow even more bland then the story. I only remember one of their nakme, and even then thats only because the name Yaz is unique. If you put a gun to my head right now, I couldn't tell you the names of the old man and his step Grandson, and I just watched the BBC Docudrama that for some reason the Doctor Who crew barged in on and decided to turn into an episode.

Jodie Whitaker could be a good Doctor, but right now she's fairly bland, spineless to an actually insulting degree, and Chibnail's trademark mediocre writing isn't helping. Hell, I'd pay to see that crap Cyberwoman from Torchwood to show up, because at least then something slightly interesting would be happening.

Thinking about it, if the series continues like this, it will be the worst series, since even Series 8 had a few standout episodes. Its like how eve the less quality series usually have peaks and valley's of quality, but Series 11 is one straight death oline that never budges from boring mediocrity.

 

[StarMan]

I'm blown away that I'm not enjoying it. I got thru 15 minutes of the Spider episode and switched off and haven't watched any more. I think Jodie is a terrific actress and I'm a big Bradley Walsh fan. It's not the acting that's the issue. I think Who had to get away from Moffatsville and I was looking forward to Chinball's direction... but whatever direction this is, I'm not liking it. It feels too much like a reboot with a softer, lighter, blander Doctor.

I still managed to enjoy Capaldi's Doctor even when the writing was painful. This time round, I'm just not feeling a connection with The Doctor. It feels too disconnected from it's past. I didn't mind some of the overarching plots, to be honest. It feels too episodic. I'll get back to it ... but so far as religiously watching a new episode when it comes out? Not going to happen.

Like I said - blown away. I wan't over-hyped or anything but I naturally assumed I'd be a fan. I'm glad a lot of you are enjoying it, though. I'm not the sort to lambast people who enjoy something I don't.

 

[Starkers]

Another week, another episode where the Doctor does nothing much and is mostly ineffectual.

I thought it was better tbh, at least during the first half of the episode. I thought she was very good in confronting the aliens and in her trick with the transmats but...in the end she winds up doing the same thing she does in Rosa, turning her back on the situation and letting history take its course.