I'm not sure if the 1st/5th Doctor era formula is working for NuWho. Where the Doctor and pals are mostly observers and are never in any real danger. I'm afraid that Series 11 might be remembered down the road the same way Season 19 is - a bland, pushover Doctor, and three-too-many companions who are lacking any personality. Except this time, they're not even killing one off for dramatic effect.
Feelings Halfway Through The Series
- Thread starter StCoop
- Start date
I think calling the Fifth Doctor, even as far back as season 19, as bland is fairly unfair and also inaccurate description of him, really.
I’ve never really heard that. Indeed, I really only know folks with good things to say about Season 19 - save Time-Flight.
I'm not exactly a fan of season 19, really (definitely a step down from season 18, honestly), but as far as the Doctor goes - awesome. I think Sandifer in her blog said it best: He's actually trying to share the show with everyone around him, instead of stealing scenes left and right as he did from season 15 onwards. And that's because Peter Davison, despite not having the charisma of a Tom Baker, is actually a better actor, because he anchors the show and allows the companions room to breathe as well.
Problem was, as was noted time and time again, the stories were often not there. But the Fifth, like Ten and now Thirteen after him, is not bland. He's just decidedly non-confrontational, which is one of being nice but its certainly not bland.
Problem was, as was noted time and time again, the stories were often not there. But the Fifth, like Ten and now Thirteen after him, is not bland. He's just decidedly non-confrontational, which is one of being nice but its certainly not bland.
Tegan Jovanka wants a (very loud) word...
Oh rabbits.
Five certainly wasn't afraid to call Adric out on his brattier/more rebellious moments, never had an issue with Nyssa (indeed, in Big Finish they evolved an adorable ‘Team Nerd’ dynamic) and was wise to Turlough’s BS from minute one.
While the 5th Doctor had his snippy moments, I would certainly count him as the blandest Doctor. Peter Davison may be a better actor than many other Doctors but I don't think that he had the necessary charisma to carry such a star-driven show.
I found this Chibnall quote from a 2017 SYFY article:
“I finally said yes because I love the show to my bones. I resisted it for a very long time, and [the BBC] really had to woo me. But, in the end, I had ideas about what I wanted to do with it. When I went to them and said, ‘This is what I would do’, I actually expected them to say, ‘Ooh, let’s talk about that’, but they said: ‘Great!’”
I'm unclear as to what his radical ideas were that he expected would give the BBC pause. Other than the superficial change of the Doctor's gender, it seems fairly business as usual. None of these stories seem like they would be out of place as random filler episodes during the previous 10 seasons, just less fun.
As for the Babylon 5 comparison, that was a new show that needed to spend a lot of its early run on world building. Doctor Who, after 55 years of existence and 10 seasons of the very popular revival series, needs no such introduction.
I found this Chibnall quote from a 2017 SYFY article:
“I finally said yes because I love the show to my bones. I resisted it for a very long time, and [the BBC] really had to woo me. But, in the end, I had ideas about what I wanted to do with it. When I went to them and said, ‘This is what I would do’, I actually expected them to say, ‘Ooh, let’s talk about that’, but they said: ‘Great!’”
I'm unclear as to what his radical ideas were that he expected would give the BBC pause. Other than the superficial change of the Doctor's gender, it seems fairly business as usual. None of these stories seem like they would be out of place as random filler episodes during the previous 10 seasons, just less fun.
As for the Babylon 5 comparison, that was a new show that needed to spend a lot of its early run on world building. Doctor Who, after 55 years of existence and 10 seasons of the very popular revival series, needs no such introduction.
Maybe that's where the 'five-year-plan' talk came from. Chibnall might be playing the long game; Use the first season to set the stage, prove to network/fans he actually could do the show well, then start rolling out the jawdroppers the following season. If so, the forced wait may be to our benefit writing-wise.
I don't get it either. After the extreme secrecy and emphasizing how everything was NEW! The changes were really lackluster. You've got a great Doctor and companions. I really like them, but it's not a startlingly big change. Just a variation on previous TARDIS teams. As for the stories, the changes seem to be remove outright villains and make the Doctor more of an observer. Less action. Those are changes, but not particularly great ones. Certainly not radical changes though.
Yeah. Those other two guys were fools trying to do ambitious things in their first season, like revealing Gallifrey was gone in a war with the Daleks, or having the entire universe saved by some time travelling shenanigans dropped in place from the very first episode, with stuff that paid off years and years later. That never worked and absolutely no one in fandom or beyond was captivated or enjoyed those things.
Sigh.
I don’t think there’s a plan.
I think the closest is ‘I might do more historical sort of educational stuff. Maybe more location filming. Oh and less episodes to um...save money. Yes. To save money.’
Overall, I enjoyed the series. But I don't think, beyond Rosa, that we could point to a definite classic. Its lighter than usual for Who.
And if you're going to be giving us more of a mediocre, by-the-numbers product, don't also give us less of it. Reducing the number of episodes just seems to put more pressure on the remaining episodes, expectations that they neither deserve nor have the chops to deliver on.
I'm done. I was really hoping to come back to the show after my interest ebbed early in the Capaldi run. Nothing really grabbed me about this season, though, least of all having too many companions so story was spread too thin among them with little character development for anybody, including the Doctor. Finally got around to watching "Kerblam" today and decided enough was enough for me. I deleted all subsequent episodes and I'll be gone until Chibnall is replaced.
In terms of time travel stories, I've found Legends of Tomorrow to be much more fun this season, especially the latest episode, "Legends of To-Meow-Meow." I care about those characters far more than the ones in DW. Pushing the next season back to 2020 is another nail in the coffin for me. By then, I may not even remember there's a DW show on the air.
In terms of time travel stories, I've found Legends of Tomorrow to be much more fun this season, especially the latest episode, "Legends of To-Meow-Meow." I care about those characters far more than the ones in DW. Pushing the next season back to 2020 is another nail in the coffin for me. By then, I may not even remember there's a DW show on the air.
My fan theory about the Frog was that it was kind of a nod back to Whittaker in Get Santa.. LOL
Out of interest, I checked Rotten Tomatoes, and wondered why this series had a 14% rating.
Checking the first few pages of what I laughingly refer to as "reviews", I got the reason. Almost every single one that gave a 1/2 rating or lower, had the words "SJW" "PC forced down throat" "Every villain is a white male" or "No one writing has done sci-fi or even watched Doctor Who before", sometimes at least three of these.
I get the impression that the majority of these people were those who were spitting blood the very second that Jodi was revealed as the Doctor, and waiting to show their displeasure. One major concern is that I noticed a few reviews that literally appeared to have been cut-and-pasted "This Doctor Who is SJW rubbish". Tragically, it reminded me of those triumphant claims from people who said that they organised masses of people to create sock-accounts to deliberately tank Solo's scores as a "punishment" for the SJW agenda of the new Star Wars trilogy. I have noticed on Twitter a concerning amount of accounts that were only created in November, and have posted nothing else other than negative posts about Doctor Who episodes, and retweeting those who agree with them.
Checking the first few pages of what I laughingly refer to as "reviews", I got the reason. Almost every single one that gave a 1/2 rating or lower, had the words "SJW" "PC forced down throat" "Every villain is a white male" or "No one writing has done sci-fi or even watched Doctor Who before", sometimes at least three of these.
I get the impression that the majority of these people were those who were spitting blood the very second that Jodi was revealed as the Doctor, and waiting to show their displeasure. One major concern is that I noticed a few reviews that literally appeared to have been cut-and-pasted "This Doctor Who is SJW rubbish". Tragically, it reminded me of those triumphant claims from people who said that they organised masses of people to create sock-accounts to deliberately tank Solo's scores as a "punishment" for the SJW agenda of the new Star Wars trilogy. I have noticed on Twitter a concerning amount of accounts that were only created in November, and have posted nothing else other than negative posts about Doctor Who episodes, and retweeting those who agree with them.
I ignore anybody who uses the term SJW. It's even more misused and overused than "politically correct." That said, while I have no objection to a female Doctor, I've found Jodie Whittaker's Doctor to be very bland and rather passive. As others have said, this last season is almost more accurately called The Companions rather than Doctor Who. Even Clara didn't get as much screen time as these companions seem to.
Some "podcast" is spreading this "no one on the season has written Sci-Fi or knows about Doctor Who" nonsense and it is being picked up by folks who should know better. I was most disappointed to see one of the couple who runs WhoNA (an American Who-and-Who-related retailer) posting the same thing - word for word - on their forums below the episodes. It's not just the wrong barometer for the series. It's also factually incorrect.
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