Spoilers Russell T. Davies Returns to Doctor Who as New Showrunner
- Thread starter Allyn Gibson
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Russell's page in the new DWM will be the last one and from those who've read it, is not positive for the future beyond a general 'Doctor Who will never really end'.
If you saw that interview clip from a while back where he was talking about some kid watching it today growing up and bringing it back it's that sort of vibe.
If you saw that interview clip from a while back where he was talking about some kid watching it today growing up and bringing it back it's that sort of vibe.
I also don't see it.
Technically, we're already on a hiatus, aren't we?
By far the most realistic route, and partly what I would hope DIsney would've come to the realization of.
I mean, look. Its always going to be BBC's biggest show internationally, baring exceptions, cause folks like me and Americans talk about it endlessly. So, there's no question of its international appeal as a show of great, great impact worldwide. But the level of international superstardom it achieved during the Eccleston, Tennant and Smith years is long past. Unless they decide to cast a Tennant/Smith clone, you're not gonna get that level of success, ever, so might as well get used to it.
Option 3 is by far the most sensible, logical one. And its not defeat, either - its better to treat a show with respect while delivering steady numbers than berate it for not being number #1.
We're all human here, no worries.And yes I'm self aware enough to realise that my preference for option three is possibly me just putting my hands over my ears and going "na na na not listening' or being this meme in human form
Truly how most of us feel at the moment. And, historically, this show has never been more important to have around than now, but I'm exaggerating.
EDIT: To further illustrate my point: If you had Matt Smith as the Doctor throughout the Capaldi era, the numbers would've been as strong as ever. If you had David Tennant during the Chibnall years, people wouldn't be abandoning the show and we'd not be in a situation where BBC would need to shop the show around - or, at the very slightest, the show wouldn't be in a reputation of "needs saving" so RTD would need to come in.
All of this is common sense, but its also not what happened. So, going forward, option 3 is the only realistic path forward.
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I probably like the Shatnerverse more than RTDs Who, yup. I just went and eyed up the big omnibus on my shelf and considered re-reading it based on this convo. Not something likely to happen with the last few years of Who.
As to the other thing?
It’s not personal grudges, it’s what’s *on screen* multiple times. And sometimes I do find it *offensive* some of the things he ends up putting in there, usually because he’s telling us he’s doing something progressive, shortly before doing the opposite. And sometimes telling us how Who didn’t used to do these good things, when it did.
There’s a… lack of good craft, and an hypocrisy to the way things are being done, and all too often things that are outright offensively so.
The problem isn’t that any of my crit is tepid, or shallow (and I would dispute that, given I am talking about things like reinforcing negative stereotypes of groups, which he has done, over and over) it’s that they are things there on the screen and lots of people are noticing them.
It would be easy to discount my views if my problem was ‘ooh, why’d they make the Doctor black’ or I was one of those Johnny-come-lately right wing media grifters who are bandwagon jumping.
I’m not.
I’m a fan, who actually wants the best for the bloody show. XD
That's apples and oranges and at this point you're coming off as trying desperately to win the argument no matter what. Regardless, Malcolm Reynolds did get a theatrical movie, so his awesomeness didn't leave him completely neglected.
Well, now all we need is news on when the new edition of The Writer's Tale is being released.
Let it put it this way: you're arguably fixating, even obsessing about things in a way no-one else posting here is, talking in absolutes, and what many of those things are makes me, at least, question your motivations.
I mean, "modern political/gender/sexuality concepts"? LGBT+ people have been around as long as humans have, it's just we've probably never been as politicised as we are now - to the point our simple existence is often seen as political - or as much of a subject of "debate" as we are now. Unfortunately, much of that "debate" is negative, usually aggressively so, thus any positive, high-profile rep, even if it's the debatably kinda clumsy approach of RTD, I personally welcome.
Basically, bring on the enby asexual space magic. Hell, as an enby ace myself, just to see our existence acknowledged would be nice.
Also, I agree that option 3 would be the best, but seems the least likely. This reminds me of the Terminator franchise, which once hit blockbuster numbers, but hasn't since, despite repeated attempts. The suits simply can't understand the magic that sent T2 into orbit, let alone replicate it, and the DW situation feels similar.
Reynolds was just one example. The point being that lots of good and great tv shows with great characters sometimes get cancelled despite the quality of the show and characters. I am not even rooting for less Gatwa. It would be fun to see him return, even if it is in one off special. But I understand why they might not bring him back and want to start with scratch with new people.
It's all a moot point anyway. Gatwa is gone. Outside of maybe a multi-Doctor special at some point in the future, we're not seeing him in Doctor Who again.
I agree. It would be nice to see him face off though with the Daleks or Cybermen at least once. Heck he didn't really face any of the classic aliens or The Master.
Allegedly Daleks were the original S2 ending cliffhanger.
My point is not that I have a problem with ‘bringing on the enby asexual space magic’ but that in the hands of RTD the Enby would be dressed as Marilyn Monroe (and therefore not NB, but Cisgender) and overtly kissing the face off of someone (therefore not Asexual)
See: Rose Noble. Who is described as non-binary, but is, in fact, Trans. But not Trans because humans can be, no no no, Trans (and NB) because of Time Lord Space Magic in her mum.
And the reason I explicitly refer to ‘modern political/gender/sexuality concepts’ is precisely because this how/why he is using them. He seems to think he’s ’doing representation’ but… well, Rose is a prop in every appearance post Starbeast, and is more a confused story element in Starbeast, rather than an actual character.
I just want to clarify that, and *why* I was mocking what RTD is doing. (Like… rewriting someone who was properly independent and about consent into being a single mum *without* consent, presenting us with not one, but *two* absent black fathers, one of whom is the Doctor. And various other bits of daft ness, including weirdness around guns.)
Wasn't the original cliffhanger supposed to be Susan showing up at that nightclub where we see the Doctor and Belinda (platonically) dancing in that picture that's been circulating?
I didn't get the impression Poppy's father is "absent" in the sense you're describing. Yes, Poppy does live with Belinda, but given Belinda describes Poppy's father as a good father, the impression I was under is he is still a part of Poppy's life and fulfills all his obligations as her father, to the extent he can while not living in the same house as her. Which doesn't fit my definition of an "absent father."
They do make a point of saying the dad is very much still around, I noticed that. But the Doctor didn't rewrite history enough to give her a husband, and I think that's probably for the best considering the viewer reaction to her getting a child.
I must have missed the bit where they said he was still actually involved in Poppys life, and if so, am happy to be wrong. But it’s not shown on screen, which didn’t help.
Asexuality isn't a disinterest in sex, it's a lack of sexual attraction, and is a spectrum in and of itself, just like every letter of LGBTQIA+, so an ace character kissing someone is entirely possible. An ace character having and enjoying sex is entirely possible. Heck, an enby character dressed as Marylin Monroe is entirely possible, as there certainly isn't a dress code for us, a particular way to look and act to officially qualify as enby.
I'd submit a lot of your issues come from your own seemingly quite rigid understanding of LGBT+ people, and presumptions born of that. Rose isn't a template for trans people, she's A trans person, with her own story, that just happens to involve timelord energy. Seriously, how many of your assertions can you back up, and how much is simply your interpretation?
One of the main aspects of my own writing is exploring LGBT themes, to help my own quest for identity, and to keep expanding my wider understanding, and because I love diversity, thrive creatively on it. That doesn't make me an expert. I can't be in anything other than my own self. No-one can be. It's all just too personal. Russell actually seems to understand that. I'm really not sure you do.
The full column is out in the wild now and includes the original plan for S1/S2 and weirdly, and I wonder if it was an error or deliberate choice, seems to confirm that Ruby was originally supposed to be Poppy's mother.
Only if Benjamin Cook isn't involved. I could barely stand him in the original book.
He's become even more terrible since. I wouldn't recommend anyone visit Twitter but if you want to find toxicity that rivals Ian Levine's you'll find it from him there.
