Spoilers Russell T. Davies Returns to Doctor Who as New Showrunner
- Thread starter Allyn Gibson
- Start date
Who's in the box? I thought that they were being clever and ZR would be an original series serial code (maybe 'Terror of The Autons') but nope.
OMG, it's a Zero Room! The very first one ever made!
So, regardless of how well he sticks the landing (and even with 20 extra minutes I think it's going to be pretty bumpy) the one thing we can't say about Russell's return was that it lacked ambition.
Before frame one of 'The Star Beast' was shot he had the entire story plotted out to the extent that the very first thing Jonathan Groff shot was his cameo in this week's episode.
'Space Babies' was and is a terrible episode but it wasn't just a random bad idea.
'73 Yards' may have been born of necessity but it also turned out to be a crucial part of the story.
And I don't think the recurrence of The Giggle being hidden in episodes, including as a waveform above the arena last week is just there as an Easter Egg.
Like JMS before him he may have discovered the difficulty of long term planning meeting unexpected cast changes but that's a story we'll probably have to wait a long time to hear.
Before frame one of 'The Star Beast' was shot he had the entire story plotted out to the extent that the very first thing Jonathan Groff shot was his cameo in this week's episode.
'Space Babies' was and is a terrible episode but it wasn't just a random bad idea.
'73 Yards' may have been born of necessity but it also turned out to be a crucial part of the story.
And I don't think the recurrence of The Giggle being hidden in episodes, including as a waveform above the arena last week is just there as an Easter Egg.
Like JMS before him he may have discovered the difficulty of long term planning meeting unexpected cast changes but that's a story we'll probably have to wait a long time to hear.
He just shouldn’t be allowed trying messaging or social commentary until he’s done some remedial classes, and would also benefit from a Moffat class in ‘how to build linked elements properly’ and ‘how to give companions a bit more to them’.
I heard the rumors about Pearl Mackie at the time, and based on who I heard them from I give them weight. And yet, if she were an enfant terrible on set (as I'd heard) and Capaldi really did not like her (as I also heard), she still returned for his final episode, because Capaldi is a professional. Professionals can work with people they detest, especially if it's for a short time.
don't ask Lala Ward about Matthew Waterhouse.....
Wait, people watch stuff outside of streaming platforms?
That surprises me about Pearl. I meet her at a convention and she was positively friendly. Ok, I know, it's a convention, it could be an act, and it's hard to tell in that type of situation. But even when she was walking around she was very friendly with the people she randomly ran across (like me!). My friend and I noted she had a beaming smile that really wasn't fully capture on film.
Sometimes people are different at work too compared to other environments.
It seems like he had a grand plan for the two seasons--which is essentially just one season because it's 16 episodes. (Yeah, I know they used to be 13, hence "essentially").
But the execution of that plan fell flat. Things didn't feel that connected in a way that built up the story.
I do think that this 2nd season is better than the 1st. No outright duds so far like Space Babies and several others. But it wasn't a masterpiece either. Nor was the "two" season arc.
The first episode was a bit shite, aside from Belinda and Sethu’s acting, and Conrad too has a good actor working with a shite character, introduced episodes that may have been alright in days before VCRs or the general tendency for ‘reading’ texts particularly in fandom. The rest were ok, some quite good, but Belinda has been terribly wasted.
I don’t know if the show needs a rest, but RTD needs a writing chaperone, someone who can grasp subtext and allegory, and has a better understanding of all the issues RTD seems desperate to play with, because he’s starting to feel like a left wing progressive Alan Partridge.
I know in sports their often comes situations were a school wants to move on from a coach and they let him resign or retire to save his dignity and I do admire that when it happens but at the same I also know that If the coach refused they likely would have fired him anyways because the main thing is they simply didn't want the guy to be their coach anymore.
I can see something like that being in this case. Especially since the show is going to be cancelled. Why fire someone when you can just let his contract run out instead and since their won't be any more episodes until someone comes along with the eventual reboot it does seem like the nice thing to do, at the very least.
We don't actually know that for sure yet.
The thing about Who is, you don’t necessarily have to wait, because it can be reinvented very very quickly, with a complete cast change. If it did come back next year, or in 2027 after using the (hubris) spin-off to cover Christmas and into next year, all it would have to do is be good and not court controversy, and it would be doing better in all likelihood. They’ve played the David Tennant card already, so they would need something to give it a splash at first, but it only needs to get say 3-4m on overnights and not be too expensive or controversial. That’s about it.
It needs to revert to being quiet and dependable again.
After a couple years off, I have access to Disney+ again; I watched the Tennant specials when they first dropped and didn't think much of them. Are any of the new season episodes any better? Wouldn't mind checking them out but I don't want to bother if it's generally on the level of the specials or worse.
Like all things, it depends on who you ask, but I think the general concensus is the first Gatwa season is hit or miss while the second Gatwa season is mostly great.
Personally, I enjoyed most of the first season (with a couple of particular exceptions) and at least two episodes are instant classics. I've loved most of the second season with the exception of one episode (but I'm apparently in the minority), while the jury is still out on the two-finale (the second half comes out on Saturday).
S1 isn't really that good barring 1 or 2 eps. S2 is overall better, but not amazing. (disclaimer: my opinion - yours may vary)
I feel the opposite about Gatwa. I liked his first season the best. I think part of that is because I also like Ruby Sunday better than Belinda. I have liked the last couple of episodes though so maybe the show will go out on a high note.
If rumors are true let's just troll the fan base with Duuga Doo Christmas and holiday specials till the show returns.
Forget the rumors of Billie Piper returning. Let's have the 15th doctor regenerate into Duuga Doo.
There'll be a special that will bid farewell to Duuga Doo complete with a sopranos singer belting out a powerful song
*
*Shades of End of Time part 2 where RTD was really trying to be sappy/Overdoing it
Forget the rumors of Billie Piper returning. Let's have the 15th doctor regenerate into Duuga Doo.
There'll be a special that will bid farewell to Duuga Doo complete with a sopranos singer belting out a powerful song
**Shades of End of Time part 2 where RTD was really trying to be sappy/Overdoing it
That should have been the post credits theme. XD
