I mean, I get it. Not everyone dislikes this era, but this special is examplary of all of Chibnall's worst insticts as a Who writer, with clear disdain toward the extended universe (and really, for DW, which the BBC even claims there is no canon and all of it counts, unlike any other franchise out there, INCLUDING Trek, means something), ignorant characterization (so Yaz was apparently never told about the Fugitive Doctor, ever?!), including the campiest, most pantomime iincarnation of the Master (WHY WAS HE POSING AS RASPUTIN?!) as Dhawan seemingly goes for broke and throws away all subtlety in the Master's stupidest plot ever: to become the Doctor (!!!!!). Like, (a)did he actually think anyone would buy into this and (b)why do it? Was he running out of regenerations? Its never explained. And frankly, I don't understand what happened there at all - he he steal her body or fuse with it? Help me out here, Chibnall!
And as you can see, I can't stress how remarkably incoherent the entire affair felt. Someone asked if the plot was any more incoherent than The Five Doctors or The Day of the Doctor, and I'd argue that yes, it was! I watched it twice and I still don't know what I just saw, whereas I never had that worry with The Five Doctors (whose plot is extremely straightforward and easy to understand, if very convoluted in how it gets its guest stars together) and The Day of the Doctor (whose most confusing aspect was the way the Zygons moved around between paintings, but still nothing compared to this).
As far as regeneration stories go, this frankly is the worst one. I can't think of another one that is so bitterly disappointing in how it treats its main star. I never once felt Chibnall ever treated Whittaker's Doctor with any respect and in fact has treated with some long, long expositions that even by this one she's never been comfortable with, and always had her been a victim of her own wonderment. As if she's a uniquely naive individual whose never travelled far in the galaxy before. And what's more, every other regeneration story in NuWho has at least the good grace of showcasing the best of the given Doctor during a moment of unique crisis. The Ninth's "coward, every time" or Tenth's "lived too long" or Eleventh's "Never, ever tell me the rules!" or Twelfth's glorious speech to the Masters in The Doctor Falls. There's nothing for Whittaker here, at all. Never does she stand out and is not even allowed to be the one who makes amends with her past companions. As amazingly fun and lovely it is to see Davison and Fielding interact on-screen after all those years, having (the appreciably better actor) Peter Davison explain to Tegan that he missed her is teriffyingly ill-judged.
Imagine, if you will, Death of the Doctor. The scene where Eleven, Sarah Jane and Jo Grant were transported to an off-world planet and try to fix the transporter to get back to wherever it was they were going to. Imagine if, when Eleven is describing what Jo Grant did after she left the Third Doctor (thus proving he kept, in fact, in-touch with her albeit in distance), his face turned into Jon Pertwee's and started saying all the same dialogue. Sure, it'd be great that Pertwee and Manning had interacted once again, and it would make sense fan-wise, BUT it would minimize and indeed take away from Matt Smith's incarnation if he was not able to sell the very idea that, indeed, he is the same man as Jon Pertwee. Having Jodie Whittaker turn into Peter Davison is, for a fan, nice, but it actually and really takes away from Whittaker's incarnation that she can't convince Tegan on her own and in fact has to turn into the Fifth Doctor for her to admit he missed him. And indeed, she misses him, the Fifth Doctor. Not the Doctor in general.
Exact same goes with McCoy and Aldred. Again, the scene feels like Chibnall simply didn't trust Whittaker to deliver that emotional punch that was needed. Indeed, by having McCoy settle his relationship with Ace (in another staunchly conservative take of the never-wrong Doctor, a take of the Doctor that is also decidedly Chibnall and one that I decidedly also hate) it means that Whittaker never has to prove she's the same person as David Bradley or any of the incarnations seen in her own psyche. And that's how the entire run has felt, like Chibnall barely made any kind of conscious effort to connect the Thirteenth with any of the previous Doctors (most of all the Twelfth, as I still believe and will always believe that Chibnall just simply never ever watched that run).
Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is, this is exactly the kind of thing an Ian Levine would adore, because its all surface with no substance. And indeed, it is one of only two stories Levine actually liked, and the only he's publicly adored, I wonder why. Like them or not, at least End of Time and Time of the Doctor manage to get the best out of the respective exiting Doctors by keeping them squarely in focus. For all the silliness of the Master Race, you remember and enjoy the Ten/Wilf scenes and in fact are moved by them. For all the fast pace and slow first half, you appreciate the storytelling heft of having the Eleventh Doctor, the most outrageous, outwardly and simply more travelling of the Doctor to dedicate his life to stay in one place for the sake of one village and its peoples. And to boot, Tennant and Smith respectively give some of their best performances in those episodes.
Anyway. Guess I just hate Chibnall, lol!
