Spoilers The Star Beast grade and discussion thread

[cultcross]

Enjoyed this, a lot of fun and immediately obvious that RTD was back. It was honestly like The Eleventh Hour never happened. Anyone worrying/hoping that RTD had changed.... he hasn't.

I will give this a B+, I was a bit underwhelmed by the plot, as much as I enjoyed the Doctor/Donna stuff and Rose was a great addition. I kind of liked the get out clause in the Donna-can't-remember problem, having a kid to share the metacrisis is a classically RTD 'out' and I'm there for it. I'm also imagining a spin off with Jenny and Rose.

Now that the pieces are back on the board, I'm hoping I'll be more hooked by the actual storyline for specials 2 and 3.

 

[Redfern]

It just dawned on me with the new console room, the round things are back on mass.

I'm so gonna' get lynched for this quibble. I just wish they were "staggered" in a honeycomb pattern like those of the 63-89 run.

On the other hand, if that's the worst complaint I can muster, I'm quite happy.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Yes and they are all individually controlled so it can spell out words if they want.

"Doctor, what are you doing?"

"I'm playing Tetris with the round things."

"That's so weird."

"Have you met me, Donna? Weird is what I do! 4 line Tetris!"

 

[Awesome Possum]

SAME i am so glad he got to film before he passed but it’s going to be so sad when it airs

I already know I’m going to be an emotional wreck when he shows up.

 

[bdub76]

Having given up on this show during the first Whittaker series, I'm pleasantly surprised at how good this was. It really feels like the show is "back". I'll keep watching if the show's quality can keep up like this. Loved the new console room- very "Tomorrowland" (a film I happen to love) Just wish Tennant and Tate could be around longer.

My significant other gave up with Capaldi, but I did get her to watch this one. She mostly liked it. But she rolled her eyes at the pronoun bit.

 

[Set Harth]

I almost expect to see Patrick Stewart come rolling up...

Also, particularly during the fight at Donna’s house, it was so dark (not thematically, literally) it was hard to tell what was going on.

I hope this trend ends someday. Filmmakers need to know that making the lighting realistic, or whatever they're trying to do , should take a back seat to the audience being able to see what's happening. You don't even need to explain where the light's coming from, it's artistic licence!

 

[YellowSubmarine]

That's certain better Doctor Who than I've seen in years. It was not only watchable, it was good. I gave it Brilliant since I barely remember Doctor Who being that good.

Moopsies* spoiled the Meep from me, but I suppose that was supposed to be telegraphed, like Rose's toys. I was sure I recognized a future alien antagonist when she brought the Moop inside.

Didn't like the Frozen reference. It's like after the silly and offensive cop-out of not having Tennant wear Jodie's attire – think just how better him meeting Donna again scene would have been if they kept it – they decided to shoehorn some passive-aggressive jab here and there at the Doctor's current regeneration to make up for it, and this was the one that was ill-fitting. It will be even better if that joke was written by man (which I assume, given the credited writers), since it somehow manages to offend timelords, timeladies, and the police officers enforcing the Silly Sketch Act. It's so bad I almost like it now when I think back.

How quickly she resolved her situation almost makes me regret she did, I'd loved her to have gone with it for a little bit. I do hope she kept some of that knowledge, too. I don't think her and the Doctor ever had a real talk after she learned all that he knows, so I am certainly hoping she remembers some things to bring up in conversation. She knows things without having to see his browser history.

Donna is lovely whatever she does, so I am looking forward to the next specials. God am I embarrassed for not having liked The Runaway Bride originally. Probably not the first time I say that.

(* And the episode title)

 

[kirk55555]

I gave this a B+. It was awesome to see Tennant back, and he and Tate have not lost a step. Also, the new TARDIS interior is gorgeous, although I think I still like 12's a bit better (I like the more filled/lived in look slightly better). The script was decent, although a bit flawed. It was definitely a bit heavy handed and had some awkward dialog, and I say that as someone who 100% believes in respecting peoples identities/pronouns/etc. I also didn't find Beep the Meep to be that interesting of a villain, although they looked very good on screen, and I think that Donna's extended family is just...fine. I'm fine with seeing her husband and daughter again, but I also wouldn't care if we didn't. Same with the new UNIT scientific advisor. I do really hope they still intend to use the Wilfred footage they got.

Overall this was a really good return for Doctor Who. Not without its little hiccups that keep it from being as good as it could have been, but it feels like a return to solid Doctor Who after a long period of mediocre to bad stuff. I can't wait to see the other specials, and see where the franchise goes from there.

 

[DEWLine]

I'm sorry to know that neither CBC nor CTV Sci-Fi will get this. At least not any time soon...

 

[Serveaux]

Loved it. And I'm not big Donna fan.

 

[Tuskin38]

I'm sorry to know that neither CBC nor CTV Sci-Fi will get this. At least not any time soon...

The price we have to pay for the delicious Disney money.

But I already had Disney+ for Loki and Ahsoka and all that.

 

[Ovation]

I have Disney+ because, in Canada, it’s also got the majority of Hulu content that Americans currently have to pay for separately (though I’ve heard that will change somewhat soon). Thankfully, it made it easy to catch the new Doctor Who in full 4K HDR (plus a bunch of other stuff unavailable on Disney+ in the US).

Episode was great (to get back on topic).

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Didn't like the Frozen reference. It's like after the silly and offensive cop-out of not having Tennant wear Jodie's attire – think just how better him meeting Donna again scene would have been if they kept it – they decided to shoehorn some passive-aggressive jab here and there at the Doctor's current regeneration to make up for it, and this was the one that was ill-fitting. It will be even better if that joke was written by man (which I assume, given the credited writers), since it somehow manages to offend timelords, timeladies, and the police officers enforcing the Silly Sketch Act. It's so bad I almost like it now when I think back.

Maybe he figured if he could get people to focus on that they'd forget he introduced a character named Fudge.

 

[auntiehill]

This felt a bit flat to me-- a bit too cutesy. Started great but was a bit too cheesy. I gave it a "B."

 

[UssGlenn]

Loved to see my favorite Doctor/Companion team back. Felt like I was watching Doctor Who in college again.

 

[Commander Troi]

I love Donna so much.

 

[Evil Robert]

Whereas I love the fact that eventually people will stop shitting all over the Chibnall era, which was mostly a refreshing change of pace from Moffat's journeys up his own backside in search of convoluted and ultimately meaningless arcs. I've already had the fun of seeing some of the people who somehow convinced themselves that RTD would give them a Doctor Who less "woke" than Chibnall's lose their little minds.

As a progressive gay man, I really doubt I will be the one complaining about woke-ness

Personally I was loving all the trans-inclusive storylines last night.

Still doesn't mean I liked the Chibnall era.

 

[SolarisOne]

As a progressive gay man, I really doubt I will be the one complaining about woke-ness

Personally I was loving all the trans-inclusive storylines last night.

Still doesn't mean I liked the Chibnall era.

See, that's the tragedy of the Chibnall era. RTD actually knows how to do it. Chibnall didn't. He also seemed to want to emulate Moffat's intricate plots but couldn't pull it off. I really wish Jodie Whittaker had a series with RTD as the showrunner. And, to avoid the risk of derailing the thread, I'll stop there.

 

[F. King Daniel]

So Enbies exist when The Doctor passes part of his power onto women and then wipes their memory? He gets around.

 

[cultcross]

This felt a bit flat to me-- a bit too cutesy. Started great but was a bit too cheesy. I gave it a "B."

Agreed. I got heavy vibes of "Partners in Crime" from this one. Over the top cheesy adventure to get Doctor and Donna back together. Hopefully like before, we will now transition to more powerful/impactive stories.