Nah, I didn't need an explanation for that. The mere fact that the communication existed was enough for me. Sometimes less is more and that was the right choice here.
Spoilers The Vanquishers grade and discussion thread
- Thread starter The Nth Doctor
- Start date
Fair enough
In the 80s Michael Grade said that Who fans watched it like a ritual mass. He was wrong, it's more like being a football fan, you still support the team, hoping they'll win this week, while also hoping that a new manager will improve results.
As a side note I think he should get a pass for Torchwood season one; my guess is that they had a string of ideas for episodes and as staff writer he got lumbered with the ones the freelancers didn't pick.
I also got the impression season 1 was somewhat rushed? Quite a few of the scripts felt like they needed another draft (at least)
A perfect analogy as any West Ham fan will avouch. The Flux was perhaps like moving from Upton Park to the London Stadium.
The impression I get is season 1 Torchwood is basically Typical Season 1 Syndrome, a new show trying to find its way. Especially here, where they were still trying to figure out how they wanted to make the show, IE something in the Doctor Who universe aimed at an adult audience. Their interpretation of being "adult" was to just toss in copious amounts of sex, skimpy clothing and profanity which unfortunately just made them look immature. I know RTD voiced regrets over the profanity in The Writer's Tale saying that including profanity on television is ultimately just a distraction and serves no other purpose other than to jump up and down and say "look at us, we can swear on this show."
The original producer quitting certainly didn't help. Suggests behind the scenes arguments about approach.
Well. Yup. There we go. Nail in the coffin.
Notice what's absent from that video. Yaz, Dan, Vinder, Bel, Karvinista, and the Sontarans are never brought up. They're so irrelevant to the plot that they're not even worth talking about. Also, "Come up with your own reasons for the Doctor not to open the watch." Goodbye Chibnall, your writing won't be missed.
But his hair is great, and so on trend, though given he’s older than me…
I always find it amusing when a show or a movie throws in copious amounts of swearing just to say "look at us we're all grown up now and can say naughty words" which is the thought usually when I encounter this and it's darkly amusing because it has the opposite effect.
Of course they did that because even the fans didn't understand the stinking turd that was The Flux.
By Chibi you won't be missed.
The Doctor won't open the fob watch because the writers can't be arsed to write a decent scene around that which wouldn't open a pandora's box of problems for continuity
I'm sad but unsurprised that this thread has devolved into a "Bash Chibnall every way possible for the smallest of things" thread.
Oh great, more talking? I'll pass as I just don't care.
That's roughly what I meant, the ideas were possible directions to try out. By season two they knew which worked better.
I love how criticizing this short series is taken as bashing Chibnall. It wasn't a good series, so the blame had to fall somewhere, and if you consider that bashing then every writer that has done a bad TV show or episode is being bashed.
I’m a little late to the party, but Apple didn’t drop the latest episode until yesterday. Here are my thoughts on the season as a whole:
I respect the ambition of what Doctor Who set out to do this year. I’ve felt my interest in the show slipping over the past two seasons, and it was refreshing to learn the program was going to mix things up with a sort-of miniseries event.
The first episode intrigued me, and the second genuinely entertained me. Episode three felt like a little bit of a misstep, four recovered somewhat, and then five and six were just bewildering.
I applaud the casting. All of the characters, threadbare as they may have been, were brought to life by the actors. I honestly don’t think there was a poor performance in the bunch. Swarm and Azure especially, really impressed me. And I’ll echo others that would have loved to have seen Eustacius join the Tardis in place of Dan, who isn’t bad, but isn’t terribly dynamic either.
I’ll admit to being a naïve viewer that actually thought the Doctor might open the fob and recover her lost memories. It would have been an exciting way to end the season, even if (or perhaps especially if) it was used as a cliffhanger leading into the next special. It could have been like a personality regeneration. Same body, and still the Doctor at her core, but noticeably different as a result of her restored memories. Just imagine what Whittaker could have done if given the chance! If told to reimagine her character as if it were a new incarnation of the Doctor, I firmly believe she would have knocked it out of the park. Oh well.
There are so so many issues with the writing this season (the final two episodes especially) I won’t go into them, only because they’ve already been excellently articulated by others in this thread. I’ll just say that I too was disappointed by the missed potential in this season.
And yeah, the Doctor blithely facilitating the supposed genocide of three species was unintentionally amusing. I couldn’t help but remember in that moment the fourth doctor holding up two wires and asking “have I the right?” and the tenth doctor flipping out on the metacrisis doctor, and then we cut to thirteen just shrugging like, whatever.
I respect the ambition of what Doctor Who set out to do this year. I’ve felt my interest in the show slipping over the past two seasons, and it was refreshing to learn the program was going to mix things up with a sort-of miniseries event.
The first episode intrigued me, and the second genuinely entertained me. Episode three felt like a little bit of a misstep, four recovered somewhat, and then five and six were just bewildering.
I applaud the casting. All of the characters, threadbare as they may have been, were brought to life by the actors. I honestly don’t think there was a poor performance in the bunch. Swarm and Azure especially, really impressed me. And I’ll echo others that would have loved to have seen Eustacius join the Tardis in place of Dan, who isn’t bad, but isn’t terribly dynamic either.
I’ll admit to being a naïve viewer that actually thought the Doctor might open the fob and recover her lost memories. It would have been an exciting way to end the season, even if (or perhaps especially if) it was used as a cliffhanger leading into the next special. It could have been like a personality regeneration. Same body, and still the Doctor at her core, but noticeably different as a result of her restored memories. Just imagine what Whittaker could have done if given the chance! If told to reimagine her character as if it were a new incarnation of the Doctor, I firmly believe she would have knocked it out of the park. Oh well.
There are so so many issues with the writing this season (the final two episodes especially) I won’t go into them, only because they’ve already been excellently articulated by others in this thread. I’ll just say that I too was disappointed by the missed potential in this season.
And yeah, the Doctor blithely facilitating the supposed genocide of three species was unintentionally amusing. I couldn’t help but remember in that moment the fourth doctor holding up two wires and asking “have I the right?” and the tenth doctor flipping out on the metacrisis doctor, and then we cut to thirteen just shrugging like, whatever.
There's a difference between reasonable and legitimate criticisms over the writer (such as Hennessy Badger's review) and posts that serve no purpose other than to continue to pile hate on Chibnall himself. The latter is nauseating.
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