Thoughts on Jodie Whittaker

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by Gingerbread Demon, Apr 8, 2022.

  1. Gingerbread Demon

    Gingerbread Demon I love Star Trek Discovery Premium Member

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    You know what she wasn't a bad doctor after all.

    I just watched Flux again from start to finish and it was one of the darkest series they have had in like forever with so much murder. The story was off the wall bonkers and all over the shop but it really was quite a dark story for Doctor Who, not that that hasn't happened before.

    I really think Jodie did the very best she could with the things they gave her and overall she wasn't a bad doctor, just I feel some parts of the fanbase didn't want to even give her a chance and she copped a ton of hate for nothing.

    I mean the idea of a female doctor was something they had wanted to do since the mid 1980s but it was the suits at the BBC that were dead against the idea. Anyway that's really all i wanted to say. I will miss Jodie when she's gone.
     
  2. Timewalker

    Timewalker Cat-lovin', Star Trekkin' Time Lady Premium Member

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    Sorry, I gave up on nuWho when Clara wouldn't stay dead. And even before that the stories were like Grimm's Fairy Tales run through a Whovinator (in case nobody else ever used that word, I just coined it) to the point where they weren't even pretending to have science as part of any of the stories.

    I liked Capaldi. I just hated his stories and I loathed Clara. There are not enough words to say how much I loathed her.

    So when Whittaker came around, I decided I was not going to bother. The lead actor/actress can only do so much with shitty stories, and I'd long given up on the stories by the time Capaldi ended his run.
     
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  3. Gingerbread Demon

    Gingerbread Demon I love Star Trek Discovery Premium Member

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    I am really glad we all have diverse opinions.
    I actually liked the 12th Doctor and liked Peter Capaldi as the Doctor.

    Clara though meh hated her.
     
  4. Saul

    Saul Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Unfortunately I don't like Jodie's Doctor so much. I don't think that's her fault. I think the writing let her down and also having 3 companions took much away from her Doctor. When I see Jodie being interviewed she's so charming and fun. I'd like it if a little more of that could have been brought to the character. I loved the shorts vids she did as the Doctor during lockdown.
     
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  5. Non Sync

    Non Sync Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    It seems everyone complains about how they don't like the new Doctor (regardless of actor) until that Doctor has announced they're leaving, then they all loved them regardless of what they thought about the writting.
     
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  6. Relayer1

    Relayer1 Admiral Admiral

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    Jodie's difficult.

    There's just SO much wrong - the costume, the dialogue (Fam ?), the bad writing, the glut of companions (and the awful Tosin Cole)...I could go on. There's a lot of reasons I don't like 13's run (I still haven't seen all of Flux) but I quite like Jodi, apart from the gurning.

    Big Finish did a better job with Colin Baker and I suspect they would with Jodi too.
     
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  7. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Jodie's great as the Doctor. I wish she could continue.

    Unquestionably, get better writers too, which is unconnected with how good she is as the character. Better writers are needed unconditionally.

    Nah, my opinion has been pretty steady all along about how much I like her as the Doctor.
     
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  8. Timewalker

    Timewalker Cat-lovin', Star Trekkin' Time Lady Premium Member

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    I wouldn't say everyone does that. I think it depends somewhat in how a person becomes a Whovian, to understand how they react when a new person takes over.

    I became a Whovian in the fall of 1982, when PBS was running the Tom Baker stories. My very first story that wasn't a casual glance in the video room at a convention was The Pirate Planet (saw a minute or so of Genesis of the Daleks and thought it was a really stupid thing - the Doctor's been captured by aliens and all he cares about is getting a cup of tea? And then later I saw one of the creepier scenes of Image of the Fendahl... oddly enough, these are among my favorite Tom Baker stories now).

    Fast-forward a bit and PBS ran the 20th anniversary story The Five Doctors, which of course showed us some of the previous Doctors and companions; by that time I'd been buying every Target novel tie-in I could get my hands on, to the point of assuring the place where I bought my new books that yes, if they'd order 25 Doctor Who titles, I absolutely promise I will buy a copy of every one of them. So by the time The Five Doctors was shown on TV I'd already read quite a few novel adaptations of the other Doctors' stories.

    I'll admit it took quite awhile to get used to the Sixth Doctor. But he had some very unlikeable companions, as did the Seventh Doctor. I had the pleasure of meeting Sylvester McCoy at a fan event in Spokane, as he was doing a cross-US tour of the PBS stations that showed Doctor Who. He was friendly and gracious, and I still have the photo he signed. But it's odd how the stories of his that I liked don't seem to be among those that most other people liked.

    Paul McGann... if ever there was anyone who was robbed of a proper run as the Doctor, it's him. He was so good in both the movie and the webisode. But the movie suffered from a ridiculous story and a ghastly choice of actor to play the Master.

    I think the only actor I didn't like from the get-go was Matt Smith. I mean not only did I not like him as the Doctor, I didn't like him as an actor. At all. So I certainly didn't miss him when he was gone.
     
  9. Gingerbread Demon

    Gingerbread Demon I love Star Trek Discovery Premium Member

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    I liked Jodie from the get go, it's the writing that let her down, "fam" ugh really....
     
  10. Ray Hardgrit

    Ray Hardgrit Commodore Commodore

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    In my experience everyone who wasn't outright against the idea of the Doctor being a woman was pretty much sold on Jodie from her first appearance. It really does seem like it's the writing that's let her down and it's a shame we never got to see her Doctor under a different showrunner.
     
  11. Captaindemotion

    Captaindemotion Admiral Admiral

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    A fine actress who unfortunately was let down by poor writing and who just seemed very diffident in the role. I had great hopes for her when she was cast and I really wish that she’d been given the chance to do more with better scripts.
     
  12. Tosk

    Tosk Admiral Admiral

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    I don't mind Jodie, but I don't like the current version of the show itself. I never did finish the last season and probably won't. It's been a looooong time since I last intentionally stopped watching Doctor Who.
     
  13. Steve Roby

    Steve Roby Rear Admiral Premium Member

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    Jodie Whittaker was great in Attack the Block and Broadchurch, so when I first saw that short reveal video and she was announced as the Doctor, I was pretty darn happy. And after two standard seasons and Flux, I'm still pretty darn happy. When her run is over, I'll be waiting for news of her doing Big Finish at some point; I really hope she does. Looks like she's in that BBC Doctor Who Redacted podcast series starting April 17, so that's a start.
     
  14. Gingerbread Demon

    Gingerbread Demon I love Star Trek Discovery Premium Member

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    Is there anything more after Flux? I've been out of the whole loop since that series, how much more does she do till her final episode?
     
  15. Chaos Descending

    Chaos Descending Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I like Jodie Whittaker's personality and she's a good actress, but I am only gritting my teeth and finishing a watch of her episodes because I am a masochistic completionist.

    I don't have anything against the Doctor being a woman, I just can't stand the writing and I really don't like the over-the-top mania and running about that marks modern Dr. Who. I am cautiously optimistic about RTD coming back, but there are so many variables beyond just who the showrunner is that my optimism is EXTREMELY cautious.

    I am having an extremely hard time slogging my way through Flux. It's simply awful.

    Bright points of Chibnall's era:
    1. The redesign of the Sontarans to be more in line with Classic Who.
    2. Ashad was an amazing character
    3. The modern design take on the Sea Devils.
     
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  16. Gingerbread Demon

    Gingerbread Demon I love Star Trek Discovery Premium Member

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    The running and mania were a part of the RTD run too.
     
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  17. Turbo

    Turbo Changeling Premium Member

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    She's in three specials this year - Eve of the Daleks (aired at New Year's), Legend of the Sea Devils (airing soon), and a special celebrating the BBC's Cenentary that's likely to end in her regeneration.
     
  18. Chaos Descending

    Chaos Descending Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It's much worse now. It started getting really bad with Matt Smith.
     
  19. Haggis and tatties

    Haggis and tatties Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Did not like her time as the doctor, BUT, i am willing to put that down to Chibnall's yawn inducing writting of the character, because i have seen her outside of Who and she seems to actually be able to act, so she gets a free Chibnalls fault this time card, but i won't miss this Dr at all, quite the opposite.
     
  20. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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    Nothing was wrong with Jodie. Repeating the large fan consensus

    "She was just saddled with bad scripts/weak material"

    That will be what's written on her doctor's tombstone/legacy/ most remembered for