Spoilers Twice Upon a Time grading and discussion thread

[Qonundrum]

I had completely missed that Ian Levine weighed in on the episode earlier this week:

My beloved Doctor Who shone on Christmas Day with an official figure of eight million viewers.
I could cry that it's the end of a wonderful era, and political correctness has now ruined it forever after such a glorious swan song. No unwanted opinions please.​

I too adore Capaldi's era, but the last decade or so has had a lot of "political correctness" in the form of forced jokes so why is it bugging him only now? Because it's given some actual gravitas?

And Michele Gomez was BRILLIANT as the Master Missy Mistress (she can whip me anytime, woo-waaa!) with the malevolence and charm she brought in, especially when given decent scripting. If Ian states the finale was glorious... and it was... there seems to be a slight contradiction he's not adding sufficient context to.

That and Jodie's era hasn't even been shown yet so how does he know that her era is going to be the PC of all PC'd PC PC that's ever PC and C'd the P?

Yes, there is a point that the Doctor is no longer a male role model. But reruns exist and where is it the 12th Commandment that we all have to have role models that look like us and sound like us? (now there's a fun little easter egg...) Can't we relate to applaud the actions of the character on equal footing? Do we always need role models and inspiration from people who must look and sound the same as us personally?

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Yes, there is a point that the Doctor is no longer a male role model.

This is where I disagree with Peter Davison (among others). Why can't a woman be role model for men? I grew up greatly admiring Amelia Earhardt's tenacity both as a pilot and as a woman.

While not quite the same, it's almost like saying a white person can't have a black (or any other ethnicity or race) person as a role model. And yet LeVar Burton was one of my biggest role models growing up because of Reading Rainbow, as he was for many other children of my generation.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

I can understand Peter Davison's point about the Doctor being a role model for male kids of all kinds, but... Colin Baker's point is stronger. "Can't we be role models as people" is tough to argue against, even if its ultimately an altruistic point rather than a realistic one.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

My random, unordered thoughts on Danny Pink:

• Samuel Anderson was great.
• Danny Pink was an interesting, well-developed character who belonged in an entirely different television series. At times, I felt like Anderson was filming a serious drama about a schoolteacher who was a veteran with PTSD issues on the soundstage next door and wandered over onto the Who set by accident, never breaking character and still acting the script for the drama next door.

Yup!

I can't speak to Hartnell's era as a whole, but I will note that "The Five Doctors" had a bit where the First Doctor treated Tegan like the help and Five just asked her to humor him.

Which wasn't really Hartnell, that was Richard Hurndall and it was another example of a re-cast 1st Doctor sullying the reputation of the original, although not nearly as egregiously as this episode did.

That was rather creepy child bride territory as I believe the character was meant to be around 15 or 16 at the time. I'm surprised no one has tried to retcon her age to be closer to David's or even older due to her being a Time Lord.

In my head-canon, Susan is about 50. And while the Doctor may have forced her hand, I believe that she really did love that guy. They didn't have too many moments together but their romance was very well developed. (Unlike some companion romances I can mention. Looking at you, Leela from "The Invasion of Time.")