DarthDementous

Source music played by a groovy Goblin band serenading the Goblin King eating a baby. I think the Goblins are literally going to be myth made manifest which is why they're a bit...off since it's going to be like a modern fairytale

I read that more as him being eccentric and a little bit flamboyant which is definitely not new territory for The Doctor

...huh?

That was completely and utterly bonkers. I loved it, weirdly enough the only episode to immediately 'click' with me.

The Not-Things figure stuff out at the same pace as the people they're copying, The Doctor only right at the end clued in that the TARDIS would come back otherwise he wouldn't have been sprinting full-pelt trying to stop Not-14 from preventing the explosion I was wondering why Not-14 didn't immediately shapeshift but I think it makes sense. The more they retain their copied form the closer they get to becoming perfect copies, at that point it was pure animalistic survival instinct that caused Not-14 to abandon that entirely as he realised he would die if he didn't reach the robot

I didn't even realise that was meant to be the edge of the universe. This is the first "edge of everything" locations that actually felt like it lived up to the name Donna starts saying it because her timeline has been altered to Newton coining the term as mavity. 14 isn't a part of her timeline so he still calls it gravity but corrects himself because he knows Donna doesn't understand

I think its purpose was just as a running gag and it may come up again. However, I believe what triggered the chaos on Earth is invoking a superstition at the edge of reality as 14 says he has a bad feeling about at the end of the episode

I liked the mavity gag, it actually changing the timeline and The Doctor being aware of it but not Donna was fun, the race change was weird but I also didn't care that much since that was his only purpose in the episode. Also recognised him as one of the actors from It's A Sin so I wonder if they were literally like 'hmm let's cast someone hot' without caring about historical accuracy for the joke later. Which is a bit...eh but again, incredibly minor. Can't wait to see people make a huge deal of it again Mary Seacole isn't really a good comparison because that episode is about her instead of just a one-off gag

Was not expecting The Flux to be dealt with so directly but treating it like the destruction of Gallifrey in RTD's first run was a stroke of genius that makes that whole season way more palatable because now it seems to have emotional purpose Speaking of which, I heard that sneaky This is Gallifrey quote Gold. Definitely a more atmospheric soundtrack this time around which suited the vibe without being generic which I found Akinola's stuff veered into. When people always paint Murray as this big overblown orchestral composer I think they really forget his electronic chops, he's without a doubt capable of both I will need to sit with this episode and rewatch it again to clarify my thoughts because it was fucking bizarre but not in a bad way, and I need to adjust to that. I can see why the first episode was so deliberately evoking the familiar now. Interestingly this makes me look forward more to the new era because Donna and 14 almost feel a bit anachronistic, and with a brand new Doctor and companion that feeling won't be there which will be freeing

This made me think, are the Cybermen are hivemind or are they just so de-individualized that they seem like one?

Ah yes, that very unified and homogenous group known as trans people. I've seen discussion go both ways from all kinds of people and groups, praising it, appreciating the effort but finding it clunky, or finding it a misfire entirely. Fortunately it seems the wider public is less terminally online so the insufferable political discourse isn't defining that episode for them "Religious minority character" I'm amazed you even noticed this and cared enough to point it out "The Doctor being corrected by a kid over his use of personal pronouns" Yes, the 15 year old trans kid who's grown up being identified in a way based on their outward appearance in a way that doesn't align is more conscious of The Doctor assuming the Meep's gender based on outward appearance "An actor who has spina bifida who is confined to a wheelchair...this particular wheelchair fires bullets..."She's in a wheelchair she must be a villain"...well she's one of the good guys, so I guess it's okay to have a wheelchair that has the potential to kill and maim, if you work for U.N.I.T, but not if you just want to get around, on Skaro. So much for "wheelchair equals bad"! This isn't what RTD was saying. It's not about the wheelchair itself being depicted as dangerous, it's that the overwhelming amount of disabled characters, i.e. in a wheelchair, play villains and that otherness tends to play a role in their villainy. This is RTD putting his money where his mouth is by including a character in a wheelchair that is explicitly not a villain, the fact it has all kinds of gadgets makes sense for a U.N.I.T officer. "There's an antagonist that goes from cute and virginal to white supremacist cunt in 2.5 seconds" What in the ever living fuck is 'white supremacist' about Beep the Meep? This is reaching of the highest order to read politics into something "I am aware that I am in a minority in my opinions, and that this is only the first chapter in a three-part story" This is a bizarre thing to say when it's followed up by "If this is how DW is to continue, if it wants to win back viewers, then it has to do much better" you can't both be in the minority on positive reception to the episode and also say that the show is in dire need of winning back viewers. Don't think I could disagree more about the comedy or the music, but that's at least down to personal preference. Although I would say that the humor was very natural in that it came from character interactions more than 'I will now tell a joke, please laugh' that Moffat's Who was prone to fall into. The music was also not mixed low, it was just more withdrawn except for key moments where it was especially prominent in the mix which worked well to accentuate scenes without overpowering them and saving the big musical moments for key scenes.

I like it too, feels very much like an RTD Doctor Who intro but a little bit more fancy and fresh

Fresh from a rewatch. First time there was a lot of anxiousness going into it and I watched the episode over a video stream with online friends at 1080p on my computer This time it was in the comfort of my living room, 4k HDR And it was pure joy. The parts I liked I loved this time, the emotional scenes hit way harder and I felt the weight of all the previous stories this time, and the parts I didn't like bothered me less. Seeing it in a much more pristine visual fidelity helped me appreciate the effects and directing a lot more, the show looks absolutely fantastic Oh my God and the music. I am so happy to have Murray Gold back because whilst there's restraint it makes the big moments hit really effectively and it soars in a way I remember it doing, as a jaded adult feeling and believing that whimsy is a superb experience. Initially I thought there wasn't enough past music but I think it was the perfect amount for musical continuity and evoking the emotional connection without being reliant on it. Very keen for the soundtrack. I also felt particular dread at the end. I've seen that "You should visit more often" from RTD before and what follows it is never good. I have a really bad feeling we are heading towards tragedy but my God it will be incredibly potent stuff if even the suggestion Donna was dead brought me to tears when I knew she couldn't be. David Tennant and Catherine Tate were beyond amazing, incredible performances. After 5 years of wondering whether the show was for me anymore, holy fuck it is good to be back

I've not quite settled on how I feel about this episode but here's my spoiler-free reaction I loved everything, except for how the resolution was executed. It's a premise I can see working but it was done rather clumsily and confusingly which annoys me more than the political messaging. I suppose I was expecting for RTD to instantly shown he's grown as a Doctor Who writer but these are very much the old pitfalls. For now I'll chalk it up to regression due to working with familiar elements and hope that both with the remaining specials and especially Gatwa's era that RTD shows what he's learnt in the interim between his last stint to take things in a fresh direction. Foundation wise though this is the most Doctor Who has felt like Doctor Who in a really long time, the pathos is there, the music is there (need the TARDIS reveal cue immediately) the banter is there, the character work is there, and I was smiling ear to ear for 95% of the episode. It's a bit of a wobbly start but the moment to moment experience of watching RTD Doctor Who is there and for me that was really important and not something I was going to take for granted. It's actually rather surreal how much it felt like watching a Series 4 episode, to go from 5 years of something so strange and alienating to something that whilst different still had those comfortable feelings of familiarity, it's a really unusual experience. Arguably more than 5 years, to be honest.

Correct, RTD made specific reference to Children In Need in the Unleashed video Literally for the exact reason you just so eloquently described for disfigurement I really doubt we're going to see any more of him soon