The Doctor Who Thread.....

[Sweeping Strings 2,344]

The move will apparently guarantee that the entire run will go out in the 7:00 timeslot instead of being bumped around the Saturday evening schedules, and fits with Chibnall's assertion that the audience for drama is bigger on Sunday evenings. 

I'd imagine the dullards who enjoy Countryfile will be enraged. Oh dear, what a terrible shame 😂 .  

[Sweeping Strings 2,344]

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,496]

I must admit: I'm beginning to like this...a lot.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I’m on media blackout.  Not watching a second of footage before the season airs

[Marian Schedenig 8,172]

Looks quite epic. Horrible music selection in that trailer though.

[Arpy 4,145]

A lot of the comments, those that weren't anti-female Who, also agreed that the music was just the wrong choice. I couldn't stand the song when it was on the radio, and to hear it in what is an otherwise brilliant look at the new series is quite a dampener on that joy. 

 

There are shots in the trailer that look quite cinematic - perhaps the closest any of the seasons have come to looking like a film!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Did The Doctor drop the S word?

5 hours ago, Richard said:

I must admit: I'm beginning to like this...a lot.

 

So you are willing to admit your initial reaction was....wrong?

[Naïve Old Fart 9,496]

2 hours ago, Stefancos said:

Did The Doctor drop the S word?

She said "let's get a shift on".

 

2 hours ago, Stefancos said:

So you are willing to admit your initial reaction was....wrong?

Possibly.

[Sweeping Strings 2,344]

Also not mad about the choice of track, but otherwise things are looking pretty damn good I think. 

To quote Chris Chibnall in the current Radio Times - 'The Doctor is one of television's most brilliant and enduring creations. The Doctor will still be the same mercurial, funny, strange, contradictory character: an adventurer in space and time, gathering up friends along the way and solving problems by thought and wit rather than punches and violence. If you're anything like the crew who work on the series, just a few seconds with Jodie Whittaker's lively, warm, funny, super-smart Doctor will have you willing to follow this Doctor to the ends of the universe'. 

 

   

 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,496]

In other words, he's said absolutely nothing.

It's all snake oil.

The real proof will come on October 7th.

[Sweeping Strings 2,344]

Not a perfect episode, but still very enjoyable. 

Jodie is warm, funny, scatty-but-smart, brave and moral ... and if that's 'not the Doctor', then I'm a Dalek's sink-plunger.  

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I liked it.  Plot was wholly recycled but it’s nice to have Doctor Who that focuses on character development again.

[Sweeping Strings 2,344]

I would guess that Chibnall's favourite Arnie movie is Predator, based on last night's episode. 

 

Some Twitter opinion that how the drunk guy dealt with the alien intruder (throwing his kebab salad at it) was an archetypal Northern response 😂 .        

[Naïve Old Fart 9,496]

If was set in Tonbridge Wells, it would give had a pot of Earl Grey, thrown at it. If it was in Glasgow, it would have been a deep fried Mars Bar, and a tin of Irn Bru.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Whitaker does The Doctor with seeming effortless ease, and the new Companions looks promising.

 

This looks shot in anamorphic.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I don't know why they bother since they crop it to 16:9 anyway. I hope this is an aesthetic fad that'll die out quick.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I'm just glad they have an older cis white male on the show to sort things out if need be.

[Sweeping Strings 2,344]

Give him a break, his wife just died! 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Seemed to go through all the familiar beats of a New Doctor episode quite well. 

[Sweeping Strings 2,344]

Liked her referring to the Tardis as her 'ship' ... Thirteen, your First is showing.  

 

The new sonic's appearance made a lot more sense when we saw it was 'built' by the Doctor and not by the Tardis, and the anti-knife crime sentiment expressed by her when explaining it to the new companions was most welcome.   

 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

And her "You had no right to do that!".

 

The Docter, male or female, it doesnt seem to matter. Whitaker did all the things you would expect a new Doctor to do in a first ep.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Who's the companion now? Is it still Bill?

[Nick1Ø66 4,688]

How is it I grew up a sci-fi/fantasy geek and yet have never seen a single episode of Doctor Who?  

 

 

[Sweeping Strings 2,344]

 

2 minutes ago, Norma's Corpse said:

Who's the companion now? Is it still Bill?

No, there are 3 new ones now. There hasn't been that many since the 80s.  

5 minutes ago, Nick1066 said:

How is it I grew up a sci-fi/fantasy geek and yet have never seen a single episode of Doctor Who?  Literally the only thing I can picture when I think about this show are those rolling trash can robots.

 

 

Daleks aren't actually robots. A protective casing houses a hideous mutant - 


 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

They're just giant salt and pepper shakers on wheels.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

They need to exterminate the people in marketing responsible for these embarrassing ads.

[Richard Penna 3,670]

Great introduction for Whittake's Doctor, although the monster and story in general were pretty standard. I'd love to see an opener with a truly groundbreaking story rather than just the doctor saving the day against a stock alien as a nice easy establishing win.

 

I rather liked the music, which is definitely a departure. Thing with Gold's scoring is that sometimes it felt overscored, and the later CD releases dragged a bit. A more electronic-based scoring feels like it's addressing the tension more. It won't be to everyone's tastes but I liked it.

 

And definitely a cinematic look - I'm sure they didn't film those scenes on a real crane, but at no point did 'green screen' even enter my mind.

[Arpy 4,145]

Loved the episode, there wasn't much music that stood out to me, but that's fine as I think they might go with a less thematic driven score, more atmospherics. I'll miss Gold's orchestral symphonic writing though

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It sounds more like Doctor Who music then Golds work did, really.

[Arpy 4,145]

I never liked any of the scores before Gold. Blasphemy I know...

8 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

It sounds more like Doctor Who music then Golds work did, really.

 

[crocodile 7,984]

18 hours ago, Nick1066 said:

How is it I grew up a sci-fi/fantasy geek and yet have never seen a single episode of Doctor Who?  Literally the only thing I can picture when I think about this show are those rolling trash can robots.

 

 

I gave up after two or three Eccleston episodes. It was watchable enough and I was told that season was a weak link. Maybe I'll commit to finish this thing one day.

 

Karol

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

That season is wonderful, but cheaply produced.

 

The new season really seems to be shot in Anamorphic.

[Richard Penna 3,670]

I watched Rose again last night and everything about it does look very cheap, from the effects to the very synthy music. It was good for the time, just not in comparison to what TV looks look like now.

 

3 hours ago, Arpy said:

I never liked any of the scores before Gold. Blasphemy I know...

 

Before Gold or from Gold?

[Sweeping Strings 2,344]

While we're discussing the music, the new arrangement of the theme samples the original 1963 version BTW. 

[Marian Schedenig 8,172]

Not convinced by the score so far. We'll see how it goes over a few episodes, but so far my fears that under Chibnall's direction the music will take a backseat and get reduced to atmospheric synth soundscapes seem confirmed. Sure, Gold was over the top, but in my mind that was often the part that sold the over the top scifi elements. There were a few moments during this episode that felt understated to me and might have worked better with a more extrovert score, like the reveal of the Doctor's new costume.

 

Aside from that, it looks good. I pretty confident I'm going to love Whittaker's Doctor, and the new companions seem likeable enough. The story wasn't anything special (basically a remake of the first season DS9 episode Captive Pursuit), but all the character stuff was there. Chibnall's previous episodes were mostly unremarkable anyway, at least as far as their stories go. I'm hoping he'll compensate with a strong season arch.

[Pieter Boelen 740]

32 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

I'm hoping he'll compensate with a strong season arch.

I've got a faint memory of seeing an article that said the new season won't have one.

Take that with a large grain of salt, but you might want to temper your expectations...

[Naïve Old Fart 9,496]

@Pieter_Boelen is right: no story arcs, and no DALEKS.

[Marian Schedenig 8,172]

38 minutes ago, Pieter_Boelen said:

I've got a faint memory of seeing an article that said the new season won't have one.

Take that with a large grain of salt, but you might want to temper your expectations...

 

Well, not necessarily a story arc in the Moffat sense. But even the Ecclestone series had Bad Wolf, and after Broadchurch, where every series was just one long story split into several episodes, I will probably be disappointed if the new series doesn't have *some* element to tie it together.

[Pieter Boelen 740]

From what I gather, they're really going all-out on the "every single thing is different now" bandwagon.

Which is too bad; I'm fine with an evolution rather than a revolution.

 

Nothing wrong with some sense of a story arc and a Dalek here or there.

But then... They already vastly reduced the role of the Daleks in the previous season...

 

I'm actually not at all sure yet on what to think of the new season.

It seems decidedly less kid-friendly than what came before. And what came before freaks out my parents!

It's clear this is from the same guy who did Torchwood; it seems far darker now.

 

Thankfully the Doctor herself is a delight.

As bright and appropriate as could be asked of any other good Doctor.

[Wojo 2,453]

This new Doctor is certainly exuberant and enthusiastic in her portrayal. So far, she's a delight. 

 

Her blob of solder on the sonic screwdriver circuit board was less than ideal, but I digress. 

[Arpy 4,145]

7 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

I watched Rose again last night and everything about it does look very cheap, from the effects to the very synthy music. It was good for the time, just not in comparison to what TV looks look like now.

 

 

Before Gold or from Gold?

Before Gold, can't stand the cheesy synth nonsense of Classic Who.

 

On Rose, yes, much like the rest of series 1, it looks dated and cheap now. I think the quality increased during series 3, so did the writing.

[Richard Penna 3,670]

I'm with you on pre-Gold. I'm not sure I've seen a single old-Who episode since that 3D special in the 90s and I've certainly never listened to any of the scores. Sounds really old and dated.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

6 hours ago, Pieter_Boelen said:

It's clear this is from the same guy who did Torchwood; it seems far darker now.

 

Russel T. Davies did Torchwood.

[Arpy 4,145]

If anyone here has seen Chibnall's Broadchurch, you're in for depressing characters in this new Doctor Who.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Dead children, families broken, infidelity, paedo's!

 

Doctor Who is back!

[Wojo 2,453]

I'm kind of annoyed that the old guy dismisses the Doctor's claim that she's an alien in Sheffield as saying there are no such thing as aliens. 

 

On one hand, it implies that people forget about the alien incursions in England that got publicized, like the Sycorax invasion and Miracle Day. 

 

On the other hand, it allows the show to do a hard reset of certain events without requiring new viewers to remember those earlier shows. 

 

Or he's just old and naive, and provides a different perspective than the younger two, who easily accept she's alien. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

A soft reboot of sorts really isnt a bad idea when a new showrunner arrives. Moffat started out doing pretty much the same when he took over. Whipes the slate cleam a bit.

 

You can explain it by saying to yourself that time and reality has been changed a couple of times since then. Didnt the 11th Doctor create an alternate universe at least once? the season 5 finale. Amy Pond suddenly wasnt an orphan.

 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,496]

Season 31!

Yes, he rebooted the universe. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Doctor Who has always had to play plenty fast and loose with continuity.  I wouldn't want the Earth of the show to be that far removed from reality, it'd cease to be relatable.