The Doctor Who Thread.....

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

15 hours ago, Sweeping Strings said:

Anyone else find it weird that there's less than a month to go to The Power Of The Doctor and we haven't had a sniff of a trailer? Chibnall was clearly really glad to get the hell out of Dodge after Legend Of The Sea Devils.   

I believe that the Centenary Special will be aired on Sunday 30th October.

[Tallguy 3,386]

I wonder what the conversations about music were like under Davies vs. Moffat. I don't believe I've ever heard anything about what they wanted musically other than "Murray Gold is great." Did the music under Moffat change because of direction, or because the show changed and Gold simply followed suit, or did Gold say "I did this for four years and this is a good time to change"?

 

Any more questions and I'll start wearing question marks on my collar. (Again.)

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

Well, his biggest change in style (mostly for the, let's say, less interesting) was when Capaldi took over. So it must have been either Gold's decision to do something more "modern" for his 4th (technically, 5th) Doctor, or a mandate from Moffat or someone else from production to do something different this time.

[Sweeping Strings 2,358]

Curious about the regen ... will Whittaker become whatever version of Ten it is we've seen from the 60th special(s) pics straightaway, or become Gatwa briefly but then there's 'glitching' and becomes Ten from that? 

Also wondering if it'll be another 'inside the Tardis' regen where the Doctor throws out so much regen energy, it gets destroyed.    

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

4 hours ago, Sweeping Strings said:

...wondering if it'll be another 'inside the Tardis' regen where the Doctor throws out so much regen energy, it gets destroyed.    

I hope so. I'm not fond of the current desk top theme.

[Richard Penna 3,687]

Had a skim through the new Flux set this evening and a surprisingly amount of it is far more orchestral than synth meanderings. There were a handful of moments I noticed during the show and they're all on here, made easier by the Chrome extension AudD which recognises snippets of music in the episodes from iPlayer.

 

Based on that and the fact the Silva has the entire 2 1/2 hours for flac download at £8 it's very likely I'll pick this up.

[Sweeping Strings 2,358]

18 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

I hope so. I'm not fond of the current desk top theme.

Yeah. Appreciate them taking advantage of the increased budget and studio space available for the interior from the McGann movie onwards, but the current one is too much ... central console column being some sort of rock/crystal thing, with others bending overhead towards it like the legs of a dead spider on its back? Nah. 

'Oh, you've redecorated. I don't like it'.     

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

Yeah. There's no round things. Ok, so there's a few round things, but they're all over the place.

 

[Tom Guernsey 2,284]

1 hour ago, Sweeping Strings said:

Yeah. Appreciate them taking advantage of the increased budget and studio space available for the interior from the McGann movie onwards, but the current one is too much ... central console column being some sort of rock/crystal thing, with others bending overhead towards it like the legs of a dead spider on its back? Nah. 

'Oh, you've redecorated. I don't like it'.     

I actually think the current one looks cheap, the crystal things just looks like plastic moulded shapes with lights in (because they are) rather than either something pleasingly structural or something a bit more magical looking. It's a bit over-production designed for my taste, the Paul McGann one I feel similar about. I really liked the console rooms for Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi though.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

The second Smith > Capaldi control room is a thing a beauty.

[Tallguy 3,386]

And it has whiskey!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

Huh?

[Tallguy 3,386]

Husbands of River Song we find out the TARDIS has a liquor cabinet.

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

On 30/09/2022 at 8:34 PM, Tallguy said:

I wonder what the conversations about music were like under Davies vs. Moffat. I don't believe I've ever heard anything about what they wanted musically other than "Murray Gold is great." Did the music under Moffat change because of direction, or because the show changed and Gold simply followed suit, or did Gold say "I did this for four years and this is a good time to change"?

 

Any more questions and I'll start wearing question marks on my collar. (Again.)

 

I always got the impression that both were fairly hands off with the musical direction and allowed Gold autonomy, aside from Moffat's frequent meddling through endless tracking of Eleven's "I Am the Doctor" theme. The change in direction for Twelve feels like a musician's move rather than something directed by an exec; Gold really read the room in terms of the film scoring landscape in the mid 2010's (as well as Who's musical legacy) and made a big swing back to classic synthesiser sounds to tremendous effect. I read that Moffat had to be convinced by Gold to let him use a new theme for Twelve because he was so obsessed with Eleven's; I'm glad it happened because while you can hear the DNA of Eleven in "A Good Man" it feels much more in line with Capaldi's gruff portrayal. The whimsy of Smith doesn't really translate to early Capaldi.

 

I do wonder if Gold was explicitly told to make Series 5 lean heavily into the fairytale aesthetic or if he was just responding to the storytelling. Either way for me that season just edges out Series 4 as his best work. The action music is absolutely rollicking ("The Vampires of Venice" and "Battle in the Sky" are great fun), and the music for the two-part finale is nothing short of breathtaking. On top of all that it introduced the greatest theme Gold ever wrote for Who: "The Mad Man With a Box". It's a theme that could accompany any and every single incarnation of the Doctor, much like the Doctor's theme introduced in Series 1. But instead of the alien and mysterious aspects of that theme it suggests the kindness and wisdom of the Doctor, simultaneously whimsical and mournful. "Big and little at the same time, brand new and ancient, and the bluest blue ever."

[Tallguy 3,386]

1 hour ago, Docteur Qui said:

and the music for the two-part finale is nothing short of breathtaking

 

You are certainly not wrong!

 

1 hour ago, Docteur Qui said:

On top of all that it introduced the greatest theme Gold ever wrote for who: "The Mad Man With a Box".

 

Ooooh. Do I agree with that? I certainly don't DISagree with that. I just love The Doctor's Theme (especially the season 4 version) so much.

 

It always makes me smile that THIS is the last music that plays over Matt Smith.

 

1 hour ago, Docteur Qui said:

It's a theme that could accompany any and every single incarnation of the Doctor, much like the Doctor's theme introduced in Series 1. But instead of the alien and mysterious aspects of that theme it suggests the kindness and wisdom of the Doctor, simultaneously whimsical and mournful. "Big and little at the same time, brand new and ancient, and the bluest blue ever."

 

Gotta go with this. I think I really fell totally and irrevocably in love with this theme at the end of The Doctor's Wife.

 

I'd love to see some Tom Baker (or Jon Pertwee) scenes scored with this!

[Oswin Pond 58]

4 hours ago, Docteur Qui said:

 

I"The Mad Man With a Box". It's a theme that could accompany any and every single incarnation of the Doctor, much like the Doctor's theme introduced in Series 1. But instead of the alien and mysterious aspects of that theme it suggests the kindness and wisdom of the Doctor, simultaneously whimsical and mournful. "Big and little at the same time, brand new and ancient, and the bluest blue ever."

 

You're absolutely right. And I think Gold agrees with you since he has kept using this theme for other Doctors. You hear it several times associated with 12 and also with John Hurt, although in the case of John Hurt it's just a re-used music, unlike 12 that has 3 new variations of Mad Man.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

@Tallguy, Peter Capaldi was born in Glasgow. He would never drink whiskey! 

[Tallguy 3,386]

4 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

@Tallguy, Peter Capaldi was born in Glasgow. He would never drink whiskey! 

 

I KNEW someone would call me on that.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

They could you on that, all they want, they would still be wrong 

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

What would each Doctor have in their booze cupboard? Four's is definitely absinthe, and Nine probably has a giant never-ending can of lager or stout. Eleven has a virgin cocktail of some sort and pretends it's alcoholic.

[Tallguy 3,386]

I would think Three would have a whole liquor section in his TARDIS.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

1 would have a fine Port. 5 would have Pepsi, on tap. 6 would have some gaudy cocktail called Satan's Arse, or something, to match his costume. Being Scottish, 7 would have a 25 year old single malt.

If memory serves, neither 10, nor 11, liked the taste of alcohol.

[Jay 37,355]

1996 Dr Who TV movie producer Philip Segal reveals that he had an entire book of ideas for what could have been

[Naïve Old Fart 9,524]

Nautical Cybermen? Could work.

The whole "family ties" thing is old news. Before Roger Delgado died, Dicks and Letts were planning an epic story called "The Final Game", which would have revealed The Master to be The Doctor's brother.

Since then, It's been hinted at, but never truly explored.

[Tallguy 3,386]

Martha: I thought you were going to say he was your secret brother or something.
The Doctor: You’ve been watching too much TV.

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

On 6/10/2022 at 4:27 AM, Tallguy said:

Martha: I thought you were going to say he was your secret brother or something.
The Doctor: You’ve been watching too much TV.

I think of this exchange whenever I watch SPECTRE. Dear god what were they thinking?!?!

[Tallguy 3,386]

57 minutes ago, Docteur Qui said:

I think of this exchange whenever I watch SPECTRE. Dear god what were they thinking?!?!

 

... Yeah...

 

I liked SPECTRE. But... Yeah...

 

BTW, Power of the Doctor trailer is up. The date isn't in the trailer, but it's apparently October 23rd.

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

 

This looks like it's going to be The End of Time Part 3 in terms of the kitchen sink-ness of it all (or Journey's End for that matter). The Lone Cyberman, the Master, Daleks, probably the Fugitive Doctor and the Time entity from Flux... And as usual taking itself a little too seriously except when it's trying to be funny and the jokes fall flat. Still, I'll be tuning in for Jodie's last hurrah - I'm glad she's getting a big send-off and not the whimper than it could've otherwise been.

 

I often forget how ambitious the visuals are in Chibnall's era - lack of memorability in every other aspect will do that I suppose. What really gets me excited is the prospect of RTD stories and scale with modern visual techniques. It's strange to think that it wasn't until the 2009 specials that the show was filmed for HD.

[Sweeping Strings 2,358]

It's admittedly looking pretty spectacular. But the likes of Chibnall feeling that posting a 15-minute Flux explanation video was necessary, the revelation that Whittaker's first season finale was made from the first-draft script and the half-arsed Sea Devils special are still fresh in the memory. 

On the Doctor and booze ... I remember wondering if the likes of Eleven spitting out wine and saying 'Disgusting! I thought it would taste more like the gums' was the Beeb possibly being over-sensitive about showing the hero of a family show enjoying alcohol (in contrast to Pertwee's 70s 'bon viveur'). Then I saw Twelve pour out a 'wee dram' for himself and the Half-Face Man in his very first episode and thought 'Ah, maybe not'.   

Doesn't Ten ACT drunk at one point in The Girl In The Fireplace (supposedly from banana daiquiris, if memory serves)? Suggesting that he may have experienced it for real at some stage.   

[Richard Penna 3,687]

Hmmm.

 

"this is the day you erased for ever"

 

Translation: we want a really cool line to put in the trailer to make the episode sound as dramatic as possible, but it's beyond obvious that nothing will actually happen beyond another regeneration.

 

Dhawan's been good in previous series though and it looks like a good amount of action - could be good.

 

I also assume that there must be one more release of Akinola's score coming for the post-Flux specials.

[Exar Xan 1]

Talking about Akinola's score releases: Did somebody already did an episode breakdown for the Flux soundtrack?

Tracklist:
 

01. Series 13 Opening Titles (0:41)
02. A Little Skirmish (3:21)
03. What Lies Ahead (3:33)
04. Renewed At Last (5:01)
05. Must Not Blink (1:51)
06. Dancing Across Space And Time (8:52)
07. I Know Where We Are (3:25)
08. I Will Find You (4:48)
09. Parlay (8:42)
10. Short-Term Repair (8:17)
11. The Other Things (2:04)
12. When Is This? (7:46)
13. There Is No Greater Battle (4:19)
14. All Is Ending (8:45)
15. I’m Not Giving Up (5:29)
16. Rapid Response Unit (8:50)
17. You Are Recalled (7:29)
18. Village Of The Angels End Credits (0:43)
19. On My Way (3:16)
20. We Are Conversion (4:40)
21. An Incredible Stroke Of Luck (4:04)
22. Where Are We? (6:43)
23. Fetch Your Dog (6:59)
24. We Have Everything We Need (4:14)
25. I Can Rend Them All To Dust (2:41)
26. And Then We Will Play (7:15)
27. The Ultimate Betrayal (7:22)
28. Nothing Is Forever (3:03)
29. Where Would Earth Be Without You? (6:32)
30. Series 13 End Credits (0:52)

[Sweeping Strings 2,358]

On 09/10/2022 at 4:28 PM, Richard Penna said:

Hmmm.

 

"this is the day you erased for ever"

 

Translation: we want a really cool line to put in the trailer to make the episode sound as dramatic as possible, but it's beyond obvious that nothing will actually happen beyond another regeneration.

 

Dhawan's been good in previous series though and it looks like a good amount of action - could be good.

 

I also assume that there must be one more release of Akinola's score coming for the post-Flux specials.

Yep ... battling the Doctor is pretty much the Master's reason for being, so why would he want to remove his favourite 'plaything' from history entirely? 

[Richard Penna 3,687]

2 hours ago, Exar Xan said:

Talking about Akinola's score releases: Did somebody already did an episode breakdown for the Flux soundtrack?

 

Someone has: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who:_Series_13_–_Flux_(soundtrack)

[Exar Xan 1]

1 hour ago, Richard Penna said:

 

Someone has: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who:_Series_13_–_Flux_(soundtrack)

Thank you!

[Sweeping Strings 2,358]

Anyone else expecting a visually spectacular but incoherently plotted 90 minutes tomorrow night? 

Am also wondering that even with 'Thasmin' will Chibnall have made either Tegan or Ace lesbian, because reasons. 

[TBO1711 28]

I Wonder when we get a soundtrack release for Legend Of The Sea Devils And The Power Of The Doctor?

[Richard Penna 3,687]

Given that we've now got Flux out of the way and it didn't had anything from them, my guess now would be a 'specials' release, like Gold's series 4 specials.

 

I wonder whether the release of the Flux album was timed to rekindle interest prior to the final special... I can't see another reason for such a huge delay.

[Tallguy 3,386]

I re-watched The Doctor Falls and The Woman Who Fell to Earth the other night.

 

1) TWWFTE is quite good. Whittaker is winning from the first moment. I don't think her shows were as terrible as some do, but if she had gotten a Capaldi season 10 or a Smith season 5...

2) WHERE THE F*** IS THE SEASON 10 SOUNDTRACK?!?

 

And I'll leave this here. This just makes me realize how long this stupid show has been in my life:

 

Some really wonderful and clever edits in there. ("One day, I shall come back.") Pity that McGann isn't included.

 

EDIT: Obviously written pre-coffee. McGann is not only in there, but the movie title sequence is there too!

[Disco Stu 15,495]

On 9/9/2022 at 8:48 AM, Disco Stu said:

I've seen some speculation that Whittaker will not actually regenerate into Gatwa, but will actually regenerate into Tennant just for the 60th special next year, and that Tennant will then regenerate into Gatwa.  Sort of a mid-regeneration revisit of an old face/persona before moving on to the "real" regeneration.

[Tallguy 3,386]

Doctor... I'll let you go. 

 

That was a lot. I'll write in the morning. 

[DarthDementous 1,059]

Definitely Chibnall’s Stolen Earth/Parting of the Ways

 

I didn’t hate it, some parts I genuinely liked and looks like the mad lads actually did it

 

I know some people are going to bemoan retreading old ground going forward but the storytelling potential of all that being completely recontextualised by a lot of time is very high. It’s also a great curveball to wake people up from the kind of by the numbers stupor of the show and to prepare yourself for things to go very different now

[TBO1711 28]

Hoping we get a Legend Of The Sea Devils and The Power Of The Doctor soundtrack sometime this week

[Sweeping Strings 2,358]

I liked it a good bit more than most of Flux and the other 2 new episodes this year. Well-paced (90 minutes but no 'drag' at all) with some never-done-before stuff, pleasantly surprising cameos, touching reunions and some decent chuckles.  

[TBO1711 28]

Also a release of Eve Of The Daleks soundtrack

[Tallguy 3,386]

Spoiler

I had no idea William Russell was still alive. After an episode that I was already loving that blew me away.

 

The Fivish Doctors! Whooo!

 

So is there some kind of scientific principle that if Tom Baker is in an episode of Doctor Who that none of the other classic Doctors can be? And vice versa?

 

I don't know why, but The Master getting to say to Kate "You father was an idiot!" just gave me the warm fuzzies.

 

This would be the first time that someone's clothes regenerated, yeah?

 

How is Tennant skinnier now than he was during the show? That is PROPER skinny!

 

I think it can be well argued that Kate Stewart is Steven Moffat's greatest contribution to Doctor Who. And he had some humdingers.

 

Goodbye Jodie. You had a bumpy ride, but you were The Doctor. And you always will be!

 

 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

1 hour ago, Tallguy said:

Spoiler

This would be the first time that someone's clothes regenerated, yeah?

 

 

Spoiler

It's a shame because I was looking forward to the goofiness of seeing Tennant in the Whittaker outfit!

 

[Positivatee 327]

I didn't have time last night to watch the whole episode, between HotD and football, but I did catch the regeneration scene on YouTube. 

 

I DVRd it for tonight. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

21 minutes ago, Positivatee said:

I didn't have time last night to watch the whole episode, between HotD and football, but I did catch the regeneration scene on YouTube. 

 

Oh yeah that's all I watched too.  But I haven't watched a single Chibnall era story since the Rosa Parks one!

 

Looking forward to rejoining the show next year.  Even though I haven't been watching in recent years, it still feels so strange to not have a Holiday special this year.  I do hope RTD will have them go back to airing on Christmas again instead of New Years.

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

Well, there's one good thing about this episode: It was Chibnall's last one…

 

I think there was supposed to be a story in there, but I have no idea what it was. All I saw was fan service that served no purpose other than being fan service (and I don't mind fan service as long as there's a good reason for it).

 

Spoiler

All the fuzz about the Doctor abandoning his old companions, for… what? All the fuzz about Jaz and the Doctor for… the Doctor just teasing her before leaving her?

 

The score was three notes from Also sprach Zarathustra and a bit of the Terminator, and lots of noodling.

 

If nothing else, Whittaker and Gill deserved better.

[DarthDementous 1,059]

7 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

 

Oh yeah that's all I watched too.  But I haven't watched a single Chibnall era story since the Rosa Parks one!

 

Looking forward to rejoining the show next year.  Even though I haven't been watching in recent years, it still feels so strange to not have a Holiday special this year.  I do hope RTD will have them go back to airing on Christmas again instead of New Years.

It was confirmed that Ncuti’s first proper episode will be out Christmas 2023

 

Here’s a very tantalising sneak peek at next year: https://youtu.be/e_fZE4f4JAg