Doctor Who (13th Doctor)

[Andy Lambert]

Hasn't it sometimes been said that time can be rewritten? Like some moments are fixed solid, but others are more fluid and can change the course of history or the future...
I'm not saying that's a sound argument, but it's been addressed before...

[Colin YNWA]

Do you think there was a whole subplot about Benni (and other guests) transforming into Dregs?

I certainly thought it was leading that way and seemed to drop off the map. All we're left with concerning Benni is what Kane said.... which just didn't seem right?!?

Edited to add - even the kids said ' It wasn't the best one'

[M.I.K.]

Do you think there was a whole subplot about Benni (and other guests) transforming into Dregs?

I certainly thought it was leading that way and seemed to drop off the map. All we're left with concerning Benni is what Kane said.... which just didn't seem right?!?

It seemed like that was probably the way it played out in an earlier draft of the script, but it also felt weirdly like that was the draft they started filming before changing their minds halfway through.

[JamesC]

It was so cack that I turned it off halfway through in favour of doing the washing up.

[Aaron A Aardvark]

There seems to be an "oh, that will do, no one will notice" attitude to DW writing right now. Like they can drop a whole sub-plot and not bother tidying up.

Anyway. I thought that was terrible.

[wedgeski]

Awful.

Awful awful awful. Writing. Direction. Editing. Terrible. And while I agree with the writers that the time for subtlety on climate change is long gone, sci-fi is the province of metaphor; if you want to do it with a sledgehammer, just have the f**king Doctor speak directly into camera and be done with it.

And next week yet *another* 'famous face from history' episode..

Do better, Chibnall. You have it in you.

[IndigoPrime]

I'm not sure he does. Or at least not for Doctor Who. It's not like his prior episodes were any good, and he appears to have an actual disdain for the genre. As for last night's turd, it felt like a rough draft no-one had bothered to work on. The reveal was hackneyed and could have been delivered in any number of other ways. (For example, rather than [spoiler]Earth, have the planet just be an alien one, but The Doctor say in a suitably chilling manner "and they used to be just like you – a civilisation at the top of their game, but they threw it all away".[/spoiler] Then you don't derail Who lore into the bargain, but you still get your point across. Not that this change would save the episode, mind.

[M.I.K.]

There was something nigglingly familiar about the [spoiler]Earth[/spoiler] reveal, and not just in a [spoiler]Beneath The Planet of The Apes[/spoiler] type way. Then I remembered this from the Colin Baker era...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am1UTTINVwM

[Leigh S]

I've always took that to mean something akin to Strontium Dog time travel logic - you can create ripples that affect the surface event, but key events have to happen  - I'd say wiping out the most important planet before it even gets into space from the look of the Dreg mindreading sequence, would be pretty time altering!

If you were graham et al, wouldnt you insist on immeidately going to the future to check the Doctor's story was in fact the case?

Hasn't it sometimes been said that time can be rewritten? Like some moments are fixed solid, but others are more fluid and can change the course of history or the future...
I'm not saying that's a sound argument, but it's been addressed before...

[athorist]

B

The reveal was hackneyed and could have been delivered in any number of other ways. (For example, rather than [spoiler]Earth, have the planet just be an alien one, but The Doctor say in a suitably chilling manner "and they used to be just like you – a civilisation at the top of their game, but they threw it all away".

But the whole point for us, the viewer, is that [spoiler]it's our earth[/spoiler]. Take that out and you might as well throw the whole episode away. I only wish they'd ran it December 11th

(And honestly they already did that, by introducing the idea of orphan planets, so you can talk about it without specifics)

[IndigoPrime]

We'll have to disagree on that. The whole point to me was the _message_, not the specific place.

[von Boom]

It was so cack that I turned it off halfway through in favour of doing the washing up.

I wish I'd done the same. Does no one watch these before they air them? If you want to preach about climate change look to the Christmas Worzel Gummidge specials on how to do it.

I have a headache from all the eye rolling. The only tiny bright point was Bradley Walsh's humour.

[Dandontdare]

I'm gong to look at this thread more often before watching! When you're expecting total catastrophe and all you see is 'not very good', it's a pleasant surprise. 

But it wasn't very good - some nice lines and caharcter momenst early on: I liked [spoiler]"with some crayons and a tin of spam I could make YOU from scratch!"[/spoiler], but yeah, too many undeveloped subcharacters, always in pairs - the mechanic and his son*, the old couple, the [spoiler]mother & daughter[/spoiler] - none of them were given room to develop.

Chibnall sucks.


Couldn't remember where I'd seen the kid and was determined not to google it ... then about an hour after watching, it hit me - Roger!

[Bolt-01]

I was really hoping there was no threat, everything was exactly as it seemed and they really were in a space-spa for a luxury holiday.

As that would drive the Doctor mad trying to find something - with increasingly comic results.

Alas we got this episode instead...

[Proudhuff]

I was really hoping there was no threat, everything was exactly as it seemed and they really were in a space-spa for a luxury holiday.

As that would drive the Doctor mad trying to find something - with increasingly comic results.

Alas we got this episode instead...

Now that would have been good