Doctor Who (13th Doctor)

[IndigoPrime]

if all criticism is made null by the worst of the critics, then Mother Earth is objectively as good as the Cursed Earth, Dead Meat as good as The Dead Man?

I think the point I'm making is more about nostalgia clouding the senses rather than objective quality. The former happens a lot in fandom, and 2000 AD is hardly immune to that, given the prevalence of the "it used to be better in the old days" brigade.

[Leigh S]

That's certainly the case, but it seems a lazy defence of a show (or comic) to find the most ill informed, vague or gammony critics and characterize all criticism as that - I remember when Who came back and I was pretty much delighted with that first series, despite some reservations around plot resolution (the infamous RTDeus Ex Machina). 

While there were a lot of indisputable MMs, it was clear all criticism was swept under the same umbrella - define your "enemy" as the worst, most straw man example - then kind of make it like you need to choose - are you for this or against it?  "Why are you watching it if you hate it!" - you see it in all walks of life, look at Politics - it's that dratted interwebs fault I tell thee...

if all criticism is made null by the worst of the critics, then Mother Earth is objectively as good as the Cursed Earth, Dead Meat as good as The Dead Man?

I think the point I'm making is more about nostalgia clouding the senses rather than objective quality. The former happens a lot in fandom, and 2000 AD is hardly immune to that, given the prevalence of the "it used to be better in the old days" brigade.

[Leigh S]

Just to prove the memory doesn't cheat, my review of "Rose" - quite easy to go back and find these as this iteration of the forum appears to have started only aa couple of months before the Who relaunch...

Much better than it had any right to be - OK, so there was little 'plot' but there wasnt meant to be one - it was about introducing the characters and concepts, and did that perfectly.  Eccleston was perfect - all the clips I'd seen didnt prepare me for how well he did every aspect of teh role, from manic to serious - Even Piper exceeded expectations.

The only real downer was the terrible incidental music, which undermined a lot of the tension, especially in the early section. 

And nice to see Beeb f*** up by piping in Norton at the most opportune moments - well done you arses!

[Leigh S]

By the end of series 1 I was positive, but anxious about the same issues that have marred my enjoyment ever since - as I say, what I see as a bug, others see as a feature:

https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=14189.45

but some relevant discussion going on there pertinent to this thread, 15 years on! PVS, where art thou?  well I know where you are, holed up in Midlam Manor plotting nefariously, but even so - Glory days!

[Patrick]

I need to take part more in this forum. So... Doctor Who?

I'm enjoying this series. My feelings about the last one were that I thought Jodie Whittaker made a good Doctor, but the stories were mostly pretty dull (except the giant spiders one, which was really cringy, and the Pakistan one, which was elevated by its beautiful photography) and there were probably too many companions, with Yaz more often than not left with not much to do.

This series is a big improvement in how much more fun the stories are. It can get a bit message-y (but it could do that under Moffatt too), and there was that one episode in particular where the message was delivered by a marching band of sledgehammers (which also stole the future predators from Primeval). But mostly, it's upped the bonkers quotient, so I'm happy.

Story by story:

Spyfall - this was fun, packed with incident and ideas. The new Master is a good take on the character (I wasn't keen on John Sim - too manic - but I loved Missy) and the use of historical characters was well done.

Orphan 55 - <paxman>yeeesssss</paxman>. This series' Arachnids in the UK.

Nikola Tesla's Night of Horror - well cast, the giant scorpions were a bit "we need a monster, what can we use?", but a good fun throwaway episode.

Fugitive of the Judoon - marvellous. Lots of misdirection, centred around a total mindfuck. This is my kind of Doctor Who story.

Praxeus - another eco-message episode. To be honest, I only half-watched this one, there were other things going on in my house, so I don't really know how good it was.

Can You Hear Me? - Loved this one. An obvious moral, but one I can relate to, and well integrated into the story. Ian Gelder's performance as the big bald baddie was delicious.

The Haunting of Villa Diodati - another excellent one. Very creepy, the half-converted cyberman was a fantastic design, pays off Jack's warning and sets up the big finale. I know you couldn't really kill off any of the famous aristocratic characters, but the servants deserved better.

[Colin YNWA]

Well that was pretty fine and then... then... the bloody Master shows up all over egging it and nonsense. The last episode has a LOT of ground to cover!

[Leigh S]

Hopefully it will be an hour long at least...

That wasn't bad, though it didn't have to land any endings - it wasnt clear what Cyber-Ranters game is, but then again, it should hopefully all pan out next week and tie in with the whole Gallifrey destruction/other Doctors threads....  should.....

Good to see the Master, not great to see the Master as Tennant adjacent - I'm trying to imagine Anthony Ainley playing the Master as Tom Baker might and failiing.  The Villain should surely stand as opposite to the Hero rather than some weird mimic? I suppose you could see some echoes between the urbane Pertwee and Delgado incarnations....

If Cyber-Ranters only plan to ascend is to "switch them off and on again", that seems a bit poor!  Hope there is more to it  than that, and that is hinted at.  I thought there would be fun had with the Cybermen doing everything possible to avoid killing those last humans as the only source of more of their kind, so having 10,000s of Warrior types in deep freeze(Need a better look at the design, but on first glance liked them - a bit "Invasion/Revenge" style)  feels both a missed opportunity and a bit of a cop out.... for now

[Leigh S]

I think that's a fair assessment - I was not keeping up with Capaldis last series - the Moon is an Egg/Spontaneous Trees episodes did for me I think - then the way the First Doctor got character assassinated in the final Capaldi had me in a position where even with Chris "Cyberwoman" Chibnall as the successor was a step up.

First series of Jodie I intermittently enjoyed - it felt more like old Who, for good and ill - I think it started by breaking Moffatts "dont start your episode with two "aliens" discussing their culture/problems" rule? 

Ryan I still find terribly flat, but Yaz is decent and Graham entertaining...  I liked the lack of "BIG" arcs last series, so am wary of "GALLIFREY DESTROYED/EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS A LIE!", but let's see where it lands....

I need to take part more in this forum. So... Doctor Who?

I'm enjoying this series. My feelings about the last one were that I thought Jodie Whittaker made a good Doctor, but the stories were mostly pretty dull (except the giant spiders one, which was really cringy, and the Pakistan one, which was elevated by its beautiful photography) and there were probably too many companions, with Yaz more often than not left with not much to do.

This series is a big improvement in how much more fun the stories are. It can get a bit message-y (but it could do that under Moffatt too), and there was that one episode in particular where the message was delivered by a marching band of sledgehammers (which also stole the future predators from Primeval). But mostly, it's upped the bonkers quotient, so I'm happy.

Story by story:

Spyfall - this was fun, packed with incident and ideas. The new Master is a good take on the character (I wasn't keen on John Sim - too manic - but I loved Missy) and the use of historical characters was well done.

Orphan 55 - <paxman>yeeesssss</paxman>. This series' Arachnids in the UK.

Nikola Tesla's Night of Horror - well cast, the giant scorpions were a bit "we need a monster, what can we use?", but a good fun throwaway episode.

Fugitive of the Judoon - marvellous. Lots of misdirection, centred around a total mindfuck. This is my kind of Doctor Who story.

Praxeus - another eco-message episode. To be honest, I only half-watched this one, there were other things going on in my house, so I don't really know how good it was.

Can You Hear Me? - Loved this one. An obvious moral, but one I can relate to, and well integrated into the story. Ian Gelder's performance as the big bald baddie was delicious.

The Haunting of Villa Diodati - another excellent one. Very creepy, the half-converted cyberman was a fantastic design, pays off Jack's warning and sets up the big finale. I know you couldn't really kill off any of the famous aristocratic characters, but the servants deserved better.

[paddykafka]

Well, if this review is anything to go by, this episode sounds promising. 

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/doctor-who-landed-in-1950s-rural-ireland-last-night-the-fiddles-never-stopped-1.4183190

[Proudhuff]

Well, if this review is anything to go by, this episode sounds promising. 

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/doctor-who-landed-in-1950s-rural-ireland-last-night-the-fiddles-never-stopped-1.4183190

I blame the Brits....

[von Boom]

Doctor: Stay here. I can protect you. Trust me.

30-seconds later, two dead.

Doctor: I can't protect you, run.

Erm, yeah.

[IndigoPrime]

This Doctor is a bit shit on that. Also, why the fuck does she keep parking the TARDIS a mile away from where they are going, and then saying they can't get back to the TARDIS? She's coming across like Nemesis, playing with the ants.

[von Boom]

Has there ever been consistency about where the TARDIS lands?

[IndigoPrime]

Well, no, but the thing landing miles away from the action, so they can run with the "we can't get back to the TARDIS" conceit yet again in the same series is a bit trying.

[von Boom]

Very true.