Doctor Who Series 11 Discussion

[Jim_Campbell]

Fundamentally, the problem with this series of Dr Who is that I don’t think Chibnall gives a shit about science fiction. In fact, I think he’s actively contemptuous of it.

If you’re handed one of the BBC’s premier shows and the best thing you can come up with for your FOURTH episode is ”something something giant spiders something toxic waste something something” then you’re obviously not even trying.

An engaging cast is really doing their best but there’s not much they can do with an episode like tonight’s — the ‘series finale’ — when it makes not a lick of sense.

[Steve Green]

No series next year either, just the New Year's episode...

[Taryn Tailz]

No series next year either, just the New Year's episode...

I think that's still just a rumour doing the rounds at this stage. I'm certainly not aware of any official confirmation of that.

[Jim_Campbell]

Can’t remember if it was Mike Collins or Patrick Goddard, but one of the droids who works on the show has said they’re already working on the next series, so it doesn’t sound like they’re taking a full year out.

[Steve Green]

Early 2020

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/entries/89823d93-ca6c-486b-9c82-2a71cd1560bb

[TordelBack]

I thought that was loads of fun, a great payoff for the season that shows you can do standalones that still feed into something more cohesive as long as that's based around a bit of character development. Everyone was good this week, especially the Doctor, although Yaz continues to be poorly served in terms of things to do.

There was a chorus of "oh look,  it's the crap robots again!" in our house.

Still wondering if, now they see how this stuff works, they are ever going to try to find all those humans the Stenza stole before Tim Shaw got zapped to nowheresville.

And, err, "Timeless Child", anyone? What was that all about?

Betting on Grendel for New Years Day.

[Taryn Tailz]

Tordelback, I'm genuinely curious as to what you found fun about that episode. I'm by no means attempting to say you're wrong or criticize you for enjoying something I didn't (the nerve of it  ), but I couldn't find a single thing about that episode which rose above 'boring', let alone anything I would call fun.

In fact, having given it a bit more thought, I'm genuinely considering that episode as a new entry in my top (or bottom) ten all-time worst episodes of Doctor Who. I loathed everything about it.

[Jim_Campbell]

In fact, having given it a bit more thought, I'm genuinely considering that episode as a new entry in my top (or bottom) ten all-time worst episodes of Doctor Who. I loathed everything about it.

I’m not sure I’d be that harsh on it, but I’d agree it was terrible — it made literally no sense whatsoever. I’d be happy to keep Whitaker, but Chibnall will kill this show within three years.

[Taryn Tailz]

In fact, having given it a bit more thought, I'm genuinely considering that episode as a new entry in my top (or bottom) ten all-time worst episodes of Doctor Who. I loathed everything about it.

I’m not sure I’d be that harsh on it, but I’d agree it was terrible — it made literally no sense whatsoever. I’d be happy to keep Whitaker, but Chibnall will kill this show within three years.

This is new territory for me, as I'm usually the show's biggest cheerleader. Perhaps that's why this one has rubbed me up the wrong way, because it genuinely hurts to see a show I care so much about reduced to this. (And it's entirely the fault of the writing. Jodie Whittaker was as delightful as ever throughout the episode.)

[TordelBack]

I liked the determination to free all the prisoners, I liked the weirdness of the Auchs (sp?) pair, I liked seeing Tim Shaw again,  I liked the development of Graham and Ryan's relationship,  I liked Graham's dilemma, I liked the captured miniaturised planets, I liked almost all of the Doctor's monlogues/dialogue. The action felt purposeful, and the story felt like it traded on what we'd seen of the characters over the series.

As usual the logic of the plot was incoherent, the villain caved far too easily, and Yaz had little or nothing to do.  But there was enough entertaining stuff going on that I didn't really mind. I thought it showed the current setup geling nicely, even if much stronger writing would be welcome.

[Taryn Tailz]

Fair enough. I probably would have liked the captured miniaturised planets as well, had they not been lifted wholesale from Douglas Adams' Doctor Who.

[sheridan]

...but Graham preparing Prem for the ceremony bought a tear to my glass eye.

That was powerful stuff alright, Bradley is MVP for me this series. I confess I was hoping the Doc .

I considered that kind of twist as well - though there may have been bigamy issues if he was still alive...

[sheridan]

Loads of OH MY GOD SJW WHO online right now, and people bleating that it shouldn't be a history lesson.

Somebody on twitter rather sharply noted the lack of previous outrage at Victorian England episodes, the Shakespeare episode, the Pompeii episode… just the Rosa Parks and Indian Partition episodes. Funny, that.

Also the series was intended, right from the very beginning, to be (what is now called) edutainment - going to different historical eras and showing the kids around.  Hence, visits to prehistory, journeying to Cathay with Marco Polo, Aztecs and the French Revoltion.  Kind of went off-track in later series, but the intention was there from the first episode in 1963.

[sheridan]

Yes, it's my fault for watching at all and feeding the click economy (acknowledged that in my previous post), but it's hard to ignore literally rows of thumbnails of hate. Everytime I get one, I ask not to get any more from that channel and on that topic and give my reason. And tomorrow there's another selection (plus anti-ST Discovery and anti-TLJ Vids... Hmm,  what do they have in common?) overwhelming the stuff I do want to watch.

Hence my whine that it's hard to enjoy - or judge - the show in isolation. It exists in a monetized warzone. The only option seems to be to stick my fingers in my ears and leave the shits to rant unopposed, and claim overwhelming consensus. It's not exactly a pleasant idea.

Not heard of that B-guy before - couldn't face actually watching any of the vids he'd posted (largely because I'm pretty sure he'd get some money out of me from advert views or something) but did click on the images tab of google and saw the titles of loads of his videos without having to visit youtube.  Yep - he seems to hate all the things I like, and uses pictures of black people and women while ranting about how bad everything is.


I get the same problem with youtube recommendations - anything Star Wars related seems  to have the words "everything wrong with" or similar attached to the vid title, so I don't check out any Star Wars suggestions any more.


Oh, another reason not to follow the B-hating guy - it'd pollute my recommendations even further!

[Colin YNWA]

Betting on Grendel for New Years Day.

Well that Hunter Rose goes bloomin' get everywhere...