New Doctor Who series

[rogue69]

What the hell have they done to Doctor Who? They have turned it into a really bad kids program that's clearly made for an American audience these are easily the 2 episodes ever!
Are they trying to kill it off like the Sylvester McCoy series

[Jim_Campbell]

It is a kids' show. I didn't like the new first episode... I couldn't even get to the end. But I've made my peace with that — I'd rather kids grew up watching Dr Who and loving it than having them make the show for fifty-plus-year-old-men like me. If that means that old farts like me stop watching it (and I have, now) then that's better, IMO, than the reverse...

[nxylas]

It was bad, but not bad enough for me to stop watching. The frenetic pacing annoyed me, but Ncuti and Millie were great, and there were some good bits mixed among the panto stuff. I can do without the musical numbers, though.

[The Legendary Shark]

There's a good idea at the core of this episode, and some of the pips are juicy, but the flesh is rotten. 

[nxylas]

I think we just have to accept that Doctor Who is firmly for kids again, and put up or shut up.

[The Monarch]

its always been for kids

its just the kids grew up and just kept watching it

[pauljholden]

Honestly felt for all the many many flaws of that first one, it looked beautiful (well, monster notwithstanding) all the space stuff. And I did laugh at the space startion butt venting all the gas...

(It did feel like a faint echo of rose, Doctor turns up and starts running and keeps running and no-one has any time to relax and just be...)

[nxylas]

its always been for kids

its just the kids grew up and just kept watching it

I think it's fluctuated over the years, from a kids' programme that adults enjoy to an adult programme that kids enjoy. depending on who is in charge. There were definitely periods starting quite early on when it aroused the ire of Mary Whitehouse et al for being too horrific for kids.

[Richard]

It's never pretended to be anything but a kids' show for kids. (The spin-off Torchwood was marketed as Dr Who for adults, but it turned out to be less popular than Dr Who.) It's just that some writers are better at writing all-ages material than others.

[IndigoPrime]

It felt very... RTD Who. The man doesn't do logic. His plots, such as they are, fall to pieces the second you examine them. But the show is loud and flashy and sometimes fun.

I thought Space Babies was absurd. I'm not sure I liked it, with the thing lurching back and forth between uncanny valley talking babies, the C-list Alien, and the Doctor repeatedly being weirdly callous in scaring the kids. The final act wasn't earned either. This one could probably have been saved with a script editor but this show since the return hasn't cared about giving someone in that position any power.

I thought the second episode was much better. The villain was menacing. The story just about held up. Ish. And the ending was so over the top that you had to admire probably the most expensive thing Doctor Who has ever done being a dance number. Even if the song itself was (ironically, given the plot) terrible.

So a 2/5 and a 3/5 from me for those so far. And that's a quarter of the series done. It'll be interesting to see where it goes and if people are so quick to consider RTD the second coming at every available opportunity. I'm preparing for it to be fine and am not terribly invested. It's six hours of hopefully entertaining telly.

[judgeurko]

its always been for kids

its just the kids grew up and just kept watching it

No. The Hinchcliffe & Holmes era was aimed at an older audience.

Space Babies was a dud. The Devil's Chord a lot better but the viewing figures speak for themselves. Only a couple million. The general audience don't care anymore.

[judgeurko]

I think we just have to accept that Doctor Who is firmly for kids again, and put up or shut up.

Well shut up seems to be the response. The general audience are abandoning the show.

[judgeurko]

It is a kids' show. I didn't like the new first episode... I couldn't even get to the end. But I've made my peace with that — I'd rather kids grew up watching Dr Who and loving it than having them make the show for fifty-plus-year-old-men like me. If that means that old farts like me stop watching it (and I have, now) then that's better, IMO, than the reverse...

True, but the reality is the show is a ratings dud so maybe the kids aren't into it anymore.

[IndigoPrime]

The ratings are broadcast. They don't include people watching on iPlayer, which may well be a significant number when factored in. And I suspect the numbers on Disney+ will be more important in the long run.

That said, I'm unsure whether these are the episodes to get people on board. I can imagine a lot of "what the fuck was that?" And the horribly messy way in which we transitioned from 13 to 15 hasn't helped. A clean break and starting completely afresh would have made more sense, but there you go. It's not like the show has ever made a lot of sense. It's always been messy to some degree.

[Jim_Campbell]

Only a couple million. The general audience don't care anymore.

There's no way to infer that from the viewing figures. Those numbers don't include iPlayer or Disney+ — if the show is being more directly and firmly targetted at a younger audience, kids really don't watch live TV any more.

[EDIT: Ninja-ed by IP.]