Doctor Who

misery guts wrote:

The series ended on Sunday, and I felt it was better than expected.  The next episode will be on New Year's Day, the uninspiring Eve of the Daleks. No, really.

It was OK, really, a time loop-based effort. Felt rather more that a small cast is a covid requirement than for the needs of story-telling.

The next episode, at Easter, had its title revealed at the end: Legend of the Sea Devils. 

misery guts wrote:

The next episode, at Easter, had its title revealed at the end: Legend of the Sea Devils. 

Sunday night, with a pirate Queen, and the titular returning monsters.

^^^It was OK.

Anyway, Sunday saw the announcement of Jodie Whittaker's replacement - step forward Ncuti Gatwa, one of the stars of a Netflix series called Sex Education, about whom RTD is fulsome in his enthusiasm.

Filming is under way on forthcoming specials, of which the most headline-grabbing news is the return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate (and Bernard Cribbins too, but he's in his 90s now, so unlikely to feature that much).

The show returns on October 23rd in "The Power of the Doctor" and here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxaDzBPBuP8

I thought the special was quite reasonable, really; in some respects like an anniversary special a year early. Several old Doctors turned up.

Here's a convention panel with three of said Doctors (hopefully viewable abroad):

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

Millie Gibson was announced on Friday as the new companion when Ncuti Gatwa takes over as the Doctor.

The three next specials won't air until Christmas 2023.

Obviously still early days, but the Gatwa era is at least underway filming wise:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65347900

misery guts wrote:Millie Gibson was announced on Friday as the new companion when Ncuti Gatwa takes over as the Doctor.

The three next specials won't air until Christmas 2023.

The three Tennant shows start in 4 weeks' time, and then run one per Saturday for 3 weekends 

In continuing build-up for the return of the show, and marking its 60th anniversary, there are a series of YT vids called Tales of the TARDIS, in which folks mainly from the "classic" era return for a few minutes more.

There was an all-new minisode type scene shown last night on BBC1 with Dave Tennant making a controversial visit to the early days of his greatest enemies, and some major retconning going on. Though reportedly there's loads more to come soon. The scene's on YT, if you're a masochist.

"The Star Beast" aired on Saturday night, with David Tennant reunited with Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, in a somewhat humdrum runaround in London (most likely).

This evening's episode "Wild Blue Yonder" was a bit more intriguing and low-key. Next Saturday marks the end of these not-that-specials.

It's hard for me to comment about DW anymore. All I feel is apathy. RTD makes me ill. He's ruined "Journey's End", Doctor / Donna. I tuned out after Whittaker, S2 "Orphan" whatever, it was dead. I've watched every classic episode more times than I care to admit and always will. That will never get old. I watched "Full Circle" last night. Just brilliant! Adric was my first crush. I would have been 12 and knew I was gay. I only volunteer that as to not be accused of being an ~ism. Still, I've NEVER met a gay/trans person who corrected me with pronouns. Once you bring pronouns into it, I'm going to the other side of the street. This, to me, is not how real people act. The fact that this a DW post makes me sad. I've no ill will for those who enjoy what it's become. Sorry you missed the classic era. The show I was obsessed with has become another vessel for 'the message'. This show is longer a family escape. It's an agenda. We're old and tired. What's to come isn't for us, sadly.

1 - I have a 10 year old autistic nephew who loves DW, especially Tom Baker. He watched 'The Seeds Of Doom' in one night! He ADORES Sarah Jane Adv, and has even seen some Torchwood. I'm not going to show him this stuff. A family show has made me turn away from showing my nephew. He's got a few years before he starts the puberty thing. I don't appreciate RTD telling kids it's good to become trans. Is that even legal at 15? I doubt it. Donna gave all the $ away. Isn't that surgery expensive?
   Pronouns - 21 year old / 15 year old Rose scolds The Doctor on pronouns for a furry alien cat thing. When Donna called him a "male presenting Timelord" and the snarky looks. "We know everything and you know nothing".     Thx for ruining Donna and that cardboard Jason/Rose.

   Wild Blue Yonder ... Really? I don't care about the race swapping Isaac Newton as much as I do Tennant's, "Yes, he was SO hot". The show is dead for anyone without Kool-Aid hair and 10+ letters in their alphabet. I call it the alphabet soup group. Can't keep up and don't care. This is meant to brainwash the kids in a world run by kid diddlers.
    DW ended in 2017, far as I'm concerned, with Capaldi. He was brilliant and could make BAD stories good as long as he was there. I was never offended by DW until the Trump bashing started. I didn't like the direction it was going. It had NO place in DW, no matter one's politics, but that's what the media does now. If you don't believe they're coming for your children, you're not watching.

    Not even going to discuss the BI-generation, because it makes no sense. I'm sure it's up there with non-binary.

   Enjoy the lyrics for the Christmas Doctor Who song ... Eating Babies.

We've got a baby, we can feast!

We can dine three days at least.

Baby blood and baby bones,

Baby butter for the baby scones.

Little baby feets, little baby toes,

Ev’ry one of us wants the nose!

Baby’s had such very bad luck,

Now into baby, we will tuck!

Eat the baby, add some salt!

Bayleaves, barley, powdered malt!

Now baby’s salted, she’s a treat,

Her destiny, it’s time to meet!

Baby we need!

Baby we feed!

Eat with our teeth!

Better than beef!

Baby so soft!

Carried aloft!

Big brown eyes!

Caramelise!

He’s the Goblin King,

Yes, the Goblin King,

He’s not a myth, he’s an actual thing!

Here’s the King!

Here’s the King!

Here’s the King!

Here’s the King Goblin!

We love the king,

We sing ding-a-ling,

And we love his chin when it’s wobbling,

He likes to dine on coincidence

It fills him, builds him up, and hence!

He can eat -

He can eat -

500 puppies with golden fur!

Orphan boys with jet black hair!

Circus clowns with a red balloon!

He can eat me,

He makes me swoon!

A banquet for a king on high

Oh little baby

Oh little baby

Say goodyyyyyyye!

Well, that's certainly one view 

I thought The Giggle was fairly OK, but there was a fair bit to unpick. I've never been a fan of Neil Patrick Harris, but he did fairly well. I've never liked the Spice Girls, so you don't need to ask what my low point was. I don't really agree with the need to keep Tennant alive, whilst still keeping the show going with a new lead, but this is television in 2023, and Disney will get Tennant and Tate, and the BBC will keep Gatwa. Whether a reported heavily-fantasy-orientated style is indeed the shape of things to come, remains to be seen. 11 days to the Christmas episode, on which much will rest. Tennant did attract interest for these specials, and RTD is a shameless publicist, and it would appear he was the best (or only) choice if the show was to continue at all (and with Disney involved, then the show was going to go on). Whether he will make more effort to build for a post-RTD era is anyone's guess. Moffat's problem was that he couldn't find anyone good enough to take it over, and Chris Chibnall was perhaps out of his depth, and unable to make the best of Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor.

But I'm optimistic for the future 

Christmas special The Church On Ruby Road, had a mix of the good and the bad. Both new Doctor Ncuti Gatwa and new companion Millie Gibson were among the best parts of the story, and there were some good location work and emotional study of adoption. On the other hand, the goblins were misguided in most crucial respects.

The series returns in May.

misery guts wrote:
The series returns in May.

In 7 weeks' time, I think. Episodes will premiere first on Disney+ around Midnight and then later the same day on BBC1 here. There will be a double bill to start the season off.

Makes me a bit sad to see that Tardis avatar. I have cherished DW for most of my natural life. I have a thumb drive with every classic episode and show my 11 year old nephew them often. He Adores the dinosaurs (Invasion Of The Dinosaurs). He adores the Drashigs (Carnival Of Monsters) and of course the Daleks, cybermen, the usual culprits. Can't wait to show him 'The Stones Of Blood' soon. THIS is Doctor Who. What it has become makes my blood boil. I finally gave up on that dreadful episode with HER (Orphan 55). By that time, it was obvious where it was headed. I'd never ever been offended by DW until they started bashing Trump solely because they could.
  I would give anything to ask Tom Baker what he thinks of this DEI crap. I hope he avoids it at all costs. In 2005, RTD was my favorite person in the world for bringing it back with such flare! Today I am just done. To me, DW is now a show not to show the kids. It's a totally different show with a Tardis. My nephew wouldn't know what a transgender even is. I'll let him be innocent for as long as we can. If it lasts long enough, they'll likely fix that chameleon circuit for good. I don't see DW lasting much longer. The stories are cringe. For me, they ruined Donna and DT. I'm out, but on a good note, they can never take away the classics, hard as they try.

 I don't even bother posting my thoughts on social media anymore. In 1987 I met Jon Pertwee at a convention in Jackson, MS. The fan base was very very different then. Today you get attacked for voicing your opinion. Toxic recipe and I've just become numb to this. This seems to be the only place I can speak freely as we both cherish DW.

There've been a couple of new trailers over the last 2 weekends, and the titles of the forthcoming 8 episodes have been released too. RTD is writing 6 of them 

Seen a short teaser today, under 3 weeks to the start of the series.

Also this week announced the casting of Verada Sethu, as a new companion joining in the 2nd series.