#and that's how the timeless child arc fits in

[marlinspirkhall]

The Doctor Who movie tried to no-homo thoschei by making them brothers, and in response, the public turned on them and cried out for yaoi

#thoschei #doctor who (1996) #if the soft reboot had succeeded we would have had an american season of doctor who where the doctor was half human #in my wildest nightmares this is how we solve the continuity of doctor who #the human race eventually evolves to be dimension hopping immortals and one day one of their half-children is sent back through a wormhole #who is discovered by a gallifreyan #and that's how the timeless child arc fits in

[johannesviii]

So uh

The Power of the Doctor surely was one of the episodes of all time

Where do I even fucking start

Let's cut to the chase, narratively it was all over the place in a "let's throw everything at the wall to see what sticks" kind of way. The thing is, it was fun. It made no sense but it was still enjoyable. Why was the Master cosplaying Rasputin? Why 1916? What was the point of the Dalek traitor? Why the paintings? Who cares, I'm having the time of my life watching all this shit 7,5/10

Why Tegan and Ace, for that matter? Because it's fun to see them again, that's why. I'll take it. Tegan was especially great. Also Ace wasn't a CEO so bonus points for that

Why was Graham even here

Why the train

Why the Qurunx

Why the uh everything about the Daleks and the Cybermen and no-one getting betrayed or in-fighting in the process

Why do I care

Dan's arc started with him having no money and ends with him having no house. That's kinda bleak for a comic relief companion

I don't know how to feel about Tennant being the Doctor again? It's weird and interesting and I can't wait to see what they do with this, and I find it supremely ironic that the Doctor who was the most terrified of death is the one who will get to die THREE TIMES in this series - but at the same time, I really wanted to see Ncuti Gatwa and I feel like he's been robbed of his thunder, kind of? I don't know, it feels weird

Considering Chibnall's focus isn't usually on character arcs I wasn't expecting Thirteen's ending to have any kind of dramatic irony, but having very low expectations for this specific era was a blessing, because one of the things I desesperately wanted to see was this control freak of a Doctor, who never explains anything to her friends, being forced to rely entirely on her friends, and also completely losing control. And that's exactly what I got here. Yes. Very good

The Qurunx assuming the form of a child because it wants to be protected. The parallels with the Timeless Child. Exquisite

And that bit where she's hit by a deadly energy blast and she's carried back to the TARDIS like this?? Complete inversion of the trope of the Doctor carrying a companion and I loved it

Oh god look at Yaz. Yeah that's right, you can only hold her while she's literally dying! That's the only time she'll be in your arms! And she's DYING!! And then you have to say goodbye!! I'm feeling normal about this

I've already seen quite a few Thasmin fans screaming bloody murder and to be honest I get it but like. I'm also digging how tragic this is

I wasn't asking for a kiss but like. When they were on the TARDIS' roof. I wanted one of them to put her head on the other's shoulder. Was that too much to ask

Pretty fitting that Yaz joins the circle of Recovering Doctor Addicts at the end after that and oh god don't get me started

The empty chair for Sarah Jane?? Don't talk to me

Is Ian even aware that regeneration exists or was he just like "wait so the Doctor is trans? Good for her"

WHAT WAS THE "POWER" OF THE DOCTOR WAS IS TO LEAVE A SHIT TON OF TRAUMATISED PEOPLE IN THEIR WAKE BECAUSE IF THAT'S WHAT THAT MEANT I'M HOWLING

Here's the Doctor's power! You all need therapy now!!

"How many Doctors are there" GOOD QUESTION NOBODY KNOWS

SPEAKING OF WHICH

FIVE SIX SEVEN AND EIGHT ON SCREEN. I FUCKING SCREAMED

BANTER BETWEEN SEVEN AND EIGHT ABOUT CLOTHES?? HELLO??? THE SURREAL LANDSCAPE?? ADRIC'S DEATH BEING MENTIONED IN NEW WHO?? HELLO????

Why is Ace apologizing to Seven when he should be apologizing to HER and why am I even asking. Who cares that was so cool

Eight on screen EIGHT ON S C R E E N how am I supposed to feel NORMAL ABOUT THIS I WANT TO SCREAM I WANT TO CRY

OH SPEAKING OF WANTING TO CRY

TIME TO GET EMOTIONAL AND CRINGE ON MAIN ABOUT A FUCKING IDIOT WHO SPENT HALF THE EPISODE COSPLAYING RASPUTIN FOR NO REASON AT ALL AND MENTIONING HE USED TO BE A FURRY IN THE EIGHTIES

I turned off Anon asks so if any of you want to send me a new round of hate regarding the fact I love that Master which apparently makes me a fake fan or a Missy hater or something, you'll have to use your actual usernames, cowards. You know who you are

"Johannes shut up about that Master's supposed self-loathing that's not in the text that's just your headcanon to make him more interesting" OH YEAH YEAH CLEARLY I'M MAKING THINGS UP UH CLEARLY THIS IS NOT IN THE TEXT UH

THIS MF'S ENTIRE BULLSHIT PLAN WAS JUST AN EXCUSE TO STOP BEING HIMSELF FOR A MINUTE AND BECOME THE DOCTOR HI HELLO YES I'M FEELING NORMAL ABOUT THIS

"DON'T LET ME GO BACK TO BEING ME"

"DON'T LET ME GO BACK TO BEING ME"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA FUCK FUCK FUCK

I'm not making sense right now I'm sorry

"IF I CAN'T BE THE DOCTOR NEITHER CAN YOU" I want to scream I want to punch a fucking wall why are you like this why. are you. like THIS

The feelings are indescribable and I can't put them into words right now and I will have to make some art to make them go away, I don't make the rules I don't even have a choice at this point

TLDR this episode was a badly written narrative mess and full of fanwank and Doctor Who is terrible and I love Doctor Who with all my heart and I feel more alive than ever right now

#doctor who #the power of the doctor #dw spoilers #thirteenth doctor #the master #yasmin khan #capslock #and a lot of screaming

[darkbluegemstones]

The thing is you can easily connect past Canon to fit the timeless child arc

Let me explain

8th hints that he is half human, that is dismissed as joke but what if it isn't....12 era we heard the prophecy of hybrid where it once again hinted that the is half human, but also turns out that it about Clara and the Doctor.

But hear me out

Now the doctor's parents. One human, one time lord have created a hybrid child with unlimited abilities to regenerate and as we now know bi regenerate.

Gallifrey fears the prophecy of hybrid, fearing their child would be killed or hurt they send the doctor through time and space, not realising that the doctor will end up being the genetic template for the time lords themselves.

Time passes. The Doctor is raised by Tecteun, the Shobogans have transformed themselves into Time Lords, something happens, the time lords wipe the doctor memories and give him or her back to original parents as child. They are given the story the child was found and is now accepted by the others as not a threat.

They raise their child. The Doctor meets the master and the rani through this childhood.

Eventually grows up, marries, has kids, grandkids.

All the Doctor's quirks are put down to being half human.

But then the 1st Doctor finds out. Runs with Susan, keeps running. Running from the truth so when the second Doctor is forced to contact Gallifrey for help he knows what is going to happen, forced regeneration, bits of memory taken. The Doctor just assumes that it is knowledgeable on the ability to travel in time and how to work the Tardis.

Something the Doctor continues to believe right up to 13.

I give you the most complicated origin story imaginable.

#doctor who #8th doctor #12th doctor #2nd doctor #1st doctor #3rd doctor #13th doctor #time lords #Gallifrey #tecteun

[leikeliscomet]

No, Ncuti Gatwa's Casting Isn't Regressive

Chapter 3 - Dancing Queen/Conclusion

‘I’ve experienced racism my whole life, and while I always believed in myself, always knew [racists] were stupid and uneducated, I guess it did misinform my view of how the world works. It makes you think everyone has that opinion and you’ll constantly have to fight through life – then you learn that you don’t: you can find a tribe, you can find your people.’ - Ncuti Gatwa for Elle

So with the treatment of Who’s Black men and the neglect of Black women in its representations of womanhood, consider the Fifteenth Doctor. A dark-skinned Black queer man, wearing a kilt and a bold smile, spinning to his heart’s content on the dancefloor. This is an image of Blackness, an image of queerness and an image of manhood and masculinity the show has never seen before. Gatwa is fully aware of this and has gone in depth in his interviews. He’s also addressed his Rwandan heritage and his family fleeing genocide against the Tutsi. Gatwa knows the feeling of being an outsider, heavily mirroring the revelation of the Timeless Child. Black Britishness is already a form of representation mainstream British media has only recently acknowledged and in this case, Black Scottishness is taking the forefront. Despite being a British cultural stape, Doctor Who’s been shy about representing Black Britishness specifically. We’ve had three Black companions, but little references to the culture (minus Ryan’s mention of grime music in Arachnids). We know Yaz is Pakistani. But is Ryan African? If yes, is he Nigerian, Ghanaian etc.? Is Ryan West Indian? If so, is he Trini, Bajan etc.? Is he both? What was Martha and Bill’s heritage? Many Black people in the British Isles are 2nd and 3rd gen immigrants, some of us are African, some are West Indian and some of us are both. Black British identity is complex as it is a melting pot of different African and West Indian cultures blended to create something new. Gatwa’s Black Scottishness provides this insight to Fifteen. Gatwa’s Rwandan heritage is included in Fifteen’s sonic too, with Gallifreyan symbols translating the phrase ‘the sharpness of the tongue always defeats the sharpness of the warrior’. Other Black cultural references have appeared for Fifteen too, with Gatwa noting his wardrobe is inspired by Black American HBCU fits. Even though it isn’t yet confirmed (and unlikely for series 14/season 1 seeing as there are no Black writers… yay!), Gatwa has shown interest in a Nigerian historical stating he’d love for the Doctor to meet the Orishas, goddesses of West African folklore. Again, with many different Black cultures not only is this an opportunity for representation but also new stories, new locations and new concepts the show has yet to discover. To fit in so many spaces but none at all is a perfect summary of the Black British experience and other Black experiences in Western countries.

“We choose our families. And the Doctor is a lonely wanderer, looking for their next adventure … I know many a gay man, MANY a gay man, I could describe that way!” - Ncuti Gatwa for the Guardian

Queer Black manhood and masculinity is rich and diverse and with this new era, we could see the tip of its iceberg. There have already been representations of this before in media such as Moonlight and Noah’s Arc so for a mainstream British show like Doctor Who to feature a queer Black man as the lead, we have the opportunity to show something special. With Nine and Jack’s kiss and Fourteen’s cosign of Isaac Newton already showing this potential, we could see a canon longer term mlm pairing involving the Doctor for the first time. And not only that but with a Black doctor for the first time. A queer Black man showing love and being loved is a reminder for queer Black people that universe-defying romance includes us too and that our DoctorRiver or TenRose moments can exist.

There is so much to look forward to in this new era and even more potential for the type of representation it can bring. So with that in mind, I hope the greater fandom at large can see this and that newer fans will get to experience that same joy we did when we first fell in love with this show.

‘This person survived a genocide. This person fits in everywhere and nowhere. I am the Doctor. The Doctor is me. I decided that I had to get this role’ - Ncuti Gatwa for Rolling Stone

<- Chapter 2

#fifteenth doctor #15th doctor #ncuti gatwa #doctor who #nuwho #new who #black representation #doctor who analysis #fandom analysis #doctor who fandom #fandom antiblackness #fandom racism #fandom history

[lokittystuckinatree]

The False God and the Devil They Know: Wishful Overthinking about Religious Overtones in Post-Timeless-Child-Arc Thoschei

Disclaimer: my knowledge on anything other than all 13 + seasons of New Who is limited, but not overly lacking, and I wasn’t raised religious but do have enough of an Italian Catholic background to notice good old fashioned Christian parallels

The Doctor

The Doctor as the unwitting “creator god” of the time lords

Abrahamic religions starting out polytheistic, the Doctor as a god amongst other more powerful gods

The Doctor as a wrathful God; God technically committed genocide against humanity, leaving Noah to make his arc with two of every species

Objectively a coincidence but guess which two idiots survived the time war

The Doctor as a god who chooses a life of service to mortals and “rejecting” godhood aka power. Very Jesus of them.

The real possibility that the timeless child is not a chosen one but a victim of circumstance, a typical example of their kind from the other universe

The Doctor is just like us. (If you are autistic and have ADHD and abandonment issues lol)

The Doctor and unconditional love and forgiveness at the cost of their moral stability, especially for the Master, their original sin and greatest exception

The Master

The Master as the fallen angel, golden child of god who desired power/attention for themself who turned to evil

Missy, the Lumiat, and returning to “the light”

Rogue child of god who didn’t fit the mold, questioned the authority of the one true god

Satan and the Master as a figure of lesser power and status rising in prominence to rival the influence of the God that created them

Power corrupting someone who just wanted to be important

A seductive figure that tricks and tempts the Good Guys and engages their dark side

The Master, Cyber Time Lords, and “Satan cannot create as God does, only warp their creations” (Tolkien has entered the chat)

Best Enemies, Worst Soulmates

We all know the Jesus/Judas thing, but what about Jesus/Antichrist, or God/Satan

The Antichrist as a foil for Jesus and Satan as a foil for God

The deal with Death and how the Doctor could have become the Master and vice verse, even should have been before he intervened in their fates

Theta’s first sins, murder and deception and betrayal, revolved around Koschei

Anti soulmate trope: Linked by fate, destined to battle forever, could have been happy together under different circumstances, soulmates are made not found

Regeneration and the inherent holiness of transformation and being trans (not relevant but trans rights!)

They are THE narrative foils and power couple above everyone else in the Whoniverse come onnnn

In a tragically ironic sense, they’re the only ones who can fully relate to and comprehend each other, even after how much their paths have diverged.

The Doctor humbles the Master, the Master keeps the Doctor grounded to their Gallifreyan roots.

Good Always Wins, love is redeeming. The Doctor helps the Master see beauty and love in the world through their unconditional love for them.

I hope, in the distant future, the show ends with a more morally secure Doctor and a redeemed Master happily in love, running away to the stars together, never to be seen again.

They’re totally endgame guys trust me (I’m delusional.)

Feel free to add! I’d love to hear what other parallels people find. And what glaringly obvious things I missed…

#Thoschei #I haven’t watched the classic series yet or listened to the audios or read the novels #but I absorbed a lot from the fandom #so take my analysis with some Thoschei biased salt #the master #the Doctor #Doctor who #thirteenth doctor #there is a reason Aziracrow shippers go apeshit for Thoschei ok #theta sigma #koschei #English teachers fear me

[my-ghost-monument]

DW Positivity Drive

Saw @jolivira doing this - a drive to share what we love about doctor who - and wanted to spread some more positivity! Heads up, it's mostly about 13's era, lol.

Thirteen. She's just - ahhhh. My absolute favourite doctor ever. I never knew how much I wanted to see a woman playing the doctor until I watched 13. I love her energy, how she moves and bounds across the screen, how she delivers her awe-speeches and her anger too (her rage against the Master is just *chef's kiss*). Her way of delivering emotion too. I also love her outfit! It's so cool. The magenta shirt is a favourite, but I love her coat the best.

Thasmin. What can I say about this, other than it's everything I ever wanted? I've shipped Yaz and 13 since their first ever episode. I fel the vibes from them, and to see it be canon on screen is a feeling that will never leave. I adore the way they interact together, especially as s12 hits and that slow burn/crush/feelings make themselves obvious. Their hints that are scattered in s12 are magical - the lingering look in Praxeus, the comparison with Bryon and the 'get off me, Yaz' bits are just more ahhhh! I love how it pans over into flux (the hug!! The way they fly the TARDIS together!!) and into the love story of the specials.

Which need their own point: the 13 specials. All of them are just such favourites. Time loops and daleks and love confessions! And then LOTSD is one of the eps I will always remember just watching with my jaw dropped in amazement. And TPOTD is, imo, one of the best finales in dw. The independance and beautiful drive Yaz has. The hand/arm touch when 13's regenerating. The bridal carry! The implict and very much there intimacy the two have, where it's almost like the viewer is intruding.

Yaz Khan. I adore Yaz. She's one of my favourite companions. Her journey through the series - how she grows and develops herself. Yaz's arc is so subtle and beautiful and amazing, and it really shines now her whole era is done. She's such a good character, and I love how she stopped taking 13's shit and confronted her, and actually got so much of 13 told to her, and got to experience her first taste of love. How she'll be able to go on in her life now knowing what she's capable of, and that she deserves everything. And I will always love the fact that she can fly the TARDIS.

And of course, Mandip and Jodie specifically, because their acting was phenomenal. Towards the thasmin scenes and in general too.

Thirteen's TARDIS. It's honestly so beautiful. I love the colouring and the vibes, and how warm and cost it could feel and how cold and alien it looked in s12. It's such an organic structure, and really looked fascinating and alien.

Dhawan's Master. He is hands down the best for me. He's amazing in acting, he brings such energy and gusto. His chaotic evil, lashing out and hoping for that strike, his gambling, has made him so good to watch. His anger is explosive, his humour is great, and the way he interacted with 13/Jodie just was so good. The Rasputin dance scene - just wow, lol.

For S11 eps: Demons of the Punjab. What a stunning, heart-wrenching ep. And The Tsuranga Conumdrum since it's probably my favourite of s11 and I love the story progression. Also the 'come to daddy. I mean mummy' line in Ghost Monument.

Chibnall. I love how his era went (It's, if you can't tell, my favourite). The ideas he used, his timeless child arc and how it relates to adoption and abuse. The fact he gave us canon thasmin. How he brought in the 'terrible/imperial time lords' again, with the timeless child. The existence of Karvanista. How he ended his era in a perfect way, that wasn't devestating or grimdark but fit the natural tradegy every doctor must face while also giving Yaz a whole life to explore from now on - how every 13 companion got to live and go home too.

Martha Jones. She was my first favourite companion and I adore her personality and her sense of self and drive. And that leather jacket! (Smith and Jones will always be a favourite ep for me too, because of how cool Martha is in it).

The Runaway Bride and Partners in Crime. They're absolutely hilarious eps I love coming back to.

Lastly, I love the doctor themselves. How they are a character who is so full of love and will gladly sacrifice themselves to save their chosen home and people. They have flaws, but at their core all they want to do is help and be loved and love.

All I can think of right now - if you've reached the end, go and make your own post to keep sharing the positivity! <3

#dw positivity drive #doctor who #thasmin #loved this idea #I adore just getting to gush about favourite bits in this show #yaz khan #thirteen #13

[rachelbethhines]

60 Years of Doctor Who Anniversary Marathon - Martin: 3rd Review

Origins - Comic 

I got the graphic novel version of this one, and it includes all four main issues and the bonus Free Comic Book Day story.

The Free Comic Book Day issue acts as a prologue of sorts, but doesn’t really add much as it originally was intended to be a separate standalone story. So I’m going to talk about it as such.

I hope you enjoy today's special: two reviews for the price of one!

FCBD 2022

The Fugitive Doctor lands on Earth in the year 1962 and saves a bunch of children from a group of alien invaders... or rather the little kids save themselves and she just captures the bad guys afterward. She’s then deemed ‘cool’ and invited to ‘hang’, but she can’t stick around. Though she does reflect how Earth is starting to grow on her just a bit.

Then we cut to the First Doctor and Susan first arriving on Earth in 1963. The End.

I understand what they were trying to go for here; that the Doctor chose earth as his first adventure with Susan, because he subconsciously remembers being Martin, but it doesn’t really work. Mainly because Martin’s Doctor doesn’t work as a pre-Hartnell incarnation. Even if you buy The Other/Timeless Child/Morbius Incarnations ect., she still doesn’t fit.

Look, for the sake of augment, let’s pretend that the Master and the Matrix wasn’t lying (even though they always lie); any pre-Hartnell incarnations wouldn’t call themselves the Doctor, they wouldn’t have a tardis that looks like a Police Box, and they wouldn’t have the same moral code that we associate with the Doctor.

Hartnell is called the ‘First Doctor’ because he’s the person who grew into the Doctor. Both in the meta sense and within the canon of the series itself.

He wasn’t called the Doctor until Barbra and Ian gave him that name. He didn’t form his moral code until he met them and learned form them. And the Tardis didn’t become a blue Police Box until it landed in that junkyard in 1963.

To suggest otherwise is to shit all over 60 years of character development, and that is where I draw the line.

Mess with continuity and the lore all you want. Reset the retcon button each era. I don’t care. But do not erase the development of the main character!

Fortunately, it’s all so incompetently done that it’s easy to ignore.

The connection between Martin’s Doctor and Hartnell’s Doctor is so vague and disconnected that you can just assume whatever you want. 

Look, I like Martin, I like her Doctor. I’m happy to have her. But give me any other explanation for her other than Pre-Hartnell, or worst, mealy mouthed allusions with no resolution. Please, I’m begging you show.

Origins

Thankfully the main story is far better.

The Doctor is tasked by the Division to ‘eliminate’ a terrorist cult that threatens Gallifrey.... Only to find out that said ‘cult’ are really just Gallifreyans themselves, looking to leave their home planet and start life anew.

This deception, of course, is what inspires her to break ties with the Division and is supposed to lead into The Fugitive of the Judoon.

Well not quite. Lee is absent, so we’re meant assume that other stories exist between this one and Fugitive of the Judoon.

Instead we get Taslo as the Doctor’s companion.

I really like Taslo.

She has a lot of layers to her and a nice arc.

Similar to Romana, she’s a Time Lord fresh out of the academy and assigned by the High Council to assist the Doctor in her mission.

And that’s where the similarities end. They have two completely different personalities, skill sets, and character developments. 

Taslo is primarily a solider, an undercover agent. Like all Time Lords she is smart, but not smarter than any other Gallifreyan. You get the feeling that she’s decidedly average by Gallifreyan standards, but was chosen for the job because she’s inexperienced and young, and therefore easier to manipulate by the Division.

That’s interesting.

Like, that’s really, really interesting. A Time Lord that isn’t amazingly special at first glance; who’s neither a renegade nor a person of political power. She’s just normal... or at least normal to a Gallifreyan.

And that’s fascinating because it gives us more of a glimpse into Gallifreyan culture than perhaps any story ever has before. How the machinations of those in power are viewed by the everyday citizens, and how someone who isn’t intended to be a female Doctor clone (sorry Romana fans, but it’s true) would behave.

The dynamic between her and the Doctor is also great. It’s another mentor/student relationship, but its handled really well.

Over all I’m sadden that she’ll most likely wind up as a one off character.

Anything else? Oh I do like the idea of Time Lords being able to reintegrate to match their environment. That’s cool.

All in all I highly recommend this comic. Especially fans of Martin’s Doctor. Also, the graphic novel version is probably easier to get a hold of. I went for the digital copy myself. 

#doctor who #nuwho #jo martin #fugitive doctor #The Other #the timeless child #Taslo

[cosmicallyavg]

i can't stop thinking about your 'glorious' post, the more i think about it the more it fits thirteen :( 'got a chance to start again' is so regeneration-coded, 'i was born for this, born for this, it's who i am, how could i forget?' screams timeless child stuff?? and then the sunrise thing obviously. anyway it came on in the car and i nearly cried and i think that's ur fault /lh 😭😭

yesss omg it was such a good song for the beginning of her era too like twelve with the whole "doctor, i let you go" "i guess one more lifetime wouldn't kill anybody. except me" thing. and then thirteen starting off with "oh, brilliant" like she was excited for a new life, excited to start anew. the lyric "i got a new attitude and a lease on life and some peace of mind" ??? they really popped off choosing that song to out in one of the s11 promos

so it's just cool to have a song that fits the beginning and end of the era! in different ways!!! thirteen completed the arc again and accepted the change in the end and im so gkfmfskalflslsmdkd about it

#i will never be over this era #it changed me tbh #doctor who #asks #queerestqueertoeverqueer

[um-let-me-think]

theories after seeing the power of the doctor trailer!

dan dies! (sorry dan :( i just don’t see how you can be so left out of the pics) and i think one of the only ones is w his helmet having a huge hole in it so. yk. rip.

i’ve actually had this thought for a while since the timeless child arc, that some sort of energy thing (regeneration, artron or whatever) is going to be the cause of her death.

death due to. drained of energy (we’ve all experienced it)

sadly i am not seeing much “falls to her death” but 🤞i really enjoyed that theory and it would so fit, missed opportunity if they don’t fr

yaz survives, but i think she’d have to get separated from the doc permanently or have something life changing happen to get her to leave willingly (similar to rose or martha)

i think the little mini yaz figure was a trick of the masters honestly i just don’t know though,

second earth? second tardis?

i think the second planet could be the lone cyber man’s planet ?? tbf i just don’t see it being an alternate dimension

i think the tardis is definitely the masters. (hahaha. that’s his kind of cliche shit /lh)

i still have some questions!! i’m so wondering about the seismologists and the missing paintings.

is this just for the master to lure the doc? the missing seismologists connect to the missing spies in his entrance ep!! :D

#untagged bc i am scared of u ppl . /hj #op

[allhallowstiel]

so, it's no secret that i'm not the biggest fan of chibnall's era. i hated the timeless child twist because i felt like it went against everything that i loved about the doctor and doctor who in general.

i felt like the tardis was a bit over-crowded with 4 people. graham and ryan felt under-developed and poor yaz was even worse- i feel like she didn't get her moments to shine until series 12 and even those were few and far between. even the doctor didn't get much focus- which is fine bc the doctor doesn't always need to be the center of attention, but for a while i really struggled to connect with 13 and i couldn't really tell what kind of doctor she was and how she stood out from the rest apart from being the opposite sex.

(a lot of people criticized her for standing there and explaining the plot, but i think people forget that standing there and explaining things is literally what the doctor does and they've been doing it for years- i feel like people only started getting upset because, well. we all know why)

the new villains didn't really stick with me and frankly they didn't feel very intimidating- they were all underwhelming and didn't feel fit to go up against the doctor.

but then flux happened. a single story arc stretched over six episodes featuring new and old villains alike- and a new, very likeable companion. i originally wanted flux to be just yaz and the doctor- and not just bc of thasmin. i felt like it would be good for their individual characters as well. so i wasn't too happy about them introducing dan, but after episode one i changed my mind bc he's actually pretty damn loveable and he's been a genuine delight. flux took the time to introduce us to dan, start building his relationship with yaz and the doctor, and also build on the mystery of who the doctor is (and also laying on the thasmin subtext pretty thick, which ended up leading to the big reveal in eotd).

it wasn't perfect- swarm and azure didn't really do it for me as villains and i think the story could've worked without them, and i think that all of the extra characters made it a little crowded at times, but for the first time in a long time, while watching flux, i felt like i was really watching doctor who.

i hate that it took me so long to connect to jodie's doctor, and now that i finally have, i have to watch her leave. but i trust russel t davies to do something great with the series. he won't retcon the timeless child, but if there's anyone who can turn it into something good, it's him.

that being said, i'm going to miss 13 a lot and im probably going to end up rewatching flux + the three specials a lot after she's gone.

#doctor who #thirteenth doctor #yasmin khan #dan lewis #jodie whittaker #thasmin #doctor who flux #eve of the daleks #ik im in the minority on this but. its my truth.

[cosmicallyavg-moved]

i loved your religious symbolism-style thirteen art with the playlist! i was two seconds away from suggesting "i am not a woman, i'm a god" by halsey and then i realized you'd already added it, so may i just say--you're awesome for that. x) immediate follow

!!! thank you so much!!!!!!

yeah the art was honestly heavily inspired by that song?? at least, the inspiration to make a religious style painting with thirteen came from the song, the rest of the details just kinda fell into place as i was doing research on religious paintings gkdkfkdk. i actually was going to do another piece to go with it but it's kind of on the back burner currently since im working in some other stuff?

im gonna go off for a minute about the art because i really put a lot of thought into it but never really shared it. so this is some insight on how the art came to be and what it all means:

spoiler warning for series 12 and beyond

i have a lot of strong emotions about the contrast between thirteen in series 11 and thirteen in series 12/13 ?? like how in s11 she was trying to have a new start and move on from the loss of clara, river, and bill so she was more happy and just wanted to have fun adventures with her new friends.. and then in s12 the master returns and shakes up her whole world and her facade kind of falls away and we get to see the darker side of the doctor again. in s13/flux she's had all of her time in prison to mull things over and is now searching for answers. especially with her finally meeting tecteun towards the end but not properly getting the closure she deserves with her "mother" it just feels really raw and painful to think about.

which also fits the vibe of the playlist - angry and sad, feelings of betrayal and identity crisis, and where "i am not a woman, im a god" comes into play. there's also a bit of gender vibes in that song, as well as some others that i put on the playlist, because i also view thirteen's arc to have a gender crisis to it?? like how the doctor is viewing themself now that they appear as a female. (which is its own arc tbh... and the same as the main arc where its different in s11 vs s12/13 but that's a whole other discussion so im not gonna go to deep into it)

so! i liked making those connections between that and the religious stuff

like this one is based on the paintings of jesus with the sacred heart motif, which is after his crucifixion - which i thought there were a lot of parallels between that concept and the concept of the doctor finding out about the timeless child and the events of flux, etc. like all of the life she has lived is finally catching up to her plus whatever she did in the past that she can't remember.. meeting tecteun and learning that the universe was ending BECAUSE of her??? like the doctor's beloved universe being destroyed because tecteun couldn't handle her "experiment" anymore??? it's similar to jesus's crucifixion in my mind.. i can't exactly explain it but im hoping the connection makes sense

and then i made the crown of thorns into the universe, i thought it was fitting.. since the thorns were used to mock jesus during his crucifixion. tecteun saw the universe as a petri dish for her virus (the doctor) to run rampant, but she mocked her for wanting to save it all the time.

so for the other piece, i was going to make it the portrait of mary and the immaculate heart; the heart before it was tainted, the doctor before her life was turned upside-down. so if people are interested ..... let me know and i will maybe continue that piece. but for now i have some other stuff im focusing on.

there is also a playlist for THAT side of things... like how thirteen was kinda having a new start and she was happy and had #girlpower in series 11. which that can be found on my spotify as well if anyone is interested.

okay im gonna shut up now ive rambled long enough

but thank you so much again for your kind words!!! sorry i kind of went off topic for a bit i just have a lot of feelings about thirteen and her character arc.

thank you for the follow, hope you enjoy your stay!

#okay i rambled for too long #i just like to share my thoughts #anywaysss #doctor who #dw meta #kinda #asks #littleemptyattik

[thirddoctor]

what if Dhawan's Master turns out to be an evil incarnation of the Doctor all along, some sort of Valeyard – an incarnation twisted by grief over the Timeless Child revelations, a “Doctor turning into the Master” to mirror Missy’s “Master turning into the Doctor”...

Personally, I don't think so. For one thing, mirroring Missy's arc would imply actual thought was put into how Dhawan relates to Missy. I expect Dhawan!Master is simply the Master and will probably play a fairly generic antagonistic role in the special.

However (take this with a grain of salt, potential spoilers below)

I have heard that apparently his plan in the special will be to try to get the Doctor to regenerate into him (I don't know what that means), so... I guess that could fit with some type of Valeyard scenario *shrug*

#Replies #Anon #Ranger yells about the Master #Ranger shut up about Doctor Who #DW spoilers

[higheldertala]

i just wanted to say i’m very thrilled to have found someone who detests the chibnall era the way i do. i also wanted to ask: how did you feel about the master’s return following missy’s apparent moral growth in series 10?

hello, thanks for the ask, that’s very kind of you! im always happy to chat about dunking on chibnall! i don’t have strong opinions on the missy/ dhawan!master controversy but i’ll do my best to put together my thoughts

my thoughts on missy is that i really enjoy her a lot with season 10 missy being my favourite. in terms of her redemption i certainly enjoyed the dynamic of the potential tardis team it presented being fun and interesting and i wish we had been given more of it. the redemption arc was a bold choice but nothing im against and it’s easy to see how it is definitely a potential path the master could go down.

going onto my thoughts about dhawan!master. watching on broadcast (as with all chibnall side characters) i’ll put my hands up and say i wasn’t paying much attention to O so when the cliffhanger was revealed i was very much surprised at the master’s return and certainly wasn’t expecting to see them so soon. upon a rewatch i very much enjoyed sacha’s performance of the master, i think he has so much potential but has been given some of the worst scripts (and awful dialogue). sacha has been treated horribly and has been utterly wasted under the chibnall era and i genuinely hope he sticks around for rtd2 era to be written better (or at the very least manages to get some big finish stories).

i would say i subscribe to the idea that different showrunners are under no obligation to pick up on the previous showrunner’s work but should definitely be respectful of what came before and not to deviate so wildly from previous continuity without adequate buildup/ explanation. in my opinion it was certainly a very plausible route that the master would return to being a full antagonist of the doctor again when the production team changed. in terms of the apparent u turn of the master, my issue would mainly be with the characterisation, which is that it is extremely lacking with chibnall. i perfectly understand the reasoning of being mad at this decision of this u turn especially when the justification for doing so is the utter shitshow that is the timeless child. in reference to the timeless child i once watched a youtube video of someone explaining ‘a master as the timeless child’ alternative and thought it gave some interesting points to how this would fit within the u turn of the master’s character (although i still hate the timeless child plotline regardless)(let me know if you’re interested in this and i’ll send you the link). putting aside of just how shit the timeless child plot is, chibnall’s version of the master is very shallow and is simply evil just because, which just makes for poor writing. the master and the doctor also don’t have that relationship previous incarnations have, a vital part of these characters is their relationship to one another. although i wouldn’t put that on sacha’s side bc honestly i think he’s doing his best, i just get absolutely nothing from 13/jodie, this doctor couldn’t seem to give a shit about the master if they tried which is miles from 10 and 12. as always chibnall can just never be bothered to put any effort into character development or relationships, so of course chibnall simply just couldn’t give a shit about missy or any previous characterisation of the master.

so i guess in conclusion i accept that the master would go back to being an antagonist it’s just that chibnall handled it terribly without any tact or respect to what came before it and also everything to do with the with the timeless child is garbage. please feel free to let me know what your opinions on the situation is tho!

#asks #oh god this is super long #I’m so sorry if you only wanted a quick answer #i fully support anyone wanting to headcanon around this #dw canon is what you decide it is #and of course how dw as a show should be treated is subjective as well! #long post #ask tag

[leikeliscomet]

We Failed the First Black Doctor (Part 1)

We failed the first Black doctor.

I know you’re thinking ‘What the hell, I didn't do anything to Ncuti!’. That right there is part of what I mean. When tabloids and fans say ‘the first Black doctor’, our minds go straight to Ncuti Gatwa and rightfully so. Some fans might say Lenny Henry. Some fans might even say Peter Davison. When I say ‘First Black Doctor’, I mean Jo Martin. I think about the Fugitive Doctor. I think about how in only one episode she appealed to so many fans. I think about how she carried a gun and ripped off a Judoon captain’s horn. I think about how a great character was fumbled so badly by the show. I think about how fans barely think about her now. I think about how the first Black doctor was done so dirty. Your next thought is probably ‘Well isn’t that Chibnall’s fault?’. In a way, yes. But also no. What exactly went wrong varies from writing processes to behind-the-scenes structure to fandom politics. To unpack why Fugitive was done dirty, we need to start from the beginning. 

Series 12 would be a complete 180 of series 11; returning monsters, a more energetic soundtrack and heavier reliance on Doctor Who lore (or whatever was left of it). Apart from a vague Timeless Child namedrop in The Ghost Monument, Thirteen’s run was smoother than her predecessors in terms of less overwhelming narrative arcs. No Hybrids or a Time Lord Victorious, just a girl and her fam. Until one day in Gloucester, a tour guide named Ruth would transform in a lighthouse and essentially change Thirteen’s life for the rest of her run. What seemed like an RTD-esque Judoon episode turned into the debut episode for a brand-new incarnation of the Doctor. And we never saw it coming. And neither did Chris Chibnall apparently. In an interview, he revealed that the script for Fugitive of the Judoon was already underway and the Fugitive was a last-minute addition. This was red flag no 1. A last-minute character wasn’t inherently a bad thing, as it was assumed Fugitive would return again in the second half of series 12 and likely in series 13. These appearances were lacklustre, but I’ll go into more detail later. Fugitive’s casting made a lot of noise; bad and good. Right-wing sides of the fandom were outraged at a Black woman playing a role they thought was exclusively for white men (no surprise there) and plenty of comments fuelled with misogynoir, antiblackness and colourism were thrown her way too (no surprises there either). What made this outrage worse was Fugitive’s ambiguous role in the timeline. Many were angry about Fugitive being before One and thought it disrespected William Hartnell’s legacy of being the first incarnation of the show. Contrary to popular fandom belief, Chibnall didn’t actually confirm if Fugitive is pre-Hartnell or not, he left her placement vague on purpose. We as fans have reason to believe so because she didn’t have a sonic and we saw One to Two’s regeneration on screen along with One’s companions, so we know she couldn’t be between those two. Pre-Hartnell is a ‘fanon’ theory, but this doesn’t take into account how Fugitive's TARDIS is a police box already. Another popular idea in the fandom is the season 6B theory. We know Two regenerates into Three, but the physical regeneration is never actually shown on screen, so a sneaky incarnation between them is possible. But again, the missing sonic does poke a small hole in that theory. Fugitive did however state she was smart enough not to need one rather than saying she didn’t know what it was, so maybe the 6B truthers were onto something. The Timeless Children promised to answer these burning questions and didn’t. So, we were back on square one, assuming we ever left it in the first place. With Chibnall also confirming Fugitive is not from a parallel universe, so she had to fit into the main lineup but not after Thirteen, figuring out the origin of the Fugitive became a painful and lengthy debate for answers we never got and probably never will.

Fortunately, details about the Fugitive would end up in her design process. Costume designer Ray Holman added elements of previous doctors in her design. The tweed in her jacket comes from Eleven, whilst her black trousers and boots reference Twelve. Her boots are also for combat purposes, drawing parallels to Three in terms of martial arts ability. Additionally, the colourful shirt she wears is Kente cloth, a colourful Ghanaian fabric, giving a small African cultural nod to our first Black doctor. Jo Martin has spoken about the importance of representation in interviews, stating she didn’t see a lot of Black characters growing up and how Fugitive allowed Black kids watching the show to have someone to look up to. She also noticed the Black and mixed race cosplayers and has shouted them out on her Instagram page. Many pictures and stories on her page showcased fans of colour in blue jackets and yellow glasses, giving the Fugitive her well-deserved flowers. For the first time, we had a doctor that looked like us and this was what made the Fugitive groundbreaking. A dark-skinned Black woman with locs playing the Doctor is something I didn’t see coming. A wish and a hope maybe, but seeing it come into reality definitely touched me. Not only was I seeing a Black woman of my complexion as a main character in Doctor Who, but she was the main character. Not only that, but her backstory was engaging. Why did she run away? Who is she running from? Where does she fit in the timeline? Within one episode, Jo Martin had already captured the ‘Doctor essence’ needed for the role, with some even saying it challenged Whittaker’s performance.

Enter Ruth. We see her get ready and head to work on her birthday. We don’t know a lot about her but she seems friendly. Her partner Lee on the other hand seems a bit sketchy. Fast forward, Judoon are on the hunt for the fugitive who they assume is Lee. Thirteen and the fam swoop in to help the two out. Thirteen knows something is wrong and she can’t place her finger on it. But as time goes on the situation spins out of her control. The alleged tour guide has ripped the horn off a Judoon’s head, an act of dishonour and humiliation. Thirteen’s doubts grow as the two reach the lighthouse because the holes in Ruth’s story are starting to show. Why live in a lighthouse? Why have a blank gravestone? Enter the Fugitive Doctor, previously Ruth. The lighthouse was her fob watch, hiding her memories and true identity. Lee was her companion playing a role similar to that of Martha Jones in Human Nature/Family of Blood and gave his life to save her. Taking that story, we now see how it plays out from the other side; from the POV of Martha Jones as protector to the POV of the Fugitive as the protected. In this 50-minute slot, we already have a backstory for this new doctor that still leaves room for the imagination. On board the Judoon ship, Gat is defeated by Fugitive with a gun she didn’t even have to fire. As she timed this according to the ship’s acceleration, Gat’s shooting takes place in interstellar space with no laws so Fugitive gets away with murder. Almost literally. She’s confident with a powerful presence and takes control of the room, contrasting Thirteen’s more chaotic and vulnerable approach. Thirteen and us as the audience are stunned as this complete stranger has saved the day and made it look so effortless. From there, the groundwork had been done for a new main character in the Chibnall era cast. But this wasn’t delivered.

Part 2 ->

#fugitive doctor #the fugitive doctor #chibnall era #doctor who #nuwho #new who #doctor who analysis #fandom analysis #black representation #doctor who series 12 #doctor who series 13 #chibnall critical #fugitive of the judoon

[newandclassicwho]

Thoughts about the Timeless Child

Random shower thoughts: the Timeless Child reveal would have been better if it hadn’t been completely out of the blue for the Doctor (not counting more recent clues in Series 11 and 12).

We now know that the Doctor’s memories were taken from them using a chameleon arch, and evidence from the three characters we’ve seen affected by one (John Smith, Ruth and Yana) is that remnants of the memories which were taken from them can stick around and bubble to the surface in dreams or given the right trigger.

So there are events from the Classic series which you could reinterpret as the Doctor’s deleted memories randomly coming out:

The Third Doctor saying he’s several thousand years old, when Romana (presumably going off his records on Gallifrey) seems to take it as a fact that he’s 750

The Seventh Doctor alluding to memories of early Time Lord society (”and didn’t we have trouble with the protoype”)

These and the Morbius Doctors could weave into a multi-season narrative in which one of the Thirteenth Doctor’s personality traits is becoming more concerned about these apparent inconsistencies, so rather than just randomly meeting a creature who tells her “oh by the way you have old memories about the Timeless Child” it fits into a more natural “hey so I have memories which don’t really make sense but I’ve never really looked into it until now, maybe i should do something about that”.

Then rather than getting a powerpoint presentation from the Master, 13′s first two seasons could have had an underlying narrative of her trying to learn more about her past, either searching for data during ongoing adventures or by taking what seem to be random trips but are actually her looking for clues (e.g. deliberately tracking down the Solitract, or Tzim-Sha to learn how the Stenza built creatures which could read her lost memories).

Like earlier season arcs (Bad Wolf, Harold Saxon, the lost planets) this would start off as just subtle clues until it’s revealed to the audience what’s actually happening, and of course would really take off after the Doctor meets Ruth. This would allow the Doctor to take a more active role in learning about the Timeless Child, instead of different characters just revealing bits of information to her. Maybe she could even be the one who finds it out from the Matrix, after the Master’s invasion of Gallifrey inadvertently left a door open for her.

Anyway this was just some rambling from me, let me know what you think!

#doctor who #doctor who spoilers #dw spoilers #timeless child

[dippersbirthmark]

doctor who under chibnall was actually not written well, and thats very disappointing. the show had some very interesting episodes but the execution is just not it. (for example, i was really pissed off about fhe ancient syria episode because the whole plot or resolution or whatever had nothing to do with ancient syria lol??)

but i love thirteen okay? i love her fam. i love team tardis. as cheesy and slash or awkward as it can get (mainly because of the writing). there was promising character development for everyone, including the doctor herself. but it fell short, lots of telling not much showing. not enough balance between character arcs as things to drive the overall plot and the episodes' individual plotlines. and why the fuck would anyone write about ancient syria, but there was nothing ancient syrian about the whole fucking episode. and you could have done something more with the conscious universe, fit it in the whole timeless child arc or something right?

bro speaking of, i actually love the timeless child arc. it just brings a whole differrent dimension and huge possibilities for who the doctor is. it brings extra flavor of pain (lol sorry) to the fact that the doctor always felt lonely, but always hungry to explore and run and help.

they could have done so much with thirteen and ryan and graham and yaz. lots of opportunities for representation! ryan with his disability and his disastisfying deadend job in a warehouse, graham as an aging man who lost his wife recently, yaz as a pakistani woman who isn't being taken seriously in the workplace. my god, thirteen and her thing with being unable to be fully open and vulnerable to her friends. you know, maybe, learning to be vulnerable again to a group of people and finally seeing that she isn't alone even through all the stuff about the timeless child thing and about timelords and all that stuff. she's always got her companions, as with her past lives too.

so disappointed. i still love the show. i love ryan, graham and yaz. and i fucking love thirteen.

(also i think the show did daleks and the cybermen a great terrifying take. i used to not get excited when new who episodes were about daleks or cybermen because i found them way too campy if that is the right word for it--although i did love the thing in previous series where they humanize daleks and cybermen. it was tragic and heartbrwaking, but not scary. but thirteen's episodes with daleks and cybermen actually terrified me!! hello? they actually showed how fucked up frightening the daleks and cybermen were! wow?!)