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#have i I ever said I love Jodie Whittaker as the doctor
llywela13 · 11 months
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Today the 7yo asked to watch Doctor Who - she's only ever really seen a couple of 10th Doctor episodes (and one 3rd Doctor serial), she isn't really ready for it yet. Or hasn't been. Today she asked to try again, so we put on the 11th Doctor's first episode, with little Amelia and, my friends, she absolutely loved it. She sat guffawing through all the funny bits (to counter-balance the creepy bits where we had to cwtch). Then at the end, she was particularly struck by the Doctor saying, "I like bowties, bowties are cool."
"Can I have a bowtie? Bowties are cool," she said, and then asked if a girl can be the Doctor. I said yes, a girl can be the Doctor - thank you, Jodie Whittaker, for that. "Then can I have a suit like the Doctor with a bowtie?" she asked. And then made herself a bowtie to be going on with out of an old scarf.
7 years old and already reinventing the concept of cosplay!
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timeagainreviews · 4 months
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From Page to Screen: The Star Beast
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Growing up can feel like a lifelong process. I’m an adult, but I’m obsessed with a time-travelling alien show. Part of you will always feel like a kid, but another part knows the past is the past. While I may fantasise about revisiting my past like the Doctor, I admit it wouldn’t feel the same. I’ve changed. The ‘80s could never feel like the present. Every hairdo dated. Every new record in the shop window is a relic. Childhood always stays with you, but as an ever further memory. Understand then the implication that when my household of 30-40-somethings finished watching “The Star Beast,” we were like children.
In my “The Eve of the 60th,” article, I talked about how I don’t have a childhood nostalgia for Doctor Who. But sometimes, the things we love inspire a childlike enthusiasm within us. Somehow, Russell T Davies managed to retcon my past. In this timestream, Natalie has childhood nostalgia for Doctor Who. Using the TARDIS, RTD has managed to time travel back to our hearts. There’s something warm and fuzzy (and I don’t just mean the Meep) in my chest and I’d like to talk about it.
There are some Doctor Who reviewers who seem to think it’s impossible to talk about the Doctor Who episodes they enjoyed. But if we learned anything from the Jedi, it’s that walking the path of the light side is harder. Snarky shittiness is fun to partake in because it’s easy and immediately gratifying. But I’m not here for shittiness. I’m here for the love. It feels so good to say “I loved The Star Beast,” but it doesn’t mean I don’t have notes. I started out writing about the Chibnall era from a place of enthusiasm. I can’t help what happened after the fact.
My enthusiasm at the beginning of the Chibnall era isn’t a bad place to start this review. Because after “The Woman Who Fell to Earth,” I still possessed said enthusiasm. Seeing Jodie Whittaker as the first woman Doctor was a joyous experience. And seeing David Tennant in the TARDIS again was just as joyful. It’s a fabulous feeling, but I was burned the last time I felt this way. I further temper my expectations because, as I said, I do have notes.
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When you spend a large portion of your time either watching, listening, reading, writing, or thinking about Doctor Who, you forget that to some, it’s just a TV show. It’s one of the many they try and watch but miss the odd episode. So while I may roll my eyes at the goofy PowerPoint presentation at the beginning of Saturday’s episode, I have to remind myself that not everyone has been obsessed with Donna Noble for years. Some people might need a little reminder. Fine. While the casuals and newbies are getting caught up on the Nobles, I’ll be over in the corner frothing.
Previously I mentioned that I was withholding judgement for Murry Gold’s new intro music until I heard the full mix. Now that I’ve heard it I can say I liked it much better. It’s far more bombastic with proper engineering. The intro sequence itself was colourful but safe. I enjoyed watching the TARDIS skim the perimeters of the time vortex like a surfer catching a wave. It’s ironic that Dan Slott admitted to writing The Silver Surfer to be like Doctor Who, as it was the Silver Surfer I thought of during this sequence. People have been musing that the Disney influence may have Doctor Who going down the path of the MCU, but this one is pure coincidence. The intro is stunning and fits this exciting new era perfectly.
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It’s not as though “The Star Beast,” were an adaptation of a Marvel comic published in 1980. Oh it was? Oh right. Well they got us on this one! Surely they wouldn’t copy the MCU further by hiring the directors of Loki. Oh they have? Oh right. Well at least they didn’t do a Marvel Studios type of production logo that shows different characters across the franchise to play before every new show. Oh they did? Well damn, I guess they are going Marvel. It makes sense when you consider that many people said Loki was doing Doctor Who better than Doctor Who was doing Doctor Who. And on top of that, “The Star Beast,” is a fantastic comic in its own right. I would say Russell T Davies is a mad genius for mining gems from the extended Whoniverse, but he’s done it before with “Human Nature.” My only regret is that this somewhat undoes the continuity of the comics. The nerd in me can’t help but acknowledge the fact that the same comic recently canonically destroyed the Thirteenth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver, and put the Fourteenth Doctor on course to Skaro where we saw him briefly in the Children in Need special. Timestreams.
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“The Time Beast,” has now gone the way of “Shada.” Both stories take place across multiple Doctors and multiple forms of media. Not only is there an audio adaptation of Shada featuring Paul McGann, there’s also an audio adaptation of The Star Beast starring Tom Baker. Add the upcoming Target novelisation and you’ll soon have both stories in book form. It’s the fandom’s new “The Doctor’s Daughter was played by the Doctor’s daughter who then went on to marry the Doctor who played her father in the episode ‘The Doctor’s Daughter.’” Get ready to hear that ad nausea. All of this is to say I love when Doctor Who acknowledges its other media and this one was well played.
This adaptation of the Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons comic is a loose one. While the Meep and Wrarth Warriors look fantastic, some minor liberties have been taken with the story. Yet it’s hard not to admire how Russell T Davies has woven the Noble family and a narrative about gender identity in such a way that it feels seamless. Themes of duality and stereotyping are heavy throughout this episode. Speaking of gender identity, I totally called it with Rose’s choice of name. I said I hoped they would use the trans experience of choosing ones own name to tell a wibbly wobbly timey wimey story, and they did. But this also brings me to my biggest sticking point in the entire episode. I’ve seen a lot of people online using the word “clunky,” and that’s exactly what I would call it. Having Rose choose her name from a latent human/Time Lord meta-crisis going on inside her was great. However, having it be a factor in her gender identity left me a bit cold. It may have worked better if it had been implied that Rose was non-binary at some point before.
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Ultimately, it feels like a cis male trying to write an empowering trans narrative and missing the mark a bit. It’s like your uncle using the wrong language to awkwardly say “I support you.” It’s in no way problematic, but it could have done with being passed through a few different trans people’s hands before going into production. Donna’s line "Anyone has a go, I will be there and I will descend,” is the Doctor Who equivalent of David Lynch telling transphobes to “fix their hearts of die,” and I want it on a pin. As a trans woman, I do appreciate the trans representation, but it didn’t quite stick the landing. Moving forward, my personal preference would be to just let trans characters exist. We don’t need you to constantly point out our differences. On the other hand, we did get what seems like very positive disability representation. My disabled Whovian friends all seem to agree that having Shirley Anne Bingham with her rocket chair and a wheelchair-accessible TARDIS made them feel seen. One out of two ain’t so bad, Russell. 
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It’s funny to me that it took the Doctor becoming a man again to even start asking questions about gender. Chris Chibnall felt as though he was afraid of bringing up the Doctor’s new gender. It felt very “I don’t see colour, I just see people,” like mentioning the Doctor’s gender would have been the real sexism. I can think of three moments where the Doctor’s gender comes up in the Chibnall era- when the Doctor called herself daddy, when Captain Jack thought Graham was the Doctor, and when the Sontarans thought the Doctor was a companion. It wasn’t until Juno Dawson, a trans woman, wrote “The Good Doctor,” did we get a great conversation about the Doctor’s non-binary nature. I guess “The Star Beast,” was right, trans people are fucking magic.
Seeing David Tennant in his new threads with a sonic screwdriver that draws shields in the air was very cool. He and Catherine Tate haven’t missed a step, and of course, they haven’t, they’ve been playing the same characters on Big Finish for years. But people still felt the need to point it out, so here’s me doing it too. That’s quality. Their meeting again played out almost exactly as I predicted it would in my article “The Future of Doctor Who.” The Doctor is going to see Donna behind some packages, freak out when he realises it’s her, but come running like a puppy dog at the name “Rose.” Only in this instance, the Doctor is torn away from this intriguing discovery by what appears to be an alien craft crashlanding in London. Donna, of course, remained oblivious, as per the terms and conditions of the the Doctor’s neural block he placed on her 14 years ago.
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This “new” Doctor prefers to play things close to his chest at first. He avoids Donna and UNIT alike. He still doesn’t know why he has this face again, or why out of all the people in time and space, the TARDIS decided to put that face in front of Donna Noble. If there is a reason, he’s not going to assume what it is, or who might be responsible. I loved watching the Doctor question Shaun about Donna. The fact that the Doctor still remembers the name Nerys after hundreds of years made me laugh out loud. It’s nice to see the Doctor being Doctory. He’s skulking around. He’s getting clues. He’s not making assumptions. Already he’s learned that the rocket hadn’t crashed. Something is not as it seems, and the Doctor intends to find out what.
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Meanwhile, on the other side of town we meet Fudge who tells Rose about the alien space pod that landed near their houses. Fudge is one of the few characters who kept his name from the comic. They don’t even call the Meep "Beep" anymore (sort of.) As in the comics, Fudge is an excitable boy interested in science and space. He also plays a major part in helping the episode feel like classic Davies era stuff. One thing we often missed from both the Moffat and Chibnall era was the human cost of alien invasion. Watching Fudge’s reaction to the streets of London turning molten was a nice reminder that the danger was real. Seeing the BBC news correspondant being thrown into the back of a UNIT van made me happier than you might expect. I was reminded of Trinity Wells giving us news briefs. I missed the clever ways in which Davies made the world feel involved in his stories while also getting a bit of exposition out of it. It was at that moment that I realised RTD and Doctor Who were officially back. 
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While going back to the house to grab her phone, Rose meets the Meep hiding amongst her bins. Right away she feels kinship to the Meep who she sees as a misanthrope hiding from oppressors. Of course, she gives the Meep sanctuary. Even though the E.T. moment of Donna discovering the Meep among Rose’s “gonks,” had been played over and over throughout the trailer, it still made me laugh. Catherine Tate has great comedic timing, and watching Rose attempt to draw her attention away was charming. Everyone but Shaun seems hellbent on hiding aliens from Donna, especially Sylvia. I found Sylvia’s transition into a sort of June Whitfield à la Ab Fab entertaining. She’s just let herself in making enormous sausage rolls and tuna curry.
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The Doctor says things like “I absolutely love her,” now. Even Sylvia feels warmer toward Donna. Her insistence that the Meep doesn’t exist, even as its holding onto Donna’s leg doesn’t come from her old streak of meanness, but rather from a place of protection. She’s horrified by the prospect of Donna seeing an alien and it burning up her mind. She’s carried the facade this long. This falls into line with the character growth she began experiencing toward the end of the original RTD run and I am happy she didn’t regress.
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Most of the Donna Noble story remains in tact and accounted for. Shaun? Still her husband. The lottery winnings? Gave it away. Nerys? Still a snake in the grass, despite the accident. The only one missing is Wilf who the Doctor fears is dead. Honestly, who can blame him though? The only times people say “He’s no longer with us,” are usually when someone has either left their job or died. I guess it’s a nice fakeout for people who didn’t see behind-the-scenes photos from some guy on Twitter. We are given hints that we’ll see him at some point, probably in “The Giggle.” I liked the implication that UNIT has put him up in some comfortable digs. It’s nice to imagine that Wilf and Benton are probably playing chess in a posh retirement home somewhere.
UNIT is back in a major way, and it appears to have some new players. I feel like we’ll see more of Major Singh and Colonel Chan. It would be nice to get some recurring UNIT soldiers again. I feel like they missed a chance with Ross Jenkins in “The Poison Sky.” Kate Stewart is set to return, but replacing Osgood is Shirley Anne Bingham. I loved Osgood, but after seeing Shirley take those soldiers out with darts hidden in her chair I thought “Oh no, I think I fancy her.” She’s got a mischievous air about her that makes her feel a bit cheeky. It will be a lot of fun to see what Ruth Madeley brings to the table. I hope they don’t shunt her off as quickly as the rest of them. 
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After a daring escape through the lofts of several people’s homes, the Doctor and the Noble-Temples escort the Meep to safety. But after witnessing the Wrarth Warriors’ tendency toward non-lethal force, the Doctor begins to piece together who might have taken over the minds of Colonel Chan and his men. The Doctor decides it’s time for the Meep to plead its case in the court of a parking garage. After gathering two Wrarth Warriors as witnesses, the Doctor dons a barrister’s wig and invokes Shadow Proclamation Protocols 15, P and 6. And dammit wasn’t it good to hear David Tennant invoke the Shadow Proclamation again? Blissful, even.
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One thing I particularly liked about the barrister’s wig is that it calls back to the Fourth Doctor in one of my favourite stories- “The Stones of Blood.” Not only was it good to see the Fourth Doctor referenced in what was originally a Fourth Doctor story, but it also mirrors the circumstances of the original trial quite well. In both cases, an evil villain is posing as a harmless innocent and it’s on the Doctor to prove it. Like the black sun of the comics, a Psychedelic sun turned Meepkind into hideously evil monsters. Their once gentle natures now give way to sadism and conquest. The last remaining Meep, the worst of them all, stands before us today. If you had read the comic book like I did, you would have known this to be true, but up until the reveal, my wife would have died for the Meep. She was mostly alone in this as everyone else saw the Meep’s “I will either die or turn evil,” t-shirt quite early on. Interestingly, some people were actually drawn in by the Meep’s lies.
Casting off its ruse, the Meep’s face contorts as it produces a laser gun from its marsupial pouch. I absolutely love the transition from Puss In Boots to Dr Evil’s cat. The marriage of CGI and practical effects had me wondering how they managed the change. I imagine they had two separate sculpts for the head. One cutesy floof and one twisted grin. I know it’s difficult work, but I love an old fashioned person in a costume. It was cool to get a glimpse into the performance with the Cicely Fay interview on Doctor Who Unleashed. As a person interested in practical effects, this was right up my alley. It’s nice to see that no matter how big Doctor Who gets, they’ll still use a performer in a suit.
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The Meep takes the Doctor and company back to its ship to keep them as an in-flight meal. But before the Meep can get them all on the ship, UNIT intercepts leaving only the Doctor and Donna onboard. It’s up to them to stop the Meep before the ship’s dagger drive takes out 9 million Londoners upon lift-off. Evoking the MCU once again, the Doctor deprograms Donna like she’s the Winter Soldier or Black Widow calming the Hulk. The code awakens the Doctor Donna which causes her to exhaust artron energy. We get another classic David Tennant yells at God moment as yet another member of the Noble family is separated by glass. But just as things begin to feel hopeless we learn that not only is Donna not dead, but Rose is also part human and part Time Lord. Using her brief taste of Time Lord consciousness, Rose fully disables the Meep’s ship and the molten cracks from the dagger drive powering up disappear. This was so cheesy and I adored it. Classic RTD right there.
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A recurring argument I see in favour of Chris Chibnall is to point out how people often complain about things the Thirteenth Doctor does that other Doctors also did. According to this theory, every Doctor has their own “giving a brown man up to the Nazis,” moment. You know, kind of like when the Eleventh Doctor murdered Solomon by teleporting a bomb onto his ship as he was escaping. He could have teleported the bomb anywhere but chose murder. Who was it that wrote “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship,” again? Chris Chibnall? Oh. We do get a bit of that here with the Fourteenth Doctor ejecting the Meep from its ship. But the Meep was refusing to know when it was beaten. It’s the Sycorax all over again- no second chances. It’s dumb to call the Doctor a pacifist, but is it better that the Twelfth Doctor pushed the Half-Faced Man in “Deep Breath,” or that he talked him into jumping? These are some pretty heavy concepts, but no, the Nazi thing was still worse.
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I was glad to see the human/Time Lord meta-crisis taken care of in this first story. It’s nice that Donna is out of the woods and able to have some final adventures with the Doctor before she bows out again. It would have been kind of distracting for them to have to keep worrying about her mind burning every time someone said the word Doctor. It also allows us to fully enjoy the TARDIS reveal. Watching David Tennant run through the slick new interior like a little boy was euphoric. It was cute to get confirmation that even the Doctor has a moment of discovery whenever there is a new console. You always assume the Doctor just knows how to pilot any configuration of TARDIS controls, but even he sometimes has to ask “What’s that?” The TARDIS redesign was well worth the wait. Such a gorgeous set. It’s easily my second favourite TARDIS interior after the Eighth Doctor’s. The changing colour of the round things will offer so many different moods. White for normal function, red for the cloister bell, and purple for the disco party. The Doctor should get some roller skates now. Maybe if they visit the ‘70s at some point. I pray there’s a mirror ball.
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Along with a possible mirror ball, the new TARDIS console comes decked with a coffee machine. If you’ll recall “The Doctor’s Wife,” the TARDIS doesn’t always take the Doctor where he wants to go, but always takes him where he needs to be. This means that the TARDIS dropped the Doctor off next to Donna, redecorated knowing about Donna’s tendency toward spilling coffee on computers, and offers her a cup of coffee. That’s some 3-D chess there, old girl. But wherever it is she was so keen to take them in “The Wild Blue Yonder,” she seems as equally keen to escape. From some of the stills I've seen, I wonder if it isn't some sort of evil TARDIS they've found themselves inside.
Judging by Davies' past penchant for planting the seeds of future stories across multiple seasons, it may be a while before we meet the Meep's cryptic boss. Will this boss have anything to do with the woman in Dubai who is gaga over Rose's gonks? Was that just a red herring? Perhaps this boss is actually the Toymaker and I'm overthinking it. But why would he be interested in two-hearted creatures? Is he searching for two-hearted species to track down the Doctor for some revenge? I have so many questions! As wonderful as it is to be curious about Doctor Who again, we'll still have to wait until next week. But the longer wait is over. Doctor Who is back, and isn’t that exciting?
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mack-anthology-mp3 · 3 months
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NWKAKWKQKWJAKA MACK
THE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL?!?!?!??!?!!?! NCUTI GATWA MY BELOVED AHSKAHJSKSJS I LOVE THIS DOCTOR ABKAJSKS THE QUEERNESS OF WHEN HES DANCING IN THE BAR NEARLY MADE ME CRY AKSKKSSKSK I LOVE IT ABAKJSSKJSSKKSJSKB MACK I AM SO EXCITED FOR MAYYYYYY I CANT WAIT AHEJAJSJSKSKJSKKSKKAKAKS HNNGNGGGGG
I am so glad i watched this. i stopped watching mudway through jodi Whittaker's run because when shows make Political Points its stressful bc i need to escape from the world not be drowned in uts problems again. But OSNAKSKKAKA I AM SO EXCITED I CANT EXPRESS IT ENOUGH OUUUGHH I LOVE RTD'S WRITING GIS EPISODES WER3 MY FAVE AND NOW HESSS BBACKKKASJSKAKAKWKAKAKA MACK I CANT COPE GNNNGGGGGGGG
JASHNKAHSKAS ELIIIII AHAHHHHHHHHHH
hehheeeeee it's so good isn't it??? he's dancing and he's enjoying himself and he said 'babes' and and an dadhnaknshkanhska hnmnhnhnmnhnmn AGHSGNAGHNS I'M SO EXCITEDDDDDD FOR THE SEQSSONNNNNNN it's just so so wonderful and like yeah the sing was a bit weird but sure!!! let the doctor do that!!!! they've been through so much but now they can singgg
AND YES OMGGGGGGG i started s5 but the vibes were off idk how much of it i'll watch but RTD IS BACKKKKK AHHH ajkshaknshakn dr wHO <3
AND AND NAD I LOVE HOW BY INVOKING THE SALT SUPERSTITION IN WILD BLUE YONDER AND THEN THE TOYMAKER WITH DIFFERENT RULES OF REALITY AND NOW COINCIDENCES AJKHSNKAHNSANHSAKJNAKJNSKHANHNAKJNNAKNKNHK a,hsnansmahnsansan. hnsnah. oh i'm so excited to see where this goessssssss ahhh the way it moving into things that are less strictly scifi and more kind of fantasy anshakhsaknshannshknkNHNSAHKNSkhsahjkkhjsajkn. ajhsanmsaj.
and rubyyyyyy i like her!! and her family!!!!! ah!!! i think she might be pat aliennnnnnnnn wouldn't that be cool?!??!? and THE WOMAN AT TEH END MRS FLOOD 'HAVEN'T YOU EVER SEEN A TARDIS BEFORE' AHHHHHHHHHH
i'm so happy you liked ittttttt ough i can hardly wait until the season comes outtttttttttt hehe fortunatley i now have months to rewatch nine & ten and watch the important plot episodes of teh other seasons, actually i think i like the vibes i'm getting from twelve so maybe i'll watch some of his heheeeeeeeeeeee
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femme-enby · 4 months
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I am still seeing folks whine that Jodie Whittaker ruined Doctor Who.
Oddly enough they can’t seem to actually ever state something she had control over.
She’s an actor, playing a character. Her lines are written and her job is to simply bring that character from paper to life.
I think she did incredibly well! She was animated, she was emotional, she was clever as always and also silly, a happy medium between the tenth and eleventh if I had to compare her to past regenerations. She was new, she was figuring some shit out, and those writers threw thirteen PLENTY of revelations about her past.
Folks complained about the WRITING, and blamed that on Thirteen, on her being a woman. Saying that she made Doctor Who woke. It’s always been woke. Watch the show and pay attention.
Folks critique how heavy handed the “lessons” were, as many doctor who episodes of the past have had at least small lessons in the episodes even if the whole episode wasn’t a lesson.
Yet I can’t exactly fault the writers FOR being heavy handed… so many folks saying that a woman doctor is pandering and “woke”??? Well clearly y’all haven’t got the sense to comprehend media, since all the “wokeness” of the ENTIRE SERIES seems to just blow right over y’all’s heads, I’d probably get heavy handed too! It’d be hard to keep me from straight up having “Racism is wrong!” Written and said in an episode! Same for whatever other social issues they touched on during her time.
Hell, I just had to double check so I wouldn’t be speaking out my ass, but when the Twelfth doctor and Bill Potts went back in time and were at that festival on the Thames, immediately after telling Bill that she should leave the talking to him because she has a temper and diplomacy and patience wins, when the rich dude sees Bill sitting and calls her a “creature” and tells her to stand “in the presence of your betters” Doc taps him on the shoulder and LAID HIM TF OUT.
Doctor Who has BEEN “PC,” it’s been “liberal,” it’s been “leftist” or whatever the hell else folks are complaining about. It always has been, at least regarding “New Who.”
I don’t even hope they STOP glaringly pointing out that outdated beliefs are bad, I just wish they didn’t feel like they HAD to write like that so ignorant folks who skipped all their “literature Literacy” classes in middle school could get the memo!
Bigotry of any form has never made a bit of sense to me, and that is why Doctor Who appealed to me as a kid. It wasn’t like South Park or Family Guy or American Dad where every joke hinges on some sort of bigotry or outdated belief. It has always opposed those beliefs, and I’ve loved that.
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denimbex1986 · 4 months
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'The Doctor finds themself wearing a familiar face for the first time in their 2,000+ years of existence. Donna Noble and her family are suddenly in the middle of a world of aliens and spaceships for the first time since her memories were wiped by the Doctor fifteen years ago. Despite Donna’s lack of memory and the Doctor’s best efforts coincidence or destiny has thrust these two one-time best friends back together. This is where Doctor Who’s 60th Anniversary Trilogy of Specials – “The Star Beast,” “Wild Blue Yonder,” and “The Giggle” – begin. Russell T Davies has returned as showrunner! David Tennant is back as the Doctor! Catherine Tate is back as Donna! Not having to wait for the Blu-ray release to rewatch episodes for the first time since Jodie Whittaker debuted in “The Woman Who Fell To Earth” has me basically living on Disney+. And what’s struck me most as I’ve watched these specials again and again is how beautifully they present the mirror of friendship using two characters, two best friends, who find themselves at existential crossroads with their identities...
Theresa used to have a little poster hanging in her classroom which said, “You become like the five people you spend the most time with. Choose carefully.” And wow has my analytical part spent a lot of time thinking about that! Our friendships certainly shape us. Our friends also serve as a mirror which reflect who we are in a very intimate way, both in whom we connect with and how we are within those relationships. The Doctor and Donna share such a relationship and for all the Meeps, Wrath Warriors, Not-Things, and Toymakers, watching them reconnect across this trilogy of specials was my favorite part of the 60th anniversary experience :).
As Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary was a trilogy, I’m going to address these themes with each in turn! So feel free to read this as one unified piece or just read about the specials you’ve seen or are most interested in exploring.
Doctor Who: The Star Beast
If friendship is a mirror, to lose our memories of and/or connection to a best friend means our reflection is incomplete. We struggle to see ourselves as we once did. When we first meet Donna in “The Star Beast” with her mother Sylvia (Jaqueline King), and meet her daughter Rose (Yasmin Finney) and husband Shaun (Karl Collins) for the first time (okay, yes, Shaun was in “The End of Time Part Two” but it was just for a moment and we only see him from a distance), she is still very much Donna. Though it’s clear she feels the shape of something missing in her life.
Sitting at her kitchen table, Donna tells Sylvia, “Sometimes I think there’s something missing. Like I had something lovely, and it’s gone. And I, I kinda look to the side like something should be there but it’s not. And I know I’ve got Rose and Sean and you and the biggest sausage roll I’ve ever seen and frankly I should be happy. I should be really happy. But some nights I lie in bed thinking…what have I lost?” We are the sum total of our memories. Without one or some (or all?) we’d still be ourselves…but undeniably different. And having a sense of the something you lost would have to be a restless way to live.
But the Doctor can remember and, when I think about it, I imagine that would be harder. He knows he lost this brilliant, beautiful best friend. All the feelings he had for her live on in his hearts, surrounded by the dull ache of loss. For me, that one seems worse. Donna longs for something she lost but the Doctor knows who and what he lost.
The Doctor, having regenerated into a familiar form, is also anxious and unsettled. Though he is clearly happy to be back in his old body again! Many people online have pointed out how he emerges from the TARDIS in London with an energy very reminiscent of the opening of the 2008 Christmas special, “The Next Doctor.” It feels so happy! He’s smiling as he wanders through the street. At this moment, those anxious and unsettled parts are unblended and he’s able to enjoy the beginning of this new life, a half hour or so after his regeneration. But when the Doctor meets UNIT’s new scientific advisor, Shirley Anne Bingham (Ruth Madeley), he beings to speak openly about the confusing nature of his regeneration:
The Doctor – “Eh, it’s all a bit mad, don’t you think? I don’t know who I am anymore.”
Shirley – “Well, you look like the Doctor to me.”
The Doctor – “Well, exactly, the one in the skinny suit. After that I wear a bowtie. After that I’m a Scotsman. And after that I’m a woman.”
Shirley – “But that’s your future. You can’t know that. It’s forbidden.”
The Doctor – “I regenerated. And she became me.”
Shirley – “You got your old face back?”
The Doctor – “Yep.”
Shirley – “But why?”
The Doctor – “Eh, that’s what I’m worried about. Because I’ve got this friend, called Donna Noble. And she was my best friend in the whole wide universe, I absolutely love her. Oh! Um, do I say things like that now?”
Shirley – “Sounds like a good thing to say.”
The Doctor – “But Donna took the mind of a Time Lord into her head. I had to wipe her memory to save her life. If she ever remembers me she will die. So what happens next? I get this face back and the TARDIS lands right next to her. I turn around and there’s her husband. Then a spaceship crashes right in front of her. It’s like she’s drawing us in….the universe is turning around her again. I don’t believe in destiny but if destiny exists, it’s heading for Donna Noble right now.”
The Doctor doesn’t understand who he is anymore but he instinctively begins to try and sort the question of his identity through Donna. He is wearing his old face. The “universe is turning around her again.” There must be a connection. And it’s because of Donna he realizes he’s the sort of person who says things like, “I absolutely love her.” He says much the same about Wilf: “I loved that man.” For the notoriously closed off Time Lord, this willingness to be open and vulnerable is remarkable growth. And I’d wager that Dan (John Bishop)’s gently yet insistently pushing both the Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz (Mandip Gill) to own and voice their feelings for each other plays a role in the Fourteenth Doctor’s newfound openness :). And that makes me so happy!
Uncertainty aside, the Doctor and Donna quickly fall into familiar rhythms. As the Meep threatens all of London, the Doctor does what the Doctor does and Donna instinctively springs into action beside him. With the lives of nine million people at stake, Donna freely volunteers her life to save the others and the Doctor, with great pain and frustration, allows her to do so. They each make their own ultimate sacrifice – Donna in giving up her life and the Doctor in killing his best friend – to save Rose and all of London. This is who they are.
But Donna lives! Because the Meta-Crisis was passed down to Rose! What was too much for one human to hold becomes a shared inheritance. Donna’s survival also brings the dawning of greater comprehension:
The Doctor – “We’re binary.”
Donna – “She’s not. Because the Doctor’s…”
The Doctor – “…male…”
Donna – “…and female.”
Rose – “And neither. And more.”
Rose’s role in the Meta-Crisis allows the Doctor and Donna to articulate the full nature of the Doctor’s identity with greater clarity than ever before. In a beautiful moment, Donna and Rose chose to “just let it go.” Donna has her memories back (and she lived! (yay!)). Rose is finally herself. But the Doctor is still uncertain as to why his old face returned.
Onboard the TARDIS he brushes that question off but tells Donna, “I really do remember though, every second with you. And I’m so glad you’re back ‘cause it killed me Donna. It killed me, it killed me, it killed me.” Donna ask, “We can have more days, can’t we? I mean why is it such a big goodbye with you? Why is it one last trip? ‘Cause you visit, with my family. We could do outrageous things like have tea, dinner, and a laugh. And Rose’s school play, well maybe not that, she can’t act, she’s terrible, I don’t know how to tell her. But the point is, you’ve been given a second chance. You can do things different this time. So why don’t you do something completely new – and have some friends?” Tentatively the Doctor replies, “Yeah. Maybe. Yeah.”
To me this feels like the key to the entire special. Similarly to his saying he loves Donna and Wilf, the Doctor is being open and vulnerable in telling Donna, “I’m so glad you’re back ‘cause it killed me Donna. It killed me, it killed me, it killed me.” Donna, comfortably settling into her new old self – restored memories alongside the person she’s become with her family – notes the Doctor has been given a second chance to do things differently with this face. While the Eleventh Doctor visited with Amy and Rory and the Twelfth Doctor did with Clara, it’s not the Doctor’s usual m.o. and you can see the reluctance on the his face. Fear of the Twelfth Doctor’s weariness, expressed at the end of his life – “A life this long, do you understand what it is? It’s a battlefield, like this one, and it’s empty. Because everyone else has fallen”[1] – is evident. But he doesn’t give a hard no! Perhaps the Doctor is willing to change, at least for Donna, his best friend in the whole, wide universe.
Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder:
The reflection friendship shows includes our deepest fears, anxieties, and insecurities. Beside a friend with whom we feel safe we find a place to open, be with, share, and – sometimes, eventually – heal the wounds and traumas which fuel those fears. When a seemingly out of control TARDIS drops the Doctor and Donna on an abandoned spaceship at the very literal edge of creation before dematerializing on its own, they are forced to see this reflection of themselves through a glass, darkly, in a horror-tinged version of friendship’s mirror.
The Doctor – “I’m sorry, Donna. The TARDIS was out of control. It’s taken us to the edge of the universe.”
Donna – “So what’s out there?”
The Doctor – “Well, that’s difficult – for you – because if the universe is everything than the concept of an everything having an edge is kind if impossible. But that’s the language of 21st century Earth and you don’t know anything yet. I’m not being rude, you just don’t. When you discover Cambodian flat mathematics, you’ll discover it’s possible.”
Donna – “What?”
The Doctor – “That. Nothing. The edge of creation. Absolute nothingness.”
What’s funny is I think about this all the time! Theresa tells her students the Big Bang left the universe hurtling outward as it literally expands into nothing. She explains we can’t conceive of nothing because we’re things so we’ve evolved the ability to understand other things. We can conceive of darkness or emptiness or vastness or space but we literally can’t wrap our heads around nothing. We’re not wired that way. The first time I heard her say that I fell in love with it! I even use her example as the frame for talking to my students about how we can never fully conceive of God as infinite transcendence.
All this is to say, I think about the literal edge of creation and absolute nothingness A LOT. And I love it as the setting for an existentialist horror look into who and what we are. Both the Doctor and Donna have their own sense of self shaken, just as its taking a more solid shape, and they need to find strength and security in the other.
This is so human and I love it. Just yesterday, Lauren took a half day and we got lunch, hung out, and ran errands all afternoon. My last two weeks have been hard (work is still taking more from me every day and my emotional exhaustion is overwhelming) so Lauren wanted to be sure we had some time together. I was eager to see her – I always am – but a part of me felt bad because she was taking off work because I’m a mess. I was talking about this part with Kalie when she smiled and reminded me, “That’s what people who love you do. It’s what friends are for.” My day with Lauren was so beautiful and so restorative. It filled me back up! Pushed to the brink of existential despair, hunted and haunted throughout this ship, the Doctor and Donna can only do the same, regrounding themselves in each other – something the Not-Things intentionally try to destabilize.
The Not-Things take their shape so the Doctor and Donna never know if they are talking to each other or the Not-Things. Sometimes they are near perfect copies, others a ghastly perversion. When the Doctor asks them, “Where did you come from? You’re not part of the ship, are you? Did you come from outside?” The Not-Thing Donna says, “We came from the Nothing.” The Not-Thing Doctor says, “We are not things.” Then with malicious intrigue the Not-Thing Donna adds, “But you, you are not nothing.”
I love the different levels of fear here! First you have these dark, twisted, and at times monstrously disproportioned copies of the Doctor and Donna chasing them. Then the Doctor and Donna have the fear and anxiety of never being sure who they are talking to – their best friend or the Not-Thing. Then you have (what I would argue is) the more disquieting and disturbing fear of your best friend not being able to recognize you. Thinking of yesterday, one of the things that makes Lauren such an important friend is she’s safe – I can share anything with her and I know it will be received, honored, and cared for. There is nothing I can’t tell her. I get all sorts of anxious, as it affects that safety, if I imagine talking to Lauren but not knowing if it is Lauren. And that deep, pervasive anxiety turns into an almost painful fear to imagine Lauren not recognizing me as it seems to imply (even though it’s all a result of the Not-Things machinations) the friendship, the closeness and security we share, isn’t what we thought it was.
Dancing between that anxiety and fear, the Not-Things attack. The Not-Thing Donna rips open the trauma of the Doctor learning they are the Timeless Child and the destruction caused by the Flux.
Not-Thing Donna – “So where are you from?”
The Doctor – “No, we’ve done that. We talked about that, back there out loud. All four of us know it’s Gallifrey.”
Not-Thing Donna – “Except…it’s not.”
The Doctor – [pause] “What d’you mean?”
Not-Thing Donna – “You don’t know where you’re from.”
The Doctor – “How d’you know that? How does anyone know? How does Donna know?”
Not-Thing Donna – “Back on Earth, when I was the Doctor Donna, I saw your mind. I’ve had fifteen years without you and I saw everything that’s happened to you since and oh my God, it hurt.”
The Doctor – [tears in his eyes] “You’re saying this to break me down.”
Not-Thing Donna – “We haven’t stopped. To talk. We haven’t had a chance. It’s always like that with you, running from one thing to the next but I saw it. In your head. The Flux.”
The Doctor – [voice shaking] “It destroyed half the universe because of me. We stand here now, on the edge of creation, a creation which I devastated, so yes I keep running – of course I do! How am I supposed to look back on that??”
Not-Thing Donna – “It wasn’t your fault!”
The Doctor – “I KNOW!”
Not-Thing Donna – “I’m sorry.”
The Doctor – [plaintive] “Donna, is that you?”
Not-Thing Donna – “Yeah.”
The Doctor – “All those years, I missed you.”
On the one hand, the Doctor’s guarded. He knows the Not-Thing Donna would work to break him. On the other, he desperately hopes it is Donna so she knows but he doesn’t have to say it and he can be vulnerable with her without the struggle to get past those protector parts which hold his trauma close. With tears in his eyes and his voice breaking, he goes to hug her and the Not-Thing Donna dissolves into a puddle and laughs at him.
The Not-Thing Donna twists a knife in the trauma of his loneliness, insecurity around his identity, and guilt of all those he couldn’t save. While the Not-Thing Doctor strikes at Donna’s sense of self-worth.
Trying to prove she’s really her, Donna says, “I was born in South Hampton ‘cause my mum and dad where there for the weekend visiting my Auntie Iris. My mum was nine months pregnant but would Iris come to her? No she would not. So I arrived in South Hampton which allowed my mother to say I was a problem from the day I was born. And I’ve now come to the edge of the universe to discover I’m still dealing with that. So you can copy my memory but there’s only one person who can understand my family like that and that is me. I’m definitely Donna.” When Donna notices the tie the Not-Thing Doctor took off to prove he was the Doctor had disappeared he says, “Oh, I see. When something is gone it keeps existing. [bending over backwards to crab walk in the creepiest way possible.] Auntie Iris! Mummy and Daddy! Ya-da-da-da-da-da-dah! Why does he travel with someone as stupid as you?” And he chases her out of the room.
Beautifully, it’s the existence of our polarized parts that allow the Doctor to cut through the Not-Things’ deception. As someone who spends a lot of time aware of and being with my own polarized parts, this warmed my heart :).
The Doctor –“You think you’re stupid?’
Not-Thing Donna – “Of course I do.”
The Doctor – “That’s very Donna.”
Not-Thing Doctor – “That’s so Donna. That’s my Donna.”
The Doctor – “Except Donna does not think she’s stupid.”
Donna and Not-Thing Donna – “Oh I do.”
The Doctor – “No, Donna thinks she’s stupid and, sometimes, she thinks she’s brilliant. She thinks both. Because that’s the astonishing thing about people from our planet – they can believe two completely different things at exactly the same time.”
For a moment, the Not-Things freeze and the Doctor and Donna run into each other’s arms. Once they are sure who’s who, the Not-Things begin to strike at humanity’s nature to shake their faith in what they are as they attacked their sense of who they are.
Not-Thing Doctor – “We drifted here, in the lack of light, passing no time. But we would feel it – from so far away – your noisy, boiling universe. We wanted to travel there, to play your vicious games, and win.”
The Doctor – “If you existed here, no shape, no form, no purpose, then what’s made you so…bad?”
Not-Thing Doctor – “The things we felt, they shaped us. Carrying across the dark. We could hear your lives of war. Blood and fury and hate. They made us like this.”
Donna – “We’re more than that.”
Not-Thing Donna – “Love letters don’t travel very far.”
Oh, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this scene. Is it real? Or rather, are the Not-Things telling the truth? Donna overtly rejects it and it undercuts everything the Doctor is always saying about humanity. Soooo, did the violence and hate of our universe shape them as they moved from the nothing into existence? Or are they trying to get in Donna and the Doctor’s heads to break them down? Or is it both?
Ultimately Donna and the Doctor realize the Not-Things need them to be afraid so their bodies and brains move faster which is essential for the Not-Things to copy them. I think that’s an interesting commentary too, on how our fears shape us and reveal our identity. Donna is shaped by a lifetime of insecurity her mother helped cultivate just as the Doctor is shaped by not knowing who he is and his guilt over what he couldn’t stop.
Despite all the head games of existential horror, Donna and the Doctor stop the Not-Things, leaving them to die in the fiery furnace of the exploding ship. Back on the TARDIS the Doctor tentatively, nervously, and trying to project an aura of casual indifference, asks if Donna could remember what the Not-Thing Donna knew. She doesn’t. Donna says it’s too much, like looking into a furnace. So the Doctor pulls inward again, desperate to talk about it all but unable yet to voice his trauma out loud. Lovingly, Donna presses the issue, “C’mon. Where have you been since I last saw you? What’s happened?” The Doctor brushes it off, “Eh, you know, the usual. Robots, chases, waterfalls.” But Donna keeps the invitation open, “Oh, okay. But what really happened?” The Doctor takes a long pause before simply saying, “A lot.” Donna asks if he’s okay before another long pause when the Doctor assures her, “I will be.” Donna asks when and the Doctor tells her, “A million years.”
With “The Star Beast” the Doctor and Donna joyously reconnect, finding there fuller sense of self in their reflection with the other. In “Wild Blue Yonder,’ they seek the safety friendship provides as they are forced to face their deep insecurities under the terrifying spotlight of the Not-Things. Though, given the horror vibes of the special, I’d say it’s key scene is the moment the Doctor incorrectly chooses the Not-Thing Donna to take onboard the TARDIS. As it dematerializes Donna screams, desperate for the Doctor to come back. With tears falling down her face she stares at her own death, knowing she’ll never see her family again, and feels the gut-wrenching, soul-shaking pain of not being recognized – of not being seen – by someone she loves so much and is so loved by in return. When the Doctor realizes his mistake and returns for her, they embrace in the safety of the TARDIS. The traumatized looks on their faces show what they endured. In that moment they desperately need to be held by someone with whom they feel safe, someone who understands, someone who sees and loves them as they are.
Doctor Who: The Giggle:
The reflection of ourselves we see in the mirror of friendship is a fuller reflection of who we are than we are able (or willing) to see on our own. Our friends often see when we’re hurting and when we need help before we are willing to own and admit it. They often see who we really are when we hold ourselves in guilt and shame we needn’t carry. The beauty of this is our friends can help us see all that, too. And this is exactly what Donna does for the Doctor when the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris) escapes his exile outside of existence and returns to this realm looking to destroy humanity with the most malevolent of games.
With violence erupting all over the globe as every human being on the planet suddenly believes they are right and won’t be told otherwise, UNIT comes to collect the Doctor and Donna. At UNIT HQ in central London, they are greeted by Shirley Ann Bingham, Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), and Melanie Bush (Bonnie Langford), who travelled with the Sixth and Seventh Doctors. They realize a giggle imbedded in every screen since the very first television broadcast is what’s unleashing all of humanity’s darkest impulses.
The Doctor and Donna head back to 1925, the date of the first recording of the puppet Stooky Bill, to try and find answers. Leaving the TARDIS in 1920s New York, Donna tries yet again to get the Doctor to open up.
Donna – “So, what about Mel?!”
The Doctor – “Haha, she’s brilliant, isn’t she?”
Donna – “Yeah but I just keep thinking, all this time, you’ve never mentioned her.”
The Doctor – “Donna, I’m a billion years old. If I stopped and talked about everyone I’ve ever met we’d still be in the TARDIS yapping.”
Donna – “So you talk about no one ever. You just keep charging on.”
The Doctor – “Yes because I’m busy, like now.”
Donna – “Of course you’re busy every second of every day. I mean look at us now, we haven’t stopped. I saw you Doctor. I got a glimpse inside your mind. And it’s like you’re staggering. You are staggering along. Maybe that’s why your old face came back. You’re wearing yourself down.”
The Doctor pauses, decides to ignore her point, and redirects the conversation to finding the shop which sold the Stooky Bill John Logie Baird used in his first television transmission.
Much like Lauren did for me yesterday, Donna can see the Doctor’s hurting. She sees he’s exhausted, burn out, and run down. Though, unlike my response to Lauren, the Doctor is unwilling to acknowledge what Donna sees. The reflection is too clear, too accurate for the Doctor’s comfort. So instead he chooses to look away from the mirror Donna provides and instead focus on their mission.
Following the Toymaker into his realm, the Doctor’s desperation becomes more and more apparent as he and Donna race down endless identical hallways lined with endless identical doors. The Doctor’s façade begins to break a bit. The fear and the vulnerability begin to show. While he’d rather not own this (as evident by their conversation on the street outside the Toymaker’s shop), the Doctor can hold it back no longer. Donna is safe so he’s honest.
Donna – “Yeah but, you always say…”
The Doctor – “Oh, what do I say? What do I say?? What do I say?? ‘Cause I’m always so certain. I’m all sonic and TARDIS and Time Lord, take that away. [with tears in his eyes and doubt on his face] Take away the toys…what am I? What am I now? [with fearful resignation] I don’t know…if I can save your life this time.”
Donna – “It’s not about me.”
The Doctor – “Oh yes it is.”
Donna – “Well, maybe I’ll save you. You big idiot.”
With all these vulnerabilities, insecurities, and fear shining back at the Doctor, Donna gives him a place to be safe. She reassures him that protecting her isn’t what it’s about and she may just save him this time. Often our closest friends, the ones we love the most and are loved the most by in return, aren’t “just” the ones who can see when we’re hurting and need to be saved but they are the ones who we’ll let save us. This is the relationship Donna and the Doctor share.
They find the Toymaker and the Doctor challenges him to a game, a game he loses. This leaves the score at 1-1 as the First Doctor beat the Toymaker when they met and the Fourteenth Doctor just lost to the Toymaker. Back in 2023, they prepare for their final round at UNIT HQ. The Doctor – and this is such a Doctor thing to do – asks the Toymaker why he’s “so small.” Then he invites the Toymaker to leave this planet and these games behind to travel the cosmos with him so they can be “celestial” together, playing infinite games across the universe for all eternity.
The Toymaker considers…before blasting the Doctor through the chest and saying, “I played the first game with one Doctor. I played the second game with this Doctor. Therefore your own rules have decreed I play the third game with the next Doctor!” Donna comes forward telling the Toymaker, “He’s not dying alone. You can do what you like with me, I’m gonna be with him.” Mel agrees, “And so am I.”
Donna – [taking his hand] “It’s okay.”
The Doctor – “It’s not dying.”
Donna – “I know, but…”
Mel – “You’re gonna be someone else. It doesn’t matter who. ‘Cause every single one of you is fantastic.”
The Doctor – “It’s time. Here we go again. [several deep breaths] Allons-y…”
This is such a different attitude than the last time this face regenerated! It shows all the growth the Doctor went through in his Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth incarnations. And it shows the place he was able to get to with Donna by his side, creating a safe place for his fears and guilt, pressing him in loving ways to open up, and always reminding him of who he really is. Instead of seeing it as dying, now he assures them he isn’t dying. He is serene instead of angry. He says allons-y (“lets go”) instead of I don’t want to go.
As regenerations go, it was a beautiful one. Or it would have been. Instead the Doctor bigenerated.
With regeneration energy flickering around him, Donna and Mel, under the Doctor’s instructions, each grab an arm and pull…and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctor split in two! My head is already spinning with thoughts here but I don’t want to lose the thread. That’s the story for another post.
Like Theresa’s sign said, we become like the people we spend the most time with so we much choose carefully. Reunited with Donna, who has consistently urged the Doctor to open up and talk with her – always insistent but always lovingly – we see the new Doctor bearing Donna’s imprint. This Doctor, the Fifteenth Doctor, seems to have finally healed from all the trauma of the Time War. He has finally learned a lesson the Twelfth and Thirteenth Doctors hadn’t learned even after the Eleventh Doctor changed their actions in the Time War and saved Gallifrey. As the Fourteenth Doctor glumly looks out over London, the Fifteenth Doctor and Donna come up on either side of him.
Fifteenth Doctor – [putting his arm around the Fourteenth Doctor] “Hey, we did it.”
Fourteenth Doctor – “But how many died down there?”
Donna – “It’s not your fault.”
Fifteenth Doctor – “You can’t save everyone.”
Fourteenth Doctor – “Why not?”
Fifteenth Doctor – “Come here. [pulling the Fourteenth Doctor into his arms] I’ve got you, yeah? It’s okay. I’m here.”
The Fifteenth Doctor kisses the Fourteenth Doctor’s forehead and looks him in the eye. Then he puts his arm around him again, as does Donna. They all walk away, arms around each other. With Donna’s influence (and carrying the echoes of everyone they’ve loved and everything they’ve learned over the last 1,100 years since they wore that face) the Doctor can finally hold their wounded part (or, as the case may be here, regenerated self) carrying all that trauma and tell them I’ve got you, yeah? It’s okay. I’m here. They can now comfort and hold themselves alongside Donna as they heal in the way they’ve needed Donna to do for them.
The key scene here comes back in the TARDIS, as the Fourteenth Doctor assures Donna and his new self he’ll be alright. The Fifteenth Doctor corrects him, “No, you’re thin as a pin, love. You’re running on fumes.” Donna agrees, “That’s what I keep saying.” The Fourteenth Doctor protests, pointing to the Fifteenth Doctor, “But you’re fine.”
Fifteenth Doctor – “I’m fine because you fix yourself. We’re Time Lords. We’re doing rehab out of order.”
Donna – “He’s saying you need to stop.”
Fourteenth Doctor – “But I don’t know how.”
Donna – “Well, I can tell you. Do you know what I did, when you went flying off in your blue box, space man? I stayed in one place. And I lived. Day after day after day.”
Fourteenth Doctor – [rolling his eyes] “That would drive me mad.”
Donna – “Haha, yeah, it does. But you keep on going. And that’s the adventure. The one adventure you’ve never had. ‘Cause I’ve worked out what happened. You changed your face and then you found me. Do you know why?”
Fourteenth Doctor – [quietly] “No.”
Donna – “To come home.”
Reflecting something the Doctor is not quite able to see himself yet, Donna finally pieces together the reason the Doctor’s old face came back. This face – the one whose final, heartbreaking words were, “I don’t want to go” – is the one the Doctor returns to when they are finally – finally! – ready to let go of the trauma of their past. And they return to their best friend in the whole wide universe and restore her memories. She then takes those memories and she, along with her daughter, sorts how to solve the Meta-Crisis problem on their own. And now, after Meeps and Wrath Warriors and Not-Things and Toymakers and a historic bigeneration, the Doctor is finally ready to come home.
Russell T Davies, the man who created the Time War and brought Doctor Who back in 2005 with a Doctor suffering PTSD and wrapped in survivor’s guilt – a Doctor who has been on a long, slow journey of healing over their last six incarnations – is finally ready to hold and heal their wounds so they can let go of their trauma. One incarnation goes home, surrounded by their family, to do just that. The other incarnation, the future one that’s already benefited from that work, is off to adventure in the sort of carefree and devil-may-care way the Doctor hasn’t felt since the Eighth Doctor entered the Time War! And the Doctor never could’ve gotten here without Donna, just as she never could’ve found her way back to her full self, memories and all, without the Doctor. What a beautiful note to end Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary on! It’s a beautiful reminder of the power and importance of our friendships, too.'
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heavymetalelemental · 4 months
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Y'know? I think I've figured out why I didn't like thirteen's seasons as much and my mum was the one to point it out to me.
It got too complicated.
So in my household me, my dad and my mum all watch Doctor Who. While me and my dad are much nerdier and can name just about every monster and the episode they came from, my mum is a much more casual viewer so after we watched the Star Beast and we're talking about it, she said that the reason she enjoyed it more than the last few series was because she could understand what was going on.
I think this was a problem facing thirteen and a bit of twelve where the plots got too damn hard to follow. I like to think I can follow a complicated plot pretty well but there were points in the Timeless Child and the Flux especially where I'd be sat at the end of an episode going "...what?" And then the big reveal would come and I'd either be more confused or just disappointed!
I think the writers and showrunner forgot that for it's massive adult audience, Doctor Who is a PG rated kids show. Any kid in the world can watch this show with a parent around (my earliest memory is hiding behind the sofa from the Racnoss Queen at age eight) and I'd be very surprised if they could keep up with what the hell was happening.
The Who I grew up with was a series of seemingly unconnected episodes that when you watched it all again you could see the threads tying it all together. The more recent seasons felt like a Marvel movie in the worst possible way: terrible thing coming to destroy the universe, the gang wander about for six episodes and then the Doctor inexplicably solves the problem (honest to god, I can't remember how any of thirteen's seasons resolved...or any of twelve's for that matter). No shade at all to any of the actors, Jodie Whittaker is incredible and I love her but there's only so much you can do with a dodgy script and they were many.
So yeah...it all got too tangled and I'm glad RTD is doing a soft reboot. If I ever have to remember the timeless child nonsense, it would be too soon. But I dunno, maybe I just needed a rant.
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signalnext · 1 year
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It's the wee hours of the morning and I can't stop thinking about TPOTD and Thirteen/Yaz
(long post - many spoilers) Here's a bunch of thoughts (about 2k words) from the perspective of someone who loves Yaz and Thirteen. Fair warning in advance that my love for Doctor Who is about characters, and it's them as Thirteen and Yaz especially in Flux and later that I loved most. If I don't post this now I might not ever. Sorry for any typos or grammar etc.
There were many parts of TPOTD I really loved. Overall I loved that it was such a prominent episode for Yaz, and that so many of the hints we got to her character development were not forgotten, especially her co-pilot status and her becoming solo pilot in this episode.
(Gosh, what I would have given for Thirteen to say "Co-pilot?" and hear Yaz's reply one more time for their last journey. Why didn't that happen??)
It's clear that this was an emotional scene already and Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill did a stunning job - I had no doubts about that. They've always been terrific with the writing they had. I am really going to miss them.
Story-wise, I don't fully agree with the canonical ending with Yaz and the Doctor in TPOTD, but I can see how the characters might have gotten there, and for Yaz to keep repressing herself, for the sake of The Doctor. For the Doctor not actually saying the words but saying them in a roundabout way. But dang it, I did not like it. This was a chance to stick that landing, just like Dan did. This was not a 9.9.
In the scope of the storyline between Yaz and The Doctor, I wished two major areas had been different. I'll mention them briefly first and then get into more thoughts about them.
(I'm 100% sure I'm not the first person to touch on these topics, but I wrote this all immediately after watching. So I hope this comes across as a "yeah, I feel the same way!" nod to you if you do feel the same on some of these things.)
I kept waiting for a conversation that didn't happen. The ending did not follow through with the messages that were brought up repeatedly through their earlier scenes and through their entire run. Being brave enough to be honest and vulnerable with the people you love, and that love is worth it. The writing really dropped the ball on this. Even in this final episode, you have Graham semi-joking-but-not-really to Yaz about whether the Doctor's still not telling her anything (seriously? still?), and there was no satisfactory resolution to that. The Doctor never really let Yaz in, like she said she wanted to. What is the message we're supposed to take away? The Doctor is just flawed, people want to change but sometimes they can't, so deal with it? Even if this is so, then it's a strange way to lead up to it.
I felt there's a kind of absence of acknowledgement, of how significant an earned, happy ending would have been for queer representation -- especially for a queer Muslim woman of color in Yaz. I don't mean that I expected Yaz and the Doctor to live happily ever after. I acknowledge and am SO GLAD that Yaz lives and gets back safely! And that the last scene that Thirteen had was with Yaz together! But their ending -- whether intended or not -- was one of repression, from a queer Muslim Asian woman of color. Yaz had to repress the full extent of her feelings, again, and that was sad to watch for her after everything she went through. This ties in with the first thing above, but in the context of representation, here we have another queer person of color who, ok, gets to live and return to Earth in her own time and have a support group (and I admit the support group was lovely but…honestly it felt almost like they had more dialogue than the Doctor and Yaz's last scene (?), and that didn't sit right with me. It just refocused on how their last scene together was too short (and how Thirteen's solo last scene was too short)).
The more groundbreaking choice -- and the one I (and I suspect some other folks aside from me) expected to happen based on her prior story arc -- would have been to have Yaz be brave one more time, and say what her heart feels, in this final moment they have. I had been waiting for her to be able to say those words, and she never got a chance. Even the actual dialogue in EOTD, Dan said "just tell her"!
Where was that moment for Yaz? To finally find the courage to say her piece? She knows their time is ending. Why choose to have her repress herself again? Yaz has been so brave through the entire episode, so for it to end like this… Perhaps the argument is that Yaz is being brave by tamping down her feelings, but again, in the scope of the narrative that's been put forward in canon, that is not the ending that makes sense to me here.
What would have made more sense to narratively continue from the amazingly vulnerable scenes in LOTSD was for Yaz, after showing how brave she really is -- how determined and relentless she is in her actions -- to be emotionally brave, too. She knew these would be the last moments with The Doctor. And Yaz, just like the Doctor, has a hard time with being vulnerable. Yet we saw them being brave before - we got to see them being sincere and opening up - at least on the Doctor's side, and a little on Yaz's side -- in LOTSD especially, literally the prior episode. So this would have been the perfect narrative chance for Yaz to open up, too. To be brave, and say aloud what she has always felt.
(more after the cut)
In their big reunion in Flux, they have a literal scene-stopping, crushing hug. And Thirteen says "I missed you" and Yaz says "Missed you too." That is their way of saying "I love you" and "I love you, too."
It would have been so easy after Thirteen says "I have loved being with you, Yaz" for Yaz to just say "I love you, too."
Not reusing Thirteen's phrase and saying "I have loved being with you, too" because that would be the safer option (which, btw, she still doesn't get a chance to say??? Not even that???).
But Yaz saying "I love you, too" would be her way of acknowledging to Thirteen that she understands what Thirteen is saying between the lines, but she's not going to be cagey about it. She's going to say it, finally, out loud, what she feels. Because she knows she's gonna live and it's not the past tense for her.
How amazing would that have been? Yaz was already standing up for herself - to call out Thirteen in earlier episodes, and in this one to tell her to stop and make time and explain the Daleks. So for Yaz to finally get to utter those words aloud to the person she loves...! Even if Thirteen just listened to her and those words, looked her in the eye, and smiled.
And kiss or no kiss, it is so bizarre to me that Chibnall wouldn't even let them have a hug. Yaz could have asked for a hug. The Doctor could have given her one. Even Ryan asked about a hug in Revolution of the Daleks and the Doctor immediately gave him one, and then gathered them all for the group hug.
Why the heck for the repression for the characters here. Is the argument that the characters knew they'd start sobbing and lose control, so and they didn't want to so they held back? I can understand that argument but gosh it didn't work for me for the reasons above.
The writing could have had them in a hug, and saying those words, AND holding back the tears.
And yes, Yaz could have said "I'm not leaving you" but I won't get into that now.
Yaz still could have said "Let's not say goodbye." They could still have kept that line after, and Yaz being dropped off, and walking away, and nodding. For me, it would been so much more attuned with the story arc to have them get their moment of vulnerability and openness, and THEN have to pull back and part without saying goodbye in public.
Why do I think it was a dropped ball? Because in the larger context of Yaz, having her feelings acknowledged by The Doctor and the Doctor reciprocating her feelings but being afraid of acting on them romantically -- because in the larger context of Yaz being a queer, female, South Asian Muslim, who has repressed her feelings for so long, for her not to get to even tell the Doctor a simple "I love you, too" is...not just a missed opportunity, but -- narratively, it diverges from all the groundwork laid already, and continues the representation of repression.
Their last scene could have been far, far more monumental. It could have given Yaz that much, and shown this queer WOC on screen driving through her fear one more time and saying those words because this was her last chance. It could have given Thirteen, the Doctor so afraid of her feelings, the chance to be brave for Yaz, and to tell her "I love you." The Doctor, who wears rainbows on her shirt and coat. We got so far in the story, and then...this.
I give all the love to Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill, but gosh as far as the writing for their characters here at the end…
Where is the emotional bravery for Yaz and the Doctor that should be the bookend to all the steps we've seen them take?
Where is the message to be kind, and to choose love? Did that not even get remembered from the last regeneration?
Is it because Dan, who tried to keep them in line and have them be honest with each other, conveniently wasn't there to make them talk it out (joking… but am I?).
I think it's frustrating for me more than I thought it would be, because they DID get that scene together at the end, alone. That literally EVERYBODY ELSE on the TARDIS was conveniently GONE (and that Yaz herself made that happen!) so that they could have their few minutes together before the regeneration, plot-wise, and so the significance of their relationship was recognized for sure logistics-wise, but seriously, just a few more words that Yaz and the Doctor could have had a chance to say. One hug. That's all it would have taken for me at least, to feel a little better about their ending. For Yaz to be brave ultimately in that last moment and let herself be vulnerable.
But she didn't get that. Why?
We have learned from the writing that bravery is letting yourself be sincere, to be honest, to be open, to letting someone in. And for some reason, Thirteen doesn't ever let Yaz in like she promised her at the end of Flux, and Yaz never completely gets to say what she feels. Why? Is it for dramatic angst? Why? They've already had their dramatic angst. Thirteen is going to regenerate. Why continue the angst all the way to the end? It's disappointing to me because that should have been their last hurdle to get over. To be able to be free about her feelings, one last time. And it doesn't happen. It feels like someone took a red pen and edited out a bunch of stuff that was supposed to be there, after all of the telegraphing from prior episodes.
After those parallels with Vinder and Bel's love story (and seriously Vinder coming back, that was a lost op too), and especially that direct parallel with Nick and Sarah…?
Gosh there were some great moments here though, such as Yaz carrying the Doctor. Seriously… but in the context of their entire storyline together, this is another seed planted and very deliberate. It was Yaz who carried her. She didn't even ask for help, it was her. It's an iconic, dramatic visual, that is associated with so many romantic storylines. We already know they've been slow burning this, and they show us Yaz carrying the Doctor?? and after this; after their hands against the glass; those moments earlier; THAT's the final conversation we get?
The emotional parts to the episode -- returning to the heart(s) of the emotional backbone of the entire Flux series and after, with Yaz and the Doctor -- it was not up to the same level as prior episodes. And for their last episode together, that is unfortunate.
Nothing is perfect, of course, but it's just unfortunate because it could have been so, monumentally significant even more so than it was, and could have been so much more gratifying in terms of queer representation, especially for POC.
I'm so, so thankful that we did get what we get. Thirteen's speech at the end also resonates for me personally and also resonates for her storyline with Yaz. It was so special -- the scenes that we did with them. All those wonderful moments of Yaz/Thirteen. The adaptive hologram (oh I almost forgot…I have so many thoughts on the emergency AI, and while I appreciated it, it felt so off from the adaptive hologram ball -- Tegan and Ace got their sincere conversations -- where was the sincere conversation with Yaz? Why was there no comforting message for Yaz?).
That beautiful scene on the ocean floor surface. The beautiful and still heartbreaking scene on the beach. Tbh it's still in some respect hard for me to believe they actually happened and are canonical. But because of the strength of those scenes, I was hoping for something similar in the last stretch. And gosh this is why I absolutely appreciate fandom writers who will take their own disappointment and channel it into something healing. They wield a magic power of their own.
I'm so, so proud of Yaz. This post is more about Yaz/Thirteen, but I loved Yaz from the beginning and early on wished she could get so more to do, so I'm really glad that she got to feature so prominently in this episode, and very, very relieved and happy that she gets to live and so do Graham and Ryan (off-screen) and Dan.
Sure I wish I would have seen her family, and her talk to her mother about the Doctor. But I grew up during a time when there was hardly any queer rep on tv, and rarely positive rep, let alone for queer people of color. I have to remember also that never did I imagine we'd ever get to see this kind of story on Doctor Who. There's progress, but then there's not-progress. It's how most things go I suppose. I'll take the progress, with the reservation that there was room for improvement.
Gosh I miss them already. If I had two hearts about this, I'd be happy in one, and sad in the other.
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moderndaymelodrama · 1 year
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my 13th doctor era tribute ✨
as yaz says in revolution, “it’s ok to be sad” and i am, awfully awfully sad, but there are so many things that this era has given me, and that i’m truly grateful for
before the 13th doctor, i was a little girl growing up in the north of england, who watched a show that was always branded as vaguely boyish and had loved it for as long as she could remember. this era gave me the first female doctor, a wonderful northern woman as the biggest hero in one of my favourite shows. jodie whittaker, you have been a triumph. it gave me yasmin khan, a companion who taught me that what i’m feeling is ok and that no bad moment ever lasts forever. i’ve taken to adopting a little bit of her into my character whenever i need to feel brave. mandip gill, i’ll never be able to thank you enough. it gave me a beautiful queer love story between it’s two leads exactly when i needed it most, one that has been treated as so important but also so natural by the writers and actors alike. the two main characters on my favourite show are just like me and that’s perfectly ok
this era gave me stories about mental health, grief, love, loss, and everything in between, all while taking me on adventures i’ll never forget. it gave me peace and stability during the most difficult times, and a sense of home no matter where i was. it has been an anchor during some of the most crucial years of my life. but above all else, this era gave me joy. joy for being included, for being seen, for being important.
i was 13 when the 13th doctor was announced, and i’m 19 now, i’ve grown from a school child to a uni student learning to navigate the world on my own. the doctor said pretty early on in series 11 “you won’t come back the same people that left here” and she was right. i’m just glad this era was part of that journey 💙
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supernovaa-remnant · 6 months
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9 has been my favorite doctor for as long as i can remember lol gonna be honest, it's probably because he's always reminded me a little bit of my dad. he died when i was 14 and when i started watching doctor who a while later, the little similarities i found were comforting and it has been like that for years now.
also, the team of him, rose, jack, and mickey was one of my favorite dynamics ever. they were so fun and amazing together and i loved seeing them so much.
11 is a close second, i absolutely adored matt smith's portrayal of the doctor!! and i totally agree with you when it comes to 13. i was actually so excited when they announced jodie whittaker because omg first female doctor??? and i think she did an amazing job and i love how she truly made the character her own.
when it comes to companions, i think my top three are amy, rose, and clara. the dynamics they had with the doctor(s) were always so entertaining and their character arcs were super interesting, especially amy's.
so yeah, as you can see, my faves are a little all over the place so it's kinda hard for me to pick a favorite era lol i just love all of them in a different way and it's hard to choose.
also, a little insane over your thoughts. i agree with you on so much. like, the amount of chance meetings and coincidences and small moments that can connect and influence our lives is fucking crazy. and a lot of it just has to do with love and it's devastatingly beautiful.
9 is a really good doctor!! I agree that the team w/ him, Rose, Jack, and Mickey was honestly amazing. Clara!! How could I forget to mention Clara? I loved her lmao.
a lot of it just has to do with love and it's devastatingly beautiful
yeah.. yeah a lot of it does have to do with love and care and it makes me really emotional.. and we've found paintings in caves from so many millenia ago, and we taught rovers how to sing happy birthday to themselves, and the Golden Record.. the Golden Record makes me really emotional.
Because we sent Voyager 1 away from Earth with it's end goal being out of the Solar System. And what added a Golden Record. And what did we put on that record? We put greetings in 55 different languages.. all of them along the lines of "hi. we are from earth. we hope you're doing well. we want to meet you." And we put the calls of animals and the sound of rain and the sound of laughter. We put sounds of a mother and child. We put pictures of people from all over the earth from so many cultures just.. being people. We took this record going into space, and we said, no, don't put war or hunger or famine or that in this. we said, don't let us be remembered for the darkest parts of our existence—let us be known for the best parts of this world. let our legacy—the one that will still be out there even when our solar system is gone—be a legacy of compassion and beauty.
Sorry, I feel like I didn't answer your ask very well, but I got distracted by the Golden Record and think I need to have a little cry LMAO
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pastanest · 1 year
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Why I Won’t Write For Thirteen
I feel like a lot of what I’m going to say in this post is going to be obvious to a lot of people who have loved Doctor Who for any amount of time prior to Chibbers era, but regardless, I wanted to provide an in-depth explanation as to why I won’t write anything regarding the thirteenth (or fourteenth if we’re counting John Hurt?) regeneration of the Doctor.
the simple fact is, from a writing standpoint, I don’t know Jodie Whittakers Doctor well enough. that’s no discredit to Jodie herself, I think she’s incredibly talented and I loved her in Broadchurch, but I did not watch enough episodes of her Doctor to know how to write her character accurately and there are a few reasons for that.
Doctor Who has been my favorite show for longer than I can remember. it is the first show I ever became infatuated with as a young child, it was the beginning of my love for science-fiction as a genre, and it was a crucial staple of comfort within my childhood. for various reasons I won't go into, I don't remember much of my childhood at all (which is both a blessing and a curse), but some of the fondest memories I do have is of watching Doctor Who. 
I started with Christopher Eccleston when he became the Doctor, and I loved him. he was witty and dry and a great introduction to the series for those - like myself - who had not seen the show before. David Tennant, though, was my Doctor. I grew up with him and adored him more than any other fictional character, and to this day he is my favorite. I loved the passion, the raging fire in the Doctor that he portrayed so well, and I loved how romantic his whole regeneration was. Matt Smith had some big shoes to fill, and I’ll admit, at the start of his first episode I was VERY skeptical, but by the end of The Eleventh Hour, I loved him. he was so different to Ten, so childishly charming and full of wonder, but there was still that lingering sadness, that painful weight he carried behind his eyes that I really, really loved. despite how wonderful Matt Smith was, as soon as Peter Capaldi came along, he was my second favorite Doctor without a doubt. any discredit to his Doctor will not be tolerated, because that man is a gem, he’s a grumpy grandad and to be completely honest, the only Doctor I’ve ever seen who truly encompassed the ancient magic that IS the Doctor; this whimsical grouch who’s seen and lost so much and tries to protect himself from hurting anymore, but simply can't resist saving everyone he can. the love he had for Clara, their whole relationship, made her my favorite companion (which, for a diehard Rose stan stemming from her entire relationship with Ten and that single handedly shaping my frontal lobe, says A LOT).
a lot of people disliked Peter Capaldi before they’d even seen him as the Doctor, simply because he wasn’t young anymore - as though the Doctor himself has ever actually BEEN young in reality - which I thought was a disgrace. anyone who watched Peter Capaldi’s era and tries to tell me it was bad, will no longer have a seat at my table. I’d take a bullet for that man, don’t test me. when the writing began to fall off towards the end of his era, he CARRIED the weight of the show on his back. he pioneered for references to Classic Who like no other, catering to older fans of the show, and is the biggest fan of the show to ever play the Doctor.
Chibbers and I immediately got off on the wrong foot based on his treatment of Peter, in the fact that he only agreed to take on Doctor Who if he had a new Doctor to shape for himself, meaning Peter had no choice but to go. the fact that Moffat said Peter sat in a room on his own, crying while writing his Doctor’s goodbye speech, will haunt me for the rest of my days and I will never, ever forgive anyone who allowed that transitional clause to pass.
despite that, I was willing to give Chibbers and his team a fair shot. then came the news that he was going to do way less episodes each year. then came the news that he didnt want to write any references whatsoever to any previous episodes, companions, Doctors, or plots (considering nostalgia plays such a huge part in Doctor Who, callbacks to the past and characters who never die having the chance to show up randomly etc, that was a fucking joke). then came the news that Murray Gold, who had composed the LEGENDARY music for Doctor Who since its renaissance in 2005, would no longer be working on the show. and then came the news that there was going to be no story arc or thread throughout the series, Chibbers wanted individual standalone episodes only. 
what.
what.
WHAT. 
literally one punch to the gut after another, unreal. AND YET, I was still willing to give Jodie’s era a go, and I did. I’m not sure how many episodes I watched, but all I can remember is trying my absolute hardest to find things in those episodes that I enjoyed and genuinely struggling. for the first time in my life, I found myself scrolling on my phone when Doctor Who was on, instead of being completely enthralled. there are episodes of this goddamn show that I know off by heart and I will still be glued to the screen The-Idiot’s-Lantern-style to ensure I don’t miss a single second. I will give Chibbers props on a cinematic front only because I can remember some beautiful shots, but apart from that, I was at a complete loss. not a single character theme, not a theme for the Doctor, no continual plot, not a single companion (out of THREE available candidates) that actually interested me, and just no SUBSTANCE. 
I can remember one specific moment where the Doctor is speaking to someone and is told that a woman is waiting for her, has been waiting for her a long time or something like that right. so I was sitting there thinking OH MY GOD CHIBBERS HAS HOODWINKED US ALL HERE HE IS HE’S GONNA BRING OUT ONE OF THE CLASSICS OH MY GOD I WONDER WHO IT’S GOING TO BE!!!!!! COULD IT BE RIVER! CLARA! MARTHA! DONNA! ROSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and it was a woman that we barely knew who died in the first episode of Jodie’s era. 
every Doctor is different, every Doctor FEELS different to watch, but no matter which Doctor you watch, you should always be able to tell that’s the Doctor, and I couldn’t. Jodie’s Doctor felt like a side character in her own show, constantly being outsmarted by her own human new-on-the-job companions and with the WORST attempt at ripping off Eleven’s cringey childish humor I have ever seen.
never in my life did I think I would have to stop watching my favorite show of all time, but I did. and even when I stopped watching, I couldn’t stop hearing about it. seemingly Chibbers realized his mistake and tried to shoehorn one-off references (like a random fez) into random episodes, bringing back classic aliens and things like that in some desperate plea to bring fans back. 
now, let me just clarify something: I’m a woman who is chronically online and in my early 20’s, I was raised on the internet so have no problem with “woke” content, I am regularly battling my bigoted elders who are against seeing anything other than heterosexual, cis white people onscreen at all times, so in terms of all the middle aged cis white men who pin their hatred on Jodie for being a woman, I could not be further from them, PLEASE do not lump me in with that crowd lmfao. but to have this Doctor go back and meet a regeneration of the Doctor that came before the first regeneration we know of, feels like trying to rewrite the show’s history in a way that does not make sense, and is, in my opinion, disrespectful to the show’s actual origins. if they’d tried to do that with John Hurt, I would’ve been just as disappointed. adding in secret new regenerations of the Doctor is not an original idea and there is a literal anniversary special to demonstrate how to do it right lol but apparently Chibbers has never actually watched an episode of Doctor Who in his life so who’s surprised? 
tldr: Chibbers ruined Doctor Who so I hope he can fight cuz I’ll personally take him out 1v1 and shove a screwdriver so far up his ass he’ll hear Murray Gold and the BBC Orchestra playing some haunting backing track to the battle x
that being said, can’t wait for the 60th Anniversary Special episodes, cannot WAIT for David Tennant’s return (yes, before you ask, I foamed at the mouth and sobbed for 8 days when that was announced), and am SO EXCITED to see what Moffat and Ncuti Gatwa bring to the next series of the show!!! 
if you’ve got any thoughts in response to all this, please feel free to drop them in the comments, but please do not try to justify what Chibbers did to Doctor Who because quite frankly, no amount of miniscule positive notes will change the catastrophic damage he’s done to the show, it's universe and it’s ratings. I only hope that Moffat is able to salvage the show from the rubble!
not looking for arguments and not trying to upset anyone so will not be tagging this with anything - if anyone reblogs for any reason, PLEASE do not add any fandom tags, this is solely my explanation for not writing for 13 and is not meant as a general discussion piece ♡
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hiccupmistress · 1 year
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On Fandoms and Discussions Therein
One of my favorite things to do is analyse media and artistic expression, be it TV, film, books, or any of it, and form my own interpretations of it, but then, more importantly, to discuss those interpretations with other people. See how other people read those works, compare and contrast different viewpoints. Unfortunately, fandoms make that hard.
I love Star Trek, so, so much. I want to discuss it with people, I want to share my interpretations of it, both on specific details and on the franchise on the whole. But lately, its been getting harder and harder to do so.
A mutual on Twitter just burned bridges with me over a respectful disagreement about differences between Strange New Worlds and Picard. They accused me of having a “bad faith” argument and trying to force my way of enjoying Star Trek onto them. I try never to do that.
If I ever come across as frustrated or gatekeep-ey in a discussion, that’s never my intent. I want to learn, understand and celebrate other fans’ points of view. If there’s the kind of discussion going on that I disagree with to such an extent that I wouldn’t be able to discuss it calmly, I simply don’t engage with it. If I’m engaging in a discussion about a fandom material, be it Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who or anything else, I’m trying to have an honest to goodness conversation. I might be trying to get across my point of view, sure, but that’s usually for the sake of comparing and contrasting your point of view, that I just want to learn more about.
This isn’t just about Twitter, by the way. I’ve had experiences like this on Reddit and YouTube. From what I’ve seen of Tumblr so far, things are mostly more respectful, despite the site’s reputation as a bit of a nasty fandom space. Maybe Tumblr’s changed over time, or maybe I simply don’t use it enough to see the nasty stuff. Honestly, I’m a little afraid to try and discuss Star Trek on here in any serious manner. That’s why I started this as a gimmick account with parody-esque episode titles and synopses.
It saddens me, because I NEVER want to gatekeep or yuck people’s yums. There are people in every fandom that insist on taking even the best-faith discussions as arguments.
My display name is different for each of these sites, I’m not expecting people to recognise me and go “Oh yeah, that’s the person who only wants good faith discussion, better respect them and them in particular!”. That’s not my point. This isn’t about me or how people interact with me. Its about fandom spaces in general - again, not just Star Trek.
Nobody should have to be called “stupid” for having a specific interpretation of the Narkina prison in Star Wars: Andor
Nobody should be accused of being a “fake fan” for liking Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor over Peter Capaldi’s
Those are things that have been said to me, but its happening in every fandom to tons of genuine, intelligent fans of things.
We don’t have to agree on everything. On the contrary, its talking about our different views that I enjoy. Its about respect. I make no secret about Voyager being my least-favorite aspect of the Star Trek franchise, and I may often share my reasons for disliking it, but I would never dream of trying to take it away from those who do like it. Quite the opposite, I hope that fans of it will engage me in discussion about the aspects I don’t like. Maybe they’ll change my mind, maybe they won’t, but that’s what I want. Discussion, not arguments.
There’s so much great art and fables and works of fiction in the world, we don’t have time in our lifespans to lash at each other’s throats over the shape of a warp nacelle or how the Force works. But we do have time to talk about those things. That’s all I want.
UPDATE: The Twitter mutual reached out and we’ve both made amends. I’m relieved that was able to happen on this particular occasion. There have been many similar occasions where that hasn’t been the case, but this time, its very meaningful that they were willing to talk it out. <3
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scully1998 · 2 years
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3, 12, 24, 37, 48, 55, 68, 75, 81, 95, 96!
<3
3. First DW episode you ever saw?
Was almost certainly Rose. I think it was Rose, actually.
12. Your favourite Doctor?
I don't have favorites of things. But lets say 12. I fucking love 12.
24. Best TARDIS Team?
ooooghh....Ok I'm classifying this as minimum 2 companions, for clarity. First instinct was 9/Rose/Jack. Then 12/Bill/Nardole/Missy?
37. Episode that will always make you cry?
lotssss uh but the classic is Doomsday. but also Face the Raven.
48. Thoughts on series 11/12?
Siighhhhh so uh. I want to love them. I love 13, I love the team. There is a lot more in s12 that I enjoy than in s11. But I think they are weak in a lot of ways. This is a much longer essay I intend to elaborate on later basically but yeah I think the writing struggles, the pacing tends to be off, and they really drop the ball on developing characters & relationships. They often just fall flat and fail to deliver any catharsis or satisfaction? Characters rarely have quiet moments to talk to each other- even emotional conversations tend to be really brief and/or rushed due to action. Recent eps in particular (I have a lot of complaints abt flux/etc altho ik that isn't the question) use dialogue for exposition to the point of redundancy, which, again, means that characters don't actually spend enough time talking to each other about things that aren't right in front of them. idk. have ranted a lot about this in the discord server lol. Also, and I have said this before and do intend to elaborate on it thoroughly at a later date, in ideology they are almost unbearably neoliberal in a way that specifically says to me "casting a woman as a PR stunt was mildly risky so we cannot take a single other risk." Like, Twelve would actually verbally berate capitalism, and then s11 gave us fucking Kerblam. Even the feminist messages are so vague that they're barely remarkable.
That being said, again, there's stuff I like! I adore Jodie Whittaker's performance, I adore Sacha Dhawan's performance, I really like Yaz as a character, there are a few episodes I genuinely loved (most notably It Takes You Away and Orphan 55), and I appreciate a willingness to do different things with the lore. I think they had a lot of potential and I am sad to see them end. I think I'll always be very affectionately nostalgic for them. But I also hope that what comes next is different in a lot of ways.
55. Least favourite monster/villain?
I wasn't a fan of the silence. OH and it's not that I hate weeping angels as much as i think that they were used in just increasingly stupid ways until they became just annoying and stupid. Like, in Blink they're fine. And then in series 5 they're just, like, they don't even DO the displacement thing that was their entire thing, they just kill people kind of normally, and the image of an angel stuff just makes absolutely no sense. In Angels Take Manhattan they do the time travel thing but are otherwise still so ridiculously OP in ways that do not make sense, like...the statue of liberty? famously made of copper? are you kidding me? I'm trying to remember how I phrased this but it's like. moffat invented a bunch of mechanics for the angels and then kept retconning or throwing them out as it convenienced the plot. and once your monsters arent bound by literally any laws, they cease to be compelling pretty much at all.
68. Do you read the comics/novels or listen to Big Finish?
Occasionally! I'm not nearly as engaged in EU stuff but I've read a handful of books, some of the comics, a few different big finish shows.
75. Favourite Doctor outfit?
Seven. I dress like that.
95. Actor/actress you’d like to see play the Doctor?
96. Actor/actress you’d like to see play a companion?
This is so embarrassing but I decided not to bullshit. I basically know the names of relatively few actors and when asked a question like this I forget all of them instantly. Sorry lmao.
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aenslem · 24 days
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hi, hello, Rodney anon is back!
i've had a ton of shit to do this week so i haven't been able to watch any sgu until now, but i'm gonna finish it tonight at least, which feels really good! =D i just watched Common Descent, the one with the time travel descendants, which, uhm, hello ds9 plot, nice to see you again! x'D
about CAoS, i sadly won't watch that, probably ever, because of my spider phobia, which, waaah, look at Michelle 😭 but i absolutely will watch Doctor Who! i started watching it like, idk, ten years ago, but i stopped on season 3 because i wasn't very good at handling the doctor switch. i love Tennant, he's amazing, but fell in love with Eccleston's doctor pretty much immediately, so i just constantly missed him and sorta lost interest a bit. i did love the show though, it's great, and i do think that i could maybe manage it if i tried again, so i WILL watch it. i just don't know when. but yeah, Michelle is definitely pushing me towards it being sooner rather than later xD (as is Jodie Whittaker, very much looking forward to seeing a lady doctor!)
i don't remember why i stopped watching OUaT tbh, but it was probably what you said x'D from what i remember i definitely agree, both with the characters and actors appreciation and the general... well, yeah xD for now i'm fairly content with just following two blogs who ship Swan Queen and love Regina Mills, but you're both making me want to watch it xD
but now i'm gonna watch some more divorced idiots in love, see if Young will be all soft and in lurve only to be like "wait he's probably lying, he's lying right, are you LYING?" again, i do love that for some reason xD (probably because i'm a sucker for them being soft with each other, and they always are, right up until the Looks starts to be given xD) just three more episodes to go, then i'm finally gonna stalk your sgu tag properly! =D
i hope all is well and that you're having an awesome weekend! ♥
/Rodney anon
Hi!!!
so, basically by this time you already saw the moment when I yelled watching 'blockade', I hope you did watch it
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hELLO!?????/
them being like that? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
spiders are not the worst about caos, so you won't miss much by not watching the show, except michelle gomez in amazing outfits which you hardly be able to see, cos the lighting department in the show probably forgot they had a job.
also in that case I would suggest to avoid watching some episodes of doctor who as well, they do have spiders in some episodes, like arachnids in UK.
about the doctor switch, yeah, it seems like you will never love the next doctor as much, but trust me, if you give them a chance you will see how great all of them are, you will love them all in their own way. you just need to stop trying to see the same character, it's basically a new person, a new character, but once you do so you will see so many similarities and all the artists playing the doctor are doing such an amazing job.
anyway, I hope you enjoyed the show, if you already finished it, cos I am answering late and not much was distracting you from watching the show. real life can be pain in the ass, I know :D
I don't really have much time to gif at the moment due to real life, hope I will have more time soon, aaaand if you want me to gif a specific moment with our divorced idiots - feel free to ask :3 I want to gif all of their interactions, but it will take a lot of time.
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stitching-in-time · 1 year
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An actual Doctor Who episode review post (gasp!)
Okay so I haven’t actually watched any New Doctor Who in at least a year (I think it was a year? Last new one I remember was the one with the time loop at the storage units so idk when that one was?) and I didn’t even know when Thirteen’s last episode was. But I happened to be channel flipping tonight and saw it was going to be on, so I figured I might as well watch it, since a new Doctor is a historic thing that any good Whovian should see at least once.
All I knew going in was that Tegan and Ace were gonna be in it, and the description said the Doctor faces Daleks, Cybermen, and the Master (oh my! lol), so I figured it would be overblown nonsense with lots of explosions, but at least it would be nice to see former companions again. 
The story itself WAS overblown nonsense with too many explosions, and there were lots of cliched moments. (If I had a nickel for every show/book/movie that had their bad guy secretly be Rasputin, or vice-versa, I’d be rich.)
BUT- despite all the overblown nonsense, it was nice to see Ace, and Tegan, and the other Doctors again. It was fun to hear them banter and not take themselves too seriously, and still save the day like they always did. It was nice to have little moments where Tegan got to see Five, and Ace got to see Seven. That stuff had more heart, and got me feeling more feelings, than the modern show has done in recent years.
And also the stuff with Graham got me a little, he was really the heart of the TARDIS fam, and I think maybe that’s why I couldn’t stay interested when bland Dan came aboard. 
So of course it would be Graham that actually started the former companions support group that we all joke about. I kind of didn’t want to feel feelings for a show that I’ve pretty much emotionally divested from at this point, but the minute I saw Ian Chesterton on my TV screen, that was it: ALL. THE. FEELS!!! And Jo! And Mel! These characters that I love so much, and never thought we’d see again on the actual show... here they were, and goddammit, new Doctor Who managed to make me feel things again!!! [insert sobbing here]
Even a tiny cameo was like acknowledgement that they created the legacy the show is carrying on today, that the stories of these characters are still important, and still have meaning for people all over the world. Maybe someday the Nuvians who don’t know who they were might discover their stories and love them as much as we do. But even if they don’t, getting those little cameos packed more of an emotional wallop for me than all the explosions and Daleks and ‘fate of the universe hanging in the balance’ stuff ever could. Doctor Who was, and is, always at it’s best when it’s about people. 
I really liked some of Thirteen’s episodes, and I’m sad that she didn’t have better material after her first season, because she was a really good Doctor. Having a woman Doctor did mean more to me than I’d expected. Being able to walk into a store and buy a replica Doctor coat that was made for me was a huge deal. To have the magical hero’s coat made for you makes you feel a bit like Superman. I hope little kids now will get the idea that they can be magical like the Doctor whether they’re girls or boys. Thank you, Jodie Whittaker, for making that possible.
I feel like 13 had a pretty decent regeneration, it wasn’t too drawn out with dramatic speeches, and her final shot on the cliff was pretty epic. The ending was silly, but I’m not unhappy about it. After how dull and serious the show can be sometimes, I wouldn’t mind a bit of David Tennant nonsense again before we meet the new Doctor. (I know, I know, I used to dislike Ten, but after Twelve, I take it back, Ten wasn’t that bad in comparison! lol)
So that’s it, my first Whovian episode review post in years! I guess once you’re in the Doctor Who fandom, you can never really get out. 
But honestly, that’s okay by me. <3
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mw-draws · 5 years
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Idk if its a good or bad thing that I can tell when Jodie Whittaker does her laughing scronch without being able to see her do it
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denimbex1986 · 4 months
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'You can always count on The Doctor to deliver some iconic and memorable lines of dialogue, and ever since Doctor Who’s modern era began in 2005, we’ve gotten countless legendary lines. This quick-witted and wise time lord played by Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whittaker and Ncuti Gatwa has delivered some hilarious, poignant and at times sassy quotes...
"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a nonlinear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff." -Tenth Doctor in “Blink”
As David Tennant’s Doctor is attempting to explain a very complex situation to Sally and Larry in “Blink,” one of Doctor Who’s best episodes, they keep questioning him about how time works. Ultimately, he gives into the question and explains it as eloquently and simply as he can, which is of course still pretty “wibbly-wobbly.”
"All right then, Doctor Whoever I’m about to be… Tag. You’re it." - Thirteenth Doctor in “The Power of the Doctor”
Ending out a historic run, Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor left us with an iconic line before tagging a familiar face, David Tennant, as the Fourteenth Doctor.
"Don’t blink. Don’t even blink. Blink and you’re dead." -Tenth Doctor in “Blink”
The weeping angels – a monster essential to understanding Doctor Who – are single-handedly one of the scariest creatures on the show. That became very apparent in “Blink” as the Tenth Doctor explained that if you bat an eye, you could end up dead, because you never know when the lurking angel statues will get you.
"Rose… before I go, I just wanna tell you, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I!" -Ninth Doctor in “The Parting of the Ways"
Christopher Eccleston may have left the show after one season, but the Ninth Doctor will always be remembered. From his beautiful relationship with Rose to his “fantastic” last line, he still has a great legacy.
"Everything ends, and it's always sad. But everything begins again too, and that's always happy. Be happy. I'll look after everything else." -Twelfth Doctor in “The Return of Doctor Mysterio”
Anytime The Doctor has to talk about their past, it’s always sad. However, the timelord is also aware of how good things can be as well. So, when speaking about taking care of the world after returning, he implores those he’s with to “be happy,” and not dwell on the end.
"Allons-y!" -Tenth Doctor’s Catchphrase
While the other Doctors’ catchphrases are in English, David Tennant’s fan-favorite Tenth Doctor decided to get fancy and make his French. Honestly, every time I hear “Allons-y” – which means “let’s go” – I smile.
"Some people live more in 20 years than others do in 80. It’s not the time that matters, it’s the person." -Tenth Doctor in “The Lazarus Experiment”
Throughout their years of life, The Doctor has gained immense wisdom, especially when it comes to spending time with those you love. This line is delivered as Ten explains why there’s more meaning in living a full life than a long one, a lesson The Doctor knows all too well, and one we can all stand to learn from.
"Never be cruel. Never be cowardly. Hate is always foolish. Love is always wise. Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind. Doctor… I let you go." -Twelfth Doctor in “Twice Upon A Time”
While Peter Capaldi’s Doctor was known for being the grumpiest of the bunch, he was also wise and caring, as you can tell with this sweet and inspirational quote from his final moments before Jodie Whittaker took over as the Thirteenth Doctor.
"I don't want to go!" -Tenth Doctor in “The End of Time”
It’s always sad when a Doctor regenerates, however, Ten’s was extra emotional, because he didn’t want to leave. David Tennant truly loved playing the Doctor, and you could feel the sadness as he said goodbye. Luckily, he didn’t leave forever as he came back for “Day of the Doctor” and he returned again for the 60th Anniversary as the Fourteenth iteration of the time lord.
"You’re my favorite, you are. You are the best, you know why? Cos you’re so thick! You’re Mr. Thick Thick Thickety Thickface from Thicktown, Thickania. And so’s your dad!" -Tenth Doctor in “The Girl in the Fireplace”
The Doctor has sick burns up their sleeves every once in a while, but this was not one of those moments. However, what matters is David Tennant’s Doctor tried. In this episode the tipsy time lord waltzed in to save Rose with his tie on his head and drink in hand hurling insults like this at the evil Victorian robots.
"In 900 years of time and space, I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important." -Eleventh Doctor in “The Almost People”
If there’s one thing the Doctor truly believes in it’s how vital all life is, and how everyone deserves to feel valued. He made that clear during this Christmas special when Matt Smith’s time lord said this memorable line.
"Lives change worlds. People can save planets or wreck them. That’s the choice. Be the best of humanity." -Thirteenth Doctor in “Orphan 55”
When Thirteen and her pals go to a resort that turns out to have some horrifying secrets, she helps save the day and teaches everyone, including the audience watching the episode, that we should always be trying to be the best of humanity.
"Right, physics! Physics, eh? Physics, physics, physics, physics, physics…" -Tenth Doctor in “School Reunion”
Somehow, the Tenth Doctor found himself teaching the youths about physics, and before hopping into his complex lecture, he started by simply saying the word over, and over, and over again. It was hilarious, especially considering the incredibly smart words that came out of his mouth after this silly moment.
“We’re all stories, in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?” -Eleventh Doctor in “The Big Bang”
When Eleven thinks he’s going to lose Amy Pond, he tells her their story. At this point, he thinks they’re parting ways and that when Karen Gillan’s character wakes up she won’t remember. So, he simply tells her that he’ll be a story in her head, and that at least the time they shared created a great story.
"You want weapons? We’re in a library! Books, the best weapons in the world! This room is the greatest arsenal we could have. Arm yourself!" -Tenth Doctor in “Tooth and Claw”
The Doctor never uses weapons. He uses his sonic screwdriver and wit to solve his problems, which is one of their most admirable qualities. So, it made sense that when someone asked if they had weapons to fight the bad guys, Ten responded saying the books that surrounded them would help them more than any weapon...'
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