The Doctor

[TheOtherTed]

...274 days later...

 

On 1/9/2023 at 2:16 AM, Clave Dark 5 said:

Sadly there's no X-named character that would fit.  Xoanon maybe???

 

"X is for Xander, who never existed."  That should give the Whovians something to argue about.

 

However, it would force the W line to rhyme with "ted."  Which, you know, I wouldn't be entirely unhappy about.

[Techwright]

12 hours ago, TheOtherTed said:

However, it would force the W line to rhyme with "ted."  Which, you know, I wouldn't be entirely unhappy about.

We never saw the character's end, though, did we?

[TheOtherTed]

13 hours ago, Techwright said:

We never saw the character's end, though, did we?

Nope, not taking the bait.  I'm already deeply embroiled in an internet debate about whether a hot dog is a sandwich; I don't have time for this Whovian nonsense.

 

...though now that I've eaten breakfast, I'm wondering if there could be a secret Doctor / Buffy cross-over in which Xander dies in an alternate reality...

 

 

Edited October 11, 2023 by TheOtherTed

[UltraAlt]

On 12/25/2022 at 5:00 PM, Glacier Peak said:

I'm still surprised after this many years there is anything left to write about! 

 

People have been saying that for two thousand years.

[UltraAlt]

On 1/2/2023 at 6:55 AM, TheOtherTed said:

so I'm sure they'll use that as a hand-wavy explanation as to why he could come back as a "new" Doctor.

 

[UltraAlt]

On 1/9/2023 at 6:58 AM, TheOtherTed said:

the writers have done - make sh*t up whole-cloth and hope no one notices.

 

Isn't what good writers do?

Make stuff up instead of copying what other people have done?

 

... but I think you are more aiming at ...

 

[TheOtherTed]

Honestly, I feel like "Doctor Who" is the only show that can (and has) jumped sharks on the regular and get away with it.  Whole-person regeneration has its perks...

[DoctorDitko]

After Chris Chibnall's paranoid secrecy, its a huge relief to have RTD2, with his column in Dr. Who magazine, his flagrant showmanship, and his boundless enthusiasm.

 

Will he run through most of his good ideas in the first couple of seasons? Probably.

Will he deliver two-parters where the first episode is fantastic and the second is... an episode? Check.

But:

Will he make DW interesting again, even for folks who aren't dedicated Whovians? Absolutely!

I'm looking forward to it.

PS: The BBC just announced they'll be streaming (what survives of) all 60 years on iPlayer.

 

(If only they knew someone who could animate all the episodes that survive only as soundtracks!)

 

 

Edited October 12, 2023 by DoctorDitko
Disney jab

[High_Beam]

For me the modern Doctor Who runs are good but after Capaldi it has not been as good (Jodie tried but the stories were not good). Granted my top three (1 to 3) are Baker, Eccleston and Capaldi.  I keep giving it my eye time thought becuase its different so once Tennent is gone again, I look forward to the Fifteenth.

[Techwright]

3 hours ago, High_Beam said:

 my top three (1 to 3) are Baker, Eccleston and Capaldi. 

I assume you mean Tom Baker as there's also Colin Baker.  While I have a definite soft spot for the 6th Doctor (especially given the rubbish Colin had to put up with), the 4th Doctor is the more popular of the two.  The definitive Baker, you might say.

Edited October 12, 2023 by Techwright

[High_Beam]

2 hours ago, Techwright said:

I assume you mean Tom Baker as there's also Colin Baker.  While I have a definite soft spot for the 6th Doctor (especially given the rubbish Colin had to put up with), the 4th Doctor is the more popular of the two.  The definitive Baker, you might say.

Yeah I meant Tom.  See I grew up watching it on PBS and when Tom regenerated into Davidson, I moved and the Doctor kind of fell off the radar.  I would catch the ones later in spurts but never consistent like I did T Baker.  I honestly didn't even realize the show had been resurrected until one night I was called into troubleshoot a system and the watch stander were watching BBC America and there was Ecc, being told he would make a good Dalek and was in.

[Techwright]

17 hours ago, High_Beam said:

Yeah I meant Tom.  See I grew up watching it on PBS and when Tom regenerated into Davidson, I moved and the Doctor kind of fell off the radar.  I would catch the ones later in spurts but never consistent like I did T Baker.  I honestly didn't even realize the show had been resurrected until one night I was called into troubleshoot a system and the watch stander were watching BBC America and there was Ecc, being told he would make a good Dalek and was in.

Ah, more or less the same scenario.  Watching Tom on PBS, and always having to check scheduling, 'cause PBS would move it around to all the unwanted hours of the night.  I had a b&w TV in my bedroom and would turn it on to watch once I was sure my parents were asleep.  I stayed with it right through Sylvester McCoy, though weirdly, they never finished his episodes, and instead went back and did a bit of the Jon Pertwee era.

New Who though I knew in advance, and was on the edge of my seat premier night.

[High_Beam]

There is a fairly solid gap of missing most TV and a lot of movies between 1989 and 1997 then again from 2000-2004 due to being deployed in the Navy to places where consistent viewing of shows except the very most popular ones that made the AFRTS packages wasn't happening, certainly not Doctor Who.  This is why most of my viewing from 04 to around 12 was catching up on the good stuff.  On the plus side I dodges a butt ton of dreck.

[Techwright]

5 hours ago, High_Beam said:

There is a fairly solid gap of missing most TV and a lot of movies between 1989 and 1997 then again from 2000-2004 due to being deployed in the Navy to places where consistent viewing of shows except the very most popular ones that made the AFRTS packages wasn't happening, certainly not Doctor Who.  This is why most of my viewing from 04 to around 12 was catching up on the good stuff.  On the plus side I dodges a butt ton of dreck.

Well, if that included missing Babylon 5, you might want to look into that one (and all its TV movies in their correct order with the episodes).  The pilot movie was kind of a proof-of-concept and hadn't gotten the aliens' final look yet, and the first season some don't care much for (I liked it) but they're both solid groundwork for the amazing stuff to come.  Some of the characters are practically Shakespearean in nature, especially seen in the relationship dynamic between Ambassador Londo Molari and Ambassador G'Kar, who have actors that pulled off a masterclass in acting.

 

 

[Voltor]

On 1/25/2023 at 1:46 PM, Techwright said:

Which is why 14 has to keep mum about which version he really is.  If she doesn't know he's the third of a new set of generations, then she's left thinking he's 10.  She does know that 10 bled off a regeneration to extend his own existence. 

 

 

IF I recall, Tennant did state in an interview that while he looks like Doc 10 he is Doc 14 and that some personality changes should be expected.  We shall see.

 

Doc 9 becomes 10/Tennant, then 10 uses a regeneration to stay alive and bleeds it off into his severed hand to prevent changing his appearance, then later 10 becomes 11.  Then years later 13 regenerates and becomes Tennant-Doctor again.   4 regenerations involving Tennant who was Doc 10 so he literally is Doc 14.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if they reveal that the Toymaker tampered with the regeneration process to bring back Tennant's version of the Doctor.  Hopefully they reveal that Toymaker caused Doc 13 to be a gender flip as a way to torment the Doctor and that the Timeless Child story can be retconned away.  

[Coin]

By now, I'm assuming everyone knows about the official creation of The Whoniverse on BBC iPlayer? (Not sure how much of it will appear on Disney+, I'm going to assume all of it!)

 

For those not in the know, the BBC has put (as of November 1st) almost every episode of Doctor Who and all the shows connected to it, i.e. Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood, Class, Doctor Who Confidential, K9 and Company and the new first spin-off announced today, Tales From The Tardis, not to mention a massive text database filled with info about the shows.

 

Way too much to go into here, I'll link it here for people to read.

 

Fantastic news for people in the UK, and, presumably, for all the fans who have Disney+, once we know for definite what's going on.

 

Plus, we have dates for the new episodes as well, first one is Saturday 25th November, with the other two following on the next two Saturdays.

 

One bad part of the Whoniverse that isn't the BBC's fault (sort of) is that all the classic episodes will be missing An Unearthly Child, the original 4 part story that started it all off back in 1963, due to the complete asshat who now owns the rights to those stories after his father passed away refusing to let the BBC use them.

Again, lots of details, so I'll link that here as well

 

Now, I'm all for the creators getting their due and the rights they have, but this guy is being an obnoxious, racist, homophobic pillock who has thrown a tantrum after the Doctor became a woman and then a queer black man and his twitter feed is all kinds of batshit crazy, so, sadly, it's not available to watch on TV. Time to dig out those old DVD's, people!

 

Either way, the fact well over 800 episodes of all the different series will be available is amazing news for those who want to delve into the incredible history of the show 😄 

 

EDIT: Just found out online, apparently the Tales of the Tardis series is exclusive to iPlayer, so sorry, y'all, you'll have to find it through your favourite Jolly Roger methods 😉

The reasoning behind makes sense though. Seems the series was paid entirely by the BBC, with none of the Disney money going towards it, hence it being UK only. I'm pretty sure it will end up on Disney at some point though.

Edited October 31, 2023 by Coin

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Just regenerating this for a moment as the Specials have now completed...

Spoiler

• The whole repeat of Tennant wasn't properly properly explained. But it gave at least one Doc a happy ending, as the Toymaker's reality warping influence created both an extra Doctor and Tardis (with bonus Wurlitzer jukebox.) How they handle him going forward - recurring character, plot exposition, rival... gives a lot of interesting options.
• NPH was indeed the Celestial Toymaker. And other than the frankly bizarre Allo Allo/Hogan's Heroes German accent he used half the time (unless this is some kind of mysterious clue?) was a fine villain. The don't trust your TV gag has been done before on this show, btw...
• RTD clearly loves Queen/Flash Gordon. I think that's the second time he's put that particular gag in, for the same character.
• Stark Tower UNIT HQ looks like a nicely expensive set, and gives me strong spinoff vibes: possibly with Tennant in a Jon Pertwee type role as a regular consultant. I hated the Sixth Doctor, so I never really saw Mel much, but I do know she was a computer scientist so she fits and Langford can be a hell of a stage performer when needed.
• Also never quite explained why Fifteen appeared in his underpants. I suspect a number of uncomfortable Angry Fathers Of Britain Who Only Talk Common Sense may complain. (The mums, maybe not so much. Your boy Ncuti hasn't been skipping leg day or squats.)
• Liked that they still didn't kill off Bernard Cribbins, and he's off shooting moles. Or possibly Wombles.
• And no, Neil didn't know why the other accent either. My only major complaint is that Neil very nearly nailed Michael Gough's accent and diction (the original Toymaker, and Keaton/'s Alfred.)

Going back to the other two episodes:

• Wild Blue Yonder: strong, Alien-vibes direction (though the hyper-clean nature of the ship made it even creepier, IMHO.) Kind of lost it when the FX got more mindbending, but the scenes just with Tennant and Tate trying to work out who was Who were decently tense.
• Star Beast: ...messy. Spotted the face/heel turn early on (if you have cats, you'd never trust a face like that), not a strong villain and a weird supervillainpower. But liked that the writing gave the audience clues all the way through like the taxi. 
• Loved the repeated appearances of my old Goth stomping grounds in Camden Lock Market (do stop into Cyberdog if you're ever around for all your LED-enhanced flashing underwear needs.)

The Future:

• Ncuti appears to have Smith-esque charisma and energy by the bucketload from the early scenes and trailers...
• ...but needs to be able to switch up to the gravitas and cosmic anger that Tennant, Ecclestone, and Capaldi pulled off. Smith and Whittaker, not so much, though both delivered in their own way.
• Disney doesn't appear to have had a major influence other than a bigger budget... and possibly a team up with the Creature Shop.

 

 

[Hyperstrike]

On 10/11/2023 at 8:32 AM, UltraAlt said:

 

Isn't what good writers do?

Make stuff up instead of copying what other people have done?

 

... but I think you are more aiming at ...

 

If only what they did was this awesome (hint: the shark thing wasn't).

Essentially this was enough to completely make me stop caring about Dr. Who.  The way I've stopped caring about things like Star Trek or Star wars.

I don't HATE it (anymore).  I simply don't care anymore.  To paraphrase Catherine Tate.

I can't be "bovvered".

[Clave Dark 5]

3 hours ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

Just regenerating this for a moment as the Specials have now completed...

  Hide contents

• Also never quite explained why Fifteen appeared in his underpants. I suspect a number of uncomfortable Angry Fathers Of Britain Who Only Talk Common Sense may complain. (The mums, maybe not so much. Your boy Ncuti hasn't been skipping leg day or squats.)

 

Each resulting Doctor split the wardrobe of the singular: Tennant kept the pants, undershirt, Gatwa got the undies, shirt, tie and shoes (I noticed Tennant walked away barefoot and sussed what was up).  It was a cute idea!  I'm guessing they may have taken a look and were blinded by Tennant's pale legs and then saw those leg-day legs and went "yeah, he gets the undies."

 

 

 

 

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

1 hour ago, Clave Dark 5 said:

were blinded by Tennant's pale legs

The beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!

 

Yeah, being genetically Scottish, pale and interesting, I get that a lot. Even to the point of people taking the mickey on flights back from holiday. Factor 50 all day, every day...

[Techwright]

7 hours ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

 

Yeah, being genetically Scottish, pale and interesting, I get that a lot. ...Factor 50 all day, every day...

 

When I want a bit of a tan, I crank it back to Factor 40, but only for 20 minutes.  -- Another genetic Scot.

[DoctorDitko]

I was surprisingly pleased by the 3 specials. RTD2 seems to have matured as writer, which is nice.

He still does the worst technobabble, though!

 

I never thought NPH could outdo his Music Meister, but he certainly did!

 

Ncuti looks amazing, and I'm looking forward to his run.

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

17 hours ago, DoctorDitko said:

He still does the worst technobabble, though!

 

Oh gods, that bit in The Star Beast.

 

Evil Overlord Rule 85:

I will not use any plan in which the final step is horribly complicated, e.g. "Align the 12 Stones of Power on the sacred altar then activate the medallion at the moment of total eclipse." Instead it will be more along the lines of "Push the button"...

 

Addendum 85(a)(i):

I will also not read an entire Haynes Evil Pointy Spaceship Service And Maintenance Manual (Model Years 2023-4008) out loud in an overdramatic voice.

[Coin]

As a lifelong Whovian, I loved them all. 🙂

 

I'm especially enjoying the hate and nerd rage going on in the usual places! It felt almost like RTD was just thinking of ways to troll the trolls at times! LOL

 

I also liked that RTD didn't just handwave away all the stuff that happened in Whittaker's era, the Timeless Child, The Flux, etc. I like that he actually dealt with the trauma of it all. Plus, it annoys the trolls out there, which is always fun!

 

Looking forward to the Xmas episode, and loving that it's back, properly, at last!

 

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

38 minutes ago, Coin said:

Looking forward to the Xmas episode, and loving that it's back, properly, at last!

 

And as a lifelong Labyrinth fan, I'm pleased the Christmas episode has an abducted baby, a horde of comedy goblins, and musical numbers...

Spoiler

 

...hands up who thought I was kidding? I mean, it's not a banger like Magic Dance or Underground. 
And I'm not speculating about who or what might have the oversized codpiece.  

But they're definitely going for it.