I think the biggest test will be around what the BBC chooses to do with this newsreaders other appearances, specifically around historical events which can't simply be edited or re-shot - including the death of Queen Elizabeth II and to a lesser extent the BBC coverage of the Opening Ceremony of London 2012. Personally, I would agree with LauraBatham that a disclaimer would be the preferable choice.
Imagine if it was an actor playing the Doctor who had been proven of such wrongdoing. Would they remove all of that Doctor's appearances? Sure, they can make sure that Doctor doesn't appear going forwards, but the past is the past - you can't easily edit them out. In my mind, a disclaimer would be best across the board in such situations. If people want to watch it, they can still choose to do so, but they can also choose to avoid it if they so wish.
Vashta Nerada, and I'd like to see a proper Sontaran vs Rutan episode
I agree that modern ones look too much like robots. They're too sleek imo. I'd personally like to a more rudimentary design. Something thrown together in desperation as Pentadust states above. Perhaps Cybermen which run on steam?
It would have worked better if they had used the song and dance to defeat Maestro. As it was, it just felt like the episode fell short and the producers had five minutes to kill, so just tacked the musical bit on the end. Twist and Shout would have been a good choice, though I get that it would be beyond budget. Really anything would have been better than the lacklustre song we ended up with.
As for Boom, I didn't think it was one of Moffat's best episodes. Though I did appreciate it more on broadcast as it came after two pretty dismal episodes imo.
Exactly, they just felt like cameos - George Harrison and Ringo Starr didn't even speak, yet the episode was hyped up as "Doctor Who meets the Beatles". Even though the music was too expensive, they could at least have played something from that era, just to show that music was back. They could even have used one Cilla Black's songs. Anything other than that whole "twist at the end"; I would rather they just ended the episode early.
This is my ranking:
1) Dot and Bubble – Appreciated this episode more on rewatch. Callie Cooke was superb, as was Ncuti Gatwa in the few scenes he had. Slightly annoying cast, but that really worked in retrospect. Love the juxtaposition between the bright colours of Finetime and dark underbelly of the city, just as the episode gets darker in tone the longer it goes on.
2) The Legend of Ruby Sunday – A hard one. Initially thought it was the best of the series but was let down by a disappointing finale.
3) 73 Yards – Liked how it leant into folk horror. Some decent ideas of facing up to your fears and using them for good. Got weaker as it went on and needed a little more explanation as left too many unanswered questions.
4) Empire of Death – Didn’t live up to the hype. Despite some disappointing revelations, there were some good scenes. Just wish they’d done more with Sutekh.
5) The Church on Ruby Road – A pretty average Christmas episode. Good introduction to Ruby Sunday, even if the villain is a little childish.
6) Boom – Not one of Steven Moffat’s best episodes but brought some much needed tension following a terrible start to the series.
7) Rogue – The Doctor seemed out of character. Needed to be more original, as it was basically a copy of The Girl in the Fireplace with Captain Jack 2.0.
8) The Devil’s Chord – Jinx Monsoon was the best part; she reminded me of Pennywise. The story was mediocre and the “twist at the end” was just total cringe. Needed more Beatles and actual Beatles music.
9) Space Babies – The less said the better. Creepy talking babies and a monster made of snot.
All in all, not a great series, especially considering the reduced number of episodes. Still, it was better than the Chibnall era imo.
I'm sure that if Disney choose not to green-light a third series, the BBC will seek out another streaming partner, or just go back to doing it themselves on a lower budget. It wouldn't be ideal, but considering it's one of their biggest exports, I doubt the BBC would be quick to cancel it. RTD will eventually have to move on, so the best thing the BBC could do imo is focus on training up new writers and getting the scripts up to scratch.
It started off well enough, but as soon as they killed Kate Stewart and Rose Noble, it lost all the stakes as it was obvious that those characters wouldn't stay dead. I would much rather that UNIT had sealed themselves in a room to escape the death cloud; then there would either be the tension of the Doctor having to save them before they ran out of food or air, or - once the death cloud dissipated - they could have led an Earth-based resistance from the shadows against Sutekh and his acolytes.
Despite this being built up as the return of Sutekh - the God of Death, Sutekh actually felt more like a side character while the Doctor and Ruby instead continued to investigate Ruby's mother. He didn't really do anything other than hang around UNIT and, for some reason, needed to know who Ruby's mother was. As the Doctor said about the Time Window last episode: "You've lashed this together" - I felt the same could be said about the script here.
The Doctor decided to go to some planet, to some woman about a special spoon, which just so happens to be the same as any other ordinary spoon, which he could surely have got from anywhere. I'm sure the UNIT canteen probably had a similar spoon.
Ruby's mother, while I don't mind the fact that she's an ordinary woman, didn't really make any sense based on what we've seen previous episodes. Why did it keep snowing? When they explained that she was pointing at the sign, that was a total stretch. Surely she would have left a note with the baby which named her as Ruby.
I've seen a number of theories that could have made for a better episode. If Ruby was somehow related to Horus (the Eye of Horus was a red stone and Horus is the Sun God = Ruby Sunday) then that would have connected both the Sutekh plot and Ruby plot, making her key in his downfall. We instead got the Doctor strapping a leash to the God of Death and taking him for a walk in the Time Vortex. It's going to be hard to take Sutekh as a threat going forwards when he was so easily defeated. And as for the logic behind death + death = life, I think that's one that you have to take your brain out for.
Unfortunately after so many exciting fan theories, what we actually got was just a huge disappointment.
Not sure if a whole episode counts, but for me - beyond the speeches already mentioned - it would be the whole of Heaven Sent. That episode was art, and I struggle to see it working with anyone but Peter Capaldi in the role.
We already had Jack Harkness who, while progressive in the early 2000s, did fall into the promiscuous gay trope. I was hoping we might see another side to being gay with this Doctor. To me, the Doctor has always appeared to be more of an asexual or demisexual being, hence why the speed of his attraction to Rogue felt so out of character. Rather than being overtly flirty, I'd rather we had a more composed gay Doctor. I'm hoping now that Rogue is in the picture, the Doctor will make it his focus to find Rogue, rather than going around flirting with other characters. However, since they took so little time developing that romance, I'm a bit worried he's going to end up being another Jack Harkness and falling into the promiscuous gay trope. Some of us are more reserved, yet the media seems to constantly push a stereotype that all gay men are flirty or promiscuous. I had hoped we might see a different angle when it came to Fifteen, more in line with the Doctor's personality.
I thought this episode was bit of a dud. It just felt like a copy and paste of The Girl in the Fireplace, but with Family of Blood type monsters and a knock-off Jack Harkness. There was no real build-up to the romance; one moment Rogue had imprisoned the Doctor, and was threatening to kill him, and the next they were sharing an intimate moment in the TARDIS. The flirty side of this Doctor might have worked if done well, similar to The Girl in the Fireplace, but without any build-up it frankly made him come across as horny - a trait which doesn't really suit the Doctor or fit with their history. At least with Madame de Pompadour, she'd known him all her life - making the romance feel somewhat earned. Based on what I've seen so far this series, dressing him up like a doll with numerous costume changes, and the Doctor's more horny side in this episode, it appears Ncuti is being sexualised in a way that I haven't seen with other Doctors. I would rather we have a Doctor who just happens to be gay, rather than one which appears overly horny and risks falling into the "All Gays are Promiscuous" trope.
Have to say I really enjoyed this one, which imo was the best episode of the series. I was very hesitant going into it, as it all appeared a bit cringe from the trailers, but it kind of worked as they were very clearly caricatures of influencer culture. I found it quite funny for the first half. I honestly looked forward the majority being eaten by giant slugs from the outset and wasn't disappointed. I completely understand why the AI couldn't tolerate these people. I loved how everyone was so addicted to technology that they didn't pay any attention to the world around them - very fitting when you consider how many people walk into things while on their phones or follow sat-navs into rivers. I thought Callie Cooke was phenomenal - she made you care just enough for the character that you followed her story, just to pull the rug and make her the most detestable of the bunch by the end. I would love to see her return at some point. The twist at the end was good. The death of Ricky and the final moments had me shocked. I didn't have it spoiled for me, and I didn't spot the guest cast were all white. I've seen some comment that that's a bad thing, but I personally think that's good if you don't notice skin colour, you just see people. Very glad I sided with the slugs all along!
I had mixed thoughts on this one. What could have been a decent episode was let down due to lack of resolution. It felt unfinished, but I don't expect any answers, so it just seemed a bit of a waste of time. I liked the folklore side of it, and the woman following from 73 yards away was very spooky, but I would rather it had leaned more into that than go off at a political tangent. It felt like he had ideas for two different episodes and decided to merge them together. I liked the emotional side of it, and the whole thing about facing your fears and using them for good, and thought Millie was excellent, but it just lacked logic. I hope RTD isn't going down the fantasy route just so he can throw any ideas at the wall and thinks he doesn't have to bother with logic. Fantasy, magic and folklore are fine, but even the supernatural should have its own rules.
I don't think the Master was overused in the Third Doctor's era. He was a new villain and was very much part of the story; he had a reason for being there. However, I do think more recently the Master has been overused in general, along with other classic villains like the Daleks and the Cybermen. There's many newer stories where a classic monster just gets shoved in as the generic villain of the week, but the plots themselves don't further these villains. I personally liked the use of Missy, as she had a character arc which made her returns more relevant to the plot. When Dhawan's Master came along, I felt Missy's arc became irrelevant. No fault of Dhawan, but I didn't think his Master really offered anything new - he was just back to being a generic villain. I would have rather the Master had ended (at least for the time being) with Missy.
Sorry, just my opinion, but I thought they were awful. Ncuti and Millie did well with what they were given, and I thought Jinx did brilliantly, but I just don't like the writing - it's very cringe.
I must admit, I've gone off Doctor Who in recent years. I just don't have an affinity for it anymore. The writing in recent years just seems overtly egotistical. As much as I used to be, I'm just not a fan of RTD, and this is coming from someone whose gay. There's better ways of being inclusive than taking cheap shots at parts of your audience. Plus, I can see the Disney influence in these most recent episodes and - while Jinx was brilliant - with all the magic and dance numbers, it doesn't feel the same. I know RTD says Disney has no influence, but as someone whose worked in TV I can assure you that a partner like Disney doesn't put money into a series without some level of input (it may just be providing notes, but if RTD chooses to ignore all of those notes then Disney can just pull the funding). I now much prefer Stranger Things, or the new Fallout series. I'm happy for those who do like it, but for me it's just not what it was.
I think she's definitely a character who deserves to come back. I never really liked the ending they gave to her story. She spent her entire series being overshadowed by Rose, and only came into her own in the final episode of series 3, series 2 of Torchwood, and the few episodes in which she appeared in series 4. Then she was back to being overshadowed again in Journey's End, and then The End of Time, when she was paired with Mickey Smith. No offence to the character of Mickey, but she was engaged to Tom Milligan. The whole breaking off the engagement and marrying Mickey didn't really do any justice to the character. She deserved her own happy ending, and pairing her off with Rose's ex-boyfriend just overshadowed her all over again. She's a brilliant character who had so much to offer, but was never really left with her chance to shine, forever in Rose's shadow.
I think she's "the one who waits" and Ruby's birth mother. I originally thought she might be something to do with River Song due to the whole Pond/River/Flood connection, but - other than the name - I don't think that would work.
@FH2104 Basically Orphan 55. Good writing should engage the audience, show them the dangers they face, persuade them to change their views through the way in which the plot affects the characters at the heart of the story. It shouldn't attack the viewer with all the blunt force of a textbook to the face. Viewers are more willing to listen if you engage with them. Attack them and they just switch off.
You also can't imply the Doctor to be morally superior in the aforementioned story, when we have the character suffocating spiders (Arachnids in the UK), basically siding with Amazon (Kerblam!), ignoring Graham's cancer scare (Can You Hear Me?), murdering a TARDIS (Revolution of the Daleks), and wiping out the Daleks, Cybermen and Sontarans in one fell swoop during the Flux event (The Vanquishers). The characterisation just wasn't there. It's like they just forgot her moral compass when it suited, same to how they forgot Ryan had dyspraxia when it suited the plot. It could have been done so much better.
Love the Clockwork Robots. The design in The Girl in the Fireplace was beautiful, particularly without the masks when you could see the working clockwork parts, and the whole "robot turning itself into a human" angle in Deep Breath made them terrifying.