Doctor Who - Spoilers!

[ChaserFan]

Any thoughts on the Christmas special? I thought it was pretty good...felt like a nice exit for Capaldi.

 

[BagginsOfBagEnd]

Agreed, it was a fitting end for him. I enjoyed it...I like multi-Doctor stories anyway so it was great seeing 12 and 1 interacting and bickering with each other. David Bradley has been a really good first Doctor IMO.

Overall a pretty good episode I thought - definitely one of the better Christmas specials, although I am absolutely beyond gutted to see Capaldi leave , nobody delivers a speech quite like him and probably my personal favourite out of of all the Doctors so far - am really gonna miss him .

Just in case anyone hasn't seen it yet

Spoiler

Really liked the Christmas WW1 truce part and it was nice to 'see' Nardole and (even though she got on my nerves a bit towards the end of her tenure) - Clara again one last time. Liked the Captain's link to the Brigadier as well - I suspected he'd be some relation to him!

And now onto the next Doctor...

 

[pixletwin]

I enjoyed it. The soundtrack was nice too, hearing Murray Gold explore his best themes one more time.

I also liked the “new” last words for the first Doctor.

The one thing I didn’t care for; The Doctors farewell speech was long winded and overly sentimental.

7/10

 

[matrix69]

Capaldi was as great as ever...for me the finest Doctor since Tom Baker...but deserved a better send off than this!..Story wise it was the usual Moffat cringy tripe...from the awful cosplaying Ben and Polly to Bradley's take on the 1st Doctor as a sexist buffoon...making it another parody of a parody...
And the regenderation...best part of it being the Tardis spitting this impostor out...
The only stand out parts were Mark Gattis as the Brigs great granddad and the 1914 christmas armistice segment...which gave more of an emotional punch than the over the top/over long 12th Doctor goodbye speech...YAWN..
Sadly in the same week where i've just seen the awful TLJ....i've also witnessed the end of another 'once' great sci-fi series...

 

[Magpie 7]

Finally found time to watch it today and......WOW!!!

It really hit every note, the worst part of it was the lame introduction of Jodi Whitaker. David Bradley stole it, he resonated William Hartnell's Doctor from the first word until he faded in regeneration. I really loved the humour, calling #1 Mary Berry and Lance Corporal Jones, the subtle references and the smash in the face references were just brilliantly done.

And the cherry on the cake, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart's father in WWI and the Doctor promising to look in on his family.

 

[Wor-Gar]

When the girl take-over already?

 

[Magpie 7]

OH MY G...….

Looks like The Asylum have made a Doctor Who film, I thought I was watching Doctor Who vs Predator. What was with the cringeworthy dialogue or worse Sylvester McCoy style gurning? I hope this improves but I can now see why the BBC have got Paul McGann tied to contact.

 

[Prime Clone]

Apparently 75% of the internet approves of the new version. Call me a crusty old misogynist but I'll be sitting this one out.

 

[matrix69]

It didn't even feel like Dr who....it felt more like that awful spin off series "Class". The story itself was juvenile nonsense with Ms Whittaker hamming it up with her face pulling and gurning...trying to convince us all that's she the same Time lady as the past 22 Time lords..or is it Time thingy now?....anyways she didn't convince me and besides the whole gender change BS she's a bland actress with zero charisma. Only part i really liked was the new arrangement of the theme...best since the 70's...but that's not enough to get me watching again...and as a long time fan that saddens me...
The show really needs a rest and a serious rethink....personally i'd like to see a movie trilogy with Benedict cumberbatch....that will get me back watching again.

 

[pixletwin]

It always take sitting through thee or four stories to get an idea on whether you will like a new Doctor. Imo. We’ll see.

 

[guyver1]

Well they’re certainly making sure that nobody misses the premiere, it’s playing all day long

 

[BagginsOfBagEnd]

Decided to 'give it a go' despite the fact that I'm not 100% onboard with idea of a female doctor. TBH, I am unsure what I think - passable in parts I guess, but it felt strange watching it - think I need more time to process it all/adjust, although I felt like I was watching a female Tennant impersonator at times. Gonna give it three episodes, before deciding whether to stick with it or not, especially as the regeneration episodes are usually hit and miss imo.

What really really bugged me though, was how well Twelve's clothes seemed to fit her! WTH? Trivial I know but I kept noticing it throughout the programme!!

That list of upcoming guest actors at the end was a bit much too, even by the BBCs standards! (Never even heard of half of them)

 

[matrix69]

Apparently 75% of the internet approves of the new version. Call me a crusty old misogynist but I'll be sitting this one out.

The other 25% were sober

 

[Prime Clone]

The show really needs a rest and a serious rethink....

Yes, it was feeling tired by the end of Twelve and I was hoping they'd leave it there. The Time Lady gimmick might give it a temporary artificial boost, but at what cost?

I'd actually been under the false impression that the regeneration "bonus" he got at the end of his 12 cycles was only good for one more incarnation. That would have been a good excuse to give it a rest, and leave it hanging after Twelve without confirmation of whether he'd be coming back.

The other 25% were sober

 

[BagginsOfBagEnd]

^ Very appropriate considering the last few episodes.

I gather the majority of people are enjoying the new series, but unfortunately I don't think this is for me, the poor scripts/stories (I almost miss Moffatt), weak villains, PC nonsense and a terrible (She)Tennant impersonation (minus the gravitas and authority). I really want to like it and continue watching the show, but I just cannot buy into her being the same Doctor as the previous incarnations and the episodes are just not holding my interest at all.

On the plus side the theme music is ok, cinematography is nice and (surprisingly!) I do like Bradley Walsh in this, but atm I'm not sure it's enough to keep me watching.

 

[pixletwin]

Just a throw away line. Hartnell is numero uno.

 

[Prime Clone]

Is it just me, or is the new Doctor Who trying too hard?

You summed it up perfectly. Same with Star Wars. There's a subtle way (which many of these properties were doing for years already), and there's in-your-face.

Maybe today's generation is so attention-deficient it needs to be spoon-fed?

 

[pixletwin]

She over does the sonic screwdriver ala Harry potter thing and last nights episode was my least favorite so far (though I loved the end). The obvious digs against Trump were too “on the nose” for me to really find them funny.

But, it’s still early days. On the whole, I am still enjoying the new series more than I have for a while.

 

[BagginsOfBagEnd]

I agree with all you said (though I'm willing to cut the Doctor some slack, since they're always out of sorts for an episode or two after regeneration)... Less focus on trying to include every single race and preference known to man/woman/it, and more focus on using the cast they have to tell stories worthy of the name Doctor Who. I think they have a great opportunity to create an all-new race of villains, all-new stories, all new allies, with all new timey-whimey twists and turns.

One comment I noticed in the latest one, the Doctor said something like she was a "sister" once (If I remember correctly)... I thought we pretty much knew all of the Doctor's incarnations up till now (but in all fairness, I think of the War Doctor, and that was kind of sprung on us). It sounds like the Doctor had a previous female incarnation that to the best of my knowledge viewers aren't aware of?

Agreed. That is all I want from this show, not to be force-fed all that other nonsense.

She over does the sonic screwdriver ala Harry potter thing and last nights episode was my least favorite so far (though I loved the end). The obvious digs against Trump were too “on the nose” for me to really find them funny.

But, it’s still early days. On the whole, I am still enjoying the new series more than I have for a while.

Yeah that's something else that's annoying, I half expect her to shout 'expelliarmus' or something everytime she brings it out. It seems that, that sonic can do anything now as well.

 

[matrix69]

That last episode was enough for me...this is not just bad Dr who but some of the worst tv i've ever watched...exruciatingly awful! And the spin and hype it's getting just baffles me. The writing is full of cringey pc tripe aimed at anyone with an IQ below 20....and again the cast have zero chemistry with Ms Whittaker looking miscast and lost in the role...
Leaving aside the whole gender fluid/change thingy nonsense(which i'm still completely against as it didn't need to happen) there were far more suitable actresses that could have been considered...Michaela Cole and Phoede Waller-Bridge are both wonderfully strange quirky actresses that might have changed my mind on this alternate universe version...but alas..no.