Doctor Who - Spoilers!

[davejames]

I love his Doctor but man he sounds like a lot to deal with. No wonder Billie was so much happier working with Tennant.

 

[Prime Clone]

Have been paying scant attention to new Who (as, it seems, have others here) but couldn't help noticing Withnail & I are now both Doctors!

 

[davejames]

Oh I've definitely been watching and enjoying the season so far, which is the best the show has been in years (save for the horrific first episode). But I know better than to try discussing it in here.

 

[GhostBeard]

Took some time away from Dr. Who, got back into BritBox and the classic series. I have to say I'm finding Colin Baker shockingly entertaining. I get that many (most?) dislike the Twin Dilemma but it's like having Groucho and Harpo Marx in one "superhero" character. I suppose if you want the Doctor to be straight heroic then there could be issues, but I'll usually take interesting first. Went to Doctor 6 from 4 and now I'm going back to Troughton once I finish the 6th Doctor's run.

I honestly had a difficult time watching Hartnell's run all the way through, and after watching hilarious reviews on YouTube I'll be avoiding Whittaker and Gatwa.

 

[GhostBeard]

Oh I've definitely been watching and enjoying the season so far, which is the best the show has been in years (save for the horrific first episode). But I know better than to try discussing it in here.

I wouldn't mind reading what someone who enjoys the most recent series thinks, especially since all I've seen and read has eviscerated the past several years worth of TV.

 

[pixletwin]

I love Colin Baker. I love classic who. I am super excited for The War Games in colour being released soon.

I loved the new series (1-6). The cracks started showing up in series 7. Then Capaldi era (series 8-10) was more miss than hit for me (though I loved him in the role. By then it was evident that Moffat was out of gas. I liked Jodi Whitaker as the Doctor but the show had lost a lot of its fun for me. I also didn’t like the directorial choices and the storytelling became very burdensome (largely due to Covid).

Tennant 2.0 and Gatwa are bringing the fun back but it doesn’t feel as authentic anymore.

 

[davejames]

I wouldn't mind reading what someone who enjoys the most recent series thinks, especially since all I've seen and read has eviscerated the past several years worth of TV.

It's definitely not at the level of Moffat's era, and may be a little too crazy and flamboyant at times for more traditional DW fans, but there were still several episodes last season which were as strong and inventive and well written as the best of RTD's era (and lightyears better than anything from Chibnall). With Boom and 73 Yards being the biggest standouts.

That said, I can't deny that it's a bit harder for me to get into the show these days, now that we're 20 years into the new run and already seen every possible DW story. And it frankly feels like the concept is played out by this point, no matter what showrunner they get in there.

 

[GhostBeard]

It's definitely not at the level of Moffat's era, and may be a little too crazy and flamboyant at times for more traditional DW fans, but there were still several episodes last season which were as strong and inventive and well written as the best of RTD's era (and lightyears better than anything from Chibnall). With Boom and 73 Yards being the biggest standouts.

That said, I can't deny that it's a bit harder for me to get into the show these days, now that we're 20 years into the new run and already seen every possible DW story. And it frankly feels like the concept is played out by this point, no matter what showrunner they get in there.

While I haven't watched anything beyond Capaldi at this point, I have watched several, extensive YouTube reviews about those shows and those reviews were quite entertaining, although not in the way the Dr. Who showrunners would appreciate. It would seem the current climate is changing and perhaps shows which promote a "message" might be soon going out of fashion (just my interpretation). There could be a window of opportunity to replace the "old guard" as it were, with fresh blood and perhaps more simple, yet strongly focused, stories built around a similarly strong Dr. Who, which is just one of many current franchises that are taking a dip, shall we say, in ratings and overall reception.

I'm not saying I'll never get to the Whittaker/Gatwa series but it will be awhile as I will most likely play out every other episode throughout the years first. I will take notice of the stories you mentioned. In the new year I am going to start collecting the US available series/seasons on Blue-ray so I don't have to keep paying BritBox/D+ forever.

 

[GhostBeard]

It's definitely not at the level of Moffat's era, and may be a little too crazy and flamboyant at times for more traditional DW fans, but there were still several episodes last season which were as strong and inventive and well written as the best of RTD's era (and lightyears better than anything from Chibnall). With Boom and 73 Yards being the biggest standouts.

That said, I can't deny that it's a bit harder for me to get into the show these days, now that we're 20 years into the new run and already seen every possible DW story. And it frankly feels like the concept is played out by this point, no matter what showrunner they get in there.

And to your earlier point/post I would agree it seems difficult to have an honest, critical discussion about the most recent series. Just the other day I read a post critical of the Gatwa run and an actual response was, "Ok, are you racist, a homophobe, or both?" - And they were NOT joking. Yikes!