FunkMiller
Member
If you're comparing it to Chibnall's stuff it was good. In comparison to ten plus years ago though, it's utter fucking garbage.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials | Official Trailer
- Thread starter ManaByte
- Start date
If you're comparing it to Chibnall's stuff it was good. In comparison to ten plus years ago though, it's utter fucking garbage.
BouncyFrag
Member
STARSBarry
Gold Member
StealthGoblin
Banned
I thought the Xmas special was pretty good but Gibson's remarks about the next series being controversial and including things that should be included today is setting alarm bells ringing.
Doctor who just has to be family friendly sci-fi with some reflective moments of our history thrown in.
Courting controversy is what set it on it's downward trend in the classic era.
Doctor who just has to be family friendly sci-fi with some reflective moments of our history thrown in.
Courting controversy is what set it on it's downward trend in the classic era.
BigDeadFreak
Member
What do you mean?
StealthGoblin
Banned
They deliberately went out of their way to piss off censors, had very violent cliffhangers etc. It soured the mood at the BBC and along with the reputation for being cheap, eventually gave the BBC an out to cancel it.
I've watched a few more Classic serials since last posting so thought I'd continue writing up short reviews. SPOILERS ahead.
The Planet Of The Spiders - Unfortunately Jon Pertwee's regeneration serial is a stinker, certainly the worst of Classic Who I've watched since it was put on iPlayer. Who producers often boast about their stories being more ambitious than their budgets but here the lack of money, or its misallocation, really drags the story down. Every scene on Metebelis looks dreadful because of how the actors are very conspicuously layered onto green-screen images, which is often the case for the spiders as well. The second episode is one long chase using various ludicrous vehicles, which is sort of amusing for a little while but brings nothing to the story and makes you wonder why the money spent on that wasn't put towards making the other episodes look better. Outside the main cast, the acting is pretty lousy at points (especially among the Metebelis humans, though a little credit to Gareth Hunt for trying to treat this ludicrous material seriously) and it didn't seem immediately clear to me what killed the Doctor - radiation of some kind, but it didn't seem to affect him much up until falling out of the TARDIS back on Earth - or what the fear he supposedly had to face was. Admittedly I might have just been too bored to notice the key details by that point, which is damning enough in and of itself. Rimpoche and Choji being (the same) Timelord should be more interesting than it is - is this the only story with two regenerations in one episode? - but feels completely tacked on. The potential was there for this to be pretty good with a modern budget (and better storytelling), but unfortunately it's a bit of stinker on a shoestring.
The Ark In Space - Ark is Tom Baker's second serial and while he hasn't quite settled into the role yet, he's already a very charismatic and compelling lead. The base-under-siege story is Who staple and this is a strong early example which paces its story well across its four episodes. The Wirrn aren't particularly interesting foes by themselves but having Noah be gradually taken over by them, until becoming their figurehead, works well. Although his infected hand at the end of the first episode looks a bit too silly, very obviously being coloured bubble wrap, the second stage of his infection, taking over most of his body, is very creepily done and the grub crawling across the space station floor also looks great (both are also obviously bubble wrap, but actually look 'designed' rather than just taped to the actor's hand). Other than Harry being a bit annoying as a companion, I haven't any serious complaints though I also don't think the serial had the magic spark to elevate it to the top tier, settling for a perfectly respectable 'very good'.
The Brain Of Morbius - I'd read that this one was considered a classic and it's certainly dense with lore and very enjoyable for three of the four episodes. Philip Madoc is tremendous as Solon, Tom Baker has completely settled into his groove as the Doctor and the makeup on the Sisterhood gives them a witchy vibe which plays well against the Gothic horror in Solon's mansion. Despite the story mostly consisting of the Doctor and/or Sarah going back and forth between two fixed locations, it's good stuff until it falls to pieces in the final episode. The Doctor tries to murder the villains by gassing them, leading to a completely underwhelming death for Solon, followed by another (pushed off a cliff by the Sisterhood, whom he should be able to slaughter easily) for Morbius. The infamous contest of minds between the Doctor and Morbius is completely pointless, Condo falls in love with Sarah completely out of the blue, the Doctor completely trusts Solon to destroy Morbius against all logic... it's such a mess that it ruins much of the good faith built up by the three preceding episodes.
The Time Meddler - Absolutely superb, with no caveats. The story is not only extremely well-paced - four episodes and no more really is the sweet spot for Classic Who serials - but the characters are engaging, the performances are uniformly strong, the mysteries remain intriguing throughout, and the cliffhanger of the third episode is an absolute barnstormer, maybe the best of any Classic Who episode I've seen. I love Hartnell's Doctor and he's on great form here, bouncing between mischievious and irascible as best suits him, and Peter Butterfield's softly comedic performance as the Monk provides him an outstanding foil and the series a more interesting villain than the usual world-conquerors. The Monk is like the Doctor without any sense of responsibility, playing with history for his own amusement (his initial claims of wanting to 'do good' don't last for long, and his joke about assisting in the building of Stonehenge is great). Steven is a perfectly serviceable replacement for Ian, a bit generic perhaps but likeable and with some nice touches in his writing (being from the distant future, 1066 is so far in his past that he's unsure whether Saxons used artillery or not), and while Vicky isn't quite up to Barbara's level, she's a big improvement on Susan's non-stop screaming and whining and her willingness to take charge of situations, while also being sweet and funny, makes it immediately clear why she deserves her place in the TARDIS. I'll rewatch The Aztecs at some point, which I remember being my favourite First Doctor story, but The Time Meddler will be extremely strong competition and of all the Classic Who serials I've watched recently for the first time, this is the best one (I'd seen Remembrance Of The Daleks before, so am not counting that one, which remains my all-time favourite classic serial). Top of the line stuff.
The Planet Of The Spiders - Unfortunately Jon Pertwee's regeneration serial is a stinker, certainly the worst of Classic Who I've watched since it was put on iPlayer. Who producers often boast about their stories being more ambitious than their budgets but here the lack of money, or its misallocation, really drags the story down. Every scene on Metebelis looks dreadful because of how the actors are very conspicuously layered onto green-screen images, which is often the case for the spiders as well. The second episode is one long chase using various ludicrous vehicles, which is sort of amusing for a little while but brings nothing to the story and makes you wonder why the money spent on that wasn't put towards making the other episodes look better. Outside the main cast, the acting is pretty lousy at points (especially among the Metebelis humans, though a little credit to Gareth Hunt for trying to treat this ludicrous material seriously) and it didn't seem immediately clear to me what killed the Doctor - radiation of some kind, but it didn't seem to affect him much up until falling out of the TARDIS back on Earth - or what the fear he supposedly had to face was. Admittedly I might have just been too bored to notice the key details by that point, which is damning enough in and of itself. Rimpoche and Choji being (the same) Timelord should be more interesting than it is - is this the only story with two regenerations in one episode? - but feels completely tacked on. The potential was there for this to be pretty good with a modern budget (and better storytelling), but unfortunately it's a bit of stinker on a shoestring.
The Ark In Space - Ark is Tom Baker's second serial and while he hasn't quite settled into the role yet, he's already a very charismatic and compelling lead. The base-under-siege story is Who staple and this is a strong early example which paces its story well across its four episodes. The Wirrn aren't particularly interesting foes by themselves but having Noah be gradually taken over by them, until becoming their figurehead, works well. Although his infected hand at the end of the first episode looks a bit too silly, very obviously being coloured bubble wrap, the second stage of his infection, taking over most of his body, is very creepily done and the grub crawling across the space station floor also looks great (both are also obviously bubble wrap, but actually look 'designed' rather than just taped to the actor's hand). Other than Harry being a bit annoying as a companion, I haven't any serious complaints though I also don't think the serial had the magic spark to elevate it to the top tier, settling for a perfectly respectable 'very good'.
The Brain Of Morbius - I'd read that this one was considered a classic and it's certainly dense with lore and very enjoyable for three of the four episodes. Philip Madoc is tremendous as Solon, Tom Baker has completely settled into his groove as the Doctor and the makeup on the Sisterhood gives them a witchy vibe which plays well against the Gothic horror in Solon's mansion. Despite the story mostly consisting of the Doctor and/or Sarah going back and forth between two fixed locations, it's good stuff until it falls to pieces in the final episode. The Doctor tries to murder the villains by gassing them, leading to a completely underwhelming death for Solon, followed by another (pushed off a cliff by the Sisterhood, whom he should be able to slaughter easily) for Morbius. The infamous contest of minds between the Doctor and Morbius is completely pointless, Condo falls in love with Sarah completely out of the blue, the Doctor completely trusts Solon to destroy Morbius against all logic... it's such a mess that it ruins much of the good faith built up by the three preceding episodes.
The Time Meddler - Absolutely superb, with no caveats. The story is not only extremely well-paced - four episodes and no more really is the sweet spot for Classic Who serials - but the characters are engaging, the performances are uniformly strong, the mysteries remain intriguing throughout, and the cliffhanger of the third episode is an absolute barnstormer, maybe the best of any Classic Who episode I've seen. I love Hartnell's Doctor and he's on great form here, bouncing between mischievious and irascible as best suits him, and Peter Butterfield's softly comedic performance as the Monk provides him an outstanding foil and the series a more interesting villain than the usual world-conquerors. The Monk is like the Doctor without any sense of responsibility, playing with history for his own amusement (his initial claims of wanting to 'do good' don't last for long, and his joke about assisting in the building of Stonehenge is great). Steven is a perfectly serviceable replacement for Ian, a bit generic perhaps but likeable and with some nice touches in his writing (being from the distant future, 1066 is so far in his past that he's unsure whether Saxons used artillery or not), and while Vicky isn't quite up to Barbara's level, she's a big improvement on Susan's non-stop screaming and whining and her willingness to take charge of situations, while also being sweet and funny, makes it immediately clear why she deserves her place in the TARDIS. I'll rewatch The Aztecs at some point, which I remember being my favourite First Doctor story, but The Time Meddler will be extremely strong competition and of all the Classic Who serials I've watched recently for the first time, this is the best one (I'd seen Remembrance Of The Daleks before, so am not counting that one, which remains my all-time favourite classic serial). Top of the line stuff.
Last edited:
Eotheod
Member
Christmas episodes always do that, it usually allows a clean slate for the next season, especially after a regeneration.
I actually really loved these episodes, Tennant did astonishingly well to step back into the shoes of The Doctor with little to no troubles. Donna has always been a favourite of mine outside the Rose nostalgia, she just gets shit done. I am in love with Ncuti's 15th Doctor, they know how to party, and it was very refreshing to see some new styles of thinking outside the box.
Overall, great episodes and it has brought me and my fiancé back into the world of Who once again. We stopped mid-Capaldi, it just got really repetitive and becoming almost a grind to watch. Also didn't help, we were in the midst of moving our entire lives, so everything took a back burner. At least with this new Doctor they are wiping the slate clean in some ways, so I haven't missed much backstory that I can't just read online.
Also, Toymaker was brilliant. Neil Patrick Harris was absolutely brilliant in that role, maniacal and sadistic in creating games that no one can win.
Last edited by a moderator:
TaylorSwiftFan
Member
I’m watching the last episode with David Tennant (The End of Time) and I must say that I don’t like The Master character at all. His introduction was originally well done but his Joker-like antics got tiring real quick.
Saiyan-Rox
Member
Well he was going (even more) insane. And dying at the same time.
The RTD era Master sucked, I don't want to spoil it BUT this version of The Master comes back again in the Moffat era and he's written soo much better.
DeafTourette
Perpetually Offended
I just watched the Christmas episode with The 15th Doctor... I wrote liked it. Silly, charming, mysterious, etc.
I like how each Doctor regeneration brings a new personality and 15s keeps the core traits.
New companion is CUTE!
I like how each Doctor regeneration brings a new personality and 15s keeps the core traits.
New companion is CUTE!
Dr.Morris79
Gold Member
Dr.Morris79
Gold Member
It's BBC/Disney
The Dr's going to have a bumhole bigger than the inside of the Tardis by the end of this season.
FunkMiller
Member
This show is clearly now aimed at a certain audience. Best for the rest of us that we just move on and leave it to do... whatever it's going to do.
nush
Member
Wait! I thought that was illegal to show an alphabet person as a bad character? Does Davis get a pass because reasons?
Krathoon
Member
Yeah. He is a gay show runner. He gets a pass. He can get away with it.
Last edited:
nush
Member
The trailer came on TV for this when I was in the room with my dad, I said "You know Dr Who is now black and gay?". If he was capable of saying what the fucking shit, he would have.
Laptop1991
Member
I wasn't a fan of Steven Moffat's era after Russell T Davies did Nu Who and i stopped watching quite a few years ago, i'm not watching this Disney DR Who version after seeing David Tennant's return, the writing is just agenda driven and all over the place, and Russel T Davies has already said DR Who fans won't like this new DR Who, so who is the audience for it then.
nush
Member
DEI payments. who cares who's watching if you can get paid regardless.
nush
Member
Captain Jack was gay done right IMO. Well, apart from the bumming scene in Torchwood. But that did give me a LOL to be fair.
Krathoon
Member
There is also a bumming in Miracle Day, but they don't linger on it. It seems like they are going to, but they don't.
Revolutionary
Member
ElRenoRaven
Member
You know I have been skeptical but I honestly liked the two new episodes. The first the name of the episode alone explains why it's goofy but fun. The 2nd which a clip above was taken from was actually pretty good I thought minus that bit in that one clip. That was so over done but the rest of the episode wasn't bad. The They/them thing was the extent of that. It wasn't like they kept harping on it over and over in the episode. They had that kind of cringe moment and then moved on with what was an interesting continuation of what their main story for the season is.
That's my thoughts as someone who has watched Dr Who all my long ass life. People can certainly disagree but I'm gonna keep watching.
That's my thoughts as someone who has watched Dr Who all my long ass life. People can certainly disagree but I'm gonna keep watching.
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
FunkMiller
Member
Oopsie.
Lowest ever.
Even with the change in viewing habits to streaming, that's a horribly low number for a series premiere.
Lowest ever.
Even with the change in viewing habits to streaming, that's a horribly low number for a series premiere.
Last edited:
Laptop1991
Member
Yeah blame it on the sun, not the actual show lol
IPlayer not included (episodes came out early on iPlayer) and neither is Disney+. A lot of the hardcore would've watched the iPlayer drop nearly 18 hours earlier, not to mention Disney+ having the 4k version which isn't available on broadcast (1080i).
I know some of you here like doomposting but honestly for this one, there were better ways to watch it BEFORE broadcast and in much better quality.
I know some of you here like doomposting but honestly for this one, there were better ways to watch it BEFORE broadcast and in much better quality.
Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
Glad you're enjoying it, but a lot of people are simply not going to give it a chance. Not unreasonable given the doubling-down on overt progressive themes, which is a divisive approach and one that's looking increasingly played out.
Soodanim
Member
My faith in RTD dropped off a cliff when he said it was offensive for Davros to be disabled, his open declarations cast serious doubts about his judgement
Krathoon
Member
Oh yeah. I too have a problem with what they did to Davros. Still, that seemed like the early days of Davros. So, it was ok.
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
You mean nobody wanted to see a drag queen impersonating Bette Midler?
CloudShiner
Member
Low viewing ratings already? no-one watching? But...but...all the review scores by the right-on media are sky-high...surely the likes of reviews like this rubbish below aren't wrong? We know who will be blamed when it's axed in a year or two again.
https://metro.co.uk/2024/05/11/sorry-straight-white-men-doctor-never-made-20792066/
https://metro.co.uk/2024/05/11/sorry-straight-white-men-doctor-never-made-20792066/
Last edited:
Lord Panda
The Sea is Always Right
Dr.Morris79
Gold Member
So it's only for gay black men?
Fucking TV these days.. what makes it even more funnier is it's the BBC, the thing they ASK then threaten money for. Next time they knock for their shit tax I'll show them this article and my wedding ring, then tell them to fuck right off.
Dr.Morris79
Gold Member
Yeah, I wonder why..