Doctor Who: Past, Future, and Thoughts on the End of the 13th Doctor (SPOILERS!)

[Umbran]

I will note that I also have an issue with flying daleks. They look so incredibly dumb.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I will note that I also have an issue with flying daleks. They look so incredibly dumb.

The best thing for the franchise-

RTD agreeing to not use Daleks or Cybermen for the next three years.*

It's a sign of what a crutch they have become that when I typed that, I both thought that this was insanely low (they need even longer to "recharge") and also that there was no way they could make it a year.


*Three "series" years. At the rate thaning are going, three actual years might not even cover the first appearance of Ncuti Gatwa!

 

[Rabulias]

The best thing for the franchise-

RTD agreeing to not use Daleks or Cybermen for the next three years.*

It's a sign of what a crutch they have become that when I typed that, I both thought that this was insanely low (they need even longer to "recharge") and also that there was no way they could make it a year.

So it looks like Sacha Dhawan should keep his schedule open for the next few years?

 

[Umbran]

So it looks like Sacha Dhawan should keep his schedule open for the next few years?

It would be good to get the Master away from the madness, to be honest. That every single antagonist on the show has such singular focus on destroying the Doctor is part of the problem.

The show can't really be about the Doctor helping people so long as the Doctor is personally the center of the universe.

 

[Rabulias]

If my smiley did not make it clear, I was joking. As much as I enjoyed Sacha Dhawan's turn as the Master, I agree that he should be added to the "embargo list" (as well as the Weeping Angels). I would love to see more small-scale stories, and new aliens/enemies.

 

[Morrus]

If my smiley did not make it clear, I was joking. As much as I enjoyed Sacha Dhawan's turn as the Master, I agree that he should be added to the "embargo list" (as well as the Weeping Angels). I would love to see more small-scale stories, and new aliens/enemies.

That was literally Chibnall’s thing at first. No old monsters. Everybody complained so he had to start bringing the old favourites back in.

 

[JEB]

That was literally Chibnall’s thing at first. No old monsters. Everybody complained so he had to start bringing the old favourites back in.

To be fair, Chibnall's first season might have pulled off "no old monsters" had there been more compelling new foes.

 

[wicked cool]

Going to disagree on the old monsters. I want the daleks but not the recent ones. Bring back the non flying multicolor ones from old. Bring back unit etc. bring back classic pertwee/baker enemies . Bring back the horror and seriousness
Remove the politics etc. retcon the history rewrite of the first dr

I watched a handful of Whitaker and it was awful and for most part rating showed it

I have small hope that the dr will rise up but wouldn’t bet on it

 

[MarkB]

Going to disagree on the old monsters. I want the daleks but not the recent ones. Bring back the non flying multicolor ones from old.

I felt like the one in "Dalek" (and, by extension, the equally-capable ones back in Remembrance of the Daleks) got the mix right. Able to levitate so they can cope with stairs or rough terrain, but not able to zoom around like fighter planes. Give them platform-vehicles that let them do that, like in the old Dalek comics.

That's another issue with the progression of Nu Who - not just overuse of certain enemies, but power creep within them. The Weeping Angels had it the worst - their simple but scary initial power set was perfectly chosen. But then for some reason Moffatt felt compelled to up the ante in their next appearance with a whole suite of new abilities which, while creepy enough, started to cross the line into silliness and were too much to easily keep track of.

Plus they made the awful mistake of having them move on-screen. Half the scare of the Angels was that the audience felt like part of the terror, feeling like they had to keep eye contact. Having an Angel move while we're watching just slaps us in the face with the fourth wall, reminds us that the Angels don't care whether we can see them or not.

And the less said about the Cybermasters the better. Terrible name, terrible idea.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Like all of poor Whitaker's run, this episode works a lot better if you don't think about what you just saw at all. It's not as bad as "the war of Space vs. Time" (still the dumbest thing to ever get said on Doctor Who), but it was pretty bad.

Which is a shame, because a lot of the crazy ideas during this run and finale were pretty neat -- Cybermen made from the whoops-maybe-we-didn't-actually-kill-them-all-again Time Lords? COOL! We're not going to explore this at all, though -- but unlike the gonzo ideas of Grant Morrison, who does this far better than Chibnall does, there's never a good structure beneath the ideas, just the idea that if enough crazy ideas are thrown at the audience's face, it'll add up to a coherent story.

Which it doesn't.

I'm hoping that, once there's a steadier hand at the wheel, Whitaker can come back and do drop-in appearances like these other Doctors and companions have.

I very much like the post-"School Reunion" focus Who has on looking at the consequences of being a companion has on them, and hope it continues. The support group in this episode was a nice touch and I hope to see it return in the future.