• Hey everyone, staff have documented a list of banned content and subject matter that we feel are not consistent with site values, and don't make sense to host discussion of on Famiboards. This list (and the relevant reasoning per item) is viewable here.
  • Furukawa Speaks! We discuss the announcement of the Nintendo Switch Successor and our June Direct Predictions on the new episode of the Famiboards Discussion Club! Check it out here!

TV Doctor Who ST | This Thread Is Bigger On The Inside

Reader mode
soundchaser said:
Setting aside the actual plot, stakes, etc...What happened to RTD's character-writing abilities? Almost everyone was a charisma vacuum. (I've never particularly liked Jemma Redgrave as Kate, but her faults are...prounounced here.)
Click to expand...
I actually thought this two-parter was the first time Redgrave was allowed to act something besides "tough boss woman", likes especially in the first episode where she witnessed the death of one of the officers, that was really good.
 
0
Final thoughts about the finale, it was... Alright? A 6 out of 10 if I were to score it.

The setup was really good, but everything starting here was just, whatever. I genuinely liked everything surrounding Ruby, let me put that out there first and foremost. Ruby and her mother just being regular people, nothing special, just people who happened to be there in the right/wrong place at the right/wrong place is great and the conclusion was lovely. But the way it was set up was just, bizarre. Why can Ruby make it snow? Why would Sutekh care about who a random lady one night was? Of all the things he could have been interested in, why her? Because he could not see her face? Yeah, so? There's no reason for Sutekh to keep the Doctor, Ruby and Mel alive for so long just for one random woman.
Melanie was so great last episode and at the start, but she was shoved aside for 90% of the episode, talk about a waste of a talent. I was super happy to see her back, but not like this.
And, Sutekh was... Whatever? The previous universe destroying event was never set straight (going as far as mentioning it in WBY), yet the next one happened straight away and it was set right in the weirdest way I can think of. Sutekh just sat on his ass the entire episode, did fuck all himself and just sat there when being pulled on a leash. So this huge God that can destroy does absolutely nothing when confronted with a rope? Sure it was quantum enabled or whatever they call it, but still. And him touching the edge of the vortex undoes his actions, how exactly? I genuinely did not understand the logic behind it at all, "Death meet Death" I just do not get it.
Also, if Sutekh was traveling with the TARDIS starting from the Pyramids of Mars, that's awkward whenever there are multiple Sutekh together just chilling around the various TARDIS together.

I did not hate the episode, but what a dud of an episode after the previous one. Overall, the season was decent, but hell, I can't believe I'm going to be typing this. But I genuinely enjoyed the absolute insane ride that was Series 12 and Flux more than I did this one. Everything was just half baked from beginning to end, and I'm genuinely unsure where the problem is. Davies, Disney, the limited number of episodes, the scripts or what else. Hoping the next season improves on this, the potential and talent is there completely, but the execution was just blegh.
 
EvilChameleon said:
Completely agree.

The god of death being defeated by being taken for a walk is such a letdown bore.
Click to expand...

You could write anything in a boring way if you wanted to make it sound like that.

You could have said what what actually happened, that the doctor retook the tardis by remotely activating a laser cannon, taking out three of his heralds in an instant and then used the tardis to drag the god of death in to a time distortion and let it be ripped to shreds by chrono radiation but then you wouldnt get to have your "look at this bitch eating crackers" moment
 
Last edited:
0
Though it could be worse. There were elements I liked and even this messy finale was at least enjoyable to watch. Especially the music is really perfect. The whole series is a major improvement from the last few years. It only can get better.
 
0
Shadow said:
And him touching the edge of the vortex undoes his actions, how exactly? I genuinely did not understand the logic behind it at all, "Death meet Death" I just do not get it.
Click to expand...
I won't argue it makes sense outside of the way Doctor Who gets to define its own rules about how reality works, but it was some sort of -1 * -1 = 1. Sutekh had spread his effects across space and time... and now doing so a second time "killed" his earlier work.
 
0
I think my top issue with the way RTD has handled this series is this weird aversion to raising the stakes.
Compare Boom!, one of the few episodes not written by him, to basically every other episode.

In Boom:
  • Initial setup: Nature of ambulances & the war, doctor steps on landmine
  • The situation initially escalates by requiring the doctor to move, rather than remain stationary, precise, but only really requires some timing
  • Then, the child shows up, who wants the tube the doctor is now holding, but ultimately remains peaceful
  • The soldier then shows up, who is willing to use force and condemn the doctor
  • The reveal about the doctor's biology escalates the stakes
  • Ambulance is attracted by the soldier's attack.
  • Second soldier, misunderstanding the situation, attacks Ruby, making it incredibly difficult to remain calm by targetting one of his weaknesses, and also putting her life at stake.
The ultimate resolution is quite cliche, but ultimately the great build of tension causes the episode to remain engaging.
Compared this to RTD's episodes:
  • Space Babies has the initial setup of "unnaturally scary monster"
  • About halfway through the episode, the Baby is targeted by the monster
  • At the end of the Episode, the doctor saves the monster

  • Devil's chord has the initial setup of "omnipotent god that each trick only works once"
  • Stakes are raised slightly by showing the consequences
  • At the end of the episode, the Beatles banish the Maestro.

  • 73 Yards has the setup of the doctor's disappearance and the mysterious woman
  • We eventually learn those the woman interact with develop an intense aversion to ruby
  • At the end of the episode the timeline is reset.
And so on, so forth. The issue is, all of the mid-episode escalations ultimately accomplish nothing. The babies were already perceived to be in danger, one could easily guess the consequence of a malevolent god, and the phenomena is only really an articulation of an existing pattern. I'm just surprised this is such an issue, as episodes like the Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder and Church on ruby road successfully accomplish this, to varying degrees of success.
 
0
Wish I could be excited for it, but after the finale... Yeah, sticking to Big Finish until then and will ignore the news regarding it.
 
0
Reader mode
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top Bottom