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

I know it’s a light comedy skit for charity, but I really didn’t enjoy that at all. The tone, the music, the performances…none of it bodes particularly well.
 
Do you think Nicholas Briggs is counting the days until Fourteen regenerates just so he can start producing multi-Doctor stories starring only David Tennant?
 
I know it’s a light comedy skit for charity, but I really didn’t enjoy that at all. The tone, the music, the performances…none of it bodes particularly well.
Trying not to get my hopes too down, but I was like "Oh yeah, this seems like the stuff I found cringey watching series 1 in 2006."
 
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Big Finish will be way ahead of that!

Using a Briggs written script 😆
"FROM BIG FINISH PRODUCTIONS...

DOCTOR WHO: THE TENTH DOCTOR ADVENTURES: THE BAMBOOZLEMENT OF THE DALEKS"

10: What?
14: What?
10 & 14: WHAT?!

10: Still, you look old...
14: Hey!
10: -er. You look older. I guess this little incarnation ended up living quite a long life, eh?
14: Ah. Well...
Dalek: I AM SEEING DOUBLE HERE. FOUR DOCTORS!

"BIG FINISH. FOR THE LOVE OF STORIES"
 
I thought the skit was pretty funny. But I also don't think it's super indicative of what we're going to get later on, at least for Ncuti.

Also. They finally confirmed it's streaming at the same time for everyone:



Also:
They re-aired "An Adventure in Space and Time" yesterday and updated that really sweet scene at the end with the passing of the torch between Hartnell(Bradley) and the new Doctor! (Also apparently cut out all references to An Unearthly Child because of the rights issues)

 
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I don‘t know how to feel about it. Like there were some nice moments but overall the characters and the story were very flat.

There was some unused potential between Rose and the Meep. I feel like the whole Donna Doctor thing came in the way of a good bitter sweet story that could have been told here. Instead it seemed like they needed to wrap it up so Meep turns immediately in a super villain and Rose figured everything out in an instant by herself. Just to fix Donna so she can go on an adventure with the Doctor.

I can see the next episodes being better because the pacing was quite good but I am not so certain about this new era anymore as I might was a few days ago.

Edit: Added Spoiler Tags, Sorry
 
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I finally opened my new Fourteenth sonic screwdriver, and boy they really want you to mash on that button for all possible sounds.
To operate the screwdriver--press and hold for soundFX.
There are five modes to access, so for extra FX:
Double tap and hold.
Triple tap and hold.
Quadruple tap and hold.
Quintuple tap and hold.
I don't feel like any of them quite sound like it did on TV, though, which was... pretty much like older ones.
 
Just watched The Star Beast…
I enjoyed the episode, and it’s great to have Doctor Who back again…but I really did not care for how they handled the trans stuff in the plot. And I say this as a non-binary trans person myself. Just felt really sloppy and didn’t really make much sense. I absolutely love the fact that we got a trans actress playing an in-universe trans character, and it is great to see the show being so unashamed to feature trans characters and concepts so openly—especially with how disgustingly transphobic the BBC has been—but I just feel like the execution was really poor or even misguided. Honestly I’m starting to worry about this more now with RTD, because he totally fumbled the Thirteen-to-Fourteen regeneration scene too by bizarrely not allowing Fourteen to wear Thirteen’s clothes and then giving the most absurd, out of touch reason to defend his decision. Like, I had hoped that the queer representation would get even better with RTD back, yet so far it’s been really shaky. I still can’t get over the whole regeneration costume thing and how ridiculous that was…
 
“I know writers who use subtext, and they're all cowards.” - RTD, 2023
He's shamelessly been that way since 2006. His run - especially when he was the one writing the episode - was always campy and cheesy. For a lot of people it's the right sweet spot for this sort of show, for me it crosses into cringey at times. But I take it for how well done the characters and their relationships are.

I personally would've been happier if it was Moffat that returned, but this is still good. If he guests writes a few episodes I'll be thrilled.
 
Just watched The Star Beast…
I enjoyed the episode, and it’s great to have Doctor Who back again…but I really did not care for how they handled the trans stuff in the plot. And I say this as a non-binary trans person myself. Just felt really sloppy and didn’t really make much sense. I absolutely love the fact that we got a trans actress playing an in-universe trans character, and it is great to see the show being so unashamed to feature trans characters and concepts so openly—especially with how disgustingly transphobic the BBC has been—but I just feel like the execution was really poor or even misguided. Honestly I’m starting to worry about this more now with RTD, because he totally fumbled the Thirteen-to-Fourteen regeneration scene too by bizarrely not allowing Fourteen to wear Thirteen’s clothes and then giving the most absurd, out of touch reason to defend his decision. Like, I had hoped that the queer representation would get even better with RTD back, yet so far it’s been really shaky. I still can’t get over the whole regeneration costume thing and how ridiculous that was…
I agree. It felt very....hamfisted? The whole "binary, and now non-binary" line at the end particularly didn't make a lick of sense. It's like your supportive Aunt bursting onto the scene without really understanding what's going on.
 
God bless RTD and his absolute hatred of subtlety. It felt like laser focused fanservice aimed straight at me so I can’t lie, I loved it.
 
I just watched The Star Beast. It was quite nice. Nothing incredibly groundbreaking, but quite nice. The best thing is that the whole episode went by quite quickly, which is a very good thing; during the Chibnall era some episodes would feel way longer than they actually were and would get (for me at least) pretty boring sometimes, which is the last thing one should expect from a Doctor Who story.
“I know writers who use subtext, and they're all cowards.” - RTD, 2023
I'll be honest, it's a nice (and very necessary!) message, but when the "male-presenting Time Lord" line came up, I just lost it. That felt like a bit too much.
 
I agree. It felt very....hamfisted? The whole "binary, and now non-binary" line at the end particularly didn't make a lick of sense. It's like your supportive Aunt bursting onto the scene without really understanding what's going on.
Exactly. It feels like they didn’t even consult any actual trans/non-binary people when writing this script, which is very strange considering they had Yasmin Finney. Like, that scene acted as if her character was non-binary, and to be fair she totally could be, but there was absolutely no set up for that and nothing seems to suggest she was anything but binary trans, so that whole non-binary part just came across as a fundamental misunderstanding of what non-binary is and conflating it and trans to be one and the same. Plus, y’know, the whole thing just didn’t really make any sense at all. The comment about the Doctor not being able to understand as a male-presenting Doctor was also very…not good, especially considering this comes right after the Doctor wasn’t a man. Kinda spits in the face of the Doctor’s technically genderfluid identity across regenerations.
 
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I haven't rewatched much of RTD's original run since it was new, so I'd kind of forgotten how much I enjoyed Donna. I tend to prefer the atypical companions, and even compared to someone like Graham boy does she seem like an unlikely choice.
 
Mostly liked the episode, but what's up with the Sonic being more overpower then ever before, even more so than during the 13th era. Also the whole: "If you were still a woman." had me rolling my eyes... But my main issue:

I agree. It felt very....hamfisted? The whole "binary, and now non-binary" line at the end particularly didn't make a lick of sense. It's like your supportive Aunt bursting onto the scene without really understanding what's going on.
I'm not trans and don't have a lick of an idea of the exact goings on of the subject. But Rose is a trans woman and never claimed to be non binary, everyone (well nearly everyone) treats her as a woman and everyone call her Donna's daughter... So where does this non binary stuff exactly slot into this? I genuinely had no issues with any of the episode until that moment from Donna's supposed death and everything afterwards.
 
Rewatched the episode with some friends today after watching live yesterday.

Honestly, if Doctor 10 and Donna and S4 are your favourites of the show, then this was probably an 11/10 episode. If you've always been annoyed by it, like me, it still was a solid episode at least. First 40ish minutes reminded me a lot of what I was missing from the show since the end of Capaldi's era, unfortunately the last 15ish minutes also reminded me of everything I didn't miss from the show since Journey's End :LOL:
Was about what I've expected with some very hamfisted twists towards the end.

Mostly liked the episode, but what's up with the Sonic being more overpower then ever before, even more so than during the 13th era. Also the whole: "If you were still a woman." had me rolling my eyes...
Honestly, I kinda like that it's projecting an interface now, makes its role as a sort of omni-tool a bit more believable, better than just pretending to see anything on the small (and in a lot of revisions non existing) display. Just the projecting a shield was a bit much for my liking. But I'm a grumpy old man who yearns for another "The Visitations" where they just burn that damn thing to a crisp for a couple seasons :LOL:
 
Honestly, I kinda like that it's projecting an interface now, makes its role as a sort of omni-tool a bit more believable, better than just pretending to see anything on the small (and in a lot of revisions non existing) display. Just the projecting a shield was a bit much for my liking. But I'm a grumpy old man who yearns for another "The Visitations" where they just burn that damn thing to a crisp for a couple seasons :LOL:
I always figured the Doctor looking at the Sonic was a linking mechanism as to how the older Docs would establish contact with each other, not literally looking at a display but sharing a mental link with each other. But man, I'm with you on that page of the Visitation. Kill the fucking thing already and have the Doctor go by his wits for a while before bringing it back or just deadlock the actual Sonic for all I care. Just get rid of it for a few series, please!
 
I enjoyed the episode. Tbh, it felt a lot like RTD's original run with better production values, which is not surprising, and in my case is pretty welcome -- the bombast and cheese was never my problem with Series 1-4 (I thought the worst episodes of any given RTD Series were always filler episodes).

I enjoyed the representation for what it was, although it was definitely hamfisted. That said, I am not a trans person, and I can definitely see where @Tye is coming from in their criticisms. Let's hope it's handled with a little more care and nuance moving forward
 
But man, I'm with you on that page of the Visitation. Kill the fucking thing already and have the Doctor go by his wits for a while before bringing it back or just deadlock the actual Sonic for all I care. Just get rid of it for a few series, please!
I feel like the Doctor is resourceful enough this would be hard to pull off believably. Thirteen was dumped on Earth without anything but the clothes on her back and had a replacement built within an episode. But I did enjoy how she had to make do those first few episodes without the TARDIS, and thought it would've been fun if that chase had gone on a bit longer.
 
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I picked up watching old Second Doctor stuff where I left off long ago, with The Ice Warriors. The problem the world is facing in that one is interesting, especially since it seems to contain one of Doctor Who's bigger science boners. Future Earth is facing a new ice age due to human-caused climate change. Lack of carbon dioxide has made the Earth unable to support as much heat. But the reason for lack of carbon dioxide? They've perfected artificially created food, and so replaced area previously used by plants with new living space for humans. And as the Doctor says "No plants, no carbon dioxide". Errrrr.
 
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Listening to a number of Big Finish audio from 2020. Honestly, can we get a number of these writers for the TV show? Because these stories are gooooooooood!
 
Big Finish is possibly more intimidating to get into than the show. Both have hundreds of episodes, but at least the TV show has a pretty straightforward chronological order and only a handful of spinoff shows. While Big Finish has all kinds of different lines and subseries and new stories from any point in any particular Doctor's existence might release at any time. I've listened to a handful I got from Humble Bundles, but are there any particular recommendations on places to start? Or just choose a character I like and see what they've got for them?
 
So all the secrecy surrounding this episode was for... Nothing? It's literally just another episode that does nothing unique, so I'm a bit confused. But we got to see Wilf, so all is well! 🥰

Big Finish is possibly more intimidating to get into than the show. Both have hundreds of episodes, but at least the TV show has a pretty straightforward chronological order and only a handful of spinoff shows. While Big Finish has all kinds of different lines and subseries and new stories from any point in any particular Doctor's existence might release at any time. I've listened to a handful I got from Humble Bundles, but are there any particular recommendations on places to start? Or just choose a character I like and see what they've got for them?
Honestly, most stories can be put on without much of an issue in terms of having it connecting to another. Yes, there are storylines throughout certain sets, but you don't need all the context to appreciate it. The only thing I'd recommend to listening in order are the eight Doctor monthly adventures until at least 51 (Scherzo), though it's not required, it does enhance the story until this point. Separate stories such as: Doctor Who Monthly (with other Doctors) The Diary of River Song, Torchwood Monthly, Class or the (insert number here) Doctor Adventures, go and listen to whatever you feel like. I recently bought the Tenth Doctor Dalek Universe trilogy and Out of Time, and without any context, they're still terrific stories.
 
Big Finish is possibly more intimidating to get into than the show. Both have hundreds of episodes, but at least the TV show has a pretty straightforward chronological order and only a handful of spinoff shows. While Big Finish has all kinds of different lines and subseries and new stories from any point in any particular Doctor's existence might release at any time. I've listened to a handful I got from Humble Bundles, but are there any particular recommendations on places to start? Or just choose a character I like and see what they've got for them?
Pick a Character/Doctor and look what they got or what interests you isn't too bad an idea, though especially the newer releases do get pretty expensive. For McGann there just recently was a sort of soft-reset with a new companion in "In the Bleack Midwinter", though you can also start with the original Storm Warning (which is his first outing on BiFi), Blood of the Daleks (new companion, new story format) or Dark Eyes (another new companion and story format). Just like on TV, there's usually a couple new jumping on points sprinkled within the releases. I don't think most of the other Doctor's stories have that big heap of continuity though, so you're more open to the "this looks interesting!"-method

If you're looking for some generally good stories that can be listened to on their own (and not too expensive):
Anything by Rob Shearman (he wrote like 6 or so and they're all pretty cheap), Spare Parts (Cybermen origin story), The Marian Conspiracy (Introduction of Evelyn as a companion to the 6th Doctor, a fan favourite), Sympathy for the Devil (from their Unbound range, featuring an alternative 3rd Doctor that wasn't on earth during the 70s return in the 90s).
There's also the Cyberman range which doesn't feature the Doctor but describes humanity's war against the Cybermen and I, Davros, describing what Davros was up to in his youth leading up to basically the events of Genesis. Both are a bit more expensive, but still just around $20 for the complete thing each.



Need to rewatch the new episode before having a real opinion. There was a lot of stuff I liked but also a lot of stuff that took me out of it... especially some of the greenscreen was yikes.
Somewhat Midnight with a lot more bells and whistles?
 
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Curtesy of the new teaser trailer, I think.
 
For those interested in Big Finish, there's a very good (official) selection on Spotify.



Basically, you have access to their first 50 major releases, the first seasons of the Eight Doctor Adventures (which was inspired by the 2005 series in terms of tone and length), and some spin-offs, including, most notably, I, Davros.

Among the first 50 main releases, the Eight Doctor has an ongoing story arc, which is unrelated to what happens in the Eight Doctor Adventures (released years later). So it's better to listen to Eight's stories in order, starting with Storm Warning (and I suggest skipping Sword of Orion, Stones of Venice, and especially the hell that is Minuet in Hell. Everything from Invaders of Mars to Neverland onward is at least good). The other Doctors don't really have an arc, but some recurrent characters are introduced -- like Six's companion Evelyn, as @oomoepoo said.

Personally, I'm not a fan of Big Finish output -- their stories often feel like "TV episodes with the picture obscured," and they rely too much on nostalgia / continuity-porn. But among the first 50 releases and the EDA first series, there are some genuinely good-to-great stories, and Shearman deserves to be remembered as one of the best DW writers of all time.
 
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Need to rewatch the new episode before having a real opinion. There was a lot of stuff I liked but also a lot of stuff that took me out of it... especially some of the greenscreen was yikes.
Somewhat Midnight with a lot more bells and whistles?
Yeah, the green screen stuff wasn't flattering. The whole thing was a bit iffy in that department. Even the double effect felt really cheap, which is mind boggling, since you can super easily just split the image rather than green screening it... But overall, I liked it, though I don't understand the utter secrecy surrounding the episode. It was just an average story episode...

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Curtesy of the new teaser trailer, I think.
I'm so curious if they're going to acknowledge the change in race and have it be part of the plot throughout the series, or just ignore it (almost) completely like with 13 and ignore what could be an interesting take on the character, reflecting back on themselves.
 
Personally, I'm not a fan of Big Finish output -- their stories often feel like "TV episodes with the picture obscured," and they rely too much on nostalgia / continuity-porn.
Honestly, the former really depends on the writer, though stories that actually make full use of the medium are rare in the newer outputs. Though I generally like to see those as "stories they couldn't do on TV due to budget reasons". The latter is definitely a fair point though (and to be fair, it's kind of in their DNA with coming from old fans wanting more Doctor Who while it wasn't on TV) but it also depends on the story.
Even the double effect felt really cheap, which is mind boggling, since you can super easily just split the image rather than green screening it... But overall, I liked it, though I don't understand the utter secrecy surrounding the episode. It was just an average story episode...
While the double effects looked a bit cheap too, it still was probably better than anything we had on the show before ^^"
And yeah, all the secrecy and stuff didn't really do the story any favour, might be due to there actually not happening a whole lot and you can't really tease much without spoiling the whole thing?

I'm so curious if they're going to acknowledge the change in race and have it be part of the plot throughout the series, or just ignore it (almost) completely like with 13 and ignore what could be an interesting take on the character, reflecting back on themselves.
I do hope it gets acknowledged and with RTD in charge I kinda expect it to. I get that writers and audience maybe don't want to see the same sing and dance everytime they travel to the past earth or so but I think pretending like the Doctor is still a white man and nothing changing is kind of a disservice.
 
Good script, let down a bit in the execution. Which is a perfect encapsulation of Doctor Who for its anniversary!
 
Personally, I'm not a fan of Big Finish output -- their stories often feel like "TV episodes with the picture obscured," and they rely too much on nostalgia / continuity-porn. But among the first 50 releases and the EDA first series, there are some genuinely good-to-great stories, and Shearman deserves to be remembered as one of the best DW writers of all time.
I can see (no pun intended) where you're coming from, but I personally don't have this issue, but Torchwood absolutely bloody nails the fact that the audio stories are only audio, some of those stories could never be done as a show as it entirely relies on the medium. torchwood_cascade_ CDRip.tor (though it requires Zone 10 to be fully appreciated (and yes, that the actual title)) is a masterclass in how to really use the medium to its full potential. Tropical Beach Sounds and Other Relaxing Seascapes #4 is entirely done as a self help audio tape, though it gets really funky eventually. Restricted Items Archive Entries 031-049 are audio recordings which Ianto is making about the archive.

While the double effects looked a bit cheap too, it still was probably better than anything we had on the show before ^^"
Honestly, the double body stuff was done way better in Series 4, this was just... Bad... Didn't take away from the episode, but man, it was weird to see the effects take such a step back.
And yeah, all the secrecy and stuff didn't really do the story any favour, might be due to there actually not happening a whole lot and you can't really tease much without spoiling the whole thing?
It's bizarre, because it legit pushed the Doctor himself and his and Donnas relationship forward in quite some interesting steps. That certain mention alone had me extremely interested in how Davies is going to handle it forward. Because the way way it was introduced was just absolutely terrible. Though I still hope for a simple: 'Nah, lol, The Master was just fucking with ya!"
I do hope it gets acknowledged and with RTD in charge I kinda expect it to. I get that writers and audience maybe don't want to see the same sing and dance everytime they travel to the past earth or so but I think pretending like the Doctor is still a white man and nothing changing is kind of a disservice.
I'm personally mostly just apprehensive of the situation after 13. But Davies is no Chibnall, so time will tell and we'll see.
 


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