WHOCHURCH: The Chris Chibnall era

What cracks me up about that is the commercial letting us know it's the greatest hits of villains - Cybermen, Daleks, and The Master, which is anti-different.

Yes, but there'll be whatever further character-diminishing halfwitted additions to the Doctor's origin story he's determined to shove in before he goes out the door.

Bets on Timeless Child not being resolved and/or making sense by the end of the the finale (just the death of most of the universe never being mentioned again)

*just like

That last quote is clearly the sort of thing Chuck and James are talking about - every single previous BBC Doctor-changes-face-or-body 1966-2017 have been down to Time Lord technology (/potions/yoga), and nearly all in the TARDIS, which was originally established as being the thing what does it. But now he's rewritten it that regeneration is an inherent property of the Doctor, which Time Lord eugenicists stole out of her space DNA, so he's going to do the first nu-Who regen that isn't in the TARDIS and doesn't have laser whips shooting out of her face and hands.

I'm looking forward to it, because at least Flux showed he could deliver something passably fun, if no less dumb than usual. And obvioiusly there's some curiosity about what he'll do with [redacted fan service guest stars], although obvs the answer will turn out to be: (1) give them a bittersweet backstory delivered as an over-expositional monologue (2) get them to do the catchphrases (3) have roughly 2.5 minutes screen time each

Anyway - in summary:

First two seasons: Appalling

New Year's episodes: (1) Okay (2) Appalling (3) Problematically centered a huge creep as one of the romantic leads, but somehow fun!

Flux: I'll happily admit to enjoying most of this; it's maybe the only time the show's been better than the worst epsiodes of the RTD and Moffat runs - faint praise, but still praise!

Sea Devils episode: Maybe one of the worst things I've ever quit watching after six minutes!

My partner, who's happily watched every episode with me, even the one where David Tennant got turned into a CGI parrot, tapped out during Spyfall, when she fell asleep during Stephen Fry's scene and never watched another story.

I'll speak up for the two Vinay Patel episodes in the first two seasons (Demons of the Punjab and Fugitive of the Judoon) and some of the others (The Witchfinders, It Takes You Away, Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror, The Haunting of Villa Diodati) are still better than say Nightmare in Silver, or Daleks in Manhattan.

On the other hand 'The Doctor watches in horror, as the other side of the portal reveals the ruined Gallifrey, much to everyone's confusion. The Master leaps through, exclaiming that the Doctor should be afraid because everything is about to change forever' so yeah, no arguments with Appalling as an average mark.

... is Tom Baker well these days?

This was fine (service) at least to the point I cba to nitpick. Dhawan really good once again - feel free to do The Three Masters next year RTD.

i watched this in fast forward, plot seemed incredibly convoluted but whatever, got a kind of New Adventures vibe from some of the fan service bits and maybe that was nice? at one point the cybermen masks looked a bit more like the Invasion ones and that was nice too.

anyway glad that's over. what a shame. looking forward to liking the show i like again (fingers crossed anyway).

Dhawan as Rasputin was good, but he was as terrible as ever once he was 'The Master' (which is why I'm happy to blame Chibnall).

The main nitpick is what is hell the Master 'being the Doctor' is supposed to be, what part of his plan could he not do before?

The vibe reminded me a lot of The Stolen Earth / Journey's End, which I don't mind. It did kind of underline that the Davies / Moffat doctors are more transformational - they send their companions off spinning into the universe, or dead, or Donna.

Impressive project management, shame about the story

The fan service was a bit insipid - who on earth was it for? (I don’t count) - but Sophie Aldred was v fun whenever she was onscreen.

Straightwashing Tegan was typical Chibnall carelessness

Fingers crossed it’s better next time

the master's dalek plan was literally "i'll explain later"

the plot in a nutshell: daleks capture doctor at gunpoint, master absorbaloffs doctor, random guy shoots master, hologram of doctor unabsorbaloffs doctor, master shoots doctor

A few nice touches, but also mostly a shambles. I hope that's the last of Sacha Dhawan's Poundland Joker routine. A shame we will never get the much better idea that was Matt Berry as the Meddling Monk as Rasputin.

I didn’t quite follow why there were 2 or 3 Masters in different timelines and what happened to each and what was the point of the Rasputin one? Anyway yes he is terrible. Also: whither Peri

I suppose she’s a slug queen or a princess something somewhere off earth

I’m psyched about the new era but am kind of hoping I can skip this one.. my kids don’t need to see this regeneration in order to understand what’s happening later do they

OH YES!

dammit

It was so much fun. Do watch it!

I guarantee your kids can pick it up by you just saying she's David Tennant again

I am stuck in Frankfurt Flight cancelled and tomorrows flights all booked HELP I need to get back to the UK urgently Any advice welcome

— Colin Baker (@SawbonesHex) October 23, 2022

ah colin, i remember walking past him bawling at his daughter down the street “well what time *will* you be back then?!”

felt he could have solved that question quite easily.

At least the Master didn't tie up the Doctor and monologue at her about his plan, from a separate day's shooting across the room again.

Official BBCS DW website now says the Tennant/Tate run is three 60th Anniversary specials to air in November '23. Assuming no new-year-related double-bluff: from his announcement to his successor's first ep, Chibnall's tally will stand at 31 episodes in 8 years and 11 months. That is, to be fair, more than twice as many as Moffat's 14 in the same era, but they were all in the first two years, and from three standing starts after having left the show twice.

I can’t say it feels particularly great to have a Blsck min announced as the next Doctor, eagerly await his regeneration, and then have David Tennant pop back up and find out it’s an entire year until it’s actually the Blavk actor’s turn

Aside from that this was surprisingly coherent

See also bringing back Graham without Ryan

I bet that was the actor’s choice, Chibnall would have reunited the ICONIC TEAM if he could.

On the subject of ICONIC, I did really enjoy the (admittedly predictable) bit of Ace grabbing her leather jacket and baseball bat from under the floorboards at UNIT. Chibnall being nonsensical in a good way for once.

Would happily give Ace a Sarah Jane-type show on the back of this (although not written by Chibs obvs)

Sophie Alfred was way better as middle-aged Ace than as young Ace, I enjoyed her more in this return than I did in pretty much the entirety of her original tenure.

Janet Fielding was as awesome as she always has been

Dan, it’s over a year until the Tennant run - Gatwa tbc after that.

(Guessing no full series until 2024.)

this may not embed from Sunday morning but

Hey everyone! Want to feel very old? Millie Gibson wasn't even born when they announced Billie Piper was playing Rose Tyler. Happy travels, Millie! #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/WKEc1zbKcw

— Pip (@pipmadeley) November 18, 2022

really going for the facebook mom crowd there

Then I spent a long time thinking about body-swapping - so the Master becomes the Doctor and vice versa, which would give us Evil David Tennant. That would be fantastic, especially in his swansong. But again, it's predictable. And they'd only end up swapping back. Also, in David's swansong (why's it called a swansong?), I want to see the Doctor, not an evil version. I want him in all his wonderfulness, centre-stage.

RTD, 2009.

I just stumbled across this parody and I cannot stop wheezing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noaMIy_FWsA