new-nu-Who: RTD2 (Doctor Who on telly 2023-?)

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For discussion of the second era of Russell T Davies writing & producing and Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter producing Dr. Who.

So far 01: four wraparound "Tales Of The TARDIS" intros for streaming repeats of Earthshock, first one here

(wraparounds for Mind Robber and Fenric were written by Pete McTighe, wraparounds for Varos, 3Docs and Time Meddler by Phil Ford.)

So far 02: A comedy sketch for Children In Need

Today: The Star Beast (adapting elements of the Mills & Gibbons strip from 1980, based on a rejected Mills & Wagner TV pitch, collected in The Iron Legion paperback), the first of three weekly 60th anniversary Tennant/Tate specials, now on BBC iPlayer and now or soon on Disney Plus anywhere else that has Disney Plus.

(A Christmas special with Ncuti Gatwa in the lead is likely to air one month from today, but not confirmed yet.)


Previous chitchat here.

bae (sic), Saturday, 25 November 2023 21:03 (one year ago) link

we kinda thought this was trash

Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Saturday, 25 November 2023 21:29 (one year ago) link

I really loved it, not just for nostalgia, and even the bits that I rolled my eyes at (binary/non-binary) I was at least aware that it would be winding up the worst people in the world.

Andrew Farrell, Saturday, 25 November 2023 21:55 (one year ago) link

it all felt like setup

maybe we should have just waited to watch until next week

Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Saturday, 25 November 2023 21:58 (one year ago) link

There were six Tales of the TARDIS episodes.

Tsar Bombadil (James Morrison), Saturday, 25 November 2023 22:05 (one year ago) link

Fun! Liked it.

Chuck_Tatum, Saturday, 25 November 2023 22:10 (one year ago) link

Eyeroll/winding up OTM

Chuck_Tatum, Saturday, 25 November 2023 22:11 (one year ago) link

Thought this was run of the mill RTD as a story without any particular lols but otherwise doing its job and the TARDIS interior was pretty cool.

nashwan, Saturday, 25 November 2023 22:29 (one year ago) link

Agree it was run of the mill in some ways but what a relief after the last lot. And it still leaped over the low bar set by Chibnall.

Chuck_Tatum, Saturday, 25 November 2023 22:46 (one year ago) link

I am looking forward to (allegedly) however RTD lampshades Flux destroying the universe.

Chuck_Tatum, Saturday, 25 November 2023 22:50 (one year ago) link

There were six Tales of the TARDIS episodes.

I believe if you tally the six that I listed, they will add up to six

bae (sic), Saturday, 25 November 2023 23:05 (one year ago) link

four wraparound "Tales Of The TARDIS" intros

Tsar Bombadil (James Morrison), Saturday, 25 November 2023 23:19 (one year ago) link

If only I had thought to include any other words in that sentence, or post.

bae (sic), Saturday, 25 November 2023 23:25 (one year ago) link

this was fine, perhaps even good - my 11 year old watched happily (although I think he slumped over a bit during that last TARDIS chat)

was surprised by how continuity-heavy it was, i thought they might try and make a tidier jumping-on point for a new Disney audience

meat and two vdgg (emsworth), Sunday, 26 November 2023 01:29 (one year ago) link

This was great

the new drip king (DJP), Sunday, 26 November 2023 03:00 (one year ago) link

Somehow I completely missed that Rose was trans in the promo run-up; I thought they handled that very Whoishly

the new drip king (DJP), Sunday, 26 November 2023 03:02 (one year ago) link

Somehow I completely missed that Rose was trans in the promo run-up; I thought they handled that very Whoishly

the new drip king (DJP), Sunday, 26 November 2023 03:02 (one year ago) link

as someone who likes, essentially, two of RTD's first-round episodes (and hugely enjoyed or admired every piece of his output since), I went into this expecting to at best quietly respect his ability to craft broad, populist entertainment that isn't to my taste in same.

that said, twelve seconds in: omg the recap, the exposition, the emotion, what a piece of craft for that returning anniversary audience

thirteen seconds in: AN OLD DOCTOR WHO MATERIALIZED DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM CYBERDOG rusty you pop whore ilu

murray can fuck off tho

bae (sic), Sunday, 26 November 2023 07:40 (one year ago) link

12.5 seconds in: mills AND gibbons story credit IN THE OPENING TITLES heart eyes emoji

one hour later: what a delight. playing the nostalgia mystery both as a completely new riff on old-doctor-for-anniversary trope and drawing back the casual general audience. madeley/tennant chemistry not only immediately on the level of pertwee/unit (in a way the TV version of KLS never approached) but also reminiscent of the only good thing abt Partners In Crime. the meep/wrarth twist handled fantastically by both the script and Margolyes. every time I eyerolled at something being handled way too obvi, I was won over to the big emotion play within seconds. Talalay getting to play comedy in a way that suits her but she's not been given on the show before (could have been much more of this but it was still nice to see). Tate absolutely COOKING. Shaun new MVP of the family-used-as-exposition-through-character. (and after Bill looked SO like Sharon that I wondered if it even occurred to Moffatt, there are enough connex in the Sharon -> Bill -> nu-Rose sequence that it adds extra anniversary fan-candy nuance)

lol @ me: during the crawl through the terrace attics, I was like "now THIS is how you use this setting for stakes, unlike in my possible favourite ep of all time" then it being overturned TWICE in a way that would have made me go triple-aldo in the OG RTD era.

bae (sic), Sunday, 26 November 2023 07:45 (one year ago) link

and oh yeah the new TARDIS interior! I rarely care much about the revisions, but as an '80s Who baby, huge white walls that are mostly roundels FEELS "right" in a way that also pushed happy buttons for the anniversary.

bae (sic), Sunday, 26 November 2023 08:36 (one year ago) link

otoh “just let go”.

TARDIS interior was cool tho.

Fizzles, Sunday, 26 November 2023 09:30 (one year ago) link

was surprised by how continuity-heavy it was, i thought they might try and make a tidier jumping-on point for a new Disney audience

I didn't see anything of the Chibnall run but have seen all of the first RTD and the Moffat series. Is anything Chibnall necessary or advantageous to jump back in with the new specials?

Valentijn, Sunday, 26 November 2023 10:45 (one year ago) link

All you need to know is that the Doctor was a woman at one point, really

the new drip king (DJP), Sunday, 26 November 2023 11:00 (one year ago) link

(two points?)

koogs, Sunday, 26 November 2023 11:03 (one year ago) link

ha nope not required, you are well-advised to stay away from the chibnall era! new ep really only refers back to the end of the Donna run - and there are plenty of (slightly awkward) refreshers - i guess the basic setup is basic enough and simply explained - donna can’t remember the doctor - but all the extra detail and lingo was quite confusing for the very casual viewers in my house

meat and two vdgg (emsworth), Sunday, 26 November 2023 11:05 (one year ago) link

i, as usual, lost interest about 30 minutes in. and having watched a dozen or so of the old 25 minute episodes i think a large part of what's missing, for me, is the cliffhangers (along with the more digestible length)

nice to see DT back though. thought new tardis was too big if anything, not that it matters given the nature of the thing.

koogs, Sunday, 26 November 2023 11:07 (one year ago) link

murray can fuck off tho

Honestly think this guy has ruined Who far more than Chibnall. The new theme is terrible and within minutes was sick of the usual overblown score.

nashwan, Sunday, 26 November 2023 11:19 (one year ago) link

Although it was trailer-spoiled I did like the ET bit. Don't suppose there was a bit like that in the comic story so it turns out Spielberg ripped it off?

And I am looking forward to the NPH/Celestial Toymaker one honest.

nashwan, Sunday, 26 November 2023 11:29 (one year ago) link

So RTD technobabble is back in a big way huh?

This was mostly decent, Tate and Tennant are such a fun team.

i may have to watch that ending again but i don’t know how I feel about the implication that the metacrisis made Rose trans, and that was also maybe why she chose her name. (Also I don’t buy that she wouldn’t get into the Tardis with Donna and the Doctor at the end.)

Roz, Sunday, 26 November 2023 14:42 (one year ago) link

I harp about this a lot, but in his New Adventures novel, RTD had a character from the future bone a bone a gay character in the middle of a stakeout at the height of the AIDS epidemic so that the 80s character could develop HIV-immunity from an injection of 30th-century sperm so that whole denouement read to me like someone was reining RTD’s worse storytelling impulses in a bit

the new drip king (DJP), Sunday, 26 November 2023 15:50 (one year ago) link

I guess it was a blowjob rather than full-on anal but still wildly out of character

the new drip king (DJP), Sunday, 26 November 2023 16:02 (one year ago) link

holy shit

Roz, Sunday, 26 November 2023 16:17 (one year ago) link

I must have some kind of Stockholm Syndrome with Murray Gold, because although he's still very annoying, it feels much more like "real Who is back" when he's clodding over everything.

The new theme tune is multiple squares of OTT, but sort of exciting too? The original Ecclestone theme is still his best one.

My personal cringezone with New Adventures is Ace storming off at the end of "Love and War", a very terrible bit of writing (by Paul Cornell)

Chuck_Tatum, Sunday, 26 November 2023 16:39 (one year ago) link

This was merely boring instead of an immediate hate watch which is a clear improvement over the last couple seasons. 50-something minutes felt long, and some of the scenes (rescue from Chez Noble) could have been edited way down.

Rimbaud: First Blood (Leee), Sunday, 26 November 2023 16:58 (one year ago) link

I really enjoyed this

I loved the pacing, like backstory/new alium invasion/old characters/new characters; it’s all moving along on rails simultaneously in an adept way

Donna/Doctor moments were all gold, such good emotional moments throughout from all of them honestly

werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 26 November 2023 21:09 (one year ago) link

A timely reminder that once upon a time even generic Doctor Who episodes were very entertaining!

murray can fuck off tho

His action cues are no worse than standard Hollywood scores really, but when he goes for emotional or god forbid comical it's unbearable.

chap, Monday, 27 November 2023 10:56 (one year ago) link

Yeah was watching unicorn and the wasp last week. Very generic but lots of fun. It has a certain ease with just existing on simple terms, which Moffat’s period struggled with

Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 27 November 2023 12:31 (one year ago) link

when he goes for emotional or god forbid comical it's unbearable

I counted at least three scenes where I essentially thought "There's some really good acting here with stakes. Sure wish I could pay attention to it because of all the fucking sonic glop over it."

Ned Raggett, Monday, 27 November 2023 16:11 (one year ago) link

(Fun episode, I'll add.)

Ned Raggett, Monday, 27 November 2023 16:11 (one year ago) link

Also, a massive bravo for choosing his first episode back to send an unequivocal message to young trans fans.

chap, Monday, 27 November 2023 16:48 (one year ago) link

And enjoyed how Rose's identity was actually used in the plot resolution rather than just being a thing her character was (Admittedly in a slightly hokey way, but hey it's Dr Who)

chap, Monday, 27 November 2023 16:56 (one year ago) link

a LOT of oof in the resolution, but the Doctor's "oh, I do that!" re pronouns earlier was such a beast line that it outweighs anything else.

bae (sic), Monday, 27 November 2023 17:26 (one year ago) link

agree w those last three posts

Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Monday, 27 November 2023 17:35 (one year ago) link

I had a disparaging comment about RTD’s usual mode of subtlety that read as mean to unintended targets when I started typing it but suffice to say it could have been about a billion times more awful, so I’m relieved that I only ended up rolling my eyes a bit

the new drip king (DJP), Monday, 27 November 2023 17:51 (one year ago) link

xxpost yeah i liked that line !

werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 27 November 2023 17:52 (one year ago) link

Tennant is extremely comfortable in this role, it’s a joy to watch him just dominate the screen even when taking the sonic screwdriver to new levels of wtf

the new drip king (DJP), Monday, 27 November 2023 18:04 (one year ago) link

on dr who confidential there's a great bit where the writers of the original comic are visiting and DT basically interrupts to tell them how much of a fan he is

koogs, Monday, 27 November 2023 18:12 (one year ago) link

(Dave Gibbons was the artist - equally important as an author, just noting ftr.)

bae (sic), Monday, 27 November 2023 19:18 (one year ago) link

(and wagner wasn't there. yeah, was using shorthand)

koogs, Monday, 27 November 2023 20:07 (one year ago) link

I am seeing some absolutely DERANGED ranting about this harmless, charming episode, mostly centered around the “men can’t let things go” line which honestly I didn’t even register when I watched it, possibly because I was also wrangling my kids

the new drip king (DJP), Monday, 27 November 2023 21:34 (one year ago) link

and DJP otm about An Unearthly Child.

Fizzles, Thursday, 27 June 2024 17:13 (seven months ago) link

DJP OTM of course. I will say that one of the most memorable of the classic series is "Wargames" which is in TEN parts. I don't think it dragged, but the final episode is just so weird and memorable, even by modern standards.

Decam'ron (Leee), Thursday, 27 June 2024 17:20 (seven months ago) link

pgwp, my 9yo has recently been watching the old series (Tom Baker) but his dad found a list of sort of 'must-see' type episodes and is running through those. Kid LOVES them, loves the arch wit and the little clues and baddies and the basic effects. You may well find it dull for a lot of the time. He's also concurrently watched a couple of the recent Tennant/Donna ones from this year and all the Gatwa ones.

When they're good, they're really good but the dumbness pisses me off too much sometimes - like the Toymaker one, had almost psychopathic levels of disregard for any satisfying aspects to the resolution, with BOMBASTIC to compensate for it.

kinder, Thursday, 27 June 2024 18:09 (seven months ago) link

first Doctor is a bit unpleasant as he’s very grumpy - it’s hard to square with any enthusiastic seeming Dr’s you have already encountered

mr veg has never seen old Who. I rewatched Pyramids of Mars the other weekend & he sat through it and I was like “wasn’t it great?” and he was like “the story is good but it’s 2/3 just them running around or hiding”

and i was like how dare

werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 27 June 2024 18:29 (seven months ago) link

great post pgwp - really captures something good about the series. and as you say gatwa is magnetic. will revisit BOOM on your post alone as first time round i didn’t like how it looked and didn’t really enjoy it as much as some others, but yeah yr post has encouraged me to go back.

― Fizzles, Thursday, June 27, 2024 bookmarkflaglink

Well just to reiterate, you have to go into the episode feeling confident that you are watching a show for children. That's why it riled me so much - the tension caught me off guard big time because I'd never experienced another episode that tried for that tone.

But I do think the thing that will stick with me the most from this season is how mad the Doctor got at people for being religious. I don't think I've ever seen such an unapologetic pro-atheist stance on TV before.

sctttnnnt (pgwp), Thursday, 27 June 2024 19:17 (seven months ago) link

pgwp, my 9yo has recently been watching the old series (Tom Baker) but his dad found a list of sort of 'must-see' type episodes and is running through those. Kid LOVES them, loves the arch wit and the little clues and baddies and the basic effects. You may well find it dull for a lot of the time. He's also concurrently watched a couple of the recent Tennant/Donna ones from this year and all the Gatwa ones.

Perhaps such a list would be helpful, as those early series seem dauntingly long. 40+ episodes in a season. I don't think my kid will have the stamina for something like 700 episodes of Dr. Who.

sctttnnnt (pgwp), Thursday, 27 June 2024 19:19 (seven months ago) link

pgwp be extra-warned that the three-part Tribe Of Gum story that’s bundled with An Unearthly Child is one of the slowest in all of Who history. Plenty of “sampler platter” recommendation lists in other DW threads if your kid is up for jumping around to get a flavour of how the style and Doctors change over the years though!

(Especially as it’s literally impossible to watch all of it — 97 eps from the 60s are missing, and most of the 1963-73 episodes only exist in poor copies)

bae (sic), Thursday, 27 June 2024 19:20 (seven months ago) link

xp hah

bae (sic), Thursday, 27 June 2024 19:20 (seven months ago) link

or if you want to jump back to a part of the revival series that feels more "current" than the Eccleston season, Matt Smith's first episode (The Eleventh Hour / Series 5) is a great place for kids + older co-viewers to start...

bae (sic), Thursday, 27 June 2024 20:12 (seven months ago) link

I feel like I've heard so much about the David Tennant era...

sctttnnnt (pgwp), Thursday, 27 June 2024 20:39 (seven months ago) link

xxp think we started with City of Death but then he decided he wanted to watch all the Tom Baker ones so is doing that. so the list got forgotten!

kinder, Thursday, 27 June 2024 20:56 (seven months ago) link

opinions will vary, but a lot of folks here will agree that nearly every episode in Tennant's first series is kinda bad*, while even the couple of duds in Smith's first are pretty okay.

but for you two specifically, the things you didn't like about the style of Eccleston's first ep are in most of Tennant's, and his run is not written to work as a jumping-on point (that also rewards existing viewers), which Smith's first year is. if you and the son dig that one, I'd suggest a highlights run through Eccleston and Tennant before going on through Smith and Capaldi. (you personally will like Capaldi a lot, I'm guessing.)

*has one GREAT standalone, and one great one that only works if you've seen a bit of older Who before.

bae (sic), Thursday, 27 June 2024 20:57 (seven months ago) link

watching the very first episode from 1963 next is still a tops idea btw! that one is great, and will feel like time-travel in and of itself to the kid - basically taped as live in one studio, with voice-over scene transitions done by the actors simply standing off-camera... and still works as showing the origin point of where the premise of the modern show came from. but if he doesn't vibe with that one, it's probably a lost cause to try any other six-part B&W stories :)

bae (sic), Thursday, 27 June 2024 21:04 (seven months ago) link

Thank you for the advice!

sctttnnnt (pgwp), Friday, 28 June 2024 13:13 (seven months ago) link

Which one is the great standalone from Tennat’s first season? The Girl In The Fireplace?

Cemetry Gaetz (DJP), Friday, 28 June 2024 13:22 (seven months ago) link

Yeah, I think so. By a fairly clear margin actually, looking at the others.

Fizzles, Friday, 28 June 2024 13:31 (seven months ago) link

(i quite liked the satan pit iirc)

Fizzles, Friday, 28 June 2024 13:39 (seven months ago) link

I figured it had to be but even that one has its problems

Cemetry Gaetz (DJP), Friday, 28 June 2024 14:15 (seven months ago) link

Your reminder that sic is (correctly) a Love and Monsters fan.

Andrew Farrell, Friday, 28 June 2024 14:42 (seven months ago) link

(So am I, but I’d definitely hold back from recommending it to a newer viewer).

JimD, Friday, 28 June 2024 15:01 (seven months ago) link

I suspect sic was actually referring to School Reunion though.

JimD, Friday, 28 June 2024 15:03 (seven months ago) link

^ Yep.

bae (sic), Friday, 28 June 2024 16:28 (seven months ago) link

“The Eleventh Hour” is great for newcomers, I’ve converted many friends and family members to the show from it. Still the best season opener of nu-Who imo

Roz, Friday, 28 June 2024 17:29 (seven months ago) link

Ah okay yes, I can get behind School Reunion

Cemetry Gaetz (DJP), Friday, 28 June 2024 19:23 (seven months ago) link

(Fireplace as the main great one, Reunion as the one that requires at least an affection for the series in general to hit properly.)

bae (sic), Friday, 28 June 2024 20:12 (seven months ago) link

Excited for pgwp+kid to watch every Moffat-written one up to and including The Eleventh Hour frankly

nashwan, Friday, 28 June 2024 22:28 (seven months ago) link

I appreciate everyone’s advice. Apparently my son has been doing his own research and I’m letting him lead the way - so we are back to the Eccleston season as he wants to see it how it transitions into the Tennant era, which his internetting tells him is a great era.

I won’t bog this thread down with our entire watch but we are now three eps into Eccleston. We just watched “The Unquiet Dead.” When we saw a few advance scenes of this ep I said “oh this looks like it will be a creepy one like 73 Yards.” He says, without missing a beat, “yeah but remember this show is really old so it will be creepy like Indiana Jones, so it will probably actually just be funny.”

Anyway, I know my perspective is severely limited but yeesh, Eccleston does not hold a candle to Gatwa (and Rose does not hold a candle to Ruby either). Also I feel like I’m picking up on a subtle romantic tension between them which I am finding very creepy.

sctttnnnt (pgwp), Saturday, 29 June 2024 19:33 (seven months ago) link

Oh PLEASE keep giving your impressions of these stories

Cemetry Gaetz (DJP), Sunday, 30 June 2024 10:38 (seven months ago) link

concur with Dan: here's a thread for it!

direct link means you don't have to see Dan laughing about infoginas at the top. spoilers!

bae (sic), Sunday, 30 June 2024 18:15 (seven months ago) link

Ha, thanks. I had started reading that thread and find it hilarious how much folks there flipped for the show when it came out. Clearly there is a well-earned loyalty (with a degree of blindness) that comes with this show.

I’ll keep posting in this thread if folks don’t feel like I’m bombing it. I don’t plan to go on at length about every episode. I am getting more joy out of my son’s reactions than I do from the show itself, so his responses are more what drives me to share.

The latest - we watched two-parter about a group of aliens who faked an alien invasion, and I got to educate him about George Bush and Tony Blair and the completely corrupt invasion of Iraq.

sctttnnnt (pgwp), Sunday, 30 June 2024 20:27 (seven months ago) link

i love yr posts, no complaints here!

werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 30 June 2024 20:38 (seven months ago) link

Your posts are good, they form part of the weft and weave of ILX - but it makes more sense for them to go on the thread about those seasons, and not this one which is specifically not?

Andrew Farrell, Sunday, 30 June 2024 20:48 (seven months ago) link

mmm idk i don’t wanna be opening up a lot of threads, man

Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Sunday, 30 June 2024 20:55 (seven months ago) link

Haha okay I confess I didn't see that there was an 18-year gap, in my head there was one or two old Doctor Who threads, but that one was the second one (of three) that season! Here is fine.

Andrew Farrell, Sunday, 30 June 2024 20:57 (seven months ago) link

also interested in whatever updates pgwp deems worthy of offering - so strange to think that "new Who" is nearly 20 years old, if I consider that is the difference between the Five Doctors (when I was 9) and the Harnell era it blows my mind - one of those personal timeline calculations that you need to have a little lie down afterwards - like working out that the gap between now and Nirvana is the same as the distance between the Sex Pistols and Vera Lynn or whatever (possibly inaccurate calculation there)

anyway we will need something to do in this thread while we wait for Christmas or [checks notes] ...a Sea Devils spin-off? WTF?

Cognosc in Tyrol (emsworth), Sunday, 30 June 2024 22:52 (seven months ago) link

I’m sorry, a what

Cemetry Gaetz (DJP), Monday, 1 July 2024 13:30 (seven months ago) link

there's a five-episode Bad Wolf production with a working title of The War Between The Land And The Sea (phrase used by Gatwa in 73 Yards) that ppl are assuming is a UNIT vs Sea Devils miniseries. finally, Kate can finish the genocide her dad half-arsed in 1970.
.
But it hasn't shot yet, so definitely won't exist before either Christmas or RTD2S2.

bae (sic), Monday, 1 July 2024 16:47 (seven months ago) link

five months pass...

anyone watch the new xmas special

The Moffatiest Moffat to ever Moffat but i also enjoyed it & it had some v good joeks ie plunger, also LOL @ tardis being all big inside but no chairs, etc

werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 26 December 2024 07:40 (one month ago) link

i really do love Ncuti’s Doctor but my god he really does cry at the drop of a hat doesnt he

werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 26 December 2024 07:42 (one month ago) link

When it got to the end, I was staring open mouthed at the screen as the uplifting music swelled because that was some outright bleak shit they were passing off as a triumphant heartwarming ending

DJP, Thursday, 26 December 2024 14:56 (one month ago) link

Moffatt writes for Ncuti wayyyy better than RTD does imo, really enjoyed him being mean to Joy for a bit there

Roz, Thursday, 26 December 2024 15:33 (one month ago) link

Yeah, that was *not* heartwarming xpost

Also Joy tells him he needs a friend. He's made a lovely friend in Anita, so what does he do? Sends her a note telling her he's got her a job doing exactly what she already does, but in a place that's basically killed everyone across the course of the year he spent being her friend. He doesn't *deserve* a friend. He's really bad at it!

ailsa, Thursday, 26 December 2024 15:37 (one month ago) link

I did really like the “there no wrong way to save a life” line

DJP, Thursday, 26 December 2024 16:11 (one month ago) link

liked it a lot on the whole, but typical of RTD to do some unbearable weird overblown mawk at the end. Still a 6.5/10 or so.

I enjoyed the open dig at Boris Johnson, not particularly daring in late 2024, but as political as I've seen on Dr Who, especially on a Christmas episode.

bad love's all you'll get from me (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 26 December 2024 16:14 (one month ago) link

did I miss something or did the military power source that hypnotized and killed people really become the star of Bethlehem?

master of the pan (abanana), Thursday, 26 December 2024 16:15 (one month ago) link

Yeah that was the idea. Not sure if the implications are deliberate or not.

bad love's all you'll get from me (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 26 December 2024 16:17 (one month ago) link

typical of RTD

they put the writer’s name in big letters after the episode title

milms and foovies (sic), Thursday, 26 December 2024 17:28 (one month ago) link

missed the start lol

bad love's all you'll get from me (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 26 December 2024 17:30 (one month ago) link

Murray Gold just keeps getting worse and worse, he more less completely ruined this. Tempted to start watching with subs and sound off.

chap, Friday, 27 December 2024 13:20 (one month ago) link

Christmas special chart positions:

2005 -- Christmas Invasion -- 9th place
2006 -- Runaway Bride -- 10th place
2007 -- Voyage of the Damned -- 2nd place
2008 -- The Next Doctor -- 2nd place
2009 -- The End of Time Part I -- 1st place
2010 -- A Christmas Carol -- 4th place
2011 -- Wardrobe -- 3rd place
2012 -- The Snowmen -- 9th place
2013 -- Time of the Doctor -- 3rd place
2014 -- Last Christmas -- 7th place
2015 -- Husbands of River Song -- 8th place
2016 -- Doctor Mysterio -- 9th place
2017 -- Twice Upon A Time -- 9th place
(2019 -- Resolution -- 14th place)
(2020 -- Spyfall Part 1 -- 8th place)
(2021 -- Revolution of the Daleks -- 10th place)
(2022 -- Eve of the Daleks -- 26th place)
2023 -- Ruby Road -- 3rd place
2024 -- Joy to the World(s) -- 6th place

Coughlan beat King Charlie's Chat on 7-day figures.

milms and foovies (sic), Wednesday, 8 January 2025 22:04 (one month ago) link


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