WHOCHURCH: The Chris Chibnall era

Thinking about Chibnall's villains, so far they've been: Dinosaurs, Spiders, The Predator, A Man in a Tent, and, er, Racism.

Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Planet of the Spiders, The Time Warrior (ok, I'm reaching), Mind of Evil, The Mutants.

The Man, in his Suit and Tie

Colony In Space

I actually liked this episode more than any of the previous ones... The plot was still full of holes, and kinda fizzled out in the end, but the interaction between the entire extended cast worked nicely. Obviously it was still far below the best episodes of the previous seasons, but I guess meandering plots with good character moments are the best we're gonna get from Chibnall, so best not set your hopes too high.

This was the third time in the first four episodes where the bad guy isn't defeated in any conclusive way but just disappears from the picture. (Four out four if you count the tent guy from episode 2, but he wasn't really the antagonist there.) So either Chibnall has real trouble working his "the Doctor doesn't kill" (except for sentient towels) approach into proper endings, which I guess is possible, or he's planning something bigger for all these villains. This time it felt even more obvious than with Tim Shaw or Krasko that Mr. Not-Trump was set to return..

(Voiceover: Chris Noth is not set to return to Doctor Who)

Oh, ok? Then the was a really weak ending.

Btw, it felt like this was the first episode in a looong time, where the story is set on present-day Earth, and Monster of the Week was neither aliens nor some kind of supernatural beings, rather than your good old-fashioned science monsters. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that's happened since the third season episode where Mark Gatiss turned into a mutant manticore?

this episode was the best since the restart. Tuomas on the money about Chibnall's problem with the problem of killing. there were all sorts of *issues* with the episode, but it was v enjoyable. the things that bothered me slightly was what the hell happens to all the other mutant spiders in Sheffield. It felt like a problem half solved. I was down with the mercy killing of the giant asthmatic spider *or would you just rather watch it suffer as it dies, Doctor*. But I think the thing that bothered me *most of all* was the goddam title, 'Arachnids in the UK'. Is it a not-even-a-pun on Anarchy in the UK? Why its incredible lack of any sort of attempt at poetry? it feels like the thing you write down when you're brainstorming ideas. Am I missing something? So when the title's the most annoying thing about an episode then it's probably ok.

Oh, but

Chibnall's inability to come up with a creative conclusion to his episodes makes the Doctor seem a bit cruel and useless. < this and yes what's with all the villains just sort of scampering off at the end? Are they all going to appear in the final episode and go SURPRISE!

Yeah, if the bad guy of this episode wasn't set up to return later, then at the very least the Doctor should've done something similar to what she did to Harriet Jones in "The Christmas Invasion", as it was pretty obvious he hasn't learned any kind of lesson and is going to continue abusing his power. If this really was the last we saw of him, then the ending was either incredibly inconclusive or pointlessly cynical for Doctor Who.

actually pretty excited by the idea that these second-division gomer villains might return en masse for a season anticlimax

doctor who and the cosmic bathos (aka "the pandora prolapses")

First enjoyable episode! As mentioned, nonsensical plot with a dumb conclusion, but the Doctor being weird and companions getting fleshed out made this the most Whovian episode of this regime.

The thing about the spider being too big to breathe is actual science fact.

Yeah, I remember learning that fact from Animal Man, maybe Chibnall did too?

I'd bet Animal Man's Grant Morrison learned it from this:
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTD8No7yxIv1PTggX5lJPyJgwvhz1HhyBF0G_YSYwLfus3DLYJ4jA

this was only ok. as was the rosa parks episode which would have been better without the awful song. the historical innacuracies about Parks bugged me (it was an organized and planned event, etc...ok my kid went to a school named for Rosa Parks so I know this shit in and out, I guess I can forgive others for not following it slavishly) and yes, it did feel like quantum leap (which is a show I liked). Really hoping the stories improve soon; I like the cast, I like the pacing, I like Jodie Whitaker, but they all seem like B- stories so far.

Actually becoming part of events to ensure things happen as history recorded it, good idea for a show that.

which would have been better without the awful song

you mean Rise Up by Andra Day, the Black Lives Matter anthem? yeah terrible choice for a story about Rosa Parks. and on a show like Doctor Who, defined by an understated, restrained approach to pathos.

Point: f. hazel

It's been getting better every episode! Until today. That was shit.

The Pting and the need for it to be more of a thing.

I must have missed it but the remaining doctor said there was an important thing about the man giving birth that everyone needed to know which she then didn't tell anybody as far as I heard. (My money was on him being the first man to give birth to a girl.)

it was an organized and planned event

I'd be interested in reading more about this, there was a discussion about it in my house after the episode, and everything I could find said it was her choice on the day that it happened on that day - but that it had happened before and would probably have happened soon with someone anyway.

I see that after seeing they can do delicate history delicately, they've doubled-down with the next episode's subject.

I am reasonably resigned to the fact that a generic Chibnall episode will be a bunch of setpieces hammered together along with some terrible "let me read out my character sheet" speeches, and tbh I'm alright because he and the actors get the crew right.

I think this even more than ever after the current episode - all of the actors were good and charming, but it read like Chibnall had literally written one draft - there are ways to dump info about anti-matter or Ryan's dad that make the later stuff make sense without demonstrating the world's worst time management.

I though the actors were non-charming today, especially the pregnant guy and Jodie Whitaker, who walked around hunchbacked the entire episode for some reason. It felt like the most panto Doctor Who performance since Sylvester McCoy's first season.

The dialogue was super-cringe too - this weird mix of quotidian smalltalk, sci-fi formality and fake chumminess - everyone sounds like the regrettably blokey head of your HR team.

someone needs to explain to chibnall what a galaxy is.

It's been getting better every episode! Until today. That was shit.

― Chuck_Tatum

nope, still loved it. chibnall pulls in every goddamn cliche in the book, and it's absolutely glorious. 45 minutes of a spaceship blowing up? yeah, absolutely. this episode was great in the same sense that "the edge of destruction" was great. i haven't loved the show this much since 2005. my favorite was the bit where the doctor took a minute out of the episode to explain anti-matter. watching this show is so much nonstop fun!

Pting is Stitch from Lilo & Stitch in appearance, demeanor, ability, and reputation.

I thought the episode was fine. Chibnall is still weak on structure, but there were a lot of ideas in here and some of them worked, without any of them conflicting. Good enough.

haven't made it to the credits yet but ginger preggo bloke looks like Chibnall

yeah, I dug this one, was better than the first two episodes no doubt

the incidental music continues to delight me

also: next 4! episodes written by not Chibnall

Chibnall is still weak on structure, but there were a lot of ideas in here and some of them worked, without any of them conflicting. Good enough.

― adam the (abanana)

i wouldn't even say he's necessarily bad on structure, it's just that his episodes clearly aren't finely constructed machines the way moffat's episodes are. i mean constructing plausible plots enacted by characters with internally consistent motivations is, i would say, a good thing, but blowing something up every couple minutes so i either don't notice or don't care that the fundamental basis of the episode makes no sense is just as fun (if not actually more fun). it's no less a high-wire act than moffat - with moffat, it's "how is he going to either resolve or plausibly fail to resolve this ridiculous puzzle box he's constructed", and with chibnall it's "how is he going to keep most of us from noticing and/or caring that his entire plot is gibberish?" he's great at this, and is getting better - "42" was one of my least favorite episodes of season 3, but i loved this iteration of it.

i hated this ep with every fiber of my being

Pilot’s Heart.
PILOT’S HEART.

http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/nawww.gif

and that thing looked like an adipose + slitheen with teeth 👎🏻

I though Pilot's Heart made a lot of sense as a colloquial name for Myocardial Awesomitis or whatever the technical term would be - in the style of Tennis Elbow or Nursemaid's, er, Elbow.

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

And it seems like this is the point where modern fandom goes binary, with people being called out as misogynist on twitter for saying this episode was less than brilliant.

I thought is was good enough as a filler nu-who episode. No worse than Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS, the Sontaran two-parter from the Tennant era, a Mark Gatiss episode or anything after their first appearance featuring River Song, Clara or the Weeping Bloody Angels. I've also realised I remember virtually nothing about the last series - it started off with the space girl in a puddle, then there was a Victorian ice fair with a monster underneath. There was something about a pyramid and Capaldi went blind after reading a book then... there was a Gatiss Ice Warrior Zulu thing and the Master/Cyberman finale (which I think the first part of which was great and the second half a dreadful mess iirc).

I'm being slightly unfair to Gatiss, I think I liked the sleep monster one with Reece Shearsmith.

I am of course blotting out the Tennant episodes featuring 1an Lev1n3 and the Scribble Monster.

My feeling is there has been a conscious effort to make it For Kids this series. Pretty sure the Pting (which I liked) will be back to munch something else in a more helpful way later on.

the first 35 minutes of the 14n L3vine one are the best RTD episode ever

having watched Society (1989) for the first time tonight, I might rate some of the last ten minutes a little higher if I ever watch them again, too

It's those last 10 minutes though and ending on a joke about face-fucking a sentient paving slab is definitely Not For The Kids.

I always feel sorry for the Blue Peter winner, who had this great Katamari-esque idea and ended up with Peter Kaye in a fat(ter) suit.

My feeling is there has been a conscious effort to make it For Kids this series.

Weirdly I feel it's less for actual kids, more like A Teenager's Intro To Basic Sci-Fi so far.

And although I agree the Pting will probably be back to save the Doctor in the finale somehow, there is a clear trend of them introducing a character or two every week you feel like we haven't seen the last of.

I really liked the dronebot guy even though he barely did anything, relieved he didn't turn out to be a cliched threat to the humans himself.

And again the set design/production aesthetics were really strong. Just a shame nothing else is still not on their level yet.

I'm not sure about the "it's for kids now" defence whenever the show gets dumb. But I'm glad it's toned down the grimness since the first episode (when you could hear the offscreen sound of a jaw being broken, twice!)

And it seems like this is the point where modern fandom goes binary, with people being called out as misogynist on twitter for saying this episode was less than brilliant.

I mean, I'm sure this happened at some point last night, but I can't find any at all - some people do seem to like it a lot more than me, granted.

If anything I thought there might be some ire over the binary nature of men giving birth to boys and women girls, according to the male human-looking character. Didn't see the value of that detail.

A lot of it seems confined to DMs with some people prefacing criticism with "don't @ me" but

do you hate doctor who for reasons other than 13 being a woman? don't be silly, of course you hate it for that sole reason, SEXIST

— arbrax (@arbrax) November 4, 2018

is a mild open version

Maybe it's just something 'everybody knows happens' when it actually doesn't? A lot of people seemingly with no axe to grind saying it does though, including one NuWho writer.

I didn't like Ryan persuading the dad to keep the kid. That seemed like terrible, conservative advice

Another big relief was that I feared the Pting might prefer the 'energy' of a newborn baby and the love for it over the bomb, and/or the love would be too strong and subdue the Pting permanently.

I loved it right after the Pting ate the exploded bomb and its expression and belly glowing red, like me after I eat an entire pizza, so happy and then... back into the cold vacuum of America

And it seems like this is the point where modern fandom goes binary, with people being called out as misogynist on twitter for saying this episode was less than brilliant.

― Bimlo Horsewagon became Wheelbarrow Horseflesh (aldo)

definitely a shame (non-binary is where it's at), but i'm impressed that open fan war took this long - it was obvious to me at least that, chibnall being chibnall, and 2018 being 2018, fan war was inevitable. personally i'm less committed to fighting for chibnall's vision of who than i am to trying to understand why i _like_ it so damn much.

i'm impressed that open fan war took this long

this is definitely the first time in history that dr who fans have ever said that other, unspecified dr who fans disagree with yet some other unspecified dr who fans about dr who

I'm not actually sure I agree with aldo which way that tweet faces tbh.

the character development is a big issue however

and i miss murray gold ok

— arbrax (@arbrax) November 4, 2018

I didn't like Ryan persuading the dad to keep the kid. That seemed like terrible, conservative advice

I dunno, there are a lot of issues that the scenario brings up - is a single dad treated differently to a single mum? - is the speedy gestation part of plot cover to not mention abortion? - how would a race that requires a cesarean evolve? And I'm happy with Chris Chibnall not answering any of these, and making a show where Futurama's Nibbler terrorises the crew for an hour and then Ryan refuses to fistbump Graham.

Which is to say that I don't think it was intended to play like that.

and i miss murray gold ok

HERETIC

And it seems like this is the point where modern fandom goes binary, with people being called out as misogynist on twitter for saying this episode was less than brilliant.

i mean, this whole series has bored the absolute living shit out of me. it's the least fun i can remember having with doctor who, and two of the companions are (to me at least) completely dull and have no charisma whatsoever. but the doctor and the woman whose name i can't remember are easily my favourite things about the series.