WHOCHURCH: The Chris Chibnall era

Yeah I thought that was meant to indicate that time wasn’t really a linear concern anymore

i thought the timy wimeyness was an excuse to for some character building but then dan and yaz had scenes where nothing happens.

all characters talk the same way so any character can be any other character.

For all my bitching, I should acknowledge my 8yo daughter is loving this, and that is how you create new Whovians.

Time to show her some highlights of Saward (Chibnall's formative era) and then get her properly into Sylv 'n' Soph!

There's an utterly fanwanky rumour doing the rounds this morning that has been dismissed by all corners as ludicrous and I would piss myself if it turns out to be true because I can just about see it and don't expect any better of Chinballs.

Aw c’mon you gotta share

Ok...

That the actual regeneration was Capaldi into Jo Martin but due to some unknown future trauma there are false memories about which Doctor did which stories and that's why Jodie can't remember Jo and glitches into her in the last ep.

So Jodie is a Doctor from *some point * in the future - might even be the next one but will be short lived.

You've got to admit, it would be a hilarious end to this series to see Jo regenerate into Jodie, only for her to regenerate again in the specials. It's actually that part that makes me most think it could have a grain of truth, that some writers could imagine that as an "I'm an AMAZING WRITER <mic drop>" finale.

it would also be an extremely cheap way to get the credit for making the doctor a black woman, like bond making a black woman into 007 for approximately 1.5 hours

This week set a new record for the lowest AI score ever received by Doctor Who: 75.

(Flux ep 1 equalled the previous record, 76, previously given to Love & Monsters. Last week bounced up to 77. Nu-Who has only had 13 episodes rate below 80; ten of those are from the last 21 aired.)

i have a 12 yo and a 10 yo and neither of them have even mentioned this series to me, i don’t think they’re aware it’s on.

A friend's teenage boys are pretty into it. My brother ignored it entirely when I first watched in the late 80s. One thing I'll say for it so far is the show doesn't look like it was at all affected by the pandemic (apart from the typography department).

Football sticker wall chart: collect them all!

https://i.imgur.com/28mogZq.jpg

(screen doctors only)

If there was a competition for most doctors introduced, would Chibnall win it?

After Jodie I don't know #2 and #3. Is #2 the beekeeper?

Mr Popplewick from Trial, and Dr Moon from Silence in the Library (who apparently Moffatt intended to be River's memories of "her" Doctor, the 45th. then he forgot all about it until RTD told him in an interview how much RTD loved and still thought about the idea).

most Doctor competition:

Chibnall has ten by this fan's chart ^^, but dozens or hundreds more implied.
Hinchcliffe and Holmes have eight, including themselves
Moffat has five Fatal Death doctors, plus Smith, Jones, Hurt, the Curator and Capaldi for ten - but you could count the second Tenth Doctor retcon, the kid from Listen, and David Bradley, if you want.
JNT has Davison, The Watcher, Colin, the Valeyard, Popplewick and McCoy. Throw in Meglos Tom if you like.

RTD put a bunch of bonus, Timeless Child-inspired Doctors into the novelisation of Rose, on top of Eccleston, Tennant, Tennant, Tennant and Tennant.

Everyone else only gets one telly Doctor, I think?

Like the fact they've included three versions of the first Doctor and Peter Cushing - although if they were being that specific they could've included the Edmund Warwick version as he was technically a screen Doctor (he doubled for Hartnell in one episode after the latter had an accident and couldn't appear).

I like the idea of having one First Doctor with his back turned on the chart. But then you'd have to add Terry Walsh after both Pertwee and Tom, and probably dozens of nu-who stuntmen.

Needs David Burton standing next to his car.

This was enjoyable...mostly good even. Just something still lacking from the Doc and companions in all this.

a competent chapter that didn't answer its own mysteries

it's good when characters have distinct personalities and the words aren't the first cliches that pop into the writer's head

Yeah, Yas was holding the relay baton this week, so it's Dan's turn to say "what's that?"

The idea that the Timelord's Dirty Tricks Squad also included a Weeping Angel was good, (as was the cliffhanger) but he can't leave well enough alone, so we're told that Division is all of them and everywhere and everyone.

Also good work from the supporting cast in general, including a giffer to love and a giffer to hate.

(The polygraph drawing an angel is another of these "it's a good idea but only if you connect it to something else in the script" moments)

Bah, Timelords', though who knows - we may find out in two weeks' time that they're all actually The Doctor after all.

I'd like to see an Angel try to travel from paper it's recorded on but then get stuck because the drawing is too shit.

I REALLY enjoyed "Let's set the paper on fire" / "Oh shit now the angel is on fire"

Yeah that was great

That was a good one, and not even in a surpassing-low-expectations kind of way. Siege done well!

Agree that the show’s weakest points are the three leads. On the other hand - really great supporting cast this week. I was really rooting for Jericho, and I can’t remember feeling that engaged by a character before in Chibnall’s run. Gotta start somewhere!

Also, I love episodes that end with “your dramatic resolution is… things get even worse”

I kinda quite like Dan because he hasn't gone full on "everything makes sense and I'm going with it", it's good to have a companion whose default reaction is basically an entirely understandable "WTF?".

The very final scene (shot even) - and ignoring the mid-credits stuff (for which around the stripped down version of the theme was also a nice touch) - really was the best bit here, much as it was with Chibnall's first episode as gaffer (Doc and her newfound crew floating in space). He's alright at these (I realise this ep was a co-write so credit to Maxine Alderton also). Ten years since their last proper story but for all the obvious flaws (cool cool you can transcend media but have you ever thought about just not being made of stone and moving while observed) the Angels do make a badass iconic monstah. What's next week? oh, a fucking Ood again.

It is extremely odd/disorienting to be watching a season of Chibnall Who and to be genuinely enjoying it without being massively overgenerous in ignoring its flaws

ok ok i'm sold

Oh dear oh dear oh dear. Maybe the worst single show he's ever written.

Kevin McInally, on the other hand, is the best actor on it in years. I wish we could keep him.

The doctor is the most important person in the universe. Earth is the most important planet in the universe. Dot probably made UNIT to destroy the universe. The Doctor's mom, Tekwaroon, wants to destroy the universe. Historical figure of the week did it all to save everyone in the universe. The villain is the most powerful being in or outside of the universe.

I laughed when Yaz created a message visible in space with two buckets of white paint. And it's on both sides of the great wall of china because of the canard that it's visible from space, meaning anything beside the wall will also be visible.

The timelords said nobody is allowed to change history but The Division did anyway so The Doctor is cross with them, and the timelords said nobody is allowed to change history but The Doctor did anyway so The Division is cross with her?

Was it previously set up that every time period got changed on a Halloween? That seems like something important but also something that Chibnall didn't fully think through.

It's time for Chibnall to make a formal apology to Pip and Jane Baker

Absolutely typical to introduce two characters in a story, one with an interesting background and and played by a decent actor (Jericho), and one whose entire character consists of the word 'Scouse', and go with the second one as the companion.

well he won't be around for long, thank god.
Already annoying.
Do wonder what the next iteration of the Doctor is going to be like.
& would have preferred o have Jodie Whittaker used properly.

Nobody intentionally introduced shaky scenery as a return to the roots yet?

As with the previous episodes, I enjoyed it more whenever The Doctor was offscreen - It looked like it was setting up a younger-viewer-friendly spinoff with Yas, Dan and Jericho for most of the episode, and I'd have been fine with that.

I was very 0_o about The Doctor warning Yas (Yas!) about the serious danger of incoming murderous refugees.

doctor who fucks

the whole family sat down to watch the first two episodes of this season and they were very loud. sort of an unusual mix of chaotically confusing and simple-minded

It’s bad but it’s still fun so I’m happy this season

I mean, it’s abysmal in many ways, but this is the most fun the show’s been since the Bill season, so I’m basically happy

Oops double messaged

I feel that way about Hartnell too.

Another “evil monologuing genius who can’t run away from an obvious threat” moment

This episode was more like the Chibnall I’ve come to expect

it really did remind me of the last bit of Trial of a Timelord - the cod-Victorian stuff, the sense of making it up on the fly - but also that very particular flavour of "oh I really don't think they should be doing this with the mythology"

like all that shit with the Doctor's mother? WTF? lamentable.