Quickie Review: Doctor Who - Power of the Doctor

[Kevin M.]

So… they just don’t bother with scripts anymore? I guess the formula is just to do some nostalgic stunt-casting and ignore pesky details like story, character, or even a mild sense of continuity? --

Kevin M. (RPCV)

[David Bruggeman]

I've not been crazy about a lot of the episodes with the showrunner who ended his Who tenure with this episode, but I think a lot of the nostalgia stunt-casting for this particular item was supposed to be connected to the centenary of the BBC.

The stunt-casting continues with the next Who episodes, airing in 2023, which is the 60th anniversary of the show.  At that point we are supposed to return to regularly scheduled programming, as it were.

As for the continuity?  They've been struggling with a big part of those challenges since the end of Matt Smith's run, and did some serious retroactive continuity during Whittaker's tenure.  As one or two of the other Doctors would say - timey-wimey stuff.  The handwaving with this latest development starts with the wardrobe.

David

On Monday, October 24, 2022 at 09:21:19 PM PDT, Kevin M. <drunkba...@gmail.com> wrote:

So… they just don’t bother with scripts anymore? I guess the formula is just to do some nostalgic stunt-casting and ignore pesky details like story, character, or even a mild sense of continuity? --

Kevin M. (RPCV)

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[Adam Bowie]

I didn't mind the tip of the head to older Whovians. Tegan was very in "my" Doctor's era.

Of note, all new episodes of Doctor Who outside the UK are now going to be exclusively airing on Disney+ under a new BBC/Disney deal unveiled today. No more BBC America for new episodes then. The return of Russell T Davies and the introduction of Bad Wolf as the co-production studio suggests that they're really trying to up the level a bit. (Bad Wolf also makes the BBC/HBO series His Dark Materials).

https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/bbc-and-disney-branded-television-join-forces-on-doctor-who

No mention of previous episodes - either "new" or "classic" Who - being available on Disney+. In the UK, those rights are fairly scattered between the BBC's own iPlayer, Britbox and a random selection of other channels at any given time.

Adam

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[M-D November]

New episodes only to Disney+ in 2023; I believe rights on the back catalog still live with HBOMax...

Regarding "The Power of the Doctor" - plot-wise, it wasn't the strongest outing, although I did enjoy seeing a proper scenery-chewing Master again (replete with batshit-crazy plan). Bringing in (faux) One, Five, Six, Seven and Eight (+ the Fugitive Doctor, Tegan & Ace) was a nice nod to history and the legacy of the character (even if that legacy has gotten a little tarnished of late).  Apparently Eccleston, Smith & Capaldi weren't approached for this episode so as not to step on whatever RTD has planned for the anniversary specials next year.  Tom Baker WAS approached but couldn't do it.

[Kevin M.]

I liked seeing the early Doctors and companions, too (some from my childhood) but including them didn’t advance the story (largely because there was no story to advance). The “writer” (in sarcastic air quotes) just threw a bunch of bad guys at The Doctor. The planet in jeopardy isn’t a story… it’s always in jeopardy. 

After Clara Oswald left, I tuned out of the series. I’ve watched one or two episodes since, but the story quality was not enough to keep me interested.

I almost wish they’d set the next Doctor more in the ‘60s or ‘70s than the present day, even borrowing stories from the early years of the series, retold with better effects, continuity, and acting. Make the Doctor trapped on Earth working for UNIT again. Or something that forces the character to adapt. 

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--

Kevin M. (RPCV)

[M-D November]

Clara was never my favorite companion, but I didn't loathe her as much as I did, say, Rose Tyler. Her exit and Capaldi's final run as Twelve coincided with the birth of my kids, and I don't think you need to be a Timelord to figure out that shrieking Daleks and newborns don't mesh very well, so I was in and out of that last series.  Tuned in for Thirteen's regeneration and first couple of episodes, but something about Chibnall's version of the show just didn't agree with me or hold my interest.  All that being said, I still haven't forgiven RTD for his terrible treatment of Donna Noble (who, along with Rory & Amy and Sarah Jane, belong on the all-time list of great companions), but I'm willing to give him a shot.

[Brad Beam]

From: tvor...@googlegroups.com [mailto:tvor...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of M-D November

>Clara was never my favorite companion, but I didn't loathe her as much as I did, say, Rose Tyler. Her exit and Capaldi's final run as Twelve coincided with the birth of my kids, and I don't think you need to be a Timelord to figure out that shrieking Daleks and newborns don't mesh very well, so I was in and out of that last series.  Tuned in for Thirteen's regeneration and first couple of episodes, but something about Chibnall's version of the show just didn't agree with me or hold my interest.  All that being said, I still haven't forgiven RTD for his terrible treatment of Donna Noble (who, along with Rory & Amy and Sarah Jane, belong on the all-time list of great companions), but I'm willing to give him a shot.

 

Unpopular opinion ahead: I don’t like Ten.

 

Don’t get me wrong, David Tennant is a fantastic actor. But I found his characterization to be grandly self-centered, culminating in the final thirty minutes of his final episode – after he’s been mortally wounded – companion-gazing. I may have yelled “Just regenerate already!” at the TV.

 

I’m withholding judgment on Fourteen.

[M-D November]

Brad - you're not wrong.  The "Victory Lap" specials that aired in 2008-09 really futzed with how Tennant played the character (and how the character looked at the universe around him); I suppose this might have been a logical reaction after "Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End" and how things were left with Donna (which...grrrrrr...f*ck you RTD) but it was just SUCH a hard turn from the way Tennant had played the character to that point.  By the time we got to "The End of Time"...yeah, I was wanting to just see him regenerate already too, although I think having an entire adventure with Wilf re-grounded the character for Tennant's swan-song (or so we thought).