Posts Tagged ‘doctor who’

Doctor Who: Six Points About the New Series Or Why It’s Worth Your Time Again.

Posted: June 2, 2024 by datechguy in doctor who, entertainment
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I haven’t really done any reviews of the Ncuti Gatwa Doctor Who episodes and I frankly don’t have time to do a full review today but as someone who walked away from the series after Capaldi I want to comment on the season so far today (and I’ll cover this week’s episode later this week) because I think people who are skipping it are missing out.

Point 1: Chibnall clearly isn’t the boss anymore:

I’ve been watching these episodes with my oldest son who unlike me watched all the Chibnall era episodes. As he put it the worst of the episodes to this date is leaps and bounds over the best of the Chibnall era. For me as some who discovered the show in 1976 and watched it regularly since about 78 you can clearly see that the writing and the plotting have improved. Davies being Davies has of course inserted his agenda into the show but that was true and recognizable from the moment the show was revived. The point was can he do so without overwhelming the story. For the most part he has succeeded. These are solid stories, as always some better than others but are clearly recognizable as Doctor Who stories.

Point 2: Gatwa works as the Doctor

I’ve seen plenty of Doctors over the years the two best being hands down Tom Baker and Matt Smith (Tennant is good but VERY over rated). It took a couple of episodes but Gatwa clearly has reached the point where he carries himself as the Doctor. Frankly the early episodes didn’t do him a lot of favors as the first three (The Church at Ruby Road, Space Babies and the Devil’s Chord were, meh) but Boom clearly established him as the Doctor and while 73 yards was a classic Doctor lite story but by that time you clearly saw him as The Doctor. That’s what you really have to do to carry this role, be clearly recognizable as the Doctor while still carrying your own Doctor’s traits. He has pulled that off. I think Davies would have done better to have the regeneration (or bi-generation Trauma) and perhaps that’s reflected in some early weakness (more on that later) but so far so good.

Point 3: Millie Gibson is more than adequate.

It seems to me that they have made Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday very strong right at the start which was overcompensating but the character has really worked. The proving ground was 73 yards, the Doctor lite episode. We got to see how traveling with the Doctor (even briefly) has affected her and watched her grow. That to me was the strength of the episode not the lack of Gatwa who as I have already said, had established himself as the Doctor by that time. From what I hear they are already getting ready to dump her and I think this is a mistake as the primary goal of this season is to reestablish the show as something worth watching and Gibson is worth watching

Point 4. The elephants in the (script) room.

A lot of people have written off the series because of the agenda thrown in their faces and we saw plenty of that during the specials and there is agenda here. As I already noted the Davies has been pushing his agenda since day 1 in 2005 but the agenda hasn’t been the boss of the show, at least not yet. As long as the agenda doesn’t get in the way of the actual stories I’m willing to put up with it. There are also those who hate that Davies hasn’t reversed the timeless child stuff, spoiler alert. That isn’t going to happen here and never was in the cards and won’t be until it hurt them financially and with Disney paying the bills that not likely. I simply ignore the references and remember rule #1 The Doctor Lies.

Point 5: Big Finish influences

Those of you who don’t listen to the big finish audios might miss it but there seems to be a ton of big finish influences in this series. Over and over I spot things from audios that I seem to recognize (elder Gods, relatives of the Toymaker for example) . This is not surprising as they have been doing Doctor Who for 26 years and doing it well so it’s natural that you would have some stuff bleeding over even if it’s not all considered canon. Given the quality of the Big Finish work this is a positive rather than a negative. I don’t know if this is deliberate or unconscious but either way it makes the show better.

Point 6: Irony Irony Irony Conservative Messages All Over the Place

One of the things that has been really amusing has been that the Davies crowd is so wrapped up in the agenda that they are missing things that I’m seeing. The latest episode is the best example of this but I’ll save that for my review later this week. Today let’s hit a few today from the prior ones

  • In the Space babies episode there is a scene where the intelligent babies suggest there is something wrong with them, but the Doctor reassures them they are good just as they are. While our agenda friends thought they were dunking there actually they dunked on themselves because that is an explicit message against transitioning kids. You are great JUST AS YOU ARE
  • In the Devil Chord episode the idea of pushing a Trans character was big, in fact SO excited were they missed what said character was. Or to put it another way: The same guy who was all bent out of shape having a handicapped person as the murderous Davros had no problem at all as a clearly trans character as an evil murderous elder God out to pervert and destroy not just the world but culture and joy.
  • In 74 yards I really liked how the Welsh noted how many in England still think of them (shades of Boomtown). More importantly the episode shows how the Doctor changes others in the sense that they see what’s in front of them and act. More on that later this week when we hit Dot and Bubble but that’s constant theme is there.
  • And of course in the Church at Ruby Road we celebrate foster parents, the idea that a kid is worthwhile even if said kid is not wanted. That the entire basis for the pro-life movement which I suspect few if any of those involved in product embrace.

Again I’m going to cover Dot and Bubble separately but to sum up. This season of Doctor Who is worth your while not because of the woke stuff so far but despite it. Granted we don’t know if it will turn on a dime but at least to this point, I must say the Doctor is back and he’s been missed.

Episode ranking as I see it (not including specials nor Dot and Bubble which I’ll review this week)

  1. 73 Yards ***** Solid episode
  2. Boom ****1/2 Nice basic plot
  3. The Church on Ruby Road **** OK doctory intro
  4. Space Babies **** Not bad but not great
  5. The Devil’s Chord ***1/2 Interesting villain but wasted potential with weak resolution & lousy ending.

(spoiler alert the top spot on that list will change this week)

Oh and let me re-iterate that per my son all of these are better than anything since Capaldi.

Five Sunday Morning Thoughts Under the Fedora, A good sign, Colin Baker Disease, an unintentionally comical take, Cat Lady Candidate and Hey Elon What about Stacy McCain?

Posted: May 19, 2024 by datechguy in catholic, catholic devotions, doctor who, media
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I mentioned yesterday that my sons were taking me to the Tycoon Arcade in Manchester yesterday, I’ll have a video and write-up later in the week but I want to mention something on the side.

We all figured we needed confession and fortunately there was a Catholic Church Ste Marie’s right across the street a very French Canadian Parish.

Not only is the church incredibly beautiful, not only does the parish have 24-7 adoration and a parish school but when we got there we had to wait because there was a long line for confession including a nun properly dressed as a Nun.

Catholic Pro-tip. As a general rule if you see a line for confession you know that’s a parish to consider joining no matter what the AP thinks.

Despite the RIP Doctor who stuff out there I decided I was going to check out the first three new episodes. I’ll review them properly later but I wanted to mention a common theme that all of them suffered from. You could call it Colin Baker disease.

When the 6th Doctor was first introduced the showrunner at the time decided they wanted to make him disagreeable and then eventually win the audience over. They managed the first but not the so much the second to the point where they ended up firing him.

Of course this was the same issue with Whitaker but they didn’t dare fire the first woman Doctor and it goes without saying they won’t do that to the first black gay doctor.

Looking at the three episodes as a group it’s almost as if they really haven’t figured out who or what this Doctor is, only that he is

  1. The inferior to his companion
  2. Part of an agenda

This in my opinion has severely weakened the stories I’ve seen, there are flashes of both Davies and Moffat but you get the feeling they’re there strictly to try to bail out the merchandizing sales because Disney has already provided the cash.

On the bright side my oldest who actually watched the Whitaker years informs me that all three episodes are superior to anything from the Chibnall era. Talk about damning with faint praise.

Speaking of people from British TV John Cleese tweeted out something unintentionally funny yesterday

Now it goes without saying that Cleese is not only highly intelligent but one of the great comic genius in the history of mankind but I have to say that the joke is on him here.

I understand that he REALLY dislikes President Donald Trump but as this is an election between him and President Joe Biden but if your goal is to convince people that Mr. Biden is the better choice making an argument comparing either their mental facilities or physical facilities for that matter just might not be the wisest course of action.

This isn’t a parliamentary system where the party can just choose another head or perhaps he thinks the Democrats will plan on having someone else at the top of their ticket who is younger by the time election day rolls around.

Speaking of Dumb Takes I see Laura Loomer decided to attack Dana Loesch for having supported Ron DeSantis in the primaries and suggesting that she should not be a speaker at conservative events over it.

It’s one thing to think Trump was a superior choice to DeSantis, people I respect like Don Surber had that opinion and there are credible arguments that could be made in that direction. It’s another to label anyone who didn’t have Trump has their first choice as “dick riders” particularly someone like Loesch who was fighting the good fight for conservative causes before Loomer was out of school.

Trump was always my 2nd choice for President among the candidates and I’m happy to support him this time around not because of folks like Loomer but despite them.

This girl has future as a cat lady written all over her.

Finally while I don’t think much of Miss Loomer I do agree that she was improperly banned from twitter and my tastes aside deserved to be restored to the site.

That being said can anyone explain why Robert Stacy McCain is still banned?

Stacy McCain was along with Milo one of the first conservatives banned from the site for the crime of quoting liberals in their own words. Pretty much what libs of Tic Tock Does only without videos. I theorized at the time that he was the test case to see if it could be done without trouble and sure enough the wave of conservative banning followed before the last election.

With the coming of the age of Musk many of those who were banned have been restored but for reasons still unknown Robert Stacy McCain who was doing shoe leather reporting before Laura Loomer was born still has not.

This has cost Stacy money and exposure which prevents him from raising the funds needed to go on the road as he has in the past. Of course with a bunch of grandchildren and being of retirement age perhaps life at home is more comfortable, but seriously, wouldn’t the coverage of both the Biden & Trump campaigns along with key congressional races be a whole lot better with Stacy on the ground in the districts giving an eye witness account of what is going on?

I think it would be but the only way that happens is with a full tip jar and the best way for that to happen is to restore him to his rightful place on Twitter/X

Over to you Elon.

Doctor Who The Giggle Review (Spoilers near the end)

Posted: December 10, 2023 by datechguy in doctor who, entertainment
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Plot: Earth is going crazy the people are completely polarized can the Doctor, Donna and Unit save the day from one of the Doctor’s oldest foes? Or will he need some help.

Writing: Given Davies statement about pissing off fans I expected the absolute worst from this episode. I’ve never been so pleasantly surprised in my life. This had just about everything. A solid villain, old friends and a bunch of twists and turns to keep you guessing. It seemed both longer than it was and shorter than it should have been and while some of the things seemed recycled it still worked. The penultimate twists I’ll deal with at the end to try to minimize spoilers but put simply, everything worked. If h

Acting: I will be very disappointed if we don’t see Neil Patrick Harris as the Toymaker again, he did his best to steal every scene he was in. Jemima Redgrave’s Kate Stewart was excellent and her performance invoked memories of Nick Courtney (more on that later) Bonnie Lankford was a pleasant surprise and the potential of her Mel as a reoccurring character bodes well. Tennant and Tate continued to shine as for the newest member of the cast, well to steal a line from the 1st Doctor he did well, quite well, perhaps the future is in safe hands.

Best Moment: Lot’s to choose from here but being an old Doctor Who guy I’ll say the reuniting of the Doctor and Mel and her giving the story of coming back to earth.

Worst Moment: The Doctor’s speech inviting the Toymaker to travel with him seemed completely recycled from his offer to the Master back in Davies first run.

Annoying moment: This is going to sound odd but unless I missed something there was no apparent reason for the Doctor to realize where the Toymaker’s shop was or where the doll came from.

That’s a shame moment: The realization that Bernard Cribbins didn’t live enough to finish the scenes for this one.

Fun Moment: Donna’s job offer and the negotiation

Nostalgia Moment(s): Return of Mel, Kate Stewart blazing away, the toy store invoked the 8th Doctor Big Finish story Solitaire when the Toymaker fights Charlie in a toyshop. The tooth being picked up like the ring and the list of adventures.

The What’s the Hell’s going on? Moment: That line was seen an awful lot in the last year we finally saw it in action

The “I’ll tell you when Big Finish is canon or not” Moment: There have been at least 3 toymaker stories in Big Finish, one with the 6th that I’ve not heard, one with the 7th with Ace & Hex that was Ok and a companion chronicles with the 8th and Charlie Pollard that was first rate. This episode suggests none of those take place, in fact the very plot of this episode is dependent on them not taking place, although technically on the 8th doctor adventure it’s Charlie not the Doctor who wins the game. So maybe that cancels out the 7th doctor’s win to keep the score even.

The “Where’s Osgood?” moment: Osgood missing from Unit at that moment would seem odd, but then again the resolution might have been too much for her inhaler.

Don’t think for a moment that I didn’t notice: While the Toymaker was going through Smith & Capaldi’s companions none of the companions from the Whitaker era got a mention. Remember Davies was brought on for the 60th anniversary to stop the bleeding of the Whitaker era I suspect that while he’s going to embrace the new canon to show whose boss 13th Doctor instead of being lovingly called “Doctor Karen” is now going to be “She who must not be named.”

The Elephant in the Room Part 3: Are we expected to believe that the Doctor made a trip with Mel to the gilded age and with Donna’s kid to the moon and there was absolutely no alien invasion or deadly menace that happened to show up. Mathematically I guess that’s possible but just sayin…

The (Spock Must Die) Spoiler moment(s): At first I like everyone else assumed Davies had decided to be bold by having the regeneration 3/4 in but instead we got the whole “bi-generation” business. Very original, completely unexpected and it worked. Of course it leaves a lot of questions.

  1. When the Tennant Doctor Finally dies does he
    • Regenerate into The Current 15th doctor?
    • Regeneration into someone else?
    • Just die?
    • Depending on how it happens cause 15 to cease to Exist?
  2. Does Doctor 15 at this moment have all the memories of Doctor 14
    • Up to the moment the bi-generation?
    • To the moment of Doctor 14’s death?
    • Or does he remember them as they happen (See Out of Time Tennant 10 meets Baker’s 4th)
  3. Does this mean that Tennant’s 14th doctor will be a reoccurring character?

And that’s just the start of it. With the Doctor living with Donna’s family doesn’t that make them a sitting target for every enemy looking for revenge? But hey, the War Doctor business brought complications too. We don’t know it all, but that’s OK. We don’t need to.

The a Tad too far moment: The splitting the TARDIS into two, that’s kinda weak, I submit and suggest it didn’t split I think it means that it’s just one TARDIS at different points in it’s timeline.

The Doctor No Pants Moment: What’s with the no-pants stuff? The new doctor is going to get damn cold if he meets the Ice warriors.

Bottom Line: This story is a solid winner and frankly the only one of the three that is worthy as a 60th anniversary special in the sense that it’s more than a regular episode. I think 10 minutes more mixed in here and there might have worked better, but this is a really first class episode and 5 minutes of “Rose” at the dinner table and passing references to things I don’t like doesn’t mess it up.

5 stars.

Ranking in the current season (counting the children in need special) 1st of Four and by an awful lot. Perhaps the idea was to push the agenda heavy in the Star Beast then put it in the background so the increasing quality would sell it but if the Star Beast had been anything near as good as this one there would have been a lot less fuss. But regardless of the reason this one is a class act.

  1. The Giggle
  2. Destination Skaro
  3. The Wild Blue Yonder
  4. The Star Beast

Since we were comparing to the Capaldi years let’s do the same here. Unlike Wild Blue Yonder. This one definitely makes the list but in fifth place. Not because it is bad, but because those four episodes ahead of it were so damn good. I must confess I was close to putting it above the caretaker but that episode was just so damn fun.

1st The Husbands of River Song
2nd World Enough and Time
3rd. Last Christmas 
4th. The Caretaker
5th  The Giggle
6th. Extremis
7th. The Return of Doctor Mysterio
8th. The Girl who Died
9th.  The Witch’s Familiar
10th. Hell Bent

But as it’s a special episode let’s compare Apples to Apples, Specials to specials that I’ve reviewed which are from the Matt Smith and Capaldi Era 4th of 10 although it was a close thing between A Christmas Carol and this one.

1st The Husbands of River Song
2nd The Day of the Doctor
3rd. Last Christmas 
4th. The Giggle
5th  A Christmas Carol
6th.  The Time of the Doctor
7th.  The Return of Doctor Mysterio
8th.  The Snowmen
9th.  The Doctor, the Widow & the Wardrobe
10th. Twice Upon a Time

The BBC Chibnall / Davies BBC Doctor Who Completely Explained In Under A Minute Update: A Pleasant Surprise

Posted: December 9, 2023 by datechguy in doctor who, entertainment
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You had better sign those, they’re the ones paying your salary.

Jimmy Stewart 1968 on the set of Bandalero to Raquel Welsh when he heard her complain about signing autographs.

In an interview released this week Russell T Davies, who was briefly the great fan hope for the return of the Doctor Who franchise to what the fans loved for decades made it clear to all that this is not the case.

Russell T Davies has said that new Doctor Who episodes will upset die-hard fans of the science fiction franchise.

The Welsh screenwriter and television producer, 60, discussed the new release, which will be the centrepiece of the BBC’s Christmas Day line-up.

It would seem rather odd that Davies who was instrumental in the revival of the series that I’ve enjoyed for four decades and, like many other fans passed on that enjoyment to our children to be something in common as a family even as we’ve grown older, would be so callus as to spit in our faces and throw us away. But last night as I slept the explanation finally came to me, the truth of what Doctor Who is. It’s a rather ironic explanation that can be summed up in a just a few seconds below the fold:

(more…)
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