Sorry for the audio quality from around 00:09:00-00:13:00, had to use youtube's tools to remove a song. Normal business resumes next week! www.patreon.com/harbowholmes
Would legitimately love to see something like the monk trilogy again, rare we get multi-part stories that aren’t finales these days (especially 3 parters) and one where each episode has its own unique identity, sort of like the e-space trilogy during the Tom baker era
Towards the end of the video I realized this would have worked better as a 5-6 episode mini series like Flux or Children of Earth. Would have given the narrative more time to breathe.
Extremis touches on something very interesting to me. The monks had the ability to create a Timelord (maybe without his innate abilities, we don’t know) but they managed to recreate Timelord technology. That to me suggests that in some way, the monks are MORE advanced than the Timelords, which is terrifying
Every time someone mentions Baudrillard and simulation I hold my head in my hands He never meant 'reality isn't real', he meant you can look at a drawing of a photograph of a painting of 'x' and still say 'that's x', not because it *is* 'x', but because it's a representation of 'x' that you recognise as 'x'. He never said 'reality isn't real'. He said 'a flag isn't a country'. Jesus Harold Faltermeyer Christ
I disagree with a lot of your takes on the simulation in the first episode. The simulation was created for observation, not control, so the monks didn't "choose" for the doctor to send an email or for someone to write the veritas. It was just what those people would do in that situation
Extremis gets a lot less scary when you realise that it doesn't really affect anything if you *are* a simulation, because your life is still your life, and life has no real meaning whether or not it's running on some nerd's gaming PC in a higher reality.
Love these reviews, though I do feel you conflate a lack of free will with coersion a bit. The characters in Pyramid would only not have free will if they were actually physically unable to resist compliance. Being forced to do something isn't quite the same as automatically doing it beyond one's own state of being
Perfect timing- I just watched this story for the first time a couple weeks ago. Foolishly, I avoided watching 12 for a long time, mostly because I was not a huge fan of Clara. TBH “Kill the moon” had me hating 12 and Clara for a very long time. I really wanted to like this storyline. It felt like the story tried to take a similar physiological horror approach that made episodes like “midnight” and “the angels”so popular, but it was just lacking in the twists and the greater mystery that made Midnight such a popular episode. When I saw nardol disappear, I had that same terror I had watching those classic scary episodes, but then it felt like there was simply no consequence to being a simulation. This storyline felt lacking in the existential dread caused by living in a simulation. Like with Clara for instance, when she was dalek and imagined a normal life, there was a real terror that came with realizing she was hallucinating. There were consequences to her realizing she wasn’t a human girl, and it was beautifully tragic. Same thing with bill when she became a cyberman- there was a real terror that gripped me when she found out she was no longer human. I simply didn’t have that same amount of fear I felt like the Veritas story was TRYING to live up to with other stories like midnight or the empty child. Sometimes I feel like doctor who packs the hardest psychological punches in standalone episodes.
I don't believe we live in a simulation, but I don't care if we do. It makes no difference to who I am and what I've done, just adds a little context. Both versions of life are temporary (unless you're in a loop and keep your memories but that's a whole other issue) and I know one day I'm gonna be gone and forgotten and there's nothing I can do to change that, so finding out which version of life I'm in wouldn't change that perspective. We all have our stories and all stories have a beginning and an end, just try to enjoy it while you can. Sim or no sim, I'm still me and that's real enough.
These sorts of overarching stories can often tell some of the strongest stories any series can tell, however I will say that these sorts of things work more when we have more episodes in a single season. Doctor Who, and really most shows in general, as it stands today cannot have these mini story arcs as the seasons are just too short. Can’t really have that in an 8 episode season.
why the monk trilogy ended worse than the series 3 finale?,i mean the monks wiped their opression kingdom memory wiped but series 3 s last of the timelords reset the timeline at the end,i mean seriously?
I thought you come to an end of DW content. Glad you haven't. i don't doubt there are other scientific methods that would be effective, but... observing truamatised kids worlds building with the Sims might have psychological uses in thereapy...play behaviour reflecting how they experience their reality
Unpopular opinion alert but this was the final straw for me in terms of realising I'd lost interest in Doctor Who. An absolute incoherent mess of waffle, out-of-character character decisions and motivations and to top it all off, a typically weak, rushed conclusion that reversed the previous two hours. What a waste of time.
This series was where a lot of people I know personally started to lose interest in Doctor Who. Ever since I was a child, it was always a tradition for me and my mum to watch new episodes together, but after already finding Series 9 and "The Pilot" disappointing, I remember after "Smile" finished airing, she just looked at me and said "I'm not sure I'm going to watch Doctor Who anymore". I just found it really kinda sad. Even I, as a diehard fan was definitely starting to find myself pretty disinterested with the show by this point, and after the god awful Series 11 I decided I wasn't going to watch anymore either, and cancelled my TV licence, as it was basically only Doctor Who that I still watched on live TV anyway. I will always love Classic Who, and the first 8 or so series' of New Who, but I can't see myself ever watching new episodes again, especially after the whole timeless child thing which just ruins The Doctors character for me.
@@The-Fishkeeper This is how I felt with Series 10 and onward. As much as I loved 12’s character arc in S10 along with Bill, Nardole and Missy…I started to feel less excited about DW than I did during Matt Smith’s era. Fast forward through 13’s-15’s eras and I feel exactly how your mom felt…DW isn’t for me anymore in the current moment, but I’m thankful for the memories I shared in real time during Smith’s run.
@@MatthewVlossak I loved Peter Capaldi in the role, he's one of my favourite Doctors, and I enjoyed Series 8 a lot as a whole, with only "Kill the Moon" and "In the Forest of the Night" disappointing me. I found the writing during Series 9 very inconsistent though, with "Heaven Sent" and "Hell Bent" probably being the definitive example. In my opinion possibly the best episode of New Who followed by what was at that point my least favourite episode of all of Doctor Who so far, airing back to back. Series 10 was admittedly much more consistent, but it was consistently meh. It felt bland and stale to me. It was the first series of Doctor Who that I ever found boring which is the one thing that Doctor Who should never be, even at its low points. The closest thing it had to a stand out episode for me was "World Enough and Time", and even that, when you take away the nostalgia baiting elements like the Mondasian Cybermen and John Simm's Master return at the end, was still a fairly average episode and didn't get a satisfying payoff in the next part. I mean, The Master did almost nothing in the second part, after all that build up. Basically just walks around for a little bit making the occasional dark comedic remark, and then kills himself. That's about it.
I think it goes on too long for three parts. Part 1 and 2 feel good, but Part 3 just feels quite dull. It might've worked better as 3 disconnected stories that featured a recurring villain. The Monks are a new villain, and they've overstayed their welcome by Part 3.
@@HarboWholmes I'm serious I feel like all you do nowadays is be contrarian just to get more views,I reckon if you even like Doctor Who anymore if you dont why still watch?
Sorry for the audio quality from around 00:09:00-00:13:00, had to use youtube's tools to remove a song. Normal business resumes next week!
www.patreon.com/harbowholmes
I wouldn't worry about it too much. It has a cool effect given the portion of the video it is in. Sort of a KinitoPet kinda sound.
only a keen ear would notice
Would legitimately love to see something like the monk trilogy again, rare we get multi-part stories that aren’t finales these days (especially 3 parters) and one where each episode has its own unique identity, sort of like the e-space trilogy during the Tom baker era
I actually thought of the E-space trilogy first time watching the monk trilogy too
I actually thought of the E-space trilogy first time watching this
Towards the end of the video I realized this would have worked better as a 5-6 episode mini series like Flux or Children of Earth. Would have given the narrative more time to breathe.
Extremis touches on something very interesting to me. The monks had the ability to create a Timelord (maybe without his innate abilities, we don’t know) but they managed to recreate Timelord technology. That to me suggests that in some way, the monks are MORE advanced than the Timelords, which is terrifying
The editing in this video was a total chef's kiss. Everything from audio, deja vu, glitches, philosophy,callbacks and deja vu.
Perfection.
Every time someone mentions Baudrillard and simulation I hold my head in my hands
He never meant 'reality isn't real', he meant you can look at a drawing of a photograph of a painting of 'x' and still say 'that's x', not because it *is* 'x', but because it's a representation of 'x' that you recognise as 'x'. He never said 'reality isn't real'. He said 'a flag isn't a country'. Jesus Harold Faltermeyer Christ
I disagree with a lot of your takes on the simulation in the first episode. The simulation was created for observation, not control, so the monks didn't "choose" for the doctor to send an email or for someone to write the veritas. It was just what those people would do in that situation
Extremis gets a lot less scary when you realise that it doesn't really affect anything if you *are* a simulation, because your life is still your life, and life has no real meaning whether or not it's running on some nerd's gaming PC in a higher reality.
Love these reviews, though I do feel you conflate a lack of free will with coersion a bit. The characters in Pyramid would only not have free will if they were actually physically unable to resist compliance. Being forced to do something isn't quite the same as automatically doing it beyond one's own state of being
Began well only to fall at the end
Sums up this trilogy perfectly
Perfect timing- I just watched this story for the first time a couple weeks ago. Foolishly, I avoided watching 12 for a long time, mostly because I was not a huge fan of Clara. TBH “Kill the moon” had me hating 12 and Clara for a very long time.
I really wanted to like this storyline. It felt like the story tried to take a similar physiological horror approach that made episodes like “midnight” and “the angels”so popular, but it was just lacking in the twists and the greater mystery that made Midnight such a popular episode.
When I saw nardol disappear, I had that same terror I had watching those classic scary episodes, but then it felt like there was simply no consequence to being a simulation. This storyline felt lacking in the existential dread caused by living in a simulation. Like with Clara for instance, when she was dalek and imagined a normal life, there was a real terror that came with realizing she was hallucinating. There were consequences to her realizing she wasn’t a human girl, and it was beautifully tragic. Same thing with bill when she became a cyberman- there was a real terror that gripped me when she found out she was no longer human. I simply didn’t have that same amount of fear I felt like the Veritas story was TRYING to live up to with other stories like midnight or the empty child. Sometimes I feel like doctor who packs the hardest psychological punches in standalone episodes.
Awesome video mate I so agree it's all over the place
I don't believe we live in a simulation, but I don't care if we do. It makes no difference to who I am and what I've done, just adds a little context. Both versions of life are temporary (unless you're in a loop and keep your memories but that's a whole other issue) and I know one day I'm gonna be gone and forgotten and there's nothing I can do to change that, so finding out which version of life I'm in wouldn't change that perspective. We all have our stories and all stories have a beginning and an end, just try to enjoy it while you can. Sim or no sim, I'm still me and that's real enough.
1:25:42 Is when the video really starts. Everything else is just the three individual "Monk" videos from a couple months ago stitched together.
Oh thanks. I don’t mind this sort of stitching together I just also like when it’s clear that’s what’s happening. 😅
I think it would have been great if the Monks got to return as the antagonists in the Empire of Death
These sorts of overarching stories can often tell some of the strongest stories any series can tell, however I will say that these sorts of things work more when we have more episodes in a single season.
Doctor Who, and really most shows in general, as it stands today cannot have these mini story arcs as the seasons are just too short.
Can’t really have that in an 8 episode season.
An hour and a half video fuck yeah
Please review the sarah jane adventures.
I miss this era.
why the monk trilogy ended worse than the series 3 finale?,i mean the monks wiped their opression kingdom memory wiped but series 3 s last of the timelords reset the timeline at the end,i mean seriously?
Maybe Will be a plot similar to the monks trilogy in 16's future era not 15(probably)
My favourite trilogy. Plus so very jealous of his hair.
Some of my favourite episodes
I thought you come to an end of DW content. Glad you haven't.
i don't doubt there are other scientific methods that would be effective, but...
observing truamatised kids worlds building with the Sims might have psychological uses in thereapy...play behaviour reflecting how they experience their reality
Unpopular opinion alert but this was the final straw for me in terms of realising I'd lost interest in Doctor Who. An absolute incoherent mess of waffle, out-of-character character decisions and motivations and to top it all off, a typically weak, rushed conclusion that reversed the previous two hours. What a waste of time.
Get a life
This series was where a lot of people I know personally started to lose interest in Doctor Who. Ever since I was a child, it was always a tradition for me and my mum to watch new episodes together, but after already finding Series 9 and "The Pilot" disappointing, I remember after "Smile" finished airing, she just looked at me and said "I'm not sure I'm going to watch Doctor Who anymore". I just found it really kinda sad.
Even I, as a diehard fan was definitely starting to find myself pretty disinterested with the show by this point, and after the god awful Series 11 I decided I wasn't going to watch anymore either, and cancelled my TV licence, as it was basically only Doctor Who that I still watched on live TV anyway. I will always love Classic Who, and the first 8 or so series' of New Who, but I can't see myself ever watching new episodes again, especially after the whole timeless child thing which just ruins The Doctors character for me.
@@The-Fishkeeper This is how I felt with Series 10 and onward. As much as I loved 12’s character arc in S10 along with Bill, Nardole and Missy…I started to feel less excited about DW than I did during Matt Smith’s era. Fast forward through 13’s-15’s eras and I feel exactly how your mom felt…DW isn’t for me anymore in the current moment, but I’m thankful for the memories I shared in real time during Smith’s run.
@@MatthewVlossak I loved Peter Capaldi in the role, he's one of my favourite Doctors, and I enjoyed Series 8 a lot as a whole, with only "Kill the Moon" and "In the Forest of the Night" disappointing me. I found the writing during Series 9 very inconsistent though, with "Heaven Sent" and "Hell Bent" probably being the definitive example. In my opinion possibly the best episode of New Who followed by what was at that point my least favourite episode of all of Doctor Who so far, airing back to back.
Series 10 was admittedly much more consistent, but it was consistently meh. It felt bland and stale to me. It was the first series of Doctor Who that I ever found boring which is the one thing that Doctor Who should never be, even at its low points. The closest thing it had to a stand out episode for me was "World Enough and Time", and even that, when you take away the nostalgia baiting elements like the Mondasian Cybermen and John Simm's Master return at the end, was still a fairly average episode and didn't get a satisfying payoff in the next part. I mean, The Master did almost nothing in the second part, after all that build up. Basically just walks around for a little bit making the occasional dark comedic remark, and then kills himself. That's about it.
Yes they are all actors in a show 😂
where would the world be without reset buttons....Take ST:V
I think it goes on too long for three parts. Part 1 and 2 feel good, but Part 3 just feels quite dull. It might've worked better as 3 disconnected stories that featured a recurring villain. The Monks are a new villain, and they've overstayed their welcome by Part 3.
DEI bingo
Jesus harbo i feel like all you do is complain nowadays,do you even like anything?
no
I like turtles
@@HarboWholmes I'm serious I feel like all you do nowadays is be contrarian just to get more views,I reckon if you even like Doctor Who anymore if you dont why still watch?
What am I being contrarian about?
@MatijaHD To be fair, it has gone to shit.