Why Arachnids in the UK Doesn't Work - PART 1
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- Опубліковано 11 тра 2021
- Spiders in Sheffield
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CREDITS
Written, Edited and Narrated by Rohan Moran
Music ► incompetech.com/music/
The footage and images featured in the video were for critical review and parody, which are protected under the Fair Use laws of the United States Copyright act of 1976.
You're still here? Oh well, thanks for looking !
Cat go meow. - Фільми й анімація
7:08 - Despite never having seen classic who, I understand why the Fourth Doctor was so beloved from this clip alone
I was literally thinking that just now!
Whole-heartedly.
I wholeheartedly recommend you watch some
The Seeds of Doom: Part Two (1976):
Scorby: OK, start talking.
The Doctor: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had perfect pitch, he...
Scorby: What happened to him?
The Doctor: Who?, Wolfgang Amadeus M... oh him? He died.
Me: LOL! 😆
23:20 why is Ryan tasked with the quite difficult challenge of trapping a massive spider under a big pot? He's supposed to have dyspraxia.
it's plot-oriented dyspraxia
@@dantezco It's "dyspraxia" like The Doctor's "social awkwardness". It comes and goes as the plot demands.
@@jvblhc I wish my Dyspraxia would come and go.
@@TheOnlyTMEOfficial I hope I didn't offend you. I was strictly talking about the character Ryan. It was the same thing with Yaz, who always wanted to do more with the police force, but we only see her maybe one time being a police woman (Fugitive of the Judoon). But I would never mean to make fun of anybody in real life who has real life difficulties.
@@jvblhc Oh nono. I was actually joking about it. Chibnall's writing is dreadful. Was actually excited to see my disability get some exposure and not many people know about it. But it was just a tickbox for Chibnall which is a shame.
I've been saying this for so long... the doctor isn't socially awkward, the doctor is socially unaware..in that they don't pick up on social cues or norms.. not that they dont want to talk or feel uncomfortable talking to people.
YES! And while this Doctor is allowed to have different traits to past doctors, social awkwardness sort of breaks the doctor companion dynamic. The doctor companion relationship was always two way. The doctor provided the brains and knowledge of the universe, the companion(s) gave the doctor a grounding and morality to stop him abusing his power.
With thirteen, I'm yet to feel the doctor has any need for the companions. She's too awkward to seem like she wants to be around them and opens up so little that they know near nothing about her. I think that's what contributed to my complete lack of caring when Ryan and Graham left
@@reddragon3132 Sorry, just thats modern who tropes almost entirely down to Moffat and RTD with the 10th and 11 th Doctor (only).
@@reddragon3132 Definitely, there's absolutely no character conflict anymore the companions just run around after her providing limited dialogue and perspective
Honestly it's kind of been played out, as well, given that the recent companions have made a concerted effort to 'civilize' him. Having him unaware of norms he's been taught just recently is weird. Going into the past or the future and having him no longer able to be 'polite' would make sense, but having basically the same social mores that's gotten him slapped by multiple mothers and had Clara specifically write him up note cards to follow still stymie him doesn't make much sense.
@@nickbrough8335 No, it's been present from the very beginning, back when the first Doctor just wanted to kill a random dude with a rock because the guy was in the way and Ian stopped him. It's been called attention to much more in the recent era, but it's always been there.
In the opening, it felt as though Thirteen was drawing out the goodbye, emotionally baiting the group in the hopes that they would ask her to stick around, which feels very manipulative in a passive, insecure way.
It's like when you're a kid, the first time they tell you that Chibnall Bad, and you can't quite believe it because you think 'yeah maybe Chibnall bad but what's the big deal', but I can feel it. Every line of dialogue is jarringly wrong, every character is a charisma void, every plot makes no sense, and I can feel it...
I disagree, I think plenty of people tried very hard on this. It's just some key people are rubbish.
Everyone who wasn't a director/writer was just fine. The special effects team though were great, and many of the actors, despite the material they were given to work with, were surprisingly good. Shame about every other aspect that goes into creating a worthwhile show.
@@enternamehere3310 good soilders fight badly if led by bad officers
A fair number of Tom Baker's scripts were... mediocre is probably the best way of putting it. The lead actor tended to elevate the serials above the writing, and as I see it, we tend to remember Tom Baker's Doctor but only a very few of his actual stories.
Chibnall rarely scales the heights of mediocrity, and Jodie doesn't exactly make up for the shortfall.
@@paulbeardsley4095 Tom started out real strong. Revenge of the Cybermen was the only real stinker in the early part.
Colin Baker at least had memerable stinkers. Orphan 55 is memorable fir all the wrong reasons. But can you tell me a thing about Praxeus It Takes you away the Ghost Monument ect
The Doctor's "I guess this is it........." scene plays like her so obviously manipulating the fam into inviting her into their lives, in the exact way Nine did to Rose. Difference is Nine did it so more charismatically.
I honestly think Whittaker performs that scene with loads of sincerity and I really like it.
@@pjgs4933 I agree; it gets the "socially awkward" part of her character across well.
I have to wonder...if the BBC wasn’t trying to appeal to a culture that thought emotionally and socially awkwardness was a worthy goal, would this even be an option? Jodie seems to be the first actor in the role to lower to Doctor to such a human concept. The Doctor is supposed to know everything....except when he became she, then awkwardness becomes the thing. It’s pathetic, really.
@@kennethos Uhh... Capaldi had his moments of not being very socially apt, as did Smith if I recall correctly. But the way 13 is written and meant to be performed is certainly as a much more down to earth traveler. I do often dislike how she's written to not be in control or not know what's going on, it makes the Doctor seem dumb for lack of a better word, but I'm a big fan of what Whittaker has been able to do with the part. At least when it comes to expressing her Doctor's deep sincerity, she's wonderful at that and it makes her incarnation really unique.
@@kennethos "...that thought emotionally and socially awkwardness was a worthy goal" nobody thinks this, honestly, why would you think this. Nobody thinks having social anxiety is a "goal", just that it should be recognised and accepted. If you believe anyone believes this then you need to wake up.
The whole, "no one responds to the Doctor's quirkiness" thing is very good point. I feel like it's at the heart of what makes her so unengaging as a Doctor - the characters don't even respond to her half the time, so why should we?
‘Jodie’s doctor is just rambling and being ignored’. I love how this applies to both the bulk of characters on-screen at the time but also the U.K. television audience as a whole.
Yeah, i felt so weird the rest of the series purely because she spent the first episode doing things like tampering with ryans phone "not anymore!" And then Grace dies (usually their first adventure doesnt get one of their close loved ones killed, its kind of too much too soon? You'd be warey rather than enticed). Then she teleports them into space, again almost getting them killed if they werent randomly picked up, and rhe instant they get stuck again she starts moping that theyre all doomed. She's not socially awkard, she's almost cowardly and incompetent? And then after miraculously being saved AGAIN, she takes them to a time where racism gets ryan slapped in the face. They are clearly not having a good time. And when she finally drops them home, they make no effort to invite her. Its awkward and after 3 episodes there is no reason they should want her around, in fact they should be terrified of traveling with her. Then rather than enticing them with ANYTHING, she passively aggressively mopes again, and out of what can ONLY be pity in the context of everything, they invite her to tea - which should be the only time they dont almost die since meeting her. But then the spider thing happens. Which in any other context should now be "oh yeah, doctor runs into bad situations" but the tea situation would have been the only situation thus far that the doctor wasnt a toxic disaster who is consistently prone to putting them in near death experiences that she immidiately surrenders to.
At no point, does 13 take charge even if shes socially nervous about it. Socially awakward became Defeatist. And you can tell the companions want out but the script forces them to say they wont give up EVEN WHEN THEIR PILOT/LEADER ALREADY HAS.
My major question wasnt even "why should WE like her" (cause maybe audiences find her social awkwardness relatable and amusing). But why do the COMPANIONS like her? When three individual companions feel like theyre there for the sake of it or out of boredom, i can't possibly believe this doctor has a Fam as much as she has three hostages who convince themselves theyre trying even if she's not.
Yip. You've just described Jodie verses every other Doctor that existed previously. Chibnall doesn't that the character we know as the Doctor and Jodie doesn't portray that character. If anything its a dopple ganger, with completely the opposition personality traits.
It's like Chibnall's only actual exposure to Who was the Colin Baker years and he thought that his post regeneration cowardice and trauma was the default state of the character
You really nailed it with this comment. I was thinking the same thing as I watched these episodes. Especially with the Doctor nearly getting herself and all her companions killed in the deep vacuum of space during the second episode. It doesn't make her likeable at all.
9:02 that sudden jump cut to Graham is more funny than the entirety of the episode in question
I find it deeply annoying when they have scenes of the Doctor going through some mundane real-world stuff, because they always play it as though the Doctor has never encountered human civilisation before. We've spent nearly 60 years watching him go undercover as a human being. Surely he must have got the hang of it by now.
Well the Doctor only tries to blend in when it’s an absolute necessity, but the Doctor is just too much of a natural misfit to keep up a facade 24/7, even on Gallifrey they were considered a bit of an outspoken weirdo and outcast.
@@EditedAF987 but he/she has literally had 20th and 21st century human companions off and on for over a 1000 years. He/she'd understand basic human social interactions by now.
@@lovablesnowman I’m sure the doctor knows, they did live on Earth for about 5 years in the classic series. But I think the doctor just doesn’t understand why they act the way they do and the doctor just isn’t the type of person to pretend and act like something that they’re not.
Or maybe the doctor understands them perfectly but just chooses to act like an oddball just to f*ck with everyone minds for his/her own amusement. I mean the doctor is easily bored and the first and ninth doctors even repeatedly called one of their companions by the wrong name just to annoy them and some doctors loved to play the idiot to make their enemies underestimate them so there is a precedent.
"Wake up babe, JackWolf just posted a new chibnall bad video"
"Almost neighbors, all this time." Is what I think he said. Probably makes as much sense as anything else in this episode.
I live near Sheffield and can tell you they definitely sped up the footage. Just behind the camera is a stop so the tram would not have been travelling that fast
Really appreciate that unlike most UA-cam reviewers you pay attention to the cinematography
It's a good point because wasn't one of the reasons for only doing 10 episode series so they could make it higher quality.
A lot of people don't understand how much cinematography can service a story. Take the opening scene of the Godfather for example...
ikr you could make a whole video on the cinematography alone, there's a lot to be discussed on that account
Absolutely nobody in "The Fam" should want to go with the Doctor since with her arrival they lost a loved one(who was trying to help the Doctor recklessly) and got teleported and almost killed while floating in space followed by a literal planet of unending ways to die
The Doctor, to them, should be nothing short of a nightmare entity who brings them pain, misery, and instability.
Like the viewers of the show.
22:55 , I swear I thought that was the spider talking to itself as it scuttled along the corridor toward Graham, like, psyching itself up for the big moment...
That 'spider-web map'... isn't a spider web, unless the spider that made it was on some sort of chemical... Spiders don't do erratic in their web design.
Why they didn't have the Doctor do the very Doctor-y thing by having the Doctor strap the speaker/rhythm to their back and lead the spiders in a Pied Piper fashion way (perhaps they could even self-reference some 'business' they once had to do in Hamlyn). The Doctor leads them all into the TARDIS and drops the spiders off on a planet that is able to sustain the arachnid's over-sized life, somewhere like Metebelis III for instance. Perhaps it could have been the introduction of them coming to be there in the first place!
An end solution where everyone and everything is a happy one and more in line with the Doctor's character.
The giant spiders on Metebelis 3 are explained in the story - it’s central to the plot.
I would hardly say it was central to the plot, just an quick explanation as to why they were super intelligent with psychic powers through being exposed to the blue crystals of that planet long, long ago.
@@mekonta The humans are subservient to what would otherwise have been ordinary spiders because of the nature of the planet. The Great One had grown so much it became the final boss that resulted in the death of the Third Doctor.
None of Planet of the Spiders would have happened if the spiders had been the ones from Arachnids in the UK.
It was a just a suggestion of an origin, I mean if they can retcon 56 years of the show and the Doctor, the spiders from Arachnids transported to Metebelis would _still_ be a better solution from the dross that was presented and the unlike-Doctor's ethics. Stories bend in myth and legend. Besides, they still could have gone to Metebelis even if the 'Eight-Legs' were already there, I was just romanticising an origin where they were brought to the planet from Earth by a ship.
@@mekonta I don’t think it adds anything, and it detracts a bit.
Suddenly there’s two sets of spiders: the super intelligent ones who get upset if you call them spiders, and another unrelated set that aren’t very bright and didn’t appear in the story originally.
There’s too much joining the dots as it is. It just makes the Doctor Who universe seem small.
It’s extra ridiculous that the Doctor keeps letting Robertson go seeing as she already did the “don’t you think she looks tired” thing on Harriet Jones for doing a bad thing for much more admirable reasons.
Yeah, like some may argue it's not in keeping for this doctor but having seen what she did to the master in Paris and the like honestly I think it'd work
Harriet Jones did NOTHING wrong. The aliens tried to enslave our entire race, and brainwashed a third of the population.
Only the intervention of the self righteousness doctor temporarily sent them away - and they could return at any time (or tell others to). I would have destroyed a zillion Sicorax to keep earth safe.
@@PwnZombie that's what Castellan of Gundabad meant by righteous reasons I presume. I think that the whole are is murky really as they were fleeing, but to be fair it was an important moment to establish ten and being willing to take the course of time into his own hands and mess with and manipulate things as he sees fit, as that helps build towards his actions in waters of mars. Again can see where you're coming from
@@NATHAN-gl9ns “leaving is good, never coming back is better” - 11
If I recall the line correctly. Though I think 10 as a character it works well within his character what he does. He’s consistent in his hypocrisy and will get called out on it.
13 on the other hand....
This is the primary problem of the episode to me, that shows how Chibnall's era has insincere efforts in wanting to tackle societal/political issues.
When they have Jack Robertson be based off of Trump (my oblivious ass thought he was just an evil businessman trope but I should've seen it become obvious - an American business real estate mogul that is seemingly uncaring and psychopathic, wants to be president of the USA, etc.), who the BBC and other parts of the UK mainstream media completely hate, you would think they would want episodes where Jack experiences the consequences Trump hasn't had if they wanted to show their political bias against Trump on this episode and on Revolution of the Daleks (e.g. being in jail, career destroyed etc.)
But no. Instead, in this episode and on Revolution of the Daleks he essentially.. gets away! Which is basically mixed messaging because that means the BBC essentially approved a Trump-character that the viewers should hate yet at the same time not willing to do anything about his existence. Almost as if they like having a Trump-character for creating outrage like how they have Trump on the news be used for outrage, rather than actually wanting to tell a story on how people that they deem as bad should be held accountable for wrongdoing.
14:38 A literal police officer gets threatened with a gun in Britain, where they’re outlawed, and she does nothing?! An embarrassing attempt to shoe horn in 13s half-baked morality on guns...
Let know what you think of this format guys! I originally intended it to be a quick and easy episode commentary, but I had so much to say that it evolved into something a bit more complex. Don't worry, the Rosa review is still on its way.
Apologies as I had to split the video again to avoid the BBC blocking it. Part 2 will be out as soon as I've ironed out its copyright issues.
Pssss, when is the second part coming?
@@SlivCommique As soon as he's ironed out its copyright issues.
ANOTHER!...*smashes laptop on floor*
I enjoy the multiple parts as you can make more detailed analysis on episodes but that cut off at the end was kinda sudden so if do continue with this format maybe try adding a little conclusion like “overall we’ve had obvious setups for what the big statement the episode will make along with the common timing issues but very little threat as we’ve hardly seen any spiders just the aftermath of their off-screen actions”
@@Brogan_Balfour_Crescent I didn't originally plan to split this video, hence the jarring cut-off. BBC kept blocking the full length upload. In future I'll make sure to record some lines like that in case I'm forced to split again.
Wait, so if she trapped the spider in the flat, then it definitely couldn't have gone back to the hotel (as apparently every other giant spider in Sheffield did, without anyone noticing, because someone played a song on their phone in a relatively remote location in a secure bunker). This means that the Doctor definitely did leave at least one spider out in public. It's going to find a way past her random line of something I don't remember at some point. The issue literally never gets resolved. I'm surprised she forgot about that spider after she gave an inspirational speech to it.
There would have been thousands at large, but Chibs doesn't actually care in the slightest. He couldn't even get the hotel based story to work narratively.
I get the impression Tosin's shadow bird was him either being bored during filming or him trying to inject personality into the character. I doubt it was a directorial or writing choice...
I think the "weirdest friends" bit was like "they're saying they're weird but their dad collects rubbish"
"Yeah, come on. We'll take you somewhere"
Playing clips of Matt Smith and Tom in between really is not fair :D. It actualy hurts a bit how bad it has got.
That scrunch face impersonating Tennant being flippant is like nails on a chalkboard.
11th showing up "naked,"' at Clara's Christmas dinner with her family was much more fun especially her naughty grandmother eyeballing him.
14:39 "Yaz you are a police officer, right?"
Really? That's news to Chibnall
3:22 I did not expect you to bring up yellow submarine, but it is a welcome surprise.
4:44, that line takes on a much darker tone within the context of Yaz’s backstory from the witchfinders novelisation
13:00 default smart resample, even the BBC falls for it.
wait, you didn’t quit youtube? i haven’t gotten a single vid in my sub box for the past 2 years
I feel like older Doctor who would have try to add a lot more horror we probably wouldn't have gotten to actually see the spiders until later in the episode and they would have had less jokes so keep a creepy tone
Yeah!! I totally agree!!
@Larry Islington Sounds like something you're just saying because you thinking being a contrarian makes you sound smart.
7:08 PURE BRILLIANCE 😂😂😂
- silver lining - the spiders _do_ look fairly good, particularly considering they’re CGI.
Tosin making the shadow animals in the background of the Very Important Scene will never not be funny to me.
I also am pretty sure that Shobna Gulati mentioned on social media or in an interview that she was the one that thought up, and kept adding, “It’s Najia”.
time stamp, when is that?
“It’s over halfway through the episode and they’re still just…” is something you end up needing to say about every one of Chibs’ episodes.
I have never been able to watch this episode for the damn spiders but I know I’m missing nothing so not a loss.
Finally!! I could never put my finger on why I hate 13s speeches as the just feel so empty and never knew why I felt like that
12:20 "are you blind, Hannah?" makes me laugh every time
The spider's body is not built to be so big; its metabolism isn't going to work at the right pace for its size, it'll get crushed by the burden of its exoskeleton like a lobster etc. Those might have been interesting ideas to touch on for biology nerds, the scientists could've said something like "We've got no idea how they survived to be this big, they're a complete mystery. I'd love to get a live sample." It could have sort-of explained away that they're impossible irl, added mystery to their existence, and instilled a bit of fear in the audience as even the experts in-universe don't even understand them, as well as characterise the scientists some more. All from one line. Also, the "zoologist" character imposes a lot of human emotions onto the spiders... she should be the expert who knows better. I'm not an expert, but it still really strikes me as off.
The funny thing is that you can connect the dots on the map in any other way, that wouldn’t leave the hole in the middle
The cut to are you blind hannah absolutely got me. Also the cut from Jodie making a crap joke to Graham on the road is also comedy gold. This show out of context is so funny.
"who, Amadeus Wolfgang Mo- Oh him! Oh he died." lol
DocKaren saying 'I'm socially awkward' is partly Chibnall trying to emulate Matt Smith saying weird and awkward things, but is mostly just Chibnall telling instead of showing. He wants to communicate that she's socially awkward, not just quirky, but utterly fails to do so, and just has her say it. Also, the Doctor has already - much more organically - discussed the idea of owning a sofa or a flat, more than once. Most notably in the Satan Pit/Impossible Planet two parter where he believes he's been trapped without his Tardis with Rose. That conversation "I'll have to get an apartment. I'll-I'll have to get carpets!" "You're gonna have to get a mort~gage~!" "Nope, no, that's it, I'm dying right now." is much more organic and portrays the idea of the Doctor settling down and getting a house is totally alien and unexplored to him much better than a pointless ramble. (It's also pointless to run over that concept again since 10 and 11 THOROUGHLY explored the idea of the Doctor's clashing desires to wander freely and to have a home he belongs in, and part of 12's arc was rejecting his desire for a home and attempt to masquerade as a human and embracing his alienness. Retreading it with 13 would be a waste of time even if it were done well)
Loving the new format here, great critiques as always. The use of Stormzy still baffles me I know Doctor Who always likes to use current music but they usually complimented the scene well.
Also, this story was very much, The Green Death meets Planet of the Spiders. Keep up the good work as always.
Stormzy is up there with kids, so it's very right on, apparently.....and let's face it there had to be a rap track somewhere, we've also had Bhangra, I'm waiting for Irish folk and Sea Shantys.
Where Moffat wrote the Doctor what he wished he could be, Chibnall wrote his insecurities into the Doctor
17:47, sadly to be honest agree
Thing is, almost nobody says of themselves "I'm socially awkward". That's something _others_ say about a person. And most people don't even use that expression in common conversation, but rather words like "shy", "dork" or "introvert". Jodie's Doctor kept repeating that line as if it was easier for the writer to tell the audience "see, she's this, accept it" rather than showing it in one or two moments. Like when Rose is talking and behind her the 9th Doctor tries to shuffle with cards and check some other items. It's funny and shows how he doesn't understand the items he's playing with.
03:50 Chibnall is maybe writing himself into the Doctor, maybe he is socially awkward and doesn't know how to make an assertive character. I dunno, just guessing.
14:20 great place for one of those spider perspective shots
I thought they were gonna be the spiders from the final third doctor story and I was so hyped and then immediately disappointed 😭😭😭
"We're going to figure out why" Because it was god awful 😂
Basically sums up the Chibnall era
@@JackWolf10 Honestly 100%. It's such a shame because I adore Doctor Who but I just cannot get on with his writing. I never thought I'd prefer Steven Moffat 🤣
12:35 Yes, she's talking to the spider.
4:59 made me laugh way too hard even tho that might have been just to avoid those copyright strikes lol (missed chance to actually put a sofa in the Tardis???)
3rd Doctor: Giant spiders you say. Best of luck with that my good woman.
Man they sure took a hell of a lot of liberties telling their Rosa Parks story.
Guessing that's going to be the next ep after part 2 of Johnny Rotten sends a cease and desist to the BBC.
Was there a Rosa Parks story. All I watched was a poorly thought through bad guy and a factually inaccurate telling of the famous Rosa parks incidence that put a white guy firmly into the narrative to make the event happen. A strange form of virtue signalling where Chibnall and his team failed to do anything but the most superficial investigation of the situation. Verity Lambert would have never have made such a mess of the situation.
finallyyyyyyyyyy, the most anticipated comeback
we love u jack
7:08 ahh I see you too were recommended that little gem
Indeed, though it's also one of my favourite stories.
8:36 I don’t love this episode but boy was mandips delivery on that ‘dad don’t’ amazing
Honestly I like the direction in this episode and just enjoy the episode as a whole, even though it has it's issues.
Personal opinion. I think Doctor Who has been ruined. The stage set by David Tenent and Matt Smith was incredible and (although some may disagree) I feel like Peter Capaldi did an incredible job too at showing the Doctor's internal sufferings. We saw some of then struggles with David Tenent and had flashes of anger with Matt Smith but Capaldi really drove home how damaged the Doctor was internally and how the lose of all his companies over the centuries have had an impact. Then the new Doctor comes in (and I am not insulting Jodie Whittacker, she is a good actress) with new writes and the stories feel half arsed, and the acting is so wooden and cliché that it's almost cringe to watch sometimes. Again just my personal opinion.
I like how in Futurama the president they mocked was Richard Nixon. They didn't just target the current president to make fun of, but a president who has stood the test of time...by being infamous. Unlike "orange man bad" or "Dubya MD" mocking Nixon will always be fun
That disclaimer at the beginning gave me this image of Piers Wenger furiously pressing an ESC key on his computer with steam coming out of his ears.
The weirdness of the Doctor has always been a deliberate choice to communicate the message, "If you're weird, be weird and proud! If other people have a problem with it, forget them!"
The Doctor has never been socially oblivious or awkward. He can totally pretend to be normal if he wants to; he just _doesn't_ want to, because he just doesn't _care._ It's a good message; letting other people define you means that you don't have an identity of your own, and the criticisms of other people don't matter as long as you're comfortable just being yourself.
Chibnall communicates the message of, "If you're weird, fucking do something about it, because weird is NOT OKAY." Wow, really great portrayal of a strong female character, Chibs.
It's so clear that Chibnall really doesn't understand the show or the character at all.
Havent watched the video yet but the part I hated about this episode the most was the doctor getting mad that the trump guy shot the spider and instead let all the spiders starve/crush to death in a small enclosed room
What I think plagues this episode the most is The Doctor themselves.
Let's not beat around the bush here. Aside from being "The Woman" what exactly is Jodie's Doctor? Is she a hero? A Space hobo? A dandy action hero? Time's Guardian? The Fairy tale? The old solider?
When, in say twenty years time, we look back and say; "Oh she was great I loved how..." how will we finish that sentence? By now something should stand out, something that defines her as the Doctor. All we get is socially a bit awkward. Occasionally.
I don't see any of the Doctor in Jodie, but that's not her fault. She's got no understanding of the character. Remember when Matt Smith admitted he hadn't really seen much of the show, Moffat gave him a highlight reel to watch as research. Jodie hasn't had that, she has no knowledge of the character and as such relies on the scripts.
These half written, badly directed and under developed scripts. Thrown together by mediocre and inexperienced writers that have been hired by a hack plagiarist who's claim to fame is a marginally successful police drama that got lucky with the casting.
It's a case of the blind leading the blind. Sadly, by hiding behind gender politics this incompetent creative team has effectively shielded themselves from comments. They dismiss legitimate criticism, like this video, as sexism and thus irrational. As such they don't have to bother defending the indefensible, they don't have to improve and when they fail it was not because they were the problem. It's because it was an un-winnable fight.
I agree with everything you've said. It's just a full clusterfuck of an entire team who have no idea who or what The Doctor is, using the fact that they cast a woman along with two POC companions to divert criticism. The thing is that the casting is an objectively good thing from a pure representation standpoint, but it seems like they stopped there and forgot that you actually have to write these characters. There is genuine criticism to be made about SO many of the writing choices in the Chibnall era.
Jodie Whittaker is a decent actress, but she has admitted that she had never really watched the show before, and therefore relied on the scripts and the showrunner as her gospel. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as Christopher Eccleston was in the exact same position. The difference is that the scripts for season 1 were amazing, and RTD was a showrunner who both knew his stuff, and took a very hands on approach to ensure everything matched up. He didn't write every script, but he was involved in editing all of them to fit in things like the Bad Wolf arc, and to give each character both a consistent characterisation and basic character arc across stories by different writers. Eccleston benefitted from both being The Doctor at a time where he COULD completely redefine the role, and from having scripts that really crackled with energy.
Chibnall on the other hand is a first draft writer who seems to have done little, if any work to ensure characterisation is consistent across the whole show. Graham is probably the only consistent character, but other than his gradual transition from a nervous wise-cracking granddad to a confident wise-cracking granddad, he has no arc. Ryan was clearly meant to be the primary companion, but his character traits are picked up and dropped as quickly as they are introduced, and Tosin Cole's performance is often very flat. Yaz suffers from many of the same problems, to the extent that Yaz and Ryan almost feel like they only exist when the plot needs them to; a far cry from the massive character journeys of Mickey and Martha - the only other POC companions. I would note that given everyone else also seems to be phoning it in a bit, and the directors often seem to lack basic knowledge of how to use a camera, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill cannot be entirely blamed for their flat performances, which I think are more as a result of bland, inconsistent, and overly-expository scripts combined with a lack of any actual acting direction on set.
Meanwhile, The Doctor seems to have inherited a lot of traits from previous Doctors, but none of the reasoning behind those traits e.g. she hates guns but is seemingly fine with suffocation and literally straight up murdering a guy with Amazon Alexa drones. She's scatterbrained and quirky like 11, except with 11 it was a front hiding a darker and more manipulative side with an iron will. She's socially awkward and often extremely blunt like 12, but unlike 12 she makes no effort to account for that fact like he did with the flash cards, and there's very little evidence she actually cares beneath that. Like compare when Graham told her about his fears about his fear of the cancer returning, with how he behaved with Clara after Danny's death, or Bill when she became a Cyberman. He didn't always know what to say, but he always at least tried. And there are so many more examples. She's a very shallow and incoherent character - there is no depth or structure to the way she is written, and it feels like they almost pick her personality out of a hat at the start of each episode.
In the end, despite the token representation of this season, it actually feels like a real step back for POC and female representation in Doctor Who. Ryan and Yaz outside of a few key moments have basically no agency until the end of season 12, and more or less just follow The Doctor and/or Graham's instructions at every turn. They have no consistent defining characteristics and given that neither Rosa or Demons of the Punjab provide any actual character development for the characters that should supposedly be the focus, both episodes feel more like one-off, simplified history lessons with some sci-fi shit tacked on, rather than Doctor Who epsiodes. You could replace their characters with anyone else of the same ethnicities and nothing would change. They are simply treated as "black companion" and "brown companion" rather than actual individuals.
Meanwhile The Doctor's characterisation to me almost treads over the line into sexist at times, particularly when you compare her to the previous 4 NuWho Doctors. Obviously every Doctor is different, but all share certain consistent traits... except 13. She shares surface level quirks, but she lacks the authority, the clear moral code, the deep sorrow and guilt for all the people they have lost hidden beneath their quirky exterior, and more. She's scatterbrained, vapid, socially awkward, passive-aggressive, defeatist, prone to emotional outbursts, fickle, secretive, naggy, and actually pretty self-centred and with a very half-baked morality, which are all fairly negative traits, and many of them match the sexist stereotype of women as overly emotional and less capable than men. She feels like a woman being written by men who are writing her as a "woman" rather than as "The Doctor". Her character feels like a confirmation of everything that sexist naysayers warned a female Doctor would be like, and it feels really fucking gross that the sexists were right about it. It's just another example, in addition to some rather sexist and transphobic lines that he allowed to remain in certain Torchwood episodes, of Chibnall's tendency towards lazy tokenism, rather than actually writing a 3D character who happens to be something other than a straight, cis, white male. The Chibnall era is the "I have black friends and also a wife" of screenwriting.
It all comes back to a recent quote by Christopher Eccleston, who on returning to the show for a new series of audiobooks, who pointed out that the show is still very much a boys' club. Half of series 11 may have been directed by women, but there were only 2 episodes written by women in the first ever season with a female Doctor, and series 12 suffers from the exact same problem. It's not that men are incapable of writing women, but THESE men clearly are, and it also seems a little cheap to be patting yourself on the back for how feminist you are in front of the camera, while representation in the writing room is still just as bad as it has always been. This was ALWAYS going to be an exercise in tokenism, because the only thing that has changed is that there is one extra woman in the Tardis, and her character's agency, heroism, and likeability have all been stripped back in order to make space for the additional TWO male companions. The gender balance has still never tipped in favour of women on Doctor Who. The only episodes in the entirety of NuWho in which women have outnumbered men in the Tardis are The Poison Sky, The Doctor's Daughter, and Journey's End (and I suppose technically about 5 minutes of Army of Ghosts). This whole era has been performative, and it is clear that Chibnall has no real intentions of actually trying to do anything to fix the issues he has created, let alone do anything worthwhile to advance positive representation on the show beyond just pointing to Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill and saying "I did a feminism and an inclusion so you can't criticise me".
Sorry for the ramble btw. I got carried away. I have a lot of thoughts on this!
@@BambiTrout Ramble away. You're frustrated. So am I.
One of the big things is, historically, Classic Who did more than Chibnall for feminism. Verity Lambert was the Shows first producer. A woman in 1963? Women weren't even thought of as human by TV in '63! The First director? a Gay man of Indian heritage. Yes he kept that a secret because at that time you could still be chemically castrated in the UK for your orientation, but come on! Many companions in Classic Who are very positive examples of women. Far from perfect, sure, but better than the screaming desk lamps you got elsewhere.
In modern Who I don't think I actually noticed that Micky was the first companion of colour. I know it was mentioned for Martha, and brought up in an episode once or twice, but it didn't matter in the long run.
Under Chibnall he has to bring attention to the casting because he hasn't anything else. He seems so obsessed with this game of representational Bingo he hasn't factored anything else in.
Every story he's written over the last two series has been trite, whole plots and scenes have been lifted from previous, better written, stories. But most importantly he's shoved the idea of representation down our throats in the most offensive way possible:- "Roll up! Roll up We have Woman, We have Colour! Roll up roll up come see the show, Special for one night only... The Gay!" A veritable victorian freak show.
The sooner we get characters defined by who they are and not what they happen to be back in shows like Doctor Who the better !
@@BambiTrout Well that was very eloquent, coherent and considered for a mere ramble - my rambles are usually a shambles. 🙂👏
@@hotdog1214 Shrambles ;)
@@Peteroranje 🤣🤣🤣 That's good!
How do you make a web out of a hotel? "They're trying to make the whole hotel their HABITAT" would be much better
Now we wait for part 2 XD
I don't mind the split reviews. But I will probably give my thoughts on the entire story on the second videos. This way I don't accidentally keep writing the same ideas. I still hit the Like button and the little bell!
I like Jack Robinson in the Dalek special - reminds me of the corporate bad guys in Jon Pertwee's era but with more humour.
Fam you are the best keep going man
This came out way faster than normal. Nice😁😎
the episode's message was the most important thing to the writer, not telling a story that anyone wanted to see at all. this was the trouble with every episode of this era.
part one oh boy, there an endless number of reasons why this one doesn't work xD
The way I thought the episode was gonna go, was that the spiders were actually drawn to despair or grief as if those would make easier victims. And with Graham being in the apartment alone missing Grace, I thought a spider was gonna attack him and then have the dr and crew have to save him along with the other apartment dwellers.
Did i miss a full two-part analysis on Rosa or is it one of the few that you felt worked? 😂
I think he has issues with it, but he has a lot to say and is still working on the critique. I think I remember a comment by him or announcement about that.
It got delayed a little but I'm still working on it!
@@JackWolf10 Sweet, I know it's an episode that people either love or hate but I didn't mind it till I thought more about the fact that the villain was effectively a non-threatening space racist.
They’ve just gone down the wrong avenue of ‘quirky’. The Doctor’s ramblings are quirky because they’re sooo random (eg purple sofa) instead of being from this genius awkward alien
Ah, Leela. Still one of the best companions from both Old and New Who.
Jack's back.
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
Not the episode, your review.
random person: OMG, Doctor Who is teaching me science now!
me, a biologist who worked in a laboratory that used guinea pigs in his experiments: This episode doesn't make any sense.
random: This is not your place to speak.
To be fair, that could be said of a lot of "science" in Doctor Who.
@@ftumschk nop, that person was thinking who my job as exactly like in that episode.
I really can't cope with that thumbnail.
Doctor Who and The Planet of The Spiders
The whole 'purple sofa' speech was an obvious rip-off of the 'I would have to get a house' speech by Ten in The Impossible Planet. However, Ten is rambling about having to get a house to distract himself from the fact that he thinks that he's lost The TARDIS forever and to distract Rose from the fact that she can't get home and is on a planet that could fall into a black hole at any second. It has much more context and emotions behind it than 'The Doctor is rambling because they're #quirky XD ♡', unlike 13's speech.
This first part is just about the title of the episode.
Great video
I can always find good elements in every Doctor Who story, I always am the one who loves the stories everyone hates like Kill The Moon. But this, this episode was so bad I cannot defend it no matter how hard I try.
Same :c
Nothing from Doctor Who has been iconic since 2017
I missed your thumbnail several times until I realised it was you
I didn't bother continuing Series 11 after AITUK
Late reply, and only couple minutes in to the video, but all the points for throwing in a Yellow Submarine scene as a comparison :D
Maybe I'm crazy, but I swear that door was also made of wood.....
The locking mechanism would be made of metal, though.
@@ftumschk Since when have locking mechanisms ever been wood though? It's generally just been if the door itself is made of wood, the sonic doesn't work. My only explanation would be the wood acts like lead shielding for the lock, and since the sonic can't penetrate the wood 'shielding', it can't operate the lock.
@@mattevans4377 A typical front door lock presents a metal surface to the outside world, where you insert the key. The "teeth" of the key engage with the "teeth" of the lock, and turning the key causes the lock to open. I don't see why the sonic shouldnt' be able to manipulate those teeth and mimic the function of a key, because that part of the lock is metal all the way. Indeed, there were instances in Classic Who where the Doctor used the sonic screwdriver to open "traditional" metal door-locks, even though the doors were made of wood.
BTW, I've sometimes thought that NuWho idea that it "doesn't work on wood" was only invented to give writers an excuse to write knob-gags ;)
I feel like with Chibnall's run the first season is alright, there's a lot of oopsies but they aren't noticeable on first watch if you're just casually doing it with the family, like I am, but the second season the bad stuff is so beyond obvious
Wasn't expecting to see a clip from Yellow Submarine :0
I actually really like this episode
12:26 is so funny i canttt
my issue with the scene where she wants them to join the tardis is its just really manipulative and for no good reason, just the doctor acting like a child
Also you must think the doctor would have infinite flats in the tardis
Wasn’t Demon’s Of The Punjab after this episode?
One of the problems with Chibnall's Doctor Who is that if there is a nice touch, it's as if they like it so much they then have to beat you over the head with it.