I’ll give my review here Pros * Tennant and Tate slip back into the role so casually and its good to see them having fun with it as well as them not losing their gold tier dynamic that they had back in Series 4 * I do like how the 14th Doctor isn’t as vain or egotistical as the 10th Doctor was * Oh my god the Doctor wasn’t actually annoying the shit out of me for once like with Jodie or Smith * No forced clunky exposition * It was the first Doctor Who episode since The Haunting of Vila Diodati to entertain me * The sheer scale of the TARDIS interior is amazing * The scene where Shaun returns home to all the chaos did make me chuckle a little bit * The Doctor talking about Wilf made me quite happy as their relationship was one of the few decent things in The End of Time Cons * So the sonic screwdriver can make force fields now, as if it wasn’t overpowered already * The whole gender identity and letting go of the metacrisis thing was really poorly executed and rushed (although I like the idea of it, I’m not fucking Bowlestrek) * The TARDIS interior to me while nicely scaled, it is way too white it needs more colour variety * So Rose somehow has subconscious memories of Donna and the Doctor’s travels, that doesn’t make sense at all * The story could’ve used an extra 10 or 15 mins 6/10
What struck me the most about the episode was the RTDness of it. The banter, the ambience, the goofy aliens, the melodrama. Coming out of the more subdued Chibnall era, this hit me like a tonal truck. I was kinda bugged how they initally portrayed Donna as kind of a saint with the lottery thing. They didn't need to explain why she doesn't have the money anymore cos it's been 15 years, however when she gets her memories back and starts lamenting about giving it away, that's when I went "that's Donna!" My only kinda complaint is Fourteen. He just feels like the Tenth Doctor. Same mannerisms and cadence. Obviously it's too early to make a proper judgment, but I was hoping Tennant would bring a completely different take to the Doctor. The whole point of regeneration is to revamp the character. If you're gonna bring a previous actor as a new incarnation then they should use that as an opportunity to try something they didn't the first time round. If not, what's the point in dedicating a new incarnation for it? Just bring back the Tenth Doctor. Capaldi felt more different in each of his seasons than Fourteen did to Ten.
Not gonna lie, I've really missed doing this with you guys. Stuff I liked: - while the fanboy in me likes the post-regeneration sickness aspect of stories, I don't mind that it was either skipped over or just dropped this time around, because we don't need to see the same actor do it twice. - this might just be me being totally media illiterate, but I really appreciated how the story kept you guessing as to what exactly was going on for a while. - I immediately thought the Meep was way too cutesy, so I liked that it was a bait-and-switch that turned out to be the main villain. (Also, that's the name of an alien from Phineas and Ferb, so that was all I could think of whenever anyone said it's name.) - while I REALLY didn't miss Tennant's angsty moments, I'm actually willing to forgive this one, as when was the last time the Doctor thought he was about to actively kill one of his closest friends? - the scene where the Doctor asks about Wilf managed to be both heart-wrenching and kinda funny. - I appreciate how the story didn't wallop you over the head about Donna's daughter Rose while not downplaying her. - Sylvia's hysteria was both annoying and 100% understandable. - Shaun Temple walking on all the chaos gave me "Troy with pizza" vibes, and I loved it. - the paraplegic UNIT scientist and her weaponized wheelchair was awesome. - the aliens look as shit as ever, and I will never not love the charm of that (aside from the Meep, which actually looked pretty good). - I really like this console room; it feels like a great blend of classic and modern. Stuff I didn't like: - while Tennant was able to slip back in pretty well, there were a few moments where I feel like Catherine Tate struggled. None of them took me out of the episode, it was just something I noticed. (Yet oddly enough Jacqueline King never failed to convince. Go figure.) - the sonic is as ludicrously OP as ever. Now it can make force fields? FFS. - this is definitely a churlish complaint, as I certainly didn't WANT to see mass destruction, but all those fissures in the Earth just closing themselves back up was very silly. - Donna remembering was never not going to feel like a cop-out. - the bit right at the end where Donna and her daughter just sort of... purge the metacrisis (I think that's what happened) confused the hell out of me. - this is probably just me being in too deep, but I swear I've seen the "Donna's child has part of the metacrisis and that alleviates the strain on Donna's mind" premise in fanfics before. - while I appreciate the subtlety with which Rose was handled for most of the episode, I feel like right at the end RTD decided he needed to hammer it home, but there wasn't enough time to do so. (That said, I love it in concept; I think it's about time this show had some representation like that.) I can't really point to any immersion-breaking plot holes, so that's appreciated, and I'm not sure how I feel about Murray Gold coming back, but his music was as noticeable as ever, so I figured I'd mention it. Overall, this was Russell T. Davies as his old cheesy-but-comfy self. For once, I'm willing to be lenient and say I had a lot of fun with it. But I'm dreading the possibility of him slipping into his bombastic nonsense phase again.
I have to speak, as a trans woman, it is incredibly important to show the way Rose is treated by her peers. No, it's not nice and fluffy and cute and completely unproblematic to the point of dullness (cough cough chibnall era cough cough), but it's real. It's showing the real lived experience of trans people, something which is inherently empathetic. You could avoid showing that, sure, but it would almost be disingenuous. It would paint a fantasy setting where no such behavior exists, when the point of the episode much is about tearing down the supposed reality of the Noble family. Even if it wasn't important for narrative reasons, it would Disney-fy the impact of the meta-narrative. It would make this Doctor Who episode one in a line of a hundred boring, toothless, unrealistic portrayals of trans people that completely leaves out the grittier, nastier aspects of it, and Russel T. Davies, a gay man who watched his friends die during the AIDS epidemic, does not write toothless, unrealistic portrayals of queer lives. We can say that it's not hundred percent cuddly and nice and that's fine, but stories that are those things aren't real and can not be or feel real until we acknowledge the reality of lived trans experiences. Showing the deadnaming, to someone like me, it what makes the difference between this episode and any other completely flaccid excuse for queer rep that will slide off you nicely and doesn't make anyone think twice.
A thought i just had, it seems like they just had Rose say "nonbinary" because it goes with Donnas binary thing. Rose could be nonbinary of course but thats just how it felt.
“Aah…I love the smell of copium in the morning!” But nah~ I can’t do this anymore. Tell me if it turns out to be great renewal of Doctor WHO. But don’t give me the old “it’s better than the Chibnall stuff” routine…lol
I liked it but i would've much rather Donna being able to remember being due to the Toymaker. Having Donna being able to remember be down to someone who can literally manipulate reality would at least keep the stakes somewhat.
Silence is something which when used right can make a scene so much better
I’ll give my review here
Pros
* Tennant and Tate slip back into the role so casually and its good to see them having fun with it as well as them not losing their gold tier dynamic that they had back in Series 4
* I do like how the 14th Doctor isn’t as vain or egotistical as the 10th Doctor was
* Oh my god the Doctor wasn’t actually annoying the shit out of me for once like with Jodie or Smith
* No forced clunky exposition
* It was the first Doctor Who episode since The Haunting of Vila Diodati to entertain me
* The sheer scale of the TARDIS interior is amazing
* The scene where Shaun returns home to all the chaos did make me chuckle a little bit
* The Doctor talking about Wilf made me quite happy as their relationship was one of the few decent things in The End of Time
Cons
* So the sonic screwdriver can make force fields now, as if it wasn’t overpowered already
* The whole gender identity and letting go of the metacrisis thing was really poorly executed and rushed (although I like the idea of it, I’m not fucking Bowlestrek)
* The TARDIS interior to me while nicely scaled, it is way too white it needs more colour variety
* So Rose somehow has subconscious memories of Donna and the Doctor’s travels, that doesn’t make sense at all
* The story could’ve used an extra 10 or 15 mins
6/10
Can't disagree with any of that!
What struck me the most about the episode was the RTDness of it. The banter, the ambience, the goofy aliens, the melodrama. Coming out of the more subdued Chibnall era, this hit me like a tonal truck. I was kinda bugged how they initally portrayed Donna as kind of a saint with the lottery thing. They didn't need to explain why she doesn't have the money anymore cos it's been 15 years, however when she gets her memories back and starts lamenting about giving it away, that's when I went "that's Donna!"
My only kinda complaint is Fourteen. He just feels like the Tenth Doctor. Same mannerisms and cadence. Obviously it's too early to make a proper judgment, but I was hoping Tennant would bring a completely different take to the Doctor. The whole point of regeneration is to revamp the character. If you're gonna bring a previous actor as a new incarnation then they should use that as an opportunity to try something they didn't the first time round. If not, what's the point in dedicating a new incarnation for it? Just bring back the Tenth Doctor. Capaldi felt more different in each of his seasons than Fourteen did to Ten.
I've only just realised how serious the Chibnall era played itself. It really didn't match with the way he got Jodie Whittaker to play the Doctor.
Not gonna lie, I've really missed doing this with you guys.
Stuff I liked:
- while the fanboy in me likes the post-regeneration sickness aspect of stories, I don't mind that it was either skipped over or just dropped this time around, because we don't need to see the same actor do it twice.
- this might just be me being totally media illiterate, but I really appreciated how the story kept you guessing as to what exactly was going on for a while.
- I immediately thought the Meep was way too cutesy, so I liked that it was a bait-and-switch that turned out to be the main villain. (Also, that's the name of an alien from Phineas and Ferb, so that was all I could think of whenever anyone said it's name.)
- while I REALLY didn't miss Tennant's angsty moments, I'm actually willing to forgive this one, as when was the last time the Doctor thought he was about to actively kill one of his closest friends?
- the scene where the Doctor asks about Wilf managed to be both heart-wrenching and kinda funny.
- I appreciate how the story didn't wallop you over the head about Donna's daughter Rose while not downplaying her.
- Sylvia's hysteria was both annoying and 100% understandable.
- Shaun Temple walking on all the chaos gave me "Troy with pizza" vibes, and I loved it.
- the paraplegic UNIT scientist and her weaponized wheelchair was awesome.
- the aliens look as shit as ever, and I will never not love the charm of that (aside from the Meep, which actually looked pretty good).
- I really like this console room; it feels like a great blend of classic and modern.
Stuff I didn't like:
- while Tennant was able to slip back in pretty well, there were a few moments where I feel like Catherine Tate struggled. None of them took me out of the episode, it was just something I noticed. (Yet oddly enough Jacqueline King never failed to convince. Go figure.)
- the sonic is as ludicrously OP as ever. Now it can make force fields? FFS.
- this is definitely a churlish complaint, as I certainly didn't WANT to see mass destruction, but all those fissures in the Earth just closing themselves back up was very silly.
- Donna remembering was never not going to feel like a cop-out.
- the bit right at the end where Donna and her daughter just sort of... purge the metacrisis (I think that's what happened) confused the hell out of me.
- this is probably just me being in too deep, but I swear I've seen the "Donna's child has part of the metacrisis and that alleviates the strain on Donna's mind" premise in fanfics before.
- while I appreciate the subtlety with which Rose was handled for most of the episode, I feel like right at the end RTD decided he needed to hammer it home, but there wasn't enough time to do so. (That said, I love it in concept; I think it's about time this show had some representation like that.)
I can't really point to any immersion-breaking plot holes, so that's appreciated, and I'm not sure how I feel about Murray Gold coming back, but his music was as noticeable as ever, so I figured I'd mention it.
Overall, this was Russell T. Davies as his old cheesy-but-comfy self. For once, I'm willing to be lenient and say I had a lot of fun with it. But I'm dreading the possibility of him slipping into his bombastic nonsense phase again.
Can't disagree with any of that! Glad to be back on the panel discussion horse.
I have to speak, as a trans woman, it is incredibly important to show the way Rose is treated by her peers. No, it's not nice and fluffy and cute and completely unproblematic to the point of dullness (cough cough chibnall era cough cough), but it's real. It's showing the real lived experience of trans people, something which is inherently empathetic. You could avoid showing that, sure, but it would almost be disingenuous. It would paint a fantasy setting where no such behavior exists, when the point of the episode much is about tearing down the supposed reality of the Noble family. Even if it wasn't important for narrative reasons, it would Disney-fy the impact of the meta-narrative. It would make this Doctor Who episode one in a line of a hundred boring, toothless, unrealistic portrayals of trans people that completely leaves out the grittier, nastier aspects of it, and Russel T. Davies, a gay man who watched his friends die during the AIDS epidemic, does not write toothless, unrealistic portrayals of queer lives.
We can say that it's not hundred percent cuddly and nice and that's fine, but stories that are those things aren't real and can not be or feel real until we acknowledge the reality of lived trans experiences. Showing the deadnaming, to someone like me, it what makes the difference between this episode and any other completely flaccid excuse for queer rep that will slide off you nicely and doesn't make anyone think twice.
There's a sliiiight Slitheen-y feel to the eyes, mouth, and jowls/cheeks of the goblins. Obvs, the ears are kinda Meep/Yoda lol.
A thought i just had, it seems like they just had Rose say "nonbinary" because it goes with Donnas binary thing.
Rose could be nonbinary of course but thats just how it felt.
“Aah…I love the smell of copium in the morning!”
But nah~ I can’t do this anymore. Tell me if it turns out to be great renewal of Doctor WHO.
But don’t give me the old “it’s better than the Chibnall stuff” routine…lol
I liked it but i would've much rather Donna being able to remember being due to the Toymaker.
Having Donna being able to remember be down to someone who can literally manipulate reality would at least keep the stakes somewhat.
That might have been a better solution depending on how it was explained.
finally some good old quality who
Well I wouldn't go that far. I'd say:
"Finally, after 5 years we have an episode of Doctor Who that doesn't fail all of the basics of screenwriting"
so foke its bespoke
Smh can't believe the BBC would do this
I find Yates and Benton very bland.
Kate and Osgood are far better.
Ding dong, you are wrong. But I'll allow it.
@@TheMaximus997I've watched the whole Pertwee era but I can barely tell you their personalities.
Kate has no character and Osgood's fucking annoying, but I'll allow your opinion
Wow this is the worst take I've had in my comments section for a very long time! Congratulations!
@@LordSlarrYou're welcome