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Doctor Who [Spoilers]

More like a standard DW episode tonight, apart from the CGI critter it looked like the cheapo one for this series. Always nice to see some good corridor action, some things never change. The laughs were better than the sad bits, though. I guess Ryan's "...no" at the fist bump is a running joke, now? Also nice to see Scottish people make it into the 67th century.

Next week: Doctor Who and the Partition of India! It's a rollercoaster, this series.
 
More like a standard DW episode tonight, apart from the CGI critter it looked like the cheapo one for this series. Always nice to see some good corridor action, some things never change. The laughs were better than the sad bits, though. I guess Ryan's "...no" at the fist bump is a running joke, now? Also nice to see Scottish people make it into the 67th century.

Next week: Doctor Who and the Partition of India! It's a rollercoaster, this series.

I thought they were going to turn back and drop ‘The Gremlin’ onto the junk planet where it could eat forever.
 
I thought they were going to turn back and drop ‘The Gremlin’ onto the junk planet where it could eat forever.

The wee guy probably got there eventually - that'll be why they picked him up in the first place, it's his local haunt.
 
Peter Davison era had 3 from memory. Adric, Nyssa and Tegan. I can't remember if they were all introduced at the same time though.
I think Adric came on board towards the end of Tom Baker's reign (Nyssa too?) while Tegan arrived in Timeflight. All 3 in different stories, for sure.
 
I think Adric came on board towards the end of Tom Baker's reign (Nyssa too?) while Tegan arrived in Timeflight. All 3 in different stories, for sure.
Adric in Full Circle, then Nyssa in Keeper of Traken and Tegan in Logopolis, all three Tom Baker stories.
 
So, far enjoying the new Doctor & her companions. But then I've enjoyed all the Doctors and most of their stories - since c.1976.

I've tended to like the companions when there were more than one of them, and think it's interesting there are now 3 at once, echoing the original first episode.

It all hinges on the stories, the writing and as I tell anyone who's not even remotely interested: Doctor Who isn't about the SciFi, it's essentially a morality story about doing the right thing, with cool and unusual characters.

I don't see any pandering to 'PC-ness' - Doctor Who was always experimental with characters and actors. If someone thinks that skintone/gender is that important to any character then I think they need to examine their feelings about it!

The Brigadier was a personal favourite, as are any UNIT-associated characters. I'm hoping for a Captain Jack re-appearance too, but I fear I may be in a minority.
 
I have to say there was some egregious stuff in this week's episode. There is no way that running a particle accelerator to create positrons to then annihilate and generate thrust is more efficient than just accelerating the original particles out the back of the ship.

Oh, and the bit with the Pting in the airlock: Why didn't she open the door before the bomb went off, just to make sure? She thought it would absorb the blast, but wasn't 100% certain, she should have dumped it the instant it ate the thing.

I wasn't overly happy with the pregnancy plot, either. It felt like it was just to sideline Graham and Ryan because they didn't have enough other things to do. Given that they chose to do it, though, they did manage to work in some character development for Ryan and his relationships with his father and Graham.

Other than that, I quite enjoyed it. I think, overall, I preferred last week, but this one was fine. Next week seems to be about Yaz and her family in the partition. Might have been nice if they'd just done a pure historical - we haven't had one for a while - but we'll see what they're up to.
 
Did I miss hear ( or imagine !) the name of the new born baby as being Avocado- named for the great Vegan as a compliment to the Earthling Douas?
 
There is no way that running a particle accelerator to create positrons to then annihilate and generate thrust is more efficient than just accelerating the original particles out the back of the ship.

Shrewdly anticipating your scepticism, I have already mentioned this to Escette and will expect his expert analysis in due course.
 
Not too sure about this ep. Seemed a bit odd, the Doc taking a break to explain anti-matter drive in the middle of trying to evacuate all patients to one area of the ship. It was nice to see the Doc taking charge but it did rather sideline the companions into having nothing much to do and not sure of the point of the android. I supposed it was going to be him that handled the Pting, as he wouldn't be affected by the toxicity, but, in the end, Yaz wrapped it in a blanket and chucked it out. So why did he need to be an android? Could have been a human. And he seemed to have no real function in the story either.
 
Businessman will turn up again - probably as US President in a future future story. His story arc isn't finished, mark my words.

And as for 'making the show PC'...really? Black and asian people and women allowed to be in it? Whatever next...

I don’t think those criticising the PC angle are saying that black, Asian people and/or women shouldn’t be in it. But it does feel a little like being bonked over the head with a diversity manual as the scripts follow contemporary woke obsessions: racial issues, evil white supremacist businessman, a man giving birth etc. All very paint by numbers BBC and, rather like the trend for every advert to feature a mixed race couple, once you notice it then it’s hard to ignore.

I haven’t watched every episode but my initial impressions:

  • Jodie Whitaker is okay but her cheeky chapess Yorkshire schtick is already getting a bit old.
  • Too many companions. Just her and Bradley Walsh would be fine.
  • The Rosa episode would have been better as a Quantum Leap story.
 
The man giving birth seemed to be in the story for the sole purpose of being a man giving birth. He had nothing to do with the plot at all.

On a more positive note, it's always nice to see the sister of a former hurdling world champion on TV, even if she did look really silly clamped into that standy-up control thing.
 
If they have discovered a way to create antimatter without creating matter at the same time, then that drive could work. Then you just smash the positrons into some electrons and get the energy for both.

What I want to know is how the pting moves around in space. Perhaps the energy consumption leads to some really energetic farts.
 
On a more positive note, it's always nice to see the sister of a former hurdling world champion on TV, even if she did look really silly clamped into that standy-up control thing.
Yeah - you do get the impression somebody thought as almost identical (but more military-looking) equipment looked ace in Pacific Rim it'd also look good in this. That the ones in PR wouldn't have looked out of place in a tank or fighter plane and the one in DW in a hair salon seems to have not occurred to them. Or rather it did, hence the exaggerated difference.
 
If they have discovered a way to create antimatter without creating matter at the same time, then that drive could work. Then you just smash the positrons into some electrons and get the energy for both.
It was explicitly stated as being a particle accelerator that created the anti-matter. Without magic, that means they're accelerating matter particles into each other in such a way to create the positrons, and then using those to generate heat.

Kind of a long way round to create some heat. But this is really nitpicking, especially given the history of different star drives and the fact the central character travels through time. I was really just being facetious in the face of the people complaining about how the Doctor shouldn't be a woman, and the "evil liberals" who are wedging the "PC agenda" into a kids' show just by not having everyone be a white man.

What I want to know is how the pting moves around in space. Perhaps the energy consumption leads to some really energetic farts.
Did look kind of similar to the Slitheen...
 
Exactly. It seems odd for us to be commenting on the ethnicities and genders of those in the stories when literally every other character is an alien from another species totally.

Either we suspend disbelief and recognise that our differences of colour and race are nothing in the face of the monumental differences between humans and those from other planets, or we watch it as a TV programme and realise that the BBC shows life in all its shades and diversities.

And I suggest that people only feel 'hit over the head' with PCness if they want to be. You only notice 'mixed race' couples in adverts when it's pointed out, or when you stop to think about it? Why would you want to stop and think about it? It's just PEOPLE, people.
 
As I often say, it's reality you should be offended and worried by - not fiction and fantasy!
 
Exactly. It seems odd for us to be commenting on the ethnicities and genders of those in the stories when literally every other character is an alien from another species totally.

Either we suspend disbelief and recognise that our differences of colour and race are nothing in the face of the monumental differences between humans and those from other planets, or we watch it as a TV programme and realise that the BBC shows life in all its shades and diversities.

And I suggest that people only feel 'hit over the head' with PCness if they want to be. You only notice 'mixed race' couples in adverts when it's pointed out, or when you stop to think about it? Why would you want to stop and think about it? It's just PEOPLE, people.

I think you may have misunderstood my post.

It makes absolute sense that a fantasy show featuring space faring civilisations will involve humans of various races as well as aliens of various sorts. When that just seems part of the setting you don’t really notice it. I’ve been rewatching Star Trek: TNG and that’s a good example of how diverse casting works.

With Dr Who and indeed the majority of BBC drama at the moment it all seems a little by numbers and done to make a political point rather than in the interests of good drama and story telling.

The casting of TV adverts was an aside, but it’s true that the impression one takes away from current advertising is that around 80% of British under-60s are in mixed race partnerships. That’s not accidental, it’s very deliberate casting, probably intended to show how woke the product being advertised is. All a bit daft really.
 
With regards to the relevance of the android and the pregnant man; maybe they don't necessarily add to plot development but they do flesh out and add colour and nuance to the fantasy world.

But that's not really how storytelling works. If I submitted a book to my agent with significant characters that didn't add anything to the story but were just there on the page 'doing things', she'd tell me to go back and make them relevant to the storyline. Every word should either build the character or advance the story, it's a writer's mantra. Wallpaper and colour is done through setting.
 
And just in case we need help on the other side after we regenerate....

 
Nodded off twice during tonight's DW.
I suspect the ratings will continue to head south.

Ps. great to have the forum back!
Well done to everyone involved!
 
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