I know you Farmers love you some good old/classic Doctor Who. I do too, which is why I decided to make a cohesive thread (since the other attempted threads are old and dead) even though the show is more irrelevant than ever.
For the uninitiated, Doctor Who is one of BBC's longest running televisions series, going on (including gaps in runs and cancellations) 60 years now. It is about a benevolent, humanoid alien called the Doctor who travels across time and space. The schtick here is that he can "regenerate," meaning that when one iteration dies, a new one takes over (hence why the show has been around for so long). He brings along usually human companions who help him solve mysteries and problems all over the universe. It peaked, not once, but twice: in the 1970s and again in the mid to late 2000s after a successful revival.
But nothing gold can stay. Today, Doctor Who is hardly even a shell of itself. What started out as a charming, low budget sci-fi has turned into a steaming pile of current year globohomo shit and outdated Millennial/Joss Whedon tier humor.
I'm not going to go more in depth with what made the series great and what sucked because if you're here you probably know that already. However, since most people tuned out of the show around 2013, a lot of you may not know what's happened since them.
Most notably, the most recent iteration of the Doctor (#13) was a woman played by Jodie Whittaker. It was also announced a year ago that the succeeding Doctor will be played by gay black Rwandan man Ncuti Gatwa.
In a twist of fate, however, the BBC, realizing how much their ratings had tanked, decided the only way to keep the series afloat was to bring back their biggest cash cow:
That's right. David Tennant will play the Doctor again for a few specials before the gay black man takes over.
Some other highlights include:
The 12th Doctor's companion after Clara Oswald is a gay black woman named Bill. She is a very Mary Sue character who gets tragically turned into a Cyberman, but her consciousness comes back later and she's so smart and cool and awesome that she also meets the 1st Doctor and convinces him not to be a cowardly old man
Most of the "fans' who watch current Doctor Who just obsess over how "queer" it is because of Missy and how the Doctor is totally genderfluid uwu
There is so much more I want to say about the series, but I will leave that to you, frens. But I don't want this thread to just be people complaining: I also want it to be a place where fans can discuss what they loved about the show. Fond memories, fan theories, favorite Doctor debates, etc. If the show was able to be a success after one revival, it could theoretically happen again... but, of course, that's
I can see that. Frankly, the only Doctors whose episodes I have watched in full are Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. They're definitely my top two. I've seen a few episodes from McCoy, Tennant, and Smith. I recall and have seen a fair number of people say that McCoy's Doctor is pretty good. He just got into the series at the worst moment. I am interested in watching his seasons.
I mainly wanted to make this thread because I don't think there's a better show that captures the death of nerd culture quite like Doctor Who.
In the classic era's peak, it was beloved by nerdy boys across the globe for it's cheesy charisma and all around good sci-fi story-telling. When the series revived, they appealed to nerdy Millennial girls by making the next three regenerations hot with lots of interpersonal drama between them and their easily-projected onto young female companions.
I honestly think the main reason the show's ratings dropped like a stone wasn't because of wokeshit or even that it got boring: it was because after Matt Smith, they cast Peter Capaldi (who had the potential to be an amazing classic Doctor), an old and not super attractive man. What else were the fangirls gonna do aside from "Wtf ew" and tune out? Maybe they cast Capaldi with good intentions, I don't know. Since the fanbase was gone, though, the showrunners were really at a loss and just filled it with current year ideology to appease the higher-ups. They even doubled down on it by making the Doctor after Capaldi a meh looking woman.
The moral here is that nerd culture means nothing now. I'm preaching to the choir, but nerd culture hasn't been for nerds for decades now. It hasn't been for nerdy boys for a long time, and it's not even for nerdy girls anymore. Now it's just huge franchises for faux nerds to feel cool but also quirky, manchildren consoomers who find no gratification in anything except buying more shit with X logo on it, and weird propaganda.
I miss when nerds used to make up stories for the sake of making up stories.
@Gutter Twin - Here are the stories I'd tell you to watch of the Doctors you don't know:
Hartnell - The Aztecs
Troughton - The Tomb of the Cybermen
Pertwee - you know him, but The Daemons is my favorite
Baker - same, but Seeds of Doom
Davison - The Caves of Androzani
C Baker - Revelation of the Daleks
McCoy - The Curse of Fenric
McCoy's only good after his first season, and even then people love him or hate him. Colin Baker played him how I think The Doctor should be, kind of a grumpier Pertwee, arrogant, bombastic.
Of the new series, Capaldi was my favorite but Moffatt was done writing by the time it got to his seasons. You're right about it being weird casting in terms of popularity, but he was a perfect Doctor. Smith was great and Tennant is good if you're in the mood for that nonsense, otherwise it's douchey and grating.
You have the correct one.
For a while on here I was drunkenly reviewing episodes of nu-who starting from series 1.
I got all the way up to idiots lantern but the current day show got so bad and this thread got so dead that I lost motivation to keep going. I might start again if anybody wants to see it.
I'm still interested, I was hoping for updates as the new stuff airs in the future but if that doesn't pan out I'll watch it while rereading the old reviews.
Ok, I find it kind of funny that Donna's magic card is a damage hit-back. And for those who don't play the game, there's a lot of cards you can play which damage your own creatures, meaning you could build a deck around hitting Donna and someone else so they then hit your opponents' faces for like 2 or 3 times the value.
It feels like it's been a lifetime since I last made one of these... And I guess in a way it has been.
Minor power level, I technically died (for real) at one point within the past year. I got better obviously.
Anyway... A few days over a year too late to be considered topical-RIP to "her Majesty," (Dr)UnkillShredDur proudly presents: "The Idiot's Lantern."
-We start out the episode with a guy wondering how he's going to pay his bills while some creepy lady on the telly rambles nonsense, all while the super patriotic American song, "My Country 'Tis of Thee" plays in the background. Oh do you Britbongs have another name for this song? XD
-Next, we're introduced to a random family. I guess we're supposed to think that the dad, a WW2 veteran by the look of him, is an asshole... but I really don't get that at all yet. He tells his son that they might get a tv for the coronation and laughs it off when his crazy mother in law condescendingly calls him "our lord and master." What a great dad.
-Also, that same crazy old lady starts ranting about how terrible tv is, specifically that it will "suck your brains out." I've heard hookers promise to do the same thing, but moving on.
-Bloody hell, this cold opening feels long.
After lightning flashes and strikes an oddly shaped antenna...
...which is apparently attached to the Horrible Little Shop from earlier. We cut back to the passed out guy trying to pay his bills. Presumably due to the lightning strike, the voice on TV begins talking to him, and the woman starts sucking on his face.
I'm pretty sure there are hookers who will do *that* for you as well. Oh and I guess this guy's name is Mister Magpie.
-I don't normally talk about the writers of the episodes here, but it's already come up in the thread. This one was written by Mark Gay-tiss. He wrote that forgettable Charles Dickens alien ghost episode that I already talked about back in Series 1. He's also played some random characters in the show both wbefore and after this one to varying degrees of success. I could take him or leave him as a writer. All things considered, I think he's a bit overrated...
We *finally* get to the opening credits.
Everybody but me probably knew this already, but I recently found out that for the RTD era, any time that the time vortex in the opening credits is blue the episode takes place in the past and any time it's red it takes place in the future. That's neat, but I usually skip the opening credits so I'm not surprised I never noticed/forgot about c this year's ago.
-Right off the bat, 10 and Rose are being a lot more overtly flirty than I remember them being. Mickey hasn't even been gone for an episode yet but it seems Rose has already forgotten about him. I can't say I blame her.
-10 and Rose apparently really want to see Elvis. I cant fault them here. Elvis was pretty cool, especially in his prime. Speaking of which...
ROSE: I thought we'd be going for the Vegas era, you know the white flares and the, grr, chest hair.
10: You are kidding, aren't you? You want to see Elvis, you go for the late fifties. The time before burgers. When they called him the Pelvis and he still had a waist. What's more, you see him in style.
Me: 10 You're talking about being "in style" as you drive out of the TARDIS on a dorky looking moped. I think I'm supposed to think that this is cool but it isn't. Mopeds are never cool.
-10 seems to think that they're in New York, but they very clearly aren't. It takes him a ridiculously long time to figure that out. I would think that driving on the wrong side of the road for even a few seconds should have clued him in immediately, but what do I know? Come to think of it.. I don't think they ever explain why they're in London other than "lol TARDIS took them to the wrong place/time again" which is par for the course if a little lazy.
-Rose just asked "what are all the flags for?" But for some reason I misheard it as "what are all the fags for?" I just played it again and it still sounds like she said fags.
-Aww, that family from the long cold open got a tv offscreen. What a great dad.
So anyway they really seem to be enjoying telly on their big, enormous twelve-inch screen. Actually hold onto that thought... Smashing, innit?
-This amazing dad clearly just wants his family to be happy. But they're worried about somebody who got her "face sucked off". She probably should have used a better hooker.
MAGPIE: There you go, sir, all wired up for the great occasion.
10: The great occasion? What do you mean?
MAGPIE: Where've you been living, out in the Colonies? Coronation, of course.
10: What Coronation's that then?
Me: Ok. You're just being thick here 10. Even if you didn't know what year you were in.. And I actually think you do. You only got the location wrong, not the date. You still know that you're in London, and at some point in the mid 20th century. How many major coronations did you britbongs have in that time period?
-Rose notices those oddly shaped antennae from earlier.
Hey wait a minute...
Ok, I know "TV is evil" and all (this message brought to you by a television program) But isn't making the antenna a literal swastika just a bit *too* on the nose?
-"Television is turning people into monsters." Ok episode remind me again, how am I watching this episode right now? Ok, technically I'm watching it on my computer. But I AM currently using a widescreen television as my monitor. Are you saying that you're part of the problem?
-Also, dangerous shit is happening outside and the dad from earlier (Eddie) tells his son to get inside where it's safe. What a great dad.
-The voice in the Television seems to have formed an arrangement of some sort with Mr. Magpie. This is starting to remind me of something...
-Eddie is trying to keep his son away from someone who even the son admits "turned into a monster". Yes, he's being a bit harsh on the boy, but what a great dad trying to keep his son safe. Even his wife Rita seems scared of the old lady upstairs.
-So then these two assholes show up.
Not gonna lie, I would slam the door in their faces if they came knocking on my door in the middle of the night with those faces.
-From the outset, 10 lies to this family to get into their house. That's fine, the Doctor lies. But he also treats Eddie like he's a piece of shit without even knowing the guy. Seriously every "bad" thing we've seen him do so far could easily be reframed as a man trying to protect his family the best he can. And slight spoilers, I don't think that even really changes by the end, even though the episode will resort to turning him into a cartoon villain to make us think it does.
-I've mentioned in several of these reviews that 10 will often intentionally be a dick just to be a dick, even when he could just as easily not do that. (And that's one of the reasons why I don't like 10 as much as most people do.) This is one such case. The fuck are you doing here 10?
10: Not bad. Very nice. Very well kept. I'd like to congratulate you, Mrs?
RITA: Connolly.
EDDIE: Now then, Rita. I can handle this. This gentleman's a proper representative. Don't mind the wife, she rattles on a bit.
10: Well, maybe she should rattle on a bit more. I'm not convinced you're doing your patriotic duty. Nice flags. Why are they not flying?
EDDIE: There we are Rita, I told you, Get them up. Queen and country.
RITA: I'm sorry.
EDDIE: Get it done. Do it now.
10: Hold on a minute. You've got hands, Mister Connolly. Two big hands. So why is that your wife's job?
EDDIE: Well, it's housework, innit?
10: And that's a woman's job?
EDDIE: Of course it is.
10: Mister Connolly, what gender is the Queen?
EDDIE: She's a female.
10: And are you suggesting the Queen does the housework?
Me: No, but I have a feeling a lot of her servants are also female...
EDDIE: No. Not at all.
10: Then get busy.
Me: Hey 10. Whose *job* was it to fight in WW2? Because I don't think there were very many women on the front lines.
Maybe Eddie was being just a tiny bit sexist, but I am willing to give *this* guy a bit of leeway to a bit of a grump when he also appears to be a war hero.
I don't know what any of those medals mean, but the fact that he still wears them implies that he's still serving his country in some capacity. One would presume that this is also *his* job. I don't think it's that unreasonable to expect his stay at home wife to do the housework, especially in this time period.
-Come to think of it Doctor, aren't you technically a military veteran who came back from war meaner and grumpier than you went in? One would think you would be at least somewhat sympathetic, even if you've gone back to hating war again. Especially seeing how you don't know ANY of these people.
-Annnd... look who decided to join us... Queen Bitch Rose. I was so hung up on petty shit in this episode that I forgot how terrible Rose can be. So the real "her majesty" in this episode decides to chastise this poor man even further in front of his family.
EDDIE: Right. Yes, sir. You'll be proud of us, sir. We'll have Union Jacks left, right and centre.
ROSE: That's the Union Flag. It's the Union Jack only when it's flown at sea.
Me: Oh, wow. I didn't know that.
Also Me: Wait a minute, let me look that up...
Me: Right, so you're being pedantic about something that you're wrong about. Well I guess I can't say that you're acting out of character. Also, I guess in this show's mind those fake tits count as a naval vessel, because multiple people including the Doctor all called that (admittedly awesome) shirt you rocked in that Moffat 2 parter, "A Union Jack shirt".
After making this poor war veteran apologize to her over something she's incorrect about, Rose makes this shit eating grin to the Doctor...
Man I wish somebody would wipe that look off her face.
And of course 10, who should know better, is completely on her side. He's going along with her telling the war veteran to keep working while he watches tv on the couch with Rose and the son and wife.
Hey 10, aren't you here to investigate a missing person? Why are you doing this?
-Eddie finally gets fed up with being so clearly and blatantly disrespected in his own home by two random assholes. What a saint for putting up with it for as long as he did.
Unfortunately, Eddie doesn't have a loisence to question the Doctor.
EDDIE: I am talking!
10: And I'm not listening!
-We finally get a look at this "monster."
Ok, not the best, but I'll admit I would be unsettled if someone looked like that irl. Good job episode.
-A bunch of scary men in black rush into the room:
10: Hold on a minute. There are three important, brilliant, and complicated reasons why you should listen to me. One...
-the guy just punches him in the face.-
I laughed.
-So these men in black, who have already shown that they aren't afraid to use violence just carried this old lady away. Eddie is trying to keep his family safe from them. Seriously Rita, I know she's your mum, but what could you possibly do to stop these men besides get the crap beat out of you? What a great guy Eddie is for trying to protect you.
-Eddie finally tells Rose to get the hell out of his house. I would have done it about 20 minutes ago if it was me.
Before she goes, Rose has to get in one more dig at this poor guy.
ROSE: And as for you, Mister Connolly, only an idiot hangs the Union Flag upside down. Shame on you!
It was hard to tell, so I "zoomed in and enhanced". THIS is how Eddie was hanging the flags.
He appears to be hanging a string of flags vertically. There actually *is* a proper way to hang the Union Jack vertically.
Even enhanced, it isn't the easiest to see, but to my eye it looks like Eddie was doing it correctly.
Which means you're fucking wrong again Rose.
So wait Rose... Who is the idiot? Oh right, it's you.
Man I *really* hope somebody removes that shit eating grin from her face.
-Credit where it's due, despite clearly being the "idiot" in this episode's title, Rose actually acts somewhat clever (for her at least) here. She sees that the tv is acting weird, sees Magpies name on the back of it, recalls back to the beginning where there are far more tv's around than there should be in this time period, and then goes to confront Magpie about it...
-...Unfortunately that's about where her cleverness ends. She goes to confront the guy with no plan, no idea of *his* plan, or even the scope of his power. Seymour Magpie, who doesn't even seem to be that bad of a guy is actually trying to let her go, but her stupid ass won't take a hint and come back later preferably with the Doctor and/or a plan.
MAGPIE: I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
Me: Bad Magpie. That's the Doctor's line.
Oh and hey look, I got what I wanted. Yay!
-Ok, I admit Eddie is kind of an asshole in this scene, but you can hardly blame him for being a bit pissed at his family. The night before this, they were all perfectly willing to laugh along with the two random assholes who came in and treated him like a chump in his own home. I'd still be a little miffed too. Also I laughed at that bit about the queen not being able to see his wife's hairdo through the telly. Why are they all dressed up for this?
-10 shows up and asks Tommy (the son) to tell him exactly what happened to his gran. It's a shame 10 wasted so much of last night trying to embarrass Eddie. If he had gone in and acted like a professional he might have had time to ask about this last night before the men in black came.
-Eh. They're trying to say that Eddie ratted everyone on the street out because he was a coward. This doesn't track to me. They've turned this guy into a 2-d cartoon villain for no reason. It would have been enough to say that he just ratted out the grandmother because he was trying to keep his family safe. How would he even know about the others?
-The Doctor commits breaking and entering in broad daylight right in front of a Detective Inspector. It sure is a good thing that your hunch was right. That would have been awkward if Magpie was a completely innocent party in all of this.
-I haven't talked in detail about the actual villain of this episode because tbh she's been pretty boring so far. But apparently she's called The Wire. I still don't have that much to say about "her" (she's only using the voice and appearance of the woman from the tv... I think.) Also, she's been using Magpie to help her "eat" these people's faces. Right on.
-I can't not mention this... "The Wire" starts feeding on 10, Tommy, and the Detective Inspector all at the same time. She only stops feeding when she does because 10 pulled out his sonic and she got scared. For some reason though, only the Detective Inspector got his face sucked off. 10 still passed out for a bit though. If she had just kept going and sucked 10's face off after that she would have easily won. Whatever. The episode doesn't question it, so I won't either.
-Because 10 passed out, Magpie got away with his doohickey thing! Is it too late to stop him?
10: It's never too late, as a wise person once said. Kylie, I think...
Me: Psst Doctor, don't give away spoilers for Voyage of the Damned, that's still like 2 years away.
THE WIRE: Feed me!
Me:
At the beginning of this episode there is a lightning strike, which apparently brings an alien life form to Earth. This alien ends up paired with a down on his luck putz. This alien also feeds on humans in some way. The alien then tries to feed on the putz, only to realize that it can ultimately get more food if it uses said putz to bring in more of what it feeds off on- And now, this alien is about to grow massively and is begging the putz to "Feed me".
I don't think this episode being basically "Little Shop of Horrors, but Doctor Who" was a coincidence. Also I don't think I'm the first person to notice the similarities. There's probably even a few I didn't notice.
-I like the psychic paper sometimes, but it's just retarded here. 10 pulls it out and flashes it at a guard as he runs past him. The guard immediately believes that he's the King of Belgium and lets him pass. Does that mean that anybody could have pulled out a regular piece of paper that said "King of Belgium" and that guard would have just let him pass? What an idiot. The guard is so convinced by this that he begs the doctor not to climb a tower because "your majesty will get killed up there."
-Magpie just got killed. I can't help but think he didn't deserve to die. He wasn't even among the top 3 assholes in this episode. 10 and Rose easily took up the top two slots, and it's up for debate whether The Wire or Eddie was number 3.
-I like that the Doctor wearing those (kinda dumb) shoes is actually a (kinda dumb) plot point.
DOCTOR: Rubber soles, swear by them!
Me: I don't think it actually works like that irl.. (Can you really avoid getting struck by lightning if you're wearing Converse shoes? Google says no.) Still, this is only the second dumbest thing to happen to 10 as he's climbing a tower getting struck by lighting. Weird that it happened twice.
-"My country tis of thee" (America, Fuck yeah!) is playing again in the background while Queen Elizabeth Jr. gets inaugurated.
-10 claims to have invented the betamax 30 years too early. Right on.
-Sorry, I still don't have any respect at all for your monarchy britbongs... Watching all of these people fawn over her rings completely hollow to me.
-So as one last fuck you to Eddie, his wife Rita kicks him out of the house.
RITA: This was never your house. It's in my mother's name. And on her behalf I'm telling you, out.
Me: I'm not prepared to die on this hill, but I still don't think Eddie deserved any of this. He's only the "bad guy" because the Doctor decided that he was after knowing him for all of 5 seconds. Also, by the logic of this episode, the mother in law shouldn't have even remembered anything that happened to her after having her face stolen. It literally wasn't her at the time when the men in black took her mindless body away. Eddie really was just looking out for his family.
Ok, this ending pisses me off more than anything...
10 Is that it, then, Tommy? New monarch, new age, new world. No room for a man like Eddie Connelly.
TOMMY: That's right. He deserves it.
ROSE: Tommy, go after him.
TOMMY: What for?
ROSE: He's your dad.
Me: That didn't stop you from shitting on him throughout all of this episode so far.
TOMMY: He's an idiot.
Me: So is Rose. You still seem to like her.
ROSE: Of course he is. Like I said, he's your dad. But you're clever. Clever enough to save the world, so don't stop there. Go on.
-This ending here seems really muddled. 10 and Rose spent most of the episode treating War Veteran Eddie like he was a war criminal, but now that he got kicked out of his house (at least partly due to their actions), they're telling Tommy that he needs to go be nice to him. Make up your mind episode.
I actually think I liked the original directors cut ending for the episode more than the relatively happy ending that we got...
This episode wasn't great, but it also wasn't the worst episode this season. It's gonna get even worse than that a few episodes from now.
Next Episode: Oh hey I remember this one! This is the one where they got Sutekh to come back and play the devil. I actually remember it being pretty good.
Great write-up, btw. Fun fact, Idiot's Lantern is the only episode of the 9,10 and 11 era I have not seen. Thank you for helping quash any completionist behaviours that would have made me watch it anyway.
Now if Twelve had regenerated into Joanna Lumley I might not have minded so much. Channelling a bit of Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous for good measure. They could bring back Donna Noble and the two could have epic slanging matches across Time and Space.
"Is he from Gabon?"
"Am I bovvered?"
"Is he from Gabon?"
"Am I bovvered?"
"IS HE FROM GABON?"
"AM I BOVVERED?"
Trying to get myself hyped up for the 60th anniversary but I found this WhatCulture video instead. Three things to note:
WhatCulture doesn't understand Doctor Who
Doctor Who fucking sucks
The Doctor has they/them pronouns
Let's address it point by point.
0:27 VIDEO GAME CHARACTERS CAN FEEL THEIR DEATHS – This episode must be very forgettable because I barely remember seeing it. But apparently this is established by a throwaway line in that episode that video game characters have subjective experience and feel pain. If that's the case, then it's fucking dumb. Having this be canon in the Doctor Who universe makes Doctor Who needlessly dark. It also makes no sense to anyone who knows two shits about video games. Needless to say, Kotaku loved it (archive)
1:35 GRIDLOCK'S FORGOTTEN FAMILIES - This one makes the episode darker, but in a good way. Honestly, there's plenty of story potential in the idea of someone being reunited with a long-lost family who they've purposely erased from their memory to ease the pain of losing them.
2:35 - WHY THE EIGHTH DOCTOR DOESN'T WEAR ROBES - This seems like way too much rationalisation around a simple costume choice that was most likely caused by production constraints, not a decision to write him that way. Besides, Eight was never characterised by emotional scarring from the Time War. If anything, that would have been Nine. Eight sees basically none of the Time War.
3:49 – THE EARTH IS A SILENT GRAVEYARD – Yeah, this was my first "Doctor Who fucking sucks" moment of the video. And it's probably no coincidence that it's in an episode written by Moffat. Steven Moffat actually came up with really cool ideas, but he failed to think through the implications of most of them. And this is a perfect example.
The idea of an alien monster that we are secretly seeing all the time but don't know about because they instantly wipe the encounter from our memories when we look away is a really cool idea. Unfortunately, it falls apart when you make the mistake of thinking about it. Like, would there not be major life events that we have no recollection of because a Silent was visible at the time?
The way this storyline is resolved is even more retarded. The Doctor uses the Apollo 11 moon landing footage to convince everyone to fight and kill these monsters. Aside from the logistical problem of having their corpses pile up everywhere, there's the obvious implication of brainwashing 600 million humans to start random fights to the death with the first alien they see. Not every one of them is going to win their fight. Unless the Silence are made of papier maché, there would be human corpses as well as alien ones, and no way to explain the sudden pandemic of people dropping dead from fights with invisible enemies. Is the Doctor TRYING to get people killed? I doubt it. But the episode was written to make it look like he is.
4:52 - TIME LORD SOLDIERS'. DEATHS ARE SENT TO THEIR FAMILIES - I don't watch the extended media, but this seems like a shitty framing device and nothing more.
5:53 - ACTUAL ZOMBIES EXIST – The difference between this and other zombies in the show is that these ones are actually called zombies. A semantic difference and nothing more.
6:52 – JACKIE DOESN'T KNOW WHY PETE DIED - Again, this makes the episode darker, in a good way. I hate that all the episodes I'm saying this about are RTD-era episodes because I bloody despise the man.
7:48 - AMY AND RORY BECAME CYBERMEN – and this is another one of those 'Moffat moments' where he had a very interesting idea but failed to think through the obvious implications of it. Turning billions of dead people into Cybermen, including the Doctor's own loved ones, would make the show needlessly dark. Needless to say, the episode never dwelled on this fact for very long. It brushed right past the implications and invited us not to think about it.
8:49 – THE THIRTEENTH DOCTOR KILLS A TARDIS – this is another example of the show being shit. And it involves Jodie Whittaker's 13th Doctor, so at least it's on-brand for her. I think the only reason Chris Chibnall wrote her Killing a sentient time machine is because he really needed the Doctor to have the only TARDIS in the universe.
9:53 – THE DOCTOR KNOWS WHEN CERTAIN FRIENDS WILL DIE – I don't get the impression at all that the Doctor intentionally researches this information. That would be morbid and antithetical to his character. If anything, it just seems more like something he'd find out by accident.
And yes, I am referring to the Doctor with male pronouns because he is a man. Suck on it, feminists.
I know that the Celestial Toymaker has a huge following/mystique for a variety of reasons, but would it not make more sense to have Neil Patrick Harris play the Black Guardian?
Would make the image of him in a top hat and black tux and painted up like the MC from Cabaret make more sense thematically (Black Guardian dresses in black and given the Lady Gaga outfit the character wore in the original series, updating it to "Neil Patrick Harris doing a Joel Grey homage" would be an upgrade). Plus the fact that, the Black Guardian's vow of vengeance against the Doctor was one of the major unresolved plot threads from the original series AND Black Guardian remains one of the few big name villains not to appear in the revival yet after all this time.
Black Guardian returning would make a hell of a lot of sense for a major anniversary special series PLUS Black Guardian targeting Donna Noble would be a major fucking thing in terms of revenge. And would make for a better reason for why (as seen in the preview) the Tardis got the fuck out of dodge and left Donna/Doctor behind AND be a reason for undoing the BS mindwipe/Donna can never remember shit; Black Guardian uses his God-power to restore Donna's memory and remove the offending Time Lord DNA to reset Donna as being human again, so he can torture them with full knowledge of their past together before murdering them.
I know that the Celestial Toymaker has a huge following/mystique for a variety of reasons, but would it not make more sense to have Neil Patrick Harris play the Black Guardian?
Would make the image of him in a top hat and black tux and painted up like the MC from Cabaret make more sense thematically (Black Guardian dresses in black and given the Lady Gaga outfit the character wore in the original series, updating it to "Neil Patrick Harris doing a Joel Grey homage" would be an upgrade). Plus the fact that, the Black Guardian's vow of vengeance against the Doctor was one of the major unresolved plot threads from the original series AND Black Guardian remains one of the few big name villains not to appear in the revival yet after all this time.
Black Guardian returning would make a hell of a lot of sense for a major anniversary special series PLUS Black Guardian targeting Donna Noble would be a major fucking thing in terms of revenge. And would make for a better reason for why (as seen in the preview) the Tardis got the fuck out of dodge and left Donna/Doctor behind AND be a reason for undoing the BS mindwipe/Donna can never remember shit; Black Guardian uses his God-power to restore Donna's memory and remove the offending Time Lord DNA to reset Donna as being human again, so he can torture them with full knowledge of their past together before murdering them.
Actually it was one of Toymaker's henchmen that dropped the n-word not Toymaker himself. Toymaker just did the cultural appropriation thing dressing in Mandarin garb.
Also, I'm kind of curious as to what Rik Mayall would have done with the character had the planned serial from the Collin Baker era had been made instead of canceled due to the Michael Grade forced hiatus. One of the big "what ifs..." of the original series, as I could have seen the Toymaker replacing Fenric in the McCoy era as it's big bad if Mayall had been able to get the role.
Actually it was one of Toymaker's henchmen that dropped the n-word not Toymaker himself. Toymaker just did the cultural appropriation thing dressing in Mandarin garb.
Also, I'm kind of curious as to what Rik Mayall would have done with the character had the planned serial from the Collin Baker era had been made instead of canceled due to the Michael Grade forced hiatus. One of the big "what ifs..." of the original series, as I could have seen the Toymaker replacing Fenric in the McCoy era as it's big bad if Mayall had been able to get the role.
I heard the plan for the 6 Toymaker episode would've been based around arcade games. May have been Phil Sandifer's blog back in ye olde days when troons were an acceptible target and didn't include Phil Sandifer
