So apparently the meme episode of Doctor Who will be playing in theaters next Wednesday, August 7. I don't remember if I've ever seen The End of Time in its entirety. I started watching Doctor Who during Smith's run and skipped around the RTD era because everything after Eccleson left was shit. I do recall a scene that felt like a backdoor pilot for RTD's other series, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Mysteries, but that's about it. Is it any good? Is it crap? Should anyone go to see this in theaters? Inquiring minds want to know.
It's goofy and self-indulgent, like basically every Tennant finale. OTOH, it has a beginning, middle, and end, which means it's still a step above Moffatt and his inability to finish anything. John Simm is probably still crapping drywall from all the scenery he chewed in that episode.
Big Finish released their 20 year anniversary wank fest box set not too long ago. Legacy of Time And I finally got around to listening to it.
The semi-spoilery selling point for this box set is that it combines 6(?) Doctors with various other DW characters, usually from Big Finish history, (or who have at least have appeared in BF before)... And several of those pairings are ones you wouldn't expect to be possible... As usual, I'll elaborate after the spoilers.
Early tl;dr : Did I hate this? Not at all. Did I love it?
The structure of this set is 6 different stories, which are all more or less complete in their own right (until the last one at least) but they all still tie in together in retrospect. BF has experimented with that format before, The Worlds of Doctor Who (Their 15 year Anniversary) comes to mind.
Here's a rundown of the individual stories...
1. Lies in Ruins - The main gimmick to this particular episode is "River Song meets Bernice Summerfield" (Oh, and 8 is there as well.) I suppose this is a pairing people have been asking for... And I get it. I used to rather dislike River, but I've actually found myself liking her despite myself after the last few episodes of her ongoing BF series. Unfortunately I can't say the same for Benny- Every story I've tried to get into with her, she strikes me as a monumental bitch, and this story did nothing to change that, even though River actually *pretended to be* a tad more evil here, while Benny was the "Good Cop" but only because River knows the Doctor so much better than Benny does, and was clearly using reverse psychology on him. The most intriguing bit of this episode is that this 8 *appears* to be the latest version of him that we've ever seen yet (excluding "The Night of the Doctor," obviously.) The Time War is in full swing for him, and it has clearly worn him down quite a bit. Also, the companion he's traveling with has never been seen before, (and hopefully won't be seen again.)
She is portrayed as being insufferably positive, to the point of literal stupidity, from the beginning even... But then it ends up we're supposed to feel bad for hating her when she dies- but then it turns out that she's just an android 8 created to feel a little bit better about himself with how fucked up his life is during the Time War.
With that said, 8 *supposedly* acts out of character in this story... putting up a force field that only hurts an (unreasonable) attacker if they refuse to stop attacking the ground (which he at the time believes to be the ruins of Gallifrey) that he and the previously mentioned companions are standing on... Only, he's made out to be the bad guy for this for... reasons... I hated this, even though the Doctor was ultimately wrong about what he was trying defend actually being Gallifrey. I blame Benny, because fuck Benny.
2. The Split Infinitive - This story is 7 and Ace meet the Countermeasures team.(To be fair, I have no clue if this has happened before or not.)
Full Disclosure: 7 is one of my least favorite Doctors, and Ace is one of my least favorite companions (though she's ironically perfectly fine here) Also, my only exposure to Countermeasures is the previously mentioned 15th Big Finish Anniversary Special - The Worlds of Doctor Who, and unfortunately neither this story, nor that one, made me care much about them this particular team. With all that negativity out of the way, this episode was actually pretty good. The episode did a good job setting up two different parallel stories happening simultaneously with mostly the same characters, a decade apart, (with the caveat that if anyone died in the earlier story, they could still end up dead) this conceit succeeded in raising the stakes enough for me to care, even for characters I still know almost nothing about. They also brought back the Rocketmen as surprise villains (you clicked the spoiler tag, not me), so if that's your thing you might like this episode.
3. The Sacrifice of Jo Grant - This is probably the best premise of these 6 on paper: The Third Doctor (Played by Tim Treloar, as Jon Pertwee is obviously long dead.) meets the 2013+ version of U.N.I.T. (Including, for reasons that literally only make sense because the Third Doctor is a character in this story, Jo Jones, née Grant, whom it appears is also best buddies with Osgood) Before I say anything else, I have to say... Unlike pretty much everyone, I don't think Tim Treloar particularly sounds anything at all like Jon Pertwee... But that also hasn't mattered to me much. His 3rd Doctor series have been surprisingly good to me so far, even if it's the equivalent of an Elvis impersonator, who barely sounds anything like Elvis, also somehow being a more than decent singer in his own right.
With all that said, despite actually quite liking the Third Doctor (regardless of who's playing him), I've always thought that Jo Grant was a stupid hippie, no matter how much smoke 3 blew up her ass... and unfortunately she does very little to change my mind in this story.
The Jo "Jones" in this story is 40+ years older than the last time we saw her in the 3rd Doctor's time line.
Unfortunately, the most memorable thing she does in this story is guilt her Doctor (whom she hasn't seen for decades) into ordering a vegetarian dish at some shithole in the wall bar place because her retarded version of morality can't reconcile the inherent moralty that the Doctor holds with *not* being a vegetarian. If this bitch were American, she would be a member of PETA, they even imply that she's spent the previous decades when we haven't seen her engaging in the terrorist activities that PETA obviously do now. Incidentally, being the classy guy he is, The 3rd Doctor orders the vegetarian dish to humor her stupid ass... It's even funnier when you realize that Katy Manning posed naked with a Dalek, back before she looked like the shriveled up husk she does now- also no Doctor has ever mentioned being a vegetarian before or since, so this guilt trip obviously didn't stick.
If I seem mad, it's only because the title is a double lie. "Jo Grant" isn't even in this story, she's long since married and become Jo Jones, and even then she doesn't end up sacrificing herself at all... Even though she tries to... but the 3rd Doctor and Osgood end up randomly saving her in the end, even though the story had previously said she was guaranteed to die- The reset button: when killing off an obsolete character would have meant a hell of a lot more...
I'm also supposed to believe that a 70ish year old woman somehow managed to knock the 3rd Doctor out with Venusian Aikido... Sorry, I don't believe that.
4. Relative Time - The 5th Doctor meets "Jenny The Doctor's Daughter" (played by his real life daughter, obviously) and hilarity ensues, right? Right? Not so much. Jenny is still every bit much the insufferable cunt she's always been, even though I think this takes place before her solo outing (It isn't specified, but her boy toy and the various MULTIPLE super special ships she manages to steal aren't mentioned at all in this, which raises some questions with me... Anyways, The majority of the meat in this story comes from the fact that Jenny "finally" meeting her "father" (5 incarnations earlier) right down to the scene where Jenny insists on trying to drive the T.A.R.D.I.S. (when she's literally never even seen a T.A.R.D.I.S. before this) and fucking up immensely, even though it's important that it go smoothly because they're trying to save people... They even pull the cringy bit where she cucks 5 into sitting down and shutting up and letting her drive. This Jenny is still the ultimate Mary Sue. She can literally talk to the T.A.R.D.I.S. about how (apparently) shit 5 is, when 5 (and no other Doctor ever) can't even do that. I don't even like 5, and I felt bad for him here for having to put up with this shit. They add in an obvious (and necessary) plot contrivance for why 5 won't remember this, but it didn't appear to apply to Jenny-
The 9 is also the villain here, but the 9 sucks... He's always sucked, except for that one time when Liv and Helen thought he was actually the 8th Doctor regenerated in to the 9th Doctor and traveled with him to Gallifrey. Even still, he sucks here. Like I said before, they also push the lazy reset button to make 5 forget all about meeting Jenny... Whatever, I was just hoping for a more interesting resolution.
5. The Avenues of Possibility - Of all the episodes in this set so far, this one actually pissed me off the most. Behind the scenes, this one was originally supposed to feature Jago and Litefoot meeting Sixie again, and also Charlotte Pollard.
Unfortunately due to Trevor Baxter's untimely death in 2017, they had to completely rework the story.... This resulted in them bringing back Detective Inspector Patricia Menses... A "modern day" BF wamens police character from over a decade ago, back when Sixie traveled with Charlotte in the main range.... Unfortunately, this Menses bint lives up to her name, I don't think I'm mistaken when I say that she's on the rag for the entirety of this episode, she literally bitches out this guy from the 1700's (whom she at the time KNOWS is from the 1700's) for calling her "my dear"... She literally guilts this same dude, who can't even imagine a female police officer in the first place, (but is still reasonably respectful to her, considering), into calling her by her rank... because that's apparently the only way this "Menses" bitch can achieve orgasm. Also there are alternate universe UK Nazis, spurred on by the ultimate big bads of this box set... Unfortuynately, even with the best Doctor, this episode was still rather weak, but it was still fine, mostly because Baker and Fisher are such a great pairing, and I've missed the two of them together. Ironically, Charlie completely and fully admits to the secret she's been keeping from Sixie, but it gets forgotten, because of course it had to, reset button.
6. Collision Course - This one started off stupid. I think I must be in the minority here, as I have listened to all of "Gallifrey" and even enjoyed a lot of it for what it is... But Romana is and always has been a frankly terrible leader for Gallifrey, from the very beginning... I think the Gallifrey series has more than proven this, but I am not positive it was trying to... Regardless, Romana is still an incompetent leader- and her closest confidant- Leela is also a total re-tard (and has been portrayed as a total bitch multiple times, because she is.), no matter how many people (mostly Romana) tell her how great she is. I don't even hate the Gallifrey series as a whole, because these two clearly incompetent people being in charge of the planet of the Time Lords is still totally realistic... Moving on -
This episode borrows a plot point from the second episode of the set, namely that both Romana and Leela remember 2 separate series of events that could not both possibly be true, happening at once. Actually, after hearing this story, I'm not sure which version happened... It doesn't seem to be either... (Timey wimey) But this episode has the 4th Doctor interacting with both stories simultaneously and somehow fucking up both times. (He dies, and then comes back later for reasons that weren't really made clear to me.)
The climax of this story, and the set as a whole, are Doctors 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 coming together to save the day. Even in the spoilers, I haven't been very clear about the threat...
Fuck it, it's the Sirens of Time- You know, the first ever Big Finish monthly episode
They all end up flying the first ever T.A.R.D.I.S. because the original pilots all died... due to the Sirens...
I never saw this advertised, but David Bradley (the recast first Doctor), Frazer Hines (originally Jamie McCrimmon, but playing the Second Doctor here, and elsewhere in BF), and David Tennant (obviously 10) all had a cameo near the end of this episode which I personally found pandering and stupid... (10 apparently felt left out in the conclusion to this story, so he went and got 1 and 2, to come back and help him annoy the Doctor's actually solving the problem. They then pretend like they're needed there to help, but 10 even admits that he's bullshititng about that... It's the worst part of this set, and not even because I dislike 10.)
It strikes me that I came across as being negative on this set, but I did actually like it well enough. It was a competent enough 20th Big Finish Anniversary, and it could have been a lot worse. - If you're a fan of BF audios over the past few years, if not from the beginning, then you'll probably quite enjoy this.
I stopped watching after Capaldi out of fear it would devolve into an SJW woke mess. I just don't have the heart to see another franchise I love turn into trash.
I stopped watching after Capaldi out of fear it would devolve into an SJW woke mess. I just don't have the heart to see another franchise I love turn into trash.
I agreed with you because I'm an oldfag and I've no penchant for "Doctor Nu-Who: Fanfiction.net Edition." (Fight me.)
I've a soft spot for Tom Baker since he was the only Doctor who looked and acted convincingly like an eccentric alien from outer space. That's because Tom Baker himself looks and acts convincingly like an eccentric alien from outer space.
From what I've seen, the consensus is that Jodi is a fine actress*, but her Doctor lacks an identity, her companions are dull, and her stories are preachy and bland. Some fans were also upset that they turned the first Doctor into a misogynist just so she could virtue signal in the Christmas New Year's Special.
*in my experience, when a critic calls someone in a bad production a "fine actress," what they usually mean is "she's shit, but my review can't be 100% negative so I'm gonna throw this bitch a bone."
Just kidding, you're right that Bill is also terrible... but my only real issue with "Bill" (other than the fact that she looks like Tim Curry in Rocky Horror Picture Show) is the fact that she finds the need to tell everyone that she's a lesbian every 5 seconds, even when nobody cares... Rose literally laughed about innocent people dying more than once. She considered herself to be the center of the universe, despite being a particularly stupid chav. (And not even the best chav companion. Lucie Miller actually grew as a person after travelling with the Doctor...) Rose actually got WORSE in series 2... mostly because 10 actively enabled her worst traits.
-Continuing on, "Bill" actually got some comeuppance for the stupid shit she engaged in, she was turned into a Cyber MAN... before being saver by her alien lesbo lover at the last second.
Rose just got trapped in an alternate universe with her very own Doctor Fuck Toy.
[I still have not heard BF's Rose series 1, nor have I even bought it, but it seems like Tennant isn't a part of it... and the synopsis looks like she's going universe to universe trying to find the *real* doctor... (ignoring her own personal fucktoy) So my guess is she's still a total bitch.]
I liked Tennant and I thought Capaldi was better. I skipped most of Smith's run aside from his 1st season. Did they ever say what the cracks in time were?
I liked Tennant and I thought Capaldi was better. I skipped most of Smith's run aside from his 1st season. Did they ever say what the cracks in time were?
As a "true" Doctor Who fan myself, I strongly resent anyone else saying what makes a "true Doctor Who fan".
For the record, factoring in all of their best and worst series, Smith was better than both Tennant and Capaldi. [Series 5, i.e. the series you saw, is still the single best series of Nu Who imho.] For one thing, it had an actual series arc that wasn't just one (or maybe two) random word(s) repeated every episode until it meant *nothing* in the last episode a la RTD.... Yeah, Smith's series' got worse after that, but his worst still wasn't as bad as Series 2 with Tennant, or even Series 10 with Capaldi.
And to answer your question- The cracks in time were Moffat's excuse to undo some of the more retarded shit that RTD did in his run. Unfortunately Moffat was also a retard, so his explanation at the end was ultimately unsatisfying...
As a "true" Doctor Who fan myself, I strongly resent anyone else saying what makes a "true Doctor Who fan".
For the record, factoring in all of their best and worst series, Smith was better than both Tennant and Capaldi. [Series 5, i.e. the series you saw, is still the single best series of Nu Who imho.] For one thing, it had an actual series arc that wasn't just one (or maybe two) random word(s) repeated every episode until it meant *nothing* in the last episode a la RTD.... Yeah, Smith's series' got worse after that, but his worst still wasn't as bad as Series 2 with Tennant, or even Series 10 with Capaldi.
And to answer your question- The cracks in time were Moffat's excuse to undo some of the more exceptional shit that RTD did in his run. Unfortunately Moffat was also an exceptional individual, so his explanation at the end was ultimately unsatisfying...
My point was that Whovians seem to hate everything if they're not tumblrinas. When I was a child I remember watching the Baker eps with my dad on OTA TV, so I guess I like Baker the best.
My point was that Whovians seem to hate everything if they're not tumblrinas. When I was a child I remember watching the Baker eps with my dad on OTA TV, so I guess I like Baker the best.
Baker is criminally underrated, and he would have been my favorite Doctor for sure if I had grown up with the show (even though Mel is kind of terrible). It's a shame that people still blame him for killing the series.
Baker was a great doctor. I have fond memories of watching some of the old series. I haven't watched anything post Eccelston. I go on and off series, and with all the woke shit now being plugged their is no point in picking it up anymore.
Actually, I liked McCoy, and I thought at the time that his getting to be the Doctor was a good returning to form for the series. He also had a damned good companion in Ace. I think the Doctor plays better as a mentor figure whose thought processes are genuinely shaped by experiences that are alien to humankind, and I like the Companions who ground the Doctor back to reality, letting him know when he goes too far. I would have liked to have seen how the 7th Doctor's story arc would have panned out had the series not been cancelled.
So whats the money on this "something" being a furious caricature of the billions of "bigoted nurd haters who want to destroy the show for introducing the first diversity in television history" or something along those lines?
Jon Pertwee was my first doctor Tom was my second [and I love Tom]
I enjoyed Davidson and McCoy
I also like Eccleston and Tennant
and I Liked [but was frustrated by] Capaldi
And I enjoyed Matt Smith
The problem is Doctor Who hasnt had a solid direction since Rusty left as show runner
