this post was submitted on 31 May 2025
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[–] GratefullyGodless@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

Y'know, I looked forward to Ncuti's run as the Doctor, because RTD was returning to run the show again, and I thought he might hit the heights he hit during his first time show running, but I forgot that RTD's arch-enemy would be returning with him, and sure enough, RTD with streaming money is his own worst enemy.

Torchwood: Miracle Day was a bloated mess, where he took a 1 or 2 episode plot and turned it into a way too long series for what little story was there. Now, he took over show running again, and the first thing he did was give us Tennant again as the Doctor, starting the run of self-indulgent writing that marked T:MD. He undoes one of the most iconic acts of Tennant's first run, by undoing the Donna memory issue, then giving us dieties as enemies, deciding that Doctor Who isn't a sci-fi show anymore, but rather a fantasy show now. And, then he decides the Doctor is an amoeba, and has the Doctor pop off another version of himself, and then uses cartoon logic to make the Tardis also bigenerate.

And that was just the beginning of his run, what followed was just as nonsensical, with Goblins, Dieties that can be defeated with Mr. Mxyzptlk like logic, one of the blandest companions ever, and the ever present old lady everywhere they went. So, I didn't expect anything to be better at the end of Ncuti's run either, and sure enough I wasn't disappointed. RTD did do some course correction, with making the 4th wall breaking lady turn out to be the Rani instead of whatever he had been planning for her. He also had the last of the Pantheon turn out to be a magic wish baby, so we didn't have another hammy performance.

But, it still didn't save things, and that last reveal with the Doctor's regeneration at the end, just smacked of desperation. He realized that he had screwed up, and tried to remind everyone of when he revitalized the show, and get everyone excited for another season and thus get it renewed, but it felt forced and desperate and really didn't undo all the harm he had done to the show during Ncuti's run.

So, the show will probably die here, as they won't make any new episodes, and then in 10 years or so, they'll announce a new re-imagined Doctor Who reboot by some popular showrunner at the time. And, it'll be ironic that the man who brought the show back from the dead, winds up being the man who winds up killing it. I hope I'm wrong, but after the mess that Chibnall and RTD made, I wouldn't be surprised.

[–] nico198x@europe.pub 18 points 1 week ago (2 children)

i’m happy to give Billie a chance as long as it makes sense why that face would be chosen, i’d expect related to Bad Wolf / God of Time stuff.

sad to see Ncuti go, actually. too soon. i felt he was just hitting his stride this series and i was glad for some development of the Doctor's character, having him wear his heart on his sleeve this time round.

[–] GeekFTW@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I'm the same, expecting it to be Bad Wolf related.

  • The lack of "...as The Doctor".
  • The regeneration effects looking different than normal, and massive.
  • The quick glimpse back to the TARDIS console during the regeneration, after having dumped his regeneration energy into it.

Too many little threads indicating somethings not normal.

[–] CrabAndBroom@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 week ago

I'd like there to just be a normal regeneration again TBH. The last time the Doctor just regenerated in a normal way (ie. no stunt casting or bi-generating) was Capaldi > Whittaker, which was Christmas 2017 so nearly a decade ago!

Actually by the time they get around to making more episodes and doing another regeneration it will probably be over a decade ago.

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'd be happy to have Doctor Piper (with a satisfying explanation), but I don't think that's happening - her char might be part of the season arcing plot. Credits didn't credit Billie as 'The Doctor '.

[–] Bravo@eviltoast.org 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)
  1. Doctor visits space between universes and learns she is older than she thought and is of unknown origin.

  2. Doctor regenerates Tennant's face for no apparent reason.

  3. Toymaker tries to kill him, he bi-generates to keep that face, again for no apparent reason.

  4. New Doctor regenerates to have Rose's face, again for no apparent reason. There is now a Tennant Doctor and a Piper Doctor.

Is it possible that all of this is a sign that something is wrong in the universe that Rose and the Metacrisis Doctor went to?

[–] zarathustra0@lemmy.world 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Is it just me or has Doctor Who become more incoherent recently?

[–] ohulancutash@feddit.uk 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You thought it was coherent once?

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 3 points 1 week ago

Coherenty woherenty

[–] Mizule@lemm.ee 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] tux0r@feddit.org 3 points 1 week ago

Joel was busy.

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 8 points 1 week ago

That mess of omega just cracked me the fuck up. Oooh creator of the timelords how much was the Doctor biting their cheek given that the real genesis was their DNA? God of time feasting on timelords? You literally just ate a third of your food supply and there aren't any more.

[–] tenebrisnox@feddit.uk 6 points 1 week ago

As I've enjoyed saying: the show has reversed the polarity up its own vortex. A day after watching and I'm still traumatised by the exuberance of the shark-jumping I saw. The Doctor riding a Flash Gordon-like skysled to crash into ~~Ming's~~ Rani's HQ was just one I can't seem to shake. Or the Two ~~Ranis~~ Ronnies' joke. "It's goodnight from me."

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Still no good explanation for why they went to all this trouble trying to get to 5/24.

5/24 is blocked off? Have you tried 5/23 and the old time lord trick of "waiting"?

[–] Bravo@eviltoast.org 2 points 6 days ago

Same reason why he never went back to Ruby Road to find out Ruby's mother's identity: he'd already been there once.

My understanding is that, as the Doctor had already been there on the 23rd (tracking down Belinda after Conrad told him about her), he didn't want to cross his own timestream if he could possibly avoid it, and preferred to arrive after his past self had left. Yes, you CAN cross your own timestream, as many crossover specials have shown, but the Doctor considers it an unnecessary risk when the vindicator option is available.

[–] tux0r@feddit.org 5 points 1 week ago

Also, why are gods so easy to get rid of, lately? And how did Omega actually get a body and a way out of the anti-matter universe?

[–] AugustWest@lemm.ee 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

RTD episodes look like his, the last few in particular.

I said this felt like Doctor Who then a turn to more of a Torchwood (both the silly and the 2 movies), and then the worse thing happened and it somehow became Sara Jane adventures. Nothing wrong with Sara Jane adventures, but they are even more for kids than Doctor Who. Look a Skysled! Bone Monsters! Wheelchairs burning rubber!

[–] tux0r@feddit.org 1 points 1 week ago

Space babies!

[–] tux0r@feddit.org 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

A "reality war" it is, indeed. Much of episodes 7 and 8 was a war against reality, including the Doctor being called "Doctor Who". ... Sorry, I digress. Personally, I have not considered Ncuti to be a good Doctor, it's all just the wrong personality for him. Maybe some of it was the script, but some if it probably wasn't. (Time Lords aren't human. I wish that the writers wouldn't make them act so human.) We shall see how the new one turns out. I think it can't be much worse anymore.

Although I like that Omega, despite having been described as "the first Time Lord" incorrectly (depending on the canon, that's either the Other or the Timeless Child), has been brought back and I think that the Rani is a more interesting villain than the Master, the whole series 2 had a lot of potentially interesting characters - and all of them were one-dimensional. Flat. Uninspired. (I hope we can agree that Maestro was a good example for that.) Last time we saw Omega, he was a force of nature, banished into the opposite of a universe, only to return as a plot device with no good explanation. Sigh.

I wonder why neither the Rani nor the Doctor seem to remember that Omega has no body to extract DNA from. Plot hole?

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Technically Omega was the first time lord - he created the technology that enabled their time travel.

[–] tux0r@feddit.org 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It depends on whether Time Lords are "Gallifreyans with a TARDIS" or something more complicated, I think.

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Well, the ability to regenerate is one thing, but i'm pretty sure it was mastery of time travel that made them time lords!

Timeless child aside, i always loved the beta canon idea that the ability to regenerate came from the great vampires.....

[–] AugustWest@lemm.ee 4 points 1 week ago

While I enjoyed some of the dialog a lot, and even some of the campy action, that second part was... difficult. When it looked wrapped up and there was still something like 20 minutes left, I was hopeful. There were several options and possibilities that could have made this incredible.

Sadly, we got what we saw. And we don't have a renewal date, so when next? I ever?

[–] MrNesser@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Feels like this had so much promise and just fell flat on its face, losing the plot halfway through.

Then the ending with Billie piper the one face no face wanted to play the doctor

[–] nico198x@europe.pub 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

i'm happy to give Billie a chance as long as it makes sense why that face would be chosen, i'd expect related to Bad Wolf / God of Time stuff.

[–] MrNesser@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (3 children)

First " Wotcha " or "oi" and I'm out

[–] nico198x@europe.pub 5 points 1 week ago

lol well, best skip it then XD

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 4 points 1 week ago

Every Doctor has such annoying little things to differentiate the characters.

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Lots of planets have a Chav...

[–] tux0r@feddit.org 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

the one face no face wanted to play the doctor

It could be worse: Steven Seagal!

[–] MrNesser@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

BBC isn't allowed to employ sexual predators anymore

[–] talou@jlai.lu 3 points 1 week ago

4th wall broken at first intent.