Nu Who

[Put_The_Candle_Back]

I don't get to watch the new episodes right away, usually late at night or the next day. For this one, I went to The Official Doctor Who youtube channel to find and bookmark Doctor Who Unleashed and Behind The Scenes to watch after the episode. Unfortunately, Behind The Scenes had text stating

[Show spoiler] Regeneration and something about Billie Piper.

This spoiled the episode. I don't get why people who watch something first then go online and start throwing out spoilers everywhere ruining it for others who watch it later.

Anyway the scene where the Doctor and the Rani are discussing Omega, I just couldn't believe that they disregarded everything from The Three Doctors and Arc Of Infinity and retcon Timelord/Omega history. This seems to be a problem with the writers from New Who who like to disregard/rewrite original Who continuity.

[Show spoiler]Kind of surprising, or rather not, to end the episode/season with a regeneration. Ncuti Gatwa only doing 2 seasons instead of the usual 3 seasons. There's been lots of talk over the last year about ratings dropping and he wanted to leave to do other things. Having it being Billie Piper, really???? Although it got pointed out in the end credits, 'Introducing Billie Piper' and not Billie Piper as the Doctor. So something else might be going on. Could be a one off / short term thing. One theory is Rose swapped places with the Doctor. Not sure where they are going with this.

[BluBonnet]

Fifteen is now the only Doctor never to have met the Daleks, Cybermen or The Master

[kevin87]

Originally Posted by Put_The_Candle_Back

I don't get to watch the new episodes right away, usually late at night or the next day. For this one, I went to The Official Doctor Who youtube channel to find and bookmark Doctor Who Unleashed and Behind The Scenes to watch after the episode. Unfortunately, Behind The Scenes had text stating

[Show spoiler] Regeneration and something about Billie Piper.

This spoiled the episode. I don't get why people who watch something first then go online and start throwing out spoilers everywhere ruining it for others who watch it later.

Anyway the scene where the Doctor and the Rani are discussing Omega, I just couldn't believe that they disregarded everything from The Three Doctors and Arc Of Infinity and retcon Timelord/Omega history. This seems to be a problem with the writers from New Who who like to disregard/rewrite original Who continuity.

[Show spoiler]Kind of surprising, or rather not, to end the episode/season with a regeneration. Ncuti Gatwa only doing 2 seasons instead of the usual 3 seasons. There's been lots of talk over the last year about rating dropping and he wanted to leave to do other things. Having it being Billie Piper, really???? Although it got pointed out in the end credits, 'Introducing Billie Piper' and not Billie Piper as the Doctor. So something else might be going on. Could be a one off / short term thing. One theory is Rose swapped places with the Doctor. Not sure where they are going with this.

Yeah I watch very few shows as they air/release, mostly just the few broadcast shows I still watch... I can usually avoid all spoilers because I just don't go to stuff discussing it. But these days all these legitimate entertainment news places post articles immediately after the episode finishes and instead of being vague like "Let's discuss what happened in the season finale of Doctor Who!" they just flat out spoil the the whole thing IN THE DAMN HEADLINE.

I also wonder if she'll stick around or if it was just another unfinished business kind of thing like when 10-nant became 14, he was thinking about loving her because he 15 was just talking to 13 about loving Jaz and it made him think about Rose, and we already know he can pick a familiar face because of 12.

[BudBaxter]

Going back to the Ruby episode (which generally annoyed the hell out of me because it started off so sweet & fun right up until 'the twist' & then was just way too true to life about irritating self-satisfied internet 'conspiracy theorists') - obviously in hindsight they felt they needed to keep the character around for later episodes, but it would have been a much better ending to have The Doc just take him on a trip in the TARDIS & say something along the lines of "You think it's all fake? Let me show you".

It wouldn't even have to be an expensive FX fest - you could just have him walk into the TARDIS, have it disappear & reappear & then cut to him on his youtube channel going "I'm sorry, I was wrong, it's all real!". Would have been a much better ending than what the smug ***** got.

It also bothered me that Ruby didn't punch him in the face (or kick him right in the balls) when he revealed his true self. She just came across a such a weak character.

Sorry, I think that ep triggered me.


Anyhoo, patchy season. Some good, some bad, all pretty watchable though. Lux was probably the highlight for me. The live action/animation hybrid was nicely done & the stuff with the fans was hilarious.

Thought Varada Sethu was great, but Belinda was a bit wasted as a companion. She didn't really get much of an arc. That's the problem with these short seasons sometimes - not enough time to flesh things out.


The last fifteen minutes of the finale were great & showed RTD can still do good writing if he puts a bit of effort into it & avoids trying to be 'relevant'.

Also loved the Two Ronnies joke from Mrs Flood.


I can only echo the comments here about the BBC spoiling the ending in their headlines & then putting a spoiler warning in the actual article. Eejits!

I imagine

[Show spoiler]Piper

will only be there for an episode or two. Maybe even just for the Christmas Special (if we're getting one this year?).


ps. Note to the showrunners: Whoever you get next, give the character a 'look' again. My main bug about Gatwa's Doc was that he had a different outfit & different haircut in almost every episode.

[BluBonnet]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz-35CJcgCc

[demonbeast]

I agree on the outfit’s I understand why they did it (merchandise) but it was at the expense of an ‘outfit’ that each Doctor made their own.

Didn’t like Berlinda, something not gelling for me. Varada Sethu was great in Annika & Andor perhaps it was that she was a late replacement, or I’m convinced that RTD said she’d be more connected to Munday? From Boom. There was a brief but of dialogue of I’m met your descendant, but I’m convinced that there was more but cut.

There won’t be a new showrunner for a good number of years.

Towards the end of Capaldi's turn as the Doctor there was apathy about the direction of the show, despite being popular the viewership was half what it was an incarnation or so before around five million +.

The corporation needed to shake up the formula to revive the show’s flagging audience figures. Jodie was cast as the first female Doctor and Chibnall was seen as a safe pair of hands to take the show forward. The budget was around three-quarters to a million per episode. Jodie’s era was unfortunately marred by a deeply unpopular retcon of the Doctor’s origin story. The viewership declined by around a million on average to around four million an episode.

The Disney deal was on paper amazing for both the BBC and Disney the former now had a budget to match the show’s ambition of around five million + per episode. Just one series before an alien spaceship was made from chicken wire and black bin liners. Disney got a long-running well respected show with global distribution rights. The show currently struggles to make two million per episode.

Simply put the BBC can’t afford to make the show anymore, certainly, not to the current cost it never could alone. A budget review has been rightly or wrongly slashed in cost-saving endeavours. Can they do it for around a million per episode yes but who no pun intended, gets to take on the show given that the franchise is at the lowest it’s ever been in its history. It’s not that is bad it’s simply completely lost its audience.

Ignore the social media echo chambers on both sides the sad fact is it's not worth the outlay for the return on viewership The BBC have said as much. It won’t be cancelled like American shows are with an announcement, but it won’t be back in ‘27.

I do hope someone with talent and vision can convince the corporation to take a chance even on a low-budget version of the show that has decent engaging well-written scripts. Maybe look back to the third Doctor where he was stranded on Earth (for budget reasons) it’ll be a lot cheaper more practical effects less LED studio sets which are very expensive.

[BluBonnet]

[JamesKurtovich]

Every appearance has her looking like a totally different person. Lol

[BluBonnet]

It really is so appropriate that they are going back to the beginning, so to speak.