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Some (Very) Belated Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Feelings
So I haven't been in much of a headspace the past couple of months to do my normal type of writing around "event" releases - in this case the 60th Anniversary Specials of Doctor Who and the Xmas Special/First Episode of Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor.
The Long and Short of it is I loved it, but at the same time it felt like the show wanted to have it's cake an eat it too. I don't mind bigeneration too much as a concept, mostly because we got to see Tennant and Gatwa interact onscreen and have Tennant finish out his arc from the specials, but the continued existence of the Fourteenth Doctor on present day earth feels like it undercuts the Fifteenth Doctor as "The Doctor" in a way. And I think what really tipped the scales too much for me was cloning the TARDIS. I think if Fourteen had left to live a truly ordinary life as intended it would've worked okay, but the fact that he has his own functional TARDIS that he apparently has his own separate adventures in... far too much. I guess I'm just glad RTD had enough restraint not to retroactively made bigeneration canon for all Doctors like he apparently wanted.
Now I very much doubt Tennant or Tate for that matter will be reprising their roles for television anytime in the near future, but we've gotten confirmation that characters from their orbit such as Rose Noble and, by extension, Mel Bush, will be making future appearances in the show. I have no idea how the show is going to reasonably handle that, since at least with Rose its gonna be next to impossible not to have Fourteen come up as a topic of conversation. Ncuti absolutely knocked it out of the park with his debut, and I wish the show would have more faith in him to carry this on his own.
That major complaint out of the way, I really loved basically everything else about these specials, including but not limited to:
- The solution to the Donna's memories getting restored without her dying. I also really loved how Rose being trans was an interegal part of this twist, as she was the one who chose her own name rather than Donna naming her "Rose".
- The Meep. I already knew the twist since twitter was discussing the original comic he's from for literal years, but he turned out so well. I also think he has the potential as a recurring villain.
- The entirety of the second episode. I loved how weird and cerebral it was, and how willing it was to explore both the Doctor and Donna's psyches and was very pointed in acknowledging the events of Flux.
- The Toymaker. While I did love The Nightmare Fair, this is a much more epic and satisfying follow up for the character, and I think we got the perfect amount of him. The Master being turned into a tooth was a bit camp, and felt like maybe too much of a rehash of "Last of the Time Lords" and the TV Movie, but its not a major complaint especially if it means the Master is gonna be off the board for a while.
- Shirley Bingham, as well as all the returning supporting characters like Mel Bush and Kate Stewart. While I also hope they bring back others (Osgood) this is a really great setup for future appearances by UNIT in Doctor Who after a long period of underutilization.
- Ruby Sunday and her family are really wonderful additions to the show, and feel like a refreshing dynamic compared to previous companions. While we've had working class and adoptees before, those aspects were often more on the peripheral and it was nice to have them front and center.
I'd also be remiss not to acknowledge the currently unfolding controversy with Millie Gibson leaving the show with an apparently reduced role in series 15. While there's a precedent for this kind of changeover (Martha in series 4 to be specific), I hope the production team and Millie herself clarify what exactly happened soon. It's a really bad look if they let her go and let stories fester in the tabloids, especially after what happened with this production team during series 1.
All that said, I am very excited for the new series of Doctor Who (in May, which I'm very happy about timing-wise) and potential new projects (The War Between The Land And The Sea?) and I can only hope that the show's future continues to be bright, and it doesn't sabotage itself when it has all this momentum.
The Long and Short of it is I loved it, but at the same time it felt like the show wanted to have it's cake an eat it too. I don't mind bigeneration too much as a concept, mostly because we got to see Tennant and Gatwa interact onscreen and have Tennant finish out his arc from the specials, but the continued existence of the Fourteenth Doctor on present day earth feels like it undercuts the Fifteenth Doctor as "The Doctor" in a way. And I think what really tipped the scales too much for me was cloning the TARDIS. I think if Fourteen had left to live a truly ordinary life as intended it would've worked okay, but the fact that he has his own functional TARDIS that he apparently has his own separate adventures in... far too much. I guess I'm just glad RTD had enough restraint not to retroactively made bigeneration canon for all Doctors like he apparently wanted.
Now I very much doubt Tennant or Tate for that matter will be reprising their roles for television anytime in the near future, but we've gotten confirmation that characters from their orbit such as Rose Noble and, by extension, Mel Bush, will be making future appearances in the show. I have no idea how the show is going to reasonably handle that, since at least with Rose its gonna be next to impossible not to have Fourteen come up as a topic of conversation. Ncuti absolutely knocked it out of the park with his debut, and I wish the show would have more faith in him to carry this on his own.
That major complaint out of the way, I really loved basically everything else about these specials, including but not limited to:
- The solution to the Donna's memories getting restored without her dying. I also really loved how Rose being trans was an interegal part of this twist, as she was the one who chose her own name rather than Donna naming her "Rose".
- The Meep. I already knew the twist since twitter was discussing the original comic he's from for literal years, but he turned out so well. I also think he has the potential as a recurring villain.
- The entirety of the second episode. I loved how weird and cerebral it was, and how willing it was to explore both the Doctor and Donna's psyches and was very pointed in acknowledging the events of Flux.
- The Toymaker. While I did love The Nightmare Fair, this is a much more epic and satisfying follow up for the character, and I think we got the perfect amount of him. The Master being turned into a tooth was a bit camp, and felt like maybe too much of a rehash of "Last of the Time Lords" and the TV Movie, but its not a major complaint especially if it means the Master is gonna be off the board for a while.
- Shirley Bingham, as well as all the returning supporting characters like Mel Bush and Kate Stewart. While I also hope they bring back others (Osgood) this is a really great setup for future appearances by UNIT in Doctor Who after a long period of underutilization.
- Ruby Sunday and her family are really wonderful additions to the show, and feel like a refreshing dynamic compared to previous companions. While we've had working class and adoptees before, those aspects were often more on the peripheral and it was nice to have them front and center.
I'd also be remiss not to acknowledge the currently unfolding controversy with Millie Gibson leaving the show with an apparently reduced role in series 15. While there's a precedent for this kind of changeover (Martha in series 4 to be specific), I hope the production team and Millie herself clarify what exactly happened soon. It's a really bad look if they let her go and let stories fester in the tabloids, especially after what happened with this production team during series 1.
All that said, I am very excited for the new series of Doctor Who (in May, which I'm very happy about timing-wise) and potential new projects (The War Between The Land And The Sea?) and I can only hope that the show's future continues to be bright, and it doesn't sabotage itself when it has all this momentum.
no subject
It's Russel T Davies, so yeah. ;) Although I am mostly just happy that he decided to go for Everybody Lives (and the Doctor gets to be HAPPY) rather than the nihilism that's usually lurking under the surface. Here's to Fourteen. <3
Am also loving Fifteen and looking forward to his tenure. And yes, hoping that Millie leaving will be handled better...
(Sorry, am too tired to offer proper thoughts, but DID write a 5.5k meta. *g*)
no subject
It's actually insane to me that the whole controversy with Millie earlier in the year was never commented on and seems to be memory-holed? I wonder if they'll eventually talk about it whenever promo for the next series starts since they've at least officially acknowledged that a new companion is coming on.
no subject
Pft, time is an illusion, or something.
but yeah it does seem like for better or worse RTD still has his narrative writing habits
S15 was... odd and interesting and then the finale was - possibly the most RTD I have ever seen. Fun, but I have barely thought about it since. (Great memes though.) Oh Doctor/Rogue might be the quickest I've ever fallen for a ship.
Also I fell in love with Dead Boy Detectives, and ye gods, that's how to use 8 episodes.
a Moffat script under head writer RTD seems to be a magic formula
🤞🤞🤞
It's actually insane to me that the whole controversy with Millie earlier in the year was never commented on and seems to be memory-holed?
Damn, I had legit forgotten about that. I presume that they will indeed ramp up the promos once the new girl comes on board.