#1  
  10-15-2018, 04:39 AM
 
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Any thoughts on the new 13th Doctor now that we have a couple of episodes to consider?
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  #2  
  10-15-2018, 11:30 AM
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She seems out of character at times...

Sometimes she'll zero in on the Doctor's character ("I like big doors"), and other times she's too emotional. One aspect of the Doctor is that he never really had sappy/weepy emotions on a regular basis. And if he did start to get emotional, he'd catch himself. She doesn't catch herself, so we get the drawn-out boo-hoo moments.

And I really hate the "I don't know anything" and then 10 seconds later "I'm really smart".

It's still early, but I see her longterm being as popular as the 6th or 7th or 12th (ie, not very). And I liked the 12th. (I don't count the 8th or War, too brief of appearance, not fair to them.) She'll never be Troughton or Tennant or Smith at this rate.

It still feels too much like Doctor Who cosplay right now.

I liked Bradley Walsh in Law & Order UK, but he seems almost like the same character here. Same demeanor, calmness, attitude. The other companions, especially the girl, lack any personality. And she-doctor keeps stealing the lines that companions have historically done (and thus leads to most of her "I don't know anything" moments, rather than make the companions look deer-in-headlights).

I hate the new TARDIS, it feels more like the Batcave than a time ship.

A lot of Doctor Who reviews are overly glowing right now, and the overwhelming reason is simply because stuff is new. Not because it's necessarily any good.

Having a new villain is nice, but I felt as if episode 1 was The Predator Meets Doctor Who fanfiction. And 2 was a standard race episode. Race episodes are usually saved for season fillers, so are we already hitting fillers for the series?

This keeps being pitched as a "jumping on point" for non-Who fans. But honestly, if this had been my first intro, rather than the 9th Eccleston, I'd have bailed already. The two episodes we've seen so far are too derivative, not original.

I know several Who fans that haven't yet seen it, and are waiting until the whole series is available for a binge. These same people used to count the moments, glued to the TV the moment that a new episode was broadcasted.

Still, I'll watch it for now, but may also bail for an end-of-series binge. Depends on if the stories get more interesting, or feel more like a chore. I will say this: I finished The Man in the High Castle, The Flash, and even Supergirl, before giving it a watch. It fell from my first priority show, to mid-range.
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  #3  
  10-15-2018, 02:28 PM
 
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I can totally see and understand much of your critism, but disagree with some of what you said. To me, she felt completely like the Doctor almost immediately. She was definitely more emotional, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. There are always changes to the Doctor’s personality after a regeneration and this is one of them. Some may dislike that change and think it is out of character (I felt that way when 8 kissed Grace in the movie, and even more so when 10 and Rose had their love story), but for some folks, that is part of what drew them in. Overall, I like the companions. I agree Yaz is the least developed, but we are 2 episodes deep - I am confident it will come.

What I am liking least so far are the plots. As you said, not very original. I was forgiving of that in the first episode because the plot was kind of unimportant in the grand scheme of things - the emphasis was on introducing the new Doctor, the companions, new costume etc. I generally liked the characterization. I really hope I don’t end up in the same situation I was in with 12 which was a Doctor I loved with writing I hated (I am VERY glad Moffatt is gone - I despised the 11th Doctor and felt 12’s tenure suffered terribly due to his writing). I am hoping the plots improve - like you said, if you are new coming into this a lack of good plots is going to drive you away.

As far as long term popularity, it is too soon to say but (assuming the plots improve) I can really see her becoming one of the more popular Doctors, particularly amongst younger demographics and especially with girls.

As I learned with 11 (who I did not like) and 10 (which I did, but not nearly as much as 9 or most of the classic Doctors) as well as with the Abrams Star Trek movies and a bunch of other things from my childhood that have been updated for a new generation, I am probably no longer the target audience.
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  #4  
  10-15-2018, 03:27 PM
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Moffat started fine, but his ego tends to get in the way of quality writing. Coupling had an excellent start, but fizzled badly by the final season. He really runs out of steam after about 2-3 seasons, and then plods along driven mostly by ego. Sherlock was the same. Great start, blah by the special/movie. For that brief time, he's an amazing writer, and I find myself in awe of him. But it never lasts. He needs to learn when to quit.

I never thought Chibnall would be a good writer, nor showrunner. Most of his other Who episodes were bland and forgettable. "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" was his best, but it was (again) seemingly a riff of "Snake on a Plane". And it wasn't even his ideas, and Moffat helped write it as well.

Yeah, I thought about the emotional aspect being due to the Doctor having a new persona, but I just don't think I can explain it away that easily. She has other original traits, but that's one that has carried from Doctor to Doctor for forever.

I also liked Capaldi, and think he gets a raw deal, in terms of being so unpopular. It's the writing, not him. That final season had some good overall plots, but the details were lousy. That last Christmas special was pathetic, a disservice to the memory of Hartnell, and I detest the SJW writing that was added to make Hartnell look like a sexist dinosaur. For that one, Moffat was a complete a-hole.

Don't get me started on Abrams. He's ruined Star Trek and Star Wars. They cancelled the Kevlin universe, and Star Wars has put some developments on hiatus. I consider those to be about as good as the 2015 Fantastic Four movie (ie horrible). Michael Bay is equally terrible, having ruined Transformers, also now cancelled. Doctor Who isn't screwed up to that level thankfully. Too many are trying to force the public to accept social ideas, or care only about the money, and to hell with the actual story.
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  #5  
  10-15-2018, 04:06 PM
 
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I am hoping Chibnall can figure it out. The guy CAN write (I loved Broadchurch), he just needs to get a better hand on sci-fi. If not, hopefully he will have enough sense to not try to write everything himself like Moffat did during most of his tenure (I was actually a really big fan of Moffat’s written get during the RTD era, but it was too much when he was basically trying to write the whole show).

As for the SJW stuff, it doesn’t really bother me too much. I am pretty liberal minded and think inclusion is a good thing just so long as they don’t beat me over the head with it too hard. Even in the midst of all that, this is probably the first time a new companion (Graham) has been a white adult male since Ian Chesterton. And it is not new for Doctor Who to take a political stance on things from time to time. As much as I loved Pertwee’s era, it could certainly be pretty heavy handed at times.

I actually like the Xmas special. Hartnell was one of my favourite Doctors and seeing the First Doctor again (even if it wasn’t actually Hartnell was enjoyable for me). The world has changed a lot since the ‘60’s and I took 1’s attitude in the episode not as disrespectful, but rather as probably kind of accurate (not a bad character or person, just a product of his era). Regardless, I thought the fact that 12 was somewhat embarrassed of his older/younger self had more to do with demonstrating how he had grown as a character, certainly since he was 1, but also since the beginning of his arc in Deep Breath where he started in a similar cantankerous mold as 1 than actually trying to bash 1 or make him look foolish. I viewed 13’s less emotionally detached demenour in recent episodes as a response to the speech/advise 12 gave his future self in that episode. 13 is who 12 wished he could have been when dealing with people - the pendulum has swung in direct response. We’ll see how well it works out over time.

With all that said, we all view and interpret things differently sometimes. You and I may get completely different takes watching the same episodes, but that’s cool. I always like trying to view things from a different perspective.
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