The Energon Pub

[ZeroWolf]

That's an odd decision to take, any ideas as to why they've changed their mind?

[Burn]

That's an odd decision to take, any ideas as to why they've changed their mind?

No idea. Given that ABC AU fired it's Managing Director last week and the Chairman of the Board quit within a few days, it's may be they have no idea what they're doing.

Maybe they wanted to push people to cinemas.
In the middle of the day.
On a Monday

...**** if I know really, none of it makes sense. The only thing that I can think might be a legitimate reason is they want America to be the ones to follow the UK.

[ZeroWolf]

So what are you going to do about watching it then?

[Burn]

Legally.

[Burn]

To say this season was disappointing would be an understatement.

I don't blame Jodie Whittaker though, she has the potential there to do a good job in the role, but she was lumbered with some incredibly terrible writing. In fact, out of the whole season, only one episode stood out for me and that was "Demons of the Punjabi". Everything else was just ... boring.

I really do have to wonder if BBC are attempting to kill the show off, given there's only one episode in 2019 and there's been no indication they're getting rid of Chibnall.

[ZeroWolf]

I don't know why but I assumed that we were getting half now and the last half next year. It seems to have gone down well with everyone, with even an article explaining the ratings drop.

[Burn]

I don't know why but I assumed that we were getting half now and the last half next year. It seems to have gone down well with everyone, with even an article explaining the ratings drop.

I've read the media outlets.

Then I've read the fan comments.

Media outlets are puffing it up big time. It's ratings are not as spectacular as they make it sound.

[ZeroWolf]

I've been having trouble to gauge the actual response for that reason. Though I think if the BBC wanted to kill it, then they should just copy how the eighties went for the franchise.

[Burn]

Frankly I'd rather watch Trial of a Time Lord than this last season.

[ZeroWolf]

That's a new one I can understand though, I'm afraid that people are hyping the series now just because of the change in doctor than the quality. Oh well, next ep is the new year's one anyhow.

[JazZeke]

Yeah, this season was mediocre at best. I think Jodie did an amazing job with what she was give, and I absolutely adore Graham and Ryan. Yazmin was the least-developed of the cast. (Not bad, just overcrowded by the rest of the group. And, let's face it, in the first episode she was basically a human Judy Hopps.) But Chibnall's strengths apparently lay more in concepts than executions. Too many times, the ideas were good, but the actual way events went down in the episodes (particularly the ones he had sole writing credits for) almost always failed to engage.

And I friggin' hate the new TARDIS interior too.

[Whifflefire]

I liked the last season. At the very least, the episodes made sense on first viewing, and the challenge of the week was the focus, rather than a side quest in subordination to attempts at foreshadowing future plots. During series 7.5, 8, and 9, I found myself unable to connect with more stories than not. It felt like there was a lack of effort in trying sell the story to the viewer, like the ostensible focus was shoehorned in between scenes about less important matters that expected you to pay as much attention to them. ( I've been rewatching clips from this era, and I seem to have missed a lot of good scenes because they appeared in context as filler.)
These last two seasons have emphasised The Doctor Solving the problem he (and she) encounters, with contextually logical explanations and solutions rather than the pulled-out-of-a-hat gamble of a solution some stories would come up with (Journey to the Centre Of the TARDIS and Kill the Moon come to mind). Even the season finale, as underwhelming as some found it, at least it was not the series 6 finale, with its constant subversive plot twists bordering on a parody.
I don't mind the new Doctor, it only makes sense that after the brooding, perpetually suspicious old man comes a peppy, life-loving, friend-to-all hipster. And the companions have been very enjoyable, I think everyone agrees Graham is the unprecedented champion of the line up. Hopefully next series will give more time to Yaz and explore Ryan's relationship with his father more. (Or maybe by the time it gets here we'll have forgotten and stopped caring)
And the New Years special was quite enjoyable as well, I hadn't been following spoilers so I didn't actually know there was going to be a dalek featured, but I correctly guessed the identity of the squid-thing on the wall when it first showed up.

[Burn]

Today would have been Jon Pertwee's 100th birthday.

To honour that, his son Sean Pertwee has put together a documentary of his fathers life.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0006lvy

[ZeroWolf]

Ah I wondered why Jon Pertwee was trending on twitter. He was a good doctor, recently got his first adventure, may have to give it a rewatch. Though I enjoyed his adventures against the master, like their sword fight in the Sea Devils

[Burn]

First ep of new season has aired.

It felt a little better than last season, but given it was written by Chibnall and we had such wonderful dialogue like "The Doctor is a Man" "I upgraded" it says a lot about the message he's pushing.

But then by the end of the episode he's written in another gender swap and basically pissed all over Michelle Gomez's Missy character. I guess Chibnall thinks he's the only one who is allowed to write a strong female Time Lord? (In which case he'd better not watch Fourth Doctor and Romana)

We still have too many companions. Let's keep Graham, I like Graham, the other two can go.

Locally, DW won't air on ABC until Thursday nights. A good three days after airing in the UK and US. Can still watch it straight after the UK via ABC's streaming service, but eh, it feels like they're just not caring any more, which honestly, is sort of how I'm starting to feel about DW.

[JazZeke]

I will say that the reveal for the new Master was flawless. As is the casting choice. HOWEVER... this characterization is not. Chibnall did a Rise of Skywalker on the Master, undoing a great character development from the last writer and defaulting him back to the played-out basic camp villainy. I LOVED Missy/Master is a Chaotic Neutral who could help the Doctor as much as hinder them... reverting to the familiar just feels cheap and lazy.

[Burn]

I felt he was trying to write a mix of Anthony Ainley and John Simm, it just didn't work.

[ZeroWolf]

Rumours are swirling that this master is actually from in between simm and gomez. Though there is also the possibility that its a body swap instead of a regeneration.

[Burn]

Rumours are swirling that this master is actually from in between simm and gomez.

I'd seen that too, but that would just be incredibly stupid.

The way they talk about universes though, perhaps he's The Master from a different universe, and with rumours of Tennant making an appearance, perhaps that's how he'll they'll work him in.

[ZeroWolf]

It's half arsed either way, would have been way better for it to have been the Rani... But I think I may be the only person who remembers her. Also, they made a Dreamworks Home joke in this episode, which made my eyes roll.

[Burn]

Rani, the female Time Lord that dressed as Mel and pretended to be Mel to confuse the Seventh Doctor who was confused post-regeneration.

That Rani?

[ZeroWolf]

Yeah... Just someone different then the Master Though, as much as he's definitely gone, I wouldn't have minded them finding a way to bring Omega back, maybe minus the silly outfits

[JazZeke]

I dunno, I was never really a fan of the Rani. How many evil old schoolmates does the Doctor need? Especially now that the Master's been female once, that just adds an extra level to her redundancy.

I considered the notion that this is a Master from an alternate universe, and I would be okay with that since my main issue is undoing the character development of Missy. This would helpfully circumvent that.

[Burn]

I considered the notion that this is a Master from an alternate universe, and I would be okay with that since my main issue is undoing the character development of Missy. This would helpfully circumvent that.

Let's hope he goes that way.

But it is Chibnall, and aside from seemingly pushing his PC agenda, he does have a habit of ignoring or pissing all over all that came before.

[Omega_Abyss]

I have trouble seeing the problem as Chibnall's PC agenda so much as Chibnall not being near as good of a writer as people tend to think he is. Rather like Geoff Johns in that way. I was not a fan of Chibnall's writing on Torchwood either.

I think Star Trek has proved that you can write with an liberal agenda successfully for 50 years as long as you're not completely moronic about it. YMMV. H.P. Lovecraft made his racist beliefs and fascist leanings a fascinating read while effectively adding a great deal the Sci-fi/horror genre. Whether any of his letters admit to it, there was definitely an agenda being pushed in his stories.

If Chibnall were better at his job, we might not feel like we are being clubbed over the head with his agenda.

If I thought for a second he'd take the job, Neil Gaiman would be an excellent replacement, but he's almost certainly too busy and would probably despise being a showrunner.