The Energon Pub

[JazZeke]

"Space Babies" was utter cringe. While Ncuti and Millie as actors have excellent chemistry, I feel like Russel just used that as a cheat because the Doctor and Ruby's friendship just feels so fast-tracked. It's not grown organically. He takes for her a ride in the TARDIS just to show off, and then after one trip he gives her a key. Why is Ruby riding with him in the first place? She ran into the TARDIS basically just out of curiosity but we never are given a reason why she wants to do this full-time. And it's not like Russel can't do this. The phone scene felt like a wish dot com version of the phone scene from The End of the World.

"There's no one like me in the whole wide universe. Well, except for his previous incarnation currently couch surfing at Donna's house.

And why, exactly, didn't the Doctor take the babies into the TARDIS to a refugee planet as they originally planned, but instead used the dirty diapers to launch them at sub-light speed towards the planet? They'll be dead of old age before they even reach the solar system.

"The Devil's Chord" was remarkably better, but still not a promising start to this new era. The Beatles barely cameoed in what was billed as their showcase episode. Maestro was a fun villain, but their sinister plot didn't make any sense. Wipe out all life for the "music" of background noise"? Wouldn't it have more music to feed on if there were living beings around to generate it? And if music was suddenly taboo and no one was listening to it, why would there even still be a recording industry almost 40 years after Maestro showed up? No one would be buying music to support an industry.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

I think the idea was that by the time all music from the universe had been taken. The Maestro wouldn't need anymore and would be all powerful instead.

[Agent Meister]

Doctor Who has been dead for a long time now

[JazZeke]

Doctor Who has been dead for a long time now

Thanks for that utterly useless opinion. Just because you personally don't like it, doesn't mean it's "dead."

[Burn]

Doctor Who has been dead for a long time now

Nearly 20 years as a member is this is 1/4 of all your posts. Yeah, great opinion.

Ratings would indicate otherwise. So you know ... run along now.

Anyhoo ... "Boom" was brilliant, Moffatt back to his old form.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

Boom was very good and very Moffat. Everything from the plot to the dialogue. It couldn't have been written by anyone else. The highlight of the three so far.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

Boom was very good and very Moffat. Everything from the plot to the dialogue. It couldn't have been written by anyone else. The highlight of the three so far.

That said, I was talking with some friends who felt Boom seemed stale. Because it was bogged down by canon. But I don't think that is the issue.

Boom is representative not of adhering to canon. But sticking to the old writers. Everything about this episode was indicative of Steven Moffat. His style is so identifiable. Perhaps too much. This episode could have featured 11 & Amy Pond or 12 & Clara Oswald, in lieu of 15 & Ruby and nothing would have changed. That is to say, sometimes sticking with the old guard is the problem. A fun episode though. I did like the spin on an ambulance too. Sharp scratch.. 8/10

[Agent Meister]

Most of us don't like what is happening to Doctor Who Now. When they added the LGBTQ / trans crap in the show that went too far.

[Burn]

Most of us don't like what is happening to Doctor Who Now. When they added the LGBTQ / trans crap in the show that went too far.

Who is "most"? You're not seriously trying to speak for the majority are you?

You speak for yourself, no one else. Yeah there's some people out there who don't like the current stuff and some of the recent past stuff, but they're a MINORITY.

Bust out the DVD's and watch Classic Who.

As for the "LGBTQ/trans crap" ... you're seeing stuff that's not there (though I doubt you're even watching it, you're more than likely basing your comment off some other twat's ramblings).

[AllNewSuperRobot]

73 Yards

"What is she saying?"

Oh this one was weird and I liked it a lot. The first DW horror episode in quite a while really. As no-Doctor episodes go. This is a strong episode for Millie Gibson. I think the best part is it doesn't answer every mystery the story poses. But, here that is a good thing. 8/10

[Agent Meister]

Most of us don't like what is happening to Doctor Who Now. When they added the LGBTQ / trans crap in the show that went too far.

Who is "most"? You're not seriously trying to speak for the majority are you?

You speak for yourself, no one else. Yeah there's some people out there who don't like the current stuff and some of the recent past stuff, but they're a MINORITY.

Bust out the DVD's and watch Classic Who.

As for the "LGBTQ/trans crap" ... you're seeing stuff that's not there (though I doubt you're even watching it, you're more than likely basing your comment off some other twat's ramblings).

Last Time I watch Doctor Who it was last year 60th anniversary episodes with David Tennant and Catherine Tate it was bad.
Donna Noble daughter Rose (son name Jason) Trans (non-binary) , The episode The Star Beast They ask the alien about what it pronouns are .
The Giggle Episode they added bi-generation it was stupid.

This crap doesn't need to be in Doctor Who it was forced upon from Disney

[Burn]

Most of us don't like what is happening to Doctor Who Now. When they added the LGBTQ / trans crap in the show that went too far.

Who is "most"? You're not seriously trying to speak for the majority are you?

You speak for yourself, no one else. Yeah there's some people out there who don't like the current stuff and some of the recent past stuff, but they're a MINORITY.

Bust out the DVD's and watch Classic Who.

As for the "LGBTQ/trans crap" ... you're seeing stuff that's not there (though I doubt you're even watching it, you're more than likely basing your comment off some other twat's ramblings).

Last Time I watch Doctor Who it was last year 60th anniversary episodes with David Tennant and Catherine Tate it was bad.
Donna Noble daughter Rose (son name Jason) Trans (non-binary) , The episode The Star Beast They ask the alien about what it pronouns are .
The Giggle Episode they added bi-generation it was stupid.

This crap doesn't need to be in Doctor Who it was forced upon from Disney

Boohoo.

Oh well, no loss to the fandom. Loss is yours really because it's been a massive improvement over the Chibnall era, and AllNewSuperRobot knows what they're talking about in their reviews.

[JazZeke]

I think "73 Yards" was a more atmospheric but less well-thought-out version of "Turn Left."

One think I HATED about the episode was Ruby's mom. I get that the intention was "whatever the woman says is THAT terrifying" but given we've only seen her mom in 3 episodes before this and haven't yet established just how unflappable her love is, the fact that she would cut her off and say those horrible things makes her love look VERY flappable indeed

[AllNewSuperRobot]

One think I HATED about the episode was Ruby's mom. I get that the intention was "whatever the woman says is THAT terrifying" but given we've only seen her mom in 3 episodes before this and haven't yet established just how unflappable her love is, the fact that she would cut her off and say those horrible things makes her love look VERY flappable indeed

Alternatively, it might be important to note that when Kate or Ruby's Mum run away the last action is perhaps the most important. They look at Ruby from that perspective then run a mile. It might not be the words themselves as what they reveal?

[AllNewSuperRobot]

Note: This is the second Doctor-lite episode. This is in actual fact due to scheduling conflicts with Ncuti between Doctor Who and Sex Education. A little fact I wasn't aware of.



Dot and Bubble

Oh boy.

Right, at first this seemed like a pretty self-aware social media based episode. Elements explored by shows like Black Mirror. Our main focus is a character that is almost entirely unlikeable for most of the runtime. Yet, the final third of the episode elevate what would have been a pretty bog standard episode into something significantly better. 8/10

[Burn]

I joked that this was Pokemon Go 2016 where people walked around aimlessly catching monsters.

Turns out slugs didn't need phones to catch monsters.

Overall it was a good episode, not the best of the season but definitely one of the better ones.

My partner didn't see them as racist, just classists, and the only reason I was able to point out it was racism was because of what I'd read on Twitter. Being a white cracker myself who has never been subjected to racism I missed all the queues and it took a lot of reading on Twitter to see them all.

[Dead Metal]

Most of us don't like what is happening to Doctor Who Now. When they added the LGBTQ / trans crap in the show that went too far.

Who is "most"? You're not seriously trying to speak for the majority are you?

You speak for yourself, no one else. Yeah there's some people out there who don't like the current stuff and some of the recent past stuff, but they're a MINORITY.

Bust out the DVD's and watch Classic Who.

As for the "LGBTQ/trans crap" ... you're seeing stuff that's not there (though I doubt you're even watching it, you're more than likely basing your comment off some other twat's ramblings).

Last Time I watch Doctor Who it was last year 60th anniversary episodes with David Tennant and Catherine Tate it was bad.
Donna Noble daughter Rose (son name Jason) Trans (non-binary) , The episode The Star Beast They ask the alien about what it pronouns are .
The Giggle Episode they added bi-generation it was stupid.

This crap doesn't need to be in Doctor Who it was forced upon from Disney

Doctor Who has had LGBT representation in the original Classic era, and this aspect has been larger and more obvious ever since the NuWho revival back with Nine. The show runner back then was Russel T Davis, an openly gay writer and show creator, he is also the current show runner. The best companion of the NuWho era was also a black lesbian.
The only difference between LGBT representation in NuWho is that now they don't beat around the bush as much.

Doctor Who has always been for everyone, and due to its themes and messages has especially appealed to those who have been marginalised and made to feel like they don't belong. So now instead of just ftrowing them a bone every now and then, they are brought more into the foreground.




Now my thoughts on what the episodes have been like so far.

I was pretty exited for 15, but so far am kinda being disappointed. He's more like a side character or guest star in the show. He only really has an actual presenc in Space Babies and The Devil's Chord. Space Babies was utter cringe and I hated it.
Devil's Cord was OK, I mean it didn't make much sense, why have famous musicians and a recording industry in a world like that? But it's so far the only "proper" Doctor Who episode of the show.
The rest all feel more like filler episodes or episodes made to give the Doctor a holiday. Ncuti Gatwa is only in scenes that feel like he was in a studio greenscreen for like 10 minutes and then left. You know stuff you can do later in the series when the Dcotor has been established, sure Boom was pretty good, but it could habe been any of the NuWho Doctors on that mine without changing anything.

So far Ncuti Gatwa seems wasted.

[Glyph]

People complaining that Doctor Who has 'gone woke' will never fail to amuse me with how how they're telling on themselves. And the idea that partnering with Disney would increase the amount of LGBTQ+ rep, against the showrunner's wishes, is just hilarious!

I was pretty exited for 15, but so far am kinda being disappointed. He's more like a side character or guest star in the show. ... So far Ncuti Gatwa seems wasted.

Note: This is the second Doctor-lite episode. This is in actual fact due to scheduling conflicts with Ncuti between Doctor Who and Sex Education

Yeah, as I heard it scheduling conflicts meant they had to do a couple of 'Doctor-lite' episodes way earlier than they would otherwise want to. RTD rolled with it rather than throw off the production schedule.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

I'm thinking since Ncuti is the main character of the show. It would have been better to wait until he was more available before shooting the season??

My partner didn't see them as racist, just classists, and the only reason I was able to point out it was racism was because of what I'd read on Twitter.

The overt part to me was the "infected" line, with a glance cast to Ruby.

[Dead Metal]

People complaining that Doctor Who has 'gone woke' will never fail to amuse me with how how they're telling on themselves. And the idea that partnering with Disney would increase the amount of LGBTQ+ rep, against the showrunner's wishes, is just hilarious!

I was pretty exited for 15, but so far am kinda being disappointed. He's more like a side character or guest star in the show. ... So far Ncuti Gatwa seems wasted.

Note: This is the second Doctor-lite episode. This is in actual fact due to scheduling conflicts with Ncuti between Doctor Who and Sex Education

Yeah, as I heard it scheduling conflicts meant they had to do a couple of 'Doctor-lite' episodes way earlier than they would otherwise want to. RTD rolled with it rather than throw off the production schedule.

That's unfortunate, I hope it's not for the entire season, but then again, only Boom and Devil's Cord were clearly set near the beginning of their journey together. The other episodes could fit in anywhere, so they could have saved them for later. Then again, wouldn't really be Docky Who if they didn't half ass it.

I hope the second season features more of him, because what little we do get of him is excellent.

[Dead Metal]

I joked that this was Pokemon Go 2016 where people walked around aimlessly catching monsters.

Turns out slugs didn't need phones to catch monsters.

Overall it was a good episode, not the best of the season but definitely one of the better ones.

My partner didn't see them as racist, just classists, and the only reason I was able to point out it was racism was because of what I'd read on Twitter. Being a white cracker myself who has never been subjected to racism I missed all the queues and it took a lot of reading on Twitter to see them all.

Explains why she blocked him immediately while putting up with Ruby much longer. God I hated the people in that society, I would have let them all die.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

Especially after the bit with Ricky. I thought, you know what Doctor? Just leave them to it.

[Burn]

Because it's now on Disney+ my partner's mum hasn't been able to watch it so she's been coming over to our place and watching it.

They watched The Giggle yesterday and my partner pointed out to me Ncuti's Doctor says to Tennant's "You can't save everyone", which ... turns out he couldn't.

But if he was new, he wouldn't know that.
Unless he wasn't new.

Wibbly wobbly timey wimey.

[Glyph]

I mean, as a sentiment, "you can't save everyone" isn't exactly limited to this adventure, to be fair. And he's also responding to 14 saying that people died, so there's no need for specific knowledge of events.

It's definitely the timey-wimey-est of handwaves, but my understanding from The Giggle is that 15 is the next Doctor but from AFTER 14's rehab/downtime in their personal timeline (and not, like, a new entity or anything). It's like the timeline pinched and 14 gets to go and take a break for self-care and healing in a little loop of string off to the side before it circles back around to the moment of the bi-generation, where 15 steps in. So he's 'new', but also has the memory of everything that 14 did after that moment. He's explicit in the following scene in the TARDIS that they're doing stuff out of order (from 14's perspective).

--ETA--

I hope the second season features more of him, because what little we do get of him is excellent.

NGL, I don't think they've handled 15 very well. I was less-than-thrilled when they got everyone excited with "first non-white Doctor!" (Jo!Doctor was a cameo, she doesn't count) only to go "Psych! Actually we're bringing back the fan-favourite 10th Doctor instead!" at 13's regeneration. Which... seems like a hell of a way to undercut your new star and maximise YT chuds' screeching about Ncuti, really. Compound that with the scheduling issues so far, and he's been handed an uphill struggle to show off his version of the character, IMO.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

Regarding timey wimey stuff specific to this season. Someone pointed out that Dot & Bubble is the first snow-free episode. The Doctor stating that where there is snow, there is hope. Which is quite revealing really.