Doctor Who: Resolution
January 1, 2019 12:08 PM - Season 11, Episode 11 - Subscribe
As the new year begins, a terrifying evil from across the centuries of Earth's history is stirring
As the Doctor, Ryan, Graham and Yaz return home, will they be able to overcome the threat to planet Earth?
As the Doctor, Ryan, Graham and Yaz return home, will they be able to overcome the threat to planet Earth?
PS big plus points for the anti-Brexit joke. (Oh if you were going 'where have I seen her before?!' like I was, she was in Bandersnatch)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 1:18 PM on January 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 1:18 PM on January 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
I liked it. The character drama has really worked for me this season; I love the contrast of the family stuff with the oddball sci-fi premises. There was more in this episode than I was expecting, but I really liked them, um, resolution of Ryan's relationship with his dad.
The three parts reconstituted as one. The Doctor said something about some kind of anomaly that happened after the first part was awoken by UV. (It wasn't clear, but given it was one Dalek cleaved in three, I think all the pieces had to be together for it to function.)
I loved the parallel of the Dalek making its new tank from Sheffield steel, just as the Doctor made her new sonic in the season premiere.
I think my favourites this season were the historicals, only because some of the high-concept sci-fi premises haven't really felt like satisfying stories. I'm really glad Chibnall has gone intimate this season - and even this episode when it verged on epic, still felt quite contained.
Really wish we didn't have to wait 12+ months for more of this, though.
posted by crossoverman at 1:56 PM on January 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
The three parts reconstituted as one. The Doctor said something about some kind of anomaly that happened after the first part was awoken by UV. (It wasn't clear, but given it was one Dalek cleaved in three, I think all the pieces had to be together for it to function.)
I loved the parallel of the Dalek making its new tank from Sheffield steel, just as the Doctor made her new sonic in the season premiere.
I think my favourites this season were the historicals, only because some of the high-concept sci-fi premises haven't really felt like satisfying stories. I'm really glad Chibnall has gone intimate this season - and even this episode when it verged on epic, still felt quite contained.
Really wish we didn't have to wait 12+ months for more of this, though.
posted by crossoverman at 1:56 PM on January 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
The three parts reconstituted as one. The Doctor said something about some kind of anomaly that happened after the first part was awoken by UV. (It wasn't clear, but given it was one Dalek cleaved in three, I think all the pieces had to be together for it to function.)
Seconded. One piece got to the South Pacific and to Siberia safely, but the piece that was supposed to leave Yorkshire didn't - and was re-animated when the archeologists put it under the UV light, which allowed it to spacial-warp the Siberian and South Pacific pieces back to where it was located so it could put itself together again.
PS big plus points for the anti-Brexit joke.
That was a highlight for the viewing here in my Brooklyn apartment (my roommate buys the episodes online direct from BBC somehow on his playstation, or some other wibbly-wobbly means, and we literally just watched it as soon as he downloaded it). And we figured out that joke at the same time and simultaneously hollered "BREXIT VS. UNIT!" and lost our shit laughing.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:14 PM on January 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
Seconded. One piece got to the South Pacific and to Siberia safely, but the piece that was supposed to leave Yorkshire didn't - and was re-animated when the archeologists put it under the UV light, which allowed it to spacial-warp the Siberian and South Pacific pieces back to where it was located so it could put itself together again.
PS big plus points for the anti-Brexit joke.
That was a highlight for the viewing here in my Brooklyn apartment (my roommate buys the episodes online direct from BBC somehow on his playstation, or some other wibbly-wobbly means, and we literally just watched it as soon as he downloaded it). And we figured out that joke at the same time and simultaneously hollered "BREXIT VS. UNIT!" and lost our shit laughing.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:14 PM on January 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
I think having a Dalek episode was a mistake. I couldn't stop thinking about how I had no idea what the state of the Daleks were in this new series. I kind of expected the ancient junk Dalek to send out a call for the Dalek fleet only for the Doctor to tell it that she had destroyed them all in the time war or whatever.
posted by runcibleshaw at 6:27 PM on January 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by runcibleshaw at 6:27 PM on January 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
I liked it. Parts of it I loved. It felt like a take on RTD style Who in places. Things like the Dalek vs soldiers set piece which reminded me of the Cybermen on the bridge scene from Doomsday maybe? The cheesy old "No internet, what shall we do now?" scene which played out like something with Jackie et al (although didn't Vengeance On Varos do something similar?)
I loved how the Dalek rebuilding itself mirrored the Doctor recreating her sonic screwdriver. Oh, and the gag about her trying to remember how long a Rel was. The whole puppeting thing and how it was portrayed were great. Hearing Nicolas Briggs do a Dalek voice again was cool. The Dalek Bump missiles were ridiculous (and therefore great). I liked The Doctor facing down Ryan's Dad more than the leaden retread of the Doctor facing down a Dalek.
The music was stupidly loud relative to the spoken parts, it was annoying to have to play with the volume every few minutes. The pacing was odd in places, like the long cafe scene bookended with "Argh! Dalek! Argh!". The IMPACT FONT WORDS were almost inexplicable. Graham still gets to deliver the quiet talking-to's that the Doctor would usually have done formerly, which definitely robs her character of some depth. The resolution was a bit "Hrrm".
I was surprised it went Full Dalek, I honestly expected to get some sort of lazy namecheck humanoid villains injected with Dalek DNA for fanservice purposes. When the Dalek was in control of GCHQ, ready to signal the fleet, it seriously crossed my mind that Chibnall with his interesting First Doctor Fetish was setting up a series-long Dalek Invasion Of Earth scenario. The whole of Bedfordshire turned into a giant mine in order to replace the Earth's core with an engine to pilot it through space? I'd watch that!
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 9:25 PM on January 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
I loved how the Dalek rebuilding itself mirrored the Doctor recreating her sonic screwdriver. Oh, and the gag about her trying to remember how long a Rel was. The whole puppeting thing and how it was portrayed were great. Hearing Nicolas Briggs do a Dalek voice again was cool. The Dalek Bump missiles were ridiculous (and therefore great). I liked The Doctor facing down Ryan's Dad more than the leaden retread of the Doctor facing down a Dalek.
The music was stupidly loud relative to the spoken parts, it was annoying to have to play with the volume every few minutes. The pacing was odd in places, like the long cafe scene bookended with "Argh! Dalek! Argh!". The IMPACT FONT WORDS were almost inexplicable. Graham still gets to deliver the quiet talking-to's that the Doctor would usually have done formerly, which definitely robs her character of some depth. The resolution was a bit "Hrrm".
I was surprised it went Full Dalek, I honestly expected to get some sort of lazy namecheck humanoid villains injected with Dalek DNA for fanservice purposes. When the Dalek was in control of GCHQ, ready to signal the fleet, it seriously crossed my mind that Chibnall with his interesting First Doctor Fetish was setting up a series-long Dalek Invasion Of Earth scenario. The whole of Bedfordshire turned into a giant mine in order to replace the Earth's core with an engine to pilot it through space? I'd watch that!
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 9:25 PM on January 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
The cheesy old "No internet, what shall we do now?" scene which played out like something with Jackie et al (although didn't Vengeance On Varos do something similar?)
It was a bit too drawn out for my tastes. It felt slightly slowed down so that more people could get the joke.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:41 PM on January 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
It was a bit too drawn out for my tastes. It felt slightly slowed down so that more people could get the joke.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:41 PM on January 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
The "no internet" and Brexit scenes went on just a bit too long for my liking, but they were still good. And I liked the episode overall. They couldn't go a whole year without Daleks, so that was nice and nostalgic.
posted by numaner at 10:08 PM on January 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by numaner at 10:08 PM on January 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
And what happens to Lin after she's arrested for killing two police officers and at least two other people? "I was being controlled by a squid-like alien creature," is hard defense to pull off.
posted by ShooBoo at 11:30 PM on January 1, 2019 [8 favorites]
posted by ShooBoo at 11:30 PM on January 1, 2019 [8 favorites]
I liked this. Overall, have (sadly, as I wanted it to be great) found the last series pretty weak, with maybe a handful of memorable stories. While this wasn't amazing, it had the energy and imagery that was missing for much of the run. Yes, the pacing was a bit odd, yes, the emotion is still gloopy, yes the bit with the microwave was some fairly awkward plotting (an oven introduced in the first act will go off in the third), but my kids, who have just got into Doctor Who this season and are currently halfway through David Tennant's run, cheered when the Dalek crashed through the door, cos all they want is to see a Dalek wreck havoc (the sods) and this was the best Dalek havoc wrecking since Doomsday.
If we're only having one Doctor Who story this year, am happy to settle for this.
posted by Hartster at 2:36 AM on January 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
If we're only having one Doctor Who story this year, am happy to settle for this.
posted by Hartster at 2:36 AM on January 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
I couldn't stop thinking about how I had no idea what the state of the Daleks were in this new series. I kind of expected the ancient junk Dalek to send out a call for the Dalek fleet only for the Doctor to tell it that she had destroyed them all in the time war or whatever.
I said exactly this during our apartment viewing, but my roommate pointed out that the Twelfth Doctor basically brought them back at the start of season 9. But yeah, I was also frustrated by this; however, that's more of a show thing than a this-one-episode thing, and maybe The Doctor only dispatching this one Dalek by a fake-out and shooting it into the sun was probably wise, because it's like, this is only one Dalek you were dealing with on its own rather than trying to settle the question of all Daleks; ostensibly this was one that was tucked away on Earth for all this time and would have been on the sidelines during the Time War anyway, so whatever you remember about the rest of the Daleks, it still works.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:35 AM on January 2, 2019
I said exactly this during our apartment viewing, but my roommate pointed out that the Twelfth Doctor basically brought them back at the start of season 9. But yeah, I was also frustrated by this; however, that's more of a show thing than a this-one-episode thing, and maybe The Doctor only dispatching this one Dalek by a fake-out and shooting it into the sun was probably wise, because it's like, this is only one Dalek you were dealing with on its own rather than trying to settle the question of all Daleks; ostensibly this was one that was tucked away on Earth for all this time and would have been on the sidelines during the Time War anyway, so whatever you remember about the rest of the Daleks, it still works.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:35 AM on January 2, 2019
(As I remember it, the reason the Daleks keep coming back is that the rights are held by the estate of Terry Nation, who nominally created them, and they have to feature them regularly in order that they can continue to use them at all. It's not a lack of imagination on the part of the show runners as such. I realise that Dr Who without the Daleks is worth more than vice versa, and I really can't justify anyone's thinking on anything, but that's the reason, I think.)
posted by Grangousier at 5:29 AM on January 2, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Grangousier at 5:29 AM on January 2, 2019 [3 favorites]
@Grangousier, it's certainly the 'understanding of fans' re the Nation/Dalek estate, but I've yet to see anything along those lines confirmed.
posted by ewan at 5:55 AM on January 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by ewan at 5:55 AM on January 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
Honestly at this point in time I sorta need a Dalek existence primer, they've been wiped off the face of the universe and reintroduced so many times in NuWho. I didn't mind that it was a Dalek episode, I rather enjoy them and how the writers manage to re-convince us every time that they are a serious threat, and how successfully (or not) they are about that.
And I dunno, I'd expect the Doctor would have Kate Lethbridge-Stewart's direct number? But I was glad that it didn't turn into Yet Another UNIT Gets Pasted episode, so I guess it was nice to have a call center Brexit joke there instead.
posted by Kyol at 8:04 AM on January 2, 2019
And I dunno, I'd expect the Doctor would have Kate Lethbridge-Stewart's direct number? But I was glad that it didn't turn into Yet Another UNIT Gets Pasted episode, so I guess it was nice to have a call center Brexit joke there instead.
posted by Kyol at 8:04 AM on January 2, 2019
yes the bit with the microwave was some fairly awkward plotting (an oven introduced in the first act will go off in the third)
Should've come from the Chekhov company.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:42 AM on January 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
Should've come from the Chekhov company.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:42 AM on January 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
I really liked the episode, but I keep coming back to wonder why she sent Graham out for peanut butter and then left without him. Other than "we need to arrange things so that he is forced to give Ryan's Dad a talking-to."
posted by sarcasticah at 9:58 AM on January 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by sarcasticah at 9:58 AM on January 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
On some levels an episode with good ideas, and a great performance from Charlotte Ritchie, but still not coherent. Why didn't the plots of the Dad coming back and the Dalek reviving itself collide until the very end? As I say, Charlotte Ritchie was very good here, but wouldn't it have been better to have the daleks overtake the dad much earlier, or one of the gang? I feel this with a lot of Chibnall episodes, even when he has strong character scenes, they are isolated from the plot rather than integrated.
Lots of pieces that just didn't work.. the intro sounded impressive, but was hardly relevant to the plot (splitting into three achieved nothing at all as apparently it can teleport it's body back together anyway...); there was no reason the episode couldn't have begun with the dig finding the dalek, and then a later reveal about guardians (why have actors to play guardians whose only role is to look worried).
And sorry to be all fanboyish about this, but I really think daleks are one thing where you need to pay attention. The idea of a dalek piloting a human is a cool one, but everything else made sense. It's plan is to make the dalek fleet aware of the location of earth.. they know already! They've invaded earth multiple times! Is there even a dalek fleet currently? And is the dalek incredibly dangerous, or is it vunerable to someone setting fire to it... because I'm not sure it can be both. I know that daleks have been defeated in absurd ways previously, but I don't think you can at the same time claim a dalek is a terrifying opponent, but also realise that you can defeat it by dismantling a microwave then running quickly.
posted by Cannon Fodder at 10:02 AM on January 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
Lots of pieces that just didn't work.. the intro sounded impressive, but was hardly relevant to the plot (splitting into three achieved nothing at all as apparently it can teleport it's body back together anyway...); there was no reason the episode couldn't have begun with the dig finding the dalek, and then a later reveal about guardians (why have actors to play guardians whose only role is to look worried).
And sorry to be all fanboyish about this, but I really think daleks are one thing where you need to pay attention. The idea of a dalek piloting a human is a cool one, but everything else made sense. It's plan is to make the dalek fleet aware of the location of earth.. they know already! They've invaded earth multiple times! Is there even a dalek fleet currently? And is the dalek incredibly dangerous, or is it vunerable to someone setting fire to it... because I'm not sure it can be both. I know that daleks have been defeated in absurd ways previously, but I don't think you can at the same time claim a dalek is a terrifying opponent, but also realise that you can defeat it by dismantling a microwave then running quickly.
posted by Cannon Fodder at 10:02 AM on January 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
This Dalek was made of Sheffield steel, which perhaps is more vulnerable to things like a microwave oven.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:11 AM on January 2, 2019
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:11 AM on January 2, 2019
It's plan is to make the dalek fleet aware of the location of earth.. they know already! They've invaded earth multiple times! Is there even a dalek fleet currently?
This Dalek had been buried on Earth centuries ago and has been dormant, so it's probably not up to date on current Dalek affairs. All it knows is its mission and it's so smugly superior that it can't possibly entertain the idea that the fleet has been destroyed. It's been off the grid for so long that it's just following its orders until it hears otherwise. When the Dalek broke into the global communications HQ, I wanted it to exclaim "WHAT- IS- YOUR- WI-FI PASSWORD?!!"
posted by Servo5678 at 10:24 AM on January 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
This Dalek had been buried on Earth centuries ago and has been dormant, so it's probably not up to date on current Dalek affairs. All it knows is its mission and it's so smugly superior that it can't possibly entertain the idea that the fleet has been destroyed. It's been off the grid for so long that it's just following its orders until it hears otherwise. When the Dalek broke into the global communications HQ, I wanted it to exclaim "WHAT- IS- YOUR- WI-FI PASSWORD?!!"
posted by Servo5678 at 10:24 AM on January 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
I guess I was a bit "meh" with this one. I've enjoyed this new series, but this one seemed just a bit slap-dash and low-budget to me. Like they had some leftover bits that they never quite fleshed-out and tossed them together to make an episode.
Loved the idea of a Dalek entombed on Earth for several centuries. There's some interesting stuff there. I mean, the Doctor in the 1500s fighting a Dalek? That would be great! But...
..............
Some personal eye-rolling bits:
A Dalek surviving being cut into pieces and scattered to the ends of the Earth. Then, exposing one piece of a Dalek to UV light reanimates it, as well as all the other scattered pieces, and the scattered pieces transport themselves across the globe to rejoin into a whole again.
(also, those were some pretty darned shallow holes that they buried the pieces of this supposedly horrific, deadly enemy in.)
Dalek/Lin builds a complete Dalek shell, including flight propulsion and armed missiles, out of junk in a scrapyard.
Military personnel would simply stand upright in the open mere yards from an unidentifiable (but apparently dangerous enough to call out the troops) enemy.
Suddenly the murderous Dalek can't hit a single person with its death ray? In a closed room? And, it's such a bad shot that multiple people can get their hands on it and wrap microwave oven parts around it?
..............
We finally got a much better view of the TARDIS console room and it's still not working for me. Those big "crystal" pylons and things look like what they are; big fiberglass constructions with lights in them. And they take up so much room in the place, there's hardly room for anyone to move...in a ship that has infinite space inside. Here's hoping they better refine the console room for the next series.
Overall, it's been a good series. I was excited about a female Doctor, and still am. It does seem as if they held-back on sets and props and effects and whatnot, though. Maybe just in case the fans simply walked-away from a female Doctor? I dunno. BBCA spent the entire week before this special running a Dr. Who marathon (just about all of the NuWho series') and, I have to say the production values of the special paled in comparison to so many of the old shows. It surprised me to see that.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:29 AM on January 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
Loved the idea of a Dalek entombed on Earth for several centuries. There's some interesting stuff there. I mean, the Doctor in the 1500s fighting a Dalek? That would be great! But...
..............
Some personal eye-rolling bits:
A Dalek surviving being cut into pieces and scattered to the ends of the Earth. Then, exposing one piece of a Dalek to UV light reanimates it, as well as all the other scattered pieces, and the scattered pieces transport themselves across the globe to rejoin into a whole again.
(also, those were some pretty darned shallow holes that they buried the pieces of this supposedly horrific, deadly enemy in.)
Dalek/Lin builds a complete Dalek shell, including flight propulsion and armed missiles, out of junk in a scrapyard.
Military personnel would simply stand upright in the open mere yards from an unidentifiable (but apparently dangerous enough to call out the troops) enemy.
Suddenly the murderous Dalek can't hit a single person with its death ray? In a closed room? And, it's such a bad shot that multiple people can get their hands on it and wrap microwave oven parts around it?
..............
We finally got a much better view of the TARDIS console room and it's still not working for me. Those big "crystal" pylons and things look like what they are; big fiberglass constructions with lights in them. And they take up so much room in the place, there's hardly room for anyone to move...in a ship that has infinite space inside. Here's hoping they better refine the console room for the next series.
Overall, it's been a good series. I was excited about a female Doctor, and still am. It does seem as if they held-back on sets and props and effects and whatnot, though. Maybe just in case the fans simply walked-away from a female Doctor? I dunno. BBCA spent the entire week before this special running a Dr. Who marathon (just about all of the NuWho series') and, I have to say the production values of the special paled in comparison to so many of the old shows. It surprised me to see that.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:29 AM on January 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
PS big plus points for the anti-Brexit joke.
If you're referring to the plot point about UNIT being defunded, I assumed "International partners removing funding" was a Trump joke. Pulling out of an important international agreement is his style. That or it was a Tory austerity measure.
I hated the "OMG Netflix isn't working??!!" joke but I really wished that when the Dalek was telling Lin to go faster on the motorway it had said AC-CEL-ER-ATE!
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:25 PM on January 2, 2019 [11 favorites]
If you're referring to the plot point about UNIT being defunded, I assumed "International partners removing funding" was a Trump joke. Pulling out of an important international agreement is his style. That or it was a Tory austerity measure.
I hated the "OMG Netflix isn't working??!!" joke but I really wished that when the Dalek was telling Lin to go faster on the motorway it had said AC-CEL-ER-ATE!
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:25 PM on January 2, 2019 [11 favorites]
Dalek/Lin builds a complete Dalek shell, including flight propulsion and armed missiles, out of junk in a scrapyard.
My read was only the chassis was junk, the other tech was all stolen from the archive.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:26 PM on January 2, 2019 [3 favorites]
My read was only the chassis was junk, the other tech was all stolen from the archive.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:26 PM on January 2, 2019 [3 favorites]
PS big plus points for the anti-Brexit joke.
I figured the writers had been reading (MeFi's own) cstross. Either way, it was a bit weird that they had the "UNIT is shut down" conversation, then immediately had an out-of-nowhere face-off between the dalek and a bunch of soldiers that would have been much better framed as UNIT-vs-dalek.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 5:27 PM on January 2, 2019
I figured the writers had been reading (MeFi's own) cstross. Either way, it was a bit weird that they had the "UNIT is shut down" conversation, then immediately had an out-of-nowhere face-off between the dalek and a bunch of soldiers that would have been much better framed as UNIT-vs-dalek.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 5:27 PM on January 2, 2019
How did the army know to be at that spot? Are British soldiers normally driving around armed and with a tank as backup?
An AV Club commenter mentioned that "The Power of Three", the Chibnall-written episode that introduces Kate Lethbridge-Stewart is set in 2019 or 2020*. Make of that what you will.
*The actual year is a point of much discussion because Doctor Who chronology is timey-wimey but 2019-2020 seems close.
posted by plastic_animals at 5:55 PM on January 2, 2019
An AV Club commenter mentioned that "The Power of Three", the Chibnall-written episode that introduces Kate Lethbridge-Stewart is set in 2019 or 2020*. Make of that what you will.
*The actual year is a point of much discussion because Doctor Who chronology is timey-wimey but 2019-2020 seems close.
posted by plastic_animals at 5:55 PM on January 2, 2019
I thought this episode was delightful. I was dreading the Daleks coming back but I like that they did something different with it this time.
In general I don't think there's any point in not liking something because you think the plot should have unfolded differently, it feels like an unfair criticism. Like I would have liked such and such better if I had written it myself, I guess?
I do however think that if there's anything ancient peoples were good at, it was elaborate, creative, thorough, & complete methods for destroying things that scared them. I think they would have done better than just chopping it in 3 pieces and throwing it in shallow holes.
I have my own theory that the TARDIS creates the Doctor's new DNA and unconsciously modeled their lady face on Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, someone they trusted & admired, same way as they modeled their last face on that one Roman guy they met (because his whole arc was about saving himself like he saved that guy). Why doesn't she go get Kate and pick her up for a companion? That'd be fun.
posted by bleep at 9:48 PM on January 2, 2019
In general I don't think there's any point in not liking something because you think the plot should have unfolded differently, it feels like an unfair criticism. Like I would have liked such and such better if I had written it myself, I guess?
I do however think that if there's anything ancient peoples were good at, it was elaborate, creative, thorough, & complete methods for destroying things that scared them. I think they would have done better than just chopping it in 3 pieces and throwing it in shallow holes.
I have my own theory that the TARDIS creates the Doctor's new DNA and unconsciously modeled their lady face on Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, someone they trusted & admired, same way as they modeled their last face on that one Roman guy they met (because his whole arc was about saving himself like he saved that guy). Why doesn't she go get Kate and pick her up for a companion? That'd be fun.
posted by bleep at 9:48 PM on January 2, 2019
An AV Club commenter mentioned that "The Power of Three", the Chibnall-written episode that introduces Kate Lethbridge-Stewart is set in 2019 or 2020*. Make of that what you will.
Ooh maybe that means she's coming back! I like her.
posted by bleep at 9:49 PM on January 2, 2019
Ooh maybe that means she's coming back! I like her.
posted by bleep at 9:49 PM on January 2, 2019
I enjoyed this episode quite a bit. The part where Ryan rips apart his dad in the cafe is the best thing I've seen from both Ryan and Tosin Cole. Ryan has had a clear arc of personal growth this season, but this was the first time he seemed to really want something.
I absolutely love Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor, and I love that Chibnall has taken the Doctor a few notches down from Omniscient Omnipotent God-Being. Though a downside is that she seems less competent compared to her previous regenerations—I find it hard to imagine 9 through 12 miscalculating the "vacuum tunnel" and accidentally sucking her companion's father out into space. (I even thought this would be revealed as a deliberate ploy on her part to spark a reconciliation between Ryan and Aaron.) But on the other hand, I loved the part where she pulls the "Do you know who I am?" card on the Dalek, and as a result has to flee in a panic as it tries to fricassee her.
My main disappointment with this episode is that they didn't go wild with the design of a Dalek half-constructed out of junk and Sheffield steel. Come on, Chibnall, it should have looked bat-shit crazy! Grinding about on giant gear wheels, belching smoke from a fluted smokestack, cobbled together from car parts, tin cans, and broken Xboxes. Something like the CyberKing, but for the 21st century.
My second disappointment was articulated above by Thorzdad:
Suddenly the murderous Dalek can't hit a single person with its death ray? In a closed room? And, it's such a bad shot that multiple people can get their hands on it and wrap microwave oven parts around it?
This was exactly my complaint with the episode "The Caretaker," in which a robot supposedly powerful enough to destroy the planet only winds up killing one policeman and is defeated when Danny Pink does a running jump/somersault over it. It actually soured that whole season for me! If you're going to set up a villain as being the most deadly thing ever, you can't just beat it by jumping over it, or running up to it very fast and sticking oven parts to it! It kind of makes you sound like you were exaggerating about it being so deadly! (I know I sound like Annie Wilkes, but I can accept anything in fiction if they just make it internally consistent.) (This is not a case of me wanting the plot to unfold differently, but rather me wanting the plot to acknowledge its own axioms.)
Oh, one last thing, I'm glad the Doctor was happy to throw the Dalek into the sun, as opposed to wanting to save its life like a giant spider who had just eaten half a dozen people.
Anyway, long wait until 2020! See all y'all then.
posted by ejs at 10:11 PM on January 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
I absolutely love Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor, and I love that Chibnall has taken the Doctor a few notches down from Omniscient Omnipotent God-Being. Though a downside is that she seems less competent compared to her previous regenerations—I find it hard to imagine 9 through 12 miscalculating the "vacuum tunnel" and accidentally sucking her companion's father out into space. (I even thought this would be revealed as a deliberate ploy on her part to spark a reconciliation between Ryan and Aaron.) But on the other hand, I loved the part where she pulls the "Do you know who I am?" card on the Dalek, and as a result has to flee in a panic as it tries to fricassee her.
My main disappointment with this episode is that they didn't go wild with the design of a Dalek half-constructed out of junk and Sheffield steel. Come on, Chibnall, it should have looked bat-shit crazy! Grinding about on giant gear wheels, belching smoke from a fluted smokestack, cobbled together from car parts, tin cans, and broken Xboxes. Something like the CyberKing, but for the 21st century.
My second disappointment was articulated above by Thorzdad:
Suddenly the murderous Dalek can't hit a single person with its death ray? In a closed room? And, it's such a bad shot that multiple people can get their hands on it and wrap microwave oven parts around it?
This was exactly my complaint with the episode "The Caretaker," in which a robot supposedly powerful enough to destroy the planet only winds up killing one policeman and is defeated when Danny Pink does a running jump/somersault over it. It actually soured that whole season for me! If you're going to set up a villain as being the most deadly thing ever, you can't just beat it by jumping over it, or running up to it very fast and sticking oven parts to it! It kind of makes you sound like you were exaggerating about it being so deadly! (I know I sound like Annie Wilkes, but I can accept anything in fiction if they just make it internally consistent.) (This is not a case of me wanting the plot to unfold differently, but rather me wanting the plot to acknowledge its own axioms.)
Oh, one last thing, I'm glad the Doctor was happy to throw the Dalek into the sun, as opposed to wanting to save its life like a giant spider who had just eaten half a dozen people.
Anyway, long wait until 2020! See all y'all then.
posted by ejs at 10:11 PM on January 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
I really liked it, including the soapy bits. I liked the Ryan/Aaron/Graham dynamic. I got irritated when Aaron was obviously going to die and was delighted when he made it (successful audience manipulation!)
I also think that this was the best Dalek episode since 9/Eccleston/Dalek. One Dalek is scarier than a million Daleks.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 3:23 AM on January 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
I also think that this was the best Dalek episode since 9/Eccleston/Dalek. One Dalek is scarier than a million Daleks.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 3:23 AM on January 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
Oh, one thing that I would have liked to see at the end - some acknowledgement that Lin was going to be let off the hook for a string of murders and theft of alien technology? Like, if UNIT were around you'd assume they'd handle it but the Doctor never spoke to the authorities on screen.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 10:20 AM on January 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by EndsOfInvention at 10:20 AM on January 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
My main disappointment with this episode is that they didn't go wild with the design of a Dalek half-constructed out of junk and Sheffield steel.
Ugh, yes, mine too. The rest of it was fine-to-good, but the Dalek design was missing something. It looked like someone had just bashed a regular Dalek up a bit and let it sit to rust for a few years, instead of something that was knocked up in a shed in an hour or two. Maybe they were too worried about it not looking recognizably Dalek, but still.
posted by BungaDunga at 7:55 PM on January 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
Ugh, yes, mine too. The rest of it was fine-to-good, but the Dalek design was missing something. It looked like someone had just bashed a regular Dalek up a bit and let it sit to rust for a few years, instead of something that was knocked up in a shed in an hour or two. Maybe they were too worried about it not looking recognizably Dalek, but still.
posted by BungaDunga at 7:55 PM on January 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
I don't know that I'd call it the best of Dr. Who, but even not-the-best Who is more fun for me than the majority of alternatives.
posted by GenderNullPointerException at 8:36 AM on January 5, 2019
posted by GenderNullPointerException at 8:36 AM on January 5, 2019
tbh I would have preferred something more... KLF, Dalek-wise
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 8:48 AM on January 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 8:48 AM on January 5, 2019 [3 favorites]
I liked the Doctor's "I always think I'm rid of them. Never am." as a handwavey wink to the viewer's "what, Daleks again?"
I too was confused by the "we have to stop it calling the Dalek fleet" storyline because wait, what fleet? and if there is a fleet what's it waiting for exactly? an invitation?
The chirpy MDZ guard -- "Most secure digits in Yorkshire. That's what I tell me boyfriend, anyway." was I think the second instance of incidental-character bury-your-gays this season? (The first was Frankie, "I'm your niece's wife," killed by giant spiders in Arachnids in the UK.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 3:23 PM on January 7, 2019
I too was confused by the "we have to stop it calling the Dalek fleet" storyline because wait, what fleet? and if there is a fleet what's it waiting for exactly? an invitation?
The chirpy MDZ guard -- "Most secure digits in Yorkshire. That's what I tell me boyfriend, anyway." was I think the second instance of incidental-character bury-your-gays this season? (The first was Frankie, "I'm your niece's wife," killed by giant spiders in Arachnids in the UK.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 3:23 PM on January 7, 2019
Why isn’t Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor Who the lead character in her own damn show?
The answer is, probably, laziness and lack of imagination, either on the part of the showrunner or (much more likely in my opinion) the commissioning editors and the BBC. Same as with the bury-your-gays and the fridged grandmother. In order to achieve some kind of representation, random characters are shown to be gay, but the problem is that in Dr Who random characters can die quite quickly. A much-loved character dying can be a perfectly respectable part of a narrative and emotional arc (I would hope that we would consider Lady Macbeth to be more than a fridgee, for example), but is also, more often than not, a cheap (and, given who usually gets to be sacrificed, insulting) way of injecting some kind of emotional investment. All Chibnall's energy went into one relationship, but that leaves the main character (who appears not to have a signficant relationship with either Grahame or Ryan), with very little to do apart from running around and expositing. And that leaves the fourth character - who by dint of numbers as much as anything else, turns out to be a woman of colour - with little more to do than stand there and receive exposition.
It's a mess.
It's probably rich of me to complain of it being a messs, as my personal taste is for mindfuck television - Westworld, Legion, Preacher, Black Mirror and, yes, S. Moffat's Dr Who and Sherlock. I realise that it's not that widely shared a taste, but I'll put up with a lot for a bit of mindfuck. It was definitely past time for a less mindfucky Dr Who (which I think Mr M agreed with - wasn't Season 10 a contractual obligation thing while they looked for a new showrunner? I've been rewatching it, and I have to say he did a great job if so), and I was looking forward to it, but this is... not a great advert for non-mindfuck TV.
(Yes, I should probably stop. I'm probably transferring all my fear of and annoyance and frustration with the real world onto this silly television show.)
posted by Grangousier at 6:32 AM on January 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
The answer is, probably, laziness and lack of imagination, either on the part of the showrunner or (much more likely in my opinion) the commissioning editors and the BBC. Same as with the bury-your-gays and the fridged grandmother. In order to achieve some kind of representation, random characters are shown to be gay, but the problem is that in Dr Who random characters can die quite quickly. A much-loved character dying can be a perfectly respectable part of a narrative and emotional arc (I would hope that we would consider Lady Macbeth to be more than a fridgee, for example), but is also, more often than not, a cheap (and, given who usually gets to be sacrificed, insulting) way of injecting some kind of emotional investment. All Chibnall's energy went into one relationship, but that leaves the main character (who appears not to have a signficant relationship with either Grahame or Ryan), with very little to do apart from running around and expositing. And that leaves the fourth character - who by dint of numbers as much as anything else, turns out to be a woman of colour - with little more to do than stand there and receive exposition.
It's a mess.
It's probably rich of me to complain of it being a messs, as my personal taste is for mindfuck television - Westworld, Legion, Preacher, Black Mirror and, yes, S. Moffat's Dr Who and Sherlock. I realise that it's not that widely shared a taste, but I'll put up with a lot for a bit of mindfuck. It was definitely past time for a less mindfucky Dr Who (which I think Mr M agreed with - wasn't Season 10 a contractual obligation thing while they looked for a new showrunner? I've been rewatching it, and I have to say he did a great job if so), and I was looking forward to it, but this is... not a great advert for non-mindfuck TV.
(Yes, I should probably stop. I'm probably transferring all my fear of and annoyance and frustration with the real world onto this silly television show.)
posted by Grangousier at 6:32 AM on January 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
There was a similar take on Polygon: Doctor Who has given us a Doctor without inner conflict, basically that the Doctor was just kind of there this season, a mostly passive character serving as an exposition dump.
posted by plastic_animals at 9:03 AM on January 8, 2019
posted by plastic_animals at 9:03 AM on January 8, 2019
You could plausibly argue the same thing for David Tennant's first season: his Doctor, at least initially, is mostly puppydog enthusiasm without much depth.
I did find myself nodding at a lot of the New Statesman article that Grangousier linked: yes, too many companions, and yes, pretty much all of the emotional focus is on the Graham/Ryan relationship. (And in light of that too, this episode bringing in Ryan's father put the emphasis even more strongly on man-feelings.) We don't know much about this Doctor yet, and Yaz has been basically a cardboard cutout for the entire back half of the season.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:26 AM on January 8, 2019
I did find myself nodding at a lot of the New Statesman article that Grangousier linked: yes, too many companions, and yes, pretty much all of the emotional focus is on the Graham/Ryan relationship. (And in light of that too, this episode bringing in Ryan's father put the emphasis even more strongly on man-feelings.) We don't know much about this Doctor yet, and Yaz has been basically a cardboard cutout for the entire back half of the season.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:26 AM on January 8, 2019
Whitaker’s Doctor needs doubt, she needs an inner life, and she needs to be truly tested. That struggle is the stuff that moral reasoning is made of — and it’s what made past Doctors, for their many flaws, relatable. Following the Doctor through her past moral mazes was half the fun, and nearly all of the poignancy.
For me the thing that originally attracted me to this show was that I saw the Doctor as a character who cared about people and the show was interesting to watch how he showed it and how he went about doing it. So for me the new Doctor is still someone who cares about people and the ways that she does it and shows it are still good and interesting to me. All the woe is me and moral dilemma stuff have never been that interesting to me, so not having to listen to the doctor whine and complain about their job all the time has been great. If you want the job, take the job. If you don't want the job, don't take the job.
posted by bleep at 12:10 PM on January 8, 2019 [7 favorites]
For me the thing that originally attracted me to this show was that I saw the Doctor as a character who cared about people and the show was interesting to watch how he showed it and how he went about doing it. So for me the new Doctor is still someone who cares about people and the ways that she does it and shows it are still good and interesting to me. All the woe is me and moral dilemma stuff have never been that interesting to me, so not having to listen to the doctor whine and complain about their job all the time has been great. If you want the job, take the job. If you don't want the job, don't take the job.
posted by bleep at 12:10 PM on January 8, 2019 [7 favorites]
I'm just saying there is PROBABLY a way to give a character an inner life that's not ALL about moral dilemmas.
posted by bleep at 12:12 PM on January 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by bleep at 12:12 PM on January 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
The BBC doesn't know how to market interesting characters that doesn't have moral dilemmas
posted by numaner at 12:15 PM on January 8, 2019
posted by numaner at 12:15 PM on January 8, 2019
Why isn’t Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor Who the lead character in her own damn show?
There was a similar take on Polygon: Doctor Who has given us a Doctor without inner conflict
I feel like the first article and the second article answer each other: The reason is that the Doctor isn't the main character of the show, she's the circumstance that allows the real lead characters (Ryan and Graham, and one day Yaz maybe) to grow into their arcs. It's like a disaster movie, but the Doctor plays the part of the disaster.
Yes, this is a change from previous seasons, but it's a deliberate change. This is Chibnall's view of the show, which is not new—it's basically the same thing as the first season of NuWho, which was centered on Rose and her experience. Later seasons grew so enamored with the Doctor that not only did they have to be all about him, but his companions had to be all about him too (like Martha Jones falling in love with him, Amy Pond giving birth to his wife, or Clara Oswald jumping into his time stream to perform emotional labor for him all through his life).
I do agree with the second half of the Polygon article, which points out how the Doctor's philosophy can be problematic in the long term (call it the Why-Doesn't-Batman-Kill-The-Joker Syndrome), and would like to see that addressed. But the Doctor taking a back seat to the humans in the story is why we get such exquisitely human stories as "Rosa" and "Demons of the Punjab," and I have no problem with that at all.
posted by ejs at 1:08 AM on January 9, 2019 [6 favorites]
There was a similar take on Polygon: Doctor Who has given us a Doctor without inner conflict
I feel like the first article and the second article answer each other: The reason is that the Doctor isn't the main character of the show, she's the circumstance that allows the real lead characters (Ryan and Graham, and one day Yaz maybe) to grow into their arcs. It's like a disaster movie, but the Doctor plays the part of the disaster.
Yes, this is a change from previous seasons, but it's a deliberate change. This is Chibnall's view of the show, which is not new—it's basically the same thing as the first season of NuWho, which was centered on Rose and her experience. Later seasons grew so enamored with the Doctor that not only did they have to be all about him, but his companions had to be all about him too (like Martha Jones falling in love with him, Amy Pond giving birth to his wife, or Clara Oswald jumping into his time stream to perform emotional labor for him all through his life).
I do agree with the second half of the Polygon article, which points out how the Doctor's philosophy can be problematic in the long term (call it the Why-Doesn't-Batman-Kill-The-Joker Syndrome), and would like to see that addressed. But the Doctor taking a back seat to the humans in the story is why we get such exquisitely human stories as "Rosa" and "Demons of the Punjab," and I have no problem with that at all.
posted by ejs at 1:08 AM on January 9, 2019 [6 favorites]
crossoverman: It wasn't clear, but given it was one Dalek cleaved in three, I think all the pieces had to be together for it to function.
I missed these parts (transcript):
DOCTOR: Something, or some things, non-terrestrial, are attempting a spatial shift. I'm homing in on the convergence pattern.
...
MITCH: So these guys reckon there was a battle. This mythic creature was killed, and it was split and buried all over the world.
DOCTOR: The spatial shift we detected. Parts of the creature coming back together. Oh, don't tell me. When you uncover something, you leave it under the ultraviolet lights you had in the sewers.
MITCH: Yeah.
DOCTOR: Ultraviolet light activates the dormant creature, bringing it back to life.
So it did re-merge, off-screen. And apparently UV light is to Daleks as yellow stars are to Kryptonians :)
posted by filthy light thief at 11:28 AM on January 10, 2019
I missed these parts (transcript):
DOCTOR: Something, or some things, non-terrestrial, are attempting a spatial shift. I'm homing in on the convergence pattern.
...
MITCH: So these guys reckon there was a battle. This mythic creature was killed, and it was split and buried all over the world.
DOCTOR: The spatial shift we detected. Parts of the creature coming back together. Oh, don't tell me. When you uncover something, you leave it under the ultraviolet lights you had in the sewers.
MITCH: Yeah.
DOCTOR: Ultraviolet light activates the dormant creature, bringing it back to life.
So it did re-merge, off-screen. And apparently UV light is to Daleks as yellow stars are to Kryptonians :)
posted by filthy light thief at 11:28 AM on January 10, 2019
The continual re-emergence of the Dalek threat is unfortunately all too apt isn't it? Since they are basically Space Nazis. It's not just about maintaining the BBC's IP rights to use the things. Remember my friends: Eternal Vigilance.
I quite enjoyed the episode but somehow don't feel the same commitment to the show in the Chibnall era- only really understood this on reading Andrew Ellard's most excellent "script notes" on twitter.
Whittaker's Doctor reminds me a lot of Peter Davidson's actually. Mild-mannered to a fault, overcrowded Tardis, and so on. But I don't mind as long as she's somebody's Doctor, and the next generation are behind the sofa where they belong!
posted by Coaticass at 8:00 PM on January 10, 2019
I quite enjoyed the episode but somehow don't feel the same commitment to the show in the Chibnall era- only really understood this on reading Andrew Ellard's most excellent "script notes" on twitter.
Whittaker's Doctor reminds me a lot of Peter Davidson's actually. Mild-mannered to a fault, overcrowded Tardis, and so on. But I don't mind as long as she's somebody's Doctor, and the next generation are behind the sofa where they belong!
posted by Coaticass at 8:00 PM on January 10, 2019
Black Girl Nerds review: ‘Doctor Who’ Season 11 Stuns with an Abundance of Equitable Representation.
posted by Coaticass at 3:10 PM on January 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Coaticass at 3:10 PM on January 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
So if only one piece of the Dalek needs to be exposed to UV light in order to reanimate the entire organism, wouldn't cutting it in thirds triple the chances it gets reanimated?
posted by GhostintheMachine at 4:31 PM on January 11, 2019
posted by GhostintheMachine at 4:31 PM on January 11, 2019
And they would know what uv light is how?
posted by bleep at 5:25 PM on January 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by bleep at 5:25 PM on January 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
So if only one piece of the Dalek needs to be exposed to UV light in order to reanimate the entire organism, wouldn't cutting it in thirds triple the chances it gets reanimated?
Okay, this was the plan:
* they cut the Dalek into 3 pieces.
* each of 3 people takes one of those pieces.
* they get as far away from each other as they can.
* then, when they've gotten somewhere suitably remote, they each bury the piece they've got, and stand guard over it, preventing anyone from messing with it in any way or preventing anyone from reviving even just one piece by any means. As they each near death, they are to appoint a successor.
The problem with the plan came not in the ply itself. The problem came when one of the three people got killed while still traveling to his anticipated remote spot - so he was never able to bury the Dalek piece and stand guard. Had he done so, surely "dig it up and shine UV lights on it" would have been something he or any of his successors would have prevented anyone from doing.
The flaw was not the plan. The flaw was in that one of the guards they counted on their being for one of the pieces got killed and left the Dalek unguarded, which let someone mess with it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:40 PM on January 11, 2019 [2 favorites]
Okay, this was the plan:
* they cut the Dalek into 3 pieces.
* each of 3 people takes one of those pieces.
* they get as far away from each other as they can.
* then, when they've gotten somewhere suitably remote, they each bury the piece they've got, and stand guard over it, preventing anyone from messing with it in any way or preventing anyone from reviving even just one piece by any means. As they each near death, they are to appoint a successor.
The problem with the plan came not in the ply itself. The problem came when one of the three people got killed while still traveling to his anticipated remote spot - so he was never able to bury the Dalek piece and stand guard. Had he done so, surely "dig it up and shine UV lights on it" would have been something he or any of his successors would have prevented anyone from doing.
The flaw was not the plan. The flaw was in that one of the guards they counted on their being for one of the pieces got killed and left the Dalek unguarded, which let someone mess with it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:40 PM on January 11, 2019 [2 favorites]
There was a problem with the plan which was that they didn't know that the Dalek would be re-animated by something they had never heard of even after being dismembered.
posted by bleep at 6:49 PM on January 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by bleep at 6:49 PM on January 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
So that's a yes, their plan for ensuring the Dalek never recovered actually had the opposite effect in making reanimation more likely.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 8:27 PM on January 11, 2019
posted by GhostintheMachine at 8:27 PM on January 11, 2019
They made the plan with what they knew at the time, I wouldn't fault them for that plan at all.
posted by numaner at 2:32 PM on February 21, 2019
posted by numaner at 2:32 PM on February 21, 2019
A bit of a derail but I want this to happen so bad: Alex Kingston wants to return to Doctor Who for romance with Jodie Whittaker
posted by numaner at 2:33 PM on February 21, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by numaner at 2:33 PM on February 21, 2019 [6 favorites]
So I somehow, uh, forgot to watch this episode last year because I was buying the new season from Google Play but they separated this one out into a different show called "Doctor Who: The Specials" instead of putting it in with the main episodes. Obnoxious. But anyway I noticed my mistake while waiting for the new premiere to show up.
All it knows is its mission and it's so smugly superior that it can't possibly entertain the idea that the fleet has been destroyed.
I loved this bit of Dalek characterisation, really. There were at least five different times this episode that it achieved some incredibly minor goal like the equivalent of putting its trousers on and was all "EARTH HAS BEEN ANNEXED!!!" But even as tough as a Dalek is, medieval humans managed to temporarily defeat it. Annexation can't actually happen until the fleet shows up to enforce it, but the little pepperpot Nazi is just so sure of its own success that it can't even imagine that failure is an option.
(There's an obvious parallel there between the Dalek Recon Scout and colonialist "explorers".)
posted by tobascodagama at 8:09 AM on January 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
All it knows is its mission and it's so smugly superior that it can't possibly entertain the idea that the fleet has been destroyed.
I loved this bit of Dalek characterisation, really. There were at least five different times this episode that it achieved some incredibly minor goal like the equivalent of putting its trousers on and was all "EARTH HAS BEEN ANNEXED!!!" But even as tough as a Dalek is, medieval humans managed to temporarily defeat it. Annexation can't actually happen until the fleet shows up to enforce it, but the little pepperpot Nazi is just so sure of its own success that it can't even imagine that failure is an option.
(There's an obvious parallel there between the Dalek Recon Scout and colonialist "explorers".)
posted by tobascodagama at 8:09 AM on January 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
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But anyway that's your lot until 2020... I think overall, Chibs - while having his faults - was not as bad as I feared. For me there has been good and not so good episodes but no real stinkers. And Whittaker my fave Doctor in a long time, possibly back to 4 (I said that about the Capaldi at the beginning but in the end he seemed badly served overall - hope Whittaker doesn't go the same why
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:18 PM on January 1, 2019 [1 favorite]