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@translatorcircuit I’m sorry but I find some of your comments about the cast bit offensively ageist just because an actor or actress has aged from their original times on the show doesn’t mean they can’t be in it now yes Janet Fielding(Tegan)  has aged but in part that was supposed to be their part of the plot remember it’s supposed to be 40+ years since Tegan was left by the Doctor and 30+ for Sophie Aldred(Ace)  I’m sure that in 40 years you will look different from what you look like today, and as for Paul McGann yes he looks older than his one main TV outing as the Doctor but so did the other pre gap Doctors except for David Bradley who was reprising his role as the HartnellDoc now Chibnall could have had some CGI magic done using the actors and made them look like their original appearances but to me that would have been wrong.

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Well it’s not as if ?Celestial powers haven’t been involved with  the Doctor before The White and Black Guardians for example. And yes RTD does lie but he’s generally been a bit more subtle about it in the past.

 

 

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Since you’re bonkerising @brewski I’m suspecting the regeneration into TennantDoc14 (it’s been confirmed in an interview with RTD that the new TennantDoc is going to the14th regen and Gnuti is regen15)  has been caused by a combination of the efforts of Jodiedoc to reverse the forced regeneration into the masterdoc and some kind of outside cosmic  influence perhaps by the Neil Patrick Harris character that is assumed to be the Celestial Toymaker. Also given that we now know the 60th Specials are all going to be broadcast in November of next year I suspect they are all going to be one story a bit like Tennant original 2 part exit special the End of Time. In fact I suspect we’ll find out that because of the events involved in the Centenary Special that the new Tennant14 regen is unstable which will lead to the ultimate regen into Gnutidoc.

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@bluesqueakpip I think Dan’s early exit probably was in part John Bishops availability as I seem to recall he has quite a hectic engagement schedule, also I was always a bit surprised when it was announced he was becoming a regular companion initially and that this would be an issue. It was pretty much the same issue I foresaw when Bradley Walsh was bought in when Jodie first took over, he is basically too busy other work wise to be able to commit long term. Getting his exit out the way early on in the story obviously allowed Chibnall to make more of the Yas/Doctor interaction. The way they made his exit actually allows for periodic return of companions easier with the “companion support group” though we all know the Doctors reluctance to return to old companions.

 

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@nerys my initial response when I heard about the BBC’s deal with Disney+ to distribute Who world wide outside of the uk and Ireland was horror, in part because this felt like Disney trying to buy up a successful “franchise” to add to its portfolio.  However on reflection and having watched several u-tube who  commentators  channels and the overall positivity the statement has bought about the BBC may have had some valid reasoning in moving/selling  the distribution rights to Disney+; 1. It actually improves and widens viewing potential and therefore the fan base for Who, 2. As @bluesqueakpip indicated the no doubt large cash input Disney will be forking out will be offsetting the production costs but this may work out in the fans favour in that longer seasons may end up in the offing and guarantees funding for the program. It may also be the BBCs attempt to simplify all the complex distribution rights and deals under one banner worldwide.

 

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It’s been confirmed that the 3 60th anniversary Specials will all be in November 2023 so I’m assuming they’re doing something like Tennants 1st sendoff  The end of Time  Story as a 3 part special and giving us a story that runs for about 2-3 hrs in total. Wether it will say be over 1 weekend or 3 consecutive weekends will obviously yet to be announced. On another note evidently the new TennantDoc isDoc14 and Gnutidoc is going to be Doc15 according to an interview with RTD.

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@blenkinsopthebrave I thought Tennants return for the 60th anniversary specials had been pretty well established. Though the reason for the re/degeneration to TennantDoc has not yet  been explained and how this is going to lead to this finally leads to the regeneration into Gnutidoc ( yes I know I’ve bolloxed the spelling), though I do  have some theories as to this which I will discuss once I do not feel I am giving too much episode content for those who still want to watch the episode 😉

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Are we going do a non spoilery content in posts for the first 24/48 hrs to allow all our members who want to watch the special especially as I believe they haven’t done a simulcast across the counties like in other major who specials. Not that I haven’t thoughts and theories to spout but it only feels fair to our overseas members

 

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Well my first gut feelings is that was better than I thought it would be, not saying more at the moment to avoid spoilers, and need more time to cogitate and digest it more

 

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Have a correction to make I stated in my earlier post that I had thought that the sonic screwdriver had been introduced by the Pertweedoc  but I was in error, though I wasn’t entirely sure when I said it. It was actually introduced in the TroughtonDoc story Terror from the Deep apparently, finally got around to googling it as it was nagging at me.

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@dentauthurdent you’re right the whomobile was a different vehicle. It was a futuristic looking triangular “hovercraft’” type single or two  person vehicle as I remember, I think they used it in a couple of stories though his “Bessie” souped up vintage car was Pertweedocs main non Tardis transport. Just as a point of interest I seem to remember they also used a micro helicopter similar to the one used in the Bond film “You only live twice “. You have to remember the early Pertwee era was when they experimented with making Dr Who more “Bondesque” it’s also when they introduced the Doctor using Venusian Karate and I think it was also (though not entirely sure) when the sonic screwdriver was introduced. As I said this was the era when they attempted to make the show more action and gadget oriented.

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@dentarthurdent have you seen the Flux series not to give any spoilers but The Division is explained in full during Jodies last “full” series. In the main Chibbers  tenure as show runner has been extremely lack-luster. Yes there have been a few good episodes but in the main his helming has been very divisive in the view of a lot of who fans. In my own opinion he tried to alter too much of the established lore, plus I think there was a degree of push back by some fans when Jodie was appointed as the Doctor. Overall this had led a prefect storm of circumstances that has meant his tenure just wasn’t up scratch so to speak.

 

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@blenkinsopthebrave 👀 well if true that feels great and as one of the still surviving original cast is certainly deserved as either part of the BBC Centenary for one of its iconic series’s though that puts him in JWs departure story, and he would have certainly been a deserved cameo as part of the 60th celebrations.

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I am sad to pass on the news that Bernard Cribbins has died today at the age of 92. I’m sure all of us would like to pass  on our collective condolences to his family, Bernard was a great comedic character actor who has given us all memorable characters over 70 years from his Carry-on roles to his role as Wilfred Mott -not his first role on Who

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@blenkinsopthebrave well as I said I hope the hell it falls through it would be a sad day for the who fandom

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Ok this is speculation as far as I can see, but for those of you who follow YouTube commentators on Who especially Tharis (who in the past I’ve noticed  does tend to be fairly balanced in his posts) it has been reported by him that there has been an article ( I’m not sure where) which reportedly has Disney in negotiations with the Beeb to Stream Dr Who from the next season. In a lot of ways I sure as hell hope this is either false or falls through. Personally I can’t see the Beeb giving up the rights to worldwide streaming when it has its own BBC worldwide services, but given the way Disney have seemingly appear to have  been aggressively buying up the rights to screen various series on their Disney+ platform sometimes at the expense of the traditional fan base ability to view their favourite shows.

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@brewski possibly though I tend to agree with the general consensus that Harris may be playing the Celestial Toymaker who as I remember is one of the celestial immortal figures much like the black and white guardians . Having said that it may be the Trickster may just be another name for the Celestial Toymaker. Also it all depends on if  or by how much RTD is going to roll back on the Doctor being the Timeless Child, cause RTD a lot of respect for Who lore and in the PreGap era,  especially in the McCoy era the were hints that he had been known as the Trickster

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@dentarthurdent hmm yes for me Survival always felt a bit incomplete I think in part because there was never a what happens next  as that was the last pre gap story before the  2000 Who  film and then Post Gap series start. But I agree McCoys final season did have a definite vibe with there being hints then that there was more to the Doctors past that we then knew. In part I think this may be where Chibbers got his idea for the timeless child as there were hints that the Doctor was much older or from a time in Gallifrey’s ancient past comparable to Rassilon’s and Omegas time making him some kind of 3rd Founding Timelord. I think this was expanded on in one or two of the inter gap years who books which are not necessarily considered canonical and referred to as the Trickster.

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@janetteb It was a joint BBC/overseas venture not sure who the non Beeb studio was. It actually started out not too bad and as you say McGann actually made a good stab  at being the Doctor in the movie as I said it was some of the more non-cannonical story line that caused some fans to kick up a fuss that and the “love” interest and americanising that seemed to make it less than ideal. As you say when McGan reprised his role for the Night of the Doctor short he made an excellent Doctor. In part it’s a pity they can’t do a retrospective Who series with McGann reprising his role and filling in the ‘missing years’ , though depending on what the 60th anniversary special/s turns out to contain may be a past doctor will be able to come back

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@janetteb I think it was me who referred to the 2 60’s Dr Who movies as being Hollywood as I remember they were made at Elstree Studios under their banner so that was my mistake. My referencing to them being Hollywood was more in the style that Sci-fi films of the period even from Britain seemed to follow the U.S. model of what I would call B-Movie Hollywood style that the science fiction genera seemed to be treated. As you say they were essentially the tv series stories truncated into if I remember a right as 90 minute format. Also they tried to simplify the even then limited Who lore by not even referencing the fact that the Doctor wasn’t human but had Cushing portray him more as a brilliant if absentminded professor type . I  think it was a similar mistake that was made with 2000 Dr Who movie given that it had tried in part to re-write the Doctors history as being part human, as a lot  Who fans  took exception to this bit of non-cannonal history. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed McGanns portrayal of the Doctor and would have loved to see a series launched off the back of the movie.

 

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@blenkinsopthebrave surely you and mrs blenkinsop have also seen the first “Dr Who” by Cushing Dr Who and the Daleks which much like the Dalek invasion of the earth reduced the original tv version to another formulaic 60’s sci-fi film with heavy comedy element. I always have thought it was a shame as I felt Cushing could have made an excellent Doctor oven the right script, but given the “Hollywood” treatment of  Who to make the Doctor appear more of a bumbling  scientist rather than the  brilliant Timelord we all love and know from the series it kind of made it more of a comedy sci-fi like you have said about the Dalek Invasion of Earth.

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@dentarthurdent I think I remember reading somewhere the original concept for the show was to give a platform where science could be explored in a fictional story telling way. I can quite understand your frustration about historical set stories it’s much like when I watch medical based tv like Casualty as a nurse who’s worked in an A+E I groan at the multiple high drama medical dilemmas happening every episode when the actuality is in the main more prosaic and mundane

 

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@dentarthurdent I think this will probably mean another hard reset companion wise much like Jodie’s run I might be wrong but I just can’t see the chemistry working for  Yaz and see her staying when she loses Jodiedoc though I suppose Dan might just stay but we will see. As for this being the first Doctor of colour I’ve seen in some articles   which is actually incorrect as in reality Jo Martin actually holds that distinction (which I’ll get back to in a moment ) does not hold any issues as it had already been established that timelords can become any race/colour. Going back to Jo Martin as I was reading the article in The Sun there was a comment about Jo being and Alternate Doctor and I wondered do they know something and have let it slip.

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I think the main problem with these specials there seems to be no link between them. The New year special appeared to be a fairly good start , but The Legend of the Sea Devils has been a bit of a “meh” episode themeticly. At least with Tennants  final year of specials there was the Timelord Victorious theme. Chibbers had a perfect theme he could have carried through from the end of Flux with what I am calling the Spirit of Time telling the Doctor her time was ending and he could have explored this which in part it looked like he was doing. To be honest I think it would have been better if the baton had been passed back to RTD for Jodies final/regeneration episode because in part I  have a feeling that Chibbers has in part been purposely steering the Who franchise to its demise.

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@craig @nerys same sentiments here hopefully once RTD has retaken the reins and we see the results interest and participation will pick up again. BTW I think I’ve had the same spammer leaving me messages.and @bean-powered please  post in the right room we’re not that scary are we

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Hmmm that was the word I was looking for when I posted my initial response to the episode “underwhelming” Chibbers seems to have epitomised that feeling in the main.

 

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Is it me or is this another case of Chibbers almost giving us a good episode then missing the mark.

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@janetteb CGI  seems to have become  Chibbers trait de jour especially in the last few years. It’s almost  like he’s a chef discovering a new ingredient and uses it in everything.

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I’ve been trying  work out when the next series will actually be aired. Now we know we have 2 more specials by Jodie with the last/regeneration episode I think to be aired as part of the 100th BBC celebrations in October. That unfortunately looks like there will be no Christmas or New Year Special as the only Special we have have news of is the Doctor Who 60th special. Now at the moment we we do know that special is going to be a Multi-Doctor story but I got to wondering does that definitely mean we are going have to wait till after that for the series to start or are we going to get the series first. Yes we do appear to know that Tennant and I think Smith are going to be in the Special but just because they haven’t announced the new Doc will be in it doesn’t mean he/she won’t. I had the thought that RTD may opt to have the next series start  Easter 2023 as that would be the anniversary of the launch of post-gap Who plus would give us a season with the new Doctor before the Aniversary special. If the new season is to start after the special it gives us a few  issues 1. How do they give the new Doctor  a decent introduction and 2. Does this mean we have to wait till 2024 for the new season. Personally I would prefer a pre special season as the only way a post Special season would work for me would be for the Special to somehow to be outside of the main Who timeline and being a forgotten adventure with the past Doctors and their memories being wiped in a timey wimey fashion.

 

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@missy Although I think Chris would have made a good choice as the Doctor I agree I don’t think he will be the prime choice as I think his time has possibly passed. Personally I think it will probably be an actor or actress who will be more of a left-field  choice as was Jodie. I suspect it may be a slightly older choice than the fan favourites are currently being suggested, someone between the ages of say Matt and Peter Capaldi. Of course they might go for an older female Doctor though I’m not sure who they would pick, to give us a female equivalent say a Hartnelesque Doctor. If the companions are to stay it would be interesting to see what that would do with Jaz’s current relationship with the Doctor. Right time to stop the early morning pre coffee rambling.

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Well I did say he was an unlikely candidate but it was fun to give his pro’s and con’s.
@missy  Chris Marshal would probably make a good Doctor. Chris was a leading candidate I think  either before Capaldi was announced or Jodies  announcement. Ironically it was because he had just announced his departure from Death in Paradise and everyone was making assumptions that he had accepted the role.

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@dentarthurdent

Colin Baker was also a minor character ironically as a Timelord guard in one of Peter Davidsons stories though it may have actually been one of the Tom Baker stories

 

 

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@janetteb

A conservative choice maybe but he certainly would make a good Doctor, as to his having done the Doctor before as it was for Comic Relief I think most fans would be ok as I think his total screen time as the Doctor was only 2 or 3 mins. As I’ve previously said and others have indicated it would all depend on his ability to commit long term around his present other commitments. Interestingly enough  on a by play all the hooha about Jodie being the first female  Doctor is actually incorrect as from memory Joanna Lumley was actually the first female Doctor in that CR skit episode.

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Oh I agree Huge Grant would probably make an excellent Doctor it’s just is he willing to make the long term commitment the role would mean. As you say RTD appears to have big plans for Who and given the rumours that they also MSU plans – though most opinions seem to think that relates more to budgetary issues rather than actually creating multiple Who franchises within the Who universe.

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@blenkinsopthebrave

I saw/heard that in a YouTube post earlier, I think it apparently originates from an article either in the Sun or the Daily mail. Not entirely sure it’s true as it would mean Huge Grant committing a large amount of time to Who. It would mean he would not be available for other projects which has always been a stumbling block for getting an existing major star for the role. I think in part that was why Eccleston only committed to one season as well as the fact that it also connects the star almost permanently to Who in the eyes of fans. Apparently Huge Grant was offered Morrisey’s role in the Next Doctors Xmas special. Though there is some decent reasoning that he may be offered the role as he’s worked with RDT  before and it’s well known that RDT like working with actors he’s worked with before. Also they may even be considering bringing in a big named actor/actress  for a short 1 or 2 season stint to boost the ratings Personally I think it will be an known up and coming or unknown actor/actress.

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@catymcinulty welcome I think we here on TDWF  pride ourselves on generally being an inclusive , generally friendly and supportive  group.

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@craig are we allowed to “sell” stuff on this site if not need to report entry on who news 4

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@blenkinssopthebrave as I said in my original post I had realised that the news that Tennent was possibly going to be 14  was coming from non BBC  online sources and was probably highly suspicious. As you say it’s more likely Tennent will reprise his role as 10 if the 60th anniversary special is a multi-doc story.

My main point is the way a lot of the the interviews appear to indicate that RTD will be doing the anniversary special then the series which in my opinion is the wrong way round as I feel they need to let 14 establish themselves as the Doctor before having a new doctor in a multi-doctor special. Now it may be that the interviews were in part a bit misleading as they were concentrating at the time on the the 60th anniversary special and then the fact he was headlining the production of Who going forward, and given the way Jodie is leaving at the end of a series of Specials with no real announcement of how the show is going to proceed after Jodies departure to begin the new Doctors tenure ie is there going to be a new series starting early 2023 either New Year or possibly Easter to co-inside the anniversary of RTD’s NuWho  or as another special which will essentially introduce/establish  the new Doctor much like Tennants start in the Christmas Invasion.

The fact that Jodie has already finished her filming as you say is no problem, with todays filming technology the regeneration scene can be done with the actors at different times. Obviously the decision will have to be relatively soonish as it will have to be filmed and inserted into the final scenes of the third Special.

The other thing I was thinking given the timing of the specials this year and the circumstances that they will be introducing the new Doctor it will possibly mean there will be no Xmas/New Year special this year, which would be disappointing but on the other hand would possibly increase the likelihood that the new Doctors introduction will be in a Tennant style Special during the festive special

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Placing this here as it is more an unsubstantiated rumour but has anyone seen some of the the non BBC  online rumour that David Tenant may and I repeat may be being considered as the 14th Doctor though a precedence may have been created in Day of the Doctor with Tom Bakers Cameo as the Curator and suggestion that he was a future doctor reprising the face. Personally I think it’s more likely he’s going to be cast in the 60th if he going to return as the Doctor. Though I do have a bit of a problem with that as it will potentially be the new Doctors first episode given that Jodies exit is going to be in the 3rd special due to be broadcast as part of the BBCs Centenary celebrations late this year. Given the timing I now suspect that will mean that there will not be a Xmas/ New Year special episode unless the RTDs first new  series is going to launch perhaps New Years Day thus giving the new Doctor time to establish him/herself ahead of a multi Doctor anniversary 60th Special. My reasoning for this is that Tennant has already stated he would be happy to be involved in the 60th celebrations as has Smith. Though having the anniversary special a Multi Doctor  fest has become kind of tradition if they do let it not be a re-hash of Day of Doctor it will need to be sufficiently different. Perhaps the incarnations of the Doctor being subscripted by the  White Gardian for example to save the universe… oh they’ve already done that kind of with the Key to Time Story  Arc in PGWho.

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Was having a browse on YouTube about the various postings about when they are going to announce the actors/actresses identity earlier and given that RTD is supposedly going to start principle/pre  production in Feb it got me to thinking we know there are 2 more specials for Jodie but are they going to do a Xmas/new year special as the new docs first episode or are we going to  have to forego a special and wait till later 2023( my betting would be an Easter launch in that case ) for the new season especially as as far as I am aware they are going to do a 60th anniversary special so the doctors new season will have to have been completed by then.

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Hmm @blenkinsopthebrave I think you may have it Moffat was brilliant he was able to carry a series arc and keep individual episode stories fun and enjoyable. He doesn’t  seem to have sacrifice the episode story in order to tell the series arcs. I’m not saying Moffat had a perfect record but Chibnall who the fans seem to generally agree has been a relatively poor front runner as seemed to be all about a series arc rather than the individual episodes. I’m not saying Chibnall isn’t a good story teller because when he’s not concentrating on an overall arc he seems to have produced who I consider classic type Who episodes for example the Eve of the Daleks it seemed with Flux out the way he has produced what appears to be a throughly enjoyable episode. This is unfortunate really because when he was announced as the Showrunner and with Jodies appointment as the Doctor is seemed to for-bode of a successful combination that didn’t appear.

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@nerys this conversation has made me ROLF . Your spelling is perfect compared to mine I’m always misspelling words even with automatic  spell checking and autocorrect (though auto correct is a whole other problem), I also have a habit of hitting send or enter before triple checking what has actually gone down on the screen which has led me to rapidly hitting edit a number of times.

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@craig I think we may have a bigoted troll posting  calling him/herself anonymous posted on 3/1/22 at 01:10 on the Eve of the daleks thread the comment is both racist and homophobic in nature and under the sites rules needs to be removed and the poster possibly banned

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Ah that’s why he seemed familiar. I’m actually surprised by the episode I thought oh no not another Dalek NewYears episode when it was announced but as I said it was actually a better episode than I thought it would be. I had thought after the end of Flux here we go, how is Chibbers going alter who history again but it appears he wasn’t for once.

 

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@bluesqueakpip yeah it felt more like a traditional Who episode, one thing did anyone see the guy towards the end of the episode taking  pictures of the fire works I’m wondering if he’s got more significance for the future didn’t have my glassses on at the time but his voice was familiar, really need to rewatch.

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Thanks and happy new year o glorious emperor @craig . Now to the Special, well it was much better than the series and felt more like like an episode of Who. It’s almost as if now Jodie has the Flux out the way she’s able put her heart into being the doctor. Will probably have to watch again to digest and cogitate all the little bombshells but let’s say Yaz’s reveal wasn’t exactly a surprise given her possessiveness over  the Doctor over the last 12 months of specials and series.

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Hmm @blenkinsopthebrave I think you’ve hit it on the head Chibnall hasn’t paid enough respect to past  show cannon. Now don’t get me wrong I’ve no problem with there being changes to the established cannon but it needed to fit in so to speak. I always felt there was supposed to be more to the doctors past and if I remember right there was some mention (i think in the 5 doctors anniversary show) that early timelords like Rassalon had regeneration cycles that made them near immortal but Chibnall over the last 2 seasons has essentially driven a wrecking ball through established cannon.

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Surely they’re not trying for a repeat of the capaldi exit but instead of a good master and a bad master they’re going bad and mad  though if they’re bringing Sims and Dhawan back surely they could stretch to Gomez she was great.

 

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@nerys I think you may have in part hit the nail on the head the whole series series felt too rushed.  In some part I think some of the COVID restrictions will have had some effect on production and I suspect Upper Management at the BeeB may have a had their sticky fingers in the pie so to speak so your comment about too many cooks is very apt.

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@blenkinsopthebrave I think in part we’re all trying to organise our thoughts, as I’ve said in other posts I think this season needs to literally seen as a whole as it’s a mini series format this season. I’ve found I’ve liked some episodes more than others especially when there’s been more structure to the episode.

I think part of the problems has been the storyline has appeared to be a bit chaotic because some elements have only became  clear in the last 2 episode. Also to be honest I’m still not clear how Swarm and Azure were really necessary to the storyline other than as a red herring and a way of setting up the scene with the Doctor and the ?Savior character.Also  Other than Division and its creation of the Flux there’s not really been a big bad of the series that’s really been explained properly. Yes we know that Tectuen was head of Division and the apparent evil stepmother figure of the Doctor but even she was not used to full effect and appeared to be just thrown away, even the Great Serpent was sort of a damp squib in the end.

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