You know, I don’t think we’ve fully appreciated (it’s just occured to me now as I’m cogitating on a train) how funny the occupations of the new Doctor’s companions are:

An apprentice mechanic

The mechanic’s apprentice thus replaces the magician’s apprentice. The Doctor was more of a magician under Moffat (and Clara was rather a magician’s…[Read more]

@NearlySane Welcome (twice!) I am a fan of dopplegangers.

@ Everyone  – Sorry, I feel the need to lower the tone somewhat, by pointing out that Chibnall does a rather amusing turn for adult viewers with the sonic.

As we know, the sonic has, on occasion, been something of a penis metaphor under Moffat (who can forget Tennant and Smith comparing…[Read more]

<Waves at comrades, old and new>

@ScaryB I thought you’d like the Delia Derbyshire tribute in the theme tune! Did you see she got honoured with a posthumous PhD last year?

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/nov/20/delia-derbyshire-doctor-who-theme-co-creator-posthumous-phd

@JimtheFish  “The VC was probably relegated to a broom cupboard s…[Read more]

@pedant Noooooooo, you tempted me to read the Daily Fail’s review and now I need to bathe my eyes with salt water.

The reviewer moaned (at great length) that Jodie’s Doctor wasn’t more “Beyonce” or “Daenerys Targaryen”. Now I have a weird “All the Single Ladies” dance routine as performed by the new Doctor and companions flashing before my eyes.…[Read more]

@Miapatrick Yes, you’re right Moffat was aware of his class “issue” after RTD, but he just didn’t know how to include working-class life convincingly in the same way. He had Clara’s grandparents apparently living in a tower-block (that awkward Christmas do when she invited the Smith Doctor as her “boyfriend”) but that just didn’t feel as if it…[Read more]

Like @ScaryB and @Craig <waves to both and to all> I have been AWOL from these parts for a while. So happy to be back and looking forward to the journey!

I thought Jodie did a great job.  I know what you mean @Miapatrick about whether the Doctor as more openly empathetic (compared to Capaldi who needed Clara’s cue cards to help him formulate…[Read more]

<Sidles up to the sofa with a bag of jelly babies and a pack of jammy dodgers>

I believe there’s something on the tele-box tomorrow?

It’s about time….

to hop aboard the TARDIS with you lot!

Prep the popcorn and pop on your multi-coloured scarves, bow-ties, frock-coats and fezes.

Next stop, everywhere….

Merry meet, one and all!

Lovely way to bow out, a character piece in which the First and Twelfth Doctors get some cantankerous banter in, and Peter Capaldi sings his swan song beautifully at the end.

Moffat has always been a bit marmite, hasn’t he, but he’s given us a wild gallop of good years through the universe and, I will miss his particular…[Read more]

@nerys Yes, like you, I relaxed once Bill arrived!

However, I am appreciating the tricky and difficult Clara/ Twelve dynamic more now that I have begun a S9 rewatch. In hindsight all the tarot card speculation makes complete sense not just for the Doctor with his re-birth/ return to Gallifrey, but for Clara, with her re-birth as a time-traveller…[Read more]

Lots of great comments and I’m pleased we’ve got a thread to celebrate Twelve – thanks @Craig .

@DrBen and @ichabod  Yes, I think there’s a reason why Twelve doesn’t want to regenerate, beyond that he’s grown attached to this version of himself (that was Ten’s schtick). I do think he’s tired, and part of him would just like it all to be over.…[Read more]

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@Conchobarre and @mirime  – You sound as if you have both done a great job explaining the change from male-presenting to female-presenting Doctor to your young sons. I look forward to hearing their reactions to the new 13th Doctor in action.

@Wolfweed – Thanks for the Barrowman clip. I love him and I love him for wearing his TARDIS glittery…[Read more]

@DrBen

Looool at Dad as a “daft mansplainer” – haha – I’m not sure CC is as much of a troll as Moffat, however, although I would enjoy this a lot.

I do hope Jenny and Vastra are revisted at some point. I love them.

My guess is that Doctor 12 will be with Doctor 1 at the time of his regeneration into Doctor 13. So we’ll get a very brusque, “Stop…[Read more]

@Cathannabel – of course – always delighted to be quoted 🙂

Look forward to reading it.

I must agree with my fishy colleague @jimthefish in relation to the quality of your arguments @Glasgowboy

There is no requirement to love Whittaker’s casting (although, as she hasn’t yet uttered a single line of dialogue as the Doctor, judgement on merit seems premature).

You write, “At the moment it [Doctor Who] is nothing less than a column in…[Read more]

Hi @ichabod

Loved your account of being at a convention and finding out about Whittaker’s casting at the end of the weekend.  Presumably it wasn’t a Who convention, or someone would have announced it there. It’s great to feel this delighted, isn’t it.

Like you, I am rather dizzy that the BBC really went for it. Even though all the hints had…[Read more]

@Serahni – ha ha – great list of all the ways Doctor Who has previously been “ruined”.

@Craig and @JimtheFish – Ugh – I’ve seen the headlines – The S*n has “Dalektable” and The Daily Fail has “Doctor Nude”. I’ve also seen “Doctor Whooters” doing the rounds on social media.

I hope the writers’ team trolls everyone hard and we find the new…[Read more]

@jim4 And a D minus for logical fallacy as well.

If it’s just a kids’ show and not worth getting one’s knickers in a twist about, then being on here getting one’s knickers in a twist about a female Doctor seems, well, wholly illogical Captain.

I’ll turn my attention to more interesting matters, therefore…

What will the Capaldi to Whittaker…[Read more]

Part of me cannot be bothered to engage with the one-off sign-ups who’ve joined to froth about the Doctor regenerating in a female body. But another part of me feels they should be anwered, publicly, despite the present age’s penchant for “edgy” ironic/ post-ironic trolling.

@jim4 whatever the truth of your nostalgic vision of early Who as for…[Read more]