the most concerning was Dacron’ ableist issue; the sonic better as a telly remote than a gun & TenDoc regenerating back into his 2006+ clothing as keeping 13’s outfit would be an insult to drag performers

Agreed. Also the hypocrisy. The sonic is too gun-like but then the Doc shoots Omega in the fa…[Read more]

As the Doctor was male, he couldn’t let go of the Dr/Donna crisis

Which is weird if you think about it. Imagine it had been written the other way around.

Also the Doc had just been female and this “ability” to shrug this off had never been explored.

The messaging is fine, but the delivery was woeful. There seemed to be a l…[Read more]

yes, the more we focus on identity politics, the less focus exists on working class & middle class oppression thru an overall mismanagement of economic opportunity & the foundational roots of exploitation & marginalisation

Agreed. Class is the one thing that’s never mentioned, and some studies have shown it is this one single factor that…[Read more]

@ps1l0v3y0u

It’s an interesting discussion.

On the etymology of woke: IIRC it came out of the Civil rights movement in the US (pre-Covid) with the phrase “Stay woke” meaning stay awake i.e. be alert to what’s going on around you. It was taken on by liberals and it started to appear in the le…[Read more]

What were 3-4 issues you had with this iteration or series.

I would say (in no particular order):

1. Too crowded a Tardis. Consequently not enough story for all the leads.

2. The first female Doctor. There was not enough written about the gender change. What a wasted opportunity. Instead, he decided to turn the Doctor – traditionally a…[Read more]

Instead of killing flies, spray them with hair lacquer mid flight and they’ll simply glide out of the window.

Was this tendency because the Doctor was (then) male, and the companions, as ever, were female

I mean, yes I think so. The companion does tend to riff off the lead and, with Moff’s previous writing, we know he likes to explore the sexual politics of the traditional male-female relationship.

I liked RTDs take:…[Read more]

On screwball, did you see Bringing Up Baby in ‘39 with Katharine Hepburn?

Oh, yes. Many times. It’s great, She’s great and a young Cary Grant is also great.

Anything with Hepburn, Grant or James Stewart is always worth my attention. And The Philadelphia Story has all three. Would recommend, if you’ve not seen it.

That trio are p…[Read more]

@ps1l0v3y0u

Ah, the infamous Bechdel test, aka the Bechdel–Wallace Test, was developed in the 80s, named for Alison Bechdel and Liz Wallace.

It’s pretty broad and, yes, limited in its usefulness. I believe it was originally developed to bring a focus on the roles of women in film, with their being quite the numbe…[Read more]

Welcome, just post a question on a forum and someone will respond if they have an answer.

Suggest The Winchester may be a more appropriate forum, but it doesn’t matter too much.

Have you watched the tape?

My first thought was the 1996 Doctor Who Movie which had McCoy and McGann in it.

And I found Jim McManus on…[Read more]

And I don’t understand how RTD could speak so fluently (or should I say in his usual slightly rambling, breathy way) about a Christmas Special that hadn’t been made at all?

He’s basically lied to the fans and admitted it. Not sure why he felt the need to do that but it’s not a good look. I’m assuming the pressure behind the sce…[Read more]

https://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/doctor-who-next-production-partner-107265.htm

@janetteb

@ps1l0v3y0u

Also too much YouTube for me; it burns through my writing time so I really should stop…

Some interesting suggestions here. Big thumbs up for the 5th Element. I’ve watched it several times and always enjoy it. Incidentally there’s a Discworld book called The Fifth Elephant but that may be coincidence.

Re…[Read more]

I’ve also seen all those, although did not finish How to get to Heaven… and I need to see the latest Derry Girls.

Small Prophets was excellent.

Re: Widows Bay: it’s a horror (not gory) with comedic elements. Would recommend.

For me: The Boroughs (although Netflix are not renewing), Widows Bay (which Apple are renewing) and The Fades (an old BBC show written by Jack Thorne, which they really should have renewed) are my recent picks.

https://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/moffat-doctor-who-must-entertain-107246.htm

Earlier in the interview, Moffat also shared his view on what makes good writing, arguing that the first job of any television show, film or play is to entertain.

“They never mention the word entertainment, which is the minimum condition of anything you write,” Moffat said. “Not theme, which…

[Read more]

You’ve twisted my words

I’ve just re-read my post and your earlier one and I don’t agree with this but no matter.

You obviously have strong views on the BBC and, again, I don’t agree. But, as Elwood P Dowd once stated:

Well, an element of conflict in any discussion’s a very good thing. It means everybody is taking part and n…

[Read more]

Well, you may be onto something about the fan produced projects – it was the fans and the likes of RTD and Moffat who kept the show alive during the wilderness years. Perhaps a new showrunner will emerge from amongst one of these fans.

I think we can agree the Disney+ money was not well spent. But the BBC did feel the need to…[Read more]

Yes, he would have been a terrific on-screen Doc I think. His Big Finish audios are apparently very good (caveat – I’ve not listened to any) and give the 8th a new lease of life. Same with the 6th’s audio stories as I understand it.

With the upcoming, urm, hiatus, maybe BF stories are the salve for my DW itch.

the cbeebies thing is frankly an insult. Kid’s show

In understand the sentiment but I’m not so sure. I wonder if the BBC is playing a longer game here than we give it credit for. Consider:

They run a kid-friendly version of the show. This will accomplish three things.

1. It gets ’em hooked on…[Read more]

I did have a thought that this is all a bluff by the BBC / Bad Wolf / RTD, and that the Christmas special is already in the bag – with Tennant and Piper reverse bi-generating into the new Doc. Surely not though.

Assuming we take it at face value – and remember that RTD has basically admitted that he / BBC / B…[Read more]

I think it would be good fun. I’ve been part of / run writers groups / rooms before and found it really rewarding.

Not sure about the logistics of doing that on here though.

(I might work on it while I am on holidays in two months time.)

If you do and if you want another pair of eyes on it, I’m happy to take a look.

I’m considering writing a script for a sci fi series which is similar to Doctor Who,

You could call it Professor Why. 😀

Seriously though, go for it. Sounds like fun and you’ll get a lot out of it even if it comes to naught.

I’ve often said that, with the creatives and the learned on here, this board could write an episode of < …[Read more]

Bravado. Yes. Creative Differences. Also yes.

The BBC are going to go out to competitive temder for the new series, so my read is that there was definitely some tension about the show. Maybe the external discussion also affected the decision.

The BBC went out to tender for the CBeebies version of DW last year. It’s…[Read more]

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jun/10/bbc-abandons-plans-for-doctor-who-christmas-special

RTD quotes:

“As a result, there won’t be a Christmas Special – we only cooked that up to guarantee a future when no one knew what would happen, but now we do know, there’s no need for it.”

“For the record: the…[Read more]

Then someone spectaculated that the special had already been filmed in secret.

I’ve heard the same rumour. It would be hilarious if true.

But yeah, too much noise, not enough actual information because:

Cash needs clicks, and clicks need content. And the content doesn’t even have to be that good.

He was asked specifically about Doctor Who and he said that there is a press release somewhere in the baroque confines of the BBC approval system, but that he expects an announcement on the show to be released in the next two weeks.

So, watch this space.

so same old, same old?

I guess. Alot of the Who fan channels are protesting a bit too much, so there are a few logic fails on their parts about why it is not true. We’ll find out when we find out.

But…I did discover that previous Christmas specials weren’t filmed until the September, so there’s a bit of a bigger open…[Read more]

I think the gap in actual Who news (Whows?) and the accompanying content vacuum mean the DW sites (and there are many) are scrabbling around for something, anything, to say. They often have quite significant followers and need to stay relevant so any minor rumour is jumped on as if it were something significant.

And talking…[Read more]

Yeah, it’s a pretty unpleasant planet right now. And if Who is set in the here and now, it can make it less escapist, for the reasons you mentioned.

An alt-universe would have several advantages for storytelling. You could have one that’s similar to ours but where the Doctor doesn’t know everything about it, even down to Is there a…[Read more]

MINOR SPOILERS (if true)

v

v

v

v

There is now a rumour doing the rounds that the Christmas Special will set up a soft reboot, whereby the Doc will end up in an alternative universe with everything reset. It’s an interesting idea and could breathe some new life into the show.

Honestly, who can say at this point. It’s pretty quiet atm and Who does have fans / commentators who like to fill the vacuum.

Probably nothing, but it’s (another) slow Who day.

1. AMC+ has been granted the streaming rights to all AG Who, except the stuff on Disney+ (so 9-13 basically). For Classic Who, it’s Britbox apparently

2. Rumours on the Christmas special:

a. Neither Tennant nor Piper to appear.

b. No filming currently, so potential cancellation / re-schedule to summer…[Read more]

On the Capaldi recommendation for the Mondaisan Cybermen: IIRC Capaldi and Moffat had a conversation about Classic monsters that had not appeared in the new version of Who.

Capaldi challenged Moffat to write a story with a classic monster of his choosing, which Moffat accepted. Capaldi came up with the Mondassian…[Read more]

Two other ones, ie not the two Dalek eps that were recently found. I have no details but Film is Fabulous (who uncovered the two Dalek Masterplan eps) seems very confident.

@janetteb @ps1l0v3y0u

I guess it’s the first Tenant ep proper, but it does seem odd to make such a song and dance about it. Tieing it into an announcement about the…[Read more]

The only rumour I’ve heard is that another 2 lost episodes have been discovered. No more details as of yet…fingers crossed.

https://youtu.be/jbYq8A_6_dc?si=wTJTUqSJ89NE7uC9

It’s a recreation of Mission to the Unknown, done by the students from the University of Central Lancashire.

There’s a “making of ” video also (which I have not seen yet), but I surmise that their brief was to use the original audio, with…[Read more]

That’s really lovely news. Many congratulations to you and family. Is it your first grandchild?

everybody dies finale

Oi! Spoilers! 🙂

I’ll be intetested to see what, if anything, comes out of their new ProdCo. I think the trick with reboots is to make it sympathetic to the original, and have some common themes but not be enslaved by what went before. Seems simple but it’s not.

The Who that came back in 2005…[Read more]

Agree – he was saying it in reference to his love of the original Blake’s 7 which, as I’m sure you’ll agree, was shonky as hell, but very entertaining.  It comes down to story and character imo. The issue now is that, because SF is normally so seamless, that is the expectation for all shows going forward. I know people who bemoan…[Read more]

https://deadline.com/2026/01/blakes-7-reboot-peter-hoar-matthew-bouch-multitude-productions-1236682580/

He also has some comments on the D+ Who era, as well as tv in general, and the need (or otherwise) for a…[Read more]

Yes, the bushfires were fairly close – about 50km / a half hour drive away. We saw nothing until last Saturday when the sky filled with a light smoke, turning the sky orange-brown and the sun a vivid red. Something that would have signaled the end of days to those unscientific folk in times gone past.…[Read more]

As a relative neophyte to classical music (outside of the better known pieces), do you have a link / source to a Brahms primer? ie a where to start with Brahms type thing.

Keep me posted on the dates please (either here or DM), and I’ll see if can attend – bushfires notwithstanding.

Land/Sea will be on Disney+ next month. Or you could use a VPN to access BBC iPlayer and see if it is there. Otherwise, it’s looking for one of the less legitimate streaming services.

I’m going to wait for D+.

And, if you are happy to say, where and when will you be doing your Brahms gig?

Yes! Here’s to everyone having an enjoyable festive period, however you choose to celebrate it.

Happy people are enjoying it so far.

And hope you are all having an enjoyable festive period…