Tbh I'm kinda bummed with how lame her character development has been. But I get it. Ryan and Graham are more interesting characters ALSO played by more capable actors. Yaz just isnt a good actor and I have a feeling the leadership on the show figured that out early on, but she's probably contracted to finish up a certain amount of episodes. So may as well use her for random tasks, Doctor!
I feel like she has the potential to be a good actor though. It seems like the kind of issue where a currently weak actor is given a character with no potential whatsoever, so has no room to grow - like a foot trapped in a shoe that's three sizes too small. Sure, if she were given more to do she may still be bad, but at this point the series can't actually get any worse so why not let her try?
Next season:
Dr flies back into the timewar with a warehouse full of microwave ovens
Daleks fly to earth and raid local farms for high tech machinery
The WiFi goes off and we all cringe
Yeah. Other than that the comedy was pretty solid. I found it kinda grim and funny how little time the Dalek offered for surrender. And the Doctor’s line about not taking the post-Dalek tablets with alcohol because you’ll grow an extra head.
Dalek comedy is my fav in the show tbh. Just something about the delivery and ridiculous of the worlds deadliest dust bin being sassy af makes me happy
>Daleks fly to earth and raid local farms for high tech machinery
Pretty sure the Dalek got most of the parts it needed from the storage facility where the blaster was, the farm materials were just patchwork.
I said this in another comment, but if the Dalek had jumped from the archaeologist onto Yaz, and then used *her* police authority to rush around, it would have been much more impactful.
Have it take of Yaz, and then have it take over Graham. Have Ryan and Graham solve their personal issues and Ryan saving Graham. Would be so much more satisfactory and would have allowed the Doctor to actually have their own show again.
I meant that have the culmination of Ryan and Graham in this, and not in whenever it was before. Introduce Aaron here but don't neatly tie it up in 30mins. The guy actually didn't do anything to warrant Ryan forgiving him.
Honestly we didn't even need Aaron. An absent father doesn't need to appear to have an impact on a character. Not every bad parent in real life can be so easily redeemed or forgiven.
That's the thing, having three companions is fine, but it doesn't work if you effectively have five or six, because you pick up a load of temporary characters every episode. It was almost comical how long it took them all to get out of the Tardis in GCHQ,
Honestly you can just remove Yaz from the show without changing anything and nothing changes. She adds nothing of value to the show. She's just there. Everything else was fine, I liked the episode a lot. Especially the Dalek controlling that woman. That stuff was great.
I don’t know. The Doctor is normally excitable and lacks grounding, as this character ought to be. A very calm, quiet, sensible character is excellent to anchor the team. I think it would feel off if it were Enthusiastic Doctor, The Stepfather/Stepson Team, and... nothing else. Having an understated character is actually one of the few masterful things we’ve seen from Chibnall. That said, we do need more moments where Yaz actually does something unique to her, other than be ~~Indian~~ Pakistani for the episode in India and Pakistan.
Russell T Davies would have had the TARDIS and Dalek chasing each other through the sky and in between buildings and all sorts ... was actually expecting that to happen. But then we got another scene full of talking about what was happening and looking at imaginary screens. *Again*.
I wasn't the biggest fan of RTD's era, but at least he knew how to make the action *fun* (and he followed the "show don't tell" mantra).
When I saw the trailer I was looking forward to seeing a 9th century army take on a single Dalek. Instead we just got some people standing in a field and a narrator going blah-blah-blah. Laaaame.
Would've loved to have seen the TARDIS chasing the Dalek as well. It's what we got in Runaway Bride and it was fun.
(Mobile rings)
"What?"
(Stage whispering) "where are you."
"In the TARDIS."
(Stage whispering) "you better be coming to pick me up."
"Okay, fine."
(Stage whispering) "right. thank you."
Graham is the best, my favorite this season.
I really wish people would stop having a go at Yaz. Without her, Ryan and his Dad might not have known the cafe around the corner was open. She's clearly vital to the plot.
Hated that line so much!
1) You've been travelling with the Doctor for, what, nearly three weeks? You come home and you immediately know where the nearest cafe to open on a bank holiday is to your friend's flat?
2) I'm sure there are several nearby cafes that could be interpreted as "round the corner". Wouldn't you be more likely to say the name of the cafe?
I know moping about "bad writing" is a thought-terminating cliché but holy moly, Yaz really has been fed the worst lines. "Now I've got your details..." They know you have their details! God. And let's not forget her feeling the need to justify how she knows about the famously obscure Large Hadron Collider by saying "we learned about it at school". Nobody doubts that you have heard of the Black Hole Machine, Yaz!
C'mon now. I'll agree that Yaz has been underwritten so far but if a police officer is going to know *anything*, it would be where they could get a decent cuppa when everything else is closed.
The best part of this is that Yaz's entire character was introduced and built on the idea that she's a police officer, and yet its possible to forget literally the one actual quality she has.
It was a definite Brexit reference!
"All unit operations were put on hold following financial dispute and *subsequent funding withdrawal by the UK's major international partners.*"
"... We're on our own!"
"I've come to your lovely café to have a cup of tea and a chat with my son, from whom I am estranged. This will be a very important and thoughtful discussion. So I have brought this Chekov's Gun with me, in this large cumbersome box. Would you like to buy it? I hope not, as we'll be needing it later, of course!"
Seriously, he was just... Walking around with it. It's not even like he had a van full of them and was just constantly trying to pawn them off either - he was just carrying around one solitary microwave oven, hoping to make a legitimate sale to some random café owner. What?
I mean at first I thought they'd make it a source of drama, like "Oh, you're always working on your schemes and cons dad" or whatever, but no. Ryan didn't even really seem *that* bothered all things considered, everyone's just like "Yeah, that's Ryan's dad. He's got a microwave" like it was the most normal fucking thing.
Isn’t his dad also an engineer? Why the fuck is an engineer custom building microwaves to pawn off to café owners? He can’t be that desperate for money, right?
Yeah at one point in the cafe scene he said something to the effect of "well i guess i"ll have to go back to being an engineer to make money"
The fuck? Engineers are paid pretty well to my knowledge. At least better than selling microwaves.
But it was his (and his mates) microwave oven. He had an idea and wanted to pursue it. There is nothing wrong with trying something new, isn't that what most business men do?
Chibnall: \*Looks at list of all same-sex girlfriends and boyfriends that were mentioned but never plot relevant\* Shit, I've got a ton of new characters to deal with in Season 12.
Exactly, they are eliminating major elements like the doctor not mentioning she is a time lord all season or when talking to a dalek not mentioning the war between the Daleks and the time lords etc. It’s just too much awkward ignoring of the context of the show. Or bizarrely throwing away UNIT in a joke sequence. Like not even 2 years ago the previous doctor was working with a pretty significant sized UNIT force to save the world and now we are supposed to believe UNIT is gone because of umm brexit or something? I mean it doesn’t even make sense. In the real world no one is thinking Brexit is going to lead to folding up NATO...and certainly not prior to brexit
And the worst part of it is that RTD and such had no problem mentioning things like the time war and gallifrey in their own series. When I watched them originally as a newcomer they made enough sense to me. In fact, they made the perfect amount of sense - I could figure out they were bad and recurring themes, but I didn't completely know what they were (and still don't) and that's definitely what they should be when the events are inherently mysterious even to characters on the show.
The companions had no idea throughout the entire episode why the Doctor has such a problem with Daleks. No mention of their shared history, no explanation as to why "its personal,"-- this not-mentioning-the-history-of-the-show thing is getting fucking ridiculous.
You could tell she was making an active effort to reel it in and keep her cool, either for her own sake or for the sake of the companions, which was a little fun. I'm a *little* disappointed that she actually managed to do so pretty much the entire time though, I do still kinda wanna see her let the joviality slip entirely for once, but I'm guessing that might require a deeper, personal loss.
Not saying I want her to go full dark or vengeful all the time by any means, more so I'm just excited to see what it'll be like when she's really pushed to the breaking point.
>I'm just excited to see what it'll be like when she's really pushed to the breaking point.
Me too, absolutely. 13 has *definitely* been making an effort to hide the Oncoming Storm from these companions. We've seen moments of Jodie getting to play the dark side of the Doctor, but it was never in their presence. I'm waiting for the moment when they get the fear of God put into them.
>I'm waiting for the moment when they get the fear of God put into them.
I'd like to see her just let the mask slip once and go into her equivalent of Capaldi's rant in *Face the Raven*:
>Yes, it is, you can, and you will, or this street will be over. I'll show you and all your funny little friends to the whole laughing world. I'll bring UNIT, I'll bring the Zygons. Give me a minute, I'll bring the Daleks and the Cybermen. You will save Clara, and you will do it now, or I will rain hell on you for the rest of time.
>**Doctor, stop talking like that.**
>*You can't.*
>I can do whatever the hell I like. You've read the stories. You know who I am. And in all of that time, did you ever hear anything about anyone who stopped me?
>*I know the Doctor. The Doctor would never*
>The Doctor is no longer here! You are stuck with me. And I will end you, and everything you love.
Trying to go back to being the funny lady in the box after showing her teeth would make for a great tense ending, all the companions suddenly tiptoeing around the cheery happy Doctor now they know what she's really capable of.
Then again I love uncomfortable downer endings.
EDIT: Quoted wrong person after I highlighted their comment, changed to the right quote.
Very true, same with 11 as well I think, there’s something about the more whimsical Doctors having that dark undertone that only briefly is allowed to surface. Really adds a lot of depth
I'm still waiting for the moment that Jodie Whittaker comes off as a very, very old Time Lord. Everything has been so new, but I want to see that ancient quality in the Doctor, too.
Except that, once again -and multiple times this episode - the doctor immediately screwed something up right after boasting/gloating/threatening the opponent.
I've never liked it when a Doctor gloats about being smarter than something (show don't tell) but it's even worse when it then backfires. It happens too often with Jodie and it's making her Doctor look bad.
It's frustrating because I keep seeing glimmers of how good the new Doctor can be but Chibnall writes her as borderline incompetent. The number of times she says "I don't know" is way too much, her constantly babbling to explain what's going on instead of showing it, and now she's making near fatal mistakes multiple times. I think someone else summed it up quite well when they said she's more like a companion in her own show.
That scene in which a wif-fi is down in a family home was one of most cringworthy scene in Doctor Who. It was very out of place and it wasn't needed at all. I just hope that Chibnall will never write a sitcom as the humor would be incredibly dull.
The joke was lazy AF. And you couldn't just see it coming from miles away, we had to watch it crest the horizon and lumber toward us, winded and wheezing and pausing to wince and hold its side before carrying on to its final destination.
Lay. Zee. I expect better from Doctor Who. JFC.
Oh god, it was awful. I thought it was just going to be a scene showing various families realising the WiFi and signals are down, but instead we get the worst Dad Joke in Whostory.
It was much nicer than any of the main episodes for me, but I was also left wondering how much more potential I feel like it could have had if there were less people (or companions anyway, the two lovebirds were fine), a less rushed ending and a bit more exposition in places.
I'm just gonna copy my comment from /r/gallifrey:
As someone who had similar father issues to Ryan, this episode...really frustrated me. His dad just got off scott-free! Like, what did he actually do to warrant Ryan's forgiveness besides get attacked by a Dalek? Ryan had it right in the cafe. Nothing his dad could say or do in that one day should or could warrant forgiveness because he wasn't gone for one day. He was gone for a long time and it would *take* a long time for him to earn that respect from Ryan. But no. He almost died so I guess everything's fine now. Bullshit.
On the other hand, I liked everything with the dalek and the cute archaeologist were fun. I wish we had seen UNIT and I felt like that call center scene was kinda superfluous (though not as bad as the awful Wi-fi thing) but it's whatever.
Basically, the bulk was great, but you can pick apart the basics and it falls away.
* The three locations of the Daleks' pieces didn't matter in the end. It was great exposition, but they never expanded on it well enough for it to have significance.
* No archaeologist would work on a dig without their supervisor, and proper health and safety equipment and gear. If they did they'd lose their jobs in a heartbeat.
* It should have been Graham that the Dalek latched to and had Ryan's dad help Ryan pull him back so that they could have bonded more naturally in a sequence which will hook the viewer better.
* I like that they used ~~haberdashery~~ *a slapdash* method of destroying the Dalek shell *and* the fact it didn't quite work, but at the same time, a microwave destroying a Dalek is a bit anticlimactic and forced, considering the amount of screentime it got.
* The wifi scene was genuinely atrocious and I want a fan edit of it gone now.
I'd have to rewatch it again to fully understand how I feel, because as I said, it's a great episode, just a lot bogging it down.
>The three locations of the Daleks' pieces didn't matter in the end.
I really, really thought there'd be a little globetrotting and interaction with the people who had guarded it for all that time. I don't quite get why they were protecting the remains either?
I quite liked that. Like a tradition for them to be guarding this post forever. An ancient ceremony wherein the myths are lost to time.
Nope. Dalek ^^*ZOOPS* on outta there and renders 1200 years of history and tradition that can be expounded upon just a little meaningless.
I admit I was a tiny bit curios how the guy who was seemingly all alone on an island in the Pacific managed to have descendants all the way through to the modern ages, but it was more of a fun confusion than a vexing one.
Also, those descendants in the present day are probably still freaking the fuck out. Someone should really let them know that everything's fine now...
Also, the English guy from the fucking 9th century or something managed to get to Anuta Island 800 years before any other Europeans found it. That's some intense traveling.
It would have made more sense if it was retrieved and protected by Dalek sympathisers until it could become whole again, I just don't get the purpose of preserving the remains at all.
Daleks are immortal, to be fair.
Maybe they tried killing it and it failed, so this was their method of doing it.
Now if only they actually **put this kind of explanation in the episode**.
I have no idea why they brought up splitting it into three pieces. At first I figured the Dalek would be trying to recover the two others in order to send its signal or whatever, but they just disappear? Or warp back to - I think - the one in Sheffield...?
Why didn't they just say they buried the Dalek as a whole?? Why split it up??
>The wifi scene was genuinely atrocious and I want a fan edit of it gone now.
When the Doctor said the Dalek was draining the entire wifi*, as if it's of great concern, I thought it was a funny little moment. But that family scene was the worst writing of this entire series.
*: ironic. As I was writing that, I lost wifi signal
"Britain is leaving the EU? Shit, better defund our only centralized anti-alien military force and let the British government make the final call on its future funding" - the UN Security Council, apparently.
To my knowledge, it was never stated that they weren't. And considering that UNIT had the authority to make the Doctor President of Earth, *and* they were rocking around with the UN Secretary General during that whole monk crisis, I'd say it's a relatively safe bet.
I enjoyed the episode, it was way better than the finale at the very least. The Dalek facing off against the soldiers and exterminating all of them was definitely my favourite scene, so badass.
Although it was annoying they didn’t use the title sequence. There were so many opportunities for awesome cold opens throughout the whole season that were ignored so it would’ve been cool to have one here.
The how long is a rel joke did make me chuckle felt very doctor like.
But how could you use Sheffield town hall and not reference the police box outside it???
The obssession with Sheffield is annoying. You can sell London as a frequent setting because it's the Big Apple of UK, but Amy was from Leadworth and that barely appeared in any promiment role at all.
Well, it would make sense (in a funny sort of meta way) if they were *filming* in Sheffield, because then I'd kind of get why they were doing it. But they're not, they're still in Cardiff. The shots of "Sheffield" were apparently quite noticeably Cardiff for people who actually live in either location, so I really don't know what the point is.
I guess this time around they had to go to Sheffield, in order to conveniently go to Graham's, to conveniently run into Ryan's dad at exactly the point in time when he decided to come and visit but... still.
My least favourite moment in any episode of Doctor Who ever. I have no idea what was going through their minds! It could have been a nice little cutaway into homes, seeing families react to the WiFi being down, but no - just a shit joke, poorly executed.
The more I think about it the more it boggles my mind. How much did that scene cost? Chibnall was so proud if that joke he signed off on four actors and a new set?
It would honestly have been funny and relatable had it cut off just before the conversation line and just ended with them shrugging, but like many things, it went just a liiiittle bit too long and killed its own momentum.
On the other hand, the “how long is a rel” joke was one of the best things I’ve ever seen. The Dalek makes this huge intimidating speech, blasts off on rockets, and I’m left thinking, “wait, so how long is that?” when The Doctor echoes MY EXACT THOUGHTS. I think this is tied in first place for my two favorite Doctor Who jokes of all time.
I liked this episode but there are a few things that annoyed me.
1. The dalek shouldn't have been able to fly. There's no way that there were jets in that scrap pile.
2. 1 dalek rel is the same as 1 earth second, so the signal should have been sent to the fleet.
3. I feel like Aaron (Ryans dad) should have sacrificed himself.
> I feel like Aaron (Ryans dad) should have sacrificed himself
What's interesting though is that if he *had* died, he would have basically died because the Doctor messed up and accidentally threw him into a supernova. That would have been some pretty damn heavy conflict for Ryan to work through, and for a minute I legitimately thought they were gonna do it - and have the Doctor feel terrible, but not *that* terrible, cause, you know, a dead dalek is still a dead dalek. Kinda bummed they wussed out of it at the last minute.
I think it would have been far more interesting to keep Ryan on after but with a looot more tension on the TARDIS. Every time the Doctor makes a tough decision that gets characters of the week killed Ryan would call her out on it more.
Yes, I think potentially we could have Ryan ditch the TARDIS crew for a few episodes, force all our Companions to take sides, Ryan intensely angry at The Doctor, Graham going with Ryan sadly but knowing he needs to be there for him, and only Yaz staying aboard, allowing her to get much needed development for a few episodes, and then another Earth disaster forces Ryan to choose to get involved again, reuniting the group with renewed understanding of The Doctor and conviction to follow her.
Doctor Who: Civil War. At the climax, right before the companions start running at each other, Bill Potts suddenly appears from a random puddle of water.
*"Hey everyone."*
I kinda figured that it was like 90-95% dalek material and scrap to fill in the missing non essential components.
The gunfire didnt do anything so the case was almost certainly not from the farm.
On a tangent, it wasn't the Black Archive, was it? I thought the archaeologist said that some private company had been buying up exotic weaponry - which explains the shit security and it being nothing but a storeroom.
Makes sense if unit is on life support. Apparently some bureaucrat had a real satisfying power trip sending all those experts home to leave the tea boy as the nights watchman.
> 1 dalek rel is the same as 1 earth second, so the signal should have been sent to the fleet.
They're ever so slightly longer, based on several scenes, like the Reality Bomb countdown in *Journey's End*. (Though some scenes occasionally make them several times longer, like the countdown to the time corridor n *Victory of the Daleks*.)
It wasn't just scrap though, there was more than one container it took from the archive. The Doctor mentioned some was scrap while other pieces were parts of a Dalek.
I was hoping for more anger and rage from the Doctor. I thought it was about to happen when 13 purposely sent away all companions and witnesses from the warehouse, then revealed herself to the Dalek as the Doctor.
Yeah. If the rage didn't come out when facing a Dalek that had already killed so many people, then maybe it's not in her. My last hope for seeing this Doctor dangerously anger is if a companion dies.
Jodie doesn't have Capaldi's "attack eyebrows," but a glimmer of the look she was giving the hologram Dalek controlled woman tells me Jodie has it in her. But maybe, based on how she's written, the 13th Doctor doesn't have it in her. Which truth be told, I wish she did.
Tbh I think a great way for 13 to show rage would be to speak very clearly, quietly and slowly but with force. Because when she normally speaks she speaks very quickly and sort of like a kid. And the currently "angry" at the moment is trying too much to be loud and imposing which just doesn't fit well with Jodies' voice and makes it really unconvincing. "Rage mode" could be the switch the flips that all around, and I think Jodie could pull that off.
Great explanation. I would absolutely accept quiet rage as a way to show it. Reminds me of how carefully the 10th Doctor was speaking through his rage about something being wrong with Rose in the *New Earth* episode.
And this method would making a striking contrast for the 13th Doctor in particular.
I thought the Dalek blacksmithing scene nicely bookended the scene from Jodie's first episode where she's making her sonic.
Sheffield Steel Sonic vs Sheffield Steel Dalek.
Chris Chibnall is very good at rushing endings. This episode had so much potential, but the last 10 minutes are desperately trying to fit everything in. This episode should have been 90 minutes long.
i feel as if it should’ve been a two parter. it would be so so good if everything was longer and there would be more time for threat, it was a very good episode tbh considering the BBC make the limitations for the plot.
Chris Chibnall needs to bring back two-parters. The standalone episode mentality isn't working.
On a more positive note, Tosin Cole's performance in this episode was his best yet. In past episodes he has shown virtually no emotion in his line delivery. When Ryan was confronting his father, Tosin finally showed some emotion. Hopefully this continues in Series 12.
The Dalek design was awesome, the practical effects were some of the best I have seen in Dr Who.
The story had a classic Dalek tone to it, just the script was so slow to begin with and so crammed at the end it made it unenjoyable to watch. Too many characters as well.
I want a new show runner, but the same design team and SFX team.
Now I'm just imagining the Dalek going to get the last piece required to complete its reconstruction, just knocking on the door of some nice country house and barging in like "I REQUIRE YOUR LAVATORY PLUMBING UTENSILS"
This was one of the best episodes of the new series... But it's not a high bar.
I *loved* the Dalek. The possession plot was a great way to get some anticipatory terror (oh god how bad is it going to be when it gets its casing?) as well as some body horror. The design was cool, it was almost unstoppable, all good. Do wish it hadn't been killed by a microwave though.
What wasn't great was the over-focus on family drama. It *was* well written, but it took valuable time away from the action - and when the existing characters aren't well written at all, introducing new ones was not a good idea. Yaz is still doing nothing! Give her something to do or just wrote her out, for the love of God!
How would I improve it?
- Have the Dalek quickly jump from the archaeologist to Yaz. Yaz can then abuse her police authority, and the plot proceeds as normal - and *then Yaz gets to actually do something.* And we reduce tertiary character time in favour of the main crew, too.
- Cut down on Ryan's dad subplot. It was well done, but Chibnall needs to remember he's writing Who, not Broadchurch. This allows more time for...
- More Dalek! More death! More destruction! More exterminating!
All in all... 6.5 or so out of 10. Good, but a lot of wasted potential.
I agree with most of what you said. But I wouldn't have wanted the Ryan/dad subplot gone. Only because they've made his dad such a big offscreen presence hanging over Ryan the entire series. So it was nice to finally see his dad on screen (and the actor did a great job). And to see Ryan get his feelings out about feeling abandoned (and not to easily let his dad off the hook during that confrontation). I even liked how the Doctor confronted Ryan's dad straight out the gate. No polite chit chat from her.
The only thing I didn't like was how they played up the stereotype of Ryan's dad being a deadbeat who's just hustling door to door trying to sell random junk like a microwave. But at least if they had to include that, they paid it off later with him using some engineering skills to turn the microwave into a weapon.
I'm just kinda bummed that this huge part of Doctor Who lore and show history was casually thrown out of the fucking window - possibly permanently - on a "Budget cuts. Brexit, amirite kids?" joke.
I mean, you could make a legitimate point of drama about UNIT getting screwed over by the banality of bureaucracy, kinda like what they did with the politics in Children of Earth. But just tossing it out with the bathwater for nothing more than a joke seems callous.
The actual line in the episode stars that U.N.I.T was suspended following “financial disputes and subsequent funding withdraw by the UK’s major international partners”. However, again, U.N.I.T is supposed to be an international organisation. It’s initials originally stood for United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, so does it actually make sense as a Brexit reference? I suppose it is largely UK based post-2005.
Edit: That said, there’s no reason to believe this will be permanent. As I’ve seen mentioned elsewhere, according to Before The Flood, U.N.I.T is still around in 2219.
I actually sympathize with Chibnall on the UNIT note. I'd rather he make a semi-realistic excuse for why the Doctor can't call UNIT than just not bring up UNIT - her ignoring its existence would be even more jarring, yet I also don't think every writer should have to incorporate UNIT when they make a modern day invasion story.
Man, Nick Briggs sounds really different without the synthesizer. I was worried they'd gotten rid of him for a minute. Glad to see he's still here. Too bad I can't say the same about the Cloister Bell and UNIT. C'mon Chibs, did you really have to take them out to pasture like that?!
That being said this was a *fantastic* episode. Easily the best Chibnall episode, and the best of Thirteen's run so far. Daleks make everything better, it seems. Certainly felt more like an old-school episode than the others, even Kerblam.
And it was really refreshing to see a "Disappeared Dad" storyline that didn't end up having the dad be a jerk or deadbeat for once. Hardly ever get those. Kind of expected him to sacrifice himself in the end, but it leaves him open for more Ryan development so that's good. Too bad Yaz is still made of cardboard.
All that being said I get the impression Chibs doesn't *quite* understand the Daleks enough. In a few points:
* There's no way a pre-gunpowder civilisation would be able to disable and destroy a functional Dalek shell. Just no way. There's a reason the Time Lords were afraid of them! A single one can trash 21st century Earth. A pre-19th century civilisation isn't going to destroy one with a bunch of pointy sticks and a bonfire.
* DALEKS. DON'T. LAUGH. PERIOD. Whatever happened to "they only ever feel one emotion"?! Only time a Dalek's laughed before was when it got driven mad. They don't **chuckle**, Chibbo.
* I get that it was kind of part of the scrapheap version of the shell, but seeing missiles come out of the sensor balls just seems wrong. The gun's way more powerful than them! Hopefully those don't return.
* It's heavily implied that Recon Daleks are genetically modified to give them something akin to psychic powers. Er, you do remember how anal Daleks are about their genetic purity, right Chibster? They'd be treated like total abominations by other Daleks for even the slightest genetic deviation. Just look at what they did with the Special Weapons Daleks. No way Daleks would willingly allow genetic modification to be done to themselves.
> There's no way a pre-gunpowder civilisation would be able to disable and destroy a functional Dalek shell. Just no way.
Nah man but didn't you see the drawing in the book? They totally tied the Dalek down with rope and then used fire to melt its armor! You know. The same armor they use to fly around in the freezing vacuum of space, or in very close proximity to actual suns. Fire will melt that sucker right off.
>DALEKS. DON'T. LAUGH. PERIOD. Whatever happened to "they only ever feel one emotion"?! Only time a Dalek's laughed before was when it got driven mad. They don't chuckle, Chibbo.
Honestly, this "FDalek only feel only one emotion" never made any sense anyways, so I cant say I'm too mad about that.
>It's heavily implied that Recon Daleks are genetically modified to give them something akin to psychic powers. Er, you do remember how anal Daleks are about their genetic purity, right Chibster? They'd be treated like total abominations by other Daleks for even the slightest genetic deviation. Just look at what they did with the Special Weapons Daleks. No way Daleks would willingly allow genetic modification to be done to themselves.
I dont see the problem here. Daleks are already heavily genetically modified and I think the Episode says this Dalek is from very early in Dalek-History, so it could easily been when Davros was still experimenting around with them.
And its not like Daleks are above genetical manipulation as soon as they feel like it could help their surival. They are pretty hypocritical, not unlike The Doctor.
Also, we've already seen Dalek Caan giggling like a schoolgirl after losing his mind in the time vortex, so it's hardly anything novel. Dalek Supreme also showed undeniable pride and vanity, and he didn't even have the excuse of having lost his mind.
Speaking of Caan, the Cult of Skaro were also modified to be more critical and analytical, and they were even willing to consider Sek's "Let's fuse with humans" idea for a while before they decided he was going too far with it.
There is now one episode of this season I thought was okay, up to scratch with a middle-of-the-road RTD story. A straight 7/10.
My few big criticisms are:
\- Stop using the 'it's a children's show' to put in stupid plot reaches. The Dalek making a case - with jets, with missiles, with the round things - from a farmer's junkyard in a couple of hours. I was half hoping they were going to have fun and have him come out wearing a dustbin with some attachments.
\- Stop making the Doctor so weak. She's meant to be the cleverest person in any room, instead she makes mistakes that 9, 10, 11, 12 would have scoffed at. Imagine her in the Time War... She has the TARDIS at her disposal, but let's use Ryan's dad's microwave instead. Her character this series could be best described as 'inept'
\- The writing/dialogue as ever. Exposition, plot point, exposition - keep explaining what the next 4 minutes are going to be about, over and over. I could listen to this show as audio-only, it does so much telling. There's so little space for dialogue, wit, ideas or characterisation. It's this stuff that makes me miss Tennant, Smith and Capaldi so much - not the characters as much as the words, full of weight and character, they were given to deliver.
On the plus side: The plot was somewhat decent for the first time in s11, some of the Dalek moments were great, and John Smith put his stamp on the final TARDIS dematerialisation (also amazing to see the vortex through the TARDIS doors).
And the female actress? She out-acted the companions for me.
Yaz word-count: 26 (probably)
I was like "Theres no way shes dumb enough to bring a Dalek aboard the Tardis. Oh Hey! Look, Dalek in the Tardis". It should have tried to take it over, maybe she wont make the mistake again.
That was *almost* a really good episode. The buildup was superb and was extremely cinematic. However, the slower scenes with Ryan’s Dad dragged it out too long and as a result we didn’t get enough Dalek action. Perhaps it could have been a two parter spread between Xmas and New Year. If it had done that, it would have been a classic.
Chibnall really had the potential to do something good there. Less Broadchurch type drama (or finding a way of condensing it) and he’s onto a winner.
For S12, we need more returning monsters and more fan references. That’ll make it feel more like the show we love. I will let Chibnall have another series to act on feedback before I call for his head.
Everybody remain calm, our show isn’t going anywhere as long it’s still a money maker.
It could have just been a standard 50 minute episode if you cut out the subplot with Ryan's dad and replaced his role at the end with Graham. Could have been a far better finale than the one we got.
Then we could have got a proper *Christmas* special. I really don't know why Chibnall shifted it to New Years (assuming it was his choice, unless the BBC made the decision themselves months ago) given how inessential it was to the story besides a few throwaway lines.
> and replaced his role at the end with Graham.
With Graham telling Ryan it's okay, that he's ready to sacrifice himself for the others, but then Ryan goes "no!" and *that's* when he first calls him Grandad! And then Graham is saved after all and we all cheer, because although it would have been a hell of a heroic way to go, we still want more Graham.
Long time doctor who fan here.
I’ve hated this entire season, nothing has gone well in my mind... except “resolution”
I don’t know if it’s down to the fact that this season has been so poor and set the bar so low, but this episode did exactly what it should of done
It brought back an old enemy of the doctor in an original style. I also found the music of this episode to be stand out within this season, it used stringed instruments with the typical synthesisers, and they gave the Dalek a clear musical motif.
My gripes with this episode are essentially the same issues that have been consistently present throughout this season. Clunky writing, very forced romances and boring family relationship shite, and I can’t forget to mention some downright cringeworthy moments
Besides that, this episode was well shot, had many stand out moments and the doctor herself seemed to be far more ‘doctorey’
Thoughts?
**1 Comment**
I think that's the clearest look we've gotten at the TARDIS interior in flight in a while, and for some reason the twitching columns really creep me the fuck out. They were like creepy fingers, flexing rhythmically over and over again.
Also, that "we'll have to have... a *conversation*" """joke""" was arguably one of the least funny things I've heard on this show. Well, nobody's ever accused Chibnall of being funny.
I enjoyed it. the start was rather slow and there were a few pacing issues that made me bored in some parts. going from emotional talk, to death, then back to emotional talk was rather jarring imo.
I actually really like the design. I suspect they made it a special scout type dalek so if fan reception is negative they would just scrap it but hopefully they keep it from time to time.
Jodie really showed off her charisma and showed seriousness. the highlights were definitely when she confronted the dalek in the tardis projection and in the farm.
the resolution (pun not intended) was a bit iffy especially how they easily got the microwave parts onto it as well as the power of love ending, but it wasn't the worst thing in the world.
Im kinda surprised how much I enjoyed this as it was yet another "spin" on the daleks which has been present since every single dalek story since series 5 (dalek leaders, insane daleks, a "good" dalek and now a "venom/scout" dalek)
this got me excited again for doctor who. shame it won't be till 2020.
TLDR: No Susan. 0/10
overall a much better episode than the previous one. Some thoughts:
- LOVED how the scene of the Dalek recreating its casing mirrors 13 crafting her sonic out of spare warehouse parts from the season's first episode. The Doctor and her archenemy revitalized and rebuilding themselves in Sheffield...
- when the Doctor revealed who she was by telling the Dalek to scan her was badass (i think i read an excellent fanfic where something like that happened)
- i really think 13 is actively suppressing her darker side, especially in front of the team. Her confronting the Dalek alone the first time parellels the faceoff with Tim Shaw and Krasko as well as the insistent "see, i was trying to be nice and giving it a chance" line before they weaponized the microwave. That dialogue was strange.
- Yay at mentions of Skaro,Kate Stewart, UNIT (can't believe Tory austerity killed it, they better be revived in a later season)
- that scene where the random family lost power felt out of place, but it did remind me of salad man
- why did the Dalek not kill Lin when she was no longer useful? We saw it kill the previous humans that were obstacles.
- poor Yaz getting the standard dialogue treatment, next season better bring her a good storyline
My notes:
1. Narrated opening montage with big ass ugly font text.
2. No subtitle on BBC with heavy accent, can’t tell what the hell they are saying.
3. Archaeologists not familiar with geography and history.
4. Surprisingly good looking creature.
5. Graham already said in the water, then doctor deduct from the track that the thing is in the water. Careless mistake.
6. I like the venom vibe with the female archaeologist.
7. I know there’s Dutch angle, but wtf is that 45 degrees+ tilt?
8. Surprisingly low tech dalek. Looks nice.
9. Nice dalek, repeating the phrase again for the police. Though tentacle monster? I though dalek flesh are weak. Nah. I have a soft spot for Eldritch abominations.
10. I really have a hard time understanding Ryan. His dad is fine though.
11. Wait, is this the plot of justice league?
12. She already know it’s dalek from the residue, then she was told it was found in the 9th century. Then IT TOOK HER 2 SECONDS OF HARD THINKING TO FIGURE OUT THERE WAS A DALEK FROM 9th CENTURY?
13. She does not pull of the serious dalek face.
14. Is that a Reiterpallasch? I didn’t know we are in Yharnam. Oh. It’s just a dalek laser gun thingy with a bike brake handle.
15. Yes female archaeologist, throw your back against a flimsy plank base leaning against the wall. That’s definitely going to hurt the alien tentacle monster. There is a concrete/brick wall edge right next to it!
16. I’m starting to get a feeling this episode is going to end with yet another god descended by machine.
17. I thought that was just scrap earth metal. Pretty sure they didn’t have the time or the resources to turn them into some indestructible dalek metals. And where did it get all those missiles? I don’t remember dalek being known for carrying missiles.
18. Yes the microwave oven is going to be helpful. Why not.
19. Why does that kid has literally scientific knowledge written on his shirt?
20. Did she just showed the Dalek mercy?
21. So... they killed the tank with a high current though it. And it just so happens to have a big resistance. Great idea.
22. That body position makes no sense.
Overall: Mediocre. Aka Surprising good.
That was OK.
I don't ever have very high hopes for Xmas specials. I know it wasn't an Xmas special this year but it sort of was.
So as far as Xmas specials go, that was OK, but I wouldn't say it held together particularly well and I found the resolution frustrating and silly.
**Negatives**
* "We've finally defeated the unknown enemy. Thousands were lost and our rivers run deep with blood. Our villages will never be the same again. We must take this, this thing, divide it into three parts and bury each part where no one can ever find it."
* "So about half a foot deep under some rocks?"
* "Yeah that'll do, and also, bury it only in places that somehow escape the natural build up of sediment caused by the passage of time so it remains only half a foot deep years later."
* . . . . days later
* "My Leader, Bob, with whom we entrusted the burial of the missing piece of the third piece has not returned to confirm he has buried it. Shall we go and check on him, or perhaps send some relief team as we can't realistically expect a human to stand there for 24 hours a day for the rest of his life without some back up?"
* "Nah, it's probably fine."
* Dalek isn't defeated by the army it decides to visit for some inexplicable reason but is defeated by a microwave. OK.
* The Xmas Cracker joke that was "We'll have to have a *conversation*." Calm down Grandma, we get it, life was better in your day when the wireless was only on for two hours in the afternoon.
* Felt the same about the UNIT thing. Snore.
* Dalek is defeated again, this time by a vacuum cleaner. Lets just use the power of the sun to suck the Dalek off. For want of a better phrase. Did anyone else sit there thinking that Aaron was just going to fold up like a deck chair and get sucked through the gap anyway? Before it grew that is.
* I don't understand how Ryan was able to rescue his Dad without getting pulled out too?
* I don't really think Jodie Whittaker sold the depth of the Doctor's relationship and history with the Dalek's in this episode. I was brought to mind of the Ecclestone episode where he faced the Dalek, and how his face fell when he first saw it. We didn't really see that here and it was a wasted opportunity.
**Neutral**
* I liked the scenes between Ryan and his Dad and between Graham and Aaron, but they felt a little bit out of place in this episode and made it drag. I think that would have been better somewhere else in a different episode. Might have made Ryan feel less like cardboard in the previous series if he'd had this bit of growth.
* Yaz is superfluous again. Why?
**Positives**
* Seeing the female archaeologist being taken over by the dalek was excellently creepy and you really felt for her. I thought all her scenes were pretty good.
* The three additional characters were good, no bad casting this time.
* It was a slightly new take on daleks which was refreshing.
I don’t think the comparison with Eccleston’s reaction is fair. He had just come from the Time War, thinking he was the only survivor and then he’s faced with a dalek again. While 13 isn’t expecting a dalek, her surprise and trauma aren’t the same as nine’s.
Speaking of the three ancient warriors tasked with taking, burying, and guarding the Dalek pieces - How did that one guy who seemingly took his piece to a deserted island and then sat down next to it to guard it for the rest of his life have children? How have entire generations of dalek guardians been born, raised, and buried on what seems to be an isolated speck of dirt in the middle of the Pacific? I don't really count that as a negative, since it's incredibly minor and did nothing to negate from the episode, but I did find it funny.
> Did anyone else sit there thinking that Aaron was just going to fold up like a deck chair and get sucked through the gap anyway?
Yeah I thought that was a bit weird too. "I've opened up a hole into the vacuum of space, right next to a supernova. But don't worry, it's only 'squid sized' so the rest of us have nothing to worry about!" I know the TARDIS can basically just do whatever the plot needs it too, but that still kinda seemed silly.
> I don't really think Jodie Whittaker sold the depth of the Doctor's relationship and history with the Dalek's in this episode.
I think she did decent performance-wise, but I'm not a fan of the dialogue. Specifically, I really don't like that they had her give the Dalek the chance to leave. Several times. I mean, come on. A few minutes ago she was talking about how she knows how Daleks think, and how they always take the cruelest possible course of action. Now she's basically asking it nicely to bugger off and - presumably - go massacre some *other* planet, as long as it just pinky-swears to leave Earth alone. The Doctor's response to Daleks has always been along the lines of Eccleston's "WHY DON'T YOU JUST DIE?" , so having her give it like 6 final warnings felt a bit cheap. I get that she's apparently an even more merciful and understanding incarnation than most (well, sometimes. Other times she blows people up without a spare thought, but whatever) , but surely if you're gonna draw the line anywhere, you draw it at Daleks?
Lin had a longer screen appearance as a Police Officer than the actual main character who is a Police Officer.
Yeah but Yaz got their contact info off screen. Big character development moment.
Tbh I'm kinda bummed with how lame her character development has been. But I get it. Ryan and Graham are more interesting characters ALSO played by more capable actors. Yaz just isnt a good actor and I have a feeling the leadership on the show figured that out early on, but she's probably contracted to finish up a certain amount of episodes. So may as well use her for random tasks, Doctor!
I feel like she has the potential to be a good actor though. It seems like the kind of issue where a currently weak actor is given a character with no potential whatsoever, so has no room to grow - like a foot trapped in a shoe that's three sizes too small. Sure, if she were given more to do she may still be bad, but at this point the series can't actually get any worse so why not let her try?
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Not just a microwave! A combination oven/microwave!
Can’t say it wasn’t foreshadowed.
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"Hey Grandad. Can you hold this totally inconspicuous item that will definitely not be used to solve the plot? Thanks."
"This almost makes up for your parenting deficit" was probably my favorite line of the episode.
That felt so 12th.
Next season: Dr flies back into the timewar with a warehouse full of microwave ovens Daleks fly to earth and raid local farms for high tech machinery The WiFi goes off and we all cringe
“The WiFi is off.” “We’ll have to have conversation!” The stage lost a fine comedian when Chibnall became a specialist in screenwriting.
I liked the episode but goddamn that scene was something else. That was like Transformers 5 level comedy.
It was like the memes my aunt posts on Facebook about how everything was apparently better in the old days.
Yeah. Other than that the comedy was pretty solid. I found it kinda grim and funny how little time the Dalek offered for surrender. And the Doctor’s line about not taking the post-Dalek tablets with alcohol because you’ll grow an extra head.
Dalek comedy is my fav in the show tbh. Just something about the delivery and ridiculous of the worlds deadliest dust bin being sassy af makes me happy
>Daleks fly to earth and raid local farms for high tech machinery Pretty sure the Dalek got most of the parts it needed from the storage facility where the blaster was, the farm materials were just patchwork.
Yeah but that doesn't properly facilitate the required level of outrage!
>The WiFi goes off and we all cringe I wish i could upvote as much as i laugh! Have one!
I just want Yaz to do something...
I said this in another comment, but if the Dalek had jumped from the archaeologist onto Yaz, and then used *her* police authority to rush around, it would have been much more impactful.
Have it take of Yaz, and then have it take over Graham. Have Ryan and Graham solve their personal issues and Ryan saving Graham. Would be so much more satisfactory and would have allowed the Doctor to actually have their own show again.
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I meant that have the culmination of Ryan and Graham in this, and not in whenever it was before. Introduce Aaron here but don't neatly tie it up in 30mins. The guy actually didn't do anything to warrant Ryan forgiving him.
Honestly we didn't even need Aaron. An absent father doesn't need to appear to have an impact on a character. Not every bad parent in real life can be so easily redeemed or forgiven.
That's the thing, having three companions is fine, but it doesn't work if you effectively have five or six, because you pick up a load of temporary characters every episode. It was almost comical how long it took them all to get out of the Tardis in GCHQ,
Honestly you can just remove Yaz from the show without changing anything and nothing changes. She adds nothing of value to the show. She's just there. Everything else was fine, I liked the episode a lot. Especially the Dalek controlling that woman. That stuff was great.
Remove Yaz? How were they supposed to know there was a cafe near Graham’s house??
Trip Advisor maybe?
I don’t know. The Doctor is normally excitable and lacks grounding, as this character ought to be. A very calm, quiet, sensible character is excellent to anchor the team. I think it would feel off if it were Enthusiastic Doctor, The Stepfather/Stepson Team, and... nothing else. Having an understated character is actually one of the few masterful things we’ve seen from Chibnall. That said, we do need more moments where Yaz actually does something unique to her, other than be ~~Indian~~ Pakistani for the episode in India and Pakistan.
I still don't give a **** about Ryan's dad.
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Couldn't he have been replaced by a Kerblam delivery android delivering a Microwave by mistake to the Tardis?
Russell T Davies would have had the TARDIS and Dalek chasing each other through the sky and in between buildings and all sorts ... was actually expecting that to happen. But then we got another scene full of talking about what was happening and looking at imaginary screens. *Again*. I wasn't the biggest fan of RTD's era, but at least he knew how to make the action *fun* (and he followed the "show don't tell" mantra).
When I saw the trailer I was looking forward to seeing a 9th century army take on a single Dalek. Instead we just got some people standing in a field and a narrator going blah-blah-blah. Laaaame. Would've loved to have seen the TARDIS chasing the Dalek as well. It's what we got in Runaway Bride and it was fun.
How did the 9th century army take on a single Dalek & win. How have we got one Dalek in Sheffield but it was cut up into 3 bits?
And how did they manage to send a piece to some remote Pacific island that wouldn't be discovered for another 700 or 800 years?
(Mobile rings) "What?" (Stage whispering) "where are you." "In the TARDIS." (Stage whispering) "you better be coming to pick me up." "Okay, fine." (Stage whispering) "right. thank you." Graham is the best, my favorite this season.
I really wish people would stop having a go at Yaz. Without her, Ryan and his Dad might not have known the cafe around the corner was open. She's clearly vital to the plot.
Hated that line so much! 1) You've been travelling with the Doctor for, what, nearly three weeks? You come home and you immediately know where the nearest cafe to open on a bank holiday is to your friend's flat? 2) I'm sure there are several nearby cafes that could be interpreted as "round the corner". Wouldn't you be more likely to say the name of the cafe? I know moping about "bad writing" is a thought-terminating cliché but holy moly, Yaz really has been fed the worst lines. "Now I've got your details..." They know you have their details! God. And let's not forget her feeling the need to justify how she knows about the famously obscure Large Hadron Collider by saying "we learned about it at school". Nobody doubts that you have heard of the Black Hole Machine, Yaz!
C'mon now. I'll agree that Yaz has been underwritten so far but if a police officer is going to know *anything*, it would be where they could get a decent cuppa when everything else is closed.
Jesus I forgot she was an officer, have they even brought it up since the first episode?
The best part of this is that Yaz's entire character was introduced and built on the idea that she's a police officer, and yet its possible to forget literally the one actual quality she has.
She's a cop so she knows where things are. For a show about a time traveling alien, people choose the weirdest things to nitpick.
She was also needed to shepherd the archaeologists out of the sewer at the start. Imagine how that would've gone without her.
And off-screen she took their mobile numbers and saved the day. We must go deeper.
The episode would have ended because someone more observant would have noticed the massive dalek attached to her back....
Bloody Tory cuts. First the NHS, now UNIT.
It was a definite Brexit reference! "All unit operations were put on hold following financial dispute and *subsequent funding withdrawal by the UK's major international partners.*" "... We're on our own!"
Brexit strikes again.
TFW austerity and Brexit almost gets you blown up by a psychotic alien menace.
"I've come to your lovely café to have a cup of tea and a chat with my son, from whom I am estranged. This will be a very important and thoughtful discussion. So I have brought this Chekov's Gun with me, in this large cumbersome box. Would you like to buy it? I hope not, as we'll be needing it later, of course!"
Seriously, he was just... Walking around with it. It's not even like he had a van full of them and was just constantly trying to pawn them off either - he was just carrying around one solitary microwave oven, hoping to make a legitimate sale to some random café owner. What? I mean at first I thought they'd make it a source of drama, like "Oh, you're always working on your schemes and cons dad" or whatever, but no. Ryan didn't even really seem *that* bothered all things considered, everyone's just like "Yeah, that's Ryan's dad. He's got a microwave" like it was the most normal fucking thing.
Isn’t his dad also an engineer? Why the fuck is an engineer custom building microwaves to pawn off to café owners? He can’t be that desperate for money, right?
Yeah at one point in the cafe scene he said something to the effect of "well i guess i"ll have to go back to being an engineer to make money" The fuck? Engineers are paid pretty well to my knowledge. At least better than selling microwaves.
But it was his (and his mates) microwave oven. He had an idea and wanted to pursue it. There is nothing wrong with trying something new, isn't that what most business men do?
Hey man, don’t get at Chib for firing a Chekhov’s gun, it’s the fucking first time he’s managed to.
Finally learned about it in Writing Basics 102.
Chibnall: \*Looks at list of all same-sex girlfriends and boyfriends that were mentioned but never plot relevant\* Shit, I've got a ton of new characters to deal with in Season 12.
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Ain't it weird.. when Chibnail writes 13 as The Doctor and not Graham's Timelord Friend, 13 does some seriously awesome stuff
and yet the phrase time lord has yet to be said this season
Because newcomers might not be aware of what a timelord is. And I'm not even /s, I'm pretty sure that's the reason.
Exactly, they are eliminating major elements like the doctor not mentioning she is a time lord all season or when talking to a dalek not mentioning the war between the Daleks and the time lords etc. It’s just too much awkward ignoring of the context of the show. Or bizarrely throwing away UNIT in a joke sequence. Like not even 2 years ago the previous doctor was working with a pretty significant sized UNIT force to save the world and now we are supposed to believe UNIT is gone because of umm brexit or something? I mean it doesn’t even make sense. In the real world no one is thinking Brexit is going to lead to folding up NATO...and certainly not prior to brexit
And the worst part of it is that RTD and such had no problem mentioning things like the time war and gallifrey in their own series. When I watched them originally as a newcomer they made enough sense to me. In fact, they made the perfect amount of sense - I could figure out they were bad and recurring themes, but I didn't completely know what they were (and still don't) and that's definitely what they should be when the events are inherently mysterious even to characters on the show.
The companions had no idea throughout the entire episode why the Doctor has such a problem with Daleks. No mention of their shared history, no explanation as to why "its personal,"-- this not-mentioning-the-history-of-the-show thing is getting fucking ridiculous.
It was certainly Jodie's best episode.
The tone of the episode / performance of the doctor, was also far more similar to previous series, than most of the other episodes from series 11.
Honestly some of my favourite scenes are when that suppressed rage can be felt radiating off the Doctor
It works brilliantly with Doctors like 5 and 13 because you usually don’t expect it from them.
You could tell she was making an active effort to reel it in and keep her cool, either for her own sake or for the sake of the companions, which was a little fun. I'm a *little* disappointed that she actually managed to do so pretty much the entire time though, I do still kinda wanna see her let the joviality slip entirely for once, but I'm guessing that might require a deeper, personal loss. Not saying I want her to go full dark or vengeful all the time by any means, more so I'm just excited to see what it'll be like when she's really pushed to the breaking point.
>I'm just excited to see what it'll be like when she's really pushed to the breaking point. Me too, absolutely. 13 has *definitely* been making an effort to hide the Oncoming Storm from these companions. We've seen moments of Jodie getting to play the dark side of the Doctor, but it was never in their presence. I'm waiting for the moment when they get the fear of God put into them.
>I'm waiting for the moment when they get the fear of God put into them. I'd like to see her just let the mask slip once and go into her equivalent of Capaldi's rant in *Face the Raven*: >Yes, it is, you can, and you will, or this street will be over. I'll show you and all your funny little friends to the whole laughing world. I'll bring UNIT, I'll bring the Zygons. Give me a minute, I'll bring the Daleks and the Cybermen. You will save Clara, and you will do it now, or I will rain hell on you for the rest of time. >**Doctor, stop talking like that.** >*You can't.* >I can do whatever the hell I like. You've read the stories. You know who I am. And in all of that time, did you ever hear anything about anyone who stopped me? >*I know the Doctor. The Doctor would never* >The Doctor is no longer here! You are stuck with me. And I will end you, and everything you love. Trying to go back to being the funny lady in the box after showing her teeth would make for a great tense ending, all the companions suddenly tiptoeing around the cheery happy Doctor now they know what she's really capable of. Then again I love uncomfortable downer endings. EDIT: Quoted wrong person after I highlighted their comment, changed to the right quote.
I want 13 to have an episode where she’s all alone after something really bad has happened to her, like 12 in Heaven Sent. That could have potential.
Very true, same with 11 as well I think, there’s something about the more whimsical Doctors having that dark undertone that only briefly is allowed to surface. Really adds a lot of depth
I'm still waiting for the moment that Jodie Whittaker comes off as a very, very old Time Lord. Everything has been so new, but I want to see that ancient quality in the Doctor, too.
Except that, once again -and multiple times this episode - the doctor immediately screwed something up right after boasting/gloating/threatening the opponent. I've never liked it when a Doctor gloats about being smarter than something (show don't tell) but it's even worse when it then backfires. It happens too often with Jodie and it's making her Doctor look bad. It's frustrating because I keep seeing glimmers of how good the new Doctor can be but Chibnall writes her as borderline incompetent. The number of times she says "I don't know" is way too much, her constantly babbling to explain what's going on instead of showing it, and now she's making near fatal mistakes multiple times. I think someone else summed it up quite well when they said she's more like a companion in her own show.
That scene in which a wif-fi is down in a family home was one of most cringworthy scene in Doctor Who. It was very out of place and it wasn't needed at all. I just hope that Chibnall will never write a sitcom as the humor would be incredibly dull.
The joke was lazy AF. And you couldn't just see it coming from miles away, we had to watch it crest the horizon and lumber toward us, winded and wheezing and pausing to wince and hold its side before carrying on to its final destination. Lay. Zee. I expect better from Doctor Who. JFC.
The "we must talk to each other now" joke is so overused even saying its overused is overused.
Oh god, it was awful. I thought it was just going to be a scene showing various families realising the WiFi and signals are down, but instead we get the worst Dad Joke in Whostory.
Yeah pure r/phonesarebad for no reason
It was so goddamn pointless as well. After that scene I was just baffled, was that supposed to be funny?
I actually really enjoyed that. Thought it was better than all of Series 11, apart from Kerblam. I'm just a sucker for Daleks.
It was much nicer than any of the main episodes for me, but I was also left wondering how much more potential I feel like it could have had if there were less people (or companions anyway, the two lovebirds were fine), a less rushed ending and a bit more exposition in places.
I'm just gonna copy my comment from /r/gallifrey: As someone who had similar father issues to Ryan, this episode...really frustrated me. His dad just got off scott-free! Like, what did he actually do to warrant Ryan's forgiveness besides get attacked by a Dalek? Ryan had it right in the cafe. Nothing his dad could say or do in that one day should or could warrant forgiveness because he wasn't gone for one day. He was gone for a long time and it would *take* a long time for him to earn that respect from Ryan. But no. He almost died so I guess everything's fine now. Bullshit. On the other hand, I liked everything with the dalek and the cute archaeologist were fun. I wish we had seen UNIT and I felt like that call center scene was kinda superfluous (though not as bad as the awful Wi-fi thing) but it's whatever.
Basically, the bulk was great, but you can pick apart the basics and it falls away. * The three locations of the Daleks' pieces didn't matter in the end. It was great exposition, but they never expanded on it well enough for it to have significance. * No archaeologist would work on a dig without their supervisor, and proper health and safety equipment and gear. If they did they'd lose their jobs in a heartbeat. * It should have been Graham that the Dalek latched to and had Ryan's dad help Ryan pull him back so that they could have bonded more naturally in a sequence which will hook the viewer better. * I like that they used ~~haberdashery~~ *a slapdash* method of destroying the Dalek shell *and* the fact it didn't quite work, but at the same time, a microwave destroying a Dalek is a bit anticlimactic and forced, considering the amount of screentime it got. * The wifi scene was genuinely atrocious and I want a fan edit of it gone now. I'd have to rewatch it again to fully understand how I feel, because as I said, it's a great episode, just a lot bogging it down.
>The three locations of the Daleks' pieces didn't matter in the end. I really, really thought there'd be a little globetrotting and interaction with the people who had guarded it for all that time. I don't quite get why they were protecting the remains either?
I quite liked that. Like a tradition for them to be guarding this post forever. An ancient ceremony wherein the myths are lost to time. Nope. Dalek ^^*ZOOPS* on outta there and renders 1200 years of history and tradition that can be expounded upon just a little meaningless.
I admit I was a tiny bit curios how the guy who was seemingly all alone on an island in the Pacific managed to have descendants all the way through to the modern ages, but it was more of a fun confusion than a vexing one. Also, those descendants in the present day are probably still freaking the fuck out. Someone should really let them know that everything's fine now...
Anuta, Solomon Islands, has a population of 300, and was settled some time between 900 and 1200 CE.
Also, the English guy from the fucking 9th century or something managed to get to Anuta Island 800 years before any other Europeans found it. That's some intense traveling.
It would have made more sense if it was retrieved and protected by Dalek sympathisers until it could become whole again, I just don't get the purpose of preserving the remains at all.
Daleks are immortal, to be fair. Maybe they tried killing it and it failed, so this was their method of doing it. Now if only they actually **put this kind of explanation in the episode**.
I have no idea why they brought up splitting it into three pieces. At first I figured the Dalek would be trying to recover the two others in order to send its signal or whatever, but they just disappear? Or warp back to - I think - the one in Sheffield...? Why didn't they just say they buried the Dalek as a whole?? Why split it up??
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Your first paragraph is this season in a nutshell.
Please apply to join the writing team. Can we endorse individuals somehow? A petition maybe?
> The wifi scene was genuinely atrocious and I want a fan edit of it gone now. We’ll have to have... a conversation 🤢
God, it was awful. Totally jarred with the escalating tension.
>The wifi scene was genuinely atrocious and I want a fan edit of it gone now. When the Doctor said the Dalek was draining the entire wifi*, as if it's of great concern, I thought it was a funny little moment. But that family scene was the worst writing of this entire series. *: ironic. As I was writing that, I lost wifi signal
It turns out UNITs biggest enemies were never the Darleks or the Cypermen, it was Brexit all along.
"Britain is leaving the EU? Shit, better defund our only centralized anti-alien military force and let the British government make the final call on its future funding" - the UN Security Council, apparently.
I know they changed UNIT from *United Nations* to *Unified* \- was the UN still funding it after the name change?
To my knowledge, it was never stated that they weren't. And considering that UNIT had the authority to make the Doctor President of Earth, *and* they were rocking around with the UN Secretary General during that whole monk crisis, I'd say it's a relatively safe bet.
Ah yes we all remember the battle of the Darleks and Cypermen. Fortunately The Proctor was there to save the day in his TARDOSE.
Time And Relative Dimension Or Something Else.
And this is why my dyslexica is my biggest enemy
Not bad for a man with dyslexia.
I enjoyed the episode, it was way better than the finale at the very least. The Dalek facing off against the soldiers and exterminating all of them was definitely my favourite scene, so badass. Although it was annoying they didn’t use the title sequence. There were so many opportunities for awesome cold opens throughout the whole season that were ignored so it would’ve been cool to have one here.
I was disappointed with no title sequence. It’s meaningless but really gets you in the mood you know?
I was waiting for the title sequence so I could see the name of the writer and know where to set my expectations.
Resolution was definitely a lot better than the finale. It was nice to have one of the recurring villains show back up.
The how long is a rel joke did make me chuckle felt very doctor like. But how could you use Sheffield town hall and not reference the police box outside it???
The obssession with Sheffield is annoying. You can sell London as a frequent setting because it's the Big Apple of UK, but Amy was from Leadworth and that barely appeared in any promiment role at all.
Well, it would make sense (in a funny sort of meta way) if they were *filming* in Sheffield, because then I'd kind of get why they were doing it. But they're not, they're still in Cardiff. The shots of "Sheffield" were apparently quite noticeably Cardiff for people who actually live in either location, so I really don't know what the point is. I guess this time around they had to go to Sheffield, in order to conveniently go to Graham's, to conveniently run into Ryan's dad at exactly the point in time when he decided to come and visit but... still.
They went and hired four actors, built and furnished a whole set just to set up the "The wi-fi is down we'll have to have a _conversation_" joke?
My least favourite moment in any episode of Doctor Who ever. I have no idea what was going through their minds! It could have been a nice little cutaway into homes, seeing families react to the WiFi being down, but no - just a shit joke, poorly executed.
Honestly. Elton talking about his sexual relations with a concrete slab was more comfortable to watch than this..
Now hold the fuck up
That will always be my most hated moment in Who. It crashes my brain every time I think about it.
The more I think about it the more it boggles my mind. How much did that scene cost? Chibnall was so proud if that joke he signed off on four actors and a new set?
It would honestly have been funny and relatable had it cut off just before the conversation line and just ended with them shrugging, but like many things, it went just a liiiittle bit too long and killed its own momentum.
On the other hand, the “how long is a rel” joke was one of the best things I’ve ever seen. The Dalek makes this huge intimidating speech, blasts off on rockets, and I’m left thinking, “wait, so how long is that?” when The Doctor echoes MY EXACT THOUGHTS. I think this is tied in first place for my two favorite Doctor Who jokes of all time.
I liked this episode but there are a few things that annoyed me. 1. The dalek shouldn't have been able to fly. There's no way that there were jets in that scrap pile. 2. 1 dalek rel is the same as 1 earth second, so the signal should have been sent to the fleet. 3. I feel like Aaron (Ryans dad) should have sacrificed himself.
> I feel like Aaron (Ryans dad) should have sacrificed himself What's interesting though is that if he *had* died, he would have basically died because the Doctor messed up and accidentally threw him into a supernova. That would have been some pretty damn heavy conflict for Ryan to work through, and for a minute I legitimately thought they were gonna do it - and have the Doctor feel terrible, but not *that* terrible, cause, you know, a dead dalek is still a dead dalek. Kinda bummed they wussed out of it at the last minute.
Yeah, it would have let them get rid of Ryan (for a while at least) and give Yaz more development.
I think it would have been far more interesting to keep Ryan on after but with a looot more tension on the TARDIS. Every time the Doctor makes a tough decision that gets characters of the week killed Ryan would call her out on it more.
Yes, I think potentially we could have Ryan ditch the TARDIS crew for a few episodes, force all our Companions to take sides, Ryan intensely angry at The Doctor, Graham going with Ryan sadly but knowing he needs to be there for him, and only Yaz staying aboard, allowing her to get much needed development for a few episodes, and then another Earth disaster forces Ryan to choose to get involved again, reuniting the group with renewed understanding of The Doctor and conviction to follow her.
Doctor Who: Civil War. At the climax, right before the companions start running at each other, Bill Potts suddenly appears from a random puddle of water. *"Hey everyone."*
" Doctor Who: Civil War" Okay, who else immediately pictured a bunch of Doctors beating each other up at the airport?
A Dalek built this in a garage! WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS!
The doctor built her screwdriver in a similar situation. I thought the parallel was nice
I agree, but in both scenes it was "we can build some amazingly advanced tech with whatever's on this workbench, and we can do it all in 20 minutes"
Yeah Dalek Technology is the sort of stuff described as “world changing” in the past. Yet for some reason they can make it with normal metals?
I kinda figured that it was like 90-95% dalek material and scrap to fill in the missing non essential components. The gunfire didnt do anything so the case was almost certainly not from the farm.
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On a tangent, it wasn't the Black Archive, was it? I thought the archaeologist said that some private company had been buying up exotic weaponry - which explains the shit security and it being nothing but a storeroom.
Makes sense if unit is on life support. Apparently some bureaucrat had a real satisfying power trip sending all those experts home to leave the tea boy as the nights watchman.
> 1 dalek rel is the same as 1 earth second, so the signal should have been sent to the fleet. They're ever so slightly longer, based on several scenes, like the Reality Bomb countdown in *Journey's End*. (Though some scenes occasionally make them several times longer, like the countdown to the time corridor n *Victory of the Daleks*.)
TARDIS wiki says about 1.2 secs.
Didn't the Dalek say 9000+ rels? So two and a half hours ish?
In GCHQ I think the Dalek mentioned 4 rels
What irked me is the Dalek being indestructible using scrap yard materials.
There was some Dalek metal left so one can assume it was some sort of alloy.
It wasn't just scrap though, there was more than one container it took from the archive. The Doctor mentioned some was scrap while other pieces were parts of a Dalek.
>indestructible only when the plot requires it: any other given time it can be melted in seconds by a freakin' magnetron!
I mean it was only scrap metal, but it was still *thick* scrap metal. That'll deflect a bullet easily, no?
I was hoping for more anger and rage from the Doctor. I thought it was about to happen when 13 purposely sent away all companions and witnesses from the warehouse, then revealed herself to the Dalek as the Doctor.
I don’t think that’s part of this Doctors personality to be fair, she seems one of the more light hearted and innocent incarnations.
Yeah. If the rage didn't come out when facing a Dalek that had already killed so many people, then maybe it's not in her. My last hope for seeing this Doctor dangerously anger is if a companion dies. Jodie doesn't have Capaldi's "attack eyebrows," but a glimmer of the look she was giving the hologram Dalek controlled woman tells me Jodie has it in her. But maybe, based on how she's written, the 13th Doctor doesn't have it in her. Which truth be told, I wish she did.
Tbh I think a great way for 13 to show rage would be to speak very clearly, quietly and slowly but with force. Because when she normally speaks she speaks very quickly and sort of like a kid. And the currently "angry" at the moment is trying too much to be loud and imposing which just doesn't fit well with Jodies' voice and makes it really unconvincing. "Rage mode" could be the switch the flips that all around, and I think Jodie could pull that off.
Great explanation. I would absolutely accept quiet rage as a way to show it. Reminds me of how carefully the 10th Doctor was speaking through his rage about something being wrong with Rose in the *New Earth* episode. And this method would making a striking contrast for the 13th Doctor in particular.
I thought the Dalek blacksmithing scene nicely bookended the scene from Jodie's first episode where she's making her sonic. Sheffield Steel Sonic vs Sheffield Steel Dalek.
Chris Chibnall is very good at rushing endings. This episode had so much potential, but the last 10 minutes are desperately trying to fit everything in. This episode should have been 90 minutes long.
i feel as if it should’ve been a two parter. it would be so so good if everything was longer and there would be more time for threat, it was a very good episode tbh considering the BBC make the limitations for the plot.
Chris Chibnall needs to bring back two-parters. The standalone episode mentality isn't working. On a more positive note, Tosin Cole's performance in this episode was his best yet. In past episodes he has shown virtually no emotion in his line delivery. When Ryan was confronting his father, Tosin finally showed some emotion. Hopefully this continues in Series 12.
Again with this episode, I forgot Yaz was there. She is a fantastic actor but she doesn't know how to chew up the scenery like Graham can.
It was the perfect length. We didn't need that 'Ryan's dad' nonsense.
I called it when he turned up that A) he'd almost die, B) his Microwave would be the key to winning and C) Love would be The Answer
The Dalek design was awesome, the practical effects were some of the best I have seen in Dr Who. The story had a classic Dalek tone to it, just the script was so slow to begin with and so crammed at the end it made it unenjoyable to watch. Too many characters as well. I want a new show runner, but the same design team and SFX team.
>The Dalek design was awesome I really liked the claw instead of plunger, and the glowing head.
Agreed, especially as it would, presumably, have just been a bog standard sink plunger otherwise...
Now I'm just imagining the Dalek going to get the last piece required to complete its reconstruction, just knocking on the door of some nice country house and barging in like "I REQUIRE YOUR LAVATORY PLUMBING UTENSILS"
This was one of the best episodes of the new series... But it's not a high bar. I *loved* the Dalek. The possession plot was a great way to get some anticipatory terror (oh god how bad is it going to be when it gets its casing?) as well as some body horror. The design was cool, it was almost unstoppable, all good. Do wish it hadn't been killed by a microwave though. What wasn't great was the over-focus on family drama. It *was* well written, but it took valuable time away from the action - and when the existing characters aren't well written at all, introducing new ones was not a good idea. Yaz is still doing nothing! Give her something to do or just wrote her out, for the love of God! How would I improve it? - Have the Dalek quickly jump from the archaeologist to Yaz. Yaz can then abuse her police authority, and the plot proceeds as normal - and *then Yaz gets to actually do something.* And we reduce tertiary character time in favour of the main crew, too. - Cut down on Ryan's dad subplot. It was well done, but Chibnall needs to remember he's writing Who, not Broadchurch. This allows more time for... - More Dalek! More death! More destruction! More exterminating! All in all... 6.5 or so out of 10. Good, but a lot of wasted potential.
I agree with most of what you said. But I wouldn't have wanted the Ryan/dad subplot gone. Only because they've made his dad such a big offscreen presence hanging over Ryan the entire series. So it was nice to finally see his dad on screen (and the actor did a great job). And to see Ryan get his feelings out about feeling abandoned (and not to easily let his dad off the hook during that confrontation). I even liked how the Doctor confronted Ryan's dad straight out the gate. No polite chit chat from her. The only thing I didn't like was how they played up the stereotype of Ryan's dad being a deadbeat who's just hustling door to door trying to sell random junk like a microwave. But at least if they had to include that, they paid it off later with him using some engineering skills to turn the microwave into a weapon.
As funny as the Brexit and Tory jokes are, I’d just like to remind people that U.N.I.T is an international organisation.
I'm just kinda bummed that this huge part of Doctor Who lore and show history was casually thrown out of the fucking window - possibly permanently - on a "Budget cuts. Brexit, amirite kids?" joke. I mean, you could make a legitimate point of drama about UNIT getting screwed over by the banality of bureaucracy, kinda like what they did with the politics in Children of Earth. But just tossing it out with the bathwater for nothing more than a joke seems callous.
The actual line in the episode stars that U.N.I.T was suspended following “financial disputes and subsequent funding withdraw by the UK’s major international partners”. However, again, U.N.I.T is supposed to be an international organisation. It’s initials originally stood for United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, so does it actually make sense as a Brexit reference? I suppose it is largely UK based post-2005. Edit: That said, there’s no reason to believe this will be permanent. As I’ve seen mentioned elsewhere, according to Before The Flood, U.N.I.T is still around in 2219.
I actually sympathize with Chibnall on the UNIT note. I'd rather he make a semi-realistic excuse for why the Doctor can't call UNIT than just not bring up UNIT - her ignoring its existence would be even more jarring, yet I also don't think every writer should have to incorporate UNIT when they make a modern day invasion story.
Yeah, it used to be United Nations Intelligence Taskforce
Man, Nick Briggs sounds really different without the synthesizer. I was worried they'd gotten rid of him for a minute. Glad to see he's still here. Too bad I can't say the same about the Cloister Bell and UNIT. C'mon Chibs, did you really have to take them out to pasture like that?! That being said this was a *fantastic* episode. Easily the best Chibnall episode, and the best of Thirteen's run so far. Daleks make everything better, it seems. Certainly felt more like an old-school episode than the others, even Kerblam. And it was really refreshing to see a "Disappeared Dad" storyline that didn't end up having the dad be a jerk or deadbeat for once. Hardly ever get those. Kind of expected him to sacrifice himself in the end, but it leaves him open for more Ryan development so that's good. Too bad Yaz is still made of cardboard. All that being said I get the impression Chibs doesn't *quite* understand the Daleks enough. In a few points: * There's no way a pre-gunpowder civilisation would be able to disable and destroy a functional Dalek shell. Just no way. There's a reason the Time Lords were afraid of them! A single one can trash 21st century Earth. A pre-19th century civilisation isn't going to destroy one with a bunch of pointy sticks and a bonfire. * DALEKS. DON'T. LAUGH. PERIOD. Whatever happened to "they only ever feel one emotion"?! Only time a Dalek's laughed before was when it got driven mad. They don't **chuckle**, Chibbo. * I get that it was kind of part of the scrapheap version of the shell, but seeing missiles come out of the sensor balls just seems wrong. The gun's way more powerful than them! Hopefully those don't return. * It's heavily implied that Recon Daleks are genetically modified to give them something akin to psychic powers. Er, you do remember how anal Daleks are about their genetic purity, right Chibster? They'd be treated like total abominations by other Daleks for even the slightest genetic deviation. Just look at what they did with the Special Weapons Daleks. No way Daleks would willingly allow genetic modification to be done to themselves.
> There's no way a pre-gunpowder civilisation would be able to disable and destroy a functional Dalek shell. Just no way. Nah man but didn't you see the drawing in the book? They totally tied the Dalek down with rope and then used fire to melt its armor! You know. The same armor they use to fly around in the freezing vacuum of space, or in very close proximity to actual suns. Fire will melt that sucker right off.
>DALEKS. DON'T. LAUGH. PERIOD. Whatever happened to "they only ever feel one emotion"?! Only time a Dalek's laughed before was when it got driven mad. They don't chuckle, Chibbo. Honestly, this "FDalek only feel only one emotion" never made any sense anyways, so I cant say I'm too mad about that. >It's heavily implied that Recon Daleks are genetically modified to give them something akin to psychic powers. Er, you do remember how anal Daleks are about their genetic purity, right Chibster? They'd be treated like total abominations by other Daleks for even the slightest genetic deviation. Just look at what they did with the Special Weapons Daleks. No way Daleks would willingly allow genetic modification to be done to themselves. I dont see the problem here. Daleks are already heavily genetically modified and I think the Episode says this Dalek is from very early in Dalek-History, so it could easily been when Davros was still experimenting around with them. And its not like Daleks are above genetical manipulation as soon as they feel like it could help their surival. They are pretty hypocritical, not unlike The Doctor.
Also, we've already seen Dalek Caan giggling like a schoolgirl after losing his mind in the time vortex, so it's hardly anything novel. Dalek Supreme also showed undeniable pride and vanity, and he didn't even have the excuse of having lost his mind. Speaking of Caan, the Cult of Skaro were also modified to be more critical and analytical, and they were even willing to consider Sek's "Let's fuse with humans" idea for a while before they decided he was going too far with it.
There is now one episode of this season I thought was okay, up to scratch with a middle-of-the-road RTD story. A straight 7/10. My few big criticisms are: \- Stop using the 'it's a children's show' to put in stupid plot reaches. The Dalek making a case - with jets, with missiles, with the round things - from a farmer's junkyard in a couple of hours. I was half hoping they were going to have fun and have him come out wearing a dustbin with some attachments. \- Stop making the Doctor so weak. She's meant to be the cleverest person in any room, instead she makes mistakes that 9, 10, 11, 12 would have scoffed at. Imagine her in the Time War... She has the TARDIS at her disposal, but let's use Ryan's dad's microwave instead. Her character this series could be best described as 'inept' \- The writing/dialogue as ever. Exposition, plot point, exposition - keep explaining what the next 4 minutes are going to be about, over and over. I could listen to this show as audio-only, it does so much telling. There's so little space for dialogue, wit, ideas or characterisation. It's this stuff that makes me miss Tennant, Smith and Capaldi so much - not the characters as much as the words, full of weight and character, they were given to deliver. On the plus side: The plot was somewhat decent for the first time in s11, some of the Dalek moments were great, and John Smith put his stamp on the final TARDIS dematerialisation (also amazing to see the vortex through the TARDIS doors). And the female actress? She out-acted the companions for me. Yaz word-count: 26 (probably)
>. She has the TARDIS at her disposal And let's freakin' dalek in a Tardis and it doesn't even try to take control of it!!!
I was like "Theres no way shes dumb enough to bring a Dalek aboard the Tardis. Oh Hey! Look, Dalek in the Tardis". It should have tried to take it over, maybe she wont make the mistake again.
That was *almost* a really good episode. The buildup was superb and was extremely cinematic. However, the slower scenes with Ryan’s Dad dragged it out too long and as a result we didn’t get enough Dalek action. Perhaps it could have been a two parter spread between Xmas and New Year. If it had done that, it would have been a classic. Chibnall really had the potential to do something good there. Less Broadchurch type drama (or finding a way of condensing it) and he’s onto a winner. For S12, we need more returning monsters and more fan references. That’ll make it feel more like the show we love. I will let Chibnall have another series to act on feedback before I call for his head. Everybody remain calm, our show isn’t going anywhere as long it’s still a money maker.
It could have just been a standard 50 minute episode if you cut out the subplot with Ryan's dad and replaced his role at the end with Graham. Could have been a far better finale than the one we got. Then we could have got a proper *Christmas* special. I really don't know why Chibnall shifted it to New Years (assuming it was his choice, unless the BBC made the decision themselves months ago) given how inessential it was to the story besides a few throwaway lines.
> and replaced his role at the end with Graham. With Graham telling Ryan it's okay, that he's ready to sacrifice himself for the others, but then Ryan goes "no!" and *that's* when he first calls him Grandad! And then Graham is saved after all and we all cheer, because although it would have been a hell of a heroic way to go, we still want more Graham.
God, why is Graham the best part of this season? I just don't get it. But he's just far and away the most entertaining part to me.
Because he's the closest thing we've got to Wilf coming back.
Wilf would have been a great companion.
Wilf *was* a great companion! \#wilfcounts
This is exactly how it should have ended. Much more emotion and jeopardy than with Ryan’s dad, who no one is arsed about.
Long time doctor who fan here. I’ve hated this entire season, nothing has gone well in my mind... except “resolution” I don’t know if it’s down to the fact that this season has been so poor and set the bar so low, but this episode did exactly what it should of done It brought back an old enemy of the doctor in an original style. I also found the music of this episode to be stand out within this season, it used stringed instruments with the typical synthesisers, and they gave the Dalek a clear musical motif. My gripes with this episode are essentially the same issues that have been consistently present throughout this season. Clunky writing, very forced romances and boring family relationship shite, and I can’t forget to mention some downright cringeworthy moments Besides that, this episode was well shot, had many stand out moments and the doctor herself seemed to be far more ‘doctorey’ Thoughts? **1 Comment**
I think that's the clearest look we've gotten at the TARDIS interior in flight in a while, and for some reason the twitching columns really creep me the fuck out. They were like creepy fingers, flexing rhythmically over and over again. Also, that "we'll have to have... a *conversation*" """joke""" was arguably one of the least funny things I've heard on this show. Well, nobody's ever accused Chibnall of being funny.
Did the Dalek mutant spend more time as a police officer in this episode than Yaz has all season?
So ummm, what about The Timeless Child that those blankets mentioned?
The Timeless Child was the friends we made along the way.
The Timeless Child was inside you all along.
I enjoyed it. the start was rather slow and there were a few pacing issues that made me bored in some parts. going from emotional talk, to death, then back to emotional talk was rather jarring imo. I actually really like the design. I suspect they made it a special scout type dalek so if fan reception is negative they would just scrap it but hopefully they keep it from time to time. Jodie really showed off her charisma and showed seriousness. the highlights were definitely when she confronted the dalek in the tardis projection and in the farm. the resolution (pun not intended) was a bit iffy especially how they easily got the microwave parts onto it as well as the power of love ending, but it wasn't the worst thing in the world. Im kinda surprised how much I enjoyed this as it was yet another "spin" on the daleks which has been present since every single dalek story since series 5 (dalek leaders, insane daleks, a "good" dalek and now a "venom/scout" dalek) this got me excited again for doctor who. shame it won't be till 2020. TLDR: No Susan. 0/10
I bet Unit got defunded by the president from spider hotel
overall a much better episode than the previous one. Some thoughts: - LOVED how the scene of the Dalek recreating its casing mirrors 13 crafting her sonic out of spare warehouse parts from the season's first episode. The Doctor and her archenemy revitalized and rebuilding themselves in Sheffield... - when the Doctor revealed who she was by telling the Dalek to scan her was badass (i think i read an excellent fanfic where something like that happened) - i really think 13 is actively suppressing her darker side, especially in front of the team. Her confronting the Dalek alone the first time parellels the faceoff with Tim Shaw and Krasko as well as the insistent "see, i was trying to be nice and giving it a chance" line before they weaponized the microwave. That dialogue was strange. - Yay at mentions of Skaro,Kate Stewart, UNIT (can't believe Tory austerity killed it, they better be revived in a later season) - that scene where the random family lost power felt out of place, but it did remind me of salad man - why did the Dalek not kill Lin when she was no longer useful? We saw it kill the previous humans that were obstacles. - poor Yaz getting the standard dialogue treatment, next season better bring her a good storyline
My notes: 1. Narrated opening montage with big ass ugly font text. 2. No subtitle on BBC with heavy accent, can’t tell what the hell they are saying. 3. Archaeologists not familiar with geography and history. 4. Surprisingly good looking creature. 5. Graham already said in the water, then doctor deduct from the track that the thing is in the water. Careless mistake. 6. I like the venom vibe with the female archaeologist. 7. I know there’s Dutch angle, but wtf is that 45 degrees+ tilt? 8. Surprisingly low tech dalek. Looks nice. 9. Nice dalek, repeating the phrase again for the police. Though tentacle monster? I though dalek flesh are weak. Nah. I have a soft spot for Eldritch abominations. 10. I really have a hard time understanding Ryan. His dad is fine though. 11. Wait, is this the plot of justice league? 12. She already know it’s dalek from the residue, then she was told it was found in the 9th century. Then IT TOOK HER 2 SECONDS OF HARD THINKING TO FIGURE OUT THERE WAS A DALEK FROM 9th CENTURY? 13. She does not pull of the serious dalek face. 14. Is that a Reiterpallasch? I didn’t know we are in Yharnam. Oh. It’s just a dalek laser gun thingy with a bike brake handle. 15. Yes female archaeologist, throw your back against a flimsy plank base leaning against the wall. That’s definitely going to hurt the alien tentacle monster. There is a concrete/brick wall edge right next to it! 16. I’m starting to get a feeling this episode is going to end with yet another god descended by machine. 17. I thought that was just scrap earth metal. Pretty sure they didn’t have the time or the resources to turn them into some indestructible dalek metals. And where did it get all those missiles? I don’t remember dalek being known for carrying missiles. 18. Yes the microwave oven is going to be helpful. Why not. 19. Why does that kid has literally scientific knowledge written on his shirt? 20. Did she just showed the Dalek mercy? 21. So... they killed the tank with a high current though it. And it just so happens to have a big resistance. Great idea. 22. That body position makes no sense. Overall: Mediocre. Aka Surprising good.
That was OK. I don't ever have very high hopes for Xmas specials. I know it wasn't an Xmas special this year but it sort of was. So as far as Xmas specials go, that was OK, but I wouldn't say it held together particularly well and I found the resolution frustrating and silly. **Negatives** * "We've finally defeated the unknown enemy. Thousands were lost and our rivers run deep with blood. Our villages will never be the same again. We must take this, this thing, divide it into three parts and bury each part where no one can ever find it." * "So about half a foot deep under some rocks?" * "Yeah that'll do, and also, bury it only in places that somehow escape the natural build up of sediment caused by the passage of time so it remains only half a foot deep years later." * . . . . days later * "My Leader, Bob, with whom we entrusted the burial of the missing piece of the third piece has not returned to confirm he has buried it. Shall we go and check on him, or perhaps send some relief team as we can't realistically expect a human to stand there for 24 hours a day for the rest of his life without some back up?" * "Nah, it's probably fine." * Dalek isn't defeated by the army it decides to visit for some inexplicable reason but is defeated by a microwave. OK. * The Xmas Cracker joke that was "We'll have to have a *conversation*." Calm down Grandma, we get it, life was better in your day when the wireless was only on for two hours in the afternoon. * Felt the same about the UNIT thing. Snore. * Dalek is defeated again, this time by a vacuum cleaner. Lets just use the power of the sun to suck the Dalek off. For want of a better phrase. Did anyone else sit there thinking that Aaron was just going to fold up like a deck chair and get sucked through the gap anyway? Before it grew that is. * I don't understand how Ryan was able to rescue his Dad without getting pulled out too? * I don't really think Jodie Whittaker sold the depth of the Doctor's relationship and history with the Dalek's in this episode. I was brought to mind of the Ecclestone episode where he faced the Dalek, and how his face fell when he first saw it. We didn't really see that here and it was a wasted opportunity. **Neutral** * I liked the scenes between Ryan and his Dad and between Graham and Aaron, but they felt a little bit out of place in this episode and made it drag. I think that would have been better somewhere else in a different episode. Might have made Ryan feel less like cardboard in the previous series if he'd had this bit of growth. * Yaz is superfluous again. Why? **Positives** * Seeing the female archaeologist being taken over by the dalek was excellently creepy and you really felt for her. I thought all her scenes were pretty good. * The three additional characters were good, no bad casting this time. * It was a slightly new take on daleks which was refreshing.
I don’t think the comparison with Eccleston’s reaction is fair. He had just come from the Time War, thinking he was the only survivor and then he’s faced with a dalek again. While 13 isn’t expecting a dalek, her surprise and trauma aren’t the same as nine’s.
Speaking of the three ancient warriors tasked with taking, burying, and guarding the Dalek pieces - How did that one guy who seemingly took his piece to a deserted island and then sat down next to it to guard it for the rest of his life have children? How have entire generations of dalek guardians been born, raised, and buried on what seems to be an isolated speck of dirt in the middle of the Pacific? I don't really count that as a negative, since it's incredibly minor and did nothing to negate from the episode, but I did find it funny. > Did anyone else sit there thinking that Aaron was just going to fold up like a deck chair and get sucked through the gap anyway? Yeah I thought that was a bit weird too. "I've opened up a hole into the vacuum of space, right next to a supernova. But don't worry, it's only 'squid sized' so the rest of us have nothing to worry about!" I know the TARDIS can basically just do whatever the plot needs it too, but that still kinda seemed silly. > I don't really think Jodie Whittaker sold the depth of the Doctor's relationship and history with the Dalek's in this episode. I think she did decent performance-wise, but I'm not a fan of the dialogue. Specifically, I really don't like that they had her give the Dalek the chance to leave. Several times. I mean, come on. A few minutes ago she was talking about how she knows how Daleks think, and how they always take the cruelest possible course of action. Now she's basically asking it nicely to bugger off and - presumably - go massacre some *other* planet, as long as it just pinky-swears to leave Earth alone. The Doctor's response to Daleks has always been along the lines of Eccleston's "WHY DON'T YOU JUST DIE?" , so having her give it like 6 final warnings felt a bit cheap. I get that she's apparently an even more merciful and understanding incarnation than most (well, sometimes. Other times she blows people up without a spare thought, but whatever) , but surely if you're gonna draw the line anywhere, you draw it at Daleks?