(Mon Jan 21 2019 00:00:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)) Doctor Who's original remit included visiting historical events to educate children about history. We should look at Doctor Who Season 11 through that lens, and rather than call Rosa a foray into unwanted political correct nonsense, it is a historical story compatible with the original mission. If we look at the real history of the Montgomery Bus Boycott we learn that Doctor Who got some things wrong.
(Thu Dec 13 2018 00:00:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)) There is no Doctor Who Christmas Special this year, because supposedly the show runners could not think of a good Christmas story, and instead we're due for a New Years Special instead. Okaaaay, that's the official story, which we can't quite believe. Especially now that The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos has aired, and shows a young man strapped to what is for all intents a Cross. Was this a failed idea for a Christmas special? If so, it's the closest Doctor Who has ever gotten to a tricky subject like Jesus Christ.
(Mon Dec 03 2018 00:00:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)) Doctor Who Season 11 is a big departure from what Doctor Who has become. The obvious change is that The Doctor is female, duh. On YouTube and surely elsewhere there's been a big negative backlash against this and other changes in Doctor Who -- complaints about politically-correct-social-justice-being-shoved-down-our-throats are common in YouTube reviews of Season 11 episodes. But some of these reviewers are simply complaining how different it is, and some have complained about the lack of the typical monsters. Instead we're being shown creatures who look like monsters, but are not, and we're shown humans who are committing great crimes.
(Mon Nov 26 2018 00:00:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)) With The Witchfinders, Doctor Who season 11 continues its streak of pseudo-historical stories. The Pendle Witch Trials were an actual event in history, that have tied Pendle Hill to witchcraft so much that there is a local tourism industry playing up the connection. However, while Doctor Who got the history wrong it was nice for the ending to reaffirm the right of 'healers' to pursue their craft.
(Thu Nov 22 2018 00:00:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)) Last weekend's Doctor Who episode, Kerblam, was a spot-on jab at Amazon. While Doctor Who has always jabbed at modern targets reshaped in other-worldly forms, the obvious target obviously doesn't have to take the jab without retribution. So when Amazon accidentally streamed Witchfinders (the next episode) a couple days early, was it an accident or retribution?
(Thu Nov 22 2018 00:00:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)) In Twice Upon a Time we had a geek-out-fest of The First Doctor meeting the Twelfth Doctor and lots of fun banter back and forth. It took The First Doctor most of the episode to get his head around what he had become. Instead of being a great Healer, The Doctor had become a creature of wars, fighting big battle after big battle. The Siege of Trenzalore is an example, that went on for 900+ years of all kinds of Enemies of The Doctor fighting with him. But at the end of Twice Upon a Time the First Doctor had his realization, that the Twelfth Doctor wasn't a war monger but instead seeking to heal warfare.
(Tue Nov 20 2018 00:00:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)) In Kerblam! there is an interesting story struggling to free itself from a deeply flawed episode. The Doctor Who team is transparently panning Amazon while exploring modern automation and the role of humans in the face of ever-improving technology. Doctor Who has worked with these ideas before, but in this case where is the tension or the danger? Like so much of Season 11, the characters seemed to be sleep-walking their way through the story, and the interesting possibilities are buried under layers of ..er?.. cotton balls is the best analogy that came to mind.
(Thu Nov 08 2018 00:00:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)) New Doctor, New Show Runner, New Production Crew, etc, what could go wrong with all this new stuff? Doctor Who has always thrown stuff out and changed things around, and that's part of its reason for success. This time we have the first Female Doctor, new show runner, a whole bunch of new things, and a promise that we won't see any returning monsters or situations. Par for the course with Doctor Who. At the halfway point of Season 11 we're starting to get a feel for Jodi Whittaker, and she's a good Doctor, but I keep feeling that Doctor Who is trying too hard.
(Wed Nov 07 2018 00:00:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)) It's a whole new TARDIS crew, a new Doctor and new ..er.. Friends. Not Companions, Friends. Unlike all other instances of the Doctor hooking up with a new Companion, these new Friends come to the TARDIS begging to keep traveling with the Doctor for the lamest of excuses. If I were the Doctor, knowing that me and my team are frequently in deadly danger, would I want to be assisted by folks showing that little enthusiasm for the role? The Doctor's Companions are there through thick and thin, getting into mortal danger, and occasionally dying. Therefore, shouldn't The Doctor want his/her Companions to have a strong positive rationale to come along?
(Sun Jul 22 2018 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) With the 2018 season, Doctor Who has a new Doctor (!! a WOMAN !!), new companions, a new show runner, new writers, new this, and new that. The trailers released just before Comic-Con told us New Faces ... New Worlds .... New Times... leaving us wondering if this meant no old villians like the Daleks or Cybermen. In the Doctor Who panel at Comic-Con, Chibnall suggested there would be no Daleks this year. Instead the management wants the show to be as accessible as possible. Given the predicted backlash against a female Doctor, this may possibly be to offset any loss of viewership. Chibnall says the show is striving to be the most inclusive show on TV, but is likely to miss out on the chance to show a female Doctor with her female Wife (because ... New Faces, therefore no River Song).
(Sat Jul 21 2018 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) The Doctor Who season 2018 trailer released just before Comic-Con promised New Faces ... New Worlds .... New Times... leaves us scratching our heads. No Daleks? No Cybermen? Just what the Doctor Who team means by this will be revealed when the season starts being aired this fall. In the meantime we're left clutching at hints from Comic-Con 2018. One take-away from the video is that while Moffatt's era was an orgy of the return of classic Who Villians (like the Mondasian Cybermen), the new team doesn't want to get hung up on classic villians and wants to start fresh.
(Thu Jul 19 2018 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) The second trailer of the new Doctor Who season is out, and we learn that Jodi Whittaker can say more than 'Brilliant'. Cool. It's still obscure enough to not give us much clue about anything. We do learn it's all new this and all new that, which corresponds to a news article title saying the next season will be all-new monsters. What? No Daleks? No Cybermen?
(Mon Jul 16 2018 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) The first trailer of the new Doctor Who season is out, showing the new TARDIS team, and the fact that their culinary choices are not that healthy. That aside, aren't we supposed to take this as a preview of the season? Instead we're given a phrase, The Universe is Calling, and a few character snippets of each. The two guys are loners who seem to like hanging out at the same Chips place, while the young girl likes to hang out with friends and eat pizza.
(Mon Apr 17 2017 00:00:00 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)) David Tenant, Doctor# 10 or 11 depending on how you count, has worked with Chris Chibnall thanks to his time in Broadchurch, and of course Chibnall is due to replace Stephen Moffatt shortly as Show Runner. Tacked onto the end of this interview about Tenants new movie about RD Lang (it sounds like an amazing movie) he's quizzed a bit about both Harry Potter and Doctor Who.
