Pages with tag Season 10

54 years of Doctor Who title sequences, constant change with one thing remaining constant Doctor Who thrives on constant change, but a few things remain constant. Once of those is the melody embedded in the opening and closing title music. It's the same pattern of beats and notes, even as the show runners change it around every few years to fit the times.
Bill Potts, Danny Pink, two black Companions sacrificed on the altar of Moffatts whims

Two seasons in a row we saw a BLACK companion get converted into a Cyberman and given a strange send-off. The first, Danny Pink, was supposed to be Clara Oswin's love interest -- we even saw them rescue an apparent descendent of that match-up, until Moffatt needed someone to be converted into a Cyberman. Then in Season 10, we had Bill Potts, an excellent companion, get converted into a Cyberman because Moffatt needed someone to be converted into a Cyberman. The history of Doctor Who has not seen a successful conversion of a Companion into a Cyberman until Danny Pink. With Bill Potts we have a second successful Companion-Cyberman-conversion. What's the commonality? Both the actors are BLACK?

I was going to let this pass -- until todays news included Moffatt bragging about the story twist in The Doctor Falls of having Bill Potts saved by her love interest, Heather. Ugh. Really? It's all okay because you gave yourself a magic way out of the corner you wrote yourself into?

No matter how brilliant Moffatt is in coming up with clever stories -- this shows a weakness in that he writes himself into corners, and rather than face the consequences of the story he's penned, Moffatt comes up with a magic way out.
Capaldi is leaving Doctor Who because the Daleks are Cockney Nazi's Stephen Moffatt teases us about the 'monsters' coming up for Season 10. Missy, the Monks, new Ice Warriors, and more. The Fan Show visits the filming sets and back rooms and storage places and more. Peter Capaldi is on the Graham Norton show, talking about why he's leaving the show. Oh, and we learn that the Daleks are Cockney Nazi's.
Capaldi's Doctor is one to HATE, or is he? Peter Capaldi's Doctor (#12 or #13 depending on how you count it) has been controversial. Apparently some outright hate him, and stopped watching Doctor Who because of Capaldi. While his Doctor isn't quite my cup-o-tea, I purely do not understand stopping watching the show. Clearly if someones total exposure to Doctor Who started in 2005, they won't grok that Colin Baker's Doctor was just as gruff and disliked. If you think about the personage whose history we're watching, each Regeneration produces different emotional effects in The Doctor. Ponder that this instance of The Doctor is something of a clerical error, and that by the Rules of Regeneration The Doctor shouldn't even still be alive after his last stand at Trenzalore. Ergo, doesn't that give an excuse for a confused personality?
Creepy confessors from the Papal Mainframe - The Silence When first 'seen' in the Impossible Astronaut, these mysterious creatures were a puzzle. They could zap people, they were all over the place on Planet Earth, yet had a strange ability to be immediately forgotten, and were involved with training The Doctor's bespoke assassin - River Song. That last bit we didn't know until much later. Instead we knew that Amy and Rory's daughter was kept by them in a creepy mansion. It wasn't the end of Matt Smiths time we learned what the Papal Mainframe is, and the true role of the Silence.
Doctor Who Episode 2 (Smile) image gallery In Smile, the preview videos promised us a visit to Earth's first colony on another world. Valencia's Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences - see my pictures at the bottom) is standing in for that colony, thanks to what looks like excellent CGI work. The actual location of these buildings in Valencia is very urban. In any case it appears the humans (in the story) are not on the best of terms with the robots.
Episode 1 (The Pilot) image gallery As with any Doctor Who companion, 'two worlds collide'. Bill, the new companion, is introduced to us in this episode. The episode synopsis: 'Two worlds collide when the Doctor meets Bill, and a chance encounter with a girl with a star in her eye leads to a terrifying chase across time and space. Bill's mind is opened to a universe that is bigger and more exciting than she could possibly have imagined. But who is the Doctor, and what is his secret mission on Earth?'
Episode 1's 'next time' trailers previewing Smile, episode 02 Doctor Who went to Valencia Spain to film a strange city that's one of Earth's first colonies in space, only to find the people had died and it's inhabited to Emoji-speaking robots. WTF? Valencia is a cool city, and that strange looking building (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias) is certainly a strange place, but why would they cut the building out of its surroundings? Anyway, here's a preview of what the Doctor Who team plans to do with Valencia's City of Arts and Sciences. Some kind of robots-kill-the-humans scenario.
Episode 7 (Extremis) image gallery The BBC has posted these images of Extremis, the next episode of Doctor Who Season 10. These pictures show a little more about the location (The Hereticum?), Missy's presence, the Monks, and so forth. For some reason they're going to the Oval Office (as in The White House), which I do not understand.
Extremis, Season 10 Episode 6 preview Tacked onto the end of Oxygen, episode 5, was a spoilerific preview. The Doctor became blind due to events in episode 5, and has been called to The Vatican for some purpose. The Next Time trailer contains a glimpse of Dr. River Song's diary, and a glimpse of Missy. We knew that Missy would show up later in the season, but River Song? WTF? And then there's another preview showing Bill's date with a cute black woman being interrupted by The Pope and some Vatican dudes. Despite being a Time Lord, The Doctor has no sense of timing.
Falling through Thin Ice to meet a big fish, Previewing Doctor Who Season 10 Episode 3 In 1814, Bill asks The Doctor whether there are 'side effects' to time travel, and whether he's killed anyone. Fair questions to ask at the beginning of such a relationship, perhaps. In the background is a depiction of a 'Frost Fair' on the Thames.
Getting ready to Smile, Previewing Doctor Who Season 10 Episode 2 The Doctor Who crew flew to Valencia Spain to use the City of Arts and Sciences as a stand-in for a space colony on another planet. Having been to Valencia, I agree that building complex is very strange looking, like it came from another planet. Are Emoji-Bots really a dangerous monster, however?
Is Nardole the Doctor's Boss? Why would The Doctor have a boss? - Doctor Who Season 10 Episode 2 Review We come to this episode wondering why Nardole is still active with The Doctor, and find him lecturing about an Oath the Doctor took as if Nardole has some authority over the Doctor. Its difficult to believe the Doctor would put himself under anyone elses authority, so maybe that's a misinterpretation. In any case, this episode's adventure has the Doctor and Bill playing hookey, visiting the first Earth colony on another planet, only to find the place inhabited by over-eager robots who might have accidentally killed the colonists.
John Simms returning as The Master, opposite Missy, the female Master This week we learned that John Simms will play The Master this weekend, opposite the incumbent Master incarnation, Missy. Oh boy, that sounds like an insane explosion. The character itself is insane with megalomania and always concocting absolutely bonkers schemes. John Simms played The Master during the Tennant era, and that was quite a romp indeed. Then with Capaldi we had a season teasing this crazy woman calling herself Missy, which we learned was The Master incarnated as a woman. That's been quite a bizarre journey and I'm sure Roger Delgado is spinning in his grave (maybe). Of course it raises a huge question or three - of HOW do they suggest this Multi-Master story could happen. Since The Doctor has had several instances of multiple incarnations of himself at the same place/time working together, why can't The Master enjoy the same benefit? Still, the last time we saw The Master he was fighting Rassilon. That doesn't bode well for The Master's survival, but he's survived seemingly impossible situations before.
Looking back at Multi-Doctor stories in light of upcoming Multi-Master story It's been announced that, before the end of this season, the John Simms Master will play opposite Michele Gomez's Missy. May Roger DelGado rest in peace, but having multiple Master incarnations meet could be immensely exciting. It also violates various 'laws of time' for multiple incarnations of the same person to meet and interact. Think of what happened in 'Fathers Day' when Rose met not only her Dad and Mom, but herself as a baby. Even so, we've seen multiple Doctor's team up on multiple incarnations, and it wasn't a smooth ride. To get a sense of the fireworks likely to ensue with multiple Master's, let's review the times multiple incarnations of The Doctor appeared at the same place.
Masterfully not killing Missy, the Fake Doctor reveals secrets, Doctor Who Season 10 Episode 6 review How do we know whether the world we see is real? Many spiritual traditions teach that this physical world we see is not in the slightest bit real. For example 'A Course in Miracles' goes so far as to suggest our insanity is what creates this insane world we see (heck, politics this year is extremely insane, yes?) and that by waking up we can see the real world. Many spiritual traditions teach this sort of thing without causing those who receive that message to commit suicide. That part, people who read the Veritas committing suicide, was troublesome, especially when the story flips that around to suggest that suicide is an act of freeing ones' self from the illusory world. Really? I don't know what to think about that, but the episode was otherwise excellently convoluted.
Matt Lucas (Nardole) answers questions about Doctor Who Season 10

Want to know more about Nardole and Matt Lucas? This video has Nardole answering questions for a Youtuber named Crispy Pro.

Earlier we asked "Why is Nardole still around?" Because, well, it's kinda strange that a person presented as River Song's side-kick, and then disassembled and inserted into King Hydraflax's body, would be able to reappear as a functioning person helping the Doctor. But then this is Doctor Who.

Unfortunately our curiosity isn't answered by Matt's answers. He's very good at saying things and being funny without really answering questions or saying anything of substance.
Matt Lucas and Pearl Mackie's tour of the TARDIS console buttons Behind the scenes of filming Doctor Who, the actors play around with the set props. Little do they know of the power behind those buttons. Fortunately The Doctor set up automatic systems to disable the controls except while filming. Otherwise they might have destroyed the universe taking those balls out of their sockets.
Michele Gomez leaving Doctor Who, means a Missy/Master regeneration, or what? Michele Gomez recently held a Reddit AMA that was rolickingly fun. While advocating for a Missy spin-off show, Michele Gomez revealed in the AMA, and in news articles with other sources, she would not be returning to Doctor Who after Season 10. Which raises a question of what might happen within the show. The Master is always there to challenge The Doctor, so there would be a new Master sooner-or-later one presumes. What would happen to Missy to cause Missy to definitively stop being available in the series, though?
Oxygen, Season 10 Episode 5 preview
Peter Capaldi & Brian Minchin Interview - The Aftershow - Doctor Who: The Fan Show Peter Capaldi sat down for an interview about Episode 2, Smile. Somehow Capaldi doesn't mind having his running described as being like a penguin with its ass on fire. Is it important to tell stories about The Doctor where he almost gets things wrong?
Peter Capaldi cannot be regenerating during 2017 season The 2017 season official trailer ends with Regeneration Energy clearly emanating from Capaldi's hands as he appears to be struggling. Did that mean Capaldi's Doctor will regenerate during the season, and someone else is playing The Doctor for the Christmas special? Today, Cultbox is reporting that Capaldi is filming Christmas Special scenes this summer. Therefore, he is The Doctor for that episode, and presumably his Regeneration is at the end of the Special.
Peter Capaldi et al appears on Canadian Television The Doctor himself joins InnerSpace's Teddy, Morgan and Ajay alongside Steven Moffat, Brian Minchin and new companion, Pearl Mackie!
Pyramid at the End of the Earth, Season 10 Episode 7 preview The Doctor has a long history of rebuking the Military, and not using the Military's machinery. Here we see that a Pyramid has suddenly taken form in a desert place, that those crazy-looking Monks are the inhabitants, and the Doctor warning that these people have studied us for a looooong time, and then ordering an attack using military bombers. WTF?
Quantum-locked angels from the beginning of the universe - Don't Blink The Weeping Angels were born before the beginning of the universe, apparently. Their curious trait is that when observed, they are quantum locked and cannot move, and can move freely when unobserved. They feed off time vortex energy created by sending victims into the past, and feeding off the time potential of the life which was lost.
Ray-shooting pyramid at the End of the Earth, Season 10 Episode 7 review It's part 2 of a three part story, so of course all heck is breaking loose, from an apparently dead helper, to a companion that just made a bad decision, and a next-time-trailer showing Missy plotting something, the Doctor working with the Monks, and someone being shot. Just like the proverbial Hero's Journey, every Doctor Who story goes through the belly of the beast before the hero emerges at the end with a treasure. What we have this time is a question about putting yourself at someone else's mercy when that person can control your perception of reality. Do you have the necessary wisdom to perceive correctly whether that person is deluding you into a bad choice?
Series 10 (2017) trailers - the gateway to everything you've been waiting for, or something like that Doctor Who Season 10 starts April 15, 2017, featuring the introduction of a new companion, Bill, and a continuing relationship with Nardol. We know that in the Christmas Special the Doctor regenerates, and indeed trailer#2 shows what looks like the beginning of a regeneration.
Songs for the Wood -- Knock Knock, Season 10 Episode 4 review In Knock Knock, we had a right proper horror movie embedded in a Doctor Who episode. We had some of the classic tropes, people wandering off and getting eaten, etc. But it was too squeezed for space, and the ending was way too easy, way too trite. For once a kill-everyone-in-sight Doctor Who episode had everyone survive, instead.
Sonics, Movellans, a Goatee'd Master, and the Mary Celeste: Easter Eggs in Doctor Who Episode 1 The opening episode of Doctor Who Season 10 was not only a rollicking romp through time and space, it had plenty of odd bits stuffed in the side of things to satisfy the die-hard fans. The story was billed as a good jumping-in point for anyone, and that it is. It was an excellent story -- dunno if it was worth the wait, but it's very satisfying. What follows are the odd bits I noticed.
The Internet reviews Doctor Who Season 10 Episode 1 The title, 'The Pilot', was meant to signify a reboot of sorts, with the Doctor Who team shaping this season so it can be a jumping-in point for a new fleet of fandom. Is this really necessary? I think Moffatt has talked to us too many times about rebooting Doctor Who when it had already been rebooted. My criticism of recent Doctor Who seasons, under Moffatt's tenure, has been that it's too intensely intertwined with arcane history points of Doctor Who and perhaps that was unapproachable by regular folk. Perhaps Moffatt finally got a clue, and hopefully wants this season to downplay that aspect.
The second-oldest question in Doctor Who: Why did The Doctor leave Gallifrey? In Twice Upon a Time, the uber-fanboys of Stephen Moffatt and Peter Capaldi got to fulfill a fanboy dream, and have a multi-Doctor story with a reasonable facsimile of The First Doctor. The opportunity was then in their hands to ask one of the oldest questions of Doctor Who - Why did the Doctor leave Gallifrey? Was he chased out after having done something wrong? Did he forsee that silly Hybrid prophecy from Matt Smith's era? Was he bored?
Thin Ice - Next Time Trailer - Doctor Who: Series 10 The Doctor and Bill, apparently having forgotten about The Vault back at the college, have gone to what appears to be 1850's London in the Winter with the Thames frozen over. We see carnival action, some kind of creature under the ice that must be fed, and on ominous question - have you ever killed anyone?
What's in the Vault? Thin Ice, Season 10 Episode 3 ponderings In Thin Ice we got to see the Doctor visit the 1814 Frost Fair, after we learned he'd taken River Song, and had asked Clara to go. That was fun seeing how well they portrayed the Frost Fair. But, the little bit at the end, concerning Nardole and the Vault, that's pretty darn significant. It seems that Nardole isn't the Doctors boss after all, but some kind of hired hand or something, and that he's not entirely happy with the situation. And that whatever is in the vault is a sentient thingy, which Nardole can communicate with, and which can knock on the door.
What's the history of The Master? At least 24 bodies .... How did The Master become Missy? The announcement that John Simms is to play The Master opposite Michele Gomez's Missy, raises a question of The Masters incarnations and life stream. A careful study of history shows that Roger Delgado's Master was his 12th incarnation, 13th body, and that every instance of The Master since involved a theft of a body. And, the big question of the Master's timestream is how did he become Missy?
Why is Nardole still with us in Doctor Who Season 10? We first met Nardole when he was River Song's assistant, before he was incorporated into King Hydroflax's body. That was cute, and then he appeared in the 2016 Christmas Special. By that time Nardole had apparently spent quite a lot of time with Capaldi's Doctor, though of course we saw none of that because no episodes were shown to us that year. Now we're in Season 10, and Nardole is still with us. He spent 10+ months living in Cardiff working on the Doctor Whom season. Supposedly he's here because he asked Stephen Moffatt to come to the show, and that's it. Really? That makes no sense. For character-continuity, Nardole had to be reassembled in some way, and in The Pilot we saw a mechanical piece apparently drop off his hand. We're supposed to learn more as the season progresses. And, Nardole isn't being billed as The Companion, but he's appearing in episodes enough that we should consider him as A Companion.
Will Capaldi's Doctor actually regenerate in Season 10? Does the Mirror actually know who's the Next Doctor? We know that Capaldi's contract as The Doctor ends shortly, which somehow connects with the Doctor's lifestream forcing him to regenerate. We'd thought the regeneration will be shown in the 2017 Christmas Special, but the season 10 trailer clearly shows regeneration energy action. Now, the Mirror claims to have an insider source telling them who will be the next life-stream-portal-representation-of-The-Doctor.