Doctor Who *Spoilers Abound! We've lost Containment*

The image in question has been my work pc’s desktop image since the day it was posted. I’d say I like it and can’t wait to see this Doctor in action.

So good. I am sorry to see Capaldi go. But welcome the new Doctor and if I am honest wish we could have more of the Frey Doctor.

Moffat? why do you keep confirming my opinion that you're a colossal arsehole?

And Moffatt, on his way out, made some pretty strange statements defending his decision not to cast a woman in the role earlier, as many fans have been hoping for years. First, he admits that there was the opportunity for a female Doctor following the 11th’s run—since that Doctor, played by Matt Smith, was “sexless” and “less of a lad.” So Moffatt’s brain, naturally, imagined that this sexless, lad-less Doctor just might be able to turn into a woman! Unlike, say, that David Tennant Doctor who totally snogged Rose Tyler.
But any need to see some gender parity on a modern Doctor Who was apparently overridden by Moffatt’s “obsession” with the idea of Capaldi in the part. Cool! And then, somehow, it gets even worse, as Moffatt seems intent on fitting as much of his foot into his mouth as possible:
Moffat wrote:

This isn’t a show exclusively for progressive liberals; this is also for people who voted Brexit. That’s not me politically at all – but we have to keep everyone on board.

That doesn't seem arseholish in the slightest. The tone of the article does, however.

liquid wrote:

That doesn't seem arseholish in the slightest. The tone of the article does, however.

I have to agree. There are a lot of things to target Moffat for but that article just falls flat doesn't seem to have a point other than "Moffat cast Capaldi instead of a woman, what a bastard". Even within those quotes they used there are better things to point out, like Matt Smith's Doctor got married and spent loads of time flirting, yet Moffatt called him sexless.

The New Trailer for Doctor Who's Christmas Special Might Reveal Peter Capaldi's End

I will just link to the article rather than the trailer. Up to you if you want to follow it.

The day she saved the Doctor - Four stories from the Tardis

IMAGE(https://am24.akamaized.net/tms/cnt/uploads/2017/12/book-2-524x800.jpg)

An upcoming Doctor Who novel titled The Day She Saved The Doctor: Four Stories from the TARDIS features four of the Who companions in stories written by…women!!! Jacqueline Rayner, whose written many Who novels, along with Dorothy Koomson, Susan Calman, and Jenny T. Colgan.

Right now there are not many details about what is going to be happening in this collection. What we know thus far are the companions that will be featured: Rose Tyler (meh), Clara Oswald (meh), Bill Potts (woot), and Sarah Jane Smith (tears spring eternal).

In addition to these books, Jodie Whittaker will also be staring in audiobooks and other later novels as the 13th Doctor ensuring we will get all of our 13th Doctor goodness!

We forgot to dust again. Stupid dust.

Spoiler:

dammit Moffat...you had to just get one last Clara in there before the end didn’t you!...*shakes Fist at screen*

Good special.
Might be a spoiler on who shows up or doesn't show up.

Spoiler:

There was a moment I thought they were talking about captain Jack. Nope, it was a different captain or was it.

Kind of a different take for a special which was refreshing.

pyxistyx wrote:
Spoiler:

dammit Moffat...you had to just get one last Clara in there before the end didn’t you!...*shakes Fist at screen*

Spoiler:

Wasn't that an apology of sorts for how they did her exit, for how disturbing it was to almost do the same thing they did to Donna?

i'll be honest - wasn't keen on this episode too much. Didn't feel comfortable with the "racist/sexist Doctor" jokes, and the final regeneration felt like Moffat was getting in one last "lol women drivers, amirite?"* dig before buggering off to ruin Dracula.

*and I can confirm that's how it comes across because someone in the room I was watching the episode with pretty much made the same 'joke' when they saw it.

My thought at the end was why does the doctor keep regenerating mid flight like that. It keeps ending in a crash and a remodel of the TARDIS.

I found Capaldi's speech a little on the nose and it came across more as Moffat telling the next show runner how to do their job than one Doctor to the next.

I assume the new showrunner approved both the speech and the crash. Seems odd to just dump those on the next people without consulting them.

So...those 'lol look at the racist old man' racist/sexist jokes in the xmas special really, REALLY rub me the wrong way the more I think about them.

They would work with "the Soldier", sure, but in relation to the first Doctor (a super advanced time travelling alien from ANOTHER PLANET who has just as much access to modern 21st+ sensibilities as the current incarnation) they just seem incredibly stupid.

Sure, the *SHOW* Dr Who might have had that attitude back in the sixties, but would the *Doctor* as a character? I REALLY doubt it.

It would make more sense to have him dismissive and insulting towards humans in general if anything. But to have him play the role of your drunk racist uncle visiting for xmas? That's some clumsy-ass, insensitive writing even for someone of Moffat's awfulness.

I am *so* glad he's done with this show.

/ end rant.

Sidenote. I can now refer to The Doctor as "she". Excellent.

oilypenguin wrote:

I assume the new showrunner approved both the speech and the crash. Seems odd to just dump those on the next people without consulting them.

I'm not sure about the speech but the new guy was responsible for the crash.

pyxistyx wrote:

i'll be honest - wasn't keen on this episode too much. Didn't feel comfortable with the "racist/sexist Doctor" jokes, and the final regeneration felt like Moffat was getting in one last "lol women drivers, amirite?"* dig before buggering off to ruin Dracula.

*and I can confirm that's how it comes across because someone in the room I was watching the episode with pretty much made the same 'joke' when they saw it.

I thought the anachronistic musings of the first Doctor, were a bit on the nose, portraying a different time, different culture, and different prejudices. However, it did bring the point home that times change, better get used to it, adapt and grow.
To be fair the modern Doctors all (more or less) crash the Tardis after their regeneration. Not something unique to the new Doctor. We usually end up with a new control room as a result. Maybe a rewatch of the episode without your anti-Moffat bias (just a tiny bit) will help you enjoy the episode a little more? Or not.

I found Capaldi's final episode to be clumsy and cringe inducing. It's a shame. I hope Chibnall can bring it back up to what it was before Moffat let his head get swollen, but I don't have a lot of faith based on his episodes. My wife actually walked out of the room and said she wasn't interested in finishing the episode about halfway through. Sad!

Maybe 13 wouldn't be in the predicament she's in because 12 decided to hold it in that whole time.

For Xmas special here is what I liked.
1. The return of Bill. One of my favorite companions.
2. No bad guy. There is always a bad guy but not this time.
3. 1914 christmas day. It was nice to see this event and have the doctor have nothing to do with both sides putting down their guns. Even if this has never been repeated it makes me think their is still hope in the world.
4. Having Doctor 1 back. I watched all the watchable episodes and episodes that were patched together or redone as a audio show for the first doctor.
5. The meaning of what it means to be a war doctor.
6. The return of the other companions.

I didn't really dislike anything. Could have done things different. I was thinking they could have made the first doctor less sexist or not at all and kind of retcon him. I think I like it better that they showed the doctor had changed and grown for the better.

bighoppa wrote:

I hope Chibnall can bring it back up to what it was before Moffat let his head get swollen, but I don't have a lot of faith based on his episodes.

I'm looking forward to his first season as showrunner where each episode won't be deconstructed ad nauseum through the lens of what an awful showrunner he is. I'm sure we'll all be praying for his dismissal by his second season, but the armistice for twelve or so episodes will be so welcome.

I just really dislike the way Moffat ran the series from beginning to end. The "lol sexism" gags did nothing to change my mind.

Really? I thought the majority of Matt Smith's Who was excellent, up until Asylum of the Daleks which is one of my favourite episodes. After that, things go a bit downhill and I am now overall sad that Capaldi inherited this Moffat and the writers he worked with. I might be wrong but I think Moffat's run started to decline when he started working on Sherlock and Who at the same time and I think he was more focused on the first.

I really liked Moffats early writing on the show. The empty child, The Dr dances, Girl in the fire place were all really good. It's when he actually took over that things went down hill for me.

Instead of sci fi he kept swinging into fantasy. Nothing wrong with good fantasy but he kept using it to fill plot holes. Too many storylines were resolved by magical "power of love" hand waves.

The final Matt Smith episode didn't have any kind of coherent plot. There was a big info dump narration in the middle. A clear sign of weak writing. This is a TV show not a radio show.

The Tardis being destroyed plotline was resolved abysmally. As in it was never satisfactorily resolved. The tardis is like a major character. It's death should have been a major event. I can only assume Moffat wrote himself into a corner because what should have been the dramatic centerpiece to a story ended up being handwaved in some vague exposition.

Dr Who always used to be about exploring the universe, aliens and fighting invasions. It still is but Moffat seemed so in love with his vision of the Doctor that he kept making stories about the Doctors feelings, the Doctors angst. I mean that's OK but "Its all about the Dr" was something he kept pushing to the forefront again and again and again.

Basicly for me watching Moffat run Dr Who feels a lot like watching self indulgent fan fiction.

strangederby wrote:

I really liked Moffats early writing on the show. The empty child, The Dr dances, Girl in the fire place were all really good. It's when he actually took over that things went down hill for me.

Same. He's way too into "being clever" at the expense of a good story. He has had many good ideas (and generally has had characters I like) but it all gets muddled up into distractingly complicated storylines that only pay off in superficial ways. I feel like he thought he was doing "oh, but you were getting hints all along!" but in the end if the only way to know what those hints meant was in hindsight, then they aren't really hints, they're just self-indulgent excuses for "AH HA!" at the end.

I loved his early work while RTD was showrunner, but given free reign he made a big mess of it IMHO. I'm so ready for new blood.

As for the special, maybe one "racist old man" joke would have worked as a nod to the time that the 1st Doctor aired in, but making it a running gag in the story just turned it super sour for me.

I have enjoyed Capaldi quite a bit once he got a season in and things started clicking, but this episode just didn't really do much for me in general, and definitely didn't satisfy much as an end to Capaldi's reign as Doctor.

I feel the same way about Moffat and am glad to see him move on.

I've fallen off the last few seasons so I'm hoping that the new season feels fresh and different again as it seemed to me between Tennant and Smith.

The thing I always appreciated about Moffat as a showrunner was that he seems to be one of the few writers for the show who remembers that the TARDIS is a time machine and not just a spaceship. Many of his storylines—for better and for worse—revolved around mismatched time frames, paradoxes, and loops. It's something I really love, but it can certainly lend itself to self-indulgence.

Davies's locations were often more exotic (although unfailingly middle-class British no matter where you went in space), but nearly everyone in that era seemed to regularly forget that the TARDIS wasn't just a physical transport. Every time someone said, "it's too late" or complained they couldn't get there fast enough, I just rolled my eyes. I don't need every scene to be the key scene from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, but come on.

In any case, I'm also glad that Moffat's gone, mostly because of the fans, but partially because I am really f*cking tired of Clara Oswald. Can't wait to see which companion the new showrunner gets creepily obsessed with.