Doctor Who?

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Re: Doctor Who?

Postby 52xMax » Sun Jul 16, 2017 5:28 pm

So, ummm... anyone else thinks it's weird that Australia called this 3 years ago?

http://variety.com/2017/tv/global/bbc-d ... 202496884/
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Re: Doctor Who?

Postby Deathclaw_Puncher » Sun Jul 16, 2017 5:40 pm

Oh, boo! BOO! Jodie Whitaker ISN'T A GINGER!!!
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Re: Doctor Who?

Postby KleinerKiller » Sun Jul 16, 2017 5:45 pm

IF YOU ARE NOT KNEELING IN THE STREETS AND SHOUTING JODIE WHITAKER'S NAME TO THE HEAVENS IN AWE YOU ARE SEXIST AND NOT A REAL FAN

I have no strong opinion about her because I really haven't never seen her in many things, but the rhetoric is already getting exhausting just a few hours in.
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Re: Doctor Who?

Postby Marcuse » Sun Jul 16, 2017 5:59 pm

I dunno. I remain to be convinced.

I'm not particularly against this...altering of every Time Lord who regenerates into women, but on the other hand I think it'll make the series shoehorn in more hammy political statements about how people see the Doctor differently as a woman. I suppose I just watch Who to think about space aliens and fantasy, not real world identity and representation concerns, so if it's going to be filled with stuff about that, it's probably not for me.

In the end, aside from that it all depends on how it's played. They've been making the Doctor older and more grizzled for a long time, and I worry that they'll do something stupid like try to forget all of that in order to try to bring back the wonder and mirth that the past couple of seasons has been lacking, and inadvertently forget the history of the story. That risk is even greater when there's a new head writer in the mix as well.

An interesting point about her was, she acted opposite John Boyega in Attack the Block. She was the lady his gang robbed at the start. Her contribution to Broadchurch is a bit harder to pin down, because the dedicated wiki has a single paragraph on her character, and the IMDB page has nothing in the character bio. So I can conclude I have no idea what she'll be like in the role.

ETA: Youtube occasionally has some pithy quotes. These are from the reveal video posted on the Who YT channel.

"Fans now: "I hate <insert current actor's name>!!!"
Fans after the new Doctor's first season: "Best Doctor eveeer!""

"Nice ! Now i hope the next wonder woman is played by some old bald guy . Why not ? because it says wonder WOMAN it means it has to be a woman ? Are you telling me you hate men ? Is that it ? Then its settled the next wonder woman will be played by bruce willis ."

"I think People will get used to her way more quickly then it seems right now. There are always many people complaining about the new doctor. It's been that way when Capaldi was announced and when Smith replaced the popular david Tennant whom btw. they hated at the beginning too. So just wait and fall in love with another doctor."
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Re: Doctor Who?

Postby 52xMax » Sun Jul 16, 2017 6:17 pm

Broadchurch, aka the show created by a former Who writer that starred David Tennant.

She was also in an episode of Black Mirror series 1, and she did an okay job. So I wouldn't expect she'd do a terrible job, but it also remains to be seen what happens with the new showrunners and which direction the show takes.

I will continue not watching Doctor Who until I decide it's finally time to give it a try, and I'll probably start with Eccleston's run, so by the time I catch up there will probably be at least one new Doctor, and maybe another Spiderman reboot.
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Re: Doctor Who?

Postby BROWNRECLUSE » Sun Jul 16, 2017 11:59 pm

Here's a question.

I am aware of Doctor Who and much of the main staples of the show, but cannot recall ever watching an episode all the way through.

As a potential new viewer, is it required to go all the way back to the earlier seasons in order to know what's going on, or can I jump into this new season and be okay not having seen an earlier season?
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Re: Doctor Who?

Postby Deathclaw_Puncher » Mon Jul 17, 2017 12:22 am

Each Doctor is essentially its own mini reboot
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Re: Doctor Who?

Postby Marcuse » Mon Jul 17, 2017 9:58 am

BROWNRECLUSE wrote:Here's a question.

I am aware of Doctor Who and much of the main staples of the show, but cannot recall ever watching an episode all the way through.

As a potential new viewer, is it required to go all the way back to the earlier seasons in order to know what's going on, or can I jump into this new season and be okay not having seen an earlier season?


More or less, you can watch an episode and it is it's own self-contained story. There's sometimes some overarching plots, but never longer than the current season. Generally the format is vitrified, the Doctor and at least one person called a companion travel about in space and time. The Daleks are bad. That's about it.
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Re: Doctor Who?

Postby A Combustible Lemon » Mon Jul 17, 2017 11:45 am

It's a sort of sci fi anthology thing with a mytharc, more like X-Files than anything. Different episodes have different writers writing in completely different genres and they will only touch each other sometimes.
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Re: Doctor Who?

Postby FieldMarshalFry » Mon Jul 17, 2017 1:29 pm

a lot of the newer episodes reference either Classic Who or previous seasons, but it's not necessary viewing, each Doctor's story is effectively self contained
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Re: Doctor Who?

Postby NathanLoiselle » Mon Jul 17, 2017 6:52 pm

You should start with the first episodes and work your way through all 50 some odd years worth. It's the only way to be sure you won't miss anything.
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Re: Doctor Who?

Postby ghijkmnop » Mon Jul 17, 2017 8:20 pm

Redacted
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Last edited by ghijkmnop on Thu Mar 14, 2019 6:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Doctor Who?

Postby 52xMax » Mon Jul 17, 2017 8:47 pm

ghijkmnop wrote:Except that you'll miss about 90 episodes from the 60s.


That's actually one of the reasons I haven't seen the show to this date, even though I realize it's a big part of geek culture these days and an all-time staple of sci fi. I've heard all the arguments about how each series is self contained and how the old school doctors are very childish and goofy and a lot of other things, but I am a completist, so I can't just go into the show knowing there's no way I can ever watch the whole thing...unless I got a Tardis. So the compromise I've reached is that if I ever watch it I will start from the revival and on, but I'll always know that's just a cop out and I will feel real bad about it.

It's a similar reason for which I don't start a show or a book series if there's reasons to suspect I might not end up liking, because then I will have to soldier through until I complete the thing anyway. E.g. Harry Potter, A Song of Ice and Fire, Wheel of Time, or really anything that goes beyond 3 seasons or 4 books. I'd rather watch movies.
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Re: Doctor Who?

Postby NathanLoiselle » Tue Jul 18, 2017 12:25 am

I'm glad that the Doctor is now a woman. (Oops, did I just unearth a spoiler?) I've been saying for the last two series that the Doctor should be a woman. Possibly longer.
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Re: Doctor Who?

Postby Marcuse » Thu Jul 20, 2017 12:52 pm

I've been thinking about this new Doctor, and I think I can separate out my concerns into two camps.

1. OMG change

Put simply, there's a new Doctor and I'm always reluctant to embrace a new Doctor when they're announced. I was exactly the same when Matt Smith took over, in fact probably more so as I'd never heard of him at all. With a new head writer as well, I've got no idea where the show will go with this new incarnation, and I'm concerned they'll fuck it up. I don't think that that's necessarily the fault of the show, but it does make me nervous about the series.

2. Concerns about the casting

On of the things I'm finding, worryingly, about Jodie Whittaker is that it's hard to find out what kind of actor she is. Her contribution to Broadchurch is, having not watched it myself, limited in summary to "is the mum of a kid that dies". I'm certain there's more to her character than this, but there doesn't seem to be anything about what the character does, and it's all about who she's the parent of. Similarly, when she appeared in Attack the Block, I didn't really form a great deal of impression about her. Her other work (including both St Trinians movies) is similarly non-descript. When she almost boasts in the Times that she's got a chameleon face that nobody recognises, I'm starting to worry. One thing the last few Doctor Who actors had was a distinct and noticeable style of dress or appearance, and I'm concerned that casting someone who appears to prefer to be anonymous might affect how the role is presented negatively.

Alongside this, I have concerns about how Chibnall, whose last series was Broadchurch, has effectively brought her on at least in part because he knows her. I'm concerned his choice has been informed mostly by convenience more than it is choosing the right woman for the part (and it definitely was going to be a woman, he's stated he would not have cast a man in the role).

Of course, none of this means the show will be bad. Hell if people haven't witnessed my willingness to call out the bullshit in Capaldi's series by now then I don't know when you'll catch on. But I have some concerned about the hows and whys of Whittaker's casting as the Doctor and I think it'll have to work hard to demonstrate a distinctive style and some sense of continuation from the previous canon, even if leaving behind some things would be welcome.
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