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It's #DoctorWho Day and I'm going to do a brief thread about what I think are the strengths and weaknesses of the current version of the show, meaning the two series we've had thus far with showrunner Chris Chibnall and star Jodie Whittaker. 1/
In terms of strengths, I think there are several areas where Chibnall absolutely deserves the highest credit:
1. Casting Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor.
2. Making sure the TARDIS team didn't look basically the same as it had for 54 years previous.
2/
1. Casting Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor.
2. Making sure the TARDIS team didn't look basically the same as it had for 54 years previous.
2/
(strengths cont.)
3. Hiring women writers and directors.
4. Hiring writers and directors of color.
5. Generally giving underrepresented people a chance to make and be in Doctor Who.
3/
3. Hiring women writers and directors.
4. Hiring writers and directors of color.
5. Generally giving underrepresented people a chance to make and be in Doctor Who.
3/
(strengths cont.)
In terms of stories, the Whittaker era has produced some really excellent ones. Like
Demons of the Punjab
The Witchfinders
Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror
Can You Hear Me?
and The Haunting of Villa Diodati which is far and away the best of the era.
4/
In terms of stories, the Whittaker era has produced some really excellent ones. Like
Demons of the Punjab
The Witchfinders
Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror
Can You Hear Me?
and The Haunting of Villa Diodati which is far and away the best of the era.
4/
(strengths cont.)
We also must give enormous credit to the era for the guts to tell us not only is there another woman Doctor, but a Black woman, who predates all the crusty old white guys. Something explored much better in this piece by @taigooden https://nerdist.com/article/doctor-who-first-black-woman-doctor/
5/
We also must give enormous credit to the era for the guts to tell us not only is there another woman Doctor, but a Black woman, who predates all the crusty old white guys. Something explored much better in this piece by @taigooden https://nerdist.com/article/doctor-who-first-black-woman-doctor/
5/
Which unfortunately speaks to a lot of what I think doesn't work about the era. While I think Whittaker, Walsh, Gill, and Cole are all terrific actors, I don't think they generally get very much to do. We've spent two full series with this "fam" and we barely know them.
6/
6/
(weaknesses cont.)
There's a little game you can play with fictional characters:
Describe them without using anything physical or surface-level about them. Not their age, clothing, or what their job is. Describe them on a personal level.
7/
There's a little game you can play with fictional characters:
Describe them without using anything physical or surface-level about them. Not their age, clothing, or what their job is. Describe them on a personal level.
7/
(weaknesses cont.)
For just about all of the new series companions, this is easy.
Rose - Vibrant, passionate, naïve but strong
Amy - Sardonic, puts on a tough exterior
Bill - Hungry for knowledge, deeply moral, excited
Now try it for any of the Fam.
8/
For just about all of the new series companions, this is easy.
Rose - Vibrant, passionate, naïve but strong
Amy - Sardonic, puts on a tough exterior
Bill - Hungry for knowledge, deeply moral, excited
Now try it for any of the Fam.
8/
(weaknesses cont.)
Graham is...funny? Eats a lot?
Ryan is...easily bored but means well?
Yaz... I mean, who even knows what Yaz's personality is.
This is a bit reductive, but so much of Ryan and Graham's characters are defined by the shared loss of Grace, and Yaz by her job. 9/
Graham is...funny? Eats a lot?
Ryan is...easily bored but means well?
Yaz... I mean, who even knows what Yaz's personality is.
This is a bit reductive, but so much of Ryan and Graham's characters are defined by the shared loss of Grace, and Yaz by her job. 9/
(weaknesses cont.)
It wasn't until the final two episodes that I really got a sense for who Yaz was, and her quiet scenes with Graham were a Series 12 highlight.
Chibnall spent so much energy on the production part of the series that he didn't do the work on the characters. 10/
It wasn't until the final two episodes that I really got a sense for who Yaz was, and her quiet scenes with Graham were a Series 12 highlight.
Chibnall spent so much energy on the production part of the series that he didn't do the work on the characters. 10/
(weak cont.)
Which sadly also translates to the Doctor. For waaaay too long, Jodie just feels like she's playing Doctory traits, saying fast technobabble and making the odd weird joke.
That's part of why I love Diodati so much. That's finally the 13th Doctor writ large. 11/
Which sadly also translates to the Doctor. For waaaay too long, Jodie just feels like she's playing Doctory traits, saying fast technobabble and making the odd weird joke.
That's part of why I love Diodati so much. That's finally the 13th Doctor writ large. 11/
(cont.)
And I also just flatly think the Timeless Child reveal doesn't work. Not because it rewrites established canon (which I could not give two farts about) but that it ultimately only exists to make fans debate. It didn't and doesn't change the Doctor, so then why do it? 12/
And I also just flatly think the Timeless Child reveal doesn't work. Not because it rewrites established canon (which I could not give two farts about) but that it ultimately only exists to make fans debate. It didn't and doesn't change the Doctor, so then why do it? 12/
And so that's where I'm at with the Chibnall years thus far. He's doing so many great things on screen, but he himself is not spending enough time developing his characters and their journeys. Whittaker deserves better writing, because when she gets it, she's PERFECT. 13/13.
Oh and one more complaint: I don't understand Chibnall's aversion to actually promoting the show. It's Doctor Who DAY and we got an announcement of animated missing eps, a box set of 50th specials, but not a trailer for the special that's been done for a year and airs soon?
