Doctor Who Series 11 · 4:33pm Jan 13th, 2020
Okay, so I finally saw Series 11 of New Who. I'm lame I know. But here's my thoughts on it.
Okay, first off, I adore the new opening. Like, I really do. This is like Who on an acid trip and I love it. We haven't had an opening this striking since Peter Capaldi, really. I'm sorry, but apart from Peter's runs, the title cards aren't really that memorable. But really, nitpicks in the grand scheme of things, the opening cards. Yeah, I did take issue with the Woman Who Fell To Earth.
Okay, yes, Jodie's take on Doctor is very warm, sweet and adorable. But there is one moment that I didn't like. She's confronting Tim Shaw, -or however you say his name- and she's just placed the DNA bombs back in him. It'll probably kill him, and yet she takes issue with the terrified human he'd been hunting pushing him off to his death.
LIKE SHE WASN'T TRYING TO KILL SHAW EITHER!?!
Headdesk
But apart from that, this episode was... pretty solid. Very good cast all around, actually. The Doctor's gang, her fam, her Team TARDIS. Thankfully, their character interactions carry us through the Ghost Monument which is otherwise... eh... It's sorta just there. Also, guns are bad m'kay? I think we got it. Mind you, I do look forward to seeing what this Timeless Child is all about.
Thoughts on Arachnids in the UK and Rosa. Rosa, powerful moving episode though the main villain was.... well, he wasn't the brightest bulb. Rosa wasn't the only protester, and if anything he'd only delay her by... what, one day?
Then again, short-minded and petty worked for Brando.
Now, UK. Yes, there's a Trump Expy. Let's get it out of the way. And I may be putting myself on the firing line here but I sympathized with him more than I think the episode wanted. The giant spiders had a taste for flesh. Yes, they're lost and confused and sorta tragic but they will start eating people eventually. The b-plot with Graham working out his grief and Yaz's family was a good one though.
I think Jodie's shaping up to be one of those Doctors who got a good character, just she was landed with badly written episodes more often than not. At least so far.
Now, The Tsuranga Conundrum. This was a very good episode for so many reasons. One, the villain wasn't boring as all hell and actually pretty nifty. They gave us some information on it, and showed the Doctor's brains on full display. That's one of the things I like about this season, the Doctor's victories feel earned. She has to work to earn her victories, use her brains and more often than not the whole team contributes. Now, that wasn't to say the episode was perfect. One, the pregnant man. Okay, yeah it did give us some good character interactions with Ryan and Yaz but... really? Also, Astos. I personally wish he hadn't been killed off early on, as it would have given us some great character interactions between his patient -guess Who?- and a practiced medical professional. Also, the Pting. You know and I know it's a homage to Stitch.
Punjab. Powerful episode, like really powerful. If you weren't crying by the end you must have a heart of stone.
Kerblam! Oh, this was a fun one. So much snide at Amazon and the online retail industry in general, and some really creepy robots. Also, the Doctor gets a fez! Does anyone else wish she'd worn it throughout the whole episode? And actual exploding bubble wrap! Bubble wrap as an actual threat! You know the writers of Ark are just laughing their asses off somewhere.
Now, let's get a shift on and talk about The Witchfinders. Now, this was quite possibly the most unnerving episode of the season. Like, it legit was. Props to the set designers and location scouts. Wherever they filmed this episode... well, yeah. It was eerie beyond belief. Somehow, Mud Monsters were made scary. Of course, the real monsters of the episode like Punjab before it was us humans. I'm starting to see a trend here. Not a bad trend, but still a trend. Also, that speech the Doctor makes to King James, you know the one. If anyone disbelieves Jodie's not the right fit for the Doctor I will tell them to shut up and listen to this speech.
It Takes you Away can be summed up thusly.
"The one where the Doctor gets force pushed by a frog."
Yeeeeeeeeeah, that wasn't one of Who's best episodes. It was so confused about what it wanted to be. Was it a story about dealing with grief, was it a story about a strange anti zone, was it a horror monster piece about a cabin in the woods? Or was it all of these ending in a conversation with a goddamn frog? Also, missed bonding moment with Hanna and Ryan, about deadbeat dads. Or the frog could have been someone the Doctor lost, like say Aldric. But no, we get a frog. Yes, I think I will go on about this. Like, I really will. Seriously, they should have taken one plotline and stuck with it. I mean, who the hell was Ribbons? Still, for all the mess that "It Takes you Away' was, it did give us one great moment that while it wouldn't save the episode, it made it worth it.
"Granddad."
Now the Battle of... oh, I am not even going to try and spell that name. Without spoiling much, this was a fun fun episode. Return of a past villain, some really great character conflict, especially with the Doctor, Ryan and Graham. Maybe some might say the Doctor is a roaring hypocrite here, but two moments stood out.
The flexible rules bit? I think that's the Doctor admitting: "Yeah, fair point." in her own way. And her berating Graham? Now remember, this is a woman who's been there, been consumed by revenge. Maybe she didn't put it the best way, but she didn't want Graham to go down that dark path.
Resolution. Oh hell yes. If you ask me, apart from a few select episodes ever since Victory the Daleks have never been... scary. Just cheap mooks for the Doctor or whoever to blow up. This episode really fixed that in spades, it was very Lovecraftian in some ways, and horrifying. I swear, seeing the Dalek back in full armor gave me chills of both fear and excitement. And then he said the phrase. You know the one. It wonders how this thing was beaten before in the past... But even before it got into full armor, the Recon Dalek was scary. It was very... rapey in some ways, and seeing the squid outside its armor and controlling Lin and basically outwitting the Doc at every turn was... yeah.
So, this season had some highs and some lows. But you know who? I liked it. And I cannot wait till I see 12. does a four-note drumbeat with my finger
I agree with your points. Jodie is a good actress, but as points she was hampered by bad writing.
On the note of writing, Chibnall is somewhat hit or miss. He has a squiggle as to whether he lands good stuff or duds. Compare this to Peter Harness (Kill the Moon and the Zygon Invasion). The former of those two I did not really enjoy because of the flawed science as Clara's casual disregard for democracy, but the latter episode worked really, really well.
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Yeah, blame the internet. Well, it's not like it would have stayed secret long given who we're talking about. ...You know, Joker could take notes from this guy.
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Yeah, Chibnall is one of those who when he hits, he hits hard like Zygon but when he swings and misses... Yeah.
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As a result, I'm not too sure I'll be watching the next season.
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Trust me, this season works as the really good episodes, they're either not written by Chris or he has a co-writer. Mind you, Resolution is a beautiful exception to this as it was written by Chris himself and everything and I do mean everything worked. This episode to me, was one of Who's high points. I'm going to give 12 a try, if only for the Master.
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I think I will too. Most showrunners had a rocky first season.
Finally a Doctor Who fan that likes the show but still acknowledges the bad ones without being toxic about it!
Personally, the new season is shaping up to a great start!
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Yeah, some of the Who fans can be a bit nuts. Like, I just want to sit back and enjoy a madman/madwoman in his/her box going around the universe and helping people. Is that so hard? But like any fan, I can criticize an episode if I want to. Don't mean I have the right to be obnoxious about it and shove my opinion on you. Like if you liked Rose, Clara, or whoever or hell even Aldric, more power to you. What I don't get is the people throwing terms like Mary Sue -which is so overused nowadays btw- and such around like idiots. Pudding brains really, to borrow a phrase.