Doctor Who Season 11

Forums › Off topic › Doctor Who Season 11

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

1624 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2123147 10-Nov-2018 10:06

I was just reading that the new Dr had the highest number of debut viewers.

As a software engineer, I think it is cool to see the Dr fabricating her own sonic screw driver and talking physics. One of my heroines is Ada Lovelace, mathematician and engineer and considered the worlds first computer programmer, so hopefully we will see more physics and science and the like in future episodes.

I also like seeing the traditional stereotypes being challenged - wouldn’t have made sense to me for the new dr who has a kind of rainbow logo as part of her outfit for them not to have some recognition of diversity and current issues in the show.

Software Engineer
(the practice of real science, engineering and management)
A.I. (Automation rebranded)
Gender Neutral
(a person who believes in equality and who does not believe in/use stereotypes. Examples such as gender, binary, nonbinary, male/female etc.)

...they/their/them...

Paul1977

5043 posts

Uber Geek

#2124220 12-Nov-2018 15:19

TwoSeven: I also like seeing the traditional stereotypes being challenged - wouldn’t have made sense to me for the new dr who has a kind of rainbow logo as part of her outfit for them not to have some recognition of diversity and current issues in the show.

Sure, but it's that it's so obvious and in your face that's the issue. Watching Doctor Who has primarily been about escapism, and if they want to put some messages in there that's fine, Star Trek did it all the time. But rather than creating a good story and including a little political commentary, this season of Who seems to be episodes written for no other reason than to make a political point.

I just find it off-putting.

EDIT: Typos.

JimmyH

2886 posts

Uber Geek

#2124361 12-Nov-2018 18:46

Paul1977:

Sure, but it's that it's so obvious and in your face that's the issue. Watching Doctor Who has primarily been about escapism, and if they want to put some messages in there that's fine, Star Trek did it all the time. But rather than creating a good story and including a little political commentary, this season of Who seems to be episodes written for no other reason than to make a political point.

I just find it off-putting.

Exactly. I haven't watched 5 or 6 yet, but based on 1-4 I would expect to see an episode about how fracking destroys the planet, an episode on how plastic bags kill turtles, an episode on transgender rights, an episode where the Doctor rescues desperate North African migrants from the evil customs and immigration service, and an episode were the baddie is a thinly veiled caricature of Donald Trump.And a Christmas special on redistributionist tax policies.

That's not escapist entertainment, it's the same tedium I see in media opinion pieces every day. If I wanted that I could just read the Guardian.

sleemanj

1490 posts

Uber Geek

#2125458 14-Nov-2018 10:52

Demons of the Punjab...

Ok, well, uh. I guess a nice job of quickly introducing partition to youngins and showing in a very brief and sanitised way how it tore a country and it's people in two, but... wow, yeah, what was the point of the demons, just because "doctor who so must have aliens, even if they don't do anything to affect anything".

---
James Sleeman
I sell lots of stuff for electronic enthusiasts...

Ge0rge

2053 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2125465 14-Nov-2018 11:07

sleemanj:
Demons of the Punjab...

Ok, well, uh. I guess a nice job of quickly introducing partition to youngins and showing in a very brief and sanitised way how it tore a country and it's people in two, but... wow, yeah, what was the point of the demons, just because "doctor who so must have aliens, even if they don't do anything to affect anything".

Actually, I thought the concept that the Doctor doesn't necessarily know everything about every alien race was quite a good one, as well as her shock / regret / dismay once she had realised her error of desecrating their ancestors.

old3eyes

9119 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2126542 14-Nov-2018 13:35

After watching the episodes so far I don't really care if I see anymore of them. They seemed to have really jumped the PC shark.

Regards,

Old3eyes

nzbsgfan

146 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#2126632 14-Nov-2018 15:13

Have to agree about the virtue signalling in Season 11. I was looking forward to the new Doctor, but I've been turned off by the preachy nature of the episodes thus far. I'm hanging in there - as Capaldi wasn't an easy watch initially. I'm hoping things improve and the writers shift their focus to something less "woke".

Tradepub

Free professional, reference and technical white papers (affiliate link).

throbb

675 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2126684 14-Nov-2018 15:50

nzbsgfan:

Have to agree about the virtue signalling in Season 11. I was looking forward to the new Doctor, but I've been turned off by the preachy nature of the episodes thus far. I'm hanging in there - as Capaldi wasn't an easy watch initially. I'm hoping things improve and the writers shift their focus to something less "woke".

Totally agree, while quite often Doctor Who has "hidden" preachy messages in the episodes, the last few have been so in your face, makes it hard to watch.

I am always apprehensive when a new Doctor comes along, and it usually takes me a few episodes to get used to a new Doctor and I think a few episodes for the actor to make it their own. Still haven't go used to Jodie Whittaker, feels to much like shes trying to be David Tennant.

TwoSeven

1624 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2126757 14-Nov-2018 18:41

I like the preachy messages. They have them in a lot of programs and movies these days.

...they/their/them...

Zepanda66

533 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2126973 15-Nov-2018 09:22

Been confirmed there's no Xmas Special this year. Well get a New Years Day special instead.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/7315955530.png

Talkiet

4792 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2126986 15-Nov-2018 09:41

I'm done with this train wreck. They utterly wasted Peter Capaldi's potential and although I had some hope that the new season might turn it around with all sorts of fresh options brought by Jody, it's BS, preachy tween angsty drama. I've written better SciFi spilling alphabet soup on my lap...

It's not just one or two things either - it's EVERYTHING. Acting styles, writing, forced diversity, ludicrous focus on Earth. There are no saving graces - even the decent special effects can't help because story, writing and acting are orders of magnitude more important.

Go re-watch David Tennants era for some great writing, and go watch Blakes 7 for examples of how great characters make up for some incredibly shonky SFX.

Someone call me if they change everything about Dr Who at some stage during the season.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Paul1977

5043 posts

Uber Geek

#2127091 15-Nov-2018 11:15

Talkiet:

I'm done with this train wreck. They utterly wasted Peter Capaldi's potential and although I had some hope that the new season might turn it around with all sorts of fresh options brought by Jody, it's BS, preachy tween angsty drama. I've written better SciFi spilling alphabet soup on my lap...

It's not just one or two things either - it's EVERYTHING. Acting styles, writing, forced diversity, ludicrous focus on Earth. There are no saving graces - even the decent special effects can't help because story, writing and acting are orders of magnitude more important.

Go re-watch David Tennants era for some great writing, and go watch Blakes 7 for examples of how great characters make up for some incredibly shonky SFX.

Someone call me if they change everything about Dr Who at some stage during the season.

Cheers - N

I agree with most of what you've said Neil. You won't be getting calls this season, the show is well and truly wrapped so it will just be more of the same.

I actually think Jodie Whittaker could be good though, as she is certainly a capable actress. But I am actually finding her quite annoying in this, it's like she has just one state which I can only describe as "confused, while trying too hard to be quirky".

I think Bradley Walsh is fine, and I don't have too much of a problem with the actress playing Yaz.

The blame lays almost 100% with writing and direction. Just terrible.

I'm going to stick out the season since their's only 4 episodes left, and hope they've learned some valuables lessons from this disaster. I just hope the do learn the lessons, and don't try to blame the backlash on sexists not accepting a female Doctor - or racists who are opposed to diversity.

I can't rewatch Tennant until the current season is finished though - it will just highlight even more how terrible the current season is.

TwoSeven

1624 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2127108 15-Nov-2018 11:47

I guess at the end of the day, the rating were very high for the opening episode and still remains quite high (in comparison to other dr’s)

Perhaps it might suggest one is outside the target demographic or one may be showing ones age by not understanding the new stories.

For me, it was never the same after the Daleks figured out how to climb stairs.

...they/their/them...

sleemanj

1490 posts

Uber Geek

#2127117 15-Nov-2018 11:56

I think the lack of any sort of arc, not even a weak one, is a big problem.

Right up to Eccleston, Doctor Who was almost always serialised stories over multiple weeks, giving you the time to flesh the story, and to draw people in week to week.

The revived Who was more individual stories to make it easier for people to pick it up, but there was still always an arc of some sort, and again even within that there were plenty of multi-parters.

But this season, so far, all individual, frankly you could drop in anywhere and you'd be fine as long as you knew the general premise of Doctor Who, that Jodie was the Doctor and the others her companions, that's all you need for any of the episodes.

People like arcs, they like coming up with theories, thinking about it, anticipating it... you only have to look at any Doctor Who message board etc to see that, theories about this, theories about that, even in this current season where it's been firmly said "there is no arc", they still all want to draw links between things to MAKE an arc.

It was IMHO a crazy decision to go to such an absolute "everything contained in the episode" format for Doctor Who, it's not even Monster of the Week since there's not much monster happening either.

---
James Sleeman
I sell lots of stuff for electronic enthusiasts...

Paul1977

5043 posts

Uber Geek

#2127251 15-Nov-2018 15:23

TwoSeven:
Perhaps it might suggest one is outside the target demographic or one may be showing ones age by not understanding the new stories.

If fans of previous seasons are not liking it, then they are doing something wrong.

I understand the new stories perfectly well, in fact it would be hard not too when they are telling you exactly what you should be thinking.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9