Doctor Who IV - Everything Whovian - Would you like a jelly baby?

[Nate Grey]

A bold claim. Do you have the streaming numbers or rather a link to them? It is my understanding that most streaming data is not made public. Sorry I'm not trying to be harsh, rather I'm tired of people making claims (positive or negative) about various media they or no one else can prove or disprove. To clarify, I'm talking about the latest episodes.

This didn't seem unreasonable...

https://www.thepopverse.com/doctor-w...pecial-ratings

Simply Google "4.62 million" "Doctor Who" together with the parenthesis.

[Indian Ink]

Since it hasn't been out for a full week yet the consolidated ratings for the third special aren't out yet but the initial numbers were very good. The first special had 5.08 million people in the UK tune in live or watch the first night and with various other means throughout the week it meant that a total of 7.61 million people saw it. The second special faired nearly as well with 4.8 same day and a total of 7.4 million views at the end of the week and the third special debuted 4.62 million views same day.

DR Who site has 7.14 million consolidated for the second, not 7.4. The Ratings are on a slow slide. Unless they're all moving week by week to Disney. Which isn't completely beyond the realm of fantasy. Personally, I think the figures can't be judgement of that episode because they didn't watch it. It's how they felt about the last or the series in general. I preferred the second special to the first by a country mile, but I haven't seen the third yet.

[Celgress]

Since it hasn't been out for a full week yet the consolidated ratings for the third special aren't out yet but the initial numbers were very good. The first special had 5.08 million people in the UK tune in live or watch the first night and with various other means throughout the week it meant that a total of 7.61 million people saw it. The second special faired nearly as well with 4.8 same day and a total of 7.4 million views at the end of the week and the third special debuted 4.62 million views same day.

Which is all very good.

As for numbers through Disney+, the mouse is pretty tight lipped but the last episode was apparently 5th highest streamed single episode last weekend which means a lot of people saw it.

There's really no way to spin it as a negative.

Now, that doesn't mean you personally have to think it's the best Who has been. Tastes vary and that's alright.

But trying to pretend it wasn't a huge success and a lot of people really enjoyed it?

That's just denying reality and makes the people doing it look really silly.

Thanks for the information. And, yeah, these (thus far) are down from previous specials which was my point. I also suspect this is a curiosity spike based mainly on RT-era nostalgia, it was for me. It'll be interesting to see how things develop moving forward.

And, yes, this won't change my mind. I detest bi-generation without it (coupled with the Timeless Children) I would probably be watching future episodes.

[Celgress]

DR Who site has 7.14 million consolidated for the second, not 7.4. The Ratings are on a slow slide. Unless they're all moving week by week to Disney. Which isn't completely beyond the realm of fantasy. Personally, I think the figures can't be judgement of that episode because they didn't watch it. It's how they felt about the last or the series in general. I preferred the second special to the first by a country mile, but I haven't seen the third yet.

Indeed they are which has been blunted by RT-Era nostalgia I suspect, but I also suspect this blunting effect will not last much longer judging by what I've been seeing online (of various platforms this is the only mainly positive one reaction-wise). But either way, we'll see.

[ChrisIII]

Church on Ruby Road is getting excellent early reviews from Radio Times and some other sites like Gamesrader, Total Film etc.


It's interesting that it seems Ruby is adopted, but it's mentioned in the review that the Doctor is also adopted, so I wonder if it comes up in the special, and is a bit of a link perhaps to the Timeless Child-in which the Doctor was adopted by Tectuen, although certainly the Doctor might have other family who helped raise him (The people in the barn) or started his own (Hinted many times, but Susan seems to be the most tangible confirmation) although it's unclear if any of this was before or after the pre-Hartnell memory wipe.


Could Ruby perhaps be a human-like alien/alien raised by humans (Perhaps a disguised/transformed Goblin)? Could be an interesting twist, and still sticks with RTD's earth-centric approach. We haven't had any alien companions except for Nardole in the combined series, although the classic had a few (The Romanas, Nyssa, Adric, Turlough; I'm not counting humans from the future like Leela, Zoe, Jack or Sara Kingdom though)

[thwhtGuardian]

Indeed they are which has been blunted by RT-Era nostalgia I suspect, but I also suspect this blunting effect will not last much longer judging by what I've been seeing online (of various platforms this is the only mainly positive one reaction-wise). But either way, we'll see.

...The specials have been reviewed overwhelmingly positively just about everywhere as well.

This is very much just confirmation bias on your part, you didn't enjoy them(which is totally fine) so you're zoning in on the negative views that conform to your taste in exclusion to everything else. Which as I said earlier, is just a silly thing to do. It's totally okay not to like things that are popular with the general population, or conversely love things that are loathed and there's no reason to pretend that the majority agrees as long as you are self confident enough to accept that your views are different than others. For instance, I can't stand the Orville or WWF Wrestling and yet loads of people love them and on the other side two of my favorite movies from the last twenty years were Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and John Carter both of which were viewed negatively...and it doesn't bother me one wit.

You can like or dislike what you like without needing to pretend the world agrees with you.

[Mister Mets]

I've got a weird hunch.

I wonder if Ruby Sunday is Sally Sparrow's daughter. "Blink" is a classic Doctor Who episode, and Carey Mulligan talked about Doctor Who in an interview when promoting her role in Maestro, so she seems to think of the show fondly.

https://www.vogue.com/article/carey-...2023-interview

A cameo of some sorts would make sense.

[Celgress]

...The specials have been reviewed overwhelmingly positively just about everywhere as well.....

I was referencing general audience reaction and general audience chatter online rather than critical reviews, for example -

"60TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIALS
Doctor Who
96%
TOMATOMETER
49 Reviews
43%
AUDIENCE SCORE
1,000+ Ratings"

Call it review bombing and sour graping if you will but this is what I was referencing. In most instances what the critics like doesn't matter for ongoing commercial success but what the general audience likes does.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/doctor_who_2023/s00

Anyhow, I've said my piece. Please carry on with the general discussion everyone.

[thwhtGuardian]

I was referencing general audience reaction and general audience chatter online rather than critical reviews, for example -

"60TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIALS
Doctor Who
96%
TOMATOMETER
49 Reviews
43%
AUDIENCE SCORE
1,000+ Ratings"

Call it review bombing and sour graping if you will but this is what I was referencing. In most instances what the critics like doesn't matter for ongoing commercial success but what the general audience likes does.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/doctor_who_2023/s00

Anyhow, I've said my piece. Please carry on with the general discussion everyone.

Yeah, it’s very obvious review bombing, so like I said confirmation bias if you think it’s an accurate assessment. The audience reaction scores reported by i player were in the high 80’s which mean’s generally excellent.

[ChrisIII]

Now I'm kind of wondering given RTD statements that there are non-regenerated versions of the other Doctors out there, if Ncuti or his successors could have a multi-Doctor story with one.

Colin Baker/Sixth Doctor would be my choice. He didn't really get that much to do in POWER OF THE DOCTOR compared to Mcgann, McCoy and Davison. Maybe he can stop by UNIT and visit Mel, or even have there be two Mels, one who never stopped travelling with him.

(although that's probably a nightmare for some Whovians).

As great as it would be to see Tom again, he doesn't seem to be in the best health these days.

[Jokerz79]

I wouldn't mind seeing Sean Pertwee as the 3rd Doctor.

[ChrisIII]

In a weird way the alternate Doctor idea might explain just what the hell was going on in DIMENSIONS IN TIME.

I kind of wonder if the Third Doctor didn't regenerate he would do more with UNIT, unlike the Fourth who generally grew tired of it by season 13.

[Derek Metaltron]

I wouldn't mind seeing Sean Pertwee as the 3rd Doctor.

Pretty sure he has shot that idea down many times now. Sean struggled somewhat to live up to the legacy of his Dad before he got big hits like Gotham so I don’t blame him for wanting to be his own man. I could see him appearing on the show though as a new character.

[Derek Metaltron]

In a weird way the alternate Doctor idea might explain just what the hell was going on in DIMENSIONS IN TIME.

I kind of wonder if the Third Doctor didn't regenerate he would do more with UNIT, unlike the Fourth who generally grew tired of it by season 13.

I started thinking the other day about how DC did the Convergence event where retconned timelines were highlighted with older versions of characters before Flashpoint, Zero Hour and COIE. Imagine if Titan Comics did a series with these new Forever Timelines and them interacting with each other, the main reality and the odd other alternative universe like the Inferno and Cybus universes. They could even bring in some of the non canon Doctors like Cushing and Richard E Grant.

[ChrisIII]

Kind of wonder if Fourteen's TARDIS won't take him "Where he's needed" as much.

It's been mentioned a few times I think that the Doctor does occasionally have some quiet vacation time where nothing happens here and there-"Trouble's just the bits in-between" but that wouldn't make for interesting sci-fi television as much (Curiously, it's kind of what Syfy marketed Doctor Who as-"He's looking for a perfect vacation!" or something like that when they occasionally ran the earlier New Who stuff before BBC America became a much better US 'home') so I wonder if fourteen does travel he doesn't kind of blunder into adventures as much. Or stays away from stuff on Earth like what's going on with the Goblins as he figures fifteen's got it or something.