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

[ChrisIII]

The marketing for the new season seems to be playing up the Sontaran design's similarities to the Time Warrior version. Kind of reminds me of the "All the Daleks!" push for "Asylum of the Daleks", the Mondasian/Tenth Planet Cybermen in Capaldi's season finale (along with the return of Simm's Master) etc. Trying to bring some of the fans of classic Who in I guess.

[Somecrazyaussie]

Whilst I don't know Lydia I would be pleased to see RTD commit to maintaining a female Doctor for now and show that having a actress as the Doctor was never the issue with the Criball era. Jodie Comer or Haley Atwell would be my dream casting choices but they're likely way too busy and important these days to be viable.

I would hope RTD would cast the part with the best available candidate. Which is how the role should be cast. Besides, anyone with a brain knows Jodie wasn't the problem. The showrunner/producers were.

[ChrisIII]

First episode will be "The Halloween Apocalypse". Also among the guest stars is Kevin Mcnally, who was Gibbs in Pirates of the Carribean but has been in WHO before as Hugo in the Twin Dilemma, and also has had parts in four Big Finish productions.

[Tendrin]

I just want to say again: SHOBOGANS?! REALLY?!

God, the Timeless Child retcon is just so god damn stupid.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

https://nerdvanamedia.com/sci-fi-fan...PtHHv8xUiZThxw

The 8th Doctor is getting another spinoff. This time with an old Big Finish mainstay- Charley Pollard.

[protege]

I just want to say again: SHOBOGANS?! REALLY?!

God, the Timeless Child retcon is just so god damn stupid.

I hate to say it, but all this kafuffle over the timeless child retcon is really turning me off from the fandom. I guess I'm just a casual fan, because I'm not all that bothered by the storyline. I'm not a slave to canon or continuity the way other people are.

[Kirby101]

I hate the Timeless Child as well. The Doctor was already a very special Timelord. Being the sole Timelord (sort of, with exceptions) was special enough.
But now they have to make him/her very, very especially, exceptionally special. Ugh!

[Deathstroke]

I hate to say it, but all this kafuffle over the timeless child retcon is really turning me off from the fandom. I guess I'm just a casual fan, because I'm not all that bothered by the storyline. I'm not a slave to canon or continuity the way other people are.

The problem is that while your opinion is certainly valid, so is the opinion of all of those who find the timeless child storyline to be a bucket full of crap bad storytelling. Bad is bad.

[ChrisIII]

I hate the Timeless Child as well. The Doctor was already a very special Timelord. Being the sole Timelord (sort of, with exceptions) was special enough.
But now they have to make him/her very, very especially, exceptionally special. Ugh!

The McCoy era kind of tried to do that by implying the Doctor was actually one of the founding Time Lords, along with Omega and Rassilon. However they never really said it outright (There's also the "Half human" thing from the TV that the Hybrid storyline kind of messed around with a bit). I think the Seventh Doctor novels implied that the Doctor was "sort of"-I think their explanation was that he was a reincarnation (But not a regeneration) of the founding Time Lord-explaining his familiarity with Gallifreyan artifacts and why he stole them when he left- but technically his own man too.


TC pretty much goes ahead and states he/she technically was a founding time lord, but that memory was erased or buried.


Makes me kind of think of what happened with Wolverine. For a long time his past and origins-apart from of course the whole Weapon X/Alpha Flight stuff-was a big blank spot with a lot of misdirection-including his true name.

But then Origin pretty much spelled it out for the most part and he even eventually remembers anything after House of M (and still does? Not sure).



I think the fan reaction was a little more positive, especially since it didn't really fundamentally change the character that much.

[Somecrazyaussie]

The McCoy era kind of tried to do that by implying the Doctor was actually one of the founding Time Lords, along with Omega and Rassilon. However they never really said it outright (There's also the "Half human" thing from the TV that the Hybrid storyline kind of messed around with a bit). I think the Seventh Doctor novels implied that the Doctor was "sort of"-I think their explanation was that he was a reincarnation (But not a regeneration) of the founding Time Lord-explaining his familiarity with Gallifreyan artifacts and why he stole them when he left- but technically his own man too.


TC pretty much goes ahead and states he/she technically was a founding time lord, but that memory was erased or buried.


Makes me kind of think of what happened with Wolverine. For a long time his past and origins-apart from of course the whole Weapon X/Alpha Flight stuff-was a big blank spot with a lot of misdirection-including his true name.

But then Origin pretty much spelled it out for the most part and he even eventually remembers anything after House of M (and still does? Not sure).



I think the fan reaction was a little more positive, especially since it didn't really fundamentally change the character that much.

And that is the difference. The Doctor's origins should never, ever be cemented in stone. It's why the whole show is called Doctor Who in the first place. You can allude to things here and there, but once you begin giving concrete information it takes the mystery away.

Plus, The Doctor doesn't need a grand destiny. They are just a Time Lord who didn't conform to society on Gallifrey, got bored, pinched a TARDIS and left. It is the role of the companions that helped soften the character and helped convince that people are worth saving. The Twelfth Doctor was all about "being kind" and yet the first, on a few occasions, was willing to bash people's heads in for the sake of his own safety.

The good thing about The Timeless Child reveal is that it can be retconned if a future showrunner chooses.

[Tendrin]

I hate to say it, but all this kafuffle over the timeless child retcon is really turning me off from the fandom. I guess I'm just a casual fan, because I'm not all that bothered by the storyline. I'm not a slave to canon or continuity the way other people are.

Calling other people 'slaves to canon' is ridiculous.

[Tendrin]

And that is the difference. The Doctor's origins should never, ever be cemented in stone. It's why the whole show is called Doctor Who in the first place. You can allude to things here and there, but once you begin giving concrete information it takes the mystery away.

Plus, The Doctor doesn't need a grand destiny. They are just a Time Lord who didn't conform to society on Gallifrey, got bored, pinched a TARDIS and left. It is the role of the companions that helped soften the character and helped convince that people are worth saving. The Twelfth Doctor was all about "being kind" and yet the first, on a few occasions, was willing to bash people's heads in for the sake of his own safety.

The good thing about The Timeless Child reveal is that it can be retconned if a future showrunner chooses.

Agreed. This is what I liked too. The biggest problem of nuWho has been that the Doctor is actually at the center of *too much*, actually. They've managed to take something that should feel enormous and grand and make it very small and incestuous. The timeless child doubles down on the worst parts of it.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

A fun breakdown of "Flux" by one of my favorite Whotubers.

[Somecrazyaussie]

Agreed. This is what I liked too. The biggest problem of nuWho has been that the Doctor is actually at the center of *too much*, actually. They've managed to take something that should feel enormous and grand and make it very small and incestuous. The timeless child doubles down on the worst parts of it.

I agree. Everyone in nuWho now has to have this grand destiny and it okay to a point. However, it takes away from the charm of what makes the show special in my mind. The Doctor shouldn't have been born special, rather they became that way over time.

Can you imagine how something like Caves Of Androzani would turn out if it was written now? There was no grand destiny there. The Doctor just stumbled upon events, lured by his own curiosity, got himself and his companion in big ****, then spent the whole story trying to rectify that. In that case it was wrong place, wrong time.

[Somecrazyaussie]

Big Finish are taking releases 150 - 200 out of print. So, if you haven't got them (Or need to fill gaps) now is the time to get them. Some are gone already.