Watched The Space Museum the other night and it slaps so hard. Love the dynamic between Hartnell’s Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki. Love seeing the show go all in on anti-colonialism. Some of the world building stuff didn’t make sense (Xerons had a bit of “we’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas” energy) but I just had a great time watching it.
Just finished The Mutants aka The Daleks (Hartnell) last night. I’d call it epic. Foundational. Enjoyed every minute.
It was Warring States, a Faction Paradox novel. Two women on opposite sides of the Chinese Boxer Rebellion investigating a mystery that gradually brings them together. I won’t give away the ending. It’s a good book. Tied with Of The City Of The Saved for my favourite Faction Paradox books.
Faction Paradox is Doctor Who with the serial numbers filed off so some of the novel writers could take Who in a darker direction the BBC didn’t want to go at the time. It fits in nicely with the rebooted series, though.
Never read any of those but they sound cool as hell.
I kinda dropped off during Smith’s era and I’m now catching up. Up to the last episode of series 12 and I’m actually enjoying Jodie’s doctor much more than the ratings/reviews. And strangely I didn’t enjoy Capaldi’s run as much as I’ve seen people love him. I kinda got tired of how angry he was throughout his run, so I was glad to see the joy back with Jodie.
Jodie had the acting chops, but some of the scripts she had to work with were diabolical. I don’t think the writers room method works for Who.
Just finished reading Human Nature on Tuesday. It was interesting to see where the episodes deviated from the book. The main plot points are the same but there are some interesting differences. Overall I enjoyed it.
The newest season of Who with Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor. As with any new Doctor it takes a bit before they get it right and as with any season it has ups and downs. But overall? I really enjoyed it and look forward to his return.
In your opinion, are the stories in the new season anywhere near the quality level of the 10th and 11th Doctors? I started noticing I was enjoying them less part way into Smith’s run, and it felt like it was an overall downward trend until I stopped watching after Series 9. I thought both Smith and Capaldi did really well with their portrayal, but overall I didn’t think the stories and writing had the same spark that the earlier ones had. It might just be the fact that they were more serialized though.
It’s been a while since I watched Smith/Capaldi era. I do remember getting bored by the later Pond storyline, but I remember liking Clara, although I don’t remember if that took until Capaldi.
I definitely remember liking Capaldi in general while watching, but I recall fewer episodes. So they probably didn’t stick and were weaker stories.
I did skip most of Whitaker for similar story related reasons.
Ncuti is fresh in my mind however. And the “Wild Blue Yonder” special, which is fantastic Tennant Doctor, puts me right in the mind set you’re looking for.
Ultimately I think we’re heading towards that level of quality. I think the debut episode (The Church on Ruby Road) is a solid start. I think the first regular episode (Space Babies) is an odd one. But the one after that (The Devil’s Chord) is great.
I think it’s worth it, but if you’re not sure then give it 3 episodes (or skip Space Babies and watch it later if you enjoy the others).
I appreciate the information! I may have to give at least some of the episodes a try. I’ll admit I’m not super thrilled about the interviews I’ve seen where RTD mentions leaning even harder into fantasy than before, but we’ll see!
