Tag: Chris Chibnall

The new Doctor Who specials are still missing the mark with fans like me

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Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks Preview | Den of Geek

After a dismal 2020, the 2021 new year kicked off with the now “New Year” tradition of Doctor Who, instead of the Christmas Day special we all love AND MISS (hint, hint, Chibnall!) and it was not a home run. I really think they are trying too hard after their early experiments with new ideas “hit and miss” during the first two seasons. They bring back Captain Jack Harkness, the Master, and the Cybermen after the first season with new Doctor Jodie Whitaker proved underwhelming after many “social justice” themed episodes. They even decided to rewrite the history of the Doctor with this whole “Timeless Child” shenanigans, the reveal of another Doctor, but even that was left at the wayside for this special.

I don’t want to jump around too much. I’ve voiced my displeasure at the writing under Chris Chibnall since he took over. He views Doctor Who as a platform for change, not entertainment. The Doctor has always been a character who makes statements about society and humanity as a whole, but it was done better under Moffat, even the original writers and caretakers of the mythos, but not Chibnall. His “in your face” way of storytelling does not have the subtleties that the Doctor requires. Such was the case in “Revolution of the Daleks” on New Year’s Day.

This was, without a doubt, a slam on 2020 and those in power. Chris Noth’s portrayal of Jack Robertson, who closely resembles the media’s ideal of President Donald Trump, was more of a villain than the actual Daleks. The same with the new Secretary/up-and-coming Prime Minister who is a stark reflection of former PM Theresa May. These two come together, after stealing the destroyed pseudo-Dalek from last year’s special, to make Dalek drones for combating rioting and social unrest, like say, people protesting lockdown during a pandemic. Like I said, without the science fiction, this special was 2020 in a nutshell.

Now, beyond that, the rest of the special had plenty of good things we love about Doctor Who. Imprisoned, the Doctor shared cells with a Weeping Angel, the Silence, and other creatures from past episodes. It was interesting to see her day-to-day life, and then Jack shows up. He does what he does best… Breaks her out of jail. Then the fun begins.

Doctor Who Revolution of the Daleks Captain Jack Daleks

I was hoping for more sexual banter and tension between Jack and the Doctor, seeing that she’s a woman now, but they never went there. It was more dismissive than provocative, as in Jack’s encounters with 9 and 10. There was more chemistry between Jack and the companions than with the Doctor herself. So, for all the hype, there was not a lot to Jack being in this episode save for the little tidbit at the end when he mentioned the old Torchwood gang.

I’m not going to go into a lot of detail about the episode itself, as it plays out as planned… Daleks built as security drones, Daleks reborn and take over the drones, Daleks begin rampaging across Great Britain. It gets fun when the Doctor brings in a Dalek death squad to deal with the “mutated” Daleks, as they are not pure, and then things come full circle and end. However, there are so many wholes in the plot I doubt a ton of Earth would fill it. I mean, why do the people of Great Britain keep forgetting about the Daleks. They have invaded time and time again, and when the Prime Minister unveils them as “security drones” you would think someone would say, “Hey, that’s an alien! It tried to kill us before!” I know Wilfred would!

I also have a couple of issues with the characters. I have complained about Jodie Whitaker’s portrayal of the Doctor. She still seems timid and not confident in her actions. Even when it comes to her “fam” — as she calls them — she seems unsure. I don’t know if it has something to do with this new regeneration or just a quirk in her portrayal, but it does bother me. Sorry, but I like a little swagger in my Doctor. Then, there’s the companions. Ryan was out of sync this episode, as he left at the end with Graham and leaving Yaz with the Doctor and introducing John Bishop as the new companion next season. Changing companions is nothing new, but this one seemed botched.

As I said, the special had its good and bad moments. The Dalek Death Squad vs. Dalek Drones on London Bridge was great. The Doctor sending said Daleks to the Void, also great. Robertson’s getting away with it in the end, no so great. And again, they seem to set aside the while Timeless Child/Master destroying Gallifrey plot from the end of last season. So, overall, this Doctor Who special was not one of my favorites. I will wait and see how the new season pans out.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon fantasy book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides: Book 2 of the Forever Avalon Series is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook from iUniverse Publishing and at Amazon, and other booksellers. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook from Austin Macauley Publishing, and at Amazon and other booksellers.

WTF did I just watch? Has Doctor Who gone off the deep end or am I exaggerating?

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Image result for doctor who season finale

Okay, it’s taken me a week to digest the season finale of Doctor Who and I’m still banging my head against the wall as I try to understand the twisted mind of Chris Chibnall. This has been one of the weirdest seasons in the 56 year history of Doctor Who. I don’t know where to begin. By the way, SPOILERS AHEAD, so you’ve been warned.

Let’s go back to the beginning… It’s a very good place to start… (God, now that song is stuck in my head!)

Anyway, from what we’ve been told, the Timelords were a race of the most technologically advanced beings in the universe. They discovered the secret to time travel, dimensional engineering, etc., etc. They even found a way to live for thousands of years through regeneration. This has been time tested for the entire run of Doctor Who… until now.

Image result for doctor who season finale cyber masters

Now, as we are told by The Master (which, by the way, as played by Sacha Dhawan, has been the highlight of this season) it seems we were lied to. A scientist from Gallifrey discovered the “Timeless Child” from another dimension. This child could regenerate, so the scientist tried to transfer this ability and tried it on herself. This gave birth to the Timelords, but to keep it a secret, they limited it to 13 regenerations and enforced the secret through an organization called “The Division”. Oh, by the way, the so-called Timeless Child is, in fact, the Doctor. She has been alive and regenerating for countless millennia, and she was part of this secret organization.

Now, as creative as this is, it wipes away everything we know about the Doctor. I mean, it might explain how the first Doctor had a granddaughter and why he left Gallifrey, why the 11th Doctor had to be given another set of regenerations, the existence of the Valeyard, the “other”Doctor that was stranded on Earth, and more. But, it just doesn’t feel right. It changes everything we knew about the Timelords, not to mention this episode wiped them out of existence after the Master turned them into the Cyber Masters (Cybermen capable of regenerating) so it’s pretty twisted.

I want you to think about this… Where do we go from here? I mean, the show ended with the Doctor ending up captured by the Judoon (think back to the episode “Fugitive of the Judoon”) and locked away for some odd reason. Plus, the other Doctor (also brilliantly played by Jo Martin) made an appearance and we still don’t know where she came from. This kind of intrigue is why I love Doctor Who.

Look, I am not the biggest fan of Jodie Whittaker’s take on the Doctor. She has her moments, both good and bad. I love her little rants where she talks to herself, but she doesn’t have the presence of the Doctor. Whenever the Doctor walks into the room, you know automatically they’re the smartest person there, but not with Jodie. She tries to pull it off but she just can’t do it. Even Jo Martin showed more confidence in being the Doctor, and she was only in two episodes. I hope in the next season Jodie can develop the “swagger” that comes with being the Doctor.

Chibnall has changed everything we know about Doctor Who in one season finale, so what do we do now? We can’t go back, but I think it needs to be developed more and not just shuffled on screen. The Doctor needs to go deep into those memories she’s recovered and show us the meaning behind the “Timeless Child” and why she is who she is and what it means for the future.

I truly believe next season may be the last for Chibnall and Whittaker, so I hope they can tie things up with a bow and give it to us on a silver platter. It’s too important to the fans and the legacy that is Doctor Who.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse Publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is available from Austin Macauley Publishing.

The 13th Doctor SHOULD BE …

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“I’ve got pictures of all your faces. You never show up in the right order though. I need the Spotter’s Guide.” — River Song, The Time of Angels

Besides the legion of fans worldwide, regeneration is what has kept the award winning TV series Doctor Who going  for more than 50 years. We have all witnessed our favorite Timelord change from one face to the next. It’s through these changes that the Doctor has aged more than 2,000 years in the span of the BBC series; but that time has come again. Time for another actor to take up the mantle and breathe new life into Doctor Who.

This time is especially significant because series front runner, Stephen Moffat, is leaving the show in the very capable hands of Chris Chibnall. As Peter Capaldi finishes his run as the 12th Doctor (okay, I know he’s actually the 13th but we don’t count the War Doctor in that line), the task of all Whovians around world is to nominate and root for the next Doctor.

Male or Female? Black, White, Asian or Hispanic? Tall or Short? Fat or Thin? Young or Old? The Doctor could regenerate into anyone, so here are my top choices for the next Doctor!

The majority of people across the internet wants the Doctor to be a woman. Since the Master has become Missy, why not the Doctor. I have two favorites if the Doctor is to regenerate that way … Dame Helen Mirren or Haley Atwell. These two are fan favorites, to the point that there’s already fan art portraying them that way. These women are accomplished actors with the intelligence, sex appeal and swagger to step into these shoes. They would bring a level of sophistication not seen since William Hartnell, Peter Troughton, and Jon Pertwee.

I mean, can you imagine the banter and innuendos between Helen Mirren and John Barrowman in the TARDIS? That alone is worth the price of admission. It would bring a level of charm and sex appeal that the Doctor hasn’t seen since 10 & 11. In any case, those detractors who think the Doctor shouldn’t be a woman really misunderstand the role. That’s the beauty of regeneration. The Doctor can be anyone he/she wants to be. I think if the Doctor regenerates into a woman, it wouldn’t be any different from other regenerations. It would bring a different perspective in how the Doctor interacts with others on his/her adventures.

Another big twist for the 13th Doctor is as a black man. Again, it’s more about the person rather than what sex or skin color they have. If I had to chose someone, I would pick Idris Elba or Chiwetel Ejiofor. Both are brilliant actors who have action movie credentials as well as that same level of charm and sophistication associated with the Doctor. However, I don’t think they would take the part being that they both have big franchise movie roles (Thor, The Dark Tower and Doctor Strange respectfully) so their schedule is pretty full to add a full-time TV production.

Lastly, there are the big name Hollywood stars, some of which are actually campaigning for the part. Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), Rupert Grint (Harry Potter franchise) and Alexander Vlahos (Versailles) have all expressed interest in the role, more so when asked about it. I think they would all be excellent choices for the role, taking us back to the days of David Tenant and Matt Smith with their smoldering good looks, wit and charm. Bonus points for Rupert Grint, as the Doctor always wanted to be a “ginger” for some reason.

In any case, they will be making the announcement soon as we get closer and closer to the end of Season 10 and the upcoming Christmas episode, where the regeneration will take place. A great addition to that episode already is that David Bradley will reprise his role as the 1st Doctor (William Hartnell) in this episode. Adding in the 13th Doctor will be a bonus that all of us Whovians are desperately waiting for.

It doesn’t matter who plays the Doctor, as long as the role continues on to inspire the next generation. Just remember these words when he/she appears:

“When you love the Doctor, it’s like loving the stars themselves. You don’t expect a sunset to admire you back. And if I happen to find myself in danger, let me tell you, the Doctor is not stupid enough, or sentimental enough, and he is certainly not in love enough to find himself standing in it with me!” — River Song, The Husbands of River Song

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse. The Outlander War can be previewed at Inkitt.