Released New Years Day. “Yule Log” as part 2 on BBC America streaming app anyway. That was interesting …
There were quite a few individual parts that I liked (Whittaker’s acting has a bit more depth; some mildly clever throw away bits; and some aspects of the ending that I think others who post here will also be happy to see), but the whole thing just did not come together to a satisfying meal.
Still enough to hang hopes for a good next season on to!
I haven’t seen “Yule Log” since I don’t have BBC America streaming so maybe that would answer my questions. I was just kind of meh on “Revolution of the Daleks”. I really do like Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor, and I was glad to see Cap’n Jack again although it felt to me like they had to keep reminding the audience who he was. Sorry to see Graham go, not so much about Ryan. I’m a little confused about the new companion, is it just going to be him and the Doctor or is Yaz going to hang around a bit longer?
I wasn’t aware of the Yule Log thing, and don’t pay for the streaming service either, but I did a Google search. It’s available, apparently for free, on YouTube. But it’s two hours long and I’m not sure I’ll sit through the whole thing. Anyone want to direct my attention to any particular time?
As for the new episode, Revolution of the Daleks, it was OK, but not that great to me. I am wondering about the new companion. I’ve seen the actor in a few other things.
I don’t know why we are supposed to care about predicaments if they are too easily solved. Doctor trapped in maximum security prison? No problem, a friend shows up next to her with his vortex manipulator and a magic glowy portable time hamster ball, which he kept hidden there for 19 years. If every problem can be solved instantly by a new technology out of the blue, no problem matters.
I really would have rather have seen the companions stop the Dalek invasion themselves without Doc or Jack.
I’d have to re-watch the episode to be sure but I thought that Jack Harkness said that it took him nineteen years to get to the point in the prison where the Doctor was being held. In other words, he repeatedly used the device to move from spot to spot until he got to her. That’s hardly instantly solving the problem.
BTW, I saw a Weeping Angel in an adjacent cell. But what was with the red things leading from her eyes? What that a mechanism to render her harmless?
Nah. It is literally two hours of a fire burning with little things happening off and on. I fast forwarded …
Nope. He got himself arrested and spent 19 years as a prisoner the slow way (what is time to him?) working his way to her. And none of that matters–it was instant for "us*. No “great escape”, just some old frenemy (if you recall the Doc finds Jack repulsive) shows up to give her a lift home.
Is that different from what I said? And yes, it was instantaneous for us. Showing otherwise would have slowed down the storyline tremendously.
Yes, it is fundamentally different from what you said. He got arrested, remained a prisoner for 19 years waiting until normal turnover in the prison population eventually placed him near her. Zero jumping around.
I gathered that Cap’n Jack is sticking around on Earth to catch up with Gwen and that it’s now Yaz alone with the Doctor. On the plus side she’s the best of the lot. The fam thing had no chemistry even as Graham on his own was fine. On the downside I still get a Doctor Girlfriend wanna be vibe from her, especially the conversation with pansexual Jack who always had an unrequited romantic thing for the Doctor. (Who yes found Jack’s immortality and fixed pointness disturbing if not wrong.) I have been appreciative of that not being there for a bit.
Oh! Excellent!
Tate has me convinced that someone with comedy experience can be the foil that The Doctor needs.
Yea!
From the article it sounds like him and Yaz for a bit. Hoping for some contrast with her seriousness.
I haven’t been watching Doctor Who as long as some other people but got the impression that the companions were usually unknown actors prior to getting the part. This person, on the other hand, has an established career. Perhaps it’s that with the male Doctors, the companion has often been an attractive young woman (Billie Piper, Karen Gillan, Jenna Coleman, etc.).
Catherine Tate, whose Donna was a great non-romantic Companion, was a well established comic before she was cast. Bradley Walsh(Graham) I understand was well established too.
I first saw Bradley in the UK version of Law and Order (alongside another Doctor Who alum, Freema Agyeman, aka Martha Jones), then he started hosting game shows like The Chase, and then he was in a weird little show called Sun Trap. So yes, he was well established.
Revolution of the Daleks will not be on the rewatch list, although I can’t think of any with Jodie Whittaker that I would rewatch. I think Jodie is doing just fine but Chris Chibnall is letting her down with the stories and scripts.
As for Revolution, too much Fam time and not enough on the Doctor. I don’t care enough about the Fam to listen to Ryan complain for 10-minutes to the Doctor about, well, something. I got bored and hit skip…
The only scenes I enjoyed involved Captain Jack and the Doctor renewing their relationship and Chris Noth chewing scenery. Hope we get more of all three.
The Daleks being used, abused and tricked into a disabled TARDIS was great. I wonder whose TARDIS it was. There are a couple on earth now, right?
A couple other questions:
Has humanity just forgotten about the Daleks? Haven’t there been plenty of encounters between contemporary humans and Daleks? Or does the Doctor have one of those flashy things like the Men in Black so that earth just forgot about the events of “Stolen Earth”?
And Yaz [whiny voice] we had to wait ten months [/whiny voice]. Seriously, ten-months? The Doctor was at least two decades in prison as Jack spent at least 19 years trying to break her out. And let’s not forget the epic waits of Madame de Pompadour, Amy Pond, The Last Centurion, and even Sarah Jane Smith.
I’d rewatch the Rosa Parks episode…
I’ve enjoyed all the episodes with the historical figures the most. The rest, especially those dicking about with the lore, have been less interesting.
I mostly enjoyed Revolution of the Daleks, though it could have been about 40% shorter and not lost much. Too much mucking about at the beginning, but once the plot actually got moving it was a fun ride.
IMO Whitaker took a while to find her footing as the Doctor. She’s always shown more vulnerability than previous Doctors, and it seemed jarring at first. But now she’s found the right balance of cocky and quirky that the role calls for, and the vulnerability adds dimension rather than distracting from the character.
The cadre of companions has needed thinning for a while now, so I’m not mad about that. I’ll miss Graham more than Ryan (and I see I’m not alone), but if I had to pick one of the three to keep, it’d be Yaz. I would have liked to see her as a lone companion for a while at least before throwing a new guy in there, but we’ll see how it goes, I guess.
I took the red things as being a sort of handcuff, maybe to keep her from uncovering her face? It looked like they were around her wrists.