Would You Be My New Best Friends? (Doctor Who redux)

[Darth Ultron]

You have yet to provide any reason why a "Lady Doctor" could be a bad thing.

Reason: The might make bad episodes, maybe a whole season.

IF, they pull out the silly rule book and use it to make the show, they can easily ruin the whole show by following the rules.

A pattern of female characters being jarringly insulated from Bad Things in the show's history would be appropriate, for example. (Of which the opposite has fairly conclusively been demonstrated.)

Ok, your jumping ahead way too much. I'm not saying bad stuff does not happen to any female character ever in the history of Dr. Who.

I'm talking about the single main title character. And the difference between a male and female character.

And the fact, that when you have a female main character, there are people that will demand something be done or not done. Male character=anything goes. Female character=wait, here is a list of things you can't do.

Maybe examples from the episode we actually have

More episodes are needed......like we need the school girl one. And the Doctor Guy Joke...oh, it will be so funny: The Lady Doc and friends will like walk into UNIT command to save the day and General Jones will turn to old white guy and be like "Ah, Doctor, see you have regenerated again, well here is the problem...". Then police woman with roar "Silly Rabbit, he's not the Doctor, SHE is The Doctor!" Tons of laughs.....

[Fyraltari]

Reason: The might make bad episodes, maybe a whole season.

That's always true, nothing to do withthe actor's gender.

IF, they pull out the silly rule book and use it to make the show, they can easily ruin the whole show by following the rules.

What rulebook?

Ok, your jumping ahead way too much. I'm not saying bad stuff does not happen to any female character ever in the history of Dr. Who.

I'm talking about the single main title character. And the difference between a male and female character.

We have presented you with evidence that the show does not treat its female characters differently from its male characters. Why would it be different with a main character?
Especially since this is ignoring that both Davis and Moffat have stated they considered the companions to be the main characters rather than the Doctor.

And the fact, that when you have a female main character, there are people that will demand something be done or not done. Male character=anything goes. Female character=wait, here is a list of things you can't do.

Ah, so we're back to the conspiracy theory.

More episodes are needed......like we need the school girl one. And the Doctor Guy Joke...oh, it will be so funny: The Lady Doc and friends will like walk into UNIT command to save the day and General Jones will turn to old white guy and be like "Ah, Doctor, see you have regenerated again, well here is the problem...". Then police woman with roar "Silly Rabbit, he's not the Doctor, SHE is The Doctor!" Tons of laughs.....

You mean like they were flabbergasted by the Master being a woman? Oh wait they weren't.
Also, Chibnall said there won't be any returning cast this season, so no U.N.I.T., (I guess the mandatory Dalek cameo does not count).

[Rodin]

What rulebook?

The secret feminazi rulebook that's passed around to all those wishing to overthrow the glorious male hegemony, obviously.

I got mine in the mail last week, I'd inquire with your post office if it hasn't shown up yet.

[Fyraltari]

The secret feminazi rulebook that's passed around to all those wishing to overthrow the glorious male hegemony, obviously.

I got mine in the mail last week, I'd inquire with your post office if it hasn't shown up yet.

Man, people never send me those.

[Androgeus]

The secret feminazi rulebook that's passed around to all those wishing to overthrow the glorious male hegemony, obviously.

I got mine in the mail last week, I'd inquire with your post office if it hasn't shown up yet.

Shhh the first rule of secret feminazi club is you do not talk about secret feminazi club.

[Darth Ultron]

What rulebook?

Well, this is a ''country" thing too. America, and to a lesser extent the UK, has a huge list of rules(often laws too) of what is right and wrong.

A good example:

A male character takes off their shirt, showing their bare chest underneath, to go swimming in a lake. There is nothing wrong with that at all, even for a Kids or Family show. Perfectly normal.

A woman character does the same thing....and Nope, both the rules (and laws) say you can't do so, even more so for a Kids or Family show. It would be wrong, wrong, wrong.

The same way you can write a line like:

"the evil alien warlord strikes the Doctor in the face with the back of his hand and says "Shut up!"

For any male actor, that is a perfectly fine scene, even in a kid/family show. For a female actress.....Nope.

We have presented you with evidence that the show does not treat its female characters differently from its male characters. Why would it be different with a main character?

Main=important. It is why they are the main character. As the main character they (should) get lots more screen time. Right, unless your one of the weird folks that thinks the show is called ''People Who".

You mean like they were flabbergasted by the Master being a woman? Oh wait they weren't.
Also, Chibnall said there won't be any returning cast this season, so no U.N.I.T., (I guess the mandatory Dalek cameo does not count).

Again, not main character and also evil.

Do you count UNIT as a ''person"? What is next, no ''London" this season?

[Fyraltari]

Well, this is a ''country" thing too. America, and to a lesser extent the UK, has a huge list of rules(often laws too) of what is right and wrong.

A good example:

A male character takes off their shirt, showing their bare chest underneath, to go swimming in a lake. There is nothing wrong with that at all, even for a Kids or Family show. Perfectly normal.

A woman character does the same thing....and Nope, both the rules (and laws) say you can't do so, even more so for a Kids or Family show. It would be wrong, wrong, wrong.

The same way you can write a line like:

"the evil alien warlord strikes the Doctor in the face with the back of his hand and says "Shut up!"

For any male actor, that is a perfectly fine scene, even in a kid/family show. For a female actress.....Nope.

Oh my god, do you think we could stand an entire serie without having the doctor half-naked or slapped in the face even once!? The horror!

Main=important. It is why they are the main character.

Sure, there are only one important character by story ever.

As the main character they (should) get lots more screen time.

what's this got to do with anything?

Right, unless your one of the weird folks that thinks the show is called ''People Who".

I have no idea what you are even talking about.

Again, not main character and also evil.

So you think they would have reacted different to a sex change by a good main character? Why?

Do you count UNIT as a ''person"? What is next, no ''London" this season?

I count Kate and osgood as persons. At this point it would be weird to have U.N.I.T. without either or both.

[Serenity]

Well, this is a ''country" thing too. America, and to a lesser extent the UK, has a huge list of rules(often laws too) of what is right and wrong.

A good example:

A male character takes off their shirt, showing their bare chest underneath, to go swimming in a lake. There is nothing wrong with that at all, even for a Kids or Family show. Perfectly normal.

A woman character does the same thing....and Nope, both the rules (and laws) say you can't do so, even more so for a Kids or Family show. It would be wrong, wrong, wrong.

Interestingly enough, most of the actual feminists I know would be all in favor of treating bare female chests with the same casualness of bare male chests, given that the taboo is rooted in the sexualization and objectification of the female body.

[Delicious Taffy]

Jesus, are you guys still entertaining this "feminist conspiracy" nonsense? It's nothing but baseless concern trolling, and you're taking the bait like a bunch of chump twelve-year-olds who just discovered the internet. Just ignore the troll and move on.

[Lord Vukodlak]

Me: Maybe over all sure? But that still won't change what I said. If they decide it is wrong to do ''x" just because of a Lady Doctor, it will make a for a bad show.

Well given S11 was written by people who didn’t know there would be a female doctor. That can’t possibly be a problem until season 12. So stop inventing a problem that cant exist for a year.

Interestingly enough, most of the actual feminists I know would be all in favor of treating bare female chests with the same casualness of bare male chests, given that the taboo is rooted in the sexualization and objectification of the female body.

I’d also like it it was Socially acceptable for a men to wear skirts. I enjoy walking around the house in my under pants. So imagine a skirt would actually be very comfortable.

[Darth Ultron]

Interestingly enough, most of the actual feminists I know would be all in favor of treating bare female chests with the same casualness of bare male chests, given that the taboo is rooted in the sexualization and objectification of the female body.

Except we are not talking about Them (or at least I'm not). I'm talking about the Media Guardians that keep us safe from things like TV shows (and people like lawyers too).

[Fyraltari]

I’d also like it it was Socially acceptable for a men to wear skirts. I enjoy walking around the house in my under pants. So imagine a skirt would actually be very comfortable.

Hear, hear.

[LeSwordfish]

If anyone was waiting for "Them with a capital T", you can mark that on your Conspiracist Bingo card now.

As for the actual episode! Again I liked it. Bad science aside (something you need to say about every episode of Doctor Who, LBR) I thought the basic conceit worked out, and the scenes at the end gave us a chance to see the Doctor playing emotional as well as quirky, which was nice. I think again it wasn't a stellar, top-tier episode, but better than most of the Moffat years.

Next episode is... hrm. Hm. That could go badly.

[Thufir]

Spoiler

Show

As for the new TARDIS interior--I hated it. It looked gloomy, and I still don't understand why the TARDIS can completely re-build its interior but still has to use controls on the console that look like they came from a skip sometime around 1953.

Spoiler

Show

The TARDIS has a fairly idiosyncratic personality, to say nothing of the Doctor herself. Probably they just prefer the controls that way.

[Rodin]

I count Kate and osgood as persons. At this point it would be weird to have U.N.I.T. without either or both.

My immediate thought here was "isn't Osgood dead?", but apparently I missed somewhere along the way that there have been no less than THREE Osgoods running around and Missy only murdered the one. Rather removes the tension from that scene in retrospect.

Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if UNIT did show up in some way that didn't involve the handful of people we actually know from it. It's a big enough organization after all.

[Anymage]

I count Kate and osgood as persons. At this point it would be weird to have U.N.I.T. without either or both.

Giving the whole female doctor thing a wide berth. But characters who were big things in the Moffat era will probably get as much airtime now as Davies era characters got in the Moffat era. Even less, probably, since at least River got to cross eras.

And while I wouldn't mind the occasional nod to continuity - I still want to see The Doctor offhandedly mention a trip to New York for tea, just to acknowledge the Ponds even if none of the relevant actors ever have Who roles again - I'm okay with them being nothing more than nods. Otherwise, you quickly start to suffocate the show under the weight of canon.

[Psyren]

Jesus, are you guys still entertaining this "feminist conspiracy" nonsense? It's nothing but baseless concern trolling, and you're taking the bait like a bunch of chump twelve-year-olds who just discovered the internet. Just ignore the troll and move on.

Yeah, that. I'm done with him.

Giving the whole female doctor thing a wide berth. But characters who were big things in the Moffat era will probably get as much airtime now as Davies era characters got in the Moffat era. Even less, probably, since at least River got to cross eras.

River might have got her start under Davies, but it was a Moffat episode, so it should be little surprise that he was fine with it continuing.

And while I wouldn't mind the occasional nod to continuity - I still want to see The Doctor offhandedly mention a trip to New York for tea, just to acknowledge the Ponds even if none of the relevant actors ever have Who roles again - I'm okay with them being nothing more than nods. Otherwise, you quickly start to suffocate the show under the weight of canon.

Didn't Eleven say to her that if she let the Angel get her, he'd "never be able to see them again?" I'm not sure visits were possible.

[Thufir]

But characters who were big things in the Moffat era will probably get as much airtime now as Davies era characters got in the Moffat era.

Honestly, that's not so much a showrunner thing as it is a general Doctor Who thing. Characters tend to only be around for a specific period of time. Most characters get one episode, companions get varying lengths of time on the TARDIS, but once a non-villainous character has left the show they pretty much never come back. The biggest exception to that general rule, however, was the Brigadier, so it would be entirely in keeping if we were to see Kate Stewart recur, even if no-one else did.

Though on the subject of characters recurring, one of the things I'd really like to see would be another returning Classic companion at some point. Specifically I think it'd be nice to see one of the Classic female companions react to the now female Doctor - given that Elisabeth Sladen is dead, my top choices would probably be either Jo or Ace.

[factotum]

I’d also like it it was Socially acceptable for a men to wear skirts.

It is, only they call them "kilts". (Hides from any Scots who might happen to be reading ).

[Thufir]

It is, only they call them "kilts". (Hides from any Scots who might happen to be reading ).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCu9yHp-odE

[Darth Ultron]

My very opinionated and spoiler filled review of episode 2:

Spoiler: The Ghost Monument

Show

Technically, just the second part of a two part story.

*Guy Jerk(red flag)-So we have evil jerk guy, of a level not often seen in Who....to be suspiciously opposite the Good Doctor.

*A Space ''Race"-sigh, how dumb

*Girl Stuff(red flag)-Well, of course, the Lady Doc ''suddenly" has the Timeless Child! What a mystery! Maybe it's the Lady Doctor's child!

*So Angstrom and Epzo and the Gamemaster are all aliens that look exactly like humans? Just a bit of lazy effects there to not make them look at least a little different...

*Rated G Mush--Well the anti gun Doctor is back. It's one thing for the (normal) Doctor to not like guns and choose not to use a gun, but it just goes crazy when the Doctor gets all anti-gun.

*Over the top Anti Gun bit-Sigh, the writer, in order to ''prove'' to us their singular world view is right does a whole anti-gun bit. The ''dumb human" grabs a gun, and the Doctor gives the anti gun speech. The ''dumb human" ignores the speech and goes and shoots the evil robots. Go humanity! Of course, then the sneaky writer, makes the show reality be ''yuck, yuck, yuck..the unharmed robots are undamaged and get right back up!" to Prove to everyone guns are useless. Then the Doctor pulls some silliness and 'knocks out' the robots.

Sigh. Guess the point was to show...of course...a ''wacky useless weak human goofball'' fail and then have the Doctor ''save the day". Sure, and obvious enough story bit....but the trick is that is takes a good writer to pull it off. And this story fails.

The idea is to show ''another way to solve problems" other then guns....because guns are ''bad''. But the writer and the episode does not show that: it cheats. The Doctor pulls some silliness, but it's beyond silly. See if you show ''silly magic'' as a way to solve a problem...it is useless as a teaching moment. It does no goo to say to someone "if you have a gun problem, just use silly magic and save the day"....that simply is not how the real world works. And this is where the good writer comes in....you could make a story bit where the Doctor does something reasonable.



*Useless Humans?- Well the poor humans don't get to do much in this episode...it really shows the problem of a large cast.

*Things That Don't Make Sense-

-So they 'beam' into space but miss the planet, because the planet ''moved out of it's orbit"? And it ''moved" a large distance, like one second after the Doctor turned on the beam machine?

*And, um, well, the TARDIS is not even on the planet....so why did the Doctor even detect it was there?

*Guess it was....luck?....that two spaceships where like twenty feet away from them floating in space...

*Guess it was also luck that both ships had human compatible auto docs...

*Oh, and three times more lucky that each auto doc had a universal translator

*Happy Humans-All three of them are just happy to be Lost in Space and all...with no bad reactions at all.

*So with a huge planet, Angstrom crashes his ship right on top of the others on the planet?!

*Sigh, sure, the ''ghost thing" is the TARDIS and it has been her for thousands of years?

*So....if the planet was 'knocked out of orbit'', from multiple suns...how where the suns still in the sky and providing day and night?

*Again, if the planet was 'knocked out of orbit'' then it would not be in the perfect zone to keep the planet warm...

*And more so...multiple suns would make for a much warmer planet, right?

*Of course, everyone looks nice and cool...after being in the desert under many suns for a amount of time..

*So is the Doctor just making a bad joke the glasses come from " Audrey Hepburn or Pythagoras"? Obviously Pythagoras did not wear 20th century glasses. Though maybe Audrey did...but still not's not like the Doctor had time to go travel and meet her. Unless she meant the 13th Doctor did it...and had the glasses in his pocket?

*So sure maybe Venusian Aikido is not like Earth Aikido...but ''aikido'' has no 'aggressive attack moves like ''paralysis of someone" ', so why not say 'Martial Art'

*So where the Target Bots left over from Planet That Was, and they have just been working ever sense? Or did the Gamemaster put them there? Or fix them?

*So the damaged bots power source could send out a 'pulse' for like several hundred feet?

*So the Rags of Doom sure don't seem to be all that efficient killing machines....maybe they were a beta test?

*So the Rags of Doom mention the Timeless Child...and the Doctor is all like ''what do you know about it?" Um..well, Doctor..they know what you know as they were reading your mind. Why does the Doctor not know this?

*And how is the Timeless Child the 'First' secret the Rags of doom ''randomly" pick as a taunt?

*So they...shuffle their feet for a couple minutes and dig like several inch deep person sized holes for each person?

*And..well..fire, gas and air is not normally so 'perfect' that it makes a 'safe zone' right close to the ground...so why does that happen again?

*The gamesmaster sure gives in easy...

*So one on the 'friend companions' says ''it's bigger on the inside?" ....really, why not?


New TARDIS- Eh, I don't like it. Way too organic. And big crystals? Nah. And they got rid of the St John’s Ambulance logo...again.

*Final Score-D, it's just a boring story and full of too many holes.

[Anymage]

Didn't Eleven say to her that if she let the Angel get her, he'd "never be able to see them again?" I'm not sure visits were possible.

She had her phone, plus regular telephones weren't exactly rare in 1930s New York. And we did see the tardis phone reached from random points across history.

I guess I just like to see throwaway nods that people still have their own lives, even after they've retired from being companions.

Honestly, that's not so much a showrunner thing as it is a general Doctor Who thing. Characters tend to only be around for a specific period of time. Most characters get one episode, companions get varying lengths of time on the TARDIS, but once a non-villainous character has left the show they pretty much never come back. The biggest exception to that general rule, however, was the Brigadier, so it would be entirely in keeping if we were to see Kate Stewart recur, even if no-one else did.

I've only seen bits and pieces of classic. Davies had past companions and quasi-companions (like Jack) show up, while Moffat liked to make nods towards bits of the series past.

I have a feeling that this season will be the current cast and writers finding what works for them, so it'll be a while before we get a sense what Chibnall's tastes for the property look like. I'm not against seeing returning faces, but neither am I particularly expecting them.

[LeSwordfish]

It would be nice to get continuity nods, but Doctor Who's habit of forgetting everything more than a couple of years ago is what's saved it from becoming the mass of history and alt-timelines and continuity and nostalgia and returning ideas that's happened to, say, Marvel/DC comics, or pre-reboot Star Trek, or Extended Universe Star Wars. It must make it much easier as an entry point for new viewers too.

Another thought: We've still not seen much at all out of Yasmin, have we? I feel like I need to rewatch the episodes just to see if she's even got a double-digit number of lines yet. Hopefully she'll get to take the lead or Lead Companion role in an episode in future, because so far she seems to have mostly followed along behind.

[Darth Ultron]

It would be nice to get continuity nods,

For the most part, Doctor Who walks this line well. Some writers know nothing, but some drop continuity. Though most Who continuity is done with a light touch. The Doctor won't be screaming out the whole plot of another episode, you might get little more then a name.

Another thought: We've still not seen much at all out of Yasmin, have we? I feel like I need to rewatch the episodes just to see if she's even got a double-digit number of lines yet. Hopefully she'll get to take the lead or Lead Companion role in an episode in future, because so far she seems to have mostly followed along behind.

It is the classic problem of a big cast in the Doctor Who format. A typical show has the Doctor, one or two guest stars as allies, one villain, and then The Companion(s). And most of the show goes to the first three. So that leaves little for a Companion to do, and it's way worse when you have three. Of course a good writer can work with this, and this is the trick of no allies or a villain.

[Calemyr]

Spoiler: My take on Ghost Monument

Show

* The sunglasses really bother me. She made such a big deal about how her suit (the 12th Doctor's suit) had nothing in its pockets, then made a show of how her new costume had empty pockets, and then pulled some historical artifact sunglasses from those pockets with only an ADRed "Oh, I forgot I put stuff in those pockets!" to explain it. She hadn't hit the TARDIS yet, so no artifacts for her yet. Did she just pawn off a pair of glasses from the fashion store she'd got her outfit from as an artifact? One thing I've never questioned is the veracity of the Doctor's "artifacts" before. But then... "Rule 1: The Doctor lies".
** Actually, I rewatched the scene yet again and realized I had it wrong. She said they were "like" an old pair of hers, meaning that they were store-bought but picked specifically for sentimental reasons. So I'm back to only believing the Doctor when they talk about their artifacts. Yay.

* Ryan and Graham have a moment, and it doesn't go all that well. That's good, pacing-wise. They are on speaking terms (especially when there's something external to focus on), but Ryan is still not ready to discuss it. It feels right, to me at least, and it's not good to get that stuff fixed in the second episode. They've got to 8 more episodes to grow. (It is 10 this season rather than 12, right?)

* The Call of Duty moment amused and annoyed me. Ryan, for a guy with a coordination disorder, not only plays CoD, not only is good enough at it to be confident in his skills, but also was able to marshal that into a surprisingly effective blitz on the robots. It didn't work (because this is Doctor Who - bullets rarely solve anything), but it demonstrates a martial talent that could come in handy in the future.

* The agency of the group was pretty evenly spread. Everyone had a moment to contribute, be it Yaz's situational awareness (she spotted the other room and the security feeds before anyone else), Ryan and Graham's mechanical skills diagnosing the boat's problems, the female racer's quick thinking to use a knife to free her rival, or the male racer's apparent reputation being intimidating enough to scare the showrunner. The Doctor, as always, runs the show but she didn't dominate it the way some Doctors tended to.

* And now we have evidence that the Stenza are going to be the boogieman for the new season. I would be pretty impressed if they prove the finale foe, as only the Daleks, Cybermen, and Master have really had that privilege (in various combinations). It's actually a pretty clever move, I think: the first episode enemy has to be weak in order to allot time for introducing the heroes, but that doesn't mean they can't build them up retroactively in the future. Now it'll be interesting to see if Tim Shaw returns later on, partially melted as he was.

* The racers, I have to admit, were kinda interesting. And if anyone feels like complaining that the male racer got all the negative traits, I would invite you to envision the genders reversed. It'd then be just as easy to complain that the female becomes the ultra-competent survivalist who doesn't need anybody and is intimidating enough to scare a very influential man (who happened to be a very long ways away) into submission. If you can't win either way, I'd say they did something reasonably right.

* As for the male racers agreeing to the tie... as the female racer points out, he didn't have a chance in a foot race. He had lost the race at that point, despite his role in their mutual survival. Agreeing to a tie allowed them both to respect each other's help and the prize was large enough to split.

* The new TARDIS set looks like it might be very cool, assuming the bronze look wasn't just a result of low-power lighting. Also, I thought it was a fun inversion of the long running "You've changed X... I don't like it" gag that's been going on since I think the Three Doctors special. Like most inversions, though, it has to be a unique occurrence or it will go for entertaining to annoying. So I hope they don't do it again.

* Once again, they did a good job of making the Doctor female without making her the Female Doctor. Her gender remains a tertiary concern, to the point that she has to correct herself when she says "Come to Daddy", which amused me. I like how they're doing this. I hate harping on this, but I like my characters to be informed by their traits rather than defined by them. It's a big pet peeve of mine.

* The agenda points they used were subtle, which I appreciate. The female racer's response of "mine, too" after Graham mentions that his wife was killed by a Stenza, in particular. Also, this means that Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor was trained in Venusian Akido by nuns. Four armed nuns, at that, which paints a very amusing image in my mind.

* The rubber will meet the road next episode, however. Rosa Parks. American. Political. That really worries me. If they can pull this off, show the respect due to such a pivotal moment without grandstanding, I will have significantly more faith in Chibnal's ability to handle this. Otherwise, I fear this season will quickly grow to rival season 9 at the bottom of my list of NuWho seasons (Heaven Sent was excellent, but couldn't counter a season of disappointments capped by one of the few episodes I'd actually consider rubbish - Hell Bent and Kill the Moon are the only two episodes I can think of that actually tick me off).

All told, I thought it was solid. Nothing exceptional, but not a disappointment either. The new TARDIS looks good, and the Thirteenth Doctor continues to be good. A few hints to a potential season arc, but I thought there wasn't going to be one this season.

[Psyren]

She had her phone, plus regular telephones weren't exactly rare in 1930s New York. And we did see the tardis phone reached from random points across history.

I guess I just like to see throwaway nods that people still have their own lives, even after they've retired from being companions.

Oh I'm not opposed to the odd phone call to check in, I was just pointing out what the Doctor themselves stated about the situation. I have to assume they're the authority on the scenario until alternative evidence presents itself.

I like to think that Amy subsequently distinguished herself by being a very outspoken Suffragette who ended up in a STEM field given her knowledge of the future and such too. Having said all that though, it certainly wasn't my favorite way for a companion to have gone out. I didn't even like Amy that much, but she got probably the roughest send-off since Donna.

I've only seen bits and pieces of classic. Davies had past companions and quasi-companions (like Jack) show up, while Moffat liked to make nods towards bits of the series past.

I have a feeling that this season will be the current cast and writers finding what works for them, so it'll be a while before we get a sense what Chibnall's tastes for the property look like. I'm not against seeing returning faces, but neither am I particularly expecting them.

There are definitely going to be nods and callbacks, hell there were nods in the first episode. I believe her makeshift lab was meant to be a bit reminiscent of #3, whose TARDIS was broken for much of his run. Similarly, her villain was definitely a callback to #7's villain Kane, who whose skin was also so cold that it could burn away human flesh on contact and who similarly wore an environmental suit.

[Fyraltari]

Honestly, that's not so much a showrunner thing as it is a general Doctor Who thing. Characters tend to only be around for a specific period of time. Most characters get one episode, companions get varying lengths of time on the TARDIS, but once a non-villainous character has left the show they pretty much never come back. The biggest exception to that general rule, however, was the Brigadier, so it would be entirely in keeping if we were to see Kate Stewart recur, even if no-one else did.

True, but the Brigadier was introduced during Two's run, was a major part of Third's, appeared at the beginning of Four's and twice during Five's. And then he showed up in Sarah Jane's show and there's the CyberBrig. Seeing as Kate is clearly modelled after her father and that the show likes its continuity, I'd be surprise if U.NI.T. turns up without her. They have no obligation to have U.N.I.T. back though.

Though on the subject of characters recurring, one of the things I'd really like to see would be another returning Classic companion at some point. Specifically I think it'd be nice to see one of the Classic female companions react to the now female Doctor - given that Elisabeth Sladen is dead, my top choices would probably be either Jo or Ace.

Yes that would be nice.

Spoiler: My take on Ghost Monument

Show

* Ryan and Graham have a moment, and it doesn't go all that well. That's good, pacing-wise. They are on speaking terms (especially when there's something external to focus on), but Ryan is still not ready to discuss it. It feels right, to me at least, and it's not good to get that stuff fixed in the second episode. They've got to 8 more episodes to grow.

I thought that was nice as well.

*

Spoiler

Show

The Call of Duty moment amused and annoyed me. Ryan, for a guy with a coordination disorder, not only plays CoD, not only is good enough at it to be confident in his skills, but also was able to marshal that into a surprisingly effective blitz on the robots. It didn't work (because this is Doctor Who - bullets rarely solve anything), but it demonstrates a martial talent that could come in handy in the future.

Dyspraxia is weird. It manifests differently in everyone and not always consistently. It also seems like his dyspraxia is at least partially triggered by pressure (see the scene with the ladder), it is likely that he had less trouble playing video games than with most things since there are zeroconsequence to failing and nobody to judge you (if you play in single player-mode at least).

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* And now we have evidence that the Stenza are going to be the boogieman for the new season. I would be pretty impressed if they prove the finale foe, as only the Daleks, Cybermen, and Master have really had that privilege (in various combinations). It's actually a pretty clever move, I think: the first episode enemy has to be weak in order to allot time for introducing the heroes, but that doesn't mean they can't build them up retroactively in the future. Now it'll be interesting to see if Tim Shaw returns later on, partially melted as he was.

I have mixed feelings about the Stenza, we'll see what they can do. But if Tim Shaw does come back, I hope they explain his vying for leadership was due to nepotism or something because if they seriously considered that idiot for leader, ...

Also you are forgetting the Silence who were the main boggeyman of Smith's run and (sorta) Series Five's finale's bad guys.

* The racers, I have to admit, were kinda interesting. And if anyone feels like complaining that the male racer got all the negative traits, I would invite you to envision the genders reversed. It'd then be just as easy to complain that the female becomes the ultra-competent survivalist who doesn't need anybody and is intimidating enough to scare a very influential man (who happened to be a very long ways away) into submission. If you can't win either way, I'd say they did something reasonably right.

I hope we see them again. I have a feeling there may be a connection between Illin and the Stenza as he seemed to espouse the same sort of social darwinist nonsense (contrast the hunting ritual with the race).
Maybe Thirteen will save Rahul's sister while at it.

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* The new TARDIS set looks like it might be very cool, assuming the bronze look wasn't just a result of low-power lighting. Also, I thought it was a fun inversion of the long running "You've changed X... I don't like it" gag that's been going on since I think the Three Doctors special. Like most inversions, though, it has to be a unique occurrence or it will go for entertaining to annoying. So I hope they don't do it again.

I'm liking it. That the entrance looks like an entire police box is a bit weird though.
Also, I can't really tell what's different witht the new dematerialisation SFX but I like it.

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* The rubber will meet the road next episode, however. Rosa Parks. American. Political. That really worries me. If they can pull this off, show the respect due to such a pivotal moment without grandstanding, I will have significantly more faith in Chibnal's ability to handle this. Otherwise, I fear this season will quickly grow to rival season 9 at the bottom of my list of NuWho seasons (Heaven Sent was excellent, but couldn't counter a season of disappointments capped by one of the few episodes I'd actually consider rubbish - Hell Bent and Kill the Moon are the only two episodes I can think of that actually tick me off).

Wait and see.

All told, I thought it was solid. Nothing exceptional, but not a disappointment either. The new TARDIS looks good, and the Thirteenth Doctor continues to be good. A few hints to a potential season arc, but I thought there wasn't going to be one this season.

Same. Also I don't know where they went to film but they got their money's worth.

[oudeis]

Wait, wait, wait: Why is Doctor Who doing an episode about Rosa Parks?

[Calemyr]

I'm liking it. That the entrance looks like an entire police box is a bit weird though.

I dunno. It brings to mind the Wardrobe from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - when they entered the wardrobe, they were surrounded by thick coats. As the press further, the furs become firs in a smooth transition and they fall out of a forest into Narnia. The new TARDIS has the same transitional feeling to me, far more than any NuWho control room.

Wait, wait, wait: Why is Doctor Who doing an episode about Rosa Parks?

Probably she screws up the landing due to the interface change. Capaldi mastered his control room, but the Doctor's rarely been good at any precision in their flight. It's often a plot point in early days with a companion. The teaser shows Yaz meeting Rosa Parks face to face. I have no idea what they're going to do with it, but there was a quick shot of something firing an energy weapon and Ryan (seemingly ironically) saying "It's her life, a few hours alone won't kill her." As I said, this will be the episode that tells me what level of discipline and delicacy Chibnal intends to practice with his tenure.

That said, it was suggested early on that this season was trying to rhyme with Hartnel era Who. Sydney Newman wanted the show to have an educational element, which is why the First Doctor ran across cave men and the Aztecs and such. Likewise, the Thirteenth Doctor will be visiting historical moments like Rosa Parks. We'll have to see what else we have on the educational thread of the season.

[Fyraltari]

Wait, wait, wait: Why is Doctor Who doing an episode about Rosa Parks?

Why the hell not? We've had Shakespear, Saladin, Robespierre, Agatha Cristie and Ronald Reagan before, among others.

I dunno. It brings to mind the Wardrobe from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - when they entered the wardrobe, they were surrounded by thick coats. As the press further, the furs become firs in a smooth transition and they fall out of a forest into Narnia. The new TARDIS has the same transitional feeling to me, far more than any NuWho control room.

Correct me if I am wrong, but Narnia is not actually inside the wardrobe, is it? The wardrobe acts as a portal, does it not?

Probably she screws up the landing due to the interface change. Capaldi mastered his control room, but the Doctor's rarely been good at any precision in their flight. It's often a plot point in early days with a companion.

Or maybe they wanted her to show off the Time Machine. I know, I would.

The teaser shows Yaz meeting Rosa Parks face to face. I have no idea what they're going to do with it

Probably some alien trying to mess with history or something.

but there was a quick shot of something firing an energy weapon and Ryan (seemingly ironically) saying "It's her life, a few hours alone won't kill her."

Actually he says "If she can live here all her life, couple of hours won't kill me."

That said, it was suggested early on that this season was trying to rhyme with Hartnel era Who. Sydney Newman wanted the show to have an educational element, which is why the First Doctor ran across cave men and the Aztecs and such. Likewise, the Thirteenth Doctor will be visiting historical moments like Rosa Parks. We'll have to see what else we have on the educational thread of the season.

Oh they want to do that? It should be fun.