#andinio

[evviejo]

thirteen's era appreciation: 497/?

[dwsidecharacterpoll]

These polls are to determine bracket seeding and diminish the number of contenders to a manageable number. To get the first bracket down to something reasonable, the lowest-scoring contenders from each of these preliminary polls will be eliminated. To see all prelim polls, click here!

also for those just joining us—or those who noticed I fucked up the header—we are determining the best dw side character <3 please don't kill me for making so so many polls <3

[esonetwork]

Timestamp #292: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/timestamp-292-the-battle-of-ranskoor-av-kolos/

Timestamp #292: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

Doctor Who: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos (1 episode, s11e10, 2018)

Tim comes full circle.

On the planet Ranskoor Av Kolos, a woman named Andinio and a man named Delph practice telekinesis. Andinio is testing Delph’s potential when a crackle of blue energy breaks Delph’s concentration. Nearby, a figure stumbles in an attempt to stand.

3,407 years later, the TARDIS detects nine separate distress signals from Ranskoor Av Kolos, as well as psychotropic waves that can scramble brains and make people paranoid and irrational. With the help of neural balancers, the Doctor and her team touch down inside a ship. They find a scared man with a gun and, despite the Doctor’s calm introduction, the man irrationally repeats himself. The Doctor offers him a neural balancer, after which the man calms down and discusses his missing memories. He does remember his last name, though: Paltraki. The Doctor determines that the ship is parked instead of crashed.

Team TARDIS finds out that Paltraki is the ship’s commander. Their research is interrupted by an incoming transmission bearing a summons from the Creator. The same message also reveals that Tzim-Sha is holding Paltraki’s crew hostage. The Stenza kills one of the crew, a woman named Umsang, and cuts the signal. He wants an item that Paltraki stole, a crystal structure containing a rapidly vibrating object. The Doctor can’t scan the crystal object but resolves to stop Tzim-Sha from causing any more senseless violence. She outfits her team with throat microphones and they all set out.

Along the way, Graham tells the Doctor that he plans to kill Tzim-Sha in retaliation for Grace’s death. The Doctor tells him that he won’t be able to travel with her any longer if he does. Graham remains resolved to seek revenge.

The group arrives at a large hovering object Paltraki calls the temple. The Doctor provides the group with gear from Paltraki’s ship, including grenades for breaking inanimate objects. She attaches a grenade with a dead man’s switch to the crystal and finds a way inside the temple. After that, she sends Graham and Ryan to find the hostages, and Yaz and Paltraki to find more crystals. She sets out to find Tzim-Sha.

Graham tries to rationalize his desire to kill Tzim-Sha to Ryan, but their debate is cut short by a sniper-bot ambush. They duck in time to watch the snipers cut each other down, then run off. Elsewhere, the Doctor finds Andinio. The woman holds her at gunpoint and demands the crystal, but the Doctor is amazed to find out that Andinio is an Ux. She also wonders why an Ux is working for Tzim-Sha. Full of doubt, Andinio decides to take the Doctor before the Stenza.

Tzim-Sha is unimpressed by the Doctor’s new look, revealing that they last met 3,407 years ago. He tells Andinio to get ready before revealing his face to the Doctor. The DNA bombs corrupted his teleport device and banished him to this planet. Unable to leave, he was kept alive by the Ux, who treated him as a god. It gave him time to plan revenge against the Doctor and the worlds that opposed the Stenza.

Yaz and Paltraki get to know each other before they find sniper-bots and a room containing the crystals. As the last fleet, Paltraki’s crew was tasked by the Congress of the Nine Planets in response to a set of atrocities. Yaz calls the Doctor with news of their discovery just before Andinio arrives before a captive Delph, channeling his powers to make the temple into a weapon.

By the way, the crystals contain literal planets. The weapon captures the planets, and Tzim-Sha has set his sights on Earth.

The Doctor runs to the crystal chamber and learns this news. Angry, she demands that Tzim-Sha stop his genocidal quest, convinced that the technology is unstable and could kill everyone. Paltraki heads for the ship while the Doctor and Yaz try to stop the Stenza’s plan.

Ryan and Graham find a room full of people in stasis. While they develop a plan to save them all, Ryan persuades Graham with his love and Grace’s life lessons. The sniper-bots attack while they work, and Tzim-Sha is alerted to their rescue operation so he stomps on down there. Paltraki destroys the snipers and leads the hostages to safety while Graham covers them.

Balancing the 7 billion lives on Earth against their own, the Doctor and Yaz use their neural balancers on the Ux to disrupt the Stenza’s signals. Earth is saved from oblivion and Andinio’s faith in Tzim-Sha is shattered. The crystals begin to fracture, and as the Doctor declares that the Ux are the true creators, she summons the TARDIS using Stenza technology.

Tzim-Sha arrives at his trophy room. Graham draws down on him with a sniper-bot rifle but chooses to be the better man. As Ryan returns and draws the Stenza’s attention, Graham shoots the warrior in the foot. The two humans load the still-alive Tzim-Sha into one of his own trophy cases, telling him to remember the name Grace while he contemplates eternity in stasis.

The Doctor ties the power of the TARDIS into the Stenza devices, using the telepathic circuits to channel the Ux’s powers and restore the planets to their proper places. It’s a painful process but it restores balance to the universe.

With all said and done, the Doctor commends Graham for his strength in mercy. Meanwhile, Delph decides that the Ux must be part of the greater universal civilization. They lock the temple so that no one can reach the Stenza outcast, and the Doctor bids farewell with a message: Travel hopefully.

It’s well known that showrunner Chris Chibnall was disappointed in this story, particularly since it was filmed as a first draft. From a 2022 interview in Doctor Who Magazine:

Particularly in that first series, I spent a lot of time helping other writers. We had some problems towards the end and I had to go back and do some big rewrites, which meant that the version of episode 10 [The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos] that we filmed was a first draft. But I just didn’t have time to do a second draft. It didn’t feel enough like a season finale, and that was entirely down to time.

This is surprising because this script felt like it had a lot more character body than most of the other stories so far in the season. For example, the Doctor’s astonished excitement at meeting the Ux was for more engaging than meeting the Solitract. I was also sold on the dialogue between Ryan and Graham far more than their other interactions this season. Related, the fact that this duo decided to imprison Tzim-Sha instead of killing him says a lot about their journey.

The other big up-rating for this story is the plot to steal planets. Sure, it’s a rehash of The Pirate Planet and The Stolen Earth, but it’s definitely a Doctor Who and pulpy sci-fi plot. That makes it exciting and fun.

Sadly, that’s where the praise ends for this adventure. It’s a confusing story with interwoven timelines and convenient plot devices. The stasis chambers, for example, contained the crews of all nine ships, but the dialogue doesn’t really explain much to make this revelation worthwhile. The story provided lip service to the other ships but our attention was focused on Paltraki and his crew. It also makes little sense for Tzim-Sha to hold those crews as trophies when he deliberately killed targets in The Woman Who Fell to Earth and took their teeth.

The ending is also pretty lackluster. I mean, Chibnall routinely ties a quick bow on stories without making it feel like a good payoff, but this season finale ends with “travel hopefully” and a wave. Even he was displeased with that effort.

Rating: 3/5 – “Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow.”

UP NEXT – Doctor Who: Resolution

The Timestamps Project is an adventure through the televised universe of Doctor Who, story by story, from the beginning of the franchise. For more reviews like this one, please visit the project’s page at Creative Criticality.

[womprat99]

Timestamp #292: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

Doctor Who: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos (1 episode, s11e10, 2018) Tim comes full circle. On the planet Ranskoor Av Kolos, a woman named Andinio and a man named Delph practice telekinesis. Andinio is testing Delph’s potential when a crackle of blue energy breaks Delph’s concentration. Nearby, a figure stumbles in an attempt to stand. 3,407 years later, the TARDIS detects nine separate…

[rudolphsb9]

I am watching this scene for research purposes and when T'zim-Sha says "unable to leave without dying" he sounds SO GRIEF-STRICKEN and I fuckin get it. No planet, no other members of his species for company (and god knows Andinio is too much of a Yes Man to be a genuine friend to him).

Sam Oatley did such a good job.

[cane-of-doom]

What is it with Chibnall and dyads? 👀

[chelsie4ever]

Found a new hobby ... and a good App 🤣🤣🤣

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

dont think this means anything except that it’s a nice turn of phrase but you know, video notes or whatever

[queerestqueertoeverqueer]

every quote used in the bbcdoctorwho countdown

i don't know why i felt the need to make this when they started the countdown, but i did and it's been sat in my drafts for a month, so here :,) i cannot believe this is actually coming to an end <33

S11E1 - "I'm just a traveller. Sometimes I see things need fixing, I do what I can" (Thirteen -> Yaz)

S11E2 - "Oh, you've redecorated... I really like it!" (Thirteen -> The TARDIS)

S11E3 - "She changed the world. In fact, she changed the universe" (Thirteen -> The Fam)

S11E4 - "Something's happening with the spiders in the city... They're out of control!" (Jade -> Thirteen)

S11E5 - "A doctor of medicine?" "Well, medicine, science, engineering, candyfloss, Lego, philosophy, music, problems, people, hope. Mostly hope" (Mabli -> Thirteen, Thirteen -> Mabli)

S11E6 - "Love, in all its forms, is the most powerful weapon we have - because love is a form of hope, and like hope, love abides in the face of everything" ❤❤ (Thirteen -> Prem & Umbreen)

S11E7 - "Welcome to another rewarding shift at Kerblam!, fulfilling orders from the human colony of Kandoka!"📦 (The System -> The Fam)

S11E8 - "It's a very flat team structure"🧙‍♀️ (Thirteen -> Willa / Graham -> King James)

S11E9 - "You want the same thing you've always wanted - to be with us! So you've built a world you thought we'd like, and taken forms we won't reject" (Thirteen -> The Solitract)

S11E10 - "None of us know for sure what's out there. That's why we keep looking. Keep your faith. Travel hopefully. The universe will surprise you... constantly!"💥 (Thirteen -> Paltraki, Depth, Andinio)

S11E11 - "This is the DNA of the most dangerous creature in the universe..."🧬 (Thirteen -> The Fam) S12E1 - "Everything that you think you know... is a lie!"🤯 (The Master -> Thirteen)

S12E2 - "When did you last go home? You should really take a look..."🪐 (The Master -> Thirteen)

S12E3 - "People can save planets, or wreck them. That's the choice. Be the best of humanity"🌍 (Thirteen -> The Fam)

S12E4 - "Let them talk, the present is theirs. I work for the future. And the future is mine" 💡 (Nikola -> Thirteen & Yaz)

S12E5 - "Let me take it from the top - Hello, I'm the Doctor" 👯‍♀️ (Ruth -> Thirteen)

S12E6 - "Ryan Sinclair picks up a dead bird in Peru, and might just have saved the world!"🌊 (Thirteen -> Ryan)

S12E7 - "We immortals need our games, Doctor. Eternity is long, and we are cursed to see it all"🖐 (Zellin -> Thirteen)

S12E8 - "Sometimes this team structure isn't flat. It's mountainous, with me at the summit, in the stratosphere alone, left to choose"🤖 (Thirteen -> The Fam)

S12E9 - "Be afraid, Doctor. Because everything is about to change... forever"👀 (The Master -> Thirteen)

S12E10 - "No time to be tired. Still work to do out there. Lives at stake. Armies being born. People need the Doctor"🪐 (Ruth -> Thirteen)

S12E11 - "Two hearts. One happy, one sad" ❤💔(Thirteen -> The Fam) S13E1 - "I can feel it all. I can feel the universe breaking..."💥 (Thirteen -> Yaz)

S13E2 - "I accept your offer of a massacre!" 🥔 (Skaak -> The General)

S13E3 - “You have put yourself at risk in here, Doctor. Time is playing games with you all...” ⏳ (Mouri - Thirteen)

S13E4 - "You are recalled... to Division" (Claire -> Thirteen)

S13E5 - "You, me, and the end of the universe - it's personal now. And I'm gonna win!"💥 (Thirteen -> Swarm)

S13E6 - "Nothing is forever. No regeneration... no life" ⏱ (Time -> Thirteen)

S13E7 - "Come on you brilliant humans! We go again, and we win"🎆 (Thirteen -> Yaz, Dan, Sarah, Nick)

S13E8 - "I wish this would go on forever..." 🏴‍☠️ (Thirteen -> Yaz)

[doctorthedoctor]

I’m guessing this has been mentioned before but…..funny how Andinio and Delph are a duo-species with lifespans of millenia and telepathic powers for dimensional engineering who come to learn everything they’ve been told is a lie. And funny how Thirteen says to Andinio, “I've never met an Ux. Congratulations. It must be so cool. Wait, there's something else… Oh, I can't remember.” And funny how the Master just happens to show up two episodes later to taunt her with the Timeless Child.

[evviejo]

thirteen’s era appreciation: 192/?

[rowanthestrange]

Big Doctor Who Meta time.

It’s no wonder The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos was a weird episode - hard to follow, too much information for the story it was telling, bit all over the place. Because it wasn’t trying to tell just one story. It’s telling three. One past, one present, one future.

It contains meta for every plot point so far, and what look like considerable signposts for what’s to come next.

If you wondered why it seemed so shallow on the surface - to the point where it is titled for The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos, which we get almost no information on, and yet the people in the text are the ones who keep asking about that - then stick around.

The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos is the codebreaker for Thirteen’s era.

We’re going to go along at a fair clip, but hopefully because it involves so much of the episode, there’s enough context in to jog your memories of the episode if they were as ropey as mine were. I’m assuming knowledge/fair understanding of media analysis, and hopefully links to other relevant metas where they’d be too long to get into will cover the rest.

We meet Tzim-Sha determined to rise in the ranks, and stealing a person. Ends up in control of a planet and the remains of a limited-in-number race who do his work for him and see him as the Creator. (Tzim-Sha is a Rassilon mirror - this is important throughout)

Tzim-Sha using Sniperbots. Just robots. Boring. (The Lone Cyberman and the Cyberium AI. Tecteun=Rassilon=Ashad meta. )

((When we first met him, he had his own independently acting data collector and conveyer, that he eventually initiated a data transfer with and caused it to put everything it had learned, into him. His plan involves taking people, who are left on the cusp between life and death, put in machines. (The Lone Cyberman and the Cyberium AI))

Paltraki, separated from his three crewmates, memories gone. Doesn’t even remember his real name. He could’ve left any time, but didn’t. (Paltraki is a Doctor mirror).

“What did you take?” “Not take. Recover.” Paltraki doesn’t know/remember what’s in the special thing that he and others worked so hard to get. He knows he’s not supposed to let it fall into enemy hands...but his crew, his friends, are being threatened. (The Lone Cyberman and Cyberium AI plot)

The Planet gives off psychotropic waves to keep people away, but the element seems under-utilised in the story. (We’ll come back to that).

Everyone else passed by the cries for help. (The Timeless Child(ren))

The Doctor attaches two grenades to the cube. (Mirrors the Master and the TCE’d Lone Cyberman with the dark twist that someone did blow it up and effectively destroy the remains of a planet that time)

Tzim-Sha got blown up but survived after a fashion. (future Tectuen=Rassilon=Ashad meta - no-one thinks the Lone Cyberman is actually dead)

“The Ux? As in the duo-species, only ever two of you? Lifespans of millennia?” (The Timeless Children, plural) “Only found on three planets in the whole universe?” (Now isn’t that a weird and unnecessary addition. A lot of meta possibilities in that. Starting with: The Timeless Child and the boy on the cliff, Martin!Doctor and ??? The Doctor and the Master.)

One is following the will of the Creator. The other is being tortured. (The Timeless Child(ren))

“Wait. Is this yours, this building? Is it true about the Ux? Faith-driven dimensional engineers. Is that why the building feels alive?” (What Are TARDISes meta)

Yaz: Do you have a home [on your planet]? Paltraki: Beautiful home. Some land, and animals. Too many facts coming back. It's like a flood. I don't know what's important, or... We were the last fleet. When the others didn't come back, they sent for us. (Feels like how the Doctor will regain bits of memories)

Paltraki was sent by The Congress of the Nine Planets in response to the atrocities. (The Alliance)

The Doctor: Why do you call him the Creator? Andinio: Our faith is handed down. The Creator is the cornerstone. (The Legends of Rassilon)

“But I've got so many questions, Andinio. Because there's a battlefield outside where many people died, but you're no warrior. And your words are certain, but your eyes are full of doubt.” (The Timeless Child(ren))

There are literal codebreakers. (Like Steganography and The Ireland Metaphor, the text is telling you to meta this)

They only came to rescue two people, but there are dozens of bodies in the pods. Thirty. (The Timeless Child - more bodies than imagined)

It’s been three thousand four hundred and seven years since Tzim-Sha saw the Doctor  “banishing me across the universe to this desolate rock for the rest of my existence”. Later in the episode: “Even in exile, I shall lead.” (Meta 1: The last thing the Doctor linearly did with Rassilon was banish him. Meta 2: The Master or Matrix says Tecteun was adventuring but her story and other meta fits much better with someone trying to find a way to save her dwindling race - perhaps previous experiments got her banished, because the next lines are: )

The Doctor: “But you got more than you could possibly have wished for. The Ux.” Tzim-Sha: “The universe provides.” The Doctor: “You wanted to be a leader. Now you're worshipped as a false god. Why all the ships outside? What have you made them do?” (The Timeless Child(ren))

Tzim-Sha: “I carry the entire hive knowledge of the Stenza civilisation within me.” (The Lone Cyberman and the Cyberium AI. Tecteun=Rassilon=Ashad)

The Doctor: “When you say revenge, revenge on who?” Tzim-Sha: “You, Doctor.” The Doctor: “Oh, no. Don't put this on me.” Tzim-Sha: “If you had not interfered, I would have become leader. First of the Stenza. And yet, I should thank you.” The Doctor: “Thank me? Why?” Tzim-Sha: “You have made me a god.” The Doctor: “You are nothing of the sort.”  (Tzim-Sha can do double duty as a Master meta in a lot of places too - three stories, past, present, and future.)

Tzim-Sha: “It has taken thousands of years. Every fragment of scientific understanding the Stenza ever possessed, allied to the impossible power of the Ux. You will see, Doctor. I must be a god. I have the powers of one.” (The Time Lords/Shobogans and the Timeless Children)

The Doctor: “Let me guess. They built you a weapon. That's what your sort like to do. Is that why all those ships came? You made a weapon, and they came to stop you.” (The Alliance. The Lone Cyberman and the Cyberium AI. The Timeless Children)

((An inscription scored in the floor of a dead Stenza-controlled planet, where the only thing imitating life are robots and remnants: “We are scientists. Abducted, tortured and made to work, while our families are held hostage. We are forced to find new ways of destruction. Poisons, weapons, creatures. We gave them our minds and they made us the creators of death. This planet has been left scorched and barren from our work. The atmosphere and water are toxic. Killing machines and creatures inhabit every corner. We had no choice but to obey... The Stenza. We are trying to destroy all of our work before they use it against others. There's two words below that. They're coming.”  (The Timeless Children))

The building is weird - treated weirdly in the text. The Shrine. They refer to the building as pulling them in - not the people in it. This shrine is the weapon. The TARDIS directly referenced as Ghost Monument (What Are TARDISes) ((the planet itself is screaming))

Paltraki: “I remember what they did. Five objects. Five planets. One weapon. They stole five planets.” The Doctor: “That's not possible.” Paltraki: “It's what happened. Entire planets removed from their spatial orbit.” The Doctor: “It would've destroyed all life. Planetary genocide.” (The Lone Cyberman and the Cyberium AI: The Death Particle | Backups of species - currently two, Cybermen and Time Lords)

The Doctor: “All these planetary masses cannot exist in the same place at the same time. The technology isn't stable. You bring another through, it could destroy everything.” (Rassilon with Gallifrey in The End Of Time)

Graham - everyone’s Grandpa, and Ryan, trap Tzim-Sha - mirror of the Doctor’s abusive parental figure. (Era theme: The concept of family and chosen Fam)

The Doctor: “Can't disconnect them, it might kill them.” Yaz: “But if we don't, what happens to Earth? Their life versus seven billion others.” (A Crisis of Utilitarianism meta feat. The Astronaut, Percy Shelley, The Timeless Child)

The Doctor and Yaz make themselves vulnerable to the Planet being able to affect their mind. (No current meta besides it just feels TARDISy and Kasaaviny, and it goes nowhere in the actual story to the point where it feels certain this is meta for the future.)

“There's too many things to do! One thing at a time. It's fine. All good. Well, almost.” (The desperate cry of the Writer creating meta. I know it well.)

The Doctor and Yaz block the Ux’s powers. (The narrative likelihood that this set of Doctors are not actually immortal, or if they are they cannot keep it)

The Doctor: “Universe provide for me.” - the TARDIS arrives. Is referred to as a Ghost Monument. Tzim-Sha: “The Universe provides” - the Ux. As Rassilon mirror - the Timeless Child. (What are TARDISes?)

The Doctor: “Their knowledge, their abilities, Tim Shaw's tech, our blue box.” (What look like the best guesses for each of the plot points of the era in meta form. The Doctor and Master’s memories. The Timeless Child(ren)’s abilities. The Cyberium AI, TARDISes).

Tzim-Sha has an electric hand/power gauntlet thing. (In case you weren’t sure on the Rassilon mirror. + The Lone Cyberman)

The Doctor: “I know this will be painful. I wouldn't put you through this if I could think of any other way right now.” Delph: “It's okay.” The Doctor: “It's not, but thank you.” (The Timeless Child(ren) (and that distinct sensation that this is all going to be very direct mirroring in the future))

Graham: “You brought us all together. You ain't going to tear us apart. You ain't worth killing. But you can have a taste of your own medicine.” Ryan: “We're not weak, we're strong, and we sentence you to life.” Graham: “So, as you're contemplating eternity, keep one name on your mind.” Both together: “Grace.” (This feels like the slightly nicer sounding version of what personally I’m hoping the Master is going to say and do to Rassilon at the end of all this)

The Doctor decides on “Fam”. Yaz likes it. (Era theme: The concept of family and chosen Fam)

[crobones]

*hits the blunt*

since thirteen has been our doctor we've seen duality as a theme

reality and the solitract

andinio and delph

zellin and rakaya

the lone cyberman and the person it once was

*exhales*

history and fiction

fear and understanding

self sacrifice and self destruction

*eats the blunt*

gallifreyans called it the division because they divided the timeless child into two beings

*breathes smoke like a dragon*

that's the doctor and the master BAYBEE

[tvandcomicsita]

#DoctorWho - The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos (S11E10) #SeasonFinale

#DoctorWho – The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos (S11E10) #SeasonFinale

Nove diverse rischieste di aiuto arrivano al TARDIS, tutte dallo stesso pianeta, tutte dalla stessa area. La Doctor ed il Team accorrono in aiuto e si trovano a dover fare i conti con una minaccia non indifferente.

(more…)

[stycerutti]

#DoctorWho - The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos (S11E10) #SeasonFinale

#DoctorWho – The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos (S11E10) #SeasonFinale

Nove diverse rischieste di aiuto arrivano al TARDIS, tutte dallo stesso pianeta, tutte dalla stessa area. La Doctor ed il Team accorrono in aiuto e si trovano a dover fare i conti con una minaccia non indifferente.

(more…)

[rudolphsb9]

@cloudlakes @magnaesquire I call it "The Creator"