#definitely not doctor who

[heimeldat]

I was sick and listened to the first 7 Time Travelers audios in 2 days with my system full of Nyquil so... bit of a blur. I know things don't get really interesting until the end, so I guess I haven't quite gotten to the good stuff yet. But anyway, overall reactions so far:

Republica: solid timey-wimey fun. I like it when time ends up healing itself. The scenario is just the right sort of ridiculous that Doctor Who thrives on, and the script feels like it would fit right into Big Finish. I know it's not technically DW but it felt like a satisfying (if unexceptional) Seven and Ace story.

Island of Lost Souls: another solidly standard DW plot, though this one feels like it should belong to Three more than Seven. Nothing much to say, not a remarkable story but well done across the board. These first two episodes feel like they weren't concerned with unique storytelling, just trying to showcase their ability to capture the feel of Doctor Who, and in that they succeeded. No instant classics, but good fun.

Prosperity Island: hard to go too far wrong with a Tempest adaptation. That did make it rather predictable of course, but the story didn't suffer for it, and they changed just enough toward the end that it still had some fresh beats. Starting to branch out a touch from the Classic Who formula, but still playing it safe with a tried and true plot: honestly that's a really smart way of easing into a new series aimed at an established audience. But again it makes for an unremarkable (though quite enjoyable) story.

Left Hand of Darkness: the first attempt at something a bit different! Not altogether original, still fairly predictable, but Ace and Dorsai played well off each other, and Ace had some really strong moments. It's also nice to see them leaning more into the audio medium with the use of blindness as a plot device. I do think the buildup was a little drawn out and the climax a little rushed (especially Dorsai's suicide) but overall a nice character piece, and it feels like the series is finding its feet. (A little disappointing that the Professor only got a bit part, since I'm mostly interested in seeing him and Ace together, but that has no bearing on the quality, just my preferences.)

The Other Side: another slightly more experimental story, nice. Again, I think they've chosen plot devices that work well with the audio medium, and again I'm sad to see less of the Professor but enjoyed seeing Ace shine in some solo character moments. Still, I wasn't as impressed with this one. We know Ace isn't really dead, so the buildup and her realization of the situation felt too dragged out; she got some good character beats but there was no real suspense for the audience. The resolution felt a bit crammed in by comparison. There was something a bit tonally odd too; I can't quite pin it down beyond saying this one felt like SJA instead of DW. Which isn't a bad thing, it just felt ever so slightly out of place.

Guests for the Night: this is the first one that really fell flat for me. It couldn't decide if it wanted to be Hammer Horror or Chimes of Midnight, so it got stuck awkwardly in between. The cheesy villains prevented the setting from feeling properly mysterious or creepy, and the resolution kind of came out of nowhere. It might have worked with more time to develop the plot and characters, but at only 1 hour it was a bit rushed and crammed full of story pieces that didn't quite mesh. Also not a fan of the "you murdered him! Oh well moving on" ending. Either commit to the moral quandary and really impact the characters, or let the villain's death be earned. It made for a rather unsatisfying ending.

Ghosts: All right, starting to diverge a bit from Doctor Who! Got the characters' names and a few hints about their background, that's a start. I enjoyed the complexity of this one, all the disparate characters and plot pieces that came together pretty tidily in the end. I was skeptical about the Professor getting mind-controlled so easily, especially since Madam Eternal wasn't a particularly impressive villain, but I guess he was the only one who knew he had missing memories, and he managed to fight the mind-control enough to build a failsafe into his machine, so I'll accept it. I would have liked to know why Samson mistook the Doctor for his target and how he almost-killed him, but I guess that's not a big deal. The production value seemed a little lower on this one, with a lot of awkward cuts between scenes and background noise almost drowning out dialogue, which was frustrating given how much I enjoyed this one; it feels like one I'd want to re-listen to, but the technical issues made it a little hard to get through at some points.

[expelliarmus]

[ncutii-gatwa]

really makes me laugh seeing some people complain doctor who is gay now. babe THIS aired in 2005. doctor who has been gay a long damn time get with the program

[deadrobinsclub-est1988]

[cactiaintracist]

ThEM

[mizgnomer]

The Tenth and Fourteenth Doctors with the wonderful Donna Noble too

Parallel portraits

[the-worms-in-your-bones]

The thing about doctor who is that every episode is simultaneously the best and worst episode in the show and you can’t trust anyone who tells you it’s one or the other

[doccywhomst]

excuse me ???? in what whoniverse

[odakota-rose]

spoilers for the star beast novelization but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to be normal about them again

the doctor was going to give up visiting london FOR ALL OF THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY

[oldbookshop]

btw "I don't know how to walk without the arrows" = "I don't know how to formulate a worldview without being told how to think", it does not equal "I can't function without tik tok"

[jennalouisecolemans]

just some doctor/clara: [17/∞] very platonic twelve/clara (part 2) / (part 1)

[expelliarmus]

[greencarnation]

eleven is fascinating to me because he came right off the back of tens horrible traumatic breakdown after he lost everything and he immediately tried to establish himself as the opposite of that. he is funny and goofy and almost childlike, and he bulldozes on in his adventures with amy like nothing happened at all. but then something happens and his masks slips and it's like oh! the core of this man is still anger. he is so so angry all of the time and this façade is the only thing stopping him from being consumed by it. he isn't over any of it and he hasn't moved on. he is wearing a fez and laughing but under that all that exists is age old anger and grief and it is going to consume him

[raevenswritingdesk]

The first outright not-a-joke or “one sided” gay kiss the doctor themselves has had in doctor who history happening during pride month AND with an interacial couple has me feeling so many things 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🎉

[idkaguyorsomething]

the 1996 doctor who movie contains a perfect textbook example of fridging, wherein an established longtime character is killed off unceremoniously, with very little agency or time spent on their own perspective when they’re literally being killed, usually as a means to provide shock value, raise the stakes, or make the main character feel bad for thirty seconds before moving on

what sets it apart from every other loving wife and children in every superhero backstory ever, though, is that the person they fridged was THEIR OWN MAIN CHARACTER

[mizgnomer]

Eye rolls with David Tennant (Part Three)

See also [Part One] [Part Two]