#jodie Whittaker deserved better

[socialistexan]

Watching the 13th Doctor finally and I can't help but feel like the biggest thing that really held back this Doctor was overloading her with too many companions that cost both her and them characterization and development.

Only 3 Doctors has 3 companions in their first season, and one of those was the First Doctor who was trying to establish himself. Then there was the Fifth Doctor, and one of his companions was well established (though not loved) like Adric, a familiar face with an established story from a previous serial (Nyssa), and only one new comer who still was with the previous Doctor for a story (Tegan).

Bringing in a new Doctor with even a single new companion is extremely tough, you really have to have a specific vision in mind for it to work (9 and Rose, 11 and Amy).

Most them inherit a companion the audience is already comfortable with and allows the new Doctor to breathe (4 and Sarah Jane, 10 and Rose, 12 and Clara) or give the show time to develop what it wants to be in a new era before it moves on to better times (7 and Mel, because his stories really took off once Ace came along). It doesn't always work (6 and Peri), but having 3 new companions with a new Doctor is so much of a risk and it seems like it failed miserably.

If it has been just 13 and Yaz, I think it would have had serious potential (I'm 5 episodes in and I quite like her and the dynamic with 13). Or even the pair of Ryan and Graham or bring them in after Yaz is developed it would have at least been interesting, especially if Ryan was better written.

But having all 3 at once just feels like it torpedoes the potential of all of them.

[whathehe11-writes]

I will never understand the hate Jodie got as the Doctor. She was incredible. Despite the material which at times was not great she embodied the character. The scene in the intro where she had swapped the bombs where she said “I’m the doctor” for the first time.

Incredible 10/10 got shivers.

If you haven’t watched her yet, please do. She’s amazing.

(Also she’s not the only doctor that got some subpar (at times) writing. And while you’re at it if you haven’t watched series 10 please do. Bill is such an underrated companion and her bond with the doctor is amazing and we should have gotten Bill and 13 together imagine the power.)

[meilas]

Graham and Grace would have made better companions than Ryan and Yaz. All the Doctor’s on-screen companions have always been younger than him. So why not have an older companion for a change? (Wilf would have been an amazing companion and we were robbed of that.)

[nipuni]

So we are watching Broadchurch, here are some sketches! 😊

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

would just like to drop in and say that I'm still pissed that Fourteen didn't get to run around in 13's clothes for an episode. Clothing is such a fundamentally huge part of symbology for the Doctor (not just an indication of the current incarnation, but often an indication of the current incarnation's big tonal shifts/grief/connection to companions, especially in NuWho) and the fact that Jodie took so much effort to establish a costume that was gender-neutral and could be worn by all fans and Doctors and her doctor was so much less about her being a woman and more about the gender-gremlin nature of the Time Lords and more specifically the Doctor themself and the fact that Fourteen was immediately back in clothing similar to what he wore the first time, no passing of the torch, no literal cloaking of the new Doctor in the last Doctor's clothing until Fourteen could establish themself as a Doctor in their own right just leaves SUCH a nasty taste in my mouth, especially combining with the way that the specials tend to frame the Doctor previously being a woman as if that was the one thing that made Thirteen different/special in ironically such a binary way for what is supposed to be the most trans-inclusive episode of Doctor Who.

[3gremlins]

i just love that a show as big as doctor who came out with its whole chest and said FUCK YOU TERFS YOU ACTIVELY MAKE LIFE DANGEROUS FOR TRANS PEOPLE AND YOU HAVE NO PLACE HERE

like tysm, russell t davies <3

(also finally justice for donna)

[renniethedwstan]

NOOOOOOOO

I DIDN'T NOTICE THE TEAR FALLING DOWN THE DOCTOR'S EYES TILL NOW AND NOW IM SOBBING ALL OVER AGAIN.

ITS BEEN NEARLY FOUR FUCKING MONTHS IVE ONLY JUST RECOVERING FROM THIS EPISODE AND NOW IM CRYING 😢

[lesbiantrish]

i think i dont feel wwll ✂️✂️✂️✂️ (u cant hear it but literally. ugh)

[firstofficerkittycat]

that speech in timeless children except it's backed w the time lord victorious theme because that's exactly what this was

[fellintotartarus]

finally got caught up with doctor who after years of not being able to watch it reliably (thank you hbo max i love you) and i swear to everyone and everything jodie did such a fantastic job as the doctor. truly some of the consistently best doctor-y moments and her incarnation's incredibly personality mixed with an outwardly effusive persona genuinely killed me so many times. after passively seeing the criticism against her performance this whole year i am so mad to have just now caught up and only just now be able to wholeheartedly disagree with the clearly lackluster imagination misogynists that dominated the space these past 5 years. yes, chibnall's writing was ambitious and different to anything we had seen before, but NO, that does not transfer to jodie's amazing and well fucking done run as the doctor. she did an amazing job and deserved a full run as phenomenally acted as what she got. i may have binged all those episodes in the matter of a couple weeks, but i don't think i have felt a hole in my heart for a doctor this big in a very long time.

[i-got-bored]

just finished series 13 and...

uhm ouch. its strange, during 13's run i rarely found myself invested in the story being told - i definitely noticed the shift in writing and wasn't a fan. what i ended up realising tho is that despite my disinterest in what aliens did what, i was invested as 13 as a character and ofc i have alway felt that way but its been accompanied w "oh that episode is great - i love the way the alien did this" so when it came to her regeneration, it acc really hurt to see her go, bcs i want to see more of her, maybe just with better writing lmao.

but uh, yeah continued my streak of crying at every regeneration and am moving onto whatever we're calling the newest who!

[angelcatsiel]

The way Jodie Whittaker and her era of Doctor Who gets treated by both fans and the BBC really pisses me off. The way it feels like even the BBC is just trying to erase her and pretend she never existed. The change of clothes when she regenerates, and how all anyone talked about afterwards was David Tennant's return. The fact that the regeneration scene won an award, and the official Doctor Who instagram going 'David Tennant has won an award!'. The comments on that post, 'finally, now we can get back to GOOD doctor who!'. The fan page I just saw on facebook taking a quote out of context and falsely claiming that the timeless child arc had been 'scrapped'.

She had so much to contend with, being the first female Doctor, the change of showrunner, the at times mediocre writing (I agree there was some bad writing in her era, but I do think it's overhated and there are still some great stories in there), but she was fucking brilliant. She was the Doctor just as much as every other regeneration, and she always seems so passionate and excited about the show and her role. She deserves so much better.

[evviejo]

friendly reminder that the only people jodie whittaker deserved better from were the fandom

[sol1loqu1st]

idk like. i am the eighties who guy, i'm no stranger to the most unserious bullshit known to man and honestly? i HAVE had fun with this season. i have genuinely enjoyed myself. i love fifteen, i love ruby, we've had some really entertaining concepts and villains and despite my complaining i AM interested to see where all of this is headed

AND i think it's bullshit. i think the tennant specials--while I didn't personally like them--had a lot more thought and effort put into them by the writing team, while so far (boom excepted) all of gatwa's episodes have felt like they're being lazily cranked out to fill a quota. i think, intentional or not, gatwa was set up to fail the second rtd decided to bring back fan favorite david tennant for no goddamn reason, and the fact that he started gatwa's first season with THREE mediocre stories in a row, whose better moments were just worse versions of what he already wrote, is another nail in the coffin. it happened to jodie whittaker and now it's happening to ncuti gatwa and it is NOT a coincidence that they are the first woman to play the doctor and the first black man to play the doctor respectively.

i genuinely expect the writing to pick up after a season or two but i suspect the fandom will not stick around to see it happen. gatwa deserves better than this.

[doctorwhoblog]

Greetings dear Whovians, 

Perhaps, it’s time to explain what’s going on with this blog, why it was abandoned and what lies ahead. 

Doctor Who as a show ended for me with Peter Capaldi. Period. I tried to give a chance to Jodie Whittaker’s doctor, but even her first episode was a struggle: I could not see the Doctor in her, there was absolutely no chemistry with companions and I couldn’t care less of what’s going on on a screen. 

At that point I made a tough decision that I should say goodbye to my favourite show, otherwise it would be ruined and I would grow to hate something that was seared onto my heart. 

Looking back and reading comments how the writing went downhill - this perhaps was the best decision as I still have any good memories about the show (even though Capaldi deserved a better writing, especially in his last season).

All these years I avoided spoilers (and Tumblr) and I have no clue what have actually happened in the series - only the fact that it was horrible and they re-wrote things that shouldn’t be touched. 

With the news of RTD coming back I was very hesitant to start watching again considering the gap of 3 seasons which I have no intention to close and catch up. But all the trailers looked very intruiging with a definite vibe of ‘good old days’, so I decided to give it a try. 

To be completely open with you - not sure how I feel about The Star Beast episode. Despite amazing chemistry between David and Catherine (who didn’t age a day!), excellent references to previous story lines and heartwarming moments, I feel like all this woke agenda was a bit too much and maybe even unnecessary. This is not kind of show when you need to push on a viewer and write a plot twist around it. Don't get me wrong, but overall it looked like a very poor writing just to squeeze to the episode and not the important message.  

Speaking of continuity of doctowhoblog. 

I started this blog over 12 years ago when I was still at University, then I started my job and things got complicated. I reached the point when I had a very little free time on my hands and wanted to spend it wisely. Tumblr became a time consuming blackhole with no reward in return, so at some point the weight of value of my time overcome the need to be here. 

Would I make gifs again? Frankly speaking I do not remember HOW anymore…turned out it’s not like riding a bicycle. 

In addition, a lot of things on Tumblr as a platform changed: the last time I made gifs it was 500px with 2mb limit. Now rules have changed and I have no clue what is the standard and where to begin. 

Blog Theme is broken, I know. A lot of things needs fixing, starting from post ‘blocks’, as it appears there’s now not only photo and photoset, but also panorama -  what the hell is {block:Panorama} Tumblr?! Links are broken and everything is a mess.

Please bare with me, I will try to fix it if my head will not explode of all these new additions and features.  

I wouldn’t jump into conclusion that I am back (yet), but there’s some hope that I would appear on this website from time to time (would the show not go downhill again and continue be promising). 

[aenslem]

I have seen so much today that pissed me off that I am ready to filter doctor who tag at all, so Im going to do one thing that will make me feel better, gif Jodie Whittaker, cos she deserved so much better, and I am not talking about ~the writing~, I am talking about the treatment this fandom gave her.