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heresmyfiddlestick · 10 months ago

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And just in case you were wondering how the REST of the EU (meaning officially licensed audios, minisodes, prose, and comics) stack up against the TV series, wonder no longer:

A bit more discussion first

By and large, the EU stuff did not do as well as the TV episodes, which makes the exceptional bits that floated to the top most notable, and the TV episodes that didn't do as well as the EU stuff most execrable.

The biggest changes are to the Sixth and Seventh Doctors' lists, where the five of the top six slots for Six are now taken up by Big Finish audio dramas, with other audios sprinkled throughout, and his comics and prose faring generally worse (as well as one 6/Charley audio, wtf?). Seven's good TV stories still reign at the top of his list, but they are followed up by Lungbarrow, A Death in the Family, and Human Nature, while at the bottom of his list is shoved a full season-and-a-half worth of EU material that we don't care any more about that Silver Nemesis. Same deal for Five.

The highest-ranking EU material (if it can be called that) for Ten and Eleven are the minisodes Time Crash and Pond Life, respectively, both cracking their respective top tens (in addition to Clara and the TARDIS in the latter case). Otherwise, it seems the only Tenth Doctor audios we care about are a couple of the 10/Donna audios, and once again the list gets jammed with half-a-season worth of audio dramas we don't like more than Love & Monsters but that we care for a sight more than The Idiot's Lantern et al. I'm surprised Tumblr isn't more into The Sword of the Chevalier.

Oh, and I have to agree with the Thirteen comic Old Friends cracking into her top three. It's a lot of fun, featuring the Corsair and a nice culmination of the first arc of her comics run.

On with the lists; I have bolded any stories added from that previous reblog with just TV + 8:

First Doctor

The Romans

The Time Meddler

The Edge of Destruction

The Dalek Invasion of Earth

The Tenth Planet

Nothing at the End of the Lane (short story)

An Unearthly Child

The Daleks

The Aztecs

The Chase

The Sensorites

The Gunfighters

The Daleks’ Master Plan

The Space Museum

The Massacre

The War Machines

The Rescue

Marco Polo

The Keys of Marinus

The Celestial Toymaker

The Reign of Terror

Planet of Giants

The Web Planet

The Ark

Galaxy 4

The Cold Equations (audio)

The Myth Makers

Mission to the Unknown

The Savages

The Crusade

The Smugglers

Time in Reverse (comic)

Second Doctor

The War Games

The Mind Robber

The Enemy of the World

The Invasion

The Web of Fear

The Power of the Daleks

The Macra Terror

The Room with All the Doors (short story)

The Highlanders

Tomb of the Cybermen

Fury from the Deep

The Ice Warriors

The Seeds of Death

The Moonbase

The Evil of the Daleks

The Faceless Ones

The Abominable Snowmen

The Underwater Menace

The Queen of Time (audio)

Lepidoptery for Beginners (short story)

The Wheel in Space

The Krotons

The Dominators

The Space Pirates

Third Doctor

The Three Doctors

The Dæmons

The Green Death

The Time Monster

Terror of the Autons

The Curse of Peladon

Inferno

Spearhead from Space

The Last Post (audio)

The Sea Devils

The Scorchies (audio)

Doctor Who and the Silurians

Invasion of the Dinosaurs

The Time Warrior

Frontier in Space

The Mind of Evil

Harvest of Time (novel)

Carnival of Monsters

Planet of the Spiders

The Monster of Peladon

The Ambassadors of Death

Colony in Space

The Claws of Axos

Day of the Daleks

The Mutants

Planet of the Daleks

Death to the Daleks

Fourth Doctor

City of Death

Robots of Death

Genesis of the Daleks

The Star Beast (comic)

The Horror of Fang Rock

The Face of Evil

Shada (animated reconstruction)

The Keeper of Traken

The Horns of Nimon

The Deadly Assassin

Logopolis

The Ark in Space

State of Decay

The Brain of Morbius

The Androids of Tara

The Stones of Blood

The Pirate Planet

The Key to Time

A Full Life (audio)

Warriors’ Gate

The Invasion of Time

The Hand of Fear

The Seeds of Doom

Pyramids of Mars

Terror of the Zygons

The Sun Makers

The Sontaran Experiment

The Ribos Operation

Robot

The Masque of Mandragora

Scratchman (novel)

Image of the Fendahl

The Armageddon Factor

Full Circle

The Leisure Hive

Destiny of the Daleks

Meglos

The Creature from the Pit

Planet of Evil

The Talons of Weng-Chiang

The Android Invasion

The Invisible Enemy

Revenge of the Cybermen

Nightmare of Eden

The Power of Kroll

Underworld

Fifth Doctor (corrected)

The Caves of Androzani

The Five Doctors

Enlightenment

Earthshock

The Kingmaker (audio)

Castrovalva

Mawdryn Undead

Snakedance

Planet of Fire

Spare Parts (audio)

Kinda

Iterations of I (audio)

The Visitation

Frontios

Terminus

Loups-Garoux (audio)

The King's Demons

Black Orchid

Divided Loyalties (novel)

Psychodrome (audio)

Resurrection of the Daleks

Warriors of the Deep

Singularity (audio

Arc of Infinity

Time-Flight

The Awakening

Four to Doomsday

Fear of the Dark (novel)

Creatures of Beauty (audio)

Smoke and Mirrors (audio)

The Elite (audio)

Dalek Soul (audio)

Omega (audio)

Sixth Doctor

Doctor Who and the Pirates (audio)

The Holy Terror (audio)

The Marian Conspiracy (audio)

The Mark of the Rani

Peri and the Piscon Paradox (audio)

Jubilee (audio)

Trial of a Time Lord

Vengeance on Varos

Terror of the Vervoids

The Two Doctors

Revelation of the Daleks

The Apocalypse Element (audio)

Arrangements for War (audio)

The Mysterious Planet

Real Time (audio)

Attack of the Cybermen

The Condemned (audio)

Paradise 5 (audio)

Mindwarp

Something Borrowed (short story)

The Ultimate Foe

The World Shapers (comic)

Timelash

The Twin Dilemma

Voyager (comic)

The Doomwood Curse (audio)

Seventh Doctor

Remembrance of the Daleks

Survival

The Happiness Patrol

Lungbarrow (novel)

A Death in the Family (audio)

Human Nature (novel)

The Curse of Fenric

Ghost Light

The Greatest Show in the Galaxy

Battlefield

Paradise Towers

Dragonfire

The Grey Man of the Mountains (audio)

Robophobia (audio)

Master (audio)

Time and the Rani (previously listed incorrectly below Delta and the Bannermen)

The Harvest (audio)

Delta and the Bannermen (previously listed incorrectly above Time and the Rani)

Nightshade (audio)

1963: The Assassination Games (audio)

Silver Nemesis

Forever Fallen (audio)

Ground Zero (comic)

The Magic Mousetrap (audio)

The Shadow of the Scourge (audio)

The Left-Handed Hummingbird (novel)

Eighth Doctor (corrected)

Scherzo

Caerdroia

The Natural History of Fear

Night of the Doctor

The Chimes of Midnight

Alien Bodies

Zagreus

Unnatural History

Solitaire

Storm Warning

To the Death

Interference

The Red Lady

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

Shada (webcast)

The Adventuress of Henrietta Street

Camera Obscura

The Scarlet Empress

The Silver Turk

The Year of Intelligent Tigers

The Land of Happy Endings

The Flood

Neverland

Vamprie Sceince

Day of the Master

Ship in a Bottle

Absent Friends

The Horror of Glam Rock

Better Watch Out/Fairytale in Salzburg

Human Resources

Living Legend

Albie's Angels

UNIT Dating

The Love Vampires

Company of Friends: Izzy's Story

The TV Movie

The City of the Dead

Blood of the Daleks

Terror Firma

Company of Friends: Fitz's Story

The Blue Angel

The Turing Test

Anachrophobia

Fear Itself (forgot this first time)

The Girl Who Never Was

Phobos

The Eleven

The Side of the Angels

Stranded

The Sonomancer

The Crooked World

The Doomsday Chronometer

Minuet in Hell

The Gallifrey Chronicles

Stop the Clock

Company of Friends: Benny's Story

Other Lives

No More Lies

Company of Friends: Mary's Story

The Crucible of Souls

Paradox of the Daleks

The Eighth Piece

The Fallen

Seeing I

Immortal Beloved

The Time of the Daleks

Here Lies Drax

Faith Stealer

The Book of the Still

The Galileo Trap

The Gift

Songs of Love

Escape from Kaldor

The Burning

Ninth Doctor

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances

Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways

Dalek

Father’s Day

The End of the World

The Unquiet Dead

Rose

Boom Town

Aliens of London/World War Three

The Long Game

Tenth Doctor

Midnight

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead

The Fires of Pompeii

Blink

Partners in Crime

Turn Left

Time Crash (minisode)

Planet of the Ood

Utopia

The Waters of Mars

Smith and Jones

The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords

The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End

The Runaway Damage

Gridlock

Death and the Queen (audio)

The Doctor’s Daughter

No Place (audio)

The Creeping Death (audio)

Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel

Human Nature/The Family of Blood

The Unicorn and the Wasp

The End of Time

School Reunion

The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit

Army of Ghosts/Doomsday

The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky

The Christmas Invasion

Tooth and Claw

Daleks in Manhatta/Evolution of the Daleks

New Earth

The Girl in the Fireplace

Love & Monsters

The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50 (audio)

Born Again (minisode)

Out of Time (audio)

Dreamland (animation)

Expiry Dating (audio)

Wink (audio)

The Infinite Quest (animation)

Voyage of the Damned

Ghosts (audio)

Planet of the Dead

Fear Her

The Shakespeare Code

The Next Doctor

The Idiot’s Lantern

The Lazarus Experiment

The Sword of the Chevalier (audio)

Eleventh Doctor

Vincent and the Doctor

Pond Life (minisode)

The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang

The Doctor’s Wife

The Eleventh Hour

Day of the Doctor

The God Complex

The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone

The Girl Who Waited

Clara and the TARDIS (minisode)

Amy’s Choice

A Good Man Goes to War

The Beast Below

Space/Time (minisode)

P.S. (minisode)

Space in Dimension Relative and Time (comic)

The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon

The Rings of Akhaten

The Snowmen

A Town Called Mercy

The Power of Three

The Angels Take Manhattan

The Lodger

The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood

A Christmas Carol

The Wedding of River Song

Time of the Doctor

The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

The Name of the Doctor

Hide

Asylum of the Daleks

The Vampires of Venice

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

Cold War

The Curse of the Black Spot

Rain Gods (minisode)

Closing Time

The Great Detective (minisode)

Night and the Doctor (minisode)

Let’s Kill Hitler

Nightmare in Silver

The Bells of Saint John

The Crimson Horror

Victory of the Daleks

Night Terrors

The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe

Twelfth Doctor

World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls

Heaven Sent

The Husbands of River Song

Mummy on the Orient Express

The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar

The Pilot

Oxygen

Thin Ice

Under the Lake/Before the Flood

Hell Bent

Dark Water/Death in Heaven

Flatline

Face the Raven

Extremis

Time Heist

Listen

Last Christmas

The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion

Deep Breath

The Eaters of Light

Smile

Knock Knock

Twice Upon a Time

The Caretaker

The Return of Doctor Mysterio

The Girl Who Died

Robot of Sherwood

The Pyramid at the End of the World

Empress of Mars

The Blood Cell (novel)

The Doctor's Meditation (minisode)

Into the Dalek

The Woman Who Lived

Sleep No More

The Lie of the Land

Kill the Moon

Grey Matter (short story)

In the Forest of the Night

Thirteenth Doctor

Demons of the Punjab

Spyfall

Old Friends (comic)

Eve of the Daleks

The Haunting of Villa Diodati

Fugitive of the Judoon

The Woman Who Fell to Earth

The Power of the Doctor

Village of the Angels

Flux

Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror

War of the Sontarans

The Halloween Apocalypse

It Takes You Away

The Witchfinders

Rosa

The Ghost Monument

Resolution

Praxeus

Can You Hear Me?

Once, Upon Time

Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children

Revolution of the Daleks

Arachnids in the UK

The Tsuranga Conundrum

Kerblam!

Legend of the Sea Devils

Survivors of the Flux

Orphan 55

The Vanquishers

The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

Tumblr Dr. Who Poll vs Doctor Who Magazine Poll

It's been just over a month since the end of @adventure-showdown 's monumental survey of how Tumblr feels about individual Doctor Who adventures. Across ten rounds, we sorted the wheat from the chaff, the Quarks from the Rills, and the Cousins from the Looms. I wanted to compare the results of that huge bracket with the results from last year's Doctor Who Magazine poll, which ranked each Doctor's stories individually.

The methodologies for these two were quite different (though adventure-showdown did seed the bracket with a pre-poll that used the same methodology as DWM, but I'm looking at the final poll results for my data here), so comparing them is really interesting! I'm not a statistician, I just like making spreadsheets for fun. I think what can be seen from the trends and data below is a really unique picture of two somewhat overlapping but seriously demographically distinct fragments of the fandom.

Methodologies

Poll Methodologies

The DWM poll asked readers to rank as many televised Doctor Who stories as they liked from 1 to 10. The editors then took the resulting scores for each story and put them in a ranked list for each Doctor.

adventure-showdown began with a series of Google Forms with the same method as DWM, asking internet users to rank stories from 1 to 10. adventure-showdown lumped and split stories differently to DWM: The Key to Time was included as a distinct Four story to each of its individual parts, and each of the individual parts of Trial of a Time Lord and Flux were included alongside the overarching story. Utopia was also split from The Sound of Drums/The Last of the Time Lords.

adventure-showdown used the resulting rankings to create a series of Tumblr polls, moving from a group stage into a series of head-to-head matchups. They matched stories up roughly by obscurity (keeping advertisements and musical numbers separate from audio dramas and comics, which were separate from TV spin-offs, which were separate from the TV show itself), then Doctor or era. With each new round, the matchups were scrambled within melded groups, which ultimately led to a diverse distribution of all different eras and media under the umbrella of Doctor Who throughout the tournament.

My Methodology

In order to turn adventure-showdown's poll results into something that can be compared to DWM's, I created a spreadsheet tracking how each Doctor's stories were doing, separating them first into tiers according to which round they were eliminated in, then within those tiers by how many votes they had in the matchup where they were eliminated.

In the case of some particularly tough matchups, this means that the story that got the most points throughout the entire competition is not necessarily the highest-ranked story for that Doctor. For instance, The Happiness Patrol finished #3 of the Seventh Doctor's stories according to my reckoning of the Tumblr poll, being eliminated in the fifth round with 400 votes, less than the two stories above it (which were eliminated in rounds where they got 147 and 107 votes, respectively). The Happiness Patrol saw a vigorous campaign to increase its vote count, since it was up against Blink. The post for the matchup that eliminated it currently has 304 notes as of this writing. This is one of the fun quirks of this execrise.

General Trends

Where We Agree

The Ninth Doctor shows very stable story rankings between DWM and Tumblr.

On average, the difference in rankings for each episode of 9 is 5%, with only 2 out of 10 stories actually moving up or down the rankings at all. The Sixth Doctor is similar: only 3 of his 8 stories (included in the DWM poll, meaning not counting the individual parts of Trial) moved by more than 1 ranking. The Seventh Doctor only had 4 of his 12 stories move by more than 1 ranking.

On the flipside, Tumblr's opinions differ from DWM most regarding the First, Fifth, and Eleventh Doctors. The only stories that stayed relatively stable across both rankings for these Doctors are as follows.

For the First Doctor, only 4 out of 29 didn't shift by more than 1 ranking: #2 The Time Meddler, #5 The Tenth Planet (#6 in DWM), #18 The Keys of Marinus, and #20 The Reign of Terror (#19 in DWM) For the Fifth Doctor, we agreed only 3 times out of 20: #1 The Caves of Androzani, #2 The Five Doctors (#3 in DWM), and #17 Arc of Infinity (#16 in DWM) For Eleven, 5 of his 39 stories stayed relatively stable: #1 Vincent and the Doctor (#2 in DWM), #4 The Eleventh Hour (#3 in DWM), #9 Amy's Choice, #14 The Snowmen (#13 in DWM), and #39 The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe.

As you'll see further below, there is usually agreement between both polls about at least one episode that is in the top and bottom 3 or 4 for each Doctor, so these extremes represent the battle over ordering the ones generally ranked in the middle.

We Hate Daleks

As a general trend, Tumblr seems to think less of Dalek stories than the general DWM readership.

Out of 26 stories with Daleks as the primary antagonist, only 8 did not drop by more than 1 slot between the DWM poll and the Tumblr bracket (that is The Chase, Genesis of the Daleks, Remembrance of the Daleks, Dalek, Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways, Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks, The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar, and Eve of the Daleks). DIM/Evolution actually ranked 3 slots higher on Tumblr than the magazine, while TMA/TWF and Eve finished significantly higher on Tumblr than in the magazine, cracking into the top 5 for their respective Doctors.

out of 18 cybermen, 5 stay 9 fall, 4 rise

We Love The Master

Meanwhile, out of 26 stories featuring the Master, either as the primary antagonist or as an important character, only two dropped by more than one place in the rankings (The End of Time and The Power of the Doctor), while the others either stayed put or increased their positions, some by quite a lot (e.g. The Time Monster (up 20 slots in the Third Doctor rankings), The Keeper of Traken (up 8 slots in the Fourth Doctor rankings), Planet of Fire (up 6 spots in the Fifth Doctor rankings), and The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar (up 9 spots in the Twelfth Doctor rankings)).

We Have No Easily Observable Feelings About the Cybermen

Out of 18 Cyberman stories, 9 fell in the rankings between DWM and Tumblr, while 5 stayed within 1 rank of the DWM poll, and 4 rose. If I had to venture a hypothesis based on my unscientific qualitative analysis, it looks like Tumblr marked down most of the Classic Who Cyberman stories (only The Tenth Planet, The Invasion, and Attack staying within 1 rank of the DWM poll), while the only ones that rose in the ranks were New Who stories (Rise/The Age of Steel, Closing Time, Nightmare in Silver, and Dark Water/Death in Heaven-- though of course this last one is also a Master story, which we know we love).

Superlatives

Here are the stories that showed the biggest positive and negative difference in their rankings between the DWM poll and the Tumblr bracket, for each Doctor:

First Doctor

Biggest jump: #10 The Sensorites (up from #27 in DWM) Biggest fall: #28 The Crusade (down from #13 in DWM)

Second Doctor

Biggest jump: #8 The Highlanders (up from #16 in DWM) Biggest fall: #14 The Evil of the Daleks (down from #14 in DWM)

Third Doctor

Biggest jump: #4 The Time Monster (up from #24 in DWM) Biggest fall: #21 Day of the Daleks (down from #11 in DWM)

Fourth Doctor

Biggest jump: #7 The Horns of Nimon (up from #40 in DWM) Biggest fall: #36 The Talons of Weng-Chiang (down from #5 in DWM)

Fifth Doctor

Biggest jump: TIE #8 Planet of Fire (up from #14) and #13 Warriors of the Deep (up from #19) Biggest fall: TIE #14 The Visitation (down from #7) and #19 The Awakening (down from #12)

Sixth Doctor

Biggest jump: #1 The Mark of the Rani (up from #5 in DWM) Biggest fall: #6 Revelation of the Daleks (down from #1 in DWM) [NB: not counting each part of Trial, since DWM didn't include them - though The Ultimate Foe ranked #10 on Tumblr while Trial itself ranked #4 in DWM, so that could be another option for this superlative]

Seventh Doctor

Biggest jump: #3 The Happiness Patrol (up from #7 in DWM) Biggest fall: #12 Silver Nemesis (down from #9 in DWM)

Ninth Doctor

Biggest jump: #5 The End of the World (up from #7 in DWM) Biggest fall: #7 Rose (down from #5 in DWM)

Tenth Doctor

Biggest jump: #17 42 (up from #31 in DWM) Biggest fall: #29 The Girl in the Fireplace (down from #7 in DWM) [NB: adventure-showdown split Utopia and The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords where DWM didn't, which both placed above these two stories.]

Eleventh Doctor

Biggest jump: #13 The Rings of Akhaten (up from #34 in DWM) Biggest fall: #36 The Crimson Horror (down from #18 in DWM)

Twelfth Doctor

Biggest jump: #20 The Eaters of Light (up from #30 in DWM) Biggest fall: #18 The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion (down from #7 in DWM)

Thirteenth Doctor

Biggest jump: TIE #1 Demons of the Punjab (up from #5), #2 Spyfall (up from #6), and #3 Eve of the Daleks (up from #7) Biggest fall: #15 Rosa (down from #4) [NB: not counting each part of Flux, since DWM didn't include them - though The Vanquishers ranked #29 on Tumblr while Flux itself ranked #12 in DWM, so that could be another option for this superlative]

Definitive Bests and Worsts

Here, then, are each Doctor's commonly agreed-upon best and worst stories: that is, those stories ranked in each Doctor's top/bottom 10% (minimum 3) in each poll, and where both polls overlap. Lists are alphabetical.

First Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: The Time Meddler Tumblr: The Edge of Destruction, The Romans DWM: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Daleks' Master Plan Worst Tumblr: The Crusade, The Savages, The Smugglers DWM: The Sensorites, The Space Museum, The Web Planet

Second Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: The War Games Tumblr: The Enemy of the World, The Mind Robber DWM: The Power of the Daleks, Tomb of the Cybermen Worst Both agree: The Dominators, The Space Pirates Tumblr: The Krotons DWM: The Underwater Menace

Third Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: The Green Death Tumblr: The Dæmons, The Three Doctors DWM: Inferno, Spearhead from Space Worst Both agree: The Mutants Tumblr: Death to the Daleks, Planet of the Daleks DWM: The Monster of Peladon, The Time Monster

Fourth Doctor (top/bottom 4)

Best Both agree: City of Death, Genesis of the Daleks, Robots of Death Tumblr: The Horror of Fang Rock DWM: Pyramids of Mars Worst Both agree: The Power of Kroll, Underworld Tumblr: Nightmare of Eden, Revenge of the Cybermen DWM: The Horns of Nimon, Meglos

Fifth Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: The Caves of Androzani, The Five Doctors Tumblr: Enlightenment DWM: Earthshock Worst Both agree: Time-Flight Tumblr: The Awakening, Four to Doomsday DWM: The King's Demons, Warriors of the Deep

Sixth Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: Vengeance on Varos Tumblr: The Mark of the Rani, Trial of a Time Lord (considered as a whole) Worst Both agree: Timelash, The Twin Dilemma Tumblr: The Ultimate Evil (specifically) DWM: Attack of the Cybermen

Seventh Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: Remembrance of the Daleks, Survival Tumblr: The Happiness Patrol DWM: The Curse of Fenric Worst Both agree: Delta and the Bannermen, Time and the Rani Tumblr: Silver Nemesis DWM: Paradise Towers

Ninth Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: Bad Wolf/The Parting of Ways, Dalek, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances Worst Both agree: Aliens of London/World War Three, Boom Town, The Long Game

Tenth Doctor (top/bottom 4)

Best Both agree: Blink, Midnight, Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead Tumblr: The Fires of Pompeii DWM: Human Nature/The Family of Blood Worst Both agree: The Idiot's Lantern, The Lazarus Experiment Tumblr: The Next Doctor, The Shakespeare Code DWM: Fear Her, Love & Monsters

Eleventh Doctor (top/bottom 4)

Best Both agree: The Eleventh Hour, The Pandorica Opens, Vincent and the Doctor Tumblr: The Doctor's Wife DWM: Day of the Doctor Worst Both agree: The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe Tumblr: The Crimson Horror, Night Terrors, Victory of the Daleks DWM: The Curse of the Black Spot, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, Nightmare in Silver

Twelfth Doctor (top/bottom 4)

Best Both agree: Heaven Sent, Mummy on the Orient Express, World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls Tumblr: The Husbands of River Song DWM: Flatline Worst Both agree: In the Forest of the Night, Kill the Moon, Sleep No More Tumblr: The Lie of the Land DWM: The Woman Who Lived

Thirteenth Doctor (top/bottom 3)

[Villa Diodati gif included because there is no overlap in the two polls' top 3 for Thirteen, however this episode ranked #4 on Tumblr and #2 in DWM, so it is the closest overlap at the top.]

Best Both agree: None! Tumblr: Eve of the Daleks, Demons of the Punjab, Spyfall DWM: Fugitive of the Judoon, The Haunting of Villa Diodati, The Power of the Doctor Worst Both agree: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos, Orphan 55 Tumblr: The Vanquishers (on its own) DWM: Legend of the Sea Devils

...What about Eight?

Who said that? I thought you had all gone. You shouldn't scare me like that. Well, you see, the Eighth Doctor only has two televised appearances in which he features, and only one of those was included in the DWM poll. This post is about comparing the two polls. I can't really do anything...

Ah, alright.

Televised Appearances

We ranked The Night of the Doctor above the TV Movie. Night made it all the way to round 6, while the TV Movie was out in Round 2, losing with 266 votes to Jubilee, which then lost to Scherzo in the next round. Night lost to Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways, which had 344 votes to Night's 204.

Audios

Scherzo made it to the quarter-finals of the Tumblr poll! It lost out to Midnight 435 to 581, the first TV episode it encountered in adventure-showdown's very intricate media-segregating bracket.

Caerdroia made it to round 7, losing to Scherzo after it had beaten out Father's Day in round 6 (299-280) and the much-loved SJA episode The Curse of Clyde Langer in round 5.

The Natural History of Fear made it to round 6, finally losing out to Blink (253-352), and making it the top-scoring Eight audio to go out in this round.

The Chimes of Midnight also got to round 6, finally just losing to Remembrance of the Daleks (163-166); in the same round, Zagreus lost to Scherzo (131-210) just after it had beaten Genesis of the Daleks (132-103) in round 5.

The next highest-ranked Eight* audio is Solitaire (a Companion Chronicle, hence the asterisk), which was eliminated in round 5, losing to Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (180-43).

It's worth noting here, that Doctor Who and the Pirates also made it to round 6, making it the highest-ranked non-Eighth Doctor audio. It lost to City of Death (170-78). The next-highest ranked audios are The Marian Conspiracy (lost in Round 5 to The Wedding of Sarah-Jane Smith), The Holy Terror (lost in Round 5 to The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances), and A Death in the Family (lost in Round 5 to The Natural History of Fear). Congratulations to Evelyn Smythe.

Novels

The EDA Alien Bodies managed to make it to round 6, finally being eliminated by Turn Left with 145 votes to 264. It had just beaten out Time Crash in the previous round. This makes it the highest-ranked Doctor Who novel overall, according to this Tumblr tournament.

The next-highest novel for the Eighth Doctor was Unnatural History, which was defeated in round 5 by The Chimes of Midnight.

Below that, there were five EDAs eliminated in round 4:

Interference (lost with 41 votes to Scherzo's 85)

Mad Dogs and Englishmen (lost with 38 votes to The Marian Conspiracy's 56)

The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (lost with 28 votes to A Death in the Family's 54)

Camera Obscura (lost with 27 votes to Lungbarrow's 47)

The Scarlet Empress (lost with 22 votes to The Chimes of Midnight's 102)

Comics

I hadn't actually been tracking any of this Eight stuff, so I'm having to squint through the backlog and this is already much too long. So you're only getting two: The Land of Happy Endings is the Eighth Doctor comic that made it the farthest in the Tumblr competition, being eliminated in round 3 by An Adventure in Space and Time (46 votes to 95). The Flood also made it to round 3, where it was eliminated by the Thirteenth Doctor comic Old Friends, gaining 39 votes against Old Friends' 47.

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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Doctor Who: What Makes a Great One-Off Character?

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Some Doctor Who characters are intended for greatness; some are intended to be killed off at the end of their first episode. Writers have a lot more control over the second than the first. What remains true for all characters, is the tension that exists between their function in the story and their potential to affect it. Even a guard who simply runs into a room to get shot could have dragged the story in another direction, should they be allowed (this stock background character was the inspiration for Terry Pratchett’s City Watch novels).

Successful one-off characters aren’t necessarily those who break away from their function, (or even those who aren’t strictly required, for example Binro the Heretic in ‘The Ribos Operation’), but those who make a story soar to another level entirely. More often, what makes them work is when their function in the story is disguised. There are plenty of ways to do this and most of them intersect: casting, costume, dialogue, performance…

Let’s first address the latter. Does the actor need to get under the skin of the character to create a nuanced and layered take that resonates utterly with the audience?

Nope. Doctor Who frequently embraces camp. Sometimes camp holds Doctor Who at gunpoint and sings piano ballads at it. The results vary. Richard Briers’ possessed Chief Caretaker in ‘Paradise Towers’ undermines the production (while not a production striving for kitchen sink realism, Briers’ parody-like performance still cuts against its Brechtian leanings) whereas Graham Crowden’s Soldeed is heightened and ridiculous among similar performances.

Other great examples of this stock character, which I am calling Ham-Err Horror without apology, include Professor Zaroff in ‘The Underwater Menace’ (intended to be driven mad by the death of his family, only for this to be cut from the script, rendering the character inexplicably inexplicable) and John Lumic from ‘Rise of the Cybermen’ (inspired to create the Cybermen by a fear of death, with actor Roger Lloyd-Pack citing Dick Cheney as an inspiration for the performance, but remembered mainly for the ripe delivery of lines such as ‘And how will you do that from beyond the grave?’).

Sometimes you don’t even need dialogue. Christopher Bowen, as Mordred in ‘Battlefield’, commits to a maniacal laugh so long that there’s a cut to another scene in the middle of it.

And yet there are places where camp or over-the-top villains work unironically, and some of the most hospitable are the Tom Baker stories of 1975-1977. Harrison Chase, Magnus Greel, Morbius, the Master… these characters fit into the Grand Guignol tradition of heightened and melodramatic performances (Just because something is dark and morbid doesn’t stop it being ludicrously tragic). As the tone of these stories is pitched at gothic melodrama though, the characters and setting cohere.

Returning to ‘Battlefield’, while there are some great individual performances from one-off characters, they’re not quite pulling in the same direction (Jean Marsh as Morgaine is playing an inter-dimensional sorceress as if it’s real, Marcus Gilbert as Ancelyn is saying ‘This is ridiculous, and that’s great’ and pulling along Angela Bruce’s Bambera in that direction too). ‘Battlefield’ is fun, but also disjointed.

Doctor Who: Ranking Every Single Companion Departure

By Andrew Blair

It’s a Sin’s Doctor Who Crossover Pays Tribute to Remembrance of the Daleks Actor

By Louisa Mellor

Some characters get by on the strength of costume or make-up, such as the Destroyer (also from ‘Battlefield’) or the Zygons. Broton, the latter’s leader, is a successful character who operates purely as a function rather than an individual. Played with haughty relish by John Woodnutt, Broton is a visual triumph, with the costume a collaboration between costume designer Jim Acheson, visual effects designer John Friedlander and director Douglas Camfield. At its best, ‘Terror of the Zygons’ oozes with tension and atmosphere, with some fantastic design work and enjoyable pulp runaround. This all distracts the viewer from Broton being a colossal idiot. Indulging in clichés such as explaining his entire plot, putting characters in easily escapable situations and assuming the Doctor is dead without proof, Broton has to do these for the story to unfold according to Doctor Who’s format. Fortunately few people watch ‘Terror of the Zygons’ for Broton’s unique take on planetary subjugation.

Some clichés exist specifically because that character has worked well in previous stories. Frequently in Doctor Who somebody would sacrifice themselves to save the day, someone else would comment on this, and everybody would look solemn for a few seconds before immediately moving on with their lives. ‘The Ark in Space’ features two people sacrificing themselves to save humanity, one with a quip about his union and the other fighting possession, and in 1975, a single line noting these acts was enough.

In 2005, TV had changed, and so Doctor Who threw more weight behind these deaths (boosted by Russell T. Davies’ seemingly effortless ability to generate a whole human life by adding three adjectives per character to the scripts). Jabe in ‘The End of the World’, Gwyneth in ‘An Unquiet Dead’, Pete Tyler in ‘Father’s Day’… these sacrifices were dwelt on, their weight became cumulative. From this, a subgenre of Almost Companions emerged with Lynda in ‘The Parting of the Ways��, Astrid in ‘Voyage of the Damned’ and Rita in ‘The God Complex’: all too doomed to step on board. Eventually the show acknowledged this with the Eleventh Doctor standing over the body of Lorna Bucket and observing “They’re always brave.”

Doctor Who was commentating on itself as early as its second series (in ‘The Rescue’ David Whittaker created Koquillion, a monster in a rubber suit that turned out to actually be a man in a rubber monster costume). In the 1980s, Doctor Who had become increasingly continuity-heavy, but what its final few series managed successfully was to comment on Doctor Who without making the stories’ success dependent on this. Characters such as Captain Cook offer up twisted reflections of the Doctor, with the Chief Clown, Josiah Samuel Smith and Commander Millington all tapping into the historical influences on the show, but crucially the stories still work if you’re not familiar with all this.

‘Ghostlight’, the most densely packed version of this approach,is still entertaining even if you don’t know what is going on. It’s played with such conviction and unity, with each character managing to feel both heavily symbolic but with a sense of inner-life. This is generally true of the Seventh Doctor’s era supporting characters, especially the guy who snaps “I can’t do anything without my list now can I?” in ‘The Happiness Patrol’.

But as we’ve seen, a standout character doesn’t have to be multi-faceted. Not every henchman can be Packer from ‘The Invasion’ (he’s not only sadistic and cruel, but Peter Halliday really commits to the undignified flapping when things go wrong), but most stock characters in Doctor Who work by being given ‘a bit’.

Usually this stems from their plot function. Harrison Chase, in ‘The Seeds of Doom’ is a plant collector and obsessive because the story is based around aggressive plant-creatures, and needs a simple way to bring the main human antagonist into the adventure. Here though it’s more than that. Lesser examples of this trick can be seen with Tarun Capel in ‘Robots of Death’, where his obsession with robots isn’t as unsettling as Chase’s obsession with plants (and then further down the line we have Magnus Greel in ‘Talons of Weng-Chieng’, who is evil because the story needs a bad guy). In ‘Seeds of Doom’, time is devoted to the idea of a man who considers plant life superior to humanity, and the script and actor Tony Beckley really commit to the comedy and horror of this idea. That’s his ‘bit’.

Perhaps the finest example of turning a character’s basic function into pure entertainment is Duggan in ‘City of Death’. Douglas Adams and Graham Williams, rewriting David Fisher’s scripts about aliens in Monte Carlo, took a Bulldog Drummond-inspired detective character and realised his primary function in the script was to be the muscle for the Doctor and Romana.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

There are other elements of of ‘City of Death’ that poke fun at television’s contrivances (The guard’s throwaway line saying Captain Tancredi will “be here instantly” just before the door opens, for example) and Duggan’s repeatedly punching people unconscious to move the plot along is not only revealed to be an example of Chekhov’s Gun, whereby it’s the solution to the whole story, but also the source of the best sight gag in Doctor Who when Duggan opens a wine bottle by simply smashing it open off the bar. Without providing him with much in the way of depth or backstory, by leaning into the character’s story function to almost absurd levels, ‘City of Death’ creates one of the most memorable supporting characters in Doctor Who history.

The post Doctor Who: What Makes a Great One-Off Character? appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3aUbT6u

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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oswincoleman · 5 years ago

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Jenna’s Villains

Jenna Coleman has now been cast in the role of Marie-Andrée Leclerc in the Netflix and BBC One series The Serpent, which is currently being filmed in Thailand. It is based on the real life story of French serial killer Charles Sobrhaj and his accomplice, Leclerc, fleeing across borders to escape captivity after having committed several brutal murders in India, Thailand, and Nepal in the 1970s. It is undoubtedly a tough role that will require lots of care in dealing with this sensitive topic. Here I will review some of the other (semi-) villaneous, albeit fictional characters that Jenna has portrayed so far.

This post contains massive spoilers!

Bonnie (Doctor Who, S9E7-8, The Zygon Invasion, The Zygon Inversion)

Bonnie was the leader of the radical group of Zygons (shapeshifting aliens) who sought to unmask all Zygons, reveal their true identity, and start a war with humanity. She took the shape of Clara Oswald to obtain strategic powers, and used these to annihilate UNIT in the UK, and gain access to the Black Archive, where she hoped she would find the tools necessary to start (and possibly also win) the war she had planned.

After her plan doesn’t quite work as she had intended, and after being subjected to several mind games, the Doctor finally convinces her of the pointlessness and stupidity of her plans, and makes her realize that bloodshed only leads to more bloodshed. He forgives her for the deaths she has caused, both directly and indirectly. And in the end she completes a full 180° turn, choosing instead to protect the peace between humans and Zygons, rather than to attack it, and finally morphs into a second Osgood.

Actually I could stop right here, Bonnie is the only character Jenna has played that I would actually call a villain. But there have been a few other characters she has played, who have committed serious felonies. They always had a justification that we as viewers empathize with, but the law in these fictional settings does not.

Jasmine Thomas (Emmerdale)

Jasmine worked as a journalist, and was trying to investigate the McFarlanes. She was attempting to exploit policeman Shane Doyle to gain information about them. When he finds her spying around, he attacks her and tries to rape her. Jasmine’s girlfriend Debbie arrives, and hits Shane unconscious. When he rises again, Jasmine kills him.

After both Debbie and her father have been charged for the murder, Jasmine travels to the court, reveals the truth, and is subsequentyl sentenced to four years in prison.

Lindsay James (Waterloo Road)

It is remarkable how similar certain elements of the stories of Jasmine and Lindsay are. Lindsay’s mother is charged for the murder of her husband Tony. Lindsay goes to court to testify. She reveals that she had been repeatedly raped by her father. When he seemed to have had plans of also raping Lindsay’s younger sister, she killed him.

Just like Jasmine, Lindsay’s appearance on the show also concludes with her in jail.

Joanna Lindsay (The Cry)

When Joanna’s baby boy Noah dies unexpectedly in a trip to Australia, Joanna’s life turns upside down. Her partner, Alistair concocts a fake tale of child kidnapping that Joanna plays along with. But after months of lies, and deceptions she finally discovers the entire truth herself; Alistair gave Noah the deadly dose of medicine, but always made her feel guilty for his death. He lied about where he had buried Noah, and was making money from the lie he had told the world. Joanna struggles with how to break free, and impulsively causes a car crash in which Alistair dies, but she survives.

This is where the novel and series diverge to completely opposite endings. In the novel, Joanna wants to be convicted for the murder of Alistair, because she feels guilty about Noah. She however comes across as crazy, and gets sent to psychiatric ward.

In the series however, Joanna convincingly argues her case that the death of Alistair was an accident, and gets away with it. Finally returning to Australia, to the house built on the grounds in which Noah was buried.

#jenna coleman #jenna louise coleman #the serpent #doctor who #bonnie #emmerdale #jasmine thomas #waterloo road #lindsay james #the cry #joanna lindsay

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whoify · 5 years ago

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tdotd novelization is making me want to rewatch the zygon invasion/the zygon inversion

#milk post #those eps were never my favorite of s9 but this book just gives SO MUCH background on the double osgood thing #and makes you invested in a way none of the episodes ever did #like i just put down the book and said WOW out loud

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thedoctorwhocompanion · 3 years ago

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Five New Doctor Who Target Novelisations to be Released in July 2022

Five New #DoctorWho Target Novelisations to be Released in July 2022

Though unconfirmed by the BBC, it appears that five new Target novelisations will be released in July 2022, including stories from the Fourth, Tenth, and Twelfth Doctors — all written by the stories original screenwriters! The stories being adapted into novels are: The Stones of BloodThe Androids of TaraThe Fires of PompeiiThe Zygon Invasion/ The Zygon InversionThe Eaters of Light The Zygon…

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anotheruserwithnoname · 2 years ago

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It’s hard to believe there was once a time when “divisive” in fandom just meant people thinking the idea of the moon being a big egg was silly. Oh for those days.

Anyway, in an article that’s actually more about his upcoming Target Books novelization of the Zygon Invasion/Inversion, Peter Harness said he wouldn’t want to revise the Kill the Moon episiode from Series 8, other than perhaps restoring a deleted scene.

Hi lack of interest in revising past works bodes well for his Zygon novel adhering closely to the TV story (hopefully meaning we won’t see, for example, references to a future Doctor which has happened in a few cases). As the first novelization set during the “peak Whouffaldi” era it’ll be interesting to see how much if any of that aspect is reflected in the book. Keep in mind that, while there have most definitely been examples of writers who have been on board with the idea (Moffat being one), others have either not realized or have chosen to downplay this aspect. I don’t know what camp Harness falls into.

The Zygon Invasion novelization is due for release in the UK in July (alongside a few others such as a rewritten version of the Tom Baker-era Warriors’ Gate). North American release usually occurs a few months later for these books.

#twelfth doctor #clara oswald #kill the moon #the zygon invasion (novel)#peter harness

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stillheart · 6 years ago

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8. + 9.!

( @intoaroman | meme )

8. do you follow canon, or dump it in the trash?

depends on the muse! but for clara, i follow it & build upon it! i consider all of the tv show, comics, short stories & novels canon, and i love how clara’s characterised in them! i don’t think she’s sold short in any of them, though i do think fandom at large often misunderstands and misinterprets her!

9. best scene featuring your muse?

oh clara has so many good scenes! i’m just going to use this as a chance to infodump my favourite scenes with her!

in blood and ice, her entire characterisation is great, especially all of her scenes with winnie, but my favourite from that is when winnie has betrayed clara & the doctor, and clara continues to believe that winnie will turn out to be good, and that she’ll sacrifice herself for the doctor ( i don’t remember the exact quote but there’s an exchange between the dr & clara that goes a bit like: ‘she’s being asked to choose between me or herself, can you blame her for that?’ ‘yes.’ which. god it’s not a good mentality but i could go off for days just based on that exchange )

there’s another scene in- god i don’t remember the name of the short story, but it’s the one with 11 & clara- & throughout clara’s been bitter about what happened on trenzalore & anyway, the big bad has been using the skeletons of those who crash land on the planet as part of the security system, and clara notices that one of the skeleton’s is a childs, and she has a moment of complete fury based on her role as a protector and caretaker of so many children throughout all of her echoes lives, and as the skeletons come to attack clara & the doctor, she steps forwards and hugs the child one & just. god. i love that so much ( that short story in general is so good i need to re-read it )

as for the tv show itself, the beginning of dark water is a great scene, love that unstable mess. the entirety of flatline is also amazing. so is the ending of mummy on the orient express, her showdown with bonnie in the zygon invasion, and god just pretty much any time she’s on screen in season 9 to be quite honest

but to narrow it down to just one scene, my favourite with her is when she pleads with the time lords to save the doctor. that scene is extremely important to me for personal reasons. as a trans person myself, i’ve always seen the doctor’s ~real~ name as his dead name, so seeing clara affirm that the doctor is his real name, the only name he needs, is very important to me!

oh god i totally went off

#ooc #[thank you!!!!]#intoaroman

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the-desolated-quill · 7 years ago

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@the-crypt-of-randomness that is a bloody understatement. Just look at Harness’ previous work. You’ve got Kill The Moon, a thinly veiled pro-life metaphor that drowns in its own pseudo-science and backwards logic, and The Zygon Invasion/Inversion, an immigration metaphor so devoid of nuance it practically teeters on the brink of being offensive.

Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with allegories. The Daleks are an allegory for the Nazis. The Cybermen were initially an allegory for the dangers of plastic surgery and cybernetic implants and enhancements. George Orwell’s Animal Farm was an allegory for Stalin’s Russia. H. G Wells’ War Of The Worlds was an allegory for British imperialism and colonialism. But the reason those work is because they make sense under their own internal logic and don’t bash you over the head with their message. The best allegories work on multiple levels. War Of The Worlds is a great sci-fi novel in and of itself, but if you’re aware of the history of the British Empire, then stuff like the red weed takes on a whole other meaning and significance.

Peter Harness is neither subtle enough nor clever enough to write allegories. They don’t make sense as stories in and of themselves and are too painfully on the nose.

Oh and get this. Guess who’s going to be writing a BBC mini-series adaptation of War Of The Worlds later this year. Be afraid @the-crypt-of-randomness. Be very afraid.

#peter harness #doctor who #quill has a moan

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lucascecil · 1 year ago

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Twelfth Doctor - Project: Blue Box

TV Stories

◆ Deep Breath

◆ Into the Dalek

◆ Robot of Sheerwood

◆ Listen

◆ Time Heist

◆ The Caretaker

◆ Kill the Moon

◆ Mummy on the Orient Express

◆ Flatline

◆ In the Forest of Night

◆ Dark Water/Death in Heaven

◆ Last Chrismtas

◆ The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar

◆ Under the Lake/Before the Flood

◆ The Girl Who Died

◆ The Woman Who Lived

◆ The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion

◆ Sleep No More

◆ Face the Raven

◆ Heaven Sent/Hell Bent

◆ The Husbands of River Song

◆ The Return of Doctor Mysterio

◆ Pilot

◆ Smile

◆ Thin Ice

◆ Knock Knock

◆ Oxygen

◆ Extremis/The Pyramid at the End of the World/The Lie of the Hand

◆ Empress of Mars

◆ The Eaters of Light

◆ World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls

◆ Twice Upon a Time

Audio Adventures

- 12th Doctor Adventures

◆ The Charge of the Night Brigade

◆ War Wounds

◆ Distant Voices

◆ Field Trip

◆ Flight to Calandra

◆ Split Second

◆ The Weight of History

- Audio Novels

◆ Emancipation of the Daleks

- Short Trips

◆ The Astrea Conspiracy

◆ Dead Media

◆ The Best-Laid Plans

◆ Regeneration Impossible

◆ The Three Flames

◆ A Song for Running

Books

◆ The Blood Cell

◆ Silhouette

◆ The Crawling Terror

◆ The Royal Blood

◆ Big Bang Generation

◆ Deep Time

◆ The Shining Man

◆ Diamond Dogs

◆ Plague City

#Twelfth Doctor #Doc Thoughts

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strongblacklesbian · 7 years ago

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This headline is mildly deceptive. Here’s the article which explains further

Though Steven Moffat may be exiting as Doctor Who showrunner this Christmas, that doesn’t mean he’s done with the wonderful world of the Whoniverse.

RadioTimes.com has learned that the screenwriter is teaming up with former Who boss Russell T Davies and novelist Jenny Colgan to write a series of Doctor Who novelisations.

Based on the iconic Target novelisations that retold classic Doctor Who episodes from the 1970s to the 1990s, this new ‘Target Collection’ will be published by BBC Books and Penguin Randomhouse, and will see Davies and Moffat adapt a selection of their own episodes while Colgan adapts the first full episode featuring David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor.

Davies will adapt Rose, the very first episode of the revived Doctor Who, which aired in 2005 and introduced the world to Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler and Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor. Meanwhile, Colgan is penning the novelisation for Davies’ 2005 festive special The Christmas Invasion: that was the first full outing for Tennant’s popular Tenth Doctor and saw the Time Lord face off against the Sycorax.

Following on from this, Moffat is set to adapt two of his own episodes – 2013 50th anniversary spectacular The Day of the Doctor, which united Tennant and Matt Smith’s Doctors with John Hurt’s previously-unseen War Doctor. Moffat is also planning to adapt upcoming Christmas episode Twice Upon a Time, which airs this December and serves as both Moffat and Peter Capaldi’s Doctor Who swansong.

All four titles will be released on the 2nd April 2018, and short summaries of each (recovered from Penguin’s Australian website and confirmed as genuine by RadioTimes.com) can be read below.

DOCTOR WHO: ROSE (TARGET COLLECTION)

By Russell T Davies

The story that relaunched Doctor Who for the 21st century, novelised by show-runner Russell T Davies from his original script.

Meet the new Doctor Who classics.

“Nice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life!”

In a lair somewhere beneath central London, a malevolent alien intelligence is plotting the end of humanity. Shop window dummies that can move – and kill – are taking up key positions, ready to strike.

Rose Tyler, an ordinary Londoner, is working her shift in a department store, unaware that this is the most important day of her life. She’s about to meet the only man who understands the true nature of the threat facing Earth, a stranger who will open her eyes to all the wonder and terror of the universe – a traveller in time and space known as the Doctor.

DOCTOR WHO: THE CHRISTMAS INVASION (TARGET COLLECTION)

By Jenny T. Colgan

The Tenth Doctor’s first adventure, novelised by bestselling author Jenny T Colgan

Meet the new Doctor Who classics.

Earth is under attack by power-hungry aliens. This is no time for the Doctor to be out of action.

When a British space probe is intercepted by a sinister alien vessel on the eve of Christmas, it marks the beginning of an audacious invasion of the Earth by the Sycorax – horrifying marauders from beyond the stars. Within hours, a third of humanity stands on the brink of death with not a single shot fired.

Our planet needs a champion – but the Doctor is not fit for service. He’s just regenerated, delirious in a new body and a dressing gown. Forced into his battered shoes is his friend, Rose Tyler, a girl from a London council estate. Will she save the world from this nightmare before Christmas – or see it destroyed?

DOCTOR WHO: THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR (TARGET COLLECTION)

By Steven Moffat

The spectacular 50th anniversary episode with the iconic War Doctor, novelised by showrunner Steven Moffat from his original script

Meet the new Doctor Who classics.

When the entire universe is at stake, three different Doctors will unite to save it.

The Tenth Doctor is hunting shape-shifting Zygons in Elizabethan England. The Eleventh is investigating a rift in space-time in the present day. And one other – the man they used to be but never speak of – is fighting the Daleks in the darkest days of the Time War. Driven by demons and despair, this battle-scarred Doctor is set to take a devastating decision that will threaten the survival of the entire universe… a decision that not even a Time Lord can take alone.

On this day, the Doctor’s different incarnations will come together to save the Earth… to save the universe… and to save his soul.

DOCTOR WHO: TWICE UPON A TIME (TARGET COLLECTION)

By Steven Moffat

The Twelfth Doctor’s dramatic final adventure, novelised by showrunner Steven Moffat

Based on this exciting return, it seems that both Davies and Moffat have found it tricky to say goodbye to Doctor Who. But given the weird and wonderful universe they got to play in, can we really blame them?

#russell t davies #steven moffat #doctor who #they're doing their own thing it looks like #they're just introducing them together i think?

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calderuofcups · 7 years ago

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1-31. I have no chill.

listen. i love you.

1. Top 3 Doctors

twelve, nine, four

2. Top 3 companions

sarah jane smith, bill potts, river song

3. Favourite quote

can’t pick just one so you get three!

“When you love the Doctor, it’s like loving the stars themselves. You don’t expect a sunset to admire you back!” - River Song

“There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea’s asleep and the river’s dream; people made of smoke and city’s made of song. Somewhere there’s danger, somewhere there’s injustice, and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we’ve got work to do.” - Seventh Doctor

“We’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one.” - Eleventh Doctor

4. Favourite Dalek story

the magician’s apprentice / witch’s familiar

5. If you could pick any companion to travel with any Doctor, who would it be?

sarah jane with twelve

6. How much EU have you seen?

all of sja and torchwood, one doctor who audiobook, one tie-in novel, and two torchwood audiobooks

7. Favourite companion/doctor relationship

i love all of them SO MUCH it’s so hard to choose but i can narrow it down to sarah jane and ten, twelve and clara, and rose and nine

8. OTP?

vastra and jenny, my interspecies victorian lesbian moms

9. NOTP?

twelve and bill WHY DO PEOPLE SHIP THAT SHE GAY DUDE STOP IT LOL AND HE’S HER GRANDPA JESUS ! block me if you ship twelve and bill thank YOU

10. Any ships?

way too many to list like dude omg so many. i guess mains are rose/nine, twissy, twisswald, and kate/any woman at all

11. First Doctor you saw

fourth doctor in some old vhs tapes of my dad’s

12. Favourite Doctor

twelve

13. First story you saw on TV

school reunion during a vacation to my english cousins’ house

14. How long have you been a fan for?

since i was about four or five and my dad showed me his favorite fourth doctor episodes (which were basically anything with sarah jane or leela)

15. If you could travel with one Doctor, who would it be?

nine or twelve, i really can’t choose bc i love them both so much and i prolly trust them the most out of any doctors

16. Favourite TARDIS interior?

eleven’s

17. How much classic who have you seen?

one’s first three stories, everything with sarah jane, prolly about half of leela, everything with romana, everything with tegan, and everything with ace.

18. Favourite Cyberman story?

honestly don’t rlly like the cybermen woops

19. Favourite one off monster?

the vampires in vampires of venice bc helen mccrory is hot bless up

20. Least favourite story?

love and monsters, easily, which sucks bc rose is SO CUTE in that episode

21. Did you cry whilst watching any stories?

OH MAN i cry at EVERYTHING, lemme go through the episode list and get the things i remember crying at: the end of the world, school reunion, doomsday, voyage of the damned, journey’s end, vincent and the doctor, the doctor the widow and the wardrobe (every. damn. time.), the angels take manhattan, the time of the doctor, death in heaven, face the raven, hell bent, the husbands of river song, and the doctor falls. i know i’ve prolly cried at more and just don’t remember.

22. Least favourite Doctor (why?)

ten because of (YES I KNOW THIS IS THE ENTIRE POINT OF HIS ARC DON’T @ ME I’M STILL ANNOYED) the way he so easily believes he knows better than everyone else and doesn’t hesitate to manipulate time if that’s what he thinks is best (ruining harriet jones’s career and reputation over her legitimate concern for the safety of britain, thus robbing britain of its planned golden age and allowing the master to take over the world, torture the entire population, emotionally scar the jones family [I’M STILL SALTY]; saving adelaide brooks and ruining her legacy)

listen i still love him so much of course but he gets on my nerves

23. Least favourite companion (why?)

legit don’t think i have a least favorite companion i love all of them so much. maybe nardole at first cause he kinda got on my nerves but i love him now so ??

24. Any era’s that you would like to know better?

i haven’t seen any of two or six and i wanna watch more of three (especially with liz and jo)

25. Favourite EU companion?

i haven’t listened to/read any stuff with new companions but aimee has told me enough that i know my faves would be helen and liv from doom coalition

26. Favourite episode (or top 3 if that’s too hard)

zygon invasion / zygon inversion, the power of three, and the husbands of river song

27. Weirdest piece of merchandise you own

umm??? idk maybe the matching TARDIS shower curtain and bathmat?

28. Anything you want to see in the next season

thirteen kissing a woman pls for the love of sappho or even just having a lil flirting arc with a woman OR even better, bring missy or river or MISSY AND RIVER back to flirt with thirteen P L E A S E

29. Thoughts on the current Doctor

twelve, my boy, my mans, what a guy, what an A+ dude, i love him so much and would defend him with my life

30. In your opinion, will the Doctor ever be ginger?

i literally don’t know like i guess it would be funny if each regeneration complained about it a bit or maybe if they eventually did get to be ginger like idk mate it’s not a huge deal to me.

31. Thoughts on the sonic glasses?

so cute and cool!!! i love it so much, i think it’s a really cool thing to do because, like moffat said, it means any little kid with a pair of dark sunglasses can pretend to be the doctor, which is so much easier than actually having to go out and buy the props which can be quite expensive, so it’s just. a really rad thing to do.

#ask #lattelaurel #long post

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