Topic: The TV Show Thread

@KALofKRYPTON Yeah, I saw it on Twitter. Marvel's apparently looking for an Alison Brie-type actress to play the role. Why "type" when they could just cast Alison Brie? lol

@JohnnyShoulder I'm actually trying to find a high res version so I can maybe use it as background art for my PS4.

@WanderingBullet can't really think who would be a good she hulk off the top of my head. I suspect the casting will probably work out with whoever they go with. I haven't had many issues with actors cast in MCU so far and they just make the role their own.

@ralphdibny Thought it was some fan-made movie until I googled the title...

@WanderingBullet haha omg im so sorry I should have put a disclaimer. I tried to find a poster for it that wouldn't violate the forum rules and didn't want to explain too much as I didn't want to disrespect the memory of the late Chyna.

@ralphdibny No worries, man and I agree that Marvel's been pretty spot on with their castings so far.

Well. Chibs talked Doctor Who up a touch too much didn't he? 😂

I'd shared my theory about how how tonight's episode may play out to my partner (not exactly a Whovian) last week - she was quite quick to say that it really wouldn't be that complicated, because Chibnall just isn't that capable.

And how correct she was.
An alright episode for most part with a couple of low points.
By the time of the 'big reveal', the audience is already there and it was unsurprisingly uninspiring. There was no paradigm shattering revelation, just a watered down version of most fan theories out there. Thankfully its nothing that seems particularly franchise breaking either; on the contrary actually.

Given the cliffhanger though, they could really do without another year long production gap and loss of momentum.

@RogerRoger
Special shout out for you calling The Master 'mid-tier'!
Life on the edge! 😂

You may not believe I wasted so much time on this but after Arrow ended I rewatched ... all of it.
I don't know really why I like this series so much.

@RogerRoger
The Master though. One of the few recurring Who villains who regularly actually does, or comes close to besting the Doctor. In fact, more often than not, classic Who included, The Doctor tends to need others to save him/her or defeat The Master.

The Master showing up always meant that something big was going to go down, The Doctor's intellectual equal and eventual frenemy.

While his story went right off the rails, John Simm's Harry Saxon run was some of the best new Who going.
Missy was great though - specifically, great for 12.

The Weeping Angels only count for their first appearance, they were cumulatively spoiled with each successive appearance!

@KALofKRYPTON I've not been keen on this season as a whole, but I did really enjoy the finale today. Great to see the Doctor in a dangerous situation up against some of her greatest enemies.

It probably helps that I'm terrible at guessing what's going to happen. I guessed they were going to defeat the enemy by making the Lone Cyberman remember his humanity, with it then aiding the Doctor and saving the day in a very tired and cliché manner (I thought the flashbacks in the previous episode were going to be about him). So I'm glad to be proven wrong here.

As for the "big reveal", I should have seen it coming, but like I say I'm bad at predicting these kinds of things.

@RogerRoger Heaven Sent is one of my favourites as well. Such a great episode, and Capaldi does an excellent performance as The Doctor.

Capaldi is also one of my favourite doctors as well. It's been too long since I've seen David Tennant's Doctor, so I can't say for sure which one I prefer, but it's probably Capaldi. Like you say Capaldi's episodes were complex and interesting, and he does a a great job as the lead role.

I'm surprised that you're not so keen on The Master, but that's fine, it would be boring if everyone liked the same things. The Master/Missy is my favourite of the Doctor's enemies. He's nearly as intelligent as The Doctor, and he's a serious threat. There's usually something horrifically bad unfolding when his plans come into action, and he often gets very close to succeeding as well.

@RogerRoger @crimsontadpoles Heaven Sent is one of the few episodes of Doctor Who in the last decade that I could say with certainty that it stands alone as a fantastic episode of TV. It’s well written, acted brilliantly and is hugely gripping. It’s a shame his run was quite spotty, its highs were really high.

@crimsontadpoles
It was alright wasn't it.
Still has a few 13 problems though.
Not really sure whether the whole thing was meant to feel insideous or not. The villains certainly, but The Master negating the Lone Cyberman really ruined that.
And what should have been the most significant villains 13 has ever faced were dealt with in true 13 fashion within a few seconds .

@RogerRoger Yeah, hoodie Simm was crap, the tapping stuff was crap too 😂

Looking forward to Season 3 of Castlevania this week. Also may give Season 2 of Altered Carbon a bash, as I enjoyed the first season although I found you really needed to pay close attention.

@RogerRoger I'm not a 'crier' for the most part. If Who was ever to bring me close, it's that last interaction with Missy. The dialogue on 12's part isn't even that good - but Capaldi and Gomez just sell such genuine emotion, that even if you weren't a fan of 12 or his run - that would move you.

Yeah. The Master. What a b***ard!

Good plan on not jumping straight in to 13. The drop in everything but budget would be jarring.

@RogerRoger Hahaha - I have very little Who tat. Though I have a very good recreation of Baker's 'first' style scarf - which is plenty!

That episode is a pretty good example of the that season as a whole. At the very best, you might come away from it thinking along the lines of 'that should have been better than it actually felt'.

I like JW, she's a good actor, I don't care that 13 is a woman - but she's not that great at being The Doctor. Whether it's the direction coupled with the scripts, I don't know. But it's usually pretty 'off' feeling, in a way I can't really say new Who has felt before.

There are decent episodes. But not many.

There are good ideas. But rarely realised very well.

@RogerRoger
I suppose a key thing is that, for all of the previous Doctors grandiose posturing, there was a usually a purposeful and and least competently directed delivery. Even every time the Doctor waxed lyrical on the merits or folly of the human race or the villainous machinations of whoever was about that week - it was part of what was going on.

With 13, JW usually seems like she's paused to give a lecture - no matter the situation. And make no mistake, the lecture is aimed at you, the viewer.

I saw a thing Peter Weller did once about direction and being directed on film; his point was about people being filmed in a moving car, with one actor being the driver. Weller was critical of the vast majority of classic cinema and shows that really fail to portray the supposed driver actually driving. The focus being usually on dialogue of the scene rather the fact that these are supposed to be people travelling somewhere.
He went on to talk about why someone is in any specific place in any specific scene; 'why is the character in that space? What are they doing there? Would they be in that space if not for this being a scene designed to deliver dialogue?' - I think he gave some examples, but it reminds me of 13's run quite a bit. There's a lot of movement through locations and scenes that seems entirely contrived and at odds with how people (The Doctor included) can reasonably be expected to behave. Couple that with the penchant for launching moral tirades towards the audience, it becomes off-putting.

@RogerRoger
As an aside, I've decided to make good effort at going the the 'Eighth Doctor Adventure books'. I've read a couple before, but I might try and do all 77(!).
Starting off with 'The Eight Doctors' - already noticed something that became canon through error and something that I fully expect to be expanded on in 13's next season

@KALofKRYPTON I've been struggling to define exactly why I was less keen on the 13th Doctor's run, but your posts sums up my feelings rather well.

Shows having moral lessons can work well if they're well-written, but it always works best when they're subtle with it. With the 13th Doctor, the moral lessons stick out like a sore thumb, partially because they feel directed towards the viewer. Being told about how humans are bad because of something or that this other thing is really bad can quickly break my immersion, and does damper my enjoyment of the show somewhat.

My other complaints are that there's too much of a focus on the companions' lives, and that there's too much focus on Earth (especially present day Earth) instead of travelling through time and space to various alien worlds. At times it can feel like a soap opera instead of a fun sci-fi adventure.

But most of my complaints are directed towards the writers. With the various other issues making things murky, it's hard for me to judge how good I think Jodie Whittaker is as the Doctor.