Topic: The TV Show Thread

@FullbringIchigo That's quite surprising. I guess it was on sooner after episode 1 than people were expecting.
I guess the iPlayer figures will have to tell the bigger story on that.

The upcoming episode looks like fairly standard fare, but I do wonder whether the Timelords are dead... again story arc may be a bit off-putting. 12's interactions on Gallifrey were some of the best of his run. I'm hoping that 13 will be travelling back to some recognizable points on Gallifrey as they resolve the Timeless Child thing. I also think that if the big lie is what was rumoured, that may really, really lose them viewers.

@KALofKRYPTON the issue is they gave the show to a guy who doesn't understand the show he is running, they need to dump Chibnall and get in some one else

@FullbringIchigo Every showrunner since the revival of Doctor Who has tried to put their own 'stamp' on it; leave some sort of legacy or make a sweeping set of changes and story decisions to pander to either their own ego's or simply to generate more publicity.

Chibnall's approach is worryingly reminiscent of John Nathan-Turner in that he abandoned previous writers and production staff. If he's not careful, Chibnall's legacy on Doctor Who could end up as tarnished as JNT's. (JNT did oversee some of my favourite Doctor Who, but the trend of reusing villains and calling back to older stores largely started with him).

@KratosMD
Cool. Have you seen any of Crisis?

@KALofKRYPTON yeah but remember what happened under JNT, the show was cancelled and i don't know if the show would survive that again

@KratosMD
They probably aren't - in fairness, you can find most of the stuff that's worth watching from Crisis on YouTube.

@FullbringIchigo That's what I mean about 'legacy'.

We should remember that he was in charge of the show for decade. While getting rid of Baker comes with all of its own (valid) criticism, he ushered in Davison and a return to slightly more serious storytelling. The majority of 5's run is pretty excellent with a few outliers. It was the 'beginning of the end' for sure, but he did some good work early on.

Any show can survive cancellation these days. Depending on whether the BBC would actually sell on the rights, Netflix or Amazon would buy Doctor Who in a heartbeat!

@KALofKRYPTON i doubt they would sell them but they probably should, i think they have done all they can do with it

@FullbringIchigo Whittaker is alright enough in the role, and the stories so far are mostly fine too. I think they just need a more powerful take than the coming retcon. Perhaps it will lead to a darker run for the rest of the season...

@KALofKRYPTON i for one never had an issue with her casting just Chibnall's writing ability which through her first series was sadly correct, and we can't really judge this series off one 2 part episode

as for The Timeless Child i haven't come up with any ideas yet but my guess is that she/he/it had the ability to travel through time and the "Time Lords" experimented on it and perhaps killed it in order to gain the ability to travel through time

@FullbringIchigo That's not a bad theory actually. The 'leak'/rumour was that the hidden secret referenced last season was that The Doctor and all timelords have multiple regeneration cycles and are made to forget from one set to the next. Which would neatly explain The Master's return in one sense. It may possibly further validate something from the books which was essentially made cannon by 11; and that was that the regeneration limit was self-imposed (technologically). So if the Timeless Child does turn out to be an exploited source for the Timelord's racial and technological power, that could fit quite nicely.

@KALofKRYPTON that could go to explain why when the Doctor had a mental battle with another Time Lord (i can't remember the episode) and it showed a load of other faces he had before his current one but if he was the first Doctor he COULDN'T have had other faces before right BUT if this is true then they could have been forgotten ones from other Regeneration cycles

@FullbringIchigo Also, perhaps we may finally (finally!!) get more from The Valeyard!

@KALofKRYPTON yeah i would like to know more about him too

So I have now watched all 8 episodes of The Mandalorian.

You may have seen my initial impressions after the first two episodes and I posted my advice here for others to temper expectations a smidgen because it wasn’t as mind blowing to me as I expected. ...Well, I’m thrilled to say that after watching all remaining episodes 3-8, I have come away very happy with the series. I still think people need to know what they are getting into — that the show is more simple and straightforward in its plot and execution, and it is a little different experience from the big budget cinema offerings. However, the series improves in regards to the overarching narrative and does become more intriguing and builds sufficient tension and complexity to whet the appetite for more after each ensuing episode.

My other minor complaint early on was the lack of character development. Although that does persist a small amount, it gets better and I really felt a strong connection to the main characters. The acting is solid and the trickle of backstory fits the episodic nature of the series. The protagonist is resonating with me now and fast becoming a favorite Star Wars character.

After seeing Rise of Skywalker (more on that later in the movie thread 😒) I see the value in how The Mandalorian is very much a separate narrative thread entirely, with no direct links to other Star Wars story arcs. Nevertheless, I see how there could easily be a mixing in of “baby yoda” who is obviously a Force user and how that could link into Luke Skywalker, or Rey, or Kylo, or something Jedi or Sith related. I fear that future seasons could mingle with the movies too much and eventually they get too much into the backstory of the rise of The First Order and the return of the Sith, etc. I sort of like the complete disregard for what’s going on in the Skywalker arc that we have here. I guess time will tell if they can keep the series going without delving too far into that stuff and further confusing the already discombobulated new trilogy’s storyline. I guess the origin and fate of “baby yoda” holds the keys to that.

I do wonder, does anyone know if Disney will
drip-feed the episodes week by week in Europe/UK when it releases in March or will they just drop the whole series all at once, á la Netflix style?

@KALofKRYPTON i think someone writing this has a bit of a fetish "Kneel and call my name"

@FullbringIchigo
There are loads of books and audio stuff on him! Some actually pretty good. Though none of that is technically canon - now is the perfect time though as he was meant to have been generated from between 12 and 13. 12's initial refusal to regenerate could be used as the catalyst.

@KALofKRYPTON your forgetting something 12 wasn't really 12, 10 was really 12 and 11 was 13

remember it goes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, War, 9, 10, 10 again, 11, 12 and 13 so 13 is technically 15 and 12 was the start of a new cycle

the Valeyard would have been made between Tennant and Smiths

@Th3solution Love your thoughts on The Mandalorian (and bracing for your Rise of Skywalker reaction!) so thanks for sharing them. I'm eagerly looking forward to it, particularly since I know about the weapon that appears at its ending and how its second season might therefore connect back to The Clone Wars and Rebels, moreso than it'd ever connect to the sequel trilogy (so your fears about it becoming bogged down in their mythos probably won't come to pass).

The fact that your avatar is now the Mandalorian himself, and not anybody from Rise of Skywalker, speaks volumes about the varying quality across the franchise right now.

@FullbringIchigo That's a fair point. One of the books dealt the idea that the meta crisis Doctor was the Valeyard, but it was a ruse... though there is talk of Tenant's return...