Doctor Who - Series 11 (Part 2)

[Mister Six]

Fuck it, I'd give him a whirl (fnarr). I used to be militant about having Brits behind the camera on New Who, but after this absolute shower, much better an enthusiastic and at least somewhat competent American (or Canadian or whatever) than fucking Chibnall.

[Alberon]

Huge B5 fan that I am I'd be perfectly happy to have him running the show.

Thing is he'd have to take a large pay cut to do it. In recent years he helped write the first Thor film and was in the writers room for the upcoming Godzilla vs Kong. He was one of the main show runners for Sense8 and that had a lot more money thrown at it than Doctor Who ever has.

[mothman]

With his autobiog about to come out, his profile could be quite high, so were the role to come vacant... He might agree to do it jus because it's something he wants to do.

[Replies From View]

Here's something of some kind:

https://www.doctorwho.tv/news/?article=first-look-at-vr-doctor-who-adventure-the-runaway#_

You've been in a collision. You wake inside the TARDIS. The Doctor introduces you to the person, or thing, you collided with. He's a strange and magnificent ball of living energy called Volta. Part surly teenager, part bomb, Volta is very unstable. In fact, he's primed to explode. Big time. Unless he can be returned to his home planet, sharpish. The problem is, a squad of galactic busybodies has other plans for Volta. Bad ones. Drawn into a frantic chase, you become The Doctor's unlikely assistant as she races against time to get Volta home to his parents. Armed with a sonic screwdriver, it is down to you to help The Doctor as she faces the forces of evil, and teenage angst, in this animated 13-minute VR adventure from the team behind Doctor Who Series 11.

I don't know if Chibnall wrote that synopsis himself, but if he didn't there must be something in the Doctor Who bible to ensure everyone writes in the same shit way.  BIG TIME.

[Mister Six]

That's quite a fun premise, though.

EDIT: Oof, fuck me, that model of The Doctor is fucking shocking though. She looks like a post-transition Fireman Sam.

[mothman]

Looks more like Emma Thompson's current blonde look.

[pigamus]

Dead spit for one of them Disney princesses. Somebody will know the one I mean. Or maybe it's all of them.

[Deanjam]

Dead spit for one of them Disney princesses. Somebody will know the one I mean. Or maybe it's all of them.

[Replies From View]

Fireman Sam, left.  The Thirteenth Doctor, right.

[Mister Six]

Dead spit for one of them Disney princesses. Somebody will know the one I mean. Or maybe it's all of them.

That's clearly what they were going for, but whoever was in charge was so fucking artless that the proportions got all fucked up and we got a characterless blobby nothing that's neither a baby-headed Disney thing, nor a realistic depicton of Jodie Whittaker nor a caricature of same.

For comparison....

Actual Thirteenth Doctor


Frozen characters Elsa and... Irene?


Thirteenth Doctor from The Runaway (2019)


Eleventh Doctor from The Eternity Clock (2012)


Character from Beyond Good and Evil (2003)


Less realistic than something made seven years ago, less character than something made 16 (!) years ago. Your average phone has more power than the PS2 that ran Beyond Good and Evil, so technology limitations are clearly not an issue - and Crash Bandicoot showed how you could have characterful animation on a PS1, so it really is a question or artlessness and mediocrity here. Perfectly on-brand for the Chibnal era, then.

[Mister Six]

Oh, and:

Dead spit for one of them Disney princesses. ... Or maybe it's all of them.

It's all of them. All the white ones, at least.

[Johnny Yesno]

Less realistic than something made seven years ago, less character than something made 16 (!) years ago. Your average phone has more power than the PS2 that ran Beyond Good and Evil, so technology limitations are clearly not an issue - and Crash Bandicoot showed how you could have characterful animation on a PS1, so it really is a question or artlessness and mediocrity here. Perfectly on-brand for the Chibnal era, then.

Bear in mind the Doctor Who thing is VR, while those other example aren't. I'm a bit out of touch with the state of the art, so someone might correct me here, but the only true VR game (as opposed to a minimally interactive short film) I've had a go on on the PS4 had graphics similar to those on the PS1.

[Mister Six]

As I said, though, Crash Bandicoot managed to have characterful, distinctive animation and character designs on PS1.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Oh, and:

It's all of them. All the white ones, at least.

Yup, bar the lack of an inane grin she really does fit right in there.

[Delete Delete Delete]

[Mister Six]

Yup, bar the lack of an inane grin she really does fit right in there.

She looks like a cheap Chinese knock-off toy that got thrown in with a bunch of proper Disney merchandise.

[pigamus]

Thirteenth Doctor from The Runaway (2019)

Scream of the Shalka: The Next Generation

[Mister Six]

Doctor Who doing a Christmas special, apparently: https://metro.co.uk/2019/05/07/doctor-planning-christmas-special-year-ahead-2020-series-return-9434484/

Story cites Daily Star but links to that site's front page and Google isn't helping so take with a pinch of salt.

Doctor Who is reportedly planning a Christmas special for this year after previously confirming that the show would not return until 2020.

Jodie Whittaker's time-lord and her three companions were last seen saving the world once again on New Year's Day this year, and ended with confirmation that it would be an entire year before they came back.

However, the Daily Star are now reporting they might have backtracked on that thought and will bring something out across the festive season this year.

Metro.co.uk have contacted Doctor Who representatives for comment.

The upcoming series will be the second with Jodie's Doctor, the thirteenth in the show's run.

It's been confirmed that Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill will also be back to join her on more adventures in time, space and Sheffield.

The show averaged at 5.7million an episode, with the highest being Jodie's debut, The Woman Who Fell To Earth, coming in at a staggering 10.9million peak audience.

Last year's New Year's Eve special, Resolution, confirmed the return of the Daleks, with a revamped look that somewhat divided fans.

'I really can't wait to step back in and get to work again. It's such an incredible role. It's been an extraordinary journey so far and I'm not quite ready to hand it over yet,' Jodie said on her return.

[Replies From View]

Well I assumed there would be a special of some kind, whether it would be a Christmas one or a New Year one.  Not sure it would count as "backtracking" for this to happen.

[Mister Six]

Doing a Christmas special to air in 2019 after previously saying there wouldn't be anything until 2020 absolutely is backtracking. Not sure why you'd think otherwise.

[Replies From View]

Doing a Christmas special to air in 2019 after previously saying there wouldn't be anything until 2020 absolutely is backtracking. Not sure why you'd think otherwise.

I dunno.  It feels like splitting hairs at this point.  If a special was always commissioned for that break as I assumed then I don't think a week's difference particularly matters.

I'm honestly not that fussed, except I think a Christmas Special would be preferable to another New Year one.

[olliebean]

Depends if its explicitly Christmas-themed, or just happens to be on at Christmas, I suppose.

[Replies From View]

Depends if its explicitly Christmas-themed, or just happens to be on at Christmas, I suppose.

I would hope for the latter.  Also Chibnall's standard vacuity levels might be well-suited for the Christmas Day experience.


I had a dream that series 12 of Doctor Who was somehow really good, by the way.  Trouble is, for the content of the dream to become feasible we'd need David Lynch to become showrunner rather than Chibnall.

[holyzombiejesus]

'I really can't wait to step back in and get to work again. It's such an incredible role. It's been an extraordinary journey so far and I'm not quite ready to hand it over yet,' Jodie said on her return.

Bit weird.

[Norton Canes]

Yeah, I was going to highlight her inclusion of the word 'quite'.

Not sure if it makes much difference but that quote might be a couple of months old, as they've been filming for a few weeks now.

[holyzombiejesus]

She's only done 1 series. It's like going to a party, taking your coat off and saying "Oooh, I'm not going home quite yet." Maybe she's just aware how shit it is.

[Norton Canes]

It's like going to a party, taking your coat off and saying "Oooh, I'm not going home quite yet."

That sounds like something the 13th Doctor would actually do.

[BritishHobo]

Did anyone else read quite a lot into the following-

However, the Daily Star are now reporting they might have backtracked on that thought and will bring something out across the festive season this year.

It reads like when they did 'something' for Comic Relief and it ended up just being Jodie talking to the camera for about forty seconds.

[Replies From View]

That sounds like something the 13th Doctor would actually do.

If she was written by somebody amusing.

[Mister Six]

She's only done 1 series. It's like going to a party, taking your coat off and saying "Oooh, I'm not going home quite yet." Maybe she's just aware how shit it is.

Depends on the context. She might have been responding to those web rumours that she was going to quit - they started somewhere around them iddle of season 11. Doctor Who is the only job where people speculate about who'll replace you pretty much the moment you start. Even Bond gets a couple of films to bed in.