Doctor Who - Series 12, Chibnall's Revenge

[VelourSpirit]

First time since 2005 that Doctor Who will have been off the air for over a year. That feels significant, somehow.

People might argue 2016 was a similar drought but that had a spin-off at least - a shit one, yeah, although I think I'd rather rewatch Class than series 11. Plus Moffat wasn't even planning on doing series 10, he must have been really burnt out.
It's a really bad look for the series to be reduced to 10 episodes, and then for it to go off the air for over a year after Chibnall's FIRST series.

[Thomas]

Plus Moffat wasn't even planning on doing series 10, he must have been really burnt out.

Amazing, then, that he managed to magic up his best series since 2010 (let down only, I think, by the waste of the Monks premise and that appalling fake regeneration), a great arc (in Missy's redemptive struggle), a fantastic companion, and some of his finest episodes ever in the finale. Got the Twelfth Doctor so right in the end.

The new trailer is surprisingly vibrant and fun, and even those brief snippets of Jodie feel more Doctory than Series 11. Could be good! Let's see!

[Norton Canes]

It was all going so well until "We're yer mates..."/"Family!". Oh well at least Chibnall's clearly had a boot up the Animus and been told to make this series a bit more exciting.

[Alberon]

I'm still expecting a New Year's Day episode, but not a festive special, just episode 1.

[mjwilson]

Yes. I was thinking about how in the past the Doctor has always, almost without exception, been an anti-Establishment figure. It's a core part of the character, it's the whole reason why they left Gallifrey in the first place! That aspect has remained for decades, regardless of who's playing the part or the writers.

You forgot Pertwee.

[Mister Six]

Pertwee rather rankled against UNIT though, didn't he? He wasn't exactly a company man.

Good trailer. Could be the edit of course. The real test will be in the quieter moments between the bombast. It was the dullness of the characters and the dialogue that hurt last season the most for me.

There was some classic leaden "recovering from head trauma" delivery from Ryan in there so I doubt that's gone away.

Still, yeah, trailer looked good. I still suspect it's just a great editing job, though. And if there weren't 1.5 minutes of fun-looking footage in the whole 500 minutes of series 12 it really would be a disaster.

[Deyv]

Wasn't Pertwee's Doctor the closest to being a tory? Calling his companion a "ham-fisted bun vendor" and all that.

I agree with you about the trailer, though.

[pigamus]

Yeah, let's be positive. I don't think it will be worse. It will be the same, or possibly a bit better... or maybe even substantially better. Especially the bits Chinballs doesn't write.

Fingers crossed.

[Kelvin]

I thought the trailers for series 11 might have made it look good, too, but rewatching them just now, they were both pretty dreadful, so maybe there is reason to believe the new series will at least be passably entertaining this time.

[pigamus]

The cold winter months are perfect for a new series as well. You're much more in the mood for it.

[Ambient Sheep]

New trailer seems a lot better, yes.  Although, oddly I was about to type the opposite of what Thomas said:

...even those brief snippets of Jodie feel more Doctory than Series 11...

because I actually thought she seemed far LESS Doctory than the good performance she put up in S11.  In S11 she was arguably the strongest part of the whole thing, but in this trailer I felt quite the opposite.

Weird.  Oh well, time will tell.


As for Pertwee, although he may have been occasionally contemptuous of his assistants, some people here seem to have forgotten just how much he railed against UNIT and the Brigadier.  Also, let us not forget that two out of three of his companions were supplied by UNIT to work with him, so that might be part of why he had said contempt against then.

[olliebean]

I'm still expecting a New Year's Day episode, but not a festive special, just episode 1.

Doubt it. New Year's Day is a Wednesday.

[Deanjam]

There was a piece in the Mirror last week about episode 1 being new year's day and then episode 2 a few days later, either Saturday or Sunday, I forget. Then one a week. I offer this information with additional pinch of salt.

[Deanjam]

As for Pertwee's Doctor, I always saw him as Quatermass. Working with the establishment for convenience, but being annoyed by them and always enjoying undermining them.

[Alberon]

Pertwee's Doctor was as close to an establishment figure as the character ever got, but I still can't see him reacting to Kerblam anywhere near as favourably as Whittaker's.

[Phil_A]

Pertwee's Doctor was as close to an establishment figure as the character ever got, but I still can't see him reacting to Kerblam anywhere near as favourably as Whittaker's.

Plus in several Pertwee stories giant corporate entities are unambiguously portrayed as the bad guys - International Mining Corporation in "Colony In Space" and Global Chemicals in "The Green Death" to name two.

Greed, cruelty and exploitation are all things the Doctor, any Doctor should stand against. When the show starts to soft-pedal on these things then something's very wrong.

[H-O-W-L]

Don't forget "Inferno", probably one of the most spine-chillingly gruesome Doctor Who stories ever put to video and it's entirely the fault of corporate and scientific greed.

He also really didn't seem to enjoy Alternate-Earth being in the control of the GigaNazis either.

[Chairman Yang]

Do you think he's going to bump off Grandad? I get a real bang of foreboding off that trailer... that transparently fun and lighthearted trailer.

Edit: Perhaps I'm projecting ;)

[Man With No Sheds]

Considering UNIT wasn't exactly establishment in itself and attended to irritate British government and its institutions, they were a good outfit for the Doctor to work for and use for his own ends. Claws of Axos is a good example of that.

And considering the type of work UNIT was set up for was something he could sympathise with. But Hartnell's Doctor would smarm up to leaders like King Richard or Cuddly Khan.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Do you think he's going to bump off Grandad? I get a real bang of foreboding off that trailer... that transparently fun and lighthearted trailer.

Edit: Perhaps I'm projecting ;)

I hope not, as Bradley Walsh is the only other member of the regular cast who's worth watching. Ryan is an average to shit actor and I've no idea if Yaz is any good or not because, well, how could anyone possibly tell?

[Cloud]

I genuinely felt an unexpected twinge of hype at that trailer. 

Think I remember the trailer for S11.. wasn't it basically just this really dry, pedestrian montage of episode summaries?  Summed up the series very well.  Here's hoping this is a sign of better things to come.

[Replies From View]

I'm going to watch this of course, but why do people think this will be better than series 11?  Chibnall's plotting will be leaden, and his dialogue written entirely by tin-ear.  A Cyberman redesign can't fix the deep, critical problems that Chibnall brings as a writer and showrunner.

Series 11 represents Chibnall's best efforts to show the full potential of his vision of Doctor Who.  It's his equivalent of Moffat's series 5 and it'll be diminishing returns from now until the next showrunner comes in.

[The Roofdog]

It looks more like a series of Dinosaurs On A Spaceships than Powers Of Three, was the feeling I got from the trailer, and that's something. Not a lot, but something.

[Cloud]

I'm going to watch this of course, but why do people think this will be better than series 11?

The trailer wasn't as shit as expected - that and clinging to any vague sense of optimism with both hands.  It'd be nice to see something go right in this timeline soon, we deserve a bit of a break

[Bad Ambassador]

It's included in the Radio Times' Christmas preview, so New Year's Day is looking more and more likely.

[Malcy]

It's included in the Radio Times' Christmas preview, so New Year's Day is looking more and more likely.

Jodie Whittaker is on Graham Norton around Xmas as well so that would back that up.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Doubt it. New Year's Day is a Wednesday.

Episode one on New Year's Day followed by episode two on Sunday 5th January makes sound scheduling sense, I'll be surprised if that doesn't happen.

[Bad Ambassador]

I have heard it's moving back to Saturday.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I'm going to watch this of course, but why do people think this will be better than series 11?  Chibnall's plotting will be leaden, and his dialogue written entirely by tin-ear.  A Cyberman redesign can't fix the deep, critical problems that Chibnall brings as a writer and showrunner.

Series 11 represents Chibnall's best efforts to show the full potential of his vision of Doctor Who.  It's his equivalent of Moffat's series 5 and it'll be diminishing returns from now until the next showrunner comes in.

You're probably right but sometimes writers improve over time (after the disappointment of seasons 8 and 9 I don't anyone predicted just how great 10 would be) and there's always the hope that the new writers will produce something decent.

[Norton Canes]

I wonder if they've brought anyone in to polish Chibnall's turds - or at least ensure a modicum of QC. Might be an idea to keep an eye on the credits.