RTD back for Doctor Who

[Thomas]

In a Whovian deep cut too obscure for me, some are speculating that the alien fella there is

Spoiler alert

a Wrarth Warrior in pursuit of Beep the Meep, an apparently ironically beloved fluffy little villain from a comic strip decades ago. A bit like Howard the Duck popping up in Guardians of the Galaxy?

[close]

[Bad Ambassador]

Tennant and Tate have been filming again for the last couple of nights. Rachel Talalay on directing duties. Lots of UNIT vehicles. And this fella.

https://twitter.com/tor_chwood/status/1533914935033577474?s=21&t=GdypLDTpUYxEAxK0vKjldA

Spoiler alert

Along with other pictures that have been circulating supposedly of Beep the Meep - the "furry little cheeky" who wanted to drop the Earth into a black hole - this looks like this a Wrarth Warrior, the bioengineered cops who track him down, suggesting that the episode/special will in some way be an adaptation of source material comic strip Doctor Who and the Star Beast, possibly the best ever Who strip.

[close]

Edit: too late!

[oustropique]

Lots of UNIT vehicles. And this fella.

https://twitter.com/tor_chwood/status/1533914935033577474?s=21&t=GdypLDTpUYxEAxK0vKjldA

absolute U.N.I.T

While saying "Oh, fibreglass! I love a bit of fibreglass!"

hahahahaha

I absolutely love that the 60th anniversary (or content for it) is going to be somewhat based on a comic strip. It's such a fannish move.

I recall it being set in an English village and the Doctor being a mysterious man running an antique shop. Would definitely have leaned into the more gothic end of the show and probably been very 'English'.

This sounds really interesting - I've never heard about it before but I would definitely watch that. Shame about the other person involved though, yes.

[oustropique]

accidental double post

[Norton Canes]

This sounds really interesting - I've never heard about it before

Over to DWM #500:

[superthunderstingcar]

Spoiler alert

Along with other pictures that have been circulating supposedly of Beep the Meep - the "furry little cheeky" who wanted to drop the Earth into a black hole - this looks like this a Wrarth Warrior, the bioengineered cops who track him down, suggesting that the episode/special will in some way be an adaptation of source material comic strip Doctor Who and the Star Beast, possibly the best ever Who strip.

[close]

The Iron Legion begs to disagree.

[Norton Canes]

The Tides of Time or GTF

[BritishHobo]

Cheers for posting that article Norton, I was really intrigued to read about the plans. Most interesting note to me was that Moffat took criticism so heavily, which makes me sad to hear. I don't for a second doubt that criticism didn't also affect RTD, but I can imagine RTD with more of a "oh, just shut up" attitude to people like me slagging off elements of plot in his bombastic teatime show. And with the stuff being discussed on this page, it's lovely to know RTD hasn't lost his love for the show. At one point it seemed he was fully done with it and had no interest in doing anything more with it. How delightful to know that not only is he back with newly forward-thinking ideas about how to refresh the show again, but also

Spoiler alert

doing so while incorporating things as specifically Old Who and fannish as enemies from Fourth Doctor comic from the 1980s

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[oustropique]

Over to DWM #500:

Thank you! This is great.

I think the whole 'Doctor just turns up somewhere' element is part of why Series 10 is one of my favourites, plus 'The Lodger' from Series 5. I love the simplicity of it. Like Gatiss says, it's what the TV Movie should have done.  Also, running shoes! I laughed, but that's brilliant.

It's also great to not have, as RTD calls it in The Writer's Tale, 'The Doctor in Love', and to get more than one companion in the TARDIS on a regular basis.

Ah, I want a version of modern Doctor Who with the moody, atmospheric tone of that proposal so much. I'm very excited for next year, though, and RTD obviously has form for putting the show back to basics in an interesting way.

...it's lovely to know RTD hasn't lost his love for the show. At one point it seemed he was fully done with it and had no interest in doing anything more with it. How delightful to know that not only is he back with newly forward-thinking ideas about how to refresh the show again, but also

Spoiler alert

doing so while incorporating things as specifically Old Who and fannish as enemies from Fourth Doctor comic from the 1980s

[close]

Plus this. I'm not worried at all.

[purlieu]

Ah, I want a version of modern Doctor Who with the moody, atmospheric tone of that proposal so much.

Oh, definitely. It's one reason I love series five so much, because the move away from London immediately made it feel much more atmospheric. But yeah, one day I'd really like another cravat-wearing strange old bloke Doctor fighting strange monsters in an English village version of the show.

[Replies From View]

It would be nice to shake things up by having the Doctor as a paedophile for a bit.  Doesn't matter which gender.

[Mister Six]

Fuck, I forgot they were filming there. Me running round yesterday snapping filming locations from 2005 like a dickhead while they literally film the new series streets away.

If it helps, your contributions to the rewatch thread are very much appreciated!

[BritishHobo]

Cheers Mister Six, that's kind of you to say! If we're all still here in eighteen years I'll visit the place where Tennant's filming now and get some pics then.

[Mister Six]

Ha, I'll hold you to that.

[Alberon]

Another spoiler picture taken by a resident in a road where filming was taking place last week.

Spoiler alert

[close]

[Bad Ambassador]

Another spoiler picture taken by a resident in a road where filming was taking place last week.

Spoiler alert

[close]

Spoiler alert

What are the chances of a film crew being there, just as aliens were arriving? Suspicious.

[close]

[BritishHobo]

Apparently the security on that shoot have cracked down a bit and are now forcing fans to stay back far enough that they can't see the filming and can't take videos. Bit of anger from some of those fans and some DW Filming Update accounts, saying they think that's unnecessary and heavy-handed for security. I've no real frame of reference for how security on a film shoot on a public road should act so I can't say. There is quite a lovely video though of Catherine Tate at the end of a night shoot telling the filming fans, in a concerned, motherly way, that they need to go to bed.

[jamiefairlie]

If they're filming in a public place how do they have authority to push people away from a place they've every right to be? Private security aren't above the law.

[Mister Six]

Not sure if this is the right place to put this, but John Barrowman witnessed what appears to be a terrorist attack in Germany today, and has done a view Twitter videos from the scene. This is one of them. Blimey.

[Replies From View]

We'll have to wait and see how many more he happens to be near to.

[Rev+]

If they're filming in a public place how do they have authority to push people away from a place they've every right to be? Private security aren't above the law.

Police reports have been made apparently, as it sounds like the security company have really overstepped the mark.  It's not just people who have turned up to watch the filming who are being 'manhandled', they're supposedly taking the same approach to people trying to get home to their houses on the street where filming's taking place.

[Replies From View]

Some were threatened with being 'strangled', apparently.

[M-CORP]

Police reports have been made apparently, as it sounds like the security company have really overstepped the mark.  It's not just people who have turned up to watch the filming who are being 'manhandled', they're supposedly taking the same approach to people trying to get home to their houses on the street where filming's taking place.

From what I've seen on Twitter, it sounded like it was just one individual getting aggressive, saw other people who were present that night saying the crew members they dealt with weren't too bad.

[JamesTC]

John Barrowman witnessed what appears to be a terrorist attack in Germany today

Is that what he calls getting his cock out now?

[Ambient Sheep]

BBC report on the Barrowman incident:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61729102

[Bad Ambassador]

This thread seems more appropriate than the other one, but I watched Day of the Doctor last night for the first time since broadcast. It doesn't inspire the same vitriol as before, largely because Moffat's rewriting of the mythos has a purpose, unlike Chibnall's bullshit, but it's still surprisingly poorly written and directed. The two halves of the plot barely connect, a lot relies on Clara already knowing all about the Time War and Moffat clearly had the idea for paintings as a slice of time first then built the plot around it. I still think it was a huge mistake to make a shop-window special like this so alienating to casual viewers. Ranks below Silver Nemesis for anniversary stories for me.

[Replies From View]

Aw, I love it.  I don't think it was going to appeal to newcomers necessarily, but its explicit function is to celebrate the show, not operate as a stepping-on point.  And when you appreciate it as a celebration, it's a masterpiece.  It completely succeeds, and sets the future of the show up as well by putting the Time War to bed with all the delicate emotional beats around that.  Plus, for all it's complication, it's actually all quite straightforward.  Without it being a completely standalone piece (and how could it have been, for an anniversary special?) I can't imagine it being more successful really.

The difficulty comes with the next episode, which neatly bundles it all in the bin when the cracks have the Time Lords behind them and all the regeneration limit stuff is rushed.  If The Day of the Doctor had set up one more complete series with Matt Smith the pay-off would have been a lot more satisfying.

[The Roofdog]

"At last I know where I'm going"

(into grave)

[Thomas]

The difficulty comes with the next episode, which neatly bundles it all in the bin when the cracks have the Time Lords behind them and all the regeneration limit stuff is rushed.  If The Day of the Doctor had set up one more complete series with Matt Smith the pay-off would have been a lot more satisfying.

I suspect this is what happened. Matt Smith said he was out, and so Moffat poured an entire seriesworth of arc and ideas into a 90-minute Christmas special.

(I love The Day of the Doctor).

[daf]

"At last I know where I'm going"

What happened there?

Did Moffat think Smith was on board for another series at that point - or was he intending Capaldi to go looking for Gallifrey, but then changed his mind?