Future of Doctor Who

Anyone watch Doctor Who? What do you think of it recently?

I love this show since i used to watch Tom Baker in the role when i was a kid in the 70’s. Ive seen all his episodes as well as all the Peter Davison, Colin Baker most of the Sylvester McCoy and all of the episodes since the reboot with Christopher Eccleston. I plan to finish the Sylvester McCoy episodes and then see all the episodes of the other Doctors before Baker. Hope they got them all found in one way or another and uploaded by the time i get there lol. I have seen some of their episodes too but not many.

So i’m a big fan of the show and love it dearly. Thing is i haven’t been liking it recently. I have some ideas about this and i’d like to run them by you guys and see what you think.

I haven’t been liking the Jodie Whittaker episodes. Thing is it doesn’t feel like Doctor Who. This is very disappointing for i was looking forward to seeing a female Doctor. And i think its a problem of casting. Here’s why i think that.

THE DOCTOR

To me the Doctor has always been an authoritative figure. He comes on the scene and says “I’m the Doctor and this is the situation and you need to do this to fix it”. That’s quite a thing to say. “I’m the Doctor”. I remember one time i had jury duty and there was a Doctor among us on the jury. When he spoke everyone listened. He pretty much lead that jury. If a Doctor shows up at a scene he commands respect cause hes a Doctor. Hes there to fix things. And “Doctor” could mean other things. Medical or the person could have a doctorate in mathematics or one of the scientific disciplines. Any way hes an authority figure. Looking at British culture and especially when this show came out in the early 60’s there was definitely this dynamic going on. And i think this dynamic has been going on till now. Sorry if this is obvious.

JODIE WHITTAKER

Well now we finally have a female Doctor. In the role is Jodie Whittaker. But when she shows up on the scene do you get that impression? I dont. you get this quarky, loony kind of “chick”. She doesnt seem to have a lot of gravity. So the Doctor is missing. The main character in Doctor Who is missing. Where is the Doctor? How come the show feels shallow? I feel like the Doctor has taken a long hiatus. Watching the show I feel like a child missing his parent lol.

So I feel better casting could have fixed this. Michelle Gomez made a very good “Master”. I feel someone like her would have been a better match. Since this is the first time for a female Doctor i think they should have gone all out. A more matriarchal figure. An older women. Upper class British accent maybe. The female Doctor has got to pull off the authority of the Doctor. Who knows? Maybe one of the Dames would have done it? But Whittaker looks very young. Does not come off as a authority figure and along with the Yorkshire accent really seems ill equipped to play the “Doctor”. She plays the “kooky” funny girl too much.

Am i wrong about this? I hope Whittaker does not reprise her role for another season. They need a new Doctor and i would like them to try another female. I’m afraid of they go male again people will think it didnt work out and who knows when they will try it again.

So who would make a great female Doctor when Whittaker leaves?

CHRIS CHIBNALL

Chris Chibnall is another reason i feel its not working. Hes a good writer. But right out the gate he got the Doctor wrong with the casting of Whittaker. They worked on Broadchurch together and i’ve always thought he pushed for her to be the Doctor. Maybe i’m wrong. But this a big mistake to make. Does he really understand the Doctor? Is this the right gig for him? Producer/Writer of Doctor Who?

The “Timeless child” episode is a good example of someone who is not right for this job. He pretty much stepped on Doctor Who with this rewriting of his entire canon origin from the beginning till now. Undermining nearly everything. Is this someone who truly loves Doctor Who? I’m really not seeing the love and respect for the character. If you dont love the show and your not inspired by it, please dont take the job. There are many, many people who love this show and want to watch Doctor Who. Not some other invention taking its place.

FUTURE

So who do we get to replace Chibnall for the next season? This is tough. truly tough. We were extremely fortunate to get Steven Moffat as a writer for the show. And he has proven time and time again how great a writer he is. I just saw his Dracula recently and I was blown away by it. And i didnt even know it was his till the end (BTW wouldn’t Claes Bang make a great Doctor?). He is a unique talent that even Spielberg recognized. We got very lucky. How are we gonna get another writer of his caliber? If one even exists? If he does exist is he gonna want to do Doctor Who? Will he be inspired by it like Moffat was? We are in a lot of trouble for the future of this show.

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Interesting thought piece. I have not really enjoyed the last two doctors. I still have hope for Jodie Whittaker though.

I do agree with the “kooky funny chick” thing though. But that was much like Matt Smith. He really grew on me over time, but he had a strong sidekick.
Jodie doesn’t and she has THREE of them. Too many moving parts, IMO.

But I will continue to watch Every episode! :grinning:

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I think its pretty much just a writing problem at this point. Jodie Whittaker is doing a fine job in my opinion, but the writing seems very inconsistent. I forget the name if the episode, but the one with the resort on the post global warming earth was a great idea, but the episode felt really rushed, introduced to many side characters, and overall felt artificial. I liked the concept since it felt like metro 2033 meets dr who, but it probably should have been a two parter.

And even In the good episodes, there are always a bunch of little things that don’t feel right like side characters popping up out of nowhere (and being treated like they are important) and deus ex machina type resolutions to problems. Hopefully they find a better writer for the next season. I also agree with @ShaneD that they should have fewer companions.

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It used to be all about the Doctor. He would be presented with a problem and we would watch him figure it out and solve it. Now it is endless dialogue with secondary characters and then boom! the doctor pops up and explains in one minute how she fixed the problem. And then we are done.

With three sidekicks you also don’t get that special relationship that just two partners would have.

I still have hope.

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Wasn’t enjoying the Whitaker incarnation until the last few episodes of her second season, when it began to feel more like the Doctor.

As far as more matriarchal, when I heard that the gal from “Broadchurch” who had worked with David Tennant was going to be the new Doctor, I said, “Olivia Colman’s gonna kick ass! Wait, what? The other one?”

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I stopped watching it a while ago as the quality of writing noise dived. Peter Capaldi is a terrific actor and I liked the edgier, darker portrayal of the doctor but the stories were woeful. I watched some of the Jodie Whitaker episodes but found them very weak. My kids stopped watching it and I saw no reason to continue as it all felt very tired and devoid of ideas. And then there is the messaging, I have no issues with drama conveying a message and Doctor Who promoted an ethos of non-violent inclusion from the beginning but it now feels like a message with a story attached rather than a story conveying a message and just overtly preachy and rather patronising. If people want to see what sci-fi can be I recommend The Expanse, very clever story which is genuinely unpredictable and which doesn’t soon feed the viewer along with great production and acting. Mind you, the latest Doctor Who is no worse than the last Star Wars trilogy.

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I love Doctor Who, but honestly, I haven’t watched it since Peter Capaldi became “The Doctor”. My favorite Doctor is still David Tennant.

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LOL yeah. Olivia Coleman would have made a awesome Doctor

Yeah the moralizing was more Chibnail first season. His second season is a little better i admit. But the Timeless child episode was bad in more ways than one. The thing about having a lot of companions is it avoids romantic entanglements. If Whittaker has just one companion then people will start to expect sexual tension. The Doctors have had that before with their companions but with the Doctor being female this time its a different dynamic. Also with the “Me Too” thing going on how is it gonna translate?

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Yeah the Expanse is the best scifi out there today. Not a lot of great scifi happening right now. Picard was pretty good and ive been enjoying the new Star Trek episodes but they dont compete with The Expanse. Any other good Scifi shows happening right now? I’m drawing a blank right now for some reason

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Ah forgot the Mandalorian. thats been pretty good.

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The Expanse is brilliant, the books are wonderful too. The characters are multi-dimensional and avoid falling into the sort of caricatures of much TV. There is something very plausible about it. I don’t think there is anything else like it.
I liked Picard, it was nice to see a darker and grittier side of Trek. Some bits were gruesome like disecting the former Borg character.
The Star Wars world is very up and down now. I thought Rogue One was a great movie and one of the best Star Wars movies (I rate it just after The Empire Strikes Back). Solo was a fun heist movie which I enjoyed hugely and I like the TV spin offs like Rebels and the Mandalorian. However the latest trilogy was another demonstration the stunning visuals and a great soundtrack can’t compensate for mediocre stories with more holes than a Swiss cheese.

Has anybody watched the Nightflyer on Netflix? I have three episodes left. Will likely finish tonight.

I saw the first few episodes but it seemed pretty scary. like a horror. and it got bad reviews

Found this fascinating video on the age span of the various doctors:

It took me a couple of tries to get into it. Lot of different things happening at once.

I like Dr Who. But stopped at Capaldi. Didn’t feel right. The overall message was no longer honest imo.

Picard is great. Stays true to TNG for the most part.

Honestly, Maniac on Netflix and Upload on amazon are great examples of solid sci-fi with good stories.

Yeah i loved Maniac it was really good. It was funny to see emma stone as a depressed elf lol.

Anyone see Predestination? pretty great movie based on a Heinlein novel.

Spoiler

An agent goes into his own past. he ends up becoming his own mother and father lol

Battlestar Galactica

Just imo…