Doctor Who

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captveg
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:28 pm

Re: Doctor Who

#51 Post by captveg » Thu May 19, 2022 1:23 pm

soundchaser wrote:
Tue May 17, 2022 6:59 pm
captveg wrote:
Tue May 17, 2022 6:20 pm
I agree with you, Dr Amicus, that the second Series for Chibnall/Whittaker was it's high point, though I have not yet seen the most recent Special. Looking forward to Davies' return and the new Doctor. In general, the writing does need a step up to match the Tennant/Smith eras again.
If you loved the Tennant era, I have news about what’s being filmed right now…
Oh, I know. I'm trying to avoid any details, though.

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Dr Amicus
Joined: Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:20 am
Location: Guernsey

Re: Doctor Who

#52 Post by Dr Amicus » Mon Jun 27, 2022 6:10 am

I've been trying to avoid spoilers about what is filming at the moment - but not easy! Neil Patrick Harris's casting as a villain has been much reported - and indeed announced by RTD - with much speculation about who he is playing...

Anyway, Doctor Who: Redacted, the drama Podcast on BBC Sounds, has just finished it's weekly drops - and this was excellent. 10 episodes, mostly around 20 mins each, it follows three queer women who host a podcast, The Blue Box Files, which is an investigative study into strange events / urban legends where a blue box is seen. If the mystery is more interesting than the solution, than that is not unusual - but it's a lot of fun, there are a lot of easter eggs on the side and the three stars are excellent. In particular, trans activist Charlie Craggs makes a great acting debut as the central character and has a lot of the emotional and plot heavy lifting to do. Anyway, it's on BBC Sounds and starts of 4 Extra this week - very highly recommended!

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Dr Amicus
Joined: Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:20 am
Location: Guernsey

Re: Doctor Who

#53 Post by Dr Amicus » Mon Nov 27, 2023 12:52 pm

The Chibnall / Whittaker era ended last year on a high with The Power of the Doctor which ended up with a budget boost to tie in with the BBC Centenary. It had everything and the kitchen sink, and actually next door's kitchen sink as well. Past Doctors and companions were ingeniously brought back, and it was all great fun.

Since then, we are now part way through the 3 Tennant / Tate specials leading on to the first Gatwa episode at Xmas. The first was released on Saturday and the higher budget from Disney is obvious. However, the show retains the mix of domestic and fantastic that has been a hallmark of the show, especially since its 2005 return (despite Pertwee's oft quoted remark about Yeti on the loo in Tooting Bec the older series was less interested in the domestic). It's funny, exciting, spectacular (a drone shot battle scene being a highlight) and rather touching - the Noble-Temple family dynamic gives the expected humour but also, courtesy of Yasmin Finney's Rose, a positive approach to Trans issues (to the annoyance of the Daily Mail and assorted Terfs). Oh, and Miriam Margolyes voices Beep the Meep, the titular Star Beast, and is clearly having a ball - the VFX of the Meep are, incidentally, exceptional, mostly practical with a bit of CGI on the side.

The next two episodes promise to be darker and scarier - the next one has almost no advance information (even casting beyond Tennant and Tate is REDACTED), and the third sees the belated return of the Toymaker (losing his Celestial tag and the other signifiers of Chineseness). Davies had a tendency to go BIG at times on the old show - his best scripts were the smaller scale ones (Midnight, Turn Left) or more directly horror (The Waters of Mars), his season finales definitely went OTT. At his best, he's one of the best writers in British television - I'm hopeful that the remaining specials and the new series proper see him at this best.

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