i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

"Can you please get me out of here?"

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

hot take: the problem with doctor who is NOT that they brought billie piper back, it is NOT that ncuti left early, it is NOT that 15 never faced a dalek or a cyberman, and it is CERTAINLY NOT that it’s ’too woke’

the problem with doctor who is that they have forgotten how to engage an audience without utterly confusing them. if i were a writer, this is what i’d change:

1. i would lower the stakes

my biggest issue with dw in recent years is that the stakes are always SO high - it’s always ‘we need to sort this out or else the ENTIRE UNIVERSE WILL END. this rarely happened at the start of nuwho. of course, there were instances where galaxies and universes were at stake, but there were also plenty of instances where the doctor solves issues to A. save his own skin, B. save his friends, and C. to save smaller populations of people and/or generally do what is morally right.

prime example is in new earth. the world isn’t really at stake, he has a couple of objectives: get cassandra to piss off, free the test subjects, stop the infections from spreading. he doesn’t spend the hour worrying that if he doesn’t help then the world will end, he sees a problem that’s morally corrupt and he solves it for the sake of that group. the payoff is just as good, and actually IMPROVES the payoff for episodes where a bit more is at stake, like the poison sky, for example.

2. i would stop plots from spilling over across seasons

i’d like to remind everyone that, although there were things that kind of linked into each other and were mentioned again, generally for the first 4 seasons of (new) doctor who, an overarching issue was built up, climaxed, and resolved throughout a single season. for example: bad wolf in s1. this has gotten worse and worse over time but has honestly been a problem since rtd1 ended, and for some reason when he came back it got WORSE than it’s ever been!!! there’s just way too much overspill across seasons, things even span accross different doctors more recently which is just too much at times. when it’s little things it doesn’t matter, but it’s not. again, this has been an issue before this finale, but this finale is a good example since there were a hundred and one loose ends before he regenerated. when nuwho began, they literally stated each regen would be treated as a soft reboot and their neglect of that has been a downfall.

3. i’d make doctor who dirty and grungy again

it’s too clean futuristic ultra modern sci-fi these days. the tardis doesn’t look like he stole it. what happened to those fun tardis scenes where the entire thing would shake as it took off and landed? why is everything so light and clean? it should be dim and cozy and imperfect.

4. i’d make the companions’ family members more prominent and interesting characters again

doesn’t take much explaining, really. picture jackie tyler, now picture carla sunday. who has a stronger presence and personality in your head and why is it jackie tyler? (there’s bound to be someone who disagrees and that’s fine but i don’t rlly want to hear about it tbh)

5. i’d re-inject some british whimsy

please don’t mistake this as me saying doctor who ‘isn’t british’ or something weird and gammon-y like that, i love when dw explores different cultures, the story and the engine was one of my highlights last season, i just mean like - let him save the world with a jammy dodger again. let him be brought back to life by a good cup of tea. it makes it enjoyable.

there are lots of things, but those are my main ones.

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

okay. i need people to understand the main issue here. ncuti gatwa is the first (full time) black doctor. his entrance was overshadowed by david tennant. his entire run has been the least watched run, many of you admit you did not watch his era. now, after only 16 episodes and a few specials he has regenerated and all people are talking about is billie piper. do you really not see the issue at all? and don't even get me started on what they did to belinda! i'm so BOGGLED by the amount of disrespect thrown at fifteen. he barely got to BE HIS OWN CHARACTER. we barely know him and he's gone. unreal.

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

And of course the news media outlets and "fluffy" magazine shows are treating this as "oh how delightful! Billie Piper is coming back!" rather than how a queer black actor basically got shoved aside and an Indian-British character got fridged. Of fucking course.

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

happy to report that i wouldnt exist in conrad’s world

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

In honour of William Russell's passing, here's one of those moments that I constantly come back to, time and again: That time Ian, without explicit words (because in 1963 no explicit words were needed) tells you exactly what he was doing 20 years before the episode's airing, and in so doing becomes one of the first people to actually challenge the Doctor to improve his morals:

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

Maybe if you want to make a statement against genocide, you shouldn't do it with a setting of Eurovision contest AND make genocide survivors into villains. And then have the hero of the show literally TORTURE a genocide survivor! The Doctor did go too far in the past, but it was ALWAYS either presented as a HUGE dark moment the Doctor is ashamed of and feels enormous guilt about, OR the companion angrily calling the Doctor out on their actions and why it is WRONG on every level. The Doctor faced no repercussions for his actions in the end, and Belinda DIDN'T call him out angry enough or at all, to be fair. I mean she walked in on her friend, TORTURING the survivor of the genocide she just learned about, and she didn't immediately stop him, she just watched for a few moments while he continued to do that! And in the end of the episode she was not even angry at him or terrified that he is capable of doing things like that to a living being. She just told him he scared her. IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY??? Also, what was the ending of the episode about?? Do you think allowing a survivor of a genocided planet sing a song about their people and home would somehow make it for a good ending??? What were the consequences for the corporation? Was it destroyed? Were the people responsible punished or faced consequences? Was justice served? Was the contest dismantled since it was funded by blood money? Did the Doctor have the "Let me help you" speech to Kid? Did the Doctor offer to help in any way to the survivors of the planet to free them from oppression? Did the Doctor feel awful for torturing someone who came from the planet of suffering? Didn't look like it. Wasn't he supposed to feel compassion and wish to help people who went through something so terrible the Doctor is all too familiar with themself? Remember when Ten locked Tentoo up in a different universe for committing genocide? Remember how Twelve went back and saved Davros when he was a kid? Remember when Donna called the Doctor out for murdering children of Racnoss and refused to travel with him because this behavior was so terrible? Remember Ten's "THE MAN WHO NEVER WOULD" speech against genocide and refusing to kill a man who just murdered his daughter? Remember how Amy yelled at Eleven who pulled a gun at a war criminal and gave him an angry speech on how he is supposed to be the guy "WHO NEVER WOULD"?? Remember how Bill cried and asked Twelve "HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU'VE SEEN DIE? HOW MANY TILL YOU LOST COUNT?" Remember how the Ood were enslaved by an evil corporation and then rose up against their torturers, and the Doctor was kind to them and helped liberate their people and they were not presented as villains for fighting against their oppressors? What happened in this episode in terms of the main plot, was NOT a good message and NOT a good execution. At several moments I actually rooted for Kid, because I felt like his anger was justified, seeing all these people basically being all happy "Hunger Games" style watching contest funded by murder of the entire planet while the victims were silenced and forced into submission and treated like garbage by the entire galaxy.

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

"doctor who should be less political" not in a "i'm a whiny bigoted baby who totally missed the fact that this show has had political themes since its conception" way and more a "hey if you're gonna incorporate political themes/messages into your story, maybe take greater care in writing it so it doesn't come off as cringey at best and tone deaf/utterly offensive at worst" way

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

my biggest problem with rtd2 is that nothing feels earned. like mrs flood being the rani just doesn't mesh well with me with the way she's been acting while 15 torturing kid feels out of place with the way there's absolutely no consequences and it was already established he didn't kill all those people

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

Ok sooooo. and DON'T be mad. We're going to boil you.

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

The start of Day of the Daleks is so funny Jo sees another one of her and has a crisis about it, Three sees the other him and is just like "Oh god not this bastard"

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

Today marks 20 years since the ninth Doctor and Rose first met!

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

jamie’s relationship with victoria versus his relationship with zoe is so funny because he treats them both like little sisters except with victoria he thinks she’s an angel who can do no wrong and with zoe he thinks she’s a smug little shit who exists purely to annoy him

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

Amused by the fact that Jo leaves a rather consistent trail of broken hearts because everyone immediately gravitates towards her pure sunshine

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

oh boy i wish someone would notice my cries for help! [someone actually notices] noooo i'm fine don't worry about me

[i-am-a-timelord-boiiiii]

Here’s 52 seconds of Mark Hamill being a dork because I can and I will 🫶🏻✨