#13 era dw my love

[13thdoctorposts]

The further and further we move away from 13 era Who the more and more I feel thankful to Jodie, Mandip, Chibs and crew that we have it.

I don’t think I realised how lucky we were when it was on or how likely it was going to be the only era of its kind.

Chibs had a harder time than the other showrunners of NuWho. It was a constant uphill battle, a lot of the fandom already didn’t like his writing and didn’t want him as showrunner, a good chunk of the fandom didn’t really want a female doctor, they weren’t interested in a more naturalistic less campy version of the show, budgets at the BBC became tighter, BBC were more restrictive and then to top it off there was a world wide pandemic, destroying industries, taking lives and making feats like making flux seem like it would be impossible.

The show was a light in the darkness during that time, Jodie shone brighter then a diamond as the Doctor we all needed, not just in the show but here in the real world for all of us.

I hope we never forget how lucky we were that these people put their love, time, dedication and mental resilience especially against an ever hostile ‘fan’base on the line to give us this wonderful era of the show, it will be sorely miss.

[mwagneto]

thinking abt 10 and 14

[tea-earl-grey]

i think it's good and healthy for everyone to have a piece of media that they don't really care about or have mixed feelings about but WILL defend it from undeserved bad faith criticism.

[ssaalexblake]

no but like, Yaz being the doctor is narratively important and at the core of the whole era’s philosophy, let alone the main point of the last episode, but lets pretend she did nothing or achieved nothing at all in her time on the show, sure. 

[ichabodcranemills]

Reading commentary on House of the Dragon has proved to me, better than anything else, how fandom's perception is so devastatingly subjective. We all have drastically different reads on things and we all have drastically different viewing experiences! So when someone says "we must be watching different shows", we really are watching different shows

[timeladies]

this episode felt like doctor who squared. Cubed even

[raziraphale]

prefacing this by saying I haven't seen the new episode yet but I also don't block spoilers and I DEFINITELY would've seen something on my dash about by now if it had happened, but I think it's really cowardly that 13 didn't kiss any women (or anyone, I think? idk my memory isn't the best) during her run. like talk all you want about the Doctor being ace-coded (as an ace, I tip my hat) but like it's also kind of fucked up that every other new-who doctor before her kissed at least one woman, then the exact moment the doctor herself was a woman, suddenly we're not doing that anymore. feels, uh, deliberate. I don't like it.

[doccywhomst]

About your last post.

I understand because I too used to throw every bit of 13 criticism into the right wing bin. It is only recently that I started to accept that some criticism of that era were reasonable. It was this video by verilybitchie about the women in Doctor Who that made me do a 180.

I think the insular nature of fandoms and the way the DW fandom is scattered around and formed by VERY different kind of fans only worsen the situation. It’s hard to know how good intentioned someone is when there’s a part of the fandom actively sabotaging the show since 2004.

(referencing this post) it was a video essay that changed my mind as well - i was super resistant going into it, but as i watched, i realized that i didn’t actually object to anything being said, only the idea of something i love being criticized. i felt sick to my stomach because the longer i watched, the more i realized they were right, i couldn’t defend my viewpoint, and i knew i wouldn’t be able to unsee the flaws in thirteen’s writing.

since then, i’ve also pulled my own 180° - i went from not tolerating criticism (because i thought it was all in bad faith) to openly and thoroughly criticizing doctor who, explicitly because i love it. it’s my favorite thing in the world and i shouldn’t have to lower my standards to enjoy it. the flux was what nailed the coffin shut for me, i couldn’t believe how sloppy the plot felt…. it went nowhere and many of its consequences went unresolved.

all of this is to say, i’ll always love thirteen and there’s a home in my heart for her, but honestly, the criticism is valid. she deserved better. i hope jodie works with big finish to make audios worthy of her effort and skill, because i know we all want the best for her! and i would LOVE for thirteen to have many years of terrific audio series :)))

[suhnshinehaos]

⚘   growing pains

series synopsis : people say that you’ll experience three kinds of love in your lifetime. the first is an idealistic love, the kind that feels straight out of a fairy tale. the second is the hard love, the kind that will leave you with lessons about yourself and the love you want and need to experience. finally, the love you never see coming. this is the story of your three loves. pairing : svt 97 line x gn!reader genre/s : non-idol au, coming of age, angst, fluff, my attempts at humor

act two : the hard love  ➤  part 13 : comeback era?

when anyone asks mingyu and yn what their relationship is, they'll answer "just friends". no one believes that, not even for a second. not their friends, and certainly not mingyu and yn themselves. but with their lives in the spotlight, one more so than the other, they're about to find that even staying friends may be more difficult than it seems. especially when feelings are involved.

previous  ➤  act two, part twelve next  ➤  act two, part fourteen growing pains ➤  masterlist

++ bonus ! from hoshi's phone ;>

from reese, with love <3

i missed my maple drive loves buuuut establishing yn's work friends in this one hehe the yngyu story is coming to an end, dw next act will be a little less painful <///3 tysm for reading ! hope you're all doing well and taking care :) i'd love to know what you think !

[thirddoctor]

Why do you think 11 is so maligned? He's not my absolute favorite (13 is, love me an emotionally repressed gremlin), but his faults aren't any more fault-y than, say, 10. And yet he seems to draw out an intense amount of irw.

A lot of it is a holdover from 2012 Moffat era discourse. idk if you were in the fandom at that point but it was a very specific brand of fandom discourse that was popular at the time and unfortunately it coincided with the point that a lot of people dropped off DW for multiple reasons (some just didn't like the direction the show was going in, but I think a lot of it was also that people who'd come into the RTD era when they were younger had gotten old enough that their interests had changed), so the general perception of Eleven has stayed where it was in 2012 because the people who left never really went back and revisited him with a more nuanced perspective.

[zagreuses-toast]

I come from a place of sheer curiousity and I just wanna ask genuinely- you say that you're a fan of 13s/ the chibnall era. Why? Doctor who is my favourite show and I've connected with every incarnation deeply and immediately, but have never been able to "click" with 13, despite my best efforts. What is it that you like about her? What is it that you like about chibnalls writing? I want to know and I want to like her/it too, but as of right now, I just... don't. Obviously you're not obligated to, but can you explain why?

Ok so this ended up being a Long Post, so I'm putting my response under the read more. Also I'm assuming you've actually watched the Chibnall era up to The Power of The Doctor, if you haven't then heads up for spoilers and stuff that might not make much sense without context.

Oh and I'm gonna @ @rearranging-deck-chairs and @ssaalexblake because I see their DW opinions all the time and they're really good and they can probably give more nuanced answers on some things. (Idk how well I did on explaining why I liked some of them, and it really is up to personal preference on some things)

Thirteen herself:

There are a lot of reasons I like Chibnalls era, but one of the biggest ones out the gate is definitely Jodie and her acting in the role of the Doctor. I think the way she balances bouncy gregariousness with the colder more angry and mean aspects of the Doctor is great. She does this thing where she can just make her eyes go dead and then smile like it's a threat, like she's gonna bite, especially when going up against villains. It's great. And Jodie herself is a delightful person.

Beyond just physical acting choices, I find the thirteenth Doctors struggle between her anger and secrecy, vs her desire to connect and her joy at life very very compelling. She keeps this distance that's really interesting I think, where she's genuinely attached to and trying to be a friend to the Fam, but still trying to keep her whole past out of the deal, which doesn't work that well, as we see in s12 and Flux. She's surrounded by death and haunted by the knowledge of how little time she has with her friends, (Grace, and she just came back from bill) but she still wants and needs that connection, and she learns to live in the present a bit. I made a whole post about her final regeneration speech here. I love her arc a lot even if it hurts. Also she's such a horrible hypocrite about so many things, which also makes her a fun character to rotate in my head and study like a bug. I do see it as being on purpose, some people seem to think it's just bad writing that she contradicts herself but imo that's a big part of her character.

Chibnalls writing:

I personally like the timeless child plot because :

There are a lot of stories and ideas in the Chibnall era I like, and a lot more I find very compelling. Whatever your opinions on the writing (and I definitely have had a lot of critique for some bits), there were a lot of ideas introduced that were fun and interesting. One of the weaker points of the era IMO is having so much fun stuff set up, but only shallowly or quickly exploring it, and then adding more stuff on top.

A lot of things didn't get the exploration/screen time I thought they deserved (especially characterization and interaction/dialogue wise). But that just gives my brain more to chew on at the end of the day, and I do love what was done during the seasons itself, not just all the potential stuff.

1) I can connect with it, I know Chibnall was coming at it from a place of being an adoptee, but as a native person the story of a kid taken and raised into an imperial/colonial society, who had their history stolen and their body exploited to further that societies ends, hits very close to home.

And 2) I have a "everything is true at once" approach to canon and I think the more origin stories we make for the Doctor the funnier it is.

This era had a lot of repeating themes, ideas that showed up and we're explored in a lot of different circumstances, often with a rule of 3 aspect to it. One is themes of Empire and Exploitation. Particularly through the stenza in s11 (empire using up planets, introduced to us basically doing foxhunts for clout, but with People instead of foxes), the dalek specials, the Cybermen in s12, and Division/the timelords in flux (as well as the sontarans &co).

Within that there's the repeating motif of how by exploiting people or their beliefs for power the imperial power/bad guys sew the seeds of their destruction. From Tzim Sha using the Ux and them turning against him, to the Division being destroyed by the Ravagers, who they tried to use to get rid of the Doctor/the old universe (and the doctor and even the master going rogue in the first place). Hell even Kerblam! (I know I know) Has a version, where the AI system being used to do terrible things is the one to call the doctor for help!

Another standout are themes of breaking cycles, Ryan is estranged from his dad and was distancing himself from Graham, but they both put in the work and grow extremely close over their two seasons. He also chooses to leave the TARDIS when he realizes he's absent from his friend's lives and wants to be present. And the Doctor gets to break the cycle of exploitation that Tecteun started, when she meets a vulnerable being with mysterious power (the energy being from TPOTD) she helps it free itself, on a way she wasn't helped.

Individual character stuff:

Going again into more individual character stuff I love, I've gotta give it to Sacha Dhawan for being a fucking superb Master. His acting is bonkers amazing and he does a great job portraying the sorta huge personal crisis the master is going through, and externalizing via evil schemes. At the end of Twelves run we saw Missy try to be like the doctor, to get her friend back (and even succeed a bit) but end up dying for it. Now we come back to a master who died trying to be like the person they see as their only equal, and has discovered (wrongly) that they were never equal to begin with, that the doctor is so much more than them. So he tries to make her like him instead, and If she won't become like him and kill them both along with the rest of gallifrey, then he will become her properly this time (by body snatching), ruin her legacy, and die with her eventually (overtaking her in the same way his whole existance has now been caused/overtaken by the doctor in his eyes, because of her being the source of regeneration)

Also can we talk about the Yaz?? I've been dying to talk about Yaz!!! I love her a lot and I find her fascinating, shes probably my favorite companion based on just sheer amount of time spent Thinking about her. Her doctorification/character arc is so good

Yaz is into the travelling and saving the day lifestyle the Doctor gives her for the responsibility of it all, for feeling useful and capable and good. Her early characterization Monet's include her complaining about not having more interesting jobs as a cop because she wants responsibility, she wanted to be important and helpful (that's the entire reason she became a cop, to help people like she was helped when she was in a dark place, and she finds a better way of doing that with the Doctor). And she GETS THERE, narratively and on a character level, she spends three years on earth with her own companions! She co-pilots the TARDIS and can fly her herself! She saves the day when the master steals the doctors body! And most of all SHES EXTREMELY SAD AT THE END BECAUSE THE PERSON SHE LOVES DIED BEFORE HER!! JUST LIKE THE DOCTOR !! (ugly crying) (I could write a whole other post about thasmin, good and bad, but a lot of people have put it better than me)

Also, I'm a big TARDIS girlie, she has somehow ended up being one of my favorite characters in doctor who, and the chinball era does so much fun stuff with the TARDIS!! Different writers take different approaches to the TARDIS, and how alive vs inanimate, or how active vs passive she is. I think the Chinball era had something special in terms of the way the TARDIS was depicted, and I loved it a lot. We never really get to see past the control room but it's a gorgeous control room! And throughout the era the TARDIS just feels so alive, it's always humming and beeping and chirping, I especially love the moments when the lights change color to match the doctors mood (mostly to blue, for sadness, sometimes red to yell at that dalek that one time). And speaking of the doctor, starting with ghost monument thirteen has a bunch of sweet moments of banter or just ~emotions~ with the TARDIS. I genuinely teared up a bit when she entrusted the timeless child memories to the TARDIS,and before her regeneration speech when she asked the TARDIS to look after her. Because who can she trust with her past AND her future except her oldest truest friend.

I could add a lot more of specific things from the era I love (solitract my beloved) but I think this is getting long enough as is lol.

[13thdoctorposts]

I would like them back now please. I miss waiting for new 13 era episodes, I’ve never been more sad for a show to come to an end. It felt like it could have just been the beginning with Yaz and the Doctor, and we didn’t get nearly enough time with Dan. I would happily watch another 3 series with the fam, my favourite TARDIS TEAM.

[galiifreyrose]

god I am just having such a great fucking time I've missed being an active part of the DW fandom I really have

rambling flailing-my-arms thoughts for anyone who wants them about Wild Blue Yonder below

HIGH. BUDGET. MIDNIGHT. WHAT THE FUCk. OH MY GOD I LOVE WHEN DOCTOR WHO DOES FUCKED UP COSMIC HORROR.

I forgot how terrifying the Miss Evangelista Face Warp Effect could truly be

I FUCKING LOVE EPISODES THAT JUST. GIVE REALLY GREAT ACTORS SOME REALLY GREAT CHARACTER WORK I AM ETERNALLY A SUCKER FOR THE "IM PLAYING TWO DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE SAME BODY AT THE SAME TIME" SHIT IT'S SUCH. GOOD. TV. JADFLKSDLFKJSDFLASDKFLSD;JF

They have got to fucking explain what's going on with Mavity, they wouldn't just. Write that whole sequence with Newton and Gravity being named something different. It's gotta Mean Something.

To be meta about some of the writing, it's soooooo smart to have Everyone's Fave David Tennant up there doing all the Queer Shit like acknowledging Newton is hot bc it's suchhhh a good way to grease the skids for what is, inevitably, going to be SUCH a queer era of DW with Ncuti. And by putting this all up front, it really does weed out the bad earlier than later so it can't be pinned on Fifteen specifically. Bc I really don't want to see that happen

CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW TEN DONNA WAS IN THE SEQUENCE WHERE THEY GOT UPSET WITH EACH OTHER. The way she chastised the DOCTOR for wandering off. And the little Sniff of Indignation. It's SO FUckinG fascinating to see Post-Metacrisis Donna bc her character is Inevitably Somewhat Changed and it's SOOOO COOOL

THE PRACTICAL. FUCKING. EFFECTS. I CANNOT GET OVER IT. THE BEHIND THE SCENES WAS SO COOL I HATE THOSE FUCKING ARMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think one post really recapped it well, I'll have to reblog it - it just makes my blood boil all over again for Jodie is that like. I got more emotional catharsis out of Fourteen working through the Flux conversation with Not Donna than I did out of the end of Jodie's run. I'm realizing it's not even that I didn't like a lot of Chibnall's ideas - I DO! It's the lack of emotional follow through! LET THIRTEEN EMOTE AND EMOTE HEAVILY.

Tennant really is still the actor ever, you can so easily see 11, 12, 13 and a touch of something new in all of his performance and it's FABULOUS it's so obviously Not Ten and I know everyone is saying it but it's so reassuring (this take stolen from @peanutbutter-nutella bc of course we were flail-texting <3)

WHAT ABOUT THE SALT SUPERSTITION WHERE ARE WE GOING WITH THIS

God. God. Anyway. So far, RTD2 is really forcing me to reckon with my own biases and hypocrisies too, because I find myself going "fuck yeah more of THAT" and then realizing it's functionally the same as something from (gestures at everything from Eleven to Thirteen). And frankly it's making me fall back in love with more of the show all over again. And appreciating each piece for what it is, and where it falls short, and how that can still... be okay. I just really, REALLY love this silly show

[mwagneto]

like obviously it's always sad when the doctor regenerates but 13 makes me feel such a specific kind of misery and sorrow at how she was treated (and by extension how we, the handful of fans left standing, were treated) during her era like obviously her casting was always gonna be controversial but the sheer level of vitriol directed at her was so exhausting... and then on the other side the absolutely insane decline in interest even from the fandom itself like i remember how excited the entirety of tumblr was when she was announced it was literally unavoidable even when i wasn't on the dw side of tumblr. and then like everyone just gave up on her which yeah ppl are gonna lose interest if the plot is bad which don't get me wrong it is but when is it not? ppl survived 6 seasons of moffat but gave up after like less than a season of this? and that's the other thing it's just so fucking frustrating how all the horrifically bad writing somehow gets blamed on HER? like somehow casting a woman made the WRITING BAD??? THE WRITING DONE BY A MAN?? not to mention a man who's been writing for this show for decades now😭 and she's literally just a character but somehow the entire responsibility of just how shit her era is falls on her shoulders despite her being a made up woman on a screen which every shitty person still uses as a gotcha as to why the doctor should never have been a woman. and ofc there's the ppl who specifically disliked her personality coz she was too cold or too mean etc all of which are things ppl easily forgive or ignore or outright love abt any doctor played by a man and let's not even get INTO thasmin. like sorry this is so incoherent but im so endlessly sad about how the joy and hype of finally getting a woman doctor turned into everyone abandoning the show, including the people that were initially rly excited and hopeful like yeah i get why ppl hate the plot i hate it too but i have such a deep sense of loyalty to 13 idk I'll always cling to her with all my claws she deserved so much better both writing-wise and fan-reception wise😭 anyway...

[orionsangel86]

I find it so infinitely funny that the Doctor Who creators were like "well its inevitable that David Tennant will return again at some point so lets just make it easy for him" and wrote it so that 14 gets to go on and live a happy ending but still keep his own Tardis and have adventures if he wants to whilst knowing that The Doctor is still out there saving the universe like... part of me is so mad about it for being such an obvious way to keep David Tennant around because they know he's the golden nugget that boosts the ratings everytime (sorry but he is) but the other part of me is that David Tennant obsessed bitch who squeels with joy everytime he is on my screen and the thought that he may just come back to Doctor Who every now and again fills me with so much joy and has healed some of my trauma from having to say goodbye to him 15 years ago.

At the same time this is ridiculous and as wonderful as Ncuti was (he was seriously brilliant) there will be a subsection of Who fans just itching to see what David Tennant is up to and that makes me feel a bit sad for Ncuti and his Doctor.

I also feel a bit robbed of the emotional moment I was fully anticipating throughout the specials. I was fully expecting to have to watch DT regenerate again and relive some of the pain and sadness I felt saying goodbye to him 15 years ago, and honestly I was sort of looking forward to that because its rare that a show makes me feel that way about a character and DTs Doctor is one of very few that I do feel that way about. Part of me really WANTED to see that regeneration and feel those feelings again.

Also funny that there are now TWO former Doctors with David Tennants face out in the universe somewhere separate from The Doctor. The one with Donna, and the one with Rose. I always figured if DT returned he would play TenTwo. I was hoping at some point to see what became of them but this new canon makes that seem less likely idk.

So I am very split on my feelings over the 60th specials. I love them and am annoyed at the same time. I have already seen grumblings about David Tennant favouritism and well, yeah, I agree, its super blatant, but I also totally am on the side of David Tennant as he's the only Doctor I've ever loved and will continue to love so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I dunno. It was joyful. It was so joyful. I shouldnt complain. It means we could potentially see more of DT in DW again in the future and I will never complain about that. But I can recognise that this is an attempt to revise the popularity of a show that had long since passed its golden age by bringing back its golden boy and there is something a bit cheap and disengenuous about that if you pick at it too much.

So I'll leave it there. I loved it regardless. I am looking forward to 15s era and hope it can recapture my attention the way 11, 12, and 13 never could. But we shall see.

[13docwriting]

Hello! It's me again, giving my minute by minute review of The Giggle. I have not seen any spoilers or watched any trailers, so I know nothing. Well... I know that Neil Patrick Harris is someone lol. As a summary, I enjoyed Chibnall's era, loved the thirteenth Doctor with all of my heart, and know little about the classic series but am obsessed with nuwho. I am also weary of RTD's writing but I loved the first special and enjoyed the second. LET'S GO!

Again, last time I'll complain, I MISS LIVE REBLOGGING WITH FANS. 1. Oh my horror movie vibes again. Okay.

2. Uh. What's up with the accent for Neil Patrick Harris (NPH to make my life easier). That feels a bit... Not good. Especially with the "messed up" words to accentuate it. It just doesn't sound right. I know it's supposed to be a STUPID amount of fake, but it's boarding on offensive.

3. "I'll need a moving image" right to the jump scare lol. I don't MIND horror movies, but I don't necessarily want it for every single Doctor Who episode. A bit disappointed.

4. NPH dancing with David Tennant for those point two seconds did something to me. Also, LOVE NPH's makeup there.

5. I'm already so tired of UNIT having all this money. I don't know, it doesn't feel right. They were supposed to stay hidden so that people didn't know about them. Are we officially saying that humans know about aliens? That's the only acceptable answer I'll take as to why we got helicopters and military vehicles just out and about.

6. Awesome, AWESOME music. Always. Just, again, a thousand kudos to everyone doing this beautiful arrangement.

7. I LOVE Shirley. I love her. Representation done right, in my opinion. It's ironic that RTD can do something EXACTLY as it's supposed to be and the fumble the ball on something else in the very same episode i.e. the first special with Shirley right to "male presenting" Time Lord (see my first live blogging to hear the speech I did already lol).

8. KATE - KATE - KATE. My h e r o. My LOVE! We JUST saw her with 13 and I loved every single part she was in. Her finally seeing the inside of the TARDIS made me so happy.

9. KATE HUGGING THE DOCTOR. Awww! That is so gosh darn cute. I don't know how long it's been exactly since Kate saw 13 after the whole Master thing in Power of the Doctor, but it's so nice to see her hugging him. I was scared for a moment it was going to be a slap lol.

10. "How do we fight the human race." Uh... That's quite a plot, isn't it? I... The Doctor, thirteen especially, always made a point of saying how good "you humans" can be. Saying that humans are inherently bad just doesn't sit right with me. There's a speech roaring up with me about how RTD sees people in general and how that effects the optimistic and hopeful attitude of Doctor Who in gneral, but that'll have to come later.

11. OH HEY Melanie! I know that companion! Kind of! I've never see any of her episodes but that's awesome. SIDE NOTE... Just like with Power of the Doctor, I feel a little disoriented when I know I'm supposed to know something / really appreciate the moment and I can't. I'm so happy that Chibnall AND RTD are so very willing to let classic who people come back, I'm just always a little lost with things like this. (I wonder if other people my age feel that way? Any else 25?)

12. "Is park rude?" "Borderline". I... What? Why would you even turn to Shirley with a question like that? See what I mean about dropping the ball.

13. "Why should I care?" Prime Minister. "No change there then." Donna. hehe I love those little moments where DW shows current political distain.

14. We're... We're not gonna ask a million questions about what Vlinx is? What they're doing there? How they got there? The Doctor's not doing the usual excited dance and asking how hot their cortex runs, the amount of brain power they have, etc. Idk, seemed like a wasted moment. (Unless I'm missing some classic who stuff again?)

15. Listen, I'm a very simple lesbian... I see an "evil" Kate and I get a little excited, okay? Woman power and all that, am I right? 16. "As for you [Shirley], with that chair - I've seen you walk!" What the actual fuck. Listen, I know, I KNOW people are idiots about wheelchairs. I know some people don't know that some people who use a wheelchair aren't completely paralyzed, but to point it out in this way just feels... It feels like a misstep...? I have no right to comment, I'm not a wheelchair user, but the way RTD handles things like this always makes me nervous.

17. "The old archangel network" ahhh hello there preteen headcannons! Ahhhh the Master, how lovely a reminder of those days! God, what a plotline that was back in the day. I am not surprised at all that RTD fit that line in, let me tell you. The man seems to like to brag about his old stories (inconspicuously points to David Tennant and Catherine Tate.)

18. Why would Donna ever, ever guess that those brain waves were music? Where in god's name would ANYONE come up with that without ANY sort of hint? What kind of mary sue writing is that? I'm just supposed to take that? Talk about a convenient plot device. I don't like lazy writing.

19. "The very first image has been hiding in every screen ever since." See, THAT'S cool! I like that kind of story, where another god-like entity has that sort of power. Someone PLANNED that. As always, things like this are why I love when the Master comes back. His convoluted plots creates such great writing and stories.

20. "What, because you're so clever [at Shirley asking why they never found the Stooky Bill laugh before]." Hey 14, your 10 is showing - the parts of 10 that adult me has problems with.

21. "[The human race] is also savage, venal, and relentless." Alright, maybe I'm thinking too much about 12 and 13, mostly 13, but the distain that 14 (cough ten cough) displays for humans has ALWAYS been icky to me. The Doctor TRAVELS with humans, has worked with them, has LOVED them. You can't call an entire species monsters and then claim to love them. People CAN be monsters, but ten - sorry, 14 - has a habit of not taking the time to make that distinction between species vs person. 13, meanwhile, has never insulted a single human. She has encouraged people, genuinely wants them to be better, and only alienates herself not by pointing humans down, but by feeling so different than everyone around her.

22. "Using your intelligence to be stupid... And hating each other. You never needed any help with that". Well, congrats, this may be my least favorite episode of Doctor Who ever. I don't like getting insulted, I don't like the Doctor being mean, I don't like the tone of this episode... Doctor Who is a hopeful, lighthearted show that brings a smile to my face. Yes, it has moments that make me sob, but it's not some police drama. DW is a sci-fi show about traveling a beautiful universe. THIS is not what the show should be.

23. "Can we take out that satellite?" So Kate's waiting for permission... But, question... THE TARDIS IS RIGHT THERE. You're telling me the Doctor can't go up there, sonic the thing off to make it look like it's a technical error, and then eff of? I know writers OFTEN give the good old "the TARDIS is unavailable" to avoid thoughts like this, but RTD left the TARDIS RIGHT THERE. We have a time and space machine!

24. Side note, very side note, but are we ever gonna fix the gravity to "mavity" thing? Is that gonna come back?

25. The Doctor: "you have my permission" [to blow up the satellite]. But... But that's... What can UNIT say to that? "Oh yeah hey, our alien from outer space that we trust that you don't know gave us the go-ahead to blow your satellite up. Please don't fire missiles at us, we got the "OK." What? Just... What?

25. Oh hey, was Melanie at the therapy session for past companions in the Power of the Doctor? That would honest to god fit so well and I would love that. I'll have to look later.

26. Again, I almost have to laugh at the budget. All this money and we're using it to fire off a gun... In Doctor Who... Where the Doctor hates guns. Figures.

27. 120[k] plus five weeks' holiday." OH FUCK YEAH DONNA. Girl boss right there! You deserve that money! Freaking LOVE IT. And I'd love Donna working at UNIT. Maybe Martha and her could be best friends? Oh hey, where the hell is Martha and Mickey, btw?

28. Ha, Crowley, COUGH, I mean the Doctor on SoHo's streets once again. Hehe.

29. "Donna, I'm a billion years old". WOAH, WHAT? He can't be serious, right? No way 13 lived that long after 12's 2,000 ish years, right? Is 14 counting the confession dial? He has to be, right? I almost wish 13 mentioned her age now.

30. "But you are busy every second of every day" uh, yes. That was 13's coping mechanism. If she never stopped, she never had to think. Granted, that was every single Doctor's coping mechanism, but 13 had a lot of crap to get through and the fact that she got sent to prison with all that MUST have destroyed them.

31. Donna trying to give the Doctor mental health advice will forever be a favorite moment between the two of them for me. I'm so glad to see how much Donna cares about him.

32. NPH is just fabulous. He really just takes over the scene, even against actors like David Tennant and Catherine Tate. I was mesmerized by the ball scene. Granted, the accent makes me squint my eyes, but still... Him playing the villain will always be exciting.

33. Oh the Doctor knows him! An old enemy, that can't be good. OH and with the first Doctor as well, talk about a VERY old enemy. It's only been a billion years, eh? Hm, and the Doctor seems terrified of him. I'm getting the Master vibes. Is the Toymaker a Time Lord?

34. I sincerely wish that the Doctor mentioned being the Timeless Child to Donna when the Doctor said "what am I without my toys". I just... Donna can't understand why this speech even exists without knowing that the Doctor's entire history was erased - was taken from him. People may hate the Timeless Child plotline, but it's THERE. If RTD is going to build the emotional trauma off of that, it should be mentioned by name. I'm glad we mentioned the Flux, but the Timeless Child is what drove the Doctor nearly insane. It's what drove the Master even more insane. It should be mentioned properly.

35. Why the fuck, after that emotion speech, would these two idiots even separate AN INCH? Donna just saw how terrified the Doctor was, the Doctor IS terrified, why would they not hold hands? Why would they not stick to each other like glue. Again, lazy writing.

36. I can not explain how much this doesn't feel like Doctor Who. I can not even being to rant about how much this doesn't feel like my goofy little sci-fi show that makes me smile. I feel cheated. RTD, you got your Midnight / stupid scary episode last time and I complimented it. I cannot believe I have to sit through another one of your horror episodes. Again, the spirit of Doctor Who is the relationship and connections to how amazing humans can be. It's about hope, and optimism, and learning. Of course there's scary episodes, of course there's a step to the left in terms of how the usual episodes go, but what the heck is this?

Is it good writing? Perhaps. The dialogue, tone, and plot is convincing, I'll give RTD that. But is this MY show, my Doctor Who? No. I've said before that RTD relies on nostalgia and this episode only ferments that. If it wasn't David Tennant and characters that weren't already introduced literal years ago, how'd we even know this wasn't the same show?

37. Why the FUCK is Donna so violent? We know she's a badass, we know she's sassy, we know she's fearless... But banging that doll into the wall, a furious look on her face? Where the fuck did she learn that one?

38. How fucking dare RTD mention the Flux but bypass the fam, Yaz, and Dan. How fucking dare he. How dare he pick and chose what he liked from Chibnall's era. And you know what, let's have a laugh, shall we? Maybe he can't mention them because all of them had a GOOD ending. All of them left of their own accord. They left feeling stronger, feeling good about themselves, feeling like they've see the universe and want to make their home, earth, better. What has RTD done but killed the Doctor's happiness? And don't come at me with my own words - the Doctor could have mentioned Yaz and the fam as a defense against himself. "But I've learned - I've learned that humans are strong, that my friends are stronger than I ever could be! Yasmin Khan, Ryan Sinclair, Graham O'Brian, Dan Lewis - all them are safe. All of them are loved. They have always been the best parts of me. Now, Toymaker... I challenge you to a game." TADA. I even think I got David Tennant's correct cadence, and I never even wrote him!

If you are a showrunner for DW, you have a responsibility to the past writers to show some respect. The way RTD is handling the Flux is fine, but you can't erase the Timeless Child because it doesn't fit with your own version of Doctor Who. It has been done, get over it. USE it.

39. *Splutters* "I made a jigsaw out of your history". You will NOT be taking responsibility for the Timeless Child like this. You will not have a villain create the Timeless Child just to erase it. AND YOU TOOK THE MASTER FROM ME? MY FAVORITE MASTER? YOU TOOK SPYDOC FROM ME? Holy shit I need a drink. My rage is unfathomable.

40. To be fair, seriously, it's good writing if it WASN'T Doctor Who. I am being fair. It's heart pounding, it's exciting, but it's not the same show or the reason I love the show.

41. ... Okay, NPH... Yeah. That scene. I'm not even going to hint about what scene I'm talking about. Everyone knows. It was a 10/10 performance. It was fantastic. There's no criticism, I'll be watching that ten million times. (Damn shame they didn't let him sing it though).

42. The speech the Doctor is making to the Toymaker sounds AWFULLY familiar, doesn't it? Perhaps, the Master, once again? The Doctor just picks these god-like entities and goes "I will love you" and clings on for dear life. I assure you, somewhere in that tooth the Master is screaming "YOU ASKED ME FIRST".

44. "We can be celestial." Someone tell me if DT played Crowley season 2 before or after this. I could HEAR Crowley on that last word, come on now.

45. what the fuck. what the fuck. what the f u c k. WE'RE FUCKING KEEPING DAVID TENNANT. WHY THE FUCK ARE WE KEEPING HIM. HE'S HAD HIS TIME TWICE OVER. WHY. WHY. WHY. HE WAS A GOOD DOCTOR BUT IT'S NOT FAIR THAT HE'S STILL HERE.

RTD changed regeneration. I'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH THE HATERS TORMENTING ME ABOUT CHANGING THE DOCTOR'S PAST IN A WAY THAT DOESN'T EFFECT DW CANON, AND YET RTD CAN DO THIS?

ALL BECAUSE HE WANTS TO KEEP DT. Someone sedate me, I'm going to be the one being on walls and screaming soon. Fuck me. Let the Doctor go! That's the whole bloody point. I can't with this. If you haters out there accept this one I don't want anyone ever coming at me about the Timeless Child again. I'll just throw pictures of up this regeneration scene with a bunch of arrows. And not to mention, I hate this idea? I hate it. I hate it. Regeneration was about change and rebirth, now it's about adding a little hint of something new. It was about letting go, getting ready for a new future, handing someone else the torch of this beautiful show. Oh my god, I hate it here. I'm STAYING for Nucti. I'm honoring his first performance, but I am pissed. I might not even be able to write more.

46. "Do you come in a range of colors." What. What kind of line is that? What... Why did we even have to mention that? He also comes with a different gender, Donna, I don't think his "color" matters. That was the point of the first special, if you could remember that.

I'm taking an effing walk... Off a bridge at this point.

47. Why didn't we give the 15th Doctor trousers? We didn't give 14 13's clothes now did we? But we can have the 15 Doctor running around half naked... On a family show? Come on now.

48. We... We really... We really wasted the Toymaker with a game of catch. Really. I was just complimenting the writing and then we did that?

49. I'm loving 15's care and love. His openness. Is this the Doctor forgiving himself?

50. Oh hey, what lovely person took the Master from that gold tooth, eh? Maybe... Missy, perhaps?

51. MENTION THE TIMELESS CHILD YOU FUCKING COWARD OH MY GOD. Not you, 15, you're great sweetie. RTD MENTION THE PROPER PAST YOU ASS. You can mention all the past adventures but not the latest one? Seriously?

52. Something, something, so glad 14 got a happy ending, something something, wish 13 had that, something something, too bad Chibnall followed the rules of regeneration just as all the writers did beforehand SOMETHING SOMETHING.

53. I'm getting the mildest hint of karma because I never understood why people said the couldn't understand Jodie... I'm actually having a bit of a hard time with Nucti lmao. I always use subtitles so it doesn't matter to me, but just thought I'd mention that.

54. Nucti better kiss a man full of the mouth. He is... Quite something. Jack Harkness would faint.

55. I have a question. How is 15 older? Isn't it like 2.2 seconds only, if anything?

56. I really am glad that 14 got a family. It is beautiful.

I usually do like a summary or whatever but I'm just so bitter and pissed. Here, 3/10, two of those points are for 15 and one is for the Toymaker... Even if the Toymaker character was wasted.