Doctor Who and where is it really going? (SPOILERS S35/9)

[Siganops]

Hello my friends. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ralph. I join today after many, many great years watching Sci-Fi and Dr.Who.

Like all of you, I am Dr.Who's #1 fan. I have been watching since it has started up again in the early 2000's. To tell you a bit about my character, my favorite doctor was David Tenant, but in my humble opinion, Matt Smith was the best doctor. As for Peter Capaldi, I think he is perfect for the role, I just think that the writing and the stories of Dr.Who have really gone downhill.

Here is my question to all of you, and hope to get some real good feedback and reads for all of you in return.

Is anyone here really excited or even satisfied with this season of Dr. Who??

To me, there are no back stories anymore, character development, whether companion or foe seems really thin, and its just doesn't have the great feel to it anymore.

I don't know, maybe its me, but I feel there needs to be some fundamental changes here or I'm afraid The Doctor just won't satisfy the masses anymore.

Thoughts?

[Blencathra]

Hi Ralph. Welcome to Gateworld.

I started watching Doctor Who in 1970 when Jon Pertwee was the Doctor (when the character actually was called Dr. Who and not The Doctor ). Though the Doctor that I consider to be my Doctor , the one where I finally got it and wasn't frightened any more, was the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker.

I am still enjoying Doctor Who and I am still excited about watching it. I'm really looking foward to Heaven Sent/Hell Bent (I think there are going to be really shocking surprises) and the Christmas Special (River!). In fact, I am so excited by these episodes I could explode.

I have found, from past experience, that my enjoyment goes in peaks and troughs depending on show runners, writers, script editors, producers and various actors (though I must stress that I have never had a problem with any of the actors who play the Doctor). For example, I adored the Fourth Doctor but found my enjoyment dwindling with the introduction of Adric, who I detested, and that dissatisfaction lasted until Adric's demise during the Fifth Doctor era. Then I started to enjoy it again. The same happened at the beginning of the revived series. I had a real problem with a certain character and stopped watching for a good while, but some friends persuaded me to start watching again & it wasn't long before I fell in love all over again.

I do have a couple of problems with the series at the moment, but nothing that will make me stop watching or anything. I'm just hanging on until the irritation has gone - as it will do very shortly.

I think that is the beauty of Doctor Who and one of the reasons for it's longevity. If there is something that you don't like, just wait a while and the annoyance will pass.

As the current production team seem to like to change things around every series, I suspect that there will be another change of direction next series and hopefully you will find something to enjoy again.

Edit - BTW Ralph, seeing you are a fan of the Tenth Doctor... did you know that the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble are back having new adventures on Big Finish audio?

http://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/doct...tor-adventures

[rushy]

Nice to have you with us, Ralph!

Personally, I feel sort of the same way as you do, the show hasn't emotionally connected to me since Series 5. If I had to sum up the change, I'd say that it started out as James Bond, but now it's become Austin Powers. It's essentially developed into a parody of itself(greatest example being the Doctor's electric guitar scene in the series premiere), a comedy show that whilst being incredibly entertaining, falls short of providing any actual drama with minor exceptions.

It started in Series 6, when Moffat tried to Americanise the show, only to collapse under the weight of overwriting.
In Series 7, half a season was wasted so that the Amy-Rory departure would be a cliffhanger. Afterwards, too many changes at once and the whole idea of the Impossible Girl made it a distinctly mixed bag. It had style, but was far too fast-paced to deliver the substance.
Series 8 is the worst. No faith at all in the Twelfth Doctor, unlikable supporting cast and the same woeful "witty" type of dialogue(honestly, if people just talked normally in this show, half of the problem would be solved. Not every writer has to be Robert Holmes)

As far as Series 9 goes, I really enjoy it. As I said, it's the Austin Powers equivalent of Doctor Who, where jumping the shark is the norm and the comedy is so over-the-top and finally not based on hurting others that it's hard not to like it. I'm not saying it's great, but now I can at least say I look forward to the episodes and feel like Capaldi actually HAS an era of his own.

[Flyboy]

I would disagree.

I think Capaldi's first series was fairly weak, and I felt I was going off televised Doctor Who... but with this latest series I feel fully on board again. Admittedly Clara is the bane of my life (not Jenna Coleman), but I don't watch for her. I feel that we've been treated to some o the best episodes of DW since it's resurrection in 2005. The Magician's Apprentice was all about backstory, to one of the biggest Who villains ever - and the latest episodes with UNIT really relied on back story to.

I'm loving televised Who more than ever!

[thenimf]

I think/hope they've gone something huge brewing for this year's Christmas special involving the return of the Time Lords and an explanation for the end of the universe's Orson.

I was really angry that they ended Series 8 on a promise that Nick Frost's Santa was somehow going to make things better and then it all ended up being a dream

I personally want an "Origin of the Time Lords" reveal... the entire Gallifrey thing got tied to Amy's crack and Clara seems to have a "motherly" role over the Doctor. It all seems too coincidental not to use

[pjt]

I loved Clara, the impossible girl, and loved bubbly Jenna, with Matt they were hilarious off screen and fantastic on screen. I found the dynamic of her and Capaldi's Doctor a bit awkward in series 8, but I'm convinced it was meant to be. The new Doctor was in the process of finding out who he is now, and for her it was learning to know somebody again. So I'm glad Jenna and Clara stayed for the better part of series 9, and so far this season was very good.
And I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Clara Oswin Oswald, at least this season. But they can bring her back whenever they want it, since she is still in the Doctor's timestream, she is still the impossible girl.