DOCTOR WHO: SEASON-BY-SEASON - SERIES TWELVE

"Another Season with Chibnall at the helm. Another season of bad writing!"

"It's just more of the same awful stuff."

"How am I supposed to get excited about another season of crappy Doctor Who?!" 

"Don't tell me he's doing some more of these fake quotes voicing disapproval over the Whitaker/Chibnall Era! Does he think I don't realize that he's totally goofing on fans like me that complained incessantly about the show during this period?!" 

Okay, okay. I'll stop. I did have a lot of fun with this whole shtick during the last entry but I don't want to start beating a dead horse, here. I'll find some other way to be a smug-ass! 

While I'm quite fine with Series Eleven, I will also say that Twelve is definitely a much smoother ride. My only major criticism of Chibnall during his first season was that he tried to change things a little too much, too quickly. Suddenly adding nearly fifteen minutes to an episode was one of those bigger alterations to the format that needed a little more time and effort for the writers to adjust to. This did have a negative effect, sometimes, on the narrative flow of a story. Even some of the stuff Chibnall wrote, himself, went a little sideways in places. 

But the writers walk into Series Twelve properly prepared. All of the episodes this season seem to fit in just fine with the new run-time. Which means I have little or no problem with anything we get this year ("Oh my God!" I'm sure some of you are saying, "Is he actually going to say he liked Orphan 55?!"). Some episodes, quite naturally, are better than others. And a few of them are crazy-good! 

I even think that some of the fans that were being Negative Nancies during Series Eleven change their tune during this season. There certainly seemed to be less complaints. The thinly-veiled misogynists who were protesting too much right from the start certainly won't shut up. But others appear to have adjusted to the changes Chibnall made and are even enjoying a lot of what he's creating. 

Some of those fans, however, will lose their new-found enthusiasm as the season reaches its end. Chibbers does something that sends them into a wild rage. He commits the most deplorable of acts. He indulges in a sin so terrible, not even Satan will welcome him into Hell when he dies. 

That's right, he tampers a bit with the show's Lore. 

Other Head Writers and Producers from both New and Old Who have done the same thing, of course. It's almost a requirement for working on the show. But, suddenly, when Chibnall does it - he's committing the unthinkable! He's blaspheming! Take that guy out back and shoot him! Then retcon everything he wrote, immediately. Wipe out everything he ever achieved from human memory. 

I think, by my tone, you can already guess how I feel about the concept of the Timeless Child. I hope so, at least. If you don't see what I said in the last paragraph as sarcasm then you must think me a horrible person (or, at the very least, I'm a little too hardcore)! I am tempted to address the whole issue of the Doctor's previous life here and now so that we can get it out of the way. But I think it might be more fun to discuss some other matters first. 

LET'S START WITH JODIE

When I was reviewing Series Eleven, I really didn't get around to talking much about how I felt about the Thirteenth Doctor, herself. There were so many other things that needed to be addressed about the season that I, kind of, overlooked it (I have to admit: I feel a bit sexist, right now!). So, before we go any further, let's rectify this by immediately diving into my sentiments regarding Jodie's performance. 

Quite simply, I think her Doctor is magnificent. 

One of my ongoing grumbles about New Who is the lack of variation we get in the way most incarnations of the Doctor have been portrayed. Eccleston, admittedly, was really doin' his own thing and is, therefore, a very distinct character. But then we get to Tennant. The first of the "hyperactive chatterbox" Doctors. He's an overenthusiastic, socially-awkward fanboy who runs off at the mouth so much that he'll even just talk away to himself if there's no one around to listen. Matt Smith's Doctor does, pretty much, the same thing. But seems to have an even bigger caffeine problem! It does, for a while, look like we're going to get something different from Capaldi. But, ultimately, he just turns out to be the same overly-chatty character as the rest. He just gets grumpy here and there. 

I still remember the distinct moment where I realized Capaldi really wasn't going to be all-that-different from his two predecessors. It was near the end of Time Heist. Where Moff gives him dialogue that sounds like it could have totally come out of Ten or Eleven's mouth and we wouldn't have bat an eye. Sadly, a similar moment exists with Whitaker. When she's meeting Yaz's family in Arachnids in the UK, she sounds just like Tennant or Smith when their Doctor was failing miserably at blending in to an everyday normal situation for humans (she doesn't sound so much like Pete because she's not as moody!). 

"Oh no!" I grumble to myself, "Here we go again!" 

Here's the thing, though: while I'm not thrilled that we got another Hyperactive Chatterbox, no one's played the archetype better than Jodie has. Her timing, delivery and overall energy were perfect. She completely inhabited the role and was utterly convincing. I know people who are actually like the Thirteenth Doctor. Nervous, overtalkative, but still quite loveable. She soooo reminds me of them!    

Up until Jodie, I felt Matt Smith did the best job embodying this type of character. Which, ultimately, made him my favorite Doctor in the Revived Series. Even if I have been disappointed in the lack of variety we've been getting with the characterization of the protagonist, at least he was amazing with what he was given. But, because she does it even better, Jodie has now become my fave Doctor in New Who. 

Quite possibly, she's the best Doctor of them all. 

THE SPIES ARE FALLING!   

All righty, then. We got that review of Jodie out of the way. Let's start looking at the stories of Series Twelve. For this entry, we'll tackle things in chronological order. 

Spyfall - Part 1 and 2 is meant to be the first "proper" multi-parter of the Chibnall Era. I use quotation marks, however, because a debate could be made that The Woman Who Fell to Earth and The Ghost Monument could claim the title (a possible future POINT OF DEBATE essay, perhaps?). But whether or not Spyfall is truly the first two-part tale makes little or no difference. What's really important is that we are getting a two-parter that goes on for a glorious 120 minutes. There is sooo much time, here, for all the stuff I love in a Doctor Who adventure. Character development; exploration of themes; proper explanations for everything that's actually going on in the plot. All that great stuff.  Things will get even crazier at the end of the season when a story goes on for a whole three hours! 

One of Spyfall's greatest assets is that, though we're getting another returning foe from the past, the story is standing up just fine even before his Reveal. The schemes of the Kasaavin seem most fascinating. Though they look like a fairly simple effect, they're still quite terrifying. When "O" traps one in a box and the Doctor confronts it, it really is an intense scene. Everything is working great, here. The sudden reveal of who "the Spy Master" is at the end of the first episode is just icing on the cake. The story would probably be fine without him. 

This new incarnation of the Master, however, is quite excellent. Missy will probably always be my favorite. Mainly because she's the only one to ever get an actual character arc of any sort. But, even though he's back to just being a big nasty evil guy, this version of the Doctor's arch nemesis is brilliantly-written and magnificently-portrayed. I might like Missy better - but not by much! 

Spyfall really does start the season off strong. It highlights the fact that the writers have truly gotten used to the new run-time. There's none of that "clunkiness" that I spoke about last season that existed in certain episodes. Everything is very smooth and polished. Just like an actual James Bond film. 

Also: Graham taking down Barton's security agents with his laser shoes fills me with delight every time!  

"THE SUN'LL COME UP TOMORROW..." 

This is another one of those moments where I'm tempted to make up some more fake fan reviews - but I shall resist! 

Oh, the nasty things that have been said about Orphan 55 by certain fans. They seem to revile it as much as Arachnids in the UK or The Tsurango Conundrum from the previous season. The hate it gets is astounding! 

So, let's start by addressing the Elephant in the Room. There are two fan objections that I mildly agree with: 

1. Hyph3n does look just a bit too much like a female version of Barf from Spaceballs. This does make it a bit difficult to take her all-that-seriously. However, the character's main purpose is comic relief. So, this is only so bad of a thing. 

2. Ending the story on a speech about environmentalism does feel a tad preachy and awkward. 

Aside from those two issues (both of which I find fairly minor), I really quite like this tale. I enjoy how well it veers back and forth from comedy to creepiness. One minute, for instance, Ryan is dealing with a hopper virus. The next, he's trapped in a sauna with Bella about to get torn to pieces by a Dreg. I also love how, slowly but surely, the humor dissipates and the story just gets darker and darker. There's a very nice flow to it all. 

But, according to the Chib-bashers, that ending just ruins everything. It doesn't matter how well the plot was constructed for the other fifty-nine minutes and thirty seconds, the Doctor gives a brief lecture at the episode's conclusion. It's all just completely terrible, now. This sort of skewing will happen a few more times this season. It all strikes me as quite ridiculous.  

HEY ROB! YOU ALSO FORGOT ABOUT SEGUN! 

Dealing with all that Series Eleven controversy caused me to forget to give my feedback on another major change that Chibnall instituted that year. I never actually got around to talking about how he replaced Murray Gold with Segun Akinola (I have to admit: I feel a bit musicianist, right now!). 

The first time we received a taste of full symphonic scoring would have been during Doctor Who - The Movie. Dudley Simpson would give us the hint of something orchestral here and there back when he was doing most of the incidental music. But 1996 is when we really get the full "feels like the soundtrack was done by John Williams" effect. And it's really quite impressive. So I can totally see why RTD wanted to keep that ball rolling when he brought the show back in 2005. 

There is much to like about Murray Gold's work. The various themes he created were extremely memorable. I particularly enjoyed I am the Doctor during Matt Smith's reign. I was that much more sad when Matt chose to leave because I knew we wouldn't really hear it anymore (oddly enough, they still used it during "Next Time" Trailers throughout Series Eight). 

There were, however, certain fans that had complaints about Gold. And I agree with much of what they said. Gold's stuff could be wildly intrusive. It's like he was scared of ever allowing silence in the background of a scene. Everything had to have some kind of soundtrack behind it. Which I did find irritating, at times. I'm much more fond of how things were done in Classic Who. The score only came in to intensify certain moments. Dudley Simpson was particularly adept at this.  He knew when to keep quiet and when to come in with music blaring. But a lot of the electronic composers that came along when JNT switched things up were also quite good at this.

The other problem with Gold's work is a bit more difficult to explain. His scores tend to be too specific in their emotional tone. One fan described it best: "The music is always telling you how to feel."  

Here's a simple example: Let's say we're watching a David Tennant story with Daleks in it. There's a scene where a Dalek exterminates a supporting character that's befriended the Doctor. Tennant decides to react in a slightly ambiguous way. He seems both angry and saddened by what he's seen. Gold, however, makes a definite choice about it. Sad music is played in the background as the Doctor witnesses the death of his friend. Thus ruining the nuanced performance Tennant is trying to give. Rather than letting the Time Lord experience two emotions at once, the music makes us feel as though the scene is strictly sad. 

Admittedly, Gold does get a bit reigned in when Moff takes over. The composer seems to focus more on creating interesting themes rather than specifically defining the emotional template of every moment in the plot. Still, even a restrained Murray Gold was too intrusive, sometimes. I really felt that ten seasons with this style of incidental music was enough. We needed a change. 

While bringing in Segun does contribute to the problem of Chibnall altering too much too quickly, I still welcome the change. I didn't despise Gold. But I'd had enough of him. I loved hearing something totally different being played in the background. I especially enjoyed that Segun didn't need to score every damned second of an episode. The soundtrack was also frequently super-subtle. Keeping itself far in the background during many scenes. 

What makes Akinola's stuff even more appealing is how much he's willing to stay away from a symphonic sound and go for things more electronic. All of this lends itself to sounding more like Classic Who incidental music. 

Admittedly, it does feel like Akinola takes the better part of Series Eleven to really find his voice. The Thirteenth Doctor, for instance, doesn't really seem to get an actual theme of some sort until some time around Resolution (that heavy trumpet music that blasts away in the final seconds of the episode). Earlier in the season, he tends to err on the side of the caution. Only putting in music when it really felt it should be there. And keeping a lot of the tone very ambient. Given that I was getting tired of the in-your-face techniques that Gold used, I'm just fine with that!   

Akinola's scores in Series Twelve definitely have a stronger presence than the previous year. But it still never feels heavy-handed like his predecessor's work did. I applaud him whole-heartedly for that. Again, I don't hate Murray Gold. But I'm also sad that Akinola's reign was so short and that we've gone back to the old ways. 

BACK TO THE (HI)STORIES 

While the Doctor dips a bit into history during Spyfall, Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror is the first - and, sadly, only - "full-blown" historical of the season. While complaints about the writing during Chib's era can feel endless, his detractors seem to ignore certain undeniable facts. Firstly, thanks to Resolution and Spyfall, we see that he is doing the best at bringing back old foes into the New Series. On top of that, he also gives us the best historicals in New Who. 

Nikola Tesla's puts all of the strengths of a Chibnall Historical prominently on display. The greatest asset of these sort of stories is the amount of homework that goes into them. The point in time that the TARDIS has dropped into is at the forefront of the plot and very well fleshed-out. And if there is a "historical celebrity" in the adventure, we really get to know them. Prior to Chibnall, the inclusion of famous historical figures in a tale has often felt cosmetic. "I'm writing a story in the 18th Century that has gaseous aliens that look like ghosts." Gatiss almost seems to be saying to himself as he sits at his laptop, "Hey! Dickens lived back then and wrote about ghosts. Let's put him in!" And that's, pretty much, all we really get about Charles Dickens. 

Whereas we really do learn a lot about Tesla. Not only does the Doctor call him the architect of the 20th Century, but we really see it illustrated throughout the course of the episode. His many inventions get discussed or displayed. Showing us just how amazing of a genius he was. The guy was even working on Wi-Fi!   

I like how the story also gets into his rivalry with Edison and makes that an essential part of the plot. This is why historicals during this era get the appreciation they do. Because of the amount of detail that goes into them, we really do feel like we're in that time . 

I do have one major criticism against Night of Terror. It's a contention I barely ever allow myself to have against the show as it pertains to a visual issue. 

Yes, I understand how an insectoid species works. The Queen will, oftentimes, look very different from the drones. But I do feel it's a little too different, here. Throwing an artiste into a suit that looks like it got cannibalized from the Racnoss costume and then surrounding her with a bunch of CGI scorpions just didn't really work. The way her tail only suddenly appears when it has to shoot lasers at someone also looked really weird! 

Aside from that, though, this is a very strong story. Both Tesla and Edison are well-portrayed by the actors who were cast as them.  The Skithra are also a very interesting species. Even if they look a little bit weird!    

JUDOON WATCHING NATIONAL LAMPOON  

Fugitive of the Judoon resonates with me in a similar way to Spyfall. Even before the gigantic Reveal that it makes, it's a very engaging plot. If it hadn't introduced a new secret incarnation, I think I would have still been very happy with what we've got. Essentially, it's a very well-constructed episode. 

The Captain Jack cameo is completely delightful. Chibnall re-creates the character masterfully. He's made him completely "Captain Jackish" and is, therefore, great fun to watch. Barrowman, himself, is putting in a 250%  effort with the few minutes he's been given. He kids and has fun, but also knows when to bring on the drama. Causing him to do a great job of foreshadowing what's to come later in the season. It's a fantastic performance that requires a ridiculous amount of presence. But Barrowman brings the thunder. It's just a pity he sends the sort of text messages he does!    

Jo Martin, like John Barrowmen, also summons the presence required of her once she transforms into the Fugitive Doctor. And, again, does it with only a few minutes of screentime. Chibnall teases out the mystery of this incarnation brilliantly. Soooo much speculation ensues from this episode. I love how he even pre-emptively strikes by immediately dismissing the most popular theories we were coming up with (personally, I was certain she was from a parallel reality!). Putting this gigantic twist in during the middle episode made the rest of the season that much more fun. 

Fugitive of the Judoon isn't just another damn strong episode. I'd go so far as to call it a Classic. One of my favorite single episodes ever. 

FILLERS 

And then we have a little time to kill before that big season finale. So we're served Praxeus and Can You Hear Me? to keep us satisfied. 

Praxeus is very good. It has a great pace with a very unique vibe to it. I do like how Chibnall likes to mix things up a bit with companion dynamics. Even back during Moff's reign, he decides to give the Doctor a "gang" during Dinosaurs in a Spaceship. In this story, he really shows off just how great of a team the Fam has become. She can just drop them off at various points on Earth and have them investigate on her behalf. Yaz really demonstrates her skills at this by even insisting she goes back to conclude something she was looking into. I love when the Doctor sees her later and proclaims: "Look at you! Wandering off on your own and not getting killed!" 

I should be getting more annoyed by just how many stories during this era preach about saving the environment. And, admittedly, I am a bit. But it's really not bothering me as much as I thought it would. Aside from a hardcore lecture at the end of Orphan 55, the messages remain subtle enough that they don't feel intrusive. And, after this story, Chibnall stops. He sees that we've gotten the point and don't need to hear anymore. Having said that, though, I still think it's quite terrifying that our planet has plastic gyres in the ocean. So I do actually like that this has been brought to my attention. I have legitimately reduced my use of plastics since watching this story! 

Can You Hear Me? works so well on so many levels. First off, the villains are great. I do love it when the Doctor has to occasionally deal with some of the nastier Immortals that are out in the Universe. I also enjoy how Zellin namechecks all the various eternal beings that populate the cosmos (it now almost feels like he was foreshadowing the 60th anniversary by mentioning the Toymaker!). Showing us what everyone is fearing most by letting us see their nightmares was also really nicely done. Graham's dream was, easily, the most disturbing. It's brutal when Grace suddenly shifts from telling him he's got cancer again to making him feel bad for not saving her. I also absolutely love how Zellin and Rakaya's origins get told through animation. A great way to handle an info-dump! 

I did get a bit nervous, though, when I see how much run-time was still left after the Doctor defeated the Immortals. Is this going to be another End of Time - Part Two?! 

Fortunately, it wasn't. We start by getting a great message about mental health that, as usual, doesn't hit us too hard on the head and is even a bit touching. I do really enjoy the snippet we get of Tibo's first group meeting. Then we learn about a crucial moment in Yaz's life. Created, of course, to help quell the various complaints from last season (that I really didn't feel were all that valid) that Yaz wasn't given enough attention. This is another great moment. Particularly as Yaz settles the bet with the officer all those years later. Clearly, this is what sets her on her own quest to get into law enforcement. 

And then, of course, there's the scene that the Chib-bashers totally blew out of proportion. Graham tries to discuss his fears about a cancer relapse and the Doctor isn't particularly helpful. "What an absolute cold bitch!" the haters proclaimed, "She's such a horrible Doctor! Sixie murdering an Androgum and turning it into a cheap joke was a less of a crime than this!" 

Sorry. I'm making up fake Chib-basher quotes, again! I'll stop.    

The truth is: it's a fairly realistic scene depicting how someone with social awkwardness really functions. I did find it just a bit of a stretch, sometimes, when Ten or Eleven would suddenly be able to have all these big heartwarming moments with people but then still run around like idiots that were oblivious to most of the social cues around them. It's not really how things work with people who have these sorts of personalities. What we got in Can You Hear Me? is more in keeping with the truth. And the Doctor is not the terrible person some people say she is for doing that to Graham. She's just not the one who can really help him with the concerns he has. Twelve was actually way more abrasive during a lot of his moments that were meant to be more emotional. No one seems to complain about this, though. Could it be, perhaps, because it was a man doing this?! 

There's one other objection concerning these stories that struck me as quite odd. I specifically  remember the moment when I finished watching Praxeus. For some ridiculous reason, I thought that finding out what the feedback was by fandom on the episode would be a good idea. I figured some vloggers on Youtube would have  reviews up, already, so I viewed them. Everyone had the same thing to say: "Good episode. But it's just filler!" Which seemed a rather silly observation. The comments almost insinuate that New Who had never featured filler episodes up until this moment. That there weren't countless adventures like this during the RTD and Moff eras that made no real contribution to the season-long arc. That were just there to give us a nice side-story that week. But, suddenly, it was happening for the first time in Series Twelve and this nullified any quality the story had. The filler episodes from previous days never actually existed. Which meant those episodes were just fine. Only this one is bad because it's the only filler episode, ever. 

The truth of the matter is: both of these episode are quite strong. Even if they are fillers!    

THE SEASON FINALE THAT CHANGED IT ALL 

And then, at last, we get to the season finale. A nice, gorgeous three-parter. Dare I say it: the best three-parter New Who has ever done? All the others we've had, thus far, seem to have one episode that's a bit disappointing. But this one stays strong all the way through. 

Of course, some people are disappointed in one particular development that occurs during The Timeless Children. But, even if you don't agree with what Chibnall adds to the Doctor's past, it's still a well-put-together plot. As are the other two episodes. Which makes it a great three-parter and, at the same time, an awesome season finale. Provided, of course, that you're not upset about the Timeless Child Revelation! We'll get to how I feel about it, shortly.... 

But let's begin with The Haunting of Villa Diodati. Yes, we just had Hide a few seasons ago. But there was enough variation between the two adventures that another Haunted House Thriller was just fine. And, really, a good Haunted House Thriller is just something a show should bring back every once in a while! As long as they find fun new ways to tell the story. 

Diodati also follows the same code that Spyfall and Judoon Fugitive adhere to. A major pivot happens in the middle of the plot that takes things in a whole different direction. There's any number of Who stories (from both Old and New) that were only mediocre until they reached that turning point. They really do depend on revealing that the Master was secretly behind it all. Or that the Doctor has to suddenly return to Gallifrey midway through the tale to fix the plumbing. Or something to that effect. But, because we're getting an engaging spooky tale even before the Lone Cyberman shows up, the episode's quality is maintained throughout the run-time. 

Diodati also has something happen in it that fans have been wanting for a while. There had been complaints that Thirteen had been too "light" in her first season. That she didn't have any intensely serious moments during Series Eleven. Which I didn't agree with. There had been plenty of occasions like that. Probably the best example was her confrontation with King James while he had her bound in Witchfinders. She shows off her dramatic chops quite nicely in that scene. But, for some reason, fans didn't feel any of this is adequate. Apparently, she needed to show more rage or something like that. 

Her explosion during the latter part of the episode when she discusses how the team structure isn't always so flat was the scene many had been waiting for. And Jodie really nails it. She does a great job of tinging the diatribe with regret as she alludes to what happened to Bill at the end of Series Ten. It's always great when someone playing a new incarnation can still give off strong feelings for something that had happened prior to their presence on the show. She accomplishes that feat magnificently.   

The whole moment also becomes all-the-more poignant because it does have a bit of an "Earthshock effect". We had to wait quite some time in Season Nineteen before mild-mannered Five finally shows his character's harsher side as he confronts the Cyber-Leader late in the season. Because it took a while to finally happen, it has all-that-stronger of an impact. The same happens when Thirteen cuts loose, here. It took even longer to happen than it did for Five - so it hits that much harder. 

But that is not the only valuable asset to Diodati. The Lone Cyberman is properly introduced to us in this episode. And he's awesome. My favorite villain in New Who. One of the best baddies, ever, really. Patrick O'Kane plays him to absolute perfection. Filling the character with a sense of rage that he despises but can't control. I love the whole paradox of his character. His passion for his race makes him the perfect leader. But, at the same time, he should be devoid of such passion if he's meant to be a Cyberman. It's positively brilliant.  

His theme song also absolutely kicks ass! Even as an adult, I want to stomp around in a mechanical fashion whenever I hear it. I can't imagine what sort of effect it must have on a kid!  

With the first part of the story ending on a killer cliffhanger, we move on to Ascension of the Cybermen. Admittedly, it's a bit light on plot. But there's just enough there. This episode is more about taking us on a wild roller coaster ride. With danger and intrigue all over the place. It's actually a great formula for a middle episode. Which I think is what causes this three-parter to succeed when so many others have suffered problems. The final episode should be the one with the most happening in it. But, oftentimes, the first and second handle so much story development that there's not enough there for the last one. 

It reminds me, ever-so-slightly, of the original Star Wars trilogy. A New Hope lays a lot of foundations. Return of the Jedi wraps up all the plot threads. Empire Strikes Back is more about fighting AT-AT Walkers and flying through meteor fields, than anything. There are a few crucial developments. Like Vader revealing he's Luke's Pop. But, otherwise, it's about giving us a lot of action and fun. Chibnall actually follows a similar pattern with his own trilogy of episodes. 

Future writers of three parters: use the same model you saw, here. It worked for both Lucas and Chibnall! 

Just like Empire, we get another great cliffhanger. The Boundary seems to be leading to the ruins of Gallifrey. Suddenly, the Sacha Dhawan Master leaps out from the anomaly. We knew he'd escaped from the Kassavin! 

And we can't wait to see what happens next... 

DEALING WITH THE CONTROVERSY

And so, at last, we can face the Great Controversy of this season. I want, so badly, to make up more fake quotes from disgruntled fans. You cannot imagine how much the temptation is killing me, right now! 

Instead, I'll just state it outright: I completely love the concept of The Timeless Child. For me, it's exactly what the Doctor's character needed. The show, after all, is called: "Doctor Who". There should be a sense of mystery to the character. But that had died away a long time ago. So revealing that she had a whole secret life prior to her current one is exactly what the show needed to make it, once more, true to its title. 

A few Reviews back, I had complained about a certain type of retconning that had been going on in the New Series.  I didn't like the way certain arcs in Revived Who were meant to go all the way back to the show's early days but were just suddenly appearing out of nowhere without anything from Classic Who to actually support them. The Hybrid never getting any sort of mention until Series Nine or the Master hearing the drums in his head never being brought up til Series Three were a few of the stronger examples of this particular phenomenon.   

But that's not what's happening, here. There were certain things that we'd seen in the Classic Series that sets up The Timeless Child beautifully. And I'm not just talking about the mind-bending battle in Brain of Morbius. All the stuff in Seasons Twenty-Five and Twenty-Six that was meant to point the way to the Doctor being "The Other" can now be construed as references to the Timeless Child, instead. Which is one more thing that makes me so thankful Chibnall did this with the Lore. It means that all the teasing they did during those seasons legitimately went somewhere.  This is actually the exact opposite of the sort of retconning that had been annoying me. It's actually fixing problems that Classic Who was never able to solve. 

Still, I get it. If the Timeless Child upset you, then you're not going to enjoy this final episode of the season. 

But I loved it. As I mentioned previously, all the other plot elements built around this Ultimate Reveal are also quite enjoyable. The Cyber-Masters, for instance, are incredibly cool. I'm so glad that they escaped at the end of The Timeless Children and will be back, again, soon. If anything, I would love to see RTD dealing with them further. I'm also hoping that he sorts out the Master having the Cyberium in him, too. Meddling in the affairs of Cybermen was, perhaps, something that was starting to happen a bit too often with this particular Renegade Time Lord. But this is still a great storyline that I would love to see pursued to its bitter end. 

So, yeah, I'm very happy with this season finale. Messing with the show's Lore the way Chibnall did was exactly what the show needed.

MORE DALEKS IN THE NEW YEAR 

This time, I'm gonna tackle the New Year's Special before I reach my Final Conclusion. 

Just like Series Twelve, itself, Revolution of the Daleks eliminates a lot of the clumsiness we had in the plotting of the previous New Year's Special. My biggest complaint about Resolution was that the scene between Ryan and his Dad did go on a bit longer than it really needed to. Truthfully, I'm not sure what should have been cut, but it needed trimming of some sort. This year, the problem is avoided by having two nice character moments rather than one long one. We get the talk between Jack and Yaz about what it's like to travel with the Doctor and then we get Ryan actually giving the Doctor a bit of a pep talk while wearing his yellow beanie. Both scenes add some nice extra dimension to the adventure. Making it more than just an exciting runaround. But they don't do it at the expense of the story's pacing. 

Jack is back again. This time, he's in the whole story. Just like in Fugitive, he's great fun. Chibnall shows he doesn't just excel at bringing back old foes, but friends too! They were quite lucky to get Barrowman's scenes shot before the scandal broke out. I don't know if we'll ever see Jack again because of what's happened. But it this is his last appearance, he went out well. 

But I really do want another update on Jack Robertson some day. He was great in this story. Particularly as he changes allegiances and starts bargaining with the Daleks. He really should come back a third time. Things were left open so that he could. It would be especially interesting if he really does manage to re-ignite his political career. Imagine what he'd be like to deal with if he becomes president! 

Another great feature of Revolution was the departure of Ryan and Graham at the end. How delightful it was to finally get more companions that just leave the Doctor cause they're tired of travelling in the TARDIS. No need to get trapped in a parallel universe or be transported away by Weeping Angels. Ryan just decides it's time to stay in his own time, again. Graham, being the loving grand-dad that he is, chooses to stay with him. Yes, the final shot of Grace looking down on the two of them as they keep trying to get Ryan to ride a bike is, perhaps, a tad corny. But it doesn't stop me from welling up a bit every time I watch it!  

If I had any real complaint about Revolution, it's that I wish the Dalek civil war had gone on longer. It's always fascinating to watch two types of Dalek fight each other because one side is not "pure enough in its blobbiness". It would have been cool if the Recon Dalek faction had been able to flee the Earth in sufficient numbers so that they could live again to fight another day. 

Really, though, I don't even think my complaint is all that valid. The ending we get works just as well. Revolution of the Daleks does an excellent job with bridging itself to the previous New Year's Special and then moving forward with an excellent adventure of its own. Chibnall has created a great new holiday tradition: we now start off every new year with Daleks!    

FINAL CONCLUSION - BRACE YOURSELVES!  

Given that I am one of those "The Timeless Child Was Great!" fans, I have no real problem with Series Twelve. I will agree that Orphan 55 was the weakest story of the season, but I don't think it was ruined just because a bit of a preachy speech was tacked on at the end. So this does mean that I am very happy with this year of Doctor Who. It tends to move from strength-to-strength with few real flaws to speak of. It has a great variety of stories and some excellent performances from the leads and guest stars. Everything comes together quite nicely. 

Let's go back to that Tier System I first created in the last entry (have a look at the FINAL CONCLUSION of that Review if you didn't read it when I first posted it). Where does Series Twelve fit within this diabolical structure?! 

Top Tier, baby. 

This is an outstanding season of Doctor Who. Plain and simple. The one big problem Chibnall had been having during Eleven has been ironed out. So that means everything really is executed to perfection. Or, at the very least, near-perfection! No doubt, some of you will savagely disagree with this idea. For you, the Timeless Child ruined it all. And I'm fine with that. 

But, as far as I'm concerned, Series Twelve totally rocked. Some of the best stuff we've seen in New Who. 

I did do an entry a while back that fields most of the greater objections to the Timeless Child. Check it out if you'd like. It may even help some of you to re-shape your opinion a bit! 

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/05/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-silliness.html

DOCTOR WHO: SEASON-BY-SEASON - SERIES ELEVEN

"Worst season of Doctor Who, ever!" 

"It's soooo bad!" 

"Satan now tortures people in Hell by making them watch Series Eleven of Doctor Who." 

"My uncle could only get through the first two episodes of Series Eleven and then he threw himself off a cliff!"

"I don't like it very much. Oh. Sorry? We're talking about Series Eleven of Doctor Who? I thought we were talking about Red Bull Energy Drink. Series Eleven is an absolute abomination. As bad as Prime Energy Drink. Oh no. Wait. Nothing is as bad as that!" 

These are the sort of comments we hear when discussions erupt regarding Series Eleven (although, that last guy seems a bit too obsessed with energy drinks!). In fact, these are some of the nicer things that I've heard said about this season!  

Naturally enough, opinions of this nature would lead one to believe that Series Eleven was an absolute mess. I, however, have a very different view (are we the slightest bit surprised?!). 

While there are some very strong negative ideas that have been expressed about Series Eleven, I also find them to be - for the most part - largely invalid. Which means, of course, that Series Eleven ain't really so bad. An honest objective look reveals it to be far better than the reputation some have given it. 

There are two different ways to dismiss the idea that this is an absolutely terrible season. Both of which, I'm sure, will incense any number of people who may take the time to read this Review. Nonetheless, I can't resist expressing them. Regardless of the backlash I may get. 

So, here they are:  

1. Vocal Minority 

There are not actually all that many people who genuinely hate this season so much. But the few that do feel they must let everyone know, all the time, just how much they despise Series Eleven. While there really aren't that many of them, they still constantly have to express their negativity in every forum. And no one, anywhere, can say that they like this season (or any other that featured Jodie Whitaker as the Doctor, for that matter) without receiving harsh opposition. These "fans" need to tell appreciators of Jodie and Chris that they are totally wrong to have the opinions they have. If you try, for instance, to post in a fangroup that you really like Yaz - this vocal minority will swoop down in the comments and call you a moron for feeling this way. "Yaz was terrible," they'll swear, "And you're a complete loser for thinking differently from me!" 

Naturally enough, if you are enjoying the output from this Era, you're going to feel inclined to keep your views to yourself. Because, when you do state them, you get attacked. This sort of phenomenon skews things even more, now. For the most part, we're only seeing what the haters think. The Likers are quick to bite their tongues and stay out of it. And I don't blame them. Even I restrained myself when expressing my appreciation for this period on Fan Pages. Because I just go too much heat for feeling the way I did. But this situation will also project the image that there are far more people hating Jodie/Chibnall than there really are. Which means, of course, the season is actually better-appreciated than certain fans that like to bully would have you believe. 

2. Sorry. But it really is sexism.

This one, I'm sure, will get me in some trouble. 

Let me preface this by saying that I do genuinely believe that there are some people out there who really don't like Chibnall's style of writing. So, if what I'm about to say offends you, imagine that you're one of these people. Those other folks that I'm talking about fall under a whole other category that you don't fit in. 

With that said, let me make my real point: 

A lot of the people that are complaining so heavily about this era are actually just thinly-veiled misogynists. 

It's a crazy conspiracy-theorist type thing to say, I know. But the fact that some of you guys protest so hard about all of this really does make me think I'm on to something. That it's not a genuine hatred for the content that you have but, instead, you're doing your damnedest to cover something else up.

Even though Moff wove Time Lord gender-changing into the Lore; even though JNT admitted on several occasions that he might finally cast a woman in the role (although, he was doing it partly as a prank that drew headlines); even though both Patrick Troughton and Sidney Newman claimed waaay back in the 60s that anyone of any race or gender could now play the role; certain fans still just weren't ready for the idea of a female Doctor. When it finally happened, they were furious. 

I still remember how, shortly after the announcement, there were any number of people saying they didn't agree with the casting choice. And it wasn't that they, necessarily, didn't like Jodie Whitaker. Their choice of words was succinct: They didn't think a woman should get the role. 

And then some other fans politely pointed something out to them:

"You do realize," they'd claim, "you're, technically, saying that playing the Doctor is a man's job that a woman isn't capable of doing, right?" 

This seemed to silence the discussion fairly quickly. 

Cause everyone kinda knows, these days, that sexism is a bad thing. And that if you get accused of it in any way, it doesn't go well for you. And, while some people of a more conservative bent may disagree, I actually think this is a good thing. Women have been denied rights for so long that we should all be a bit scared of being labelled a sexist. We all need to stop standing in the way of women receiving equal and fair treatment.  

But, of course, there's ways around the accusation. You can still fulfill a sexist agenda but make it look like something else. And that's what I think happened when the episodes started rolling out. Those people who were convinced in their heart of hearts that a woman should not play the Doctor (even though the show's Lore completely supports the idea) decided they would voice their disdain in a different way. With a slight change in their tactics, the show still gets a poor image. Which is, ultimately, what they want. If Doctor Who appears to be failing, people will want change. And, hopefully, that change results in the Doctor becoming male again as soon as possible.  

So they would attack the show in a different way. They wouldn't complain about the Doctor being a woman. Instead, they'll say that Chris Chibnall is a jerk. That he can't write worth a damn. 

I liken this whole thing to when Barack Obama became president. Sadly, there were any number of people who felt the leader of the US should not be a Black man. But many of them understood that, like sexism, being called a racist could work horribly against them too. So, instead, they concentrated on Obama's policies and claimed all of them were terrible and would never work. That the decisions he was implementing would do irreparable damage to the country. In many instances, they were completely wrong. In fact, a lot people consider Obama to be one of the better presidents the country ever had. But it still didn't stop any number of racists from vehemently opposing all of his ideas while he was in office. And the amount of vitriol they used did come across as being more than just political convictions. It really seemed like something else motivating the criticism. And, on many occasions, I think it was. 

The criticism was, essentially, thinly-veiled racism.

People seem to attack the Chibnall Era with that same zealot-like intensity as Obama detractors. Which is why I've reached the conclusion I have. Basically, the hatred of Chib's writing seems to run way too deep. Especially since he does have a pretty amazing track record as a TV writer. How did he suddenly become so terrible?! Because, quite simply, he never was. The real anger many people have with him has nothing to do with his scripts and everything to do with him making the decision to change the Doctor's gender.  

They just know they can't openly say that. So, instead, they claim it's the writing. 

So when we do hear all the nasty things that get said about this season, it needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Problems are often being skewed or exaggerated. In some instances, people are even inventing things. Saying something is bad when, really, it's just fine. Or even quite good. But they've made a conscious decision to not be supportive of anything Chibnall is doing. Because there really is an agenda, of sorts, going on in their criticism. They can't openly hate on a female Doctor, so they hate on a different target that will still get them the results they want. Which means much of what they say cannot be taken all that seriously. It's a sort of false criticism.  

What all of this, basically, spells out is: Once again, this season is not as bad as some people would have you believe. 

I know I took a lot of time to explain this second point. And I did it for a reason. This opinion will ruffle any number of feathers. So I wanted to make myself as clear as possible. 

THE GOOD THINGS CHIBNALL DID

Rather than just spend this entire entry defending Chibnall against the many strange and bizarre accusations that have been leveled against him, I'm going to actually list some things he did that had a huge positive impact on the show. I'll just talk about his really big contributions, here. There's plenty of other good stuff that he's done. The items I'm listing are the sort of things that he did throughout his entire era but got their start in Series Eleven. 

Story Length 

Without a doubt, the best decision Chibnall made. It brought me so much joy! 

Since my Review of Series One, I've been bitching and complaining about plots being resolved in only 46 minutes. Oftentimes, they just feel too "light" or underdeveloped. Certain ideas needed to be fleshed out better but, quite frequently, there just wasn't time. In some cases, elements of the plot made little or no sense because explanations had to be rushed through. It just didn't lend itself well to how Doctor Who stories were meant to be told. 

With one simple adjustment, Chibnall fixes the problem. He cuts down the number of episodes in a season but changes the run-time of each episode to one hour*

Now, even a single episode story feels like it has adequate time to breathe. The plot can develop at the pace it needs rather than get pushed along and scrunched up so that it can fit into what is often an inadequate time-frame. Yes, I still love a multi-parter. But we don't actually need them anymore if we don't get them. At the end of a one hour episode I can still sit there and say: "That felt like a genuine Doctor Who story." Whereas there had been so many previous occasions where it felt more like I was watching something rushed or even poorly-structured that was trying to be Doctor Who.     

Best of all are the character moments a story can now have. We could still get them, sometimes, in a 46 minute format. But they were hard to come by. Whereas so many episodes this season could take the time to insert some nice little "two-hander" scenes where people can chat and reveal things about themselves to each other. Like when Graham takes a moment in Demons of the Punjab to point out to Yaz that things may be stressful, right now, but it is still great to be travelling with the Doctor. Or Ryan telling Yaz how he lost his Mom. Or any number of other great little scenes that add some gorgeous extra dimension to what's going on in an adventure. So that's it's not just the Doctor and his/her companion(s) sprinting through a storyline to get it to resolve itself within an all-too-short time limit. 

It's so great that Chibnall made this change. I'm absolutely thrilled by it.**

* a fun objection to nullify: fans complained about how he had shortened the season. When, technically, he didn't. Ten one hour episodes amounts to a greater total running time than the twelve 46 minute episodes we'd been getting for the last few seasons. It's even ever-so-slightly longer than the thirteen 46-minute episodes we had been originally getting. 

** the change in episode length does become a legitimate excuse for some of the disdain fans may have felt for these stories. Admittedly, adding all those extra minutes is going to really change the overall flow of a story. This meant that a viewer needed to adjust to this new pace and may have found that whole process unpleasant. Some of the content may have also had a few issues just because it was trying to find its feet in this new format. Still, I wouldn't call any of these stories genuinely bad. It's more that, after ten seasons of Who stories being told in one manner, the change in episode length takes some getting used to. Both for the writers and the audience. 

A Moral Doctor 

It's nice when the Doctor gets a little edgy for a few incarnations. He can be quite interesting when he doesn't hold himself to his usually lofty standards. 

This was the sort of Doctor we were getting right from the beginning of New Who. Nine, for instance, is absolutely brutal in The End of the World when he just allows the Lady Cassandra to dry out to death in front of him. The edginess continues as he regenerates into Ten who, immediately, kills the Sycorax Leader with a satsuma.  

This is not something that we've only been seeing in the New Series. Six, quite often, was not afraid to meet violence with violence. And Seven is still the darkest Doctor we've ever had. That abyss was definitely staring back into him as he stared into it (God, I love bastardizing Nietzsche!). I greatly enjoyed the turn the character took during this period of the show. 

But then we got Eight. It was only for a brief time, of course. But we could see that the Doctor was restored to a high-principled character during this incarnation. He takes the police officer's motorcycle by pulling a gun on himself rather than pointing it at the cop. As the Master plunges into the Eye of Harmony, he still tries to save him.  Actions of this nature are something I doubt we would have ever seen the two previous Doctors do. And I like this. The Doctor needs to revert back to this type on a regular basis for the grittier versions of him to work. 

Unfortunately we weren't getting this in the New Series. The Doctor just kept being a bit of a ruthless jerk. Eleven, quite gleefully, sends Solomon to his death. Twelve seems to impale a cyborg on a church spire (we don't actually see it happen, but we're pretty sure he did!). I really do feel that we went way too long with darker versions of the Doctor doing very undoctorish things. We needed another incarnation like Eight far sooner than we actually got it. 

But, at long last, we do get a more moral incarnation as Thirteen emerges onto the scene. It was so nice to, once more, see a Doctor that tries to preserve life at all costs. That avoids violence as much as possible. That genuinely hates guns but doesn't still try to fashion people into weapons. Finally getting this in the New Series was so wonderfully refreshing. I'm eternally grateful to Chibnall for bringing this back into the Doctor's character. 

Sci-Fi That Challenges Its Audience 

I still distinctly remember a comment on a Fan Page shortly after Demons of the Punjab came out. The individual making the post said that he did feel that the story was well-constructed. That it dealt with some very serious subject matter and was quite compelling. But he still didn't enjoy it because he goes to science fiction for escapism and didn't want something this heavy. 

Now, I don't want to pick on someone else's opinion too hard, but the statement struck me as a bit ridiculous. On several levels, really.  But what struck me as being the silliest was the implication that science fiction was a good thing to indulge in when you want to shut your brain off and just enjoy some fluff. 

Personally, I seek the exact opposite from the genre. I want my intellect to be stimulated; my imagination to be stirred; or even my horizons to be expanded. I'm much happier watching Warrior's Gate than I am Horns of Nimon (or, if I want to be a bit more fair, Terror of the Zygons!). And I do feel that Series Eleven - and the Chibnall Era, in general - delivers a higher frequency of stories of this nature than RTD or Moff did. 

That's not to say, of course, that the other two Head Writers didn't produce "heavier" stuff during their period. RTD gave us dramatically-brilliant stories like Midnight and Moff composed magnificently-layered scripts like Heaven Sent. At the same time, Chibbers did give us some gimmicky stuff like a Disneyesque creature that loved to eat everything in sight. But, overall, I felt a more consistent effort was made to bring us "deeper" stories when Jodie was the Doctor. In fact, much of Series Eleven feels like it wouldn't be out of place in either Season Eighteen or Nineteen of Classic Who. Which was a period that gave us the most sophisticated of tales. Adventures like The Leisure Hive and Kinda. 

Series Eleven goes for a very similar vibe in several of its tales. Even something with a simpler plot like Ghost Monument, has a lot going on behind the core premise that elevates it, considerably. Yes, ultimately, it's just about two people in a space race. But there's much more there if you look for it (Kinda, ultimately, is about a guy who thinks the trees will kill him - but it's got a ton of subtext too!). Which is how I like my sci fi. 

"The stories are awful" 

"The writing's so bad!" 

"Sometimes, late at night, I remember how Adric died and I cry into my pillow until well after the sun rises. Oh. Sorry. This isn't a therapy session? You're just asking me what I think about the stories in Series Eleven of New Who? Oops... Right... Okay then. What I meant to say was: The stories were crap! ...Can you not include that thing I just said about Adric?"    

Thus far, this Review has been more about fan politics than anything. Although, in my defense, it's pretty hard not to discuss these sort of reactions when covering Series Eleven. But it's time to, finally, get into the meat of things. Let's look at the stuff that truly makes up a season of Doctor Who: The Stories. 

RAIDERS OF THE NON-EXISTENT ARC 

If you've been following these Reviews, you may recall me expressing in my previous entry how I was getting legitimately tired of season-long arcs. That it would be wonderful to get the occasional year of the show where the stories were, for the most part, independent of each other. 

Thankyou Series Eleven for granting my wish! 

There are hints of arcs, of course. The most prominent one being that we do have three whole episodes dealing with Tim Shaw and the Stenza (let's not forget that the planet in Ghost Monument is the result of Stenza experimentation). When there are only ten episodes in total, that does create a significant presence. We feel this all-the-more since Tim Shaw starts and ends the season. But it's still not quite a season-long arc. This still isn't like hearing "Bad Wolf" or seeing Cracks in Time during almost every story that year. It's just someone who shows up at the beginning of the season and comes back at the end. It's two appearances by a bad guy who we haven't seen since. Not a season-long arc. 

Some might point out that the bond that finally grows between Graham and Ryan represents a season-long arc. But that's more of a character arc. Which I would consider different from a season-long arc. Even though the growth these two experience takes about a season to accomplish, it's still something going on exclusively with Ryan and Graham. Not a development that's affecting how the entire season is being formed. Which is what a season-long arc is. Series Eight, for instance, is all about discovering who this strange Missy character is and what sort of sinister plans she is hatching that the Doctor must try to stop as we reach the season finale. At the same time, however, Danny and Clara are falling in love over the course of that year. That second arc, however, is about two characters within the season. Whereas the first one is about the season, itself. 

Ryan and Graham work in the same fashion in Series Eleven. Except, of course, there's no actual season-long arc to counterpoint what's going on between them. But it still amounts to the same thing. 

"But wait, Rob!" you might be saying, "What about the rag monsters in Ghost Monument?! They call the Doctor 'The Timeless Child'! Isn't that an arc?!"  

Well, yes, it is. But it's an arc that's going to span the entire Jodie Whitaker Era. So that, right there, disqualifies it as a season-long arc.  It's more like a three-season-long arc. Besides, mentioning the Timeless Child once in the entire season really doesn't make it an arc at all. That would be like a "Vote Saxon" poster being seen in the background in The Lazarus Experiment and nothing else is ever mentioned before or after it during that season. Saxon doesn't get dealt with again until Series Four. The Master doesn't actually come back in Utopia. It's a totally different finale that year (which some fans might have liked!). You can't call that one Saxon poster in the background in Series Three an arc. It's a tease of something to come. That's it. The same applies to the rag monsters calling the Doctor the Timeless Child. 

So, yeah. My wish came true. And I really appreciate that Chibnall finally granted it to me. Please, Showrunners of the future, do this again every once in a while. 

THAT HINT OF AN ARC 

I'm not exactly sure why the fans didn't appreciate Tim Shaw more. I rather liked his big, blue toothy face. I especially enjoyed the Stenza as a species. The Whoniverse is populated with any number of warrior races. But most of them, most of the time, just seem like Sontarans. There's a hint of a Warrior's Code going on that you can, possibly, exploit them for if it helps the plot along (like when the Fourth Doctor challenges one to a duel in The Sontaran Experiment). Other times, though, if it interferes with the narrative flow, then the militant alien will forfeit the code and just be a bully (like when the Second Doctor challenges one to a duel in The Two Doctors). That's, pretty much, what we see the Sontarans doing in the adventures that feature them. And any other race that's into conquering the galaxy but is still really "butch" about it, for that matter. I can think of several stories that didn't involve the Sontarans but might as well have. 

But Chibnall creates enough differences in the Stenza that it gives us something new and refreshing. Like the way Tim Shaw must pass a test to become the Leader of his people in The Woman Who Fell to Earth. You don't see Sontarans doing that!  

Tim Shaw's Hunt also presents a fairly simple and straightforward premise to the adventure. But there's still enough there to sustain the story. It allows for all the other things the plot needs to accomplish without it actually feeling like that the main thrust of the tale is being neglected. Yes, the Doctor's adjusting to her new body. Yes, we're meeting a whole bunch of new companions all at once. Yes, that bike never actually gets collected off that tree! But all of these things aren't executed at the expense of the real focus of the story. Tim Shaw's Quest to Lead the Stenza is still the centerpiece. 

I actually think this is a nice start to a whole new era of the show. Again, nothing is too complex yet. We're keeping things fairly simple. Which is how it needs to be, for now. I also like the villain of the piece. He's more-than-worthy of a return. So I'm glad his species gets talked about some more in the second story and that he comes back at the end of the season. 

That sense of simplicity does continue quite a bit in The Ghost Monument. Which, at this stage of the game, is still a good idea. Establishing three companions all at once needs some time and attention. Especially since two of them are now mourning the loss of someone they loved dearly. But, again, Ghost Monument is still, mainly, about a race and the various perils that must be suffered in order to complete it. 

This is the first time that the one hour run-time really pays off. As Ryan and Graham try to fix the engine to the boat, they have a good-sized talk about their grieving process. The scene is given so much time to breathe and feel genuinely natural. As I watched it, I thought to myself: "There's no way in Hell we would have gotten a scene like this in previous seasons of New Who!" Even though Specials during RTD's and Moff's reigns lasted an hour, they usually took place during the holidays. So they were trying to keep things light. So a man mourning the loss of his wife who is also the grandmother to the other person in the scene would have been way too much of a downer to put into a Christmas Special. But it works quite beautifully, here.     

And then we jump all the way over to the end of the season. Tim Shaw is back. This time, it's with huge iron lungs! I have quite enjoyed how the scope of season finales have changed over the last few years. Moff did a great job of having things happen on several different scales. Instead of saving the Earth or even the Universe, the Doctor is just trying to protect a small town on a colony world. Or stop himself from getting killed by his wife. So that, now that the Earth is being threatened again, it's interesting and refreshing! And it almost feels a bit incidental. Our world is only, technically, in danger for a matter of minutes. And then the plot gets busy with something else. 

I also love how we discover the ultimate goal of the Stenza. Again, something that sets them apart from so many other Warrior Races. While most of them seem interested in plain old-fashioned military occupation, the Stenza want more than that. They wish to preserve all of their conquests in stasis. It's a neat little twist that vaguely resembles The Pirate Planet. But not so much that it feels like a rip-off. 

The Battle of Ranskor ov Kolos also has a fantastic subplot. At that point, it hadn't been revealed which of the stars would be coming back for Series Twelve. So I did find myself genuinely wondering if Graham might kill Tim Shaw and get himself kicked off the TARDIS. It is a great moment when he takes Ryan's advice and chooses to be "the better man". How the two of them do, ultimately, take Tim Shaw down was a very powerful moment. Particularly as they tell him to remember Grace. 

This whole thread reaches a fantastic conclusion. While all this great drama is going on with the two of them, the Doctor and Yaz also create a nice exciting solution to the problem of returning shrunken planets to their rightful place. 

Chibnall's first season finale comes to a very satisfactory conclusion. And he didn't need to bring up the Medusa Cascade four or five times throughout the year or throw Missy inside a vault for a while. Everything went well without having to create a big build-up. 

MIDDLE OF THE LINE 

Like every season, Series Eleven has its peaks and valleys. The stuff with Tim Shaw and the Stenza I would definitely put closer to the summit. I felt it was above-average in quality. 

Now we hit some plateaus. Stories that are not bad but not spectacular, either. In this season, I find there are two episodes that fit this description: The Tsurango Conundrum and Kerblam!. 

In most cases, these sort of adventures are still quite enjoyable. Sometimes, however, they're just too damned bland. I think, specifically, of several stories from the early-to-mid Tom Baker Era. Stories like Planet of Evil or Face of Evil (putting the word "Evil" in a title, apparently, was a curse back then!) These tales were just so mediocre that I really don't get much enjoyment from them. 

Does this sort of thing happen in Series Eleven, too?   

A lot of fans don't seem to be happy with Tsurango Conundrum. To this day, I'm not sure why. It's got a nice brisk pace to it and an interesting supporting cast. I also love a story that features a cute-looking alien that's actually deadlier than a Dalek. There's an interesting side plot involving that pregnant man that seems almost extraneous. It does help the Ryan and Graham arc to move along. But it doesn't do much beyond that. But I quite like that it's there. I enjoy how the safe delivery of the child means as much to me as the main plot does. Speaking of which, this is a classic "Doctor using the energy working against her to her advantage" conflict resolution. I love when stories end this way. It shows the genuine cleverness of the protagonist. Also, the P'ting looks so cute drifting through space with a glowing belly!    

Kerblam! is obviously taking a nice little potshot at Amazon.com. Quite honestly, it could have gone a lot harder. I'm quite disgusted by how the whole company is run. To the point that I will never make an Amazon purchase for myself. I even hate that I have bought gift cards for friends just because they really love shopping there so I knew it would be a Christmas and/or birthday present that they would really love. As far as I'm concerned, the episode could have laid in to the corporation just as strongly as South Park did! 

Kerblam! still picks on Amazon quite a bit. But it also goes in a different but equally-interesting direction. It highlights how our obsession with automation could, easily, become the death of us. Which makes a good point. Fans also like to highlight how the whole thing does feel a bit like a Seventh Doctor Oddball Story. And I quite like that vibe.  

Both of these stories, however, seem to be having a fairly big problem with structuring themselves according to the new format. The plotting just feels very "clunky" in places. Kerblam! more than Tsurango. But the problems exist within both of them. I would also say that I don't feel all that particularly connected to any of the supporting characters in Kerblam! Many of the performances feel just a tad too caricaturesque. I think there would have been a better flow to it all if the actors had played things just a little bit straighter. 

While both these episodes have their fair share of strengths and flaws, I'd still put them at slightly above average. So I don't find them flat or boring like I do some of those middle-of-the-line stories I brought up earlier that hail from the Tom Baker period. 

   

THE ONE THAT EVERYONE THINKS IS BAD 

"Arachnids in the UK is an abomination to all that is good and decent." 

"It's such an intensely awful episode. Truly a blotch on the show. It should be removed from canon." 

"I wish I had a daughter so I could forbid her to marry Arachnids in the UK ... er .... I know that didn't make much sense but I just wanted to come up with an original-sounding comment. Although, it wasn't really all that original since I actually stole it from Douglas Adams!" 

I remember how fans felt genuinely unenthused about the episode just from watching the trailer. Admittedly, it wasn't appealing to me too much, either. But I like to give things a fair shake before passing judgement. 

After watching it, I found myself thinking Arachnids in the UK wasn't really all that bad. I'd even go so far as to say that it's okay. Not some great work of televisual brilliance. But I'd still take it over Idiot's Lantern or The Next Doctor anytime. And I definitely like it waaayyy  better than Creature from the Pit! And yet, some fans would have you believe that this one is worse than the combined awfulness of all the stories I've just mentioned. 

I quite like how, aside from the Doctor, there's actually no alien involvement in the conflict. This is one of the rare times that we see something like this in New Who. Rather than evil invaders from another world, it's good 'ole-fashioned pollution that's causing the problem. It's a bit like The Green Death all over again. Except that I really didn't enjoy Green Death! Whereas I do find this tale to be passable. 

It's far from perfect, of course. This is certainly one of those plots where the coincidences do seem to be just a tad too heavy. Yaz's Mom just happens to be working at the hotel where the spiders have based themselves. The Kahn Family's neighbor just happens to be an employee of the research institute that's sending spiders to the landfill under the hotel. Or the weirdest coincidence of them all: a dead mutant spider just happens to be in Graham's attic!

But there's a few things about Arachnids that I think work quite well. A lot of it, admittedly, is subplot stuff. Graham seeing imaginary versions of Grace is quite moving. Ryan getting the letter from his Dad creates some interesting side-drama that will pan out later. 

Mind you, there is some fun with the main plot too. The spider antics aren't just creepy, but they also seemed to be well-researched. The scriptwriter has taken the time to understand arachnid behavior fairly well.  Also, though he's a bit over-the-top in places, Chris Noth does still give us a performance that makes Jack Robertson worthy of his return next season.  

Speaking of Jack Robertson: I know a lot of folks aren't happy with how the issue with the super-big spider is resolved. I'm not one of them, though. I actually quite enjoyed the irony of it all. Robertson really did have the best solution to the problem. But we still think he's a jerk for doing it. And, as much as I love seeing a high-principled Doctor again, it's a mature approach to show that her morals don't always work in every situation. With so many interesting conflicting elements in place, I actually thought the whole scene was quite nuanced. It shows us that there are times when simple solutions only apply so well. Or, at least, that's how I perceived the sequence. I certainly didn't see it as the jumbled mess that some fans claim it to be.  

All in all, I can't really come down too hard on this story. I do agree with some of the objections people have with it. And it's certainly one of the weaker episodes in the season. But I still wouldn't call it terrible. 

THE ONE THAT I DO THINK IS GENUINELY WEAK 

And now, my opinion gets even weirder. Not only do I think Arachnids in the UK is okay, but I feel the real "dud" of the season is actually The Witchfinders! 

I still don't consider it to be absolutely awful. We're not in Underwater Menace Land, here. But I do find it to be fairly sub-standard. 

It makes several of the same mistakes that have been bothering me since the First RTD era (we need to stress that, now!). We've got one of those paper-thin A Plots that barely holds itself together. Most of the narrative seems to depend on just enjoying the antics of King James. Don't get me wrong, Alan Cumming is absolutely brilliant in the role. He almost gets us to forget just how weak the main thrust of the story is. But, in the end, it's still not enough. I'm not sure why writers keep structuring their scripts in such a manner. Episodes that seem to place more emphasis on the subplot have been failing quite miserably since Series Two. 

The ending also feels rushed and over-simplified. "Make some torches from the special tree. That will hold them at bay!" I get the symbolism that they're going for, here. But then, you'd have to be pretty oblivious not to! But is this really the image we want to give our heroes at the story's climax? Have them resemble actual witch-burners?! This one doesn't come across as a "nuanced scene" like Robertson killing the spider did. It just seems to have the wrong tone. 

There's an extra silly moment that I particularly love to nitpick. As the Doctor and Fam are rallying for their Morax witch-burning, Willow insists she comes along. They try to discourage her. 

"Only I know the way up the hill." she points out. So they let her accompany them. 

But ... is it really that difficult to find your way up a hill?! Pretty sure you just need to keep walking up the incline and you'll be okay! It's a very petty nitpick, I know. But it just makes the conclusion to the conflict that little bit more of a mess.    

The final scene is still quite nice, though. I like how the Doctor leaves on bad terms with King James. It's the sort of thing you often hear the Doctor talking about as he/she namedrops. But it's always fun when you actually see it happen in front of you. 

SOMETHING TRULY AMAZING 

And now we'll get back to praising Series Eleven. While I've had some fun coming up with fake criticism, I actually think there's quite a bit of this season that's quite outstanding. 

Demons of the Punjab is definitely one of those highly-praiseable aspects of the season. I know it's not for everyone. Some go to sci fi for escapism. But I absolutely loved it. 

If I had any real complaint about the story, it would be that it does seem to borrow a bit too much from other story ideas. Yaz asking the Doctor to meet her Nan feels a bit like Rose asking the Doctor to go see her Dad in Father's Day. The Thijarians seem a lot like Testimony from Twice Upon a Time. Which is an episode that only came out a short while prior to this tale. So it feels just a bit too recent to have a culture like this again, already. 

Other than that, though, this story is brilliant. I actually enjoy it when the Doctor goes to "ugly" places in history and gets swept up in the events. It's interesting to see the character in a situation where she is, more or less, powerless to make a difference and just needs to get the Hell out. Tales like this can be traced as far back as The Reign of Terror in Season One (I guess you could say The Aztecs works in a similar way, but it's not as gritty and morbid!). I'll even sound a little SJW and congratulate the author on choosing such a dark time in India's past and bringing it to the forefront for all of us to learn more about. Before Demons, I'd only heard vague details of this event. I genuinely enjoyed the way the plot educated me on something we should all know more about. But History is often told from a highly-edited perspective so we don't see much of this kind of thing. It's for similar reasons that Hotel Rwanda is such a great film. 

And then, of course, there's the actual story of what happened to Yaz's grandmother. The explanation of why she gives her favorite grandchild a broken watch is heartbreakingly beautiful. Prem walking out to meet his brother and the posse he's assembled is so brutal. I practically die as the Thijari appear to the TARDIS crew and say: "We've got things from here." 

There's so much to love about Demons of the Punjab. It's a ridiculously-compelling piece of drama that is near-flawless. The Indian version of the closing credits is a great way to end it, too!   

THE TRUE CLASSIC 

While Demons of the Punjab is near-flawless, Rosa achieves absolute perfection. 

There's not a second of this story that I'm not enjoying. Which is extra impressive since such a delicate subject had the potential to be really poorly handled. When I heard they were doing an episode about Rosa Parks, I even thought to myself: "Oooh! This could go bad!" The episode might not even be so ill-received in most parts of the world since race-relations are quite different from the situation in the US. But I'm quite familiar with the issue since I do live right next to the States. So if things had been depicted poorly, I would have definitely cringed.     

Instead, Rosa manages to be quite beautiful. Vinette Robinson is incredible in the role. Rather than trying to make the character completely saintly, she still gives her some hard edges. Rosa has been made bitter by all that she suffers, but her spirit prevails. The song choice that is made as she refuses to abandon her seat is actually perfect. I'd heard it a thousand times before, of course. Since it was a huge hit at the time. But when used in that context, I was suddenly like: "This really does encapsulate all the character is going through." Like Vincent and the Doctor, this is one of the moments that merited a contemporary piece of music rather than the usual score that would get played over it. 

I'm quite fond of the subtleties in this story. I love how often the director cuts away to the expressions of by-standers when someone is being racially-persecuted. You get the impression by some of their reactions that they don't like what they're seeing. But they also don't feel like there's anything they can genuinely do about it. I also love how we see the many-varied hues of racism. I always find it interesting how "Jake the Snake" rationalizes away his poor behavior. "It's just the law." he says. Trying to make it sound like he's just doing what he's told rather than being a genuinely rotten bastard. 

I really could go on, here. There's so much that I love in this story. Not just for its message and tone, but I do think it has a great plot to it, too. However, I have also noticed some people actually try to lay into the story pretty hard. Almost as if they feel as though they need to. This is supposed to be a bad season, damn it. But this story really is great. So they need to attack it extra hard. So let's examine some of the stuff they have to say: 

THE STRANGE OBJECTIONS TO ROSA 

1. The Villain is soooo Vanilla 

I mean, yeah, he is pretty stoic. But I wasn't really counting on a lot of moustache-twirling from him. 

Were we expecting him to jump out at Rosa as their paths and theme songs cross and cackle: "I'll get you, Rosa Parks!  And your little dog too!" 

He's a guy who's done some hard time in one of the most brutal prisons in the Galaxy. Yes, River Song was having some great shenanigans, there. But that's because the Doctor was breaking her out of the place on a regular basis to take her out on dates (she could even get herself out quite easily when she needed to). I imagine our futuristic racist got much harsher treatment when he was in Storm Cage. Most cons that do an extended stint of hard time learn to stay quiet and keep their head down. They also tend to maintain that personae once they're back on the outside. So I actually find that his behavior makes perfect sense. He's quiet and purposeful. But I wouldn't say wooden. He's just the right level of silently menacing. 

But I guess some people need him to be more energetic. Clearly, when he sabotages Jake's bus, he should have proclaimed: 

"Nothink in ze world can shtop me now!" 

Or something to that effect.... 

2. It's a Cheap Rip-Off of Quantum Leap 

There are many sides to this particular objection. The biggest one, I gather, is that people are saying it lacked originality and is just following the same pattern Quantum Leap used back when it ran. 

Which strikes me as odd. Admittedly, I only know Quantum Leap so well. I watched it a few times back when it was on and enjoyed it. But never followed it that avidly. But I know it well enough to feel that Rosa vaguely resembles it, at best. Whereas I look at something like Brain of Morbius and how it uses a crap-ton of the tropes from Frankenstein Hammer Horror films. But, because it hails from an era that tends to receive universal approval, it's an "homage" rather than a rip-off. Which is an opinion I  actually agree with. I don't feel it is stealing wholesale from the source material. But, if we took the time and trouble to really itemize what Rosa takes from Quantum Leap and Brain of Morbius uses from Frankenstein, we'd see that the 'ole Tommy Baker Tale is the much larger thief. So why don't these ultra-critical fans level the same accusation at it?  

Another inference seems to indicate that Quantum Leap was an awful show and, since Rosa imitates it, it's awful too. Personally, I can't get behind this one. I like Leap and I really love Rosa. But, I guess if you dislike one, you'll feel the same about the other. 

The final angle to this objection is that it resembles a badly-written episode of Quantum Leap. I guess I would also put this one down more to personal taste. So I can't say much against it. I think the writing for Rosa is great. Again, I only know Quantum Leap so well. But Rosa actually strikes me as being something better than anything we ever got from Leap. To the best of my knowledge, Leap never handles such sensitive material so well. It was just a straight adventure sci-fi series that was a bit more intelligent than most American shows that came out in the late 80s/early 90s. I could be wrong, of course. If you're a killer Quantum Leap fan - feel free to berate me! 

THE WEIRDO 

We've dwelt on Rosa long enough. Let's tackle the only story I still haven't covered yet.

It Takes You Away is another adventure I have deep feelings for. Admittedly, it does have a bit of that "clunkiness" I've spoken of previously. It struggles, here and there, to fit in the new run-time. But, otherwise, I love this episode.     

Its greatest charm is its inherent weirdness. Not only is it different from the rest of the stories this season, it's not like anything we've ever really seen on the show. I love that Doctor Who can go on for this long and keep producing such new and original content. It says something about the creative talent that continues to apply itself to the series. And, most specifically, it speaks volumes of what Chibnall is achieving. Thirty Seven seasons in, and he's able to still give us something weird and wonderful like It Takes You Away. 

Its most distinct trait is its absence of a real antagonist. We do get Ribbons of the Seven Stomachs for a while. Who is an absolute jerk. But he's not the real source of the problem. What's actually causing all the trouble is a lonely pocket universe. It's not intentionally trying to wreak havoc and destruction, though. It just wants a friend. 

"But Rob!" some of you may dispute, "We did just have a story a short while ago where there was no actual villain: Twice Upon a Time. Remember?" 

And that is true. Testimony seemed like they might be some sort of force for evil but they weren't. They were, in fact, doing something very kind and benevolent that only seemed sinister, at first. The Solitract plays a very different role in its adventure. It also has very kind intentions. But, because of its very nature, it's a legitimate threat to the Universe. But this isn't like the Daleks building a Reality Bomb or the Master trying to commandeer Logopolis. There's no genuinely evil intent, here. It's just an innocent being that wants some company. So, while the Solitract isn't a legitimate villain, it still poses a real problem that the Doctor must fix. Whereas, when he discovered what Testimony was really about, the Doctor could just leave them alone to keep doing what they were doing. 

And I do actually love how the Doctor resolves the conflict. No deft manipulations of the forces being used against her. No convenient use of the sonic screwdriver. Just an impassioned speech to a talking frog in a white void about how real friends call each other out on their BS. Just one more great way in which this tale is so weird and different from anything else that's come before. It's great how, when the Solitract does finally dispel her, the Doctor is a bit sad that she's lost a friend. 

There is, of course, a very important subplot that starts resolving itself in this story. Ryan calling Graham "Grandad" in the last few minutes of the episode is a great moment. Unlike so much other New Who, it doesn't get too oversentimental about the whole thing. He just finally says it and then makes a joke that Graham is getting old and hard of hearing! It's all-the-more touching because it remains understated. 

I also love that their bonding won't truly be complete until they fist punch!    

THREE COMPANIONS 

"Giving the Doctor three companions was Chibnall's dumbest move ever!" 

"The format of the show can't support that many principal characters. It just doesn't work." 

"Chibnall is a complete and utter moron for thinking he could cram that many people into the TARDIS. I know! I know! It's dimensionally transcendental. It can easily fit that many people. That's not what I meant you obsessive/compulsive pedant!" 

"He should have looked back to when JNT did three companions in the 80s. The stories became too cluttered when they tried to fit Tegan, Nyssa and Adric in all at once. And it's happening again, now... Speaking of which: you're definitely not using that bit where I confess to regularly crying into my pillow over Adric's death, right?!"

First off: to that guy who got, perhaps, a tad too attached to Adric - I actually liked the Season Nineteen Line-up. For the same reason that I like the Series Eleven and Twelve dynamic. Basically, it allows for a lot of interesting side drama. When it's just the Doctor and one companion in the console room, the dialogue can really start to feel limited. We're just seeing how one person relates to this strange, eccentric character. 

But, when you start sticking more people in, things become more interesting. Each character responds to the protagonist in a different way (one of them, for instance, could even fall in love with her). And, of course, the companions spark off each other at the same time. Creating what could amount to some compelling side-plots. Three people in the TARDIS, for me, is the magic number you need to really create some genuinely stimulating chemistry. 

The arc Graham and Ryan go through is, in fact, the best "companion storyline" the show has ever created. The one-hour long episode format really helps with this. Throughout the season, we've had great little moments that allowed the two of them to develop empathy for each other and grow closer. I really don't think that sort of growth could have occurred naturally within the old episode structure. 

The criticism that Yaz gets neglected this season strikes me as unfounded (even though Chibnall even apologizes for it). We get stories like Demons of the Punjab or The Witchfinders that really delve into her backstory. Even Arachnids in the UK let's us see her family quite a bit. Ryan and Graham do have such a great subplot, though, that it does almost overshadow her a bit. But I wouldn't say she was being ignored, either.     

The other great advantage to three companions is that they can really help with developing various plot strands within a story. Everybody splits up for a bit to do their own thing and then come back together to wrap it all up. This makes things flow so much smoother. Anytime there's action in a story that's not involving a principal, it has the potential to drag things down a bit. This becomes an almost non-existent problem when you have so many companions to scatter about. 

The writers did a great job of using this device to their advantage during this season and the next. We don't even get any real "Let's throw Nyssa in the cupboard" scenarios like we did back in the 80s. Everyone gets plenty to do in every episode. 

This asset will continue to develop in the next season as the crew get better and better at working as a team. To the point where we get a story like Praxeus. In which the Doctor can confidently scatter her companions to the Four Corners of the Earth in order to save the day. But, even in Series Eleven, we're seeing that start to happen. In fact, it's quite beautiful to watch the way all three of them believe more and more in what the Doctor is doing and want to help as much as they can. The Doctor sends her companions off on all sorts of little missions and they jump in to their tasks with their sleeves rolled up. Particularly Yaz. Before climbing aboard the TARDIS, she was a police constable. A profession she chose because she wanted to make a difference. She definitely sees her time with the Doctor as the ultimate opportunity to do that. She's not just settling parking disputes, now. She's saving worlds. It's no wonder she stays for as long as she does.      

FINAL CONCLUSION

And there you have it. My potentially hot take on Series Eleven. I hope I don't get too much vitriol hurled in my direction. I'll have to sit back and see what awaits me! 

If you labored your way through this entire entry, you already have a pretty a good idea of where I stand with this season. I don't deny that it had some problems. Both RTD and Moff "came in swinging" with their first seasons. In both cases, their initial year was their best. Whereas Thirteen's Era definitely seems like something that improves with each season. Which means that Series Eleven is the weakest. 

I'd say what damages this season the most is that Chibnall probably tried to change too much too quickly. Which caused a few stumbles along the way as he gave the show new legs to stand on. And, of course, it created a bit of consumer resistance, too. There were a lot of things the audience had to adjust to all at once. That can always create extra problems that will just add more gas to the misfires you're making as you're taking things in new directions.

But I still can't call Series Eleven terrible like some folks do. There are some significantly strong moments, here. And really not all that much that I had any kind of real problem with. 

In fact, a very interesting thing happened on my latest re-watch. It had been quite a while since I'd put a Series Eleven DVD in my player. I had, in fact, leant the box set to a friend who was interested in getting into Doctor Who (they greatly enjoyed it and are watching more episodes). I kept meaning to ask for it back when they were done but just never got around to grabbing it. Until, of course, it came time to write this Review. 

Being away from the season for so long almost seemed to have cleansed my pallet a bit. Having not seen it for a while allowed me to watch it with a fresher pair of eyes. Free of all the negativity that had surrounded it when it first came out. Which, in turn, changed the level of regard I have for Series Eleven. 

Just for fun, I've ranked the seasons of New Who that we've covered so far into tiers. As is the case with tier lists, each category is based on a level of quality.

Top Tier: (Above Average or even Amazing)

Series One 

Series Five

Series Ten 

Mid-Tier: (Troubled in places, but still Quite Strong)

Series Three 

Series Six 

Series Eight 

Series Nine

Bottom Tier: (Weak or even Genuinely Bad) 

Series Two 

Series Four 

Series Seven 

If you're wondering why Series One and Two are underlined, it's an attempt to emphasize that each season represents, respectively, the Best and Worst of New Doctor Who. I would consider Series One Amazing and Series Two Genuinely Bad. The rest of the seasons fall somewhere into greyer areas. 

Up until my latest re-watch, I would have put Series Eleven in the Bottom Tier. It's still, by no means, as awful as Series Two. I probably even like it better than Four. And it ties with Seven. But it had its fair share of problems. Which dragged the whole thing down enough to place it in this category. 

But all that ultra-criticism that followed when the season first came out has had some time to subside. Particularly since I just didn't go near Series Eleven for a bit. It seems that the negativity that was initially circulating as the episodes were transmitted genuinely affected my outlook on things. Even tainted my perspective a bit. 

This time, I went in to this season with a lot more objectivity. I still can't quite put Series Eleven in that Top Tier. And I doubt I ever will. But I definitely think it belongs in the Middle one. It's genuinely better than I recall it to be. 

And, as I've emphasized several times already (but is worth repeating just one more time): It's not as bad as some people would have you believe. 

BUT WAIT ROB, WHAT ABOUT THE NEW YEAR'S SPECIAL?    

Thankyou, Chibbers, for killing the Christmas Special. 

This was yet one more New Who tradition that was wearing a bit thin for me. Yes, I have enjoyed watching Doctor Who on Christmas Day with family members that weren't as in to the show as I was but still enjoyed the time we spent together. But that's still not enough to eliminate the drawbacks that the content would suffer from. Christmas Specials just tend to be a bit more shmaltzy or even cringe-worthy. And, of course, everything's kept pretty light most of the time. Don't want to upset the casual fan watching it on Christmas Day. 

I'd even go so far to say that the Doctor should almost get suspicious over just how often he seems to get dumped into Christmas on his travels. It should almost be like how he starts noticing Bad Wolf everywhere during Series One.  A Christmas Special should get made that reveals that some greater force has been guiding the Doctor's life(ves) over the last little while and forcing him to participate in Holiday Seasons on a regular basis. Perhaps, it's the Daleks trying to eliminate Christmas altogether. All these trips the Doctor keeps having during this particular time of the year will eventually cause Christmas to be erased from human memory. Causing a serious blow to the morale of humanity and allowing the Daleks to finally conquer us! 

Or something like that. 

A New Year's Special is a great way to avoid all that mawkish sentimentality.  We're in a very different mindset during this holiday. Which means, of course, that a very different kind of story can be written. And I was desperate for this. I really was getting tired of watching writers find some new way to weave Christmas into their latest plot without just cranking out another Runaway Bride. Where you, basically, just put out something that had all the elements of a previous Christmas Special but create a slightly different storyline within it.  

I love that pushing back a Special just one week eliminates all this. 

But Resolution has another significant landmark to it. After an entire season of only featuring new creatures and characters, we finally get Chibnall's first stab at a recurring baddie. Turns out he writes old foes better than anyone else. By giving us another story of a single Dalek trapped on Earth in a state of disrepair, he restores these monsters to the state of menace they had way back in Series One. It was a great choice to make. From here, he really can build them back up to their former glory. 

The episode does have a few problems. The biggest one being that Ryan and his Dad in the coffee shop really does go on for far longer than it needs to. It's one of the few instances of this era where having the time for a "character moment" doesn't work. But, aside from a few minor flaws, this is a fantastic episode. It accomplishes two great tasks: It makes the Daleks great again (someone should put that on a ball cap!) and it allows me to not have to endure Christmas Specials for a few years! 

Thankyou, Resolution. You made me very happy. Also, you're the beautiful foundation for an awesome sequel. 

SPECIAL CODA: THE RATINGS 

There's always a few of you who will make this point when I express my pro-Whitaker/Chibnall sentiments: 

"You're wrong, Rob!" you'll spew, "Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Chibnall's writing is awful! And I have the proof! The fact that will destroy any point you made about the quality of his work!" 

You take a moment to wipe away the foam that has gathered around your mouth. Then you smile triumphantly as you say: 

"The ratings were bad!" 

First things first: Poor ratings are not, necessarily, an indicator of poor quality. There are all kinds of factors at play that can influence viewership. Poor promotion of the show is usually the more genuine contributor to this problem. 

"Not a solid enough answer!" the Chib-basher will persist, "Back your point up with facts!" 

When someone starts spitting in my face like this, I love to cite Seasons Twenty-Five and Twenty-Six. Seasons that are considered, by most, to have some of the best stories the show has ever created. We got Classics like Remembrance of the Daleks, Ghost Light and Curse of Fenric. Really amazing stuff like Happiness Patrol (although a bit controversial), Greatest Show in the Galaxy and Survival. Even Battlefield was pretty damned good. Only Silver Nemesis was considered a bit of a "miss" by some (others, like me, still quite liked it). It's safe to say that I'm not alone in my appreciation of these two seasons. In terms of story quality, most agree that this was a great time for Doctor Who. 

And yet, these two seasons of Doctor Who had some of the lowest ratings in the history of the show.  

But wait! There's more! If the Whitaker/Chibnall era received low ratings cause it was so awful, then why are the ratings for Moffat's and Capaldi's final season just as poor? Did the material in Series Ten just suddenly take a huge dip in quality? Or were there, as I said, other factors at play? Factors that continued to affect the next three seasons after it?    

I'm sure at least a few of you who read this are gigantic haters of this season and will be ready to throw this argument at me. So I'm taking a preventative strike by adding this Special Coda. 

The Poor Ratings Argument holds no water. Find something better.    

  

 

 

  

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