Amph Doctor Who Discussion (Russell T. Davies returns)

Just finished 'The Next Doctor'; on to the last Tennant bits. Just two more Christmas specials to go.
There was one little scene in this episode that made me think something that's perfectly appropriate for this site but wildly out of place for SuperWatto.

The doctor and the would-be doctor are spying on some Cybermen, and the would-be doctor - wearing a bandolier - says something like, "I can shoot them right now?", and the doctor hushes him.

Just a little moment. And I thought: Russell T. Davies would be great for Star Wars.

 

There are hints of all NuWho Doctors in that suit (bar Whitaker) - Smith's use of tweed and boots, Capaldi's long cut of the suit, Eccleston's plain jumper instead of shirt, Tennant's overall sharp lines and stylishness. To me it suggests "we're going back to basics", to which I'd say: "HELL YES, PLEASE!"

 

15 is gonna look so good, nothing but good vibes

 

All Stars are the worst shoes that have ever become widely acceptable and accessible, so as much as I like Tennant's suit, the shoes are an instant deal breaker. And I know people who got married in All Stars, I don't think there's a worse choose, except from Crocs maybe. Maybe .

 

Regarding best Doctor outfits: no love for #6?

 

So I was just rewatching the special features on The Twin Dilemma and can say, no joke, they designed it to be awful on purpose. JNT had this idea that the Doctor should have "appalling taste" and the costume designer whipped it up as a too-extreme joke, which he proclaimed perfect. Colin Baker added the cat pin to be his Doctor's signature calling card, because the man is a professional.

Also apparently the rationale behind Davison dressing up like a cricketer was to play up the show's essential Britishness, as that was considered a selling point to American fans (so there is nothing new under the sun). That's not really related, nor does it explain the celery, but, y'know, kind of fun.

 

I heard that Colin Baker either wanted to or the original plan was for #6 to wear something like Eccleston's #9 outfit.

 

Yes! That actually comes from the special features I mentioned, where Colin Baker is discussing different Doctors' outfits together with a fashion commentator, filmed during the Tennant years. When they get to Eccleston, Baker remarks that 9's wearing the sort of outfit he had originally requested.

 

Matrix avant la lettre.

 

I wasn't a fan of Moffat as a showrunner for three reasons:

1. He quickly discarded the events that occurred during RTD's run, going to far as to canonize their erasure from the timeline of the show, and made it apparent from the get-go:

That storyline concluded with the universe being "reset", officializing that nothing that had happened before really mattered. I get wanting to leave your mark on a show, but there's a much better way of going about it than starting by saying: "Remember everything that happened before? Well, you shouldn't have bothered."

2. Trying to run multi-season arks as he did with River Song and Clara, taking it one level above the season-arks RTD did, wasn't necessarily a bad idea per se, but you have to mind not tripping yourself up in the process. Moffat did on a number of occasions, and had to sweep quite a few things under the rug either by never hinting about them again or by canonizing further timeline corruptions. If the viewer has to study the show to keep track of what stays real and what doesn't, you've taken it too far.

3. Tying into 1, the S7 Clara arks concludes in injecting her retroactively into every Doctor Who story that happened before and makes her the reason they happened that way. It even goes so far as to having Clara point Hartnell's First Doctor in the direction of the right TARDIS to steal! Yay, my characters and storylines matter in all 50 years of Doctor Who canon because I said so, but most of my immediate predecessor's never happened because I said so!

Needless to say, I'm not a fan of Chibnall's work either.

There are Moffat stories I liked from his own time as showrunner, and by "liked", I don't just mean mildly enjoyed - Heaven Sent is, in my view, possibly the best Doctor Who episode since the beginning of the show. But you don't have to insert yourself on every level of such a show to be a good showrunner - quite the opposite. All you have to add to its legacy of good storytelling, and pass it in an easy state for the next showrunner to pick up the ball and keep running.

 

With all due respect, that outfit makes him look like Mannix. Fortunately, Mannix looked cool.

 

I had an eye doctor appointment today and I ended up wearing my Weeping Angel "Don't Blink" shirt. Of course, I blinked as a result of my appointment.

 

My family and I opened our presents yesterday since I have to work most of the day today.

I got Power of the Doctor on Blu-ray; a Tardis blanket; and a Doctor Who key chain.

 

There seems to be a theme

 

Well, I did get a couple of non-DW gifts.

 

They can remake the Three Doctors with 10, 10.2, and 14.

 

Blue coat Colin or we riot.

 

Technically, it was just a trailer. But what a goddamn trailer!

Looks to have a major cash injection, it all looked good but....

Not out until September. Balls.

 

Not that it’s the most controversial theory in the world, but the funding bump puts me even further in the camp of “Disney wanted Tennant back for a special or two so they could have a recognizable Doctor on the service, and Disney gets what it wants.”

Still, looks pretty great, and as a lapsed fan I appreciate the gesture to ease me back in.