Doctor Who - early thoughts
So we've had two episodes now of this year's heavily serialized six-episode Doctor Who mini-series. It's still early days to offer commentary on the overarching plot, but in terms of substance and structure…I'm surprised to say that I'm really enjoying the season, so far.
It's taken him three years to get there, but it looks as if Chris Chibnall has finally figured out how to lean into his strengths as a storyteller and make Doctor Who at the same time. Simply put, he is better at serialised storytelling with a broad cast than he is at Modern Who's more usual very exclusive Team TARDIS anthology style. There's a reason Broadchurch was such a hit, after all. His weaknesses are still there, don't get me wrong, but they aren't as glaring when everything around them is improved. I can forgive a lot as long as I'm having fun and enjoying the characters along the way.
I'm really liking the serialised style of this season, with the broader cast and multiple sub-plots running in parallel, overlapping here and there. I'm wary of where it is all heading, because it is clearly going to tie back into the Timeless Child storyline eventually, and I dislike that story quite intensely. It wearies me so much that all three showrunners of the modern era have felt compelled to re-write the Doctor's backstory in one way or another, making it messier and messier all the while. They just can't seem to bring themselves to leave well enough alone. But that said, I am enjoying this serialised format, which feels satisfyingly Classic and really shakes the show up, which is good since the monster-of-the-week format had definitely become stale. And the cliffhangers! Got to love a good cliffhanger!
So nice to see something that recalls Classic Who but done in a contemporary way with high quality production values and not too much knowing irony / fourth wall breaking.
The plot work and resolutions probably wouldn't stand up to much poking with a pointy stick, mind, so I'm not going to do that. Instead I shall appreciate how this week's episode actually treated the Sontarans with a bit of respect by portraying them as the threat such an implacably warlike alien race should be, while still being suitably ridiculous. Mary Seacole was fantastic - an excellent historical person to showcase, and I really like how they went about it here, no fawning and no fuss, just 'here's this person, this is the situation, let's get on with the adventure and show rather than tell how amazing she is.' Swarm is working for me as the recurring antagonist of the season - his make-up job is grotesque (I'm getting huge 80s vibes, it's like a modern upgrade of a McCoy era baddie) and the actor is really going for it, bringing loads of personality to the role. And I really like Karvanista (despite his naff make-up job) and Vinder as recurring characters. We want more futuristic space people and aliens as companions, show! Not all companions need to be ordinary modern Earth people!
Which brings me to Dan, the latest ordinary, modern Earth person to join the Doctor in the TARDIS. Not gonna lie, I was disappointed when I heard that John Bishop had been cast in this role, because after two seasons of an over-stuffed TARDIS with too little for the three companions to do, I was looking forward to seeing Yaz come into her own as the solo companion. Plus, quite frankly, the casting smacked of pandering to the crowd who believe Doctor Who should always have a middle-aged white male in the cast, even if that person isn't the Doctor.
Nothing that we've seen so far has really changed my mind about any of that, other than enjoying getting to see Yaz as the old hand helping the newbie to adjust, since I always enjoy overlapping companions for that reason. I can see why a new companion was brought on board, given the serialised storytelling and multiple sub-plots. I mean, the whole point of having multiple companions has always been that you could split the group up to run multiple sub-plots. That's how TARDIS teams were always handled back in the Classic era, when the average serial had about twice the run-time of a modern episode, so I am enjoying seeing that same trick employed here. It's how I always said Chibnall's crowded TARDIS should have been handled from the start. Too late for Graham and Ryan, but it is working for this season. I just don't see why the additional companion had to be yet another contemporary human - or a middle-aged white man.
Dan himself is likeable enough, but doesn't really feel like a real person to me. He feels like an assemblage of personality traits designed to create a 'generic good guy, amusingly hapless yet also the perfect companion, immediately capable of anything the plot requires', rather than an actual person. I usually enjoy a bumblingly heroic companion, but something isn't gelling for me here. Maybe I just don't like John Bishop? Maybe it doesn't help that Dan is clearly designed to be a comedic character played by a comedian, rather than a regular character played by a proper actor. Vinder, who has a smaller role in the season, feels much more like a real person to me, partly because he is played by a genuinely good actor and partly because his character is allowed to simply be, without the pressure of all the 'new companion' set-up that seems to have gone into Dan.
I did enjoy Dan's mum and dad, though, although Sue Jenkins is far too young to be John Bishop's mother! The wok worked for me, because if you have an opponent you know is vulnerable to being struck hard in a particular spot, then a heavy object to whack them with is exactly what you need! I also enjoyed Yaz and Vinder together, in their brief few scenes. Back in episode one, I was intrigued by Claire and look forward to learning more about her story. And I want to know what happened to Dan's sort-of-date after Swarm and Azure got their hands on her!
Also, there have been loads and loads of tiny, throwaway continuity references just tossed out there as Easter Eggs for anyone who recognises them, every one of which has made my Classic-loving heart sing.
Overall, it's been a strong start to the season, and I'm enjoying it very much so far. I have plenty of reservations about where the seasonal arc is heading, but being able to thoroughly enjoy the journey along the way does help to mitigate those concerns. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next - and how the latest cliffhanger is resolved (don't hurt Yaz or Vinder!)!
This entry was originally posted at https://llywela.dreamwidth.org/1055678.html. Please feel free to comment either here, or there using OpenID.
It's taken him three years to get there, but it looks as if Chris Chibnall has finally figured out how to lean into his strengths as a storyteller and make Doctor Who at the same time. Simply put, he is better at serialised storytelling with a broad cast than he is at Modern Who's more usual very exclusive Team TARDIS anthology style. There's a reason Broadchurch was such a hit, after all. His weaknesses are still there, don't get me wrong, but they aren't as glaring when everything around them is improved. I can forgive a lot as long as I'm having fun and enjoying the characters along the way.
I'm really liking the serialised style of this season, with the broader cast and multiple sub-plots running in parallel, overlapping here and there. I'm wary of where it is all heading, because it is clearly going to tie back into the Timeless Child storyline eventually, and I dislike that story quite intensely. It wearies me so much that all three showrunners of the modern era have felt compelled to re-write the Doctor's backstory in one way or another, making it messier and messier all the while. They just can't seem to bring themselves to leave well enough alone. But that said, I am enjoying this serialised format, which feels satisfyingly Classic and really shakes the show up, which is good since the monster-of-the-week format had definitely become stale. And the cliffhangers! Got to love a good cliffhanger!
So nice to see something that recalls Classic Who but done in a contemporary way with high quality production values and not too much knowing irony / fourth wall breaking.
The plot work and resolutions probably wouldn't stand up to much poking with a pointy stick, mind, so I'm not going to do that. Instead I shall appreciate how this week's episode actually treated the Sontarans with a bit of respect by portraying them as the threat such an implacably warlike alien race should be, while still being suitably ridiculous. Mary Seacole was fantastic - an excellent historical person to showcase, and I really like how they went about it here, no fawning and no fuss, just 'here's this person, this is the situation, let's get on with the adventure and show rather than tell how amazing she is.' Swarm is working for me as the recurring antagonist of the season - his make-up job is grotesque (I'm getting huge 80s vibes, it's like a modern upgrade of a McCoy era baddie) and the actor is really going for it, bringing loads of personality to the role. And I really like Karvanista (despite his naff make-up job) and Vinder as recurring characters. We want more futuristic space people and aliens as companions, show! Not all companions need to be ordinary modern Earth people!
Which brings me to Dan, the latest ordinary, modern Earth person to join the Doctor in the TARDIS. Not gonna lie, I was disappointed when I heard that John Bishop had been cast in this role, because after two seasons of an over-stuffed TARDIS with too little for the three companions to do, I was looking forward to seeing Yaz come into her own as the solo companion. Plus, quite frankly, the casting smacked of pandering to the crowd who believe Doctor Who should always have a middle-aged white male in the cast, even if that person isn't the Doctor.
Nothing that we've seen so far has really changed my mind about any of that, other than enjoying getting to see Yaz as the old hand helping the newbie to adjust, since I always enjoy overlapping companions for that reason. I can see why a new companion was brought on board, given the serialised storytelling and multiple sub-plots. I mean, the whole point of having multiple companions has always been that you could split the group up to run multiple sub-plots. That's how TARDIS teams were always handled back in the Classic era, when the average serial had about twice the run-time of a modern episode, so I am enjoying seeing that same trick employed here. It's how I always said Chibnall's crowded TARDIS should have been handled from the start. Too late for Graham and Ryan, but it is working for this season. I just don't see why the additional companion had to be yet another contemporary human - or a middle-aged white man.
Dan himself is likeable enough, but doesn't really feel like a real person to me. He feels like an assemblage of personality traits designed to create a 'generic good guy, amusingly hapless yet also the perfect companion, immediately capable of anything the plot requires', rather than an actual person. I usually enjoy a bumblingly heroic companion, but something isn't gelling for me here. Maybe I just don't like John Bishop? Maybe it doesn't help that Dan is clearly designed to be a comedic character played by a comedian, rather than a regular character played by a proper actor. Vinder, who has a smaller role in the season, feels much more like a real person to me, partly because he is played by a genuinely good actor and partly because his character is allowed to simply be, without the pressure of all the 'new companion' set-up that seems to have gone into Dan.
I did enjoy Dan's mum and dad, though, although Sue Jenkins is far too young to be John Bishop's mother! The wok worked for me, because if you have an opponent you know is vulnerable to being struck hard in a particular spot, then a heavy object to whack them with is exactly what you need! I also enjoyed Yaz and Vinder together, in their brief few scenes. Back in episode one, I was intrigued by Claire and look forward to learning more about her story. And I want to know what happened to Dan's sort-of-date after Swarm and Azure got their hands on her!
Also, there have been loads and loads of tiny, throwaway continuity references just tossed out there as Easter Eggs for anyone who recognises them, every one of which has made my Classic-loving heart sing.
Overall, it's been a strong start to the season, and I'm enjoying it very much so far. I have plenty of reservations about where the seasonal arc is heading, but being able to thoroughly enjoy the journey along the way does help to mitigate those concerns. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next - and how the latest cliffhanger is resolved (don't hurt Yaz or Vinder!)!
This entry was originally posted at https://llywela.dreamwidth.org/1055678.html. Please feel free to comment either here, or there using OpenID.