Doctor Who: The Whittaker Specials

Physician heal thyself.



So let's do this properly, Eve Of The Daleks the third and final New Year's special, how is it? I think it's a solid special, if I had to pick favorites I think Resolution is the best but this comes second. Set in a very budget friendly storage space the Doctor and crew have arrived in the midst of a time loop, and you think oh a Groundhog's Day style story with the Doctor constantly being assaulted by Daleks not a half bad premise, but I actually appreciate it's a slowly dwindling time loop so if someone dies it could be final. It's a fun little story with humor, plenty of exterminations, and easily the oddest Dalek story yet. I'll admit it took me forever to realize who Aisling Bea was because I've watched many a time The Big Fat Quiz show and she was a welcome treat, and Adjani Salmon I hear a lot of creep admonishing but I personally saw him as a shy well to do guy trying to get a relationship started so I took no major offence. It's a decent story and the whole Thirteen and Yasmin or Thasmin for shorthand thing, knowing that and watching allll the episodes beforehand I don't genuinely feel it was terribly tacked on. It can be seen as a more subtle under the surface romantic relationship rather than the petulant, please give me your dick, anvil drop that was series 2 Rose, and if anything it just further proves that no matter the gender Doctor Who is in for the vulva. Moving swiftly on! Now unfortunately we come to what I consider the absolute weakest episode of Jodie's tenure. I know, The Tsuranga Conundrum, Orphan 55, Praxeus, not very highly regarded episodes but Legend Of The Sea Devils is just so underwhelming and just....there. Like come on people, the Sea Devils are finally back and they look glorious, and you give this no stakes, plodding, nary a drop of interest story, I don't even think I can comprehensively recap said story. The Doctor, Yaz, and Dan meet famed pirate queen Madame Ching, who's unleashed the Sea Devils unwittingly who are really fucking with their shit, and there's sea serpents and ghost ships, and all this wild stuff, and....I...I got absolutely nothing. Very good effects, worst sword fight ever I said what I meant and meant what I said, bit more Thasmin scenes for you shippers out there, but ultimately useless and futile. Next! Ah The Power Of The Doctor, a whopping 90 minute goodbye for the Thirteenth Doctor, absolute fan wank overload and emphasis on the load (it's all over the walls boy!), fun, wild, loose, even a bit emotional for me, it seems so much closer to a 60th anniversary special. Again, not too sure I could fully recap the plot I mean so much happens and I feel if you try to break it down the whole story crumbles. All you need to know is Daleks, Cyberlords, and the Master are after the Doctor who in turn after losing Dan, which by the by what the hell I'm gonna miss him, reconnects with two past companions, Tegan and Ace as they try to thwart their plans. I haven't seen The Five Doctors but from more experienced fans it seems this is the modern series equivalent. Just a grand, fun, crazy celebration of Doctor Who and I really loved it. Seeing Jodie's regeneration was a big deal and not for the reason you might which dear God I have notes on that, so you know what? Screw it. We're gonna spoil it. Seeing previous Doctors was a monumental moment, the First, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and well technically 14th Doctors was completely unexpected and I screamed just a tiny bit. Cause I've been delving deeper into Big Finish, so seeing David one more time as the First was a treat, Peter was great, seeing Colin made me scream like a fangirl, Sylvester made me shed a single tear when he talks to Ace because they are my favorite classic Doctor and favorite companion ever, and friggin' Paul being a rebel and looking dashing as ever made me grin like a fool. It may not be the most tightly written Doctor Who story but it sure as hell didn't disappoint or bore. So let's hash out this regeneration. Goddamn beautiful. Best looking regeneration ever, with the sunset, the colors, the rich flames, I was in awe! Jodie's goodbye, not super long or speechy, no flash or heavy emotion, just a simple embrace of the moment even though she wants to see what happens next. Lovely. And then David Tennant shows up.




Fucking.....really??! No, just no, no I am not happy. You've literally made Thirteen nothing. It's an admittance that, yeah the Chibnall era was just shit, and Jodie's tenure is pretty much gonna be swept under the rug. You will soon know tomorrow how I feel about it. I'm already seeing ****s on the internet dismissing this period of history for Doctor Who, when she was The Doctor. Whether you like it or not. It's part of the history, there is no goddamn retconning, there is no fucking revisionist history, it happened! I was already feeling uneasy when Russell was announced as the next showrunner, something unprecedented in Doctor Who, but I was like well we're getting a brand new Doctor so it's nothing, don't worry about it. So you are telling me, the Doctor can reclaim a previous life, a once before seen incarnation. Well where in the high holy hell is my 6th Doctor revisit??? Are you shitting me up the asshole! Even Ncuti Gatwa seemed friggin' pissed in that brief trailer, and I'm right there with you man. It just seems like a titanic middle finger to this era, because Doctor Who is shit now guys so we're bringing back the 2006 era babaaaaaay!! Fuck's sake. Sort it or abort it! No I'm not quitting Doctor Who! I'm too damn commited to it, do you know how many classic Doctor Who boxsets I have?? Like a MILLION! But I damn well expect these specials coming next year to be a farcry from the Tennant era. I'm not playing around. That was good to vent, I feel a bit calmer, not so irate, so let's wrap this up. The specials are a bit mixed, I never do individual episode ratings but if I did Eve gets a 6.5/10, Legend gets a 3/10, and Power gets a 8/10, so overall the specials get 3 stars, 7.5/10. That's it for Doctor Who! Unless I'm gonna do Classic Who, and if I do it won't be in order, the boxsets are kinda all over the place so it would be pure chaos jumping backwards and forwards in time. So if you want it we'll do it, at least one season per Doctor whenever a Second Doctor boxset gets released and my God that might take a minute, poor Pat's lost so many episodes. And on that bombshell, it is time to end. One final retrospect to go.

In Retrospect: Doctor Who: Series 12

Oh yes. This is the good stuff.

Quick sidebar, I am severely offended by the IMDB scores for this season. I mean seriously f*** off, this was a fantastic season despite it really only having one bad episode. I actually rewatched series 11 before this and...it got better guys! I won't lie to you for a second, I had a really good time and the series improved upon second viewing, it went from a decent series to a pretty good series. And the same can be said for series 12, I loved it the first time around and it only got better the second time. I strongly believe the huge appeal to this series is the performances though the stories are quite good. Jodie has fully come into her own in this series and continues to entertain, she's honestly higher up in my eyes than most people would rank her. Bradley Walsh, my man, my love, my hero, objectively is the second best companion (we all know who number one is) we have ever had in modern Doctor Who and brings unbridaled joy to my life. Sacha Dhawan, I'm just gonna say it though I haven't seen all of Who, is my favorite Master hands down. Period. That sounds slightly filthy but I don't even care, it is full on man crush at this point. Him and sexy Jack, oh my goodness gracious don't get me started. You know for 10 episodes this really didn't waste too much of your time. Orphan 55 is like the cult hit of modern Doctor Who, it really is, no joke, the so bad it's good episode. Love And Monsters couldn't have that but this can, it's unreal I tell you. Even Praxeus isn't complete garbage but I do strongly side with classic Who fans who wanted it to be a Sea Devils story, given the full treatment like the Silurians in terms of costumes and effects. Classic Who gets some major love in this series overall, and while I've only seen bits of the First Doctor, almost all of the Third Doctor, and seen all of the Sixth and Seventh Doctor, I still greatly appreciate and understand what they are bringing up. I got quite a kick out of people reacting to part 2 of Spyfall and being so confused to the whole "contact" scene, check your facts! No but seriously, I had a grand time with this and the finale, hand over my hearts, I loved it and accepted it. Now, I know. Jus- I know. But to me, a slightly above beginner watcher of Doctor Who, see no problem with it. We still don't know anything. We got like two bits of information into the history of her people, and still don't have a clue who she is. Soooo, I'm here for it. They were pretty much gonna do it way back in 1990 if the damn show didn't get cancelled, in fact I could make a case for this whole series being very much inspired by my favorite classic Doctor, the Seventh. Villa Diodati gave me heavy Ghost Light vibes, Orphan 55 as I stated before has some Paradise Towers elements, hell the finale has some nods to Survival if only brief ones, maybe it's just the hardcore fan in me of that particular era but I saw it. Christmas could not get here sooner, and that's probably the only time I'm gonna say that on this show. But let's not get confused here, I want it to be here for the special, not for your disgusting holiday cheer and obnoxious merriment. The shady things I would do for a tissue compression eliminator to use during December. Whew...now that's a happy Christmas. I can't even imagine what could come next for our Tardis team, but if I have the means my eyes will be glued to the screen every week. But if you dare, if you think for even a single microsecond of killing Graham, I'm done. I'm out. I'm not watching it again. You do our Bradley dirty like that, I would call an army down upon you that would make the Daleks leak their casings. This isn't for comedic purposes, this is an ultimatum. Don't. Until then, I'm excited for this show like I was still 16 again and watching all the series for the first time. And for more hilarious and downright brilliant breakdowns of this entire series and series 11, I could not urge people enough to go check out the spoilerific reviews from the channel Votesaxon07. I watch it almost weekly that is how entertaining it is for me. Next week, a quick jaunt back to the 90s.

Doctor Who: Series 12

Yeah, bet you didn't see that coming.

I had the opportunity and took it, I sat down and rewatched all of series 12 after initially watching episode after episode every week because who wants to wait for the DVD release which I'm still going to buy? And let me just start by saying I told you so, set the wayback machine a few months ago, I said that the showrunners and producers wanted a very easy going and not very high stakes first series for their lady Doctor so they could gauge people, and they would hit us with the big stories later on. Turns out I was right! Series 12 is a definite improvement over the last one, though I actually did not hate it, I fully accepted it was an entirely different beast while still remaining positive and pointing out flaws. But this series immediately grabs you with a great 2 part opening that not only is a cute nod to the Bond series, but firmly sets up events for the entire series and no doubt the next one, reintroduces a new incarnation of the Master (and that's not a spoiler it happens at the end of the first dang episode), and gets you hooked to see what all will come next. I kinda feel that the writing is getting back to the Steven Moffat era, with plenty of references to past stories and carefully planted moments that get paid off throughout. Spyfall is an excellent opening, and I'm just gonna say it, gives us the best modern Master. Sacha Dhawan is spectacular, he crafts his own version but you see bits of Roger Delgado, Anthony Ainley, even bits of Eric Roberts, of course John Simm, and touches of Michelle Gomez, I just can't get enough of him. Might be my favorite part of the whole series. Granted it kinda rolls down a very steep hill after that with Orphan 55, a very blah episode that reminds me of the 7th Doctor story Paradise Towers (which I actually really enjoy) mixed with Aliens, will say however the monster design is damn good and thank the maker for practical effects, but here's a fun game: take a shot every time this old lady says the name Benni. I recommend vigorous water intake beforehand. Nikola Tesla gets a good episode that goes for an un-romanticized potrayal of both Tesla and Edison, it just tells the facts of who they really were and their ideologies while still throwing in a cousin species of the Racnoss played by a former Sarah Jane Adventures actor. Here comes the big one. I'm not gonna spoil it but Fugitive Of The Judoon works totally fine until a certain point. I understand why they showed what they showed but it does severely screw with the continuity of events, if they changed it I would have really liked it way more. Plus I was kinda hoping The Rani would appear, though I know Kate passed away a few years ago it would have been such a cool twist. And I'll fully commend the show for putting the Doctor in these very mentally draining and emotionally damaging situations, Jodie does such great work in this series and really does capture that wounded and severely hurt persona to the point where she kind of relapses into PTSD 9th Doctor territory. Praxeus was much of the same as Orphan 55, give a hoot don't pollute, got it, byeeee. Next! Can You Hear Me wasn't bad but also wasn't very good, kind of middle of the road and while I did very much love the name drops and dig that wonderful animated story sequence, it just sort of ends. In fact a handful of episodes do that, you think they're going to wrap up and give us some down time before credits roll but nope it's just over! It's very odd and I can't discern why it felt off for me, just feels like the ending was rushed. The Haunting of Villa Diodati was a great spooky bizarre ride with chilling moments and even got a scare out of me but it's really the first part of a triple feature finale. Ascension Of The Cybermen was quite good, had some off stuff here and there but I quickly got over it when seeing the new Cybermen designs. These are easily my favorite designs of the modern series, I didn't hate the Series 2 Cybermen but I didn't fall in love with the designs, I could not f***ing stand the Nightmare In Silver designs, so I finally got my own combo of retro and updated, scary, strong, badass Cybermen that I can call my favorite. And yes, I do ship Graham and his lady friend, I really want them two together. Make it happen BBC, I'll be your best friend! You make a tissue compressor toy, I'll do favors for you. And now we come to the finale. I loved it. I had no issues with it whatsoever, they did something bold and different but didn't piss away decades of lore. Now I will freely admit I read up on the lore, I read pages upon pages of Gallifrey and Time Lord history and origins, I knew it quite well with the three founding figures of Time Lord society. I read the famed Cartmel plan and originally took grievance with it but now I wouldn't have it any other way. They kept those bits intact but still told something new. It's actually worth rewatching the series I feel, cause you pick up on all the hints and moments that you get payoff for, and it goes beyond the finale just watch Sacha's performance in the season opener knowing what you know at the end of the second part, it's just awesome. The production side is not quite as cinematic as series 11 but there's still some very fine shots here and there and the effects are still strong. As I said Jodie continues to become better in the role and I really and truly wish for her to break the 3 series curse that almost every Doctor has endured before they leave. Bradley Walsh is still the best companion ever, though I still love you Wilf, he is the highlight of both series for me. I just call him King Graham now cause he is flippin' royalty (I hope you got a chuckle out of that King's Quest fans.)! Yas gets a bit of backstory and a few quite good character moments, yay! Ryan....not so much, it's kind of a trade off, Ryan got lots of moments in series 11 where Yas got hardly anything and now it's swapped. Balance in all things. Supporting cast ranges from bad to really good depending on the story, and the writing has ups and downs too. I still love it, I have had a LOT of fun watching it, yes it has a few duds but when it strikes true it's done so well. I'm gonna get hate mail over it, but I really would place this high up on my series rankings list. They did so much right, and while there were bumps I would say this was a great series. 4 stars, 8/10, cannot wait for the next special with our favorite screaming blobs in pepper pot casings, and no doubt we will see her again soon.

An Adventure In Space And Time

It's funny how you always look back at things, knowing that it all ends well but still get swept up in the emotion.

An Adventure In Space And Time chronicles the first three years of the longest running science fiction series of all time Doctor Who, spanning from 1963 to 1966 following the tenure of the first actor to potray the time traveller William Hartnell. Done with impeccable reconstructions of the series since it's inception, with excellent potrayals of the people who made this series possible, there is much to be admired in this documentary for both new and old fans. At first I was hesitant towards David Bradley's potrayal of William Hartnell but soon he won me over and if any sort of performance can bring one to tears, needless to say it is a wonderful performance. Everybody else does good too, from the cast to the creators and more, all of them put their heart into this feature length documentary. It is difficult to explain a phenomenon such as Doctor Who, luckily we have this film to thank. To give us a glimpse of what it was like when it first began, and to simultaneously look forward and back to the present time over 50 years later. I highly urge you if you wish to view it to buy the DVD because of the extra features and the fact that it includes the very first episode. It's really a love letter to the show's origins and I am glad I own it. I hoped it sparked interest, and perhaps I shall continue these Doctor Who reviews. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.