Doctor Who Discussion - Series 15 episode titles revealed

[Shroob]

I've been a Dr.Who fan for awhile, and I finally got around to watching 14's run since, I hate to admit it, but David Tennant is MY Doctor.

I'm mixed to VERY GOOD on the 3 episodes.


The Meep was, weird. It was a twist I didn't see coming when the Meep turned evil, but I'm not sure how to put it without sounding like a complete asshole. I liked the idea of Doctor Who introducing a transgender character, but Donna's daughter didn't feel all too fleshed out. It was like, the writers wanted to introduce a transgender character, and their one character trait is "they're trans". It's weird, Doctor Who's had LGBT characters in it before that have been written very well, Captain Jack is a good example, but.... it was mixed.


Wild Blue Yonder was good. It felt....VERY Midnight inspired, as to the monsters(Did they even have a name?) being these nameless, formless entities that you discover what they do throughout the episode. I love Donna Nobel, so any episode which explore's 10(Well, 14) and Donna's relationship was good.


The Giggle was good. The ending got a bit sappy but also... man it was the ending I wanted. Neil Patrick Harris was PHENOMINAL as the Toymaker. I can't really say a whole lot more other than the episode was really, REALLY good. 10(14) didn't have to go this time, and it kinda made me super happy.

 

[fogbadge]

The Meep was, weird. It was a twist I didn't see coming when the Meep turned evil, but I'm not sure how to put it without sounding like a complete asshole. I liked the idea of Doctor Who introducing a transgender character, but Donna's daughter didn't feel all too fleshed out. It was like, the writers wanted to introduce a transgender character, and their one character trait is "they're trans". It's weird, Doctor Who's had LGBT characters in it before that have been written very well, Captain Jack is a good example, but.... it was mixed.

you don't need to spoiler that, it's been known since the 80s

 

[Shroob]

you don't need to spoiler that, it's been known since the 80s

That so? Huh. I guess I wasn't even aware there was a comic series til now lol.

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

Wild Blue Yonder was good. It felt....VERY Midnight inspired, as to the monsters(Did they even have a name?) being these nameless, formless entities that you discover what they do throughout the episode. I love Donna Nobel, so any episode which explore's 10(Well, 14) and Donna's relationship was good.

According to the wiki, their official names are called "Not-things."

 

[fogbadge]

That so? Huh. I guess I wasn't even aware there was a comic series til now lol.

The Star Beast is probably the most famous comic story so it's not surprising that's the one they decided to adapt. but yeah not everyone is aware of the expanded media

 

[Megadoomer]

Doctor Who had its anniversary yesterday, and they announced that Patrick Troughton's final story, The War Games, would be getting an updated version that added colour and trimmed it down to 90 minutes.

I haven't seen the original (six part stories feel like they drag a bit from my perspective; ten part stories feel like they'd be a lot), though I'm not sure how they're going to trim it down to such an extent without it feeling rushed since at least 2/3 of it is being cut. Still, the only story that I've seen with Troughton as the main Doctor (so not counting multi-Doctor stories) is Tomb of the Cybermen, so I'll give it a watch if I have the option.

Did anyone do anything for the anniversary yesterday? I took the opportunity to rewatch a few episodes, since I hadn't rewatched any Doctor Who episodes before (all of the ones that I've seen so far have been ones that I watched for the first time). I went back to Dalek (the Christopher Eccleston one) and School Reunion (from David Tennant's era) now that I have context for who Daleks, Sarah Jane, and K9 are, and I rewatched City of Death from the Tom Baker era.

 

[fogbadge]

Doctor Who had its anniversary yesterday, and they announced that Patrick Troughton's final story, The War Games, would be getting an updated version that added colour and trimmed it down to 90 minutes.

I haven't seen the original (six part stories feel like they drag a bit from my perspective; ten part stories feel like they'd be a lot), though I'm not sure how they're going to trim it down to such an extent without it feeling rushed since at least 2/3 of it is being cut. Still, the only story that I've seen with Troughton as the main Doctor (so not counting multi-Doctor stories) is Tomb of the Cybermen, so I'll give it a watch if I have the option.

Did anyone do anything for the anniversary yesterday? I took the opportunity to rewatch a few episodes, since I hadn't rewatched any Doctor Who episodes before (all of the ones that I've seen so far have been ones that I watched for the first time). I went back to Dalek (the Christopher Eccleston one) and School Reunion (from David Tennant's era) now that I have context for who Daleks, Sarah Jane, and K9 are, and I rewatched City of Death from the Tom Baker era.

I didn’t really do anything for the anniversary but then i celebrate dr who in my own way all the time

as for the war games, well no one’s going to deny at 10 parts it is quite long. I know some very harden whovians who’d agree with you that six parts is a bit much. I’ve had the war games on dvd for years and only watched it once cause it’s so long. But cutting it down to less than the length of a four parter feels like an over steer in the opposite direction. It’s pretty clear that this isn’t just trimmed down to what they think is absolutely necessary, it’s what they think the optimal run time is. but with that comment about new footage as well leaves me thinking there isn’t going to be anything left.

 

[The Black Omen]

I personally really enjoyed The War Games. It didn't feel like ten parts to me. It went by really quickly, and I honestly kinda wanted more. The colorization on this version looks infinitely better than The Daleks. I'm very curious about this "rediscovered footage," and so I might end up checking it out. The new regeneration scene is apparently lifted from a preexisting fan project, which is pretty lazy- it's not like this is gonna be the 'canon' version by any stretch, especially taking the slightly infamous Season 6B theory into account.

But in spite of whatever criticisms I'll inevitably have... that trailer is absolutely enthralling.

My first semester of college is nearly over, and once it is I'm gonna wind down by rewatching Peter Davison's episodes, which I've been meaning to do for a while. I might occasionally pop in here with my thoughts, if that's alright.

 

[fogbadge]

I keep seeing claims that this has been taken off of Disney +. Can anyone confirm?

edit: never mind, I saw the disney + youtube channel upload the christmas special trailer

 

[fogbadge]

Great special

 

[Qwerty UIOP]

I enjoyed the special as well.

Quick question: did anyone else think that the music when Joy first goes into the hotel room sounds an awful lot like that one part in Gusty Garden Galaxy?

 

[The Black Omen]

WOW! What a special! I think the Jesus bit at the end was pretty weird and the ultimate lesson that the Doctor needs companions has been sooooo done to death, but besides that I can't think of much wrong. Anita was a better companion than Ruby ever was in the previous season, and I can't even begin to describe how satisfying it was to see the Doctor's manipulative side again, which came back in full force for the first time (on screen at least) since The Curse of Fenric. Some may call it derivative, but it was very refreshing after the Doctor was more or less Sutekh's chew-toy last season. He's still got it! This episode makes me excited for the further adventures of the Fifteenth Doctor, although I don't expect this course-correction to continue. If this is Moffat's final contribution to the show (I don't know anything about the next series) then I think he went out on a high note.

 

[fogbadge]

WOW! What a special! I think the Jesus bit at the end was pretty weird and the ultimate lesson that the Doctor needs companions has been sooooo done to death, but besides that I can't think of much wrong. Anita was a better companion than Ruby ever was in the previous season, and I can't even begin to describe how satisfying it was to see the Doctor's manipulative side again, which came back in full force for the first time (on screen at least) since The Curse of Fenric. Some may call it derivative, but it was very refreshing after the Doctor was more or less Sutekh's chew-toy last season. He's still got it! This episode makes me excited for the further adventures of the Fifteenth Doctor, although I don't expect this course-correction to continue. If this is Moffat's final contribution to the show (I don't know anything about the next series) then I think he went out on a high note.

I would argue we have seen the doctor's manipulative side since fenric, it's just been a tad more subtle as for this being moffat's final story, well he says it is and he's not written for the next series but everyone suspect he can't keep away

 

[darkvortex]

Good episode.

Felt Joy could have used more time for development, most of the episode was her being controlled and then she kind of just accepts her fate, felt like a bit of a waste of such a talented actress. That last shot is wild. Loved the stuff with Antia though, honestly some of the best character stuff we've had in this era.

Don't think this is the last we'll see of Moffat, but this was a good ending for him. New season seems cool. New companion seems cool, a Tegan Jovanka style arc of her trying to return home could be cool, but who knows if that's actually the case beyond one episode. The cuphead cartoon coming out of the screen is very interesting.

War games:
Don't love adding modern Doctors to the ending trial. Albeit confirming the War Chief is the Master is also pretty crazy and I've never loved that theory. Colouring itself was good though.

 

[fogbadge]

War Chief is the Master is also pretty crazy and I've never loved that theory.

same

 

[fogbadge]

Writers for the next series announced

Returning writer Pete McTighe, Kerblam! Praxeus
Juno Dawnson who has written for the franchise before but not the tv series
Newcomers Inua Ellams and Sharma Angel-Walfall

 

[The Black Omen]

I'm not happy to see Pete McTighe back, personally. Praxeus was one of the Thirteenth Doctor's best episodes, but Kerblam was definitely one of her worst. McTighe also wrote most (if not all) of the bluray trailers, and while it was cool to see old actors again, I personally didn't care for the direction he took their characters. Many of his works have a pretty obvious political slant that doesn't mesh with the rest of the franchise's progressivism.

Apparently many fans seemed to think he was the most likely to succeed Chris Chibnall as showrunner before RTD's return was announced. I don't know if there was any truth to those rumors, but I don't imagine the show getting that much better if he takes over after RTD2 (which seems slightly more likely now). He doesn't strike me as particularly innovative.

 

[fogbadge]

Many of his works have a pretty obvious political slant that doesn't mesh with the rest of the franchise's progressivism.

which works are those? cause the slants in his two DW episodes don't seem anti progressive

 

[The Black Omen]

which works are those? cause the slants in his two DW episodes don't seem anti progressive

Kerblam specifically generated a lot of controversy, since it starts off as a heavy criticism of Amazon and then does a complete 180 at the end and tries to make the evil space Amazon sympathetic. The episode ends with the company promising the Doctor that they'll stop abusing their employees, and the Doctor just accepts that at face value and moves on. Even ignoring the political implications, the episode fails to justify why the heroes leave Evil Space Amazon standing when they witnessed firsthand just how irredeemably awful its system was (it's also very out-of-character- I can't think of a prior Doctor that wouldn't raze the place). The last-minute twist antagonist is a terrorist trying to take down the system, and he's written as a perfectly pleasant and sympathetic chap. He most certainly did not deserve to die at the end of the episode (and again, any previous Doctor would've taken him on as a temporary companion). In my opinion, Kerblam isn't necessarily bad because of its ultimate message but because it wasn't consistent in delivering the message. The 180 wasn't some big plot twist, nor was it a "both sides are bad" kind of thing. It's a bit like 73 Yards in that it's mostly great and then trips up right before the finish line. At least, that's my take.

Then there's the Blu-ray trailers, which, again, they're cool, but I personally don't like the direction he took the characters. Mel and Ace specifically are depicted as having attained very wealthy statuses (though Ace's direction was already established by a brief line in the RTD1 era), which definitely conflicts with the overt leftism of the McCoy years. But that's definitely more of a political nitpick.

These are all just opinions at the end of the day, and I know nothing about McTighe in real life, but his stories give off a vibe that I and others aren't very fond of.

(For the record, I haven't seen his Tales of the TARDIS episode, and I really think Praxeus is excellent)

 

[fogbadge]

Kerblam specifically generated a lot of controversy, since it starts off as a heavy criticism of Amazon and then does a complete 180 at the end and tries to make the evil space Amazon sympathetic. The episode ends with the company promising the Doctor that they'll stop abusing their employees, and the Doctor just accepts that at face value and moves on. Even ignoring the political implications, the episode fails to justify why the heroes leave Evil Space Amazon standing when they witnessed firsthand just how irredeemably awful its system was (it's also very out-of-character- I can't think of a prior Doctor that wouldn't raze the place). The last-minute twist antagonist is a terrorist trying to take down the system, and he's written as a perfectly pleasant and sympathetic chap. He most certainly did not deserve to die at the end of the episode (and again, any previous Doctor would've taken him on as a temporary companion). In my opinion, Kerblam isn't necessarily bad because of its ultimate message but because it wasn't consistent in delivering the message. The 180 wasn't some big plot twist, nor was it a "both sides are bad" kind of thing. It's a bit like 73 Yards in that it's mostly great and then trips up right before the finish line. At least, that's my take.

Then there's the Blu-ray trailers, which, again, they're cool, but I personally don't like the direction he took the characters. Mel and Ace specifically are depicted as having attained very wealthy statuses (though Ace's direction was already established by a brief line in the RTD1 era), which definitely conflicts with the overt leftism of the McCoy years. But that's definitely more of a political nitpick.

These are all just opinions at the end of the day, and I know nothing about McTighe in real life, but his stories give off a vibe that I and others aren't very fond of.

(For the record, I haven't seen his Tales of the TARDIS episode, and I really think Praxeus is excellent)

the trouble with Kerblam! is that it that it's message got lost. it was suppose to be an anti atomization story but everyone took it as pro capitalism. as for taking the villain on as a temporary companion, I don't think any doctor would have done that. sympathetic or not he was planning on murdering thousands of people and no doctor would stand for that. they'd try and talk them down but they would not condone the action. as for 73 yards I think saying it was mostly great is overly generous.

now I haven't seen any of the blu-ray trailers but it is worth noting that Sophie Alerd herself wrote that Ace became wealthy

 

[fogbadge]

Well after a few days of unconfirmed leaks it is now official Doctor Who returns on April 12th

 

[fogbadge]

new trailer

 

[Megadoomer]

It took me a while to watch it, since I was watching in chunks of two or three episodes rather than going through it all at once, but I finished watching The War Games. The main cast members are great in it, and the story does a good job at building up the threat to the point where the Doctor has no choice but to call the Time Lords for help, though I feel like at least two episodes' worth of material could have been trimmed off of it and very little would have been lost.

I've seen it theorized that the War Chief is a previous regeneration of the Master. On one hand, it does make sense (both are renegade Time Lords who left Gallifrey in pursuit of power and scheme with various alien races while planning to backstab them), but having the War Chief be the Master does make the universe feel a little smaller.

---

I've been listening to a lot of Big Finish audio stories on my way to and from work, with a good chunk of them focusing on the Fourth, Sixth, and Eighth Doctors. I definitely like 6 a lot more in audio form compared to the episodes that I've seen from his seasons; I just listened to a story called Jubilee, which the Christopher Eccleston episode Dalek definitely took inspiration from. (they have the same writer; the scene of the Doctor being locked in a prison cell with an unarmed Dalek and the Doctor's companion developing a bond with the Dalek carried over into the episode)

I also started dipping my toes into some alternate universe material, since I saw there's a darker "what-if" version of the 3rd Doctor who's played by David Warner. (he has a long career, but I mainly know him as the voice of Ra's al Ghul from Batman: The Animated Series) There's an anniversary special where that what-if Doctor crosses over with Christopher Eccleston as the 9th Doctor, so I wanted some context, and I enjoyed the first story that I heard. (which brings back Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier; the main difference in this timeline is that the Doctor was sent to Earth about twenty years later than he was in the series, resulting in the Brigadier having to deal with alien invasions without the Doctor and being seen as a crackpot as a result)

---

This year, I made it my New Year's resolution to watch any of the 4th Doctor's stories that I haven't seen yet. I've finished three of his seasons before this year started, and I have a fourth (his final one) on BluRay. (I wanted to go with a New Year's resolution that wasn't as time-consuming as last year's - in 2024, I wanted to read at least one comic a day and write a blog post about it, which I did, but it ate up a good chunk of my free time) As of now, these are the episodes that I still have to watch:

Spoiler

Season 13:
-Planet of Evil
-The Android Invasion

Season 15:
-The Invisible Enemy
-Image of the Fendahl
-The Sun Makers
-Underworld
-The Invasion of Time

Season 16:
-The Ribos Operation
-The Pirate Planet
-The Stones of Blood
-The Androids of Tara
-The Power of Kroll
-The Armageddon Factor

Season 18:
-Full Circle (watched it on March 16; Adric wasn't as annoying as I expected, though when his only skill is "math", he feels redundant in a group with the Doctor, Romana, and K9, all of whom are smarter than him)
-Warriors' Gate
-The Keeper of Traken
-Logopolis

 

[fogbadge]

It took me a while to watch it, since I was watching in chunks of two or three episodes rather than going through it all at once, but I finished watching The War Games. The main cast members are great in it, and the story does a good job at building up the threat to the point where the Doctor has no choice but to call the Time Lords for help, though I feel like at least two episodes' worth of material could have been trimmed off of it and very little would have been lost.

I've seen it theorized that the War Chief is a previous regeneration of the Master. On one hand, it does make sense (both are renegade Time Lords who left Gallifrey in pursuit of power and scheme with various alien races while planning to backstab them), but having the War Chief be the Master does make the universe feel a little smaller.

---

I've been listening to a lot of Big Finish audio stories on my way to and from work, with a good chunk of them focusing on the Fourth, Sixth, and Eighth Doctors. I definitely like 6 a lot more in audio form compared to the episodes that I've seen from his seasons; I just listened to a story called Jubilee, which the Christopher Eccleston episode Dalek definitely took inspiration from. (they have the same writer; the scene of the Doctor being locked in a prison cell with an unarmed Dalek and the Doctor's companion developing a bond with the Dalek carried over into the episode)

I also started dipping my toes into some alternate universe material, since I saw there's a darker "what-if" version of the 3rd Doctor who's played by David Warner. (he has a long career, but I mainly know him as the voice of Ra's al Ghul from Batman: The Animated Series) There's an anniversary special where that what-if Doctor crosses over with Christopher Eccleston as the 9th Doctor, so I wanted some context, and I enjoyed the first story that I heard. (which brings back Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier; the main difference in this timeline is that the Doctor was sent to Earth about twenty years later than he was in the series, resulting in the Brigadier having to deal with alien invasions without the Doctor and being seen as a crackpot as a result)

---

This year, I made it my New Year's resolution to watch any of the 4th Doctor's stories that I haven't seen yet. I've finished three of his seasons before this year started, and I have a fourth (his final one) on BluRay. (I wanted to go with a New Year's resolution that wasn't as time-consuming as last year's - in 2024, I wanted to read at least one comic a day and write a blog post about it, which I did, but it ate up a good chunk of my free time) As of now, these are the episodes that I still have to watch:

Spoiler

Season 13:
-Planet of Evil
-The Android Invasion

Season 15:
-The Invisible Enemy
-Image of the Fendahl
-The Sun Makers
-Underworld
-The Invasion of Time

Season 16:
-The Ribos Operation
-The Pirate Planet
-The Stones of Blood
-The Androids of Tara
-The Power of Kroll
-The Armageddon Factor

Season 18:
-Full Circle
-Warriors' Gate
-The Keeper of Traken
-Logopolis

yeah the war games is quite a long watch, I haven’t brought myself to watch it again since the first time

it’s good to get into the audios, big finish has made some phenomenal stuff. the one with ecleston and warner I’ve heard and it’s pretty good. It’s part of a series that does a lot of really random match ups but are all really fun in their own way. dalek is definitely based on jubilee, quite a story isn’t it?

as for your 4th doctor stories you’ve watched a fair number of his really good ones that I would recommend. of course there’s a few others of his I would highly recommend: Genesis of the Daleks, The Seeds of Doom, City of Death

 

[Megadoomer]

yeah the war games is quite a long watch, I haven’t brought myself to watch it again since the first time

it’s good to get into the audios, big finish has made some phenomenal stuff. the one with ecleston and warner I’ve heard and it’s pretty good. It’s part of a series that does a lot of really random match ups but are all really fun in their own way. dalek is definitely based on jubilee, quite a story isn’t it?

as for your 4th doctor stories you’ve watched a fair number of his really good ones that I would recommend. of course there’s a few others of his I would highly recommend: Genesis of the Daleks, The Seeds of Doom, City of Death

To be clear, the ones that I've listed are the ones that I haven't watched yet - I've seen all of seasons 12, 14, and 17, along with some other assorted episodes. (all three of the ones that you mentioned were great, and I loved how The Seeds of Doom was basically Doctor Who's take on the Thing, though I think City of Death is my favourite)

As for Big Finish, I enjoyed Jubilee; it definitely got dark in the end, and the message (rather eeriely) feels MUCH more resonant now. I've also listened to a War Master story called The Master of Callous recently that's probably the best story that I won't listen to a second time. (it is very depressing) Big Finish definitely escalated Derek Jacobi to my top three portrayals of the Master. (maybe my favourite overall, but it seems hard to beat out Roger Delgado and Michelle Gomez)

 

[fogbadge]

To be clear, the ones that I've listed are the ones that I haven't watched yet - I've seen all of seasons 12, 14, and 17, along with some other assorted episodes. (all three of the ones that you mentioned were great, and I loved how The Seeds of Doom was basically Doctor Who's take on the Thing, though I think City of Death is my favourite)

As for Big Finish, I enjoyed Jubilee; it definitely got dark in the end, and the message (rather eeriely) feels MUCH more resonant now. I've also listened to a War Master story called The Master of Callous recently that's probably the best story that I won't listen to a second time. (it is very depressing) Big Finish definitely escalated Derek Jacobi to my top three portrayals of the Master. (maybe my favourite overall, but it seems hard to beat out Roger Delgado and Michelle Gomez)

oh I do beg your pardon. allow me to change my recommendations to series 16 and the rest of 18.

yeah jacobi is really good. if you’ve ever heard of Scream of the Shalka you can get a bit of him as a different master

 

[fogbadge]

Episode titles time. If you don’t want to know look away now

The Robot Revolution by RTD
Lux by RTD
The Well by RTD and Sharma Angel Walfall
Lucky Day by Pete McTighe
The Story and The Engine by Inua Ellams
The Interstellar Song Contest by Juno Dawson
Wish Word by RTD
The Reality War by RTD

At a guess episode 2 is the one with the most potential, 6 will be the worst and 8 will be the most disappointing

 

[Megadoomer]

I'm hoping the Reality War is a Dalek episode; it feels like every Doctor should get one. (Though 8 and 14 are weird cases, what with 8 only getting the movie and 14 only having three specials as far as TV material is concerned)

I get why they'd be focusing on new threats to mix things up, but for 15, the only returning threat has been Sutekh (and technically the Toymaker, though that was 14), and going by the titles (and the snippets of footage that we've seen), it doesn't seem like that will change too much. (Though I could be wrong) Hopefully this season (or the next if Ncuti Gatwa does the standard/average three seasons in the role) has a better mix of old and new threats than what I'm expecting.

 

[fogbadge]

I'm hoping the Reality War is a Dalek episode; it feels like every Doctor should get one. (Though 8 and 14 are weird cases)

I get why they'd be focusing on new threats to mix things up, but for 15, the only returning threat has been Sutekh (and technically the Toymaker, though that was 14), and going by the titles (and the snippets of footage that we've seen), it doesn't seem like that will change too much. (Though I could be wrong) Hopefully this season (or the next if Ncuti Gatwa does the standard/average three seasons in the role) has a better mix of old and new threats than what I'm expecting.

Ncuti himself said "he better fight a dalek" before he's done. speaking of the usual three series that reminds there were recent claims that they were looking for the next show runner. which presumably would be after series 16/3 as RTD said he already had plans for then