As I alluded to in the last tournament thread, I liked the idea of doing the Matt Smith era next. The Eleventh Doctor was the beginning of the Steven Moffat era, and probably the biggest push into expanding the US audience for Doctor Who the show ever did. He was the first Doctor to have their full run on BBC America for first airing, and they went over to the States for both filming and promotion a lot more than they ever had before. He was the Doctor for the build-up to, and the event that was the 50th Anniversary, which set a record for the biggest simulcast by number of simultaneous countries showing it.
I often feel like Eleven doesn’t quite get the amount of popularity that the Doctors around him do (Capaldi more by the fans than the more casual viewers, who did drop off during his time), so a bracket tournament is a good way to get some more discussion going for an era that isn’t talked about quite as much. Credit to @Tian for the idea. I think he’s a very good Doctor, so let’s get this all going.
Just like the last one, this will just be the main series episodes. Not the shorts, not the spin-off episodes featuring 11. That leaves us with 39 stories, therefore 7 play-in matches (two more than last time) and then 5 main rounds like the Tenth Doctor one. Seeding will be the same as last time, this time according to my most recent rankings since they’re actually complete when starting this one. So, let’s get started with the Play-Ins. The first 3 today to resolve the odd number.
Voted pretty much for the typical Choices one would go, mostly: The Doctor’s wife is brilliant in my eyes and especially compared to the other options, which is just a least favorite of mine, wins this Round easily. Similarly, I quite like Cold War, both Ice Warrior Revival Story while rarely THE favorites of either of their Series, they are both pretty good and entertaining. Cold War in particular is a shining example for my least favorite Season of the Show.
Andddd voted for the Wardrobe, while I must admit I don’t care for either episodes, I don’t see what harm it might do to go with the wardrobe, I have my issues with that Episode, but hey there are some nice Effects to be found. Power of Three is fine, some nice Moments, but not one that appeals much to me, although it’s probably one of the better Kate Outings in my Eyes, shame that Characterization got lost over time.
I went for The Doctor’s Wife, Cold War and The Power of Three. I generally enjoy these stories much more than I do the play-ins from the previous tournament, although I’ve never really understood the hype around The Doctor’s Wife, personally - it’s always felt like a very weird depiction of the Doctor/TARDIS relationship to me. Cold War is an interesting reintroduction for the Ice Warriors (and it has David Warner!), and The Power of Three is a very fun slice-of-life story for Eleven and the Ponds.
I know it will go out early but The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe is hugely underrated and misunderstood and is definitely better than The Power of Three.
I understand it fine, still don’t like it. Just don’t like what it does. I think TPO3 is ruined by Steven Berkoff’s behavior, but I like the concept and what it’s going for much more than TDTWATW.
Ok, I’m going to with The Doctor’s Wife, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, and The Power of Three. I’m not crazy opinionated about any of these episodes, so I’ve picked the ones I enjoy.
I’m sure many are surprised to see it in the play-in, but it’s actually pretty low in my rankings, I’m not a huge fan of it. Even before the stuff about Gaiman I thought it was just ok, some things rub me an even worse way since that’s all come out. Still think it’s better than NIS though, TDW given a gift of a match-up.
