My assessment of Yates is “a bit of a dick sometimes.” A bit smug, lets his rank get to his head sometimes. About the worst I’d say though.
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So to me he is quite noticeably lacking when compared with the other regulars, as in I think they’re all on another level entirely. Therefore as a major player in that era he sticks out to me an awful lot. I’m aware I’m in the minority because over the years it has become more and more obvious that I hate Yates more than many seem to, and certainly the most out of anyone I know.
As a different type of character maybe I could buy Franklin but as Yates I just can’t. Franklin as Yates just winds me up and it makes it difficult watching stories where he’s fairly prominent. Some of it is Yates as a character but it is, unfortunately, mostly down to Franklin’s casting. It just doesn’t work for me at all and is quite a big drag factor for the era as a result.
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Well that’s a shame I guess, Pertwee era I find to be some of the most consistently good Doctor Who there is. It takes a lot for me to honestly see a performance as bad, I don’t really have as much of a critical eye for acting as I do for things like writing.
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I personally really like Yates, I wasn’t aware people could have such strong negative opinions about him. Then again, I’m not a big fan of the Brigadier, so maybe my opinion shouldn’t count.
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Oh that’s a brave thing to say
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I know. He just feels like a bit of a one-note character to me, and I have enough issues with the military for it to taint my enjoyment of anything related to UNIT, really. Yates and Benton are at least likeable in their own right. The Brig is just the man in charge. He has his moments, and I don’t outright hate him, but I genuinely don’t understand why people love him so much.
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I’m with @ChrisStokes on Yates. He’s not a character I’ve ever warmed to and, I don’t know, but I find Franklin’s performance a bit…awkward is the wrong word but he just doesn’t quite fit as well as the other regulars.
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Of the UNIT family I’d definitely agree that Yates is the weakest link, just not enough to truly dislike him.
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About 20 minutes into the very best Doctor Who finale of all time.
The Big Bang is just pitch perfect in every single way 
I would like to see the flowchart Moffat must have had to keep track of the storyline here.
I imagine an entire wall with post-its and red string connecting them all in the most zigzaggy manner possible 
Hang on kid, this is where it gets complicated!
It must have been quite the big bang after the end of the episode since it resulted in River 
I want a Fez!
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I watched The Smugglers tonight. It was okay, but pretty forgettable. The poor quality of the pictures didn’t help either.
It feels strange to be almost finished with my 1st Doctor rewatch. I appreciated him much more this time. I’ll share more thoughts after the next story.
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There’s a handy First Doctor Era thread in the Cross-Media Discussions category if you want to put your First Doctor thoughts there.
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Watching Warriors’ Gate. Once again I love it, once again what on Earth is going on in this series? The themes of decay/entropy/change and playing with time are so strong in Season 18. Romana is at her most Doctorish. The setting is so strange and beautiful; it feels straight out of Scherzo. The Doctor is a literal set piece for an abandoned castle. I have rarely been struck by the urge to keep watching a serial so badly. I want to know what happens next!
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Watching Shada for the first time and I can’t believe I haven’t watched this sooner, love the relaxed vibe of it all, the setting is so charming, and the mix of animation and live action footage actually makes it a lot more interesting
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So glad the S17 set re-edited it to the proper 6-part format instead of the omnibus.
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“The back blast backlash will bounce back and destroy everything!”
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Everything is about to Change… (s).
Yeah, I’m about to start Torchwood.
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Watched Everything Changes with the cat.
I have a lot of thoughts (mostly positive)!
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Then you will probably like the series. The first two seasons are a lot like the first episode.
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So I started Day One…
I knew what I was in for, but still…
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Day one may be a low point of season one (of the show as a whole TBF), but I’m still a day one defender(ish)!!
(See my comments in TV club
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