I have stepped into the future.
See, Iām fine with longer single episide stories but I do love the shorter 25-30 min episodes for exactly the reason that @deltaandthebannermen expounds. Sometimes, itās much more convenient to just listen for 30 mins and much more satisfying to feel like the point you pause is an actual episode end that was written that way rather than the āah well, guess Iāll just have to pause and carry on laterā i sometimes feel if I have to break up a longer episode.
The thing is, when I just want 25-30 mins, this is perfect and I actually enjoy the short episode format.
But when I want to listen to the whole thing in one sitting, which is most of the time, I really resent the (mostly bad) cliffhangers, the repeat of a few lines at the start, and the theme tune over and again.
So ultimately most of the time I prefer the more modern 45min-60min stories!
Ahhh, yesā¦ but surely this is why choice is so wonderful! I mean, there is literally so much to choose from (in both formats), thereās always something that fits to our wants/needs.
Thatās surely the golden zone right thereā¦ and long may it continue!
I donāt have any technical knowledge but I always wondered, once the stories moved onto DVD and now Blu-ray, why they didnāt offer branching alternatives so you could choose how you wanted to watch. From the outside, looking in this seems a simple feature.
āRead my lips: No new gap years!ā - Russell H.W. Davies
It is. Itās exactly what they implemented on the Blu-rays already for the optional updated SFX.
To the extent that I completely missed it the first time round because I canāt imagine Jo being the slightest bit interested in him beyond friendship.
A better actor could be convincing, regardless of their personal preferences. I agree that Franklin wasnāt convincing.
I agree with what you are saying but, whenever people start on the Chibnall era, it reminds me of that TV clip where heās bad mouthing either the Sixth or Seventh Doctor series that was an extra on one of the classic boxsets.
Well. He was correct in that lol.
Is it controversial to say that, with the odd exception, I hate the nostalgia that creeps into Who with Classic era characters & references turning up in the show?
Before The Legend of Ruby Sunday / Empire of Death, I wouldāve disagreed with you entirely, but I think that everytime a character returns from classic, itās like theyāre missing something, but I canāt quite put my finger on it.
I would always hope that Susan would come back, or a former companion, or even K9 again. Would I like it if they came back? Iām not so sure anymore.
I think that the fates that a lot of companions (yes, Susan included) met in the classic era were fine, and they donāt need to be brought back. To me, I think itās best if the Doctor never goes back to see Susan, even if he did say that he would. I think it works better, and leaves the original serial intact. I know this is a bunch of waffle, but Iām thinking as I write this.
TLDR; bringing things and characters back from the classic era is often unsuccessful in improving on their original appearance or fate, but instead tarnishes the original serial in one way or another.
It seems any returning classic character now works for UNIT. Just let them rest up ffs.
I really like it when itās done sparingly. The problem for me is that RTD went way overboard, especially immediately following the return of Jack, Ace, and Tegan, and it just seems silly. Like, oh David Tennantās back. Oh Donnaās back. Oh thereās a character called Rose. Oh Kateās back. Oh Melās back. Oh the Toymakerās back. Oh a puppet show about past companions. Oh last of the bloody Time Lords again. Oh talk about Gallifrey. Oh talk about Susan. Oh Sutekhās backā¦ Enough.
I would have liked that time to be spent on more new stuff like the impossible glove and (controversial) the musical numbers.
Somebody on Tumblr observed that RTD seems to be making UNIT into a treehouse club for all the Doctorās friends, which undermines its supposed raison dāĆŖtre while making the characters seem silly.
There is, of course, a simple solution. Bring back Torchwood!!
I agree. Thereās also always the possibility that he did go back to see her; it just wasnāt on screen.
Agree, and I think Tegan and Ace worked perfectly, as did Sarah Jane, but I think series 1/14/40 should have felt more like a fresh start. If RTD was touting it as such, which he was, itās just a little overwhelming to have so many callbacks and recurring characters. That said, I can never be upset at having an old companion back even if itās pointless or rubbish. I love them too much to be cross about it forever
Absolutely this! I donāt think you can really do a Susan return justice at this point. You canāt make the doctor forgivable or even really explain his actions at this point for not ever going back for her (Assuming they retcon any extended media stuff where they see each other again, because letās face it, they would).
I much prefer the implication that she died in the time war and heās never going to see her again now.
& of course the memory TARDIS. Basically, remember this, remember this, remember this etc etc
See, the memory TARDIS was one of the most successful pieces of it for me. I wonāt go so far as to say it made sense in the episode, but it made as much sense as anything would have to get them out of the time window.
I also think Tales of the TARDIS (although my God, how overused is that title now) was a great balance - give us Sixieheads something to enjoy while keeping it out of the main program. Because yes, even as someone who enjoys the original series (at this point Iād even say I prefer it to nu), I am a little worried that RTD is focused too much on looking back instead of forward.
I like cheeky winks, or new stories with new recurring monsters. I do not like when every character that has ever been on the show shows up at UNIT, and thatās supposed to be a good thing. Does literally anyone remember Zygon Invasion?
The problem with continuity references is that as fans we love them and hate them. The 80s was riddled with them and the production team began to believe that was what we wanted (not helped by having a fan as an unofficial āadvisorā). But a lot of the stuff is cool in theory (wouldnāt it be great to see Sutekh return is an idea weād all probably go - yeah, cool) but the realisation of that reference or return doesnāt always work the way it does in our heads.
For a show that thrives on change, we, as fans, do like it to keep returning to the past but its a comfort thing and something that, really, the production team should resist.
Chibnall more or less managed it and got loads of backlash for not having Daleks and whatever in Series 11 but when he went all in with Cybermen and the Master and Gallifrey and new incarnations of the Doctor - and then people didnāt like that either.
Weāre always going to want to see thngs return but striking that balance with moving the show forward is so important and fans really donāt know what they actually want. Itās like when fans say they want multi-Doctor epics for anniversaries and that every single incarnation has to be involved. They refuse to acknowledge how difficult it would be to write a story with 11, 12, 13 lead actors fairly. The fact that itās only actually been done successfully with three Doctors seems to pass most fans by.
Think about it - The Five Doctors actually only has four Doctors and one of those isnāt even the original actor so, for fans, would have less āimportanceā than Troughton, Pertwee and Davison. The Five Doctors does work but it really is just a series of Doctor Who sketches with a thin plot tying them together.
The 30th rolls around and there are grand plans to have a multi-Doctor story filmed but with Tom Baker being the focus, which understandably, pisses off the other incarnations.
Come the 50th and Moffat knows it wonāt work so limits the leads to - oh look - three Doctors.
For the 60th year, Chibnall and RTD both take slightly different approaches. Chibnall goes for the cameo route and RTD for ālets just celebrate a popular eraā.
Big Finish did The Light at the End and it did what fans say they want but didnāt exactly set the world on fire with plaudits. Subsequent anniversary releases have been collections of adventures with each Doctor getting their own story to be the focus of.
So I suppose my controversial opinion is that multi-Doctor stories havenāt actually worked since The Three Doctors (and even that one is technically only The Two Doctors, so maybe theyāve never actually worked).