Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
So Much More: The Wasted Potential of Doctor Who
5 Plays1 second ago
After watching the finale of Ncuti Gatwa's run as the Doctor, I felt like there was a lot that had to be said both good and bad. This is an unscripted discussion about my general thoughts on the two parter finale of Wish World/The Reality War as well as the overall trajectory of the series. But why is the series failing? Can it ever be brought back to what it once was? Or was Christopher Eccleston right? Without any further ado, let's find out!
This podcast is a member of the PodPack Collective, an indie podcasting group dedicated to spreading positivity within the podcast community. For further information, please follow the link: https://linktr.ee/podpackcollective
Where to find us:
Check out all of our content here!
Support Us:
Patrons:
Super Pandalorian Tier:
- Battle Toaster
- Sonia
- Ghostie
- Cryptic1991
Red Panda Tier:
- Greenshield95
- Danny Brown
- Aaron Huggett
Free Members:
- Middle-aged Bodcast
- IRIDYSCENZIA
- Rob Harvey
- Aaron (Super Pod Saga)
- Billy Strachan
Use my special link zen.ai/chatsunami and use chatsunami to save 30% off your first three months of Zencastr professional. #madeonzencastr
Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Stay safe, stay awesome and most importantly, stay hydrated!
Recommended
Transcript
Doctor Who's Initial Impact and Waning Engagement
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome to Chatsunami.
00:00:16
Speaker
you know, surprisingly, Doctor Who's not a topic that comes up very often on the Chatsunami podcast, even though it was a massive part of my life in the 2000s. I remember one of my high school friends who was an absolute diehard fan of the classic era, and he tried his best to get me into the show, but bar the odd episode or two where I thought, hey, that's pretty cool. The show never really clicked with me. I still thought it was a bit too cheesy and fake looking. What can I say? I was more of a Star Wars kid growing up. But it wasn't until he told me that the show would be returning in 2005 that finally sat down with my family and gave it a fair shot. And what i witnessed in those next few weeks were absolutely life changing. Every Saturday night I'd be watching Christopher Eccleston and Billy Piper fighting against alien threats in time and space, with each adventure as exciting as it lasts.
00:01:10
Speaker
Looking back on it now though, I must admit it is kind of crazy to think how a show with such terrible CGI and over-the-top stories managed to captivate me back then, but somehow it was endearing.
00:01:23
Speaker
And even when Eccleston left after a year and was replaced by Tenen, I was a little sceptical, I'm not gonna lie, but nevertheless, I gave it a shot, and to nobody's surprise, he became one of my favourite doctors. But as I grew older, I started to move away from the show, and by the time of Matt Smith run as a Doctor, I didn't feel the same spark that I used to. However, once we got to the 50th anniversary, oh boy, I felt like my love of the franchise was rekindled once again. Funny enough, I actually saw the anniversary special in the cinema, and I loved it every moment. It was a true celebration of the series, and it only made me more excited for what the future held. But something changed between that special and when Peter Capaldi took over, leading me to drift further from the franchise than I ever had before. Until I did what I never thought was possible, I gave up on the series.
00:02:18
Speaker
Sure, I would catch the odd episode here or there, but to me, Doctor Who had lost something that made it special. And this has less to do with the quality of the show and more of the inherent inherent nature of science fiction as a genre, every decade it seems to evolve into something reflective of the society it's made in. From the optimism of Star Trek, to the dystopia of Blade Runner. So, much like each iteration of the Doctor, their whole aesthetic would be drastically different, and whether you loved or hated them, they would always be somebody's favourite. And you know what? That is perfectly valid.
00:02:53
Speaker
But to be honest, it's hard to believe that the last time I actually spoke about this in an official episode of Chatsunami was nearly two years ago, around November of 2023, when the Doctor Who celebrated its 60th anniversary with three episodes starring fan favourite actor David Tennant.
New Era and Expectations with Russell T Davies
00:03:13
Speaker
But To say the show's reputation was in trouble at that point was an understatement after the less than well received Jodie Whittaker run which was helmed by, well, the now infamous showrunner Chris Chibnall. And of course, while there are still some fans of the 13th Doctor's run, its lore-breaking storylines were probably too much for a lot of people to bear. So when it was announced that Russell T Davies, the man responsible for reviving a campy sci-fi show from the 60s, would be returning as showrunner, there was a somewhat sense of optimism felt within the fanbase.
00:03:48
Speaker
The show had been stagnant for a while at this point, and I must admit, as I said before, i checked out of the series a long time ago, catching the odd episode here or there, and especially when Jodie Whittaker became the Doctor, I decided to check out one of two Hun episodes, but that's a story for another day.
00:04:06
Speaker
One of my more vivid memories of this run, weirdly enough, was when my brother and I randomly tuned in to one of the Whittaker finales. And it was an episode where, from what I remember, the Master returns and he just straight up turns everybody on Gallifrey, the Doctor's home planet, into Cybermen. Because why not? And when my brother turned to ask me what was going on, I had absolutely no idea. It honestly felt at that point and the show was bogged in a swamp of nostalgia, with each sub-sequential showrunner desperate to out-nerd one another with their knowledge of the classic run. Even for someone like me who knew a little of what came before in the classic run, it was, ironically enough, enough to alienate me. I spoke about this two years ago when I reviewed the 60th specials individually, but to Despite some of the rockier elements they had, there was still hope that the newest Doctor, Shute Gatwa, would be a great fit for the role. And surprisingly, I was, well, for the most part, proven right in some regards.
00:05:08
Speaker
He was energetic, charismatic, and ready to show the viewers watching the wonders of the Hooniverse. But what intrigued me the most was the insistence that after the reference heavy 60th specials, was that this new era would be the perfect starting point for new fans. And as someone who was getting tired of the constant references, I thought this would be great. Especially when the series started leaning towards a blend of science fiction meets fantasy. With devious deities now on the list, could the Doctor and his companions stop the new threats? What What fresh villains would they face? And will we ever find out the answers to the mysteries laid out per season?
00:05:49
Speaker
Much to my surprise. The main question I found myself asking after two seasons was as follows, who is this show for anymore? now before i go on with my critique, I just want to make one thing clear. There has been a recent trend online that seems to relish in the downfall of something that they once enjoyed, celebrating by actively hate-watching and spreading absolutely ridiculous and redundant criticisms.
00:06:15
Speaker
In the case of Doctor Who, from the new Doctor's race to his sexuality, there were many who were disgustingly gleeful about how this immediately spelled the end for the series.
00:06:27
Speaker
And while this isn't limited to Doctor Who specifically, looking at you Star Wars fandom, it's something that just vexes me every time I see cringeworthy statements like RIP Doctor Who pop up in my social media timeline. On the flip side of that, the only people who I've really seen praise this run of Doctor Who are either Doctor Who die-hard fans and weirdly enough, people who didn't like the show to begin with. Citing Shutey Gatwa is the main reason for this. So this critique that is about to follow isn't going to be focused specifically on criticizing those who enjoy it, nor the actors who are involved. But instead, one simple fact.
00:07:09
Speaker
Doctor Who is ironically stuck in the shadows of its own past, and it wasn't until watching the finale of season 2 that hammered the last nail into the proverbial coffin. Now, while I might get crucified for what I'm about to say here, I wasn't exactly the biggest fan of Matt Smith's run as a Doctor, but at the same time It cannot be argued how influential his run was, and it's arguable that the revival series probably hit its stride, if not peaked, by the time Matt Smith left. Since Peter Capaldi's tenure, there has been a steady decline. That's not to say that Capaldi's bad by any means.
00:07:50
Speaker
If anything, he was one of the main highlights for that era and even Jodie Whittaker is a talented actress whose unfortunate time on the show was drastically impacted by, as I said, nonsensical plots that sought to only muddle what came before. To put it bluntly,
00:08:06
Speaker
It's apparent that Doctor Who has regenerated into the TV equivalent of jingling keys in front of the viewer's face, with constant references, cameos, and just infuriating writing that makes me wonder why he even bothered to give this series a chance to begin with.
00:08:25
Speaker
Despite the glossier visuals with that Disney money, it's clear that they no longer care about how to tell a compelling story without sufficiently building
Global Appeal and Recent Critiques
00:08:34
Speaker
it up. Everything at best feels like a first draft, with no real afterthought of how things should slot together, bit like creating an image for a jigsaw without actually working out how all the pieces fit together. And I know at this point it's been absolutely memed to death, but I'm gonna ask, does anybody else think Russell T Davies looks tired? Because this is the same writer who's brought us absolutely compelling classic series from the obvious revival in 2005 to other projects like Children of Earth, which I've spoke about before, funny enough, in Chatsunami, and years and years, it's a sin. I have no idea if Davies has just lost his passion for writing, if he just doesn't care anymore, or what it is, but whatever the case, I feel as if he has squandered quite a perfect opportunity for the franchise to go forward.
00:09:31
Speaker
And again, i don't know how much studio interference or Disney interference has played a part here. Maybe we'll get a Netflix documentary in a couple of years to say, oh, he was shoved out the door because of X reason and Y reason, but this just does not feel like the same writer. Davies was always quite heavy-handed when it came to his writing. You know, you just have to look back at season one through to four and then go, yeah, that was a bit clunky, that didn't work. But weirdly enough, there was still some kind of enjoyment to take out of it. But I feel as if maybe because Davies and the rest of the team working on it were under a lot of pressure to make an impact with Doctor Who when it came back that they thought, right, we're going to put our a game forward, we're going to try our best to show off what Doctor Who can be in the modern age. This just feels so lazy, rushed and reductive. It is not the Doctor Who I remember and I hate saying it like that because Doctor Who is one of those franchises that is so appealing to everybody. Because it's about a strange alien that takes a companion no from modern day Earth, usually, and they whisk them off and travel in time and space, and it's a jolly good adventure all round. You know, you've got your classic villains that are built up, you've got your new villains. It's really interesting to see how, you even nowadays, this show has captured the imaginations of not just the UK as a whole, but also the world. Including America, which I was really surprised when the 11th Doctor's run was going, that he was so popular over there. But that aside, this run with Shuti Gatwa feels so rushed, it feels like there is no thought put into it. It feels as if, ever since Gatwa has come into the role, people have been very supportive, very optimistic, myself included, because I was so curious after the 60th anniversary to say how they're going to write the 15th Doctor, and of course he's a lot more flamboyant, he's a lot more, i suppose, extroverted.
00:11:46
Speaker
But where I think this entire run falls flat on its face is this constant need for Davies to have a mystery. So for any Whovians who were a fan of Doctor Who in 2005, you'll of course remember that in Season 1 there was the bad wolf mystery, in Season 2 it was Torchwood, in Season 3 it was Harold Saxon and the Master, Season 4 of course had its four knocks, so this isn't something that's exactly new for Davies to introduce, but I genuinely don't know if he's trolling at this point. There seems to be a lot of emphasis on very much
00:12:21
Speaker
known mysteries. For example, I remember when I was really excited to see what Empire of Death would bring, and that of course being the season 1 finale of Gatwazron. And there was an interview where Davy said, oh, look out for a woman with a spoon. She is gonna be this saviour of the universe or something. And then it didn't really turn out to be anything consequential. The whole episode was just like, oh yeah, let's just get to this point. And then they grabbed the literal god of death, who turned into a dog at that point.
00:12:56
Speaker
I don't know why. And they took him walkies through the time vortex. And I know lot of fans are screaming right now on the other side, oh, it was Sutec, the lord of darkness. It's like, No, it was a dog. He killed a dog.
00:13:08
Speaker
He killed a space dog. He ODL-ered him in the Time Vortex. And I thought, at that moment, A, thank Christ that I didn't pay for a ticket in the cinema because I would be crying if I paid money to see that in the cinema. But B, that is probably the worst this series is gonna get. I thought, yep, this is it. This is the worst the can get.
00:13:27
Speaker
I can only get better from here. Because again, going back to David Tennant's run, season two of the revival run isn't exactly the best. You've got Fear Her, Love and Monsters, you've got a lot of weak episodes and you've got some incredible episodes, but there was a mixed bag and it felt kind of the same for Gatwa's run as well. So I thought, okay, one season, two specials, Yeah, they're not the best, but you know what, let's see where they go from here. And see, admittedly, I genuinely enjoyed the first half of this new season, because the story focused on the Doctor finding this nurse called Belinda, and she was desperate to go home. Of course she would be, after getting abducted by her robot space boyfriend, trust me, makes sense in context. And the first couple of episodes, while I didn't really enjoy the first episode, the other ones, like Lux, The Well, they were really, really good. And I thought, oh my god, Doctor Who is getting his groove back is actually not that bad anymore. So there were good episodes and bad episodes, and they were really building up to this mystery of, oh, who is this Mrs. Flood going to be? And, you know, everybody guessed right, I think, the first time that she was going to be this character called the Rani, who hasn't been seen since the 80s, I want to say. in a very infamously bad episode, so why he chose to bring her back I am not sure, but she didn't really do anything, she just followed the Doctor throughout the episodes and then she was like, oh yeah, by the way, I'm here. And then they reveal that she was the Rani in a post-credit scene for the Eurovision and you're like, Really bizarre, but it kind of encapsulates the whole pacing of this run of Doctor Who. It feels like they've made it for the TikTok generation, and I don't want to say that is a pompous millennial looking down on Gen Z, but it genuinely feels like Subway Surfers should have been playing at the bottom of the screen at times, because it's just constant noise, constant, let's get from A to B, hurry, hurry, hurry, because there's only eight episodes in these seasons, as opposed to, wonder,
00:15:39
Speaker
I'm going to say 13, about 12 or 13 episodes it used to be. And because of that, Gatwa's tenure does feel very short-lived, because I would have loved to have seen more of him. On the flip side as well, I don't even think Davies knew what he wanted. to do with Gatwa. Because I remember there was a scene in the 60th anniversary where they made big thing about the 14th Doctor holding all of this rage and regret and things and when Gatwa popped out of him he ended up saying, it's okay, you can release all that stress and everything, it's fine, it's over, I'm the new Doctor, I'm gonna start fresh, start anew. But if anything He was a lot more melodramatic. And again, this isn't the fault of the actor, but for me personally, it feels very manipulative that we have a Doctor who is constantly crying. And a lot people pointed this out. I am not the first to point out that he is constantly crying, going, my God, whatever happened that week? Oh, it's awful. Probably was sometimes. And there's some moments where I genuinely thought, okay, that worked.
00:16:44
Speaker
And then other times where I thought, okay, why is he crying at this bit? That happened throughout season one. I don't really remember it happening as much in season two, but when it got to the end of season two, and this is the inspiration behind this episode, because I had a whole script that I was writing, and then I just gave up halfway through, because I thought, you know what, if Russell T Davies didn't give a crap about this series, then why should I put in the effort to write a script for what? I feel about this i just want to speak from the heart and just express my disappointment for this series because as I said, season 2 of the 15th Doctor's run starts off really strongly and it's all about him trying to get Belinda back home. Really compelling stuff.
00:17:30
Speaker
But then they build up the mystery of, oh why is the earth going on the 24th of May? And honestly, when I got to the finale, I wasn't expecting much. I wasn't expecting anything at all, to be quite frank. But thought, okay, let's see where they're going to with it. And honestly, the two-parter finale of Wishworld and The Reality War is quite possibly one of the worst, if not the worst, episodes of Doctor Who I have ever watched in my life.
00:17:58
Speaker
And I don't mean visually, because visually, obviously, it looks spectacular, the bone beasts and everything looked great, the CGI worked, the practical effects worked.
00:18:08
Speaker
That is not what I have an issue with here. What I have an issue with is the absolutely atrocious and dangerous insulting writing. So to give a brief overview of the episodes for anyone who hasn't seen it, the story basically begins in a kind of dream world where the Doctor is married to Belinda and the world is run by a stereotypical right-wing thinker who tries to push his values and ideals onto people and he basically pushes everybody that he sees as unacceptable in society away of like
00:18:42
Speaker
people who are disabled, to people who are part of the LGBT community. It's all very heavy-handed because you know that Davies is desperate for these characters to
Narrative Flaws and Character Development Issues
00:18:53
Speaker
do something. There's a scene where one of the companions goes to essentially this homeless camp filled with people who are differently abled.
00:19:01
Speaker
And they make a big thing about how, o they're going to smash the system. And then all of a sudden that plotline really goes nowhere. And you're left there thinking, well, what was the point in that? Why did we spend like a good half of this episode to this plotline and then do nothing with it?
00:19:18
Speaker
That could have been such an interesting thing to delve into. But it's like, oh no, let's get this character who, for some weird reason, has a tripod. for an iPad? Like her pulling out the iPad had no issue with but the tripod? Where did that come from? Seriously, please let me know. But then when I was watching the reality war it hit me like a ton of bricks when I saw Belinda's character who at the very beginning of the series as a character who was very independent, very good at her job, was very strong-willed despite going through a couple of really scary situations in the TARDIS, only to then be saddled with a magic child. And that's all she got to do throughout the episode. They just said, nope, you are now a mother, you cannot do anything, sit in this Ferrero Rocher box and wait your turn. And I thought
00:20:10
Speaker
That was incredibly offensive and I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this, but to reduce someone as capable as that to, oh by the way, you're a mother, you have no interest outside of looking after this mystery child who is the same child from Space Babies. Again, never explained. i think Ruby mentions it one point and says,
00:20:30
Speaker
but space baby And then that's it, they never mention it again. The Rani who creates this world out the mind of the right wing stereotype guy, she gets eaten by a CGI version of Omega, who turns out Russell T Davies wanted to bring back another classic villain who's only been in a handful of episodes. At this stage I was like, hmm, I'm starting to think that Russell T Davies just wants to cram as many classic villains as possible before he just hightails it out of here. Because there is just no reason why there should be this many a classic villains.
00:21:07
Speaker
characters coming back. It was just ridiculous. And then the whole argument about the Doctor not using his sonic screwdriver as a gun, only then to take his ah Vindicator 47 and blast the CGI skeleton baby that is apparently Omega, who, fun fact, also created time travel for Gallifrey. Do you want to know how I found that I found that out because I had to wiki it.
00:21:32
Speaker
I don't like it. For a show that is supposed to be the quote unquote greatest starting point for new fans, it's the worst possible one. And going back to what was saying earlier, the whole thing about jangling the keys in front of the audience I think is just insulting. You know, you've got Omega, ooh, you've got the Rani, Oh, you've got the 13th Doctor, which although it was cool to see her back in the TARDIS, I've got nothing against Jodie Whittaker, but why was she there? And again, it's this whole thing of expecting fans just to lap it up and go, oh, look, it's the thing I like. Oh, let's watch it no matter what. Almost feels like Cybermen at this point. You're Cybermen-ing the audience.
00:22:15
Speaker
to say, you should follow this, you should watch this, never criticise it. as really insulting, to be quite frank. And again, you might be thinking, oh, Satsu, you're being way too harsh on this sci-fi show. Maybe I am. Maybe I am absolutely doing that. But at the same time, this is a show that, as I said, i have grown up with. This is a show that I have shared many fond memories with friends and family, of course. I've even been to the Doctor Who exhibit.
00:22:46
Speaker
I've even met Colin Pellett. Baker and Sylvester McCoy at Comic Con years and years ago, granted, but I have met them, lovely people. And to see a show that has brought so much joy, whimper and just a limp out the door like this, is really insulting. And I think that Doctor Who fans deserve so much better than what they're actually getting here. And for those who are listening right now saying that, oh, I love the series, it's amazing, I love Gatwa.
00:23:15
Speaker
If you love this series, then I cannot take that away from you. I've said this before, I will say it again. If you love this series as it is, then that is completely up to you. I cannot take away your joy, I cannot take away your feelings, but what i can say is you deserve so much more from this. So much more. I'm not going to pretend, right, that I am this amazing, world-renowned writer, or I've won anywhere near the amount of accolades that Russell T Davies and the other writers I've worked with on this season have, but as a fan of the show, it is just so sad to see it spiral the way it is, and the fact that that is also giving ammo towards the grifters to say, oh, I am so happy that Doctor Who's finally
Doctor Who's Legacy and Future Hopes
00:24:04
Speaker
dead. you know how tiring it week after week, seeing these videos and these horrible AI thumbnails pop up saying Doctor Who is finally dead? I've never been happier. I'm not happy. I'm not happy by this at all.
00:24:17
Speaker
This isn't something that I am cheering at. This isn't something I'm gooting over. I think that Doctor Who is such a special show for a lot of people. I think it's a show that inspires that creative spark for a lot folk. It is something that gives people hope, it has inspired them to make their own content around it, and has brought so many people together, myself included. so many friends who, of course, like the show, and I love talking to them about it. I'll say, oh, do you remember how they did this, how they did that? But between the absolutely horrendous writing of some of the stories, the rushed pacing, the fact that even Shuti Gadwa as an actor, as I said, is great, but I didn't feel as if we got to know the Doctor, because he was flip-flopping all over the place, because sometimes he would be bubbly and energetic, but also have a And then other times he was a downright psychopath.
00:25:16
Speaker
He'd be a laughing and crying and that's not really something you would expect out of a kind of hero archetype. And again, that's a whole other episode you could argue the Doctor technically not a hero, but it just felt as if we never really got a stepfather.
00:25:29
Speaker
stable baseline for what this Doctor was. And it's such a shame. It is honestly such a shame. And I thought it was weird as well, considering that in an episode like Boom, where they talked about the idea of faith and religion, and they were like, oh, silly girl, there's no heaven, don't be so dumb.
00:25:48
Speaker
Ha! ah really cruel. But then of course in the next episode they're fighting gods and monsters and you're like, well, why is that a stretch? It felt as if the Doctor could be quite mean-spirited in a way. It never felt as if we knew who he was. And unfortunately for him, the one thing that is also tragic is the fact that he is sandwiched. And again, not the first person to say this, but He is sandwiched between the 14th Doctor, played by David Tennant, who is a fantastic Doctor, both in his 10th and iteration, but he is sandwiched between him and now Billy Piper, who was Rose, the companion in the revival series. And again, there's a whole back and forth of, oh, it could be bad wolf, it could be something else, but I think it is such a disservice to Gatwa as a whole.
00:26:37
Speaker
I think it is such a disservice that they have sandwiched him in between two very popular actors in this series. But then what's also cruel is the fact that when we were introduced to Shute Gatwa as a doctor, he didn't fully regenerate as expected.
00:26:54
Speaker
We instead had this idea of Bi-regeneration where, as I said before, he kinda just popped out of David Tennant for some weird reason in his pants and said, oh yeah, I'm the Doctor now. It just left a massive lingering question. It resulted in what I like to call a Poochie effect where in The Simpsons there's a character that people keep saying, oh, when he's not on the screen people should be asking, where's Poochie? And it's the same for this. It's like, because you've got David Tennant in there, you're asking, oh, where's Tennant?
00:27:28
Speaker
Because he is there technically on Earth, and it's just kind of silly to have him there. I feel as if they should have just regenerated normally. But the fact, as I said, he is bookended between fan-favourite Doctor and a fan-favourite compel. And this whole run has just been absolutely overshadowed by that. It is just such a sin. It is a shame and is criminal, quite frankly. So I could rant about this for absolutely forever. I could rant about the fact that... that Davey's themes are heavy-handed, even more so than usual. The fact he uses the diversity in this show more as a prop than he actually does equal opportunity. And again, coming from myself, I'm not going to pretend that I'm speaking on behalf of any group or community, but
00:28:20
Speaker
At the same time, I just feel as if there's an idea to try and bring that representation in, which I think is a good thing, by all means. I think it is a great thing, but then you do nothing with it. Especially with, for example, Rose, who is a very divisive character, and after the specialization, specials, just kind of stands around. There's literally a scene in Reality War where are because the right-wing stereotype character Conrad, he can't imagine a world with trans people, but he could still imagine differently abled people and queer people, but can't imagine her. And she comes back and she just kind of appears peers and you go, oh yeah, she's a character. You know, it wasn't like a, oh my goodness, I never even thought he would do that. It's like, to be honest, I think Ava the Van Bates just completely forgot about her because of how unmemorable she was. And it's just the same with a lot of these characters. It's like they are trying to push for something yeah a bit more clever, and a bit more mature, but then it just completely falls flat in its face. And honestly, i don't think I have ever been so deflated with a franchise before. It is just watching your favourite franchise slowly die in front of you. And of course, I'm not going to lie, I'm going to be very curious to see what to do with Billy Piper and everything, but for those who are saying that, oh, that no negativity allowed here, that you should just enjoy this...
00:29:51
Speaker
Honestly, this is the one time that while I'm happy people enjoyed this for what it was, you 100% deserve better. Seriously, you do not deserve this kind of just absolutely horrific writing from Russell T Davies and Doctor Who as a whole. Again, whether that's because of the studio, whether that's because of him, I genuinely don't know anymore, but it is so heartbreaking to see this series fall at the wayside. It's such a shame as well because I was so full of optimism when I was recording for the anniversary specials. I thought, well, it's okay because at least it's going to get better. It'll be fine. It'll be fitting. And it didn't get better. It got worse. It got more insulting. It makes me feel so sorry for all the actors involved.
00:30:38
Speaker
Granted, all the actors seem to have had an absolute blast, so obviously, can't take that away from them, but as a narrative piece of fiction, it is probably one of the worst pieces that we've ever seen from Doctor Who. And in the words of Christopher Eccleston, unless we get rid of Russell T. Davis and his merry band of...
00:30:59
Speaker
traitors, as it were, is never going to get better. Coming from a casual fan, I think we just need someone completely new in the chair. Someone who maybe slightly understands the series, but also wants to put their own spin on it, that wants to move forward with the series, not always looking back, not always calling back. And the thing is, it's okay to call back to these things, but you've got to build it up. You can't just say, oh look, it's Zutek, oh look, it's Omega, because... Who the hell is Omega? Oh look, it's the Rannies, even though the Ranny was of the worst. And again, I'm not saying that as someone who's watched the episodes, but from my experience with the fans who have talked about the two Rannies in those other episodes, they're not really characters that people have been clamouring to get back in the series. So my question remains, who is this series for anymore?
00:31:51
Speaker
Because it feels as if non-fans are excluded because they're just confused. fans are excluded because they're just getting really poor executions of these characters and for the die hard fans, I'm happy for you if you are enjoying this. And again, absolutely no disrespect or shade to any of you but for one last time, you guys this deserve better. On that note, as I said i could rant for hours on this topic but I better stop there because as you may have guessed this is indeed a unscripted episode so without any further ado I genuinely hope you enjoyed this episode of Chatsunami. But what did you think of this run of Doctor Who? Did you enjoy it for what it was or did it fall short of your expectations?
00:32:33
Speaker
No matter what side you fall on here, please feel free to reach out because I would love to hear your thoughts, love to hear your experiences with the show. Just let me know if you like to find more episodes from ourselves, including my thoughts on the 60th anniversary episodes, then you can check us out on our website, chatsadami.com, as well as all good podcast apps. I also want to thank our amazing Pandalorian patrons, Robotic Battle Toaster, Sonya, Ghostie, and Cryptic 1991. Thank you all so, so much for supporting the show. But if you would like early access to episodes, exclusive episodes, exclusive content as a whole, as well as an episode where I discuss my journey as a Whovian, yes, that is actually up there, then you can check us out on our Patreon page, patreon.com forward slash chatstunami. This podcast is of course a member of the Podpack Collective. For further information, please check us out at our Twitter slash X page, Podpack Collect. But as always, thank you all so, so much for listening to this episode. Stay safe. Stay awesome and most importantly, stay hydrated.