Doctor Who

I normally don't post rumours, but this seems like credible information from a credible outlet.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/13874961

> > The first series of Russell T Davies’s return to Doctor Who – and Ncuti Gatwa’s first season at the helm of the world’s longest-running sci-fi show – came to an end with Saturday’s Empire of Death. But what did the show’s superfans make of the first Disney-backed season? > > > > We spoke to four: Tony Jordan, 65, the coordinator of the Doctor Who Society, who’s watched since he was four years old; Lauren Amelia Miller, 31, a disabled writer and actress who’s been a fan since she was five and owns a Dalek nicknamed Woody; Zoe Butler, 23, a civil servant who started watching in 2005 and cites David Tennant as her favourite Doctor; and JJ, 28, who works in digital media, blogs on Doctor Who and has been a fan since 2012. > > Archive

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/13856135

> > While the future of Doctor Who is already confirmed in the short term - with the show returning for a Christmas special this year and another season next year - beyond that, things are currently less certain. > > > > This is because the show's fate in its current form rests with Disney Plus, who the BBC did a deal with for the new era. > > > > Not only does Disney distribute the series internationally, it also helps to finance it, meaning that while the show could continue without the streamer, its budget may have to be slashed. > > > > The question of the show's future following what have been described as season 14's "underwhelming" ratings was raised in a recent article in The Times, and now the BBC has weighed in. > > > > A BBC spokeswoman told the publication: "Overnight ratings no longer provide an accurate picture of all those who watch drama in an on-demand world. > > > > "This season of Doctor Who premiered on iPlayer nearly 24 hours before broadcast, and episode 1 has already been viewed by nearly 6 million viewers and continues to grow. > > > > "Doctor Who remains one of the most-watched programmes on iPlayer and is the BBC’s top drama for under-35s this year, making it one of the biggest programmes for the demographic across all streamers and broadcasters." > > > > ... > > > > Hopefully these assurances will calm fans' nerves about the show's future. It certainly appears that Davies seems hopeful, as he has already started writing season 16. > > > > The writer has also confirmed that "there are offices that exist" that are dedicated solely to planning potential spin-offs, although what these would be focused on is currently unclear.

NARRATOR: It did work.

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One of the all-time great episodes for my money, though I can absolutely see why that script would make them nervous.

>From the tense landmine of Boom to uncovering the events of the night that Ruby was born in Empire of Death, this season of Doctor Who certainly had it all – but which episode was the best? > >Well, we posed that exact question to RadioTimes.com readers, who have responded in their droves. > >With the likes of Space Babies, The Devil's Chord, Dot and Bubble and all the other season 14 episodes to choose from, there was one clear winner. > >After more than 4,000+ votes in total, [redacted] was the winner of the best episode in our exclusive poll.

Look, I'm not trying to choose violence today, so let's not stoop to the level of stereotypical "Star Wars" discourse.

That said, the parallels here were not lost on me, and I generally agree with RTD.

The Doctor's granddaughter has been teased on screen throughout this recent season, fan theories abound and original actor Carole Ann Ford has stated she'd be happy to reappear on the show.

Let's assume that there is a reunion with Susan coming up; that would be exciting in itself, but narratively, how do you think it will be set up? Does the Doctor seek her out or will Susan find her grandfather first?

More to the point, "the Doctor finally sees Susan again" is just a story beat — how do you imagine the larger science fantasy story context surrounding it? Feel free to fanfic an entire episode plot or season arc if you want 🙂

> Speaking to Doctor Who Unleashed, Davies said: “So that’s goodbye to Millie Gibson, except it’s not! You’d have to be mad to say goodbye to talent and a character like that!” > > He added: “This is a pause. I genuinely felt Ruby’s story paused there. She couldn’t get all that information about her family, all that emotional overload, and run off in the TARDIS. It pauses there. She’s coming back. > > “A new companion is coming in, but you’ll see the three of them together. Three people in this TARDIS fighting evil. There’s good stuff to come. There are really crucial stories for Ruby to come, and her family – the story of that family hasn’t finished yet – that will all make sense when you see it. So more to come.”

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/13732633

> > Following the major reveal of the character in the latest finale, Russell T Davies and Anita Dobson address the current status of the mystery of Doctor Who's Mrs. Flood. Dobson made her debut in "The Church on Ruby Road" as the seemingly ordinary neighbor to the Sunday family, though it would be revealed that she has hidden knowledge of the Time Lords that has left viewers guessing her true identity. After having brief appearances in season 14, Flood starred in a guest role across the two-part finale "The Legend of Ruby Sunday/Empire of Death", which provided more hints. > > > > With Doctor Who season 14 bringing the mystery of Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) and the One Who Waits to a close, Davies and Dobson addressed the remaining mystery of Mrs. Flood going into season 15 with Doctor Who: Unleashed. While the showrunner confirmed that Flood was not part of Sutekh's scheme, Davies did tease that she would play a key role in season 15, while Dobson described Flood as ever-evolving. Check out Davies' and Dobson's response below: > > > >> Russell T Davies: Clearly there’s a mystery with Mrs. Flood, played by Anita Dobson- Dobs, as I call her. We’ve seen way back in "The Church on Ruby Road", where Ncuti first appeared and when Millie first appeared. She was the next door neighbour, but then suddenly ends that episode with a great line to camera, where she goes “Never seen a TARDIS before”. So clearly, that’s saying “Something’s going on here.” She’s popped up then, living next door. We’ve seen her, she’s cast a little line in “73 Yards” on what’s going on. She gets a bit closer to the action in episode 7, she starts to reveal herself in episode 7. In episode 8, she had…. She says “I had such plans”. So she’s not part of what Sutekh was up to. She’s kind of trapped in whatever Sutekh was up to, in as much as the whole world is and says “I had such plans”. I wonder what that means…. I can promise you reveals, I can promise you astonishing reveals and a lot of fun with her as well. She’s so much fun to work with, so good times with Mrs. Flood to come. > >> > >> Anita Dodson: Mrs Flood is sort of changing. We don’t quite know what into, but she’s definitely changing, yeah. Or else she needs to see a therapist, big time.

Season 1 has come to a close, and this community has enjoyed modest activity since it was created. I'd like to maintain that level of activity during the lengthy wait for the next special, and I have a couple of ideas and requests to make that happen:

• I'd like to do weekly "retrospective discussions" to cover the Tennant specials, as well as "The Church on Ruby Road" and episodes 1 and 2 of the season (which we technically covered at c/quark's, but I'd like to have something "official" in this community as well). Please let me know if you'd be interested in this.

• I'd like to see content covering the greater Whoniverse - Big Finish audios, books, comics, you name it. The trouble is, I'm not really engaged with that stuff personally, so this is my invitation to the community to build that stuff out.

• Other community-led content is also welcome - I don't want this to become an exclusive meme community, but we should all feel free to have a little fun and share cool DW stuff.

I've also set up a section of the Star Trek: Website Wiki for this community - right now, it's just the archive of the episode discussions, but there's room for growth there, as well.

Written by: Russell T Davies

Directed by: Jamie Donoughue

Still UK-only, as far as I know.

Written by: Russell T Davies

Directed by: Jamie Donoghue

Written by: Kate Herron & Briony Redman

Directed by: Ben Chessell

Written by: Russell T Davies

Directed by: Dylan Holmes Williams

Written by: Russell T Davies

Directed by: Dylan Holmes Williams

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/12357996

> > The two-part finale of Doctor Who season 14 will be shown in cinemas across the UK next month. > > > > Special screenings will kick off around the country at 11pm on Friday 21st June 2024, starting with a showing of the previous week's penultimate episode, The Legend of Ruby Sunday. > > > > Then, at midnight, as the season finale Empire of Death lands on BBC iPlayer (and Disney Plus internationally), a select group of fans will be treated with seeing the blockbuster conclusion on the big screen.

Written by: Steven Moffat

Directed by: Julie Anne Robinson

Nice little interview, but I'll single out this bit for, uh, reasons:

>You’ve talked about the fan perception that Billie Piper’s Rose was treated exceptionally among Doctor Who’s companions but how you yourself never really were consciously trying to write her as being special. Donna Noble grew into being a very distinct companion, but with Ruby, there’s a textual uniqueness to her pretty much right from when we’re introduced to her. What’s been some of the thinking behind your approaching your evolving approach to fleshing out companions?

>I think with Ruby, it’s not so much her character or her spirit but that she has a stronger story than I’ve ever given a companion before, and it unfolds in this huge way. But Rose, Donna, Martha, and now Ruby do have one thing in common, which is that I’m initially presenting them as the most ordinary people. That’s the joy of Doctor Who. I think one of the strengths of Star Trek — and I’m a very big Discovery fan — is you’ve got to be the best to be aboard the Enterprise. You are the elite. You are the best of the best of the best. Even the Lower Decks are very good. I think that’s true of American society, which is very aspirational.

>Star Trek always feels very demotic and down to earth, but if I was alive in the 24th century, they wouldn’t let me on the ship. They’d say, “No, you’re banned. You’re a fire hazard. Get out.” But the joy of Doctor Who is that the TARDIS could land on a street corner and take anyone. That’s what I used to think when I was walking home from school every day — stepping into the TARDIS and escaping the ordinary. There was nothing wrong with my life and nothing to escape from, but who doesn’t want to go to those endless horizons? That’s what my companions have in common.

>Ruby, bless her, turns out to be wonderful and brave and, yes, very special. But her actual life’s very small. She lives with her mum and her gran. She’s earning 50 pounds playing a keyboard in bars. She’s living a low-key life before she meets the Doctor, and it’s only after she embarks on these adventures that her specialness comes to the fore.

This is apparently Part 2 of a two-part interview - Part 1 can be found here.

This is one of the other major topics this season, so let's engage in some wild speculation so we can be proven to be idiots by episode 8.

Here's what we know, as I see it:

• Mrs. Flood is a neighbour of Ruby's in 2023.
• She saw the TARDIS in its police box form, and didn't seem to recognize it as a TARDIS.
• She didn't recognize the Doctor.
• When she saw the TARDIS dematerialize, she recognized it for what it was.

This suggests to me that she is familiar with the Time Lords, but not the Doctor or his TARDIS in its usual form.

So what gives?

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/11809930

> > The overnight ratings for Doctor Who's season 14 launch episodes Space Babies and The Devil's Chord have been revealed, as Ncuti Gatwa well and truly takes over the keys to the TARDIS. > > > > Space Babies, the first episode, was watched by 2.6 million viewers, with The Devil's Chord, the second, having an overnight audience of 2.4 million. > > > > While the overnight figures are close to the lowest ever for the show (with Legend of the Sea Devils only securing an overnight audience of 2.2 million in 2022), it's not the whole story. It doesn't include viewers who watched on BBC iPlayer, who will be more significant than ever due to this season being the first to debut early on iPlayer. > > > > Figures are also likely to have been affected by good weather in the UK. > > > > Season 14 of Doctor Who marks many firsts - it's the first to launch with a double bill, with the first two episodes being available at once, and it's the first to debut episodes early on iPlayer before airing them on BBC One later that day. It's also the first season after the BBC's deal with Disney, meaning episodes are being transmitted globally at the same time for the first time ever. > > > > Gatwa's first episode, the Christmas special The Church on Ruby Road, was streamed a whopping 10.1 million times on BBC iPlayer, setting a new record according to the BBC. > > > > ... > > > > Next week will see Steven Moffat's return with his tense episode Boom!.

I don't think the inclusivity is the most interesting part of this interview - rather:

>I wanted the show to be fun and a bit nuts. I think there’s an awful lot of television now, and I watch an awful lot of television, but I think there’s so much television that [sticks too rigidly] to the three-act structure. You know when there are 10 minutes left to go, when there’s going to be a major event, or when the murderer is going to be caught. So, I think it’s time for a show just to break those rules. Writing is about the heart and the pulse and sparks in the brain. Writing is about psychology. It’s about understanding people and why they do what they do. It’s not about hitting a particular beat 17 minutes in. So, I wanted to show this kind of laughing in the face of those rules.

It's Day 1 of this new community, so why not throw a grenade into it by bringing up the Timeless Child story?

Personally, I don't have a big issue with the concept of the Timeless Child. I think the possibility of earlier, uknown versions of the Doctor, some of whom could even be antagonists, is pretty exciting.

I understand the frustration expressed by those who don't like that the Doctor is basically the foundation of modern Time Lord society by being the origin of regeneration. I don't really have a rebuttal to that.

I do think that the story in the Chibnall era was poorly told, and it failed to do anything interesting with the concepts it presented. So far, I like the way Davies is embracing the story, even if it's just to add some texture to the Doctor's backstory, and the way he interacts with the universe.

One thing Davies hasn't done so far is address the fact that this is not just an adoption story, which is the way he's portrayed it so far - it's also an abuse story. I think he's going to have to reckon with that at some point.