Disney is involved in producing the show now, aren't they? Why are they determined to fuck up everything anyone ever enjoyed? Why can't they just tell the story they're telling, without having to inject preachy woke garbage like changing Davros? I'm finally getting around to reading "The Chronicles of Narnia" and I'm impressed with how closely "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" movie follows the book. As I was reviewing this, I was shocked to realize it was released by Disney. It's gotten to the point where Disney has ruined their brand so badly I find myself going "but they didn't recast Aslan as a black transgender Muslim! It can't be Disney!" They've fucked up Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Captain America, Snow White and Toy Story, so now they're moving on to Dr. Who.
Disney are only distributing the show internationally, from what I understand. Well, perhaps not "only"; I think they injected some $$$ into it.
I found RTD's comments post-Children in Need ridiculous, and I certainly didn't appreciate the heavy-handedness of the first episode (I thought it was actually rather well-done, at least up until the insufferable pronoun policing scene, and the less said about "male-presenting" Time Lords, the better). Consequently, I skipped
Wild Blue Yonder. But, I'm always sucker for a regeneration.
I am so tired of the polarizing woke conversation. I like plenty of things the contingent who cry foul whenever a character not packing a white, heterosexual penis comes into view. These people are as annoying as those who dogmatically defend every piece of media with progressive elements and forced diversity, no matter how rubbish it is.
I definitely enjoyed it more than the first episode. This time round, the messaging is ... not as bad as last time, but my issue is it's just rammed in there with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Like, a well-dressed dark-skinned man walks into a London shop in 1925 ... I'm counting down the seconds before someone draws attention to his skin color.
And then Shelley the wheelchair. I mean, Shelley in the wheelchair.
She's in wheelchair, in case you hadn't noticed. Kate's apology to her after accusing her of walking - oh boy, I knew it was coming after Kate's SHOCKING accusation, but the way she delivered the apology
so earnestly... it was the biggest, unintentional LOL moment of the episode. Which reminds me - the "
park / offensive?" "Borderline" exchange between Shelley and Donna. Again: what - the - FUCK? Enough already. Why not make an interesting character that just happens to be in a wheelchair. Why draw attention to it at every opportunity? RTD is on a mission, to be sure.
But all that said, if you scrap away the heavy-handed messaging, he can still write a more rip-roaring story than anything Chibnall threw together. As for the positives: NPH was fucking awesome. I couldn't help but think of John Delancie's Q in his wild "Spice Up Your Life" scene. Here is a character completely beyond The Doctor; unencumbered by the rules of reality and only subject to the rules of its own existence - the rules of the game. I really wish we could've kept him around for a while longer, but I suspect NPH was a one-time deal and writing around a character that powerful is tricky.
I thought it was a good concept, overall. I enjoyed the recap of the Doctor's companions and the chat over the first game - "Well THAT'S OKAY THEN". Heh.
Oh, and whatever the hell that biregeneration thing was ... ugh. Tennant had a beautiful, bittersweet ending a decade ago - as did Donna Noble. Personally, I think this exercise in garnering viewers undercuts it.
I am just curious enough to check out Ncuti. He has screen presence and charisma; I already found myself charmed by his performance.
