This week brings us Dot and Bubble, scripted by showrunner Russell T. Davies, directed by Dylan Holmes Williams (who helmed last week's 73 Yards), and described thusly by BBC:
The world of Finetime seems happy and harmonious. But an awful terror is preying on the citizens. Can the Doctor and Ruby make them see the truth before it’s too late? THIS piece in RadioTimes indicates that this episode finds no small part of inspiration from Davies' love for BLACK MIRROR, and was actually pitched to Moffat back when Moffatt was taking the reins of the show, and had asked Davies if he'd like to script something for the series. Davies: "I thought of it way back when, around 2009, when I was still working on Doctor Who, because I pitched it to Steven Moffat in a restaurant in Los Angeles. He was saying, 'Would you come back and write for the programme?' Every year, he’d ask me. How lovely. "So I pitched this episode [in April 2010], in a restaurant called Hal’s on Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Karen Gillan [who played Amy Pond] was there. They were in LA to launch their first series, and I remember pitching – I used to call this – 'visible Twitter'. [EDIT] "We didn’t go very far with the conversation, because the idea was literally too expensive. But you wait 15 years and here we are."
It'll be interesting to see such a long-gestating tale come to fruition, but I do hope, at some point, Team Davies manages to attach a bit more gravity to their current storytelling. Not 'gravity' in the dramatic sense, 'gravity' in the sense of 'identity' and holistic grounding. 'Gravity' as in lack of frivolity.
The Dot and Bubble discussion is now ready to be 'happy and harmonious!' We warmly invite and encourage an open discourse and free exchange of ideas, but will enforce a strict zero tolerance policy regarding trolling, disrespect, or hate speak of any kind. COMING NEXT WEEK: DOCTOR WHO: ROGUE
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This week brings us 73 Yards, described thusly by BBC:
Landing on the Welsh coast, the Doctor and Ruby embark on the strangest journey of their lives. In a rain-lashed pub, the locals sit in fear of ancient legend. The episode is described as 'Welsh folk horror' in this introductory reel from show runner Russell T. Davies...
UK ratings for recent episodes of the show have been on the lower end of numbers that were already in a slide during the Chibnall Era. How DW is faring on D+ in the States is an altogether different matter, and remains a mystery as of publication.
Last week's Boom, from previous WHO overlord Steven Moffat, brought a touch of ingenuity and solidity to proceedings that have, so far this Series/Season, been all over the place. The existence of the episode was certainly reassuring, but it's also problematic: when a previous showrunner out-writes and out-creates the current showrunner, viewers are inherently catapulted into an uncomfortable, and even confusing disassociation of perceptions, loyalties, and, perhaps most problematically, desires. What will the flavor of 73 Yards be? What will it say / show about the creative path of the show moving forward, if anything? Finally, The Legend of Ruby Sunday and the provocatively titled Empire of Death, the final two episodes of this Season/Series, will be screening in UK cinemas Friday June 21 at 11pm. More information and tickets can be found HERE. With the way viewing figures are shaking out, and given UKvians decided lack of enthusiasm for inconveniently timed events, it'll be interesting to see if anyone is actually in theaters for this. With that, the 73 Yards discussion is afoot! We warmly invite and encourage an open discourse and free exchange of ideas, but will enforce a strict zero tolerance policy regarding trolling, disrespect, or hate speak of any kind. COMING NEXT WEEK: DOCTOR WHO: DOT AND BUBBLE
This week brings us Boom, the first of two new scripts by former WHOrunner Steven Moffat this year (the other being its upcoming Christmas Special, Joy to the World).
Space Babies and The Devil's Chord, the opening installments of this particular run of episodes, were strange, sometimes amusing, sometimes bewildering, often frustrating, sometimes dopey, and occasionally striking - episodes of decidedly uneven results, whose overall qualities never quite equaled the sum of their better parts. Per THIS piece at Radio Times, the episodes premiered to 'close to the lowest ever for the show,' with the caveat that these figures only account for viewings on BBC proper, and do not yet factor in BBC iPlayer streaming figures, nor (presumably) the Disney+ numbers. Which leads to some potentially fateful questions: Has as the show's audience, in fact, really/truly dwindled? Or, is viewership now sufficiently split by streaming models that the total engagement of viewers will eventually be compensated for when streaming numbers are factored across during the long game? Did the Chibnall Era hurt the show's perception more than is currently understood/anticipated (I personally believe this to be a significant part of the equation)? Are the loud and ongoing 'woke' conversation and accusations which are swirling about dissuading people from connecting to, or remaining connected to, the show? Or, is the show's apparent wobble attributable to some combination of the above? What little we know about Boom suggests it may be the first episode of Davies' second tenure to 'feel' more like the DOCTOR WHO many have been expecting all along. But, this is only a vague (and as yet unsubstantiated) sense of a tale about which we really know very little. What we DO know is that BBC describes it thusly: Caught in the middle of a devastating war on Kastarion 3, the Doctor is trapped when he steps on a landmine. Can he save himself and Ruby, plus the entire planet... without moving? Here's a clip:
This article pointedly indicates that Boom's origins can be found in a DOCTOR WHO story from 'decades ago,' but, predictably, stops short of saying what we should be looking for/expecting. Such is life in the Moffatverse. Boom is directed by Julie Ann Robinson, who helmed Space Babies. Such is life in the Daviesverse.
Will the show find a more even footing? Will its ratings rise? So many questions, so much strangeness and adventure ahead! The Boom discussion forums are now open, and the Golden Guidelines are active, as always. Welcome, and enjoy! We warmly invite and encourage an open discourse and free exchange of ideas, but will enforce a strict zero tolerance policy regarding trolling, disrespect, or hate speak of any kind. COMING NEXT WEEK: DOCTOR WHO: 73 YARDS
This week brings us 2 (two!) new DOCTOR WHO installments - discussion for the first of them, SPACE BABIES, can be found at https://www.geeklectica.com/dw/doctor-who-space-babies.
This discussion is reserved for the second of the two episodes, The Devil's Chord, featuring a highly promoted guest appearance by drag queen/performer Jinkx Monsoon.
Per the reference to Abbey Road Studios in the trailer posted at the top of this article (and per the show's official synopsis), The Devil's Chord will be the episode in which these singularly unconvincing Beatles are encountered.
Soooooooooooooo, yeah.
We'll see how this goes. The Devils' Chord is scripted by reigning series overlord Russell T. Davies, and directed by Ben Chessell - whose numerous credits are utterly unfamiliar to me (not that this means anything). It's described thusly by BBC: The Doctor and Ruby meet The Beatles but discover that the all-powerful Maestro is changing history. London becomes a battleground with the future of humanity at stake.
And with that...
It's a Docback, yeah, yeah, yeah!
A Docback, yeah, yeah, yeah!
We warmly invite and encourage an open discourse and free exchange of ideas, but will enforce a strict zero tolerance policy regarding trolling, disrespect, or hate speak of any kind.
COMING NEXT WEEK: DOCTOR WHO: BOOM
This weekend brings us an atypical debut strategy for DOCTOR WHO - the concurrent release of 2 (two!) new season/series episodes: the amusingly and enigmatically entitled SPACE BABIES, and THE DEVIL'S CHORD.
This discussion thread is reserved for SPACE BABIES; it seemed logical to split our discussions into 2 (two!) threads for posterity's sake - as it would be easier to locate the individual threads (i.e. search for them online, find them in the site's menu, etc.) if the episodes are presented individually. Although, I understand this makes for a bit more inconvenience in this moment: sorry about that. SPACE BABIES is helmed by Julie Ann Robinson, whose credits include a wildly varied resume including THE GOOD PLACE, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, MASTERS OF SEX, and BRIDGERTON. It's scripted by show runner Russell T. Davies.
Its essence is described thusly by BBC:
Ruby learns the Doctor’s amazing secrets when he takes her to the far future. There, they find a baby farm run by babies. But can they be saved from the terrifying bogeyman?
To commemorate the coming of the Doctor's newest series/season, BBC recently released this trailer/sizzle reel for what we might expect.
I've been preoccupied with a number of distracting and challenging life changes over the past month, so I'm leaving room for me not to be 'correct' regarding what I'm about to say (i.e. perhaps I've missed something?)
[ENGAGE RUN-ON SENTENCE!] But, considering the show's budgetary uptick, considering its splashy casting of Ncuti Gatwa as the new Doctor, considering its arrival on Disney+ in the US (where it looks super-great in dazzling 4K, by the way), and considering we're plowing into a brand new chunk of episodes after a sizable break, it feels as if the promotional ramp-up to this new season/series has felt a tad...muted... compared to what has come before? [RUN-ON SENTENCE DISENGAGED!] Especially when taking into account that fewer resources and less horsepower were behind the show in the past? Maybe this is a product of the way multiple endnotes (like BBC and D+) interface, or fail to interface, or perceive the value of their property (whether individually or collectively)? Or, maybe I'm flat-out full of shit and wrong. Come what may, it'll be fascinating to see how things shake out moving forward. The SPACE BABIES discussion thread is now screaming for your attention. For now, and forever...
We warmly invite and encourage an open discourse and free exchange of ideas, but will enforce a strict zero tolerance policy regarding trolling, disrespect, or hate speak of any kind.
ALSO THIS WEEK: DOCTOR WHO: THE DEVIL'S CHORD |
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December 2024
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