Anita Dobson – Simon’s Incoherent Blog

Doctor Who: Season 2/15/41, Episode 8 – The Reality War

“Mr Smith is gone. I am the Doctor!”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Well, that’s it for another season – and, it’s looking like, another era of Doctor Who. If you’re one of those unhappy at what has become known as the RTD2 era, there was really no need to be. In many ways, what we got here was a typical Russell T Davies season finale, with all the strengths and weaknesses he’s shown in writing the show since 2005 – great characterisation and dialogue, with plenty of spectacle, undermined by gaping plot holes that were seemingly papered over by fast-paced set pieces.

Doctor Who: Season 2/15/41, Episode 7 – Wish World

“Doubt is such a beautiful thing. If you question hard enough, then doubt can crack open the world!”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

“Is any of this making sense?”

Well… if I’m honest, not much, no. To be fair to Russell T Davies, this is the first half of a two-part story, so perhaps everything will click into place next week. For now, though, what we had here seemed like a bit of a jumble; there were some brilliant ideas, and some striking images, but it didn’t seem to cohere into any kind of logical story. Not yet, anyway.

Doctor Who: Season 2/15/41, Episode 6 – The Interstellar Song Contest

“Look, that’s a hundred thousand people, frozen and suspended in space. To reach them, and catch them, and revive every single one of them – you’d need to be some sort of insane genius.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

It has been noted many times that one of the most significant groups among Doctor Who fans is gay men. It has also been noted many times that one of the most significant groups among Eurovision Song Contest fans is gay men. It was perhaps almost inevitable that at some point, we’d see a crossover between the two things – especially with renowned gay writer Russell T Davies, creator of Queer as Folk and lover of all things pop culture, running the show.

Doctor Who: Season 2/15/41, Episode 4 – Lucky Day

“I don’t accept your reality.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Ah, the “Doctor-light” episode is here. These first started in 2007 (surely no coincidence that we saw the TARDIS landing there in the prologue) with the ever-divisive Love and Monsters (personal disclosure – I actually really like that one). I wonder whether LINDA clocked that TARDIS arrival?

Doctor Who: Season 2/15/41, Episode 3 – The Well

“There’s something behind me.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Doctor Who has never been shy about stealing from… er, homaging other sources for its stories. I mean, The Brain of Morbius is just Frankenstein, The Androids of Tara is The Prisoner of Zenda, Robot is King Kong, and so on. It’s even, on multiple occasions, plagiarised itself – every Terry Nation Dalek story is basically the same as his first one. So it was hardly surprising, in a slew of well-blended ‘homages’ this week, that several of them were to earlier episodes of the show. The new thing here was the realisation that the ‘new’ show has now been going so long it can plagiarise itself too.

Doctor Who: Season 2/15/41, Episode 2 – Lux

“And remember, whatever you do – don’t make me laugh!”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

I must admit, when the “Next Week…” at the end of the previous ep showed what appeared to be a homicidal cartoon character, I wasn’t optimistic about this one. I assumed it would be one of those gaudy, kid-oriented ones Russell T Davies seems to prefer at the moment, all bright colours and no depth. Instead, I was very pleasantly surprised by one of the most interesting, experimental Doctor Who episodes the show has produced since its 2005 revival.

Doctor Who: Season 2/15/41, Episode 1 – The Robot Revolution

“Is this what you do? Are you some sort of time detective?”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Wow, I have been very lazy with the writing of late – I haven’t posted anything here for nearly four months! Now, though, Doctor Who is back, to keep me disciplined on writing at least once a week. Well, for a while at least. The internet has been full of rumblings about the show’s apparent uncertain future, with Disney’s investment deal about to expire and Russell T Davies purportedly dropping ominous hints about some sort of “hiatus” in the near future.

Doctor Who: Season 14, Episode 7 – The Legend of Ruby Sunday

“You’ve seen my life. I bring disaster, Kate, disaster.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

It seems like the new season of Doctor Who has barely started, but we’re already into the endgame with this jaw-dropping penultimate episode, the first of a big two-parter. A run of eight episodes is, sadly, pretty short to flesh out a new Doctor, particularly when he’s been virtually absent for two of those eight episodes – but Ncuti Gatwa has been as superb as I always knew he would be. This episode showed us more of that irrepressible joie de vivre, but coupled with the melancholy we’ve seen in the past, drawn from centuries of bad experiences which, rightly or wrongly, the Doctor considers himself responsible for.

Doctor Who Christmas Special 2023: The Church on Ruby Road

“It isn’t magic – it’s a different kind of physics.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Nice to see the Doctor back on Christmas Day again! For all that Russell T Davies is keeping to the continuity established by his predecessor, it seems one thing he was set on was abandoning Chris Chibnall’s setting of the “Christmas” special on New Year’s Day, and returning the show to the Day itself.