new-nu-Who: RTD2 (Doctor Who on telly 2023-?)

For discussion of the second era of Russell T Davies writing & producing and Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter producing Dr. Who.

So far 01: four wraparound "Tales Of The TARDIS" intros for streaming repeats of Earthshock, first one here

(wraparounds for Mind Robber and Fenric were written by Pete McTighe, wraparounds for Varos, 3Docs and Time Meddler by Phil Ford.)

So far 02: A comedy sketch for Children In Need

Today: The Star Beast (adapting elements of the Mills & Gibbons strip from 1980, based on a rejected Mills & Wagner TV pitch, collected in The Iron Legion paperback), the first of three weekly 60th anniversary Tennant/Tate specials, now on BBC iPlayer and now or soon on Disney Plus anywhere else that has Disney Plus.

(A Christmas special with Ncuti Gatwa in the lead is likely to air one month from today, but not confirmed yet.)


Previous chitchat here.

we kinda thought this was trash

I really loved it, not just for nostalgia, and even the bits that I rolled my eyes at (binary/non-binary) I was at least aware that it would be winding up the worst people in the world.

it all felt like setup

maybe we should have just waited to watch until next week

There were six Tales of the TARDIS episodes.

Fun! Liked it.

Eyeroll/winding up OTM

Thought this was run of the mill RTD as a story without any particular lols but otherwise doing its job and the TARDIS interior was pretty cool.

Agree it was run of the mill in some ways but what a relief after the last lot. And it still leaped over the low bar set by Chibnall.

I am looking forward to (allegedly) however RTD lampshades Flux destroying the universe.

There were six Tales of the TARDIS episodes.

I believe if you tally the six that I listed, they will add up to six

four wraparound "Tales Of The TARDIS" intros

If only I had thought to include any other words in that sentence, or post.

this was fine, perhaps even good - my 11 year old watched happily (although I think he slumped over a bit during that last TARDIS chat)

was surprised by how continuity-heavy it was, i thought they might try and make a tidier jumping-on point for a new Disney audience

This was great

Somehow I completely missed that Rose was trans in the promo run-up; I thought they handled that very Whoishly

Somehow I completely missed that Rose was trans in the promo run-up; I thought they handled that very Whoishly

as someone who likes, essentially, two of RTD's first-round episodes (and hugely enjoyed or admired every piece of his output since), I went into this expecting to at best quietly respect his ability to craft broad, populist entertainment that isn't to my taste in same.

that said, twelve seconds in: omg the recap, the exposition, the emotion, what a piece of craft for that returning anniversary audience

thirteen seconds in: AN OLD DOCTOR WHO MATERIALIZED DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM CYBERDOG rusty you pop whore ilu

murray can fuck off tho

12.5 seconds in: mills AND gibbons story credit IN THE OPENING TITLES heart eyes emoji

one hour later: what a delight. playing the nostalgia mystery both as a completely new riff on old-doctor-for-anniversary trope and drawing back the casual general audience. madeley/tennant chemistry not only immediately on the level of pertwee/unit (in a way the TV version of KLS never approached) but also reminiscent of the only good thing abt Partners In Crime. the meep/wrarth twist handled fantastically by both the script and Margolyes. every time I eyerolled at something being handled way too obvi, I was won over to the big emotion play within seconds. Talalay getting to play comedy in a way that suits her but she's not been given on the show before (could have been much more of this but it was still nice to see). Tate absolutely COOKING. Shaun new MVP of the family-used-as-exposition-through-character. (and after Bill looked SO like Sharon that I wondered if it even occurred to Moffatt, there are enough connex in the Sharon -> Bill -> nu-Rose sequence that it adds extra anniversary fan-candy nuance)

lol @ me: during the crawl through the terrace attics, I was like "now THIS is how you use this setting for stakes, unlike in my possible favourite ep of all time" then it being overturned TWICE in a way that would have made me go triple-aldo in the OG RTD era.

and oh yeah the new TARDIS interior! I rarely care much about the revisions, but as an '80s Who baby, huge white walls that are mostly roundels FEELS "right" in a way that also pushed happy buttons for the anniversary.

otoh “just let go”.

TARDIS interior was cool tho.

was surprised by how continuity-heavy it was, i thought they might try and make a tidier jumping-on point for a new Disney audience

I didn't see anything of the Chibnall run but have seen all of the first RTD and the Moffat series. Is anything Chibnall necessary or advantageous to jump back in with the new specials?

All you need to know is that the Doctor was a woman at one point, really

(two points?)

ha nope not required, you are well-advised to stay away from the chibnall era! new ep really only refers back to the end of the Donna run - and there are plenty of (slightly awkward) refreshers - i guess the basic setup is basic enough and simply explained - donna can’t remember the doctor - but all the extra detail and lingo was quite confusing for the very casual viewers in my house

i, as usual, lost interest about 30 minutes in. and having watched a dozen or so of the old 25 minute episodes i think a large part of what's missing, for me, is the cliffhangers (along with the more digestible length)

nice to see DT back though. thought new tardis was too big if anything, not that it matters given the nature of the thing.

murray can fuck off tho

Honestly think this guy has ruined Who far more than Chibnall. The new theme is terrible and within minutes was sick of the usual overblown score.

Although it was trailer-spoiled I did like the ET bit. Don't suppose there was a bit like that in the comic story so it turns out Spielberg ripped it off?

And I am looking forward to the NPH/Celestial Toymaker one honest.

So RTD technobabble is back in a big way huh?

This was mostly decent, Tate and Tennant are such a fun team.

i may have to watch that ending again but i don’t know how I feel about the implication that the metacrisis made Rose trans, and that was also maybe why she chose her name. (Also I don’t buy that she wouldn’t get into the Tardis with Donna and the Doctor at the end.)

I harp about this a lot, but in his New Adventures novel, RTD had a character from the future bone a bone a gay character in the middle of a stakeout at the height of the AIDS epidemic so that the 80s character could develop HIV-immunity from an injection of 30th-century sperm so that whole denouement read to me like someone was reining RTD’s worse storytelling impulses in a bit

I guess it was a blowjob rather than full-on anal but still wildly out of character

holy shit

I must have some kind of Stockholm Syndrome with Murray Gold, because although he's still very annoying, it feels much more like "real Who is back" when he's clodding over everything.

The new theme tune is multiple squares of OTT, but sort of exciting too? The original Ecclestone theme is still his best one.

My personal cringezone with New Adventures is Ace storming off at the end of "Love and War", a very terrible bit of writing (by Paul Cornell)

This was merely boring instead of an immediate hate watch which is a clear improvement over the last couple seasons. 50-something minutes felt long, and some of the scenes (rescue from Chez Noble) could have been edited way down.

I really enjoyed this

I loved the pacing, like backstory/new alium invasion/old characters/new characters; it’s all moving along on rails simultaneously in an adept way

Donna/Doctor moments were all gold, such good emotional moments throughout from all of them honestly

A timely reminder that once upon a time even generic Doctor Who episodes were very entertaining!

murray can fuck off tho

His action cues are no worse than standard Hollywood scores really, but when he goes for emotional or god forbid comical it's unbearable.

Yeah was watching unicorn and the wasp last week. Very generic but lots of fun. It has a certain ease with just existing on simple terms, which Moffat’s period struggled with

when he goes for emotional or god forbid comical it's unbearable

I counted at least three scenes where I essentially thought "There's some really good acting here with stakes. Sure wish I could pay attention to it because of all the fucking sonic glop over it."

(Fun episode, I'll add.)

Also, a massive bravo for choosing his first episode back to send an unequivocal message to young trans fans.

And enjoyed how Rose's identity was actually used in the plot resolution rather than just being a thing her character was (Admittedly in a slightly hokey way, but hey it's Dr Who)

a LOT of oof in the resolution, but the Doctor's "oh, I do that!" re pronouns earlier was such a beast line that it outweighs anything else.

agree w those last three posts

I had a disparaging comment about RTD’s usual mode of subtlety that read as mean to unintended targets when I started typing it but suffice to say it could have been about a billion times more awful, so I’m relieved that I only ended up rolling my eyes a bit

xxpost yeah i liked that line !

Tennant is extremely comfortable in this role, it’s a joy to watch him just dominate the screen even when taking the sonic screwdriver to new levels of wtf

on dr who confidential there's a great bit where the writers of the original comic are visiting and DT basically interrupts to tell them how much of a fan he is

(Dave Gibbons was the artist - equally important as an author, just noting ftr.)

(and wagner wasn't there. yeah, was using shorthand)

I am seeing some absolutely DERANGED ranting about this harmless, charming episode, mostly centered around the “men can’t let things go” line which honestly I didn’t even register when I watched it, possibly because I was also wrangling my kids

i could tell right away that she was not feeling him at all. and he was (to me) playacting at having a relationship without doing anything to show they were connected in any way at all, like any remarks truly directed to her were always corrective

so the incel thing made sense bc so much of that incel shit is all icebergian ie 95% is what is unseen/internalized

like idk, maybe that she didn’t squeal with delight and kiss him when she got the (checks notes) star cerificate - to him that’s a demerit, thats why women dont deserve xyz, whereas to us and her that is kind of an arms length gift given in an arms length way and naturally received in kind

but there isnt ~much~ given in that scene, granted so i’m not questioning anyone else who couldve done w more signifying

it was a gift about something he cared about, not something that she cared about, and he uses it as a chance to indulge his own inner brian cox! SHUDDER

and even then she’s gracious enough to say it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done ❤️

lol agree the turning off of dialysis machines and iron lungs etc played for laughs was a little uhh

booooo at yet another companion with a mysterious backstory

I guess I don’t really think there’s a mystery behind Belinda, despite what the Doctor thinks? This is the third time he has encountered the relative of someone he’s interacted with in a previous adventure since the reboot, you’d think he would be less like “MY GOD WHAT ARE THE ODDS”

The thing that doesn't make sense is that, after rightfully dumping the weirdo, she then proceeds to frame the dumb diploma and keep it on her wall for 10+ years.

well it is an actual star named after her! she can enjoy that regardless of what chumpy mcchumpson is or isn’t to her

I guess...as you said it's something HE cares about not her, and also I'd find it hard to dissociate something from context like that, but good for her if she can I guess.

I thought the incel characterization was unsubtle in the extreme, kinda cartoonish, but they had v little w/ the character and it's not like the story's about him so I didn't mind.

v/ little time

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I loved Lux a lot

excellent review of E01 by darren mooney, per usual. he also has a review of the new one up but i've not seen it yet

There is a sense that Belinda sees through the Doctor so quickly because she has experience with these sorts of relationships. It is very telling that one of the cornerstones of that confrontation in the TARDIS concerns boundaries and consent, the Doctor testing Belinda’s DNA without checking with her first. It is obviously very different from Alan trying to dictate what clothes Belinda can wear, but in both cases there is a male character who assumes that they know better than their female companion, acting in an obviously paternalistic manner. Alan is even introduced giving Belinda the stars, albeit in a much less impressive way than the Doctor can.

https://them0vieblog.com/2025/04/12/doctor-who-the-robot-revolution-review/

murray fuckin gold.

This was a lot of fun! Honestly feels a lot fresher so far than the previous season, which often came off as remixes of past hits.

really dug this one
Alan Cumming = goat

it was a lot of fun, though i really don't think the harbinger stuff adds anything - like when the letters drop off the cinema are we supposed to draw a big intake of breath?

A description that includes a sigh!

"Don't make me laugh" = ha(ha)r binger

just off to blow the mind of RTD with that one

lol

murray fuckin gold.

Yeah!! The bit with the fans was wild but maybe it was some kind of meta-textual self-aware thing? Like he was just going ultra-fuckin-ballistic ironically?

oh, yes, that was the bit i was thinking of. maybe! it was particularly egregious. like, completely detatched from and incompatible with the script. so yes, maybe!

It was fine. the animation was extremely well done, though I started to lose interest in the plot around the point that we found outhe was another bloody god from beyond time. That concept is starting to feel kind of lazy, even if the execution of it in this case was anything but.

I've said it before, Murray Gold is perfectly serviceable when scoring explosions or scary monsters. When he does comedy or pathos he's unbearable, seriously on the cusp of ruining the whole show.

Thank you chap - someone close to me worked a lot on the VFX. I enjoyed this one very much, silly shout-out to the fans and all.

xp 20 years of trad orchestra tho...Who of all things should've embraced a broader palette

Is it just me or do people not really understand Nelinda Chandra?

I keep seeing all of these complaints that she’s 100% eager to travel with the Doctor now and that is just not what I got from the episode at all.

Yes, she does want to go see the 50s because she’s never traveled in time before, but after the Doctor gets his reading she’s like “okay time to go” and only agrees to investigate the theater because it’s clear the Doctor won’t let it go. Also, the Doctor explicitly stated that he would need multiple readings to triangulate with in order to force the TARDIS back to her home, so there are multiple stops baked into the overarching plot driven by that. She also seemed mostly horrified and annoyed for most of the adventure with her only real “oh wow” moments coming from stepping into the past for the first time and encountering a being made of living light, which I’d think would wow anyone.

Anyway that’s my take on it; she does not seem like she’s turned into Ruby 2.0 to me. I still think her primary priority is to get home.

I liked the idea of this ep and enjoyed plenty of bits of it, but overall not as much as everyone else seemed to (if you'll indulge the self-promo - I reviewed it on my Who podcast here or on Youtube here).

That said, xp kinder - the animation was outstanding, and I particularly enjoyed how precisely Mr Ring-A-Ding captured the slightly grotesque nature of those early Disney animated characters. Some genuine expertise and passion for the form on display there.

DJP otm re Nelinda. It adds a good tension to their relationship that she’s always kind of mildly reading him for dragging her in further, like “THIS now?” … and drives home that “Doctor Is A Saddo” lol

Belinda!

Belinda

sry

typing is hard

the grafting on of the harbinger... thing... is annoying me the more i think about it. it meant some explanatory cut shots regarding the giggle, and just bent the nice central conceit - beautifully executed - out of shape. also, i'm sorry, if the cinema is going to go up in flames and the projectionist dies, i don't think you're allowed to get all those people trapped on celluloid back out into the land of the living without some extremely nifty footwork.

I swear my fingers hate me

This season is firing on all cylinders IMO

Yeah this was good (though not as good as the original Midnight, which is top 5 RTD imo)

Enjoyed seeing Roddy from Slow Horses in this

It was good tho it does seem like referencing past episodes/villains in this way is a crafty way of boosting iPlayer views of the archive (I don't really have a problem with this and as my partner hadn't seen the ep in question having missed p much that entire era I was practically begging her to watch it afterwards).

We did watch it immediately after

first and third episodes both have women with a strong sense of duty dying for the doctor and his companion. too much in three episodes imo. especially with the miraculous reappearance of the celluloid prisoners in ep 2.

I'm liking it okay - certainly miles better than the Chib era and S2 feels more bedded in than S1 - I mean, not starting with Space Babies is an enormous plus

But I'm also pretty unenthusiastic about DW at the moment - there is cancellation talk in the breeze and I wouldn't be devastated if it had a little break at least

The Capaldi era remains a high watermark of this show for me (happy to fight about it if you disagree!)

Just started a Capaldi era rewatch and it's just such a different beast (some aspects of both it and the Smith era I still can't help wishing RTD, tho clearly better at certsin things, could adapt more into his).

You know, while I understand the frustration of having a lying sack of shit ruin everything you stand for, I think attempting to murder someone on a livestream might be something of an overreaction

must Ruby cry ALL the time?

Also having the secretive paramilitary organization being the good guys who were right all along. This was probably worse than the "Yay space Amazon" episode a few years back.

it wasn't as clunky / end betraying the text as McTighe's space amazon, so I held out hope that this is set up for his upcoming UNIT miniseries to play the Silurians ep 7 note

not much hope now, mind, but

Ah I liked this one as an introduction for my kids to online bullshit. They didn't think it was a very good episode though and wanted to see more of the Doctor!

Hah hadn't realized this was the same writer as space Amazon. This is a really good take on the latest: https://them0vieblog.com/2025/05/03/doctor-who-lucky-day/

i knew we were off to a bad start when the episode opened w a podcast lol

Leee, I think that is a valid complaint in the abstract. The problem is this episode specifically sets up an antagonist that is denying the reality in which the show exists for his own personal gain; the only axis the show gives you to question the military solution is within the context of the military-aligned characters, very few of whom are going to say “maybe we shouldn’t exist” when the conflict isn’t about the type of response to the threat but whether there’s a threat at all, and even within this constraint you see that many of the characters are giving Kate the benefit of the doubt even while being extremely uneasy or even outright opposed to what she’s doing. I find that narratively consistent in a way that Kerblam! just wasn’t, from any angle you viewed it.

I'll have to chew on your post longer DJP but I also just wanted to add that all of Ruby's mom and grandma's googling never turned up Conrad's while deal because I guess they were distracted by his thirst traps.

out of interest, would most non-UK viewers know what "being on benefits" means?

I inferred from context