Superman07

I was expecting this to be terrible based on some of the replies, but I actually thought it was pretty descent. I do think the intro piece was terrible and should have been cut. It would have been more impactful to go with the jail break as the cold open leading to the credits.

I definitely think the “start at the end (or part way through)” trope is way over used, but it seemed to offer some good intrigue.

I definitely think John, the guy in the Rose (coincidence?!) space craft, the dog man, and the random lady in the street are all more interesting than Yaz. She should have departed when Grham Ryan left.

windom

Sorry, with so much going on I probably missed something...who was John?

Superman07

Be was the man “rescued” by the dogmas. He’s supposed to be a new companion.

windom

I think you mean Dan then.

Superman07

You’re right - sorry! Dan Lewis the character, is played by John Bishop.

Xiroteus

The Tardis appears a lot weaker than it past seasons.

milo bloom

First of all, screw HBOMax for making me think they would have the new episodes instead of having it on yet another streaming service what the hell is that all about, found it elsewhere.

Anyways, second of all, I’m also of the opinion that this was kinda decent. Yeah, it jumped around a bit but knowing that this season is all one story makes it easier to accept this episode as just putting all the players on the field.
To be honest, at times it felt like a lost Matt Smith story that had been dug up and reconfigured for Jodie.
Definitely liked Dan. He didn’t seem overly fazed at being kidnapped by an alien - maybe he’s one of the few people on Earth that remembers all the previous invasions.

I think the new alien baddie is going to give us an opportunity to see some of the Doctor’s previous incarnations before Hartnell and maybe explain some of the Timeless Child stuff.

Josh-da-man

So, yeah, I'm guessing that this Swarm fellow has had previous run-ins with pre-Hartnell Doctors. Bleh.

It's no secret that I absolutely fucking hated the "There were Doctors before Hartnell" concept that Chibnall introduced with that Timeless Child business, so now I'm watching and wondering which characters are going to end up being previous incarnations of the Doctor.

I'm expecting that someone like Claire or Dan or Grey Worm will end up being lost Doctors, too. Dan was acting as a tour guide in his first scene, which was what Ruth's job was in "Fugitive of the Judoon..."

milo bloom

This was even better than last weeks. They finally give Jodie some strong stories and it’s her last season. And it’s a historical!

A lot of fun watching Dan and Yaz on their solo missions, Dan especially.

Like I said last week, where did they dig up this lost Matt Smith script?

Superman07

I feel like that was easily Jodie’s best episode to date. I definitely thought I missed an episode at the beginning because I had no clue what was going on.

Im really digging Tardis askew and the cloister bell. I’m not entirely sold on this weird trio of villains, but I’m going with it for now.

Crazy to think we’re already half way done after next week.

ViewAskewbian

Every time they show up together I think of the Cenobites

milo bloom

This was the second episode of the season, you watched the first right? It had a lot going on, but it did set up the gamepieces. Ep 2 started moving them around.

Superman07

Yes, I definitely watched episode 1. It was just jarring between the time vortex fade to black and shift to 1880s battleground.

milo bloom

…it’s Doctor Who…

Boondock Saint

I've actually been enjoying the episodes as I watch them...but then afterwards, I think about it and still don't know what's really going on.

I mean, I think I have a decent idea...maybe...but also not really?

We'll see next week.

milo bloom

I think the last episode did a pretty good job of tying together a lot of the story. The old woman is simply destroying our universe and moving to another one. She's bringing the Doctor along to make sure she doesn't stop her.

I'm really enjoying this type of story, I hate that we get it as Jodie is leaving since it's actually giving her a more substantial story to work with.

Boondock Saint

One of the things I'm most confused about after that is she won't go on a date with Dan because he was late? Huh?

Superman07

I thought the special was pretty good. I liked the callbacks to the Flux and insights to Dan getting to know Yaz over 4 years.

No clue where the Yaz “romance” angle came from. Totally out of left field and doesn’t even come across unless Dan said something.

Yaz has been pretty good by herself, but think she needs to go when Jodie goes. I’d be happy if Dan stuck around for the first year of the new Dr.

dex14

https://www.doctorwho.tv/news/?artic...-easter-sunday

Josh-da-man

So did anyone actually watch this? (Good lord, it's been over twelve hours since it aired I don't even think it's shown up on the t*****t sites yet! It's like everyone forgot about it.)

Thought it was kind of dull and lackluster, but it didn't take a massive dump on the mythology and smear shit everywhere, which is probably the best we can hope for from the Chibnall era. I'll need to watch it again, though, everyone speaks so fast with all of those different accents that it's difficult to follow even with the subtitles on. Jodie babbles at about three hundred word a minute, and Dan sounds like a shitfaced Paul McCartney.

Thought the whole thing felt kind of odd, and seems to have been made under strict COVID protocols, with a limited cast and virtual(?) sets. Almost felt like an episode of the old series in that regard. An empty village and a bunch of empty ships... either made just before the vaccine came out, or Auntie Beeb tightened up her purse strings.

And speaking of the old series, I just read that old-schoolers can expect some interesting happenings in Whittaker's final episode...

dex14

Josh-da-man

Was that trailer on the afternoon showing? That's the one I watched, and I don't remember it. I was expecting they would show one and was watching for it, but I might have FFed through it. I deleted that one from the DVR and kept the second one.

The trailer is on the evening showing, however.

Orbi-Wan Techno

I am home this week recovering from C19, saw my YTTV had picked this up. How did I not know this had aired?

It’s okay, not bad when your head is in a fog.

Jay G.

The Sea Devils episode was ok. It seemed just like a regular episode, probably the least "special" feeling special since the last Easter special "Planet of the Dead".

The fact that the next special is Jodi's last seems very abrupt, at least from a narrative standpoint. Since Christopher Eccleston's abrupt departure, each subsequent regeneration seems to have been built up more. David Tennent's doctor got a warning at the end of Planet of the Dead, which then carries through the next special to the two-parter final special. Matt Smith's doctor got a warning about Trenzalore in "The Name of the Doctor" which carries through the next special to the final special. Even for Capaldi, we at least knew he was dying before "Twice Upon a Time". For Jodi, there was the warning Time gave her at the end of Flux, but none of the two subsequent specials have really carried that forward.

I'm hoping the final special will be at least extended. Tennent got two specials for a finale, and Matt Smith and Capaldi both got 60 minute specials for their last. I think Smith's could've actually been longer, as it felt rushed trying to wrap up all the loose plotlines from Smith's run, maybe closer to the 77 minutes of "The Day of The Doctor." A last episode, regeneration, should really feel "special" in all ways, not just the fact that it's a one-off episode aired outside a series run.

philo

The UK ratings for it set a new low with 2.2m watching. They were beaten out by an episode of Antiques Roadshow.