this post was submitted on 02 Jun 2024
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Variable to taste. For me it’s all rise throughout 9, 10 and 11 of the Doctor’s regenerations with only a handful of dull or missable episodes. I absolutely adore Peter Capaldi’s time with the show but Clara just doesn’t do it for me as a companion. I actually haven’t had a chance to watch enough of 13 to form an opinion but the consensus seemed to be that the story is bogged down with weak companions.
I hope that someone else may provide some insight.
I'm glad you mentioned here that a major issue for the last couple of season was writing and specifically of the companions. A lot of people blame the issues with the newer seasons on "wokeness" or the fact that there was a female doctor which I never agreed with. Jodie Whittaker is a fine actress, Ive seen her in more than one thing and she's been phenomenal, so I'll always defend her even if her run was not my favorite.
It was very much so the writing that was at issue and I think the writing hit the companions the hardest in my opinion. And that did not start with Chibnall. Clara got rebooted every single season she was in into a totally new character. To the point that I thought it was going to be part of her plotline but it didn't end up that way. And then the companions in Thirteen's run were just... not memorable. At least for me. I could not tell you a single character trait for any of them.
But, I am very pleased so far with what we've gotten from Fifteen's run though. I enjoy Ruby Sunday quite a bit. She reminds me of Rose in Series One which isn't a bad think and I enjoy that there's a mystery surrounding her. I think having a singular companion is better than an entire "Tardis team" as much as I did love the Pond family, the true companion was always Amy, Rory and River were always a bit secondary. I think RTD is aware that the companion writing has been pretty lacking which is why he really is giving Ruby her time to shine. It's refreshing. I'm glad he's back.
I wanted to see what people thought about the show during Jodie’s run and most of the critique had that narrative so ignored it and chalked it up to the small thoughts of small minds. Some time later when I was going to make a second attempt at watching I wanted to see how public opinion might have changed. Obviously the first reactions seemed to retreat back to the small circles they came from and it did not surprise me that weak side characters continued to plague the show. I like that praised is still being heaped on Jodie Whittaker. In productions where things don’t seem to quite line up right but there is an element or a couple of them that try to make the best of a bad situation, can make it worth watching on that basis. IMHO. So I’m still really pumped to be able to finally watch the series.
ha maybe by the end of summer…
Since I’m so far behind I can only talk about my overall first impressions which is based on only some promo shots. Instantly thought about Rose and the side character Billy Shipton from the Don’t Blink episode. Love Billy, so much charisma, confidence and style. Again based on my limited information I think Ncuti Gatwa is capturing that spirit so I’m very interested to see his performance and the series as a whole on that alone.
I’m not opposed to a tardis team but then it kinda stops being a tardis team and becomes the Doctor’s team. When the vehicle stops being the tardis and it’s on the Doctor to carry the weight of tying it together the dynamic shift might alter the course of the nature of the show. I imagine this is what happened with Jodie’s tenure only because it is what happens with a lot of shows.
The companions are an issue –– though Graham and, to a lesser degree, Yaz are great when they are permitted their few minutes of personality every so often. It's simply that the show cares a lot less about reasons for them all being on screen than just putting them there and having them say some lines to fill up an hour of television.
But I think Elizabeth Sandifer's brilliant essay over on Tardis Eruditorum about the episode Kerblam! from 13's first season is an excellent distillation of the issues with the Chibnall era, one of the best pieces of writing about why the whole thing is so uncomfortable.