I'm here to complain about Doctor Who

[promethia_tenk]

Because I'm a fan, dammit!

So, the new season of Doctor Who has not been doing it for me. Bless Jodie Whittaker and her Doctor, they are blameless in this. She's delightful and perfectly cast.

And, hey, the plots have mostly been middling to rubbish, the dialogue is dull and frequently clunky, and the writing in general is uninspiring. But if you were unprepared for any of this then you didn't do your homework.

What's really getting to me, though, and the thing that I was definitely not prepared for is how little emotional investment I feel in any of it. If Chibbs can do anything, surely he does characters and their relationships, right?!?! I've been batting around reasons for why things aren't clicking. Do we just need more time? (Torchwood was solid dreck for a season and a half before erupting into brilliance.) Is three TARDIS companions one too many? (Quite possibly yes, I'm thinking.) Am I just bitter that somebody thought we still needed a white dude on the cast? (Yes.) But I recently read a review somewhere that really snapped things into perspective for me, which noted that Ryan and Graham are now the heart of the show. And, frickety-frak, the reviewer is right. Ryan and Graham's relationship has been the major emotional through-line of the whole thing, has born most of the emotional weight. And it has been rather nice to watch, for what it is. I don't have a problem with their relationship in and of itself. I rather love Ryan, who is so my favorite. (Graham is fine.) But in the meantime Yaz is still underdeveloped and the Doctor hasn't really established a meaningful bond with any of them yet.

So let me ask you: how is it that, in getting a female Doctor, the show has somehow become more male-centric?

Comments

[elisi]

You are 100% correct, Cyberwoman was something unparalleled (and there were ALSO two dudes kissing when Jack french kissed Ianto back to life).

However, the rest of the season was rather drab and it wasn't until S2 that the show as a whole got on board with the early show of promise.

[nostalgia]

I liked the fairies! PJ HAMMOND!!!!!!

[elisi]

I don't think I know anyone else who liked the fairies. Go you!! However it was depressing as hell. (S1 in general, not just the fairies. And Cyberwoman was terribly sad cause Ianto lost Lisa...)

[nostalgia]

But fairies make paedos choke on flowers! And then Jack saves the world by letting one child become a fairy and everyone hates him for it!

[elisi]

Oh I'm not saying it's a bad episode, but S1 was terribly bleak. POOR JACK!

[nostalgia]

But he did look pretty hot.

[elisi]

Oooh yes.

[sea_thoughts]

The changeling plotline was at least accurate to original folklore and I remember being impressed that they didn't rescue the girl at the last minute but it was very bleak.

[elisi]

Doctor Who so far at least isn't bleak, so that's good! :)

[promethia_tenk]

I can't believe I'm suggesting this, but if bleak is what Chibbs is good at, maybe we should be doing bleak.

[elisi]

S2 of TW was FINE and FUN. But he is good at painful stuff (see Owen's arc f.ex., and Grace's death & Graham's grief), so he just needs MOAR CHARACTER STUFF.