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

[owlboy]

Graham is my favourite, but I've kind of been wondering if that's because the narrative is giving The White Guy all the depth. I feel like I don't really know anything about Yaz and Ryan other than that she's a police officer, and he's tremendously isolated/dyspraxic, which hasn't been dealt with since the first episode.

[promethia_tenk]

I feel like Graham is the new Rose.

[promethia_tenk]

I'm kind of like, look, plotlines, dialogue, whatever, they're all nice, but if these are make-or-break elements for you, you're watching the wrong show.

What I am here for, though, is the Doctor and the relationship between the Doctor and his/her companion(s). Not for the story of two dudes working out their issues while they tag along in a time machine. Where's it all gone wrong?

[ironymaiden]

I think it's the Team TARDIS approach. I have similar feelings about the Peter Davison era. Three companions is too many. I'm really feeling Yaz as superfluous and that makes me sad.

[promethia_tenk]

I've only seen one Five story, so I'll take your word on that one. I was looking forward to a crowded TARDIS though, and I've always felt that Chibnall writes amazing ensembles. Part of me is holding out hope that he just needs more time to really establish everybody and work out all their interactions.

But, like, this should have finally been the episode where Yaz comes into focus and . . . nope. She still feels sidelined. I want to like her! Please! Make her important!

[nostalgia]

Three companions is too many when you only have 10 45-minute episodes AND you're also introducing a new Doctor at the same time. It's not just coincidence that both RTD and Moffat tended to intro new characters one at a time.

[ironymaiden]

yes. they even had the opportunity to add slowly baked in with the return to Sheffield and Yaz's mum being involved in the hotel - if Yaz hadn't been along yet she could have been added here.

[nostalgia]

I think Chibnall just bit off more than anyone could chew.

[promethia_tenk]

That's a good point. Amy had five episodes before Moff brought Rory in for real.

The length of the season is worrying me. I know the episodes are longer, but they sure don't feel like they have more substance. Sunday we'll be halfway through the season and I don't actually feel like we've done anything?

[nostalgia]

Maybe he's building up to a really good episode?