A New Who Season?

A new trailer premiered yesterday for an upcoming season of Doctor Who. There's nothing very remarkable in it but I can't think of any season trailers ever really capturing any of the things genuinely interesting about their seasons. Aside from the appearance of the Cybermen and the Judoon, it could almost be a trailer for Jodie Whittaker's first season for as much as it shows.

The Doctor's in trouble, she wears an ill-fitting tux, something's coming for her. Same old gaggle of intensely dull companions.

I loved how the Cybermen were used in the Twelfth Doctor's era, both in his first season and his final season. I liked how they supported the ongoing theme about military in Twelve's first season and the theme about conformity in his third. It's disappointing to see Thirteen's Cybermen are going to be relying on the Power Rangers look instead of going back to the Tenth Planet look. Though I never really found the Cybermen effective after The Invasion, certainly not in the 80s, though I quite like The Silver Nemesis.

I guess it's kind of remarkable there's nothing noticeably new in the trailer. Though with Thirteen, I've come to expect banal.

The Doctor versus Tooth Face, Round Two

To-day's new Doctor Who was the season finale, delivering a plot with markedly less emotion than any in the Russell T. Davies or Steven Moffat eras. Generally I wished finales from the revived series wouldn't try to hit such high notes but this first finale by showrunner Chris Chibnall has shown me the folly of blandness.

Spoilers after the screenshot

One thing I'll give credit to "The Battle of Ranskoor" for is addressing the seemingly sloppy writing from earlier in the season. Whether it's because Chibnall was planning it all along (doubtful) or he engaged in some self criticism (probable and laudable) I like that Ryan (Tosin Cole) now calls the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) on using bombs while she lectures people about the use of firearms. The Doctor's explanation, essentially that she established rules so that she can break them--or people who've won her respect can--was a nicely Time Lady moment. You think this show's too liberal? The Doctor certainly has her Royalist side. I still think it would've been sensible to shoot the giant spiders.

And people certainly were happy to use guns in this episode. Yaz (Mandip Gill) even gives Paltraki (Mark Addy) a "Nice shot!" when he manages to shoot two thugs over her shoulder. Graham (Bradley Walsh) has meanwhile gone from quoting Pulp Fiction to quoting Die Hard and he and Ryan standing over Tooth Face at the end looked like a shot from Inglourious Basterds.

If Inglourious Basterds starred people from commercials for local retail. Graham's dilemma over whether he'll kill Tim Shaw in revenge for the killing of his wife lacked a lot of weight thanks to Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole's flat performances. Though it was also deflated for not making sense in the usual way heroes deciding not to kill two dimensional villains doesn't make sense. If you're talking about an anti-death penalty philosophy in a world where even murderers are complex, multifaceted beings with psychological problems that may be treated, it makes sense. But as Graham pointed out early on, all the Doctor did in letting Tim Shaw live was to give him opportunity to commit more atrocities. That's a really good point and no-one really brings up a sensible counterargument. Unless anyone really believes Tim Shaw is going to be stuck in that solitary confinement forever. Well, he was so dull, maybe the writers really won't bother setting him free.

I liked the concept of the two person species, it felt very old school Doctor Who, as did the concept of a villain stealing planets and miniaturising them (in fact that was part of the premise of the Fourth Doctor serial The Pirate Planet).

So that concludes the first season of the Thirteenth Doctor. Some really nice guest stars this season, particularly Susan Lynch and Alan Cumming; writing that ranged from terrible to average; dull companions (Yaz pretty much had no reason for being in the finale); bad music. Whittaker isn't bad though she's easily the weakest since Colin Baker. But I still think things could improve next season.

Twitter Sonnet #1183

Presented drums contain a secret gin.
The quiet sun delivered rain to class.
Reports were gathered late and promptly binned.
Connexions failed to see the noodle pass.
The quiet key contains piano sounds.
A glowing time configured fights for scrap.
Another name was picked to call the rounds.
Appearance spelled the crimson paper wrap.
A planetary orange withheld the seeds.
As harpsichords would tumble down the hill.
Instructive plants were rows of music weeds.
But nothing human wrote the final bill.
A tidy stream concludes with salvaged soap.
A cleansing froth replenished means to cope.

Weaving a Web Without Connecting Strands

I love Doctor Who and I love spiders so I should've enjoyed to-day's new episode, "Arachnids in the UK", a lot more. I do like the title, I guess a play on "Anarchy in the UK". It could've used some anarchy, at least a little loosening up of what felt like another stiff plot forced onto the narrow track of messaging. But I did feel like the characters were allowed to breathe a little more.

Spoilers after the screenshot

I found myself liking Yasmin (Mandip Gill) a little more in this episode and I like the idea of meeting her family. But the old shtick of a family who are so comfortable with one another they say hilariously insulting things to each other in front of strangers fell a little flat. It would've been better if there were no attempt to make them funny, maybe just have them talk over tea.

I've never been fond of the device where a dead loved one appears as a manifestation of a character's thoughts about them but in between those moments Graham's (Bradley Walsh) grief was kind of effective. I felt like Chibnall was trying to channel what made the first episodes of Broadchurch so effective. Though maybe we have Twin Peaks, as the prototype for Broadchurch, to thank more than Chibnall.

It's weird how much more effective the Doctor's anti-gun stance was before it became a seemingly mandatory message. This episode seemed in particularly bad taste in light of yesterday's synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh. We're introduced to a thin Donald Trump parody named Robertson (Chris Noth) whose insistence that they shoot the spiders that've been attacking and killing people is presented as cartoonish, derided out of hand by the Doctor and her companions, who favour a vague plan involving luring the spiders with music. A giant mother spider is suffocating--when this revelation comes, the soundtrack actually gives us violins. That's only been a cliché for two, maybe three hundred years. But I did feel bad for the creature. When Robertson shot it, we were clearly meant to think he was a psycho, but as far as I can see he was right, it was a mercy killing.

Mind you, I'm speaking as a vegetarian. I'm all for sparing animal lives whenever possible but giant spiders that are hunting humans? If you're not going to use guns you need a good reason. Chibnall didn't supply it which ironically gave me the feeling that he doesn't actually understand the gun issue.

I did think Jodie Whittaker was good in the episode. My favourite part was the beginning where she was getting ready to leave, very reluctantly, and immediately jumped at Yasmin's offer of tea.

Twitter Sonnet #1169

The clouds in orbit blot the foundered moon.
At peril's edge a pair of houses drop.
The servant crew's compelled to promptly swoon.
The splintered floor occasioned songs to stop.
Machines surprise the moss from off the stones.
A creaking fate emerges round the wheel.
A cracking step discovers trodden bones.
A quiet host await a final meal.
A silent gust deprived the ground of grass.
A forest never grown obstructs the thought.
Conducting little flames the candles pass.
The cloven hill denies the answer sought.
The busy things've spun a webbing clock.
A swarm of ghosts invest the buried rock.

"Should be Fine"

So here it is at last, the new Doctor Who, with the Thirteenth Doctor taking the series into uncharted territory. Let naysayers say what they will, I, for one, applaud the creators of the series for setting the première in Sheffield!

The Sheffield City Council seems pleased as well:

I've never been to Sheffield but I was aware of the city's association with steel because I have an almost two hundred year old straight razor made from Sheffield steel. I don't agree with the Doctor that only idiots carry knives--I suppose it's related the Doctor's aversion to weaponry but there're plenty of uses for a pocket knife beyond weapon.

Anyway. I quite liked Jodie Whittaker in the role. Taking the story out of London was certainly a good idea in the interest of making it feel like a fresh start. Establishing a network of friends and family in the Doctor's new companions really anchors the story in that location. Though, at the same time, the greater focus on the domestic felt a bit like a return to the Russell T. Davies era. Which I wouldn't be surprised to learn was the idea, given how the ratings declined after Davies left. That being said, "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" wasn't as good as "The Eleventh Hour" or "Deep Breath". But it wasn't bad.

Spoilers after the screenshot

Whittaker is my favourite aspect of this era so far. My favourite moment in the episode is when she formats Ryan's (Tosin Cole) phone and is so excited by her idea that she doesn't notice he's horrified she's deleted all his data.

I would've liked an explanation for how she managed to survive the fall alluded to in the title. Particularly since the tension in the episode's climax is in the potential for her to fall off a crane. Maybe it's regeneration energy, the same way Ten was able to regrow a hand?

Mandip Gill is a lot better than I thought she was going to be. And Bradley Walsh was good. I didn't think his wife, Grace (Sharon D. Clarke), was especially interesting except, since we hadn't heard anything about her, I speculating the whole time as to why she wouldn't end up accompanying the Doctor. Killing off a companion in the first episode is a good idea to shake things up though it might've had more impact if we'd gotten to know her. I wondered if she was a reference to the Eighth Doctor's companion, Grace, who was also only around for one episode and also worked in healthcare.

I guess you could say the Doctor battled the Tooth Fairy in this episode. It's certainly an effectively gross idea, pasting teeth all over his face. Not quite a Weeping Angel but I guess this'll do for a new monster. I'm looking forward to seeing where this series goes.

Twitter Sonnet #1162

Expected calls disperse to diff'rent nights.
A screen acknowledged not the ghostly touch.
The motion sensor blinked for passing wights.
Sensation sought was changed for nothing much.
Denial claims assorted dimes for change.
Tormented gum obliquely chews the teeth.
Contented drops directly chose the range.
For coughing throats the leaves were half the wreath.
Intended lemons launch a listless case.
Encoded climates cool to fluttered wing.
Resemblance shaped the deadly mirror lace.
Inspired cars induce the champ to sing.
Tsunami hair rejuvenates the lake.
The honest walk ensures the shoes are fake.

Bees of Comic Con

I got up really early to get into Hall H this morning but I needn't have bothered. Hall H never filled up. I had almost a whole row of seats to myself during the Doctor Who panel. There's a moment in the panel where the panelists asked all the cosplayers to raise their hands and I think four hands went up in the crowd--I saw four people dressed as the Thirteenth Doctor, two people dressed as the Eleventh, and one as the Fourth. It was the most lacklustre vibe I've ever seen for a Doctor Who panel. There were definitely a few very enthusiastic fans but generally the feeling I had is few people are feeling Doctor Who-ish right now. I certainly don't blame Jodie Whittaker, she seemed wonderful and I think I might enjoy her take on the Doctor. As for her companions--she seemed to have a good rapport with Tosin Cole, who exhibited some quick wit, but Mandip Gil came off as a complete drip.

I think giving Thirteen three companions to start with will prove a mistake. Whenever the Doctor has more than one companion, it usually cancels out any subtle sexual chemistry--that's why Five is usually thought of as the "Older Brother" Doctor and of course Eleven only had chemistry with his companions before Rory joined him and after Rory left when Eleven had chemistry with Clara (I know it's controversial to say this but I don't think he ever had chemistry with River Song). I think the show risks putting off both old and new fans--old fans who don't like the idea of a female Doctor and new fans who watched for the heat between Doctor and companion. Mind you, I don't think either one is a bad thing myself--I enjoyed the Fifth Doctor's diluted sexuality and I love the idea of a female Doctor. But I think it's going to be a hard sell for audiences. Whittaker's rapport with Cole was good enough they could've gotten something going--but who knows? Maybe they will. Not that you'd know from the not-so-exclusive Comic Con trailer which even the milquetoast moderator joked gave away an extraordinarily scanty amount of information.

I'll be posting more detailed posts on the Con when I have time. For now, here are the bees that terrorised the Hall H queue this morning.

Someone came by in a beekeeper suit, presumably not a cosplayer. I hope he didn't gas them.