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Modern Doctor Who Rant (spoilers) - Guu - 03-17-2017
(WARNING: Spoilers ahead! Also, this goes all over the place, beware.)
Goddamit, I just needed to rant about this crap. So the current showrunner, Moffat, he's obsessed with making that damn "Madman with a box" argument. Like, every season has to have 3 or 4 instances about how it's the doctor's goddamn fault bad things happen around him or it's the Doctor's fault for not saving someone or it's the Doctor's fault his companion is willing to put herself in danger. Hell, Moffat even commonly stuck it into his writing in Davis era. While it makes sense for some people to read the situation irrationally, he does it so much that it feels like he wants us to ask these questions, but they are so frikkin' bull!
While he sometimes makes housecalls, most of the time he stumbles into trouble by accident (or the tardis forced him to go there,) he didn't have the intent to go save the day again, he just happened to be there and happened to find a problem. He doesn't HAVE to solve the problem but are we really going to shame him for TRYING to help? And it's not like he's forcing his companions along, they could have thrown in the flag as soon as it got dangerous. The Doctor is always willing to take them home as soon as they ask, and why does people like Rory or Clara's boyfriend have to shame the doctor because his female companions want to risk their lives to help people? I know they are worried for their loved ones but they act like Amy or Clara have no goddamn agency in the matter, that the doctor just makes them want to risk their lives with his pure charisma or something, and this happens with both Moffat era companions.
Also, Clara, omg, Clara. Amy and Rory, despite the hang ups, were very fleshed out and had good chemestry. Doesn't it feel like they don't know what to do with Clara? I mean, at first she was kind of boring and it felt like they were crowbarring feels into her character just a couple episodes into her introduction. Then she got lost in the Doctor's timeline, and it just kind of... doesn't do anything with it? Like one of the first things she does when the Doctor became Peter Capaldi was to complain that he's an old geezer... HALF OF THE DAMN ACTORS THAT PLAYED HIM WERE OLD GEEZERS. And she's like "eeeeww, I liked him better when he was young." You've met every doctor, where did this come from?
Seriously, if I was handling the Clara story, I would have stuck with the whole reincarnation thing. It would be fun if the Doctor runs into her everywhere he goes instead of being a traditional companion, and she even starts remembering him. They started her with that and it was super interesting, but they drop it the first time she encounters him in modern day. Then they give her a family and ugh....
I mean, it makes sense people would have a family, but why does EVERY companion have to have a "meet the family" moment. This is a thing the Davis era did as well, and outside of Rose and Donna, it just feels so forced all the time like they are just going down a checklist. Not everyone is extremely close to their family, not everyone HAS a family, you don't have to force one in for every companion, especially when it barely plays into anything. What's the point of introducing Clara's parents if we don't even see them mourn the death of their daughter...
Oh yeah, CLARA DIES! I actually liked this ending for her. She always had a fatalistic side to her, I guess the only real personality quirk outside judging the doctor's appearance. But then the Doctor betrays his people, those ally women who's always helped him out, and soiled his image, all just so he can rip Clara out of time to save her. She's not the first companion to die on his watch, and I don't just mean Amy and Rory who's stuck in a time lock thing, two died in the old show: the 1st doctor campanion Katarina who got sucked out an airlock, and 5th doctor companion Adric who was trapped on a crashing ship he failed to save. Clara died of her own hubris, and even got a moment to say goodbye and make ammends, those two suffered waaay worse fates. But apparently Clara IS SO GODDAMNED IMPORTANT that he was willing to throw everything away for her. They didn't even have that great a chemestry, what the heck?
Also, what is the Doctor's name? I didn't give a shit until you brought it up as a plot point, way back at the end of Season 6. You even titled an episode "Name of the Doctor" in Season 7. It hasn't been brought up since the season 7 finale and we're approaching season 10. Dick move, I can't forget this shit.
Sorry about that, went on a little long and I doubt I made 100% sound points. It's just things that have been a heavy load on my mind everytime I return to Who nowadays. Feel free to debate my points, as long as you approach them civilly. I know I wasn't civil myself when I made them, but it is a rant...
RE: Modern Doctor Who Rant (spoilers) - Alex - 03-18-2017
Moffat starting phoning it in about 2 years ago. He should have stepped down when Matt Smith took a bow and let someone else do Capaldi.
Amy and Rory are still my favorite companions. They did the romance tease at the beginning of Season 5, but after that, it was like 3 good friends gallivanting through time. Clara should have been a one-season companion, rather than trying to keep her around after her origins were explained. Why do I care about her attempts to start a normal life or some nonsense? I would have rather they shelled out more money to get more River Song. 'Old Man Capaldi and River Song' would have been way better than that first season with Capaldi and Clara.
As for the 'madman in a box' thing, I'd argue that's the entire point of the show. It's a fairy tale about a crazy man with a box. Your points about agency, though, are valid. The Doctor doesn't force people to do a thing.
RE: Modern Doctor Who Rant (spoilers) - Revan Noctis - 03-18-2017
I quite enjoy doctor who.
I do however understand your points and agree with them though to a lesser extent.
Clara was not my favourite companion but I believe I understand what they were going for and feel they pulled it off some of the time.
Their desire to have every companion try to hook up with the doctor is repetitive and tends to get annoying but it seemed they were trying really hard wit her Clara.
Obviously the whole thing is the doctor is very old and isn't really capable of having a relationship with a human woman cause they grow old and die and as a time lord most species don't live anywhere near a species long as him so he can't exactly hook up with alien species too well either though of course he is an alien himself.
He wants to not be alone anymore and he wants to be able to say yes but the pain of losing his family and friends and companions as well all adds up. Clara was supposed to be him choosing to say yeh I mean going to give her a chance though when he regenerated into an older form it is only naturally weird now. But she still wanted to Ben there for him so She became more of a daughter figure.
He clearly I think didn't really feel any real connection to his people anymore he simply wished he did. He probably sees himself more as a dalek. Why he cared more about her then his other companions is probably more to do with the writing and could have been handled better but he clearly was not really thinking straight clearly he has a long time to think about things and he might just be able to get over it but with Clara he was clearly open to just not caring anymore about consequences.
The name thing was a dick move though yeh. But clearly that was for the river arc mostly which was a cool character so eh. I think it was clearly more about him as a being then his name. Is it not possible while acting like it was about his name it was not more about showing that his name is not what is important?
It does seem far more complicated then madman in the box. Yet that is how he seems to most people and not many beings can really understand him above that perspective anyway. Obviously the truth is a whole lot darker. It is interesting to note that from a time lord perspective no race is better suited to destroying the universe and ripping it apart to get what he wants yet he chooses to act woth restraint claiming that he doesn't want to risk it. However some of this is bound to be lies he tells himself for the purpose of trying to be good. It would be interesting to see what would happen if got some companion she that weren't just basic women though.
I think that there is room for a lot more to be done. Moffats ideas have clearly grown stale though I think the ideas he does have are usually done well. I would like to see more old who villains personally.
Vampires and Sutekh are more villains that could pose far greater threats to the universe. I like daleks too but having them as the ultimate bad all the time gets boring after a bit.
RE: Modern Doctor Who Rant (spoilers) - Victor Wolfe - 03-18-2017
For me Doctor Who started to die when Matt Smith became the Doctor, maybe its becuase I am a huge David Tenant fan ( ever since I first saw him as a transvestite in Rab C Nesbit) but it just seemed Smith could not live up Tenant. I also felt that the writing over all seemed far less clever than with the past doctors. Not actually watched any of the show since Smith left so cannot really say much about it. As for your point about them bringing up big plot points like the doctors name and never concluding it? Remember when the Doctor had a daughter cloned from his DNA who was able to regenerate and then flys off into space? I feel like that could have been expanded on.