Is it worth it coming back to this, if I hated everything since Moffat took over?

Like, does it seem that they will try to go for coherent plot, instead of endless idiotic plot twists and "revelations"?

 

I enjoyed this a lot more than the previous one. The concept of space-Amazing Race was amusing and the final scene with the "villain" made me laugh out loud.

@KGB: There seems to be a season plot thread but it's too soon to tell if it's all-encompassing or just background details. Next week is a historical (1940s America) with some other time travelers so we'll see how that works out.

Spoiler

I really hope the villains aren't all blue tooth-faced dudes. That makeup was fine for a monster-of-the-week but would be a bit embarassing as the big-bads.

 

It's a bit early to tell, particularly given the contrast between interview comments and what seems to be happening in the episode itself, but yeah, I'd say so. They don't seem to have reinvented the wheel so far, but new head writer, new Doctor, new companions - it's not going to get any more different for the foreseeable future, so you might as well try a few episodes.

 

Did they actually make the TARDIS green or was that just the light reflecting off it?

 

Thought they knocked it out of the park this week, tbh. Not a subtle episode by any stretch, but it was very effective.

 

It was a solid episode; hit all the right emotional notes. That said, Yaz and Graham really need some character background building. It has all been Ryan so far, and it's starting to feel like they they were both written in as afterthoughts.

As it's early days still, I'm hoping the episodes where the companions actually bond with each other and with the Doctor are coming in the near future.

 

Eh, I think they've done alright with Graham so far. Next week's episode looks like it's going to introduce Yaz's family, so hopefully that will do the job for her.

 

Good episode!

Not at all subtle, agreed. But I think they did a pretty good job handling a tricky topic. Portraying historical racism is always hard, and honestly I think this was a pretty tasteful way to do it. Actually a pretty poignant moment when they realized they had to stay on the bus -- I'll admit, I was confused as to why Graham was so anxious to get off. But then I realized how painful it would be to have to watch that and do nothing to help. It was really nice to see that there was that feeling of gravity.

The writing still isn't quite sparkling for me yet -- not a lot of super memorable moments. But they have time for that, and while the writing isn't amazing, I do think it's quite solid. Whittaker is actually doing a great job selling the Doctor imo. I was wondering how well she would do in more intense moments, but her confrontation with the bad guy this episode was pretty great.

I broadly agree that more characterization for Yaz would be good. Graham and Ryan are working for me now, I think their dynamic is endearing and kind of heartbreaking sometimes. Graham actually has surprised me, I thought I wouldn't like him but the actor is really sympathetic. Ryan is solid. There's also nothing wrong with Yaz, but she could use a but more fleshing out.

I'm really happy to see the companions actually contributing in meaningful ways. I think this is the biggest change I'm noticing from Moffat episodes -- companions being useful not by virtue of being so-pure-and-wonderful-that-they-save-the-Doctor-from-himself(or just by being the best-time-gurl-evarrr), but by being smart and capable people in their own right.

I've just scrolled back up and remembered -- I do agree with Sorrows that this Doctor isn't as... reactive as some other Doctors. This episode was better, you could see some of the veiled anger at the racism toward her companions, but the earlier scene with the scientists did lack that typical reaction -- anger, sympathy, sadness. This is probably something I put a bit on the writers, a bit on Whittaker(though it might be directorial? I don't know to what degree directors of TV shows micromanage this sort of thing). Hopefully we see some more development on this front.

 

An improvement over last week's episode, which I see was so bland I completely forgot to comment on it (in some ways, it was vintage Who, which is to say utter nonsense with a shaky resolution, but basically ok). Still not brilliant, but a decent way to spend an hour. Halfway through the series now, and other than the obvious changes I'm not seeing much evidence of the fresh new direction that it was suggested was going to happen, but it's been consistently good, if not great.

 

The only thing last week's episode had going for it was that it very briefly touched upon the motivations of the companions. Graham is going to travel with the Doctor to escape his grief. Cool. Ryan is going to travel with the Doctor because he wants to get away from humdrum warehouse work. Neat. Yaz is going to travel with the Doctor because she wants to get away from her family for a bit. Great.

That said, it didn't do anywhere near enough. It didn't make me care.

I really feel like the episode should have been a two-parter and had its mystery/timeline stretched out. The Doctor should have gone off investigating spider stuff on her own and the companions should have gone back to their daily lives.

We should have gotten more scenes of Graham listlessly puttering around the house and failing to do those simple life tasks like taking out the garbage (and then he finds a giant spider in his attic and calls the Doctor). We should have gotten a few scenes of Ryan toiling away at his bland warehouse job, complete with shitty boss, shitty coworkers, and shitty menial tasks (and then he finds a giant spider in the warehouse and calls the Doctor). We should have gotten to actually 'see' Yaz suffocating under her overbearing family (and then she finds a giant spider at her neighbor's and calls the Doctor).

 

...I dread to think what the Doctor Whi fanfic writers will do now we know mpreg is canon in some species.

 

Presumably the same thing they've always done, but with a touch more smugness about it.

 

Probably nothing. They already got their validation when it was confirmed *nudge-nudge-wink-wink* hinted that Captain Jack was the Face of Boe. The FoB was preggers way back in Season 1.

 

Can't quite decide what to make of that, really. I didn't love it, and it had some pretty clunky acting at points, but I'd by lying if I said I didn't have something in my eye by the end.

 

That was ... a lot better than expected. I like the fact that this wasn't really a monster of the week, despite the fake-out, and the small self-contained format worked for it.

 

Well, that was the silliest idea they've had in a while.

 

The Amazon riffs were amusing.

 

Pretty funny how it seems like they're starting by ripping on Amazon, but they actually just end up defending the entire concept of the institution. "The system isn't bad, it's the individuals' individual choices" is and always will be a monumentally stupid take. The conveyor belt scene in this episode also may genuinely be the worst thing I have ever seen on Doctor Who.

That said, Graham legitimately steals the scene episode after episode. It's actually stunning to me, the actor looks so unassuming and normal and honestly kind of boring, but he's so good at delivering this authentically folksy, clever air. His scenes with the maintenance guy felt so real and genuine. Drop Yaz and Ryan, make the series focus on Graham and the Doctor's adventures, and that alone will bring the quality up even if we keep getting these utter shit plotlines. Ryan adds literally nothing to episodes, and Yaz is cute and funny sometimes but doesn't bring enough to the table in my opinion to make it worth juggling multiple companions.

I like Jodie, but I actually found myself wondering what this series would be like if the actor playing Graham had been cast as 13. I really think he could have pulled it off.