I would not consider myself a feminist.
But the fact that Doctor Who became female as revenge against a rewritten first doctor still ticks me off. I don’t hold a lot of hope.
Dr. Who
- Thread starter AnnaMarie
- Start date
-
This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.
I would not consider myself a feminist.
But the fact that Doctor Who became female as revenge against a rewritten first doctor still ticks me off. I don’t hold a lot of hope.
I didn't get the idea that it had to do with the rest of the episode. It was something that was coming, they had already changed the Master into a woman, it was a matter of time before they would do it with the Doctor too. I didn't expect it so soon though.
What I mean is, rather than the doctor choosing to be female, which would have been fine; or the doctor just ending up female, which also would have been fine. They rewrote “who” the first doctor was and made him a misogynistic dolt, and became female in a revengeful sort of way.
And what I mean by “just ending up female”, often the doctor did not choose his new form. I think it was Matt’s doctor who looked of felt to find out what parts he had, and was disappointed. Also at least one has asked if he’s ginger. Other times he does choose.
I just didn't make the connection between these two things. You're saying the Doctor regenerated purposely into a woman, because he saw how misogynistic he was when he was the First Doctor?
I only saw the first three serials of the First Doctor, so I can't really tell how much they rewrote him. Three serials is not enough to know him well I think.
The first doctor was not misogynistic. To introduce the female doctor, they filmed a few scenes with David Bradley portraying Hartnell as Dr, Who....and they wrote him as misogynistic.
I think it’s disrespectful to the actor, and I think it is the opposite of feminism.
I have seen the Christmas episode ('Twice upon a Time') with Bradley only once. I didn't notice he was overly misogynistic. I usually watch the episodes again once I bought the blu-ray box, which I haven't done yet for the last season. I just never felt the fact that Dr. Who turned female had anything to do with Bradley's portrayal of the First Doctor. It seems it's just a new direction for the show they wanted to go.
Yes, it’s the way they wanted to go....with a female doctor. My objection is the way they did it.
It’s the way he acts right before the regeneration. Saying he (Capaldi’s doctor) misses Bill because the TARDIS needs a good cleaning. Then a comment (with a snicker to Lethbridge-Stewart I think) about all women being made of glass really.
That is not how the first doctor behaved. He often dealt with women in charge, and he never treated them like they were less than.
It’s the way he acts right before the regeneration. Saying he (Capaldi’s doctor) misses Bill because the TARDIS needs a good cleaning. Then a comment (with a snicker to Lethbridge-Stewart I think) about all women being made of glass really.
That is not how the first doctor behaved. He often dealt with women in charge, and he never treated them like they were less than.
I'll see if I notice what you mean when I rewatch it.
It seems the episode was written by Steven Moffat, but also the writers of the First Doctor story 'The Tenth Planet' are credited. Unfortunately I haven't seen that, so I guess it ties in with that:
"Doctor Who" Twice Upon a Time (TV Episode 2017) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb
The other writers credited are dead. One died in the 80’s and the other in the 90’s. They are credited because Twice Upon a Time uses old footage from The Tenth Planet.
I’m not such an obsessed fan to have just known that. I followed links to check because I figured they would have to be close to 100.
We are up to the year 1970... The last one I saw was Terror of the Autons.
I really wish they would put the classic Dr. Who on Netflix here. The dvd's are amazing in terms of extras, but I don't know about getting them ALL. I concentrated on the Tom Baker years for now, and have all of those, except for two serials.
But I'm not sure I will LIKE every doctor. Peter Davison I have a few of and I find him a bit boring, especially after Tom Baker. And also in the eighties the show seemed to lose a lot of the atmosphere.
Also what I've seen of Jon Pertwee I wasn't that fond of. His stories seem to take place mostly on earth, and he seems to lack a certain humour, just like Davison.
And the image of the dvd's is often not that great. So I don't know about getting more of them. It seems the image of the recently released first season of Tom Baker on blu-ray isn't a big improvement on the dvd's.
My favourite period by far is Tom Baker with Lalla Ward. And of the modern series Matt Smith and Karen Gillan. (Although I think all the doctors of the modern series have been great, and I like Billie Piper and Jenna Coleman a lot too.)
But the great thing is that it's always changing so your most favourite period may still be to come.
But I'm not sure I will LIKE every doctor. Peter Davison I have a few of and I find him a bit boring, especially after Tom Baker. And also in the eighties the show seemed to lose a lot of the atmosphere.
Also what I've seen of Jon Pertwee I wasn't that fond of. His stories seem to take place mostly on earth, and he seems to lack a certain humour, just like Davison.
And the image of the dvd's is often not that great. So I don't know about getting more of them. It seems the image of the recently released first season of Tom Baker on blu-ray isn't a big improvement on the dvd's.
My favourite period by far is Tom Baker with Lalla Ward. And of the modern series Matt Smith and Karen Gillan. (Although I think all the doctors of the modern series have been great, and I like Billie Piper and Jenna Coleman a lot too.)
But the great thing is that it's always changing so your most favourite period may still be to come.
I'm absolutely blown away by it. It's totally Doctor Who and yet it feels totally different. This must be one of the major complete overhauls in the history of the show. Certainly since it came back in 2005. It's hard to say though how much difference it makes that Doctor is now female, since everything else is different too. Basically I would say it doesn't make much of a difference if the Doctor is a male or female, since he/she has the same characteristics in both cases. What strikes me most about Whitaker, is that the lines are way funnier than the way she delivers them - it's as if someone delivers comedic lines as if they were straight lines. It's possible I have to still get used to her, some Doctors were funnier than others - it's also not a full comedy show of course, it alternates constantly between funny and straight.
But the whole look of the show is fantastic. Much darker, feels more grounded in reality than I can remember Doctor Who ever was, just an overall realistic tone I would say. The opener The Woman Who Fell To Earth was the best opener of a season since Deep Breath (actually that title appears as a line towards the end, and I got the feeling that was an intentional reference). The show feels more like a movie than before - it has to do with new cameras/lenses they're using which give it a much bigger scope.
Only three episodes in, so it's hard to say if it will keep this up, but so far I'm very happy with it. Although I expect it can be a case of love or hate as with most major revisions of something that's beloved.
But the whole look of the show is fantastic. Much darker, feels more grounded in reality than I can remember Doctor Who ever was, just an overall realistic tone I would say. The opener The Woman Who Fell To Earth was the best opener of a season since Deep Breath (actually that title appears as a line towards the end, and I got the feeling that was an intentional reference). The show feels more like a movie than before - it has to do with new cameras/lenses they're using which give it a much bigger scope.
Only three episodes in, so it's hard to say if it will keep this up, but so far I'm very happy with it. Although I expect it can be a case of love or hate as with most major revisions of something that's beloved.
I've watched the first episode. I thought it was well done. I think it's going to be a good run if the stories are good stories. I have confidence that if this ends up a failure in the Dr. Who universe, it will be because the stories fail, not because Dr. Who is now female.
I do have problems understanding her accent at times. I need to find the closed captioning button.
I do have problems understanding her accent at times. I need to find the closed captioning button.
Her accent is from Yorkshire.
I think the stories are very good so far. Yesterday's episode Rosa had a very Back to the Future feel to it. But since it is always different writers and directors, the tone and content of each episode will vary strongly, which is one of the things I've always liked about Doctor Who.
Rosa: Easily a contender for one of the best Doctor Who episodes ever.
I also must get used to the new Tardis. It looks much smaller and cramped than before, but there is that thing going up and down in the middle of the console again. It looks like there are (glowing) rocks in it, including the moving part in the middle.
Also they don't seem to do a prologue/teaser anymore and then go to the main title sequence. They go directly to the title sequence and weirdly the first episode didn't have any main titles or title sequence whatsoever.
Also they don't seem to do a prologue/teaser anymore and then go to the main title sequence. They go directly to the title sequence and weirdly the first episode didn't have any main titles or title sequence whatsoever.
You're not alone in having problems with her accent (which is her own). I do too, and I have an uncle who comes from Leeds, not far up the road from where Jodie Whittaker is from (Huddersfield). It is a little, shall I say, thick.
It's not the first time a doctor has used their natural accent, of course. Christopher Ecclestone (Manchester) certainly did, but also managed to be perfectly clear.
I've yet to see ep.3, but I will say that, so far, JW has done a good job. The character is essentially the same but different, as is always the case, and the fact that the Doctor is now female doesn't jar as much as it might have in less capable hands (writing as well as acting).
But the writing in general hasn't been up to scratch. Yes, the transition to a new doctor has been handled well, but otherwise...
The other thing that might be a death knell, or at least be the beginning of the end, is the shift in time slot from prime-time Saturday to what was supposed to be a regular slot, but actually hasn't been (shifting around by 10-15 minutes each week already) on a Sunday.
Given the way the BBC has traditionally seen and treated sci-fi, and the way in which SF seems to have disappeared from our screens again with the new head of drama/controller taking over, the overall impression is that Auntie secretly wants it to fail. If that happens I have no doubt JW will be left to carry the can, even though it'll be anything and everything else to blame on the evidence so far.
I'm worried too that they changed it to Sunday. But I seem to recall that other much watched and highly rated shows like The Night Manager and Sherlock also were broadcast on Sundays, so I wonder if it matters much.
In the UK, the Sunday 8.30-10.00 pm slot has always been one of the more popular ones, and has long been the traditional home of the 'Murder, Mystery, Suspense' strand. Earlier in the evening, not so much (you definitely want Saturday, between around 5 and 7, for that - going back years, that's where you'd find things like The A-Team, Baywatch, etc). Early Sunday evenings were always given over to 'The God Slot' (e.g. Songs of Praise, Highway) followed by things the network controllers weren't bothered about (historically, the original Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers and an alt-reality/SF-ish show called The Knights of God were scheduled there, and moved around or removed on any given week accordingly).
That kind of historical precedent is why I'm a bit jumpy over DW's future. The last time the BBC punted it around the schedule was during the Sylvester McCoy years, and we all know what happened there. (And again, in a climate of fairly strong anti-SF sentiment within the corporation.)