One nit pick I have is that they kinda forgot about Aramu (the dude in Madagascar) after he was attacked by the birds and I'm fairly sure no one even noticed he was gone. I mean you might be able to give the doctor & gang a pass because they were also attacked by the birds just after he was presumably killed, but there was literally no mention of his name after his death as far as I can remember.
too many characters and limited screen time, i do not blame them - but that makes me question: was he really that relevant to be there in the first place?
This bugged me as well! Also, if Aramu was also an alien, the birds scratching him wouldn't have killed him right away. Yet, Suki said she was the last one left.
I feel like the Doctor would of asked, but considering what the girl said to him (“Considering the work we’re doing”) I feel like he was also an alien, so the doctor didn’t care for him much, as soon as he was gone. My nit pick is: Why did the Doctor drop them off in Madagascar at the end? She could of gone back to the UK or Peru, but Nope.
On Jake and Adam's relationship, I did love the fact that they didn't resort to the infuriating "bury your gays" cliché that was prevalent throughout Series 11. They made it look like Jake was going to die, by he's saved at the last minute and I´m so glad they did that.
I'm glad Dr Who is (finally) getting a decent spread of Earth locations. Last season we had Demons of the Punjab and in this season we've already spent time in Australia, France, Hong Kong, the central Indian Ocean, Madagascar, Peru, the United Kingdom (obvs), the United States, and I guess Orphan 55 is technically set in Russia. That's something I've wanted for a long time and I hope they keep going with.
This was a fairly decent episode and was way better than Orphan 55, however one nitpick that has bugged me a lot is the one girl travelling with her friend doesn't show much emotion throughout the episode that her friend for how many years is gone. Even in the end, she wants to create a new blog about travelling with the two guys. I'm like you're friend just died and you are already thinking about replacing her. Apart from that, decent episode.
Honestly, same. She wasn't a particularly good actress, she barely reacted when she found her friend dying or after her friend exploded. The ending also bothered me cause 1) Yeah, her friend just died, come on now and 2) The gay couple most likely want to rekindle the romance and having her there puts an awkward kibosh on the whole, like being forced to babysit while on their honeymoon. Also, she didn't really do anything other than stand there, point out the obvious and fret. I just didn't like her at all. Loved the gay couple though, they didn't feel like forced fan service and their arc was good, even if the astronaut did feel very damsel- in- distress. I like how they kinda switched roles through the episode; in the beginning with the ex- cop seeing that his husband is presumed dead, and in the end with the astronaut seeing his husband as he's about to die, both getting saved by the doctor. I wanted to know more about them honestly.
@TheMarcHicks head Canon? So your cognitive dissonance, correct? You need to believe you're watching something good so hard that you pretend reality is different in your head.
Tips for writers. Now that we've established traits for the main four, expand on them. Doctor: Childish curiosity. Let's see how this is both a good thing and a bad thing. Yaz: Wreckless levels of fearlessness. She has seen so much that she is no fazed by it. Let's crank that up. Ryan: He seems more cautious. Let's have him clash with Yaz. He could be a voice of reason. Graham: He has a lot of common sense and empathy. He could be the face of the team. Whilst the Doctor has all the technical solutions, Yaz is the brave warrior and Ryan is the person who assess risk, Graham is the person who talks the team out of trouble. His weakness is that he will be useless in situations that cannot be resolved through talking. Maybe he is too forgiving of wicked deeds. He was vengeful at the end of series 11 until he had a change of heart and now he's swung too far the other way. Each of the four characters together will balance out the excesses of the team. Everyone gets their time to shine and be awesome and everyone gets moments where their flaws become a serious liability. However it is their family dynamic that brings out the best in them.
Yaz was afraid. She was traumatized after being in the alternate dimension forrest. She had to psych herself to go through the teleport. But foolhardy-brave is true (true generally of someone willing to travel with the doctor)
yaz`s behaviour seemed weird to me, as if she had failed massively as some point in the last episode and in this she was going over the top to make up for it, I dont know why she thought going back into the base was a good idea. Also I found this episode so boring
@@gallohalt That's an interesting point. Maybe Yaz's newfound recklessness is a reaction to the helplessness she felt when she was trapped in the Casavin dimension. That seemed to affect her strongly at the time.
I think Ryan is a bit of a kluts. Not to be mean but there are times he just gets into trouble because he is at that place at that time. Getting infected by the hopper virus on Orphan 55, telling the spies their plan on Spyfall, a bit headstrong with the Judoon in Fugitive of the Judoon. Anyway I could be wrong.
This episode was a fun one for me. Loved how the Doctor trusts her fam to go do missions on their own, and how they use the little comm chips to talk to one another. This was such a good episode for Yaz - and it fits the character she's had very well. From near the beginning, she's wanted to travel. She was the first who said she wanted more of the type of life the Doctor had, more adventures. She's always been willing to go and face dangers and jump into things. She jumped to try and save Tesla when he was teleported to the scorpion ship. She takes the lead on several bits in The Tsuranga Conundrum, while Graham and Ryan are playing midwives. This seems like a natural continuation of what's been developed so far. I think people are seeing it now because the fam is so well-established, and the writers/directors feel that they can stretch a bit more with the characters.
I’m glad the Doctor blurted out “Autons!” once she made the connection with plastic, because we were all thinking it. That said, I was kind of hoping that when Doctor Who dealt with microplastics that it would be with the autons. A modern take on a classic villain. This episode definitely made its environmental message in a better way than Orphan-55 (a low bar, admittedly), but it still too in the face. Like a story written to tell an environmental message than a story written as a story with an environmental theme. Splitting the companions and giving them more to do was entertaining, and some of Graham’s parts gave me a good chuckle. But the reactions to people dying were... non-existent. I also feel like giving Yas personality in this episode was a bit at the cost of Ryan’s personality, so I’m still of the mind that three companions introduced all at once with no clear arcs for any of them was a bit of a mistake. The ending also felt a bit rushed, and I don’t know why the Doctor dropped them off on Madagascar when none of the surviving characters started there. Overall though it was enjoyable to watch. The Doctor felt like the Doctor, the core problem was intriguing and surrounded in mystery for the first half and it kept a good pace. 3.5 Jelly Babies out of 5.
i dont think "in the face" is a bad thing. i think shows like this should send positive messages like this. if you dont beat viewers over the head with it, most either miss or dismiss it. you need to make it so that cant happen. yeah some will be rubbed wrong by it, but i still think its good.
I don't mind all the companions not getting a chance to shine every episode, so long as each of them gets quality time over the course of the season. Not having a go at you here, it seems to me that "a story written to tell an environmental message than a story written as a story with an environmental theme" is a fine, fairly subjective line to draw. IMO the theme and plot each reinforced the other.
@@13jq5ll This episode took a contemporary problem that everyone can relate to and framed an episode around it. I'm not sure why you seem to have taken that as an attack on you personally. They're not picking on you, they're just telling a story about a topic that is relevant to you and everyone else watching. Doctor Who has always been full of contemporary issues and allusions to contemporary issues.
What is it with Yaz and teleporting this series? Spyfall - Yaz gets teleported to another universe Orphan 55 - The whole gang get teleported to the actual planet Nikola tesla - Yaz gets teleported to the skithra ship Fugitive of the judoon - All 3 companions get teleported to Jacks ship Praxius - Yaz gets teleported to the bottom of an ocean Does she have a fetish 😂
I really enjoy Jodie's Doctor, but she is not being done any favors by the writing/editing. We weren't shown any acknowledgement at all of her being aware Amaru(?) is attacked after she asks him to keep an eye on the birds. He's not there at the end so my assumption is he dies. We aren't told if he's any alien and involved, or an innocent dupe, and the entire thread is completely dropped. The writing/editing here makes The Doctor look *really* callous, in a way I'm hoping is unintentional.
Overall this episode was good, but it was emotionally muted re: grief in general. Noone cared that Amaru or the submarine guy died and Gabriela got over Jamila's death almost instantly. It was odd.
The husbands story arc hit me very hard, emotionally, and I think part of it had to do with them both being gay. When Adam was dying, and Jake took his hand, it reminded me the early days of AIDS, when people weren't sure about how HiV was transmitted. People were afraid to touch those who were sick. Holding hands, hugging, or kissing. Those were heroic acts of love. And it reminded me of what I thought at the time, which is that gay men were literally saving the world, because they speaking out, demanding research, and letting everyone know how to deal with the disease. I also really enjoyed the premise of the story, because the idea that plastic-eating bacteria will someday evolve is the one thing that keeps me from despairing about how much plastic we throw out every day. To see that turned on its head, with the bacteria carrying a deadly disease that could wipe out mankind is both horrifying and a great twist. I just loved this story.
A couple of honest questions about this episode('s plot): If Adam's pod crashed into the indian ocean and he was "saved" by the aliens, who took him to Hongkong, strapped him in and started experimenting on him... who sent the text to Jake? If the birds weren't native (but from Peru? since they seemed to be the same as the one Ryan picked up there), the cause of them acting weird was the plastic, so they'd infect more people - what were they doing at Madagascar? [picture me looking confusedly at a map] Why *did* the girls build up their tent in the middle of trash - was there really no other slightly open area available *anywhere* reachable before nightfall? Who did Jamila get to the hospital (without her or anyone ever waking Gabriella) and what happened there? Were there more casualties / people infected before Jamila (who only 'popped' when Ryan poked her) was brought in there? If so, why wasn't the hospital closed off!? The pathogen had an incubation time, did it not? Is the one dead bird an indicator that the whole building was attacked by birds? (I feel there's a whole sub-plot swept beneath the carpet here...) ...how did the Team forget entirely about Arumu after Graham declaring "The birds are getting really angry" and *leaving him outside* ?
honestly, i think all the side characters except the madagascar pair could have been cut out. they weren't really pat of the story. if they remembered arumu existed they could have used him as the test subject. assuming he was human, they left that ambiguous. plus without the bloated cast we would have had time to actually have the origins of praxsus explained and maybe finding out if the researcher just killed of the rest of her species by jumping the gun on the cure.
We don't definitively know the answers to some of these questions, but most of them are fairly easily explainable: - I wondered about the text myself, but it's not too hard to imagine Adam got his hands on a phone for a couple of seconds at some point during his captivity. - The birds flew from Peru to Madagascar. Not typical behaviour, but it's not like the birds were behaving typically at that point and we don't know how long the aliens had been on Earth experimenting (apparently at least long enough to set up a laboratory in Madagascar). The birds could probably fly that distance in a couple of weeks. - My guess as to why the girls made their tent exactly there is that Jamila was being stubborn and making a point. - Good question about the hospital. Probably some variant of the birds attacked it and Jamila made her way there under the influence of the Praxeus. - The team forgot about Aramu because they were pretty distracted at the time. A better question IMO is why Aramu thought staying outside with the birds was a good idea...
I wondered about the girls' camp thing too. Since one of them said to the other "I'm not camping here" then in the next scene they're camping there. They seemed to have come through fairly good wilderness, why didn't they just backtrack? Or at least clear out a decent area free of trash.
Felt the same way when Nikola Tesla's character was played by an american-croatian, may not be slovenian but close enough to make me feel very excited and happy about the episode :D happy you got someone too!
I'm a gay guy myself and while the romance subplot didn't have me in tears or anything, I was still invested ENOUGH to like. Actually Care if they both got through it by the end. I actually really liked the one scene jake had with graham, and I feel like graham was drawing a few parallels between his relationship with grace and the things jake was saying about his own relationship with adam. at the start of the last series, graham was blaming himself a LOT for grace's death, and put himself down a lot with him saying things like "It should have been me." after all his time with the Doc it looks like he's finally been able to find some worthiness in himself, and that's why he could recognize that jake was punishing himself. it's subtle, but in a way I really liked
Yeah, there was some nice subtlety in the way they handled that moment. You could see it in Graham and they didn't need to belabour the point by turning the subtext into text.
@@viiiivivii306 Remember when Sarah Jane went on about dissecting rats in School Reunion? Rose thought it really out of date... At my school (I'm German) students don't get to dissect any animals, maybe a single organ like a cow's heart.
Rewatching this one allowed me to enjoy it a lot more than on initial viewing. I loved the global mystery that managed to balance all the separate components together at the end, Gabriella, Jake and Alan were fun characters I genuinely wouldn't mind being the new TARDIS team and it was very well directed and kept me guessing throughout.
I have the same feelings about random romance subplots, but I think the reason it worked is because it wasn't really romance, it was an old married couple doing more arguing than kissing. To me, it was more realistic and matter-of-fact.
Can we talk about how this episode did what Orphan 55 failed to do with the many characters. There were a lot of side characters along with the crowded TARDIS but everyone had something to do and went through an arc that was meaningful
What was the traveling girls arc again? I literally just watched it and can’t tell you what she was there for. And she doesn’t seem to be grieving that much over someone she knew for years.
This season's message episodes have been oddly topical. The Doctor announces that the planet Earth is on fire while Australia literally IS, then the global pandemic episode drops during the Corona Virus scare. It's almost like they can see the future... Excuse me while I go add "Chibnall is actually a Time Lord" to the WMG page on TV Tropes.
the Doctor reuniting with Yaz like "you didn't die!" makes me wonder that she is picking up on these reckless vibes and is concerned because she knows from experience what that can lead to. As for this episode in general, I loved it. Those who complain it lowered the stakes too much after the last episode were, I think, being unreasonable. It was a great chance to slow down and take a breather. Whatever's coming next will come in time. Just enjoy the show until then.
I liked the brief shot of the Doctor standing in the Tardis doorway, watching Yaz go, with a really worried look on her face. I definitely think in that moment, she was second guessing her decision to allow Yaz to go back into a potentially dangerous situation.
This was a decent episode, and I can certainly see this episode gaining in appreciation for years to come. You hit the nail on the head for a lot of points I'd make: It wove the Environmental issue into the story rather than hit the audience on the head with it. It gave Yaz more screen time and characterization. It flowed from start to finish decently... The gay couple did touch me emotionally, and I was very happy to see them. It was a solid love story that wasn't over-done and produced believable characters. All of that emotion ... the fear, the sorrow, the love ... it was something that made me tear up a bit. A+ of a story!
I really enjoyed it. I mean it didn't blow my mind or anything but everything it tried to do, it did very well and that's actually worth A LOT. The Companions functioned better than I'd ever seen them, loved that they split Yaz and Graeme off together instead of Graeme with Ryan. It led to new dynamics. The supporting cast was excellent, I felt for all of them and they integrated nicely with our company. It was an engaging hour of television and I was so happy about that.
After that previous seasion where I constantly had the feeling of "why so many useless companions?", I'm really starting to like the Fam Tardis team. These split up plots make them prove themselves as useful and not depending as much on the doctor. In just six episodes Yas has become one of the companions I'm more curious to see what's going to do next. Even though it was not an epic episode, it was very good. And as a brazilian, I was really happy to see some fan service for us on the episode
I had a similar thought - it's nice to see them actually *utilising* the number of people in the TARDIS. Gabriela was great, but it was kind of disturbing how quickly she got over the death of her friend(?). I kept expecting that to mean something, and it didn't.
I’m 59 and I definitely got the “plastics” reference 😄. Though I’m on board with the idea of plastic dangers (very on board) and this this was structured better than Orphan 55 it still suffered from pacing and clutter issues, and from the issues of the dob and companions as side characters. Just didn’t grab me. But I agree the atmosphere was good. But it didn’t come together as well as it could.
I had the same thought about Yaz teleporting and the aliens wearing respirators- What if she ended up somewhere that she couldn't breathe or was a quarantine area? Reckless indeed.
I knew what the one word was going to be. My first thought when Jaz decided to teleport was exactly as you described: "hold on, those aliens are wearing gas masks or respirators, what makes you think you can breathe their atmosphere?"
I hope it does. There's a potential good character arc there for her if she pushes this more. The ambitious, young police officer so desperate to prove herself, she doesn't know when to stop. That could work really well.
Steve Kemmet, agreed, but see Clara's had build--we understood the reasons...for Yaz it just seems sudden and unfounded. I don't know--I don't feel like there is a lot of chemistry among the fam. It was improved in this ep a bit.
With its atmosphere and direction I actually thought thiswas pretty great! Akinola is still a master a sound scaping. I love how tbe 'threat' didn't really have a 'face', it felt more like a ominous force of nature. Anyone else get a little reminded of 'Fury from the Deep'?
- 1.5 seasons in and we finally get a bit of character from Yaz... - If Praxeus would have been *instead* of Orphan 55, then that would have been an okay episode, but having two enviromental message (the same message no less) episodes this close to another doesn't help Praxeus much. - Too. Many. Characters. (no wonder it's hard to get invested into them) - I still like Graham best out of the companions... but this season it seems he's more and more getting reduced to comic relief. - Still not enough show and way too much tell...
I agree it would have been better if Orphan 55 had not come first because Praxeus does feel like it's mining the same vein, even though it handles its subject matter more deftly.
Yep too many characters, to me that's the biggest flaw of Chibnall's era. The best episodes are the ones who focused more on one character than the others, like Tesla, O or Ruth.
Glad someone shares my view on Graham - he had a discernible arc in the first series (losing Grace and his relationship with Ryan) but ever since Ryan called him 'Granddad' Chibnall hasn't had a clue what to do with either of them. But even if his purpose is different and arguably limited this season, at least he still does it well - I was howling when he was holding that reader upside down and said the noise was coming from the wrong side - Ryan, on the other hand, doesn't even have the fact he's funny to save him
Jake: My husband, is an astronaut. D'you have any idea how hard it is being married to someone *that* impressive? Graham: - shaky little wistful smile showing just how much he still loves, respects and misses Grace -
I wasn't thinking about during the episode, but I was very scared for both Adam and Jake. With good reason, since all the other infected people died. It seems like an awful lot of pilots end up dying when the auto-drive feature on a rocket ship fails... someone ought to look into that.
I was so glad they didn't bury the gays. I was worried for a bit that they might but whew. Agreed that it was a solid episode. Also, the Doctor is going to have to have a chat with Yaz about doing reckless things. Yeesh.
@@redmd9772 lmaooo this is perhaps your most ridiculous comment on this video only because in this episode alone he killed one lesbian, one black man, and an alien being portrayed by an Asian actress.
I felt like the Yas storyline this episode really could be foreshadowing... Chibnall has been tough with main characters in the past (I'm thinking Torchwood) and I can see this as a potential beginning of the end for her at the end of the season...
tbh this episode made the birds scarier than in the birds. and not just because there was more of a threat there was genuinely more fear and terror around the bird swarms in praxeus
The writing this season is a major step up from most of the previous season. Orphan 55 looks like more and more of an anomaly, ideally a one-off anomaly (and not a dreadful anomaly either!).
I agree but to me we haven't had an episode as good as Rosa, Demons of the Punjab or It Takes You Away yet. Those three are a cut above the rest of the rest of the Chibnall era IMO, including all of Series 12 so far. But we'll see what the future episodes bring.
@@WiloPolis03 Plot arc for the Season you mean one mention of the timeless child or lone Cyberman or previous unknown Doctor then nothing again. Or throw Jack in with some hastily filmed re shoot all for nothing. It's a mess with no direction. The show exists now just for Chibnalls and the BBC's extreme agenda pushing and box ticking
Would've been cool if it was an Auton episode. It would be a new, relevant take on it, but maybe that's a bit too much fan-service for this series already.
I can kinda see Yaz having a fate not too far off from Clara's. Charging headfirst into something confident that if she messes up the Doctor can just fix it but finding out too late that the Doctor doesn't always have a solution.
During the climax I predicted that the astronaut’s boyfriend was going to stay behind and fly the ship, and then when it happened, I actually said out loud “here we go, The Doctor’s going to watch him die when she could easily materialise the TARDIS around him”, and low and behold, that’s exactly what she did. The problem now is that now she’s reestablished that she can do that, it’s going to be even more annoying at other times when she could rescue people that way but doesn’t.
Why did the doctor let Yaz go back? Seemed totally wrong to me. I can't remember a situation in the modern era where the doctor willingly allows a companion to go into a known danger alone.
Reminds me of a fanfiction I wrote where the Nestenes held the planet hostage to force the doctor to give them access to the Tardis using the microplastics saturating the human population.
Crazy theory....what if Yaz flips and joins up with the Master. Shes become more reckless after getting stuck in that other world in Spyfall. Plus her and the Master had some moments together (before the reveal).
I actually though Yaz being trapped in the, "other world," was gonna have a much bigger effect on her mentally. The actress gave a great performance and made it seem like the experience really messed her up to the point of psychological damage. She even seemed more horrified than usual when the old lady died in Orphan 55. But nothing else really seemed to come of that which kinda bummed me. Like they could have had a PTSD kind of arc going forward with her character.
Makes sense. Yaz has been questioning the Doctor a bit more this series, almost as if she's losing trust in her. Maybe that's going to have an effect in the finale.
@BreeinMaryland I'd be cool if Yaz joined the Master. But I feel they'd need another episode to build up their connection. Like they're stuck together or he takes her captive and they get to talking about the world they were both trapped on and form a kinship as the Master convinces her she's better of with him than the Doctor. It would be new though, and I'd be surprised if they pulled something like that
That would really mess the Doctor up even more if the Master captured her or she willingly went with him. Shes still messed up from Gallifrey being destroyed by him (if we take his words as truth). On that fact....the Doctor has been more "bitchy" since Spyfall too. Ryan and Graham are there to keep the balance lately (the stoic type)....just imo
@@valafor It's the kind of thing that could be very heartbreaking. Imagine if Yaz and the Doctor had opened the series drifting apart. Then comes along the Master and Yaz ends up enjoying his company over the Doctors (Before the reveal anyway). Then they continue on their travels and Yaz and the Doctor start arguing more, Yaz saying she wants to go home but the Doctor keeps failing to get her there kind of thing. Then the Master shows up again and Yaz realises, despite what the Doctor's told her, she still likes and gets along with him. Then at the end she opts to go with him instead of the Doctor. Can you imagine how hard that could hit the audience. That's more like the kind of thing I was expecting from Chibnall. Hard hitting character arcs, cause that was what I thought he was known for. Sadly, I doubt we'll get any big character twists this series. At least from the companions.
Is anyone else noticing that every episode so far of season 12 has taken place on earth, its a little weird, i want to see alien planets and no just a 5 second clip of Gallifrey. Just like the 9th doctor staying in at least earths orbit the entire time.
I recently rewatched this episode. It’s not an all-time great but it’s certainly more good than bad. If Haunting of Villa Diodati wasn’t so great, I’d call it the stand-out of the Series. I think, beyond that one vlogger, the side characters are pretty well written and it at least avoids the ‘Bury your Gays’ trope. I like those little moments, those subtle bits where characters are just talking. Like when that one guy whose name escapes me, he’s the Police Officer, says to Graham: “Can you imagine being married to someone that impressive?” And Graham just looks down and you’re like: Oh... Remember Grace?
I agree with you on pretty much everything you said, with theslight diference thatthe romantic part kind of saved it a bit for me, cause FINALLY a character that actually feels real and they get me to give a damn about.
The biggest problem with this episode is that Orphan 55 happened before it. In isolation it’s a solid episode that weaves the real life issue into the story well. But because we’ve already had an episode deliver a similar message, there’s a lot of negative responses that I’ve seen, perhaps even more than Orphan 55. They really dropped the ball in making that episode, and as a result of Praxeus, I’d now put Orphan 55 into the ‘won’t watch again’ category.
For me, the splitting up helped everyone in the episode to have a 'standout moment', which we don't see as much when the doctor dominates the dialogue; Yaz chasing through the teleport, Ryan at the hospital and Graham talking some sense into the married couple. They were all a lot more proactive and useful to the doctor in this one too (thinking about fugitive of the jadoon or spyfall pt2 for comparison). And agreed, between having more likeable side characters and less on-the-nose environmental preaching, it definitely one-ups orphan 55. Though I did still have to roll my eyes here and there. It's like every now and then the writers make the doctor snap into her 'kids TV presenter' voice and forget that everyone she's talking to is over the age of 20 and therefore understand simple concepts like pollution being bad. In fact I think the target age demographic for doctor who are in general too old for the tone they use when they do that. It's so off-putting...
I enjoyed it but when it got to the plastic pollution part all I could think is “people are gonna hate this” and was stuck with a feeling of dread that kinda ruined the episode for me.. Even though I thought it was good the toxicity in the fandom is destroying the show for me
Friendly Fronds I’m not labelling everyone toxic, just the same old same old “fans” that no matter what the show does it’s wrong, I’m starting to watch episodes looking for things people can complain about.... the fandom used to be fun I’ve watched doctor who in the 80s as a kid and all through new who but now it’s like I’m not allowed to enjoy the show anymore
Hey, huge DW fan who didn’t like the episode. Because of the WAY too similar themes dang near back to back. Does not mean I hate everything about the show. I love the show, for the most part. But that just... so frustrating.
@@DoctorTwo Note that the OP said there was toxicity in the fandom. That's not the same thing as labeling individual *people* as toxic. You've read an oversimplification into his comment that isn't there.
I really liked this epiaode. Enjoyable characters. Good threat level. Creepy animations and good tone. I don't mind Dr Who having modern day commentary if it's done somewhat subtlely, which I think is the case with this episode.
I thought this was incredibly solid. I'm glad that 'Nikola', ''Fugitive', and 'Praxeus' have proved that 'Orphan' was basically a fluke. This season is SUPER strong so far! Big improvement from S11. 'Can You Hear Me?' looks very creepy, so that's gonna be interesting. @CouncilofGeeks, if you don't just ask "can you hear me?" or something to that effect for the intro, the review is doomed! (Lol, just kidding, it'll be fabulous no matter what!)
My two cents: I got into Who in the Matt Smith era, then went back to Eccleston, loved it, Tennant's run with it's ups and downs tugged at my heart in all the right ways. Didn't love Capaldi's first season but by the end of his run he was my Doctor. Still i was tired of Moffat and was more than exited for a new show runner and a female doctor. Enter Chibnall and Whitaker, save from Graham's characters interactions, i found precious little to love in their first series. Not the music, or lighting, or cinematography, not the dialog, not the stories and sadly not the Doctor. This season for me is markedly worse in all those areas. Having said that i know there are people who still enjoy the show and perhaps new people are discovering it. So rather than issue blame id rather recognise that the current incarnation of the show is not for me, i get no enjoyment from it i usually fall asleep during it and im not exited for it. Ill still checkout videos of the eps to keep up with the season arcs but it's no longer must see tv for me. Specially when the team behind the scenes is sticking to their vision for the show. I hope to return for the regeneration and see what new directions the show take, perhaps it finally get into big finish and explore stories there but as for the main show.... Im in the wilderness.
This just occurred to me as to why im not into the Doctor this time around. The Doctor feels like a fresh new Doctor. No lessons learnt, no experience no miles on the Tardis, just a very very new character, without history, or rather "new history" but completly distanced from what was.
@@jorgecarrasco5309 ...to me, it's the bad writing. Informed attributes for characters, gadgets and plot; rushed stories that leave way too many things unanswered (and not in the "huh, a mystery~" kinda way); too much reliance on fan-nostalgia over original ideas; way too many characters that get nothing to do / are hard to get invested into; dialogue that at times feels awkwardly forced and lacks natural flow........ and I could go on. I also started during Smith and did my homework - I binged most of it, then did several re-watches, all with almost childish excitement. When new episodes (of Smith's era) came out, I watched them and then watched them again right away. This habit lasted throughout Capaldi's era (although I have some episodes there I do not cherrish as much). Back then, I was strongly against all the hate against Moffat, as I felt that even the "bad" episodes were still entertaining and good, or at least okay, in their own rights. ..."The Woman Who Fell To Earth" was the latest episode I watched twice. I have to convince myself to watch DW these days. Because I keep hoping, something might still click for me, or that some writer will over-power the direction/writing of Chibnall's and not make the above list of things that I can't unsee anymore and that ruins the experience for me in every new episode. I don't think Chibnall is a bad writer per se. Apparently he did quite well in Broadchurch. A serial crime drama. But it's obvious to me, that he has no clue how to write science-fiction or for Doctor Who at all. IMO the best work of his was indeed Spyfall - the spy-stuff, not the DW-stuff. I *am* happy, that others still enjoy the show. It makes me hopeful, that the show will last and eventually someone else will take over the reigns again and *I* can enjoy it too again. ...last week I re-watched "The Day Of The Doctor" and had a blast. But it really did not help me watch Praxeus with a kinder eye.
@@thekueken i agree. Its bittersweet. The emotional highs of DW over the years were really great. The doctor dances, 10's exit still brings a tear as does Vincent and the Doctor, Capaldi's arc was a thing of beauty and if you stop it when he closes his eyes its a beautiful series ending. But if nothing clicks for me now i cant force it. Also i cant dis Broadchurch, the first two series were really great and to me it ended in a satisfying way.
Jorge Carrasco Everyone has eras they like or don’t like. Maybe the first “new” show-runner is always a challenge, I remember hating how I felt like the Doctor just “forgot” Donna and Martha and all when Moffat took over. I feel like a bunch of people who genuinely (so not talking of the haters who rant about BBC’s “diversity quotas” and SJWs) dislike Whitaker’s Doctor started during Matt Smith. Not saying only they dislike the current series of course, Chibnall definitely had his issues in series 11 but imho 12 has been a massive improvement. The first series I watched was S1 with Eccleston/Russell T Davies. I didn’t “get” Matt Smith’s Doctor until his speech in Rings of Akhaten, in his and Moffat’s third series, and like I said I felt annoyed that everything pre-S5 was “ignored”. I felt like Moffat made the crack storyline so he could erase RTD’s work (which was a ridiculous thought in hindsight lol but I didn’t understand yet how Doctor Who worked at that time). It’s kind of a shame because I feel like I missed out on Amy and Rory by not being super into the show during their run (River was the exception, probably because Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead was and still is my favourite Doctor Who episode.) I loved Capaldi though!
I loved the episode. We got to see how Yaz doesn’t like being in the background and we saw that. We also discovered that Ryan doesn’t know who Rosa Parks and Nikola Tesla are, doesn’t know what a pathogen is but can dissect a bird.
A Who fan posted an intriguing theory about Yas the other day. She spends a lot.of.time with O, at the Casino, in Spyfall Part- & he makes an odd comment directed towards Yas when they are all on the plane at the.climax of that same episode. So what if Yas is under the subtle control of The Master all this time?
I enjoyed it and I thought your points about Orphan 55 were solid. There's not much more that I can say that you haven't touched on, but I really was emotionally invested in the Jack/Adam ship. Partly because I wasn't really expecting it and for me it was done really well. They were characters first and there wasn't a Statement about it, they just were. Also the tender holding hands and the kiss. Ah l'amour. I will say though I appreciated what they were trying to do with the message I think the episode itself was too busy for them to really stick the landing. But I did like it.
I love your videos! and look forward to every episode on the series of Doctor Who! Totally appreciate them! yay.... ....but ya really need to dust the Sonic Shelf......My OCD ass kept looking at that layer of dust!.....
I think that is a damn good review of this one, as you said solid. The only thing I would add is that I thought it went back to the shows original remit really well. Sydney Newman set the show up as a kids show that would also appeal to adults that would educate through entertaining. I think this one did just that and did it well and was entertaining. Not the best DW ever but totally sound.
It's more that canon is whatever the current showrunner decides to incorporate into their vision. So many things that were considered canon have been retconned or handwaved away that it's really pointless to worry about it now.
Moffatt actually did a rather amazing job of not contradicting anything that RTD at least set up...Chibnall is the one that hasn't tried. Jodie should have never been able to materialize in the pocket universe to check on Gallifrey because 12 never found the pocket universe, and he looked. He didn't find Gallifrey until Hell Bent and they were out of the pocket universe which is clearly discussed between 12 and Clara. Moffatt would never have made such a mistake. And he was very careful to keep Doctorisms moving from David to Matt and then again to Peter. His doctors would have never not bothered to have at least acknowledged the guy who died on the beach during this episode. Jodie walks through a room full of dead people in ep4 and says "no time." yeah, that's not doctory.
It was good enough that I would go back and watch again, if I had the time and I wanted to rewatch something. One comparison I got in my mind was way back to the classic series -- The Doctor's clearly become a better pilot since Earthshock. Helped that the actor who played... name... looks a little like an older version of Adric. I liked having all the different supporting characters to spice things up and a little extra focus on Yaz was gratifying.
@@gryphonpol Well why don't you try saving him then XD lol, in honesty, that definitely sounds like something the Doctor would have done. Especially the fifth.
As long as the filler episodes are better than ”Fear her” from series 2, I’m satisfied. I must say that this episode was very solid. Good story, great acting, and finally not killing off the gay guys :) And the doctor. She’s getting better and better. I just love it. The fifth very nice episode this far in series 12. Only one episode this far (Orphan 55) that hasn’t been very good. A very good series, this far!
Yeah. I feel like people have a bit of a nostalgia filter with Doctor Who. There have been some absolutely brilliant stories, but quite a lot of it has been pretty poor. On average there are a few clunkers every season. Compared to episodes like "Tooth and Claw" and "The Shakespeare Code" and "The Curse of the Black Spot" I've found Season 12 to be pretty good overall. Not amazing, but also not terrible compared to a lot of the Who episodes that we quietly forget.
I feel like they're really starting to justify having 3 companions. There were a crap ton of characters here, but not a single one of them ever felt forgotten. Maybe the best use of Graham since It Takes You Away...?
That’s true, they’re finally getting a hang of the three companions thing. Though I’m still annoyed about Aruma’s death cause it literally happened because he walked about fifteen feet further into the beach than he should have. And there was no reason he needed to be that close.
I really enjoyed this episode. The show has invested deeply in developing the cast and this show capitolized on that superbly. The companions have come into their own and are effective on their own. We now know what to expect from them and they surpass expectations. I really like them all. We got to know and enjoy the guest stars and the Doctor is by now very well established and comfortable, to me at least.
It's just so nice to have a traditional, standard episode again. We've been going from extreme to extreme. I wish it was the Autons, and I like what they're doing with Yaz. Basically all I have to say and that's fine.
Many things Yaz did and said in this episode felt very Doctor-y to me - I would like to see this emerging similarity explored further in future episodes.
So glad you liked this one ok. I thought you’d hate it due to the huge plot holes. I read so many negative reviews before watching that I was pleasantly surprised. That was different ;) Ginormous plot holes, yes, and Yaz’s request to go back was totally absurd, plus they left a big character on the beach, yet all generally still ok. Ok is good right now. Graham was hilarious, plus a good therapist, I’d like a Graham in my life :)
This was a bad episode, the fact the two guys we’re married made no impact to the story, they could have been brothers or best friends. The surviving blogger showed no emotion that her friend died in front of her, what happened to the birds when Bradley Walsh was having a conversation on the beach? And since when does the Doctor allow companions to knowingly put themselves at risk?
I'll take your points one at a time. 1) Why do they have to have an impact on the story? That's limiting how you write to start placing rules, especially as the story did impact them. 2) I picked up on the no emotion but if I had to give a reason, I'd say shock and denial, along with the confusion and adrenalin rush of the whole situation. My Mum's death didn't hit me until much later and I wasn't dealing with the other circumstances. People react differently, not everyone will show emotion straight away. 3) I don't recall the exact bit you refer to or how you mean it, so I can't address the beach conversation. 4) Have you seen the show? They are knowingly at risk all the time, every episode.
Domo Mess I agree it doesn’t matter, but if that’s the case why point it out in the first place? It doesn’t add to the story it’s just another tick box for the writers.
@@johnmackrory8306 They do this all the time with straight people. Main character meets person of the opposite gender and know there dating. Doesn't matter if it's relevant to the plot, so why are they pointing it out with a straight couple?
@John Mackrory There doesn't need to be a reason, not everything in a story needs to directly connect to that story, there's also background details of characters. Little things that add up to flesh out characters. You didn't need to know that Graham and Ryan's Gran were married. They could have been dating or very close friends, so was that an issue for you when that was pointed out? This is no different. As I said though, it did add to the story by the end, with the actions of one of them becoming the person they could be, through the events of that story.
I do agree the of intensifying of Yaz's personality was a boon for this episode. It's going to get her in trouble eventually, but that's what drama is made of! :)
Overall, I really liked it. It was decent. I liked the couple, they were cute. I liked that the companions, had well, companions in this. Yaz, I think has become in a lot of ways like the Doctor, sometimes reckless and endangering her companion, without regard for them. Something along the lines of Clara - Is being around the Doctor a corruptive experience. Even Sarah, my favorite did become Doctor like at the end. The companions, for the most part, are adapting to their new life, and have become strong and can handle things on their own, in spite of the Doctor. They aren't pearl-clutching or hiding behind the Doctor, they are jumping in and working as a team, in ways a Doctor lite. I like your reviews --
I feel like I would've had more of a reaction to the husbands' arch if I could've watched the episode without my brothers talking over it every 5 seconds
So... I can't have been the only one hissing at Yaz and Gabriella when they activated the teleport thing. "You are not stupid white people in a horror movie! Why are you behaving like white people in a horro movie?! Yaz, at least tell the Doctor where you are going, you are smarter than this!!" Also, a detail that irritated me: when Yamila and Gabriella hop down from the truck, one of them says "obigado", which means "thank you"... in portuguese, so it would make sense if they were in Brazil but they are in Peru! Where people speak Spanish! They should have said "gracias"! Such a stupid mistake, small, but so stupid! A detail that I can't explain: where did the astronaut get the phone with which he texted his husband? Did he took a cell phone with him into space? And why didin't he call his superiors or someone who could have rescued him, instead of a lone guy, basically a civilian? Just... thoughts.
like the tooth faced guy from last series, i couldnt watch most of this episode because stuff like that bothers me too much. but even despite that i enjoyed this episode more than I expected to after seeing the body horror and realizing id have to spend most of the episode looking away.
What happened to the planet the aliens were from? If this was the time to have a time ship, it would be now. The way it was left off, The Doctor let the planet die with the wrong information.
One nit pick I have is that they kinda forgot about Aramu (the dude in Madagascar) after he was attacked by the birds and I'm fairly sure no one even noticed he was gone. I mean you might be able to give the doctor & gang a pass because they were also attacked by the birds just after he was presumably killed, but there was literally no mention of his name after his death as far as I can remember.
too many characters and limited screen time, i do not blame them - but that makes me question: was he really that relevant to be there in the first place?
This bugged me as well! Also, if Aramu was also an alien, the birds scratching him wouldn't have killed him right away. Yet, Suki said she was the last one left.
rdoriog yeh I noticed that
I feel like the Doctor would of asked, but considering what the girl said to him (“Considering the work we’re doing”) I feel like he was also an alien, so the doctor didn’t care for him much, as soon as he was gone. My nit pick is: Why did the Doctor drop them off in Madagascar at the end? She could of gone back to the UK or Peru, but Nope.
OB Gaming especially that the girl stuff I’m presuming is still in Peru as she isn’t carry it when in Madagascar
On Jake and Adam's relationship, I did love the fact that they didn't resort to the infuriating "bury your gays" cliché that was prevalent throughout Series 11. They made it look like Jake was going to die, by he's saved at the last minute and I´m so glad they did that.
I'm glad Dr Who is (finally) getting a decent spread of Earth locations. Last season we had Demons of the Punjab and in this season we've already spent time in Australia, France, Hong Kong, the central Indian Ocean, Madagascar, Peru, the United Kingdom (obvs), the United States, and I guess Orphan 55 is technically set in Russia.
That's something I've wanted for a long time and I hope they keep going with.
Yeah, if they're going to spend every episode on Earth at least show us a few different locations on Earth.
@@thomaskirkness-little5809 And add Switzerland, Syria, and maybe Ireland to that list.
Add everywhere to the list. Variety is the spice of life.
Norway in s11 too
This was a fairly decent episode and was way better than Orphan 55, however one nitpick that has bugged me a lot is the one girl travelling with her friend doesn't show much emotion throughout the episode that her friend for how many years is gone. Even in the end, she wants to create a new blog about travelling with the two guys. I'm like you're friend just died and you are already thinking about replacing her. Apart from that, decent episode.
I put it down to post traumatic shock. My head canon says that, in a few days out from the episode, she's going to break down in tears.
Honestly, same. She wasn't a particularly good actress, she barely reacted when she found her friend dying or after her friend exploded. The ending also bothered me cause 1) Yeah, her friend just died, come on now and 2) The gay couple most likely want to rekindle the romance and having her there puts an awkward kibosh on the whole, like being forced to babysit while on their honeymoon. Also, she didn't really do anything other than stand there, point out the obvious and fret. I just didn't like her at all.
Loved the gay couple though, they didn't feel like forced fan service and their arc was good, even if the astronaut did feel very damsel- in- distress. I like how they kinda switched roles through the episode; in the beginning with the ex- cop seeing that his husband is presumed dead, and in the end with the astronaut seeing his husband as he's about to die, both getting saved by the doctor. I wanted to know more about them honestly.
@TheMarcHicks head Canon? So your cognitive dissonance, correct? You need to believe you're watching something good so hard that you pretend reality is different in your head.
Anybody else have flashbacks to “Are you my mummy?” from the guys in the masks?
Tips for writers. Now that we've established traits for the main four, expand on them.
Doctor: Childish curiosity. Let's see how this is both a good thing and a bad thing.
Yaz: Wreckless levels of fearlessness. She has seen so much that she is no fazed by it. Let's crank that up.
Ryan: He seems more cautious. Let's have him clash with Yaz. He could be a voice of reason.
Graham: He has a lot of common sense and empathy. He could be the face of the team. Whilst the Doctor has all the technical solutions, Yaz is the brave warrior and Ryan is the person who assess risk, Graham is the person who talks the team out of trouble. His weakness is that he will be useless in situations that cannot be resolved through talking. Maybe he is too forgiving of wicked deeds. He was vengeful at the end of series 11 until he had a change of heart and now he's swung too far the other way.
Each of the four characters together will balance out the excesses of the team. Everyone gets their time to shine and be awesome and everyone gets moments where their flaws become a serious liability. However it is their family dynamic that brings out the best in them.
I like what you say about Yaz being the "brave warrior." I got that vibe from her from the very start of the Chibnal era.
Yaz was afraid. She was traumatized after being in the alternate dimension forrest. She had to psych herself to go through the teleport. But foolhardy-brave is true (true generally of someone willing to travel with the doctor)
yaz`s behaviour seemed weird to me, as if she had failed massively as some point in the last episode and in this she was going over the top to make up for it, I dont know why she thought going back into the base was a good idea. Also I found this episode so boring
@@gallohalt That's an interesting point. Maybe Yaz's newfound recklessness is a reaction to the helplessness she felt when she was trapped in the Casavin dimension. That seemed to affect her strongly at the time.
I think Ryan is a bit of a kluts. Not to be mean but there are times he just gets into trouble because he is at that place at that time. Getting infected by the hopper virus on Orphan 55, telling the spies their plan on Spyfall, a bit headstrong with the Judoon in Fugitive of the Judoon.
Anyway I could be wrong.
This episode was a fun one for me. Loved how the Doctor trusts her fam to go do missions on their own, and how they use the little comm chips to talk to one another. This was such a good episode for Yaz - and it fits the character she's had very well. From near the beginning, she's wanted to travel. She was the first who said she wanted more of the type of life the Doctor had, more adventures. She's always been willing to go and face dangers and jump into things. She jumped to try and save Tesla when he was teleported to the scorpion ship. She takes the lead on several bits in The Tsuranga Conundrum, while Graham and Ryan are playing midwives. This seems like a natural continuation of what's been developed so far. I think people are seeing it now because the fam is so well-established, and the writers/directors feel that they can stretch a bit more with the characters.
I’m glad the Doctor blurted out “Autons!” once she made the connection with plastic, because we were all thinking it. That said, I was kind of hoping that when Doctor Who dealt with microplastics that it would be with the autons. A modern take on a classic villain.
This episode definitely made its environmental message in a better way than Orphan-55 (a low bar, admittedly), but it still too in the face. Like a story written to tell an environmental message than a story written as a story with an environmental theme.
Splitting the companions and giving them more to do was entertaining, and some of Graham’s parts gave me a good chuckle. But the reactions to people dying were... non-existent. I also feel like giving Yas personality in this episode was a bit at the cost of Ryan’s personality, so I’m still of the mind that three companions introduced all at once with no clear arcs for any of them was a bit of a mistake. The ending also felt a bit rushed, and I don’t know why the Doctor dropped them off on Madagascar when none of the surviving characters started there.
Overall though it was enjoyable to watch. The Doctor felt like the Doctor, the core problem was intriguing and surrounded in mystery for the first half and it kept a good pace.
3.5 Jelly Babies out of 5.
This is exactly my thinking!
i dont think "in the face" is a bad thing. i think shows like this should send positive messages like this.
if you dont beat viewers over the head with it, most either miss or dismiss it. you need to make it so that cant happen. yeah some will be rubbed wrong by it, but i still think its good.
I don't mind all the companions not getting a chance to shine every episode, so long as each of them gets quality time over the course of the season. Not having a go at you here, it seems to me that "a story written to tell an environmental message than a story written as a story with an environmental theme" is a fine, fairly subjective line to draw. IMO the theme and plot each reinforced the other.
listen to big finish sargasso. i feel you'd like it
@@13jq5ll This episode took a contemporary problem that everyone can relate to and framed an episode around it. I'm not sure why you seem to have taken that as an attack on you personally.
They're not picking on you, they're just telling a story about a topic that is relevant to you and everyone else watching. Doctor Who has always been full of contemporary issues and allusions to contemporary issues.
What is it with Yaz and teleporting this series?
Spyfall - Yaz gets teleported to another universe
Orphan 55 - The whole gang get teleported to the actual planet
Nikola tesla - Yaz gets teleported to the skithra ship
Fugitive of the judoon - All 3 companions get teleported to Jacks ship
Praxius - Yaz gets teleported to the bottom of an ocean
Does she have a fetish 😂
"I'm pretty sure the BBC didn't cause the coronavirus."
Alex Jones would like to know your location.
Oh no what is he saying now
To feature on the One show?
I really enjoy Jodie's Doctor, but she is not being done any favors by the writing/editing. We weren't shown any acknowledgement at all of her being aware Amaru(?) is attacked after she asks him to keep an eye on the birds. He's not there at the end so my assumption is he dies. We aren't told if he's any alien and involved, or an innocent dupe, and the entire thread is completely dropped. The writing/editing here makes The Doctor look *really* callous, in a way I'm hoping is unintentional.
Overall this episode was good, but it was emotionally muted re: grief in general. Noone cared that Amaru or the submarine guy died and Gabriela got over Jamila's death almost instantly. It was odd.
The husbands story arc hit me very hard, emotionally, and I think part of it had to do with them both being gay. When Adam was dying, and Jake took his hand, it reminded me the early days of AIDS, when people weren't sure about how HiV was transmitted. People were afraid to touch those who were sick. Holding hands, hugging, or kissing. Those were heroic acts of love.
And it reminded me of what I thought at the time, which is that gay men were literally saving the world, because they speaking out, demanding research, and letting everyone know how to deal with the disease.
I also really enjoyed the premise of the story, because the idea that plastic-eating bacteria will someday evolve is the one thing that keeps me from despairing about how much plastic we throw out every day. To see that turned on its head, with the bacteria carrying a deadly disease that could wipe out mankind is both horrifying and a great twist.
I just loved this story.
A couple of honest questions about this episode('s plot):
If Adam's pod crashed into the indian ocean and he was "saved" by the aliens, who took him to Hongkong, strapped him in and started experimenting on him... who sent the text to Jake?
If the birds weren't native (but from Peru? since they seemed to be the same as the one Ryan picked up there), the cause of them acting weird was the plastic, so they'd infect more people - what were they doing at Madagascar? [picture me looking confusedly at a map]
Why *did* the girls build up their tent in the middle of trash - was there really no other slightly open area available *anywhere* reachable before nightfall?
Who did Jamila get to the hospital (without her or anyone ever waking Gabriella) and what happened there? Were there more casualties / people infected before Jamila (who only 'popped' when Ryan poked her) was brought in there? If so, why wasn't the hospital closed off!? The pathogen had an incubation time, did it not? Is the one dead bird an indicator that the whole building was attacked by birds? (I feel there's a whole sub-plot swept beneath the carpet here...)
...how did the Team forget entirely about Arumu after Graham declaring "The birds are getting really angry" and *leaving him outside* ?
You must be a racist or fascist if you question Chibnalls writing. ... But yeah exactly he is an awfull writer who has destroyed this show
This!!! Exactly
honestly, i think all the side characters except the madagascar pair could have been cut out. they weren't really pat of the story. if they remembered arumu existed they could have used him as the test subject. assuming he was human, they left that ambiguous. plus without the bloated cast we would have had time to actually have the origins of praxsus explained and maybe finding out if the researcher just killed of the rest of her species by jumping the gun on the cure.
We don't definitively know the answers to some of these questions, but most of them are fairly easily explainable:
- I wondered about the text myself, but it's not too hard to imagine Adam got his hands on a phone for a couple of seconds at some point during his captivity.
- The birds flew from Peru to Madagascar. Not typical behaviour, but it's not like the birds were behaving typically at that point and we don't know how long the aliens had been on Earth experimenting (apparently at least long enough to set up a laboratory in Madagascar). The birds could probably fly that distance in a couple of weeks.
- My guess as to why the girls made their tent exactly there is that Jamila was being stubborn and making a point.
- Good question about the hospital. Probably some variant of the birds attacked it and Jamila made her way there under the influence of the Praxeus.
- The team forgot about Aramu because they were pretty distracted at the time. A better question IMO is why Aramu thought staying outside with the birds was a good idea...
I wondered about the girls' camp thing too. Since one of them said to the other "I'm not camping here" then in the next scene they're camping there. They seemed to have come through fairly good wilderness, why didn't they just backtrack? Or at least clear out a decent area free of trash.
it maybe isn't important to you but the detail of the first televiosioned brazilian character in the franchise is REALLY good to us xD
Felt the same way when Nikola Tesla's character was played by an american-croatian, may not be slovenian but close enough to make me feel very excited and happy about the episode :D happy you got someone too!
Gabriela would be a great companion
Speaking anecdotally, my family couldn't work out where she was supposed to be from, so that's probably the case with other people too.
I second Gabriela for companion.
More box ticking from Chibnall
I'm a gay guy myself and while the romance subplot didn't have me in tears or anything, I was still invested ENOUGH to like. Actually Care if they both got through it by the end.
I actually really liked the one scene jake had with graham, and I feel like graham was drawing a few parallels between his relationship with grace and the things jake was saying about his own relationship with adam. at the start of the last series, graham was blaming himself a LOT for grace's death, and put himself down a lot with him saying things like "It should have been me." after all his time with the Doc it looks like he's finally been able to find some worthiness in himself, and that's why he could recognize that jake was punishing himself. it's subtle, but in a way I really liked
Yeah, there was some nice subtlety in the way they handled that moment. You could see it in Graham and they didn't need to belabour the point by turning the subtext into text.
Ryan not knowing what a Pathogen is sounded dumb, but ok, whatever, I can almost believe that. Graham though... wtf?
A Person With a Name especially since he went through cancer, married a nurse, and had experienced loads of hospitals.
He knew how to knock up an IV drip though. 🙄
Also, is it common to dissect birds a school? It's not where I live, so I was surprised Ryan was supposed to know how to do it
@@viiiivivii306 Remember when Sarah Jane went on about dissecting rats in School Reunion? Rose thought it really out of date...
At my school (I'm German) students don't get to dissect any animals, maybe a single organ like a cow's heart.
@@bacul165 Oh, you are right! I had forgotten that part. Also, interesting. Thank you for the answer!
Rewatching this one allowed me to enjoy it a lot more than on initial viewing. I loved the global mystery that managed to balance all the separate components together at the end, Gabriella, Jake and Alan were fun characters I genuinely wouldn't mind being the new TARDIS team and it was very well directed and kept me guessing throughout.
They feel like they were seeded as being a new tardis team if the current trio leave
What about that talking cat?
The talking cat gag didmake me laugh I have to admit.
@@viinis939 Rick and Morty reference? Esp as it was called out as having "nothing to do with anything"...
I have the same feelings about random romance subplots, but I think the reason it worked is because it wasn't really romance, it was an old married couple doing more arguing than kissing. To me, it was more realistic and matter-of-fact.
Can we talk about how this episode did what Orphan 55 failed to do with the many characters. There were a lot of side characters along with the crowded TARDIS but everyone had something to do and went through an arc that was meaningful
What was the traveling girls arc again? I literally just watched it and can’t tell you what she was there for.
And she doesn’t seem to be grieving that much over someone she knew for years.
This season's message episodes have been oddly topical. The Doctor announces that the planet Earth is on fire while Australia literally IS, then the global pandemic episode drops during the Corona Virus scare. It's almost like they can see the future...
Excuse me while I go add "Chibnall is actually a Time Lord" to the WMG page on TV Tropes.
the Doctor reuniting with Yaz like "you didn't die!" makes me wonder that she is picking up on these reckless vibes and is concerned because she knows from experience what that can lead to.
As for this episode in general, I loved it. Those who complain it lowered the stakes too much after the last episode were, I think, being unreasonable. It was a great chance to slow down and take a breather. Whatever's coming next will come in time. Just enjoy the show until then.
PLASTICS! You made me laugh out loud ( I am way older than you)
I was actively worrying about the the Companions off on their own...
It seemed careless
I liked the brief shot of the Doctor standing in the Tardis doorway, watching Yaz go, with a really worried look on her face. I definitely think in that moment, she was second guessing her decision to allow Yaz to go back into a potentially dangerous situation.
Kind of like how reckless Clara became...
This was a decent episode, and I can certainly see this episode gaining in appreciation for years to come.
You hit the nail on the head for a lot of points I'd make: It wove the Environmental issue into the story rather than hit the audience on the head with it. It gave Yaz more screen time and characterization. It flowed from start to finish decently...
The gay couple did touch me emotionally, and I was very happy to see them. It was a solid love story that wasn't over-done and produced believable characters. All of that emotion ... the fear, the sorrow, the love ... it was something that made me tear up a bit.
A+ of a story!
I really enjoyed it. I mean it didn't blow my mind or anything but everything it tried to do, it did very well and that's actually worth A LOT. The Companions functioned better than I'd ever seen them, loved that they split Yaz and Graeme off together instead of Graeme with Ryan. It led to new dynamics. The supporting cast was excellent, I felt for all of them and they integrated nicely with our company. It was an engaging hour of television and I was so happy about that.
We've definitely come a long way since the fat one and thin one.
After that previous seasion where I constantly had the feeling of "why so many useless companions?", I'm really starting to like the Fam Tardis team. These split up plots make them prove themselves as useful and not depending as much on the doctor. In just six episodes Yas has become one of the companions I'm more curious to see what's going to do next. Even though it was not an epic episode, it was very good. And as a brazilian, I was really happy to see some fan service for us on the episode
I had a similar thought - it's nice to see them actually *utilising* the number of people in the TARDIS.
Gabriela was great, but it was kind of disturbing how quickly she got over the death of her friend(?). I kept expecting that to mean something, and it didn't.
I’m 59 and I definitely got the “plastics” reference 😄. Though I’m on board with the idea of plastic dangers (very on board) and this this was structured better than Orphan 55 it still suffered from pacing and clutter issues, and from the issues of the dob and companions as side characters. Just didn’t grab me. But I agree the atmosphere was good. But it didn’t come together as well as it could.
I had the same thought about Yaz teleporting and the aliens wearing respirators- What if she ended up somewhere that she couldn't breathe or was a quarantine area? Reckless indeed.
I knew what the one word was going to be.
My first thought when Jaz decided to teleport was exactly as you described: "hold on, those aliens are wearing gas masks or respirators, what makes you think you can breathe their atmosphere?"
The funniest part of this was remembering that 9 just had anti-plastic in his pocket but 13 didn't.
To be fair, from memory Nine knew there was a Nestene invasion and had been prepping. He had a bomb handy too. :D
We will have to see if this recklessness gets Yaz in trouble later on.
I hope it does. There's a potential good character arc there for her if she pushes this more. The ambitious, young police officer so desperate to prove herself, she doesn't know when to stop. That could work really well.
I hate unicorns Hopefully she doesn’t end up like Clara did.
Steve Kemmet, agreed, but see Clara's had build--we understood the reasons...for Yaz it just seems sudden and unfounded. I don't know--I don't feel like there is a lot of chemistry among the fam. It was improved in this ep a bit.
With its atmosphere and direction I actually thought thiswas pretty great! Akinola is still a master a sound scaping. I love how tbe 'threat' didn't really have a 'face', it felt more like a ominous force of nature. Anyone else get a little reminded of 'Fury from the Deep'?
I'm a bit disappointed that with all those gas masks the writers couldn't work in a single "Are you my mummy?"
The romance was subtle and not in your face obsessed. And they had cute banter but played off each other well enough that it wasn’t in your face
- 1.5 seasons in and we finally get a bit of character from Yaz...
- If Praxeus would have been *instead* of Orphan 55, then that would have been an okay episode, but having two enviromental message (the same message no less) episodes this close to another doesn't help Praxeus much.
- Too. Many. Characters. (no wonder it's hard to get invested into them)
- I still like Graham best out of the companions... but this season it seems he's more and more getting reduced to comic relief.
- Still not enough show and way too much tell...
Graham could be a solo companion
I agree it would have been better if Orphan 55 had not come first because Praxeus does feel like it's mining the same vein, even though it handles its subject matter more deftly.
Yep too many characters, to me that's the biggest flaw of Chibnall's era. The best episodes are the ones who focused more on one character than the others, like Tesla, O or Ruth.
Glad someone shares my view on Graham - he had a discernible arc in the first series (losing Grace and his relationship with Ryan) but ever since Ryan called him 'Granddad' Chibnall hasn't had a clue what to do with either of them. But even if his purpose is different and arguably limited this season, at least he still does it well - I was howling when he was holding that reader upside down and said the noise was coming from the wrong side - Ryan, on the other hand, doesn't even have the fact he's funny to save him
Jake: My husband, is an astronaut. D'you have any idea how hard it is being married to someone *that* impressive?
Graham: - shaky little wistful smile showing just how much he still loves, respects and misses Grace -
They didn't bury the gays!
But I agree just a good solid episode, nothing special. I enjoyed it.
I wasn't thinking about during the episode, but I was very scared for both Adam and Jake. With good reason, since all the other infected people died. It seems like an awful lot of pilots end up dying when the auto-drive feature on a rocket ship fails... someone ought to look into that.
No Chishall wouldn't do that it's just all straight white men he wants to kill
I was so glad they didn't bury the gays. I was worried for a bit that they might but whew. Agreed that it was a solid episode. Also, the Doctor is going to have to have a chat with Yaz about doing reckless things. Yeesh.
@@redmd9772 lmaooo this is perhaps your most ridiculous comment on this video only because in this episode alone he killed one lesbian, one black man, and an alien being portrayed by an Asian actress.
@@lewisbough6109 Sometimes people only see what they want to see.
Oh cool! A Doctor Who episode on plastics. I can't wait to see Chibnall's interpretation of Regina George!
I felt like the Yas storyline this episode really could be foreshadowing... Chibnall has been tough with main characters in the past (I'm thinking Torchwood) and I can see this as a potential beginning of the end for her at the end of the season...
Props to Chibnall for avoiding bury your gays this time, even though there were a couple of fakeouts.
tbh this episode made the birds scarier than in the birds. and not just because there was more of a threat there was genuinely more fear and terror around the bird swarms in praxeus
The writing this season is a major step up from most of the previous season. Orphan 55 looks like more and more of an anomaly, ideally a one-off anomaly (and not a dreadful anomaly either!).
I agree but to me we haven't had an episode as good as Rosa, Demons of the Punjab or It Takes You Away yet. Those three are a cut above the rest of the rest of the Chibnall era IMO, including all of Series 12 so far. But we'll see what the future episodes bring.
Are you being serious? It's beyond dead now this show.
We actually got some deep characterization here. And great use of all 3 companions. And for the season overall, an actual plot arc!!! What is this???
@@WiloPolis03 Plot arc for the Season you mean one mention of the timeless child or lone Cyberman or previous unknown Doctor then nothing again. Or throw Jack in with some hastily filmed re shoot all for nothing. It's a mess with no direction. The show exists now just for Chibnalls and the BBC's extreme agenda pushing and box ticking
The writing IS better. Someone is paying better attention. Not great but less frustrating.
Here from 2021... just catching up on series 12 now. "I hope this things doesn't end up that bad" re: coronavirus... bad news
'God I hope this thing doesn't end up that bad'
Well, I'm from the future... Spoilers
I liked the mention of Autons. That was one of my guess at one point.
Solid episode, not great, just solid.
Would've been cool if it was an Auton episode. It would be a new, relevant take on it, but maybe that's a bit too much fan-service for this series already.
I can kinda see Yaz having a fate not too far off from Clara's. Charging headfirst into something confident that if she messes up the Doctor can just fix it but finding out too late that the Doctor doesn't always have a solution.
During the climax I predicted that the astronaut’s boyfriend was going to stay behind and fly the ship, and then when it happened, I actually said out loud “here we go, The Doctor’s going to watch him die when she could easily materialise the TARDIS around him”, and low and behold, that’s exactly what she did.
The problem now is that now she’s reestablished that she can do that, it’s going to be even more annoying at other times when she could rescue people that way but doesn’t.
Why did the doctor let Yaz go back? Seemed totally wrong to me. I can't remember a situation in the modern era where the doctor willingly allows a companion to go into a known danger alone.
Reminds me of a fanfiction I wrote where the Nestenes held the planet hostage to force the doctor to give them access to the Tardis using the microplastics saturating the human population.
It's a clever idea, and props to you for coming up with it before the official show. :)
Crazy theory....what if Yaz flips and joins up with the Master. Shes become more reckless after getting stuck in that other world in Spyfall. Plus her and the Master had some moments together (before the reveal).
I actually though Yaz being trapped in the, "other world," was gonna have a much bigger effect on her mentally. The actress gave a great performance and made it seem like the experience really messed her up to the point of psychological damage. She even seemed more horrified than usual when the old lady died in Orphan 55. But nothing else really seemed to come of that which kinda bummed me. Like they could have had a PTSD kind of arc going forward with her character.
Makes sense. Yaz has been questioning the Doctor a bit more this series, almost as if she's losing trust in her. Maybe that's going to have an effect in the finale.
@BreeinMaryland I'd be cool if Yaz joined the Master. But I feel they'd need another episode to build up their connection. Like they're stuck together or he takes her captive and they get to talking about the world they were both trapped on and form a kinship as the Master convinces her she's better of with him than the Doctor. It would be new though, and I'd be surprised if they pulled something like that
That would really mess the Doctor up even more if the Master captured her or she willingly went with him. Shes still messed up from Gallifrey being destroyed by him (if we take his words as truth). On that fact....the Doctor has been more "bitchy" since Spyfall too. Ryan and Graham are there to keep the balance lately (the stoic type)....just imo
@@valafor It's the kind of thing that could be very heartbreaking. Imagine if Yaz and the Doctor had opened the series drifting apart. Then comes along the Master and Yaz ends up enjoying his company over the Doctors (Before the reveal anyway). Then they continue on their travels and Yaz and the Doctor start arguing more, Yaz saying she wants to go home but the Doctor keeps failing to get her there kind of thing. Then the Master shows up again and Yaz realises, despite what the Doctor's told her, she still likes and gets along with him. Then at the end she opts to go with him instead of the Doctor. Can you imagine how hard that could hit the audience.
That's more like the kind of thing I was expecting from Chibnall. Hard hitting character arcs, cause that was what I thought he was known for. Sadly, I doubt we'll get any big character twists this series. At least from the companions.
Man. It's been so long since I last saw Doctor Who. I think the last episode I saw was the Rosa Parks episode.
Is anyone else noticing that every episode so far of season 12 has taken place on earth, its a little weird, i want to see alien planets and no just a 5 second clip of Gallifrey. Just like the 9th doctor staying in at least earths orbit the entire time.
I recently rewatched this episode. It’s not an all-time great but it’s certainly more good than bad.
If Haunting of Villa Diodati wasn’t so great, I’d call it the stand-out of the Series.
I think, beyond that one vlogger, the side characters are pretty well written and it at least avoids the ‘Bury your Gays’ trope.
I like those little moments, those subtle bits where characters are just talking. Like when that one guy whose name escapes me, he’s the Police Officer, says to Graham: “Can you imagine being married to someone that impressive?” And Graham just looks down and you’re like: Oh... Remember Grace?
I'm very disappointed that nobody said, "Are you my mummy?"
If Orphan followed Fugitive, it would have been like Twin Dilemma following Caves of Androzani.
Yaz is likely going to end up like Clara if this trend keeps going
*does a PSA video about plastic pollution in school*
This episode releases:
Me: oh.. *harold face*
I agree with you on pretty much everything you said, with theslight diference thatthe romantic part kind of saved it a bit for me, cause FINALLY a character that actually feels real and they get me to give a damn about.
The biggest problem with this episode is that Orphan 55 happened before it. In isolation it’s a solid episode that weaves the real life issue into the story well. But because we’ve already had an episode deliver a similar message, there’s a lot of negative responses that I’ve seen, perhaps even more than Orphan 55. They really dropped the ball in making that episode, and as a result of Praxeus, I’d now put Orphan 55 into the ‘won’t watch again’ category.
For me, the splitting up helped everyone in the episode to have a 'standout moment', which we don't see as much when the doctor dominates the dialogue; Yaz chasing through the teleport, Ryan at the hospital and Graham talking some sense into the married couple. They were all a lot more proactive and useful to the doctor in this one too (thinking about fugitive of the jadoon or spyfall pt2 for comparison). And agreed, between having more likeable side characters and less on-the-nose environmental preaching, it definitely one-ups orphan 55. Though I did still have to roll my eyes here and there. It's like every now and then the writers make the doctor snap into her 'kids TV presenter' voice and forget that everyone she's talking to is over the age of 20 and therefore understand simple concepts like pollution being bad. In fact I think the target age demographic for doctor who are in general too old for the tone they use when they do that. It's so off-putting...
Not episode can be ‘phenomenal’, but it was a ‘decent’, ‘solid’, enjoyable episode.
I enjoyed it but when it got to the plastic pollution part all I could think is “people are gonna hate this” and was stuck with a feeling of dread that kinda ruined the episode for me.. Even though I thought it was good the toxicity in the fandom is destroying the show for me
Friendly Fronds I’m not labelling everyone toxic, just the same old same old “fans” that no matter what the show does it’s wrong, I’m starting to watch episodes looking for things people can complain about.... the fandom used to be fun I’ve watched doctor who in the 80s as a kid and all through new who but now it’s like I’m not allowed to enjoy the show anymore
Hey, huge DW fan who didn’t like the episode. Because of the WAY too similar themes dang near back to back. Does not mean I hate everything about the show. I love the show, for the most part. But that just... so frustrating.
Alley Oliver then my comment isn’t referring to you then is it ?
@@DoctorTwo Note that the OP said there was toxicity in the fandom. That's not the same thing as labeling individual *people* as toxic. You've read an oversimplification into his comment that isn't there.
I really liked this epiaode. Enjoyable characters. Good threat level. Creepy animations and good tone. I don't mind Dr Who having modern day commentary if it's done somewhat subtlely, which I think is the case with this episode.
I thought this was incredibly solid. I'm glad that 'Nikola', ''Fugitive', and 'Praxeus' have proved that 'Orphan' was basically a fluke. This season is SUPER strong so far! Big improvement from S11. 'Can You Hear Me?' looks very creepy, so that's gonna be interesting.
@CouncilofGeeks, if you don't just ask "can you hear me?" or something to that effect for the intro, the review is doomed! (Lol, just kidding, it'll be fabulous no matter what!)
As someone older than you AND the movie you referenced I laughed 👨🎓💯
My two cents:
I got into Who in the Matt Smith era, then went back to Eccleston, loved it, Tennant's run with it's ups and downs tugged at my heart in all the right ways. Didn't love Capaldi's first season but by the end of his run he was my Doctor. Still i was tired of Moffat and was more than exited for a new show runner and a female doctor. Enter Chibnall and Whitaker, save from Graham's characters interactions, i found precious little to love in their first series. Not the music, or lighting, or cinematography, not the dialog, not the stories and sadly not the Doctor. This season for me is markedly worse in all those areas.
Having said that i know there are people who still enjoy the show and perhaps new people are discovering it. So rather than issue blame id rather recognise that the current incarnation of the show is not for me, i get no enjoyment from it i usually fall asleep during it and im not exited for it.
Ill still checkout videos of the eps to keep up with the season arcs but it's no longer must see tv for me. Specially when the team behind the scenes is sticking to their vision for the show.
I hope to return for the regeneration and see what new directions the show take, perhaps it finally get into big finish and explore stories there but as for the main show.... Im in the wilderness.
This just occurred to me as to why im not into the Doctor this time around. The Doctor feels like a fresh new Doctor. No lessons learnt, no experience no miles on the Tardis, just a very very new character, without history, or rather "new history" but completly distanced from what was.
@@jorgecarrasco5309 ...to me, it's the bad writing. Informed attributes for characters, gadgets and plot; rushed stories that leave way too many things unanswered (and not in the "huh, a mystery~" kinda way); too much reliance on fan-nostalgia over original ideas; way too many characters that get nothing to do / are hard to get invested into; dialogue that at times feels awkwardly forced and lacks natural flow........ and I could go on.
I also started during Smith and did my homework - I binged most of it, then did several re-watches, all with almost childish excitement. When new episodes (of Smith's era) came out, I watched them and then watched them again right away. This habit lasted throughout Capaldi's era (although I have some episodes there I do not cherrish as much). Back then, I was strongly against all the hate against Moffat, as I felt that even the "bad" episodes were still entertaining and good, or at least okay, in their own rights.
..."The Woman Who Fell To Earth" was the latest episode I watched twice.
I have to convince myself to watch DW these days. Because I keep hoping, something might still click for me, or that some writer will over-power the direction/writing of Chibnall's and not make the above list of things that I can't unsee anymore and that ruins the experience for me in every new episode.
I don't think Chibnall is a bad writer per se. Apparently he did quite well in Broadchurch. A serial crime drama. But it's obvious to me, that he has no clue how to write science-fiction or for Doctor Who at all. IMO the best work of his was indeed Spyfall - the spy-stuff, not the DW-stuff.
I *am* happy, that others still enjoy the show. It makes me hopeful, that the show will last and eventually someone else will take over the reigns again and *I* can enjoy it too again.
...last week I re-watched "The Day Of The Doctor" and had a blast. But it really did not help me watch Praxeus with a kinder eye.
@@thekueken i agree.
Its bittersweet.
The emotional highs of DW over the years were really great. The doctor dances, 10's exit still brings a tear as does Vincent and the Doctor, Capaldi's arc was a thing of beauty and if you stop it when he closes his eyes its a beautiful series ending.
But if nothing clicks for me now i cant force it.
Also i cant dis Broadchurch, the first two series were really great and to me it ended in a satisfying way.
The show won't make it to another Doctor. Chibnall has completely made sure of that.
Jorge Carrasco Everyone has eras they like or don’t like. Maybe the first “new” show-runner is always a challenge, I remember hating how I felt like the Doctor just “forgot” Donna and Martha and all when Moffat took over. I feel like a bunch of people who genuinely (so not talking of the haters who rant about BBC’s “diversity quotas” and SJWs) dislike Whitaker’s Doctor started during Matt Smith. Not saying only they dislike the current series of course, Chibnall definitely had his issues in series 11 but imho 12 has been a massive improvement.
The first series I watched was S1 with Eccleston/Russell T Davies. I didn’t “get” Matt Smith’s Doctor until his speech in Rings of Akhaten, in his and Moffat’s third series, and like I said I felt annoyed that everything pre-S5 was “ignored”. I felt like Moffat made the crack storyline so he could erase RTD’s work (which was a ridiculous thought in hindsight lol but I didn’t understand yet how Doctor Who worked at that time). It’s kind of a shame because I feel like I missed out on Amy and Rory by not being super into the show during their run (River was the exception, probably because Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead was and still is my favourite Doctor Who episode.) I loved Capaldi though!
I loved the episode. We got to see how Yaz doesn’t like being in the background and we saw that. We also discovered that Ryan doesn’t know who Rosa Parks and Nikola Tesla are, doesn’t know what a pathogen is but can dissect a bird.
bruce wayne It makes you wonder how much attention he paid in school.
Rove made a funny joke about how the Doctor could save Jake just before the ship explodes but she couldn’t do the same for Adric?
I look at it like dining at a fine restaurant and being served a palate cleanser between courses.
A Who fan posted an intriguing theory about Yas the other day. She spends a lot.of.time with O, at the Casino, in Spyfall Part- & he makes an odd comment directed towards Yas when they are all on the plane at the.climax of that same episode. So what if Yas is under the subtle control of The Master all this time?
twitter.com/councilofgeeks/status/1224661333033005056?s=21
I feel like Yaz wasn't so much reckless it's that traveling with The Doctor made her overconfident.
I enjoyed it and I thought your points about Orphan 55 were solid. There's not much more that I can say that you haven't touched on, but I really was emotionally invested in the Jack/Adam ship. Partly because I wasn't really expecting it and for me it was done really well. They were characters first and there wasn't a Statement about it, they just were. Also the tender holding hands and the kiss. Ah l'amour. I will say though I appreciated what they were trying to do with the message I think the episode itself was too busy for them to really stick the landing. But I did like it.
I love your videos! and look forward to every episode on the series of Doctor Who! Totally appreciate them! yay....
....but ya really need to dust the Sonic Shelf......My OCD ass kept looking at that layer of dust!.....
I think that is a damn good review of this one, as you said solid. The only thing I would add is that I thought it went back to the shows original remit really well. Sydney Newman set the show up as a kids show that would also appeal to adults that would educate through entertaining. I think this one did just that and did it well and was entertaining. Not the best DW ever but totally sound.
"It is impossible for a show about a dimension-hopping time traveller to have a canon." - Steven Moffat
It's more that canon is whatever the current showrunner decides to incorporate into their vision. So many things that were considered canon have been retconned or handwaved away that it's really pointless to worry about it now.
To be honest; I stopped caring about what is canon and what is not. I consumed too much DW EU for that.
@@Companion92 I'm imagining someone eating a book or CD, and l love that image.
He just used that as an excuse to not try.
Moffatt actually did a rather amazing job of not contradicting anything that RTD at least set up...Chibnall is the one that hasn't tried. Jodie should have never been able to materialize in the pocket universe to check on Gallifrey because 12 never found the pocket universe, and he looked. He didn't find Gallifrey until Hell Bent and they were out of the pocket universe which is clearly discussed between 12 and Clara. Moffatt would never have made such a mistake. And he was very careful to keep Doctorisms moving from David to Matt and then again to Peter. His doctors would have never not bothered to have at least acknowledged the guy who died on the beach during this episode. Jodie walks through a room full of dead people in ep4 and says "no time." yeah, that's not doctory.
The entire time I was thinking "this episode is basically birdemic"
It was good enough that I would go back and watch again, if I had the time and I wanted to rewatch something.
One comparison I got in my mind was way back to the classic series -- The Doctor's clearly become a better pilot since Earthshock. Helped that the actor who played... name... looks a little like an older version of Adric.
I liked having all the different supporting characters to spice things up and a little extra focus on Yaz was gratifying.
Maybe the Doctor has done a lot of thought about how I could have saved Adric and got the chance to try out the solution in this episode.
I probably didn't help that the cybermen had just blown up the console in Earthshock
@@gryphonpol Well why don't you try saving him then XD
lol, in honesty, that definitely sounds like something the Doctor would have done. Especially the fifth.
@@kevinmerchant2478 I don't recall that part but it has been a long time since I got the chance to watch Earthshock.
Nope, the Doctor was FULLY capable of piloting that way back in Earthshock...he just chose NOT to, LOL!
I'm glad the gay characters don't die by the end, like all of them did in Chibnal's prior season.
As long as the filler episodes are better than ”Fear her” from series 2, I’m satisfied. I must say that this episode was very solid. Good story, great acting, and finally not killing off the gay guys :) And the doctor. She’s getting better and better. I just love it. The fifth very nice episode this far in series 12. Only one episode this far (Orphan 55) that hasn’t been very good. A very good series, this far!
Yeah. I feel like people have a bit of a nostalgia filter with Doctor Who. There have been some absolutely brilliant stories, but quite a lot of it has been pretty poor. On average there are a few clunkers every season. Compared to episodes like "Tooth and Claw" and "The Shakespeare Code" and "The Curse of the Black Spot" I've found Season 12 to be pretty good overall. Not amazing, but also not terrible compared to a lot of the Who episodes that we quietly forget.
The Shakespeare Code is amazing, and I started with Matt Smith
Omg yes like literally that whole scene in Spyfall I was just shouting at my screen "YOU GUYS WOULD MAKE HORRIBLE SPIES!!"
I feel like they're really starting to justify having 3 companions. There were a crap ton of characters here, but not a single one of them ever felt forgotten. Maybe the best use of Graham since It Takes You Away...?
Aside from that one guy that got eaten by birds and was never mentioned again.
@@BadWolf739 Sure, but you gotta admit, all other characters got just the right amount of attention
That’s true, they’re finally getting a hang of the three companions thing. Though I’m still annoyed about Aruma’s death cause it literally happened because he walked about fifteen feet further into the beach than he should have. And there was no reason he needed to be that close.
@@BadWolf739 New fan theory, random beach guy that turned into sand is the *TiMeLeSs cHiLdDdDdD!!!!*
I really enjoyed this episode. The show has invested deeply in developing the cast and this show capitolized on that superbly. The companions have come into their own and are effective on their own. We now know what to expect from them and they surpass expectations. I really like them all. We got to know and enjoy the guest stars and the Doctor is by now very well established and comfortable, to me at least.
It's just so nice to have a traditional, standard episode again. We've been going from extreme to extreme.
I wish it was the Autons, and I like what they're doing with Yaz. Basically all I have to say and that's fine.
Many things Yaz did and said in this episode felt very Doctor-y to me - I would like to see this emerging similarity explored further in future episodes.
Yaz was very Clara-like in this
Yaz actually did something! Shame to make room for her they had to give Ryan a completely pointless side plot.
Seriously, what did the Peru part add?
I hope this episode is erase the Orphan55 from the time line of history...those mutant monsters was quite grey, like the Praxeus.
I love episodes where they use the TARDIS a lot.
Autons (Anti-plastics) are trembling in fear of praxeus!
So glad you liked this one ok. I thought you’d hate it due to the huge plot holes. I read so many negative reviews before watching that I was pleasantly surprised. That was different ;) Ginormous plot holes, yes, and Yaz’s request to go back was totally absurd, plus they left a big character on the beach, yet all generally still ok. Ok is good right now. Graham was hilarious, plus a good therapist, I’d like a Graham in my life :)
This was a bad episode, the fact the two guys we’re married made no impact to the story, they could have been brothers or best friends. The surviving blogger showed no emotion that her friend died in front of her, what happened to the birds when Bradley Walsh was having a conversation on the beach? And since when does the Doctor allow companions to knowingly put themselves at risk?
I'll take your points one at a time.
1) Why do they have to have an impact on the story? That's limiting how you write to start placing rules, especially as the story did impact them.
2) I picked up on the no emotion but if I had to give a reason, I'd say shock and denial, along with the confusion and adrenalin rush of the whole situation. My Mum's death didn't hit me until much later and I wasn't dealing with the other circumstances. People react differently, not everyone will show emotion straight away.
3) I don't recall the exact bit you refer to or how you mean it, so I can't address the beach conversation.
4) Have you seen the show? They are knowingly at risk all the time, every episode.
Why does them being married have to matter? Can’t they just be married?
Domo Mess I agree it doesn’t matter, but if that’s the case why point it out in the first place? It doesn’t add to the story it’s just another tick box for the writers.
@@johnmackrory8306 They do this all the time with straight people. Main character meets person of the opposite gender and know there dating. Doesn't matter if it's relevant to the plot, so why are they pointing it out with a straight couple?
@John Mackrory There doesn't need to be a reason, not everything in a story needs to directly connect to that story, there's also background details of characters. Little things that add up to flesh out characters. You didn't need to know that Graham and Ryan's Gran were married. They could have been dating or very close friends, so was that an issue for you when that was pointed out? This is no different.
As I said though, it did add to the story by the end, with the actions of one of them becoming the person they could be, through the events of that story.
Don’t worry I get your references, I’m something of a Graduate myself on the topic
I do agree the of intensifying of Yaz's personality was a boon for this episode. It's going to get her in trouble eventually, but that's what drama is made of! :)
I'd be OK with more episodes being this solid.
Was I the only one that was very grossed out by the disease?
I got the feeling that Yaz is getting kinda frustrated as a companion.
The "Ant-Man and the Wasp" to Fugitive's "Infinity War"
Overall, I really liked it. It was decent. I liked the couple, they were cute. I liked that the companions, had well, companions in this. Yaz, I think has become in a lot of ways like the Doctor, sometimes reckless and endangering her companion, without regard for them. Something along the lines of Clara - Is being around the Doctor a corruptive experience. Even Sarah, my favorite did become Doctor like at the end. The companions, for the most part, are adapting to their new life, and have become strong and can handle things on their own, in spite of the Doctor. They aren't pearl-clutching or hiding behind the Doctor, they are jumping in and working as a team, in ways a Doctor lite. I like your reviews --
I feel like I would've had more of a reaction to the husbands' arch if I could've watched the episode without my brothers talking over it every 5 seconds
So... I can't have been the only one hissing at Yaz and Gabriella when they activated the teleport thing. "You are not stupid white people in a horror movie! Why are you behaving like white people in a horro movie?! Yaz, at least tell the Doctor where you are going, you are smarter than this!!"
Also, a detail that irritated me: when Yamila and Gabriella hop down from the truck, one of them says "obigado", which means "thank you"... in portuguese, so it would make sense if they were in Brazil but they are in Peru! Where people speak Spanish! They should have said "gracias"! Such a stupid mistake, small, but so stupid!
A detail that I can't explain: where did the astronaut get the phone with which he texted his husband? Did he took a cell phone with him into space? And why didin't he call his superiors or someone who could have rescued him, instead of a lone guy, basically a civilian?
Just... thoughts.
like the tooth faced guy from last series, i couldnt watch most of this episode because stuff like that bothers me too much. but even despite that i enjoyed this episode more than I expected to after seeing the body horror and realizing id have to spend most of the episode looking away.
What happened to the planet the aliens were from? If this was the time to have a time ship, it would be now. The way it was left off, The Doctor let the planet die with the wrong information.