Bernard Cribbins was so much a part of my parents’, mine and then my kids’ generations’ lives; as an actor in British and international movies in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, in situation comedy, quizzes, light entertainment shows for families and kids’ programmes on British tv, reading stories for children on tv, radio and tape/CD and voicing characters in animated series. He really was a UK national treasure - had hoped to meet him at a Dr Who convention but due to Covid-19 this was delayed and then we lost him - his final posthumous tv appearance as Wilfred is bittersweet. Check out him singing 2 comic songs - ‘Right Said Fred’ and ‘The Hole In The Ground’. RIP 💔 ruclips.net/video/UTS8MMqhMxY/видео.htmlfeature=shared ruclips.net/video/CbuzHi_0cmc/видео.htmlfeature=shared
It has been 5 days since I watched it and I'm still thinking about how GOOD this episode is. Like, maybe one of my all-time favorites. They are both such good actors and having them play both the good and bad versions of themselves was *chefs kiss*. It was creepy and funny and super emotional. It was everything. I'm going to rewatch it so many times 😍 I am so glad you guys loved it just as much as I did!!
Really thought it was just weirdly cut until literally just before 14 said "my arms are too long" and it gave me the biggest "oh nah what the fuuuuu-" moment of my life😭
Tennant's acting in the scene reacting to the Flux was amazing. I feel like we never got a sense of the consequences of the Flux with Chibnall. The Doctor went on 3 more episodes after the Flux & didn't acknowledge it. We didn't know how much of the universe was destroy. I'm glad RTD clarified it was 1/2 of the universe.
Honestly, I never had a problem with the Timeless Child or Flux as concepts, my only problem was that Chibnall never finished them as stories. They idea that RTD may actually take these unfinished stories and complete them is genuinely exciting to me.
A bit late on the response, but I think it's pretty unlikely. When RTD addressed it to the fans, his response was pretty standard. I think this was him cleaning up some of the plotlines left behind by Chibnall. And, as is the case with literally every single Doctor origins (the Other and Looms, for instance), Time Lord origins, Gallifrey origins? Give it five, ten, twenty years. I promise you that someone else will come up with new origins or something that directly contradicts The Timeless Child (hell, I've read everything from "it could be a Master plot to hurt the Doctor" to "misplaced Gallifreyan mythology") and we'll either move onto that or back to the Doctor just being a Gallifreyan. I mean, the Whoniverse is always in a state of constant flux and it's just to be expected. So I'd enjoy it for now, but don't put too much faith in its continued future (you gotta remember there was a time that people were probably super curious about the Valeyard and Merlin and both of those concepts are dead, buried, rotting and moreover, more-or-less forgotten).
I get the point you're making and don't disagree. I'm not the biggest fan of the Timeless Child storyline, but don't really want them to just drop something they put so much time in to establishing, that would feel worse... but also The Name of the Doctor might be a bad example to use? I'd always understood that Clara wasn't really the *original* reason The Doctor took the TARDIS he did. Clara was just intervening in that moment specifically to undo what The Great intelligence did in that same episode. She was steering him back to the choice he would have made himself had The Great Intelligence not been there trying to steer him away.
Good point, I hadn't thought of that. But I still also take the point that Moffat put his manic pixie dream girl through _the entire history of Doctor Who._
@@donaldb1 Eh, it doesn't feel too much different to me than, say, RTD making Rose all super-powered with the Bad Wolf stuff and then later giving her a clone Doctor (wasting a regeneration) just so she could have her own Doctor blowup doll. Showrunners do weird things to their darlings, sometimes. Ultimately Clara's story didn't EFFECT much in the outward narrative, so it didn't bother me that much.
Ten would not have the emotional maturity to comfort Donna like Fourteen did in this episode, the Doctor being 11-13 really changed him and I find myself enjoying this Tennant doctor a lot more.
"Cribbins feels like our colelctive grandpa" - Absolutely true. Not just for Doctor Who fans, either. He was the narrator on The Wombles which was still getting repeated into the 80s and early 90s when I was the right age for it, putting him in that position for multiple generations of kids in the UK.
Yeah, I think this is the disconnect for me as an American. Aside from his role in the second Cushing Dr Who movie, I never really knew him until Doctor Who S4 (and I was in my mid-30s by then, not really in need of a grandfather stand-in). And while he seemed pretty sweet (the actor and the character of Wilf), I personally find him mostly forgettable? I wish I had the emotional connection to him that so many other fans do. But it is what it is.
I love how you start the reaction so animated with things to say and react on, but towards the end of the episode you are both glued to the screen, terror on your faces in complete awe and silence. Says a lot about the episode's quality. Great video!
I’m 60 now and have watched Dr Who ever since the time I was a small child in the time when William Hartnell played the Doctor - and this still has that pleasant spookiness, frisson and magic that has always been at the heart of Dr Who. The show is so versatile at working within different genres yet still being ‘Who-ish’. I’m so grateful and lucky to be still watching it and i hope I’m spared for as many years as possible to continue to watch and enjoy it. 🙂
As a trans doctor who fan, finding a pair of doctor who reactors who are not only accepting and inclusive but also funny and charismatic is incredible. Obviously there's some opinions on the show I don't share (Clara is my fav companion and Moffat is my fav showrunner) but I always have such an incredibly lovely time watching you two together, even when you're apart. Also, watching your reactions has made me appreciate Chris Chibnall a lot more as a storyteller! lots of love
Thank you for being here and being such a wonderful supporter! This is how we all get to enjoy Doctor Who and sometimes when we don't enjoy something ourselves, we're given the opportunity to enjoy it through someone else's eyes 🖤
I’ve really been enjoying people’s reactions to this episode, as it’s one of those episodes which freaks out even adults like us! It was so well done and I also enjoyed that they covered the stuff with the Flux and the Timeless Child from Jodie’s era too.
Was it? I did wonder if they'd got permission to go to Woolsthorpe. It's reasonably close to me (and I'm an NT member) so I've visited a couple of times. They seemed to keep the building out of shot though, so I assumed they faked it.
I love that they gave them their own little adventure away from the major plot and used it to deliver a full on horror episode with a bunch of interesting character stuff. I just loved it.
I loved the *idea* of the timeless child. My problem was the execution. The Master giving a power-point presentation while the Doctor passively listens isn't great storytelling.
its super sad when people die especially so talented ones but ... 94 is a fantastic age to reach and seeing how bright he still seemed ... reaching 94 being that clear is something we can all dream of and he did well
I can't begin to describe how great it was to finally see an episode of Doctor Who that I can say I liked without any caveats or asterisks attached. The last time that happened (for me at least) was "Demons of the Punjab", and that was a full five years ago, so "Wild Blue Yonder" was a real breath of fresh air for me. A weird and experimental chamber piece with a brilliantly creepy atmosphere and some phenomenal performances from its two leads, this may not be the anniversary special that many wanted, but it sure as shit is the anniversary special we all needed. I've said many many times that my favourite aspects of many Doctor Who stories is just watching the Doctor and their companion wandering around a creepy abandoned location and trying to figure out what's happened, so it's no surprise that the opening stretch of the episode was right up my alley. Watching the Doctor and Donna walking around and exploring this empty spaceship was great stuff, the banter between the two is endlessly entertaining (once again establishing them as a perfect pairing), and provide some great moments of humour. At the same time though, the script does a great job at creating a legitimately unsettling and downright existentially terrifying atmosphere. Moffat may be the one that everyone remembers for writing the "scary ones", but Davies demonstrates clearly here that he's no slouch in this area. First-time director Tom Kingsley (best known for his work on comedy shows like Ghosts and Stath Lets Flats) does a great job at creating this really eerie and disturbing feel during the early scenes; those shots of the spaceship contrasting against the absolute nothing outside were so daunting. Combined with the excellent sound design and Murray Gold's quiet ambient score (I didn't mention it last week, but he's absolutely still got the juice), this early stretch is unbearably tense, to the point it's almost a relief when the monsters show up. Speaking of which...JESUS are these things freaky! The Not-Things are some of the most unsettling and frightening original monsters we've seen in Doctor Who for quite some time - I think the last time we saw something like this was I think "Flatline" back in series 8. The whole idea of these dangerous malevolent creatures who can mimic your appearance but get certain things wrong is so utterly unhinged and horrifying (they definitely gave me similar vibes to the Alternates from the RUclips analogue horror series The Mandela Catalogue), and the special effects used to create them was genuinely really well-done. Using a combination of some cool practical effects and some nifty CGI that really emphasises their uncanny valley nature, these things have firmly launched themselves into the pantheon of great one-off monsters that I hope we see again. Their creepy appearances that look like AI-generated images of the Doctor and Donna, coupled with their ability to get into the main characters' heads makes them a really formidable opponent. More to the point, their presence allows both David Tennant and Catherine Tate to really show off their acting abilities, not that they were ever really in doubt. Both of them do a great job at playing the doppelgangers, emphasising their inherent creepiness and imbuing them with a chilling understated malevolence and warped curiosity. Similarly, watching the actors play the Doctor and Donna responding to their mind games and trying to keep it together was really great too; Tennant in particular really shines, especially in the scene where he confesses his guilt over what happened with the Flux, and his volatile outburst afterwards. In general, this was something that I actually really liked about "Wild Blue Yonder", the fact that we finally got some hefty dramatic material out of the emotionally sterile Chibnall era. I've made no secret of my dislike for both the Timeless Child and the Flux in the past, but the way Davies managed to wring some hard-hitting emotional consequences out of both plot beats in this episode was really impressive. You actually feel the sense of guilt, pain and confusion that still haunts the Doctor, and it makes for some really gut-wrenching material. I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but I hope Davies keeps using these ideas and mines even more dramatic scenes out of them in the future. And in between the horror and heartbreak, Davies still manages to find some lighter and warmer moments that remind us of what a great writer he is. That cold open, aside from serving the benefit of pissing off the usual outrage merchants for the second week in a row, is a delightfully fun little scene, and acts as a lovely little setup for the "mavity" gag, which I legitimately hope becomes an unspoken running joke going forward. Likewise, seeing Wilf show up at the end after all the nightmarish stuff we saw this week was an absolute joy. Bernard Cribbins remains as loveable and endearing as ever in his brief scene, and while I'm incredibly sad to hear he passed away before he could film his scenes for "The Giggle", I'm glad we at least got this one brief scene to give him a lovely tribute. Cutting to the chase, "Wild Blue Yonder" is a fantastic episode, easily the best Doctor Who story we've had in quite some time, and a marked improvement over its rather messy predecessor. With the exception of the dodgy greenscreen used in the corridor shots, I really struggle to think of anything that I didn't like about this episode. A creepy and character-driven bottle episode in the way that only Russell could give us, this was a wonderful episode, and as the only standalone Fourteenth Doctor story, I'm glad it ended up being a good one. If "The Star Beast" was a fun and promising opener to this new era, then "Wild Blue Yonder" is a strong demonstration of what this era potentially has in store quality-wise. Here's hoping that "The Giggle" does let the side down and brings this trifecta of anniversary stories to a satisfying close...
The most unsettling aspect, to me, is their contradictory nature. They both existed and didn't, at the same time. They were impossible beings at the edge of reality. What implications would that have for the nature of reality itself? Fortunately, It's just a Sci-Fi show, but what if it reflects a real aspect of existence? We'll probably never know and that is terrifying!
I feel like the last story was the set up, the next one is "the official anniversary, big budget, big ideas" story, and THIS was the love letter for Doctor/Donna fans! So Good!! So we say good-bye to Tennant (again), but I feel this will be a send off more people will support!
Same, I'd hate being in the same room too. =P This was another solid episode, with fewer complaints for me over last week. Again they nailed it with a unique enemy, the back and forth from David and Catherine was special and seeing them get to be twisted versions of the characters to play off of added so much more. When they got it right and wrapped their arms around each other, I got all giddy too, was proud of them. And the throwaway cold open being a running gag through the whole episode was great, Mavity, hah! Seeing Wilf at the end was so heart warming too, that man still having faith in The Doctor, and the pure joy of "I'm okay now!" when The Doctor wrapped his arms around gramps, beautiful. Excited for the next one, and the biggest problem remains, it's not going to last longer. I'd love for David to keep on with the role, but they're gonna hard write him off to bring in the new Doctor. I just want my special space man to keep going forever.
The odd thing is that having the Doctor and Donna there didn’t really change anything. The ship blows up slightly sooner, but that was it. It was great that they managed to get Bernard Cribbins in there. His first appearance in Doctor Who was the 1966 movie Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150AD.
I have watched Dr Who since 1963 when I was 6 - and we all used to watch the scary scenes through our fingers and from behind the sofa. That is how Dr Who was originally written - to have scary parts every once in a while. Keep up the great reactions. I believe this was all they managed to film with Bernard Cribbens before he died. They started filming with him in May 2022 in Camden (in London) and video and photos were posted on social media and made the newspapers. He died in on the 27th July and some reports say he completed his scenes only 2 weeks before he died. A true legend of the screen.
Aaah, I'm so happy to be watcing your Doctor Who reactions again! I just saw The Giggle and I'm so looking forward to your reaction to it! Loved your reaction to The Star Beast. I was so happy to see you back together again after series 4! Damn, such a long time has past! And I hope that Paula will get well soon! ❤🩹
That went back to the old school (of the current era) DW and nailed it. Scary, teamwork, clones - like the gangers with Amy and the Doctor, trapped on a spaceship at the end of the universe. And seeing Bernard Cribbins in his final scene... So touching. He passed away just a couple of weeks later.
My arms are too long 😅 RTD said it best there are certain things you can do and certain things you can’t with Dr Who, for me this is a return to excellence in terms of storytelling and keeping you guessing throughout the episode- loved it. Hot take the villains are related to the monster you don’t see in the Midnight episode
Yeah, I thought it might turn out to be the same species. But then the Dr. said in this one that they'd run roughshod over the universe, so maybe they're just related? 'Tis the same writer, of course...
The storylines of "the war Doctor" and "the timeless child" DO NOT take away from the lore .....they ADD to it .....looking forward to further such surprises
i gotta wonder if those creatures were a reference to the Magnus Archives, an amazing 200 episode web audio drama series. Also did anybody else notice that when they cut to the doctor and donna after they avoided the explosion that the doctors face looked cleaner/younger and you could tell something was off right before they met with the real Cribbons?
here is something to think about....the 9th doctor alluded to there being hndreds of settings on the sonic....maybe the sonic always had the ability to draw force shields and it's own monitor screen, the doctor finally had a reason to use it
I am just glad they finally had the Doctor emote over the fact that half the universe was destroyed. I know Flux was rushed due to being cut down in episode count but the fact that neither the series itself nor the specials that followed it brought that up was just baffling. Jodie deserved a better showrunner.
At the beginning I thought that because 14 and Donna changed the word to "mavity," they'd end up in a (dystopian, of course) alternate timeline of human development.
I absolutely never had a problem with the Timeless Child. How it was written and delivered? Yes. The idea: no. Same with The Flux. Let's RTD both. Give the good ideas to a really good writer and see where it goes. I'm here for it.
i would have preferred exploring the doctor being part human from mcgann then timeless child. i feel the timeless child can go wrong in so many more ways than it can go right and is very much still going to be putting limitations on the writers for decades to come
I would love to see more of the mystery of the Other and Lungbarrow I've always preferred the idea that the Other isn't just a far future Doctor, but a being utterly alien to all of creation Perhaps the first thing to ever exist anywhere
This sort of conceptual stuff happened a lot in the comics from after Doctor Who original stopped. Taking inspiration from later episodes like 'Ghost Light', it advanced quite a bit into SF, novels like 'The Also People' went this direction as well.
This episode gets two big thumbs up from me. Oh. My thumbs are too big. And as someone who didn't love how the Timeless Child storyline ended (it's a solid origin for the Timelords but not for the Doctor; it being the Doctor felt like an unearned twist that undermines the character, but the rest of that story worked for me), and didn't get much out of the Flux...I'm glad RTD is picking it up and running with it. Not addressing it at all is the worst thing he could do. It's better to build on it and make it mean something than to pretend it never happened. Even though Doctor Who has no canon and any writer can ignore whatever they want to ignore, it's such a recent thing that now is the time to explore the idea and see where it can go. Ignoring it would feel as unearned as the twist did in the first place. Whether we get absolute confirmation that the Doctor is the Timeless Child or it turns out that's just another layer of subterfuge, the storyline begs to continue because where it left off just feels kind of incomplete.
I felt the gut punch emotional impact from the Timeless Child/Flux storylines in the 2 minutes they were mentioned in this episode, that I never felt when they first aired. I always thought Chibnall was right in trying something completely different and out of the box, but the execution was poor. Still, I thought the concepts were intriguing. I’m glad RTD is acknowledging the effects it had on the Doctor. Those scenes were brutal.
"Wild Blue Yonder" is the service song for the USAF and having heard it every morning of basic training it causes me a bit of a twinge every time I hear it. I am glad I now have a better memory attached to it.
This is a great episode that suffers from Raiders of Lost Arc syndrome, meaning The Doctor and Donna being there didn’t solve anything. If anything they got in the way letting the nothing know about the countdown, if they didn’t show up the countdown would have blown up the nothing without warning.
I cried, the sheer pain and turmoil in the Doctor's voice alone brought me into his dread and self-loathing and i just wanted to hug him, and then to see him ask Donna about it and hearing he didnt have that connection reopened the gaping wound that had barely started to try to heal and well, the show needed a second viewing because it was too blurry the first time through ... then tge end needed a 3rd wat h because of Wilf
the fact that these aliens get in their heads and mimic their memories and we never see the midnight creature... i picture this just being the same species. very much had the same vibes. so far these episodes have been some of RTDs best imo. though some of the writing last episode could have been done a little better.
R I P Bernard. During the 1960s, Bernard Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records "The Hole in the Ground" and "Right Said Fred". Big hand to David and Catherine.
There's lots of commentary about how similar this episode is to Midnight in terms of creepiness, which I completely agree with. What I especially found interesting in this one reminded me of Planet of the Ood, where essentially the Doctor (and Donna coincidentally) doesn't need to be there, he's a spectator. If they weren't there, then the ship would have blown up on its own and killed/dispersed the not-things. In fact, if anything, them being there made the situation worse because it gave a template to copy.
I think the contradictory things coexisting is going to come back around. They were setting it up at the beginning with Wild Blue Yonder being both jolly and a war song, and never returned to that thought. Then there are things like Donna being smart and stupid, gravity/mavity, and the Tardis having a coffee machine while being allergic to coffee. As for the Timeless Child plot, I'm slightly positive about it. I find it hard to get very invested in because I think they'll kick the can down the road for so long the answers won't be satisfying by the time we get them. I'd love to be wrong about that. I love having some mystery though. I love that we can have surprise appearances by unknown Doctors and things like that. Regarding their conversation about it, I think Gallifrey can still be considered the Doctor's home because they grew up there, like an adoptive family being a kid's real family. And that's assuming they're not still from Gallifrey in a different point in time, or alternate universe. Oh, Gallifrey being the Doctor's home and not is another example of two things being true at the same time. :-O
Of all the things I never had on my list of stuff Doctor Who would do an extended tonal and aesthetic shoutout to, Event Horizon is definitely one of those things.
It never ceases to amaze me how much sexism and other prejudice there is among the supposed nerd community. Never makes sense to me. ESPECIALLY on something like Doctor Who. I am never in favor of disregarding storylines and trying to pretend they didn't happen. Plus, I liked the Flux and the Timeless Child stuff. However, even if a storyline is weak, I'm always more in favor of writing in retroactive context if necessary, rather than pretending it doesn't exist. Jodie Whittaker is a great actor and she never got a fair shake in the role from far too many people. Admittedly, the stylistic and writing changes in her early episodes took me some time to get used to, but it took me a few episodes to get used to Capaldi too. Then I loved him. The one criticism I've heard more recently that I might agree with is that Whittaker may have had too many companions. It may have been better if it was just her an Yaz to start. I also feel like that was the strongest relationship The Doctor had during Whittaker's run. And Sacha Dhwan is, without a doubt, my second favorite person to play The Master. He was great. Second only to Michelle Gomez. I don't really get the reverence for John Simm in NuWho. I felt like he was kind of cheesy.
16:05 lol. That’s ok. Being jumpy is good for the channel Really enjoyed this episode. I was worried at first because I hated the cold open. It was so corny. But the main story was great. Loved the space horror aspect of it. Loved how he picked the wrong Donna at first. Fun episode.
I for one enjoy the new sonic. It fits the doctor id say. Honestly always felt like it should 3D print stuff considering it comes from the tardis which gives you exactly what you need and takes the doctor wherever they need to go.
Just to add, the thing I liked about Chibnall's writing was that he didn't resolve every big story by giving Time Lord powers to a human or making them immortal or something. Human companions were just humans, and sometimes they just went home. No Rose 'Bad Wolf' Tyler, Martha 'The Girl Who Walked The Earth' Jones, Immortal Jack Harkness, Doctor-Donna, Amy 'The Girl Who Waited' Pond, Rory 'The Centurion' Williams, the entire River Song storyline, Ashildr/Me aka 'The Girl Who Lived', Clara 'The Impossible Girl' Oswald or Bill 'Turned Into An Immortal Water Being' Potts. How many gods are you gonna create in season finales?? And why are the women always 'girls' in whatever needless nickname they get awarded? Felt so good to have some grown-up writing the past few years. I know people disagree, that's fine, you're allowed to dislike Chibnall's writing, I'm not going to argue with you about it so don't waste your time. If you're one of those people, I'm genuinely happy you've got a writer back who you love but I reserve the right to enjoy this era less.
I often skip intros but it's real nice just watching you chat to each other and to us. The merch pre-sale idea sounds smart if you ever decide to do anything like that, would Kickstarter work for that maybe? I'm sure there's sites where people could pre-order and it would hold the funds in escrow until you reach your minimum orders goal. And on a separate note, when the 13th Doctor regenerated I was really hoping it would be peaceful and beautiful and wouldn't involve blowing up the TARDIS yet again, so it's pretty funny to me that the first thing the TARDIS did _after_ 'redecorating' was to explode. I guess there's no escaping it 😄
The Doctor and Donna is my favourite Modern Doctor Who Doctor and Companion pairing and my third favourite overall. The 2nd Doctor with Jamie and Zoe is my favourite overall pairing with The 3rd Doctor and Sarah Jane being a close 2nd and just slightly topping The 10th & 14th Doctors with Donna. I 'm actually hoping RTD makes a Donna Noble spin-off series; as I think a Donna spin-off would be cool and it could also feature Rose and Rose's friend Fudge
This episode is so good, and yet so damned CREEPY. I had to come watch your edited RUclips version instead of the full Patreon version of the reaction because I just could not handle another full watch of this episode so soon after the first time I saw it.
I can see why people are upset with The Timeless Child as it does turn the Doctor into a bit of "Chosen One" narrative. Building a whole civilization around them - not through their own actions or mistakes dumps even more importance on him. And the Doctor is already pretty important, so it was a nice narrative that there was one place, his home where he was regarded as a nuance and looked down on rather than the basis of everything that Gallifrey was. As for the mention of the Flux, I'm not mad they actually mentioned it because for whatever reason, it DID feel unresolved and it was pretty murky whether it was fixed or not and kinda just quickly moved on from. So I'm glad RTD at least is being definitive about it, "yes, half the universe was destroyed." That's bleak as heck, so I almost hope he figures out how to reverse THAT, but I'm glad that story doesn't exist as this weird unaddressed elephant in the room.
I'm so glad the flux was not only mentioned, but we also saw how the Doctor was hurting from it. Chibnall just destroyed half the universe and then had the Doctor not only quickly getting over it, but it seemed like she actually enjoyed, and took part in the flux's destruction of certain races (villains, but still potentially a complete genocide). That was so incredibly un-doctor like, but RTD sort of fixed that simply by fourteen showing emotions.
I can enjoy more because being old guy don't see spoilers or Trailers , If they come up , step away . There chemistry made this epoisode. Seeing wilf emotional surprise .
I loved the nods to the Timeless Child, both because I liked that storyline but also I just like when storylines overlap eras of the show. Just because it's a new writer or Doctor doesn't mean the stuff that came before should be ignored. But yeah, huge win for Timeless Child fans. My favorite argument against it that I've seen cropping up again since this episode is "oh, wahh, this makes the Doctor too special now! They're a chosen one and that's bad." THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN A MAGIC IMMORTAL SPACE GOD. Who is a genius, and can always save the day no matter the odds or the circumstances. Also the last survivor of a race of other magic space gods. The Doctor has always been on a pedestal above every other character in this universe. Get over it.
Sad times for people like me, who absolutely loathed the Timeless Child crap that makes the Doctor NOT what the Doctor had always been for the last 60 years. I was hoping it would at least just fade away and be forgotten.
The Timeless Child stuff was good conceptually, was delivered terribly by a monologue (show don't tell chibnall) The literal only problem is that Jo Martin had the police box when that was a hartnell thing. I hope RTD doesn't go into it, the doctor WHO part is the question brought back up. Also I like the Timeless child arc for the fact it cements the timelords as the worst like they were in the classic series. Though as much as the concept of the timeless child is fine it was the episode that stopped me from wanting to watch doctor who till now.
Loved to see Wilf! Tho the years showed in his face and body, the smile, the gestures, the look in his eyes was the same as that last episode in Series 4. Great reaction as always, specially Paula knowing what´s all about!
Someone pointed out he looked like he was reading cuecards, like Hartnell did on his last appearance. On rewatch, I noticed him looking to his side a lot. I think he might have been reading.
The ship was reminiscent of a couple of films but worked well and some really good acting from David and Catherine who had to carry the whole thing . I'm not fond of CGI effects but overall everything worked well for a family audience and it was a gripping story . A highlight for me was Bernard Cribbins , who has had a long career and been in so many shows making his final appearance . A lovely man and a fitting tribute in the credits . I'm glad you gals liked this as much as I did .
2:35 Paula "I hate Kat, and Kat hates me." Me: "YES! Fight! Fight! Fight!" This was some top tier Who. I now want a tee that says "My arms are too long" - which probably ALREADY exists - but on a shirt with, like, 4 foot long sleeves...
Doctor and Donna is the best companionship bar none. I love so many others but these two are just fantastic. Having someone who does not take his crap and not doe eyed over him. In a way Capaldi and Jenna were kind of like that but they are just not as close in age so it was still not quite the same.
There’s a few companions in classic who (won’t name specifics) that in retrospect, seem to have a Romance with the doctor even if it wasn’t intended. In the big finish audios, the eighth doctor has a romance with one of his companions and while it’s a romance, it’s very equal and her character served as inspiration for rose (they are still quite different , from different times n stuff but it’s just interesting). 8 also have romances in his book series. Anyway I also really enjoyed the episode and reaction. This is my fave special so far, and I also enjoyed the references to the flux and ttc.
THANKS for this, GGs!!!! You are helping me hold on until the third special!!! And I agree with Paula: Donna is lying. Watching all of you RUclipsrs break this one down, this has gone from being an okay episode to one of Tennant's best!!! "The Doctor needs a Donna." And I guess *somebody* has to like "The Timeless Child" (but I love Jo Martin, though :)). Good point about "The Impossible Girl" and the Nu Who love-story aspect, which I'm okay with. This level of discussion is why I like the (happily feminist) Gallifrey Gals to confront my biases. And yes, I thought RTD was brave to drive right into what some don't like.
"Alright," said Fred, "Have to take the door off Need more space to shift the so-and-so." Had bad twinges taking off the hinges And it got us nowhere And so we had a cuppa tea. That song was is the first memeory i have if Bernard, had it on an album called 'all aboard' which i played all the time as a young child.
After sitting on my problems with the flux, I've come to the understanding that the only thing that I really didn't like about the flux was that we never got the doctor alone to hear her thoughts about it. The 13th doctor was very drawn in with her emotions, more than I think any doctor was. Like Matt smith often put on a happy face, but he could come out and be honest with Amy. With Jodie, she almost never shared how she truly feeled. I think that was my problem. I love it when we see the more negative, manipulative side of the doctor, and with 13, it seemed like that was softened a little. If 13 was given a moment by herself and allowed to despair about half the universe dying, i think I would have felt more positively about it. Though i think Jodie deserved a lot more time alone, not because i didn't like the companions, it just feels like she never got to truely express her feelings becuase she was always putting up a mask for the fam. This scene with Tennant is what i wanted. He gets to react to what happened, and he hates it. And i understand that Tennant would never share these feelings with Donna if he had the choice, but at least we see them. I think Jodie would have killed a scene where she just rages about the flux and inwish i could have seen that.
When you're a fan of both Clara and the Timeless Child 😅 Also, there were a lot more equal Doctor/companion dynamics (12/Clara being one, but i know she'd hated here)
@@Tsuliwaensis that's a weird way of describing a character who had an entire two season arc of trying to be the Doctor and struggling with the clash between her humanity and the Doctor's responsibility.
You have reminded me once again why I enjoy watching your commentary. I was feeling a bit disappointed in this one, mainly because it was one of three specials yet it just felt like an ordinary episode. Watching you appreciate it has turned my opinion around to appreciate it anyway. Maybe there are some little bits related to the other specials and the "14th" doctor mystery and maybe not, but either way it was a good episode. Thanks.
I hate how Gallifrey Gals has gone all dark and dystopian now! Why can't they stay friendly and decent like it used to be! THEY'VE RUINED IT FOR THE FANS!!!
I love that Russell found a way to give us twice as much Tennant and Tate in this episode.
More than double if you include the arms.
I hadn't even thought about it that way. Such a treat
Man, the Doctor choosing the wrong Donna. That was absolutely terrifying.
So close to making a major mistake he would NEVER have forgiven himself for.
"My arms are too long" is definitely going to be the new "Are you my mummy?"
And “Hey who turned out the lights”
Bernard Cribbins only had to appear and I was in tears. He was such a lovely part of the Donna era, I wish he had been able to feature more heavily.
Bernard Cribbins was so much a part of my parents’, mine and then my kids’ generations’ lives; as an actor in British and international movies in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, in situation comedy, quizzes, light entertainment shows for families and kids’ programmes on British tv, reading stories for children on tv, radio and tape/CD and voicing characters in animated series. He really was a UK national treasure - had hoped to meet him at a Dr Who convention but due to Covid-19 this was delayed and then we lost him - his final posthumous tv appearance as Wilfred is bittersweet. Check out him singing 2 comic songs - ‘Right Said Fred’ and ‘The Hole In The Ground’. RIP 💔
ruclips.net/video/UTS8MMqhMxY/видео.htmlfeature=shared
ruclips.net/video/CbuzHi_0cmc/видео.htmlfeature=shared
I love Bernard Cribbins. It's so sad that this is all he was able to film but it's still wonderful that we got to see Wilf one last time.
I was so happy to see Bernard Cribbins, I had no idea they had a chance to film with him before his passing. It made me cry too.
Having the heart of the series back is incredible.
High concept horror with silly moments and massive trauma.
Just how i like my doctor
It has been 5 days since I watched it and I'm still thinking about how GOOD this episode is. Like, maybe one of my all-time favorites. They are both such good actors and having them play both the good and bad versions of themselves was *chefs kiss*. It was creepy and funny and super emotional. It was everything. I'm going to rewatch it so many times 😍 I am so glad you guys loved it just as much as I did!!
Really thought it was just weirdly cut until literally just before 14 said "my arms are too long" and it gave me the biggest "oh nah what the fuuuuu-" moment of my life😭
CORRECT RESPONSE
Tennant's acting in the scene reacting to the Flux was amazing. I feel like we never got a sense of the consequences of the Flux with Chibnall. The Doctor went on 3 more episodes after the Flux & didn't acknowledge it. We didn't know how much of the universe was destroy. I'm glad RTD clarified it was 1/2 of the universe.
Honestly, I never had a problem with the Timeless Child or Flux as concepts, my only problem was that Chibnall never finished them as stories. They idea that RTD may actually take these unfinished stories and complete them is genuinely exciting to me.
Exactly this!
A bit late on the response, but I think it's pretty unlikely. When RTD addressed it to the fans, his response was pretty standard. I think this was him cleaning up some of the plotlines left behind by Chibnall. And, as is the case with literally every single Doctor origins (the Other and Looms, for instance), Time Lord origins, Gallifrey origins? Give it five, ten, twenty years. I promise you that someone else will come up with new origins or something that directly contradicts The Timeless Child (hell, I've read everything from "it could be a Master plot to hurt the Doctor" to "misplaced Gallifreyan mythology") and we'll either move onto that or back to the Doctor just being a Gallifreyan.
I mean, the Whoniverse is always in a state of constant flux and it's just to be expected. So I'd enjoy it for now, but don't put too much faith in its continued future (you gotta remember there was a time that people were probably super curious about the Valeyard and Merlin and both of those concepts are dead, buried, rotting and moreover, more-or-less forgotten).
I love the Moffat era. And the Chibnall era.
And I love the trauma on Kat's face for two minutes after the Doctor picks the wrong Donna.
I get the point you're making and don't disagree. I'm not the biggest fan of the Timeless Child storyline, but don't really want them to just drop something they put so much time in to establishing, that would feel worse... but also The Name of the Doctor might be a bad example to use? I'd always understood that Clara wasn't really the *original* reason The Doctor took the TARDIS he did. Clara was just intervening in that moment specifically to undo what The Great intelligence did in that same episode. She was steering him back to the choice he would have made himself had The Great Intelligence not been there trying to steer him away.
That was my reading on it too. The Doctor was being knocked off course by the GI and Clara was steering him back on the right path.
Good point, I hadn't thought of that. But I still also take the point that Moffat put his manic pixie dream girl through _the entire history of Doctor Who._
@@donaldb1 Eh, it doesn't feel too much different to me than, say, RTD making Rose all super-powered with the Bad Wolf stuff and then later giving her a clone Doctor (wasting a regeneration) just so she could have her own Doctor blowup doll. Showrunners do weird things to their darlings, sometimes. Ultimately Clara's story didn't EFFECT much in the outward narrative, so it didn't bother me that much.
Ten would not have the emotional maturity to comfort Donna like Fourteen did in this episode, the Doctor being 11-13 really changed him and I find myself enjoying this Tennant doctor a lot more.
"Cribbins feels like our colelctive grandpa" - Absolutely true. Not just for Doctor Who fans, either. He was the narrator on The Wombles which was still getting repeated into the 80s and early 90s when I was the right age for it, putting him in that position for multiple generations of kids in the UK.
Yeah, I think this is the disconnect for me as an American. Aside from his role in the second Cushing Dr Who movie, I never really knew him until Doctor Who S4 (and I was in my mid-30s by then, not really in need of a grandfather stand-in). And while he seemed pretty sweet (the actor and the character of Wilf), I personally find him mostly forgettable? I wish I had the emotional connection to him that so many other fans do. But it is what it is.
I loved this episode! Creepy, tense, emotional. Wasn't expecting to see Wilf, so that was really lovely...and upsetting. RIP Bernard Cribbens.
the 360 revolving door gave me "Curse of Fatal Death" vibes LOL "Say hello.... to the sofa of reasonable comfort"
Yes! :D
I love how you start the reaction so animated with things to say and react on, but towards the end of the episode you are both glued to the screen, terror on your faces in complete awe and silence. Says a lot about the episode's quality. Great video!
I’m 60 now and have watched Dr Who ever since the time I was a small child in the time when William Hartnell played the Doctor - and this still has that pleasant spookiness, frisson and magic that has always been at the heart of Dr Who. The show is so versatile at working within different genres yet still being ‘Who-ish’. I’m so grateful and lucky to be still watching it and i hope I’m spared for as many years as possible to continue to watch and enjoy it. 🙂
As a trans doctor who fan, finding a pair of doctor who reactors who are not only accepting and inclusive but also funny and charismatic is incredible. Obviously there's some opinions on the show I don't share (Clara is my fav companion and Moffat is my fav showrunner) but I always have such an incredibly lovely time watching you two together, even when you're apart. Also, watching your reactions has made me appreciate Chris Chibnall a lot more as a storyteller! lots of love
Thank you for being here and being such a wonderful supporter! This is how we all get to enjoy Doctor Who and sometimes when we don't enjoy something ourselves, we're given the opportunity to enjoy it through someone else's eyes 🖤
Madame kovarian 🤢
I’ve really been enjoying people’s reactions to this episode, as it’s one of those episodes which freaks out even adults like us! It was so well done and I also enjoyed that they covered the stuff with the Flux and the Timeless Child from Jodie’s era too.
That was also Issac Newton's actual house where he really did grow apples and think about mavity
Was it? I did wonder if they'd got permission to go to Woolsthorpe. It's reasonably close to me (and I'm an NT member) so I've visited a couple of times. They seemed to keep the building out of shot though, so I assumed they faked it.
I love that they gave them their own little adventure away from the major plot and used it to deliver a full on horror episode with a bunch of interesting character stuff. I just loved it.
I loved the *idea* of the timeless child. My problem was the execution. The Master giving a power-point presentation while the Doctor passively listens isn't great storytelling.
its super sad when people die especially so talented ones but ... 94 is a fantastic age to reach and seeing how bright he still seemed ... reaching 94 being that clear is something we can all dream of and he did well
I can't begin to describe how great it was to finally see an episode of Doctor Who that I can say I liked without any caveats or asterisks attached. The last time that happened (for me at least) was "Demons of the Punjab", and that was a full five years ago, so "Wild Blue Yonder" was a real breath of fresh air for me. A weird and experimental chamber piece with a brilliantly creepy atmosphere and some phenomenal performances from its two leads, this may not be the anniversary special that many wanted, but it sure as shit is the anniversary special we all needed.
I've said many many times that my favourite aspects of many Doctor Who stories is just watching the Doctor and their companion wandering around a creepy abandoned location and trying to figure out what's happened, so it's no surprise that the opening stretch of the episode was right up my alley. Watching the Doctor and Donna walking around and exploring this empty spaceship was great stuff, the banter between the two is endlessly entertaining (once again establishing them as a perfect pairing), and provide some great moments of humour. At the same time though, the script does a great job at creating a legitimately unsettling and downright existentially terrifying atmosphere. Moffat may be the one that everyone remembers for writing the "scary ones", but Davies demonstrates clearly here that he's no slouch in this area. First-time director Tom Kingsley (best known for his work on comedy shows like Ghosts and Stath Lets Flats) does a great job at creating this really eerie and disturbing feel during the early scenes; those shots of the spaceship contrasting against the absolute nothing outside were so daunting. Combined with the excellent sound design and Murray Gold's quiet ambient score (I didn't mention it last week, but he's absolutely still got the juice), this early stretch is unbearably tense, to the point it's almost a relief when the monsters show up.
Speaking of which...JESUS are these things freaky! The Not-Things are some of the most unsettling and frightening original monsters we've seen in Doctor Who for quite some time - I think the last time we saw something like this was I think "Flatline" back in series 8. The whole idea of these dangerous malevolent creatures who can mimic your appearance but get certain things wrong is so utterly unhinged and horrifying (they definitely gave me similar vibes to the Alternates from the RUclips analogue horror series The Mandela Catalogue), and the special effects used to create them was genuinely really well-done. Using a combination of some cool practical effects and some nifty CGI that really emphasises their uncanny valley nature, these things have firmly launched themselves into the pantheon of great one-off monsters that I hope we see again. Their creepy appearances that look like AI-generated images of the Doctor and Donna, coupled with their ability to get into the main characters' heads makes them a really formidable opponent. More to the point, their presence allows both David Tennant and Catherine Tate to really show off their acting abilities, not that they were ever really in doubt. Both of them do a great job at playing the doppelgangers, emphasising their inherent creepiness and imbuing them with a chilling understated malevolence and warped curiosity. Similarly, watching the actors play the Doctor and Donna responding to their mind games and trying to keep it together was really great too; Tennant in particular really shines, especially in the scene where he confesses his guilt over what happened with the Flux, and his volatile outburst afterwards.
In general, this was something that I actually really liked about "Wild Blue Yonder", the fact that we finally got some hefty dramatic material out of the emotionally sterile Chibnall era. I've made no secret of my dislike for both the Timeless Child and the Flux in the past, but the way Davies managed to wring some hard-hitting emotional consequences out of both plot beats in this episode was really impressive. You actually feel the sense of guilt, pain and confusion that still haunts the Doctor, and it makes for some really gut-wrenching material. I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but I hope Davies keeps using these ideas and mines even more dramatic scenes out of them in the future. And in between the horror and heartbreak, Davies still manages to find some lighter and warmer moments that remind us of what a great writer he is. That cold open, aside from serving the benefit of pissing off the usual outrage merchants for the second week in a row, is a delightfully fun little scene, and acts as a lovely little setup for the "mavity" gag, which I legitimately hope becomes an unspoken running joke going forward. Likewise, seeing Wilf show up at the end after all the nightmarish stuff we saw this week was an absolute joy. Bernard Cribbins remains as loveable and endearing as ever in his brief scene, and while I'm incredibly sad to hear he passed away before he could film his scenes for "The Giggle", I'm glad we at least got this one brief scene to give him a lovely tribute.
Cutting to the chase, "Wild Blue Yonder" is a fantastic episode, easily the best Doctor Who story we've had in quite some time, and a marked improvement over its rather messy predecessor. With the exception of the dodgy greenscreen used in the corridor shots, I really struggle to think of anything that I didn't like about this episode. A creepy and character-driven bottle episode in the way that only Russell could give us, this was a wonderful episode, and as the only standalone Fourteenth Doctor story, I'm glad it ended up being a good one. If "The Star Beast" was a fun and promising opener to this new era, then "Wild Blue Yonder" is a strong demonstration of what this era potentially has in store quality-wise. Here's hoping that "The Giggle" does let the side down and brings this trifecta of anniversary stories to a satisfying close...
The most unsettling aspect, to me, is their contradictory nature. They both existed and didn't, at the same time. They were impossible beings at the edge of reality. What implications would that have for the nature of reality itself? Fortunately, It's just a Sci-Fi show, but what if it reflects a real aspect of existence? We'll probably never know and that is terrifying!
I thought it was interesting that the long arms were practical effects and not CGI. There is some BTS footage of them messing around in them.
I feel like the last story was the set up, the next one is "the official anniversary, big budget, big ideas" story, and THIS was the love letter for Doctor/Donna fans! So Good!! So we say good-bye to Tennant (again), but I feel this will be a send off more people will support!
Same, I'd hate being in the same room too. =P
This was another solid episode, with fewer complaints for me over last week. Again they nailed it with a unique enemy, the back and forth from David and Catherine was special and seeing them get to be twisted versions of the characters to play off of added so much more. When they got it right and wrapped their arms around each other, I got all giddy too, was proud of them.
And the throwaway cold open being a running gag through the whole episode was great, Mavity, hah!
Seeing Wilf at the end was so heart warming too, that man still having faith in The Doctor, and the pure joy of "I'm okay now!" when The Doctor wrapped his arms around gramps, beautiful.
Excited for the next one, and the biggest problem remains, it's not going to last longer. I'd love for David to keep on with the role, but they're gonna hard write him off to bring in the new Doctor. I just want my special space man to keep going forever.
VFX jank *IS* Dr Who. "My arms are too long" is now stuff of nightmares. I bloody loved this episode.
The odd thing is that having the Doctor and Donna there didn’t really change anything. The ship blows up slightly sooner, but that was it.
It was great that they managed to get Bernard Cribbins in there. His first appearance in Doctor Who was the 1966 movie Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150AD.
I love how so many people lost their minds over a 30 second clip with the Mavity guy
"this special will be like chicken noodle soup for me" "the comfort of david tennent" not me knowing what happens thinking "oh if only"
I have watched Dr Who since 1963 when I was 6 - and we all used to watch the scary scenes through our fingers and from behind the sofa. That is how Dr Who was originally written - to have scary parts every once in a while. Keep up the great reactions.
I believe this was all they managed to film with Bernard Cribbens before he died. They started filming with him in May 2022 in Camden (in London) and video and photos were posted on social media and made the newspapers. He died in on the 27th July and some reports say he completed his scenes only 2 weeks before he died. A true legend of the screen.
Aaah, I'm so happy to be watcing your Doctor Who reactions again! I just saw The Giggle and I'm so looking forward to your reaction to it! Loved your reaction to The Star Beast. I was so happy to see you back together again after series 4! Damn, such a long time has past! And I hope that Paula will get well soon! ❤🩹
"Mavity" was a brilliant (and expensive!) nod to the fans of Peter Capaldi's dodgy flubbed line. THIS is why I love Doctor Who :D
That went back to the old school (of the current era) DW and nailed it. Scary, teamwork, clones - like the gangers with Amy and the Doctor, trapped on a spaceship at the end of the universe. And seeing Bernard Cribbins in his final scene... So touching. He passed away just a couple of weeks later.
I was half expecting the Eminence to appear
Hope you feel better soon Paula! Take all the time you need.
My arms are too long 😅
RTD said it best there are certain things you can do and certain things you can’t with Dr Who, for me this is a return to excellence in terms of storytelling and keeping you guessing throughout the episode- loved it.
Hot take the villains are related to the monster you don’t see in the Midnight episode
Yeah, I thought it might turn out to be the same species.
But then the Dr. said in this one that they'd run roughshod over the universe, so maybe they're just related?
'Tis the same writer, of course...
Here's hoping that you feel better soonest Paula.
My favorite 60th anniversary special! This was the best! So freakishly scary! The robot was a clever use of Chekhov’s gun
The storylines of "the war Doctor" and "the timeless child" DO NOT take away from the lore .....they ADD to it .....looking forward to further such surprises
Good call on the robot being a timer
Russell is a flippin' genius. This is exactly the kind of Who that will get a new generation of kids hiding behind the sofa.
Exept Disney+ is failing and Who isn't anywhere else. Also the ratings are going down even with Tennnent
i gotta wonder if those creatures were a reference to the Magnus Archives, an amazing 200 episode web audio drama series.
Also did anybody else notice that when they cut to the doctor and donna after they avoided the explosion that the doctors face looked cleaner/younger and you could tell something was off right before they met with the real Cribbons?
This was proper scary Dr. Who which the show needs more often.
Loved the episode. Looking forward to next week as I saw David Tennant and Neil Patrick Harris film in Bristol. Some of that was in the trailer.
here is something to think about....the 9th doctor alluded to there being hndreds of settings on the sonic....maybe the sonic always had the ability to draw force shields and it's own monitor screen, the doctor finally had a reason to use it
I am just glad they finally had the Doctor emote over the fact that half the universe was destroyed. I know Flux was rushed due to being cut down in episode count but the fact that neither the series itself nor the specials that followed it brought that up was just baffling. Jodie deserved a better showrunner.
At the beginning I thought that because 14 and Donna changed the word to "mavity," they'd end up in a (dystopian, of course) alternate timeline of human development.
I absolutely never had a problem with the Timeless Child. How it was written and delivered? Yes. The idea: no.
Same with The Flux.
Let's RTD both. Give the good ideas to a really good writer and see where it goes. I'm here for it.
i would have preferred exploring the doctor being part human from mcgann then timeless child. i feel the timeless child can go wrong in so many more ways than it can go right and is very much still going to be putting limitations on the writers for decades to come
I would love to see more of the mystery of the Other and Lungbarrow
I've always preferred the idea that the Other isn't just a far future Doctor, but a being utterly alien to all of creation
Perhaps the first thing to ever exist anywhere
This sort of conceptual stuff happened a lot in the comics from after Doctor Who original stopped.
Taking inspiration from later episodes like 'Ghost Light', it advanced quite a bit into SF, novels like 'The Also People' went this direction as well.
Paula 'why does it have to be scary?' lol it's Doctor Who Paula of course it has to be scary
This episode gets two big thumbs up from me.
Oh.
My thumbs are too big.
And as someone who didn't love how the Timeless Child storyline ended (it's a solid origin for the Timelords but not for the Doctor; it being the Doctor felt like an unearned twist that undermines the character, but the rest of that story worked for me), and didn't get much out of the Flux...I'm glad RTD is picking it up and running with it. Not addressing it at all is the worst thing he could do. It's better to build on it and make it mean something than to pretend it never happened. Even though Doctor Who has no canon and any writer can ignore whatever they want to ignore, it's such a recent thing that now is the time to explore the idea and see where it can go. Ignoring it would feel as unearned as the twist did in the first place. Whether we get absolute confirmation that the Doctor is the Timeless Child or it turns out that's just another layer of subterfuge, the storyline begs to continue because where it left off just feels kind of incomplete.
Gals. I came to you thru board gaming and I love your content. U won my heart with Next Gen and Doctor who and then made me obsessed with Red Dwarf! ❤
I felt the gut punch emotional impact from the Timeless Child/Flux storylines in the 2 minutes they were mentioned in this episode, that I never felt when they first aired. I always thought Chibnall was right in trying something completely different and out of the box, but the execution was poor. Still, I thought the concepts were intriguing. I’m glad RTD is acknowledging the effects it had on the Doctor. Those scenes were brutal.
"Wild Blue Yonder" is the service song for the USAF and having heard it every morning of basic training it causes me a bit of a twinge every time I hear it. I am glad I now have a better memory attached to it.
This is a great episode that suffers from Raiders of Lost Arc syndrome, meaning The Doctor and Donna being there didn’t solve anything. If anything they got in the way letting the nothing know about the countdown, if they didn’t show up the countdown would have blown up the nothing without warning.
These episodes are a gift. ❤❤❤
I cried, the sheer pain and turmoil in the Doctor's voice alone brought me into his dread and self-loathing and i just wanted to hug him, and then to see him ask Donna about it and hearing he didnt have that connection reopened the gaping wound that had barely started to try to heal and well, the show needed a second viewing because it was too blurry the first time through ... then tge end needed a 3rd wat h because of Wilf
the fact that these aliens get in their heads and mimic their memories and we never see the midnight creature... i picture this just being the same species. very much had the same vibes. so far these episodes have been some of RTDs best imo. though some of the writing last episode could have been done a little better.
I've been waiting for this! I have been checking in with such unhealthy regularity I managed to catch this only 7 minutes after it went up lol.
Found you two last week and you're just so lovely. Great videos
I preferred this one. The Star Beast is 3/5 to a 3.5/5 for me, while this one is at least a 4/5.
The house they shot the Newton scene at? That's Newton's ACTUAL house. It still exists.
R I P Bernard. During the 1960s, Bernard Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records "The Hole in the Ground" and "Right Said Fred". Big hand to David and Catherine.
Absolutely loved this episode! It's like if Cronenberg made Midnight.
Also: hey, no outro this episode?
There's lots of commentary about how similar this episode is to Midnight in terms of creepiness, which I completely agree with. What I especially found interesting in this one reminded me of Planet of the Ood, where essentially the Doctor (and Donna coincidentally) doesn't need to be there, he's a spectator. If they weren't there, then the ship would have blown up on its own and killed/dispersed the not-things. In fact, if anything, them being there made the situation worse because it gave a template to copy.
I feel like it was one of the best written episodes, possibly ever.
I think the contradictory things coexisting is going to come back around. They were setting it up at the beginning with Wild Blue Yonder being both jolly and a war song, and never returned to that thought. Then there are things like Donna being smart and stupid, gravity/mavity, and the Tardis having a coffee machine while being allergic to coffee.
As for the Timeless Child plot, I'm slightly positive about it. I find it hard to get very invested in because I think they'll kick the can down the road for so long the answers won't be satisfying by the time we get them. I'd love to be wrong about that. I love having some mystery though. I love that we can have surprise appearances by unknown Doctors and things like that.
Regarding their conversation about it, I think Gallifrey can still be considered the Doctor's home because they grew up there, like an adoptive family being a kid's real family. And that's assuming they're not still from Gallifrey in a different point in time, or alternate universe.
Oh, Gallifrey being the Doctor's home and not is another example of two things being true at the same time. :-O
A song titled “Defying Mavity” just doesn’t have the same ring to it…
Of all the things I never had on my list of stuff Doctor Who would do an extended tonal and aesthetic shoutout to, Event Horizon is definitely one of those things.
It never ceases to amaze me how much sexism and other prejudice there is among the supposed nerd community. Never makes sense to me. ESPECIALLY on something like Doctor Who. I am never in favor of disregarding storylines and trying to pretend they didn't happen. Plus, I liked the Flux and the Timeless Child stuff. However, even if a storyline is weak, I'm always more in favor of writing in retroactive context if necessary, rather than pretending it doesn't exist.
Jodie Whittaker is a great actor and she never got a fair shake in the role from far too many people. Admittedly, the stylistic and writing changes in her early episodes took me some time to get used to, but it took me a few episodes to get used to Capaldi too. Then I loved him. The one criticism I've heard more recently that I might agree with is that Whittaker may have had too many companions. It may have been better if it was just her an Yaz to start. I also feel like that was the strongest relationship The Doctor had during Whittaker's run.
And Sacha Dhwan is, without a doubt, my second favorite person to play The Master. He was great. Second only to Michelle Gomez. I don't really get the reverence for John Simm in NuWho. I felt like he was kind of cheesy.
16:05 lol. That’s ok. Being jumpy is good for the channel
Really enjoyed this episode. I was worried at first because I hated the cold open. It was so corny. But the main story was great. Loved the space horror aspect of it. Loved how he picked the wrong Donna at first. Fun episode.
I for one enjoy the new sonic. It fits the doctor id say. Honestly always felt like it should 3D print stuff considering it comes from the tardis which gives you exactly what you need and takes the doctor wherever they need to go.
Just to add, the thing I liked about Chibnall's writing was that he didn't resolve every big story by giving Time Lord powers to a human or making them immortal or something. Human companions were just humans, and sometimes they just went home. No Rose 'Bad Wolf' Tyler, Martha 'The Girl Who Walked The Earth' Jones, Immortal Jack Harkness, Doctor-Donna, Amy 'The Girl Who Waited' Pond, Rory 'The Centurion' Williams, the entire River Song storyline, Ashildr/Me aka 'The Girl Who Lived', Clara 'The Impossible Girl' Oswald or Bill 'Turned Into An Immortal Water Being' Potts. How many gods are you gonna create in season finales?? And why are the women always 'girls' in whatever needless nickname they get awarded? Felt so good to have some grown-up writing the past few years. I know people disagree, that's fine, you're allowed to dislike Chibnall's writing, I'm not going to argue with you about it so don't waste your time. If you're one of those people, I'm genuinely happy you've got a writer back who you love but I reserve the right to enjoy this era less.
I often skip intros but it's real nice just watching you chat to each other and to us. The merch pre-sale idea sounds smart if you ever decide to do anything like that, would Kickstarter work for that maybe? I'm sure there's sites where people could pre-order and it would hold the funds in escrow until you reach your minimum orders goal. And on a separate note, when the 13th Doctor regenerated I was really hoping it would be peaceful and beautiful and wouldn't involve blowing up the TARDIS yet again, so it's pretty funny to me that the first thing the TARDIS did _after_ 'redecorating' was to explode. I guess there's no escaping it 😄
The Doctor and Donna is my favourite Modern Doctor Who Doctor and Companion pairing and my third favourite overall. The 2nd Doctor with Jamie and Zoe is my favourite overall pairing with The 3rd Doctor and Sarah Jane being a close 2nd and just slightly topping The 10th & 14th Doctors with Donna. I 'm actually hoping RTD makes a Donna Noble spin-off series; as I think a Donna spin-off would be cool and it could also feature Rose and Rose's friend Fudge
This episode is so good, and yet so damned CREEPY. I had to come watch your edited RUclips version instead of the full Patreon version of the reaction because I just could not handle another full watch of this episode so soon after the first time I saw it.
I can see why people are upset with The Timeless Child as it does turn the Doctor into a bit of "Chosen One" narrative. Building a whole civilization around them - not through their own actions or mistakes dumps even more importance on him. And the Doctor is already pretty important, so it was a nice narrative that there was one place, his home where he was regarded as a nuance and looked down on rather than the basis of everything that Gallifrey was.
As for the mention of the Flux, I'm not mad they actually mentioned it because for whatever reason, it DID feel unresolved and it was pretty murky whether it was fixed or not and kinda just quickly moved on from. So I'm glad RTD at least is being definitive about it, "yes, half the universe was destroyed." That's bleak as heck, so I almost hope he figures out how to reverse THAT, but I'm glad that story doesn't exist as this weird unaddressed elephant in the room.
I'm so glad the flux was not only mentioned, but we also saw how the Doctor was hurting from it.
Chibnall just destroyed half the universe and then had the Doctor not only quickly getting over it, but it seemed like she actually enjoyed, and took part in the flux's destruction of certain races (villains, but still potentially a complete genocide).
That was so incredibly un-doctor like, but RTD sort of fixed that simply by fourteen showing emotions.
I think the creatures were related to the midnight entity.
I can enjoy more because being old guy don't see spoilers or Trailers ,
If they come up , step away . There chemistry made this epoisode.
Seeing wilf emotional surprise .
Classic Who. Unsettling. Nightmare jump scare stuff. But how clever that the monsters are Doctor and Donna.
I loved the nods to the Timeless Child, both because I liked that storyline but also I just like when storylines overlap eras of the show. Just because it's a new writer or Doctor doesn't mean the stuff that came before should be ignored.
But yeah, huge win for Timeless Child fans. My favorite argument against it that I've seen cropping up again since this episode is "oh, wahh, this makes the Doctor too special now! They're a chosen one and that's bad." THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN A MAGIC IMMORTAL SPACE GOD. Who is a genius, and can always save the day no matter the odds or the circumstances. Also the last survivor of a race of other magic space gods. The Doctor has always been on a pedestal above every other character in this universe. Get over it.
Sad times for people like me, who absolutely loathed the Timeless Child crap that makes the Doctor NOT what the Doctor had always been for the last 60 years. I was hoping it would at least just fade away and be forgotten.
The Timeless Child stuff was good conceptually, was delivered terribly by a monologue (show don't tell chibnall) The literal only problem is that Jo Martin had the police box when that was a hartnell thing. I hope RTD doesn't go into it, the doctor WHO part is the question brought back up. Also I like the Timeless child arc for the fact it cements the timelords as the worst like they were in the classic series.
Though as much as the concept of the timeless child is fine it was the episode that stopped me from wanting to watch doctor who till now.
How about a segment called 'Kat on a Hot Take roof'?
Loved to see Wilf! Tho the years showed in his face and body, the smile, the gestures, the look in his eyes was the same as that last episode in Series 4. Great reaction as always, specially Paula knowing what´s all about!
Someone pointed out he looked like he was reading cuecards, like Hartnell did on his last appearance. On rewatch, I noticed him looking to his side a lot. I think he might have been reading.
@@NicoleM_radiantbaby probably. Still impressive!
@@cargo71 Certainly!
The ship was reminiscent of a couple of films but worked well and some really good acting from David and Catherine who had to carry the whole thing . I'm not fond of CGI effects but overall everything worked well for a family audience and it was a gripping story .
A highlight for me was Bernard Cribbins , who has had a long career and been in so many shows making his final appearance . A lovely man and a fitting tribute in the credits . I'm glad you gals liked this as much as I did .
2:35 Paula "I hate Kat, and Kat hates me."
Me: "YES! Fight! Fight! Fight!"
This was some top tier Who. I now want a tee that says "My arms are too long" - which probably ALREADY exists - but on a shirt with, like, 4 foot long sleeves...
Doctor and Donna is the best companionship bar none. I love so many others but these two are just fantastic. Having someone who does not take his crap and not doe eyed over him. In a way Capaldi and Jenna were kind of like that but they are just not as close in age so it was still not quite the same.
So glad to see this reaction been waiting since the minute the episode finished.
There’s a few companions in classic who (won’t name specifics) that in retrospect, seem to have a Romance with the doctor even if it wasn’t intended. In the big finish audios, the eighth doctor has a romance with one of his companions and while it’s a romance, it’s very equal and her character served as inspiration for rose (they are still quite different , from different times n stuff but it’s just interesting). 8 also have romances in his book series. Anyway I also really enjoyed the episode and reaction. This is my fave special so far, and I also enjoyed the references to the flux and ttc.
THANKS for this, GGs!!!! You are helping me hold on until the third special!!! And I agree with Paula: Donna is lying. Watching all of you RUclipsrs break this one down, this has gone from being an okay episode to one of Tennant's best!!! "The Doctor needs a Donna." And I guess *somebody* has to like "The Timeless Child" (but I love Jo Martin, though :)).
Good point about "The Impossible Girl" and the Nu Who love-story aspect, which I'm okay with. This level of discussion is why I like the (happily feminist) Gallifrey Gals to confront my biases. And yes, I thought RTD was brave to drive right into what some don't like.
"Alright," said Fred, "Have to take the door off
Need more space to shift the so-and-so."
Had bad twinges taking off the hinges
And it got us nowhere
And so we had a cuppa tea.
That song was is the first memeory i have if Bernard, had it on an album called 'all aboard' which i played all the time as a young child.
After sitting on my problems with the flux, I've come to the understanding that the only thing that I really didn't like about the flux was that we never got the doctor alone to hear her thoughts about it. The 13th doctor was very drawn in with her emotions, more than I think any doctor was. Like Matt smith often put on a happy face, but he could come out and be honest with Amy. With Jodie, she almost never shared how she truly feeled.
I think that was my problem. I love it when we see the more negative, manipulative side of the doctor, and with 13, it seemed like that was softened a little. If 13 was given a moment by herself and allowed to despair about half the universe dying, i think I would have felt more positively about it.
Though i think Jodie deserved a lot more time alone, not because i didn't like the companions, it just feels like she never got to truely express her feelings becuase she was always putting up a mask for the fam.
This scene with Tennant is what i wanted. He gets to react to what happened, and he hates it. And i understand that Tennant would never share these feelings with Donna if he had the choice, but at least we see them.
I think Jodie would have killed a scene where she just rages about the flux and inwish i could have seen that.
So sad that this will be Wilfs only appearance BUT seeing him here was beautiful X rest in peace Bernard x
I have definitely searched for your store
When you're a fan of both Clara and the Timeless Child 😅
Also, there were a lot more equal Doctor/companion dynamics (12/Clara being one, but i know she'd hated here)
I mean... Clara was barely even a person. but then I guess the same could be said about 12, so maybe you have a point 😄
12 was barely a person?! Brother/sister you are buggin
@@Tsuliwaensis that's a weird way of describing a character who had an entire two season arc of trying to be the Doctor and struggling with the clash between her humanity and the Doctor's responsibility.
@@oakcanary4040 No no, I'm on your side here 😅 12 is incredible .. DUDE
@@deathswitch2404 AH!!!! Sorry i got mixed up 😅
Another quality 60th anniversary cat part video!
You have reminded me once again why I enjoy watching your commentary. I was feeling a bit disappointed in this one, mainly because it was one of three specials yet it just felt like an ordinary episode. Watching you appreciate it has turned my opinion around to appreciate it anyway. Maybe there are some little bits related to the other specials and the "14th" doctor mystery and maybe not, but either way it was a good episode. Thanks.
Noo don’t hate each other 😢
Ikr 😢
I hate how Gallifrey Gals has gone all dark and dystopian now! Why can't they stay friendly and decent like it used to be! THEY'VE RUINED IT FOR THE FANS!!!