[IanJRedman]

The trailer for the BBC centenary episode (and Jodie's swansong) has been released. Airs Sunday 23rd October:

youtu.be 

[Stuart]

The best character to come out of Jodie Whittaker's tenure is the latest Master, as portrayed by the excellent Sacha Dhawan.

It's not supposed to be a likeable character, but he even managed to improve on the previous great performances of John Simm and Michelle Gomez, to the point where I actually cheered his appearances more than those of the Doctor. 

I think the problem going forward from the Chris Chibnall era is that too much of the backstory has been re-written. Unless they somehow manage to manufacture a "Bobby steps out of the shower, and it was all a dream" moment, then the tinkering may have gone too far. 

RTD is an excellent writer, so I'm sure he'll rescue it somehow.

[IanJRedman]

The best character to come out of Jodie Whittaker's tenure is the latest Master, as portrayed by the excellent Sacha Dhawan.

It's not supposed to be a likeable character, but he even managed to improve on the previous great performances of John Simm and Michelle Gomez, to the point where I actually cheered his appearances more than those of the Doctor. 

I think the problem going forward from the Chris Chibnall era is that too much of the backstory has been re-written. Unless they somehow manage to manufacture a "Bobby steps out of the shower, and it was all a dream" moment, then the tinkering may have gone too far. 

RTD is an excellent writer, so I'm sure he'll rescue it somehow.

To be honest, I'm not personally sure the backstory even matters that much. Going forward, if the stories are compelling, then who the character is or where they came from shouldn't really make any difference. I'm by no means against the changes Chibnall introduced (in fact, you could argue that the Doctor's origins are more ambiguous now than they were previously) but there's certainly precedent for these things being introduced and ultimately fading into history without being mentioned again. (eg the 1996 TV Movie would have you believe the Doctor is half-human!)

[Blubatt]

But if I have watched this show, and I have invested time, I remember this stuff, and it tarnishes a lot of established canon, all for the sake of 'social buzz' and 'A shocker'. I will now always live in a world where The Timeless Child happened, and a world where the showrunner nose-dived a show so much, he has to create an ill-thought out story arc and retcon to get people talking again. I too am looking forward to this episode, but moreso for the end of an era for a show that I have not enjoyed, sadly. Russell T Davies and Steve Moffatt both had their share of stinkers and things that I didn't like, but they always had more things I liked than disliked about their runs on the show. Tennant's 3rd series, Matt Smith's 1st series, and Peter Capaldi's 3rd series standing out as some of my personal favourite Nu-Who.

I have enjoyed a lot less of Jodie Whittaker's run, mostly due to the poor creative decisions of Chris Chibnall. His rather thoughtless and poorly imagined reinterpretation of The Cartmel Masterplan scuppered up any of the good he tried to do, because it influenced everything about this run. The companions I found to be quite boring, save for Graham. Flux was a good idea, bringing back the multi-episode serial format, but it was a slog that made little sense. They turned a rather threatening and unhinged incarnation of The Master into a giggling, sugar crazed loon. I didn't buy Sacha Dhawan at all, and I think he's a decent actor. All of them are, but they have been given dreck to act.

I do hope some of RTD's eccentricities are toned down in his 2nd run. He wasn't my favourite either, but at least his bad stuff is memorable (Slitheen), and his good stuff is exceptional (Midnight). I know that Ncuti Gatwa will benefit from RTD's love for this show.

[Roger Darthwell]

WHAT DID I JUST WATCH?!?!?! I am so overwhelmed!

[Andrew Wood]

WHAT DID I JUST WATCH?!?!?! I am so overwhelmed!

Talk about going out with a bang! That last regen scene was so beautifully shot.

[Roger Darthwell]

WHAT DID I JUST WATCH?!?!?! I am so overwhelmed!

Talk about going out with a bang! That last regen scene was so beautifully shot.

Never in my wildest imagination........I would have expected that to happen!

[Andrew Wood]

Talk about going out with a bang! That last regen scene was so beautifully shot.

Never in my wildest imagination........I would have expected that to happen!

Unfortunately,  a colleague and I at work did just exactly that. But I will say I was surprised we were both right!

[IanJRedman]

The regeneration into David Tennant* was widely expected among fans but was probably a big surprise for most of the wider audience. I also noticed that a UHD version of the episode arrived on iPlayer shortly after transmission. Frustrating that they didn't make it available to watch 'live', but maybe they didn't want people jumping to the end? Oh well - I'll have to rewatch sometime soon...

* Tennant, by the way, is officially the Fourteenth Doctor for three anniversary specials in November 2023, before handing over to Ncuti Gatwa who is the Fifteenth Doctor.

[fanoftv]

What a wonderful episode and a fantastic ending for Jodie Whittaker. The companions around the console harked back to Tennant’s last episode (well previously last), but worked well together. I like the idea of the support group at the end as it makes sense that there will be many an ex companion with no one to talk to. It was great to see old faces of the doctor return, but it felt odd that they didn’t include any of the more recent doctors. The regeneration looked fantastic, it was great to see one outside the Tardis. I look forward to seeing where it heads now.

Just for clarification, was this Chibnell’s last Doctor Who with the specials next year being the start of the BBC/Bad Wolf TV co-production?