Professor Flibble

[Professor Flibble]

It flatters the set but I’m not really keen on the Doctor’s TARDIS console room having dark lighting because it looks uninviting. Dim lighting like in Capaldi’s era is fine but the Series 1 and 2 lighting is intensely dark and green. Much preferred the Series 3 and 4 lighting tbh.

[Professor Flibble]

They had to reshoot the scene and everything, which AFAIK has only happened two other times in New Who (Twice Upon A Time and Space Babies). 

I once did an edit where I cut from Tennant walking across the set in Doomsday to a shot of the time rotor with the lighting getting brighter, then to the Runaway Bride version of the scene. 

[Professor Flibble]

I’m endlessly fascinated by the way in which particular eras coalesce into a solid identity, and also how they transition to and from each other (such as Troughton doing a Hartnell-style historical with the Highlanders before abandoning the historicals, and then basically doing an early Pertwee story in The Invasion). Capaldi’s era sort of felt like all transition until Series 10, when his era was almost over, and that’s a shame. (I will say, as much as I’m not big on Series 7 as a whole, it’s fascinating academically as an example of a transitional season in the way it starts with 11 and the Ponds in the clockwork TARDIS and ends with Capaldi and Clara in the teal proto-12 TARDIS.)

I love the way Classic Who does it, especially Seasons 4 and 21, and Pertwee and Baker’s last seasons feeling like prototypes of their successors’ eras while wrapping up their own. It’s funny how Adric is the character that links the Season 17 TARDIS crew to the Season 19 TARDIS crew, when they feel worlds apart. I mean it’ll never not be weird to me that Adric and Romana were companions at the same time.

[Professor Flibble]

Yeah, honestly I think it suited Classic Who more to transition elements because it evolved, New Who makes a much bigger deal about “this is a brand new era, this is a fresh start, this is what the sonic screwdriver looks like now and these Daleks have destroyed the old Daleks etc”

[Professor Flibble]

Honestly, I liked that they committed so much to the Paradigm Daleks being *the* Daleks of the Smith era that they were all over the merchandise and the spin-off media as the default. The logo, title sequence and console room too, it really set itself apart from the RTD era. Then by about 2012 they started to lose that sense of brand cohesion and the Capaldi era suffered for it.

[Professor Flibble]

I love the original Paradigm Daleks, the whole branding of Doctor Who in 2010 was great. I actually think the metallic paint jobs in 2012 made them look a bit dull.

[Professor Flibble]

I hope the series pushes the boundaries for preschoolers in a way equivalent to the way the Hinchcliffe era did for older children. 

[Professor Flibble]

Looks like a lot of fun, I was apprehensive but this is definitely what the franchise needs.

The new Doctor.

[Professor Flibble]

I don’t even think it’s that I’m not particularly interested in the things they’re referencing. Fox era Futurama did homages all the time. But in the Hulu era, it really feels like it’s at the expense of the characters. 

That Nibbler episode really brought home the fact that they don’t actually care about doing anything with the characters, the world or the lore of the show anymore. I swear there’s been a few instances I’ve gone “wait, hold on, they were reading books in the Fox era, what are they going on about, nobody reads?” 

[Professor Flibble]

I love the Fox era, it’s consistently hilarious. I’m nostalgic for the DVD movies. The Comedy Central era is extremely patchy but has some highlights. The Hulu era’s just been dullllll. I’m usually going “…what?” at the gags rather than, you know, laughing. And the characters don’t feel like themselves. Except Zapp. Somehow Zapp is always funny, no matter what era you’re watching.

That Ocean’s Three episode felt like a fever dream. I almost thought it was gonna be some Back to Reality thing where an alien octopus ink was making them hallucinate and that’s why the episode didn’t make any sense. Seriously, what’s with the anthology episodes? Why do they exist? They feel like episode count padding. Futurama seems to be more interested these days in doing homages to pop culture or doing satire based on current events, rather than doing stories actually about the world and the characters like it used to.

[Professor Flibble]

I’ve been watching the Hulu era of Futurama since it started.

It’s shit.

[Professor Flibble]

It’s weird cause I’m ok with only a fraction of that being true. If that makes any sense? Like it’s kinda spiritually true but not literally true.

[Professor Flibble]

Yeah that scene in Empire of Death irritated me, “oh that was some other man,” not “that was me when I had curly hair and wore a long scarf.” Pair that with the End of Time stuff and the bigeneration and it’s like Russell’s been trying to ruin the concept of regeneration. Moffat didn’t help either with how much the Doctor could just summon regeneration energy to heal people or something, like it’s a superpower.

[Professor Flibble]

See I don’t like the “some man goes sauntering away” thing cause it takes away from the magic of it being the same character played by numerous actors. Each incarnation has different traits brought to the forefront but at their core, they’re very much the same being, like how real people change throughout their lives and go through phases, just a bit more drastic. I liked the point of Matt’s regeneration speech even if the speech itself was overblown.

Didn’t like the sneeze regeneration because it didn’t allow for a proper transition between Smith and Capaldi, and however they experiment with the regenerations these days, it’s still just variations of the golden firey energy. I mean if every Classic regeneration was like that too, sure, but it feels a bit predictable now.

[Professor Flibble]

Equally, I’m not a fan of the way the New Series does the big regeneration speeches, makes each Doctor feel too much like literally different people. The Ninth Doctor’s scene is still one of the best, manages to perfectly say goodbye to Eccleston while being subdued.

[Professor Flibble]

Yeah, I like the Doctor’s speeches when they feel like dialogue and not like they’ve been written to be shared on Facebook.

[Professor Flibble]

In all seriousness, to me Clara I find annoying because she’s constantly taking the Doctor’s agency away. She always knows better than he does, she’s always one step ahead of him (except, idk, that scene in Dark Water), even when she’s motivating him, (run, you clever boy etc) it still just reeks of she’s always telling him what to do. It makes a large chunk of Capaldi’s era hard to watch because you have this companion who genuinely believes she’s just better than the Doctor rather than being a normal human being who challenges the Doctor when he’s being a dick. And with her hopping on and off the TARDIS all the time, and constantly coming back after we think she’s left, she just removes the sense of wonder from the show. 

Even at the start, the ending of Rings of Akhaten wound me up. I almost get the sentimentality of it and the Doctor’s grandstanding gets annoying but it really is “a leaf is more interesting than the Doctor’s adventures because it lead to Clara existing”

[Professor Flibble]

I would, uh, go with Clara.

[Professor Flibble]

Did you miss the part where he said everyone would die if he didn’t do this? Including all the children everywhere? Including the ones he’s going to kill? 
And that’s kind of the attitude she has from that point onward. “You – the 2000-year old professional – are an idiot, and me – the inexperienced 25-year old schoolteacher – I know how to handle alien encounters and solve all moral crises.”
It’s stupid, and stupidity isn’t appealing. 
I also thought the idea of her having weekly “appointments” with the Doctor was very strange. The Ponds were trying to build a family and settling down. Fair enough. But how am I supposed to relate to a character who treats unlimited time/space adventuring like it’s something she has to squeeze into her calendar? Where’s the wonder in that? 
Anyway, to me 12/Clara was the low point of the entire television run, and I was very pleased with 12/Bill giving Capaldi’s tenure something of a redemption. 

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it explained so well. This. This is why I don’t like her.

[Professor Flibble]

I forgot about that. 😐

[Professor Flibble]

On the subject of beginners’ choices:

Been trying to work out which story is the perfect representation of each Doctor’s era for a beginner, while also keeping it balanced in terms of, each of the big monsters and villains are represented and the Doctor has their iconic companion.

Only problem is there’s a few future of humanity stories, no alien planets and not enough historical stuff. Everyone’s gonna say Tomb but I think Seeds of Death is a microcosm of the Troughton era. Same with Claws of Axos for Pertwee.

The Dalek Invasion of Earth 

The Seeds of Death

The Claws of Axos

The Ark in Space 

Earthshock 

The Two Doctors 

Remembrance of the Daleks 

[Professor Flibble]

Asylum of the Daleks is shit, so I’d say there are better first stories. I’m not a fan of Clara so I’m not keen on the idea but Snowmen’s good.

[Professor Flibble]

Oh, Time Warrior is the first Season 11 serial

[Professor Flibble]

Yeah I’m a bit tired of that too, the companion always taking the Doctor down a peg or two, like their sense of authority needs to constantly be challenged. Sometimes, the Doctor is a bit of a dick but christ the amount of times the New Series tries to do some big introspection thing or problematise the Doctor’s way of living, it gets old.

[Professor Flibble]

As for the stories being standalone, I liked it best how it was in the Hartnell years, where there was this subtle cohesion between stories. Like how Barbara is hypnotised by the Animus because she’s wearing the gold bracelet that Nero gave her in the previous story. Or Ian casually wearing his Chinese outfit throughout Keys of Marinus. Or Steven’s breakdown after enduring the Daleks’ Master Plan and the Massacre in a row. 

Yeah that kind of narrative cohesion is more what I want to see in a series of Doctor Who than some ominous portent being crowbarred onto the end of every episode

[Professor Flibble]

I agree with…I think about 70% of what Nev says? Somewhere in that ballpark.

Continuity: I think it’s really that Doctor Who’s been hyperfocused on continuity to the detriment of new audiences. What fans really want is just to be updated on what’s going on with the pre-established stuff every now and again and, you know, not an entire arc about who those faces were in Brain of Morbius. 
The Doctor is most certainly a character, he’s my favourite character in all of fiction. Not sure I have much of a counterpoint but I think it’s a bit reductive.
Different companions and characters: Yes, definitely.
Bring back the Time Lords: Tbh even if all their presence amounted to was just them sending the TARDIS somewhere and the Doctor yelling up into the sky, I prefer the idea they’re still there over the Doctor having nobody to be on the run from, so yeah I totally agree with the reasoning. I’d just say not to the point their authority over him should dominate the show on a story-by-story basis.
Story arcs: Yes, please for the love of god can we move on from “what’s (insert ominous phrase or title here)? Find out in 12 weeks, or maybe 2 years.”
Cliffhangers: Yup, agreed. New Series cliffhangers are mostly just “this character was actually this character the entire time!”
The Doctor shouldn’t know everything: Yeah, I want the Doctor to be a bit more vulnerable again. Not in the sense of “ooh there’s an enigmatic character who’s teasing the Doctor about the series finale” but more the Doctor doesn’t know literally everything, they do have a degree of vulnerability and its what makes their adventures more interesting.

[Professor Flibble]

I think Moffat’s way of writing alternates between being dynamic and insufferable. Particularly I’m not keen on the way he writes side characters. The best Doctor Who he’d written for me is probably either The Curse of Fatal Death or A Christmas Carol.

[Professor Flibble]

Listen was shit.

[Professor Flibble]

I hope they find some way to resolve that Billie Piper cliffhanger without it impeding the show having a fresh start. Could they not green screen her on the TARDIS set for a Children in Need this year, say she’s Rose and there was some weird dimension hopping thing? I don’t want another RTD or Moffat type coming along in 10 years going “So about that Billie Piper cliffhanger…” 

[Professor Flibble]

Actually, that’s one good thing about the tender document stating one series, I really hope when Doctor Who comes back, it ditches the whole overarching stories over multiple years thing. Just make one good series at a time 

[Professor Flibble]

Series 10 comes the closest, but I don’t like anything about Missy’s arc or the Monks. 

I like the Doctor’s blindness having an impact in the Monk trilogy, that’s the kind of narrative arc I prefer over the way the New Series usually does it. Simple cause and effect storytelling where an aspect of one story affects the next one. But yeah Series 10 isn’t perfect but it’s one of the best imo

[Professor Flibble]

Nah, the revival peaked with Series 5. 2013 was when things started to go wrong.

[Professor Flibble]

I’ve never heard of his Star Trek pitch but I liked Babylon 5. Thing is, I have no idea if what I liked about Babylon 5 would actually translate to Doctor Who. 

[Professor Flibble]

But then they could easily give it to Alex Kurtzman or something.

Nah I wouldn’t worry about that, they want the show to still feel British, so Kurtzman and probably J Michael Straczynski are both probably off the table.

[Professor Flibble]

Good news! It might take a while, but new Doctor Who will happen.

Best case scenario I was hoping for was an Autumn 2028 release anyway, so I’m pretty chuffed, all things considered.

Oh god, do I dare to dream?

I think all the shortcomings with that formula’s been proven now so it’s likelier now more than ever we could get a return to the Classic production model.

[Professor Flibble]

The show’s officially out to tender now! 

Couple interesting points:

– The show will be back in 2028/2029

– The winning bidder will be announced in March 2027

– Not a reboot

– Not an exile to Earth

– No overreliance on lore

– They’ll accept either episodic or serialised pitches

– The pitches don’t necessarily have to follow the showrunner model that’s been used since 2005 

– Scaring the audience is important 

– The bidder will be contracted to produce one series of Doctor Who and special(s) with the option to continue at the BBC’s discretion

– Number of episodes in a series is flexible depending on the pitch

[Professor Flibble]

The writing for McCoy overshadows any of his shortcomings. He has one of the most consistently brilliant and inventive TV eras of any Dr Who.
And as Unrumble says, he is wonderful for the quieter stuff. And for the wacky running around. He’s one of the best Doctors for me, and I didn’t grow up with him.

I grew up with every Doctor from Hartnell to Smith simultaneously and for a long time I kept telling people I didn’t have a favourite because I couldn’t put one above the other. Nowadays, I’ve realised my favourite is either Troughton or McCoy. And it bothers me that people say McCoy is the worst actor in the role. 

[Professor Flibble]

Not top 10 for me by any means but only because it’s got such fierce competition. I would have to think pretty hard about a top 10. Power of the Daleks, Tomb of the Cybermen, The Enemy of the World, The Invasion, The Seeds of Death, Carnival of Monsters, Genesis of the Daleks, Warrior’s Gate, The Visitation, Enlightenment, The Caves of Androzani, perhaps.
The Rescue and the Time Meddler, The Time Warrior, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy and, no joke, The Invasion of Time are honourable mentions.

I’ve always found it difficult to make a Classic Who top 10, but I know the following stories would be contenders. I mean there’s around 20 of them here but essentially if I halved it then put it in order of preference, I’d probably have my top 10. Tbf, a couple of these are on here probably because they should be more than anything. Like, it’d feel weird not to consider Earthshock, even though it’s not typically one I’d outright call a personal favourite, it’s just really good.

The Web Planet, The War Machines, The Enemy of the World, The Seeds of Death, The Curse of Peladon, The Green Death, The Time Warrior, The Ark in Space, Genesis of the Daleks, Planet of Evil, The Brain of Morbius, Horror of Fang Rock, The Stones of Blood, City of Death, Nightmare of Eden, The Leisure Hive, Earthshock, The Five Doctors, Frontios, The Happiness Patrol, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, The Curse of Fenric

[Professor Flibble]

Power of Kroll is shit because Holmes was phoning it in, and Armageddon Factor is shit because of who wrote it.

I thought Armageddon Factor was dull because of how it was paced. Too many bits that linger like K-9 talking in computer language to Mentalis, and it’s a bit of an underwhelming conclusion to the season.

[Professor Flibble]

No I’ve never watched it but will give it a go at some point. Only recently watched an episode of Thunderbirds for the first time, which was fun, while feeling a bit plotless. Incidentally, it was the first episode.

[Professor Flibble]

I think I just tend to enjoy Williams era stories more, there’s a warm, comforting vibe to them and lots of fun side characters. Maybe it’s because the universe feels like it’s more full of vindictively nasty people in the Hinchcliffe era, but then that’s truer of the Saward era, if anything. 

[Professor Flibble]

Yeah honestly my hot take is I’ve always preferred the Williams era to the Hinchcliffe era. 

[Professor Flibble]

I liked the Pirate Captain as a villain on his own merit as a character. I wasn’t really compelled by the plot reveal that he’s virtually a figurehead for a strange alien queen. 

Tbf I do get that, he becomes sidelined a bit past that reveal. Can I just say I don’t think Bruce Purchase’s performance as the Captain gets acknowledged enough as one of the all time great Doctor Who performances?

[Professor Flibble]

Oh I don’t mind Part 4 of Pirate Planet, but then I don’t usually separate individual episodes from their serials. What makes that final episode weaker for you? 

[Professor Flibble]

Rewatched Season 16, the first four stories are absolutely fantastic, the last two are…eh. 

[Professor Flibble]

[Professor Flibble]

I’ve never been sure what Doug’s fascination is with doing more meta Red Dwarf stuff. Wasn’t Back to Earth enough?

[Professor Flibble]

Yeah honestly that’s the thing I don’t think a lot of people think about if Bobby himself personally wants to keep doing it, and it sounds like he’s still game for it.

[Professor Flibble]

Maybe there’s a way for them to make the prosthetics even simpler than they were in Series XI and XII, though idk, it might look shit. Practically just putting a mask on him and adding minor touches up. 

[Professor Flibble]

What if a TV channel commissioned Doug to just make six episodes and gave him a reasonable amount of time and money to prepare?

Nah.

With the constant doom and gloom about the TV industry atm, this would be welcome news.

[Author]

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