Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV

Was the regeneration satisfying? What’s a Doctorverse? How is the show reorienting to fantasy? Why do people feel so differently about the bigeneration? How is the Toymaker’s legacy handled? What’s different in the novelisation? What does this finale say about the show’s past and future? We discuss The Giggle in depth, while also covering the novelisation and the bevy of extras. (00:00:00) Journey to France (00:06:34) ‘There’s no such thing’ (00:08:03) Impressions & attitudes (00:16:29) Goals of the episode (00:27:51) UNIT, lasers, journalists (00:32:28) Unleashed racism (00:49:08) Music + Toymaker origins (00:58:23) Giggle thematics + giving fans tools (01:14:12) Music, Moffat, montage (01:35:54) Social commentary (01:44:42) Mel (01:52:20) The Ruminant (02:02:07) Ball game (02:09:21) We can be celestial (02:13:49) Bigeneration: qualifiers & The End of Time (02:25:00) Bigeneration: time loop & Tales of the TARDIS (02:33:09) Bigeneration: opinions & Oliver (02:45:51) Bigeneration: inquiries & Ingiga (02:55:28) Bigeneration: Doctors as different people (03:03:52) Bigeneration: guilt, continuity, baggage (03:11:14) Bigeneration: emotions, finality, family (03:21:40) Bigeneration: retirement, cheating, two TARDISes (03:36:54) Bigeneration: I stay there, he flies off (03:46:09) Bigeneration: affording a house in France (03:52:07) Bigeneration: spectacle, toys (04:00:07) Bigeneration: costume handover across regenerations (04:07:41) Doctorverse (04:42:52) Novelisation: appeal, politicians, UNIT (04:48:58) Novelisation: Toymaker perspective, hashtag Donna reasons (04:57:15) Novelisation: choose your own adventure + Flux (05:03:22) Novelisation: musical sequence (05:11:03) Novelisation: bigeneration + defeat (05:15:10) Novelisation: third act expansion (05:26:57) Novelisation: ending (05:51:20) Books, brands, the future, pop (05:57:51) Addendum: bigeneration — behind the scenes (06:06:56) Ncuti’s casting + TARDIS talk (06:10:09) 14’s house, parallels with Mel, actor expectations (06:17:03) Script details + regeneration handovers (06:23:26) Outro… Continue reading →

Doctor-Donna genesis, lyrical lovesickness, character regressions, vindictive villainy, musical escalation, Racnoss drowning, Christmas imagery & more are discussed in this review of The Runaway Bride, Doctor Who's 2006 Christmas special. (00:00:00) Comparing RTD Christmas specials (00:04:27) Stakes + establishing Doctor/Donna bond (00:08:30) Lance representing insecurity (00:14:54) Actors across time (00:16:37) Empress of the Racnoss (00:20:02) Handling of Rose's absence (00:28:23) Love Don't Roam scene & lyrics (00:34:00) RTD & Christmas imagery (00:36:36) Orchestral & cinematic scale (00:42:28) The real core of the Earth (00:46:05) Spider web attack on London (00:48:47) 10 drowning the Racnoss (00:55:57) Introducing Gallifrey & wider universe (01:00:05) Vindictive villainy (01:03:31) 'You can stop now' (01:05:17) Donna imitating Rose's swing moment (01:09:55) Bookending Doctor/Donna relationship (01:12:16) Episode archaeology (01:15:37) How Lance became a companion (01:17:13) The Snake in the grass (01:23:36) The 1:50 AM Incident (01:25:09) Fan judgement & children's acceptance (01:30:16) Donna's wedding 'regeneration' (01:33:22) Sympathy for the Racnoss (01:40:35) Donna not joining the TARDIS (01:43:39) Staging of the ending scene (01:45:25) Cruelty & warmth in Donna's life (01:49:44) Retrospective thoughts & looking forward… Continue reading →

Anniversary expectations, aesthetic foundations, timeless parallels, equine verisimilitude, character servicing & more are explored in a discussion about the episode, as well as the interquel comic, novelisation, and multiple extras. (00:00:00) Expectations & disappointment (00:10:01) Celebrating the cast + anniversaries (00:16:45) Newton, mavity, reactions (00:24:33) Bi Doctor (00:27:13) Visual effects (00:39:05) Music (00:42:44) Flux & the Timeless Child (01:04:24) Physicality & warmth (01:08:06) Characters underserved (01:25:40) Space plot, Moffat, cut pages, time meddling (01:35:10) Alien gender + countdown pacing (01:42:21) Music & motivations (01:47:50) Wilf (01:52:36) Unleashed banter + verisimilitude (01:57:50) Timeless TARDIS parallel + food (02:06:38) Wild Blue Yonder song + Mrs. Bean (02:14:57) Anniversary expectations + camp (02:29:47) TARDIS usage (02:32:55) Interquel comic (02:41:02) Magazine comments (02:44:19) Novelisation: novel types + Newton prologue (02:48:59) Novelisation: internal additions + TARDIS personification (02:52:05) Novelisation: cut lines + chase sequence (02:57:22) Novelisation: Flux + Doctor breakdown (03:02:22) Novelisation: Exorcist moment + 14’s face + Donna’s yoga (03:06:16) Novelisation: sonic kiss + doppelganger deaths (03:11:05) Novelisation: ending + 60th novel differences… Continue reading →

Maker of Toys. Recasting actors. Character crossovers. Chaotic rewrites. Scuppered returns. Script archaeology. Fandom reassessments. The 1966 Toymaker serial is a bizarre window into a very strange and liminal period of Doctor Who, and a very strange and scattered set of production circumstances. (00:00:00) Introduction & first reactions (00:03:42) Why has it persisted? (00:06:38) What the Toymaker actually does (00:08:29) Watching characters do puzzles (00:10:42) Internal logic (00:12:57) Darkness of the story & humanity of the toys (00:16:43) Wasting time & trap of meaninglessness (00:21:34) Steven & Dodo's roles (00:25:24) Thoughts on the 'visuals' (00:28:06) Toymaker compared to the Doctor (00:30:01) 'Cheat' resolution of the story (00:33:47) Pathos of the toy characters (00:37:53) Toymaker as a villain & a performance (00:41:46) Music & things we wish we could see (00:44:45) Absence of Hartnell & his qualities (00:46:22) History of the serial: script editors (00:48:56) Genesis of the script, George & Margaret (00:54:37) Rewrites addressing tonal issues (00:56:31) Early regeneration of Hartnell? (00:58:51) Transition of the production teams (01:01:54) Replacing George and Margaret & impact of the rewrites (01:06:53) Contemporary & fan responses to the story (01:11:03) Racist elements & interpretations over time (01:14:32) The 'occidental Mandarin' & British juxtapositions (01:19:15) Toymaker as an appropriator & depicting Orientalism (01:27:50) Public schoolboys & Empire psychology (01:31:44) Lost potential for meaning (01:34:10) Absence leaving room to project & reimagine (01:38:10) Position in the show's progression/regression + outro… Continue reading →

RTD’s second reign begins. New characterisations, layered resolutions, focal perspectives, conversations with other eras, new & old aesthetics, physicality, crypticism, milkmen, & more are explored in a discussion not just about the episode, but also the hours of extras, as well as the novelisation. (00:00:00) Returning show, returning cast (00:05:43) Rose & main characters (00:15:28) Metacrisis resolutions; ‘I’m finally me’ (00:21:23) Official behind-the-scenes shows (00:31:26) Rose’s role in the climax; non-binary characters (00:45:21) Male-presenting Time Lords; double resolutions (00:53:32) Conversing with past eras; watching forwards & backwards (01:05:50) Differences from the comic (01:15:16) The episode’s visuals & music (01:24:49) The weather report; preferring 14 (01:34:31) Titles; Donna’s charity (01:52:54) New sonic, new TARDIS; physicality (01:58:00) The Nobles; roads (02:08:02) Pronouns; Shirley (02:15:53) The Face of the Doctor; the Curator (02:22:24) Lampshading crypticism; show’s social purpose (02:27:32) Unleashed & the in-vision commentary; boom mics (02:37:21) Clarifying the weather report (02:41:26) Novelisation: Stolen Earth milkman; sonic (02:49:17) Novelisation: memos, Wilf, Sylvia (02:58:21) Novelisation: Rose, Sharon, Kate (03:05:25) Novelisation: Wrarth lore; Galaxipedia (03:11:12) Novelisation: metacrisis resolution; Donna’s forgiveness (03:16:20) Novelisation: promixity to transmission… Continue reading →

What divides comedy and sincerity? When is a skit not a skit? How did Destination: Skaro lead to fandom crossing wires? Why did the 14th Doctor's era start with months of Dalek froth and frippery? Bootstrap paradoxes, tonal contrasts, Dalek nostalgia, comedy as deflection, showrunner blame, minisode structure, journeys into the past, and more are discussed! Neo, Ingiga, & Missy discuss the last gasp before the second Doctor Who era of Russell T Davies starts in earnest with the 60th anniversary specials, looking at Destination: Skaro, Liberation of the Daleks, and Doctor Who: Unleashed. (00:00:00) Doctor openings + Children in Need (00:07:58) Destination: Skaro + types of humour (00:25:48) Unleashed’s format + RTD’s words (00:43:43) Fandom processing culture (00:58:21) Genesis & Moffat (01:03:37) RTD’s journeys into the past (01:14:11) Accents + wobbly sets (01:23:40) The music (01:28:00) Bootstrap paradoxes + Bleach & Eccleston (01:34:44) Liberation of the Daleks (01:45:06) Outro… Continue reading →

Fire, technology, and knowledge beyond understanding. Horror, humanity, and forming a tribe. Imagination, magic, and metaphors for TV. We discuss the first four episodes of Doctor Who — the characters, the themes, the visuals, and why they've lasted from 1963 to today. (00:00:00) First episode vs the next three (00:07:06) Horror & humanity (00:12:52) Ian & Barbara + value of mystery (00:17:55) Conveying information + Susan (00:23:39) Classic Who trope-forming (00:29:57) The TV audience (00:36:22) The visual direction + generations of humanity (00:46:11) Technology + dialogue (00:53:31) Rock meets head + fear makes companions (01:01:19) Unity & morality (01:12:37) Stakes, Susan, fire, imagination (01:18:57) Costumes, contrast, junkyard, dematerialisation (01:25:21) Colourisation + the ending (01:32:34) Final thoughts… Continue reading →

Meep! Meep! Why has this comic persisted through the decades? How did Beep the Meep and the Wrarth Warriors make their impact on Doctor Who? What makes Doctor Who comics unique from the show? How did The Star Beast presage later eras of the TV show? Why does David Tennant think this era of comics was even better than the TV show at the time? We get into all these questions in a discussion of the original 1980 The Star Beast comic from Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons. (00:00:00) Why the comic has lasted (00:08:01) Beep the Meep (00:11:16) Companion intros + enemy backstory (00:17:48) Dave Gibbons’ art + Wrarth Warriors (00:22:40) Fourth Doctor comics & TV (00:33:01) Pat Mills & Dave Gibbons 2023 interview (00:45:50) Tone of the comic (00:51:40) Tennant & RTD on the comic (00:57:00) Memorable parts of the comic (01:02:34) Through the decades… Continue reading →

We discuss the audio follow-up to the first TV show from Russell T Davies! Prestigious returns, technology & mysticism, shifting formats, generational storytelling, RTD writing for non-TV mediums, supernatural schools, & more are discussed in this review of the 2023 follow-up to Dark Season's 1991 TV run. (00:00:00) Impressions of what’s new (00:07:40) The cast across generations (00:16:40) 2.1 Spring (00:36:38) 2.2 Summer (00:58:23) 2.3 Autumn (01:13:26) 2.4 Winter (02:01:30) RTD returning to shows… Continue reading →

A deep dive into Ryan Sinclair and disability representation. What is dyspraxia? How was Ryan’s dyspraxia depicted in Doctor Who? How should representation be approached? How does Ryan’s characterisation resonate with people with dyspraxia? How do infantalisation, cyclicality, relationships with time, and narrative stasis play into all this? All these sorts of questions are explored in a thorough journey through Ryan’s time across Chris Chibnall’s era of Doctor Who, examining every clip relevant to Ryan’s dyspraxia, along with script excerpts, relevant articles, and more. This is a cumulative analysis of Ryan’s time on the show from authentic perspectives from fans with dyspraxia, starting with a wide-ranging discussion on dyspraxia and representation, then moving into an examination of relevant episodes and scripts. (00:00:00) Intro & importance (00:03:03) Defining dyspraxia (00:11:47) Disability intersection, narratives, & frameworks (00:16:33) Representation of dyspraxia (00:25:42) Role of representation (00:36:32) Chibnall’s approach (00:46:21) Reception to Ryan (00:52:27) More reception to Ryan (00:59:09) The Woman Who Fell to Earth (01:55:37) The Ghost Monument (02:08:41) Kerblam! (02:18:09) It Takes You Away (02:22:38) Resolution (02:27:41) Spyfall (02:46:41) Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror (02:47:41) The Haunting of Villa Diodati (02:51:42) The Timeless Children (02:58:30) Revolution of the Daleks (03:13:15) Outro… Continue reading →

Hope. Fatherhood. Pting. The midpoint of series 11 is where the era well and truly solidified. What did this episode present us with? Where did the idea for the Pting come from? What does it mean for the series to nebulously bring up the idea of 'hope in dark times' so often? What's unusual about the episode's structure? (00:00:00) Initial reactions (00:05:05) Origins of the script + Pting appeal (00:08:16) Script's unusual structure (00:14:53) Handling of ensemble & pacing (00:19:36) Being a doctor of people + humanising characters (00:29:26) Handling of Graham and Ryan + daddy issues (00:35:50) Control of tone + sense of peril (00:40:56) Automation & medication (00:42:13) Hope in dark times + antimatter (00:49:06) Technobabble (00:52:18) Pep talks & medical dramas (00:57:36) Small details (01:01:52) RTD impressions (01:04:47) Scheduling & audience tolerance (01:05:35) Music, set design, genre play (01:07:09) Shoutouts + stray thoughts (01:11:29) Outro… Continue reading →

Steven Knight's incredibly interesting adaptation of the 1860s novel raises questions of society's relationship with Charles Dickens, revising endings, the British collective subconscious, shock tactics, adaptive remixing, myopic approaches to cultural touchstones, problematising periods, social mobility, rags-to-riches storytelling, character agency, cultural ownership, and much more. (00:00:00) New expectations & Steven Knight (00:07:40) Problematising a period (00:16:16) Women in the show + social mobility (00:23:21) Pip & Magwitch (00:27:21) Policing adaptations + Pip’s agency (00:38:48) Why another adaptation? (00:46:09) Endings, period drama, Pip’s personality (00:55:21) Shock tactics & apologia (01:08:09) Dreams, adaptations, collective subconscious (01:18:32) Improvisation & rags-to-riches storytelling (01:32:45) Style of the show (01:41:13) Jaggers, realism (01:59:32) Three endings + sexuality (02:28:38) The show’s beginning + gentlemen (02:39:24) Reception to the show (03:06:53) Stray positive thoughts + different Drummle (03:14:19) Pip, Havisham, maturity (03:31:37) Knight’s next Dickens adaptation… Continue reading →

What does this episode say about history, civil rights, education, revolution, pacifism, complicity, the law, and race? What did the fandom and press reactions to the episode tell us? What is the legacy of the episode? (00:00:00) Intro + reactions to the episode (00:04:25) Introducing ideologies (00:05:44) Usage of the companions (00:10:43) Incuriosity & agency (00:14:52) Pessimistic view of civil rights (00:21:26) Semantics + obeying authority (00:24:53) Possibilities + Ryan’s role (00:29:09) Falling back on Grace (00:30:26) Tonderai and Chibnall’s thoughts (00:38:42) Grace vs Fugitive Doctor (00:41:04) Respectability politics & generational differences (00:45:03) Tonal mismatches (00:47:57) Strange aesthetics + American aspiration (00:53:24) Rise Up (00:55:14) Krasko (00:57:09) Could the show do better? (00:59:26) End of history & dehistoricisation (01:03:00) Focus on individuals (01:05:15) Connections to RTD2 (01:06:50) Fandom reactions + Graham as viewer (01:10:32) Lack of critical discourse (01:14:27) Dead museum or theme park (01:19:41) Outro… Continue reading →

What defined the Chibnall era? How did fandom process the era? How is the era being reassessed? How did those behind the era see it when they first began work on it, and how do they see it now that it's over? Audio commentaries, interviews, panel discussions — we discuss all of these through a bookending chat tracing it from the commentary for its very first episode, to Chibnall's debrief conversations over his first fan convention appearance following his era ending. We finish our series of exploring the commentaries of the Chibnall Era in a metacommentary looking at a new 2023 interview with Chibnall, the audio commentary for The Woman Who Fell to Earth, and coverage of the 2023 Gallifrey One fan convention. (00:00:00) Commentaries & conventions (00:04:17) THE WOMAN WHO FELL TO EARTH — representation (00:14:44) Spontaneity & acting (00:18:31) Pick-up shots & viewer immersion (00:41:27) 13th Doctor audition scene (00:53:38) Misunderstandings & sci-fi conventions (01:01:25) Attitudes towards spoilers (01:09:56) Timeless tangibility (01:18:39) Blame, Ryan, memory (01:28:36) CHIBNALL INTERVIEW — Reality Bomb, 2023 (01:37:17) Showrunner retroactive perspective (01:48:40) Community & therapy (01:57:10) Diversity, specificity, Chibnall's vision (02:09:25) Adoption narratives (02:38:20) Timeless Tecteun (03:05:21) Legacy, Aswok, continuity, readings (03:29:22) GALLIFREY ONE 2023 — fan conventions & fan framing (03:47:59) Clarifications & cataloguing (03:51:59) Chibnall interview from Gary Russell (04:18:03) The Power of the Doctor commentary (04:37:35) Jodie Whittaker panels (04:46:17) Chibnall on Writing for TV (04:51:32) Chibnall on Production Stories (05:10:57) Chibnall on 21st Century Production (05:13:45) The Halloween Apocalypse commentary (05:21:15) Final thoughts… Continue reading →

What's the future of the franchise? What sort of Doctor Who esoterica is out there? Could Doctor Who work as an animated show? How do our nationalities affect our experience of the show? How do the Eighth and Twelfth Doctor's storylines rhyme? We answer our Q&A questions focused on future plans, esoterica, franchise direction, & the most specific and in-depth questions we received overall. (00:00:00) Questions (00:01:40) Future shows to cover (00:10:59) Showrunner shows (00:15:05) Do-overs (00:19:38) Class & The Sarah Jane Adventures (00:22:32) Handling the Timeless Children + looking ahead (00:29:36) Introducing Nate + Nate’s favourites (00:33:30) Doctor Who criticism books (00:40:16) Nationalities & opinions (00:50:09) Iris Wildthyme (00:53:29) Interesting Doctor Who esoterica (00:59:58) Animated Doctor Who (01:06:48) Eighth Doctor & Hell Bent comparisons (01:24:53) Will Doctor Who last forever? (01:29:20) Grinding Gig’s gears (01:35:10) Genre shifts (01:42:39) Crossovers & culture (01:49:24) Watching behind-the-scenes material (02:05:28) Turn Left style episodes (02:09:11) Video games & the TV streaming crunch (02:17:43) Considerations & dreams (02:25:04) First fandoms (02:27:45) Final points & thanks… Continue reading →

Why did Murray Gold return as Doctor Who's composer? How did RTD2's first directors approach the 60th anniversary specials? What does the ready unveiling of the Fifteenth Doctor's 1960s costume tell us about how RTD approaches branding? What Murray Gold tracks best showcase how he approaches the show? What happened to the Thirteenth Doctor's sonic screwdriver? We explore these questions in a discussion of new RTD2 era interviews and discourses in the lead-up to the 60th anniversary specials and Series 14. We discuss Murray Gold's 2023 return interview, along with a range of specific music tracks, as well as interviews with Russell T Davies and other RTD2 creatives. We also look at The Sarah Jane Adventures-related discourse, the Doom's Day announcement, and the ongoing Fourteenth Doctor Liberation of the Daleks comic. (00:00:00) Recent events (00:03:42) Murray Gold returning (00:19:00) Franchise comparisons (00:23:09) Series 14's music (00:29:28) Gold and the writing (00:35:59) Murray's return interview (01:20:28) Favourite Murray Gold tracks (02:09:50) Press, plans, and costumes (02:18:08) 60th directors interview (02:33:01) Doom's Day announced (02:42:17) RTD anecdotes (02:47:07) Tech & prep (02:50:51) The Sarah Jane Controversies (03:06:29) Liberation of the Daleks comic, parts 5-7 (03:16:23) New and old hires (03:26:22) Other composers… Continue reading →

How should regeneration be handled? What’s special about the TV format? What can Doctor Who never change? How should RTD2 handle companions? We answer our Q&A questions focused on matters ‘behind the scenes’, regeneration responses, celebrity historicals, reconciling writer differences, interactive adventures, & much more! (00:00:00) Questions (00:01:49) Voices in a discussion (00:04:25) Pride, money, writing (00:07:27) Hot takes (00:12:01) Dropping Doctor Who + recantations (00:19:48) Chibnall’s past work (00:25:18) Aesthetics & Bandersnatch (00:28:54) Choose-your-own-adventure Resolution (00:34:09) Sherlock osmosis (00:38:26) Recording sessions (00:46:06) Sherlock & future shows to cover (00:51:49) Collaborations (00:55:15) Recommendations (01:00:52) RTD2 paths forward (01:06:03) Introducing Oliver + Oliver’s favourites (01:15:42) Extremis & video essays (01:24:46) TV specificity (01:37:12) Extremis video background (01:41:37) Rose & Clara regeneration responses (01:47:47) Celebrity historicals (01:52:31) More favourites (01:57:12) Covering the Capaldi Era (02:01:36) Were Clara and 12 romantic? (02:10:21) Anthology episodes… Continue reading →

Murder, repression, escapism, Britishness, politics — lots is at play in Steven Moffat's play the Unfriend. We discuss the play itself (including the differences between iterations), as well as where the play came from, the theatre experience, how the play sits in Moffat's career, and how the play has been received. (00:00:00) Approaching The Unfriend (00:04:38) Reading vs watching (00:23:45) Origin of the play (00:36:25) Reception & politics (00:45:12) Why a play? (00:50:44) Kinds of humour (00:55:21) Themes of the play (01:14:02) Murder, domesticity, The Unfriend, Inside Man (01:27:12) The neighbour (01:30:34) Differences between script versions (01:42:37) Memorable dialogue (01:49:53) Gags & characters (01:55:40) Final impressions… Continue reading →

What's the appeal of Doctor Who? What makes a favourite episode? What's intended in Hell Bent? What's in a good spinoff? We answer our Q&A questions focused on preferences, favourites, backgrounds, characters, RTD2, spinoffs, the UK, storytelling mediums, Torchwood, future marketing, fond memories, fan films, & more! (00:00:00) Questions (00:02:50) Appeal of Doctor Who (00:12:56) Fond memories & first impressions (00:19:51) Favourites (non Doctor Who) (00:24:17) Favourites (Doctor Who) (00:31:59) Favourite fan films (00:37:24) Dreams made & dashed + K9 (00:48:52) Favourite video games (00:54:20) Introducing Astra + Astra’s favourites (00:59:58) Our backgrounds (01:02:07) Yaz, Thasmin, shipping, redemption (01:07:47) Torchwood & RTD2 spinoffs (01:28:21) Hell Bent intent & defence (01:46:50) Issues in the UK (01:56:38) Younger generation storytelling (02:24:44) Scotland & narratives (02:31:08) Doom & costuming (02:35:41) Q&A part 1 ending… Continue reading →

Questions. Queries. Quizzes about the Qurunx. Do you have any? We'd love to hear them! Who Cares has reached 1000 subscribers and 100+ uploads, so we're commemorating those milestones with a Q&A. Send in any questions you have — to us the hosts, Neo and Ingiga, or any of our friends that have appeared on Who Cares as well. Write your questions in the YouTube comments, or send them in privately here https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/contact/ , or via Twitter to @Neo_WhoCares… Continue reading →