DID RUSSELL T DAVIES FAIL TO LAND THE DOCTOR WHO FINALE AGAIN IN EMPIRE OF DEATH?

[@kevinburke3573]

RTD didn't fail to stick the landing because he never made it off the ground to start with. Absolutely abysmal series.

[@ConorMedlyn26]

The mother reveal has turned out to be the core of the one of the biggest problems of the season, its desire to convey constant positive messaging over writing good stories. He had built up a mystical story arc for so long, baited the audience, but we all know what will happen next. RTD will berate the audience for anticipating a big reveal because how dare we be disappointed at the reveal of an ordinary woman, think about all the people in the world who have had similar reunions to Ruby in this episode. The Gen Z are his core audience, but the thing is they have been the one's theorising the most on who Ruby's Mum is, Russell is playing a dangerous game, because the significant thing about the reaction to this episode is the younger people who usually defend this series have widely turned to criticising after this finale.

[@lorrainesheridan496]

Yes I feel sorry for the special effects people but not the writer. Only person i believed in was Bonnie who like us became invested with Who years ago. Do not care who Anita Dobson is now!

[@lorrainesheridan496]

The wonderful young podcaster Tharries was underwhelmed. He is such a great fan. Makes me sad.

[@davidroberts5250]

Why didn't they bring back the robot mummies, and have Susan Triad build them for Sutekh as she was a tech genius. It might of made the episode a bit more entertaining.

[@Problembeing]

If RTD needs to come out and explain his story in a separate video shows one or both of two things - He knows his story is stupid; he believes his audience to be stupid.

[@markpostgate2551]

For next season they should change the name from "Doctor Who Unleashed" to "Doctor Who - An Apology."

[@Problembeing]

@@markpostgate2551 or 'Doctor Who - RTD explains to the proles why they're too stupid to understand his magnificence' 🤣

[@triplejazzmusicisall1883]

I would like to sincerely thank Nick for I understand as many of our generation would what he is saying. We have invested a lot of time, energy and put our heart and soul into DW over decades and most of us (I hope most) are not sycophantic fans that praise everything and overlook every flaw big and small. This episode was full of massive flaws and narratively it was utter nonsense. ‘Trash’ is a better word. All those years growing up and with DW and for the most part loving the adventures of the Timelord through Time and Space. Now in return we get this show that barely resembles what it once was. It's like a shallow reflection. It's all veneer and no substance but worst of all it has enormous plot holes that the writer Mr RTD doesn't seem to even care about resolving. Big, loud, Disneyfied pizazz with no proper attention paid to the actual script being coherent and making sense. A lot of us are no longer kids and we expect stories to hold up on their own merit. If you take that last point into serious consideration, then RTD has failed and let down millions of people who once could not get enough of 'Who'. Such a shame.

[@chrislawley6801]

Snoopy Suteck lying on the TARDIS as in peanuts is the meme I can't forget 😂

[@ste_zace]

I assume whom ever flood is, it will be a let down

[@jackmccann7147]

Get outta my pub!

[@chrislawley6801]

Don't think of plot holes in this series. Look at Mrs Flood.. jingle memeberries to distract.. oooh it's Rani .. dear god another shoal of red herrings

[@deadman746]

Let's get a prediction in, anyway. The _everyman/everywoman_ trope is fine. It worked extremely well with Bernard Cribbins, because we cared about him. Does anybody care about Ruby? RTD did not tell a single story this season. He just said he was telling stories. To refer to _Space Babies_ throughout he's been just smearing the poo from his nappy on the wall and coming up with metatext, stories about what the poo he smears *really means* and how *important* it is. Now the prediction. Anyone when didn't like the nothing burger of Ruby will be accused of being a fascist anti-democratic royalist or something. So that replaces my prediction of six months, now confirmed, that this season would not have Gatwa trying to _plook_ Ruby's boyfriend as promised. RTD, who has never had to miss a meal, will be trumped up (pun intended) as a great populist and anti-elitist.

[@jackmccann7147]

It has been difficult to connect with the character of Ruby. 73 Yards was her high point which ultimately and illogically bled into last night's shenanigans. I've seen comments elsewhere that have said it was 'emotional' when she finally found her mum but in truth I was long past caring. The whole season has been grim. Little scope for optimism in this iteration. RTD sold us an 18 year old dummy who we were given no time to invest in and then pulled the rug because he'd obviously painted himself into a corner. Gah!

[@lesigh1749]

RTD has ALWAYS failed to land the endings of his series finales. He is decent at setting up a peril, but then resorts to Deus Ex machina every single time to simply reverse the threat and reset everything back to normal in the final ten minutes. He is a total hack soap opera writer out of his depth.

[@jackmccann7147]

Very good Eatenders homage in the final ten minutes of filler. Maybe he has found his level. I can't see any more big American studios rushing to sign him up now. Very poor.

[@davidmullen6011]

I was bobbing along with this episode and found it passable enough to begin with, Gatwa delivered what I feel to be his best performance this season, and it was only when the scene suddenly switch to the 'kind' woman' on that other world that the wheels came off for me. It then stopped making sense, and became a patchwork of scenes and moments, all bolted together to form the episode. It's incredibly hard for me to review this sort of an episode, because all there is is essentially chaos. A writer who repeatedly struggles to plot a story through, and struggles with how to conclude what he has set up, shouldn't be putting himself under this sort of a pressure. It's bad for him, and bad for the thing he is writing for. But what Davies foolishly does here is invite comparison to 'Pyramids of Mars' a story where the plotting unfolds logically, the cast is very small, the setting tight and claustrophobic - no escape - and the conclusion is something that was mentioned and set -up in the very first episode. It's fairly well known Robert Holmes hit a block by the end of episode 3 and didn't know how to conclude the story and end Sutekh. In discussion with his Producer he therefore reverted back to the plot-point of the Pyramid, on Mars, and took the action there. This last minute fix does show in Episode 4, and yet since the point was set up as early as Ep 1 it doesn't feel all that forced either. This is good writing on display. Davies though... he doesn't believe in letting other people comment or pass judgement on his scripts. He won't ask for advice on problems as Robert Holmes or other would, and it is fairly well known that story finale's and season enders have always been a problem for him to write successfully. I think he is partly stuck in the past, and believes he has to mimic and compete with the Hollywood blockbusters with his season finale's - the HUGE digital effects spectacles, the HUGE scale threats, the HUGE global/Universal consequences that the latest threat embodies, and he therefore plots and writes around this format. But is is such a very limiting format by now, there are only so many variations on it, and when it comes to solving the plot mechanics of how the day is to be saved all Davies can do is pull 'magic' from the air in order to do so. He conjures mcGuffins from out of nowhere to solve the problems. And with this episode the colossal gulf in terms of storytelling between his take on Doctor Who, and that of its golden years in the sixties, seventies, and even the early Moffatt years, is being laid bare to see... Davies can set things up, sometimes extremely well, but he rarely can follow them through to a satisfying and logical endpoint. And I think by 2024 we are long past indulging this kind of 'storytelling'.

[@lesigh1749]

@@davidmullen6011 Indeed, regarding the epic endings you CAN have earth shattering plot events, but the earth has to be shattered after that event, you cant wave it all away and have people shrug and act like nothing just happened yet RTD always does just that. It immediately renders all consequences moot and the audience knows that there are no stakes to play for. Nothing matters in such a story.

[@brianciavarella4792]

Rtd has thrown in musical numbers and 4th wall breaking to distract from the fact that he's got absolutley nothing left in him.

[@SJK-ROW-K]

A 9-11 hijacker could land a better season finale than RTD… actually that’s not true… there where no hijackers

[@jackmccann7147]

A mess. Holes aplenty. Cringe dialogue. Usual woodentop delivery from The Crying Doctor. A rope, a glove and a whistle? Seriously? Let's not forget the obvious Matrix spoon reference. And Thanos. Tonally all over the shop. We haven't known these characters long enough to care despite their faux huggy, lovey 'connections'. Sutekh reduced to a pantomime horse. No menace. No feeling that anyone was truly in danger except the soldier who got the sand treatment last week and wasn't even mentioned again. The tented lady was bizarre. Why was she still alive other than as spoon provider to keep the 'plot' going? All in all a major dud relatively speaking. Hard reboot please sans Gatwa and RTD. 2/10.

[@noblerees1]

Yes the scores tonight will surprise or shock you. See you at 7pm

[@lorrainesheridan496]

Thank you for your extremely thorough response. Spot on! How much was RT D paid for this dross? I feel so disappointed but really what did I expect. No Ncuti not feeling the love so shall I a true Whovian go and touch grass now?

[@lorrainesheridan496]

Utter B S so badly written I could cry but have reason more than Ncuti doctor cry baby. Watched Matt and Trensolore last night as need a real Who fix!

[@davidroberts5250]

RTD said about the kind woman scene that one minute it was in the episode then it was cut and then it was put back in again, meaning RTD wasn't sure if it was needed either!🤣🤣🤣

[@chrislawley6801]

The mum pointing mysteriously at...road sign ! Why didn't she just leave a note with baby saying her name is Ruby

[@noblerees1]

I fully agree RTD should leave his politics out of a family sci fi show. I don’t know the background to those you say who hate it. I like to work on evidence and less hyperbole too. Regarding dr who becoming a political football it has been RTD and ncuti who have done the legwork on their explicit agendas so it looks like you are criticising them for infecting the enjoyment of the programme

[@Problembeing]

RTD, Chibnall, et all are just openly admitting they are putting on screen their pathetic childish fan fiction. We need a non-fan to take over this show.

[@ShaunCryer-e2w]

Agreed, Problem. That being said, few fans could make the kind of crap, Davis, Chibnell and Moffat have produced.

[@bob23301]

Thank god i ditched this after the abomination that is the timeless child, and i never thought i would be thanking Chibnall for that, funny how things work out. Lol

[@lorrainesheridan496]

Says the doctor will return at the end not when.......

[@brianciavarella4792]

The guy has no shame. To sit there in interviews and talk about the bad shows and films he's copied this week...just pathetic.

[@crimpleendoubloon]

Julian Glover is 89. Maybe Scaroth didn't die. Maybe a splinter survived and has been plotting his revenge ever since 1979. That's my prediction for the finale of Season Two. I might be able to just about manage watching the 9 episodes that are already in the can, but if any more are greenlit with these two clowns at the helm of the TARDIS, that's it, that's a "Tatty bye!" from me.

[@davidmullen6011]

It's a problem for me that by definition a Producer/writers debut season IS his best shot. They will throw everything they have into making it have impact, and be a success. So having watched this relaunch season... and found it lacking, there is no reason to think this second season, already recorded, is going to better this debut season. By definition it will simply continue on from it. So if you didn't like this relaunch, or this debut season, there isn't anything to make you stay for its follow-up. I don't know what the mood in Cardiff can be at the moment, with those realities bearing down on them...

[@crimpleendoubloon]

@@davidmullen6011 I think I can manage to watch the existing nine episodes, if there's the potential of better or just nothing more to follow them, but if there are at least eighteen of the same variety on the horizon, I'm out of the door to tend to my lawn.

[@ShaunCryer-e2w]

As ever, it was a big, Davis dud

[@darkwebonline2124]

Err, don't forget the "hero" from Dot and Bubble would also have been a massive racist. The best straight white male characters were in Boom - which wasn't written by RTD. Didn't end to well end to well for either of them though.

[@lorrainesheridan496]

Darlings how much money has RTD made to write this anyway. Failure will not affect his bank balance. I thought he was a Whovian but he is not. Black gay doctor well that's a few episodes written. Tie up with Long Lost Families there is the ending. I do not watch Brigerton as Downton much better and why is RT D advertising Netflix?

[@davidroberts5250]

Why didn't they make Ruby the daughter of a human woman and the Egyptian god Horus? And that could be the reason she hid her daughter as she was a threat to Sutekh, as Ruby would be the only one who could defeat him. What we got though was so boring and anti climatic.

[@alew8576]

It was better than the Chibs era. I'll be fair and give it that...

[@chrislawley6801]

Appears as this generation of writers have limited experience to write from rather drawing on social media for material with worst as tiktok. I know there is a generation who reads books but these writers are so disconnected with more of younger generation than these writers . RTD wants younger generation than ignores his own past with Sarah Jane Adventures that worked then. RTD is an old man who thinks he understands young generation he is so disconnected with as an old man without a family

[@purefoldnz3070]

the finale was fantastic!

[@noblerees1]

I’m Pleased you liked it. I wanted to believe me

[@purefoldnz3070]

@@noblerees1 nope, loved it. So many haters and alt right weirdos attacking the show now and calling it Dr Woke. Its sad to see Dr Who becoming a political football for the alt right, just enjoy the stories and leave the politics at home.

[@davidmullen6011]

So pleased you thoroughly enjoyed the episode!!

[@purefoldnz3070]

@@davidmullen6011 as an old school fan, I would never have thought they would bring back Sutekh! We were told for so long that the latest series was almost a reboot and all the monsters from the past would be left in the dust and the opposite ended up being true and what a great tribute to the 6th Doctor with Mel and his coat in the memory Tardis!

[@jackmccann7147]

Maybe if RTD wasn't shoehorning in 'his' politics, which he has clearly stated even if not in as many words, we'd be less concerned by his current iteration. To be honest I'm more bothered by how poor it has become and how quickly. The figures don't lie. The money men and Disney shareholders will be circling. Glad you enjoyed it at least.

[@chrislawley6801]

Word twaddle death plus death is life. Sunak is Snoopy sitting on the TARDIS and Matt Smith Crack in Time when the TARDIS exploded with Sunak 🙁 Ruby average mum explained nothing of snow or why Sunak cared about Ruby and her mum Absolute failure of RTD clickbait and shoal of red herrings and nonsense

[@triplejazzmusicisall1883]

In 1963 DW was aired and promoted as a children's sci-fi show that they would learn about history etc from. I would argue that in 2024 it is now far more a children's program than ever in its lifetime. It is all spectacle, big bangs and veneer but narratively the Hartnell stories were far better written then this tosh. It grates that narrative seems to be so unimportant to RTD. Instead, he inserts woke ideology and heavy over-the-top emotional twaddle. This really is embarrassing now. I am no longer going to be watching this show, but I will stick to this and another couple of channels as I enjoy intelligent, well-argued reviews on tv/movies and so on. Sadly, I won't be able to comment much seeing I won't be watching. Lucky people won't have to put up with my ramblings as frequently. For those sticking with DW best of luck but unless RTD goes this corpse isn’t coming back to life like everyone does in every RTD finales.