Doctor Who: The Chris Chibnall Era Review

A little later than anticipated, but it's time to talk about the recently concluded era of our beloved #DoctorWho. Over the last five years, people have been pronouncing the show 'dead', and it's time to tackle that question head-on. Looking back on the #ChrisChibnall era, how did his single-Doctor foray into the Whoniverse pan out? Should we remember, or forget? #JodieWhittaker
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[@pickupchangetoe]

Now we've finally opened this can of worms, what did you think? If you were a big fan of Jodie's tenure, that's awesome! Love what you love! What were your best and/or worst moments across the Chibnall era?

[@ianwoodall4523]

That Xmas special when the Daleks repeatedly shot her. I can forgive them the Time war just because they did that.

[@grimwanderer]

I still say Orphan 55 was misunderstood. It was, in my opinion, a love letter to 80's era Who... from the alien "costumes", to the celebrity (or "celebrity") appearances, to the "twist" of what Orphan 55 really was. I would agree that it suffered from all the worst aspects of Chibnail era Who... but taking as a fan-turned-showrunner's tribute to the Who of his own youth gives me enough appreciation to say it isn't the worst episode of Who ever. Orphan 55 had (to me) echoes of things like Time Flight, Warriors of the Deep, and the Twin Dilemma. Episodes that some fans remember fondly despite their faults.

[@richardvinsen2385]

I just found the past few years boring.

[@vanimapermai]

Yes had RTD not comeback the show would be in hiatus when chibnall started writing POtD he had no idea who his replacement was because there wasn't one no one wanted to touch it after all the damage he'd done.

[@RantingThespian]

The only consistent good moments I saw (I skipped Flux, so I can't comment on those episodes) were really only in the episode he didn't write: The Haunting Of Villa Diodati.

[@Timmymantwo]

The ironic thing is that Chibnall is now considered worse than JNT, the very show runner he disliked. I think it says something when you manage to lower the bar than your least favourite showrunner

[@gay4sswhovian]

Really not

[@hammond8692]

I personally like the fact that the old video of him criticising the show has him call it cliche, and then he manages to do the MOST cliche thing ever by introducing a "special" character only to reveal, shock horror, it was the main character all along, and yes, he is now by far the worst writer who has ever had, bar none

[@daedalus6433]

It is infinitely easier to criticize writing than to write something better than what you criticize

[@Chairdolf]

@@daedalus6433 dude have u seen the stories I can guarantee the original commenter could make a better story and scrip that chibb he's fucking awfully my dnd back stories trump anything he's ever made like come on dude he's awful and ruined the first female doctor.

[@reflex9238]

@@daedalus6433 I agree, however since he was a writer he maybe might've wanted to hold his tongue. Plus he really didn't make look like he was going to be any better if even the episodes he's rewritten before he was the main show runner were considered one of the worst and were almost all the same.

[@conniey4500]

One of my biggest grievances with the Chibnall’s era was the crude politicisation seen in many of the episodes. New-Who has always dealt with difficult topics e.g. Aliens of London/WW3 (political corruption), The Long Game (media manipulation), Rise of the Cybermen (corporate power), Gridlock (pollution, addiction), Planet of the Ood (Modern slavery), Silence in the Library (deforestation, the paper industry), The Beast Below (moral compass), Vincent and the doctor (mental health/depression), The Rebel Flesh (sentience/being alive)... Throughout all of this you had Lgbt+ representation, inter-racial relationships and the constant reminder of human (alien) displacement. Yet this did not detract from the storytelling and character work or even the core purpose of Doctor Who as a sci-fi television program, entertainment. Chibnall's era has treated many long-term fans, new fans, and casual viewers as if we're unintelligent and lacking the ability to think for ourselves. I could go on about the many other methodological problems in this era of Who, but this isn't only a problem seen within Doctor Who but as a wider shift in film and television. Putting message and ideology over good characters and story, even though they're not mutually exclusive.

[@johnsmith-de3tl]

its the old question, are you writing a story with subtext or are you writing for a subject with an underlying story. 13 was politics with an underlying story, 9-12 was story with varying subtexts.

[@thelegendthemyththeman4772]

Yep

[@frankshailes3205]

"Chibnall's era has treated ... viewers as if we're unintelligent and lacking the ability to think for ourselves." Ah, so Chibnall's writing is the equivalent of Murray Gold's music. Got ya.

[@shivill2236]

​@@frankshailes3205Not really, Murray's music is at least good.

[@AzguardMike]

even with Davros origin in Baker's run, they were clearly nazi's, but never flat out addressed as such. The salute, the uniforms. The "Please. Our Supreme Scientist has determined this. So thats just the fact." Is exactly how the nazi's would talk about Hitler. "The Fuhrer has said this, so it MUST be true!"

[@jonathanalgar6504]

Jodie deserved better

[@ethanbrooks1490]

She really did I think she had so much potential

[@lxtechmangood9503]

Jodi needed so much better, the script and stories were atrocious plus some of the political bits didn't help. Everything didn't flow and the timeless child bit and the other doctor bit didn't help.

[@LostinKateWinslet]

They made her character small when it needed to be big. And that's a female trait, to give space to others but Jodie was the first female Doctor. She should have been the star of her own show rather than part of the collective Fam. That's what I will remember the Chibbers era for - a lot of interesting ideas and brave concepts undermined by a lack of delivery and emotional depth.

[@joeldean2706]

I would say Jodie's doctor needed to be written better and use the sonic screwdriver lessened. But yeah Jodie's time as the doctor was a bit disappointing to me, but she had potential to be a good in the role.

[@Reprodestruxion]

Jo Martin too

[@rustedbeetle]

I felt that the show hit pause for 5 years. I don't remember the stories. I remember some head scratching as Chibnall tried to over promise then under deliver. If the last episode of the era was the Doctor waking up and literally saying "It was all a dream", I wouldn't even be mad. I love going back and watching episodes or having them play in the background while working, but the writing was so vanilla, so transient, there isn't anything to revisit. Graham was a bright point, and the best written character. The Doctor was tell, don't show. Jodi needed a better character to portray. I've loved her performances in other productions, but this version of the Doctor wasn't engaging. It felt like a character checklist where the writing ticked four boxes (exposition dump, quick internal yes/no/yes/no/lightbulb, sonic replacing every sensory perception, quick lesson learned speech) then stopped and went home for the weekend, job done. This era felt like a lot of story threads that were brought out into the spotlight to show how good an idea man Chibnall was, then swept up into a corner and trotted out if someone needed a couple of filler minutes if the show was running short. The Timeless Child plot seemed to be Chibnall's attempt to leave his mark on the lore of Who. But like most of the era, it was hammering a square peg into a round hole and after getting the peg stuck, he filled in the remaining gaps with an exposition dump, tapped it with a sonic and said, "good enough, job done."

[@occheermommy]

This is exactly how I feel. I went on a long rant saying very much the same thing. It’s sad because I feel like there was so much potential there to really show a more emotional side of the doctor or more depth but it was all wasted.

[@Panbaneesha]

Yes. Although I liked both Peter Capaldi and Jodie Whittaker in the role, the stories began to slightly bore me during Capaldi's stint, and I stopped watching altogether after Whittaker's witches episode. Both of them, especially Whittaker, were done dirty in my opinion. Only when I heard about the new doctor(s), did I work myself through the Chibnall episodes to be up to date. They're not horrible, but mildly entertaining just isn't enough. And the ever-clutched screwdriver got on my nerves big time.

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

same here, even though the final season of Capaldi wasn't my fav I was still very excited, and I was engaged. Then the last 5 years Doctor Who has been out of my life, completely gone, I never thought of it, or thought of the future of Dr Who. It's so weird to think now that I'm excited again for Russel T Davies' new season, because genuinely Doctor Who was one of the most important things in my childhood. I guess its the same downturn that fans of Star Trek and Star Wars went through. Jodie Whittaker is a fine actress, and the companions are too, it all comes down to writing despite what some ppl claim about 'wokeness' of casting. Its all writing as we've seen in Star Wars, Star Trek, Jurassic World, which have great actors but dogshit writers.

[@venmis137]

Yep, it's nice that it seems to be back though, hopefully it won't be a temporary resurgence. Personally I think I'll still rewatch a few of the episodes from the era, but certainly not as many as I would like to. 90% of them are just... not good.

[@georgepom328]

I hated the timeless child because it unnecessarily changed everything

[@Chairdolf]

Yea like how does tranzalor work seeing as the doctor can't die

[@georgepom328]

@@Chairdolf that was way back and he can die

[@alexanderfinch4432]

I totally agree with you. The only way I can make sense of it is that it was a false history conjured up by the master within the matrix. As we all know the matrix can create false realities.

[@deadpooldan9862]

@@Chairdolf because he didn’t have unlimited regenerations, remember the Master said they limited the number to 12, so why would they let the Doctor have unlimited after they erased their memories? They limited the lifespan of the Doctor and then gave 11 a new regeneration cycle

[@AzguardMike]

Yet the timeless child said that The Doctor has unlimited lives. When Smith "runs out" he still had unlimited. I dont recall the line "they limited you." Then they gave him another 12 lives. 12+ unlimited = still unlimited.

[@mathieuleader8601]

I always wanted the Fugitive Doctor to be Romana having taken on the Doctors name out of respect of the mentor she believed to have died in the time war

[@emotionalsupportostrich2480]

Better explanation than the terrible crap that was the timeless child.

[@luisd.mancilla8169]

When we first saw her my first thought was that she was a Doctor from another universe, like from Rose's universe, that's why she's a fugitive

[@AzguardMike]

Imagine the first new shot is Capaldi at the north pole, fists in the show "Nooooooo!!!!! Was all a midlife, post regeneration crisis he was having. Stumbles back to the TARDIS and see's his diary that he uses whenever he encounters River. Starts looking at old items from his adventures. Donna's ring, Rose's jacket, Martha's phone, the repaired jar from his Hand, stopping when he pulls out Tennant's blue suit. "Well.....why not visit a few of the old favourites hmmm?" Quoting what The Curator said. "Once more unto the breech, Dear Doctor!" Then he regenerates back into Tennant.

[@billydeeuk]

@@luisd.mancilla8169 I also thought that’s what the twist was going to be. In fact, I thought the whole season finale twist was going to be that they had been in an alternate universe since the events of Spyfall Part 2. We had monsters who could travel to parallel dimensions - at one point (if I remember correctly) they also teleported The Doctor? So I asssumed that, after she defeated them, she hadn’t realised she’d fucked up/or that The Master’s plan all along was to banish her to a parallel dimension. Orphan 55 ended with it being Planet Earth - the doctors explanation of it being a “potential future” was pretty weak. Previous Doctors had visited Earth later in its history and even at the planet’s end. We know in DH Lore that these are now fixed points in time, so we know Earth’s history. It was an alternative Earth. You then meet Ruth who has no memory of being Jodie and Jodie has no memory of being Ruth, despite it being the same brain. Why? Alternative timeline. This could have led to an excellent 2-parter of trying to get our Doctor back to our reality and undo whatever fuckery The Master had done without The Doctor there to stop him. And it would obviously be something so bad that it would need two Doctors to overcome it….

[@scloftin8861]

That would be such a delightful twist! I wonder if there's fan fiction ....

[@AiRsTrIkExXzZ]

I only just realised that Jodie felt sorry for a creature being suffocated to do death meanwhile she had just condemned hundreds of other spiders to that exact death

[@matthewmaxfield8443]

worse episode that I watched, got me to stop watching until these new specials this christmas, she told a man to not shoot them and to treat them with respect...by locking them in a room and suffocating them to death, because that is more humane, I guess. Then the guy who suggested shooting them was a Trump caricature, so he couldn't muster a halfway decent argument that a child could that shooting them is more humane

[@worthybutter2004]

@@matthewmaxfield8443 I always found it weird how that dude says he despised Trump, and yet he ACTS like Trump!

[@evaserration6223]

I have seen Jodie in interviews and she definitely had a very Doctorish daffy energy but having 3 companions meant she was never allowed to have a well defined relationship arc with anyone. Leaving her interaction and infodumps feeling like a team leader than genuine friendships. The thing is each of the Fam could've been a great companion on their own and imagine their dynamics and arcs and could've been great as a Fam had they been introduced separately throughout the series Graham - Widower meets young woman who is actually ancient alien who shows him the universe and helps him overcome his grief. Ryan - a young man angry at his step grandad disappearing with a young woman after the death of his nan also overcomes his grief and is shown that his disability can't hinder his new sense of adventure. Yaz - young police officer investigating disappearance of her school friend's grandad finds a role model in this mysterious woman whose adventures allows her an outlet for bringing justice to the universe.

[@chadc1982]

Good point: too many companions. However, Chibnall reminds of the guy referred in the observation, "He could fuck up a wet dream."

[@MrDecelles]

The 3 companions were lackluster in personality and REACTION. You could replace 1 with another in many of the episodes. Heck Yash oftenn forgot her training... She probably had lines from one of the other 2.

[@brettbrooks5511]

Gonna have to hard disagree with that sentiment. Nine had 3 companions with Rose, Mickey and Jack. Ten had numerous with Rose, Mickey, Jack, Martha, Donna, and even bringing back Sarah Jane. Eleven had Amy, Rory, River, and Clara. Twelve had Clara, Bill, Nardole and Missy. The OG doctor had multiple companions as did Two, Three, Four and Five. Don't blame the amount of companions for the disaster of an Era. The "fam" were poorly written just like every other character during the Era.

[@binkyboo4793]

I had such high hopes for the first female Doctor. Missy was amazing and showed us that a change of gender done right could elevate a character. My hopes have been continuously shattered. Jodie was done dirty by terrible writing. There was never a moment where I truly believed she was The Doctor. Plots with a hundred threads, but none of them really went anywhere. The villains were very two dimensional and there was no real threat. It seemed no matter what happened, every story ended with things being fine and back to normal, no matter what happened. I mean, Flux had six episodes, supposedly half the universe was destroyed but next episode it's been completely dismissed. The Doctor should have been in pieces trying to save whole species and planets, or at least saving refugees, but nope, lets just go on a jolly. The companions were unforgettable and almost see through. It seemed like a cheap knock off version of Doctor Who. I SO wanted to love 13 but she just never had the chance.

[@DarkArtsMage]

& at the end of it all... Gallifrey was still destroyed, for no other reason than ("Gallifrey is nothing more than a prop!") as the writers stated!

[@RantingThespian]

There was one moment that Jodie actually seemed to be the Doctor to me. That was in her speech during Villa Diodati. However, the next 2 episodes murdered that moment.

[@FelixTheNoodle]

I have hope for 13s future in the form of expanded media. You see, the problems 13 faced due to bad writing and characterization are similar to that of the 6th Doctor (Colin Baker). Except, it was arguably worse for 6, as many people, including the BBC's controller, blamed Baker's performance for the low quality stories, when in reality, Baker was just given shit scripts. It wasn't until Big Finish that the 6th Doctor, and in some ways Baker, was justified as the Doctor. I'm hoping the same happens with 13 sometime in the future when Big Finish is able to start using that incarnation, or maybe even before then with comics and novels.

[@phantomsidious2934]

Missy was done right? All she did was flirt and joke using innuendo, basically another river song/captain jack. Ruined the Master

[@RDeverall]

I agree

[@brotherurth1625]

He did, but luckily for us long term fans, The Doctor regenerates…

[@DavidHubball-x2q]

.....and look what he regenerated in to!

[@gamerboiiiiiii]

​​@@DavidHubball-x2qa gay black man with an obscene amoint of political messaging, pervymess, crying, and plot convenience?

[@TWHueyGuitar]

Chibnall should have a booth at every Who convention where he lets fans punch him in the face.

[@calumbishop7082]

All I can say is this, I hope Jodie like Colin Baker gets some great Big Finish stories out of this that redeem her doctor in the eyes of certain fans, because like Colin Baker's 6th Doctor, Jodie 13th is badly let down by the writing and like Colin, you can see moments in certain stories which show how amazing this Doctor could be, which makes the poor writing even more egregious.

[@michaeldallaway1988]

I agree as I do want Jodie to have a redemption like Colin Baker in Big Finish. The thing is 6 started off as a dislikeable and sharp guy on the show, and the idea was that he'd soften up and become more likeable as time went on - that was hampered by the binned season and Colin's sacking, but you can see the seeds of it in trial of a timelord. Come to big finish and you have the wonderful relationship with Evelyn Smythe and 6 has become a warm hearted, caring doctor. With Jodie, I'm not sure where we're supposed to be and how we're supposed to feel about her. Is her doctor supposed to be distant, or is it the writing. If she does decide to do Big Finish, I hope she gets a new TARDIS team of just her and one other, and we get time to properly develop her character the way her talent deserves.

[@bleack8701]

do that, but for Capaldi

[@captbuckyohare5585]

Jodie doesn't deserve better chances to shine. She shined as much as she was ever going to. The 13th Doctor deserved a better actor and better fit for the role than Jodie Whittaker. Not everyone can play the Doctor no matter how good the scripts are. Cast the wrong person and the role will eat them alive. And that's what happened.

[@gay4sswhovian]

@@captbuckyohare5585 David Tennant (one of the greatest Doctor and a better fan than you) said that she was perfect for the role... And he played the Doctor, and played with her on Broadchurch and is a huge fan of the show, and it's his fucking job so what's your excuse ?

[@inshort6831]

​@@gay4sswhovian not everyone has to agree with David Tennant

[@HarryBarr]

I think one thing that's telling about this era is that it's referred to as the Chibnall era and not the Whittaker era, the faults in the show in this time fall wholly on Chibbers shoulders. Jodie did everything she could with the god awful stories sent her way and I just hope she has a good run on Big Finish and/or later multi doctor stories!

[@maxence2915]

I mean, as a fan of Whittaker's, you can clearly see that she just did not care about the role, she was mediocre. It really shows that she is not a fan nor she is even interested in doctor who like previous incarnation were (not just previous incarnation of the doctor but also the master, Gomez was amazing for example). Do I don't fully adhere to the "it was all Chibnall's fault" , a show is a team, if the actor and the show-runner just don't give enough of a oot about it, it will just be a mediocre version of itself. And Jodi clearly did not give one oot about Doctor Who, and it's sad, cause all of those misogynistic a**hole now thinks they were right all along and that the doctor should be a man forever. And everytime the show will try something new, they will just be reminded of how went it well the first time. So yeah, Chibnall AND Jodie got the show stuck to repeat itself until it eventually fall back into irrelevance once again cause it won't evolve.

[@qoopertrooper]

@@maxence2915 Try putting effort into something where the other main person isn't. See how long you can stay steaming ahead like nothing is wrong. She was all energy and effort season one. Just look at her interviews. IF you look at the later ones she just looks put out and like she wants to leave, and I for one don't blame her at all. You're only as good as your writer, and if your writer is Chibnall you may as well quit.

[@NickName183]

This era had so much missed potential that it’s just sad. The Doctor trying to maintain being an authoritative figure whilst being a woman is almost never addressed (except maybe The Witchfinders). We have a policewoman as a companion with Yaz. How does she balance her duty for the people on Earth with her desire to explore the universe? How does she deal with the fact that her and The Doctor are both trying to be in charge of a situation? We have Ryan as a guy who had a KZbin channel and yet social media plays no part in his life. He also has dyspraxia and yet we barely see him struggle and overcome obstacles. Graham is a cancer patient and yet, apart from Spyfall and Can You Hear Me, it’s never addressed. And don’t get me started on the story concepts themselves…

[@nicholashealy9746]

Did Chibnall really want to do Dr. Who? His era felt half-arsed to me.

[@Alister222222]

The first red flag in my mind was when in season one, there was literally zero link to any other season. You didn't even know if you were watching the same series, which was really off-putting. Chibnall realised his mistake later in the series and started bringing in some history, but it was kind of too late.

[@adamburke4738]

I think with this era, Chibbers thought more about how to make an impact than what good stories to tell. He had a female Doctor but he clearly didn't know how to characterise that Doctor. He had new villains but he didn't know how to make those villains memorable. He had representation all over this era but honestly just thinking about it, it really felt like he was just scoring points than delivering some compelling writing. It's sucks this era was pretty sh*t in my honest opinion, because there was potential. I'm not gonna turn this into an essay, but the writing was on the wall from the start. That post-regeneration story didn't have room to breathe, it was just in at the deep end. Anyway, Chibbers, you blew it.

[@RantingThespian]

Chibnall made this life long Doctor Who fan rage quit the show. That's saying something. He didn't kill it. However, I think that if he stayed on as showrunner he could have.

[@gay4sswhovian]

And lots of news cames so cry harder and stop being hypocrite every era had this and so had moffat

[@joeespin4377]

to call the chibs era "meh" is to raise it to a level that it obviously can only aspire to.

[@emotionalsupportostrich2480]

Utter shite is the level it sits at.

[@joeespin4377]

@@emotionalsupportostrich2480i applaud your word choice

[@emotionalsupportostrich2480]

@@joeespin4377 lifelong whovian since the 90s when the show was off the air and had to settle for Pertwee re-runs on BBC2 and VHS tapes. Chibnall’s run was an utter car crash and the best episodes (with the Daleks) would be considered average under Moffat.

[@ryangilbert1733]

Jodie seemed to be having the time of her life and I liked her a lot. I just didn’t care for the writing so I kind of forgot about Doctor Who until recently.

[@jsnow7919]

Great video. Summarises all my own thoughts and feelings perfectly. I'm doing a rewatch of every episode of the revival before the 60th Anniversary (currently up to Season 4) and I have this weird dread in my stomach about reaching Season 11 and beyond. I feel that says a lot in itself.

[@mickys8065]

When I first heard Jodie was the new Doctor, I immediately asked "has she been chosen because she was the first woman chibnall saw, or because she was the best for the role" a friend said they'd seen Jodie act before and she was "ok", then the interviews came out where she said she'd never seen Doctor Who before, as if that's something to be proud of. Now with her era over, I can say I can see how her character is the doctor, but I maintain it could've been so much better. I much prefer the Ruth Doctor and I think if we'd had her as the 13th and Jodie as the "extra" Doctor, it might've worked better, but that didn't happen. It didn't help Graham seemed so much more like the Doctor at times than the actual Doctor. Jodie felt too human at the wrong times, but then too alien at others "Yeah, I don't know what to say about your cancer, so I'll just back away" immediately springs to mind. But, I can safely say its clear Jodie had fun in the behind the scenes, and when that comes through its great. Her biggest issue is definitely her lines, which are outside her control. So, similar to Capaldi, I'm left feeling more disappointed with the character than anything. They both had so much potential, and it can definitely be seen shinning through at times, but it just gets drowned out by everything else at times.

[@MappaDoji]

Thanks for the review, Rich. Funnily enough, I think could've easily forgiven the era for all its drawbacks (maybe except the pacing) if I liked 13. After all, I don't care about all of the Moffat bs because I love 11 and 12. Sadly, it's not the case here. And it was 13's regeneration scene that finally make me fully realize why. 13 is basically a child. And not in a good way, like 11 was (old man in a young body). She's the other way around, a little girl inside a grown woman's body. She talks like one (hello, "Tag, you're it".) She acts like one, without any thought of the morality or the consequences of her actions (hello, Arachnids in the UK, Revolution of the Daleks, and the Vanquishers). She even dresses like one. Not only that, but she's also very naive and simple-minded. And again, it's not bad for the Doctor to be child-like. 11 was like that, and, from what I know, 2 was like that as well. But they had an old wise man side to them, they could be dark and menacing at times, unlike 13 who is child-like almost all the time. Even when she got serious (which wasn't often), I could never take her seriously because of her mannerisms. I mean, it worked fine for a psychotic character like Missy. But it doesn't work for the Doctor. Oh, and, in a way, 13 is the opposite of 10 (how ironic that she regenerated into David, huh). She easily let Ko Sharmus take her place and sacrifice himself in The Timeless Children, while 10 sacrificed himself for Wilf who was unimportant and was okay with dying. She genocided the Sontarans, the Daleks and the Cybermen in The Vanquishers without so much as a thought, while 10 exiled the Meta-Crisis into another universe for doing exactly that to the Daleks. 10 was morally gray, sometimes being outright evil (not to the extent of 7 but still), while 13 is just kind. Her perception of the world is white and black, good and evil (although, sometimes she confuses the two because she's a child). That's why some people even say that 13 isn't the Doctor. I just think that Chibnall, despite being a fan, didn't truly understand the depth and the complexity of the character. Here's hoping that RTD will make it right, and I will be invested in the show once again. Bring it on, Ncuti!

[@Artosk]

The Yaz ending is insane to me,she just said I need some space to regenerate then told her she was being abandoned by sending her the support group

[@sarahsault6494]

There was a near Yas and Doctor ship. Only reason River Song worked was 1, the way her meetings were at different times and different Doctors and 2 She had enough back and front story to stand on her own as well.

[@AlisonL520]

He killed it but it's now regenerating and will come back hopefully better than ever. No pressure

[@chaserseven2886]

he did not kill it, the very thought is ridiculous

[@AlisonL520]

@@chaserseven2886 Maybe not but it felt like it

[@progfrogg]

@@chaserseven2886 he didn't kill it... but he did strangle it.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

I don't think Dr Who can ever be killed by a bad era (McCoy would disagree) but I hope this doesn't stop future showrunners writing female doctors. I liked Jody, she had Tennant energy, which was good.

[@mrslagowhoreusrex6300]

I really hated Jodie’s Tardis design how the characters never could sit down or doodle with whiteboards or what not feels like A downgrade from Capaldi’s

[@shilota]

Chibs definitely should've written more character exploration of 13's *current* character, beliefs, and values. It's funny because I've been watching Wednesday (netflix) and while the show has a lot of cheese and eye-rolly teen comedy moments, the way they get you to care about Wednesday is really good. She really feels like the central character and is in a very doctor-like role with her companions who help her to save the day (albeit unwittingly/unwillingly at times). I wish there were more shows that manage to successfully put a female character at its centre like that.

[@TomWright025]

Worst era of Doctor who ever

[@DiscoTimelordASD]

The Doctor showed up & Grace died - why the frick would you want to travel with that person? They lost all believability as people right there.

[@uc22_swo1p]

Chris chibnall only has 3 options left to fix this. 1. [Retcon his retcon] time travel can do anything to be honest. 2. [ turns out it wasn’t real] Make all those memories/experiences turn out to be fake and part of the plan of the master to mess with the doctor, or from some other entity. 3. [noncannon] Make it turn out that this is another universe which explains the multiple doctors even though they are completely seperated from the known regenerations. And that it is not our doctor’s backstory but that of a secondary doctor from another universe. That way the 56 years of writing are preserved. Oof wrote this to late, season 13 an all

[@LadyTsunade777]

The only way forward is for Chibnall the hack and Whittaker the bland's entire era to be erased and ret-con into never having happened at all. Have the next Doctor wake up saying "I just had the most terrible dream..." and someone nearby asks "what was it about?" and have the Doctor say "I... can't remember. Oh well, off we go!" Entirely erase the whole Timeless Child and Flux and all that BS. None of it ever fit into Doctor Who in any way. The entire original point of the Doctor was that he's just some random nobody that goes around doing good deeds. He was never meant to be special in any way, never be some all powerfull universally important being; he was just some guy that doesn't follow the teachings of the other Time Lords. He shows the viewers that you don't have to be famous or important to make impactful changes and do good deeds. Personally, I really _hate_ that Chibnall dragged the Master back into things. When you've got a long running series, you need to build up long running arcs to keep people engaged, but you also _need_ to _properly end_ those arcs to give your fans closure. The Masters permanent death, being killed by himself as Missy just as he was starting to shift a little to the good side, was a perfect end to the character, and he should've been left dead there.

[@jayrenault7892]

Watching these season felt like listening to Audio drama from a classic era Doctor you dont know; they felt like they should've been more, and yet never were. Like listening to something while knowing you're missing a key piece of the puzzle.

[@PilotFlight2Mars]

13s era is completely forgettable. Jo Martin is the one real positive in my mind. Her character is the one and only thing I hunger for more screen time.

[@aliservan7188]

Damn yeah! She was more The Doctor than Whittaker in 2 minutes than Whittaker was in any episode.

[@davidbrowne3761]

@@aliservan7188 That is the Female Doctor Who that the fanbase wanted Jo Martin

[@PilotFlight2Mars]

@@pnorbert2222 I’m watching Season 12 right now as they are up free on the Iplayer right now, gawd it’s more hits than miss. Most episodes feel like a chore to watch. Graham needs his own series.

[@heppelino7497]

Great video Rich. Well constructed, well thought out. Bring on RTD2!!!

[@chaserseven2886]

its actually rtd 3

[@Macapta]

I’ll never not read RTD2 as Red Ted Dedemption 2.

[@saminusprime2746]

I actually read "R2D2" by mistake lol

[@gay4sswhovian]

And who will bring back timeless child 👀

[@paulisemonger280]

You summed it up perfectly... Disappointing! I was excited when Jodie’s Doctor was announced. The slightly mysterious hoodie look... a great actor. Stopped watching after second episode. I watched An Unearthly Child as first broadcast as an 8 year old. Watched every episode after as broadcast (with two episodes missed before classic series was axed) huge hope that the new series will rescue my obsession.

[@LokiEris]

I still stand by the idea that the Master was wrong and HE was actually the Timeless Child. I would laugh all the way to whatever afterlife there is if instead of retconning it, they just went that route.

[@captbuckyohare5585]

He didn't kill it in my opinion. His era and Thirteen (both how she was characterised, utilized, and yes, I'll say it, PERFORMED) damaged the brand and hurt Doctor Who, but it's not dead. That being said, bringing it back to its best isn't a formality or some easy thing to pull off. There are now deeper issues than Chibnall's writing, stories, and retcons to the lore and characters, such as the divided fandom and toxic practice of fan-baiting and outrage marketing, apathetic casual fans, the casting being more scrutinized than ever (when it was already pretty unfair and reactionary since the new era kicked off - Eccleston's too northern, Tennant's too young and dashing, Smith's really too young and weird looking, Capaldi's too old and too white etc etc.), and the fact that we're now 13 series into the NuWho era, and that's quite a daunting jumping on point for new or even returning fans.

[@MaybeAnnatar]

Honestly my favorite small bit of information about why the show took a big visual step forward is they hired the person behind the John Smith VFX channel that had previously done tones of VFX DW videos that all looked great. The team should be praised because they found someone passionate for DW and super skilled and it really paid off

[@paulharries9558]

I can't help thinking that this was going to be a female Ghostbusters situation, where they would call people sexists if they didn't like the show. The worse thing is the Doctor supporting Space Amazon.

[@carrastealth]

Chris Chibnall to me is one of the most underrated writers Doctor Who has had. And one of those that people will hate upon when he's around, but will get his flowers later on. People look back on the Moffat era with nostalgia now, but quickly forget that when Moffat was showrunner, people were begging for him to not be, and they classified his seasons as a few gems within a sea of 'meh' to bad episodes. The best season of Doctor Who Moffat ever did imho was 12s Final season. The Matt Smith era, while as The Doctor he was amazing and there were a few solid episodes always was 'meh' to me for the most part. When people look back on Moffat's era I think you see brilliant moments that happened at the end of bad episodes. Angels Take Manhattan was one of the weakest episodes of Doctor Who I remembered when I saw it, especially for an Angels episode, but the ENDING was what people will talk about and what saved it. But it didn't take away that the other 90% of it was bad. I think that's Moffat's seasons in a nutshell. Some great episodes, but a lot of meh and a lot of bad, saved by an iconic stinger that people can go back and watch in 2-3 minute nostalgia trips without having to sit through the entire episode so it's looked back on fondly. RTD was once what Chibnall is now, he was one of the most disrespected despite all the good work he did, and had a few bad episodes but was consistent and reliable to great. But people were begging him to not be the showrunner and were hopeful for Moffat because Moffat did Blink. Then when Moffat took over the show they wanted him gone by the end. Then Chibnall took over. Then they wanted Chibnall gone, so now RTD is back and they are acting like he was acknowledged for his brilliance all those years ago when he wasn't. He was underrated, undervalued and taken for granted, just lime Moffat, just like Chibnall. Chibnall was the seasons of 'new Who' that felt the most like the classic era to me, the adventures, the education. Jodie's first season felt like Classic Era Who to me, and I enjoyed every bit of it and of course Flux was one of the best seasons I experienced as a fan in terms of consistency as well as seeing the old Who villains coming back and having brilliant episodes. The Sontarans are at their BEST under Chibnall and he proved it. And after years of people saying the "Weeping Angels are dead because of Moffat" the Village of the Angels does them fantastically. There's a lot of great stuff Chibnall did, and he gave us The Fugitive Doctor and showed that the 'character traits' of The Doctor people got to know were all present with her. But 13 was a different kind of person. Why? Because 12 asked it of her. 13 is The Doctor that has finally gotten to the healing point after the Time War, she wanted to mess around and go on adventures, education and otherwise and spend time with her companions and loving and appreciating the things in the galaxy she didn't understand. 13 was the Doctor that approached the galaxy with that bit of wonder that had been missing, whilst also being the most guarded about her secrets. 13 was everything that 12 asked her to be in his regeneration speech. Go give it a listen and then thing about 13 and realize she is EVERYTHING that 12 asked to be. And 12 was the one that had somehow found hope again in some way, shape or form. 13 was the embodiment of that hope and that optimism The Doctor had lost after the time war. To me that is why Jodie's seasons felt the most like old Who, because she was the return to form. She was The Doctor "new who" fans hadn't gotten to see yet in the modern era. And I loved her for it. To me she's one of my favorite Doctors and it breaks my heart how people love to tear her down as well as her seasons, when to me they were brilliant for what they were. A few meh ones here or there but not as many as I'd remembered from the previous era. I think Chibnall is vastly underrated, as I think Jodie's Doctor is also vastly underrated. I'm also someone that loved the Sixth Doctor too, and that's also deemed a controversial take. 10 was my first, I adored 6 and 8 and 9 and 12, and then 13 became one of my all time favorites. 10 will always be my favorite though most likely but 15 definitely has the potential! Also Bill and Yaz are both better than Clara. THERE I SAID IT!! But anyway, just my two cents :3 Love watching recaps on seasons, even if I don't wholly agree with them.

[@rapastor1]

I started with the Doctor with US public television reruns of the FIRST and SECOND Doctors! I did not miss another episode until “HER”! Waiting with baited breath for Christmas 2023!

[@mattia4165]

I disagree with this common idea that Jodie is completely innocent in 13's character being lacklustre. Yes she is let down by the writing and yes she is a phenomenal actor, however she never reads beyond the script, she never adds anything to the character that isn't written down in the dialogue, which is the problem because what is written down was written down by First Drafty who for a showrunner that has had such success with dramas, really struggled with characters in his era. With every Doctor that's come before Jodie there's always been a sense that the actor left a part of themselves in their incarnation and it always feels like said actor is the Doctor even outside of the role and even in other roles, when I see David Tennant I see 10, when I see Tom Baker I see 4, when I see Matt Smith in a white wig trying to marry his niece I still see 11, but with Jodie I see the lady from Black Mirror or Broadchurch, I see an actor playing a role rather than the actor become the role. Another thing going against Jodie is the fantastic work done by some of her peers; Sacha Dhawan adds so much to his Master that isn't directly spoken, his maneurisms, his facial expressions, his tone all tell you more about his Master that isn't written in the dialogue, Mandip Gill despite being generally bland pretty much created the whole Thasmin ship tacitly and I don't believe for one second Chibbers intended for it from the start, Bradley Walsh really hammered home the vulnerable side of Graham just through how he delivered his lines when talking about his cancer of Grace. I don't get why Jodie gets so much leeway by fans when other actors who added nothing to their character such as Tosin Cole got rightfully criticised for it.

[@maxjaw6323]

But he did tho. He totally marred Doctor Who. People turned off/away during his run. He dropped the ball hard and people felt disappointed. Like Star wars sequels and those Disney TV shows.

[@allenrhys844]

Did you ever notice even a moment where (despite the script) there was a bit of charm or charisma from Whittaker in the role? I didn't.

[@lukegaier9490]

I think The Doctor should regenerate as normal, realize the last three seasons was a strange mid-regeneration fever dream brought on by a gas leak in the TARDIS, laugh it off, yell "Alonzi!", and scamper off into the great unknown unscathed. Sure it's cliche, but at least it'll get us back on the right track.

[@wireless6461]

Other then effecting the regeneration cycle count, Jo Martin fits nicely in between Troughton and Pertwees Doctors in classic series 6b

[@nealjroberts4050]

She does. I hold that the Division effectively provided a separate regeneration cycle as part of their secrecy.

[@BigSmiggles]

Given that Troughtons Incarnation helped the third doctor and the other doctors in the anniversary specials fit into the timeline after Jamie and Zoe departed anything could've happened leading to him regenerating into Pertwee

[@MichaelM28]

R.I.P DOCTOR WHO 1963 - 2017

[@MightyMarioBros378]

nah the Doctor Died 1966 cry harder

[@stevenclubb7718]

The Timeless Child... a story that changes everything without changing anything.

[@winfieldmozlington1546]

Fantastic editing on this video well worth the wait, thanks as always rich, best who content on KZbin

[@Richard_Jones]

You lnow what I missed during the Chibnall era? The excitement and anticipation of a new episode. Instead I felt jaded and wary. Occasionally my suspicions were unfounded and the episode would be fine but the next week would come and I still wasn't looking forward to it. it may be that I'm simply 'over' Dr Who. It is basically a kids' show and I'm a middle aged man. However I hope I'm wrong and that the moment I've seen the first episode of the RTD2 era, I won't be able to wait until I've seen the second.

[@jayfeather965]

Chris chibnall didn’t kill doctor who. But it’s gonna be years before we wrestle the giant axe he swung at the doctors head out of the wall…

[@filton12]

It quickly became unwatchable for me. "Must miss TV". Prior (new era) companions were smart and challenging for the Dr. This group seemed barely able to tie their own shoelaces. The way JW dressed and the accents made me think of "Last of the Summer Wine" in space. A tough image to get out of your head. I heard one reviewer call JW "Dr. Scrunchy Face", definitely her go-to expression. The preachy plotlines? We have David Attenborough and various other unctuous BBC documentary presenters for that (I live outside of the UK now, so, thankfully, don't have their names). I will give the new one a chance though.

[@ianresc3615]

A question that has to be asked is whether you missed anything, if you went from 12 to 14? The answer is no. There is literally nothing in the Jodie-Era that is worth remembering. In fact, the only things you do remember is the bad things. A lot of interesting ideas that never got executed or got executed poorly at best. Chibnall either has no clue how to tell a story or what he's actually trying to do. It's like in the Simpsons or South Park. Every episode you pretend it's groundhog day and nothing ever happened before. Nothing matters, still there are episodes where you're supposed to care, because Chibnall tells you to. The worst thing however is Jodie. Did she have to deal with bad scripts? Yes. Covid? Sure! That doesn't excuse the fact from day one she literally got outplayed by any other actor she shared a screen with. I've never seen her in anything else before or after her run, but how is it possible that you cast someone for such a part and every stand in has more screen presence than she has? When she was revealed to be the Doc I was hyped! Boy, did that change quickly. That combined with the bad scripts and everything else was just a catastrophe and left the show literally dead. I mean, was does it tell you that the BBC had to bring back RTD who resurected Dr. Who once before?! Has there been one redeeming thing about the entire run? The Master. That's it. I dare anyone to come up with another good thing about the last few years. It was dreadful and one can only hope that RTD can turn it around.

[@David-io4sg]

Ryan’s dyspraxia was insulting- a person who has dyspraxia

[@gordonw.8831]

This might be a minority opinion, but I think casting Jodie as the Doctor was a mistake. Not saying casting a woman, I don't have inherent problems with that, I mean Jodie specifically. In my eyes, she's not a very good actress, she overacts everything (also in Broadchurch and Black Mirror, where I've seen her), so I cringed so hard every time she opened her mouth. Also, Jo Martin had more charisma and personality as the Doctor in one episode than Jodie in 3+ series. And the Chibnall scripts were terrible as well, there's no excuse for that. Hope we get sth better with Russell and Ncuti going forward.

[@SadBnnuy]

The casting and new producer left me apathetic in 2017. The 3 series that came with it even killed my enjoyment of Classic Who. You can say people are sexist all you want but I think she was miscast, like pretty much every reoccurring character this era. There's a big difference between her other roles and taking on the lead in Doctor Who. I've seen her in 2 other things Broadchurch and a movie she did with Peter O'Toole. She was pretty average. Having seen her in Who, I don't think I want to bother giving her the benefit of the doubt whatever she's doing just isn't for me. Olivia Colman as the Doctor (I know she turned it down) or a Michelle Gomez Missy spin-off would have been fantastic instead of whatever we were handed.

[@dompne33]

Great review, Jodie definitely deserved better

[@saaaaaaaaalt838]

I remember Capaldi's doctor being disliked when his run first started but he grew to be very popular . Now Whittaker's era is over and I was hoping it could be the same for her. Though, I honestly haven't watched the series consistently since shortly after Smith's era.

[@retroelectrical]

As someone who grew up during the peak of Tom Baker's doctor, it's been pretty much downhill since that time period. I've discussed it with my good friends and other fans of that era and we pretty much agree that Doctor Who works perfectly for that era of the 60's through 1989. The problem was that although the BBC was raking in some serious cash from Doctor Who, as it was the third most expensive program on US Pubilc Broadcasting stations behind "Nova" and "Blake's 7," the BBC by 1985 really didn't have any interest in putting the necessary money and resources to keep up with the changing times. Classic episodes like the 1977 "The Sunmakers" with it's wooden sets and wooden laser guns wouldn't fly with modern audiences, especially not in a post-Star Wars world. I enjoyed Russel T. Daives interpretation of Doctor Who, and even the "Harry Potterification" of Doctor Who by Moffat, but Chinball, much like Rian Johnson's take on Star Wars brought a total "FUCK YOU" to the series' fans, that it literally rewrites the origin of the Doctor from being a white dude, a wandering galactic vagabond that helps people to being a little black child that was enslaved by white slaver Time Lords and literally tortured to death (repeatedly) in order to gain the child's secret to immortality. They should have brought back Romana and spun off her own show instead of making the Doctor female. When I asked a local fan at a convention about why did she think it was a good idea for the producers to change the sex of a 50 year old character to a woman and the lady's response was, "BECAUSE FUCK YOU, IT'S OUR TIME." Alrighty then.

[@mayotango1317]

No, the RTD era feel more Harry Potter. The Moffat era remember that classic Who exist and make the Doctor a alien again, no a CW soap opera character.

[@bash123321]

something I like to call Chibnall's gun , if an important piece of information is introduced and highlighted it will be ignored and forgotten about later

[@jackrichardson9136]

Something I think gets somewhat missed when discussing the era is it’s genre episodes, specifically the historicals and lovecraft horror stories. They felt very fresh and exciting and we’re definitely her best

[@darthgallifrey3588]

I had mixed feelings going into the Chibnall Era. I was willing to give Jodie a chance because the actress had impressed me in Broadchurch. While I thought the advertizements around Jodie's announcement felt overly (and unnecessarily) politized (looking you "It's About Time/Breaking the Ceiling" advert), I had the wait-and-see approach to a female Doctor. I really wanted to like the Thirteenth Doctor but poor writing continually let it down. Reading the Titan Comics run, Thirteen was a lot of fun. Why couldn't we have gotten that on screen. I agree that the companion were half-baked. Graham was great, Ryan was an extension of Graham and Yaz was, just there. I liked Dan, but he was gone too quickly. I think COVID and the truncating of Series 13 did the era no favors. Despite not overly caring for the Timeless Child arc (which was very similar to Lungbarrow and the Other), I hoped that Series 13 would polish it up a bit. Oh well. Finally, I never liked "Thasmin". It felt both forced and underbaked. I'm not one who likkes LGBT anything thrust into everything these days, especially if it's thrust into something just for the sake of diversity checkboxes when the story or characters would feel the same with or without it. In essence, the Chibnall era was a run highlighted by poor writing, stale characters and dropped balls. Let's just hope that Big Finish can do something amazing with when they get their hands on the era.

[@paulwatson3577]

I literally fell asleep during most of these episodes, so I appreciate the update! Cheers Rich

[@djashley2002]

The one thing that I'll never forgive Chibnall for was his habit of "tell, not show", the exact opposite of what you should do when writing drama. This first surfaced in Rosa, which at that point I put down to him working with someone who was an inexperienced drama writer. But then it happened again, and again, and AGAIN! It then became clear that whilst Chibnall was a good enough writer for police procedurals like Broadchurch, he just didn't have the creative chops for something like Who, and I'm still amazed that Flux held together as well as it did.

[@absolutpot]

Disappointed is exactly how I felt. I was looking forward to this new incarnation of the Doctor but I had reservations about Chibnall because his previous stories for Who were rather lackluster. Unfortunately, my fears were realized and 13th Doctor got the short end of it. Jodie’s Doctor deserved better, the fans deserved better.

[@knighth2452]

I've been saying this from the beginning of the Chibnall era. Jodi had nothing to work with, she was not allowed to watch other episodes to get the idea of the character, and the writing was the laziest I've ever seen. I've been watching the show since I was 6 years old back in 1980. With all the ups and downs over the years I can safely say Chibnall is one of the blandest writers. Not the worst, just bland. His stories are the equivalent of ordering a 5 star meal and then telling them to not season anything, overcook everything, and then try to choke the whole meal down with nothing to drink. It isn't even enjoyable to watch. You can see the actors struggling with nothing to work with.

[@TK_Brainslug]

I was hyped when she started, but man I called it quits during her first season. I only came back for her final episode cause of the involvement of the former companions and I wanted to see her regeneration

[@Calzaki]

He only thing that sticks with me from this era of Who is 13 standing there dumbfounded, looking completely incompetent and repeating "what, what, what???" as the story just happened around her, amplifying the fact she had no impact or control of what happened next

[@codelyoko363]

The thing that frustrates me the most about The Timeless Child is how It could be a totally okay addition if it wasn't the Doctor. Would I still want it if I had a choice? No, but if I have to accept the timeless child as canon, just don't have it be the fricking Doctor. I see a lot of people talking about how the Master should be the timeless child but I don't think that makes sense either. Just make Rassilon or Omega the timeless child! To be fair though, I don't think Chibnall knows what a Rassilon is...

[@donatist59]

I am glad to see someone bash Chibnall without bashing Whittaker. She's a fine actress, she was good in the role, and there is nothing wrong with having a female doctor. I LOVED the Ruth Doctor -- Fugitive of the Judoon was the best episode of Who since the Capaldi stories with Maisie Williams. But the writing for 13 was horrible and the Timeless Child little more than an info dump. How the hell could they not somehow incorporate the Sylvester McCoy "I am far more than just another Time Lord" clip?! What a missed opportunity. And the whole lesbian thing that came out of nowhere with no buildup to prepare us? Garbage writing.

[@DawnTreaderPlaysEDO]

Yes, haven't watched an episode after the child thing where supposedly the doctor was killed over and over again to learn the secret of regeneration. I feel terrible for a great actor like Jodie to have been put through the 3 seasons acting in that guys show.

[@willadeefriesland5107]

Susan, Ian, & Barbara... Who was the first to leave and why? Ben, Polly and Jamie... Who was the last to leave and why? Tegan, Nyssa and Adric... Who was the least trouble for the Doctor and why? Now, Jodie's 'Fam'... How easily can we rattle off the answers by comparison?

[@Ez-dp5uq]

Ohmygosh yes! Been looking forward to this since you first mentioned it! Gotta find me a spare 15 minutes - I wouldn't mind it it were 50!

[@TheMutantCreeper]

Something I’m curious about is how The Timeless Child will be handled in the future. I messed around with a regeneration quiz on the DW website and it mentioned nothing about The Timeless Child. One answer statement that could probably but most likely not mention it is about 11 bluffing about regenerating to rid of The Cyberplanner. It said “The Doctor had no more regenerations left. That he knew of.” It could be referencing the Timeless Child, or when Gallifrey gives him a new cycle. They even mention him being given a new cycle in the quiz later on. It’s all really confusing.

[@marshsundeen]

RTD might just drop it.

[@gay4sswhovian]

RTD loved it so too bad for y'all dumbass haters but it will probably coming back

[@nealjroberts4050]

I think any addressing will highlight the Master's dishonesty or gullibility on it. The essential idea that the Gallifreyan elite used the Timeless Child to become Timelords fits the presentation of their culture. The Doctor being the Timeless Child doesn't fit. Unless you redefine becoming a Timelord as becoming the Timeless Child.

[@johnsmith-de3tl]

its the old question, are you writing a story with subtext or are you writing for a subject with an underlying story. 13 was politics with an underlying story, 9-12 was story with varying subtexts.

[@grumpandchump]

CHIBNOL

[@buzzmooney2801]

No, he didn't kill Doctor Who: He didn't exactly do it a lot of favors, but he didn't kill it. But yes, I agree Jodie was given short shrift. Police Officer Yaz was dropped almost abruptly and completely as Doctor Martha Jones.

[@kenthomas505]

The 13th Doctor's era will be kind of ignored or mostly forgotten about as time goes by. It just wasn't memorable. Too bad. I consider myself a casual fan who discovered Who a few years ago online, and have grown to like its nonsensical, all over the place tales, but Jodie's era doesn't do anything for me and I don't have any desire to see many of her episodes in the future. They just don't attract me. Let's hope Russel T. will bring life back to the show and steer it in a fun, and interesting, new direction!

[@xsm5525]

'Chris Chibnall: did he kill doctor who?' yes, he also killed his chance of ever getting work again I think. If I was bbc boss, hiring him wouldn't even cross my mind. zero talent. just wings it all the time.

[@MightyMarioBros378]

Moffat winged it all the time too but he had talent unlike Chris who can't write sci-fi

[@ThetaSigma-vu1sk]

majority of writers wing it. You think RTD had everything planned out from the beginning? You think Moffat did?

[@MightyMarioBros378]

@@ThetaSigma-vu1sk exactly

[@KalKratos]

For me, I was generally on board and okay with Chibnall's run until The Timeless Children. I hated how that retcon everything into something worse. It took away William Hartnell as the First Doctor. It took away his status as a member of the species of Time Lord. I stopped watching after that point. And, the absolute wretchedness of Orphan 55 helped with that decision. I do agree that Whittaker is not a bad actress, she was given poor scripts and direction from Chibnall. I don't know what happened to Chibnall. He has delivered good Who before in the episodes he's written prior to his run. So I don't know what happened to make his decisions as showrunner so horrid. But, I am curious if RDJ can bring the magic back to Doctor Who. I will check it out when it comes back. If it's good, I'll resume my fandom of current Who. And whenever I rewatch Who, I'll just skip over Chibnall's run on the show.

[@arthurian2928]

Like you I never thought I'd see the day that I sat down, watched the show, and felt nothing. For me it was just bland. But now I'm looking forward to future episodes, Dr Who is most definitely alive and kicking.

[@paulflux5892]

'An average overall story quality of ... meh' pretty much sums it up for me. With, as you say, too much exposition and bland companions. And I'm with you on 'keep Jo Martin' too.

[@robertfeld5829]

I hope the Timeless Child thing is retconned completely, and revealed as a sick lie by the Master even if the Fugitive Doctor was cool. It can't work anyway because how did River Song regenerate in the first place?

[@marksilgram80]

Chibnells and Jodies era of Doctor Who very nearly killed my love for this show. At least it got me into watching classic who to get my doctor fix

[@fastertrackcreative]

When Jodie was announced I was thinking "Hmm not sure about this but see how it goes" (tbh I'm always sceptical when a new Doctor actor comes on the scene initially) but then first episode, OK that was a let-down. And then let down episode after let down episode and I would consistently expect (and find myself) disappointed.

[@richardcrafton1805]

I wish Keasko had become the main villain of a season. Someone who can’t cause harm anymore desperately looking for ways to cause pain and death through small nudges of history. Imagine the doctor going through time and having to nudge things back into place. Great juxtaposition from the violence of main villains like the daleks and cybermen.

[@skinner219]

This was a good topic to watch. Everything was on point. I’ve have a video suggestion for you Rich. What would you do if you wrote Jodie’s era? Which characters would you have and not have? What would be the stories etc.

[@Thkaal]

The Chibnall era was a fever dream of a regeneration going horribly wrong. Now prove me wrong.

[@StolenEyesX]

As a lifelong Doctor Who fan (45+ years!), this is simply the best video I’ve seen dissecting the Chibnall era. Did he kill Doctor Who? I agree, no he didn’t. But he did badly damage the brand. Jodie Whittaker did her very best with some very poor scripts and a version of the Doctor that was entirely unfocused, and frankly it would also have helped if she had just left the Doctor to speak for herself. The BBC did not help with that ridiculous “glass ceiling“ trailer, which was ham-fisted and entirely unnecessary. The Timeless Children, which I genuinely thought was a brave and intriguing idea at the time, in retrospect I realised undermined the entire premise of the show as well as introducing too many questions that will likely now never be answered. However, I agree that Jo Martin was a fantastic Doctor, and it would be a terrible shame if we never got the opportunity to see her again. But now thankfully - and rather surprisingly - RTD is back, we have the 60th Anniversary to look forward to with a very familiar face, and then Fifteen. Onward!

[@simongardner3766]

Chibnall did seem to have a habit of introducing new plot ideas that he then loses interest in, usually after they have trashed a load of established canon or got fans interested. None of his concepts ever made any sense, or worked with previous writers plotlines. The companions should have been introduced one at a time with an episode explaining their backstory as with the 5th Doctor. As for the sonic screwdriver the Doctor only needs to look at it to read the script for the episode, problem solving and adventure is a thing of the past. Hopefully RTD will do some sort of alternative universe reboot and consign the whole 'Timeless Child', destruction of Gallifrey again plotline to history.

[@NicholasKaufmann]

I used to fault Steven Moffatt for setting up big plot threads and then suddenly dropping them, but it was even worse with Chris Chibnall. I'm not someone who hates the Timeless Child idea. I don't love it either, but I don't think it "broke the show" or anything like that. However, to have the Doctor toss the fob watch away at the end of "Flux," especially after fighting so hard throughout that series to get the information it contained, was just maddening. And apparently that was just the end of it, since the thread wasn't picked up again in the subsequent specials. Ugh.

[@CongaLineMonkey]

Chibnall gets the shiniest of participation trophies. He achieved nothing, but he kept the seat warm for the next guy.

[@RobertRadio757]

For me when Peter Capaldi regenerated, that was the end of Doctor Who, what’s the time I just watch Doctor Who in the way you would stare at a car crash Chris did in the show in my opinion

[@MvTCracker]

"You *feed* on them. On the memory of love, and loss, and birth, and death, and joy, and sorrow…so…SO…come on then, take mine. Take. My. Memories. But I hope you’ve got a big appetite. Because I have lived a LONG life, and I have seen a *few* things. I walked away from the last Great Time War. I marked the passing of the Time Lords. I saw the *birth* of the universe and I watched as time RAN OUT, moment by moment, until NOTHING remained - NO TIME, NO SPACE, *JUST ME*! I walked in universes where the laws of physics were devised by the mind of a *mad* man. And I’ve watched universes freeze, and creation *burn* - I have seen things you WOULDN’T *BELIEVE* AND I HAVE *LOST* THINGS YOU WILL *NEVER* UNDERSTAND "

[@Darlomon]

I remember every episode of new Dr who from s1 not a single but of jodies series retains apart from episodes with the master s

[@KIURazin]

Plot twist: Chris Chibnall is the timeless child.

[@MrDarthT]

My head canon for the timeless child is that it's actually The Doctor's future, and they only have some memories of it because, as the master explains, all Timelords have some genetic memories from the Timeless Child. At some point in the future, The Doctor will get stranded on a strange planet, where they will be found by Tecteun and become the basis of all Timelords, including themself. Tecteun and The Master are, like the Judoon in "The Fugitive of the Judoon", confused about where in The Doctor's timeline the Thirteenth Doctor comes, and assume she came after the Timeless Doctors.