'Eve of the Daleks' is a Disastrous Mess

[@HarboWholmes]

January is infamously a really terrible month for KZbinrs, because we get so much less AdSense revenue. If you want to directly help support me during this time you can sign up for my Patreon for as little as £1 a month and get early access to every video alongside an exclusive video every month. It would mean a lot to me! www.patreon.com/harbowholmes

[@TheBlueGhoul]

Speaking of terrible months i was unsubscribed for no reason.

[@gamingmoran9597]

Imagine the old people that are usually in Care homes or whatever they are called because I cannot remember imagine them I'm really really old person bonking a 19-year-old how would you feel that is why I was never really a fan of romance in Doctor who

[@jamesstewart7736]

I wish I could help Harbo but I’ve just taken on a massive new mortgage. You’re next on my list once I recover. ❤️

[@Neil070]

@@gamingmoran9597 I'm really old (65) and work in a care home. Not sure if I should take offence

[@gamingmoran9597]

@@Neil070 uhhh? What are we talking about as I am that type of person that changes his mind faster [ENTER SUBJECT]

[@tidmouthmilk12]

To be honest, I'm not surprised this episode wasn't used as a transition into a new console room. The budget was so low they probably couldn't even afford to recolour the lights.

[@captainx5246]

The final explosion was so bad

[@ShadowKamehameha32]

@@captainx5246 The last 3 seasons have been bad 🤣

[@irrevenant3]

There's very little point in transitioning to a new console room with two episodes to go before the handover. They probably just didn't want to do those two episodes with black sludge in the TARDIS. And it's a good excuse for a time loop story. :)

[@charlieroden108]

changing the console room two episodes before a new doctor? wtf 😂

[@p5ych0p4th]

As opposed to some other stuff in his three seasons it was at least watchable. The problem is: if you do a time loop story, it has to be outstanding, because there’s so many great ones out there. And this one was sadly pretty weak. The only thing I really took away from it was, how much better Aisling Bea would be as The Doctor than Whittaker.

[@Grayvorn]

Don't think I've been impressed by the story type since the Happy Death Day films.

[@xlinnaeus]

Couldn’t have agreed more. Seeing her in this story just made me go, ‘well there goes one of my favourite female Doctor casting opportunities.’

[@p5ych0p4th]

@@xlinnaeus Well … to that me just say: Peter Capaldi and Karen Gillan … Capldi even played two different roles in the Universe before becoming the Doctor 😁

[@p5ych0p4th]

@@Grayvorn Yeah. Those were really really good. I hope they do make a third one. Other than that, I think Stargate pretty much did it the best for a SciFi show. And honorable mention to “Star Trek” Discovery for pulling it off in their first season. I hate that show with passion but that one worked 😁

[@ShadowKamehameha32]

Heaven Sent has put the Time Loop story bare do high for Doctor Who that any other Time Loop episode has to at least be on par with it.

[@Elcrisso1]

Yaz’s entire character across 3 whole series: 👁👄👁

[@danielueblacker9118]

creative you should write for the show..

[@lexezlao]

she lasted: longer than rose, Donna and Martha longer than Amy longer than Ian and Barbara longer than Leela longer than both romanas combined longer than ace longer than bill and she's still massively inferior to everyone previously mentioned

[@shnoozezzz9752]

i dont think the personal time loops as you call them are literal, its just that they each had 4 minutes left so if they all use their 4 minutes they have overal 20 combined mins to get things done

[@ig_4220]

Yeah it's just a man-"hours" metaphor

[@UgandanPrinc3]

Yeah like you said it’s 4 minutes each meaning 20 overall

[@jamiemccreath3959]

I think it was confusing since they never really took advantage of this, it was just a passing comment Dan made

[@shnoozezzz9752]

@@jamiemccreath3959 i think the doctor said it which is worse right??

[@blackboardplans]

Exactly! Was getting frustrated with this being a 'critic' in the video. I watched the episode with family talking over the TV and still got it.

[@UgandanPrinc3]

In this perfect chibnall episode, just like in resolution, after a character comes out/identifies as LGBT+, they die, this time, on multiple occasions. He’s truly topped himself this time

[@ottolaing4039]

His capabilities when it comes to Burying his gays are truly astounding

[@irrevenant3]

But not permanently, which is really the main point of the trope. Especially since *everyone* died in this episode, LGBT+ or not.

[@Myne1001]

The guy who wrote an article about how Chibnall is racist for having POC characters get killed by Daleks is going to have an aneurism over this episode

[@umwha]

I think the problem is he’s shoehorning in diversity for diversity’s sake in the first place. It seems frivolous to then argue that he’s not ‘diversitying’ well enough. And so, to avoid doing diversity in a way that will get him criticised from the same politically correct perspective he’s trying so hard to appease, we get super positive diversity overcompensation like Ruth Doctor.

[@FahadAyaz]

@@umwha Ruth Doctor actually has a bit of a personality, though.

[@finngirling861]

I can't for the life of me understand why Chibnall described this episode as a romcom

[@LiveHedgehog]

He probably sees Joker as a romcom too.

[@MidnightChimey]

Because creepy stalkers are so funny and romantic right

[@deuce5546]

@ Literal murder

[@obiwankenobi687]

Because it was a romantic comedy

@@obiwankenobi687 isn't the prerequisite for that that it should be both romantic and funny though?

[@davidtyler6708]

This review was brutal..... and honest. I had to to take two 10 minute breaks just to get through the episode. Many Who fans are just hoping that with RTD coming back and Sony buying Bad Wolf, it will lead to a higher budget and better stories.

[@akaiendo7312]

Took me 4 hours to get through this episode. I had to take lot of break because it was so bad, I just stuck with doing other things rather than finish it.

[@FahadAyaz]

🤞🏼

[@arunosborn3169]

Sony buying Bad Wolf?

[@davidtyler6708]

@@arunosborn3169 Sony has bought a huge stake in Bad Wolf, which will probably lead to higher quality stories, sets, special effects, and maybe more high profile actors.

[@arunosborn3169]

@@davidtyler6708 ah I just looked it up and realised it's a tv production company and Sony isn't secretly buying out the bad wolf entity

[@UgandanPrinc3]

Also I give thasmin as much credit as Jo Martin as the fugitive Doctor. Sure on a bare minimum level it’s good, but there’s so little substance to it, so little recognition, build up or utilization that it feels empty.

[@person-hq2xq]

Finally someone who agrees with me about this episode. It is an infuriating mess that is almost as bad as the Twin Dilemma

[@JamesThomasJeans]

There have been some genuine stinkers in the last 17 years, but I can't think of a single episode of from 2005 to now that's as bad as The Twin Dilemma, which is probably the absolute worst story in the classic series run. You know you're dredging into hyperbole territory whenever anyone evokes that mess.

[@thehybrid210]

@@JamesThomasJeans The Twin Dilemma is the best doctor who story ever to be written

[@abigailmcdowell4248]

the 20 minutes is 20 minutes of peoples time, 5 people with 4 minutes can do the same amount as 1 person in 20 minutes

[@Elcrisso1]

What a dumb way to overcomplicate a time loop

[@Devlinator61116]

I understood that the first time it was explained in the episode. I don't know how the concept of man hours could go over so many peoples' heads.

[@ff10fire666]

Just two more specials to go. We're so close to this being over.

[@mystery4561]

Will it truly end though? That's the better question.

[@gustavogutierrez6568]

@@mystery4561 At this idk what´s going to happen and im not sure RTD is going to fix the show

[@tobydawes6007]

@@gustavogutierrez6568 what can be done to fix it by RTD?

[@irrevenant3]

@@tobydawes6007 It doesn't really need 'fixing'. The Timeless Child stuff can just be quietly ignored if RTD doesn't want to pursue it. And if Chibnall doesn't do something about the mostly-destroyed universe before the handover, he included a line about 'space being compressed' on the Division ship, so RTD has an opening to just 'decompress' it if he wants. Mostly RTD just needs to hit the ground running and do his own thing and it'll be fine.

[@Mark.Taylor.]

Jeff: With all the weird stuff he was storing it would have been cool for him to be some NEXT doomsday alien prepper. It could have been funny or serious. Heck he could have been snoozing in the lounge and been in the time loop but not able to escape so they kept running into him on his oblivious loop.

[@Yardnoc3103]

How to do a Dalek Timeloop story off the top of my head: Option 1) A busted Dalek shell is sitting in a storage unit. The Doctor happens to land the TARDIS near the seemingly empty and abandoned storage facility. She explains to Dan and Yaz that she needs to do a type of factory reset for the TARDIS and that it's perfectly safe while they are in the middle of an empty spot so it doesn't disturb anything. However the reset also activates the Dalek shell. No living Dalek resides inside so it's on a bit of an autopilot and is much weaker. When it kills them they enter the loop as a side effect of the reset. The Doctor explains that they'll be fine until midnight when the reset is done, in which case they'll stay dead if killed. Then make it a lighthearted episode of them trying to avoid the Dalek and keep it from leaving the storage unit. Option 2) Closer to Heaven Sent in delivery. Start with the Doctor in the middle of an adventure. They defeat a Dalek with maybe a special gun and it feels like the end of an episode, but then it cuts back to a few minutes prior. The Doctor does everything exactly the same but this time the gun doesn't work. The Doctor runs around, tweaks their plan, defeats the Dalek. Cut back to the same point as last time. Builds gun, shoots Dalek, gun fails, runs away, makes new weapon, but new weapon fails as well. It is revealed that this is a new Dalek training program to develop weapons, armor, and tactics for combat and the best one to test it on is the Doctor. The majority of the episode follows Dalek after Dalek as they evolve and adapt to defeat the Doctor. At the end they kill the Doctor (revealed to be an AI copy) and this leads to a part 2. Watch as the Doctor's plans fail horrendously as the Dalek's seem to have prepared for everything. Might have written myself into a corner there, but I'd rather see that than Eve

[@matthodgkinson2003]

I want to see option 2 as an actual episode.

[@901000MB]

I'm so ready for this era to be over

[@pwaaoolhtims4344]

Honestly, featuring a side character from four years ago is funnier then any other piece of comedy in the episode.

[@gregkava1276]

bruh all that made me want is a spin-off of karl like what has been up to? still listening to his "im special" podcasts or whatever it was he was listening to lmaoo

[@Isle0fRed]

Imagine if RTD made an episode without dialogue, thus relying on visuals to tell a story and not exposition dumps.

[@JamesThomasJeans]

Let's not over-glorify RTD. His era of the show was really good, but this is the same guy who wrote an episode where intravenous medicine was somehow passed from person to person through skin-on-skin touch. He wrote his fair share of clunkers.

[@mackielunkey2205]

@@JamesThomasJeans He also made The Master a complete laughingstock for the most part.

[@toasterroast7678]

@@JamesThomasJeans he was asked to change it to that, the original ending just had all the diseased patients dying, but he was told it was “too depressing”

[@bmvthemoviefanatic7282]

I've actually had an idea for an episode like that. It would kind of be like "A Quiet Place", where it's mostly sign language, as they're on a planet with no sound, with the only things being able to make sound being the enemies. Long story short: Wanted an excuse to share my idea, but think RTD could do BETTER.

[@AugAug989]

@@JamesThomasJeans I actually really like that episode.

[@queen_alexandra996]

The Doctor x Yaz is a perfect example of queerbating, we want representation to matter, having it be tacked on at the end of the series demonstrates just how little they really care about LGBT people

[@danielueblacker9118]

unless this was the teaser and they get a major storyline to end the series. Captain Jack should be in the History Book of Creative Writing. Chris, talented always was a sad the boy who never could......

[@Nutter666]

@@danielueblacker9118 I suspect that RTD asked for it to be added (and Chib made a mess of adding it), to lay some breadcrumbs for an eventual romance between 14 and Yaz, kind of the reverse of Clara finding Smith's Doctor hot and then not feeling the same about Capaldi's... 13 would regenerate into the 14th (fingers crossed for Lydia West) and that Doctor's personality would be more open to that kind of relationship with a companion again, having shed the baggage of the Chibbers era.

[@ftumschk]

I think Chibnall probably does care, but he's a shambolic writer who awkwardly shoehorns plot elements into his stories, especially when it comes to character development.

[@FilmFan-iv7sz]

As yaz has feelings for the Dr but the doctor doesn't feel the same how is this a ship. When it's one sided

[@endgame6782]

@@Nutter666 I doubt this but in the off chance RTD actually DID ask for this, I feel like it would've been handled alot more tastefully🤷🏿‍♂️

[@ShadowKamehameha32]

A Chibnall episode being disasterous? I've never heard of such a thing!

[@steveandjeanniefrith236]

You took the Thasmin comments right out of my mouth. its depressing that everybody gives this episode a pass because THASMIN despite the terrible writing, pacing and characterization. Also Jodie's 'EXPOSITION MODE' annoys the everliving heck out of me. Its her irritatingly thick northern accent, coupled with her annoying breathlessness AND the 'I'm explaining things' hand gestures. So utterly predictable, you can see these scenes coming a mile away. Gonna be honest. She annoys me. I like her more when she's still and serious and determined.

[@tgiacin435]

They had better representation with Jack in the RTD era, and Madam Vastra and Jenny in the Moffat era

[@mrdr0161]

Except Jack's relationships were treated as a massive joke. And Vastra and Jenny were never even slightly romantic with each other and the only time they kissed was to "transfer oxygen"

[@shayla106]

@@mrdr0161 And yet still better and more romantic than this. Also, when the doctor was dying and he introduced Jack to Alonso, his sexuality was treated as a joke. When Vastra and Jenny were being rewritten from reality, their love wasn’t treated as a joke. Jake literally got his own show, we were see more of his sexuality as well.

[@mrdr0161]

@@shayla106 Throughout RTD's era, Jack's attractions to people was never treated seriously like the straight romances. Him being in a relationship or flirting was treated as a punchline. And Vastra and Jenny had one serious relationship scene throughout their time in doctor who. They were main characters in 5 episodes and they only had one serious scene! They never even kissed. They're supposed to be married, but yet they don't kiss. Not even once. Moffat literally had to write some dumb reason for their lips to touch. Even when vastra "shared her oxygen" with her, Jenny looked uncomfortable af, she was literally shaking her head and trying to get away from vastra. Does she even want to be in this relationship?! And dont even talk about Jake. The only line that said he was gay was removed from the episode... round of applause for Jake, being the best representation ever 👏 👏 👏

[@giovannib.9755]

Maybe I'm just spoiled by time loop anime like Re:Zero or Steins;Gate, but I find the lack of internal consistency particularly infuriating. You can TELL the episode was written in two weeks because it feels like a first draft with a bunch of stuff still not completely worked out. The THIRTEENTH DOCTOR wants to reach the weapon stash even though: 1) this Doctor hates weapons, 2) conventional weapons don't work on Daleks and 3) there's an escape route much closer by than the weapon stash. The door on the back of the building is apparently jammed and you'd expect that to become relevant later on, but it doesn't, it's just a cheap placeholder to keep the Aisling Bea character inside the building in one loop, and it's then promptly forgotten. The final grand plan is to lure the Daleks on the higher floors to gain time. A Dalek immediately teleports at the bottom floor and yet they act like the plan still worked. And that's setting aside all the creepy undertones with the stalker dude, as you noted. There's a shadow of a good episode here, if Chibnall actually had taken his time to write the goddamn thing and hadn't just sent a first draft for whatever reason.

[@lucypreece7581]

I came close to forgetting this episode was on on New Years Day. I dunno if it was a combination of me being extremely exhausted from working crazy hours at work during Panto season and just the lack of joy and excitement I had been feeling over the festive period anyways that made me forget or the lack of like promo and stuff. I did kind of like this episode. It was very much stripped back and the Doctor had to kind of go back to basics for most of it as they were limited on resources I know that it wasn't to everyone's taste but for me and just the pure exhaustion I was feeling from work I wanted an episode like this. Plus I really like Aisling Bea in general so she's always a highlight.

[@AIMIJACU]

oh i know that people want you to be more positive but the joy that your titles bring to me are unparalleled 💖😌

[@theesweatydrummer]

Chibnall really wants credit for these firsts (first female Doctor, first black female Doctor, first same-sex Doctor/Companion crush) and either fails or refuses to do anything substantive with them.

[@Khastrx]

Was it really difficult for the companions or the Doctor to look outside the Tardis first to check they were in the correct location (the beach) before proceeding with the reboot. Literally could have avoided the entire thing from ever happening...

[@parrot998]

When has the Doctor ever done this? The Doctor consistantly presumes they're in the right location without checking... They literally dropped Sarah Jane in the wrong town, and have continuously accidentally wandered into dangerous locations without checking... One of the story arcs of the classic series was literally the 5th doctor trying to get one of his companions to an airport, and presuming they are there over and over again. In one of the stories they even opened the viewscreen to be greeted by the interior of a starship, and the Doctor still insisted they were at the airport. Why are you taking issue with a long running character trait still being there? The doctor is kinda oblivious just as much as they are smart. No excuse for the companions though. Esp Yaz who should know by this point.

[@robindavda8967]

@ I think calling that nitpick a plot hole is a bit of a leap it sounds more like a cinemasins criticism

@@robindavda8967 Oh God I hope not lol. I didn't mean specifically this just other stuff Chibnall has done.

[@Neil070]

@@parrot998 At least when the First Doctor (yes, I went there) arrived on Skaro for the first time he got Susan to check the environmental conditions and radiation levels. Not her fault that as soon as she looked away the measurement shot up to danger level....

[@jasperfox6821]

Chibnall is the reason I don't watch Doctor who anymore. But I still have so much nostalgia for the older seasons, especially series 1 of the reboot.

[@seanpatrick6994]

This whole era is a mess. The writing, the casting, the acting and the soundtrack is overall much lower quality than everything before it. It’s shocking.

[@IlikeTrainsguy100]

And yet, even with all that supposed 'mess' (which isn't true), it's still miles better than the Capaldi era and Series 7, oh and half of series 6 too.

[@theodorehanchett4201]

@@IlikeTrainsguy100 chibnall era wishes it was as good as capaldis with an actual coherent doctor played by an amazing actor with fun and engaging stories - something chibnall cant seem to grasp lmao

[@kateglew580]

The awful speech in this episode made me realise what I dislike so much about 13: she can't keep her hands still. Ever. It's incredibly distracting and annoying

[@garysimmons4323]

As a gay man, I am not so affected that I need to have a LGBT charecter in every show on TV. We know from Ecclestones time that the Dr is a bit of a swinger in terms of sexuality, we had Jack and Bill, and others written brilliantly into the show. I am surprised he hasn't forced some trans in as well, just to tick off all the boxes. The episode was entertaining, but there were some awful moments of dialogue. Again this mean the Dr just babbling breathlessly while pointing the effing Sonic at EVERYTHING. What was in the canisters Jeff was storing, because either that or the fireworks must have been made of weapons grade C4 to blow up the building in such a way. And what was that guy from Woman who fell, doing in Manchester, as that episode was set in Sheffield? Put this up against a really great special like Waters Of Mars to see just how bad the show now is.

[@danielueblacker9118]

Loved Captain Jack excellent character and writing. Have loved Peter C's episodes they waved up and down. However I thought Bill's character was the best creation out of Peter's time.

[@lewisbaldwin9683]

I really liked Sarah and in the short time we knew her I liked her more than yaz and Dan combined. Nick is creepy and a stalker and him getting the girl despite being viewed as creepy took away from the epsiode. Also I don't understand why people are praising thasmin so much. All yaz did was confirm that she had a crush on the doctor. The relationship inst confirmed and most of the time the doctor and yaz don't seem to be friends. They are probably the least close out of all the companions and that includes Jackie. This relationship feels so forced and way too late in the game to be given any depth or respect.

[@mellojoe9421]

Thasmin is absolutely forced, and doesn’t feel even remotely earned, especially when the doctor and yaz have little to no connection or growth. It’s just chibs virtue signaling.

[@HiperPivociarz]

You know what annoys me? Not the fact that we don't have Christmas specials, but the fact that these New Years specials aren't festive at all! Like, New Years is such a bombastic time, especially for kids, they can stay up late, there's parties, there's fireworks. And for people like me who don't have anyone to spend New Years with, this would be a really nice way to get that party bombastic feeling. But no. Three New Years Specials, and this is the only one in which the climax involves fireworks. And it's just like a localized explosion. I would think New Years in London would look dope as hell, with the whole sky lighting up. Shame.

[@dogblessamerica]

I always hated the forced festivity of the Christmas specials.

[@roberthelme8000]

Spot on review. I can’t wait for DW to not suck. I am rewatching the reboot from the start and watching the Eccleston, Tennant and Smith eras in comparison makes me want to cry because the quality has fallen through the floor.

[@jmace2424]

Yaz hasn’t had a background or any character traits whatsoever since Demons of the Punjab.

[@sleeptodream1322]

as a lesbian, seeing this episode did make me happy but also incredibly sad once i realised that chibnall wrote the first queer relationship between the doctor and a companion. I wish he developed their relationship more instead of randomly throwing it on us during one of yaz's and 13's last episodes (gay people dying almost straight after coming out is not rare in tv shows 😍). also pissed that he wrote the first female doctor - jodie had so much potential but chris chin-balls ruined that fr

[@wolfieeeee256]

Chinball's not exactly great at representation that's for sure. That's why I can't wait for Davies again!

[@sleeptodream1322]

@@wolfieeeee256 same im so happy hes coming back

[@LaLa-oj5ct]

Legitimately, I have seen 0 set up for Yaz fancying the doctor. Like , no set up at all. Only fans asking for it.

[@jamiemccreath3959]

What do you think about Torchwood's use of the "bury your gays" trope? Everyone dies but everyone is gay

[@sleeptodream1322]

@@jamiemccreath3959 i mean despite all the deaths 🤩 torchwood actually had quite good representation so im not complaining, we gotta take all the representation we can get ✋😞

[@alonk1060]

My biggest concern with the introduction of a female doctor was always tokenism. And that is exactly what happened

[@paladinboyd1228]

Same I was hoping it was gonna be just "oh I'm a woman now, neat" and then it is never brought up unless we have a ep set in the past where women had no rights.

[@MarkMichalowski]

Yes. All of this. When I think of the richness, humour and complexity of every other Christmas/New Year special (yes, even Chibs' other abysmal Dalek ones) it makes me want to cry.

[@Throkers]

I'm glad you agree, there was SO much wrong here and I've seen so many people praising it. This episode was absolutely awful.

[@cmenardmusic]

people mostly praise it for the thasmin shit which is the cringiest thing since hell bent

[@danielueblacker9118]

think of stale food being given to starving people....... they can't choose not to eat it.

[@cmenardmusic]

@@danielueblacker9118 perfectly sums up the people who like the last 3 seasons

[@temporal_timelord1293]

Jesus christ we've had nearly 5 years of this era and most of it was hiatus

[@SmartSmears]

Its wild to see just how varied opinions are on Series 13 and this special, I feel these string of episodes have been more divisive that the rest of the era

[@umbai8962]

The divisiveness is based on how much/little people have dropped their standards for doctor who

[@SmartSmears]

@@umbai8962 I wouldn't go that far, plus the christmas specials are always mediocre so the chibnall new years specials aren't very far off from the norm.

[@umbai8962]

@@SmartSmears as much as i agree with that for the most part, whenever i try to compare chibnall dr who to davies or early moffat who, or any other series i like for that matter, the quality simply isnt there and i know a lot of people who have dropped their standards for recent series

[@irrevenant3]

@@umbai8962 IMO you've forgotten how ordinary pre-Chibnall Who often was. IMO Eve of the Daleks is better than or at least comparable to Fear Her, or the Lazarus Experiment, or Planet of the Dead, or Victory of the Daleks, or Kill the Moon, or Curse of the Black Spot, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, the Crimson Horror, or Sleep No More, or...

[@flujetberg4612]

@@irrevenant3 While i do respect ur opnion, for me Victory Of The Daleks actually is a sensical episode and is way better that eve of the daleks as the characters feel real, and kill the moon took an interesting turn with Clara and The Doctor that hadn't been explored before. The rest are pretty bad ngl.Though I understand that everyone has their own opinion, and if you think that Eve if the Daleks is not that bad I have no problem with that

[@bakaar6423]

The thing that got me the most about the episode was the 'Two Daleks One Phone' joke. 13 cracks her joke and looks at everyone except Yaz for laughs. When I think of all the other Doctors, in a situation with people they only met that episode, jokes and banter would be between them and their companion, not looking for validation from everyone else in the room.

[@jsh13132]

Chibnall ripped off Chimes of midnight on the 1 year anniversary of Chibnall ripping off Blood of the Daleks

[@gladiator652004]

His debut ripped off The Planet of Evil, he will get a knighthood for services to recycling.

[@1972LittleC]

I've been so desensitised that I thought, 'meh, it's at least passable', but as soon as you take aim, it's all falling apart.

[@MrTDWfan]

I do agree that the 13 Yas potential romance wasn't set up well at all, but I really don't mind the potential of a Doctor - Companion romance or "will they won't they." The Doctor is a romantic person, this adventurous, mysterious hero who draws people in because of how much they can offer normal humans. I think many people who travels with the Doctor could find themselves drawn to the Doctor because of what the Doctor brings. Donna, while not falling for the Doctor, fell for the traveling. I don't think it should be a traditional TV relationship, but have some kind of twist, such as The Doctor always experiencing misery like they always have, the companion falling back out of love or discovering they love the traveling, not the Doctor, or the Doctor scaring off the companion.

[@TimeMasterOG]

The doctor is dying in two specials time I dont think its going to work..

[@the6footturkey180]

10 was a romantic, 11 had his moments, 12 was basically just asexual and Jodie is too awkward to really know

[@crispybacon9917]

Thank god Russels coming back. And then hopefully they can find somebody competent to take over after Russel.

[@lucypreece7581]

One thing I worry is gonna happen in the remaining 2 specials is Chibnall is gonna add to the ever so frustrating "bury your gays" trope. we are finally gonna get the Doctor reciprocate some feelings or something and then Yas is gonna die. And there was build up for Thasmin it was just very VERY subtle and slow burning.

[@MidnightChimey]

It wouldn't really make sense to introduce a new console room now because a completely different production team is going to take over and they'll probably want their own creative control over what they want the TARDIS interior to look like. It's not for the current production team to decide

[@HarboWholmes]

I think you're misunderstanding. I meant that the console room stays broken until the new team comes in, because it gives them a way to introduce their one

[@alexbanks9510]

@@HarboWholmes ooo I didn't get this from the vid so agreed with the person above but actually that's a good point, that might have worked nicer. The loop could still be explained as the TARDIS dying without the whole setup of it being repaired, or even better, have the doctor try to repair it but it failing and still being broken for the next few episodes

[@MidnightChimey]

@@HarboWholmes Ah okay, though it seems a bit weird for the Doctor to wait a random period of time to repair the console room

[@spud2116]

Well said. It was such a frustrating episode to watch, I kept hoping there would be a good payoff...but no. The only redeeming thing about it was that we got something close to a proper dalek back rather than the awful creations from the past two "dalek" episodes (and I use that term loosely given how godawful revolution/revelations were as Dalek stories). Enjoyed your video, thanks for taking the time to make it :)

[@steveandjeanniefrith236]

How Chibnall got this job I'll never know.

[@marshallhuffer4713]

He even said that he didn't want the job if Jodie didn't get cast as the Doctor.

[@jmace2424]

Heaven Sent makes you really feel something... Eve of the Daleks makes you feel nothing.

[@barney9456]

The Daleks find it difficult to shoot through a door. Oh my god! Eve of The Daleks made a Signs reference, "they seem to have trouble with pantry doors"

[@jaybird5195]

I feel like criticizing RTD's romance plots with Doctor Who is unfair, as none of his romance stories were formulaic or repetitive, and they were all tinged with an underlying current of tragedy. Ten and Rose worked well, because it was always this unspoken thing between them which you knew could never end well. It highlighted the conflict between her home life and her life with the Doctor, by placing Mickey and the Doctor in opposition with one another - we always knew she wouldn't be happy with the life Mickey offered, as safe as it was, and we always knew that she couldn't have the Doctor in the way she wanted, because he would live beyond her and move on. His Era ending by having the metacrisis doctor stay with her was a nice and unexpected resolution to her story, whilst still centering the tragic nature of the Doctor always ending up alone. The theme of a mortal with someone with an exceptionally long life time who is thus doomed to end up alone is repeated with Ianto/Jack in Torchwood, though the nature of the relationship is very different, and obviously brings that tragic concept even more to the forefront. There is a reason why Rose being left alone on the beach and trapped in the parallel universe, and Ianto's death, devastated viewers at the time of watching. It was truly tragic in a way that I don't think has been captured again since RTD's era. It certainly won't be captured by Yas/Thirteen - is anyone going to be upset when that inevitably ends tragically? We've never even seen them yearn for one another. Certainly there's yet to be any proof that its requited by the Doctor. But also with RTD, he didn't make it so the Doctor fell in love with all his companions. Martha came next, and though he probably should not have introduced the first black companion by giving her an arc that set her up in directcomparison with the fan favorite white love interest, he did present an arc that was relatable and showed the Doctor's grief. You felt for Martha, and you understood why she loved the Doctor, whilst also knowing that as a fan you wouldn't want to see him with anyone else after the loss of Rose. And her arc was about realising that the Doctor's obsession with his lost love meant that he was unable to connect with her properly, even as just a friend, so she was right to walk away after being mistreated. Truly Yas should probably be annoyed by the Doctor's behaviour and reach the same decision that Martha reached, but that won't happen, because it will require Chibnall to show the Doctor as a flawed person and he won't ever do that. Donna was a complete change from the romantic undertones of the previous two companions, Rose with requited and ill-fated love, Martha with unrequited love. Donna was just a friend and yet their relationship was just as well fleshed out. There were of course the odd romances here and there - the girl on the titanic for instance, although again it added to the tragedy of the story, even if that was a bit more formulaic. His stuff with Queen Elizabeth, which was never portrayed as love, and mainly remained as a joke throughout. River Song, which was him knowing she was going to be important to him in the future, but not knowing why or how, but seeing her die, which again, the idea of inevitable tragedy. The issue with too much romance in Doctor Who is that it devalues the previous romances. River Song as his wife is a big issue in that way for me, because it's something that will just get tossed away later, and also seems to take away from the Doctor/Rose, which started the modern era. Not to mention, the fact he presumably had a partner on Gallifrey in order to have children (something that seems to have been forgotten by Chibnall). Also I never bought River Song, because she was too much of a plot point before she was a character, and I don't like the fact that she was okay with being in prison for her entire life, and only coming out whenever the Doctor needed her. I never really saw when the relationship developed or how. Regeneration affords you some luxuries I guess, but acting like previous relationships don't matter anymore is frustrating. At least with RTD you felt that there was the acknowledgement of "you can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend the rest of my life with you." And the narrative didn't try to suggest the Doctor was necessarily in the right for having the romantic relationships he did, and he was very much criticized by the narrative for his choose in companions being primarily young women. The age difference is a sticky point, as is the entirety of Rose being 19 in the first season, but I get why it happens. They want to appeal to their younger audience, so they choose characters that aren't 'proper adults'. It's not like there's a real world comparison with that level of age gap, and the children watching see two people who look the same age, whilst the adults can suspend their moral judgements for the sake of the fiction, so it's not going to have a negative impact on anyone. Overall, I think RTD wrote romance very well, and I don't think he ever inserted it into a story without thinking about why it was there and what purpose it was serving. Whereas Yas and Thirteen has been included to appeal to a liberal audience who can pat themselves on the back for this piss poor take on inclusion, despite the fact it seems set up for a bury your gays trope incoming (which, is fine due to the nature of Doctor Who, but including the romance for the first time a couple of episodes before??? Really???) I am getting annoyed at how this era is complimented for its diversity, despite it's complete failings in inclusion. Can we stop applauding stories that go 'racism is bad' as the entire message? Especially if they butcher the real history of the civil rights movement and centre the story on the white guilt of its white male protagonist???? Can we stop saying how brave it is for an English show to write a racism story based in America in the past??? Oh, segregation is bad? How absolutely world-shaking. Not being able to criticize this poorly written romance, and this shameless attempt to get pander without actually having a positive impact, just because it's a queer story is ridiculous. Can we stop accepting breadcrumbs of representation and worshipping the person who gave them to us? Let's hold it to the same standard as a m/f relationship, please.

[@olivesalad]

I was literally WAITING for this episode review!

[@BirdPeopleArentReal]

Instead of a huge alien filled special, I'd love for the next series special to be completely on earth, and be filled with stories from random people who had been at the major events the Doctor has saved them from, sharing their experience with the Doctor and making them realize how much they've done. Low-key, nostalgic, and a great opportunity for old characters to come back.

[@kateglew580]

I love this idea! Sadly, the next special has already been announced, and while it does look like it might be set on Earth, the selling point appears to be the return of the Sea Devils

[@dallama2616]

so just love and monsters

[@supernorris1200]

This could be THE doctor who series, i can't think of anything more creative!!!! Saddly that's why it won't happen It pain how the incorrect people eventually end up in this positions, screw chibnail

[@jamiemccreath3959]

Wow, I really didn't expect this. I've either hated or fallen asleep to every Chibnall episode until now, but Eve of the Daleks is easily in my top 10 favorite episodes since the revival. Great video as always, but I personally just thought "well, not really" for a lot of your criticisms. I don't find it necessary to touch on all of your points, but here are a few of my thoughts: A) I really don't get the comparison to Heaven Sent. These are just completely different storylines, and Heaven Sent isn't even a time loop. B) I'd give the vast majority of credit to the actors for this, but I absolutely loved the characters. I agree Nick is creepy, but I don't think we're supposed to find that endearing; he is by all accounts a weirdo, and (unlike the MANY forced relationships in Chibnall episodes) the couple don't end the episode as soul mates or anything, just trying it out and having fun together. C) I agree Thasmin is nothing groundbreaking and could've benefitted from a more natural buildup, but relationships aren't as cut and dry as falling in love with someone the moment you meet them, and I think it's perfectly fine and realistic for Yaz's feelings to have developed more recently. D) Having the characters experiment and have fun with the time loop would have resulted in a completely different episode and I don't think it's entirely fair to criticize this episode for not doing that when it really didn't need to. The loops getting shorter established some much needed stakes and tension. I feel like you misinterpreted a few lines of dialogue about the time loop: it was very clearly created by the TARDIS (and the Daleks had nothing to do with it), and the whole "extending" time wasn't literally creating more time, it just meant the characters could split up their tasks in order to do more in the short amount of time they had.

[@Elcrisso1]

Boy is it hard to put into words how flawed your counterpoints are

[@jamiemccreath3959]

@@Elcrisso1 Do try

[@connorruse4599]

Completey agree. Normally these reviews are quite balanced but this one seems to be super critical about little things just because it was a Chibnall episode . With C you could see Yaz looking up to the Doctor and how much she meant to Yaz since the last New Year special. And with D, they couldn't have fun with the time.loop because they introduces the forcefield and the whole plot was about them trying to get out the building

[@CDoss-bc7tv]

She didn't say each individual person would've been able to keep going for 20 minutes, she said if all 5 of them worked together efficiently in the 4 minutes they had, it would be like if one person had 20 minutes to execute the plan.

[@toukoenriaze9870]

Plot hole ... The black dude that I forget his name of ... He was supposed to already be dead in the next time loop ... But yet they not only waited 1 loop but wasted a second loop to set up a trap ... AND HE WAS STILL THERE

[@toukoenriaze9870]

O wait it was Nick

[@olived9560]

I'd always assumed that they had to get out before midnight because they would just stop looping - which in itself is fine, but if they got killed again by the Daleks, they'd stay dead.

[@sharkstargames3930]

Chibnall shouldve let a cat walk over his keyboard. It wouldve been a better episode

[@rowandunkin6802]

One thing I noticed in this episode is just how much 13 uses her screwdriver.

[@MarkMichalowski]

If someone asked her to turn a table lamp on, we'd get ten seconds of her waving it around like a magic wand instead of, y'know, just using her finger.

[@ghostlypresence5362]

So refreshing for a reputable Who KZbinr calling out this drek, so many others are still lying to themselves that this garbage is any good. Regarding the age thing; if 13th dies without a significant time gap in the coming episodes, this incarnation would have lived and died within a length of her companions (Yas) not even visibly ageing. Possibly the shortest lived incarnation in-universe? Oh yeah, and what happened with the Daleks rotating the mid section? Forget that Chibs?

[@creed8712]

I think 3 might be the shortest only because of the 17 years the Doctor spent in prison

[@MrLCGO]

The rotating part is more the fault of the FX team than Chibs

[@TPH250290]

It was only a couple of weeks ago that he was defending the disastrous mess that was Flux, so I'm not sure if he gets too much credit for criticising this sub-par episode.

[@ghostlypresence5362]

@@MrLCGO not really, if he'd remembered the rotating bit John would have been exterminated on his first sidestep

[@parrot998]

9 only lived like 2 years from what we are aware. a year between him leaving in Rose and coming back to say "it also travels in time" and the rest of his life was with rose. He was relatively newly regenerated when we met him since he hadn't gotten used to his new appearance yet.

[@DeanAshford]

One of the things that stood out to me was the "Nick doesn't make it past 23:56, if he dies in this loop he's dead for good" thing... and then he dies in the loop and somehow when the loop refreshes he's back to life? Which suggests that the loop starts one minute later into the previous loop, not from the initial loop, which if true, means they wouldn't start at the Tardis every loop, yet they do... The entire thing is a shit show.

[@BigScreenMovies]

I fell asleep twice trying to watch this episode...

[@lepterfirefall]

I will not have you diss the caravan of courage! It's a caravan....full of courage...and ewoks.....did I say it has a caravan in it? Fireworks killed daleks? I mean didnt the daleks have shields that could absorb bullets....(Remember DALEK? No? Neither did Chibnal)...yet a box of fireworks is enough?

[@jdg9825]

Would've been easy to throw in a line about their aim being shit due to the weaponry being new and experimental too (since they said they adapted to bypass the sonic or whatever)

[@HowDoIMakeAUsername]

You ever play a video game and pick up a machine gun for the first time? Takes some getting used to.

[@jdg9825]

@@HowDoIMakeAUsername yeah, even just a line about how the rotary gun makes for more power but less accuracy or something

[@vannisy7971]

yep, but they NEVER said any of that, so no excuse for them to miss ig, just Chibnall being bad

[@irrevenant3]

We'll see what happens with Thasmine. At this point it's not a ship, it's a one-way thing with Yaz having fallen for the Doctor. I'm not sure why people are leaping on it when it's not even out of the 'will they/won't they' space.

[@denimvelvet4670]

I love the Daleks, but I hate how they're used as a cheap conflict. "AHHH, it's the Daleks! Look everyone, the Daleks! Whatever is the Doctor going to do-oh. They've been blown up now. Conflict over."

[@williamgabriel2245]

Eve of the Daleks is the perfect episode for an original monster, instead of using the most feared and destructive species of the Universe.

[@Nutter666]

Hell, it could have worked as a Weeping Angels episode if the Tardis reset intereference was causing them to only get reset 9, 8, 7, 6, etc minutes instead of getting sent to the past each time (and ignoring the stupid BS about getting sent back twice disintegrates you) like normal. Then you wouldn't have to worry about stormtrooper aim since Angels don't use guns. It would just be a fairly simple story of an ever shrinking amount of time to figure out how to escape, whilst having to trap/avoid the angels... oh and it could justify how they moved around the building so fast between scenes.. since angels can blink around when unobserved.

[@JamesThomasJeans]

They're contractually obliged to feature the Daleks in one story per series, and Chibnall seems to have settled on using them in the New Year's Specials.

[@barianbakura2116]

@@JamesThomasJeans but.. weren't the Daleks in various points throughout flux? So he didn't technically need to include the most iconic monster in the show in this god awful episode

[@Goodiesfanful]

The premise - trying to keep ahead of Daleks in an ever-decreasing time limit - reminds me of the DW Classic “The Chase”.

[@brinnrobinson17]

Chibnall’s Series 11 to 13 may be rubbish but aren’t we forgetting that Chibnall wrote Series 3 Episode 7: 42 and Series 5 Episodes 8 and 9: The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood and Series 7 Episode 4: Power of three (all were better episodes)

[@lux4019]

They weren't really lol

[@brinnrobinson17]

Better than the whole Jodie era (S11-13) at least, especially S3 Ep7 “42”, because I just recently rewatched 42 and I believe that it’s the best one that Chibnall has ever done so far It’s the one with Torajii the living sun that possessed the crew of the star ship Icarus

[@redcr33perproductions]

they were all the same episode but in different situations and different doctors

[@greenfrog2371]

I had no idea the guy at the end was the crane operator, I thought he was Limmy.

[@wolfythewolf4457]

God I wanted thasmin, I'll admit that, but not... Not like this... My god this was horrible. I've read fanfiction with more character development, Chibs.

[@jameswhite3043]

I had sort of the opposite reactions: I thought Flux was sorta bad, with good moments, and Even was fairly good, with some problems.

[@ig_4220]

7:47 Yeah I wasn't the only one expecting there to be some Dalek Defence Drone junk under that super ominous taped off tarp right?

[@roryevans4295]

How hilarious do you think rtd finds it that every dalek redesign has failed and he gets to reinherit his own dalek design 😂

[@clashpanda120]

Ive never been closer to stop watching this show because of the writing. How is it possible to screw up this bad? It’s like he is intentionally running the show into the ground. Can we please all just fast forward in time to RTD’s resurrection?

[@RoyalKingOliver]

I didn’t know this was actually a thing after Flux Then again, I haven’t seen any huge announcements of Doctor Who so I can’t blame myself for missing out

[@havoc697]

Remember Scheirzo where 8 had his massive conversation with Charlie about romance and how everyone he travels with is basically a memento of his mortality? I know he backtracked it later but its still relevant with how people write doctor companion relationships

[@ohgoditshimrun1346]

Considering that every other time loop story I can think of in the history of the franchise involved two temporal engines interfering with each other, I am completely dumbfounded that neither Jeff nor Nick had a second time machine to be interfering with the TARDIS. But that would have required a second draft before filming began. And the Thirteenth era has never attempted that.

[@TheAtual]

Bring back the Hartnell Doctor played by David Bradley, rebooting Doctor Who.

[@richardcoffer4758]

The Doctor and Yaz arnt the fan favourites anymore. They are the 2 characters probably most responsible for the poor audience figures. No passione, acting skills or empathy. I dont think people wish a happy ending on either of them. Just a quick one and a quite one.

[@Tournite]

I watched the episode again after watching this. You are 100% right. This episode blows

[@Squicx]

This episode is basically a: "Mom Can we have a Steven Moffat?" Mom: We have Steven Moffat at home. *Steven Moffat at home:*

[@owenwildish331]

for a brief moment in the beginning I suspected that Aisling Bea's character would be in a plot-twist reveal turning out to actually be the Rani on the run from the Daleks, hence the time loop with her being the one behind it (it might have even made more sense an upping the scale and I think the actress could have made a good Rani, the only other actress I think would be an ideal version of the Rani would be Joanna Lumley, which would be perhaps a bit ironic if they did bring the Rani back with Joanna Lumley in the role, alongside Jodie Whittaker's Doctor before she leaves the show... considering... lol)

[@bandicootcollector]

Ruining the Dalek's weapon is the biggest Chinball crime now. The Dalek's are scary because they're accurate and their ray gun is absolute. Lock, fire, hold, death. Why did he think a mini gun spraying all over the place would be scarier than the sound and look of that long beam?

[@PixelBush]

This is easily your funniest video yet. I usually find your positive episodes to go down the easiest but ripping so thoroughly into Eve was cathartic.

[@msthalamus2172]

My Eve of the Daleks review is merely two words: "$#!+ Sandwich"

[@TheAstip]

I enjoyed it (maybe just because of Aisling Bea) though the one thing that stuck with me was there was no reason midnight was the cut off point - I get it because News Years - but that was a unneeded assumption

[@yurisei6732]

Wait, the fuck is a personal time loop? I don't remember it mentioning that at all. All I remember is it going from them having about 4 minutes left to them suddenly being on the last loop.

[@stopmotionartist4987]

Honestly…I enjoyed it. I feel like some of your criticisms were more because you had an expectation of what the episode would be like than what the episode was actually like. I didn’t expect a very serious time loop story so them quickly realizing it was a time loop didn’t bother me. It’s not like Heaven Sent where the story is covering very serious material; this is just a fun festive special. I also didn’t come into Eve expecting it to tie into Revolution or Resolution so the fact it didn’t have anything to do with those two stories didn’t bother me, even if I would’ve liked an actual trilogy of 3 connected Dalek stories. now there’s a lot I agree with you on: I don’t really like how Nick was characterized, I was really confused why the entrance was blocked off while there was an unblocked exit they later used at the end, I don’t recall an explanation for why the loops would stop at midnight, I thought the stakes were weird because although it’s treated like you can die and not cross over to a loop they seemed to begin in the same/similar spot for a lot of the loops, etc. It’s not a great episode but I did enjoy it. Probably give it a 6/10

[@cdhmcclelland]

Best take I've seen ^^

[@kobbyquayson]

Man you’re harsh 😂😂. Great video as always

[@jamma.77]

4:03 Erm, I hate to nit-pick, but Heaven Sent's not a time loop - it's a new copy of the Doctor each time, and most of them have very similar experiences, but it's not a literal time loop.

[@jamiemccreath3959]

Basically the opposite of a time loop - the Doctor has to repeat the same actions while time moves forward, rather than being able to remember and change while time repeats

[@greenplanet5825]

I think he’s saying it’s a time loop story not that it is itself a time loop

[@Dash123456789Brawl]

I agree that The Doctor X Yaz is a bad, unhealthy relationship that seems more concerned with virtue signalling than being virtuous. I also agree that it came out of nowhere. But not in this episode. I don’t see why you’re dead set on denying Yaz’ over the top obsession, displayed very prominently both when she was stuck in the past, and when the doctor was in space jail. An obsession like that doesn’t necessarily indicate romantic interest, but in a TV show, it probably does. Kind of like the creepy stalker in this episode. Also no idea what you were thinking when they have a simple explanation for the simple concept of ‘man hours’ to think that each character has more time than was actually passing. To be sure, they did way more than is physically possible in that last minute, but there’s no explanation for that. A flaw to be sure, but not the one you were complaining about.

[@jonathankozenko]

It's amazing how much better Xena: Warrior Princess did the whole "Let's have our show do the Groundhog Day thing" than Chibnall did, despite the fact that he did it with a show where the idea can come organically.. Not gonna lie, your metaphors are getting really good - your "More red-flags than a hard-difficulty game of Minesweeper" one really got me, being one of the few people who genuinely likes that game.

[@lazulenoc6863]

I did like seeing 13 dying over and over, that's for sure. Also, I am Irish and so incredibly not funny even that's not funny. Edit: the guy at the end was disappointingly not credited as Jeff. Because Chibnall can't do much right.

[@irrevenant3]

Time loop stories are both a tired trope and suprisingly rare in Doctor Who, given the show's premise. (The closest we've come in NuWho is _Heaven Sent_ which isn't even an actual time loop). Personally I'm glad they skipped over the tired old "Oh no, I have no idea what is happening!?" schtick - especially given how implausible that would be in a world where Groundhog Day exists. I'm also glad that they mixed it up a bit by making the loop shrink each time, and by everyone being aware of it, not just the protagonists. It made for a cat-and-mouse game where team TARDIS and the Daleks kept trying to adapt and anticipate each other.

[@leannepacker3892]

chibnall reminds me of me in a way, at uni i hated reading my own writing so would just submit a first draft, i feel like thats the vibe i get with his era

[@shmikex]

The fact that they need to leave the facility by midnight to escape the loop made no sense. If they killed the however many Daleks in the facility they'd theoretically be fine. It would have made more sense if the TARDIS landed somewhere and in its reset once outside the TARDIS the Doctor realizes they need to evacuate a certain distance from the TARDIS as it would set up some sort of short range explosion. The Doctor was intending to land it on an empty beach planet only to find they are in the basement of a storage facility. They quickly find out two other people are there but the thought is they can evacuate easily. But then there is an issue as the Daleks have set up a force field around the facility. In the end they use the fireworks and whatever random Jeff stuff to find a way to disable the force field long enough for the Doctor and friends to escape the facility, with the TARDIS external explosion taking care of the Daleks who have unwittingly trapped themselves.

[@lukerobson3043]

She can’t silence her phone so can’t stop her mum from phoning her each loop. But yeah probably need her too be found do to her phone going off.

[@AiRsTrIkExXzZ]

The daleks also had the laser thing(I forgot what it was called) instead of the plunger which is used for lasering things like I dunno metal doors

[@jamiemccreath3959]

Honestly it would have been more realistic if the Dalek just rammed the door and broke it open in one attempt