Size Does Matter?!? | Doctor Who Special #2 Reaction & Review | Wild Blue Yonder on Disney+

[@FTLNewsFeed]

"Gravity does not come up in the rest of the episode." Yes it does. They reference it several times. Donna says "We have mavity." and the Doctor says "Mavity well" and "Gravity" to which Donna says "What?" and he corrects himself "Mavity." So "gravity" and the rename to "mavity" is an ongoing joke that is only made possible because of that first scene.

[@AmazingChi]

He means it has zero bearing on the plot.

[@axlm.808]

@@AmazingChi It's just a joke to point that the Doctor messes with history in many ways

[@channyh.221B]

@@AmazingChi The Doctor stepped on a butterfly, a small one, but it was a butterfly.

[@AmazingChi]

@@axlm.808 But the point Nerdy is making is that that scene has zero relevance to plot of the episode after it, which makes the casting feel more like deliberate stunt casting to elicit real world drama. (No such thing as bad press etc). There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but the way it's presented make it feel like it was done solely for that purpose.

[@txheadshots]

I don’t think you understand the mavity of the changes that have been made here

[@norlack89]

😂😂

[@jenniferambrose5603]

I love this. Also I totally don’t understand why Newton’s casting was a thing because honestly I didn’t notice.

[@txheadshots]

@@jenniferambrose5603 me, either… I would never have realized he wasn’t white without all the screaming about it

[@joedesmond22]

RIP Bernard Cribbins this was his last scene in Doctor Who as he wasn’t healthy enough to film anymore scenes and then shortly passed away afterwards

[@rickyyy1248]

personally I don't think the race of the actor playing newton was relevant to the story so I didn't even realise it was an issue till I went online I don't think the majority of viewers are gonna be bothered or even notice it

[@neonseas]

I find it interesting that the Isaac Newton casting thing and the "male-presenting..." thing stuck out so significantly because I genuinely did not notice(/process?) that either was unusual until I went online and some(honestly really gross) parts of the DW fandom were losing their shit about it. I don't know that I find it a big enough deal to be bothered by it. But I DO think that Isaac Newton was important because them using that scene to change gravity to mavity was underlining the way they fooled the not-beings. 2 things can be true at the same time. now the doctor knows that it's both gravity and mavity or they wouldn't have kept bringing it up throughout the episode. It was just one of those symbolic things that goes along with the plot and allows for a reinforcement of the idea of 2 things being right in a way that we don't even question because it's easy to understand.

[@channyh.221B]

I agree, I also didn't notice cause all I noticed that Isaac Newton was - indeed- hot. Also the Doctor agreeing with Donna how hot Isaac was, is to remind everyone the Doctor is not always exactly the same character. That's why he's the 14th Doctor now. And Isaac was the seed planted in our head. They love to do that, don't they. Remember when the Queen, at the end of the Shakespeare Code, was angry at the Doctor for something he didn't do (yet), it took a few seasons before we got 'there'. This show takes it time. And the actor playing Isaac, RTD was already very familiar with him, they didn't 'use' him for 'wokeness', they used him because he is hot.

[@Scroteydada]

Newton being brown is just as accurate as the apple tree story. It don't matter

[@iwillcry]

@@Scroteydada exactly, none of the historical stories in doctor who have ever, in fact, been fully based in real history.

[@nny2dope]

Bigots like to bigot.

[@sonicsean34]

Nerdy, they do reference that the timeline has changed cos Donna and the doctor say Mavity twice in the ep after they get to the ship. It's all inconsequential and so far only a running gag but I wonder if it's gonna come up in future EPs. I also never thought about how much shit the Newton actor prob got for what was a nothing part until Clarus pointed it out, that sucks if it happened. However, he is the only non-white speaking role in the whole ep so maybe they did it to technically keep within some standards that were intended to avoid an all-white cast ep which is what we would have if not for the opening (granted such guidelines if they exist would have the intent to a worthwhile role for any minorities which didn't happen no matter how historically important Newton is) I'm speculating a lot here but it does feel mostly good intent but poor execution Edited to add: of course after I unpause Nerdy and Clarus near immediately make some of the points I made and did remember stuff like mavity being said twice. Lol

[@pabloc8808]

In this case specifically I disagree with the "all-white cast" thing, because it's not a large cast. It's just Tennant and Tate playing 2 characters each and the brief appearance of Wilf at the end. It's like complaining about an "all-white cast" in Breaking Bad's "Fly", only the two leads have speaking roles in the entire episode. If it's a larger cast with more actors having speaking roles, I think it's a weird decision at best to have no BIPOC actors, but in this case... stretch. I like the "mavity" gag though, and as much as I like this episode, I wish we got a Newton episode

[@suinegagpf]

One of the few reactors that didn't know that Wilf's actor had passed. This was his last role filmed.

[@KumaTorey]

fun fact: Tenant running on all fours. no CG, he just can do that, such an amazing actor ;D

[@Lia-zw1ls7tz7o]

10:28 That has to be an AI joke. And it's a great metaphor: AI evolving and bit by bit becoming more realistic - that's essentially what the Not-Things are.

[@nny2dope]

Why would he be stupid for saying M not GR in a word attributed to him? Calling him stupid was way more cringe than anything these 4 specials did. Even the girls expression was like "No youre stupid for that comment"

[@samfisher6606]

I really liked “Wild Blue Yonder”. It gave me big “Midnight” vibes. I liked that it was a bottle episode with just Tennant and Tate. Tennant pretending to have a seizure was hilarious! And I really saw the difference between Ten and Fourteen in this episode, with the influence of Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen. I really liked the not-things villain, especially with how they leaned into body horror, as goofy as it sometimes looked. And I loved the solve of the mystery. I think I still liked “The Star Beast” more. I was just having fun with that episode. The only thing I really can’t understand is what was the point of Fourteen choosing the wrong Donna at first. Unless it was to just add some extra tension, in which case, it feels really cheap and filler-y. Also, I don’t really see the point of the Isaac Newton “mavity” thing and Fourteen saying “gravity” that one time instead. And it was great to see Wilf again. We are getting more of him next special! R.I.P. Bernard Cribbins.

[@Deimos2k5]

I think the significance is to show the Doctor is outside of the changes of history. They change gravity to mavity and for Donna mavity has always been the right word. The Doctor remembers what it was before it changed. I assume it'll be back at some point in Ncuti's run

[@productjoe4069]

The point of the Doctor getting the wrong Donna was, I think, to make the point that not all machine fakes are going to be easy to spot. I see a lot of people not grasping how fast technology is improving. In 12 months image generation has gone from weird hands, uncanny valley to photorealistic and real-time. Within 12 months we’ll probably have the same thing for video. We can’t rely on just being able to tell when something is artificially generated, because these systems are rapidly gaining both fidelity and creativity.

[@chazo1367]

@@productjoe4069 It took the TARDIS for him to realise the Donna he grabbed was fake, the scanner was showing her arm which is how he realised.

[@zyezhang5718]

i think that specific actor was casted because he's good at his job and nothing to do with anything else?

[@Rik77]

Im pretty certain its coincidence in the isaac casting. Hes a well known very good looking actor in the uk, so its a fun bit of casting, and my understanding is he has some south asian in his family background meaning hes skightly darker than avergae. So for me people are implying that soneone who happens to have darker skin because of their generics cant be cast in some roles even when the persons skin colour is irrelevant. My partner for example is white british but he hapoens to have a darker mediterranean skin colour than avergage for a white person, despite only having a english white background. This is fairly common. It worries me that suddenly everyone had becone sensotive to this and assume it might be stunt casting. It shouldnt be something that gets commented on at all in my view, but i guess thats 2023. Weve all become sensitive due to toxic right wing politics sadly. Anyway, love the reaction and love this episode 😊

[@iwillcry]

It's bizarre how dissected and controversial any none white actor's casting has become. It really feels like we've stagnated.

[@Velociraptour]

I think it was said that the specials were meant to be like a taster of the show. So, the first special was a monster of the week, and here you've got some hard sci-fi exploration. And for the last special, we're going CAMP!

[@norlack89]

Mavity is such an incredible joke now though. Forever gravity will Mavity now 😂😂😂😂

[@suinegagpf]

"Mavity does not come up in the rest of the episode." Um, it does. Donna states the ship has it. The Doctor comments something about a Mavity well. Is it a dumb joke? Yes. But, I like that that they didn't just forget about it. They keep referring back to it. The change they inadvertently made in the past is having silly repercussions onward. Will be interested to see if the Doctor ever goes back correct it. The part that I take issue with is the Tardis is out of control and in the process of burning up, so did they really have time to crash in Newton's tree and hang about for a bit like everything is chill?

[@jasonmarbach]

“What’s your favorite John Mayer song?” 🎵🎶”Whoa-oh Mavity…”🎶🎵

[@theunboundblossom2202]

I love the mavity joke and absolutely do not care about the race of Isaac. I think there is some overthinking going on here. It’s fine to over think but it’s definitely over thinking. The joke is a joke and Isaac is a flash of a moment that leads to the joke.

[@KeithAndrewPGbiz]

I can't say I even noticed Newton had been race swapped. All I saw was "that's the guy from It's A Sin." Also, what do you mean gravity does feature in the episode? What were you watching?

[@anonagain]

The TARDIS is lactose intolerant. It was the cold milk in the coffee that did it. Thanks for the upload :-)

[@DaxRaider]

you understand the mavity of the changes that have been made

[@UserName-vb4lg]

I loved this one. So much fun watching Tennant and Tate alone together for the whole time. Agreed it was a fascinating conversation around how we impact AI by just by being ourselves. This was a good one.

[@Maxippo]

Its kind of funny that people get mad over a person of color playing issac newton for a funny gag in the episode when this is the same show that says the moon is a giant dragon egg and that the center of the earth is like a giant engine core

[@thelazygamer1639]

*When you don't know anything about The Timeless Child or The Flux so you cut those mentions entirely.*

[@jasonhebedead1710]

To be fair the actor playing Newton is bi-racial. So he is half white, and you can't even necessarily tell from a distance. He's just kind of mediterranean looking. Not that that would matter to the racists in the audience of course.

[@The_dandy_zombie]

Guys I think you need to just not care about what right jerks say about color, they were trying to be woke, they just casted a good-looking actor. Plus the bit was a very good throughline to the fact that The Doctor can be very careless with time and what he introduces to the timeline, he let Donna change what gravity is called for a joke and then he introduced superstition to the universe. It did hint at a major issue with the doctor. Besides, Russel has always been very blunt and blannant with his politic.

[@AuroraBisMe]

Spoilers: mavity is an ongoing gag throughout the next episodes, and Isaac Newton probably will show up again.

[@TheOtterBear61]

As a Wheel of Time fan, I love the shirt!

[@beethewizard]

Woke is not what the current media says it is. The race swap has nothing to do with being “Woke”. Mavity comes up several times so the character does work. The Twilight Zone is an American tv series created by Rod Serling.

[@Aetheria60]

The actor looks more like young Newton than most white actors who’ve played him and the same ones bitching about a 2 minute cameo probably would never say a word about Marlon Brando playing a Japanese man for an entire movie or any of the other countless times a white actor has played someone of another race. 🙄

[@richb313]

Lighten guys this was a great episode the next one has a good surprise.

[@stephaniecabrera-o8l]

Dr. Sues Grinch Who Stole Christmas

[@Jantzku]

I don't rly care about Newton being dark skinned here, but I think historical accuracy should be important.

[@richardwilliams5387]

Do it. Schedule be damned, watch 3 immediately. Lol.

[@iwillcry]

The intro was fun and light right before we go to horror territory, I don't really see what the fuss is about. The ongoing joke was worth it. Hopefully, the tv and film industry is going to keep progressing so casting choices like this will stop being an issue.

[@magus104]

since we didnt see the creature in midnight i like to think this is the same entities and the way it acts when it can actually have physical contact with the people its mimic it acts a bit different. such a cgi heavy episode. while i think it looked decent im wondering what it was about the long corridor that bothered me. i think having such crisp green screen for the actors and then having cgi cinematic blur? i hate cinamtic blur in the first place. let me see the set designs. sabrina pissed me off beyond belief. so much work into making those sets and they blurred the ever living crap out of all of it. but it was just kinda weird all around. dont think were used to see doctor who on a full green screen are we? i imagine you 2 wont be watching the stuff you missed before next weeks episode if you even plan to at all... but im sure there are some summary videos on youtube that could explain the chibnal nonsense plot lines of the flux and the timeless child. though ignorance is bliss you might be happier not knowing and just have any references to it just go over your heads lol. but RTD has made it very clear on screen and off that he embraces the retcons and seems to be incorporating them into the show even if just in mentions. i have come to accept the timeless child. the concept that in theory we could actually do whole seasons of doctor who with a pre Hartnell doctor. Not that they ever would. But Chibnal opened the door for that.

[@iwillcry]

RTD is a flawed writer but it bugs me to hear so many people say he ruined doctor who with these specials just bc of his "pandering" or "wokeness". Especially about the queer aspects bc queer people can write bad scenes, bad characters or bad tv and that should not mean they're the ones who ruin the queer community's chances to tell more stories (meaning; people who say this is why dw should be less queer) or keep trying to tell better stories in the future. Maybe I have a high tolerance to this stuff, as I would rather watch someone try than not have any of these themes present in the show.

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thanks, Nerdy! Thanks, Clarus! ⏳

[@FORCERSEl]

Please react to Saltburn

[@AmazingChi]

Nailed the commentary about the Isaac Newton situation. Also, kind of just detracts from the whole thing, because delete that scene (and subsequent mavity nonsense) the rest of the episode is *exactly* the same. Bang the title sequence after the TARDIS scarpers and you're done.

[@Thoroughmas]

I think it'll be paid off more in the future. It's a great idea that's been set up. Also plays into this episode's themes of 2 things being true at the same time -- it's gravity for the doctor but now mavity for everyone else.

[@iwillcry]

It's a fun scene why not have it in there? Everything doesn't have to have big consequences.

[@beng7206]

Janus. Two faces...

[@miguelpineiros1567]

Gemini

[@wavygoddess3845]

After watching your reaction video to the 1st special and now the 2nd special you seem like you don’t even like Doctor Who at all it’s just constant complaining 😳😳 and then a few points of what you like and then a bunch anti woke rhetoric it’s very weird I honestly can’t tell if you like or hate the show 😳

[@iwillcry]

it seems that they were really soured by the ending of the first special

[@VerticalBlank]

Yep the whole Isaac Newton bit could very well have been cut.

[@Scroteydada]

Well yeah but then we wouldn't have any time travel until special 3

[@iwillcry]

some fans really hate silly goofs.