He Who Moans Reviews: Doctor Who: Flux

[@sebastianesilva398]

My main criticism with Flux is that Chibnall and the rest clearly *wanted* to do an ambitious sci fi epic with big stakes, big action, big cliffhangers, big set pieces, big reveals etc...but pretty much nobody knew how to execute it well.

[@jeckjeck3119]

And 6 episodes they were left with didn't help.

[@EyeoftheU]

>but pretty much nobody knew how to execute it well Well, isn't that the whole Chibnall Era in a nutshell?

[@Shadowkey392]

@@EyeoftheU more like nobody had enough time to do it well. Chibnall can be a real wiz when he gets the time to properly plan things out. Just look at the first two seasons of Broadchurch.

[@jonathansarmiento1739]

@@Shadowkey392 it's also because the producer in the show keeps him in check. it's why Broadchurch and Torchwood were so good. Same producer to reel Chris in when he fucked up too much.

[@themonado5030]

Was made during covid

[@TAMThomasTAM]

The Doctor has been with Yaz her whole incarnation. From her regeneration story, wherein she met Yaz, she has been travelling with her without pause. The few times she isn't in the same scene as Yaz, like Can You Hear Me, she verbally explained that she's not used to being away from her companions, so we know that she can't have gone on any significant adventures without them. She was in prison for 19 years, but it would be weird to say she broke out and travelled around for a time without them. This essentially means, when Big Finish and other media starts telling 13th Doctor stories, they must have Yaz with her otherwise it wouldn't make sense. What makes this worse is that while the Doctor hasn't had any opportunistic time away from her, Yaz, Jericho, and Dan had three whole years of trekking around the globe on various adventures without the Doctor. There is more storytelling opportunities for Yaz, Jericho, and Dan stories than there is for standalone Doctor stories in this era. Wild.

[@AurumEtAes]

The Second Doctor was almost in the same boat with Jamie being introduced in his second story and staying until his last story

[@theoutcastboi]

Yeah, this is an annoyance. I'm sure Big Finish will massively improve Yaz, and there's definitely room for solo adventures somewhere, considering 13 has been alone on occasion in the expanded universe. But, like with the 2nd and 5th Doctors, 13 is stuck with the same companions their entire run. Though it's worse, because atleast the 2nd and 5th Doctors had a variety of TARDIS team formations, especially the later, whereas 13 only has Ryan, Graham and Yaz, just Yaz or Yaz and Dan.

[@thefonzkiss]

That doesn’t mean anything though. 9 was always with Rose and they have countless spin-off stories and Big Finish stuff.

[@theoutcastboi]

@@thefonzkiss The thing is though, there's a big gap before the 9th Doctor met Rose. Rose wasn't there when War regenerated into him, so there's an inbuilt narrative gap there. 13 doesn't have that gap, because she met Yaz immediately after her Regeneration, and seemingly Yaz will be there when she sustains the injury that cause her to Regenerate. Yaz will have been there for 13's entire life, pretty much.

[@jwwprod3862]

@@AurumEtAes The thing with Jamie though is that or though it is very true that Jamie has essentially been with the 2nd Doctor his entire run with the exception of the 2nd Doctor's first story Power of the Daleks, the thing is though there is no true indication that The Highlanders (Jamie's first appearance) takes place directly after Power Of the Daleks, so there's potential EU stuff for 2nd Doctor stories with just Polly and Ben Jackson. However with the 13th Doctor and Yaz, Yaz has essentially been with the 13th Doctor since day 1 and there hasn't really been any indication that the 13th Doctor has been travelling without Yaz at all, maybe there was at the start of Spyfall but I'm not sure because right at the end of the previous episode Resolution we see Yaz, Graham and Ryan depart in the TARDIS with the 13th Doctor.

[@crpalstuck2966]

Series 11: Chris Chibnall attempting to make his version of the show be as accessible as possible to a wide audience and failing miserably due to writing Series 12: Chris Chibnall focusing mainly on old villains and fanwanking to try and get viewers back and failing miserably due to writing Series 13 Flux: Chris Chibnall's fanfiction he made back in high school that no one can understand whatsoever.

[@BH-98]

The 2022 specials: Chris Chibnall attempts to conclude his era in a big & satisfying way

[@Yan_Alkovic]

Well, no, the fanfic started at the end of Series 12.

[@ealadubh4800]

Torchwood: Chris Chibnall can't write high-stakes high-concept endings for shit. Moffat Who: Chris Chibnall can't write high-stakes high-concept endings for shit. Series 11: Chris Chibnall can't write high-stakes high-concept endings for shit. Series 12: Chris Chibnall can't write high-stakes high-concept endings for shit. Series 13: Chris Chibnall can't write high-stakes high-concept endings for shit. He can't write them because as Stu points out, he doesn't know when to stop with his ideas. But it's more fundamental than that; he jams ideas together without any thinking through as to whether they fit or whether doing so will raise further questions. The Flux is a great idea. The Lupari shield protecting Earth is a great idea. Put the two in the same story though and the very first question that springs to mind is 'what happens to the Sun then'. When even the foundations of your story have holes this big, what chance does everything else you try to hang off it have?

[@Neil070]

@@ealadubh4800 I hadn't thought about the Sun, though it's glaringly (sorry) obvious that Earth needs the Sun to maintain life, the Moon to regulate the tides and keep the Earth's axis and orbit stable (I think) and the giant planets to hoover up most of the space crap. Oddly, that was the gripe I had with the Stolen Earth. So, why didn't I spot the same giant plothole in Flux? Could it be that it was because I had lost the will to live, never mind invest my cognitive skills in trying to follow the steaming pile of compost taking up my Sunday night viewing? Flux was the moment when I finally admitted to myself that watching DW had become a habit, a hope that perhaps I might stumble across the episode that marked a renaissance, a return to good Doctor Who stories, with a coherent plot, 3 dimensional characters, and a structure which didn't require a flow chart and reams of notes to follow. It's like the lottery. You know your chances of success are vanishingly slim, but you keep trying

[@kevinmarriott8698]

Replace 'due to writing' with 'due to different viewer habits'. Pretty sure Fear Her, which followed Love and Monsters did pretty well.

[@drinnik]

Mary Seacole is such a good historical character for Doctor Who: a Jamaican widow opening a “hotel”’ in the middle of a war in the Ukraine. She was the best thing about that episode, but was criminally underused.

[@crpalstuck2966]

This is what I just hate so much about Chibnall's historical episodes, you have these incredibly interesting historical figures and he just either boils down their identity/character or sidelines them for the bs alien-of-the-week

[@sycoraxrock]

“Criminally Underused: An Oral History Of The Chibnall Era”

[@jamesknighton4489]

Was that proven wrong and the reason why she went to Ukraine because it was an opportunity for her to make money?

[@jvblhc]

@@crpalstuck2966 One that really seemed to work for me was the Tesla story. Which, naturally, was written by someone else not named Chibnall. In fact, for the most part, the 13th Doctor stories I actually liked were usually written by other writers, not Chibs.

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

@@jamesknighton4489 Not that I've ever heard. Could be true, but that sounds a bit conspiracy theory-ish to me.

[@britanimations2002]

"Like it or not Tharries, I am your future" that felt like it came out of nowhere but made me laugh more than it should have. (shit this man is my future to, sad times)

[@paulflint6254]

im subbed to Tharries .

[@thatbloodypanda6989]

@@paulflint6254 I'm so sorry

[@paulflint6254]

@@thatbloodypanda6989 you replied . Tharries couldn't care less .

[@thatbloodypanda6989]

@@paulflint6254 ok

[@paulflint6254]

@@thatbloodypanda6989 no likes from Tharries

[@achromat666]

"It plays like a series of scenes, rather than a coherent narrative" is the crux of EVERYTHING Chibnall has done as showrunner of this show. Some interesting ideas here, lots of random characters all about, mix in some attempts at fan service and you get Chibnall Who. But it almost never equals a coherent story with a logical beginning middle and end. It's just a bunch of stuff that happens.

[@CallMeCrazyCallMePoor]

Looking back, the 13th Doctor's character arc was about not letting her past mistakes define her and trusting others. She was introduced as a rejuvinated, motivated doctor trying to project an optimistic disposition and throwing herself into conflict without explaining herself to her companions. Then she was given a reason to doubt herself, her hidden past, and tries to carry the burden alone. Her story should have ended with her becoming more honest with Yaz, and being more honest because she doesn't need to pretend to be the Doctor, she is the Doctor. Sadly, this was just not put to screen.

[@EditedAF987]

The Grand Serpent being exiled reminded me of the scene from Phoenix Smith’s Doctor who parody fan films where the Doctor just resolves the plot by telling Razzilon that he’s banished, so Razzilon just casually leaves. Doctor who is now officially making mediocre remakes of fan made shitposts and I have no idea how to feel about it.

[@BH-98]

Wait was that parody film made before or after Hell Bent?

[@EditedAF987]

@@BH-98 oh shit I forgot about Hell Bent. Yeah the episode came out in 2017 so it was definitely parodying that. But Rassilon’s exile during Hell Bent in of itself was actually cool and kind of satisfying, the way the Doctor barely spoke any words, daring the soldiers to kill him, until they all purposefully miss and walk over an join him, leaving Rassilon a pathetic rambling mess before the general tells him to get off the planet. Even if you believe Rassilon’s fate was an anti climax, you can’t deny that the creative team put a lot of effort into selling it to the audience. Phoenix Smith and Jacob C Rose made fun of that by stripping away all the grandeur and awe from the moment and turned it into a deliberate anticlimax. And that’s what the Grand Serpent’s finale felt like. There’s no tension in the moment, no clever outsmarting of the serpent, no satisfying payoff for Vinder and Stewart (the two characters who had deep seated rivalries with the serpent established). The whole thing just felt like Chibnall wanted to get rid of the serpent quickly because he was wrapping things up and couldn’t be bothered to put the effort in.

[@dr.feelgoodmalusphillips2475]

@@EditedAF987 Still, drinking that Stevie boy wonder cook aid eh?

[@MerelyAFan]

Really, Flux is Chibnall repeating the same problem of execution he had in Timeless Child; potentially interesting ideas aren't explored due to the pacing and overemphasis on having shocking reveals. Thus, the whole enterprise becomes the television equivalent of jangling keys in front of the audience (Sontarans! Weeping Angels! Fugitive Doctor!) so they don't think about what little answers they're actually getting or the actual lack of depth from the character drama. It's amazing to me that once upon a time Danny and Clara's relationship issues once got focus throughout an entire series under Moffat, meanwhile under Chibnall a terrible betrayal by the Doctor's revealed parental figure gets relegated to a subplot for 1-2 episodes.

[@WokeBegone]

It's JJ Abrams influential mystery box braindead approach, get wheels spinning regardless of whether you can explain said wheels somewhere down the road. Make it all fast and breathless enough and you MAY fool some of the people. Some of the time. But only stupid people.

[@AlmeaCulpa]

I feel like a Dalek Time Loop story could be so good, but it was Chib'd. It really is such a good concept.

[@WokeBegone]

@@AlmeaCulpa I feel like you posted this in response to the wrong video or wrong comment. This is about Flux. I believe you're responding to Eve of the Daleks?

[@AlmeaCulpa]

@@WokeBegone I was saying that since the original comment said about potentially interesting ideas that weren't executed well

[@WokeBegone]

@@AlmeaCulpa Ah ok. You were riffing on an old comment about Chibnalls failings, about a later episode. Gotcha. As you can see from my other comment here, I clearly hate Chibnalls era, but Eve of the Daleks... I just found fun. After the shitshow that was flux, I expected nothing and so was surprised that I wasn't dry-heaving. It kind of made sense, barely, because the Tardis is implied to have helped them (even if the minute lost each time doesn't exactly make sense, it's Chibnall with his usual "ticking clock" trope), and after Flux, let's face it, a simple story is going to feel sooooo much better.

[@cheese3277]

"doctor who flux is such an ingenious idea that never been don before" insert trial of the time lords right here

[@thefonzkiss]

And Dimensions in Time for the characters changing mid-conversation thing.

[@cheese3277]

@@thefonzkiss Man the chibnall era is even being compared to dimensions in time russel couldn't of come sooner

[@ealadubh4800]

I think the fact they used the Impact font for the captions - the default font for all memes ever - is the most telling thing about what The Halloween Apocalypse thinks of itself. LOOK LOOK LOOK AT THESE IMPORTANT AND IMPACTFUL THINGS THAT WE KNOW MAKE NO SENSE OUT OF CONTEXT BUT YOU'LL BE REFERENCING FOREVER.

[@JAProductions494]

If the episode count was cut down due to COVID then I understand. What I don’t understand is why they kept all of the same plot points and just CRAMMED it all in 6 episodes. Would it really have been a loss to cut one of the plot lines to allow the series to flow better? Either way, I feel like Flux is very flawed but I do enjoy it (it’s certainly not boring) Great vid Stu

[@ealadubh4800]

Something's gone badly wrong when the heel-turn in The Five Doctors carries more weight and personal impact to the Doctor that we've actually seen than the one in Survivors Of The Flux does.

[@britishnerd3919]

Sorry what heel turn are you referring to?

[@bookswithike3256]

@@britishnerd3919 Probably Borusa's?

[@Neil070]

By heel turn, are you referring to the fact that the Doctor supposedly went on the run from his own people again? Though I still, after all these years and so many viewings, cannot understand why the Doctor was apparently unable to simply say "no, thanks, I don't want to be President"

[@bookswithike3256]

@@Neil070 I'm pretty sure it's referring to how Borusa was the Doctor's mentor, and in a few previous stories, his most trusted ally, so his betrayal hits pretty badly.

[@RobTFilms]

It is super fucking weird that they introduce Dan as a companion, and he barely spends any time with The Doctor. I remember in the build up to Flux they were promoting Vinder as another new companion, and that they'd focus more on Yaz's mental health, both of which didn't even happen?

[@crpalstuck2966]

Honestly you could just as easily slot Vinder or Jericho as the new companion for this season instead of Dan, they spend about as much time with the Doctor as him.

[@pious83]

To think, before this, I was quite looking forward to the return of serials to Doctor Who. A modern storyline akin to The Invasion or Genesis of the Daleks... Turns out Chibnall didn't know how to structure a serial, full stop. *_Sigh_* Swarm/Azure/Flux - Antagonists and threat Dan & Karvanista - New companion/allies That's it. That is all the self-titled *Flux* serial should have contained. Even rework episode one into War of the Sontarans. Give it the alt-history concept so that the Doctor knows something is off with time. Cue episode ends with the return to present day and ...Flux!

[@codyw1]

"Turns out Chibnall didn't know how to structure a serial, full stop." I figured that out from season 1 of Broadchurch.

[@pious83]

@@codyw1 Indeed. I like to remind myself that Chibnall professes to being a "fan" of Classic Who. The Classic era, which featured nothing _but_ serials. This pivotal detail seems to have eluded him...

[@britanimations2002]

Just want it to be clear, the Daleks and Cybermen only fell into the trap for the soul reason that thee Sontarans owned the only possible defence against the Flux, so they would've been Fluxed if they didn't accept the Sontaran's proposal in the end.

[@steveosborne3714]

Or, sole reason, even. :D

[@TimothyCollins]

Here is a question - if this thing was basically a cloud of antimatter set to destroy the whole universe... how could something as relatively small as a few thousand starships stop it by throwing too much matter at it? I kinda sat there and watched that and started to question that logic hole. And it's not a very good idea for Dr Who to have me start questioning it in the moment because... "Suspension of disbelief" is a definite requirement for this show.

[@jefferyyoung2580]

Don't like the new Dr.who 😒

[@rueblie2627]

@@TimothyCollins I think the idea was the flux has to grow from its starting spot to be all universe eaty so throwing all the ships at it as it was generating stopped it before it could really begin They don’t actually say that directly but it kind of makes sense

[@TimothyCollins]

@@rueblie2627 that makes some sense I guess... thing was, if I am focusing on plot problems in the moment I see it, that's a problem for the show. I mean if I'd accepted it in the moment and questioned it later on, I'd say I was nitpicking. But when I sit there watching the scene and contemporaneously asking the question... it's a problem.

[@ColHanko]

Petition to make “doctor who ducks” a thing

[@Stubagful]

quack

[@DCSMedia]

@@Stubagful can I write it please QUACK

[@Stubagful]

Yes but every line of dialogue must be written in Duck language

[@BH-98]

@@DCSMedia just don’t let Steven Moffat near your script, he’ll remove the ducks using his series 5 cracks.

[@Lizzieaftermidnight]

@@Stubagful funnily enough my dad used to own a figure of the eleventh Doctor as a duck. It was called Ductor who

[@heskymarky]

My favourite part was when Dan said "it's fluxin time" and just absolutely fluxed all over the place, definitely one of the Dr.Who stories of all time

[@chrispy3369]

Imagine if 13 was in Genesis of the Daleks. She would've connected those two piece of wire together without skipping a beat and genociding the entire Dalek race in less than 5 seconds. No "Do I have the Right?" just large scale genocide.

[@Jedi_Spartan]

At least Flux gave us the Stu type comedic gold that gets generated whenever you and Jay stream. 11:10 There's bound to be some form of expanded media story that shows that the Doctor and Dan went on half a dozen adventures between defeating the modern day Sontarans and reaching the planet Time... 44:20 I never thought I'd see the day where Stu compared Doctor Who to Hollyoaks: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iX3NkKenbZqJma8

[@jeckjeck3119]

Maybe Evil Dan will be canonized.

[@Yan_Alkovic]

That and Evil Dan.

[@Yan_Alkovic]

@@jeckjeck3119 YAAAS I want that as badly as I want Weird Al to play the Doctor!

[@Jedi_Spartan]

@@TonightTheMusicSeemsSoLoudd well, he did an entire video on it a few years ago.

[@greghawkins59]

I'd love an episode where instead of the doctor stating the year, they walk past some locals who say something like "1850 is so gonna be my year"

[@Neil070]

Rose does that during 10's "farewell tour", it's New Year's Eve and she says "2005 is going to be amazing", or something

[@greghawkins59]

@Neil070 that was a callback tho, I'm just thinking that can be how they find out when they are on a random adventure.

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

It's not the same, but Unicorn and the Wasp has the Doctor find out that it's the 1920s by smelling the air, whereas Donna just points out the 1920s car that's down the road.

[@KeplersDream]

Anyone remember the old game 'The Movies'? The AI generated movies that your studio produced consisted of random scenes cobbled together in ways that were head-scratchingly baffling and if there was any semblance of sense, it was purely accidental. Chibnall used it to write this mess.

[@TimothyCollins]

Here's a simple way to fix Flux : Ep 1 - we meet Dan. He is kidnapped and the Dr becomes involved, meeting the dog people and realizing they know something about the Division AND can protect earth from the flux. Ep 2 : The Dr samples the flux, realizes it is a break in time or something and traces it back to the Crimean war with the Sontarans invading. She forces the invasion to a standstill and travels to the planet of time by tracing the flux backward. Ep 3: On the way to the planet of time the Angels show up, split people up due to their properties and the Dr ends up on Time, Dan and Yaz in the village in England. Ep 4: We have a meeting between the skull faced people and they explain their plan. The Doctor agains fights them to a standstill for now and goes to find Dan and Yaz. Ep 5: (Taking place at the same time as Ep 4) dan/Yaz dealing with Angels in the English village Ep 6 : The Dr shows up, reunites everyone, travels back to Time and defeats the skull people. They were there to steal the fob watch to grab the Dr's memories to find a parallel universe to flee to after the flux had destroyed this one. The Dr defeats them and restores the universe. We can still end with her dropping the watch into the TARDIS. Remove about 60% of the subplots, split the cast up for only 2 eps and provide the villains with a plan and motivation.

[@TimothyCollins]

PS - we can leave the "Who started the flux?" as an open question for the specials. Sure, keep it the older woman or whatever. Maybe make it her working with Gallifrey and the Division as par of an echo fo the Time War or something, whatever. That wouldn't take more than one episode of the specials.

[@TimothyCollins]

Better yet - make the flux all of that above but make it be a decision by Gallifrey during the Time War because... dun dun dun.... The Dr refused to use the Moment at the climactic moment, thereby having weight by it not only being the Dr's adoptive mother but also because of a decision by the Dr.

[@Whiteythereaper]

The Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyndrobwllllantisiliogogogoch title card fucking killed me. Bravo.

[@ckmoak]

I may be nitpicking too much, but I got hung up on The “I have offered at least six mass murderers pardons because I’m such a pacifist” Doctor immediately assume ls that a swarm of immigrants from a space disaster would be coming exclusively to wreck and take over Earth Esther than, idk, refuge. I fear Chibnall’s politics may have shown there.

[@christianwise637]

It's doubly frustrating considering he's made this exact same questionable decision before, when he had the Doctor refer to a Dalek as a "refugee" back in Resolution, though I think this is more a case of Chibnall being careless and not thinking through the implications of his text

[@UnleashTheGhouls]

At last! Been waiting for this one, great to see you back in the Doctor Who saddle Stu!

[@nestormiddleton8094]

Flux was a cluster flux. Some outstanding acting wasted in over the top Virgin New Adventures style OTT-ness.

[@regiman222]

11:04 True, by the end of Flux he's more Yaz's companion than 13's, which is honestly, just sad.

[@BH-98]

I kinda like that dynamic where Dan is the new guy who follows & relies on the more experienced companion Yaz to follow what’s going on & get answers whilst the Doctor is too preoccupied with loads of other things. I would’ve liked more scenes between 13 & Dan to build up more of a connection between the 2.

[@mudkipqueen920]

My biggest problem with the flux is that at the end, literally nothing gets fixed. Half the universe got deleted and it doesn't get repaired or even mentioned past the new years special.

[@steveandjeanniefrith236]

The stuff with Williamson's Tunnels was better than I expected and the Joseph Williamson actor did well. Surprisingly.

[@edward4840]

What would've been cool is if the first episode you meet Dan and he runs into the Doctor after she and Yaz are already chasing the Flux. You have whatever happens in the first episode happen, then the next few episodes are the Doctor, Yaz and Dan going from planet to planet, villain to villain (maybe chasing the two big villains through those worlds like Terry Nation always wanted to do) and then you have each episode be semi self-contained while also being more properly connected between the stories

[@ShamrockParticle]

"Snakedance" uses some tropes from "The Power if the Daleks" . "Enlightenment" and "The Awakening" are taking plot points from "The War Games". is anything really new or just borrowed too soon?

[@SamWickens]

OK, I really like your 6-epidose Daleks vs Cybermen vs Sontarans series concept...but on the other hand #justiceforRutans! Seriously, the Sontarans were put in a situation to wipe out their main rivals using the Flux, and the Rutan Host wasn't even among their priorities.

[@gladiator652004]

Did the Flux evaporate planets or did it mess up time? This wasn't clear. For me, that meant "Flux" wasn't really a story but, as you put it, an unfocused mess. Love your visual aids.

[@moonsofmadness8850]

I wholeheartedly agree on "Blink" being the only story we needed about Weeping Angels. They're so overdone as to be toothless and not scary or creepy any more.

[@crpalstuck2966]

So you're saying you've become a Doctor Who Boomer? Nice, me too.

[@hada__02]

“Whomer”

[@evaserration6223]

Boomsday

[@TheSkully343]

Boom Town... #Surf'sUp

[@DakNJaxter]

While the way it works was unclear up to this point, IIRC, Village has a throw-away line about how the Angel had to focus to manifest themselves through the image, so that would suggest it's more like, "that which contains the image of an angel, becomes a portal for an Angel". Though that doesn't explain how one was able to plant themselves in Amy's eye like a mine. However, theory: The reason that Moffat added the "that which contains the image of an Angel, becomes an Angel" rule, was to spook little kids who had drawn Weeping Angel fan art So maybe it's futile to think about it in terms of mechanical consistency. I think Vindor and Bel's stories worked fairly well in isolation prior to their revealed relationship. Bel's depicting the desolate post-flux universe (thought this ultimately doesn't matter much), and Vindor's, showing him put his principles over his high-status position. However, Tecteun was a completely damp squib, and I don't see them mining any value out of it at this point. Unless somehow she isn't dead. Emotional investment aside, we didn't even learn exactly what Divisions values are. Just that they're vaguely nefarious. For such a significant lore addition, it's remarkably low-impact.

[@creed8712]

You can tell which series was Chibnalls least favorite when he thinks the big twist that the time lords are “Decadent, degenerate and rotten to the core” means something to anyone who’s watched any episode with a timelord in it Also I thought Unit didn’t exist anymore because modern politics happened

[@bookswithike3256]

I mean that thing about UNIT was a flashback to showing us what exactly the modern politics was. Turns out it was just the Grand Serpent's plan... for some reason?

[@paxtenebrae]

I think the complaints on the overcomplication of the angels is one that probably could be leveled at just about every alien threat in Doctor Who undergoing the metamorphosis from clever one-off foe to Classic Doctor Who Monster. Remember that period where cybermen were allergic to gold? I see that as pretty equivalent to the image of an angel business in that it sort of made sense kind of in the story where it got brought up, but was incredibly debilitating to telling stories with those enemies going forward. Honestly, I think this happened a lot with aliens now considered classic. It's just that most of the growing pains occurred before a lot of us were even alive. At least the angels are compelling enough people are interested in doing something with them still. The only other NuWho addition to the Doctor's foes I can think of is The Silence and they got squandered so completely I doubt if we'll ever even see them again.

[@DonHbankz]

18:15 - 18:25 is the summary of Chibnalls entire era bar maybe s11 and it’s only missing the blatant copying from popular nuwho episodes themes idea and extended content but done with none of the finesse that is sprinkled in and the depression inducing dialogue. I also agree with your Dan point I feel more connected to him in one episode than I still do for the 13 Doctor and Yaz entire run and I know that the evil Dan memes definitely played a part but Dan was one of the reasons I could even watch this mess even tho he had little screen time and then became Yaz’s hype man(like Graham) for the rest of the flux thingy.

[@regiman222]

0:15 Yeah, let's just pretend the Classic series never existed. I mean Chibnall sure as hell wants us to forget.

[@alexrobertssings]

Why does the Grand Serpent look like a Cosmic Keir Starmer?

[@jadey1422]

I feel like I'm in a weird mix of the stages. Stage 1 for big finish and bits of classic who, plus other experiences like Time Fracture and making memories with my kiddo, stage 2 when I am actively watching the new stuff but stage 3 going into it. I am not expecting greatness and enjoying picking it apart. But this is OK. Cause when the next Heaven Sent or Bill Potts comes along I'll be genuinely blown away.

[@sjacpswbs03162005]

being concise doesn't necessarily mean dumbing it down to for the general public though

[@ishathakor]

the main issue with flux is while chibnall has experience writing serialized narrative dramas, he still doesn't really understand how to write science fiction. i thought the structure of flux would help chibnall by playing to his strengths, and it did to an extent. but he's just lost with sci fi. and with doctor who. it's like he doesn't really understand what the appeal of doctor who is, so he's trying to throw everything at the wall and hoping something will stick. sontarans, weeping angels, old enemies you know, old enemies you don't know, fugitive doctor lore, new companion, alien bromance, the doctor's adoptive mom, time itself. but none of it is put together into a cohesive story. they're all just various elements floating around the story without direction. some of the individual episodes are good, but they're mostly good because they have very little to do with all the 50 other things going on in the rest of the universe. village of the angels is a good, focused story.

[@potterlover96]

Was it ever answered as to why Swarm looked completely different after escaping his prison? Like it's a completely different actor and costume but I it just kinda happened and was never explained.... And please no " you just weren't watching closely" answers.... I've rewatched it and still don't understand why that happened

[@kylejones8289]

The implication seems to be that he regenerated after absorbing that Time Lord guard in the first episode, but it's never elaborated on, stated directly, or made clear. It's another bit of really sloppy writing in other words.

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

I totally thought they were going to make the Ravagers be the Doctor's real species from the other universe from The Timeless Children.

[@gordonw.8831]

Damn it Stu, you forgot to draw Moffat's massive massive brain in his drawings.

[@ftumschk]

It was there, but it was dwarfed by Chibnall's and invisible at that scale.

[@MrRjhyt]

I don't know what stage of fan I'm at... Not quite old enough to have caught the very beginning. _My doctor_ was Tom Baker briefly but most Peter Davison. I was excited for it to return in 2005, and loved how much faster it was on relaunch. Recently, I took to rewatching some classic Who. I genuinely can't understand why I loved the original show. It was painfully hard to watch. With so much filler, and so many dull or repetitive episodes. Too dull to even sit through. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the new version. That same apathy gripped me by the throat as I half-heartedly watched Flux.

[@steveandjeanniefrith236]

And Chibs called Trial of a Time Lord confusing. Ironic.

[@WhiskeyBrewer]

My main issue is that Chibnall tried to cram too much into 6 episodes. They could have cut out The Grand Serpent or made him to be the Human form of Swarm, like they did with Azure and that random woman. That streamlines that part. Also maybe not wipe out the Lupari And also Tectuen was absolutely wasted. They could have cut her appearance and saved most of The Division stuff for one of Jodie's last specials. And in regards to doing other 13 stories without Yaz, it can be done due to those few times 13 goes off by herself when she goes back to the ruins of Gallifrey. She could have solo adventures in those moments.

[@BH-98]

I was happy to hear the return of “for some reason” catchphrase.

[@bosstoober8782]

I did phase 2 and 1 backwards. 13 being shit is part of what inspired me to get into big finish and teh classics

[@tophatgeo]

Omergod, tharries is the fugitive stu??

[@ftumschk]

...that means that the Valeyard Stu is still out there, unidentified.

[@christianwise637]

@@ftumschk Not to mention the War Stu...

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

@@christianwise637 Surely Jay is the War Stu? Harbo is the Valeyard Stu?

[@mikiwibu]

16:09 Ok, here’s my theory on that. Flux was going to be just Series 13, as you said, but this was for a very brief period of time. By summer 2020 the decision was taken to make it 8 episodes, they literally announced it would be 8. If you look at some filming and BTS images for Village of the Angels the filming slates are labeled 5. This could be the filming blocks but what do I know. You can guess how the structure would have differed but another 100 minutes probably would not have helped, unless you cut the ridiculous amount of fat and random, nonsensical, pointless cogs in this machine of nothingness Chibnall has built, out. Why did the cut it down further? This decision was probably made when the BBC asked Chibnall to write the Centenary special. I would go on about what all this means and give my personal thoughts but I’m already tired and skipped to acceptance. Hopefully RTD2 will be intellectually stimulating and comprehensible.

[@oliverraven]

The Centenary special isn't due to air until November 2063, so maybe Chibnall can actually come up with some decent and well-executed ideas by then.

[@BH-98]

@@oliverraven 🤦‍♂️

[@oliverraven]

@@BH-98 Please explain what I keep missing about the word 'Centenary'?

[@BH-98]

@@oliverraven The centenary special is referring to the episode set to air on the 100th anniversary of the BBC later this year, not Doctor Who’s 100th anniversary. & even if it was Chibnall wouldn’t be writing it because he’d either be retired or dead.

[@oliverraven]

@@BH-98 Oh, that would explain it! Thanks.

[@AvengerVincent]

I'm at the end of my early 20s and I already reached Stage 3 by this point.

[@jamesstewart7736]

I think Stu has hit the nail on the head here? I felt this was a Frankenstein season cobbled together rather crudely from stories which were originally intended to be separate. It still somehow manages to be slightly better than Legend of the Sea Drivels though 🤔

[@hada__02]

I love how Stu is so old that he still thinks Ermahgerd is still a relevant meme. Never change Stu

[@robd9413]

Question is: What happened in Episode 13.4.5? Answers on a postcard. At the end of 13.4, the Doctor has been turned into an Angel and Yas and Dan being trapped in a time-locked 1901 village floating in space. Then at the start of 13.5, the Doctor is returned to normal and Yas and Dan have been globetrotting round early 20th Century Earth for 3 years. Erm...how did they get back? What did we miss? What did they want in Mexico and how did they get there? (this is 1901-1904 so pre-flight so would take quite a bit longer to globetrot, just ask Jules Verne). Also how did the Grand Serpent go from ruling some Empire to just randomly showing up on Earth. If you suppose the Doctor spends the whole episode as a time-locked stone statue then you can suppose she missed it all and you can write what you like. Season 6B strikes again (if you don't know what that is, look it up.)

[@TheRauzKindred]

Was looking for a recap video to skip over the jumbled mess of the last few seasons and be somewhat caught up to give the new stuff a fresh chance, but this was a more entertaining alternative, I think. lol

[@ironnoah9461]

Well, it's a good thing I got The Macra Terror for Christmas then. Also I plan on chiseling out War of the Sontarans and Village of the Angels to add on to the multitude of stories I plan on making. Some day, I dunno.

[@danielwilliamson6180]

I passed on Flux as I am presently taking break from watching Doctor Who.

[@jedisalsohere]

I did like Vinder. Although that might just be Jacob Anderson being a really charismatic performer - though the actual best thing about the series is easily Dan.

[@AurumEtAes]

Best thing about the series is Evil Dan

[@Minglesmoot]

@@AurumEtAes “Ho ho! Scared me there…”

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

For some reason I was fairly impartial to Vinder for a while, he was alright. But then in The Vanquishers, I suddenly warmed to him a lot more.

[@jedisalsohere]

@@Minglesmoot "But I'm good at this!"

[@Thomas_of_the_forest]

Oh I've been looking forwars to this...

[@joelsoetendorp3279]

Is it like trial of a time lord? Where the bbc changed the episode length so they changed the story around it. But chibnal has admitted he was burnt out and couldn't be bothered to make major changes

[@coyotehater]

I’ve been a Who fan since the Fifth Doctor, & say what you want about the JNT era, there were plenty of damn good stories. With one exception, Fugitive of the Judoon, the Chibnall era has been mostly forgettable. I don’t blame Jodie, she has done the best she can with what she had to work with. I just don’t think Chibs gave her very good material. Which is sad, because Broadchurch was outstanding.

[@MrPyroCrab]

I have no reluctance in saying the Chibnall era is the worst Doctor Who has ever been. As trash as the Sixth Doctor era was, it was a self contained kind of bad. The Twin Dilemma sucked but when the Doctor enters the TARDIS at the end its over, we're never seeing that stupid slug or the autistic twins again. Chibnall on the other hand has proceeded to take a sledgehammer to pretty much all of the shows lore. Some idiots on Twitter like to say it doesn't matter. It does. The Time Lords are just ruined now and the Doctor is retroactively a mary sue.

[@ahumanbeingfromtheearth1502]

@@MrPyroCrab for fucks sake, stop using autistic as an insult.

[@MrPyroCrab]

@@ahumanbeingfromtheearth1502 You're right, on further introspection, I think I do have a deeply ingrained subconscious hatred of people on the autism spectrum. If I had to guess, it probably started when I was diagnosed as a child. I think from there it was all downhill in terms of my prejudice against... myself I guess. One would think that my preference towards such jokes would simply be the result of a certain amount of edge in my sense of humour manifesting as a response to the profoundly disappointing state of the world today, as well as a healthy dosage of self deprecation... but you and I know better. I profoundly thank you for making baseless assumptions about my supposed Neurotypicality and dictating to a member of the very minority you are attempting to protect what they should be offended by. You have truly changed my life.

[@SmartSmears]

@@MrPyroCrab gold star for being in the right and somehow still unbelievably cringe

[@ShamrockParticle]

@Smart Smears considering NuWho has used bog standard stick figures since 2005 if not earlier, seeing any neurodiversity who act differently might be refreshing?

[@TheJaviferrol]

I've had too much experience with Moffat carrrot baiting the shit outta revealing stuff about the Doctors past without resolutions that i couldnt care less at this about the damn watch

[@cheese3277]

and moffat at least had good episodes

[@ftumschk]

@@cheese3277 ... and wrote entertaining, witty dialogue. In good English, too, unlike Bel's message to Vinder about their "as-yet unborn child". I'm still trying to work out if that makes grammatical sense, and it certainly isn't what any normal person would say ;)

[@cheese3277]

@@ftumschk I would be mad at this but like stu. i'd rather go back to sleep

[@MatgoStyles]

Chibnall needs a strict script writer as there is so much potential but so much slack needs losing each time. However, whatever anyone says about the writing, I don't think anyone can deny that Jodie acted her heart out during Flux.

[@DMG00111-p]

I can't believe the BBC ever gave him a show to run

[@theoncomingstorm7903]

I do feel Flux would benefit from a recut to move elements from the story around to when they're more relevant. Allowing the Sontaran and Atropos sections to play as one continuous event rather than intercutting and in general streamlining pieces here and there. Won't wholly fix the Vanquishers but should do wonders for the pacing and coherence of the event. Would make it a more solid, if still flawed piece of media.

[@nikonbear7882]

The FLUX recut could be called REFLUX!

[@NeahNadie]

Lol. I entered Stage 3 myself as of last year! haha. It took me about 8-9(?) years to get there, so you hung in there longer than I did!! (also now in my 30's) Appreciate the coherent and helpful synopsis. It brought a bit of "ah, that's it" to the mess that's been my feelings about this incarnation since it began and (almost) ended.

[@WokeBegone]

If the Sontarans had always been there... and you missed this... Wouldn't they have conquered the world already? Fixating on the motivations of the Crimean war is a minor haggle in comparison.

[@JAProductions494]

Random question, are you planning on reviewing the Evil of the Daleks animation? If not, that’s fine. Was just curious

[@steveosborne3714]

This video of yours, Stuart, and I sincerely mean it, is a work of genius. It's brilliantly scripted and flawlessly delivered. I haven't laughed so much in a long time. Keep up the great work, man.

[@Vidyut_Gore]

I don't understand the Techteun thing at all. She tortured the Timeless child, etc. okay. But weren't the Doctor's memories of that time wiped? We saw him sleeping in that barn as a child, scared of monsters under the bed, etc and Clara helps him come to terms with his fear. He lived with some sort of family/parents - shouldn't those people be the ones Jodie remembers? As in, forget feeling betrayed, etc - how does she even know her as a parent at all?

[@ealadubh4800]

Awwww, you put in the electric splumbydoo JUST FOR ME. :)

[@JoboVT]

Sorry stu I'm pretty sure my brain's off and on switch has been super glued to stay on so I can't turn it off and enjoy the pretty colours

[@sinom]

imo it would have been interesting if the flux were a timewar weapon instead of something some random organization we never heard about made.

[@waapfu]

Cheeky couple years late but as someone who has no idea who John Bishop is (I had no idea acting wasn't his main gig, I thought he was doing a great job), I found Dan to be delightful. He was funny and charming and throughout Flux I found myself wanting to see more of him. Everyone was dryly commenting on everything throughout the Chibnall era but when Dan did it it felt like an intentional personality trait on a primarily comic relief character instead of an inability to write characters being genuinely affected by their experiences.

[@DarthAzabrush]

"Power metal Bungle from Rainbow" and the best Companion of nWho.

[@maxtaylor3531]

Your perspective on why the viewing figures don’t matter is fine but at the end of the day, a lack of investment and therefore a lack of interest = a lack of viewers. The figures do matter when you take it from the top down perspective of “how many people still care” which is clearly not very many people and people don’t care because there are not invested in the runtime because they can’t follow it.

[@cloudsombrero]

I finally saw it and thought it was the best chibnall season by far and that Dan is probably my favorite revival era companion

[@Robintheboywonder4]

My biggest issue with this season - I hate Swarm and Azure, they are really boring villains Their motivation - they want to free time from the prison of space... I hate this as a concept, and their plan is to... basically do nothing and let Division, their enemies, do most of the work for them with the Flux... which I guess they knew about in advance.

[@BH-98]

They had potential. Their design is cool, the actors give a good performance & the concept of passenger is interesting. But the way they’re under utilised & little more than background characters, overshadowed by the Sontarans & Weeping Angels.

[@Robintheboywonder4]

@@BH-98 I wish instead of the stupid time trapped in the prison of space mumbo jumbo they played up their hatred of Division and have the Doctor have to choose which is the lesser of the two evils.

[@camelopardalis84]

So glad I didn't start watching the video from this really good channel that covers a piece of media I actually know a lot about, which popped up in my notification just a couple of minutes ago. Otherwise, I would have had to leave it to start watching this video here on what may very well be my most favourite channel to watch a video on a piece of media I know next to nothing about. (I have seen some of your other Doctor Who videos, hence the "next to nothing".)

[@Fancy_Lebowski]

Now do the Key of Time arc!

[@REFLEXiw]

36:19 actually made me laugh how true this is

[@jvblhc]

Chibnall seemed to think that by throwing everything at the wall, some of it has to stick. P.S. having the Angels working for Division just completely destroyed one of the greatest of all Doctor Who. Chibnall seems to have to tell us everything secret about everybody before we get to the story itself, which is why it took about 20 minutes before "The Doctor" finally shows up in "The Woman Who Fell To Earth". Meanwhile, back in the good old days, Rose Tyler met The Doctor in about the first five minutes of "Rose" and Martha Jones met The Doctor around the 8-minute mark in "Smith and Jones". And both were wonderful episodes worth watching multiple times, something I won't be saying about "Flux".

[@LaughingBatGames]

I didn't like John's character at first but by the end, he was my favorite. Idk what it is about him, but I like him.

[@DriverHenryWho3245]

My mom wanted them to explore the Doctor as an Angel idea too, she wanted to see the Doctor's face as a scary Angel and thought it would be really funny, and yeah we were disappointed with how it turned out.

[@TheSkully343]

*W A L K T H R O U G H A M A G I C D O O R*

[@michaelreindel6975]

Honestly, yeah. I’ve been watching *Who* since the ‘70s, but Chibnall has done the seemingly impossible: I just *don’t care* anymore. It’s no longer something that I enjoy; rather, it’s become a chore that I keep postponing... 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg]

It's not Stockholm syndrome. You're just growing up. It was a slower process than it should have been because bad behaviour being rewarded encourages bad behaviour, and your negativity translated directly into monetization - you were trained to be immature. Thank you for growing out of it.

[@steveandjeanniefrith236]

Kevin McNally is the strongest guest star of the Chibnall era. Fight me on this.

[@thedisusedyeti6981]

Good review. I share similar feelings. As a fan since 1980 I find myself watching merely out of habit now. No anger, no hatred, just weariness with the occasional whiff of an appreciative shrug at the odd line or performance. The best I can say is I managed to watch all the episodes of Flux on the day of transmission (well the finale I watched half and the second half the next morning). I just don't think Who does series arcs well anyway, unless they're of the minimal Bad Wolf variety. I don't think Who should do extended stories or arcs. Who does well with the anthology structure. Old Who was (partly out of necessity) an assortment of different flavours, styles, genres etc. To hell with continuity a greater variety of writers are needed. Burning out one good writer till they're sputtering out regurgitated flapdoodle hasn't worked so far. Flux, was...oh I can't be bothered. It just isn't worth it.

[@theresaswan20]

That was not Chibnal’s brain, it was his ego.

[@charlestownsend9280]

I'm a lot kinder to this season than i would normally be Because of the whole fact that what we got wasn't what was planned due to covid messing everything up, it does feel like half a series with a lot of missing ideas. And also the fact that the BBC screwed over yet another doctor (that's at least 6, 7, 8, 9, 12 & 13). Watching it though i can't help wondering what a normal series 13 would have looked like.

[@laviarray]

30:11 No Stu. That moment was a complete waste of time. No essay for you.

[@SamWickens]

Is it a hot take to say that this should have been a companion-free season? Think about it, episode 1 has Dan and Karvanista, episode 2 has Mary Seaworth, episode 3 has Vinder, episode 4 has Claire and Jericho, episode 5 is intentionally isolating, and everyone comes together in episode 6. There was no need for an ongoing companion subplot section, because every episode had built-in companion replacements with characters who, just by virtue of their relevance to the plot of the episode they're in, have more characterisation to begin with than Yaz does after two seasons. And it would have been something Doctor Who really hasn't done before, I think the longest no companion period was 10s Parade of Death specials, which did kind of the same thing but without really making a narrative out of it.

[@FatherWulfric]

im going through all 3 stages at once and have been for all my life

[@Soulindex]

It took me awhile to realize the reason I hate location subtitles is directly related to Chibnall.

[@BrianBrecker]

Woo more stubagful who content

[@fletcherhamilton3177]

I couldn’t figure out _Flux,_ but then again I wasn’t paying attention. It just seemed to be Jodeh disappearing here and reappearing there. _Oooh,_ she’s on some rocky alien planet, _oooh_ now she’s in some exotic ruins, _oooh_ now she’s in a living room, _oooh_ now she’s floating in a void! It’s so ‘Myst’, right!? 🙄 Edit - _’Flux_ plays like just a series of scenes’ is exactly what turned me off. Even the connections and exposition seemed like just _more_ random scenes.

[@garethdowson]

John Bishop is the best thing to come to Who since Capaldi left. And McNally. Shame he won't be the future Doctor [ with JB as companion.]