Thirteenth Doctor - First Season - Thoughts? (SPOILERS WELCOME)

Richards · Nov 12, 2018

Tonight's episode was rather inconsequential. If the Doctor and company hadn't gone back in time when they did...it looks like pretty much nothing would have changed. The Doctor was basically just a sightseer for this one - there was no alien menace to fight (they were good guys) and they even had to let the newlywed husband get killed so they didn't screw up history. At least in the Rosa Parks episode, they were actively undoing the efforts of somebody else trying to mess with time - it this episode, not so much.

Johnathan

delericho · Nov 12, 2018

Yeah. It kinda felt like there's a big piece missing - the bit where Yaz really wants to intervene but it reminded that she can't.

If we hadn't had "Rosa" earlier in the series, I suspect I would have enjoyed this one more. As it is, that's three pretty weak episodes in a row.

HawaiiSteveO · Nov 12, 2018

Really, really different episode although I thought it was fantastic. It’s great to see them taking risks and trying different things.

Morrus · Nov 12, 2018

They're definitely doing the "teaching history" part of Doctor Who, aren't they?

I agree that the Doctor was just a bystander in this episode. All they did is witness events.

jonesy · Nov 12, 2018

I liked the episode.

Did you notice that the ending music was the Doctor Who theme? Wish this was longer:

[video=youtube;4MVU3yTzCDc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MVU3yTzCDc[/video]

MarkB · Nov 13, 2018

I have to agree that, while it was an enjoyable episode, I'm not keen on the whole "witness of history" theme.

It also serves to highlight the often-handwaved question of when is it alright for the Doctor to intervene in events, past or future, on Earth or elsewhere? From the Doctor's viewpoint, isn't it all part of established history?

Jester David · Nov 13, 2018

Richards said:
Tonight's episode was rather inconsequential. If the Doctor and company hadn't gone back in time when they did...it looks like pretty much nothing would have changed. The Doctor was basically just a sightseer for this one - there was no alien menace to fight (they were good guys) and they even had to let the newlywed husband get killed so they didn't screw up history. At least in the Rosa Parks episode, they were actively undoing the efforts of somebody else trying to mess with time - it this episode, not so much.

Johnathan

Witnessing history. Kinda like every other story from the first Doctor, really...
Or, the episode where Rose has to watch he father die. Only without her being stupid and trying to break time.

Really, there’s no shortage of episodes where the Doctor has to “fix” time from previously unknown alien intervention. Like Fires or Pompei. The difference here is the “twist” that there isn’t an evil plan, and they just get to watch history happen.

This story was really a mystery. What happened. And why. We knew from the start things were fate to unfold like they did. The first husband had to die. Having it beep a historical death isn’t all that different from having him heroically sacrifice himself to stop an alien invasion.

Tonguez · Nov 13, 2018

I liked the episode it was a nice personal insight to a relatively unexplored bit of history, that got to play with nostalgia and give Yaz a bit of character time too.past incarnations.

The Vajarians looked cool although having the twist of the Doctor beleiving them to be legendary assasins when in fact they're not was a bit naff - this Doctor seems to be wrong about things a bit more often than past incarnations - I'd have preferred more camera time be given to exploring Manish's motivations too.

Also I kept thinking "I wish the writers had decided to take Prem or even Omreen on as one of the new companions rather than Yaz", that way we could have got both an 'out of time' and 'ethnic' character rolled into one.

Morrus · Nov 13, 2018

MarkB said:
I have to agree that, while it was an enjoyable episode, I'm not keen on the whole "witness of history" theme.

It also serves to highlight the often-handwaved question of when is it alright for the Doctor to intervene in events, past or future, on Earth or elsewhere? From the Doctor's viewpoint, isn't it all part of established history?

Yeah. They used to get around that with the "fixed point in time" technobabble but they don't do that any more. But all of it's the past for the Doctor, so every alien stopped is altering history.

Tonguez · Nov 13, 2018

MarkB said:
I have to agree that, while it was an enjoyable episode, I'm not keen on the whole "witness of history" theme.

It also serves to highlight the often-handwaved question of when is it alright for the Doctor to intervene in events, past or future, on Earth or elsewhere? From the Doctor's viewpoint, isn't it all part of established history?

no a common premise on the show is that time isnt linear and doesnt solidify until it is experienced - the Doctor can't change his/her own timeline but the entire rationale of the show is that the Doctor is a rebel who can't help but interfere even when she shouldnt