Doctor Who Community Discord

Basically what the title says. Is there a forum/website where people exchange their thoughts on (recent) Big Finish releases?

I know there's r/BigFinishProductions but they don't really discuss recent releases for the main part.

So, is there some forum I don't know about? Thanks in advance!

I saw this on the wiki page for it, don't know how trustworthy it is, but it would make sense on how similar these two (three) episodes feel.

Okay, random, sort of specific question. Does anyone know if the US 2013 blu ray box set of S1-7 includes the full length versions of confidential for seasons 1-6?

i think some of 80s seasons of doctor who are better then any other era of doctor who new and old you heard me going into 80s who is thought is was going to be worst thing ever but no its amazing i love 90 percent of the episodes and in my opinion season 26 is better then most tom baker seasons (i still love tom baker) and what can i say of the doctors the 5th doctor is underrated and is not bland but a sarcastic often stressed easily doctor. the 6th doctor is also underrated and if he had a few more seasons would have been great also his coat is amazing. the 7th doctor is also amazing for been different then most doctors he was darker more violent manipulative. that's my opion at least let me know what you think.

I like stories that are funny. My goal is to watch a story from every single Doctor and determine which one was the best. Can you list the funniest story from every Doctor since the beginning? Thank you.

The TARDIS is obviously a staple for the show, it’s what makes the whole thing possible.

I personally enjoy when they “use the TARDIS” within the plot of the episode, instead of it mearly being the enabler/setup for the episode.

There’s episodes that utilise the TARDIS in brilliant ways, episodes like Runaway Bride, Face the Raven, Power of the Doctor, Empire of Death

Then very TARDIS-heavy episodes where the set is used a lot, such as Stolen Earth/Journey’s End, Journey to the centre of the TARDIS

Even episodes that take place in more than 1 time, or they go to a lot of places across the episode, such as The Giggle, Angels Take Manhattan, A Christmas Carol are good because it features a healthy use of the TARDIS’s main function instead of it being the solution to a problem, it just furthers the plot

Some of the best examples are the charity skits or extras ones such as Time Crash or Time and Space, Meanwhile in the TARDIS, all the “Night” episodes from Eleven’s era that solely take place within the control room

Now, I’m not saying every episode has to be like this, we can’t have the characters wandering about the TARDIS every episode, but too many episodes the plot point of “we can’t use the TARDIS because XYZ” is used, either it’s a law of time, or it’s inaccessible, which is good for those episodes, but I wish we had more use of the box and more “time travel” within the episodes.

As an example, Back to the Future. Part 1 and 3 the Delorean only serves as the reason the characters are stuck in time, but part 2 is far more interesting as the Time Machine is operational and we can see it in motion and travelling through time.

All in all, I just want more CGI shots of the TARDIS flying, and more areas of the interior explored. More of those little Doctor/companion interactions before the adventure begins like we see a lot in the first RTD era and some Moffat episode

So I was thinking the other day, and something that seems to be a big constant with new-who is its habit of brining back big classic series villains for big series finales/cliffhangers. (Even though I would say this includes the Daleks and Cybermen, this is more in relation to actually villians rather than monsters such as the Siliriuns or Ice Worriors)

• for example we get the Daleks in series 1, the Cybermen in series 2, the Master in series 3, Davros in series 4, Rassilon in the End of Time, The Great Intelligence in series 7, the Master again in series 8, Rassilon in series 9, The Master in series 10, the Master in series 12, Toymaker in the 60th, and Sutekh in series 14.

Like it is awesome seeing the show use all of these big classic villains, however does anyone else think that the post 2005 era of the show should invest more time in creating its own original big villains like The Master or Rassilon, or Sutekh, that can return in these big cliffhangers and span across multiple seasons?

Granted the show has created numerous original villains/big bads since 2005 (Madame Kavorian, Ashad, Swarm), and created some great monsters (silence, Weeping Angels) - however all of the were killed off in their seasons/haven't been reused since - not that I see much fan appreciation for them anyways. It’s always “when are we gonna see Rani or Omega again” - and this isn’t a problem with the fans, but instead a problem with the show itself for linking back way too much with the classic era when it comes to big bads.

I feel like Maestro was somewhat a step the right direction. However, with the finale bringing back Sutekh and Mrs Flood obviously bring someone from the Doctor’s past, it still feels like the focus is very much on the past rather than the future.

Here is the description of part of the article:

DOCTOR WHO: BBC PRAISES SHOW IN ANNUAL REPORT:

"A BBC spokesperson told The Times: "Overnight ratings no longer provide an accurate picture of all those who watch drama in an on-demand world. This season of Doctor Who premiered on iPlayer nearly 24 hours before broadcast, and episode 1 has already been viewed by nearly 6 million viewers and continues to grow..."

"Doctor Who remains one of the most-watched programmes on iPlayer and is the BBC's top drama for under-35s this year, making it one of the biggest programmes for the demographic across all streamers and broadcasters."

Mentions of Doctor Who in the BBC's annual report: 

"During the course of 2023/24, the BBC saw huge audiences for homegrown storytelling in every genre, from Doctor Who and Planet Earth III to Ghosts and The Traitors. We saw unmissable shows drawn from every corner of the UK, like Blue Lights, Shetland, Steeltown Murders and Time."

"We also launched The Whoniverse, a dedicated home for all shows within the orbit of Doctor Who – letting fans watch over 800 episodes of Doctor Who content all in one place."

"The economic impact of Doctor Who The BBC published an economic impact report to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who. Production of the hit series contributed an estimated £134.6 million in GVA to the Welsh economy between 2004 and 2021 and £256 million across the UK overall...

"Moreover, the report found significant legacy impact of the show and commissioned spin-offs Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures (both produced in Wales), widely acknowledged as the catalyst for investment in the South Wales creative cluster and its specialism in high-end television and drama production. The Welsh screen sector – now the largest of the five Creative Industry sub-sectors prioritised by Welsh Government, accounted for more than £459 million turnover in 2022."

"£256m Economic impact of Doctor Who across the UK. To coincide with the 60th anniversary of the iconic series, Doctor Who, we commissioned a report which outlined the series' economic impact contribution to Wales, the Timelord's home for almost 20 years. The series contributed an estimated £134.6 million in GVA to the Welsh economy between 2004 and 2021."

"Doctor Who made an explosive return to TV screens as two giants of entertainment, the BBC and Disney Branded Television, came together to transform Doctor Who into a global franchise for UK audiences and the rest of the world...

"Under a shared creative vision, they are delivering this quintessentially British show to new generations on an unprecedented scale as the new collaboration sees Disney+ become the exclusive home for new seasons of Doctor Who outside the UK and Ireland. The partners aligned under a bold vision from returning showrunner Russell T Davies, with the show produced in Wales by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios Production."

"Doctor Who celebrated its 60th anniversary in style, with three one-off specials reuniting David Tennant and Catherine Tate, and partnerships with British Airways. As the series debuted on Disney+, Ncuti Gatwa was welcomed as a brand-new Doctor, with a Christmas special which was the most-watched scripted show on Christmas Day in the UK."

"Elsewhere for the brand, the touring educational exhibition, 'Doctor Who: Worlds of Wonder', featuring eight immersive zones combining the worlds and characters from the series with real life science, opened in the UK and moves to New Zealand later in 2024."

"Content highlights included coverage of Eurovision... Doctor Who anniversary specials, a third outing for Planet Earth from the BBC Studios Natural History Unit and a series of new, feature-length episodes of The Famous Five for the BBC and ZDF, made by BBC Studios Invested Indie Moonage Pictures."

Space Babies

Overnight: 2.60m

+7 day consolidated: 4.01m

+28 day consolidated reach: 5.6m

The Devil's Chord

Overnight: 2.40m

+7 day consolidated: 3.91m

+28 day consolidated reach: 5.2m

Boom

Overnight: 2.04m

+7 day consolidated: 3.58m

+28 day consolidated reach: 4.3m

73 Yards

Overnight: 2.62m

+7 day consolidated: 4.06m

+28 day consolidated reach: 5.2m

Dot And Bubble

Overnight: 2.12m

+7 day consolidated: 3.38m

+28 day consolidated reach: 4.3m

Rogue

Overnight: 2.11m

+7 day consolidated: 3.52m

+28 day consolidated reach: TBC

The Legend Of Ruby Sunday

Overnight: 2.02m

+7 day consolidated: 3.50m

+28 day consolidated reach: TBC

Empire Of Death

Overnight: 2.25m

+7 day consolidated: 3.69m

+28 day consolidated reach: TBC

+7 day consolidated via BARB. +28 day consolidated reach via Doctor Who Magazine.

https://www.tvzoneuk.com/post/doctorwho-bbcannualreport-2024

So, in Day of the doctor, in the War room, the General and a soldier are talking about the high council being in emergency session, with their own plans. The General replies that the high council can go to hell, and that their plans have already failed.

I realised that the high councils' plan was the one from The End of Time parts 1-2, where Rassilon has imprinted the Master with the sound of drums in order to pull Gallifrey out of the time war.

It also means that, at the same time that the 10th Doctor and the Master prevented Rassilons' scheme, the 10th Doctor was working alongside the other Doctors to move Gallifrey safely into a pocket universe.

I know it's probably common knowledge, but I think that link-back to the earlier episode was very cool, and a bit clever.

Throughout most of Classic Who the Doctor didn't really have a character arc. There were periods of minor character growth, such as the 1st and 3rd Doctor, but for the most part the character was quite static. Some stories might delve into or question The Doctor's morality, but these were isolated incidents and didn't typically feed into an over-arching journey.

With New Who, the decision was made to delve deeper into the Doctor's character than ever before on screen. The Time War was introduced, embuing the Doctor with a new trajectory and purpose. Since then, pretty much every modern Doctor has faced some kind of character arc or deconstruction of their character.

Nine obviously had his survivors guilt and war trauma

Ten's ego and god complex was explored and deconstructed

Elevens reputation and impact on the universe was deconstructued

Twelve's morality and relationship with his companion was deconstructed

And finally Thirteen's identity and sense of self was deconstructed.

Back in 2005 this decision was incredibly novel and welcome, allowing us a deeper look into the character and investing us in an emotional arc. However, the fact that this has cropped up in every single modern incarnation means, for me, this has gone from being novel to now feeling formulaic. The Doctor isn't just allowed to be the Doctor, instead they always have to face some kind of big question or consequence.

That then brings us to 14 and 15. 14 obviously still carries the guilt of Flux and the burden of the Timeless Child with them. But the bi-generation into 15 seemed to propose a resolution to that. Thanks to some ambigious wording, it seemed to imply that 15 would now be a burden-free Doctor, able to start fresh in the universe.

And, for the most part, that has been true! TCORR did throw doubt on this, as the Doctor suddenly began referencing the Timeless Child and his newly discovered "adopted" status. But for the most part 15 hasn't faced any sort of big "deconstruction" or morality driven character arc. The series is, sadly, still keen to delve into melodrama. Such as the Doctor literally 'screaming into the void' after discovering that Sutehk hitching a ride upon the Tardis means he's technically responsible for bringing death to a majority of the universe (yawn). But aside from that, The Doctor is finally free from the endless cycle of deconstructing and analysing the character!

Except there's just one problem....

He's kind of boring now.

To be clear, Ncuti has a ton of charisma and a wonderful onscreen presence. His performance and acting abilities are FAR from boring.

But the actual Doctor he's playing? It feels like all the interesting edges have been sanded off.

I think part of this issue stems from New Who's decision to deconstruct the character so much. Back in the mid-2000s, questioning the Doctor's morality and status as a hero was a genuinely new and interesting direction to take the TV series in. But once we've spent nearly 20 years of "am I a good man" and "being a good dalek", it feels like the outcome has been to create a Doctor who's now nothing but morally righteous and pure. And frankly, I miss when the Doctor could be a bit of a mischevous dickhead.

I was watching the Sea Devils recently, and it was a ton of fun to see the Doctor literally bribe a man with money, borrow his boat to sneak off to the Naval base by himself, then greet the crowd of armed security guards by flashing a cheeky grin and saying "Good afternoon. I wonder whether I could see your commanding officer?"

I dont think it would be impossible to see 15 doing something like that, but it feels like the rebellious, renegade edge to the Doctor has been diminished over time. Perhaps the closest we get is 15 mocking UNIT's Time window, which was a nice touch, or deliberately scaring the babies in Space Babies, but these moments are few and far between. Most of the time 15 feels like a well-performed, but fairly superficial take on The Doctor.

To clarify, the last thing I want is a "super dark gritty brooding" Doctor, I just want the Doctor to be a bit of a selfish git again. Someone who does play by his own rules, someone who isn't constantly tripping over questions of his own morals, someone who isn't tortured and lonely. Yes, Capaldi came close in some ways, but a major theme of his era was still his morality and status as a "good man".

Recently there's been a greater focus on the side of the Doctor that stands for "fair play, compassion, love, empathy", which are obviously all important traits, but it's like they've eclipsed the other aspects of the character, to the point that the Doctor now feels like some intergalatic walking hugbox. He's super compassionate, super emotional, loves almost everything and everyone he encounters. That compassion was something that really had to be earnt in Classic Who, now it seems like the default until someone wrongs him.

The problem, from what I can see, is that the Series is resistant to attempt a "Classic" Doctor again as it would be seen as walking-back all the character development The Doctor has done in New Who. The Doctor is no longer just some eccentric runaway exploring the universe and getting into scrapes, now they're someone with a gigantic legacy. Someone inherently knitted into the fabric and identity of the universe. Someone's who's seen their entire race and planet destroyed, twice. Someone who's witnessed the universe destroyed countless times. Someone who's loved and lost countless friends. Someone who's discovered they're not even just a regular timelord, but rather a mysterious being who laid the genetic foundation for the entirety of timelord society.

It's a mess, frankly. I know for some this tragic side of the character is the very bread and butter of Doctor Who, the very thing that drew them to the series. I've never gelled with it personally, outside of the Ninth Doctor and his story arc. And now we're in a place where the Doctor can't really go back to being a smaller fish in a big pond. Atleast, not if we're trying to maintain New Who continuity.

This is why I personally advocate for the show to fully refresh itself. To distance itself from New Who. Some basic contunity would be appreciated, obviously, but I don't feel a new era should trip itself up by asking "How do we make the Doctor's character direction consistent with the previous 20 years of the program?"

One of Doctor Who's biggest strengths is its ability to change. The show has a built-in reset switch that means its incredible core-concept can be carried forward, whilst new ideas and spins on it are introduced. I personally feel the show WON'T survive unless it's willing to drop its baggage and take some risks. Would it make continuity sense to revert the Doctor to a smaller, less universally known and more morally ambigious character? No, but by adhearing to continuity so rigidly you're also massively limiting what the program can do.

I miss when The Doctor felt like a random wanderer hiding a vast intellect. I miss the Doctor just messing with people, like the "turn around" moment in Seeds of Doom. The Classic Doctors' often felt like a joke you were in on. It was fun and exciting to see how others react to the Doctor, because he was so self-assured that he would make decisions or comments that would baffle and confuse, yet we understood it was all part of his alien, outsider pespective.

The New Who Doctors are more tragic. That also has dramatic value, but I worry it's become played-out. Give me a Doctor Who's not so morally driven, who's affection has to be truly earnt. The Doctor should be a character I'm excited to watch wander into any situation because I genuinely can't predict how he'll handle it. That's the part of the Doctor I miss.

Let’s say humanity went extinct or just somehow The Doctor couldn’t protect them anymore, which species which we have seen that The Doctor would protect?

What is his second favourite planet / species?

EDIT: By on-screen I actually meant any species we’ve seen in any media (TV/Audio/Comic/Books). Sorry for the confusion:

my guess is And Then There Were None cause i'm basic

This could be in terms of planets, stars, Dalek shots, etc whatever you think is reasonable to try and quantify just how thick the TARDIS plot armour really is.

I read this recent article from DoctorwhoTv that was critical of the 15th Doctor "Opinion: 5 Big Reasons Why the 15th Doctor Isn’t Working"

I have gripes with season 14 myself but this article Largely didn't touche on any critiques that felt constructive at all.

Instead they focus on stuff like not having a "consistent look", "being overly emotional", & having " increased Cowardice " and so on. They then talk about "Incongruous Sexualization." Now this section claims the Doctor doesn't feel like the doctor as the previous incarnations were more reserved, awkward and alien romantically, completely ignoring how forward 8 and 10 were with Romantic partners, even the far more awkward 11th Doctor eventually shed his awkwardness and became more flirtatious with River Song. This section mostly focuses on 15 and his relationship with Rouge. While I largely disagree with most of the article one of the things that baffled me the most was this line in this particular section

"Additionally, the 15th Doctor’s casual use of terms like “honey” and “babes” further distances this portrayal."

And it's just like... What? I've seen folks use this as a knock against Ncuti and I just don't get it. A case can be made that the writing wasn't exactly the best or that the tears were overdone, or that while the outfits were stylish him not really having a definitive"Doctor Look" is a bummer. But the Lines"Babes" and"Honey" are too much and lumped into sexualization as a negative?

Why I find this absolutely ridiculous is that these lines aren't sexual in nature, The Doctor throws them around as terms of endearment, as well as cheeky nicknames. Sarcastically referring to Ruby as Babes on their first meeting after calling her out for doing something stupid "A ladder in the sky and you thought yeah I'll give that a go Babes"

In Boom Ncuti's best episode in my opinion he Sarcastically yet menacingly threatened Mundy while using the term Honey in a way to simultaneously diminish her and illustrate the seriousness of the situation. "I'm A lot more explosive than I look and Honey, I know how I look".

God I love that scene. Maybe I'll post about the whole episode one of these days.

Thing is what I don't understand about ppl getting mad the Doctor talks like this now is, what did they think when the Doctor started to more overtly Use curse words in new Who? What did they think when he started to call Everything "Cool" as 11?

What did they think Everytime 10 made a pop culture reference or said "Allons y" or "There's Cowboy's in here"?

Or when any time he got excited or did something big 11 exclaimed "Geronimo!"

The only thing I can think of is these people are complaining because they find Ncuti's Doctor to not be masculine enough which. Let's be real Babes and Honey would be a cool AF if it was coming out of a cool Bad boy esque characters mouth. Thoughts on this & the Doctor having in general catchphrases?

I actually adore Love and Monsters. I think it’s such a fantastic idea and it’s always great seeing a different snapshot of the doctor

I also love Fear Her, as a kid who was also scared of a parent.

Capaldi is my favourite doctor.

One doctor only , other than that to hell with the continuity

The Snowmen is one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes of all time. It has a great setting, a perfect magical atmosphere, a beautiful soundtrack, amazing story and a quite tragic ending with this variant of Clara also dying. I also really love the Pantenoster Gang in this episode. The whole thing with the pond was creepy, but I've got to admit that the Snowmen were underutilized. Why is the episode even called Snowmen if the Snowmen don't do a single thing? I also really like the Great Intelligence. I love the concept of this being that was made out of the dark thoughts of a child. I also really liked Clara in this episode and I think she was better, than the Clara we got for the rest of the season. Overall I think the Snowmen is a great episode and my favorite Christmas special because of its charm and magical feeling

The last 19 years of NuWho has done the vast bulk of its season arcs the same way:

1. The Doctor and compananion(s) have episodic adventures, during which there are hints of something larger happening. Generally fairly vague ones.

2. Then, in either the second-last or third last episode of the season, things hit the fan, the season arc ramps up to 11 over the course of a single episode, then get resolved the next one.

The show's episodic nature is a lot of its charm and I wouldn't want that , but wouldn't it be nice if seasons sometimes mixed things up a bit?

Imagine how the most recent season might have unfolded if, instead of the big bad showing up in episode 7 of 8, they showed up in episode 4 or 5. Instead of instant universal eradication that we all knew was going to be undone, imagine Sutekh's dust of death rolling out slowly on each world with the Doctor fleeing from world to world in the memory TARDIS, avoiding Sutekh's angels of death, trying increasingly desperate plans to hold back the spread on different worlds. Imagine watching him fail.

That would give us time to feel the dread of Sutekh's unstoppable power. It would give them show time to properly explore/explain who Sutekh is. In short it would give us time for an actual arc.

Then the Doctor can beat Sutekh using an ingenious solution that the show has had time to lay the groundwork for.

Note: Arguably the most recent season isn't the best example because it needed to introduce a new Doctor and a new companion. I'm not sure that's true, IMO the pressure of such an arc could do a lot to explore the new characters and bring them together.

But also IMO it would work better than what we got. And if that's the case for one of the weaker choices, how much better would the approach work for a more established Doctor and companion?

What do you think? Is that something you'd like to see sometimes? A season threat that establishes itself midway through and takes more time to explore and resolve?

According to the Black Archive book detailing the behind-the-scenes of Scream of the Shalka, things were in place for Big Finish to take over recording the audio for at least the first sequel Blood Of The Robots, so I could see them wanting to have their 8th Doctor audios eventually lead to it. The EDA’s also had a few books that had moments that were meant to lead to SotS.

So, had the Shalka-verse continued instead of the RTD revival, do you think they’d try to sync up the audio and novel continuities, or do you think that they would have gone with a “different road, same destination” approach?

Besides the Shalka Doctor in "Rogue" are there any references to the extended cannon in the show? By extended cannon I mean audio stories, books, comics and anything else.

I remember the one with Ian dancing to The Beatles and another with Rory playing darts

i always skip Love and Monsters. that episode sucks lmao

edit: jesus i wasn't expecting people to skip like half the show 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 i thought you guys liked doctor who 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

edit 2: oh and also the waters of mars. those enemies freak me the fuck out

The Long Game is an episode that doesn't get as much love from the fandom as it should. It has a couple of things it does really well. It explores the idea of a "failed companion" in Adam, has a great satire of fake news and also has a phenomenal job done by the great Simon Pegg. Also it does not have a clear threat, because the invasion already happened. The villain already took over. I find the concept of it pretty interesting. Then we have Simon Pegg trying to have this philosophical debate with the Doctor by saying: "Is a slave really a slave if he doesn't know he's being enslaved?", and the Doctor is really not into it and without hesitation he answers: "Yes". Then there is the entire sense of mystery around the floor 500 at the start. I really enjoyed it. Got to admit, the Jagrafess sucked. Then we have the scene in the end, where the Doctor kicks Adam out for trying to change the entire human history for his own benefit. I really enjoyed the episode, although it's not as great as the rest of season 1. But I guess it shows how great season 1 is

I love the first 35 minutes of the episode. It's great, has an interesting concept, a great mystery, the dynamic between The Doctor, Amy and Rory is peak, and I wasn't bored at all through it. It also had this very creepy grill-mouthed villains, who were, in my opinion, the most disturbing things in the entire series, but then the episode fell apart in the end. The reason for it was simple: the actor, Steven Berkoff was so uncooperative, that they had to sack him and rewrite the entire thing. In my opinion it was Chibnall's best episode and I would like to see it's original ending. I think it would've been great. Also, I think the final line from Amy is the cringiest thing in the series. Like, WHY DID THEY THINK IT WAS A GREAT LINE?!

#BIG FINISH PODCAST NOTES /MISC. DOCTOR WHO NEWS ROUNDUP

No pa rticular reason why I’m late, just mentally ATL.. But yo how fire is the Pokemon anime Hoenn Elite Four theme. I forgot how good the soundtracks could be for the show.

PODCAST NEWS:

• Nothing of consequence.

NON-BIG FINISH PODCAST DOCTOR WHO NEWS:

• Cover for Torchwood Monthly Adventures: 88. Widdershins are revealed.

• Story details/cover art The Paternoster Game - Trespassers: No Place Like Home is out.

• Trailer for The War Doctor Begins: Morbius the Mighty is out.

BBC AUDIO/BOOKS/MEDIA NEWS:

• Nothing of consequence.

ANYTHING ELSE

Sales: Weekly Deals:

What CD’s are Out of Print This Week?:: -

Fifteen Minute Drama Tease: The Lost Stories: The Long World.The Lost Stories: The Long World.

Interview/Production Interviews: The Lost Stories: The Long World.

Randomoid Selectotron: BUCKUP: The Fourth Doctor Adventure:: 6.6 Subterranea.

Big Finish Release Date Schedule:

What Big Finish I was listening too today: -

Random Tangents: Something something sausage rolls.

I'm following this guide to the Big Finish audios:

https://averylychee.neocities.org/doctor-who/audio-guide/#segment-12

For Dalek Empire it says "The Dalek Empire stories were set up in a thread through 4 Monthly Adventures (The Genocide Machine, The Apocalypse Element, The Mutant Phase, and The Time of the Daleks), but the series itself can be listened to without that prior context."

I've listened to the first three but not Time of the Daleks but this listening order puts the whole of S1 of Dalek Empire before Time of the Daleks which it lists in 2002.

It says you only need it for a bit of context but can anyone please confirm if I am OK to listen to Dalek Empire S1 before Time of the Daleks? The guide does put S2 of Dalek Empire further down the list it's just puzzling why it mentions Time of the Daleks in the S1 section at all.

The problem: Doctor Who seems to regularly collapse under its own weight

My favourite series of New Who are 1, 5 and 10. Each are seasons that dropped the baggage the show had accrued and sought to create a fresh start. Even in the case of 10, which has some pretty dud stories, the sense of freshness is what I find appealing.

However Doctor Who, New Who especially, has a tendecy to let plots, characters, and conflict build up to the point that I find the series to become somewhat exhausting and impenetrable.

I've noticed that some other shows I've watched over the last few years have struggled with similar issues, these being Sex Education and Cobra Kai.

In Season 1 each of these shows presented a simple yet engaging premise, with characters and relationships I was eager to see progress. Their Season 2s then managed, for the most part, to continue that story whilst building up the conflict and introducing more characters. However, each show then continued to pile on the conflict and the characters, introducing new plot lines, new character journeys, and new conflicts, which start to distract from the original characters and original premise. This isn't to say these later Seasons have nothing to offer, there are still moments and storylines that engage or connect with me. But it makes working through the latter halfs of these shows feel exhausting.

I think Doctor Who has a similar issue, New Who especially. It seems like the focus is to make things "bigger and bigger" with each Series. This leads to us having universe-ending stakes or twisty lore reveals multiple series in a row, which really sucks all the gravitas out of them. As seen in Empire of Death, the "universe ending" carries so little weight as we can immediately predict that it will be reversed by the end of the episode.

So I have to ask, is it possible for Doctor Who to go smaller? And I don't just mean "one planet" or "one country" small. I mean REALLY small. Would it be possible for Doctor Who to tell stories that border on Slice of Life? The Doctor and Companion land in the 50s and just help a guy fix up his Diner. No threats to the future of earth, no impending alien doom, just characters helping another character.

It would be easy to go "that would be boring", but I think that mindset is exactly what's limiting Doctor Who. Rather than falling back on typical formulas like "If we dont fix this X then Y will never happen" or "The aliens are planning to use X to do Y and that means Z will happen !", limiting yourself to such a simple premise causes you to ask different, new questions.

Why would the Doctor and companion get involved in such a mundane task? This causes us to think more about their characters and motivations. They aren't just helping out because "we need to save the world" or because "oops the TARDIS is inaccessible", we need to get creative and engage with these characters more. How does this feed into their overall journey? How does it challenge or reinforce their core beliefs? No mystery-box special-person crap, just simple, human growth.

What exists in our core premise that could make this story more interesting? I particularly think that humour could be found by contrasting the contemporary attitude of our companion with the 50s attitude of the Diner owner. The Doctor is obviously an alien and can bring their own alien insights. And hell, if we have a "weird" companion like someone from the past or a distant alien civilisation, we get to see how they contrast against the time period and the other characters.

Would it be the tensest episode? Well that depends on the stakes. Sure, there aren't any aliens to blow everything up, which reduces the stakes massively. But we also have the opportunity to deliver much more personal stakes. It could be as simple as the Owner potentially losing the diner and therefore their livelihood. If we care about this character, we're going to feel those stakes even if they're not "universe ending".

To be clear, I'm not advocating for this to become the "default" episode. I think variety is one of Doctor Who's greatest strengths. But for me the most appealing part of Doctor Who isn't the lore or the backstory, it's the core concept of ordinary people discovering an incredible space-time machine, piloted by an enigmatic alien, and seeking adventure across the universe. As soon as Time Lords and Prophecies and wibbly-wobbly lorey-wanky come into it, I want to switch off.

This is why I've found Season 1 (aka Series 14) so disappointing. The characters were so bare-bones and the only "arcs" seemed to be bizarre mystery box stuff that lead to a really underwhelming resolution (a resolution that probably could have worked, had the characters been better realised.) For the Finale to jump right back to universe-stakes and 50-year-old continuity references was tiresome, especially when I feel the show desperately needed to properly refresh itself.

What's this?: Each month in Doctor Who Magazine they have a column by Russell T Davies (formerly 'Letter from the Showrunner', before that 'Production Notes') - a column by someone involved in the production of Doctor Who, and normally in the form of either the showrunner writing pieces about writing Doctor Who or the showrunner answering reader-submitted questions. Because these pieces and questions have often been used as a source for blogs to write misleading stories, they started being typed up for /r/gallifrey.

Hey thanks for doing this! Now I don't have to buy it: Yes you do, otherwise you'll be missing out on: previews of the final episode of the series (Empire of Death); interview with Susan Twist (Susan Triad), Lenny Rush (Morris Gibbons) and Alexander Devrient (Colonel Ibrahim); behind-the-scenes set reports from Rogue and 73 Yards; more interviews with Indira Varma (the Duchess) and Jemma Redgrave (Kate Stewar); a feature on the upcoming Target novelisations; a deconstruction of "Vincent and the Doctor"; the second part of DWM's Fifteenth Doctor comic-strip "The Hans of Fear"; reviews for all of this month's DVD/CD/Book releases and EVEN MORE.

It's available physically in shops and digitally via Pocketmags.com!

Want an archive of the previous Production Notes that have been posted on /r/gallifrey?: Follow this link.

This is what it's like, watching a new episode of Doctor Who.

Saturday 18 May. Boom night. I'm watching with my two sisters, who are the perfect audience. They are guaranteed to hoot and scream and gasp. I've already watched this episode at midnight, but call me traditional, the Saturday night viewing still feels like a proper arrival for me. This is when it becomes official.

But what does everyone do these days? Text. They text, text, text. During a show. It drives me mad! How can you do that? How can you follow it properly? How the hell can you tweet?! So, by now, anyone who knows me, knows to lay off the WhatsApp during transmission. But then...

6.50pm To everyone's surprise, the BBC continuity announcer introduces the episode by saying, 'But right now on BBC One Wales, where's Harry Sullivan when you need him?' What?! I beg your pardon?! But...! That didn't come from us; that's nothing to do with the Doctor Who office. For those who might not know, it's an obscure reference to Genesis of the Daleks Part One, broadcast 49 years ago, when the Doctor stood on a landmine and his companion Harry, played by the brilliant Ian Marter, saved his life. But..? Today?! Harry's name, said out loud on BBC One?! After all these years? What a joy, but what a surprise! (Who was it? Who did that? You've got to be a DWM reader, write in and tell us.)

But that starts it. Floodgates opened. Text alert! Ping, ping, ping, goes my phone, mostly members of the production team asking: did you do that? Who did that? Was that us?! Ping, there's our faithful script editor, Scott Handcock, saying "A Genesis reference in 2024!" I say, Scott, you're supposed to be watching the TV, stop texting!

6.56pm "Oh my God!" say my sisters, as the Doctor steps on a landmine, for the first time since 1975.

7.10pm Ping! Argh. Look! I've got to read this one, it's Varada Sethu. Okay, she can text any time she likes. She's saying thanks for a text I sent earlier today (my reaction to Season 2, Episode 7, Sc. 48 as her character finally faces... oh, you'll see!). I'd just said, what great rushes, but as Varada's text arrives, Mundy Flynn comes running into the crater. I text back, "You're on now!" She confirms, "Watching it!" And I'm strangely thrilled. I never like to ask if the cast are watching an episode go out live, but I'm delighted when they do.

7.16pm "Noooo," say my sisters, as Ruby is shot.

7.17pm Ping! My niece texts. "Now that's what I call a storm!" Eh? There's snow on Kastarion 3, but no storm. Oh, she means in real life. I go to the window, and... blimey, yes. My niece lives towards the east of Swansea, I'm in the west, but the town is built around one huge bay (Walter Savage Landor once compared it to the Bay of Naples) so her house is many miles opposite. And there, across the curve of the shore, a vast vault of grey, a lowering, glowering cloud, smearing rain on to the horizon of houses. Amazing. But... not now, Doctor Who is on! Just let me -

7.21pm Ping! Gaaah, who is it now?! Oh, wait...

It's Bradley Walsh! He's sending me a photo of Margaret Lockwood, because of last week's Doctor Who - he was so delighted that she got a mention in The Devil's Chord, he got in touch, reminiscing about her classic old film, The Wicked Lady, and telling me that the ex-Arsenal-and-England goalkeeper, David Seaman, once lived in the house of Margaret Lockwood's co-star, James Mason. That's the sort of text you get from Brad, I love him. And now he's telling me that The Wicked Lady is available on Sky 117. In truth, I'm a bit sad that he's not watching Doctor Who, except I can hardly remonstrate with Bradley Walsh, I think that's illegal in TV Land, but then...

"Loving Who, great ep," he says! Oh, he is watching! I'm so ridiculously pleased. And he's so happy, he says he's loving the orchestra. "How did you get Moffat back to scribe?" Like a proper fan! And then we're off, because you can't not text Brad, so we have a chat - my mate and former Doctor Who script editor Lindsey Alford wrote this week's Casualty, starring Brad's son, Barney, and Brad sends me a photo of his margarita - and in no time at all, the episode has unfurled without me, my sisters are sobbing at the happy ending, and the Doctor is writing his diary in drums.

7.32pm As the Doctor stands in the TARDIS doorway and quotes Philip Larkin, there's an almighty crack! Bang on cue, the rain begins to fall. My sisters have missed its approach because they didn't see the warning text - out of everyone, they ignored their phones and stayed staring at the screen; they are the most faithful viewers of all - and now they gasp and coo as lightning streaks across the sky and thunder shudders the coast.

7.33pm "A snowflake!" says my sister - no, not the storm, that's on TV, floating out of our VFX landscape, and the episode ends. The storm descends upon west Swansea. My phone goes ping, ping, ping, as the credits roll. And Boom now exists in the world.

8.20pm My sisters are hooting and screeching at two hot Australian jugglers on Britain's Got Talent whose gimmick is to strip off as they juggle. And so television rolls on and on and on.

So now it's had time to settle in our minds, on reflection do you guys think you prefer how Donna's story ended in series 4 or the 60th anniversary ending?

Personally, I definitely prefer the series 4 ending. Although it was incredibly sad seeing Donna forget her time with the Doctor, it was a beautifully written and was just a really great ending for that character in the show. I know Doctor Who is supposed to be an optimistic show, but sometimes sad endings are better and way more impactful than happier endings.

And for me anyways, Donna not only coming back, but also being able to stay with her own Doctor, just feels a slight repeat of what already RTD did with Rose where he like with Donna, not only brought her back in series 4 and then leaving her with her own version of the Doctor. Not only is RTD ensuring that his characters are left safe and well, he is also ensuring that Doctor/companion relationship is left existing by just creating another Doctor for the companion to have around. Like, imagine how less impactful Amy/Rory's ending would've been if Eleven just created another version of himself to live with them in 1930s New York. Or if the 4th Doctor had just created another version of himself to live with Sarah Jane when she departed. It's just way too much - even for an optimistic show such as Doctor Who.

I even believe Donna's storyline continuing in the 60th somewhat tarnished Wilf's final moments. In my opinion, whereas Wilf's End of Time ending was beautiful written and one of my favourite moments of that episode - his scenes in the 60th (as much as I loved seeing Bernard comeback) just felt super awkward with him randomly outside the TARDIS in Wild Blue Yonder and then the production team being forced to use a body double at the start of episode 3. It wasn't the best way for that character to go out in my opinion.

I don't know. I think it all does somewhat come down to RTD taking the whole idea of being unable to "kill your darlings" to the next level. We can also see it with the way he discussed regeneration in the End of Time. Obviously at the time, he had no other option to kill off 10 (because what else could he do), but instead of treating regeneration like every other writer, he writes regeneration as though it's a death for the character stating that "Even then, even if I change, it feels like dying. Everything I am dies. Some new MAN goes sauntering away, and I'm dead". Not only is he hyping up his own version of the Doctor, by making the Doctor super heartbroken at the idea that he is going to have to be someone else - he is also making it difficult for audiences to accept the Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor. It's like if the Doctor doesn't want to leave and for this new guy to take over, then why should we?

AND THEN it gets even better. Because 15 years later, not only does RTD find a way to bring his golden Doctor back, he also finds away for him to continue on outside of the regeneration cycle. It's honestly crazy.

I don't know...kind of seeing it all written out is kinda making me shocked how flawed of a writer RTD can be, even though he is still an incredible one. But at the end of the day it just my opinion.

But what are everyone else's thoughts? Series 4 and the 60th obviously had very different endings for Donna and 10, so now a few months have past, what does everyone else prefer?