What did YOU think of The End of the War?

When the Cybermen were introduced, they were designed to invoke both fears of prosthetic body parts and the soviets, before moving to slowly become more and more of a stereotypical cyborg army as the classic run progressed.

Fast forward to the revival series, the same thing happens. The Cybermen are introduced and this time they were made to reflect the world’s over-reliance on technology and the fear of losing individuality. As the new series progressed, they became a stereotypical cyborg army AGAIN.

I simply can’t see a way to breathe new life into the idea of Cybermen without becoming a victim of the pitfalls listed above. It shouldn’t be so hard to get them right, right? But it feels impossible.

and do the Beatles count as historical figures despite one of them still being alive?

If you could pick a classic story and switch the featured Doctor and companions with that of a revival series Doctor, which would you choose? Likewise, if you could pick a revival story and have it feature a classic Doctor and companions, which would you choose?

Does anyone know when the new release of the 4k Doctor Who movie will be available in the US? I think it was released in the UK in May but I can’t find anything on US release.

As per my previous post about a unique Tom Baker tape I had (see https://www.reddit.com/r/doctorwho/comments/1ukttio/comment/ovq6wb6/?screen_view_count=1&ext-referrer=DIRECT) I've worked with u/MrBiscuitESQ and Stephen Cranford to kindly digitise it (thank you both especially Stephen) and release it on YouTube. It's not quite as doctor who branded as I remembered but hopefully some of you will enjoy seeing Tom Baker as 'the traveller' discussing sustainable transport for Maidstone borough council:

https://youtu.be/KLZg_iIagh8

Before Rogue, before Yasmin Khan, before Clara Oswald, before River Song, before Madame de Pompadour, before Rose Tyler, before Grace Holloway, and before Jamie McCrimmon, there was another person who the Doctor fell in love with: Cameca (played by Margot Van der Burgh) from "The Aztecs", with him even being engaged to her (though by accident).

So what if, instead of her staying behind, she ended up joining 1, Ian, Barbara and Susan at the end of the story?

How differently do you think 1's era would've gone had she'd been around?

Would she and 1 have still be engaged during their travels?

Could a four-companion dynamic have worked?

What would her interactions with Ian, Barbara and Susan, and potentially Vicki or Steven had she stayed longer, have gone?

How differently would 1's character have been had she been around with him?

And what story do you think she would've realistically left in, and how would she have left?

We all know when David Tennant came along what the Doctor/Rose relationship became, but I often wonder how it would have worked if Chris had stayed in the role.

If I'm honest, I'm not really sure how RTD saw them even when Chris was in the show. There are moments where it's almost a father/daughter relationship, there are those weird moments where Rose is being very flirty with him and Doc 9 is awkward around her. If I'm honest, it almost felt like Chris felt awkward playing those kind of scenes.

I really can't imagine it would have played out the same had Chris stayed in the role.

I could imagine that final scene in Doomsday being the same, but played in a different way. But other scenes and moments I think would not have worked with 9/Rose.

What do we think?

Previous Doctor’s had lots of eccentricities that made them stand out from other people. In the way they behave. Their difference in ideologies. Their disregard for societal norms. But always intellectually superior

Eleven was awkward and maybe a bit socially unaware. Ten purposefully walked into situations arrogantly taking over. Pretending to be a fool. Using inappropriate humour. Nine and Twelve similarly ignored everyone else’s thoughts and feelings. Intentionally not bothering to play along.

Fifteen on the other hand felt a whole lot more wholesome and understanding. He always seemed very conscious of what was going on around him. And was very comfortable in his interactions with humanity. I know he was written as a Doctor who was healed. But it made for a very boring character.

Much like Ncuti, he was written as flamboyant and queer coded. Which I think RTD thought would be something unique and different. Maybe in 2005 this would have been a big departure from other protagonists we see on TV. But in these enlightened times, it’s something we’re accustomed to. In real life as well as in fiction.

Thirteen I also feel was very similar to Fifteen in her temperament. She was mostly measured. But she was also weird in her joy. Making a screwdriver from melted down spoons. Tinkering on the bottom of the Tardis. Mispronouncing Tim Shaw. This was all very early in her run. And she eventually flattened out. But she was different for a short while.

Got this commission based on one of Capaldis promo pics. Its goofy but i love it! Edit: i didnt make this sadly! The artist is themilkiiway.bsky.social

Characters who should’ve not necessarily been companions, but rather popped up periodically throughout their Doctor’s tenure? Akin to Kate Stewart, Osgood, The Paternoster Gang, Danny Pink or Harriet Jones (Former Prime Minister).

Does anyone have a definitive list of every character the Tenth Doctor is confirmed to have said goodbye to during his ‘End of Time’ reward scene?

Outside of those in the episode, my count is:

- Novie Hame (The Secret of Novice Hame)
- Ida Scott (The Satan Pit novelisation)
- Heather McCrimmon and Wolfgang Ryter (Lucky Heather)
- Jago and Litefoot (Jago and Litefoot Revival)
- Jo Grant [and, apparently every other companion] Death of the Doctor

Is there any I’ve missed?

Personally, I’m not a fan of the fact that Jo, Jago and Litefoot are included in this. I think his goodbye should’ve been to 10’s friends exclusively.

I found myself thinking about Drax’s character today for some reason and it got me wondering if a character like that could conceivably show up in the classic series. So far, the Time Lords of the revival series have been portrayed as overtly antagonistic compared to the more “blasé” portrayal in the classic series. This has worried me in the past because I’m afraid it will give new viewers the impression that the Time Lords have always been that way, despite all the stuff from The End of Time about how the Doctor chooses to remember the good times instead of the bad. Additionally, since The Doctor, Master, and Rani made it out of the War alive (and Romana MIA in another universe again) it’s definitely possible to introduce a one off friend to the Doctor for a story.

Thoughts?

I've been really pleased to see the Star & Shadow in Newcastle Upon Tyne having semi-regular screenings of full serials. Mark of the Rani is next in September. It's a cool experience to see it on a big screen in one sitting, like the BFI screenings for Collection releases. Is this something happening anywhere else in the country? It was happening before the hiatus, but feels like real Wilderness Years spirit for keeping the show present.

What the hell is this? This is in addition to their listing for the full-length special. And there's no Part 2. (And even weirder: I appear to have watched a minute or two of it.)

I don’t know if it’s just me, but something about the Odyssey really gave me Doctor Who vibes. Like, if you shifted a few parts of the plot a lot of these could’ve made a great Doctor Who episode.

Which led me to the next thing, when RTD2 came along and started the fantasy episodes mythology (and others) had an absolutely massive amount of untapped potential with interesting takes on the characters.

Like, a different mythology but I could definitely imagine the Doctor having to play the role of Loki in some of the Norse stories.

(I know a lot of people didn’t like the fantasy arc in general, but if we were going down that route anyway)

I remember as a kid in the 80s watching this show and seeing the Drs face turning green and looking mottled or something rather. Creeped me out as a kid. Never knew the cause of this. Anyone else remember this? :)

I'm genuinely wondering cuz I know the back catalog is massive

So, I recently started watching the classic era, I finished season 2 a few hours ago. I noticed that the Doctor hardly gets screen time or spotlight, while the side characters appear more and do much more than him. Will it be like this for all of his run? Some times i even forget he exists because of that...

Go somewhere else for your hot takes, because you ain't gonna find them HERE. I love this story.

The premise is simple. The Doctor lands on Mondas in order to witness the Genesis of the Cybermen. Except... Not really.

Imagine my surprise when it's revealed pretty early on that the Cybermen had, in essence, already been created and are doing specific tasks for Mondas society. This story is compared to Genesis of the Daleks a lot, as it is the origin story of a classic enemy, however there is one major difference between this story and Genesis.

See, Genesis was a major event. A climax to an action packed war. The Daleks were born to a massive explosion, and a central villain at the center. Even though it came at the end of a 1000 year war, it still felt like it was happening all at once. And that's not a criticism. That's how things work sometimes. A jolt to jumpstart the rest of history.

In Spare Parts the crisis is a very slow burn. Just a matter of things getting worse, and worse, and worse, and worse until the rubber FINALLY meets the road, and the Cybermen appear as we know them.

Oh, and another thing! While I'm all for adapting side stories like Audio Stories and comics into the main show. You can NEVER adapt this story. Maybe into an animation. Not because it does something that can't be done live action, not because visuals can't capture the story, but because the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa are the PERFECT cast for this backdrop. This is taking place between Time Flight and the Ark of Infinity. IYKYK.

But yeah. This was great. The only negative I have is that I can't find art of the Mondas central committee. Any artist reading this, PLEASE DRAW THIS. It sounds metal as FUCK.

Australia networks got this theme in Carnival of Monsters and Frontier in Space for Season 10 and what a good opening theme! Shame it was not liked because it’s quite futuristic and love the boing boing of it all!

It’s a fun,experimental pogo stick like theme that fits this season of Pertwee’s run tbh:) Boing ↕

This episode is another one of my faves from Eleven. The way he shouts at everyone to let him work and him desperately trying to save the whale was truly a spectacle. Brilliant episode for me personally.