@drorah replied:
Iām so bummed by the writing because I LOVE Jodie Whittaker as an actor, and I think sheās done a great job with what sheās been given. But Chibnall and anyone else writing for the show the last few seasons need to be given a pink slip. I was super excited for the holiday special.. and⦠like⦠thereās no PLOT. Thereās just a bunch of random stuff that all happens in a sequence.
Like, where is the Doctorās cleverness? 19 years in a prison, and she hasnāt figured a way out? What happened to that big speech 11 gave āthereās no thing you never, ever, ever put in a trap, etc etcā? Like⦠in 19 YEARS, the DOCTOR couldnāt find a way out of a prison? I donāt buy it.
*one thing
I havenāt actually seen the special yet, or even finished series 12 (dw about spoilers tho I know pretty much all of them already) because itās just so boring. I genuinely canāt find the motivation to finish it, and Iāve heard the special is much the same.
I agree, I think Jodie Whittaker is a great actress who could be something spectacular in the role. But the writing has been so inconsistent that I still donāt feel like I get the Thirteenth Doctor. I donāt think I can tell you anything about her beyond the basics that apply to most Doctors.
And the companions... oh my god. In theory they all work great, but in practice theyāre so bland. The best way I can describe it is that there arenāt three companions, thereās one companion whoās been split into three for some reason. Practically, they are all the same. They have the same opinions, the same motivations, the same purpose. Thereās never any interpersonal conflict, they never even disagree. And thatās not to say I want infighting all the time, but can I just get any sign that these are real people?? Please?? (Again tho, no complaints about the actors. All three are excellent and doing their best with what they have to work with.)
My best theory is that Chibnallās original plan for series 11 was a slow burn, character driven, monster of the week type of show. Which is a wonderful idea that I would love to see done well. But he botched the execution of by giving us such dull characters and inconsistent writing, then when people didnāt like it, he overcorrected and has been doing his best Moffat impression ever since. The series 12 plot twist is very Moffat-y, for better for for worse. But the problem is that Moffatās style is incredibly difficult to pull off -- even Moffat fucks it up a lot of the time -- and it still requires charming, compelling characters to pull it off.
Basically, Iām bummed that this has been the legacy of the showās first female Doctor and I hope Chibnall either massively steps up his act or passes on the reins to someone else soon.
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