Doctor Who

[charliepanayi]

I agree with much of what Jack says. Capaldi has been great fun (his Doctor is a total ass at times, it's great) and I did think the series just gone was the best since Matt Smith's first series.

Moffat should probably move on soon, but with him responsible for two hit shows at the moment, I imagine he's in total control of when that happens.

 

[Dionysos]

I personally still like the ideas that Moffat and the other current writers are putting out there. I wouldn't mind a new lead writer if he/she promises to try interesting ideas and push Doctor Who to its limits, rather than doing what writers did in the more cautious Russell T Davies era where the sci-fi and historical fantasy was toned down quite a bit. I can understand why it was toned down, as Doctor Who was just returning after a long break and they needed as wide an audience as possible for it to be successful. Hence some of the same audiences that would be watching X-Factor and Strictly Come Dancing type shows, etc, might be tempted to get into Doctor Who. The stories were sometimes entertaining, but they were much simpler, and I didn't get as much from them personally.

But I think that some of the ideas since Moffat became head writer, though some may be quite crazy and not all of them are well-executed they are nonetheless interesting, generally speaking. Moffat has not been afraid to try strange things and explore the themes of sci-fi and time travel, and the mythology of the Doctor himself. We've also seen a large number of genuinely interesting new monster concepts. He's not afraid to take the audience into darker themes, and I guess that is where some members of the audience (families with kids in particular) might be feeling the disconnect and are growing fed up of the show. Some episodes aren't very kid-friendly. However, they interest me greatly.

Capaldi is a fantastic Doctor, in my opinion. He is much darker, but no less entertaining than Smith. I agree with many people that his first season has been a bit of an odd mix. Some episodes have been fantastic, and I'd even consider some of them to be worthy one day of being regarded as classics (I particularly loved Deep Breath, Listen, Flatline and Dark Water / Death in Heaven - the darker ones, I guess).

Capaldi is more in his element in some episodes than in others. I was much less keen on the episodes which had Capaldi running about with schoolchildren. Not only was the Doctor held back (though still entertaining) with the focus being on Clara, Danny, and the kids, but on top of that the plots seemed to be heading back to plots we'd expect to see during the Russell T Davies era. A simplistic alien / robot attacking a school, and not much else going on. Even the episode where the whole world became a forest could have been much better if they had added more suspense and dread, or added more of the Doctor being the Doctor, instead of making the episode feel more like an episode from the Sarah Jane Adventures spin-off show.

There really did seem to be an identity crisis with this show. Is Doctor Who for kids? Is Doctor Who for adults? Is Doctor Who for both? It seems that some episodes are for adults, others for kids, but you're not to know which it is until you're watching it.

But on the whole, I was greatly impressed with the season. I love Capaldi, and I am looking forward to seeing more of him. The writers will have seen what works, and what does not, and hopefully we will see more of what we love about Capaldi's Doctor.

 

[The Master]

I started with Capaldi and he's, so far, been my favourite Doctor. It was initially something I wanted to get into but didn't know where to start, so the Capaldi season was starting at a party last year and they said it was the perfect opportunity to jump in; new Doctor and all. I got hooked. Just finished up NewWho a couple days ago and now I'm all caught up with this current season. I just need to tackle Classic Who now.
I think everything is great! Sure, not all of the episodes are super strong but it's still enjoyable. I'm really excited for this weeks episode!