I was excited for Whittaker although Gatwa was a bit of a surprise. They both clearly tried their best but suffered from bad writing and Gatwa from some very strange production decisions (especially with the companions).
In the end, they were the best parts of some really bad seasons. Of anyone to blame, they should be the last. I blame the writers and the showrunners.
I’ve not watched the show since Capaldi since I felt like he’s a good Doctor stuck with bad writing. Shame to see that that’s still seems to be the case 2 Doctors on.
Even Matt had bad writing hamper his run towards the end, he was still brilliant but the writing did him no favors. Although it’s debatable that any of the doctors, even before the revival with Eccleston, have had consistently good stories
Although that’s fair, they had a solid formula that they stuck to, and that at least worked reliably. After Capaldi, the formula went out the window, and they started doing all kinds of crazy shit that definitely did not work and was not reliable. Especially with how they handled the writing for the companions.
I think Capaldi has some of the best storylines in the show. The one where he’s stuck in the time maze and has to chip away at the diamond wall, everything with river song. Everything with Clara. The silence aren’t quite as good as the weeping Angels but that was a pretty good storyline. Definitely got weak towards the end, the whole bill Potts season was pretty rough, but the puddle girl story was pretty memorable. Capaldi is my favorite doctor hands down but I think his seasons have some of the best writing too, interspersed with maybe some of the worst.
Hell Bent and Heaven Sent (the two parter where he’s stuck in a maze for 900 years) and Clara’s 3-season long Impossible Girl storyline are maybe my favorites of the whole damned show. And, of course, river song.
I was disappointed they didnt make him kinda evil. In his first episode where he just straight abandoned his companion for a while i thought it was going to get really spicy.
Granted I never got round to finishing the season so it could still have gone that way, I’ll need to get on it one day
Through the Whittaker time I stopped watching. It wasn’t her, it was by far the show runner and writing.
The Doctor who has murdered entire civilizations suddenly so anti violence at all. The whiney companions. Every episode a thousand plus year old being was constantly surprised and didn’t know anything about what she encountered.
Gatwa was the one who got the worst companions. First, far too many. And each had absurdly complicated backstories, enough so each one could have their own spinoff series. There was no time for actual Doctor Who stories! So much time for each episode was dedicated to talking about one or the other of the companions, there was no screen time for anything else. And it was such a complicated mess that hardly any of it made any sense, and I couldn’t find time to care.
And when we finally did get to the main storyline, so little time was left, it was rushed silly nonsense. We hardly got to know Gatwa’s Doctor because he was rarely on screen. What a waste.
Capaldi had a few episodes that weren’t that great, but at least he had some great ones too. And the classic dynamic of the show was still there. Both Capaldi and his companion were excellent. I really liked the Clara storylines. She was a compelling character, and I think they wrapped up the Impossible Girl storyline pretty well. I think Jenna Coleman did a great job.
But when they switched up showrunners, that all went out the window. Everything changed, and not for the better.
My all time favorite was Peter Davidson, his era had some of the best writing, but unfortunately the worst budget. I remember watching an interview where they wanted a brake from the Tom Baker era where the Sonic and K9 became all powerful magic devices to get out of any scrape, and I think it worked and forced the writers / Doctor to be more clever.
It was getting back to Sonic Screwdriver magic well before Capaldi and Whittaker, and a lot of Capaldi’s writing was crap but he still had a few good stories, but Wittaker had nothing to work with. I haven’t seen any of Gatwa’s episodes.
Death to the Sonic Screwdriver!
I was excited for Whittaker although Gatwa was a bit of a surprise. They both clearly tried their best but suffered from bad writing and Gatwa from some very strange production decisions (especially with the companions).
In the end, they were the best parts of some really bad seasons. Of anyone to blame, they should be the last. I blame the writers and the showrunners.
It’s really hard to act well when there’s an anchor of shit writing and worse storytelling around your neck.
Whittaker should receive far more praise for turning complete shit into “meh”
She had a fantastic energy and terrible stories to show it in
she complained about it on some interview she was planning to ditch the show during her 1st season, im guessing she stuck till the ned.
I’ve not watched the show since Capaldi since I felt like he’s a good Doctor stuck with bad writing. Shame to see that that’s still seems to be the case 2 Doctors on.
Even Matt had bad writing hamper his run towards the end, he was still brilliant but the writing did him no favors. Although it’s debatable that any of the doctors, even before the revival with Eccleston, have had consistently good stories
Although that’s fair, they had a solid formula that they stuck to, and that at least worked reliably. After Capaldi, the formula went out the window, and they started doing all kinds of crazy shit that definitely did not work and was not reliable. Especially with how they handled the writing for the companions.
I also really liked Capaldi
I think Capaldi has some of the best storylines in the show. The one where he’s stuck in the time maze and has to chip away at the diamond wall, everything with river song. Everything with Clara. The silence aren’t quite as good as the weeping Angels but that was a pretty good storyline. Definitely got weak towards the end, the whole bill Potts season was pretty rough, but the puddle girl story was pretty memorable. Capaldi is my favorite doctor hands down but I think his seasons have some of the best writing too, interspersed with maybe some of the worst.
Hell Bent and Heaven Sent (the two parter where he’s stuck in a maze for 900 years) and Clara’s 3-season long Impossible Girl storyline are maybe my favorites of the whole damned show. And, of course, river song.
they had pretty bad writing but some of the shows ARCs had promise, it just dint turn out the way it should. ncuti was kinda the weakest show.
Capaldi honestly the writer was more like they fumbled the long plots, but isolated plots they HIT
I was disappointed they didnt make him kinda evil. In his first episode where he just straight abandoned his companion for a while i thought it was going to get really spicy.
Granted I never got round to finishing the season so it could still have gone that way, I’ll need to get on it one day
Through the Whittaker time I stopped watching. It wasn’t her, it was by far the show runner and writing.
The Doctor who has murdered entire civilizations suddenly so anti violence at all. The whiney companions. Every episode a thousand plus year old being was constantly surprised and didn’t know anything about what she encountered.
It just didn’t feel like the same show anymore.
Gatwa was the one who got the worst companions. First, far too many. And each had absurdly complicated backstories, enough so each one could have their own spinoff series. There was no time for actual Doctor Who stories! So much time for each episode was dedicated to talking about one or the other of the companions, there was no screen time for anything else. And it was such a complicated mess that hardly any of it made any sense, and I couldn’t find time to care.
And when we finally did get to the main storyline, so little time was left, it was rushed silly nonsense. We hardly got to know Gatwa’s Doctor because he was rarely on screen. What a waste.
I barely watched him, I felt so uninterested in the show that it wasn’t able to get me to care again.
But I feel this happened before either of them. Capaldi had some less than stellar writing too.
Capaldi had a few episodes that weren’t that great, but at least he had some great ones too. And the classic dynamic of the show was still there. Both Capaldi and his companion were excellent. I really liked the Clara storylines. She was a compelling character, and I think they wrapped up the Impossible Girl storyline pretty well. I think Jenna Coleman did a great job.
But when they switched up showrunners, that all went out the window. Everything changed, and not for the better.
My all time favorite was Peter Davidson, his era had some of the best writing, but unfortunately the worst budget. I remember watching an interview where they wanted a brake from the Tom Baker era where the Sonic and K9 became all powerful magic devices to get out of any scrape, and I think it worked and forced the writers / Doctor to be more clever. It was getting back to Sonic Screwdriver magic well before Capaldi and Whittaker, and a lot of Capaldi’s writing was crap but he still had a few good stories, but Wittaker had nothing to work with. I haven’t seen any of Gatwa’s episodes. Death to the Sonic Screwdriver!