My old thoughts on Doctor Who before I stopped watching season 8

Photo by Aleks Dahlberg

My honest thoughts on Doctor Who lately. Sorry, not sorry that it's a giant mess

And just know that these are my opinions. So I’m sorry for not being sorry that you might not like some of my ideas.

Note, this does not mean that I will not continue watching the show nor am I bashing it. In fact, I’ll continue watching it, in hopes that it will become better again.

Also, there are spoilers up ahead. So proceed with caution.

The 50^th Anniversary only made me confused in the end.

The Christmas Special was kind of disappointing.

The Doctor was boring, simply waiting around, aging. Well technically he wasn’t waiting around; he was helping save Trenzalore from the multiple alien attacks that came because he was there. However, I kind of wanted to see more shots of him coming up with brilliant battle strategies, him fighting, or even more shots of him having fun among the natives there. The shots with Clara wasn’t really all that important either. Minus the shot where she asked the Gallifreyians to give the Doctor more regenerations. Well more on Clara later.

The only part when I felt truly sad was when he gave up on his bowtie. And since the bowtie basically much symbolized him. It was sad to know that he gave it up because it truly meant that he was going to die, and be gone, and ‘never’ come back (he’ll hopefully show up in the 75^th or 100^th anniversary special, right?).

However, that sadness didn’t last very long, because it was replaced by a quick surprise at how fast he regenerated. And then that surprise turned into confusion because the first words that came out of the 12^th Doctor’s mouth were, “kidneys!” Before going on to saying how he didn’t like the color of his kidney. First of all, how did he know what color his kidneys were? Second, why did he care about the color of his kidneys (not unless he’s ill, then that would be bad). Third, will he ever say, “Damn it, I’m still not ginger?”

I was also appalled at the fact that he forgot how to fly the TARDIS. Granted, he was on Trenzalore for a few centuries, never going anywhere else. Plus, he just regenerated and he usually develops some sort of amnesia right after he regenerated. So, I don’t blame him for not remembering how to fly the TARDIS. But I’ll still continue to stay appalled if he doesn’t remember it soon.

I’m also very happy and excited that Peter Calpadi is now playing the 12^th Doctor. Because there will hopefully be no romantic interest. And maybe, just maybe he’ll make Doctor Who even better than before, (well ever since Stevan Moffat took over as showrunner) because he is a lifelong fan. And, I miss what New Who used to be.

The seventh season was a flop.

Clara was like any of the other female companions that Steven Moffat created. Sexy, sarcastic, smart, not caring much for her family. Yet, she was boring. She isn’t defiant. She doesn’t stand up to the Doctor when it comes to what’s wrong. She’s also surprisingly obedient. And really, all she wants is to be the Doctor’s love interest (which is understandable), but that’s too typical. She cries that the Doctor broke his promise in the Christmas episode (2013), about never leaving her (twice!) And she doesn’t bother doing anything about it, not until that one lady showed up and brought her to the Doctor all just to be emotional support. Which wasn’t really needed, because when the Doctor was dying he was remembering Amy and not her.

In other words, she could have had plenty of chances to actually grow. But because Steven Moffat is his sexist self, he wouldn’t allow it. Hence the reason why Clara isn’t my favorite female companion.

I was, of course, sad when Amy and Rory died. But I couldn’t really cry over them, knowing that they were still alive in some other time period. 

I want someone to replace Steven Moffat as showrunner, like R.T Davies, Niel Gaiman, Peter Calpadi, anyone that actually cares about Doctor Who and is actually determined to bring some equality among Doctor Who.

I want a showrunner, who doesn’t make the female companions just sexy playthings for the Doctor. And if the Doctor did treat them as such, then I want that female companion to stand up for herself and actually call out what the Doctor did. And tell him that she will not, in any circumstances of time or space, tolerate that from him.

I want a showrunner who’s willing to portray the female companion as someone more than just simply wanting the Doctor romantically. I want a companion whose whole life doesn’t revolve around the Doctor or whose sole purpose is to save the Doctor. I want that female companion to also care for her family. To actually acknowledge their existence. I also want them to be best friends with the Doctor. I also want them to make the Doctor see that he’s fucking scary sometimes and that he should tone it down a bit or else he’ll not only kill his enemies but himself and everyone else around him. In other words, I want another companion who’s a bit like Rose, Martha, and Donna.

I want a showrunner, writing out episodes that actually make sense and isn’t so full of plot holes.

I want that showrunner to actually put something more back into Doctor Who. To make it so emotional and heartbreaking that you cannot help but cry. I want there to be some monumental lesson on morality, back on Doctor Who. Only that it’s so subtly hinted at, that you don’t notice it till later. When you’re thinking to yourself in bed, as you replay that episode over again in your mind.

I want the showrunner to make Doctor Who kind of cheesy again, like R.T Davies seasons cheesy. Because that was cute, and it was dorky, and it was funny, and what made Doctor Who, Doctor Who.

I want Captain Jack, Rose, Donna, Martha, Mickey, Strax, River Song, Vastra, Jenny, and all the other companions that have been on Doctor Who and who are still alive (as in the actor is still alive), to come back again.

I just want one episode where it’s basically much the Doctor’s companion reunion. And they have a party on the Tardis, and they tell each other stories of their adventures with the Doctor and what happened since moving on. I want some of them to get drunk, and stuff to happen. And then they somehow get some obscure famous person that impacted the world in some way, to join them. And then they end up saving the dying planet of Sancillia from some unknown source that turned out to be the native people’s other selves.

I miss R.T Davies.

I miss how the shows used to be cheesy. There were minimal plot holes. There was Captain Jack. They used to involve the companion’s family. The aliens were new or bought back from the Classics, not used over and over again. The companions were normal people when they met the Doctor. It was more heartbreaking. Tears actually came to my eyes. People actually died instead of going back in time, so that the version that was them in this time period is dead. The companions actually gathered around. It was cheesy in a good way. And it was just so, so intriguing.

And now the weather: so many old songs
Hai Co Tien by 365Daband

- Stacy Nguyen