Are people still watching Dr Who?

[Beorning]

What it says on the tin, really ;) I've been wondering: are people still watching Dr Who?

I haven't been following the series regularly for some time - I admit that the Moffat's later seasons really felt weak to me. Then, even when Moffat's era ended, I wasn't really sure how I felt about the Doctor becoming a woman, so I haven't been following the last two seasons, either. Especially as comments I've seen online were really disheartening. So my interest in following the show faltered.

But... I was able to catch with these last two seasons lately. And actually? I found them reasonably good. Nothing truly revolutionary, but the episodes I watched actually kept me interested. They felt quite fresh and watchable after the later efforts by Moffat, which I thought were mired in overcomplicated timespace plots, prophecies and high-concept weirdness. Not to mention, there were episodes that were simply boring or just plain stupid. Meanwhile, post-Moffat episodes feel more dynamic, somewhat more grounded in reality (as much as Dr Who stories allow) and - so far - didn't had anything that hit as a plainly bad / silly / childish idea. No dinosaurs on a spaceship so far... And Jodie Whitaker's Doctor actually is growing on me.

So... what's everybody else's opinion? And does anyone even pay attention to this show?

[Envious]

I don't like 13.

I was stoked to get a female Doctor, but the personality of this incarnation rubs me the wrong way. And her outfit looks dumb. It's been a while, so I can't remember specific details. I have a vague recollection of feeling that the Doctor changes her moral compass to suit her own agenda. I think there was a sentiment of "no guns!" one episode that pivoted to "shoot them!" the next episode, that just had me scratching my head like I missed something big. I'm okay with characters changing, and I'm also okay with things not making much sense, but after making such a stink over it like it was the hill she was going to die on, I couldn't move past it. I don't actually remember for certainty what the "it" was, though  :P

I do like the grandpa companion though. I forget his name, but he's been great to watch.

Despite not liking the Doctor, I do enjoy the show enough to continue watching. Some shows, I'm glued to the TV and immersed. Doctor Who used to be that way, but it has turned into a show I'll put on as background noise as I'm doing something else.

[Maethaneos]

I keep meaning to catch up but I just don't. I watched the first few episodes with Jodie and while she seems fine, nothing has made me compelled to want to catch up. Capaldi will likely always be my favorite.

[Deamonbane]

I keep meaning to catch up but I just don't.

Ugh, I know that feel.

[Beorning]

I don't like 13.

I was stoked to get a female Doctor, but the personality of this incarnation rubs me the wrong way. And her outfit looks dumb. It's been a while, so I can't remember specific details. I have a vague recollection of feeling that the Doctor changes her moral compass to suit her own agenda. I think there was a sentiment of "no guns!" one episode that pivoted to "shoot them!" the next episode, that just had me scratching my head like I missed something big. I'm okay with characters changing, and I'm also okay with things not making much sense, but after making such a stink over it like it was the hill she was going to die on, I couldn't move past it. I don't actually remember for certainty what the "it" was, though  :P

Really? I haven't seen all of her episodes yet, but so far 13 seems pretty consistent in not being into violent solutions. I mean, she didn't even want those giant spiders killed... She does fight the monsters, but she usually gives them an alternative before that. The one exception I can think of are the Daleks - but we all know that trying to reason with Daleks is pointless.

As for the outfit - I don't think it's worse than some of the stuff previous Doctors were wearing... :)

I do like the grandpa companion though. I forget his name, but he's been great to watch.

Of the new companions, I like Yaz the most, because she feels like the most driven and energetic one. Ryan and Graham kind of stay more in the background for me - not sure what they bring into the team. Just my opinion, though.

Despite not liking the Doctor, I do enjoy the show enough to continue watching. Some shows, I'm glued to the TV and immersed. Doctor Who used to be that way, but it has turned into a show I'll put on as background noise as I'm doing something else.

Dr Who was never a "background noise" show for me... The problem I had with it lately, though, was the gnawing feeling that this show really stopped being truly good - and that I was watching it more because of being a lifelong Dr Who fan in general, not because of liking the current episodes. I think I first had it during Moffat's third season, during the dinosaurs episode. I remember seeing Matt Smith riding a dinosaur and thinking: "Okay, let's be honest: this is getting stupid". That's why I dropped out, eventually. And that's why I'm liking 13's episodes so far: because they actually keep me interested / intrigued / excited enough to continue watching.

I keep meaning to catch up but I just don't. I watched the first few episodes with Jodie and while she seems fine, nothing has made me compelled to want to catch up. Capaldi will likely always be my favorite.

Ah, I absolute loved Capaldi as the Doctor... the problem was, IMHO, that he wasn't given too many good episodes to star it. For example, let's take the Zygon uprising two-parter: Capaldi absolutely rocked in this final speech of his. But the episode in general? Nothing that special. Some of Jodie's episodes are actually much more better.

The small problem I have with Jodie is that she lacks the gravitas of the previous modern Doctors. She just doesn't project that kind of presence. But, maybe, she doesn't have to? After Matt Smith (whose tendency for bombastic speeches was a bit ridiculous) and Capaldi (whose final regular episode had the Doctor wallow in suicidal depression), maybe what is needed is a Doctor that is allowed to mostly be perky and fun...

[Lux12]

I have friends who are huge fans, but I could never get into it...It seemed a really long series with a fandom had a bunch of in jokes I couldn't get unless I watched every last one, and some of the worldbuilding behind just frankly pissed me off. I absolutely LOATHE the very idea of people saying stuff akin to "Well as it turns out demons are just aliens, because science..." You already have a bunch of things which if put scientific scrutiny would not hold up and would seem absolutely ass fuck "irrational" and revolving heavily around time travel which itself may not actually be possible because time is a human construct used to keep track of earths rotations on it's axis and revolutions around the sun...So especially in context, including explicitly supernatural things and not trying to use half assed attempts at a scientific explanation would make more sense...

That said it's not that I even think the show is bad. Wotan, Ra, The Morrigan, and Mokosh know there's far worse series out there. A lot of science fiction stuff, especially some older works probably wouldn't hold up well if we appraised strictly on scientific accuracy. i mean as someone who enjoys Star Trek (though admittedly I'm mostly a fan of the original series, Next Gen, and Deep Space 9), I have to admit there are things in that show that definitely aren't completely scientifically accurate. Star Wars definitely doesn't. This may sound strange coming from a pagan occultist, but I can't exactly explain why it works for me in franchises or series but not others.

All my rantings and tangents aside.... I don't hear much if anything about Dr.Who anymore. A lot of people I know who were super into it so much as three years ago seem to have fallen off for some reason and I don't know why exactly. I've never done an inquiry into it. I don't know why it never clicked for me, but I'm also equally clueless as to why some people who were really into the series fell off or aren't talking about it at least. Honestly, that's a touch sad in its own way.

[Beorning]

I have friends who are huge fans, but I could never get into it...It seemed a really long series with a fandom had a bunch of in jokes I couldn't get unless I watched every last one, and some of the worldbuilding behind just frankly pissed me off. I absolutely LOATHE the very idea of people saying stuff akin to "Well as it turns out demons are just aliens, because science..." You already have a bunch of things which if put scientific scrutiny would not hold up and would seem absolutely ass fuck "irrational" and revolving heavily around time travel which itself may not actually be possible because time is a human construct used to keep track of earths rotations on it's axis and revolutions around the sun...So especially in context, including explicitly supernatural things and not trying to use half assed attempts at a scientific explanation would make more sense...

Well, it's a sci-fi show (if of the "soft sci-fi" variety) and there's a long tradition of Dr Who stories who explain demons etc. as more scientific phenomena. That said, there's at least one classic Who episode (Image of the Fendahl) which is very Lovecraftian. And in the latest season, the Doctor took the stance of "Ghosts do not exists... except maybe they do?". So... ;)

That said it's not that I even think the show is bad. Wotan, Ra, The Morrigan, and Mokosh know there's far worse series out there. A lot of science fiction stuff, especially some older works probably wouldn't hold up well if we appraised strictly on scientific accuracy. i mean as someone who enjoys Star Trek (though admittedly I'm mostly a fan of the original series, Next Gen, and Deep Space 9), I have to admit there are things in that show that definitely aren't completely scientifically accurate. Star Wars definitely doesn't. This may sound strange coming from a pagan occultist, but I can't exactly explain why it works for me in franchises or series but not others.

Oh, I don't think that Dr Who gets criticized for being too scientifically inaccurate... It's not that kind of a show :)

All my rantings and tangents aside.... I don't hear much if anything about Dr.Who anymore. A lot of people I know who were super into it so much as three years ago seem to have fallen off for some reason and I don't know why exactly. I've never done an inquiry into it. I don't know why it never clicked for me, but I'm also equally clueless as to why some people who were really into the series fell off or aren't talking about it at least. Honestly, that's a touch sad in its own way.

I honestly feel there's some sort of knee-jerk reaction going on against the current run of episodes, the showrunner and the current Doctor herself. Not saying that there's no room for criticism and that every single one of the recent episodes is perfection, but... the amount of hate being spilled online is astonishing. "The writing sucks now", "The stories are bad", "Jodie Whitaker can't play the Doctor", all of this. Seriously? As I mentioned in the earlier posts, I actually didn't expect to like these episodes when I got around to catching up with them - but I did. I honestly can't say that they are worse than what came before. So, all this criticism really seems quite irrational. It's as if people were unable to deal with the previous showrunner leaving (which was a good thing, IMHO - he really was burned out creatively, if you ask me) and with the idea of a female Doctor (which is a big change, I agree - but it feels like some people consider it the greatest blasphemy ever). And they were trying to find reasons to hate the show...

[RedRose]

I stopped, unsure when. Years ago. I was thinking, maybe.

[Andol]

Really? I haven't seen all of her episodes yet, but so far 13 seems pretty consistent in not being into violent solutions. I mean, she didn't even want those giant spiders killed... She does fight the monsters, but she usually gives them an alternative before that. The one exception I can think of are the Daleks - but we all know that trying to reason with Daleks is pointless.

Hope I am not spoiling the fun, but Beorning if you are interested, in the idea. The Doctor actually has 'reasoned with the Daleks before' mind you that was back during a serial with the Second Doctor. When he taught them to ask questions and question the orders of the orders of the Dalek Emperor... but hey... it was quiet interesting to say the least. I believe it was called The Evil of The Daleks and was orginally the point they meant to end using the Daleks and make the Cybermen the Doctors main enemy.

[Sasquatch421]

I used to, but I'll admit I really need to get caught back up... The last Doctor I remember was played by Tom Baker way back when.

[Andol]

I used to, but I'll admit I really need to get caught back up... The last Doctor I remember was played by Tom Baker way back when.

One the best of the bunch by far... Genesis of the Daleks is a quality episode.

[Starkweather]

There’s something different about the show since Eleven left. Haven’t enjoyed the show since.

[RedRose]

Is River still there

[Gnollboy92]

Is River still there

I believe they wrapped up her story in a Christmas special titled The Husbands of River Song. So I don't think she's around in the current iteration of the Doctor. Which is a shame, she was a great character and I'd happily watch a spinoff focused on her.

[Forest Huntress]

I stopped watching it, like many I was happy to see and female doctor, but it didn't turn out good.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

[Deadsexy]

I'm afraid Jodie Whittaker crabbing around the set with her incessant chattering like a natterjack toad ruined it for me. Perhaps Ncuti Gatwa (what a sexy hunk) can pull things back, I just hope they dont dress him up like a clown , that would be a real heartbreaker :( otherwise I shall be drooling at the screen :D 

[Stella]

Reviving this!

I stopped watching for awhile.  I didn't like Jodie's Doctor but I also felt the show had been pretty bad for awhile before then, too - I love Peter Capaldi and kept watching for him, but I also recognised that the stories just weren't so good anymore. 

I'm beyond excited for Ncuti! RTD coming back feels like a super desperate move by the BBC to claw back its viewership, but that's fine.  And as much as I love Tennant I am kind of perplexed by this whole 14th Doctor thing (which I know, that's the point!) mainly because it's totally overshadowing Ncuti.  Most people are way more excited for Tennant coming back than seeing Ncuti and it shouldn't be that way.  I think it was a dick move by the BBC and I think it'll also backfire.  People will tune back in for David, but they won't necessarily stay for Ncuti.  I have a feeling we may be seeing it cancelled in a couple of years.  And that's okay?  Maybe we need a little break here. 

I guess some of my frustration story-wise is the constant stacking of threat.  Every season we're faced with The biggest threat EVAR! and it's not sustainable TV.  The stakes don't always have to be so high.

So yeah.  I'm looking forward to Ncuti and to David, I'm just bothered by the way they've chosen to market this.  They're desperate. 

(Also if we could stop trotting out tired, old, white, British comedians that'd be splendid.)

[Stella]

Well! We have a new companion (these kids just keep getting younger, lol) and I'm getting serious Rose vibes from the pic they've released. I think the next season will be a lot of silly fun, lower-stakes shenanigans after all the Timeless Child nonsense.

On another note, I actually collect the clothes work by some past companions and it's an expensive hobby, so I'm kind of glad I'm old enough to be Ruby's mum and won't be tempted to cosplay her!

[RedRose]

I ended up loving the Rose plot though in the beginning she annoyed me. I prefer River ♥

[LostInTheMist]

I stopped watching, but I haven't given up the ghost on it. I just got tired of it. After a certain period of time without a really good episode, I'd just had enough. I was really excited when Jodie Whittaker was announced as the Doctor, but she never really earned the title for me. (Every Doctor has to earn the title. From then on, they are always The Doctor, and in the re-watch I consider them The Doctor.) Every Doctor has his moment from pretty much right away to heavily delayed. ("Everybody lives Rose! Everybody lives!" was Eccleston's moment for me. "It's a fightin' hand" from the Christmas special was enough to give Tennant the title.) Whittaker never had a moment like that for me. (Although I haven't seen the latest batch called Flux.)

Of course, my favorite Doctor will always be Tom Baker (4, not to be confused with Colin Baker, 6, no relation, and no comparison.) Eccleston and Tennant both had the same ability Baker had to go from happy-go-lucky-carefree to cold rage down. I grew up on old tape recordings of network tv broadcasts of Doctor Who here in the states. We got some Pertwee, most of Baker, and random assortments of 5, 6, 7. Baker was also lucky in that he got some of the best serials of the whole show. Genesis of the Daleks, Pyramids of Mars, Seeds of Doom, etc.

I'll go back to it... just not yet. Haven't got the desire or the free time.

[Dale]

The Doctor who (no pun intended) had my interest was Tom Baker - number 4 - the long scarf and jelly-babies one. And Chris Eccleston's "Lots of planets have a north". I also liked David Tennant's Doctor with Rose in the mix and Peter Capaldi's version. Although not all episodes.

Episodes I least liked were Moffat/Gatiss plots. If there was nothing better to watch with limited time, I caught a few. One that tickled me was the "Goodbye you are the weakest link" robot. The rest have vanished from my brain like sand from a leaking hourglass!

I wanted to like Jodie Whittaker's Doctor but, despite being a good actress, I feel she never got a good zingy plot and just had too much to carry. That's ignoring clothing, and I didn't like hers.

The next instalment looks promising from trailers. I loved "Doctor Donna, Catherine Tait, so dubbed by the Ood, and enjoyed the banter, so I'm anticipating some more of that. If I can get behind the new Doctor I'll watch out of interest so I hope he gets good storylines.

[RedRose]

I love the angels and the ood

[grdell]

When I saw the title of this post I was all like "HOW DARE YOU?!"

Because yes, I do. I see every episode as it airs and I have done so since the revival. I've been a huge fan since well before the revival, as I grew up watching it on PBS here in the states. I was over the moon when they brought it back and I've not missed a single episode since.

So, yes. People ARE still watching Dr. Who thank you very much. ;)

[WickWinchester2023]

Haven't seen Doctor Who in years, the last time I remember being when the Doctor first became a woman. It was alright but stopped watching it for some reason. Not that I found it bad or anything, though from what I heard it got worse, just lost interest for some reason.

However I've never gotten over the 11th Doctor, even after so many years. Matt Smith's farewell to both Clara Oswald and the fans, as both the Doctor and himself respectively, made me sad. I enjoyed his portrayal and he'll always by my favorite Doctor.

[ChillyCanadian]

I watched all of 13s seasons and the first one was by far the weakest. I dunno why they thought making it easier for people to follow was a good idea. It wasn't. I don't know why they thought giving her momentary quirks that literally never came up again was good either (such as the biscuit dispenser in her Tardis). 

She basically was just "good" and that was it. Anything that made her unique or different from previous incarnations aside from being a woman was absent. 

Say what you will about the sonic glasses, at least Capaldi had things that made him unique. Smith and tennant too. 

I'm excited to see tennant come back again and it looks like they upped the budget quite a bit as well. Hopefully this carries into ncuti's tenor, and hopefully he gets unique traits for his incarnation as well.