grassangel | Fan panel response for Rosa

So the first two arrived like busses, all at once. However, I am being a bit decent and only letting them post until the surveys are officially over. Which is into November, unlike this one for Rosa. So I'll be rambling on about usual questions and oooh, this is different than last week, even though you lot haven't seen my responses yet.

One of the last questions did seem like it was weeding out the haters/non-watchers, so a reminder: you can sign up here-ish. (It’s not guaranteed you’ll be approved, and there is a waiting period, but they are open that it’s a thing you can sign up to.) Be a part of thing that's shaped Doctor Who more or less since it's started. Not sure how much Chibnall et al will be relying on the surveys, but Moffat did listen (and hey! I got a Muslim female companion. Jury's still out if we'll get a classic non-binary joke about titles made by the Doctor but a girl can hope.)

Usual questions, have I watched it, who with, how high I rate it. (10)

Then a blurb about the episode and how it made you feel in your own words.

It was an arresting and confronting episode. There was something mildly brilliant about making the audience uncomfortable and making them wish to change things as strongly as the Doctor and her friends did on that bus, but both unable to for different reasons. For me personally, I was aware of the gross inequality of the time period, though of course the episode brought that to a stark, uncomfortable, reality. I especially empathised with Yaz, as being mixed race, I've been in that awkward position of being too much of one thing and not enough of another. And I was very pleased there was a discussion between Yaz and Ryan about the racism they face in the modern world, rather than just leaving it as a thing that happens only in the past. The ending with the asteroid felt a bit awkward, and a few threads felt dropped like the consequences of Ryan using the temporal displacer, but otherwise the episode felt masterfully crafted.

Ratings out of 10 for: Emotional, Topical (covers topics and themes I care about), For all the family, Adventurous, Funny, For people like me, Charming, Easy enough to follow, Scary, Gripping, Shareable (stories I want to share & discuss), Fresh, Warm.
Emotional, topical and for people like me got top marks

More ratings out of 10 for: The core cast (The Doctor, Ryan, Yasmin & Graham), The other characters, The location: Alabama, 1955, The monsters/villains, The storyline
All ranked highly, but the storyline won out

And then out of 10 for the characters: Krasko, Graham, Rosa Parks, Yasmin, Ryan, James Blake, The Doctor
Ryan and the Doctor both scored highly, while obviously James Blake and Krasko ranked low

Only one word descriptions this week!
Resolute for the Doctor, awful for James Blake, stoic for Yasmin, good-hearted for Graham, scum for Krasko, steadfast for Rosa Parks, and resourceful for Ryan

More space to talk about Jodie!

It really was amazing piece of story-telling to have the Doctor (and her friends) be unable to move to help Rosa, much like the audience is unable to act due to not being able to time travel. The angst that the Doctor had on the bus, knowing she was unable to help, to stand with Rosa, because history required it, was compelling and heartbreaking. I also grratly enjoyed the bravado and confidence with which the Doctor confronted Krasko with (both times).

Then asking about the relationship between the Doctor and their friends, which I again take as leave to talk about the relationship not just with the Doctor but also each other.

It really developed this episode as they all took responsibility for each other. The Doctor really stepped up in her responsibility towards her new friends, offering them an out and trying to keep them as safe as possible and, when they declined that, delegated really responsibly. I also really liked the progression of Ryan and Graham's relationship, with Graham really stepping in to offer his protection (and love), Ryan having to accept it and both rallying around this figure that meant so much to someone they both loved. Yasmin still feels a bit left out, but it did feel like she got a fairer share than previously with both her conversation in the alley with Ryan and getting to team up with the Doctor to ask Rosa Parks to repair the Doctor's coat.

I had to give a slightly lower score than usual to the 'how likely are you to watch future episodes' question, because while I am very excited for 13, and the performances have been stellar, it's been 1 out of 3 as far as scripts go. Which is fairly typical as Doctor Who stories go, but I was expecting better and I wonder if it's because all the stories so far have been written or had significant contributions made by Chibnall, or if the script editing/supervising team just isn't as awesome as it was for s10.

Oooh, they're asking if I want to do more Doctor Who surveys. I suspect they may have had a few people be utterly scathing/did not watch and now they're weeding people out.

Lot of responses on the forum though. Haven't read through them yet, but Rosa did light a fire under a few people's asses. I will be posting there though, because I do think the entire 'putting the audience in the same awful position as the Doctor and friends, unable to help Rosa stand against inequality' was brilliant, as well as just utter delight that the Doctor will be bragging about that repair FOR AGES. Also: to complain about the ranking out of ten not allowing for complex things like a villain being the kind you love to hate or just being meh.