(no subject)

[grassangel]

Something went wrong with sending out the surveys? I got 1 & 2 all at the same time.
Actually, no. Checking the forum and apparently they were spaced out in order to give time for airings that occur later in the week. Which obviously changed as 1 and 2 went out within hours of each other.

My expectations of e1 were middling, the episode met my expectations, but the overall was good.

Having gone through a few of these 'first episode with a new Doctor' I know they might not be as quick on the uptake as others as actor, writer and crew get used to the new Doctor. I felt some of the dialogue was overburdened with exposition and trying to tick certain boxes associated with introducing a new Doctor and thus felt a little clunky. However the actors did a stellar job of bringing the characters to life. I fell in love with Grace and her relationship with Graham and Ryan, Ryan's curiosity endeared me to him, and even the rather incidental characters who met an untimely end were sketched out in such a way that made their deaths more visceral. And of course Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor was a delight, her facial expressions and the energy she brings are exactly what the Doctor should be.

I’d previously said, on the forums when the survey hadn’t come through:

Love the thirteenth Doctor and her new friends (especially Ryan, who seems sweet and a good young man). My entire family also loved Grace and her dynamic with Graham. Really looking forward to the second episode, especially in terms of getting over the awkwardness and little bit of clunkiness that comes with having to include a lot of exposition. (And also eager to see and hear the theme and title sequence after the tease of the credits!) Jodie Whittaker's facial expressions are a delight. The deaths were rather... emotionally visceral though, which is kind of good (great sketching out of characters, reminder that death is final), kind of bad (there was one or two too many, very fridge horror). But the setting and locations used did feel like a real place.
And again, Jodie Whittaker's facial expressions (and in general, her entire performance) as the Doctor was a delight.

Then rating, out of 10: 

Charming, For people like me, Gripping, Adventurous, For all the family, Shareable (stories I want to share & discuss), Topical (covers topics and themes I care about), Easy enough to follow, Emotional, Scary, Warm, Funny, Fresh. (Emotional and warm received my highest marks.)
Then: 

The core cast (The Doctor, Ryan, Yasmin & Graham), The monsters/villains, The location: Sheffield, The other characters, The storyline. (Sheffield got the highest score)
Then: 

Ryan, Graham, Tim Shaw, Yasmin, the Doctor. (Ryan and the Doctor win that one)

Two word time! For each of the above characters listed. Purposeful and searching for the Doctor, curious and eager for Ryan, curious and adventurous for Yaz, hesitant and responsible for Graham, Jotun and cheat for Tim Shaw

Free space to gush about Jodie as 13!

Having read and listened to a few interviews with Jodie before watching the episode, I did feel certain she would bring the right passion and kindness needed for the role. In the episode, she absolutely succeeds in bringing the high energy needed for the Doctor, as well as the sense of justice needed for the various parts of the story. Her facial expressions and reactions also are worth watching the episode again for, as they are wonderfully nuanced and give a real sense of who the Doctor is and brings some of my favourite aspects of the character forward into her version of the character. Such as being offended at being mistaken for human, or the quiet sadness the Doctor has for their family.

Asked me to ramble about the team’s relationship

It's almost a bit too early to say. I do love that Ryan shares a similar sense of curiosity as the Doctor. I do like the potential of Graham and Ryan's relationship, kind of fractious but having to work around the Grace-sized hole between them. I find it interesting that Ryan's the lynch pin in the group, being friends with Yasmin in primary school, and Graham being his step-grandad. I think the Doctor and Graham could bond about being grandparents and the challenges and experiences that brings. Yasmin's relationship with the Doctor feels the most tenuous - aside from her curiosity and obligation to the Doctor for having fixed the problem, there doesn't    seem to be much between them, something I hope will be fixed in future episodes.

How likely am I to watch more (very), how much of other Doctor Who I’ve watched (all of the recent, though they interestingly don’t have any ‘some of the old series’ options), and which of, and how much of, the previous recent doctor’s I’ve watched (all of them, just all of them).

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My expectations for the second episode were high, I said exceeded but it’s more that weird thing where it fell short in some places but exceeded in others, and gave it an overall high score.

Free space! Aka I gush about the Doctor/TARDIS shipping

It felt like a continuation of episode 1. There was a certain lightness and unwillingness to commit too deeply to the situation that made it feel like it was still an introduction. Which I think did the story and the characters introduced a disservice. It did build on some things from the previous episode - Ryan and Graham still figuring out their relationship around the recent departure of Grace, the war crimes of the Stenza. I do agree with Graham on not liking things being implanted against his will, even though it does provide interesting future possibilities. The cheeky hint? tease? of something in the Doctor's past was fun, especially discussing it later as to what that might be. But by far my favourite part was the Doctor's reunion with the TARDIS. It was a wonderful performance by Jodie and the lines were spot on too. The Doctor's bare need for the TARDIS to materialise and then bare affection and fondness once it has were an absolute highlight. The Doctor and the TARDIS's relationship is one of my favourite parts of the show and those last few minutes did it absolute justice.

Out of ten for: 

Emotional, For all the family, For people like me, Topical (covers topics and themes I care about), Adventurous, Easy enough to follow, Funny, Fresh, Warm, Scary, Charming, Shareable (stories I want to share & discuss), Gripping (Emotional and easy to follow won, but like... I don’t think being too easy to follow is exactly good and I know exactly why that question is there, thanks Moffat.) 


The core cast (The Doctor, Ryan, Yasmin & Graham), The storyline, The monsters/villains, The other characters, The location: Planet Desolation (again, the location won out)


Epzo, The Doctor, Graham, The Remnants, Yasmin, Angstrom, Sniperbots, Ilin, Ryan (this had the widest range of scores I’ve ever done. The Doctor, Angstrom and Ryan were top scoring, but I do wonder what my low scores for Epzo, the Sniperbots and Ilin mean...)

Two word time! For each of the above characters listed. Determined and loving for the Doctor, steadfast and determined for Ryan, solid and supportive for Yaz, braver and stylish for Graham, asshole and rude for Epzo, sympathetic and noble for Angstrom, mysterious and unsympathetic for Ilin, robots? and faceless for the Sniperbots, interesting and intriguing for the Remnants. (I am so confused why they think I care about the Sniperbots.)

More free space to gush about Jodie! 

The first few minutes, with the Doctor all up in Epzo's face and arguing him down to take charge was great, and it was satisfying to see Jodie fulfil that aspect of the Doctor, even while glaring upwards-ish. It was really a good episode overall for her to demonstrate how the Doctor takes charge and has lifetimes of experience and knowledge to back it up. But the absolute highlight, and the best performance was in regards to the TARDIS. From realising the Ghost Monument is the TARDIS to their reunion, it was the best part of the episode. It was absolutely perfect and all I could ever ask for to demonstrate the deepness of the relationship between the Doctor and their TARDIS short of doing The Doctor's Wife again. Jodie absolutely nailed the Doctor's need and desperation for the TARDIS to materialise and then turned around and did an incredible job of the Doctor's bare affection and fondness once it did.

And more free space to talk about the team’s relationship

It's still very early days. But I do feel the Doctor has taken responsibility for the three of them, and feels it's her duty to do right by them. From giving Graham the sunglasses to believing she's failed to get them back, they're her responsibility. And she feels... not quite hesitant, but as if the Doctor's been burnt too many times and too recently to commit to wanting to keep them around. Meanwhile I think Ryan's still very eager to adventure with the Doctor, especially with the support and encouragement she provides. Yasmin feels eager to adventure too, though it's not entirely clear why beyond wanting to achieve a sense of individuality and unique responsibility. Graham's warming to the idea of adventure, and I think to the idea of the Doctor as well, even if I think it's because I think he sees someone else who's been hurt by the loss of someone close to them.

Plus the same questions as last time, which must be for the purposes of sorting responses. (Eta: someone mentioned they also hate there’s no ‘some classic’ answer, and it IS for the purposes of sorting our responses.)

Tags, if this were tumblr: reading this back after watching two more episodes, I'm quite happy with those responses, especially in regards to the team dynamic.
(but also like... if any of these responses get shared around production, I don't know whether I'd be pleased or embarrassed if they included some of the gushing I've done)