waving feather

Yes, this is precisely my point. RTD does some cheesy things like unrequited love stories like with Martha but I could still tolerate that. I disliked how all of Moffat's companions met such a sad and tragic end. And no, it doesn't make it better when they are not even human anymore because that's what they were originally. RTD is also better at making the companions flawed but still likeable. Moffat's companions were all tragic heroes. I couldn't fully get into Chibnall's to comment on his companions but glad to hear they were not tragic heroes like Moffat's companions.

I agree! Or it tends to be a bit depressing. I liked Amy and Rory fine but some of their storylines were really quite sad and depressing. RTD does more campy stuff and DW needs some camp if you ask me. He had some tragic things happened to his characters too but at least the journey to get there is more light-hearted. I wouldn't say S5 & S6 were bad but some of it was pretty gloomy.

I'm glad to have RTD back. Yes, he can be problematic and annoying in some of his characterisation but he knows how to bring the magic of Doctor Who and the Doctor. I may be biased though because I started with New Who and 9th and 10th runs were my favorites.

I think 10 was not so human with Rose and Martha. He was more human with Donna but still an oddity. The 2023 specials with Donna, 10 (or 14) was indeed very human but that's understandable with how it ended. Maybe that's why I loved 12, even though he got mixed reviews. I personally prefer when they are weirder and when their minds don't exactly do the same reasoning that humans do. Both the writing and acting are very important to bring that out. The Doctor should be fond of the human race but not relate to them too much. If the Doctor gets too human, it will be just another sci-fi action adventure show. I also wish 13 was better at making big impactful speeches. 10 and 11 were particularly good at that. I always applauded how menacing both 10 and 11 could get with their tones in a split second.

The problem I have with Jodie's Doctor is they made her too human. I enjoy seeing quirks from other doctors to show that they are not exactly human in their thinking. It makes the Doctor more mystical and intruiging. But most of the things 13 does is what a nice normal human would do. Either that or because she has so many companions at one time that it's hard to see a clearer contrast between the Doctor and their companion like other seasons.

I didn't like this episode. The essence of the show is the regular round table and banishment. It's not as fun to watch when that's missing and I felt like I was watching a different game show. The round table debates and banishment is what I look forward to the most in the UK/AU versions. The only reason I can think of is, the producers have clocked that most of the contestants already know Parvati is a traitor and wanted to keep her a bit longer. Even Phaedra is under suspicion now. This kind of producer intervention is not fun. If Pavarti and/or Peter is banished, it's okay too. Let the game go on as it should!

When it got closer to the end, yes. He wasn't pleased and actually caused the downfall of the other traitor, lol.

@MicheleinPhilly ETA: also by giving the traitors a cut-off time for recruitment, it gives them more of a dilemma and a sense of urgency whether to recruit or not. Now they are so relaxed about it. Let the traitors have the power that they already have but there should be more challenges for them throughout the game. The poison chalice was a good example! And this is borrowing from Survivor but give them a side mission during the regular mission with everyone and if they don't complete it, they can't murder for the night. I don't know if that would drag out the show but it will give the faithfuls more chance to catch suspicious behavior during the missions.

I totally agree with this. 1) at some point in the game, the number of traitors should not be allowed to be replenished. Or only replenish if there's one traitor left. Else, the ratio of traitors to faithful is so skewed that there is virtually no chance for the faithful to win. 2) if you are a faithful and you have clocked who is the traitor, try to pander to them so they think you can be easily manipulated and won't rally the troops to banish you. And if that fails, have beef with only the traitor, so they will be less likely to murder you (for fear of being found out). And only banish the traitor(s) by final 5 or just before final 5. Because by then everyone is more open-minded to banish even the popular players, whereas early on, people just banish other people who rub them the wrong way. But of course with everything, humans are unpredictable, so one can only execute their best strategy and hope it works out. This makes me think perhaps has the right strategy afterall. I don't know if he's doing it intentionally or not but since he's going along with whatever the "head" traitor wants, they will be less likely to turn on him.

Also episode 9 spoilers:

Oof, second season's ending is intense. I did feel sorry for Sam because he did carry the team and worked his butt off the entire season but he got a bit too aggressive in dealing with some people. I feel less sorry for Blake because he wouldn't get to the finale without Sam plotting, imo. And Camille was just there and didn't do or say much throughout the season.

Thoughts on episode 8 spoiler tagged below. It was really good. I appreciate this cast more than season 1. Season 1 cast were all unnecessary weepy, and I don't mean getting emotional but consistently bursting into tears.

Is anyone watching the second season? Putting below behind spoiler tags in case some people haven't caught up.

I really disliked the fact that her wishy-washiness between the two brothers caused more strife in the family. Cole and Alex sort of reconciled at the end but she probably ruined it again by going after Cole when she could have left it alone. Or she should have been honest about her feelings for Cole in the first place. It will be kinda unrealistic for Alex to forgive both of them when he finds out. I'm not fond of the character but I really hope he wouldn't. And if I were the parents, I would be pissed that Jackie has worsened the already existing sibling rivalry between my two children and just ran away temporarily to escape accountability. Anyway, I probably shouldn't even give much thought to this lame show.