DanaK

The Doctor was also probably horrified at the Master reveal because she and probably past Doctors have been having an email/text correspondence with O for awhile. You wonder what they have been telling him

Graham did say to O that they would ask the Doctor about things but she would avoid answering, so it looks like they will learn more things this season. I think the Doctor strongly wants them to be family because she’s so lonely but she didn’t want to open up to them It certainly seems surprising the team didn’t learn much about her last season, but Chibnall and/or BBC seemed determined that the first season would be stripped back and be easy access to lure back old viewers and entice new ones, including much of the Doctor’s mythology and old monsters, then to add things back in in subsequent seasons I think the Master’s it’s all a lie thing is probably about the glowing aliens and the current crisis and not anything about the Doctor’s history. Chibnall has made it clear that the team will learn more about the Doctor this season and that Gallifrey and Time Lord will be mentioned. It seems clear he’s upping the ante this season and certain gripes will be dealt with

I’ve seen quite a few comments from people online saying one of the improvements over last season was splitting up the team to do important stuff. I don’t understand this because the team split up several times in Series 11 to take care of things. I can think off the top of my head Rosa, Kerblam, The Witchfinders, It Takes You Away though that was mostly Ryan who was separated, and Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos One thing I’m a little unclear on is about the Master reveal. The Doctor went from uh oh to OMFG. What was she initially thinking after she saw O’s house from the plane window and then went Ohhhh? The Master then went on to give her another clue with Spy...Master and she seemed to fully understand. What was her likely understanding after the house reveal, that O was not who he seemed and had betrayed them somehow but not that he was the Master?

As I recall, The Master did have a human wife during the 10th Doctor’s era, who then shot and killed him, then mucked up his resurrection

As part of this program reminder, note that Episode 2 is 1 hour long (via the BBC in the UK) so if you are using a DVR, set it accordingly or otherwise plan accordingly. It looks like BBC America will slot it for 1 hour 26 minutes (due to all their commercials) so US viewers should really plan accordingly if they watch via a DVR or something similar

If you use Twitter, you can follow several of the show's production folks, but I want to point out that costume designer Ray Holman is on Twitter (@HolmanRay) (he might also have an Instagram account) and he has indicated he will talk about costume design at the appropriate times, which may not be until the end of the season (though possibly after certain episodes as well). Today, he talked about the costumes for Spyfall, Part 1, especially Jodie's tux The Age interview with Chibnall and Jodie https://www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/misogynists-don-t-scare-time-lord-jodie-whittaker-i-know-how-it-works-20191224-p53mri.html

Costume designer Ray Holman talks about the look for the team for Spyfall

@angora I’ve seen one or more people say elsewhere that 13’s propensity for talking out the problem before coming up with the solution instead of just presenting the solution like other Doctors did may make a number of people feel she knows less and is less confident. I find that an interesting theory. Perhaps it’s too much information for some viewers. I find it interesting, though perhaps too talky at times, and the talkiness does seem to be a problem for some

BBC Q&A with The Master’s Sacha Dhawan https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/entries/2a517b0b-f7d0-48ab-94f1-8d210d31111b

Tweet of the Fam and the Master apparently from Sacha’s Twitter account

I'm in the middle of Smith's era at the moment (on pause for now since Amazon Prime pitched Doctor Who out the window on Dec 31 in preparation for HBO Max taking it in the Spring). I found I enjoyed the big and little stories, though perhaps I'll tire of Moffat's stuff by the end of Smith's era (particularly killing principals off and then bringing them back and some companions overstaying their welcome). I too love Jodie and 13. I was one of those who enjoyed Series 11, though I don't think I'll mind if the stakes and stories get bigger and there's a bit of a thread running through the season. I totally enjoyed Spyfall. I think the mix of big and small for a Doctor is probably a good balance.

Spyfall got an Appreciation Index (AI) of 82 (Dracula Part 1 got 83). Resolution, the last New Year's Day episode (though a special) got 80. So looking good so far Do you all think the BBC made it clear that New Year's Day was the start of Series 12 and not just a special? There does seem to have been some confusion from at least some people on social media and people mentioning friends/family perhaps being confused. I felt BBC America was fairly clear, but I totally was aware of what was going on. I do feel it would have helped if the BBC had clearly labeled the promos to say Series 12 and not just Doctor Who coming on New Year's Day (I thought the 2 actual trailers were pretty clear)

There were several comments on social media that Sacha got cleverly edited out of the trailers, at least physically. He was heard though, at least once, where you hear someone asking ‘What have you brought here Doctor?’. A lot of people, including me, thought it was Graham who said that

Per the Resolution special last New Year's Eve, it was temporarily put on hold due to funding disputes with the UK's major partners

http://www.interbridge.com/lineups.html The above late night/daytime US talk shows lineup shows that Jodie will be on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wed, Jan 8 at about 11:35pm Eastern Time (USers, check your local listings) Plus, as mentioned before, the cast will be at the Paley Center in NYC on Sunday doing a Q&A Since they will be in NYC this next week, they will probably be doing additional promotion stuff, so watch out for it

The BBC has finally updated their listing info for Episode 3. Their info is consistent with digiguide as I previously posted above though the BBC's synopsis is shorter: "The Doctor and her friends discover that the luxury resort where they are holidaying is hiding a number of deadly secrets. What are the ferocious monsters attacking Tranquillity Spa?"

During my first viewing, "O" seemed off to me at times but I figured it was due to him being a nerdy analyst guy and having been kicked out of MI6 and living alone in the Outback. Once you knew he was the Master, rewatches make things more interesting. It's pretty clear he was trying to set some doubt in Graham's mind about the Doctor when he offered his shelf of material on the Doctor. Also, it certainly seemed to me that he was just eagerly waiting for the Doctor to twig to him. He certainly seemed to purposely push how he was not good at running when O's file said otherwise and he was thrilled when the Doctor finally got who he was. Everything was set up by him it seems. What I don't get for now is if he wanted the Doctor to die in the plane crash (I'm presuming), why did one of the light aliens disappear with her? I guess we'll find out in Part 2 I should point out that though I said I read spoilers about Sacha being the Master, I figured he was deep undercover and would reveal himself later in the season or that perhaps the spoilers were wrong, or I mis-identified the actor

No title card, but I think it may have been held at Barton’s place in San Francisco

I finally figured out why the majestic music used during the tux intro scene and bike chase seemed so familiar. It was used at the end of Resolution

I’m kind of thinking that weird place Yaz and the Doctor got sent to was them being miniaturized or something similar. The Doctor seemed to recognize the place though

@TwirlyGirly I would presume if you buy it, like with iTunes, you keep it, but I don’t know for sure

Overnight ratings are in and the episode got 4.88 million viewers, its lowest number yet. However, to put it in context, it got the second highest number of the night and it was shown opposite the program that was #1. Dracula didn’t do so hot for Part 1. I’m thinking New Year’s Day is not the best viewing time even if the networks keep trying. US broadcast networks just put sports on and scripted repeats lizo mzimba (@lizo_mzimba) Tweeted: @TomSpilsbury Yes, Emmerdale got 5.00 million, Corrie got 4.87 million, EastEnders 4.46 million. Dracula got 3.57 million 7+ days consolidated viewing figures should tell us more, as will the ratings for Part 2

Per Digital Spy, here's a bit longer trailer for the episode https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a30373537/doctor-who-spyfall-part-2-trailer/?utm_content=buffer06db5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=maintwitterpost

I think I was thinking that because 13 said she returned the team home 30 minutes after they left in Arachnids. It's also possible I was thinking this just for 13's era. I was really surprised to hear Graham thought 13 was joking about being a man before. He and Grace did listen to her talk about how it felt to regenerate. Man, 13 apparently has told them so little Some reviews: The Independent (mostly positive) https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/doctor-who-spyfall-bbc-review-jodie-whittaker-lenny-henry-new-episodes-a9264521.html Den of Geek (mostly positive) https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/doctor-who/285154/doctor-who-season-12-episode-1-review-spyfall Radio Times (mostly positive) https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-01-01/doctor-who-spyfall-part-one-review/ The various reviews point out of course it's hard to judge Part 1 of a 2-parter because the story is incomplete