S00.E160: The Power of the Doctor

[festivus]

I checked out of Chibnall's run a while ago but of course I had to watch the 60th. The regeneration was well done, that was a lovely shot of 13 outside the TARDIS with energy flowing every which way. Really beautiful. 

I see Chibs is still jam packing it full of no sense making. I'm glad he's done and please don't let him write anymore episodes either. Amen. As nice as it is to see David Tennant, when is Paul McGann going to get his due? This would have been the perfect time to do some specials with him. Grrrr.  Oh well at least I'm excited about Who again and I'm looking forward to Ncuti's run.

Oh and I quite liked the Master. That dude was off his chain and I'm here for it.

[DoctorAtomic]

12 minutes ago, festivus said:

As nice as it is to see David Tennant, when is Paul McGann going to get his due?

I said the same. It's not like he doesn't show when they ask. He should have been in the 50th instead of the War Doctor nonsense. 

[Llywela]

54 minutes ago, DanaK said:

Given that the Doctor gently turned her down in Legend of the Sea Devils and just wanted to remain friends (though that was a bit ambiguous at the time) and live in the moment, Yaz likely realized that seeing how things went with Ace and Tegan and with the Doctor regenerating, it was time to leave. Some of it was implied but given the Doctor liked her back but was too afraid to have a relationship with her (from Legends), it seemed only a matter of time before Yaz realized it was best to leave and go live her life. The Doctor likely felt the same way, hence her wanting to regenerate alone. The Doctor is a hero to so many in the universe, but is a mess in her personal life and can't really get close to most people.

Also, the Doctor dropped Yaz in the same place the other companions were meeting; Dan or Graham mentioned she supposedly had a mysterious invite like them. I don't know if that's the same place (Croydon?) Yaz dropped off her group after the Doctor lost consciousness

Oh, I agree that a number of possible reasons for Yaz to leave were previously seeded, mostly in the last episode, but the fact remains that none of that reasoning was actually articulated in this episode, in which Yaz was shown to be all-in until the moment she wasn't. There was no build-up to her making that decision. Which, in the end, was mostly made for her, by the Doctor, she just went along with it.

Just as while we know Yaz was dropped off in the same place the other companions meeting, we don't know where that place was - well, actually, I do know, she was dropped off in Grange Gardens in Cardiff, instantly recognisable to me, but in-universe standing in for someplace else unspecified. We can presume it was meant to be somewhere in London, given the other attendees, and London is very often the default, but we don't know for sure. Hence my wording.

Edited October 30, 2022 by Llywela

[festivus]

Quote

I said the same. It's not like he doesn't show when they ask. He should have been in the 50th instead of the War Doctor nonsense. 

As good as John Hurt was I agree. McGann could have definitely pulled off the war weary Doctor. I know I can listen to the radio plays but I just want more of him on my screen. I love that dude.

[Llywela]

I agree that it would be lovely and long overdue to see McGann getting his due with a proper TV run, but Tennant is the bigger name, which I imagine is why Davies wanted him. Modern Who was at its height with Tennant and has lost a lot of that popularity since. Bringing Tennant back for these three specials will generate a lot of hype and attention, ahead of Gatwa taking over, and that was clearly the driver for the decision. I love McGann, but he's not as widely known, and I believe that recognition-factor is what this is all about.

[DoctorAtomic]

8 minutes ago, Llywela said:

Oh, I agree that a number of possible reasons for Yaz to leave were previously seeded, mostly in the last episode, but the fact remains that none of that reasoning was actually articulated in this episode, in which Yaz was shown to be all-in until the moment she wasn't. There was no build-up to her making that decision. Which, in the end, was mostly made for her, by the Doctor, she just went along with it.

That's why I was confused as to whether she actually left or not. I mean, if Fourteen (is he actually the fourteenth because technically he was Ten and Eleven), popped up, Yaz would come running. 

I know Tennant is a name draw, but McGann could carry 3 specials. Isn't he known well enough in the UK? 

[Llywela]

4 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

That's why I was confused as to whether she actually left or not. I mean, if Fourteen (is he actually the fourteenth because technically he was Ten and Eleven), popped up, Yaz would come running. 

I know Tennant is a name draw, but McGann could carry 3 specials. Isn't he known well enough in the UK? 

McGann could definitely carry the specials. But while he is well known (him and his brothers) his name doesn't have the pull that Tennant's does. And that pull is what they are looking for. It's a shame, I've wanted to see McGann get a proper TV run since 1996, but there it is.

Also, yes, this version of Tennant is Fourteen (at least until his specials actually air and we find out what is going on, which might change things). The numbers distinguish their position in the sequence, and this new regeneration might have an old face, but that face sits in a different position in the sequence, so it gets a new number, which differentiates one from t'other.

Yaz might want to go running back to the TARDIS if it came back for her, but so would quite a few others. Doesn't mean it's going to happen. Once the Doctor has let someone go, that's it, they move on, always looking forward, never looking back. I just wish there had been more build-up and a proper, developed character arc for Yaz so that this actually felt like the culmination of her journey, rather than something she just drifted into. We saw her learn and grow a lot during her time on the show, but that journey was always incidental to the plot of the moment, it never felt truly defined or developed, which is a real shame.

[Bruinsfan]

In my head, seeing the Doctor regenerate into an entirely different person, this one insane and hell-bent on mayhem (yet oddly seeming to retain some of Thirteen's fondness for Yaz and desire for companionship) was probably what convinced Yaz to go. Whomever the Doctor regenerates into, it won't be exactly the same person she fell in love with, and having personally experienced the worst case scenario of that she doesn't want to stick around and see their relationship changed by unavoidable circumstances.

[supposebly]

8 hours ago, festivus said:

As good as John Hurt was I agree. McGann could have definitely pulled off the war weary Doctor.

That would have made so much more sense! I adore John Hurt (RIP) but I hated the whole extra War Doctor thing. If Eccleston wasn't going to do it, McGann would have been perfect. I loved his performance in that little webisode thing.

Back to this episode: I watched the Flux episodes and the last few Specials to catch up. While I've made my peace with Chibnail's writing, I still regret that Jodi didn't get a better show runner. 

I'm not sure how I feel about Tennant coming back. Of course, I adore the man. I also liked RTD's writing (with very few exceptions) and I know he and Tennant work well together but....it's like with all these reboots of TV shows in the last few years. None of them were any better than the originals. I'm a bit afraid that will happen now too.

[cambridgeguy]

10 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

In my head, seeing the Doctor regenerate into an entirely different person, this one insane and hell-bent on mayhem (yet oddly seeming to retain some of Thirteen's fondness for Yaz and desire for companionship) was probably what convinced Yaz to go. Whomever the Doctor regenerates into, it won't be exactly the same person she fell in love with, and having personally experienced the worst case scenario of that she doesn't want to stick around and see their relationship changed by unavoidable circumstances.

Only Rose got to fall in love with the Doctor and see him regenerate into another version she ended up being even more compatible with.

[DanaK]

6 hours ago, supposebly said:

That would have made so much more sense! I adore John Hurt (RIP) but I hated the whole extra War Doctor thing. If Eccleston wasn't going to do it, McGann would have been perfect. I loved his performance in that little webisode thing.

Back to this episode: I watched the Flux episodes and the last few Specials to catch up. While I've made my peace with Chibnail's writing, I still regret that Jodi didn't get a better show runner. 

I'm not sure how I feel about Tennant coming back. Of course, I adore the man. I also liked RTD's writing (with very few exceptions) and I know he and Tennant work well together but....it's like with all these reboots of TV shows in the last few years. None of them were any better than the originals. I'm a bit afraid that will happen now too.

But the good thing is, we don’t really have to worry about that as David is only here to lead the 60th specials

[DanaK]

BARB ratings are in for the BBC/iPlayer 7-day numbers: 5.295 million viewers and 5th overall for the week. Pretty good catchup number

So with 7 day ratings, 5th overall for the week, 3rd on the BBC behind the 2 Strictly shows, and 2nd most watched drama (behind Doc Martin)

Edited October 31, 2022 by DanaK

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm certainly not taking anything away from Tennant. The guy is a fantastic actor, but it's the going back that's always a flag for me. Not that Eight wouldn't be going back, but he's basically a new Doctor. Who's to say Eight won't pop up in one of the specials anyway? 

[Eulipian 5k]

11 hours ago, supposebly said:

it's like with all these reboots of TV shows in the last few years. None of them were any better than the originals. I'm a bit afraid that will happen now too.

Not Battlestar Galactica! (a few years ago).

Hasn't any showrunner been able, all along, to bring back so many Classic whovian villians and companions? Chibnall did, and has prompted many nu-Whovians to slog thru the old stuff, rubber masks, cheesy special effects, and all. His turn with the Master introduced many "old school" callbacks, and 2 proper female Doctors.

What's wrong with injecting new lore into a 60 year show? Star Trek, Star Wars, and the Marvel Universe have done a lot more twists to their lore in 1/4 to 1/2 the time. After all, "All children leave home sooner or later, the joy is to watch them fly."

[Llywela]

Tennant's return doesn't worry me. Yes, it is backward looking, but it is only for three special episodes, commissioned to bridge a gap, and I am confident there will be some kind of plot explanation for it, when it all comes out in the wash, especially given some of the casting announcements already made for the specials.

I think a bunch of circumstances conspired to bring this about. The timing of Chibnall's departure meant there wasn't time to get a full new season into production in time for the 60th anniversary, but the BBC wanted something to celebrate that anniversary so commissioned these specials; the timing of Whittaker's departure meant there was no established Doctor in place for those special episodes, and the timing of Gatwa's recruitment meant he wasn't going to be available in time, plus a 60th anniversary special isn't a great time to launch a brand new Doctor anyway; and, of course, the show has been in the doldrums in recent years, and needed perking up - needed something to grab audience attention by the throat, so to speak, get more people watching again, ahead of Gatwa's first season. And the upshot of all those factors was that Tennant was brought back for the three specials. Now, they could have run with the idea that these are old adventures of the Tenth Doctor that we just didn't get to see, but that really would have been backward looking. Instead...we got this. Whittaker regenerated into Tennant, but both we and he know there's something wrong with that, that's weird, going back to an old face (and regenerating the clothes, too) isn't how regenerations usually go, especially not the Doctor's. So that surprise ending instantly generates a sense of mystery to whet our appetites ahead of the specials - with a whole year to wait and wonder what it's all about. Job done, I'd say.

And doing it this way means that despite going back to an old face, the storytelling remains forward-looking, this isn't a return to the Tenth Doctor, it's the start of something new, something curious, something intriguing - and something temporary, with a truly new Doctor already waiting in the wings to be introduced.

[John Potts]

Yaz bowing out seemed like a callback to School Reunion, (and indeed, Tegan's departure in Resurrection of the Daleks) - they're one in a long line of Companions and there's always going to be another after they leave so maybe they weren't as special as they thought, so maybe best to leave before they die, get mind wiped or abandoned in a post Apocalyptic future. I still wish we could have hold over Companions between one Doctor and the next - in NuWho only Rose covered two Doctors where it was the norm in OldWho for Doctors to retain Companions from one Regeneration to the next.

On 10/29/2022 at 9:12 AM, Llywela said:

I've an idea the original bat may have been destroyed or at least damaged in Remembrance

That's my recollection too - I seem to recall the Doctor commenting "Well, that's what happens with weapons" (or similar) after it broke from hitting one too many daleks.

[supposebly]

On 10/31/2022 at 10:50 AM, Eulipian 5k said:

Not Battlestar Galactica! (a few years ago).

True. Maybe I should have specified, I'm weary of nostaligia-fuelled "reboots" of the recent years.

Even with only a few specials with Tennant, I still want good Doctor Who. But, as I said, I like RTD's writing and absolutely adore David Tennant, so I am keeping an open mind.

[Eulipian 5k]

The second "WHAT" was Ten taking note of his 'new' clothes, so I absolutely expect an explanation. It seems RTD will be the one to carry  Chibnall's after effects of the Master's re-de-generations. (Does that count towards the Doctor's regen total or the Master's? ie was the Master the 14th "Doctor"?) Will numbers even be used in the "Timeless Child" age of Doctor Who? Many are now referred to by the actor's name instead of number; but "vanity boy" screwed that by hogging three numbers. Xmas10, Meta crisis 10, and 10 superscript 14?

[Bruinsfan]

5 hours ago, John Potts said:

I still wish we could have hold over Companions between one Doctor and the next - in NuWho only Rose covered two Doctors where it was the norm in OldWho for Doctors to retain Companions from one Regeneration to the next.

Clara held over from one Doctor to the next, though thankfully not for the entirety of Twelve's tenure.

[libgirl2]

22 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

Clara held over from one Doctor to the next, though thankfully not for the entirety of Twelve's tenure.

But for too long if you ask me. 

[DoctorAtomic]

I was surprised that Yaz wasn't going to be 'held over'. Probably 'continuing on' is a better term. I never saw her as going back to 'regular' life as a police officer. Maybe she finds her way to UNIT. Is Torchwood still a thing (in the show universe)?

[chitowngirl]

While Rose and Clara were held over through a regeneration, I don’t think we’ve had a companion held over when the show runner changes. He’s given a clean slate.

[Bruinsfan]

Would River Song count as a companion? She debuted under Davies' tenure before becoming a fixture in Moffat's, albeit in a story Moffat wrote.

[Llywela]

I don't think River counts, no. She was a Moffat character that he created under Davies and then continued in his own era, so we didn't ever see her written by a different showrunner. And she really wasn't a companion. She sits in a different category, all her own.

[Starchild]

10 hours ago, Llywela said:

I don't think River counts, no. She was a Moffat character that he created under Davies and then continued in his own era, so we didn't ever see her written by a different showrunner. And she really wasn't a companion. She sits in a different category, all her own.

Like the Master. If a showrunner likes a past character they bring them back. But yeah, no companion, or Doctor for that matter, has ever spanned showrunners.

I could be wrong but I presume the classic era had one showrunner, no?

[tessaray]

1 hour ago, Starchild said:

I could be wrong but I presume the classic era had one showrunner, no?

Classic Who had multiple showrunners, though I don't think the job was defined in quite the same way as it is now. (It was the team of producer and script editor.) From a Reddit post:

Quote

After the black-and-white-era one can pretty much divide by season:

Season 7-11 had producer Barry Letts and Editor Terrance Dicks

Season 12-14 had Proucer Hinchcliff and Editor Robert Holmes

Season 15 changed Producer to Graham Williams, Holmes stayed Editor.

Season 16 got Anthony Read as Editor, Season 17 got Douglas Adams as Editor.

Season 18-26 the producer was John Nathan Turner.

The Editor of Season 18 was Christopher H. Bidmead, Season 19 was a bit of a transitioning point between Anthony Root and Eric Saward, For Season 20 to 23 Saward was Editor and from Season 24 to 26 we got Andrew Cartmel.

[Llywela]

2 hours ago, Starchild said:

Like the Master. If a showrunner likes a past character they bring them back. But yeah, no companion, or Doctor for that matter, has ever spanned showrunners.

I could be wrong but I presume the classic era had one showrunner, no?

The classic era lasted from 1963 to 1989, so no, there wasn't just one showrunner who lasted all those years. There was no such thing as a showrunner, per se, at that time. Instead there was a head producer, who, in partnership with the script editor, filled much the same function. These changed many times over the 26 years of the show's run, and the stylistic shift between their eras is usually very apparent when you watch the show through. Both Doctors and companions did occasionally carry over from an outgoing producer to an incoming producer, though. The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith are obvious examples. Elisabeth Sladen was cast as the Third Doctor's latest companion by Barry Letts, who later also cast Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor when Jon Pertwee left the role, as well as hiring Ian Marter as a second companion alongside Sarah. Letts then left the show after Baker's (and Marter's) first adventure, so that incoming producer Robert Holmes inherited both Doctor and companions. The stylistic shift between eras is also glaringly apparent there, since Letts' last episode as producer was also the last episode in which the Doctor was based out of UNIT after being exiled to Earth for several years. As soon as Holmes took over, the Doctor was away to resume his wandering ways.

Tom Baker outlasted multiple producers/script editors, in fact!

ETA and as the reddit post linked by @tessaray notes above, the black-and-white era is more complicated as the show was in almost continual production, so that the positions often changed mid-season - the Doctors and companions in those cases always carried over to the new producer.

Edited November 8, 2022 by Llywela
for clarity

[Starchild]

Ah OK, so modern Who is more about showrunners with ego, who want to put their own personal stamp on the show, and it's easier to do that if you wipe the slate clean. The show is less important than the showrunner, rather than the other way around in the classic era.

Or so it seems to me.

[DanaK]

45 minutes ago, Starchild said:

Ah OK, so modern Who is more about showrunners with ego, who want to put their own personal stamp on the show, and it's easier to do that if you wipe the slate clean. The show is less important than the showrunner, rather than the other way around in the classic era.

Or so it seems to me.

The BBC, at least in Modern Who, wants a string showrunner with a strong vision. Also consider that in Classic Who, the guys in charge worked for the BBC and didn’t have much choice in taking the job, at least in some cases. With Modern Who, I believe the difference is that the showrunners were brought in from the outside and I think Davies and Moffat were employed by the BBC for their tenures, though I could be wrong and Chibnall was employed by BBC Studios, and now Davies with his return is likely employed by Bad Wolf instead of BBC Studios

[Anduin]

1 hour ago, DanaK said:

The BBC, at least in Modern Who, wants a string showrunner with a strong vision. Also consider that in Classic Who, the guys in charge worked for the BBC and didn’t have much choice in taking the job, at least in some cases.

I once heard that John Nathan-Turner was burned out before the end, and tried to quit, but the higher-ups wouldn't let him.

[DanaK]

1 hour ago, Anduin said:

I once heard that John Nathan-Turner was burned out before the end, and tried to quit, but the higher-ups wouldn't let him.

I’ve read that rumor too  but I don’t know if it’s true

[Anduin]

30 minutes ago, DanaK said:

I’ve read that rumor too  but I don’t know if it’s true

I looked him up on the wiki, actual Wiki, and IMDB. It doesn't say what the deal was. Oh well. Just one more unverified rumour floating around the internet. Unless someone out there knows more.

[Tyro49]

TO THOSE BEFUDDLED BY THE APPEARANCE OF CLASSIC DOCTORS AND CLASSIC COMPANIONS: 

May I recommend the series The Doctors Revisited 

It is made up of several sets, usually four of the Doctors at a time, containing one story each.

IMPORTANTLY, EACH CONTAINS AN INTRODUCTION TO THE DOCTOR AND HIS COMPANIONS, EXPLAINING HIS BACKGROUND, CHARACTERISTICS, ETC., AND THOSE OF HIS COMPANIONS. This will introduce you to the origins of the program, allow you to follow the companions who show up in Power of the Doctor, and each Doctor's relationship with them. You know that elderly gentleman companion (Ian) at the end? He was once the dashing young hero, able to do all the physical things the elderly Doctor could not. (How things have changed! His voice hasn't, though.)) 

The stories are good, though of course, among fans, there are quibbles as to which stories were chosen (and which should have been chosen)!

If you don't want to buy the sets maybe you can get them from your library.

REMEMBER: IT'S THE INTRODUCTIONS THAT ARE IMPORTANT! 

[DanaK]

28-day numbers from Ratings UK: 5.5 million viewers

[JustHereForFood]

On 10/24/2022 at 1:03 AM, PurpleTentacle said:

Chibnall's final "fuck you" to canon. That's not how regenerations work and forced regenerations aren't any different. As they pointed out, we saw a forced regeneration before. A forced regneration is basically just the same as shooting a timelord with a gun and not giving them the option not to regenerate.

In "the night of the doctor" it was heavily implied that the timelords don't even have the technology to influence the regeneration. Only the sisterhood of Karn has. But even they could just influence personality, not rewrite the whole character and being.

I know doctor who has always had fluid canon, but if you are going to change canon, how about you make it not stupid? All of Chibnall's changes have been extremely stupid.

Night of the Doctor, as good as it was, was just a short that not everyone saw, not a proper episode. And it was Moffat making a huge change to cannon, so a future showrunner making change to that shouldn't be a big deal.

 

On 10/24/2022 at 12:30 PM, Llywela said:

And what kind of an exit was that for not one but two companions? Dan kind of just wandered off right at the start of the episode, in much the same way that he just wandered into the story when he first arrived. He was likeable enough, but never more than a cipher. Never more than a placeholder. He spent more time with Yaz than with the Doctor, though (they spent literal years together, trapped in the past) so it was fitting that Yaz was the one he actually said a proper goodbye to. And Yaz! What kind of exit was that for such a long-running companion? How was that the culmination of her story? Has Chibnall never, in fact, heard of a meaningful character arc? Yaz came aboard all ambition, abandoned all that ambition in favour of being with the Doctor, has been shown to be *so very devoted*, that's like, her most defining character trait, and then she just…left. Because she and the Doctor both simply took it for granted, without question, that Yaz couldn't or wouldn't stay once the Doctor regenerated? Why? It makes no sense, and no explanation or actual character motivation was offered.
 

This, along with it being the regeneration episode makes me question why they needed to bring so many characters for the nostalgia effect in this episode. I get that people were happy to see old companions and while I didn't care one bit for companions I've never watched (I am still on the 1st Doctor era in my slow watch of old episodes, because God is it slow!), I admit I teared up a bit at seeing all those old Doctors, especially David Bradley's 1st Doctor.

My opinion is that this should have been 2 episodes. They could discard that boring Easter special and instead make one episode full of old companions, old Doctors and the UNIT stuff for the BBC anniversary and then one for the regeneration that could focus on proper sendoff for remaining companions and Jodie's Doctor. Or maybe the cameos of former Doctors could have been in the regeneration episode, but the rest should have been in a different episode. And it could have been shown as Christmas special, there, two problems solved!

 

On 10/25/2022 at 4:33 AM, WAnglais1 said:

I guess we have to endure more of Ten/Fourteen's underbite and the constant, "Sorry!" Don't get me wrong, I liked his run, but got tired of the approach the last season or so. 

Haha, the one thing I disliked most in RTD era, which was otherwise my favorite, were those childish "What? What? What?!"s from DT at the end of the seasons, especially if they came after otherwise emotional scenes. So, as soon as I learned how this episode ends, I knew that those were going to be his words and I was right, to my disappointment.

 

On 10/30/2022 at 6:48 PM, Llywela said:

Okay, then we can discuss this. Yaz has already left. We saw her leaving in this episode. She shared a final ice cream with the Doctor, then she was dropped off in London (at least, it seemed like it was meant to be London, although she lives in Sheffield) while the Doctor went off to Durdle Door in Dorset to regenerate. Yaz then joined the support group for ex-companions, as her first step toward Life After The Doctor. She has already walked away.

The episode didn't tell us why she walked away. Like you said, she's always been pretty ride-or-die, gave up her whole career to be with the Doctor. But she and the Doctor both seemed to take it completely for granted that the Doctor's regeneration signalled the end of their time together. Then they said their goodbyes and parted company without examining why they felt that way. We are left to draw our own conclusions. But Yaz has very definitely left. There is not going to be a tragic ending. She already had a soft, bittersweet ending.

I get that they wanted a clean slate for the next showrunner and that it was taken for granted by the writers that Yaz would leave, but I wish there had been some talk between her and the Doctor about it, like her saying that she couldn't bear to see Doctor with another face, or that she realized she wants to leave eventually anyway so she might as well leave now, anything.

[PurpleTentacle]

3 minutes ago, JustHereForFood said:

Night of the Doctor, as good as it was, was just a short that not everyone saw, not a proper episode. And it was Moffat making a huge change to cannon, so a future showrunner making change to that shouldn't be a big deal.

It really doesn't matter how many people saw it. Few people outside the UK saw classic Who. It's still canon. Also it was only part of my argument.

I don't see how Moffat changed anything about regeneration. He just added to it. The "forced regeneration" this episode was contradicting something previously established. But of course that's Chibnall's thing and this is by far not the worst change he made.

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't know. With social media, more people probably saw Night of the Doctor even though it was only a web short. I think I heard about it here. 

Eight was always canon when RTD kicked off this modern era anyway. That was shown in the first series. 

[Llywela]

Eight is canon because of his movie, not because of his Night of the Doctor short. His canonicity as a Doctor isn't in question. The question mark in this discussion, as I understand it, is around the different takes on how regeneration works offered by different writers, and whether information shown on-screen in the main show does or doesn't trump information shown in a webisode that never aired on regular TV.

For me, the show has never been consistent about regeneration since the 60s anyway, so I feel free to pick and choose which details I consider critical and which can be safely ignored!

[marina to]

18 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

This, along with it being the regeneration episode makes me question why they needed to bring so many characters for the nostalgia effect in this episode. I get that people were happy to see old companions and while I didn't care one bit for companions I've never watched (I am still on the 1st Doctor era in my slow watch of old episodes, because God is it slow!), I admit I teared up a bit at seeing all those old Doctors, especially David Bradley's 1st Doctor.

Because it was to commemorate the BBC 100th anniversary. In that context, covering all the various eras of the Doctor made a lot of sense. And to truly do that, bringing back the companions was the right thing to do.

[JustHereForFood]

24 minutes ago, marina to said:

Because it was to commemorate the BBC 100th anniversary. In that context, covering all the various eras of the Doctor made a lot of sense. And to truly do that, bringing back the companions was the right thing to do.

That's why I said it would make more sense to me if they dedicated one episode to that and leave another one to give a proper sendoff to 13th Doctor and her companions and to the whole Chibnall era. 

RTD and 10 got a 2-part special, 11 got a Christmas special for regeneration after the 50th anniversary special, they weren't lumped into one episode. 12 and Moffat had a special focusing just on the Doctor regenerating, not on any returning characters to celebrate something else.

[Llywela]

Things just worked out the way they worked out, between the resignations of Chibnall and Whittaker, and the single episode being ordered for the Beeb's 100th birthday, and the way the timing of it all panned out. Whittaker wasn't short-changed in any way. She had her run, and then her Doctor regenerated at the end of probably her best-written adventure, an episode that highlighted the lasting impact the Doctor has on the lives of the people they meet. What's not to enjoy about that?

The Doctor who actually did get short-changed was Colin Baker, who left the role during a hiatus between seasons in the late 80s when the show's future was in doubt, and never got to film a regeneration at all - they just stuck Sylvester McCoy in a wig for the start of his first episode (and gave poor 6 the most ridiculous 'accident' ever as a reason for his regeneration).

I mean, I know I complained above about how low-key Dan and Yaz's departures were, but I don't think having an extra episode would have changed that, because it was a very deliberate writing choice made within the context of this episode. It didn't happen by accident because there was so much else going on that Chibnall somehow forgot to write more meaningful departures. He wrote them that way for a reason. We may or may not agree with his reasoning (I'd have preferred a bit more discussion and build-up myself) but that was the choice he made, another episode wouldn't have made any difference to that.

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't mind the low key exits. It takes a lot to voluntarily leave the Doctor. Too many companions got tragic endings and seemingly come off as disposable to the Doctor.

[PurpleTentacle]

On 12/27/2022 at 6:56 PM, JustHereForFood said:

That's why I said it would make more sense to me if they dedicated one episode to that and leave another one to give a proper sendoff to 13th Doctor and her companions and to the whole Chibnall era.

Well they probably would have, if this showrunner hadn't tanked the show, the ratings and destroyed canon in a show where that should be almost impossible.

Be glad that there was any sendoff at all and not just outright cancellation at some point. If RTD hadn't come back this likely would have been the end for a while.

[DanaK]

Power of the Doctor will be available on HBO Max as of April 23

[Affogato]

On 12/27/2022 at 2:10 PM, Llywela said:

I mean, I know I complained above about how low-key Dan and Yaz's departures were, but I don't think having an extra episode would have changed that, because it was a very deliberate writing choice made within the context of this episode. It didn't happen by accident because there was so much else going on that Chibnall somehow forgot to write more meaningful departures. He wrote them that way for a reason. We may or may not agree with his reasoning (I'd have preferred a bit more discussion and build-up myself) but that was the choice he made, another episode wouldn't have made any difference to that.

Throughout this run I thought that the Doctor was more into the companions and how close they were, wanted more from them, than was really developed and that they were able to give. I get that ultimately their relationship with Graham and maybe with each other ends up being stronger, which is kind of sad for the doctor. Could end up being an interesting spin off, or one shot, though.