Doctor Who

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/11809930

The overnight ratings for Doctor Who's season 14 launch episodes Space Babies and The Devil's Chord have been revealed, as Ncuti Gatwa well and truly takes over the keys to the TARDIS.

Space Babies, the first episode, was watched by 2.6 million viewers, with The Devil's Chord, the second, having an overnight audience of 2.4 million.

While the overnight figures are close to the lowest ever for the show (with Legend of the Sea Devils only securing an overnight audience of 2.2 million in 2022), it's not the whole story. It doesn't include viewers who watched on BBC iPlayer, who will be more significant than ever due to this season being the first to debut early on iPlayer.

Figures are also likely to have been affected by good weather in the UK.

Season 14 of Doctor Who marks many firsts - it's the first to launch with a double bill, with the first two episodes being available at once, and it's the first to debut episodes early on iPlayer before airing them on BBC One later that day. It's also the first season after the BBC's deal with Disney, meaning episodes are being transmitted globally at the same time for the first time ever.

Gatwa's first episode, the Christmas special The Church on Ruby Road, was streamed a whopping 10.1 million times on BBC iPlayer, setting a new record according to the BBC.

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Next week will see Steven Moffat's return with his tense episode Boom!.

I don't think the inclusivity is the most interesting part of this interview - rather:

I wanted the show to be fun and a bit nuts. I think there’s an awful lot of television now, and I watch an awful lot of television, but I think there’s so much television that [sticks too rigidly] to the three-act structure. You know when there are 10 minutes left to go, when there’s going to be a major event, or when the murderer is going to be caught. So, I think it’s time for a show just to break those rules. Writing is about the heart and the pulse and sparks in the brain. Writing is about psychology. It’s about understanding people and why they do what they do. It’s not about hitting a particular beat 17 minutes in. So, I wanted to show this kind of laughing in the face of those rules.

It's Day 1 of this new community, so why not throw a grenade into it by bringing up the Timeless Child story?

Personally, I don't have a big issue with the concept of the Timeless Child. I think the possibility of earlier, uknown versions of the Doctor, some of whom could even be antagonists, is pretty exciting.

I understand the frustration expressed by those who don't like that the Doctor is basically the foundation of modern Time Lord society by being the origin of regeneration. I don't really have a rebuttal to that.

I do think that the story in the Chibnall era was poorly told, and it failed to do anything interesting with the concepts it presented. So far, I like the way Davies is embracing the story, even if it's just to add some texture to the Doctor's backstory, and the way he interacts with the universe.

One thing Davies hasn't done so far is address the fact that this is not just an adoption story, which is the way he's portrayed it so far - it's also an abuse story. I think he's going to have to reckon with that at some point.

I tested the waters over in c/quarks this week, and I've decided that between my own interest in hosting a Doctor Who community, and the new season/series/whatever starting up, I might as well pull the trigger.

Regular episode discussions will go up weekly while the new season airs. I would love to see some discussion about any and all eras of the show, the audios, the spinoffs, and whatever else is on your mind.

cross-posted from: https://startrek.website/post/10119463

This discussion was held in !quarks@startrek.website before I decided to pull the trigger and start this community - please feel free to discuss these episodes at the link above.

IT'S A SIGN