Doctor Who I'd Rather Watch

I'm not entirely sure what to make of Sunday's episode of "Doctor Who". I think the root cause of my dissatisfaction is that I managed to be exposed to all the big spoilers ahead of time, which meant that I was mostly waiting to see the big event, and not really caring about the rest.

As an episode, it was actually quite clever - the reveal of the buried TARDIS intercut with the memory reset was very well handled; the idea that the Judoon were following a fugitive who turned out not only to not be the obvious candidate, but instead someone really unexpected was genuinely clever; and the dropping of so many tantalising mysteries was positively delicious.

But...

I mentioned once before that my big problem with "Star Trek: Discovery" is that while what we have is fine, it opens by showing us something I'd almost certainly prefer to watch instead. Much the same is true here, but moreso: I'm now really not a fan of the current incarnation of the Doctor, so when presented with an alternative with a commanding presence (rather than that of a befuddled supply teacher), and unburdened by the drag factor of three Companions I really don't rate... yeah, I'd much rather watch that.

(Incidentally, the internet gave the impression that Jo Martin's performance was somehow transcendent in the episode. It wasn't. She was absolutely fine, but I'll file under "Doctors with Potential" for now.)

My other issues with the episode were three-fold. Firstly, I thought the B-plot with Captain Jack and the Companions was a waste of time. Basically, it existed to get a message to the Doctor (beware the lone Cyberman), but framed it in a whole lot of gurning and bad dialogue. Sorry, not a fan.

Secondly, there were the Judoon. They're a cool concept, and have a really nice visual design, but they've just never really grabbed me. I'm inclined to think that they really need more time to develop some sort of personality, and perhaps more fully embrace the bounty hunter side to their presentation (rather than "trigger happy cops for hire"). But using them as the hired muscle for the real bad guys is a very good idea.

But thirdly, and mostly: so much bloody talking. Again, we have a scene that should have had actual tension, this time with a literal countdown, and when it expires we don't see everything spring into exciting action!... we instead get another pointless round of talking. GET ON WITH IT!

(I did feel a little sorry for Thirteen later in the episode when she kept being told to be quiet by the others... but only a little. Frankly, this whole incarnation could do with a lot less talking.)

So...

All in all, I think it was an okay episode - not quite as good as last week or the series opener, but better than the middle two weeks.

But a huge amount depends on the resolution to the various mysteries... and most importantly the big one.

There are big spoilers from here on out. If you don't want to know, skip to the last paragraph.

So, the big mystery is that "Ruth" turned out to be a new incarnation of the Doctor. Further, the assertion is that she must be a past incarnation, and yet Thirteen has no memory of her. What can that mean?

Well, canonically there is, just barely, space for a new incarnation - in "Time of the Doctor" Eleven noted that Ten had used an extra regeneration but kept his face... but it's always possible that he was just wrong. So maybe the spare hand doesn't count, and that gives one more.

But when? It seems to me there are three possibilities: apparently, there's a tiny window between Two and Three since we don't actually see the transition. Alternately, we don't quite see the War Doctor turn into Nine either (Ecclestone said "no", and Moffat felt they therefore couldn't quite show him). So there's a gap there.

But there's a third possibility: we know from "Day of the Doctor" that he can, apparently, revisit old faces. So maybe Doctor Ruth was spawned off any of the previous incarnations, did her stuff, and then returned to the old form. My preferred candidate would by Eight - after all, he does look markedly different between his two appearances. (Of course, that difference can also be explained in four words: "I got a haircut"!)

However, there's one other possibility that should not be discounted: maybe she's the next incarnation, and is lying about not remembering being Thirteen for... reasons. Indeed, maybe we'll see her backstory unfold in flashback over the next five/fifteen episodes, culminating in a double regeneration - Thirteen regenerates to Doctor Ruth, while Doctor Ruth regenerates into Fourteen. Or something.

The one explanation I won't accept is that she actually fits in before the First Doctor. Canon is mutable, but it should be treated with respect.

And here's the rub: if this had come out during the heady days of the Tenth or Eleventh incarnations, my response to it all would be very different. After the end of the first season of the restart, RTD had built up a very significant amount of goodwill, and I was therefore willing to take an awful lot on faith. Likewise the first few years of Moffat's tenure. But much of that faded during the Capaldi years, which I really didn't enjoy so much, and has now been expended almost entirely by the previous few years. So I'll wait and see what the answers are, but I'm not going to just take it on faith that Chibnall is going to pull it off.

So that's where we are. For the first time in a long time, I find myself eager to see the next episode, or more likely episodes. "Doctor Who" had, frankly, become a chore, and this changes that... somewhat. I just wish I was looking forward to the next episode more in hope, and less in fear at what they might do.

#4: "Mythos", by Stephen Fry

#5: "The Red Tent", by Anita Diamant (a book from The List)

Incidentally, both of these are very good reads, and highly recommended. Neither is quite a candidate for book of the year.