Doctor Who Reactions: "The Reality War" (SPOILERS)

[The Baron]

1. "He had a magic door? He had an actual magic door?" Welcome to RTD 2.0!
2. Hey, the Time Hotel is showing  old episodes of Doctor Who!
3. "I'm wearing tweed!"
4. "And Melanie." "We meet again."  This was a good scene.
5. "Time Ring." Not seen since "Genesis of the Daleks".
6. "The  Upside-Down. Or Narnia. Or Hell." Interesting list.
7. "My father fought Omega back in the 1970's." Another addition to the UNIT Dating Controversy.
8. "We're sterile." "We are infertile." But can you have kids?
9. "She's made of hopes and dreams and wishes." "That is every child."
10. "The battle is on, Doctor. Good luck." I wouldn't wish good luck to my mortal enemy.
11. "She's provoking the Bone Beasts!" That sounds vaguely dirty.
12. "Can I punch him?" "Yes, you can."
13. "If we die here today, I love you lot."
14. There's a lot of spectacle here, but not much substance. Plenty of sizzle, not much steak.
15. I'm not overwhelmed by how they realized Omega here.
16. They killed the wrong Rani!
17. "My little Doctor..."
18. "So much for the two Ranis. It's a 'good night' from me." This is a reference to TheTwo Ronnies, a comedy program that starred comedians Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. Each episode would typically end with the  pair of them sitting at a desk and saying, "So that's 'good  night' from me..." "...And that's 'good night' from him."
19. "Conrad, I wish you to be happy."
20. "No more wishes." "Hey, Laughing Boy, no more wishes!"
21. So is Wish Baby just a mortal, now?
22. Interesting watching Ruby realize that she's a third wheel to the Doctor and Belinda, but then...
23. "Who's Poppy?"
24. "They say hello, by the way." "Who does?" "The Boss."
25. "And Ernest Borgnine is still alive." He would've been 108 in 2025.
26. "We're missing one person."
27. "Aw, man, I like this face."
28. "OK, let's say 'best male', but don't tell the others."
29. "I'm surprised it's not the other guy, he's always turning up."
30. "You've redecorated. I don't like it." Had to get that line in, I suppose.
31. "I love you, Doctor!" ... "I should say that to Yaz." "You never do. But she knows."
32. It was nice seeing Whittaker again, but I'm not sure it was all that necessary to the story. Felt like another stunt, really.
33. "You were always coming home for Poppy!"
34. "Poppy, this  is Uncle Doctor!"
35. "Joy to the world!"
36. "Oh, hello!" Nothing against Piper, but I wasn't wild about the idea of her as the Doctor when I was first spoiled aboutnit a year ago.  Now I wonder how soon RTD now that the show was in deep s**t and to what extent her casting was an attempt to save the show.
37. Cliffhanger: The Show-Runner attermpts a desperate bit of stunt-casting!
38. "And introducing Billie Piper" Yeah, OK, Russ. Whatever the f**k. Notice it doesn't mention what role she's playing. Is it the Moment tampering was his regeneration, or maybe it would be a transitional form like Romana had in "Destiny of the Daleks".  We may never know.
39. "Omega created by Bob Baker and Dave Martin" - Nice to see the Bristol Boys get a mention.

Overall: This had some good moments, but overall it was a jumbled mess.  From what I've read and what I strongly suspect, this was not the original plan, and instead, was thrown together in relative haste when everything went south. It's a shame. I would've liked to see another year of Gatwa, with him encountering some of the Doctor's old foes.

Next: Whither Doctor Who?

 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

This is the episode that simply would... not... end. It just went on and on.

"We're sterile." "We are infertile." What? Since when? (I really thought you'd have more to say about that.) We've seen both the Doctor and the Master as little boys, and I seem to remember "Time Tots" from the Romana era. And Tracy wants to know how all the PHD ("pre-Hartnell Doctor") jazz squares with Omega being the first Timelord. 

And Billie Piper? Supposedly, RTD said he had no idea where that plot thread would go, but I don't believe that for a moment. (Someone once told me that "showrunners lie.") Now RTD isn't even going to be involved in wherever the Doctor might go next? I'm still waiting for the explanation behind the Fugitive Doctor's TARDIS (I think it's already been pretty well firmly established that she's a PHD), and now we've got mystery surrounding Susan. I don't mind not knowing when the next season will be (makes the wait shorter, somehow), but they'd better not delay just too long (availability, mortality, etc.).

I've gotta agree with your "good moments/jumbled mess" assessment. 

[The Baron]

This is the episode that simply would... not... end. It just went on and on.

It reminded me of an old MST3K line:

Tom Servo: "Shouldn't this be over?"

"We're sterile." "We are infertile." What? Since when?

Yeah, I dunno, unless it's something that's meant to have happened during the Time War.

And Tracy wants to know how all the PHD ("pre-Hartnell Doctor") jazz squares with Omega being the first Timelord. 

The new show - and  RTD, in particular - has never cared about continuity. To be fair, the old series didn't much, either.

"Continuity was what a given writer remembered on a given day." - Terrance Dicks

 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

I considered posting this to "You're Wearing That?" but I didn't want to threadjack the discussion.

Tracy and I cannot agree on what this suit of clothing even is.

(The Doctor's, not Belinda's.)

[The Baron]

Yeah, I dunno. It's not a look that I could carry off, myself.

[JD DeLuzio]

Sounds pretty self-aware.