Doctor Who Reactions: "The Timeless Children" (SPOILERS)

[The Baron]

1. “Assassinated presidents” - a callback to “The Deadly Assassin”.
2. I liked the little moment between Graham and Yaz.
3. Are you suffering comfortably?”
4. “Tecteun was the first of Gallifrey’s indigenous race, the Shobogans, to develop space travel.” The Shobogans also go back to “The Deadly Assassin”.
5. The origin of the Time Lords!
6. “You are the Timeless Child.” I’ve never been wild about the idea of pre-Hartnell Doctors, but it’s not a deal-breaker for me.
7. “The Division” What, the CIA* wasn’t good enough for you, Chris? I’d love to know why they needed the Doctor to spend a lifetime as an Irish cop.
8. The Cybermasters are an interesting idea, but for some reason, I’m not overwhelmed by them.
9. “For Gallifrey! For the Time Lords! For the end of the universe itself!” A callback to “The End of Time”.
10. “I’ve fought the Matrix before, denied its reality.” “The Deadly Assassin” again, and “The Trial of a Time Lord”.
11. I like the memory montage. The inclusion of the Morbius Doctors vindicates Philip Hinchcliffe.
12. Wouldn’t people notice a new house in the neighborhood? Do TARDISes have an SEP** field?
13. Cliffhanger: The Doctor is arrested!

 

Overall:  A good wrap-up, leaving me looking forward to what happens next.  I think Whittaker really grew into the role this season. Next series will put her up against the ”Troughton Limit”, but I wouldn’t mind if she stayed a fourth.  I like Dhawan as the Master, but he does occasionally have his moments where I want to slap him and say “Dial it back a little!”  Overall, I enjoyed this series.

*Stands for “Celestial Intervention Agency”, also from “The Deadly Assassin”

**Stands for “Somebody Else’s Problem”

[Jeff of Earth-J]

We watched the "memory montage" frame-by-frame. I'm not wild about the idea of pre-Hartnell Doctors, either, but they didn't really embrace it. All (except one) of the "P-HDs" were memories of the Fourth Doctor with previous Doctors projected on the screen. Then again, I don't know how else they cold have projected that without using those images. Me, I always reconciled that what many assumed to be P-HDs were actually previous incarnations of Morbius, jumbled together with those of the Doctor. 

Here's a thought I had about the black woman past/future(?) Doctor: if she was an incarnation prior to Hartnell, why was her TARDIS in the shape of a police box?

I'm looking forward to next season, too, but who knows when that will be? Right now I feel the way i felt when Bucky Barnes was reintroduced into Marvel continuity in the early 2Ks; I wasn't real keen on the idea at first, but they eventually won me over. 

[The Baron]

I think that's good question.

Jeff of Earth-J said:

Here's a thought I had about the black woman past/future(?) Doctor: if she was an incarnation prior to Hartnell, why was her TARDIS in the shape of a police box?

 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Here's my thought (as of now): I suspect that the Jo Martin Doctor represents an entirely different timeline of Doctors: IOW, whereas we recognize the following timeline:

Hartnell, Troughton... Whittaker

...the "mystery Doctor" reprrsents this one:

Hartnell, (?)... Martin.

[The Baron]

I gather Chibnall stressed in an interview that she wasn't meant to be an "alternate universe" Doctor.  If you really want to stretch a point, we never actually see Troughton turn into Pertwee.

I know that Hinchcliffe/Holmes  certainly intended the "Morbius Doctors" to be pre-Hartnell incarnations.

But of course, one can set up one's own mythos however one likes.

Jeff of Earth-J said:

Here's my thought (as of now): I suspect that the Jo Martin Doctor represents an entirely different timeline of Doctors: IOW, whereas we recognize the following timeline:

Hartnell, Troughton... Whittaker

...the "mystery Doctor" reprrsents this one:

Hartnell, (?)... Martin.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

"I gather Chibnall stressed in an interview that she wasn't meant to be an "alternate universe" Doctor."

I didn't know that.

Okay, as of now, I've changed my mind. 

Still curious about the "Police Box," though. That would seem to indicate Martin's Doctor was "descended" from Hartnell's.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

"If you really want to stretch a point, we never actually see Troughton turn into Pertwee."

Intriguing. 

[The Baron]

I think it indicates a writer who didn't think things through.

Jeff of Earth-J said:

"I gather Chibnall stressed in an interview that she wasn't meant to be an "alternate universe" Doctor."

I didn't know that.

Okay, as of now, I've changed my mind. 

Still curious about the "Police Box," though. That would seem to indicate Martin's Doctor was "descended" from Hartnell's.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

"I think it indicates a writer who didn't think things through."

I don't really know anything about Chibnall. I'm just thinking of "fanboy" showrunners/producers (such as RTD or Nicholas Briggs) who simply wouldn't have made such a "mistake" (if that is indeed what it is).

[Jeff of Earth-J]

You know, this whole thing could have been cleared up "toot sweet" if the doctors had just spent 30 seconds comparing notes! You know (to quote Ace): "old man white hair, Beatles haircut, frilly shirt, long scarf big eyes, cricket boy, Joseph and his amazing Technicolor dream coat, Lord Byron," etc...

[The Baron]

It's something I  notice in the best of dramas - dramatic set-ups hinging on people not doing the sort of that you'd think anyone with an ounce of common sense would do in their situation.