Review The Whittaker Doctor

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
Weird? I wonder how come I've never seen any reference to that in DWM? Was it a Doctor Who comic strip or an Incredible Hulk story with The doctor in it and was she really The Doctor and how did it all end? I've always loved the future incarnation feasibility even if I don't agree with the choice of Doctor!
JB
JB
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Just found this about it, JB. :emoji_alien:


Hulk_Pres.jpg


http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Incredible_Hulk_Presents


The Incredible Hulk Presents
was a short-lived weekly children's comic produced in the United Kingdom by Marvel UK in 1989. Amongst other material it contained black and white original Doctor Who strips featuring the Seventh Doctor.

The Incredible Hulk Presents was launched on 30 September 1989, with issue #1 bearing a cover date of 7 October 1989, and lasted twelve issues, costing 40p for the entirety of its run. The original intention was for the new comic strips to also be reprinted in Doctor Who Magazine, as Marvel UK did not believe the two audiences would overlap, as The Incredible Hulk Presentswas aimed at an audience of younger readers. Doctor Who Magazine editor John Freeman was opposed as he believed this would interfere with his own attempts to give the DWM strip direction. In the event, only one story was printed in both titles, Hunger from the Ends of Time. One unpublished strip, Doctor Conkerer was produced for the unprinted issue #13. It later saw print in Doctor Who Magazine #162.
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Just found a synopsis of the story here, JB.......


http://alteredvistas.co.uk/html/seventh_doctor.html


WHO'S THAT GIRL?

The planet Okul is playing host to a peace conference to avert all out war, and the Frovian Prince Luj goes to greet his old friend the Doctor as the TARDIS arrives. However, the Doctor is a changed man - in fact, he’s a woman! Still, she soon gets down to hearing the grievances of the delegates who believe the Frovian opening of the Kollian dimension will endanger them all. Later, though, it becomes apparent that this new Doctor is in an alliance with delegate Ux, intent on starting a war and making a fortune, and that the real Doctor is chained up in the TARDIS.

The imposter is called Kasgi, a hired killer, who believes Luj to be a militaristic butcher. However, when she leaves the TARDIS, the Doctor escapes and heads for Luj’s quarters via a secret passage. But once there he overhears Luj talking of enslaving the Kollian dimension. As the treaty is about to be completed, he bursts into the room and declares that he is the real Doctor and that the Time Lords have withdrawn their support of Prince Luj. This leaves Kasgi without a job, but she wonders if maybe Luj would like to put a price on the Doctor’s head...


ALTERED VISTAS SAYS:
This strip is actually rather neat, with twist upon twist, though it could have done with another couple of instalments to give it room to develop and turn into something really interesting.

The artwork is nice, and the female Doctor’s outfit - a mishmash of items from all Doctors’ incarnations - works well. Her character is also nicely defined as, though she is clearly in it for the money, she genuinely believes Luj to be wrong - and is proven right! It’s a shame she never returned to get her revenge.
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
I have to say, on the subject of the gender change, I think this following scene is truly dreadful - and is a really hamfisted and heavyhanded way of hammering home the point that Time Lords can now (casually) change gender.

For a start, to get there, the Doctor has to turn into a violent idiot and commit the cold-blooded murder of an unarmed person standing in front of him, because, hey, it's not "cheating death" now. It's just man flu.

And he couldn't save Adric, but will murder and defy the laws of time to save Clara. Because she is more important to him than Katarina, Sara Kingdom, Adric (and Peri?).

The "selfie" quip is groan worthy too and shows that Moffat's talent for humorous dialogue pales next to Robert Holmes and many others of the past.

The misandry that the now female General immediately stands up and comes out with about "all that ego" is another jaw-dropping moment. One matched only by Clara saying to the Doctor in another episode that she would "slap you so hard, you'll regenerate."

If equivalent dialogue was directed from male to female characters, there would be uproar. It is simply not equality and the sign of a somewhat clueless writer at work, in my opinion.

This scene was clearly part of a clumsily planned agenda, presumably in cahoots with Chibnall to layer the gender changing into the WHO mythos.

If that layering had been done dramatically and well, that would be fine.

People often don't think they will like something until they have seen it done well by good writers/actors etc.

Many fans did not want to see Spock die, but as Nick Meyer explained: "The point is not that we kill Spock, but that we kill him well."

They did, of course and we got a great ending to a great film.

But this and other ways of introducing an astonishing new tweak to the mythos was not done dramatically and well, imo. It was done glibly and cynically, little by little. In a silly way. Not in a remotely dramatic way. Story by story. In fact, I think this particular scene was fatally written in the spirit of aggressively defying critics and not to entertain and enthral an audience, which I feel is entirely the wrong approach to take and so wrong headed it's astonishing.

I felt similar arrogance was displayed in the opening credits of one episode where Clara declared she was the Doctor and her face then appeared in the credits, with Jenna Coleman's name before Capaldi's. Cocking a snook at fans who had felt Clara was becoming too dominant as a character in the show.

That is losing your way as a dramatist, I think.

And overall, I think this following scene was the clearest indicator that Moffat was "Who-ed out" and should already have left by this point, even assuming he should ever have been given the job of showrunner in the first place...

Phew! I've finally got all of that off my chest! :emoji_alien:

But what do others think?

Here's the scene in question.....



 

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
That scene was terrible I've always thought and for someone who is against the gender swapping Time Lord idea, I feel it was forced upon us! The Missy/Master thing could have been a stolen body explanation but Moffat wanted to impress 'his' theory onto us long term fans whether we like it or not!
JB
 

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
And as for Clara, I never liked her character with Capaldi one bit and I truly hoped that her leaving the show in that Christmas episode with the crabs would have been the end of her character, it seemed to fit more than that raven rubbish!
JB
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
All done so that the BBC could then say "it has been established in the show that Time Lords can change gender". If they worded it as "it has recently been stupidly, arrogantly, defiantly and ridiculously established" I could at least have given them points for honesty. :emoji_alien:
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Regardless of which side of the debate one fell, this moment from Steven Moffat shows, in my opinion, either self-delusion on his part or complete, arrogant dishonesty when he states "There has been no backlash at all!" , "Utterly embraced", "Eighty percent approval on social media" and "People wanting to pretend there's a problem". and that contrary journalists should "shut the hell up!"

Yes, the press loves to run with a story and can exaggerate things. But there was, indeed, a backlash of sorts in the wake of the reveal, no matter the scale. My perception of it was that it more or less split fandom down the middle, with maybe more of a swing towards those who approved than those who did not.

And the guy on the stand nearby doesn't help matters by stating that anyone who has a problem with the female casting is an "asshole" and "you're not a fan of the show if you don't accept this!".

Great way to calm thing down guys! :emoji_confused:

Perhaps a more "enlightened and progressive" approach would have been to calmly say: "Let the doubters doubt, but wait until you see her in action before passing judgement."

As it is, I am surprised that they didn't bring Colin on stage as Maxil to bully any remaining doubters in the audience into silence! :emoji_grin:

I miss the old days, where my favourite show didn't used to say the press should "shut the hell up". Or call the fans "assholes".

And where being called "barkers" was as bad as it got. (Although that is a whole other story!) :emoji_confused:





 
Last edited:

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
Moffat, the worst 'producer' the show has ever had! Well him and Chibnal together anyways!
I can't stand this guy's style of writing, it's the same with his Sherlock show, which I also can't stand!
But as I've said before, he's saved me cash and room space and got me to appreciate the quality of everything that came before his time much, much more!
JB
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
This is probably a much fairer - and likely fairly accurate poll of the fan feeling....


787,158 views


15K
I like this


9K
I dislike this




That's the ratio of thumbs up and thumbs down on Youtube, for the Jodie reveal video.....






This is not to say that Jodie couldn't win the 9000 "assholes" over by eventually being as brilliant as we are repeatedly being told she is by people connected with the show and with the casting.

And let's hope the 15,000 (non-"assholes") who clicked the like button actually stick around and watch the damned show.

The announcement of Michael Keaton's casting as Batman was met with outcries and petitions - and we know what happened there.

But it hardly suggests that fans have "utterly embraced" the change, nor the 80% approval that Moffat is so aggressively - indeed rudely - emphatic about.

So dishonest.
 
Last edited:

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
Nice woman I'll admit but it still won't sway me! And there are no rules in Doctor Who's universe? Since when? And what about the rules IMPOSED upon the show by Moffat? The audience's reaction has been so very positive? Another since when? All the production team need to do is look at various forums across the net or even YouTube where the outcry against has been enormous! I keep hoping that this is just a façade and when we watch the special that Capaldi will regenerate into Kris Marshall as everyone originally thought and this was just a clever smokescreen..but I doubt it!
JB
 

Gavin

Member: Rank 6
VIP
Nice woman I'll admit but it still won't sway me! And there are no rules in Doctor Who's universe? Since when? And what about the rules IMPOSED upon the show by Moffat? The audience's reaction has been so very positive? Another since when? All the production team need to do is look at various forums across the net or even YouTube where the outcry against has been enormous! I keep hoping that this is just a façade and when we watch the special that Capaldi will regenerate into Kris Marshall as everyone originally thought and this was just a clever smokescreen..but I doubt it!
JB
Well I'm still keen to see her in action. As with all new Doctors I'll make my judgement on the strength of her performance (and to a degree on the quality of the storytelling). And as far as the "rules" go, I wouldn't say there are "no" rules, but over the history of the show they have proven to be extremely flexible.
 
Top