Me too! I am no longer scared of spiders, at all. Once I got a question, if I would rather be in a room, with 50 cockroaches or a tarantula. First of all, I was imagining being in my bedroom, for 1 night, with a massive tarantula, and I thought of it as fine. But it probably didn't have to be in my room, for nearly as long, and it probably meant a normal sized tarantula. Please.
To semi-quote the: 'Eleventh Doctor,' from: 'Amy's Choice,' This series is so dull! Nothing's happening. I don't feel any connection, I don't feel any excitement, I don't... Sigh. Chris Chibnall needs to listen to some: 'Big Finish.'
This episode has really made me question the Doctor's morality. Like, why was she okay with that science women experimenting on spiders, and then locking up all the other spiders to die by starvation (presumably lasting longer as they'll start eating each other to survive), but not okay with american man shooting a suffocating giant spider? Like, she was suffering, and dying anyway, it literally was a mercy kill.
My viewing of it was that she was upset because he didn't shoot it as a mercy killing. He shot it because he saw it as a monster. The Doctor's had a long history of admiring the supposed beauty of creatures that humans see as monsters. She was hoping for another way out, and he permanently and deliberately rejected that hope. ~ TDG
Am I the only one who had issues with the ending? When the giant spider is basically suffocating, & the Doctor's anti-gun thing basically leads her to say, "screw the humane quick option! Let's let this thing die a slow agonizing death!"
I still wonder why they gave the show to Chibnall when all of his doctor who episodes in the past were ok at best. They should have given the show to Jamie Mathieson, he was the best writer of the Moffat era, besides moffat himself. Moffat, for all his flaws was an interesting writer who had some amazing ideas and knew how to write great dialogue that would drive the plot forward.
The visualisation of the time vortex was absolutely amazing, almost like the sort of thing you see used as illustrations of String Theory. It might well be the best visualisation of the vortex we've ever had in the show, so more of this please. If you're doing a story about giant spiders, having them be the result of toxic waste is just about the most hackneyed explanation you could possibly go for. There was an enormous sense of 'that'll do' about that script, like Chibnall decided to do a story about giant spiders and never actually added anything further to the idea than 'there are giant spiders'. These two points seem to be re-occurring ones week by week; that the aesthetic choices being made are spot-on in every instant, yet the scripts are lacking. For every single special effect or music score which hits the mark, there's this lingering sense that they're helping to prop up some very average scripts
You could virtually squeeze an episode out of race relations between the talking spiders and the non talking spiders, this show is spoilt for choice when it comes to ideas but the creators never think of them.
TheUltimateVideoMan literally all they suggested was you stop watching the show if you’re no longer enjoying yourself. I don’t see how that’s discouraging criticism.
lol Didn't realise I was talking to a professional screenwriter, I do apologise. You best get a job at the BBC and help them out then Man since you seem to know what it's all about.
Oddly I’m a Sheffield Girl and I thought that element at least would endear this episode to me but I was constantly forcing myself to actually continue watching it because my mind was wandering. I got into Who because of Dad and came on board during Smith’s era but my Dad hunted out his classic collection and my Doctor is now Seven and my favourite companion Turlough. I’m not sold in this series or this Doctor at all and I really want to be. I miss looking forward to each new story and I’m now looking forward to getting a new Who book from Obverse books. Great review and I pretty much agreed with all of it. Graham, however is the standout so far.
Did you notice? The setting shows spiders all over sheffield and The Doctor only takes care of the ones in the hotel. This is either utterly stupid or, if they find a post-apoc Sheffield with humans riding spiders in future episode, somewhat ok
Its ok Stu... I miss Moffatt too... While he has written episodes I can't stand and genuinely pissed me off, they at least were trying to do something, having fun with the premise, doing something that could only be done in DW. But Chibnal has been so bland this season... Where is the guy that did "Dinosaurs on a spaceship", "Power of three" or even "Cyberwoman"? Regardless of quality, they were at least trying to be fun and creative.
LaviArray That's true. But I think this series was intended to be a stepping stone for a lot of new fans and seeing that this series has consistently been getting higher ratings than all of Moffats Who it shows it was a stepping stone for a lot of people. This is why it started so..... Simple with the sci fi. I think demons of the Punjab had a better idea with the aliens who tribute the deaths of others. I think it was a great idea. The final episode this series by Chibs also sounds like it's gonna be more than what we've had so far. I think in general he is writing too many episodes and you can clearly see that the first two had more time (first in particular) put into them than episodes 4 and 5. I don't mind the directions he's taking with the companions. I just think we need more writers writing each story.
Or kiss kiss bang bang with talking fish headed aliens drivibg sports cars in Wales to the tune of Sarah brightman and hot gossips i lost my heart to a starship trooper.
I'm not really liking Jodie as the Doctor, she just seems so toothless. She isn't funny enough to make the comedy work (like *Troughton* or *McCoy)* and she hasn't had any real moments of control. *(Eccleston* had 'Rose' with the turn of the earth speech and Dalek, *Tennant* had 'Rise of the Cybermen'/'The Age of Steel', *Smith* had control in every episode up to 'The Vampires of Venice' and *Capaldi* had 'Deep Breath'/'Into the Dalek' to at least show that he could be dramatic and funny) She just walks around sounding confused and like the lonely kid who wants to make friends. Also why does she get her sonic out of her jacket like she's a birthday clown and it's a balloon (also not a fan of when a man is being choked or when 'demons' appear she just gets her sonic out instead of actively doing something, as the War Doctor said 'they're scientific instruments, not water pistols'; other doctors would have walked near the 'demons' to get a closer look but when they vanish would then scan the area.) I really want her to get better because up till now I've been able to say I like all the doctors in one way or another.
I agree with some things 😂 but overall I still like it. As bad as TTC was I think the scene of her admitting she was wrong at the start was brilliant. I think this doctor, like the companions has been building slower than usual but I quite like it tbh.
Is it weird I kind of want Prediction Corner to be completely right? At might at least be interesting - and hilarious. One thing, though: I liked the part when the first spider they encounter crawls on the ceiling. That was kind of unsettling. But of cause they immediately fuck it up by it letting itself to the ground again. Why? And to try the same thing again later on is beside the point - or maybe I just didn't care any more at that point.
Yeh people just whinge too much in general for a show that is essentially a kids show. Chibnail is definitely a bland writer but after Moffat I'm content to coast on some bland for a while and cleanse my palet of the last 7 fucking years of overhyped shite.
I'm not as harsh on the Moffat years (well at least the Smith years and Series 10) as you seem to be but I agree, Chibnall is a much needed palate cleanser after whatever the hell the Capaldi era was. It's why I don't think Tsuranga Conundrum is bad either- is it bland and very mediocre? Yes. Is it a disaster like Hell Bent? No. For me this series has been a welcome return to form and the historicals have been far and away the best episodes. Funny how the best episodes aren't written by Chibnall.
Oh I liked series 5 of Moffat his debut season but it gradually waned the longer he stayed on because he is not good at doing ongoing series his strength is only in doing one offs or limited runs which is why he was so good as a solo episode Dr Who writer or decent when doing Coupling or Jekyl and Hyde but even Sherlock got progressively crapper as it went on, the first two series were perfect but the last two series became stupid and sensationalist because after series 2 he got public attention so seemed to feel compelled to start amping everything up and over hyping it with a lot of whimsy and nonsense in his scripts. When he doesn't have the spotlight on him he does much better work.
@@bezzaderbane9890 Bland is being too kind. You're opinion of Moffats era would be more at home with Chibnalls. Every episode he has been a part of I have felt isn't Doctor Who. At one point when watching the Tsunami Conundrum (I don't know nor care to remember the name) someone came in and asked what I was watching, and when the saw her wave the sonic like a stick they couldn't beleive it was Doctor Who. Isn't anything like RTD era and that's pretty much what we were promised.
The RTD era wasn't much like Dr Who either frankly, when do you recall the Doc in the old series having borderline sexual relationships with his companions? Every era is different there is no "definitive" Dr Who so that comment is fairly redundant, the only constant is that the character is quirky, travels in a police box time machine, usually takes friends along for the ride and ends up sorting out one problem or another during their travels. Beyond that the rest is variables of style down to the individuals running and writing the show that program was just that the usual siege scenario the show does all the time so yes was still Dr Who, don't particularly see how it wasn't, you might not have enjoyed it, which is fair enough but it was the show.
I spent most of it thinking what brace choice it was to remake the Green Death but worse. I still think Jodie is doing a stellar job despite some rather dull scripts. The historicals are proving way more interesting than the sci-fi ones at the moment
Not the best - shooting the spiders would have been better than letting them starve and suffocate -the trump allegory was really on the nose -Yaz did more this episode but she still feels quite pointless -don’t like how Jodie stretches her arms out when she uses her sonic - there wasn’t really a resolution -13 is pretty bland and doesn’t stand out from previous doctors, all that makes her different is that she’s a women -the doctor was wrong for not letting the spiders die quickly instead of prolonging their suffering -pretty average series so far -they definitely left a few spiders around Sheffield
I disagree, she certainly stands out more than Capaldi did when he started, she states her personality and intention from the get go "Sorting out fair play in the universe" and comes across as friendly and approachable, with Capaldi's debut we got wishy washy "Am I a good man" nonsense and Matt Smith having to even come back to moly coddle fans who couldn't handle the character being old again which was pathetic. To say "all that makes her different is that she's a woman" is a typical male perspective that because there's now been a gender change her only defining characteristic is that she's a gender? So women don't have personalities? What utter rott. What you mean is because youre too busy focusing on the fact she's a different gender you can't actually identify her incarnation's personality.
Bezza Derbane no I’m saying that I can’t actually she her doing anything that other doctors wouldn’t, you could give all her story’s to other doctors and they wouldn’t feel out of place as so far all she’s got it “quirky” and Jodie isn’t the best actress in this show anyway so maybe with a different women playing the role I wouldn’t be feeling like this but she seems bland sort of like the modern who’s 5th doctor she just is the doctor and I couldn’t tell you one thing about her that I couldn’t say about other doctors but with 9 it was his PTSD with 10 it was his refusal to give 2nd chances and the way he gets hung up on past companions (even his hypocrisy) with 11 it was his quirky nature but he had that to hide his coldness and ruthless (like how he left Amy to die and the captain runaway situation) and then with 12 it was him questioning if he was good or bad and then Moffat got a bit mental with it but you can see how he changed and developed to a man about kindness, with 13 she doesn’t seem to have anything that solely defines her incarnation. Like I said before I can imagine other doctors in her episodes but you can’t say you could see 11 in Dalek, 10 in heaven sent or 12 in something like the crimson horror as these episodes were written around a certain doctor not just the template Chibnall seems to use
In 2006 we gave a giant spider an evil queen for a body, that the doctor set fire to and then drowned with the Thames, because the evil spider queen's kids were living dormant in a spaceship thay formed the centre of the Earth after being lost in the Time War. Now we're just doing spiders-but-big again. Like a bad mix of The Green Death and Planet of the Spiders.
"They're setting it up for later...". With the era now over, we can safely conclude that no, nothing was ever being set up for later, at least not in a way that mattered. Ah Stu, you were so trusting.
i didn't mind this episode, it was alright and enjoyable enough, basically a paint by numbers episode. most episodes other than rosa and demons of punjab are the two standouts so far that i love and the rest is just ok with nothing bad (or at least not moffet bad), the only issue is that the doctor just leaves the spiders to die in a crowded room (my head canon has her taking them somewhere else but it could have at least been mentioned by her off hand like "well that's them taken care of, nice and safely rehomed where they won't cause any trubble." or something like that). as for the trump bit, i didn't mind it and if this was made at any other time it wouldn't really be an issue, it's just that a cartoon villain is now the president of america.
I feel this is the end of the era of giant spiders. Until Jodie's regeneration story. My prediction is the giant spiders in Sheffield will be part of 13's regeneration story.
Actually one example of an original spider story is from Tatterdemalion, probably the weirdest thing I've ever read. This features a womal having sex with a giant spider, she goes on to give birth to a daughter, who grows up to have cobweb periods. This is one of the book's more down-to-earth-moments.
@@Stubagful It's definitely a fun read, it also stars a talking elephant with wheels that only eats embers. I'm quite tempted to lick the pages to see if it's printed on giant LSD tabs instead of paper
I'll just repeat what I've been saying on a billion different videos, because of how absurd the plot and the characters were and how it tried to take itself so seriously makes this one of the funniest Doctor Who episodes I've ever seen. I feel like I should hate it, it's a shit episode, but it's "so bad it's funny", to me at least.
_Arachnids in the UK_ isn't bad. It's unambitious. And that's a far worse thing for Doctor Who to be. As for the gratuitous political references, they pissed me off to no end. There was just no need for it. (On a related note, what is the in-universe political landscape at the time of this episode, anyway? Is Alexander Denes still Controller of the Central European Zone at this point? When did the countries get merged into 'Zones' anyway?)
Personally (and this might just be because on average I consider Chibnall a better writer than you give him credit for) I don’t remotely miss Moffat. Moffat overstayed his welcome by a number of years, and right now I’d much rather Chibnall’s more understated, human-feeling writing and presentation to Steven’s “everyone is the most heightened possible version of themselves, grand speechifying, super OTT comedy and melodrama” approach. I love this show and I love a lot of what Moffat did, but I dunno how much more I could take of the way the show FELT under him. It was just *too much.*
Absolutely. I'd much rather have a messy but fun show whose heart is in the right place over what Moffat's series became. I felt like he was just writing to show off with ridiculous plot twists and over-the-top arcs instead of actually considering the audience. It was fine for awhile, but eventually it just gets tiring. At least here, even the worst episodes haven't bored me and the characters feel much more real.
Aside from being a less interesting remake of The Green Death, Arachnids just really bored me. The Donald Trump stand in didn't work because he's more realistic than actual Trump, but that's partially Trump's fault. The bit where the spider took the bodyguard down the bath was pretty good though, and Bradley Walsh is a delight as usual. The Doctor's anti gun messaging got ludicrously silly here as well. Next time, Chibnall shows how to mostly bugger up a standard Base Under Siege, but not to the extent that it's not essentially fun as long as you don't think about how any of the plot elements fit together.
"The Doctor's anti gun messaging got ludicrously silly here as well." Yeah, I mean, it's a fairly humane way to kill a spider, all things considered, and we kill spiders all the time anyway. (I try to limit the killing of spiders and other carnivorous bugs, since they are good pest control regardless.) I mean, how else were they gonna get rid of them? Construct a giant boot to smash it? We exterminate pests all. the. freaking. time.
JackIntheBox what didn’t make sense about the gun but was why the bodyguard’s gun did fuck all to the bathtub spider but somehow worked against the room sized spider.
All I could think during this episode is "Discount Chris Noth--WAIT; HOLY SHIT!", then "Fuck, they had to drag poor Chris Noth into this pile of burning shit, didn't they?"
I got my own Prediction: since the spiders are still in the locked room i think they will get out in an episode of series 12 called Arachnids return to the UK and team up with the cybermen and become Cybernids
I was one of the Moffat haterz!! back in the day. Don't even like the episodes everyone else generally agrees are brilliant. And even I know what you mean about missing him. You could at least have a conversation about characters who are strings of one liners with no character, consequences being gutted, the narrative going 'Your mind is blown!' at painfully obvious twists, and so on and so forth. There was a vision, even if I don't happen to like that vision. So far, Chibnall's Who kinda hasn't really been... like, anything. I couldn't tell you why it's not doing anything for me. It seems constructed fine, the characters are fine, the ideas are fine. I just wouldn't know how to have a conversation about it. I seem to have learned that I like Who that pisses me off more than Who that ticks along leaving no impression, hows that for a twist
I just like this season for its simplicity. Moffat was good for its intricate plots at first but I kinda found it too overwhelming and overdone. When Billie Piper stopped becoming the Doctor's companion every season had "end of the universe" or "end of earth" type stories. It was good but by the time of the 12th doctor it just became overdone. I like the current 13th doctor season as a step back to regular times. Tbh, I'd just like the arc to be about a character or several characters and see them develop and become more than simply fill-ins for a bigger plot.
Think I’ve seen enough of this series to begin forming an opinion and it’s… mixed. Once you get past the hype of the female Doctor thing (which has worked and not been that big a deal), I can’t find much more to talk about. This series is… fine. It’s just so achingly unambitious. I can’t fault Whittaker’s performance nor can I praise it that much. I can’t say much on the episodes because there isn’t much to say. I don’t love it, I don’t hate it. A strange feeling. Particularly after so many years of Moffat, where I *always* at least had something to say about the episodes. For example, I love Heaven Sent and I despise Hell Bent, but at least there’s something to say about it. But I feel guilty because I feel I’m being unfair. It’s definitely going down the populist route which I completely approve of. Moffat’s era had become too inaccessible. But surely some real jeopardy would help with things. But it’s a new team getting started. I’m hopeful that things will get better and better.
This was the first episode I actively disliked instead of being kindof "meh" about. I've never been scared of regular spiders so TV ones don't bother me at all. I was left thinking the Trump parody could have been better if they'd just had the man himself in the episode, and done the whole thing as a straight up comedy: "We're gonna to take care of the spiders, nobody takes care of spiders like me, believe me there's gonna be pest control like you've never seen" "He's not a hero. Okay, he's a hero becase he got eaten by a giant spider. I prefer bodyguards who don't get eaten by giant spiders, that's all I'm saying." "when Shefield sends its spiders, we know they're not sending their best. They're bringing webs. They're bringing crime. they're rapists. And some, I assume, are good spiders."
Who else noticed that this episode is kinda similar to the green death? In that episode the maggots grow cause of waste being dumped in an old mine. Here it’s the same with giant spiders. I mean the green death is a lot better then this one by a mile off. I’m just saying...
Yeah, the season has been "safe". It is a deliberate return to basics approach, and the content covered in Punjab is daring in its way - even if the story isn't. Arachnids was just another decent unremarkable episode. Stuart says it better than I can, it delivers no less and no more than anyone expects.
It’s almost as if they don’t know what to do with Jodie’s Doctor. The companions are more interesting than she is. That’s a problem. Sometimes it feels the Doctor is just a long for the ride.
Me too! I am no longer scared of spiders, at all. Once I got a question, if I would rather be in a room, with 50 cockroaches or a tarantula. First of all, I was imagining being in my bedroom, for 1 night, with a massive tarantula, and I thought of it as fine. But it probably didn't have to be in my room, for nearly as long, and it probably meant a normal sized tarantula. Please.
I would say I’ve at least ‘liked’ each episode but my biggest problem about the series so far is that it plays it too safe. I mean this in that’s there’s pretty generic and bland plots. The only area that is fairly ambitious is in (for lack of a better term) it’s social justice angle, with a female doctor, Rosa, trump stand in, increase in lgbt side characters and demons of the Punjab etc. In some ways I’d like to see your New Year’s Day episode, at least it would be interesting. However at the same time I think keeping it simple could be to the shows benefit. I think Moffat wrote doctor who for the fans where as Chibnall is writing the show for a wider audience and in my opinion that’s what can be attributed to the increase in viewing figures.
I totally understand what you’re saying about this episode but when you say the Russell Ever was better him and Steve Moffat ever want both. Great to have some good terms on that but mostly the enemy was an alien that’s what I like about it in the UK it wasn’t easy and it was just humans
Man what is your problem with Vervoids? They are the only villain so wrong that the Doctor skipped all the usual talking and running shit and just said "fuck it... kill em all!"
Yes. You finally admit it. You miss Moffat. Hell yeah. Fuck yeah. I'm just saying, the Twelfth Doctor's era will age well. P.S. - I'm so happy PREDICTION CORNER IS BACK. God, I missed that.
Casual CraftMan I’d take Moffat back as a guest writer under two conditions; 1) he’s not allowed to touch any mystery box / arc related stuff, 2) he’s not allowed to do any call backs or base the plot on some element of the Doctor’s past. Frankly I’d love to see Moffat do a completely self contained story again- one where he can’t rely on setting up / paying off other episodes for a cheap pop, and has to focus on ONE central concept.
Stubagful has actually released some short stories on CZcams, my favorite of which being Be Brave (Printer Old Friend [or something along those lines]). I recommend checking them out. [insert arbitrary outing here]. If you were being sarcastic, it already kind of happened.
Wonder if anyone's gonna start pretending I loved this episode instead of listening to the words I've used
OMG You miss Moffat!
I knew ppl would say this, but not you.
Me too! I am no longer scared of spiders, at all. Once I got a question, if I would rather be in a room, with 50 cockroaches or a tarantula. First of all, I was imagining being in my bedroom, for 1 night, with a massive tarantula, and I thought of it as fine. But it probably didn't have to be in my room, for nearly as long, and it probably meant a normal sized tarantula. Please.
#BringBackMoffat!
I had a lot of fun untangling his episodes in videos. It was kind of inevitable really
To semi-quote the: 'Eleventh Doctor,' from: 'Amy's Choice,' This series is so dull! Nothing's happening. I don't feel any connection, I don't feel any excitement, I don't... Sigh. Chris Chibnall needs to listen to some: 'Big Finish.'
Giant Spiders in a Place
Written by Chibmunk
This episode has really made me question the Doctor's morality. Like, why was she okay with that science women experimenting on spiders, and then locking up all the other spiders to die by starvation (presumably lasting longer as they'll start eating each other to survive), but not okay with american man shooting a suffocating giant spider? Like, she was suffering, and dying anyway, it literally was a mercy kill.
My viewing of it was that she was upset because he didn't shoot it as a mercy killing. He shot it because he saw it as a monster. The Doctor's had a long history of admiring the supposed beauty of creatures that humans see as monsters. She was hoping for another way out, and he permanently and deliberately rejected that hope.
~ TDG
Spiders also have cannibalistic tendencies. So those would resort to killing and eating other until there were no more spiders to eat.
Am I the only one who had issues with the ending? When the giant spider is basically suffocating, & the Doctor's anti-gun thing basically leads her to say, "screw the humane quick option! Let's let this thing die a slow agonizing death!"
I'd of had the doctor shoot the spider, a mercy killing.
Show that this doctor has a cold hard side to her.
I still wonder why they gave the show to Chibnall when all of his doctor who episodes in the past were ok at best. They should have given the show to Jamie Mathieson, he was the best writer of the Moffat era, besides moffat himself. Moffat, for all his flaws was an interesting writer who had some amazing ideas and knew how to write great dialogue that would drive the plot forward.
The visualisation of the time vortex was absolutely amazing, almost like the sort of thing you see used as illustrations of String Theory. It might well be the best visualisation of the vortex we've ever had in the show, so more of this please.
If you're doing a story about giant spiders, having them be the result of toxic waste is just about the most hackneyed explanation you could possibly go for. There was an enormous sense of 'that'll do' about that script, like Chibnall decided to do a story about giant spiders and never actually added anything further to the idea than 'there are giant spiders'.
These two points seem to be re-occurring ones week by week; that the aesthetic choices being made are spot-on in every instant, yet the scripts are lacking. For every single special effect or music score which hits the mark, there's this lingering sense that they're helping to prop up some very average scripts
Why didn’t Jodie take the spiders to Metebelis III ? Or even just say “there’s a planet I can take them too”
That would have been great!
Good call, they aren't talking spiders though so there may be a cultural clash.
You could virtually squeeze an episode out of race relations between the talking spiders and the non talking spiders, this show is spoilt for choice when it comes to ideas but the creators never think of them.
@@bezzaderbane9890 Zygon Inversion redux! Again!
The sky is the limit.
I didn’t find myself bored of Moffat’s writing until Series 8. It’s Chibnall’s first series and I’m already getting bored of his episodes. Help.
Stop watching the show and find something you find more entertaining?
@@bezzaderbane9890 Heaven forbid I may have any kind of a criticism! All praise Chibnall and his flawless scripts!
TheUltimateVideoMan literally all they suggested was you stop watching the show if you’re no longer enjoying yourself. I don’t see how that’s discouraging criticism.
lol Didn't realise I was talking to a professional screenwriter, I do apologise. You best get a job at the BBC and help them out then Man since you seem to know what it's all about.
Bezza Derbane Oh, so only professional screenwriters can have issues with episodes watched by millions of people? How silly of me.
"I kind of miss Moffat"
I feel you, but we can't say that
Giant Spider's were at their most scary when Spider-Man slowly turned into one in the 90s
Oddly I’m a Sheffield Girl and I thought that element at least would endear this episode to me but I was constantly forcing myself to actually continue watching it because my mind was wandering.
I got into Who because of Dad and came on board during Smith’s era but my Dad hunted out his classic collection and my Doctor is now Seven and my favourite companion Turlough.
I’m not sold in this series or this Doctor at all and I really want to be. I miss looking forward to each new story and I’m now looking forward to getting a new Who book from Obverse books.
Great review and I pretty much agreed with all of it. Graham, however is the standout so far.
Did you notice? The setting shows spiders all over sheffield and The Doctor only takes care of the ones in the hotel. This is either utterly stupid or, if they find a post-apoc Sheffield with humans riding spiders in future episode, somewhat ok
Its ok Stu... I miss Moffatt too...
While he has written episodes I can't stand and genuinely pissed me off, they at least were trying to do something, having fun with the premise, doing something that could only be done in DW. But Chibnal has been so bland this season... Where is the guy that did "Dinosaurs on a spaceship", "Power of three" or even "Cyberwoman"? Regardless of quality, they were at least trying to be fun and creative.
LaviArray That's true. But I think this series was intended to be a stepping stone for a lot of new fans and seeing that this series has consistently been getting higher ratings than all of Moffats Who it shows it was a stepping stone for a lot of people. This is why it started so..... Simple with the sci fi. I think demons of the Punjab had a better idea with the aliens who tribute the deaths of others. I think it was a great idea. The final episode this series by Chibs also sounds like it's gonna be more than what we've had so far.
I think in general he is writing too many episodes and you can clearly see that the first two had more time (first in particular) put into them than episodes 4 and 5. I don't mind the directions he's taking with the companions. I just think we need more writers writing each story.
Or kiss kiss bang bang with talking fish headed aliens drivibg sports cars in Wales to the tune of Sarah brightman and hot gossips i lost my heart to a starship trooper.
I'm not really liking Jodie as the Doctor, she just seems so toothless. She isn't funny enough to make the comedy work (like *Troughton* or *McCoy)* and she hasn't had any real moments of control. *(Eccleston* had 'Rose' with the turn of the earth speech and Dalek, *Tennant* had 'Rise of the Cybermen'/'The Age of Steel', *Smith* had control in every episode up to 'The Vampires of Venice' and *Capaldi* had 'Deep Breath'/'Into the Dalek' to at least show that he could be dramatic and funny)
She just walks around sounding confused and like the lonely kid who wants to make friends. Also why does she get her sonic out of her jacket like she's a birthday clown and it's a balloon (also not a fan of when a man is being choked or when 'demons' appear she just gets her sonic out instead of actively doing something, as the War Doctor said 'they're scientific instruments, not water pistols'; other doctors would have walked near the 'demons' to get a closer look but when they vanish would then scan the area.)
I really want her to get better because up till now I've been able to say I like all the doctors in one way or another.
I agree with some things 😂 but overall I still like it. As bad as TTC was I think the scene of her admitting she was wrong at the start was brilliant. I think this doctor, like the companions has been building slower than usual but I quite like it tbh.
Left field theory... the spiders in the landfills eventually become sentient and The Doctor will eventually help them colonize Metebelis 3.
Can't wait for "Attack of the Everything" on New Year's day!
"I kinda miss Moffat"
6:46
Is it weird I kind of want Prediction Corner to be completely right?
At might at least be interesting - and hilarious.
One thing, though: I liked the part when the first spider they encounter crawls on the ceiling. That was kind of unsettling. But of cause they immediately fuck it up by it letting itself to the ground again. Why? And to try the same thing again later on is beside the point - or maybe I just didn't care any more at that point.
The thing about toxic waste is...wait for it...it is toxic. It never produces giant monsters. Except in silly movies made back in the 50's.
The writers forgot science is part of science fiction.
Something tells me Stu is gonna love Demons of The Punjab. As for this episode I liked it just fine and loved how it knew it was a cheesy b-movie.
Yeh people just whinge too much in general for a show that is essentially a kids show. Chibnail is definitely a bland writer but after Moffat I'm content to coast on some bland for a while and cleanse my palet of the last 7 fucking years of overhyped shite.
I'm not as harsh on the Moffat years (well at least the Smith years and Series 10) as you seem to be but I agree, Chibnall is a much needed palate cleanser after whatever the hell the Capaldi era was. It's why I don't think Tsuranga Conundrum is bad either- is it bland and very mediocre? Yes. Is it a disaster like Hell Bent? No. For me this series has been a welcome return to form and the historicals have been far and away the best episodes. Funny how the best episodes aren't written by Chibnall.
Oh I liked series 5 of Moffat his debut season but it gradually waned the longer he stayed on because he is not good at doing ongoing series his strength is only in doing one offs or limited runs which is why he was so good as a solo episode Dr Who writer or decent when doing Coupling or Jekyl and Hyde but even Sherlock got progressively crapper as it went on, the first two series were perfect but the last two series became stupid and sensationalist because after series 2 he got public attention so seemed to feel compelled to start amping everything up and over hyping it with a lot of whimsy and nonsense in his scripts. When he doesn't have the spotlight on him he does much better work.
@@bezzaderbane9890 Bland is being too kind. You're opinion of Moffats era would be more at home with Chibnalls. Every episode he has been a part of I have felt isn't Doctor Who. At one point when watching the Tsunami Conundrum (I don't know nor care to remember the name) someone came in and asked what I was watching, and when the saw her wave the sonic like a stick they couldn't beleive it was Doctor Who. Isn't anything like RTD era and that's pretty much what we were promised.
The RTD era wasn't much like Dr Who either frankly, when do you recall the Doc in the old series having borderline sexual relationships with his companions? Every era is different there is no "definitive" Dr Who so that comment is fairly redundant, the only constant is that the character is quirky, travels in a police box time machine, usually takes friends along for the ride and ends up sorting out one problem or another during their travels. Beyond that the rest is variables of style down to the individuals running and writing the show that program was just that the usual siege scenario the show does all the time so yes was still Dr Who, don't particularly see how it wasn't, you might not have enjoyed it, which is fair enough but it was the show.
I spent most of it thinking what brace choice it was to remake the Green Death but worse. I still think Jodie is doing a stellar job despite some rather dull scripts. The historicals are proving way more interesting than the sci-fi ones at the moment
Not the best
- shooting the spiders would have been better than letting them starve and suffocate
-the trump allegory was really on the nose
-Yaz did more this episode but she still feels quite pointless
-don’t like how Jodie stretches her arms out when she uses her sonic
- there wasn’t really a resolution
-13 is pretty bland and doesn’t stand out from previous doctors, all that makes her different is that she’s a women
-the doctor was wrong for not letting the spiders die quickly instead of prolonging their suffering
-pretty average series so far
-they definitely left a few spiders around Sheffield
I disagree, she certainly stands out more than Capaldi did when he started, she states her personality and intention from the get go "Sorting out fair play in the universe" and comes across as friendly and approachable, with Capaldi's debut we got wishy washy "Am I a good man" nonsense and Matt Smith having to even come back to moly coddle fans who couldn't handle the character being old again which was pathetic. To say "all that makes her different is that she's a woman" is a typical male perspective that because there's now been a gender change her only defining characteristic is that she's a gender? So women don't have personalities? What utter rott. What you mean is because youre too busy focusing on the fact she's a different gender you can't actually identify her incarnation's personality.
Bezza Derbane
no I’m saying that I can’t actually she her doing anything that other doctors wouldn’t, you could give all her story’s to other doctors and they wouldn’t feel out of place as so far all she’s got it “quirky” and Jodie isn’t the best actress in this show anyway so maybe with a different women playing the role I wouldn’t be feeling like this but she seems bland sort of like the modern who’s 5th doctor she just is the doctor and I couldn’t tell you one thing about her that I couldn’t say about other doctors but with 9 it was his PTSD with 10 it was his refusal to give 2nd chances and the way he gets hung up on past companions (even his hypocrisy) with 11 it was his quirky nature but he had that to hide his coldness and ruthless (like how he left Amy to die and the captain runaway situation) and then with 12 it was him questioning if he was good or bad and then Moffat got a bit mental with it but you can see how he changed and developed to a man about kindness, with 13 she doesn’t seem to have anything that solely defines her incarnation.
Like I said before I can imagine other doctors in her episodes but you can’t say you could see 11 in Dalek, 10 in heaven sent or 12 in something like the crimson horror as these episodes were written around a certain doctor not just the template Chibnall seems to use
I agree with your points. I like Jodie but I think she's like a female Matt Smith
In 2006 we gave a giant spider an evil queen for a body, that the doctor set fire to and then drowned with the Thames, because the evil spider queen's kids were living dormant in a spaceship thay formed the centre of the Earth after being lost in the Time War.
Now we're just doing spiders-but-big again. Like a bad mix of The Green Death and Planet of the Spiders.
When you said you missed moffatt, I audibly just shouted, "NO!"
"They're setting it up for later...". With the era now over, we can safely conclude that no, nothing was ever being set up for later, at least not in a way that mattered. Ah Stu, you were so trusting.
The Hobbit made spiders scary first in famous works ever since 1937!!!
I love your reviews Stu! Thank you for all of them, love watching your videos ☺️
i didn't mind this episode, it was alright and enjoyable enough, basically a paint by numbers episode. most episodes other than rosa and demons of punjab are the two standouts so far that i love and the rest is just ok with nothing bad (or at least not moffet bad), the only issue is that the doctor just leaves the spiders to die in a crowded room (my head canon has her taking them somewhere else but it could have at least been mentioned by her off hand like "well that's them taken care of, nice and safely rehomed where they won't cause any trubble." or something like that). as for the trump bit, i didn't mind it and if this was made at any other time it wouldn't really be an issue, it's just that a cartoon villain is now the president of america.
I was kind of hoping it was the same spiders from Planet of the Spiders. Telepathic lightning Spiders are cool
I feel this is the end of the era of giant spiders. Until Jodie's regeneration story. My prediction is the giant spiders in Sheffield will be part of 13's regeneration story.
I mean hell bent is beautiful, I don't know what you're talking about.
Am I right in saying that Sheffield won't be back for the rest of the series
yes, thankfully
Actually one example of an original spider story is from Tatterdemalion, probably the weirdest thing I've ever read. This features a womal having sex with a giant spider, she goes on to give birth to a daughter, who grows up to have cobweb periods. This is one of the book's more down-to-earth-moments.
....okay that kind of sounds awesome and I totally want to read that
@@Stubagful It's definitely a fun read, it also stars a talking elephant with wheels that only eats embers. I'm quite tempted to lick the pages to see if it's printed on giant LSD tabs instead of paper
Organised spiders who can work together to accomplish complex tasks and to actively take over the world.
I'll just repeat what I've been saying on a billion different videos, because of how absurd the plot and the characters were and how it tried to take itself so seriously makes this one of the funniest Doctor Who episodes I've ever seen. I feel like I should hate it, it's a shit episode, but it's "so bad it's funny", to me at least.
Dont they lose the terry nation dalek rights if they dont do a dalek story every year?
_Arachnids in the UK_ isn't bad. It's unambitious. And that's a far worse thing for Doctor Who to be.
As for the gratuitous political references, they pissed me off to no end. There was just no need for it.
(On a related note, what is the in-universe political landscape at the time of this episode, anyway? Is Alexander Denes still Controller of the Central European Zone at this point? When did the countries get merged into 'Zones' anyway?)
Personally (and this might just be because on average I consider Chibnall a better writer than you give him credit for) I don’t remotely miss Moffat. Moffat overstayed his welcome by a number of years, and right now I’d much rather Chibnall’s more understated, human-feeling writing and presentation to Steven’s “everyone is the most heightened possible version of themselves, grand speechifying, super OTT comedy and melodrama” approach.
I love this show and I love a lot of what Moffat did, but I dunno how much more I could take of the way the show FELT under him. It was just *too much.*
Absolutely. I'd much rather have a messy but fun show whose heart is in the right place over what Moffat's series became. I felt like he was just writing to show off with ridiculous plot twists and over-the-top arcs instead of actually considering the audience. It was fine for awhile, but eventually it just gets tiring. At least here, even the worst episodes haven't bored me and the characters feel much more real.
Here's how to make spiders scary:
1) Spiders can fly now
2) When Spiders fly, they make the same buzzing sound wasps do
3) Spiders can go invisible
Aside from being a less interesting remake of The Green Death, Arachnids just really bored me. The Donald Trump stand in didn't work because he's more realistic than actual Trump, but that's partially Trump's fault. The bit where the spider took the bodyguard down the bath was pretty good though, and Bradley Walsh is a delight as usual. The Doctor's anti gun messaging got ludicrously silly here as well.
Next time, Chibnall shows how to mostly bugger up a standard Base Under Siege, but not to the extent that it's not essentially fun as long as you don't think about how any of the plot elements fit together.
"The Doctor's anti gun messaging got ludicrously silly here as well."
Yeah, I mean, it's a fairly humane way to kill a spider, all things considered, and we kill spiders all the time anyway. (I try to limit the killing of spiders and other carnivorous bugs, since they are good pest control regardless.)
I mean, how else were they gonna get rid of them? Construct a giant boot to smash it? We exterminate pests all. the. freaking. time.
JackIntheBox what didn’t make sense about the gun but was why the bodyguard’s gun did fuck all to the bathtub spider but somehow worked against the room sized spider.
@@Warmishcookies Why didn't Yas, the police officer, call out the possession of an illegal firearm?
All I could think during this episode is "Discount Chris Noth--WAIT; HOLY SHIT!", then "Fuck, they had to drag poor Chris Noth into this pile of burning shit, didn't they?"
3:52 it's only just struck me, but it's kind of appropriate to "miss Moffat" in an episode about spiders ;)
Prediction corner transition was smooth as butter.
I got my own Prediction: since the spiders are still in the locked room i think they will get out in an episode of series 12 called Arachnids return to the UK and team up with the cybermen and become Cybernids
Give the spiders creepy doll faces. That's what I'd do.
I feel the need to point out how despite being a cop, Yaz did absolutely nothing after Chris Noth took them hostage and pointed a gun at them.
That was quite possibly the best prediction corner ever.
I was one of the Moffat haterz!! back in the day. Don't even like the episodes everyone else generally agrees are brilliant. And even I know what you mean about missing him. You could at least have a conversation about characters who are strings of one liners with no character, consequences being gutted, the narrative going 'Your mind is blown!' at painfully obvious twists, and so on and so forth. There was a vision, even if I don't happen to like that vision. So far, Chibnall's Who kinda hasn't really been... like, anything. I couldn't tell you why it's not doing anything for me. It seems constructed fine, the characters are fine, the ideas are fine. I just wouldn't know how to have a conversation about it. I seem to have learned that I like Who that pisses me off more than Who that ticks along leaving no impression, hows that for a twist
I would be terrified of a giant brown recluse spider
I would hate to be satisfied by an episode like arachnids in the UK
The Vervoids. You're killing me, Man.
Okay. You made me laugh at a Prediction Corner.
Hard.
You deserve a like for that alone.
Someone should write "Attack of the Everything".
I just like this season for its simplicity. Moffat was good for its intricate plots at first but I kinda found it too overwhelming and overdone. When Billie Piper stopped becoming the Doctor's companion every season had "end of the universe" or "end of earth" type stories. It was good but by the time of the 12th doctor it just became overdone. I like the current 13th doctor season as a step back to regular times. Tbh, I'd just like the arc to be about a character or several characters and see them develop and become more than simply fill-ins for a bigger plot.
Think I’ve seen enough of this series to begin forming an opinion and it’s… mixed.
Once you get past the hype of the female Doctor thing (which has worked and not been that big a deal), I can’t find much more to talk about. This series is… fine. It’s just so achingly unambitious. I can’t fault Whittaker’s performance nor can I praise it that much. I can’t say much on the episodes because there isn’t much to say. I don’t love it, I don’t hate it. A strange feeling. Particularly after so many years of Moffat, where I *always* at least had something to say about the episodes. For example, I love Heaven Sent and I despise Hell Bent, but at least there’s something to say about it. But I feel guilty because I feel I’m being unfair. It’s definitely going down the populist route which I completely approve of. Moffat’s era had become too inaccessible.
But surely some real jeopardy would help with things. But it’s a new team getting started. I’m hopeful that things will get better and better.
Damn it! You got me at Vervoids!
Happy to see the return of prediction corner.
Talking Spiders
Telepathic Spiders
Hmmm! Sounds like a great Idea!
Oh Wait, Doctor Who has already done it!
This was the first episode I actively disliked instead of being kindof "meh" about. I've never been scared of regular spiders so TV ones don't bother me at all. I was left thinking the Trump parody could have been better if they'd just had the man himself in the episode, and done the whole thing as a straight up comedy:
"We're gonna to take care of the spiders, nobody takes care of spiders like me, believe me there's gonna be pest control like you've never seen"
"He's not a hero. Okay, he's a hero becase he got eaten by a giant spider. I prefer bodyguards who don't get eaten by giant spiders, that's all I'm saying."
"when Shefield sends its spiders, we know they're not sending their best. They're bringing webs. They're bringing crime. they're rapists. And some, I assume, are good spiders."
Who else noticed that this episode is kinda similar to the green death? In that episode the maggots grow cause of waste being dumped in an old mine. Here it’s the same with giant spiders. I mean the green death is a lot better then this one by a mile off. I’m just saying...
I would watch the shit out of that new year special you came up with, sounds like an iris wildthyme type story.
At the very least with Moffat's episodes, I was entertained for the most part. Chibnall's writing is borderline mind-numbing to me.
I used to live on the top floor of Park Hill Flats and living there was scarier than the large spiders.
Yeah, the season has been "safe". It is a deliberate return to basics approach, and the content covered in Punjab is daring in its way - even if the story isn't. Arachnids was just another decent unremarkable episode. Stuart says it better than I can, it delivers no less and no more than anyone expects.
Kinda odd how the title is a play on Anarchy in the UK but they didn’t even play the song
Not one of my favorites but I could ramble on about any episode of Doctor Who for longer than seven minutes.
It’s almost as if they don’t know what to do with Jodie’s Doctor. The companions are more interesting than she is. That’s a problem. Sometimes it feels the Doctor is just a long for the ride.
13 could have just said
“UNIT are dealing with it”
End music?
Me too! I am no longer scared of spiders, at all. Once I got a question, if I would rather be in a room, with 50 cockroaches or a tarantula. First of all, I was imagining being in my bedroom, for 1 night, with a massive tarantula, and I thought of it as fine. But it probably didn't have to be in my room, for nearly as long, and it probably meant a normal sized tarantula. Please.
I would say I’ve at least ‘liked’ each episode but my biggest problem about the series so far is that it plays it too safe. I mean this in that’s there’s pretty generic and bland plots. The only area that is fairly ambitious is in (for lack of a better term) it’s social justice angle, with a female doctor, Rosa, trump stand in, increase in lgbt side characters and demons of the Punjab etc. In some ways I’d like to see your New Year’s Day episode, at least it would be interesting. However at the same time I think keeping it simple could be to the shows benefit. I think Moffat wrote doctor who for the fans where as Chibnall is writing the show for a wider audience and in my opinion that’s what can be attributed to the increase in viewing figures.
They should have make the episode with the Killer Turtle Army instead!
if the vervoids don’t show up in the New Year Special now I am going to be very, very disappointed
I would've taken Attack of the Everything over the two Chibnall new years specials we've had so far
Oh! I know I know!
Make the spiders a swarm of poisonous spiders, that aim to craw into your nose and eat your organs!
If this episode been set in the Russell era, it still wouldn’t have been good but it have been at least enjoyable.
you miss Moffat's massive brain that's visible from the edge of the universe 😂
Isn’t telepathic spiders just from that episode of rick and morty
...I'm concerned for you Stewart
I admit i'm not the biggest fan of S11, but missing Moffat? HELL NO!!
I miss Moffat
Moffat is not missed by me. I hated his era and am glad its over.
I just want the "League" to be show runners
If half of the people say it's to left then the other say it's to right then it's probably centralist.
I totally understand what you’re saying about this episode but when you say the Russell Ever was better him and Steve Moffat ever want both. Great to have some good terms on that but mostly the enemy was an alien that’s what I like about it in the UK it wasn’t easy and it was just humans
Make the spiders super intelligent. Then they're more threatening
This was the point I could watch no more of this series or this "doctor".
Man what is your problem with Vervoids? They are the only villain so wrong that the Doctor skipped all the usual talking and running shit and just said "fuck it... kill em all!"
Personally I think you proposed a plausible theory.
pennywise is a spider
This show has been marked by the PC(peter capaldi) era of Moffat to a point were people can't stand Doctor Who SJW(starring jodie whitaker)
Yes. You finally admit it. You miss Moffat. Hell yeah. Fuck yeah.
I'm just saying, the Twelfth Doctor's era will age well.
P.S. - I'm so happy PREDICTION CORNER IS BACK. God, I missed that.
Credit where credit is due, the spider effects were fucking awesome
They are non sentient giant spiders, it would be immoral not to shoot them.
Thanks for reviewing and making an overview of this, so I don’t have to actually watch it
Eh, i always thought that Russel did it better, because he juggled fewer topics, so it was less of a jumbled mess.
I never want Moffat back in Doctor Who
Casual CraftMan I’d take Moffat back as a guest writer under two conditions;
1) he’s not allowed to touch any mystery box / arc related stuff,
2) he’s not allowed to do any call backs or base the plot on some element of the Doctor’s past.
Frankly I’d love to see Moffat do a completely self contained story again- one where he can’t rely on setting up / paying off other episodes for a cheap pop, and has to focus on ONE central concept.
I do want Moffat back in Dr Who... in a Vervoid costume.
I want Russell T Davies to come back playing a Time Lord who regenerates and his next incarnation is played by Moffat.
Tbh giant spiders ain’t even scary id be more scared of being crushed to death by a sea of tiny spiders myself.
You should defenitly become a writer
Stubagful has actually released some short stories on CZcams, my favorite of which being Be Brave (Printer Old Friend [or something along those lines]). I recommend checking them out. [insert arbitrary outing here]. If you were being sarcastic, it already kind of happened.
I am annoyed Yaz, let a yank carry a gun about she is supposed to be a copper. Then she lets her mother boss her about