A tepid defense of Chris Chibnall

[@CouncilofGeeks]

My video on the issue of the BBC's support of Transphobia: czcams.com/video/aN4uc0HZrWE/video.html
Shaun's 1st video, which includes some additional confirmed information: czcams.com/video/b4buJMMiwcg/video.html
Shaun’s 2nd video, which follows how the BBC is trying to dodge accountability for all of this: czcams.com/video/qfjTG6SVjmQ/video.html
Shaun’s recent 3rd video: czcams.com/video/fRn1UZ4fhdE/video.html
Laura Kate Dale's recent protest speech outside the BBC offices: czcams.com/video/hBjGnWkwAjI/video.html

[@tokublwhovian]

@@joeespin4377 you do know that you can skip if it bothers you that much

[@ativoflegacy]

I think the best thing about Chib's era was Jodie Whittaker.
She was a fantastic choice and really was a good Doctor. I'm going to miss her.

[@hblancoramos6873]

Do you see all those times where old doctors get cameos? Like twice upon a time? Day of the doctor? Im really waiting for seeing Jodie in one. She deserves it.

[@Calvero52]

Being a history nerd, I loved how he introduced several historical people that were not known of at all to many viewers, including me. Would rush to Wikipedia while the episode was still broadcasting to get a basic idea who they were and what they did. Just like the old days in the 80s when I would rush to the family encyclopedia about what Pudding Lane meant at the end of The Visitation.
Also really loved Spyfall 1&2. Great twist ending. Loved the Master 😁.

[@Elwaves2925]

I can't claim it's a good episode but I do have a soft spot for The Visitation, just for that Pudding Lane stinger at the end. When I saw that in the 80's it kinda blew me away, even though I'd seen other historically based episodes. The idea that while the Doctor always saves the day, they can also be directly involved and even responsible for known historical events.
I also like Sacha's Master and I hope they allow him to continue on into the next era. Not everyone has to change because the Doctor is changing.

[@tmage23]

That was the initial vision for the show. Just an eccentric old time traveler traveling through history - no bug eyed monsters, death rays etc.
That lasted about 4 episodes.

[@friendlyotaku9525]

@@Elwaves2925 I'd love Sacha Dhawan to become the Anthony Ainley of Modern Doctor Who!

[@Elwaves2925]

@@friendlyotaku9525 Exactly who I was thinking of when I said that. 🙂

[@morphor]

@@tmage23 That's exactly why I loved the historical episodes of this era it was absolutely a throwback to Hartnell's historical stories. Using it as a setting is nice, but it's so much better when using it as an educational tool, especially when done well.

[@tacobowler]

The #1 thing I liked of this era was that Ryan and Graham’s arc had a beautiful conclusion, that didn’t involve one of them dying. (Hopefully that’s not undone in the Centennial). We’ve had too many companions die, or might as well have died, in modern Who.

[@MrThorfan64]

I am glad they avoid just killing companions for shock value.

[@V-grandraccoon]

Yes I loved this so much. After all of the deaths/forced separations we've had it's so refreshing to just have characters decide to leave. Plus it makes those more dramatic exits far more impactful by contrast.

[@thekiss2083]

I was going to say, I was glad that their relationship and their grief were not resolved through "space magic" or anything the Doctor directly did. So many companions' stories hinge on something an alien did to them and it was lovely to see Graham and Ryan work out their problems slowly, the way real people do.

[@brainydiode]

I really like that a lot of his historical episodes focused on time periods or historical figures that are less known rather than being "let's go on an adventure with this person everybody knows about" sorts of things. Also I think that Maxine Alderton did some great writing for the show and I really hope she gets the chance to write some more episodes in the future.

[@Bagofnowt]

I feel like Chibnall's run has had lots of good ideas without *much* in the way of good execution, but one thing that's really been strong is the historicals. Better than any other era by a country mile, I'd say- focussing on in some cases lesser known figures rather than going 'Oh, you're the famous Charles Dickens! If we let these aliens kill you, you won't be able to write any of your famous books!'
I enjoyed learning a bit more about Rosa Parks, Mary Seacole, Noor Inayat Khan, etc - subjects like the partition of India that aren't really taught in UK schools, too.

[@adamdavis1648]

Out of curiosity, are you British?

[@MsJaytee1975]

Demons of the Punjab is one of my favourite episodes of Doctor Who ever.

[@googleplusisgone9435]

My favorite things about Chris Chibnall's era:
-Graham
-Dan
-The Fugitive Doctor
-Casting Sacha Dhawan as the Master
-War of the Sontarans
-The direction in which he took historical stories, often focusing more/equally on the era rather just the historical "celebrity", taking them more international, and featuring more notable historical women
-While I'm not crazy about 13's TARDIS box, it is the first time anyone dared to substantially redesign the exterior of the NuWho TARDIS and I'm glad about the precedent he set
-Speaking of precedent, loved him casting the first woman to play an inarguably canonical on-screen incarnation of the Doctor

[@clarinetangel99]

A personal thing that I actually liked during Chibnall's era (which some people might disagree with me on and that's okay) is the character of Swarm. I thought that Sam Spruell did really well with the material he was given and for me, he stole the show in every scene that he was in. He had a really commanding presence in my opinion.

[@mr.manguy3692]

I liked Swarm but we just didn't know anything about him

[@morphor]

Agreed, definitely enjoyed Swarm, it's nice to have a major threat that isn't already established, given I didn't enjoy Victory of the Daleks when I first watched it.

[@JZBelexes]

Cool character design and great actor, but poorly written.

[@thekiss2083]

Yes! Swarm looked so cool visually, what a great makeup effect. Wish he had stuck around longer...

[@spencerluther6485]

Some good points here. I’d agree and say that, with the exception of the timeless child twist, I liked all the broad-stroke decisions. Starting with a canon-lite season with completely standalone stories, to attract new viewers? Yes! Then have a season with a mix of standalone stuff, some two parters, and getting into the canon more in order to indoctrinate new fans? Yes! Ending with a series that’s one big story for the hard core fans who have stuck around this far into the current era? Yes! There’s more stuff too, but I definitely think there’s an execution if this plan that could have been great

[@MrThorfan64]

One wonders what could have happened if covid hadn't occurred.
Although covid might have made Trump lose election so...

[@danielk5231]

I always loved the Doctor's line in Spyfall Part 2: 'Oh, I hope it's not a liver. I hate being inside livers. People always get so offended. What you doing in my liver again??" Jodie's delivery on that line always makes me chuckle.

[@MrThorfan64]

Again? That's a noodle incident!

[@Jacquerel27]

The growth of Graham and Ryan's relationship was definitely my highlight of the era, Graham was my favorite character overall, and I think he was at his best with Ryan.

[@jotunfalls4026]

My favourite things about his era was the representation. Even though we've had poc characters before, i still really liked how many there were in this era. A female doctor is an AMAZING idea and I'm so glad he did it, even though i don't like 13. I loved that we even had a disabled character too.

[@jotunfalls4026]

I also really enjoyed the Nikola Tesla episode

[@kiarash608]

His villains (especially the Lone Cyberman), his historicals, Can You Hear Me, Haunting of Villa Diodati, and Village of the Angels are my favorite Chibnal era things and i'm thankful for them

[@AFF5293]

I never realized series 11 had no recurring classic villains, and looking back I think it kind of resonates in an interesting way with other choices made. It enabled the Doctor being deflective regarding her past until after the first series. Having three companions (who already knew each other) right off the bat also made it easy for the Doctor to navigate the group dynamic to keep private. I used to view most of these elements individually as oversight, but taking them all together does help me consider a more redeeming and interesting interpretation. I've yet to watch series 13 to see if and how these possible inclinations of the Doctor are addressed but I'll try and keep an open mind.

[@MrThorfan64]

Well unless you count Resolution as part of S11.

[@AFF5293]

@@MrThorfan64 You could, but it's still ten stories in however you put it

[@AFF5293]

Point is it takes a looong time for the companions get a glimpse to the Doctor's origins and realize how little they know about it, and it's partly because the Doctor could get away with not bringing it up.

[@WaywardShip32]

Over 10 years ago when I was a kid I wrote a doctor who story literally about Ashad. Very happy that Chris Chibnall somehow found my childhood story and wrote it. Definitely my favourite Chibnall inclusion even if it didn’t go very far.

[@Yan_Alkovic]

Boy I sure know that feel

[@MrThorfan64]

Well... Ashad will be in the finale so let's see how that turns out!

[@oliverswantak831]

survey says err err BS!!!!!

[@MrThorfan64]

@@oliverswantak831 missing point of chat.

[@rikidementia1819]

I think the historical episodes are Chibnall's strength, as well as bringing back classic villains in the modern era (minus the most recent outing). My own personal favorite of the Chibnall era was Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror. I already like Goran Višnjić as an actor, so I'm biased there. Tesla was a heavily misunderstood man, and I think the episode did a great job shining a light on Tesla's unappreciated genius.

[@MrThorfan64]

So I suppose the casting of Nikola Tesla was good then!

[@rikidementia1819]

@@MrThorfan64 Yeah he's Croatian instead of Serbian, but at that point in history they were the same country and spoke the same language.

[@MichelleK.B.]

I love Goran Višnijć’s acting too. I will watch anything he is in.

[@EvelynMadisonFaust]

"Village Of The Angels" is one of my favorite stories of the modern era... well, excluding the ending which lacks of a proper resolution, but other than that, I love it SO MUCH.

[@MrThorfan64]

You are left wondering how this would have been if not for covid.

[@paulbrecken2136]

Jodie as the doctor. It's such a shame she never got the writing Jodie as an actor really deserved. Also the casting of Bradley (all round entertainer, game shows etc) and John bishop (stand up comedian) were really worked to my surprise and delight.

[@nekusakura6748]

Big Finish really needs to give Jodie a chance to shine.

[@louisedigh3703]

I’ve really softened on Series 11. There are quite a few stories that I like a lot. Jodie was immediately wonderful and everything felt new and fresh. Graham was a surprising highlight and Ryan’s arc through him and Grace was well done. I also enjoyed the return to historical settings with a bit more purpose and message, especially Demons Of The Punjab. As a gal who’s not a fan of the Chibnall era as a whole, Series 11 makes me really happy to revisit.

[@MyEgoTripped]

I actually like Jodie, wish she had a better run to remember her by, I loved the music direction, and the new opening credit sequence looked great.
Does that count, or are those not specifically about Chibnall enough?

[@Elwaves2925]

I think she's done as well as could be expected. Even the best actors are only as good as the script and direction.
I do have a big problem with the credits though, the music to be more specific. The theme music is always a lot quieter than the rest of the show. Whoever does the final mix has screwed up IMO.

[@booradley8895]

Capaldi as great as an actor that he is had a lot of not very good episodes to contend with

[@cmmosher8035]

@@booradley8895 i think the issues with Whitacres era were its was just a lot of average and didn't have the high points. Its a lot meh. Now i haven't watched Flux yet.

[@tokublwhovian]

@@cmmosher8035 Whittaker*

[@cmmosher8035]

@@tokublwhovian ya... I had brain fart.

[@alissafioravanti832]

I love how Chibnall’s era feels more alien/willing to depict alien concepts than RTD and Moffats era.

[@michaelorange4879]

Its less googly eyeballs and more abstract.

[@moproodu]

I sort of get what you mean
though I remember being very dissapointed that a lot of the more basic aliens were basically just humans, not even with body paint (the ux and that guy that was pregnant)

[@booradley8895]

The best part of the era is Chibnall trying something different, even if people were not keen on certain things at least he had the balls to try.

[@MrThorfan64]

It's better you try then just being stale and redoing the same things.

[@timrob12]

I think Chibnall was quite good at referencing Classic Who. When Sacha Dhawan mentioned the Tissue Compression Eliminator in Spyfall, that was a nice nod to the past.
Equally I loved other little moments like the history of UNIT in Survivors of the Flux, showing Pertwee era UNIT again, using sets and locations that remind me of stories like The Three Doctors and Spearhead from Space. Plus adding a voice cameo from Nicholas Courtney was a nice nod to the past. Equally, while Legend of the Sea Devils is not the most amazing special of them all, I quite enjoyed the moment that the sea devil got killed and let out the classic sea devil sound from the original Pertwee story.
It's nothing huge or big, but it's moments like this, the little details, that I am a big fan of. Equally, when the Ood made a cameo and it was Silas Carson doing the voice again, that's enough to please me.

[@Elwaves2925]

He was good at referencing the past of the show, especially with Flux and it seems the next episode too. That's something I like too. Unfortunately sometimes I also see it as him using it as fan service to paint over the cracks in the writing, again with Flux and all the callbacks that had. Still, it's always nice to see, whatever the reason behind it.

[@timrob12]

@@Elwaves2925 Exactly. I felt kinda jealous of the extras who got to wear the old UNIT uniforms. That's a special privelege.

[@coyotehater]

Best part of the Chibnall era, one, Sacha Dhawan as the Master. Probably my favorite version of the Master since Delgado. And second, the Ruth Doctor. I really wish we could have learned more on that & seen more of her. Fingers crossed for RTD diving into that.
Now, fingers crossed for him sticking the landing with the return of Ace!

[@MrThorfan64]

Huh, seems to be shaping up to be more of celebrating the past then the 50th!
I actually really liked the 50th but wish they could have had more figures from the past.

[@friendlyotaku9525]

My favourite aspect of the Chibnall era definitely is the HISTORICALS. They have been a consistent highlight and really returns Doctor Who back to its original remit of educating as well as entertaining, which I love! I particularly love the focus on female historical figures both well known and fairly obscure: Rosa Parks, Noor Inayat Khan, Ada Lovelace, Mary Shelley, Claire Clairmont, Mary Seacole, Zheng Yi Sao! This has been brilliant to see!
I have also loved how he has used classic monsters, for example, the Daleks - he just GETS the Daleks! And the Sontarans - easily the best interpretation of them since The Time Warrior! Also him casting a woman in the role was brilliant, it opened up the role to people other than white men which was way overdue and Jodie herself was a brilliant choice, and she has been consistently brilliant as the Doctor as well as an ambassador for the show - she IS the Doctor! I even love The Timeless Child, I think it opens up so many more possibilities going forward and that is EXCITING! And just in general I think there have been plenty of brilliant episodes and stories in this era, including quite a few stone cold classics of the modern era!
The Chibnall era has not been perfect, no era of Doctor Who is but it gets far more hate than it deserves and I do think part of that is down to this being the CURRENT era - both RTD and Moffat (to a slightly lesser extent) also got a lot of hate and criticism when they were in the hot seat but retrospect has been very kind and I think the same will be true of the Chibnall era too, I think it will be a lot more appreciated once it is over! But I have loved this era, from start to most likely finished - like I said, not perfect but there is a lot to really like and I am incredibly thankful to Chris Chibnall and his team for delivering Doctor Who despite all the difficulties, I will forever be grateful! I've loved this era and I am sad that it is coming to an end, Jodie will be missed... but I am also excited for what is next with RTD coming back! And with the Centenary Special coming up as well as the 60th and Series 14 with RTD and Bad Wolf I think there is a lot for Doctor Who fans to be excited for, good times ahead for this brilliant, wonderfu, silly little show! Love live, Doctor Who!

[@hiygamer]

I've seen a lot of people say that they love Chibnall's Sontarans, but I always felt like I was missing something with them. I thought they seemed to be strangely unintelligent. I would have thought that a race of super soldiers would employ better strategies than what we saw. I loved lines like "I wanted to ride a horse." nut there were things that I remember threw me out of the episode on first watch. In particular, the part about how they have to refill their tanks every so often to avoid suffocating. I liked the attention to detail that they can't just breathe earth's air, but it seemed like a major oversight that they don't refill their tanks in shifts.
Granted, I haven't seen their appearances in classic Who, so I don't know what the original vision of the Sontarans was. For all I know, they originally may not have needed to worry much about strategy, instead being able to rely on overwhelming force to defeat their enemies.
All that being said, I definitely agree that this era had been massively overhated. I really like Whitaker's Doctor, and I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye out for her on Big Finish.

[@tonybmw5785]

Speaking as a retired history teacher I felt they were some of the worst episodes because they took a lot of liberties with the history we're not talking Mel Gibson Braveheart but it was enough to irritate me to the point of not enjoying it.

[@friendlyotaku9525]

@@hiygamer the Sontarans have never been particularly bright. That is part of what makes them funny but they are good at being soldiers in war and I think this is shown off really well!

[@hiygamer]

@@friendlyotaku9525 Okay. Cool! I thought that was something that came about during Moffat era. I didn't realize that was something that went back to classic Who. Thanks for the explanation!

[@friendlyotaku9525]

@@hiygamer yeah! Though right now I'm not even thinking about Sontarans because they only just announced the bloody 14th Doctor didn't they?

[@JZBelexes]

"Good ideas, poor execution" is the best and fairest defense of Chibnall's era. And I did like the broader range of historical settings.

[@purplecelery7380]

A very kind and generous video, Council of Geeks! I have struggled with the Chibnall era, especially in the last year or so, but there definitely have been positives. For me, these have been:
1. The historical episodes. It's been refreshing to see more diverse time periods and locations (rather than same old Victorian England).
2. Jo Martin as the Fugitive Doctor.
3. Sacha Dhawan as The Doctor.
4. Dan and Yaz's friendship. (They have way more chemistry than Yaz had with Graham and Ryan).
5. The humour. Many episodes had lines of dialogue that made me chuckle (in a good way!). A classic example was in the 'Villa Diodati' episode where Ryan is playing Chopsticks (badly) on the piano, and Mary Shelley says in an earnest voice: "Such a jaunty air!" And the Doctor had many great lines too!

[@KateyOneMoreTime]

I liked that he actually tried to address some of the realities of history. Even if it didn't always come together, I appreciate him not just pretending tricky history didn't exist. Some of my favourite episodes were from his first season - like the Rosa episode, and the Partition of India - both looked at complex, important parts of history in a really human way. And the companions were great.

[@MrThorfan64]

And yet you still get people being nasty over historical eps where they basically have to let history happen and says this shows Chibnall's moral is never help anyone.

[@landlighterfirestar5550]

The fact that I’m struggling to come up with a single favorite thing from Chibnall’s era says a lot. There was stuff that didn’t work, more often than other eras, I get it. Haters, I don’t want to hear it.
But, we had some real high points:
- Ryan, Graham, and Grace
- Spyfall and the Master (and Stephen Fry!)
- The glorious return of Captain Jack Harkness
- Jo Martin and her uncanny screen-commanding presence
- The Lone Cyberman and the Haunting of Villa Diodati
- The Dalek triple special of excellence
- Dan
- And honestly, Flux as a whole for me. I don’t want to dispute whether or not it worked, but I’m gonna reference what Council of Geeks said during their Matrix 4 review. Overall, Flux just felt right for me. Just that, it just felt right

[@ceridwenaeradwr8105]

In addition to things other people have brought up,
1. I LOVED Swarm's design. The creepy crystalline aesthetic was very cool.
2. The "Grand Serpent" was a really neat character concept, and I loved the actor.
3. Nikola Tesla's casting and his unique rapport with the Doctor was great
4. Managed to make one Dalek on its own a legitimately scary threat again. The first half of Resolution I thought was awesome.
5. Er... I... actually like the Timeless Child stuff...
6. A list of the episodes that I personally just really enjoyed overall, even if they had flaws:
The Woman Who Fell to Earth, Kerblam!, The Witchfinders, It Takes You Away, Resolution, Spyfall (1&2), Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror, Fugitive of the Judoon, The Haunting of Villa Diodati, The Timeless Children, Eve of the Daleks

[@thepuresh5671]

Sacha Dhawan's master was for sure the high point for me, the casting was on spot, easily my favourite NuWho master so far

[@sebastianesilva398]

I tried my best to like the Chibnall/Whittaker era and gave it a good go, but I just flat-out don't like it and consider it the least enjoyable of DW's entire 60 year run. Unfortunately. Too many issues with the writing, the casting, the tone and creative choices for me to click with it.
It's a shame too because I like the idea of a female Doctor and some of the ideas and concepts were solid, but find that the execution was way off the mark.

[@darkjaden-fe]

I honestly just like...love Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. Sure, she hasn't always been given the best material, but I love the way she plays the character. She's like, hyper and weird and very awkward and doesn't really express her emotions very well, often deflecting when confronted by it. But she's also extremely hopeful, and also lonely, and desperate for connection, which is why she just like, latches onto the first people she goes on an adventure with. I feel like there's a really deep and interesting character there, almost entirely done in Whittaker's performance. Definitely a case of "a lot of good ideas that just needed a bit more time in the oven" for much of it. I really do like the Thirteenth Doctor (though nobody will ever replace Twelve in my heart, for now at least lol). I wish we had a bit more time with her, maybe a little bit of her under a different showrunner to just see how amazing she could be.

[@ConnorTapley]

The concept of the Timeless child, I genuinely love. It adds history to the doctor and branches of different story options.

[@ImpossibleGirI]

Omg. I also love the timeless idea since it brings mystery into the Doctor’s character. I mean I can see why people don’t like the idea. Rewriting the whole history of the character isn’t something that fans would love. I do wish it was explored more than it was though.

[@Crowvamp1979]

I'm just so sad that Jodie is leaving, I really love her as the Doctor!

[@jstan626]

ive loved that this era has had really strong historicals, and i love that the tardis team we've had has been able to tell us stories that previous doctors/ companions couldnt (the witchfinders, demons of the punjab, etc). ive also loved the handling of classic villans in this era, i dont think chibnall missed with any of them

[@BlueSparxLPs]

Excessive use of closeups aside, I think overall the visuals have been the biggest strength of this era. Every episode feels like a big blockbuster movie event due to the way they're shot and it's really helped bump up the immersion in the best stories.

[@opencommentsbbcnewsnight1704]

One of the big course corrections Chibnall provided was to kill off an important character, Grace, in his first episode. Although she was a new character, her death continued to affect two companions as that first season went on.
With Bill and Clara especially, New Who had trained the viewer to assume that some magical intervention would reverse any tragedy that befell a companion. It had been done often enough that the dramatic stakes of the program had been lowered.
Chibnall's work is solid enough that if the Moffat and RTD eras had never existed, I believe his era would have been received with the same excitement that RTD's was. If you doubt that, think back to RTD's missteps with the farting aliens. In reality, though, by the time Chibnall's era came around, it wasn't enough to put Daleks and Cybermen on screen in order to create a buzz, and Chibnall didn't have enough bright ideas to keep the public fully engaged.

[@CulturePhilter]

My favourite thing about his era was the Historicals. Particularly Rosa and Demons of Punjab but also to a lesser extent the Nikola Tesla one and Sontaran ep.

[@leonardquirm]

New to your channel and I really enjoyed this video! The core points about Chibnall (a) attempting a bunch of really good ideas/approaches and (b) having to contend with Covid and whatever else is coming top-down from the BBC are really easy to forget, and while the latter can't excuse the mess of the show we ended up with, it's good to remember that circumstances cannot have been easy.
So yeah, what do I appreciate about Chibnall's time as showrunner?
- First and foremost, casting a female Doctor!
- Trying a couple of new format ideas. Flux had huge potential, whether as a single multi-part story or as a tighter framing device for a set of more independent adventures.
- Some great mystery boxes (in particular, the Fugitive Doctor)
- A diversifying of historicals outside of the standard "meet a famous white Brit while fighting aliens" (even if "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" nearly fell back into that format)
Fingers crossed that the RTD2 era can keep the approach at this high level while also having good scripts!

[@roxannepolice1584]

I agree, the Chibnall era is a collection of some really good ideas that something very unpleasant happened to before they became flesh, rather than through and through bad stuff. And I absolutely agree he made the right choice not to listen to the fans. In terms of what I like about this era, with no buts, they would Sacha Dhawan's Master, War of the Sontarans and the intro, both musically and visually.

[@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg]

Chibnall's era is fine. It deserves more than a 'tepid' defence.

[@munchwolf]

Chibnal was a fan of classic Dr Who from referencing classic moments, as well as his story style being similar. In classic style there were several independent sci-fi elements in a story, that the mystery is how they are tied together. The difference was back then each story ran longer as it was collection of shorter episodes (2-3hr overall), with Chibnial's homage being squeezed into one hour.

[@maurinet2291]

I feel like the BBC got Chris to helm DW because they were tired of arguing with Steven Moffat. They wanted a team player, who would accept whatever they handed him without a word. But there's a price for that, and the show paid it. I am sorry it happened with the first woman to step in, but at least the Fugitive Doctor showed everyone that the sex of the Doctor wasn't the problem. Going in, Chris had not written a widely-regarded as good episode of Doctor Who despite repeated attempts. And he still hasn't IMO, though he came closer in Eve of the Daleks. I just wish at some point he'd bucked convention and left the writing to others to concentrate on running the show.

[@friendlyotaku9525]

Nah Moffat was just ready to move on. He had been running the show for a very long time
Also Jodie herself has been brilliant, I really dislike when people try to use Jo Martin to discredit Jodie. It is disrespectful to BOTH actors!

[@timrob12]

@@friendlyotaku9525 Agreed. I never felt like Jo Martin overshadowed Jodie. She just adds a new mystery to the lore of the Doctor and that's good, because in the end we still have wonder: Doctor WHO?

[@MrThorfan64]

@@friendlyotaku9525 Anyway part of the reasons like Martin are reasons why she wouldn't work as a recurring Doctor, with things like being trigger-happy.

[@robertjohncumming9341]

Just one point I'd like to make, Moffat did use story arcs in his run but he also used a continued story thread throughout his run with Matt Smith at least and kind of with Peter Capaldi as The Doctor getting to Trenzalore was mentioned in Series 6 but not seen until Time of the Doctor, Silence Will Fall was established in Matt's first episode but did not pay off until, arguably, Time of the Doctor and Rivers story started in Tenths era but ended in Twelfth's.

[@thecoiler1]

I love the effects and the overall sense of seriousness, I felt that because of Capaldi’s age it prevented some deeper effects from coming through a lot of green screen while the chibnall era felt super real but the story didn’t to me. Yas could’ve left too and left behind graham and Ryan that was the best part of it all. I loved them.

[@armoghetto]

Thank you for this! I too love the show, and I have endured the whackiness + crazy costume of the 6th Doctor, the half human attempt, and the continual demolishing of Gallifrey. I know Colin didn’t get to have influence on his costume, and that the portrayal was supposed to evolve (to your point about long term planning against real time situations). Half human goes to show writers will ignore what they want later (sometimes a blessing). With Gallifrey, people sometimes say they were made too common, but that is to me even more interesting- beings not born powerful but coming to hold unimaginable power. Not sure why the Time Lords are not more aware of and safeguarding their own future. They started out blinking planets out of existence and now keep getting destroyed- there should at least be contingencies to survive annihilation ( a big re-start button).
As for the Timeless Child, I respect your opinion. I just hope it has some interesting twists as it plays out. To me, the Doctor is and always will be a Time Lord as that is a classification more than anything else. No one is born a Time Lord. As for Gallifrey, it is at least his adopted planet. Fingers crossed the long game of it pays off.

[@christophersmith3272]

I think Chibnall’s best work came in the form of specials, historical episodes, and bringing back villains from Classic Who because there was a lot of fun in those things. I don’t think he cracked an overarching series storyline but I think we got enough decent one off stuff from him. And he certainly hasn’t “ruined Doctor Who” as others have claimed.

[@WiloPolis03]

The intro to this one could be the entire channel's motto lmao

[@wagerobot5231]

I like the concept of shrinking planets and taking them out of time from The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos. I enjoyed speculating about which planets were taken. I strongly suspect the Assassins from, Demons of the Punjab lost there planet to that weapons which adds a sense of cohesion to the season's narrative. I like the idea that the Doctor's adventures are affected by the actions of a villain that is revealed at the end.

[@sess2708]

Honestly, both Doctors and the Master were all great in this; Whittaker's cheery attitude hiding her deflective personality was great, though they could've worked it in more organically, given these seasons' propensity for more long-term planning. The idea of having multiple companions at once was also great, making for more of an ongoing group dynamic and more different kinds of interactions with aliens and historical figures.
Many people have said Demons of the Punjab already, and for good reason; it's fantastic and beautiful and I love it. Some other historical episodes also worked well, especially with ones that just...don't really have triumphant endings, embracing that bittersweet narrative instead. I know people have issues with the Rosa Parks episode, but the idea that they can't just swoop in and change this, the idea that this is an uncomfortable part of history they need to live with and confront, rather than wishing away, was a powerful one.
Also, gonna be honest: the immediate sense of adventure after Moffat's increasingly dour and self-serious stuff was very much welcome, I thought. Yes, Moffat sometimes had some of the most incredible and existential gut-punches I've seen on the show (the library and the time dilation with Billy on the starship come to mind), but he also really got up in his own ass about being *clever* about it rather than applying it meaningfully, and it ended up just being annoying in far too many instances.
Those are all things I quite appreciated about the Chibnall run, for whatever it's worth.

[@ryanncaps]

I’m not a shipper, nor have I ever been BUT I’m one of those people that really thought the ‘Thasmin’ ship was intended from the beginning. Thought maybe I was just reading too deep into it but then when it happened, I was stunned. From the first episode of Chibnall’s era, Yaz craved a more adventurous and gritty life, trying to find it in her job as a police officer, and then she meets an alien with a time machine that looks like a police box. How was she not going to fall in love?
That’s the kind of stuff I’ll really remember about his era, and less so the “lore” explanations. I’ve just never cared about that. And it’s weird because the lore itself makes the Doctor more mysterious but it’s all so expository and told to the Doctor in a slideshow instead of her being active in the story. I’m one of the people who would say Flux was Jodie’s best series because it feels like she had more effect on the story.

[@scoresonthedoors8013]

The Chibnall era had the best ever opening titles/ theme music arrangement.

[@naomipenelopemccarthy9737]

I love the female doctor and I love the timeless child I think it is a big gift to doctor who. It means they never need to come up with a way for the doctor to keep regenerating. I love Yaz. I love the war of the Sontarans. I love the episode Rosa. There is so much that I love about this era of Doctor who that most people hate. Thank you for this video. The last video I saw like this was an April fool's day joke.

[@abavendarlocke5455]

I really loved the focus on important women in our history, especially if they were unknown/underappreciated. I would never have known about Mary Seacole if it weren't for Chibnall's era, and I'm better of because of it. That was the best part of it for me.

[@V-grandraccoon]

I really liked Tosin Cole, for a specific example the scene in Arachnids in the UK where if you're paying attention to him in the background you can see him making shadow puppets with a projector. It might be one of my favorite moments of this era, so much character and charm in such a small moment you might not even notice on a first viewing.

[@julieannelovesbooks]

Joe Martin as the fugitive doctor is amazing. Maybe I don’t like the idea of the fugitive doctor in chibnals hands, but the casting is impeccable. I had no idea who she was before this, but she absolutely blew me away.

[@KatzePiano]

I adore It Takes You Away. It's a surprise favourite for me! Something just quite weird and out there that just works.

[@Tyr666Thor]

I really liked 99% of the first special with the mind control Dalek. Joe Martin was amazing as the guest Doctor. There are other bits and pieces I liked but those two are my favs

[@scimitaredgebooks]

Damned good overview! War of the Sontarans was exceptional. The Fugitive Doctor could have been so much more. There were some excellent stand alone episodes

[@concettasorvillo3719]

Honestly I have five things I really liked from Chibnall'Era as far as ideas:
- A TARDIS Team: I still think can be a very interesting idea if well executed
- Graham as character and his relationshis with almost everybody
- This Master, which is for me one of the best point of this Era and definitely the bast part of the Timeless Child thing. Love his interaction with this Doctor
- Jodie as the Doctor and I am very sad she hadn't the room to grow and show more. After all these years, I still feel I don't know this rigeneration at all.
- The historical episodes. I actually really liked all of them nd definitely think they are the best parts of this Era.

[@alim.9801]

Also very disingenuous of Moffat to claim he didn't listen to fans. Maybe he didn't listen to them ALL the time, but we all remember the rainbow daleks and how they appeared like TWICE! And I'm sad about that honestly I wish they would have been brought back more, I liked em

[@CouncilofGeeks]

I don't think Moffat specifically said he never listened to fans, he advised Chibnall not to. Which to me more indicates he thought it was better not to do... even if he did it himself. And as somebody who had to work really hard to break the habit of hunting for what people were saying about my work... I get it.

[@alim.9801]

@@CouncilofGeeks ah OK I gotcha. Also I'm glad you've figured out more what works for you as a writer and creator too! Even fans can be so mean sometimes.

[@alim.9801]

@@CouncilofGeeks also thank you for taking the time to reply to me and explain more, that really made my day

[@tokublwhovian]

Chibnall has done well with classic villains (minus the Sea Devils), I’m looking forward to seeing how Tegan and Ace are incorporated into the Centenary/Jodie’s final.

[@Carabas72]

Has anybody ever really done well with the Sea Devils?

[@tokublwhovian]

@@Carabas72 they’ve only made 3 appearances in the show and they were great in their first appearance, back in Season 9 (1972)

[@wrenrhodes1155]

this era is rough in the script and pacing department for all the reasons you've covered, but if i can keep anything from this era moving forward it's the title sequence, both the new theme and the swirling visuals, jo martin as the fugitive doctor, and sacha's master, everything else was a bit of a mess. despite jodie dealing with a rough hand in the tardis, her doctor hasn't connected with me, but i definately think that under better circumstances and actual closure to her arc i think i would have.

[@WiccanRai]

I really appreciate that you took the time i n this video to "be fair to Chris Chibnall". I've enjoyed a fair amount of this era. I've enjoyed the historical episodes and the introduction of and portrayal of historical people I really didn't know much about or heard of. There were some really good characters, such as Dan, Claire and Professor Jericho, the fugitive Doctor, Karvanista among them. The character arc with Graham and Ryan. Ashad. Jodie as Thirteen. There are a fair few episodes I enjoyed. All I can do now is wait for centenary and see how this era wraps up.

[@OverlyPositiveFanboy]

Honestly, the thing that's given me the most enjoyment from the Chibnall Era was probably DWPoop's memes (You're Doing It Mate & Evil Dan).

[@TIDELINERUNNERS]

Jodie Whitaker doing comedy. "Did you see my skid?"
Also, Orphan 55. It's a great comedy episode with a "This week Orko learned" ending from He-Man tacked on the end and I laughed like a drain the whole way through in a GOOD WAY. Love it.

[@Fejrus887]

Having read his recent interview in DWM (which gives good inside to some of the stuff he planned and some things that didnt work), there are quite a few things I enjoy about his era. I love that he went back to the original pitch of the Show, wanted 3 conpanions and a returned focus on historicals and giving it its scifi educament feel back with a lot more information. He has a very consistent track record with all the Classic who Villains, but also some of the new Villains that have this "Beyond the comprehension of normal understanding" that really werent there earlier because the doctor was made the highest authority. Be it the Kasaavins from Spyfall, Zellin from Can you hear me, Swarm, Azure and Time from Flux or The Remnants from the ghost Monument :D like you said before he is very good with big, broad stroak Ideas (fugitive doctor, 3 seasons each with their own theme and overarching elements etc.) Really like the weird story telling approaches of Once, Upon Time or The Brendan subplot in Ascension of the Cybermen and I even warmed up a bit to the Timeless Child, knowing that it was inspired by him being adopted and to quote him directly “The thing about where you’re from versus who you are… that’s really personal to me. But I also think it’s inbuilt into Doctor Who, because with each regeneration the Doctor is remade; you’re a new person each time and you get to make new choices. When you disrupt that sense of knowing where you come from, you can take the Doctor to all sorts of new places. I was just digging deeper into what was already there, making it a personal and emotional story." Also the casting is A++ and that his creative Team is much more diverse and that it Lead to more different Stories.

[@scix8794]

1)some good ideas in the whiteboard
2)bringing zagreus to new who
3)the hype of spyfall
4)managing this production for 5 years
5)trying to do something new-rosa, demons of the punjab

[@matthewgleason7495]

Jo Martin’s Doctor is by far the best thing to come out of Chibnall’s era. Ashad also stands out as one of the best individual villains of the new series.

[@natehogan3572]

The Fugitive Doctor (I'd love for her to actually be 14), Graham, It Takes You Away, Demons of the Punjab, The Dalek trilogy special - all of these were great moments. Plus, the show LOOKED the best it's ever looked.

[@andurilcuivie]

The visuals were solid, which is not insignificant. Why do I watch instead of just listening to audiobooks. Visuals and acting.

[@ghlmk5931]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I wish there were more CZcamsrs like you and that the algorithm worked better in your favor. What does CZcams suggest in my feed? “Death of Doctor Who!” “Low ratings!” “Purposefully killing the show!” etc. and the view counts are in the six and even seven figures. I’ve finally recognized some of the bad actors and I’ve clicked on the “do not suggest channel” button. You make very good points. Chibnall definitely came in with honest purpose of not letting the show grow stagnant, of innovating, doing something different, of elevating the look and feel of the visuals with filming on location and good (sometimes great, especially for TV) special effects. The execution didn’t always pan out but not for lack of trying. Credit where credit is due, indeed. Good video, as always.

[@timothywalsh9637]

I honestly think the historical/pseudo historical episodes were the best they've ever been in the modern era during the Chibnall Era.

[@jamesdaigler3909]

There has been an emotional level in this era which really appealed to me and I'm not sure whether it was Jodie's acting and/or the writing. Plotting in general wasn't good though some of the ideas within the plots were intense. When I go back to earlier episodes of modern Who I sometimes feel a shallowness in relationships between the doctor and companions or the doctor and episode characters, relative to this era, though I'm hard put to be specific. I loved the Grace Ryan Graham thing! I loved the Yaz/Dr things. Loved Dan/Yaz. Liked the presentation and characterization of historical figures almost every time. Loved the Dr/Cosmic Frog episode though it took me a couple watches to really get into the choppy movement of the action (and the "Dad" character seemed carelessly written - like shouldn't he have maybe been a bit more conflicted about the choices he was making?). Lapses like that were a part of the many things that didn't totally work throughout this era. Often plots felt like there wasn't really a good enough idea behind them or the working out of the idea was weak or took a total back seat to the character relationships. And then there was Flux. Three seasons worth of ideas crammed into a 1/2 or 2/3 of a season, chopped and under cooked and truncated, all while being confusing, and completely manic/depressive, with a slapdash ending with many incomplete consequences. What a charming and off-putting mess this era has been!.

[@FistOfFiori]

This, agreed! Been thinking (and maybe saying too?) myself a while now that he's a great ideas guy but then fumbles the execution.

[@davecurry4432]

This is an no-brainer....His companions. Yaz, Graham, Dan and especially Ryan where fantastic. And I don't just mean they were great within the context of the 13th doctor's era, I mean they were Sara Jane, Romana 2, Jammie, Barbara and Ian, Rose Tyler, Amy Pond, Donna Noble and Ace (Dorothy) Great!! He nailed it on companions. Yaz was never fully developed but the potential was, and still is, there. Dan is a modern day Jammie McCrimmon and the dynamic between Ryan and Graham was a whole new level for Doctor Who. There were times I couldn't wait for them to come back on screen. Tosin Cole's character was, for me, the stuff of Doctor Who legend. His character, his performance was the VERY reason I watch and love a show like Doctor Who.

[@cisalzlman]

The Fugitive doctor is probably the craziest (in a good way) revael to somehow stayed secret I have ever seen chipnall.
And while there are many things things I'd change about how it was revealed and what was done in flux I the idea of the timeless child it adds mystery back into the doctor's identity and gives the show so much to explore. I even like there are parts of all the he never planed to explore himself leaving room for showrunners after him something I thought Moffat would do with search for Galifrey.

[@Carmine1989]

I actually like the timeless child storyline. I loved the Weeping Angels episode in Flux, but I am biased considering that they're my favorite villains on the show.

[@Alisdair-Macpherson]

Resolution is the third best new who dalek story I will not be taking questions at this time

[@antney7745]

I really liked Kerblam! and it was great seeing Julie Hesmondhalgh. I actually really loved the implication that had The Doctor not messed around with the job allocation, the mystery would have been solved VERY quickly. The Doctor doesn't always know best, and I think that's important to remember.

[@manicwebb]

The historical episodes from series 11 were really strong, and I really hoped that Chibnall would lean more into those types of stories. Imagine of he had made his mark with historic stories that focused more on the characters and less on the wacky alien stuff.

[@thekiss2083]

My favorite thing about the Chibnall era was not knowing what would happen next. Season 11 was really bold in its team structure and its willingness not to engage with the series' lore, and I wish the show took big swings like that more often.

[@avaevathornton9851]

One thing I was asking for for a long time was some more diverse Earth locations and Chibnall certainly delivered on that!

[@SciFiBrony]

I got two favorite things about Chibnall's era.
1. Sacha Dhawan as The Master. He's my favorite Master since Delgado!
2. The use of more Classic-era monster designs, namely the Sontarans and the Sea Devils. Even though it was before my time, I LOVE the Classic-era. So anytime it's announced that a Classic monster is returning, I get a bit of anxiety about what the redesign will look like. Some, like the Silurians (while technically impressive and well done), look almost nothing like the older design. So to see the designs sticking closer to Classic-era is a very welcome element.

[@mattcohlmiaii1043]

I love that two of Chibnall’s three series showcased unique villains for the finale. Now I wasn’t a huge fan of Tzim Shaw, but I LOVED Swarm and Azure as villains!
All 10 of the first series’ finales in the modern revival centered on (or featured) preexisting “classic” villains, with the Daleks alone being featured in half of those finales. And as much as I love these tried-and-true villains, it’s refreshing to see new creations take center stage every once in a while.
One of the things I loved about the Moffat era was his sidelining of the Daleks from being main features to being more exploratory villains and utilizing them early in a series rather than in the finale. And I think Chibnall continued the trend well by establishing his own tradition of featuring Daleks in the New Year’s specials.

[@shanenicholls3216]

Fugitive Doctor was his best idea IMO. The Witchfinders I think may have been the strongest episode of his tenure

[@QuetzalOvejasElectricas]

I really liked Dan and Graham.

[@marinaananova8284]

I was sure that Fugitive doctor was just a start of a big new arc and was looking forward to the new episodes, and when I never got any continuation I was asking my friends "why did they just dropped the idea?" And they were puzzled - "what do you mean? They've wrapped it up". So I now need to rewatch it just to grasp the idea.
I liked the ep with Tesla though, just bc I'm a huge Tesla admirer.
And I loved Jodie's eyes - they are cosmic! Those are the eyes that fit Doctor perfectly.
Liked the idea of Sacha Dhawan as the Master, but again - the reasonable and intriguing explanation of revival and connection to Missy and any magnitude of the character were clearly lacking. Just a couple of BOOs from around the corner that's all.
It was definitely good to see Jack again, but it was more like an act of desperation, grasping a straw to win an audience.

[@Yan_Alkovic]

My favourite thing about his era was the Master. Sacha Dhawan is so absolutely mesmerisingly awesome and I SO want more of him
And my favourite episode of this era is without any semblance of doubt The Haunting of Villa Diodati. It's the absolutely wonderful gem in this pile of mediocrity and I would put it as one of the best episodes of the show period!

[@SplotchTheCatThing]

I think the biggest problem with Chibnall's writing -- not the only one, but the biggest one -- is a tendency to spend too much time setting up a really complex story with lots of interconnected elements, and then rushing the ending. It can make some things frustrating to watch because a third act that attempts to tie up all the loose ends as quickly as possible usually isn't very satisfying.
But that being said, when he actually manages to avoid doing this, I tend to like his episodes a lot.
I don't think I could point out a favourite thing about his era *yet* because his final episode is going to have a returning character I've been waiting to see in modern Who for a *long* time and, given its length, I think it's likely to end up being one of his stronger stories. So I'm still holding out hope that my favourite thing about Chibnall's era hasn't happened yet.
If I was to go for something else, I think Sacha Dhawan's take on the Master makes the character truly scary in a way he hadn't been since Anthony Ainley at least, and his introduction in Spyfall may be one of the best rug-pulls the show's ever had.

[@jaehurd3524]

The idea behind Flux is a great one,I don't love every idea in that story, but the idea of the big storm and earth being protected so it gets invaded before hand is a great idea.

[@erics3367]

I loved the idea and the concept of the fam. Because of the potential for the doctor to have more than one counterpart to play against or with. But there is always a but with Chibnall, the execution could have been better. I think JayExci made some valid points in this long video about haw the characters are too flat and too inconsistent. And this is also a problem for possible dynamics in the fam, sadly.

[@ymskimei]

My favorite thing is how fresh the direction was. The cinematography, music, atmosphere, it was very new and it is something I now have nostalgia for.

[@JadeAislin]

I didn't see all the episodes, mostly because I kept forgetting when it was on (same thing happened with Capaldi's last season. One thing I liked was when fugitive doctor and our current doctor figured out they were the the same person. I would love to see more of that dynamic.
The other was from the first special. When the dalik abandoned its shell. and posesed the human, I thought it was an interesting spin on the Daleks.
Having said that, there was one thing that confused me. Around the time we were about to learn about the timeless child (which I had trouble believing that the master would become so angry on the doctor's behalf that he took out all the time lords), there were scenes where we watched this boy grow up. When I first saw the scene were he was shot and died only to wake up seconds later, injuries gone, I thought that scene looked a lot like what would happen when Jack died and revived.

[@resstie]

Thank you for being fair here. Admittedly, I also won't mourn him leaving the show, but that kind of gleeful and spiteful celebration of it doesn't sit well with me either, after a loud part of the fandom eating him and the show alive pretty much his entire run.
To think of it, there's quite a few things I like and enjoy about his run, including most of what you've mentioned here (so I'll try not to repeat that).
- I like Jodie, I wish her run wasn't defined by how it turned out and I hope she's still as comfortable in her own skin as she was before. Also, love the damn coat, I want it!
- Reiterating, Sacha Dhawan is amazing and I like his Master a lot. You could say that he's close to Simm's Master, but I never really liked him and didn't get the hype, while Sacha's clicked with me immediately.
- Reiterating, Jo Martin, oh my god. The commanding precense she had in an instant! Such a cool outfit too, very fitting with this kind of militaristic vibe and structure, but still so Doctor-y.
- Karvanista and Jericho, enjoyed them a lot in Flux.
- The Daleks here were fun again for me!
- Fun historical episodes with less known figures. From a STEM girl, special thanks for Ada Lovelace!
- I loved the visuals, and some great music directing. Not every joke landed, but I liked most of the humor, visual and in dialogue.
Honestly, there is probably more stuff, but most importantly, when I fell off DW after s11-beginning s12, it was unintentional due to wonky airing and personal stuff. I may not _love_ most of episodes, but I had some fun with them. Where as when I fell off somewhere s8-s9 (can't even remember when), I did that because it was grinding my gears. I love Capaldi and 12th, but I couldn't bring myself to watch it anymore and felt bad for that too. So yeah, there were problems and disappointments, I wish it was better, but it didn't make want to drop the show.

[@thebasementfilmgroup]

My fave thing that he did ... was had the balls to cast a woman. The tenure has been ropey, but you know what? She could have been sooo good in the role.... budget cuts, series constraints, bad scripts and execution made it really hard for her..... but kudos to chibnall for casting her.... I think she will come into her own when BF get to write for her.

[@cjfhotshot2838]

I think that the best thing Chibnall has done is Casting in general.
Whittaker as the Doctor, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Sacha Dhwan as The Master. All great actors who put their all into their performances. All the cast needed was better scripts and direction to work with

[@wheresmyjetpack]

I agree using the historicals to look at the politics of history more than historical celebrities was good, and wish it had continued more.

[@djcomicc]

I love 13. She isn't my favorite doctor but she came out at the right time for me and has helped me feel more content with who i am. Its been hit or miss but thats some pretty massive personal good thats come out of this era for me and thats gotta count for something.

[@adamdavis1648]

Interesting; 🤔 how did this fictional character help you feel more content with who you are? Is it because you're similar to her or identify with her? In any case, I'm happy for you! 🙂👍

[@djcomicc]

@@adamdavis1648 the big moment that immediately comes to mind is right after Jodie was announced as the Doctor. I had just came out as trans about a week before. I told my mom the news about how the Doctor was now a woman, and she smiled and went " she's just like you" and it was a very validating moment from someone close to me and whenever I see 13 I just remember that moment and it was very empowering.

[@adamdavis1648]

@@djcomicc Glad to hear it! 🙂

[@badwolf69420]

I enjoyed the innuendo, whether it was about Thasmin or the hint that Graham was actually the Doctor and the person we thought was the Doctor was maybe someone else.