Who? Me? Yes I love bondage, so what?
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| Ikki No Ko Exhibition "Red", Tokyo 2015 |
Over three series current Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnal tied himself (and his successors) up in knots. Add to that Jody Whitaker's lacklustre performance, almost as if she doesn't want to be there and you have a 50-year old show on the verge of cancelling.
Nothing is what is seems to be anymore, something not even Hugh Grant, yes there are persistent rumours, can fix. Doctor Ruth on the other hand...
The only ones who consistently seem to believe in Chris & Jody - and no that's not a 90's boy-girl band - are the folks at The Guardian newspaper. By accident I discovered this morning tonight is the penultimate episode featuring doctor Jody. "Man the cannons and buckle up for an Easter special at sea with the Time Lord (we have the wonderful Jodie Whittaker for one more special later in the year)." Clearly someone hasn't been paying attention over the past few years. Or is it that the Guardian's regular reviewer has access to episodes one or two days before they are shown on television and that writing an honest expose means risking early access?
Chibnall has been exploiting minorities throughout his tenure to distract the viewers from just how awful his writing is. The Doctor is no longer just the last of their kind. No, now she's some kind of intergalactic superstar, courtesy of the Timeless Child. Chibnall also brought back the character of Jack Harkness for about ten minutes, referred to the Osgood twins trying to whip up some hype plus more nonsense.
Being white myself, I found the episode with Rosa Parks bordering on the white savior complex at least. What I missed most afterwards was commentators being critical. No, everybody was happy. Doctor was doing the right thing, whatever that is. Probably making white folks like me feel a little less guilty. Saying the episode was subpar almost feels like heresy. But if Mr. Chibnall really cared about the trending topics he touches upon he should have done three things. Look for an actress whose personal gravity matches that of a Timelord. He should have also left the writing to those who are more skilled at it. If he had done that, there would have no need to loot the treasure trove of political correctness for personal gain, which is the third thing he should not have done.
Tonight there's this encounter between Doctor Jody and madame Ching, a real-life Chinese pirate queen. Once again an odd choice. Chibnall probably chose Zheng Yi Sao because she's a woman. But what if he swapped Jody Whittaker early on for Jo Martin, who plays Doctor Ruth? And instead of a Chinese lady pirate opted for Stede Bonnet, a rich Briton who gave it all up to become a pirate? True story.
Some people celebrated the first Timelord of Colour but to me Doctor Ruth was nothing but a cheap ploy in order to prop up the ratings. And yes there's a parallel with the Rosa Parks story. As a Timelord Jo Martin outdid Jody Whittaker many times, so why didn't they choose her as the first female Timelord? The latest James Bond 'No Time To Die' is a horrible movie but what they got spot on was the replacement for Daniel Craig. Lashana Lynch as 007 blows you away. If you want to send a message to the world, this is how you do it.
Meanwhile a group of renegade Timelords now live outside our known universe. They are locusts that destroy one universe only to move on to the next. Only thing I'm wondering is whether they take the Weeping Angels with them when they hop from one galaxy to the next. Reduced to being the Timelord's errand boys, they instantly stopped being scary. I almost felt sorry for them, like I do for the Ood.
Anyway I wanted to write a quick note to accompany today's image. Failed again. It's tangled web reminds me of the mess Chris Chibnall leaves behind, including the disfigured Weeping Angels.
Let's just hope Hugh Grant is not going to be the next Doctor, not that I think so. I'd love to see Doctor Ruth take over. Thinking of the red string of fate, Korean singer IU, who plays the owner of the hotel Del Luna would be an excellent choice too. And if they have to be a native English speaker my vote goes to Kylie. All I hope for is this Voyage of the Damned to end.;
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| Comedian Bill Bailey reimagines the Doctor Who theme as Jacques Brel-esque Belgian jazz. |
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