Who? Me? Yes I love bondage, so what?
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.;
---
