Space Babies / The Devil's Chord thread

[Deleted]

What did we all think?

[Deleted]

Space Babies was just bizarre, and not in a good way I don't think.

Devil's Chord was better but felt hollow, like there was no real substance. I enjoyed Jinkx chewing the scenery and the Beatles themselves were nowhere near as cringeworthy as I thought they'd be, but the whole thing feels empty and small, like it was shot in back lots and soundstages. The musical number at the end was more what I was after with a 60s-based episode, the song itself being a definite improvement on the Goblin song, felt like RTD doing Hairspray for a hot minute, but I don't understand what it had to do with the narrative.

Something about the Doctor and Ruby isn't clicking for me. I don't know what it is but it all feels way too bipolar? Like one minute the Doctor is crying and the next he's jumping around and whooping; this is a cycle that happens multiple times in each of his episodes. The same goes for Ruby. The juxtaposition of morose moments with hyperactive ones is just really weird and causes lots of tonal whiplash. That being said, I've definitely warmed up to both as actors.

I'm willing to give the show time to get back on its feet. Chibnall wiped the slate clean and implemented changes in practically every department, but everything he changed was a complete miscalculation. You can’t just undo that in one series. It’s like an articulated lorry coming to a dead end on a narrow country lane and having to do a three-point turn to get out of there; you can’t just reverse and zip away again, it’s a slow and arduous process. You pay the price for your miscalculations on an exponential scale. It ended up taking 5 years to get out of the rut that Chibnall made for himself and his era. Jodie Whittaker being a woeful failure in casting was the front-and-centre issue, but there were a ton more that have lasting consequences to this day. I don't expect Doctor Who to jump up and be back to how it was. Hell, last time it needed 16 years to recover from its failures.

It is a marked improvement on the Chibnall dreck, but it left me with a similar feeling: emptiness. Nothing to make me think or ponder, just candyfloss television to sweeten up the 45 minutes or so that it's on for. I guess my ranking would be:

Space Babies: 4/10

Devil's Chord: 6/10

[Ludders II]

Downloading for later. They're both on PB, so I can have a good laugh without giving the c*nts any ratings. 

[Ludders II]

Not watched either yet, but here's something I read in a FB group.

Ok. Episode 2. My 11 year old just watched the end sequence. Considering that he is part of the supposed new audience targeted. "Dad. What even is this? Turn it off. Turn it off. Dad! Do you like this? You know, if you look at the 1st, 2nd, 3rd Doctor. They were about action and you look at this now and this is what Doctor Who has become." 11 years old. Asked to turn it off.

Nice to see there are still some bright kids out there.

[Bernard Marx]

May 11, 2024 7:55:42 GMT Ludders II said:

Not watched either yet, but here's something I read in a FB group.

Ok. Episode 2. My 11 year old just watched the end sequence. Considering that he is part of the supposed new audience targeted. "Dad. What even is this? Turn it off. Turn it off. Dad! Do you like this? You know, if you look at the 1st, 2nd, 3rd Doctor. They were about action and you look at this now and this is what Doctor Who has become." 11 years old. Asked to turn it off.

Nice to see there are still some bright kids out there.

I salute this kid. I imagine he’s a fan of The War Games.

This ties into a point I made a few years ago, possibly on Archive. I would have hated the more recent eras of NuWho as a kid, and I couldn't say that for many eras or stories of the classic era (and even EARLY NuWho) prior to it (even the crap ones).

[burrunjor]

If I had been introduce to the current era of DW or any of the last few eras I would not have become the fan of sci fi and fantasy I have become.

Meanwhile not sure if I'll watch these. I honestly can't be bothered and have lots to do today so probably not for a while at least. It's just not DW anymore so why bother.

[zarius]

Devil's Chord is the good stuff. Jynx is quite simply the best villain they've had since the Lone Cyberman, and she brought the best out of Ncuti. This episode is his best yet as The Doctor...he fully comes to life here. No idea why RTD made Paul McCartney so unlikeable in the story though, he and The Doctor don't even patch up at the end following the blow up at the cafeteria.

I love that the "Always a twist" song and dance number has an actual twist (was it Harbinger that was the cause of that closer?)

[rushy]

May 11, 2024 1:02:11 GMT @theyakemperor said:

Chibnall wiped the slate clean and implemented changes in practically every department, but everything he changed was a complete miscalculation. You can’t just undo that in one series.

What are you talking about? Of course you can. Just write good television.

[Cherry Pepsi Maxil]

Space Babies: 0/10

The Devil's Chord: 7/10

The latter worked for me despite the fact that the Beatles themselves were reduced to cameo roles. I was actually surprised by how energetic Millie Gibson was. She didn't stop buzzing. 

Space Babies was shockingly awful. I reckon this will only get a free pass from fans because it wasn't produced in the Whittaker era. 

[RobFilth]

I watched Space Babies, and thought it typical peurile RTD-fare, a load of stupid space babies with a bogey-monster on a spaceship powered by farts.

There was no wit, no grace and no intelligence to any of the proceedings.

Despite the juvenile script, one of the things which bugged me was the way The Doctor and Rose are always whooping their way up to orgasm-stupour levels, it's just plain f*cking embarrassing.

I soldiered on and watched the pre-titles bit of The Devils Chord and then decided I just couldn't take anymore of this pure moronity any longer and turned it off.

I always feel whenever watching a RTD episode that I come out a bit less intelligent and knowledgeable after the episode than I did going in.

Pure brain-cabbage material.

The main problem with this fast-food disposable stuff is we've already seen it a million times before and RTD is really coming across like a tired one-trick pony.

The only thing I can say of merit is with those stupid idiot gurgling space babies and moronic schmaltzy drivel, Fathead has finally found his true vocation with Disney.

Was it Doctor Who though?

Hell, no.

2/10

[burrunjor]

May 11, 2024 9:22:14 GMT RobFilth said:

I watched Space Babies, and thought it typical peurile RTD-fare, a load of stupid space babies with a bogey-monster on a spaceship powered by farts.

There was no wit, no grace and no intelligence to any of the proceedings.

Despite the juvenile script, one of the things which bugged me was the way The Doctor and Rose are always whooping their way up to orgasm-stupour levels, it's just plain f*cking embarrassing.

I soldiered on and watched the pre-titles bit of The Devils Chord and then decided I just couldn't take anymore of this pure moronity any longer and turned it off.

I always feel whenever watching a RTD episode that I come out a bit less intelligent and knowledgeable after the episode than I did going in.

Pure brain-cabbage material.

The main problem with this fast-food disposable stuff is we've already seen it a million times before and RTD is really coming across like a tired one-trick pony.

The only thing I can say of merit is with those stupid idiot gurgling space babies and moronic schmaltzy drivel, Fathead has finally found his true vocation with Disney.

Was it Doctor Who though?

Hell, no.

2/10

Not watched it yet, but I looked at the synopsis and based on several things my friends who have seen it like Golden Age Geek and Omie have told me, I can only conclude two things. 

1/ I can't believe RTD ripped off Sleep No More of all things. 

2/ My god he actually wrote a story with monsters made from kids snot that are defeated by farts? Remember when I used to joke that the cult like fans would give an episode where the Doctor fought literal shit a 10/10 score? That's pretty much what this was. Okay it was another toxic substance that comes from the body, but I wasn't far off LMFAO. 

[Cherry Pepsi Maxil]

May 11, 2024 9:37:25 GMT burrunjor said:

May 11, 2024 9:22:14 GMT RobFilth said:

I watched Space Babies, and thought it typical peurile RTD-fare, a load of stupid space babies with a bogey-monster on a spaceship powered by farts.

There was no wit, no grace and no intelligence to any of the proceedings.

Despite the juvenile script, one of the things which bugged me was the way The Doctor and Rose are always whooping their way up to orgasm-stupour levels, it's just plain f*cking embarrassing.

I soldiered on and watched the pre-titles bit of The Devils Chord and then decided I just couldn't take anymore of this pure moronity any longer and turned it off.

I always feel whenever watching a RTD episode that I come out a bit less intelligent and knowledgeable after the episode than I did going in.

Pure brain-cabbage material.

The main problem with this fast-food disposable stuff is we've already seen it a million times before and RTD is really coming across like a tired one-trick pony.

The only thing I can say of merit is with those stupid idiot gurgling space babies and moronic schmaltzy drivel, Fathead has finally found his true vocation with Disney.

Was it Doctor Who though?

Hell, no.

2/10

2/ My god he actually wrote a story with monsters made from kids snot that are defeated by farts?

Why are you so surprised? This is RTD we're talking about lol

[Ludders II]

I managed half of Space Babies.

It doesn't even seem that bad by NuWho standards, which of course means it's shit, but no worse than shit like Robots of Sherwood, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, or Partners In Crime, to name 3 off the top of my head.

Similarly, Ncuti doesn't seem any worse than any of the other NuWho Doctors in comparable episodes. Which again doesn't mean anything by NuWho standards. It's just more of the same.

Of course, the second half might be terrible, but I couldn't manage the full episode, because frankly it was more boring than anything else.

[Bernard Marx]

May 11, 2024 9:43:38 GMT Ludders II said:

but no worse than shit like Robots of Sherwood, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, or Partners In Crime.

It’s not any better either though, is it?

[Deleted]

Ok I'm pretty much done with the 45-minute format. It's too short, there's no time for exploration or contemplation. As a result everything feels so messy, there's tonal whiplash at every corner because the script doesn't have any time to breathe, it's just plot plot plot. Resolutions are slapdash and last-minute, there is no natural chemistry between characters because every line in the script has to be some sort of exposition in order to move the plot along as quickly as possible. You can't just relegate a story about an omnipotent deity to 45 minutes. That's a lot of baggage to flesh out in a minuscule amount of time.

Also the abortion/immigration crap in Space Babies was the political equivalent of taking a little jab at someone before leaping back and cowering while saying "please don't hit me, please don't hit me". It was that tepid and half-baked.