Canon-Strike XVI: Doctor Who

[Neon Ignition]

Our five month journey through time reaches its end...


Doctor Who: Series 39 - The Power of the Doctor
Aired to coincide with the 100th Anniversary of the BBC, this special brought Chibnall's era of Doctor Who to an end and with it saw the exits of Dan, Yaz and the Thirteenth Doctor herself. Coming close to death Dan decides to return to normal life on Earth as Yaz and the Doctor find themselves once again pitted against the Master. On Earth the Doctors past companions Tegan and Ace are investigating and get caught up with UNIT as they once again meet the Doctor and realise that the Master's plan is the culmination of his creation of the CyberLords. The Master uses tech to try and steal the Doctors regenerations and body leaving the Doctor to learn from her prior incarnations how to reverse the process. The Master is defeated but not before mortally wounding the Doctor, this resulting in her returning Yaz home permanently and heading to a desolate cliffface lone to regenerate into the familiar looking Fourteenth Doctor.




On what note did you leave the Thirteenth Doctors era?
How do you feel about Doctor Who as it prepares to step into its seventh decade on air?

[Neon Ignition]

Regardless of who took over the show it was time for change, it was getting close to the point of being a purely habitual watch with nothing in it that particularly worked well. I've read the complaints in some corners that having Tennant appear at the end undermined the decision to have Whittaker in the role, following up the first female Doctor with the most popular male as though the whole thing had been a mistake and the show needed rescuing but the elephant in the room with that argument is that whilst I wouldn't put it down to Whittaker, the show none the less does need rescuing and the move to have Tennant return is clearly the fastest way to do that. I think that's why it was right to simulataneously announce Gatwa, to make clear the show wasn't brushing non-white male casting away and I wouldn't at all be surprised if the eventual Sixteenth Doctor was a woman one again as I can imagine RTD is keen to do that angle. But mor critically the show itself needs a huge kick up the backside so I'm really hoping that what we're about to get is a good decade or so of modernised S1-4 style eps.

[Neon Ignition]

Doctor Who: Series 40 Part One
The shows 60th Anniversary passed and once again saw Tennant return as the Doctor only this time as the 14th incarnation, regenerated back into his former face and emerging in London landing face to face with Donna Noble. The first special dealt with this reunion, him trying to save the Earth whilst working around trying not to kill Donna who was struggling with her memories returning. The second special sent the pair off to beyond the fringes of space to face mysterious lifeforms from past the point of physical form, and in doing so the Doctor broke the fabric of our universes rules allowing the world of the mythical and fantastical to seep in and merge with our world of science. This led into the third special, where the Toymaker returned and rechallenged the Doctor only to be caught off guard when the mythical being possible led to the bi-generation of the Doctor. Though Russel T Davies has indicated that this bi-generation split every incarnation of the Doctor throughout time, on screen we saw Tennants 14th Doctor survive whilst Gatwa's 15th Doctor made his debut. Having tied off most of the story arc that spanned the 10th and 14th Doctors, the final special for Christmas saw the new Doctor fully experience the fantastical scenarios now possible as he met his new companion Ruby and new mysteries were set up for the upcoming eight episode run and beyond.




On what note did you leave the Fourteenth Doctors era?
How do you feel about Doctor Who as it prepares to enter its new run with a hope of revitalising interest?