Doctor Who Review: The Power Of The Doctor 

Here is my review of the Chinballs era. It could have been slightly better written especially the last one. It was very cliched very routine running up and down corridors and silly monsters. it was perhaps a little to routine doctor who. Very much of what the audience is expecting. it's not very challenging for them to watch.

As someone who really wanted to like Jodies era but never fully connected with it, I think it was one of her more enjoyable stories but that's probably because it was the Doctor Who equivalent of a firework display. I loved seeing all the references and cameos and villains but I definitely agree with you and I feel bad for Jodie not really getting the spotlight in her last episode.

"I feel like she deserved better than that" sums up the entire Chibnall era for me.

Who else laughed at the Master dancing as Rasputin and the Dalek and Cyberman looking at each other was the icing on the cake

My favourite scene was Tegan talking to The Fifth Doctor. That shouldn't be happening in The Thirteenth Doctor's final episode, I'm not even a massive Fifth Doctor fan, I'm not really that into Classic Who (And by god I've tried over the past fifteen years!), and I don't like an overabundance of references! Thirteen gets almost nothing to do! In her finale! Imagine if Troughton got nothing to do in The War Games, if Davison got nothing to do in Androzani, if Tennant got nothing to do in The End of Time. Madness. And I hated the Boney M scene, I can see why people do, but I thought it was a bit TOO daft, and I need a level of daftness in my Who.

Can honestly say I clapped alot watching the 13ths last episode. The Master was Great the return of the previous Doctors was awesome

Not a fan of this era but I actually enjoyed this finale which served as a better celebration of Who than Day Of The Doctor almost ten years earlier. Whilst the story admittedly was nonsense, on this occasion, it didn't seem to matter - the character moments were brilliant.

The overshadowing problem has been a common issue throughout the Whittaker/Chibnall era. The Doctor is regularly pushed to the background whenever better characters or actors are on screeen, and that happens a LOT. Depending on your taste, you can take it as either "what a shame that the title character is the least interesting figure in this scene" or "Thank goodness they brought in some better characters for this, because she really can't carry an episode on her own."

Good to see Paul Mcgann again ...he needs a series of his own..

Day of the Doctor: Solid, well structured story with a bit of fan service. Power of the Doctor: Messy, crazy story with a lot of fan service.

I'm probably more excited for the 2023 specials due to it being The Doctor and Donna being back. Series 4 is hands down my favourite of the NuWho era, and the relationship between those two hasn't been matched since

I urge people who stopped watching after Season 11 to go back and watch Flux. I thought it was some of the best Who in the last 10 years. It ends on a bit of a dud, but the first 4 episodes are great stuff (especially episode 4)

I think it was the best "so bad it's good" doctor who episode

Agree with pretty much all of your points besides the CGI. There were some dodgy moments but I honestly thought most of it looked better than what we usually get and comparing it to the worst of Classic Who is just ridiculous hyperbole.

Chibnal era was awful. Really awful. Jodie deserved so much better...

Was anyone else kinda hoping for a slightly darker story involving the two companions where it's been so long that the Doctor doesn't remember them? I think that could've been really interesting especially when considering that it's been implied Yaz has romantic feelings for the Doctor, only to realise that after a while, she'll be forgotten like so many others.

I watched an interview with Jodie and she said that she's "never watched a Doctor Who episode" and that is crazy , disrespectful and just whack to me !!!

Not a massive fan of the whittaker era but I really enjoyed this one not gonna lie.

Thank You for all the Great content this year. I hope you get excited again for new Who and never lose passion for the best show ever Classic Doctor Who Terry @ Tardis Spider P.S. time for some Blakes 7

I was not a fan of Jodie's era - but I think that the cast did a much better job than you give them credit for. The scripts were flaming dumpster bins. I will say that I think that the Timeless Child is the only redeeming part of her era. While I would have preferred the story to work another way, we've had since the era of Classic Who inconsistencies in the Doctor's history. The 4th Doctor serial The Brain of Morbius showed 6 or 7 additional incarnations that the show runner had explicitly stated were pre-Hartnell incarnations of The Doctor. And the 7th Doctor had a storyline that did not come to completion because of the series's cancellation that was going to flesh out The Doctor's pre-Hartnell past establishing him as The Other - the third founder of Time Lord society along side Omega and Rassilon. I would have liked to have seen The Timeless Child story play out differently, but I have to give props for finally addressing the issue instead of ignoring it like RTD and Moffitt did.

I’ve got to say, I’m very sceptical of where the show is going now. It feels like it’s fallen into a nostalgia trap with bringing Tennant back as the 14th Doctor even if it is only for the 60th. I could buy it if it they either brought him back as the tenth doctor or made him the 14th Doctor but gave him a completely different personality and look and had him use his Scottish accent but the fact that there bringing Donna and Wilf back suggests that they’re paying tribute to the Tenth Doctor’s era.

I don't think Jodie Whitaker dissevered better, the audience deserved better, the cherry picking, The support group "Love and Monsters" companions flying the Tardis "Journey's End" the train "Mummy On the Orient Express" even the Doctor communicating with his past selves came right out of Big Finishes "Zagreus" Why don't the pillars move in time with the time rotor anymore, I might be wrong they haven't worked since Chibnall and Whitaker's first series This was the only Jodie Whitaker and Chibnal episode I've watched back and I still don't know what was going on.

I think the best part of the episode for me was when it went more obscure and experimental. Like when 13 meets the personification of the Doctors at the edge of oblivion next to the telegraph poll. So creative and interesting, and plus when Chibnalls writing the other Doctorsd he’s really good, he captures their personalities perfectly.

The problem with this episode is like a lot of episodes in this era. Humongous threat is imposed but then it's solved in no time. It takes away all the suspense of the threat

Great to see Tegan and Ace back and all the classic Doctors and of course Tennant. Nuff said.

Its kinda crazy that we call David Tennant the 10th doctor when technically he was the 11th 12th and now 15th regeneration

Oh yea and my favourite doctor is the doctor again. I think i am entitled to this after seeing my childhood shat on. I watched it with my mum and it was worth it to see her reaction when Jodie changed into Tennant.

I have so many problems with this episode 1. It was criminal to not explore the significance that the Doctor leaves companions and moves on. Yaz's feelings on this are entirely unexplored 2. Tacked on Daleks and Cybermen took too much of the plot, which meant the episode couldn't explore characters 3.The Master-Doctor had no significance and nothing interesting or poignant happened and was predictably reversed 4. Jodies regeneration was tacked on. There wasn't an emotional weight, foreshadowing on sense of dread. In each regeneration episode preceding the sense of foreboding and loss of needing to regenerate is explored and the conclusion the Doctor needs to go on feels deserved 5. Why wasn't Yaz an emotional wreck knowing the woman she is supposed to love is going to cease to exist and will leave her like they've done to all the rest? Why isn't she distraught at the idea she was one of many and not the special 'fam' she thought she was

Your review is actually spot on

I think the idea was decent, but Chris writes dialogue like that of an oblivion Npc, same for the composer.

In my opinion, the episode was okay, for Jodie's standards

I didn't like this episode, but I think it was probably one of the more enjoyable Whittaker episodes. Also, how many regenerations did the Doctor use this episode? Did the reverse forced regeneration give a regeneration back, or was it another regeneration? I say they used 3 this episode

i really liked it, i understand the complaint that having multiple doctors over shadow her regeneration, and that makes sense for twice upon a time because the 1st doctor is in the entire story, but we don’t meet the other ones until about half way through, and they’re only there for about ten minutes, if that, so i don’t think it over shadowed the regeneration as much as twice upon a time does

jody is a bad actor and thats a problem she no good in this show

I wonder what you thought of the 60th anniversary specials?

The scenes with the previous Doctors and Companions, made the show, they were the best part. First of all my expectations were in the toilet, so there wasn't much but to go up. The plot was very busy and over stuffed and I got a little tired. The whole "forced regeneration" was a bit boring. Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred alone out shined Jodie Whittaker. Not very fair to make Jodie's last episode full of better actors/characters/Doctors/Companions. Agreed that Jodie got a raw deal on the crap writing and that she didn't help herself either. On the whole I very much agree with you Wingy. If I didn't know that Janet and Sophie and their Doctors, I probably wouldn't have watched it. As for what's coming, I am cautiously a little optimistic.

The Rasputin scene made me cringe so much but other than that it was enjoyable.

The classic doctors were easily the best items in the episode - and came as a surprise to me I’ve heard it described as “fan wank” - but it was still worth it

@wingymedia after seeing the 60th specials this was far more a Celebration of the Doctor

I still have absolutely no idea what I watched. Nothing made any sense. Admittedly I was celebrating the demise of this era with 2/3 of a bottle of Honey JD, but by all accounts, being sober wouldn't have made much difference.

Chibnall, the showrunner was Jodie Whittaker's first obstacle to her turn at being The Doctor. Chibnall never respected or connected with the show's fans the Chibnall era completely destroyed the shows cannon by not keeping its original origins intact. William Hartnell's Doctor is and always should be the original Doctor Who. Jodie's final episode was a convoluted mess of storytelling. Chibnall and Jodie W's., Woke agenda was such a hit over the head suffocating prevalent storytelling. The in the viewers face constant put down of males especially white males was insulting and out right one-sided view of the human male species. Whittaker herself frequently insulted fans by condemning those who would not agree with her and Chibnall's unapologetic woke story telling. They ruined the series hopefully now that they're both gone a desperate but creative reboot will be done to a era that will revitalize one of the greatest tv series ever created.

Loved the massive block letters to signal where we were at the start of the video. Shame there weren't 50 other locations and 200 other characters but I'll let it slide this time.

Almost destroyed the show. Only Disney + saved it! now the damage caused by the last two miscasts needs to be put right for the re launch. Thankfully it still can be revived

The master and classic doctors were good I thought everything else was meh I thought personally

To much CGI and no story. They are spending to much money on CGI and the post production is rubbish. and why do we get half a dozen episodes than the 13 why had a few years ago did they blow the money on CGI. hope Tennent is not going to go around kissing everyone again. that spoilt it for me last time. I also feel the actors themselves have not been given the freedom to develop their character, and been told what to do rather than have a bit of freedom to work on it like the Tennent/Smith days.

There are only two things that I've enjoyed about Chibnalls era - Jodie and Sacha. I used to hold Chibnalls writing in high regard. He was phenomenal with both Torchwood and Broadchurch and I throughly enjoyed episodes he had penned as a guest writer for past seasons. He tried to go too big and too different. He wrote himself in to multiple corners with outcomes that will hopefully get retconned under RTD2. Given a better writer, Jodie would have been phenomenal and regardless, she is up there as one of my favourite Doctors, and Sacha has stolen the role of the Master and made it incredible. Here's hoping we get to see them both again one day under better penmanship.

Agree that the CGI during the regeneration looked shit.

I agree with everything you've said but I also think that somewhere in Chibnall's head he knew that getting any sort of emotion from the exit of the dreadfully written and portrayed Whittaker Doctor was a big ask and he certainly wasn't up to the task. He never was. The best bits of Broadchurch were written by his producer. On Law and Order UK he worked off pre-written stories and he's never written a decent episode of Who for any Doctor. Everything he's ever done is extraordinarily derivative or only momentarily of merit. He's an authorial conman. He has absolutely no concept of story with a beginning, middle and an end. His writing is very lazy and I lost count of how many scenes in this mess that were ripped off other people's work. The CGI for the train was atrocious and the amount of tell don't show was nauseating. It's a terrible indictment of the episode that all of the best bits were ones when the camera wasn't on the appalling Whittaker who, from the get go, always played the part very badly, selfishly and in a manner devoid of warmth. The gurning years are over and that's a big plus. Dreadful nonsense.

So why did Chibnall start stuffing too many ideas/plotlines into single episodes? I swear his pre-showrunner episodes like 42 didn't have the issues that episodes like Ascension of the Cybermen, Halloween Apocalypse or Survivors of the Flux had in that regard. As a comparison, Halloween Apocalypse seems like if RTD added random scenes of Saxon or Lazarus in 'Smith and Jones'.

It is ironic because the whole timeless child narrative actually detracts from the regeneration story as if she is truly the 13 th dr not one of millions as they need to sort out that arc As it makes you care less about the regenerations I like the slyvester McCoy and ace banter and the Peter Davidson Tegan communication but if I remember rightly Tegan in her last episode didn’t want to come back because it was to dangerous Even the master outshines Jodie with his Rasputin dance as he reminds me of our current prime minister It is like you have the daleks and cyber men going what is going on Jodie and her companions have been paper thin , it is like when graham conviently shows up to the volcano as the whole dr who series has been plot points of convenience The music was terrible, What I don’t understand is why didn’t they deage the doctors with cgi effects as it does not take much as corridor digital can do it . As Colin baker has a fantastic voice . This is the only episode that is not a cure for insomnia. With the whole nostalgia references as are these the only drs who decided to come back, why didn’t Matt Smith or even Ryan a former companion come back I hate the fact that they have destroyed gallifrey and the whole gallifry cyberman The thing is that with the fluxx episode there should be no cybermen and daleks as they supposed to destroy one another Cause there was talk that vinder was the drs father but you could have cut out a few storylines and it would have been fine As there is still no talk on how the master manipulated the paintings became Rasputin and a seismologist. Chris chibnall has wrecked dr who and it still confuses me on how David Tennant can be both 10 and 14 as it confuses the Lineup . Does that mean there is 3 drs including the meta crisis version of the dr So during the official ten episodes, how do we know it is the 14th not the 10th dr in say family of blood episode when he becomes John smith couldn’t 14 help him out. As the actual ramifications are tremendous. Where is the valeyard as he should be around by now They have completely wrecked canon under Chris chibnall I like your episodes

No. She was awful. Draw a line and move on.

Ncuti in 2 seconds convinced me more as the doctor than jodie did in 3 seasons

i only watched the last 15 mins largely because i didn't want to miss the regeneration other that i really didn't care.

We deserved better.

I'll tell you why the clothes regenerated, and it's for a reason that's been coming from her day one. A man couldn't fit into that costume.

Thank god its over , now I can watch it again

Nope!

In terms of CGI, I think you picked up on shots that we know are fake. The Dalek drill ect. But imagine how much CGI you didn't see. Chibnall said this has more CGI than any episode ever. So it probably has hundreds of CGI moments you didn't notice

I pray to God Jodie gets picked up by Big Finish, where she can have more control over her Doctor and doesn’t get to be overshadowed by so much stuff

A superb review. What surprised me most about this episode was the Doctor turning to Yaz at the end and more or less saying, okay you can f*** off now, I don't want you around... not even a peck on the cheek. Not exactly the big lesbian love scene that has been teased in the past 30 odd episodes. This for me was a failed era and I lay the blame squarely at Chibnall. The writing and direction during Jodie's time as the Doctor has been abysmal. And yes, Jodie was I'm afraid clueless regarding the Doctor's character, maybe another female actress (Jo Martin for example) would have given a far stronger performance; but in the end I believe the Doctor is male, end of.

It was Chibnall's best effort. Inevitably the story didn't make sense, but he left out the political correctness, the preaching and the sonic screwdriver as magic wand. And the cameos were really good.

My thoughts: the editing & cuts at breakneck speed during the first 15 minutes gave me a headache. The space train segment made no sense to me. I get the Cybermen working for the Master, (brilliantly played by Sacha Dhawan) but was the purpose of the Daleks again beside being contractually required? Speaking of the Master, there was no need for the segment with the Czar & Czarina, it added nothing to the story. Binder served no purpose & Um, why was Graham in a volcano & where did he get psychic paper? Now the good: Ace & Tegan, & they were written decently that did not embarrass them. They just didn’t get enough screen time. The off hand comment from Ace about the Master being a cat last time she saw him, beautiful! The classic Doctors, I loved it, especially the banter between Seven & Eight. McCoy is my second favorite Doctor behind Capaldi & McGann is in my top 5. Jo Martin back again I think confirms she is a classic Doctor since that’s all we saw. My head canon puts her between Trouton & Pertwee. The reunion of the companions was good except for one thing, they seriously needed Rory’s dad though. A missed opportunity. Also, I wish we could have seen the Master regenerate into Missy to clear up that bit. I would have rather have seen Michelle Gomez make a brief appearance than some of what we got. Overall, I would rate it a 6.5 out of 10. Some really good stuff bracketed by missed opportunities, basically Chibnal & Jodi Whitaker’s entire run.

Honestly it's fun but flawed I loved the previous doctors and companions and Sacha who I havent highly rated really shone in this episode but its bloated and messy take out vinder the daleks and ashad and you have something more consice but chibnall lowered my expectations so much I acc enjoyed this episode when 1st watching it but I've recognised its Flaws on rewatch

I really enjoyed the episode on broadcast. It's a roller coaster of a ride and the nostalgia was good but on properly thinking about it it is flawed. It's a good anniversary special but not a great regeneration episode and Jodie doesn't get much screentime, often being in the background but that's 13 in general There's so much going on. The cybermen want to convert everyone but the daleks want to flood the earth with lava like what. I kind of liked the master as the doctor causing havoc but surely he could have done that without the forced regeneration, just going around saying he was the doctor. The master didn't really need the whole painting plot and no idea why he was being Rasputin. I know Yaz had to leave and I was never a fan but you could have made it better. Maybe she finally decides she can't wait around and the doctor is shown to still be secretive. I'd have also loved to see more of Ace and Tegan as they don't really interact much with the doctor. I know she's not from Earth but imagine Nyssa meeting the master. I'd have also loved to see Ian meet the doctor

Are u gonna re-rank all the Doctors now Jodie's done

Will be remembered for the appearances of the Classic Doctors, nothing else. The Companions survivors group must have been a deleted Children In Need sketch. Doesn't Tennant look tired?

Not a big fan of the Chibnall/Jodie era, and pretty much agree with all the criticisms (and praise) in this video, yet I still really liked this episode. It's messy and some of the stuff felt a bit pointless (still scratching my head as to why Vinder was there), but I still enjoyed it a lot. Agree that it doesn't really work as a regeneration story, but as a fun rollercoaster ride and celebration of all things Doctor Who I enjoyed it.

The old doctors and companions blew the Chibs era doctor and companions aka the wooden tops out of the water . It was was nice seeing ian . My highlight . The story was a complete mess.. bringing Tennant back is an act of desperation. Love tenants doctor

Maybe she has been done dirty, maybe she could be good under a good writer, maybe she was just horribly miscast and no amount of decent writing could help. I would be curious to listen if she did Big Finish.

While I am not a fan of the Jodie doctor and the Chibnill era I did enjoy this episode, what I liked the Master, the classic companions, the classic doctors ( I would of liked to see more of them throughout the episode) the master cybermen . What I didn’t like :too much cgi, too many things going on ,the jumping back and forth all over the place, the lighting in many of the scenes was for me way too dark. While it was nice to see Tegen and Ace , maybe this fact escaped me, I don’t really know why they were there.

Messy, unanswered storylines, rushed and confusing moments. However it’s entertaining and fun to watch, jodies last few scenes are fantastic and the return of classic companions and doctors was brilliantly handled.

Dead on target. I'm not quite as sympathetic towards Whittaker as - though woefully miscast, she did no preparation for the role, or change her performance in any way over 5 years.

Eccleston once said at a comic con that there are writers at Big Finish who could easily write for the show at the drop of a hat because their audio stories are that good. For this reason I hope Jodie gets the McGann treatment and does some work with Big Finish.

Yes, poor writing not acting hope the stories get better under Disney but I'm not hopeful with most of the garbage it's putting out.

If they had skipped the Woke toxicity, and they did, it was much better

WITH DISNEY THEY GOING TO TRANSFORM THE SERIES INTO A MARVEL STUPID THING!!! They gonna use the series for transmit the american shit values, as ever. They gonna put all the money for make an empty superproduction as they do with their stuffs. More money, equals less intelingence. The best Dr Who episodes are those with a limit budget, that why the inteligent plots subtitues the money. All that will vanished. THE WORST NEWS EVER FOR OUR BELOVED SERIES!

I have read that she was not in as much as she was pregnant at the time of filming

I saw someone say Vinder was a last minute replacement for Jack and I think that would make a lot of sense

No, but we did! 😉

Completely agree.

This was a great send-off for Jodie , seeing everyone was great and I am glad that her companions left in their terms and didn't die. I would have loved to have seen another series with her same as Capaldi, as I feel like 3 seasons are not enough anymore.

Terrible era, it's way too self indulgent now. I loved the bit with Sylvestor and Ace, but that was all. And what does that tell you?

If Doctor who ever gets to a point where I look back on this era with any kind of fondness then I know it’ll be time to stop watching

Agreed, although I don;t get the Dawan Master love. He had bits of furniture hanging out of his mouth, as usual.

I loved it loved seeing my favorite character (Ace) back Loved seeing Jo Mel and Ian can't wait til next year

I loved power of the doctor. It was an absolute blast.

At this moment in time, absolutely love this story. Although Jodie's era overall has been my favourite era this is the first story of hers to get into my top ten stories of Nu Who (no 5). The highest episode before this was Demons of the Panjab which has now dropped one place to number 16. I liked the Jodie regeneration. (at least it's not another Doctor exploding in the Tardis so that they can change the set) If I was writing the Doctor this is how I would have them regenerate (well on a beach at sunset, but close enough) In two minds about Yaz's leaving. It felt a bit forced for obvious reasons (but then I don't like the idea of a companion outlasting a Doctor) but it was nice with the scene on top of the Tardis. Would love a scene with the 15th Doctor meeting up with her again. And glad they didn't go down the route of killing her off. Loved the Ra, Ra, Rasputin scene, the appearance of the old Doctors and so glad they didn't do some de aging effect on them. Loved the companion get together at the end and I realise they was going for a classic vibe but would have loved to have seen Martha there. (Who let's face it outside of Chibnalls era is the only companion in a position to) Liked seeing Tegan & Ace again especially with their Doctors as both 5 & 7 are my favourite classic Doctors. Slightly annoyed that the RTD thing about Tegan and Nyssa being a couple was absent and would have been a way to have Nyssa in the scene at the end but that's a tiny niggle. Not necessarily excited to see what comes next (too far away) but intrigued to find out what Tennent's return is about.