I’m especially excited for Inua Ellams’ episode - I really hope it works, because in addition to quite liking his writing, he’s exactly the sort of writer whom I was hoping they’d recruit for the show: someone who’s loved Doctor Who their whole lives, for whom Doctor Who is extremely meaningful, but also willing to put the Doctor in a very different story - temporally and narratively – from what we’ve seen before.

It’s still so weird that they got the one completely charisma-free actor on the show to play Jim Kirk, and yet Sam Kirk lights up every scene he’s in

I think season 4 was the only one I didn’t have to push myself to like - there were lots of great bits scattered throughout the first three seasons, but the fourth is where I felt like the whole season was enjoyable and strong (particularly the last couple of episodes).

I adore how campy this looks, but I’m so frustrated by the constant shoehorning of Kirk into the show. Maybe if the performance were interesting or there was something compelling about him it would be different, but he just seems to drag down the show whenever he appears (outside of the episode with La’an, but really, she was doing all of the work in that one).

How do you say “devour feculence” in Klingon?

And of course she has perfect taste and loves DS9. Iconic.

FINALLY a Cerritos!

Why are they wasting this on Picard ships?

I cannot tell if it’s terrifying or just hilariously bad. She looks like a drunk ventriloquist doll.

I guess they couldn’t make a Rutherford because all their plastic went to Spock’s incredibly long torso. Also, this set is VERY kind to Jonathan Frakes.

Even just the idea of Pete McTighe as showrunner has ruined my night. Yuck.

I have never read any Juno Dawson, but as a librarian I see her books come through pretty often and I’ve always heard good things!

These are all great choices, except what in the world is Pete McTighe, writer of the most quietly evil Doctor Who episode ever made (and then one of the most forgettable), doing there?

My kids are dying for this thing. If anyone is at SDCC and feels the desire to make some little girls happy, I will Venmo you to buy this and ship it to me so I can stop hearing about it 😂

As much as I love the new series, I haven’t liked the new screwdriver, but I think I’ve realized it’s just the colors I don’t like. I do actually enjoy seeing it look and feel more like a tricorder, and having the little display that slides out does make it feel more like something the Doctor can actually interpret. For some reason, while I’m totally on board for tentacle aliens and killer candy robots and giant space eyeballs and moon eggs, the scenes where the Doctor uses the old style screwdriver and stares at the handle like he’s reading it always felt a little silly to me.

Yeah, all of the recasts have been spectacular with this one exception; I’m fully stumped by Paul Wesley and his take on the character. I don’t need anyone aping Shatner and I love the idea of highlighting the more bookish actual Kirk as opposed to the pop culture image of him, but Ozempic Kirk spends 90% of his time looking bored out of his mind and 10% of his time doing a terrible Han Solo impression that just comes off as creepy. I cannot understand spending so much time on him when literally everyone else on screen sparkles and he has the charisma of wet felt.

I have never seen such cursed content

Breaking the fourth wall is a Doctor Who tradition - the First, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctors all directly address the camera in addition to the Fifteenth, as do River Song, Martha, Clara, and various Classic villains. I don’t understand why people suddenly need some sort of in-universe explanation for it. It’s a narrative technique, and Doctor Who is a goofy camp show that’s always been flexible enough, playing with various tropes, that it works. Davies explains it perfectly in the link: “I mean, you would [be taken out of the story by it] if it was Pride and Prejudice, that would be odd. But there’s something showy about Doctor Who, there’s something proscenium arch about it. There’s something arch about it, full stop.”

This sort of needing an in-universe explanation for every theatrical device or inconsistency is how you get garbage like Trek’s Klingon augment virus.

I’m not sure I can think of another modern companion that would have carried that episode that well, especially as their first week of work. Donna’s the most complete companion for me, but she’s a very different vibe. Billie Piper’s also really good when she’s given the chance but I don’t know that Doctor Who ever gave her that much chance. Clara by the end but it took a few series I think.

Probably because he sucks

Oops you just explained all of Enterprise

I rank Space Babies pretty highly too, because while I really enjoyed the episode, my daughters LOVED it. They’ve been obsessed with Doctor Who after seeing it –– my five-year-old made me call her Captain Poppy for a full week.

There’s got to be something with her and companions. At this point she’s got the Pond-River-style name (thank god at this point she doesn’t seem to be part of another tedious River Song storyline), she wore Clara’s Face The Raven outfit and called the Doctor a “clever boy,” and she ended the episode in Romana’s fur coat. I’m fully down with her trolling the Doctor/us like this - I just hope she’s not the Master again. There is no character in Doctor Who I’m as sick of as the Master.

(My outside bet is maybe the Meddling Monk? But that’s probably wrong.)

I wish we had a few more Jackie Tyler opportunities for Carla and Cherry. I was sort of bummed we didn’t get a hero moment for Carla in the finale — and Ruby going on about her “real mum” with Carla right there made me feel just awful for her.