Yeah, I've been thinking about this for a while now and I guess I'm gonna plunge in with both feet. Warning: this blog might pose a suggestion you may not agree with but it also might be the best way forward the character otherwise known as Superman and where the DC Extended Universe should take him next.
Reboot Baby: Yeah, I'm not going to mince words here and with no disrespect to Henry Cavill but the first thing that needs to be done with Superman is to reboot the character as the WB/DCEU are currently doing with The Batman, having Robert Pattinson assume the role from Ben Affleck. I know Henry Cavill has his fans and even I like his Superman, but going forward, having a new actor take on the role with a rebooted continuity will be better in the long run. Saying that though, there is a caveat I would have in place with said reboot.
No Origin Story: Like with The Batman, which will focus on the Caped Crusader's second year in the role of the Dark Knight, a potential new Superman should already have Clark living and working in Metropolis, both as a reporter for the Daily Planet and as Superman for a few years, maybe two or three. This would mean that he's already in an established relationship with Lois Lane (who would know his dual identity) as well as having met some of his more prominent foes and is a member of a certain League as well. Leading to my next point.
Main Antagonist: At this rate, we've had more than enough movies with both Lex Luthor and General Zod as the main villains of the piece. It's been done enough now. Or at least for now. Someone else needs to have a crack at causing the Man of Steel some major problems and the obvious candidate would be Brainiac. Given that the character has popped up in multiple animated movies and TV shows and live action appearances in both Smallville and Krypton in recent years, it's time for a big screen outing for this particular foe. Of course while Brainiac would be the main villain of the piece, he wouldn't be the only foe that Superman should face in a new movie.
Secondary Antagonist: There's a few characters I considered for this. Characters included the likes of Mxy, Livewire, Toyman, Metallo, etc and then it hit me - Silver Banshee. Aside from the fact that the DCEU could do with more female antagonists (and we've had some great ones so far), she's also a character who hasn't had a big screen live action adaptation and she's a lovely contrast to Brainiac, providing a different strand of villainy for Superman to deal with. In a bit of pilfering though, I'd try a similiar-ish backstory/character arc to the one that Supergirl used in it's first season with the character, giving the character a connection with Lois as well.
The Daily Planet Staff (And Other Characters): I definitely like that Zack Snyder depicted some of Superman's supporting characters in his movies but also hated some of his creative choices as well (killing a certain someone off early into Batman V. Superman springs to mind). Supporting characters are needed for Clark's world and in terms of the Daily Planet we should have the likes of Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, Cat Grant, Steve Lombard as well as characters like Bibbo, Snapper Carr and Maggie Sawyer should somewhat factor into this movie. I'd even have both Jonathan and Martha Kent alive in this movie. It never hurt Lois & Clark having Jonathan alive. And then there ....
The Maid Of Might: With a TV series currently on the CW, you might think that Supergirl shouldn't be a priority but I personally think she's a character this particular side of the DCEU shouldn't wait too long to introduce. To differ from the TV show, make the character a teenager, adopted by Jonathan and Martha and who also takes on her mantle in the movie during it's crucial third act moment. You can also explore her relationship with Clark while I would use a post credit sequence to introduce Martian Manhunter.
Before All That: Yes, before a new Superman movie, perhaps a brief taster first? I'd introduce the new version of the character in the upcoming Shazam! sequel, giving him a similar role to what Wonder Woman herself had in Batman V. Superman as well as using Ezra Miller's upcoming Flash movie to explain recasting (brief scene, nothing too big). By doing this and assuming a new actor lands with audiences, it should make a rebooted movie an easier sell for most audiences. Realistically speaking, I don't envision Henry Cavill reprising the role and the character needs to have a movie presence and not just be a show on the CW as well.
So there are my thoughts on what should be done with Superman going forward. What do you think? Should the DCEU do as I suggest and go with a full reboot or should they give Henry Cavill one more movie to see if audiences are interested in more of his take on the character?
Friday, March 20, 2020
Thursday, March 19, 2020
First Look: Toy Boy - Magic Mike Meets Murder Mystery
With the Coronavirus dominating the media at the moment, I thought I'd post something a little more cheerful as Netflix recently obtained the rights to Spanish drama, Toy Boy.
Billed as a murder mystery version of Magic Mike (2012-2015), the 13 episode series focuses on a group of male strippers - Hugo Beltran (Jesús Mosquera), Iván (José de la Torre), Jairo (Carl Constanzia), Germán (Raudel Raúl Martiato) and newcomer Oscar (Carlos Scholz). Seven years prior to Oscar joining the group known as the Toy Boys, lead character Hugo fell madly in love with an older woman, a heiress named Macarena Medina (Cristina Castaño), only to end up in prison for the murder of her husband, a crime in which he didn't commit.
Released with the help of a lawyer named Triana Marín (Maria Pedraza), Hugo is desperate to clear his name and get even with his former lover while also teaming up with his former team in order to do so. For gay male viewers, there's a romance between tattooed stripper Jairo and Andrea Medina (Juanjo Almeida) to keep an eye for it with the latter character being the moody son of Hugo's former lover while the remaining cast is rounded off by Macarena's brothers - Borja and Mateo as played by José Manuel Seda and Álex Gadea respectively. With a solid bout of twists, an unabashed display of male totty on display from creators César Benítez, Juan Carlos Cueto and Rocío Martínez Llano, Toy Boy definitely have plenty of appeal for binge watching over the next few weeks.
Toy Boy Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIRkuav64Gk&feature=emb_title
The first season of Toy Boy is currently available to watch on Netflix.
Billed as a murder mystery version of Magic Mike (2012-2015), the 13 episode series focuses on a group of male strippers - Hugo Beltran (Jesús Mosquera), Iván (José de la Torre), Jairo (Carl Constanzia), Germán (Raudel Raúl Martiato) and newcomer Oscar (Carlos Scholz). Seven years prior to Oscar joining the group known as the Toy Boys, lead character Hugo fell madly in love with an older woman, a heiress named Macarena Medina (Cristina Castaño), only to end up in prison for the murder of her husband, a crime in which he didn't commit.
Released with the help of a lawyer named Triana Marín (Maria Pedraza), Hugo is desperate to clear his name and get even with his former lover while also teaming up with his former team in order to do so. For gay male viewers, there's a romance between tattooed stripper Jairo and Andrea Medina (Juanjo Almeida) to keep an eye for it with the latter character being the moody son of Hugo's former lover while the remaining cast is rounded off by Macarena's brothers - Borja and Mateo as played by José Manuel Seda and Álex Gadea respectively. With a solid bout of twists, an unabashed display of male totty on display from creators César Benítez, Juan Carlos Cueto and Rocío Martínez Llano, Toy Boy definitely have plenty of appeal for binge watching over the next few weeks.
Toy Boy Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIRkuav64Gk&feature=emb_title
The first season of Toy Boy is currently available to watch on Netflix.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
My Review of Legends Of Tomorrow's 5x07: "Romeo V. Juliet: Dawn Of Justness"
Written by Ray Utarnachitt & Matthew Maala
Directed by Alexandra La Roche
Ray (to Gideon): "Thank you for everything and take care of the Legends for me."
And just like that, we're down to three original members of the team, including Gideon of course. The moment has been prepared for a while now, but I still can't believe that Ray Palmer has actually left the show with Nora.
I've said a few times but this show will feel the loss of this particular character and it's not taking away from the fact that with a large and revolving cast, we've seen plenty of characters come and go from the Waverider over the last five years but this time it really does feel different.
Ray was undoubtedly the glue of the ship with a sunny optimism that never felt saccharine and while the rest of the crew understood perfectly why he was stepping away with Nora, it took Nate somewhat longer to get his head around the idea after finding out by accident and reacting badly to the news itself.
Of course while the eventual exit of Ray and Nora was more quiet and the former did get one last meaningful scene with the other love of his life before leaving, it was the final scene that played around with the mood as the remaining team were left with a rather unforgettable reminder of Ray's presence that only Zari seemed unaffected by. That green juice will get you every single time.
As for the action of the episode, well, we ventured into Jolly Old England where Shakespeare (Rowan Schlosberg) was holding on to a piece of the Loom of Fate for Charlie before the latter learned that her famous mate also sold it off when struck by writers block. Needless to say, Charlie used her charms to retrieve while Constantine inadvertently started a bar fight and Shakespeare decided that he could invented the superhero genre for good measure.
Of course between respective bachelor parties for the newlyweds, the gang also had to work together in order to bring the real Romeo & Juliet to life in order to course correct history while also working through some other issues with one another. While Nate didn't make for the most convincing of Juliets, Zari had no problem stepping into the role and working with John's rough and ready Romeo.
Meanwhile, anyone else getting the impression that Coin Maker is one of Charlie's sisters? Her role has certainly expanded from last season and she was quick to emotionally manipulate Astra when the latter told her about John's plan. Not to mention that she got very interested when Astra revealed that Constantine was looking for the Loom of Fate. It really is time to propel that storyline forward as we move into the latter half of the season.
- Astra recalled both Rasputin and Marie Antoinette. Mona also returned to help induct Zari into book club while also giving Mick sound advice about connecting with his daughter.
- They missed a trick by not having Shakespeare flirt with both Constantine and Charlie, though his bemusement at Juliet not being played by a man was funny.
- Sly reference to Riverdale this week while the next episode, due to air in April will be a homage to Supernatural.
- Chronology: 1594 England for most of this episode.
Romeo V. Juliet: Dawn Of Justness felt more of a quiet affair after the big Ray/Nora wedding episode and while I wish the characters hadn't left here, it was a decent ending for them. I do hope that when this show eventually ends, both characters are recalled for the series finale but going forward at least we have the Looms storyline to tide us over.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Thursday, March 12, 2020
To End The Spellmans ... Eventually
And it's been a while but here's another TV Jumble blog, going on some of the stuff I've been watching over the last few weeks.
Batwoman: And this show continues to somewhat improve as it's progressed. Granted the other Beth situation was resolved in a predictable manner but having Cartwright out in force certainly meant that Alice could vent her rage at the right person for a change. I also liked the last two episodes respective depictions of obscure characters like Nocturna and Duela Dent and can I say that Sophie has somewhat improved the last few weeks? I mean the show's not perfect but it's definitely gotten better, post Crisis at this rate.
Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina: The third season/part of this series has definitely upped it's use of Paganism as they made for rather decent antagonists among Sabrina and Caliban's ongoing battle for hell, Lucifer getting free, Lilith finding a stalling tactic and Faustus still being a general pain in the arse (can we please lose Faustus next season?). The finale had fun playing about with time, giving us two Sabrina (or is it three?), pairing Zelda with Marie (already a better partnership than her last one), separating Ambrose and Prudence while Harvey, Roz, Theo and Robin all seemed to be in better places. Nick on the other hand has felt too much like a spare part this season and Sabrina's lack of thinking her plans through continues to be an ongoing trend. While not as good as the first two seasons, this was still a lot of devilish fun to watch.
Good Omens: Ah, this was a fun series, wasn't it? Right now, I'm not sure if it'll be back for a second series but with the impressive banter between Michael Sheen and David Tennant, you'd think both BBC2 and Amazon would be chomping at the bit for some more. The finale certainly felt like it might have been meant to close things but at the same time, maybe one more series? Ah go on, BBC2/Amazon, you know you want to.
Supergirl: The show hit it's 100th episode and it did so by having Mxy device a few opportunities for Kara to change her current situation with Lena before Kara realised that actually calling out Lena's actions was the better course of action. Aside from that, we've got William as a love interest, Lena moving into human experiments, Alex working with J'onn, Brainy still be Lex's minion, Nia and Kelly both looking for a storyline, Andrea's Acrata plotline resurfacing and Lex and Leviathan trying to outsmart one another. It's a bit treading water at the moment.
The Flash: Speaking of treading water, this show certainly is feeling it too at the moment. I mean, we've got Thawne back again and there's a female Mirror Master with Eva McCulloch but too many episodes with Iris trapped in a mirror universe, Barry wallowing more than usual, the pattern of Cisco, Caitlin and Ralph sitting episodes out and Wally's all too bief return. Yeah, the show is better than the first half of the season but it's still going through the motions at the moment. I'm also not sure about Sue either, character wise, though I did like Grodd's return and Pied Piper's too. It's not bad but it needs to be a bit better.
The L Word: Generation Q: I'm near the end of this series and the highlight so far, still has to be the cast from the original show than the newbies. I don't dislike the newbies, but I don't really care enough about them either if I'm being honest. At the moment, the interesting stories are with Shane and her estranged wife, Alice getting into a throuple situation and of course, finally having Bette and Tina interact on the show. I'm hoping with Tina's appearance here that means the second season will have more original cast members pop up in guest roles.
- Despite the fact that it was meant to be ending this year, it seems that Netflix are closing in on giving Lucifer a sixth season.
- An upcoming episode of Legends Of Tomorrow will play homage to Supernatural.
- Harley Quinn's second season will premiere on April 2nd.
- Richard E. Grant has joined the cast of Disney+'s Loki series.
- Jon Bernthal will star in American Gigalo for Showtime.
- Gina Torres and Erin Richards will star in ABC's The Brides, which will centre on the brides of Dracula.
- RuPaul's AJ And The Queen has been cancelled after on season on Netflix.
- Clarice will see Rebecca Breeds in the lead role while Lucca De Oliveira and Devyn A. Tyler will star in the upcoming series.
- Maxim Baldry has been cast in Amazon's upcoming Lord Of The Rings TV series.
- HBO Max will be airing a reunion show with the cast of Friends when it becomes available for streaming from May. A UK broadcaster has yet to be announced.
Batwoman: And this show continues to somewhat improve as it's progressed. Granted the other Beth situation was resolved in a predictable manner but having Cartwright out in force certainly meant that Alice could vent her rage at the right person for a change. I also liked the last two episodes respective depictions of obscure characters like Nocturna and Duela Dent and can I say that Sophie has somewhat improved the last few weeks? I mean the show's not perfect but it's definitely gotten better, post Crisis at this rate.
Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina: The third season/part of this series has definitely upped it's use of Paganism as they made for rather decent antagonists among Sabrina and Caliban's ongoing battle for hell, Lucifer getting free, Lilith finding a stalling tactic and Faustus still being a general pain in the arse (can we please lose Faustus next season?). The finale had fun playing about with time, giving us two Sabrina (or is it three?), pairing Zelda with Marie (already a better partnership than her last one), separating Ambrose and Prudence while Harvey, Roz, Theo and Robin all seemed to be in better places. Nick on the other hand has felt too much like a spare part this season and Sabrina's lack of thinking her plans through continues to be an ongoing trend. While not as good as the first two seasons, this was still a lot of devilish fun to watch.
Good Omens: Ah, this was a fun series, wasn't it? Right now, I'm not sure if it'll be back for a second series but with the impressive banter between Michael Sheen and David Tennant, you'd think both BBC2 and Amazon would be chomping at the bit for some more. The finale certainly felt like it might have been meant to close things but at the same time, maybe one more series? Ah go on, BBC2/Amazon, you know you want to.
Supergirl: The show hit it's 100th episode and it did so by having Mxy device a few opportunities for Kara to change her current situation with Lena before Kara realised that actually calling out Lena's actions was the better course of action. Aside from that, we've got William as a love interest, Lena moving into human experiments, Alex working with J'onn, Brainy still be Lex's minion, Nia and Kelly both looking for a storyline, Andrea's Acrata plotline resurfacing and Lex and Leviathan trying to outsmart one another. It's a bit treading water at the moment.
The Flash: Speaking of treading water, this show certainly is feeling it too at the moment. I mean, we've got Thawne back again and there's a female Mirror Master with Eva McCulloch but too many episodes with Iris trapped in a mirror universe, Barry wallowing more than usual, the pattern of Cisco, Caitlin and Ralph sitting episodes out and Wally's all too bief return. Yeah, the show is better than the first half of the season but it's still going through the motions at the moment. I'm also not sure about Sue either, character wise, though I did like Grodd's return and Pied Piper's too. It's not bad but it needs to be a bit better.
The L Word: Generation Q: I'm near the end of this series and the highlight so far, still has to be the cast from the original show than the newbies. I don't dislike the newbies, but I don't really care enough about them either if I'm being honest. At the moment, the interesting stories are with Shane and her estranged wife, Alice getting into a throuple situation and of course, finally having Bette and Tina interact on the show. I'm hoping with Tina's appearance here that means the second season will have more original cast members pop up in guest roles.
- Despite the fact that it was meant to be ending this year, it seems that Netflix are closing in on giving Lucifer a sixth season.
- An upcoming episode of Legends Of Tomorrow will play homage to Supernatural.
- Harley Quinn's second season will premiere on April 2nd.
- Richard E. Grant has joined the cast of Disney+'s Loki series.
- Jon Bernthal will star in American Gigalo for Showtime.
- Gina Torres and Erin Richards will star in ABC's The Brides, which will centre on the brides of Dracula.
- RuPaul's AJ And The Queen has been cancelled after on season on Netflix.
- Clarice will see Rebecca Breeds in the lead role while Lucca De Oliveira and Devyn A. Tyler will star in the upcoming series.
- Maxim Baldry has been cast in Amazon's upcoming Lord Of The Rings TV series.
- HBO Max will be airing a reunion show with the cast of Friends when it becomes available for streaming from May. A UK broadcaster has yet to be announced.
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
My Review of Legends Of Tomorrow's 5x06: "Mr Parker's Cul-De-Sac"
Written by Keto Shimizu & James Eagan
Directed by Ben Hernandez Bray
Damien (to Sara): "I know you'll never forgive me and to tell you the truth, I won't either."
And he came back for a very special episode. An episode that saw the return of puppets, an old children's television show being used as a means of getting most of our main characters to better communicate with one another and to top it all off, a lovely wedding for two characters who I think should NOT be departing next week.
Damien Darhk might be the man infamous for killing Laurel Lance but Legends Of Tomorrow has managed to find ways to make the character sympathetic, notably through his genuine remorse for being a crappy parent to Nora and this episode managed to give the two of them a bit of closure and by the end of it, permanent closure for Damien.
Becoming one of Astra's Encores, Damien eschewed bringing more souls to hell so that he could catch up with Nora and inadvertently ruin her date night with Ray where the latter had planned on popping the big question. He also had Gary bound and gagged to a train track which gave the latter something else to be cowardly over as well for good measure.
As for Nora, she was delighted to see her father but found herself spinning a massive web of lies, which included having John pretend to be her boyfriend, Sara and Ava being relegated to her hench women before an attempt to de-power her father went awry, the truth came out and her latest charge used Ray's favourite kids programme to get everyone on the same page with one another.
By the end of the episode, Damien admitted to his failings and got to witness his fairy godmother daughter marry the nicest man on the show before telling said man that they need to give the Waverider the heave ho. Then he had one cathartic scene with Sara before using that blade from the previous episode to avoid being tormented by Astra for eternity. I guess barring any alternative versions, this probably will be the last time we see Damien Darkh in this particular universe.
Watching this episode and with the next one to come, I'm not happy that we're losing Ray and Nora as characters. I genuinely think it's a mistake on the show's part losing these two and I have loved watching their story play out over the last few seasons. At the very least, I think the show should've at least left their departure towards the end of the season.
Speaking of departures, the news of Mick having a kid with Ally, named Lita certainly has spelled his imminent exit. Right now, he's telling Zari that he's better off not being in his kid's life but there's no way the show would've introduced this plot unless they're seeing an eventual exit for Mick this season, right? By the way, loved the Mick and Zari team up this week as they were largely kept away from the main plot.
As for Constantine and Charlie - those two continue to have great scenes together. I understand everyone sharing Charlie's stance about not wanting to restore the Loom and I did have to laugh at Constantine getting tricked into nearly heading to the South Pole when Charlie pretended to be Nate. Still though, they have managed to strike an uneasy agreement about using the Loom to change Astra's fate but I'm really hoping Charlie's sisters show within the next few episodes.
- Sara and Ava's latest conflict resulted in the former getting an offer from Rene in Star City. She turned it down. Loved John's face of horror when Sara and Ava were puppets again.
- There's still the subtle hints of Zari sort of remembering things but not quite. Can't be much longer now, right?
- Loved the throwback to the third season finale and even seeing John wearing some of Leonard's gear when he was about to go South.
- Chronology: 2020 Northumberland, England. They're really getting a lot of use of Constantine's house this season.
Mr Parker's Cul-De-Sac has become the highlight of the season so far. The ending is coming with Ray and Nora and while I definitely the show will lose something by losing them, I loved this episode and Damien's return was a highlight along with that particular sequence.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Wednesday, March 04, 2020
My Review of Superman: Red Son (2020)
Written by J.M. DeMatteis
Directed by Sam Liu
Superman: " I am no hero. I am merely a servant of the state who seeks, as you do, to better the lives of our citizens."
You can bet on the DC Animated side of things if you want direct adaptations of certain comic book arc and while their takes can be very hit and miss (still not happy over the changes they made to Batman: Hush tbh), this for the most part falls into the former category.
Venturing into Elseworlds territory, this story begins in 1946 Soviet Union as a young boy flees from three would be bullies. He's defended by a young girl named Svetland and later revealed his abilities to her. Nearly a decade later, the boy has grown into Superman (Jason Isaacs), serving under the control of Joseph Stalin (William Salyers) before eventually turning on the latter and assuming control of the Soviet Union.
In the next few decades we see this Superman befriend Wonder Woman (Vanessa Marshall), interact with Daily Planet Editor Lois Lane Luthor (Amy Acker) and her husband, Lex (Diedrich Bader), fight off Superior Man/Bizarro (Travis Willingham) while also incurring the wrath of a more vindictive Batman (Roger Craig Smith) and being the victim of a long game plot with a not so subservient Brainiac (Paul Williams).
With extra time allotted to this movie, things are spread out over a rather nicely, though the fight scenes with Batman and Brainiac are some of the best that the movie dishes out. The friendship with Diana also gets some nice exploration with the romantic subplot from the original comic surprisingly eschewed when it's revealed that she's only into women in this version of events. It's a shame but not a surprise that the friendship between Superman and Wonder Woman deteriorated towards the end of the movie.
Then there's Lex and Lois. They're an interesting pairing in this movie with Lois getting some perceptive comments in about societal pressures into being attractive. This movie has a Lex that while taking some questionable actions in assembling his own army of Green Lanterns and being the cause of Bizarro, is still not actually a villain of the movie. Even in the end he retired from his presidency to step the rest of his life with Lois.
As for the main villain - it's communism or is it capitalism? It's certainly some of Superman's actions and the consequences they've had for the US and Russia. It's the more crazed version of Batman but mostly it was Brainiac playing the long game, choosing the right moment to strike before being taken out rather quickly towards the end. Either way, it all worked within the context of this story.
- Svetlana was of course a Russian version of Lana Lang. I also liked the brief inclusion of Jack Ryder in this movie. We also go from 1946 to 1983 in this movie.
- Lex handed over his presidency to Jimmy Olsen while we saw both Hal Jordan and John Stewart leading the Green Lantern Corps against Superman. Abin Sur also appeared here.
- If this movie can depict Wonder Woman as a lesbian and a previous movie had both Scandal Savage/Knockout as a couple, then it's time for a future DC animated movie to have an openly gay or bisexual male character.
- There was a sneak preview of the next movie, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War released, which will be released during the Spring.
Superman: Red Son isn't a comic book I'm generally that bothered about but this while taking some creative liberties turned to be a rather good adaptation. These type of movies are better for the animated universe than the main live action one, which at this moment really does need to get itself together on the Superman front.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Tuesday, March 03, 2020
Doctor Who - Where Series 13 Needs To Go (And Beyond)
With Series 12 having completed it's transmission and the BBC still deciding where to air Revolution Of The Daleks (prays it's Christmas), it's time to take a look as to where the show should go next series and a little beyond that.
A Show Post Timeless Child: The latest series finale revealed more about the Doctor's origin than expected and still kept a lot of it REDACTED. There's no doubt that once her latest run in with the Daleks is out of the way that we'll be delving into the aftermath of that particular reveal. After all, it's going to be a lot for her to take in and should provide some emotional consequences next series but I'm hoping Chibnall will have other arcs besides expanding upon/massively rewriting the Doctor's history.
Mister Master: The highlight of Jodie's era so far has been the inclusion of Sacha Dhawan's take on the Master. Like his predecessors, he's done an exceptional job in bringing the Doctor's best enemy to life and if the character can survive various perilous situations, then no Death Particle will take him out of the equation for too long. Now, there's a danger of the show possibly overusing the character, but at the same time, I expect to see him causing the Doctor more headaches in Series 13.
Moving Away From The Fam(ily): Right now the tabloids are circulating a rumour that both Tosin Cole and Bradley Walsh will be departing the series in the upcoming Dalek special while Mandip Gill will be staying on for Series 13. Personally, I think it's better for all three current companions to depart and to allow the show and Jodie's Doctor to have a clean slate going into her third series. Companion wise, they've not been the best ones we've had and often, the 13th Doctor has worked better with guest characters than her own Fam.
New Blood: Expanding on the previous point I made, new companions are needed. I would like a similar situation to Series 10 with at least one companion not being from present day UK but if we're having only one companion next series instead of an entire group, it should be a solo male companion.
Marketing: If you follow me on Twitter, one of my ongoing sources of contention with the current era has been the marketing. Now, I don't expect and wouldn't want the BBC or Chris Chibnall to reveal too much in advance but it definitely wouldn't kill them to reveal more than they do, like actually featuring the monsters in the promo pics and trailers for each episode Even Jack's return in Fugitive Of The Judoon really didn't need to kept secret after, especially when he didn't materialise during the whole Lone Cyberman trilogy we just had.
Writers: Right now, for Series 13 the three writers who Chibnall should bring back are Vinay Patel, Pete McTighe and Maxine Alderton. I think I can and will speak for most fans when I say we really don't need another Orphan 55 or Can You Hear Me? style misfire and going into his third series as executive producer, it might be nice for Chibnall to bring back a writer from the two previous eras. More effort needs to be put into the standalone episodes.
More Recurring Characters: Series 12 introduced two of the most interesting new characters with both Ruth Clayton (Jo Martin) and Brendan Bildbriain (Evan McCabe) and both of them turned out to be variations of the Doctor, with the latter even being a false memory. Grace (Sharon D. Clarke) aside, there's a dearth in interesting recurring characters this era. Ruth definitely feels like someone who will pop up from time to time but it might be fun next series if the Doctor discovers that Brendan is actually real and have her y'know appear in Ireland for real next series. Basically, just make this current universe a little bigger in some respects. This also leads to my final point.
Rebuild The Expanded World: Series 12 threw in a UNIT name check after Resolution disbanded the organisation for the sake of a Brexit joke while Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) made his return in the series as well. Enough time has passed that perhaps while Torchwood currently still seem to be the property of Big Finish, perhaps it's time for UNIT to be brought back into the main show. Keep both Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) and Petronella Osgood (Ingrid Oliver) and maybe add another member into the mix.
Right that's my thoughts on where the show should go from Series 13 onwards. What are yours? How did you find Series 12? Am I too harsh with Chris Chibnall's era or not harsh enough? Let me know, lol.
A Show Post Timeless Child: The latest series finale revealed more about the Doctor's origin than expected and still kept a lot of it REDACTED. There's no doubt that once her latest run in with the Daleks is out of the way that we'll be delving into the aftermath of that particular reveal. After all, it's going to be a lot for her to take in and should provide some emotional consequences next series but I'm hoping Chibnall will have other arcs besides expanding upon/massively rewriting the Doctor's history.
Mister Master: The highlight of Jodie's era so far has been the inclusion of Sacha Dhawan's take on the Master. Like his predecessors, he's done an exceptional job in bringing the Doctor's best enemy to life and if the character can survive various perilous situations, then no Death Particle will take him out of the equation for too long. Now, there's a danger of the show possibly overusing the character, but at the same time, I expect to see him causing the Doctor more headaches in Series 13.
Moving Away From The Fam(ily): Right now the tabloids are circulating a rumour that both Tosin Cole and Bradley Walsh will be departing the series in the upcoming Dalek special while Mandip Gill will be staying on for Series 13. Personally, I think it's better for all three current companions to depart and to allow the show and Jodie's Doctor to have a clean slate going into her third series. Companion wise, they've not been the best ones we've had and often, the 13th Doctor has worked better with guest characters than her own Fam.
New Blood: Expanding on the previous point I made, new companions are needed. I would like a similar situation to Series 10 with at least one companion not being from present day UK but if we're having only one companion next series instead of an entire group, it should be a solo male companion.
Marketing: If you follow me on Twitter, one of my ongoing sources of contention with the current era has been the marketing. Now, I don't expect and wouldn't want the BBC or Chris Chibnall to reveal too much in advance but it definitely wouldn't kill them to reveal more than they do, like actually featuring the monsters in the promo pics and trailers for each episode Even Jack's return in Fugitive Of The Judoon really didn't need to kept secret after, especially when he didn't materialise during the whole Lone Cyberman trilogy we just had.
Writers: Right now, for Series 13 the three writers who Chibnall should bring back are Vinay Patel, Pete McTighe and Maxine Alderton. I think I can and will speak for most fans when I say we really don't need another Orphan 55 or Can You Hear Me? style misfire and going into his third series as executive producer, it might be nice for Chibnall to bring back a writer from the two previous eras. More effort needs to be put into the standalone episodes.
More Recurring Characters: Series 12 introduced two of the most interesting new characters with both Ruth Clayton (Jo Martin) and Brendan Bildbriain (Evan McCabe) and both of them turned out to be variations of the Doctor, with the latter even being a false memory. Grace (Sharon D. Clarke) aside, there's a dearth in interesting recurring characters this era. Ruth definitely feels like someone who will pop up from time to time but it might be fun next series if the Doctor discovers that Brendan is actually real and have her y'know appear in Ireland for real next series. Basically, just make this current universe a little bigger in some respects. This also leads to my final point.
Rebuild The Expanded World: Series 12 threw in a UNIT name check after Resolution disbanded the organisation for the sake of a Brexit joke while Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) made his return in the series as well. Enough time has passed that perhaps while Torchwood currently still seem to be the property of Big Finish, perhaps it's time for UNIT to be brought back into the main show. Keep both Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) and Petronella Osgood (Ingrid Oliver) and maybe add another member into the mix.
Right that's my thoughts on where the show should go from Series 13 onwards. What are yours? How did you find Series 12? Am I too harsh with Chris Chibnall's era or not harsh enough? Let me know, lol.
My Review of Doctor Who's 12x10: "The Timeless Children"
Written by Chris Chibnall
Directed by Jamie Magnus Stone
The Doctor: "What happened to the child? What? What's so funny? What happened to the child?"
The Master: "Oh, Doctor, really? Haven't you worked this out yet? The child is you."
Well, that happened then. It's probably a good thing that this plotline actually leaked weeks ago and I've been a little desensitized to it but other than that, I can't help but think - "is this really a good idea, Chris?"
In the last few days, I've seen people accuse Chibnall of disrespecting the show's entire legacy while others have claimed this revelation has merely added to it and explained a certain plot strand from The Brains Of Morbius. For me, I still cannot decide which side of the fence I should be on with this one.
Both sides raise decent enough points and both Sacha Dhawan and Jodie Whittaker played their scenes with excellence as the Master took the Doctor to a ruined Gallifrey, got her to the remains of the citadel before putting her into the Matrix in order to bring her up to speed on her own personal history, which by the end of this episode he was more angry about that she was.
After all, it happened to the Doctor, now a stranger from another planet who got picked up by a woman named Tecteun (Seylan Baxter), brought to Gallifrey and was repeatedly experimented on when the latter learned that the Doctor could regenerate. The rest of it then would be the Shobogans siphoned off the Timeless Child's regenerative energy, limiting it to twelve regenerations before rebranding themselves as Time Lords and the rest is history as the Master would say.
Essentially, Chris Chibnall has decided to do a variation of the infamous Cartmel Master Plan and the results are definitely on the polarising end of the scale. I just cannot commit to a feeling about it at the moment and I'm sorry if this makes this review a harder read for anyone actually reading this. Needless to say, it's something that Chibnall didn't need to do but at the same time, there's enough leeway here (because of course, certain memories would be REDACTED) that a later showrunner could undo the whole thing.
Anyways moving away from the Timeless Child malarkey for a bit, the Master also took Ashad out and took over the Cyberium and because the Cybermen don't get fucked over often enough, we can now add CyberMasters to the ridiculous list of things that no-one asked for. Seriously, they looked a state but trust the Master to have a morbid solution for all those Time Lord bodies he conveniently kept a hold on.
Somewhat resolving this plot, the Doctor then used the Death Particle (a part of shrunken Ashad) to somewhat take out the Master and his latest army, except for Ko Sharmus to step in and make the heroic sacrifice. Let's be honest - the Master ain't dead, Gallifrey's a barren planet and if I never see the CyberMasters again, it'll be too soon.
Then the remaining five minutes of the episode saw Graham, Ryan and Yasmin along with Ravio, Yedlarmi and Ethan all get into another TARDIS and wind up back on Earth while the Doctor found herself being arrested and chucked into a prison, courtesy of the Judoon as a means of setting up the festive special, which currently might be trimming some cast members. End scene wise, it was a nice call back to some previous finales.
- It seems that Brendan was a "false memory" in the Matrix to cover up some of the scandal surrounding the Timeless Child. He would've been an interesting character to have brought back next series.
- The Fugitive Doctor reappeared during the Doctor's time in the Matrix. Still not sure where she fits in but it's safe to say we'll be seeing her again next series.
- The amount of flashbacks in that scene where the Doctor frees herself from the Matrix was impressive. Especially when it's slowed down and you see how many faces Chibnall got in there.
- This is the first episode since Hell Bent to actually have a companion on Gallifrey.
- The Doctor (and Fam) will be returning in Revolution Of The Daleks. BBC have yet to decide whether it airs Christmas or New Year though.
- Chronology: From where Ascension Of The Cybermen left off.
The Timeless Children will definitely go down as Chibnall's most memorable episode of the show. What he does from here on out will be relatively tame by comparison, won't it? I didn't love it and I didn't hate. Performance wise, both Jodie and Sacha were on fine form but I still feel this might be have been a Pandora's Box that should not have been opened.
Rating: 7 out of 10