What's wrong with the new Doctor Who?

[Bravo 21]

I think some people don't like how every seasons ending has to be bigger and more bombastic than the last, apparently "the universe is about to be destroyed" idea gets tired and cliche when it's used every season.

Quite true, although when you have all of time and space at your fingertips, the universe is always under threat from something.
I did enjoy seeing how the doctor almost died. after nearly 1000 years, I want to see a bit more mortality in him.
Finally, because someone else already brought it up, the newer River song. As a character, I approved of her in "silence in the library", but in the newer version, where she is a bit of psychopath, I just dislike her. Strongly.

 

[game-lover]

Tennant is hotter. I didn't even know of Dr. Who until the fangirls swarmed to it.

This is true. *fantasizes*

But I can't say I ever hated New Who. Tennant was my first Doctor as the first time I discovered the show was when I was younger and thought that it was some awesome cool thing on randomly at 2am on PBS channel 13 when my mother tells me that nope, it's just Doctor Who. Anyway, I saw only 3 random episodes in no particular order. Each a different season.

When I finally decided to try and catch up on Doctor Who, I started with Eccleston. He was a good one to me. By the time that season was over, I literally had to reattach myself to David again because I was mourning Christopher. You can imagine my fan grief when he finally had to go too.

Matt's not bad. He has his own charm. But I'm still working on catching up on the show. I do think some of the stories can be a smidgen boring. That's probably why I'm procrastinating now.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Personally I think he's too similar in manner to Tennant's Doctor. They're both crazy, hyperactive, brilliant, and occasionally dark.

 

[Smithburg]

Frankly I love them all, the new doctors are wonderful, and the old ones were extremely good, cant wait for the new season to start

 

[Thaluikhain]

The writing for me, it's too soap opera-ey.

Also, everyone spends all the time blathering on about how wonderful the Dcotor is, he never gets any time to, you know, be wonderful. The companions are there to cheerlead and tell the audience they should like the Doctor, they don't get to work as characters.

In the one where they brought the Weeping Angels back, except they changed everything that made them scary, there was a great bit when the commander of the unit points out to the Doctor that it's alright for him, he'll just fly off at the end of the episode, he's not the one that has to tell the families why their sons aren't coming back. Now, they need more of that sort of stuff, people who can talk to the Doctor as an equal, and tell him when he's wrong.

River Song was thrust down our throats, and the writers are desperately trying to bludgeon us into liking her, but she's only the worst, the other get this as well.

Also, new Who relies too much on throwing stuff at the screen and hoping people like it, but not bothering to flesh it out or fit it into the story in a way that makes sense. Many, many ideas had potential, but they were wasted, being dropped and forgotten in favour of the next one.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

Oh I've got one. The Doctor's brilliance often comes from plot armour, it's hard to build any kind of tension with the Doctor when you know shit like this will happen:

Combined with the Master's Archangel Satellite network, which the Doctor has had an entire year to get in tune with, this has the effect of charging the Doctor with the combined psychic energy of the people of Earth. This enables the Doctor to restore his youthful physiognomy and end the Master's control

I couldn't have pulled a bigger load of bullshit out of my arse if I'd tried. I'm still pissed off about the whole Deus Ex Machina from Last of the Time Lords...

 

[Smiley Face]

I'm enjoying the New Who, as you call it, but recently the writing has taken a turn for the worse - which is a shame, because I really did enjoy Moffat's episodes in the earlier seasons - but now it seems to be getting really formulaic - Smith throws out the "I'm going to beat the odds and save the day and be awesome" monologue pretty much every episode at this point - not his fault as an actor, it's just bad writing. Hopefully they'll shake things up next season, I couldn't stand the Christmas Special.

 

[flying_whimsy]

I've liked all the runs of doctor who save the new round with Matt Smith; I feel the writing has taken a huge hit since davies left and the current writers have been doing all they can to both insult and outdo the davies era. Story and characters have simply been lacking in imagination and scope.

Too bad, really, as there have been a number of things I've liked with the matt smith run but they've all been overshadowed by terrible writing.

RE captcha: why don't I ever seem to get any of the fun ones anymore? "Little Caesars"?! boring.

 

[algalon]

They all have their charms. With Tennant's doctor, whenever he's about to do something dangerous, and just a bit crazy, he'd explain it. Ok, he'd explain it like he was reading a disclaimer so you'd have to rewind, play back in slo mo to catch it all, but he does explain things. Matt's doctor is a bit more secretive. Rather than explain things and spoil the surprise, he just smiles. Explanations come after the deed is done. He also has more of a meanstreak than the last. Where Tennant objected when the daleks were suddenly pushed to near extinction, Smith would do it with a menacing glare, then the next second swap back to that goofy smart guy and say "Show's over, lets go home."

And yes, it is technically a children's show, but it's a GOOD children's show. It's got all the cliches - smart hero, amoral, not so smart villains - but enough actual drama and a bit of creepiness is there so that adults can enjoy it as well. Not true of sooooo many other kids shows.

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

I don't like this business of everyone standing around talking about how awesome the Doctor is ALL THE TIME. Sometimes it feels like they really are just there to stand around and admire him. I remember a few scenes when Rory (of all people) actually stood up to the Doctor and told him off for playing with people's lives. I remember these scenes because they don't happen very often, and they should. It's one of the things that makes me like Rory.

I think a lot of it has to do with both Amy and River growing up idolizing the Doctor. I want a new companion, one who approaches the Doctor with a healthy dose of skepticism, like Rory does. And a smaller supporting cast.

Hey, while I'm here, can I ask why so many people hate Martha? I thought she was alright. Yeah, she had that stupid romantic subplot, but so did Rose, who everyone loves for some reason. (She just annoys the hell out of me) And in "Last of the Timelords", she essentially becomes Gordon Freeman, so that's pretty badass, right?

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Who has been saying that? I like this Doctor, although I liked Tennant better (he was my first Doctor).

Pretty much this. Although I must admit something has felt off since Series 5, can't quite put my finger on it.

 

[Klatz]

I've only been a fan of the new Dr. Who series, never really got into the old one much. I like the new Dr Who, including Matt Smith's doctor. On the whole the series is more creative than your standard SciFi fare; solutions and plot resolutions doesn't depend on gunplay or techno-fixes.

Matt Smith is goofier than either of the two previous Drs. Much less angsty than Tennant or Eccleston. Some of the writing has been a lesser quality, I'm pretty tired of Daleks and Cybermen as villains. I really enjoyed the series arc for the most recent season.

 

[MorganL4]

Okay, and I say this as a Moffat Fanatic.... ( seriously I own a copy of everything the guy has done since the year 2000) Since Davies left the show's overall quality has taken a hit.

Matt Smith does a good job as The Doctor, but Moffat I think is suffering from the George Lucas syndrome if you will... When he had someone to reign in the crazy he made something genius... ( in George's case The Original Star Wars, in Moffat's The Weeping Angels, or Captain Jack Harkness) But when let loose and with no one to tell him no we get Gun Gans or in Moffat's case an ignoring of previously established cannon)

Moffat is a great writer, he is the man behind MY favorite show. If you want modern proof of this go watch Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch and you will see what I mean. But I think he is too close to this ( he made an entire character back in 2003 whose entire purpose was to call for the return of Dr Who...) Now he literately "runs the show" he can't pull himself back enough from the character to discern the good from the bad.)

And it is frustrating, because when I heard that Moffat was gonna take over the reigns and steer The TARDIS, I quite literately jumped for joy.

 

[BreakfastMan]

Never really heard that. Being and old Doctor Who fan, I have plenty of criticisms for the new series (especially the Russel T. Davies years, the over use of River Song, and the lackluster writing in series 6), but I still like the series, and most everyone else I know does too. :/

 

[RN7]

I'm not entirely sure. I began watching with the ninth doctor, going back to see the exploits of the 7th and 8th after that, stuck with the series through the Tennant-era and continue to watch to this day. While I do miss the 10th, I can say that I enjoy the 11th as well. I suppose the problems people have with the series would come from someone not liking Amy Pond, or Matt Smith's portrayal of the character, or Moffat's writing. Personally, I don't see a problem in any of those things.

 

[malestrithe]

I watch Doctor Who for the Companions and no one else. They are the most interesting part of every episode, their interactions with the universe that the doctor inhabits keeps me watching the show. The problems comes when they get to be routine and common place. As soon as what they are seeing does not register anymore, the show becomes boring.

The Doctor is the least interesting part of his own show. There is no drama or conflict with him. Essentially, he is boring. It does not matter which one it is. There is no one more powerful than him in that universe. He cannot die, otherwise there is no series. He does not get hurt, and he must be around for the climax of the story because the situations cannot get resolved with out him, or someone like him.

You know, the show might have been interesting to me if I watched them when there were other time lords around. The whole idea of other people just like him acting as oversight or foils are would have made the show better.

 

[Bvenged]

The last series finale was utter crap, but apart from that I like the new modern series. I think David was better but Matt Smith is very good too.

 

[Da Orky Man]

I think some people don't like how every seasons ending has to be bigger and more bombastic than the last, apparently "the universe is about to be destroyed" idea gets tired and cliche when it's used every season.

This, though they got to the point it was happening every episode. I liked the earlier new-series ones, like when they went to the end of the universe, and to when the sun evvelops Earth. I want stuff like that.
And the writers seems to have gortten lazy. In the Christmas episode, the characters were stuck in a tower which was slowly melting because it was raining hydrochloric acid. And how did they get away? The building took off and flew into a space wormhole. Deus ex machina at it's core.