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TOxicity In Doctor Who Fandom

6/14/2019

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Whether it was the cold winter months that brought it out, or it was fans frustration throughout series 11, the first series in the Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker era, one thing was certain, bitterness has been a clear and present force throughout 2018.  It could be argued that since the moment Jodie Whittaker was announced as the next incarnation of The Doctor at the end of Wimbledon's Men's Singles Finals on July 16, 2017, discussion over the show, its direction, and future, were in the crosshairs of Doctor Who fans around the world.  
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However, rewind back to a time before Moffat and Capaldi departed from Doctor Who, and think of what was being said regarding the series.  One could argue that the constant complaints amongst the fandom was the poor writing, especially from God Almighty himself, Steven Moffat.  Another complaint came from the fan girls of the show, as they saw their handsome, young, stud-McDoctor, Matt Smith leave the show, only to be replaced by Peter Capaldi.  Is Peter going to have a Scottish accent?  Why replace good old Matty with an old actor?  These and many more were the points of concern and contention among Doctor Who fans regarding the previous change in Doctors.  While personally I believe the Capaldi era struggled immensely because of poor writing, I believe it finally clicked on all cylinders   during series 10.  Though I cannot speak for every Doctor Who fan, I believe it was series 10 and also the news of Capaldi, and Moffat to some extent, leaving the show which sparked worry and concern, because fans finally decided that they could accept an older Doctor, and now things were changing.

I once said on a previous podcast with Liam, that my biggest concern regarding the Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall era was that any weakness in series 11 would fall primarily on the shoulders of Jodie.  My rational for this believe was how quickly the fans were to be either all-in or state that she is "not my Doctor."  I also stated on a podcast that with Jodie comes the following concern:  "Either you like her because she's the first woman Doctor, and she did a fantastic job, or you don't like her because you choose not to acknowledge a Female Doctor (which is very short sided).  Still, you could say that you like Jodie's Doctor, because you fear that by not saying you like her will make you look or sound sexist.  Or further, you don't like Jodie because you she doesn't work as The Doctor.  However, it is my belief (both now and in the past) that the latter option will generally be not believed by fandom."  Additionally, both myself and Liam discussed that if there was any fault in series 11, it wouldn't come from Jodie, as she is a stellar actress, it would be in part of the writing and storyline.  Fast-forward to present time, and lo and behold it was the writing (and perhaps the crowded TARDIS) was the issue.

Now back to the toxicity in the fandom of Doctor Who.  One could argue that social media is to blame for the toxic atmosphere that has taken hold of a show that I believe all of you who read this post, at least at one time, use to love and enjoy.  Yet, pointing the finger directly at social media is taking the onus off of the Doctor Who fans on both sides of the isle.  Think back to when the classic Doctor Who series began to get toxic, did they have social media accounts in the late 70's early 80's?  No.  Part of what is happening is that the young fans of Doctor Who, those that were children or preteens when the series came back in 2005, are now 14 years older now than they were during the RTD era.  Well if you look at those fans that were toxic in the late 70's early 80's, they too were young, preteens during the initial run of the series back in the 1960's.  These fans too grew up and became toxic, and although they did not have social media back then, the toxicity was still prevalent.  To see how JNT handled that, look no further than the 7th Doctor story The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, where JNT created a parody of an annoying fan, Whizz Kid, and had that character killed during that story.  Additionally, watch the special features found on the 4th Doctor story The Deadly Assassin, as it features fans criticizing the show's partial of Time Lords, and Time Lord interaction. 

Another contributor to the toxicity of fandom is how mainstream Doctor Who has become.  Similarly to Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica (to name a few), both original series, Doctor Who had their secret fan base.  Now that you have Doctor Who as being part of popular culture, you have the original fan base, that cares about canon and continuity from the William Hartnell era all the way to the present.  Whereas many modern fans only see five feet in front of them, Christopher Eccleston to the present.  Yet oddly, some of the modern fandom decide to pick and choose what they are willing to accept or even watch.  Some focus on only the Moffat era of Doctors 11 and 12, others like 10 and 11, and still some only like 12.  Picking and choosing fandom is similarly to what many of my young students do with sports teams.  They are die hard fans of team X, until their favorite player leaves team X for team Y, then all of a sudden, these students are not and have never been fans of team X, they've always liked team Y, and will continue to do so, until their favorite play leaves for team Z, or in some instances, returns to team X.  

For me fandom in the shows I watch, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones, and much more is similar with my love and allegiance towards my favorite sports teams.  My love of both goes beyond the man who plays a particular character, or is currently on my team, because here's a shocker for you, that player will not always be there, or if he is, may not be always that good.  When you love something, and are devoted to it, you take the good with the bad, discuss, debate, even cry out of frustration, but there's still hope that one day, that show or team will be back to what it was in its glory days.  But if it doesn't, talk, discuss, debate what you like, and what needs improvement, and what you'd like to see in the future.  Because if you cannot....get another hobby or interest, and leave all that like it alone.

I end with this, and highlight the second to last sentence in the previous paragraph.  Discussing and debating likes and dislikes, changes and what not, is so enjoyable.  Opinions, though at times might be a bit annoying, are still simply one's own thoughts on a subject.  Do I believe that you should be toxic for toxics sake, absolutely not.  But should these opinions be shut down completely...no.  As unpopular as they are, it is still someones opinion.   Intentionally hurtful and harmful speak that causes one to feel unsafe are out of line, and should be reported.  But one of my biggest concerns regarding fandom of sports, TV and movies series, or even politics for that matter, is the lack of dialogue.  If you disagree...okay, state why.  If you think someone is saying something sexist or racist, don't infer, ask...dialogue with that person, but don't label without confirmation.  And if you still disagree, try seeing their views from their perspective.  Though we are all human, we don't all have the same life experience, background, home environment, etc.  As far as I am aware of, nobody has been upgraded to human 2.0 yet (cyberized).  If that individual is what you think they are, if it is that egregious, report them, block them on social media.  But to do that, just because they don't have the same opinion as you....that sounds like my young 8 year-old students saying to me, "Hey Mr. Williams, he looked at me funny."  

The Twitter post on the left was what caused the initial reaction by another twitter account, the ones on the right are the responses on that account to the screen shots from the @NotMyDoctorP account.  Neither side represents my opinion, as my opinion revolves around being tolerant and proactive regarding dialogue.
To see the posts in their entirety click on the following link.  It was not my intention to take ANYTHING out of context, I merely looked to highlight what I believe is the issue at hand

The INSTIGATOR Post

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The Reaction

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Leg work for Louise jameson Interview

2/5/2017

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The Doctor Who: Alhambra Podcast has been fortunate to have the lovely Louise Jameson agree to join us for a podcast interview on the 13th of March, 2017.  To better prepare for the interview, and not merely ask "so what was it like to work with Tom Baker?" like questions, I'm doing a mass of amount of research to make the interview an enjoyable experience not only for myself and my podcasting partners, but for the listeners as well.

Doctor Who: The Sun Makers
Written by: Robert Holmes
Starring: Tom Baker (The Doctor)
Louise Jameson (Leela)
​John Leeson (K9)
Aired: 26th November to 17th December 1977
​Season 15 Serial #4
DWM Ranking: #162 of 241
(159. Battlefield; 160. Revenge of the Cybermen; 161.  Planet of Fire; 163.  A Town Called Mercy; 164. The Power of Three; 165. Closing Time; 166. The Highlanders)
NOTES OF INTEREST:
​New Production Unit Manager: JNT

Other characters:
​The Collector (Henry Woolf)
Gatherer Hade (Richard Leech)
Marn (Jonina Scott)
Cordo (Roy Macready)
Bisham (David Rowlands)
Mandrel (William Simons)
Veet (Adrieene Burgess)
Goudry (Michael Keating)​
Episode One:
Opening Clip (12:29 - 12:49)

"Praise the Company" for the opening sequence of Doctor Who and the Sun Makers!  A very fascinating satyrical take on the taxation imposed by governments on it's citizens.   As a child, my grandfather told me about growing up in the 1900's working in the coal mines of Utah.  He often quoted me the song, "Sixteen Tons," by Tennessee Ernie Ford, relating to the conditions his father grew up in, and how, although it had gotten better by the 1930's, when he was old enough to work in the mine, the system was still broken.    

Sadly, when the scenes changed and we meet the Tardis crew of the Doctor, Leela, and K9, the grinding of K9's motor is a constant background distraction.  As a Doctor Who Fan, I know it inevitably gets worse, until they finally transition K9 Mark I out at the end of "Doctor Who and the Invasion of Time," as Mark I, stays behind with Leela on Gallifrey.  It was such a relief that The Doctor left K9 behind to go for a W-A-L-K on Pluto, which as this story takes place in the future, is back to being the 9th planet, no longer relegated to being a dwarf planet.   I love how the Doctor talks down to K9 by spelling out the word "walk," and it could be seen as an "Eliza Doolittle" moment for the Doctor to Leela, spelling the word "walk," yet he distorts the phonemes of each letter, sounding out "Wuh-al-luk" to Leela.  "I know," claims Leela, as K9 told her the correct word the Doctor was spelling.  

The Tardis landing on top of a big building, in actuality a Tobacco Factory, resembles the opening planet Roj Blake is on in Blake's 7 (however, it has been some time since I watched that episode, so it might not look that similar). 

(Clip 9:50 - 10:20 Taxes to Sacrifices)  Unlike Katerina, the first primitive Doctor Who companion, Leela is able to see worlds outside her world.  I'd say Doctor Who learned from its past mistakes, yet I don't believe the writers, script editor, nor the production crew knew much of the early years of Doctor Who.  Robert Holmes, who wrote this episode was perhaps the oldest Doctor Who employee, having written The Krotons, back in the late 1960's.  

Running from the Tax man.  The connections between Blake's 7 and Doctor Who and The Sun Maker grows even more (Clip 10:55 - 11:12) as Cordo encourages the Doctor and Leela to leave the roof of the building, to avoid the correction center.  The idea of the terrible corrections center, reminds me of the Netflix series, Black Window.  In series 2 episode 2, they show a horrific corrections/punishment/interactive experience center for criminals found guilty.  

Yet another connection to Roj Blake of Blake's 7 (Clip 11:35 - 12:15)  Kandor conspiracy.  Surviving 3 years in the correction center.  Condo decides to run away to the "Undercity" where the D grade's who survive the correction center run off to.  The band of merry men who run the Undercity are a form of Robin Hood-ish, rob from the rich, and gain for themselves.

(Clip 16:25 - 37) K-9 leaves the Tardis, visually on a flat surface that the production team most likely placed on the Tobacco Company's roof, as the gravel top didn't allow K-9 to move smoothly.  I'd probably have blown up, injuring some Doctor Who staffer.  Perhaps giving him super powers like the kids in the movie iBoy, when a shard of a mobile phone gets lodged in a kids brain.  Very lame movie, lucky thing for fast-forward!  Anyway, I love how the Gatherer has no idea what K-9 is, but to show he superiority, says he doesn't need to tell his assistant what K-9 is.  

(Clip 18:24 - 19:00) Death Taxes, steal and kill.  The Undercity group hold Leela hostage as a means to have the Doctor use an ATM card as means to steal 1,000 Talmars from the government.  (Clip 22:46 - 23:20) The Gatherer has a slight paranoia about gun running rebellion.

The cliffhanger for the end of episode one has the Doctor getting sealed in the ATM machine, and gas enveloping the Doctor's face.  My question to this, and something I looked for on the DVD show notes, is was Mary Whitehouse and her group of crazies up in arms about this.  According to the show notes, which have usually been pretty thorough about jumping all over Doctor Who for its violence, wasn't mad at this?   


Episode 2
The reprieve brings us back to the end of episode 1 cliffhanger, as the Doctor is using some sort of an ATM card with so many Telmars (credits) pre-loaded on it.  He is

THIS POST WAS INCOMPLETE AS LIAM DECIDED HE'D RATHER SHOOT FROM THE HIP ON THE INTERVIEW THAN FOCUS ON SPECIFIC QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSIONS. 
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Time and The Rani - Audio Only Notes

11/7/2015

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The Players: The Seventh Doctor, Mel Bush
 The Rani, Ikona, Beyus, Faroon, Sarn, Urak, Lanisha
The Setting: The planet Lakertya

Episode 1
  • The story begins with the sounds of the TARDIS under attack.  Loud clack is heard (unknown at 0:11 mark - clip), with an odd sound the TARDIS lands, and we hear the voice of The Rani taking the doctor.  Odd incidental music is heard, then title sequence. 
  • Abducting Geniuses:  A Lakersian is asked what to label this one, and the Rani's response is "Einstein." (2:19 mark)  Does this mean she's calling the Doctor "Einstein?"  (3:12 mark) The Rani is abducting geniuses, but does this mean she has Einstein or just calling the Doctor Einstein.
  • The Rani reveals the setting as "Lakertya"(mark 4:40 - clip) - Does this setting make sense with "The Last Adventure of the Sixth Doctor" by Big Finish?
  • The Doctor rebells against the Rani, and states he'll smash something to pieces. Nothing is known (mark 5:56) - Drawing Conclusions is a must.
  • Scene transition - 6:11 mark - clip) - however what we are looking at (a Lykertian taking Mel out of the open Tardis) - Quickly we are told that Mel has escaped, only to hear Mel scream with an explosion sound effect. (many people would have loved it had Mel actually blown up in the trap the Rani set up) - We find out later from another Lakersians it is not Mel who blew up (mark - 8:47 - two minute gap and the word "murder" but who was murdered)
  • Mel is Kidnapped and accused of murder, but WHO? (visually we don't know its a Lakersian girl)
  • The Rani impersonates Mel (9:40 Mark - clip), and we discover the Rani is tricking the Doctor to do her bidding without his knowledge. (The visuals of Kate O'Mara as Bonnie Langford is something that sounds better than it actually looks).  10:37 the Doctor realizes discovers he's regenerated clip)
  • The Tetraps are an evil creature that Mel and the Lakersians need to get away from, it is said that they are hideous (13:30 mark - clip) "not like a human, but just as worse?"  Doe these Tetraps look similarly to humans?
  • Lots of unknown sounds with no explanation (16:47 - 17:27 mark clip sound and incidental music)
  • 7th Doctor regeneration thoughts/worry (17:44 - 18:16 mark clip) - such anti-6th Doctor, which is similar to the 4th to the 5th - at least neither one plays the guitar (7th does play the spoons)
  • Lakersian description (19:14 mark)
  • 7th Doctor tries to find his new outfit (jokes and puns mean nothing without the visuals)
  • Cliffhanger- Mel screams, probably in one of the Rani's traps (I know she is because I've seen it before, but without the visuals I don't know if you can assume that it).
Episode 2
  • Reprieve- Mel's still screaming, better sounding sound effects, if one remembers what the trap sounds like from earlier, you can figure out she's in one.  How she survived with the help of the Lakersian is still unknown.  But something is blown up.
  • Mel - screams a lot!  I mean a lot!  Most of the time it is a strange and unknown (30:32 mark - clip) This makes it easy to understand why Mel was one of the fans' least favorite companions.
  • Ikona and Faroon have a discussion regarding how the Lakersians are being forced to help out the Rani against their will. (34:13 - 34:34 mark - clip)  If one has the memory, you could conclude that the body of Faroon's daughter is the one Ikona accused Mel of murdering...if you could remember that far back.
  • Mel and the 7th Doctor meet for the first time, and enjoyable exchange - visually the wresting, flipping and twirling is quite funny (39:19 - 40:04 mark - clip) - Mel says she knows about Regenerations...but how?  Trial of the Timelord?  Is there something in the Missing Adventures?  Does the 6th Doctor's Last Adventure mention this?
  • The Rani's scheme (41:52 - 42:20 clip) An astroid filled with dark matter, and something behind a mysterious door which is making the sound of a heart beat - FYI for later purposes.
  • We find out the Doctor's and the Rani's age 953.
  • Einstein: Minute 43:45 mark, we find out that the Rani actually abducted Einstein. (way back from the beginning of the episode)
  • Cliffhanger- Audio only, cliffhangers are generally the most difficult part of the audio only, because of the sound effects and the incidental music. 47:08 - 49:00  mark play in the background over the podcast disussion (Visually the Doctor is hiding in the Tetraps lair and gets locked in).  All you hear is snarling-ish/growling-ish sounds, but what is happening is unknown.  Imagine---​ what this would be like to be waiting weekly for a reprieve without visuals.  What steps would be taken to find out what the cliffhanger looked like?
Episode 3
  • Reprieve- The Doctor is saved by Beyus, but how is not known (Visually, filling the Tetraps trough with blood-like food. (Visually it is quite funny to see the Doctor using his short scarf to quickly tie up the Rani so he can get away)
  • The Rani's scheme is further revealed: (54:03 - 54:40 mark - clip) something regarding time and the geniuses being pulled from time at the peak of their creativeness.
  • Beyus reveals his willingness to help the Rani, in hopes of the Rani leaving Lakertya once she's done and allowing the Lakersians to be free.
  • Leisure of Pleasure (visually a weird looking place with an odd metallic globe that spins around the Lakersians enjoying their pleasure).  The Rani sends killer insects in the globe to kill some Lakersians as punishment for Beyus possibly helping the doctor.
  • Mel is part of the Rani's plan, as bait and using her computer skills, even though she's never seen doing or touching anything computer-ish at all (unlike he character in Big Finish)
  • The Rani's scheme is revealed even further: Running the machine on brain power (1:05:54 - 1:06:35 - clip) The doctor looks further at her plan (1:07:18 - 1:07:34 - combine both clips) - the Rani also has a deadline to get the astroid of strange matter by the solstice in order for her plan to work.
  • Cliffhanger- An odd voice of a creature never seen before, visually this is something not Tetraps or Lakersians​, so perhaps a computer?  Visually we see a large pulsing brain and the doctor's head vibrating back-and-forth as his brain is being used to power this big brain??? Audio​ we have no idea what is going on, except end of part three. (Need to remember the heartbeat behind the door from episode 2)
Episode 4
  • Reprieve- The brain (or unknown voice is talking of time, audio-wise, we still have no idea what this thing is.
  • Mel discovers a loophole in the Rani's plan: the Doctor's character (1:18:38 - 1:18:45 & 1:19:04 - 1:19:36)
  • The Rani's scheme is revealed even further: 1:124:08 - 1:25:32 clip) - Reproduce Helium 2 to form a Kronon particle shield around Lakertya, and turning the planet into a Time Manipulator.
  • Visually we see a Tetrap overhearing the Rani's and Doctor's conversation, foreshadowing a future meeting between the Tetrap and the Rani.
  • The Doctor has Mel defuse the Lakersians bombs that were strapped to their legs in the Leisure Palace. Very manipulative, as who knows if Mel would have gone up with the Lakersian when she did it.
  • The Doctor foils the Rani's plan, saves Lakertya with the help of Beyus, as well as the geniuses. Obviously the Rani gets away in the Doctor's perspective, but is actually held captive by the Tetraps.

  • Parting Shots:I'm glad the 7th Doctor only played the spoons, and misquoted sayings in this episode.  Unlike the brash personality of the 6th doctor in the TV series, this part of his persona goes, and it's not until his teaming up with Ace does the 7th Doctor get dark (more evident in the Virgin New Adventures and Big Finish audios).
  • ​Pip and Jane Baker wanted King Solomon to be the one abducted by the Rani instead of Einstein, and they wanted her to abduct him in the middle of his baby-splitting activity....question: What does King Solomon have to do with the ability to figure out Time Travel?
  • Nev Fountain's Big Finish "Mervyn Stone: The Axeman Cometh" has the main character Mervyn Stone getting ready to re-boot Vixens from the Void.  I want to believe Nev is mocking Pip and Jane Baker as the other writers in this episode.


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"The Evil One" doesn't save Face

4/27/2014

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The calendar year brings Big Finish fans a new set of releases in various ranges.  Whether it's the extended length Companion Chronicle story, "big Sixie" beginning the first trilogy of main range Doctor Who stories, Blake's 7 Full Cast audio, Pathfinder, and Avengers (the last three listed starting this year).  However what I want to take a closer look at is the third season of the Fourth Doctor Adventures.

There are some exciting things to look forward to in this year's adventures with the Fourth Doctor and Leela.  First, we get to find out how the Doctor fell under the influence of The Eminence, a character we first met two years ago with the Sixth Doctor and Mel in the story "The Seeds of War" by Matt Fitton and Nick Briggs, and then met again in the third Dark Eyes 2 story "Time Horizon" by Matt Fitton.  Then, we get to experience actress turned writer, Louise Jameson, crack at writing a Doctor Who story, "The Abandoned." Finally, but yet more intriguingly, there's Leela.  I don't merely mean having an Amazon-ish woman parading around in short skimpy clothing (although that's not a negative), but it's having Leela's character being further developed.  


Originally, when Leela was introduced to Doctor Who, the back story was "the education of a savage," which drew parallels to the musical "My Fair Lady" with the Doctor being Professor Higgins (which might make Ace's calling the Doctor, Professor, making more sense...possibly) and Leela portraying the Eliza Doolittle character.  Yet, after the beginning of "Talons of Wieng-Chiang," Doctor Who really doesn't delve back into the original backstory.  Happily the first story in this third season, King of Sontar, we are reunited with Leela's backstory, as we find her learning to read.  This continues in the third story, The Crooked Man, both stories written by the talented John Dorney.  Then came the story entitled, The Evil One, which I had high hopes for, hoping it would explain the mountain with Tom Baker's face (fourth Doctor), why the computer/god Xoanon has part of the Doctor's personality, voice, and the reasoning for it being bipolar, introduction to how the two groups, the Sevateem (survey team) and the Tesh, became divided from one another.  Oh and why the Doctor is considered and called, let me think....oh yeah, THE EVIL ONE!  


***Possible Spoilers to BF's The Evil One***
Perhaps it is my fault and assuming (generally it is the fault of the assumer) that these questions would get answered by Big Finish.  I mean it's not like Big Finish fills in gaps or furthers continuity, using classic Doctor Who stories or anything like that.  So when the Fourth Doctor isn't The Evil One, it kind of became a let down and perhaps when I began not enjoying this audio.  The bright side of this story is it does further the Leela's back story, using the beginning moments we meet Leela and the rest of the Sevateem on "The Face of Evil."  After listening to the Big Finish release, I found I didn't like it.  So a week later I decided to watch the classic story, The Face of Evil, then followed that immediately with The Evil One...and still didn't like it.


As I've thought about my dislike (not hate though) for this episode, I wanted to think about the Fourth Doctor episodes I did like.  Because I'm list oriented, I wrote down the following list:


The Wrath of Iceni
The Justice of Jalxar
The King of Sontar
The Crooked Man


Oddly and unknowingly until I checked it out, all of these episodes have been written by John Dorney.  Now these aren't the only ones I liked, but these are the ones I like the best, and find that they have definite relisten value.  In the end, isn't that what we want with Big Finish too besides filling or adding to continuity, is the ability to relisten to these audios that we have paid for with our hard earned money?
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    Brett 
    or  Mavic_Chen

    Full-time elementary school teacher, with the remainder of my time spent either in sports, television, movies, or Doctor Who-ness related activities.

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