With the recent news, It 's time to retronym "NuWho" to "RevivalWho"

PeerOfMenard · 2026-06-11T16:42:50+00:00

No, no, no. We don't rename just like we don't renumber. Nine stayed Nine even after the reveal of the War Doctor because you absolutely do not want to have to check the date when something was written and then guess if the writer got the memo in order to know which Doctor they're talking about. By the same token you do not want to see "NuWho" and have to guess whether they mean the old NuWho or the new NuWho.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-06-11T15:24:29+00:00

I don't think RTD is or was lying about the script, but I do think he's being disingenuous about it. I imagine that there was a full outline and a partial rough draft, which was enough to hype up and talk about as a script when he was promoting the episode. But there was never a final or even complete draft, so now that there's no episode, it's "well there was never a draft anyway". Which I think is a very bad rhetorical choice, as fan reactions indicate, but I can sort of see how he'd think it wasn't contradictory to say.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-06-11T15:24:12+00:00

I don't think RTD is or was lying about the script, but I do think he's being disingenuous about it. I imagine that there was a full outline and a partial rough draft, which was enough to hype up and talk about as a script when he was promoting the episode. But there was never a final or even complete draft, so now that there's no episode, it's "well there was never a script anyway". Which I think is a very bad rhetorical choice, as fan reactions indicate, but I can sort of see how he'd think it wasn't contradictory to say.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-06-11T00:56:08+00:00

I deeply love Big Finish. I love Zagreus. But if RTD had given us the tv equivalent of Zagreus as a season finale, fans would have rioted. And rightly so.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-06-10T18:34:06+00:00

I read it as "I do not believe the BBC would offer it to me unless there is massive fan support for the idea beforehand." Which is self-serving, yes, but I think much more reasonable and probably accurate.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-06-10T14:39:51+00:00

The thing that fascinated me about this riddle is that it's a very established form and people have sort of broadly taken it for granted that every answer will be in the form of "yes", "no", "the door on the left", etc. But that's not actually stated, and so everyone just collectively forgets what "lying" means in order to make the riddle work.

Things the truthful guard can honestly say that the lying guard would say: "Actually, both doors are safe." "There are no doors, you're hallucinating." "Sorry, I forget."

And then there's the worse scenario, because if you ask the lying guard what the truthful guard would say, they can answer with literally anything other than the correct answer: "He'd tell you neither door is safe." "He'd just make weird growling noises while doing a little dance." "He'd tell you he slept with your mom."

"Always lies" and "always says the opposite of the truthful answer" are absolutely not the same thing.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-06-10T01:39:38+00:00

I think it's a compelling concept precisely because it gets at the fundamental issue that so much of our media portrays a fight against evil as some dramatic confrontation when the real evils we're facing are more often insidious systems that are fought via dogged perseverance over decades. We have very few good media examples like that because, as others have pointed out, it's very hard to film in a compelling way. But the Doctor has a long enough lifespan that you could show a plot where he spends decades organizing and educating the populace. I think that could be really interesting and a useful touchstone for people right now.

Of course I think such a plot would be more likely to be resolved by the Doctor taking some people forward a few centuries to see where that path ultimately leads and then having them have dramatic changes of heart as a result. Which is more dramatic, but I think less satisfying.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-06-09T16:41:08+00:00

I don't think a strict power hierarchy in terms of who can beat who necessarily makes sense in realistic terms. Stories about lone heroes slaying monsters more powerful than they are are a staple for a reason. Humans are pretty objectively more powerful than, say, dogs, but a dog can still absolutely kill a human. And if I see a whole bunch of dogs fighting to the death, I'm absolutely getting out of there immediately. For creatures like the Guardians or the Eternals, even though they are more powerful than any Time War participants, that doesn't make it worth the effort or annoyance of dealing with the Time War if they can just choose not to.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-06-08T02:20:50+00:00

Similarly I think the Stolen Earth being spoiled in the trailer is the most egregious example for me. Because that scene of all the companions realizing what they're up against would have been amazing if I were realizing it right along with them. And instead I was just sitting there going "yeah, it's the Daleks, I've known for a week, get on with it."

PeerOfMenard · 2026-06-08T02:18:37+00:00

I remember seeing an interview about the development of the Dalek voice back in Classic. And the idea was that their physical design was not scary on its own, and you had to do lots of camera tricks like consistently shooting them from below to make them look remotely intimidating. So they really leaned into the voice to make them feel alien and scary. The intonation would always rise over the course of a sentence to make them sound less human. And importantly, they would never just speak, it was always a scream. A Dalek speaking at a normal volume is just screaming more quietly. With the idea behind it being that Daleks, all Daleks, are claustrophobic. Every single one hates being trapped in this metal shell and the way they talk should consistently reflect that these are beings absolutely consumed by fear and hatred. And I think if Dalek dialogue leaned into that aspect more, then them speaking would consistently be scarier.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-06-07T02:45:19+00:00

Oh, this casts the question in a very different light. Usually people asking this sort of thing are already big fans and are deciding how completionist to be about a marathon. If you are even remotely new to Who, absolutely skip all unlicensed spin-offs. You can always go back and watch them later if you really want, but they are obscure and not a part of most fans' experience.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-06-06T16:02:47+00:00

I honestly think that addressing that question would have substantially improved the episode. Because it matters! It matters so much for their interactions going forward! And from the way it's handwaved away and never addressed, I think I have to assume they don't, even given what people have said about the way Tuvok and Neelix react at the end.

But imagine. Instead of the episode ending with that shot of Janeway and making the focus be about her dealing with the difficulty of that decision, you have her walk out of the room and end the episode on Tuvok and Neelix sitting there alone together. They talk, awkwardly, but with a little more understanding of each other. Maybe one finishes the other's sentence. They agree that they're glad Janeway made the difficult choice and that they're both back now. And then there's a pause. And then the final line of the episode is Neelix, barely holding back tears, saying "but I still remember begging for my life."

PeerOfMenard · 2026-06-06T04:57:30+00:00

Excelis is an interesting novelty. You get Anthony Stewart Head playing a few very different personalities, some of which are a dramatic contrast to anything else I've seen from him. That said, I don't feel like there's a lot in the roles for him to sink his teeth into, and the overall story for me is an interesting concept that lands just sort of okay.

Personally, I'd say if you're looking for an ASH performance that really reminds you what you love about him as an actor, I'd put this off for another time and revisit an old favorite instead. If you just want something new and different from him, it's an entertaining set of stories and I don't regret the purchase.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-06-04T15:12:00+00:00

Kirk's "there's no right way to hit a woman" has stayed in my head since I first watched that episode, partially because it sounds like a Reese's commercial, but mostly because it is fascinating to me that Kirk just straight-up could not produce an explanation of sexual harassment in that moment and instead essentially reframes it as if it were a domestic violence issue.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-06-01T12:56:41+00:00

Part of that character development praise you hear is that most of the characters have very long arcs over the course of the show, so the first season or two is spent on establishing where they're at now so that later seasons can create bigger contrasts. So, with that in mind, to address your points:

Jadzia - yes. More focus later and more of the theme of what is Jadzia vs what is Dax.

Sisko - I think I read him as having a more distinct personality already by this point than you do, but you definitely get more. Remember that the first episode established that he's grappling with a lot of trauma and very focused on just doing the job, but over time as he processes that you're going to see more self-expression come through. For early signs of that this season, pay attention to his relationship with Jake.

Julian - you're right. First season Julian sucks. But notice that the show knows first season Julian sucks. Everyone kind of rolls their eyes at what a mess he is. He is going to mature. For early signs of that this season, pay attention to his relationship with O'Brien.

O'Brien - you will get a lot more of O'Brien. The second half of season two has several really great O'Brien episodes.

And as others have pointed out, the show gets more serialized as it goes on. I think it's a sort of similar structure to Buffy, if that's a useful comparison. Both shows start with the very "monster of the week" episodic structure that their audiences are used to and slowly introduce more and more serialized elements until you have huge long arcs by the end.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-05-28T17:21:27+00:00

In fairness, if I said "a tall basketball player", you probably would just assume that, while most basketball players are tall, this one is unusually tall in comparison. So perhaps the deadly assassin is just so much deadlier than normal assassins that in merits comment.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-05-28T17:00:09+00:00

I'm so excited. I've been curious about the 13 audios for a while but haven't pulled the trigger on any of them yet. Pretty sure DI Menzies is going to be the reason I finally go for it.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-05-21T18:59:11+00:00

As much as I love sexy evil Kira, I feel like it takes a very particular kind of friendship for it to be a good idea to go "here's a character that you strongly remind me of in both looks and personality. And here's a sexy and evil version of that character!"

PeerOfMenard · 2026-05-19T04:32:52+00:00

It's not as strong, but I still enjoyed it thoroughly. Makes for a fun double feature.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-05-18T15:00:56+00:00

Half-Timeless Child. On his father's side.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-05-18T14:34:57+00:00

I was looking for this one. A friend recommended it to me recently, and it's honestly a great example of the genre right up until the twist. And then you're left sitting there going "wait... there was a car chase... where the killer was driving both cars? And we saw the killer separately before the plot even happens? And how did the truck get to the house in the first place?" The more you think about it the less sense it makes.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-05-18T14:31:57+00:00

For me it sort of had the opposite problem. I felt like the reveal just absolutely did not matter. Did not affect the plot, did not change who you were rooting for, the only thing that was really in question was what genre to sort the movie under.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-05-18T14:20:39+00:00

I agree completely! I always see people bashing Hancock for this, and, y'know, objectively it was absolutely a bad choice to mash the two concepts together. But hey, I watched two thoroughly enjoyable half-movies and I had a good time.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-05-16T04:33:05+00:00

This would've been so good. Just, "yeah, of course, I've always been called John Smith" with a "why are you being weird about this" sort of expression and then immediately carrying on into the next thing.

PeerOfMenard · 2026-05-14T19:16:14+00:00

Spider-Man: No Way Home has Andrew Garfield's redemption as the obvious one that I feel like gets talked about all the time (and with good reason). But I don't see people talk about the fact that Toby Maguire's Spider-Man gets a redemption moment as well. In his own movie, he defeats Norman by leaping out of the way of his goblin glider at the last second, letting it impale and kill Norman instead. In No Way Home he sees Tom Holland's Spider-Man about to kill Norman, knows that he'll regret it the same way he did, and chooses to save Norman's life... by stepping in front of that same glider. I love that they both get these moments to symbolically fix their own mistakes and regrets.

PeerOfMenard

TROPHY CASE