See the thing is with Doctor Who these days for me is this.
Twice Upon A Time was the last genuinely good Story of Doctor Who until The Star Beast. But the last genuinely great/masterpiece Story though was World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls. Shortly after watching it, although I didn't think much of it at the time, I considered the idea that it could've been the end. As in, the definitive ending to the show. It was sheer perfection from start to finish and he could've went out in a literal blaze of glory blowing up the Cybermen. But hey, I looked forward to Whitaker years and how it was supposed to feel like the classic series.
It all sucked. For ages, I really did consider World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls as the end as I believed it was beyond salvageable.
But then Tennant and Tate came back in three Stories which ranged from being good to excellent. The 14th Doctor was like the 10th but with the more annoying traits reigned in. Tate was as brilliant as ever. It had the best ever interior TARDIS design. Yes looked at as a whole they weren't perfect (male-presenting time lord nonsense) but really for those couple of weeks, we ALL sat down as a family to watch it again and liked it. it felt like all was well, and that the 15th Doctor had a fixed and well oiled machine to pilot going forward.
And being honest, he (and RTD) didn't fail entirely to keep it going. He's actually a good Doctor when he isn't upset (more on that later). His chemistry with Ruby was brilliant. Some Stories were good like Boom, 72 Yards, Dot and Bubble and some of The Legend of Ruby Sunday/Empire of Death.
But then yes, he keeps on crying. It was actually perfect in Boom as it made sense in that context (even if Baker survived a land mine and didn't cry) but he just kept on doing it! Why?!? By the end it looked pathetic!
What was up with the Space Babies? The Devils Chord was just a below average remake of 2023's The Giggle. Rogue was boring.
I sadly had the Sutekh reveal spoiled but that aside, it still had the hairs up on the back of my neck even if other parts of The Legend of Ruby Sunday were boring.
Empire of Death? I liked UNIT vs Sutekh (whoever would've thought that would be seen onscreen even a year ago?). I liked when all the UNIT regulars died at first as I thought it was a genuinely bold way to sell Sutekh as a threat... But then Ruby's stepmom died too and when that happened you just knew that a reset was coming akin to The Last of the Timelord's. I didn't mind it there as I didn't expect it then, but I fully knew exactly what was coming here by the end. I wanted more action between the Doctor and Sutekh: like when he dominates Baker at the start of Pyramids of Mars Episode 4 but we didn't get enough. We DID get to see him take Sutekh for a walk though?!? Meh. I liked the end with Ruby meeting her real mum though.
So I'm saying it's a mixed bag thus far. I'm not happy Ruby is leaving as she's one of the assets thus far. The viewing figures are also concerning. I just get a general vibe that the show is poised for another rest after one or two more Series. And honestly, that might not be a bad thing if it ends up coming back later completely revitalised.
But at least we got the three Tennant/Tate specials. For now, they're feeling very much like how I felt with World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls, especially Wild Blue Yonder and The Giggle. It could be that they're the last really good episodes we ever get...
As a comparison, I looked forward to and enjoyed Cobra Kai Season 6 MUCH more this year than Doctor Who. I did look forward to the finale but I mean... Yeah. At least we have 1963-2017 and 2023.
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