At this point, I’m comfortable assuming that the Beeb wants it released in December, Disney doesn’t, and neither party cares to budge.

I have a personal policy of not altering headlines, but the style that Radio Times uses is awful on many levels.

Luv 2 barge into threads with barely-related rants…

They’re related to the Silurians, aka homo reptilia, so I would suggest that ship sailed quite some time ago.

He’s very obviously being cheeky…

Yeah, I agree - I think he did plenty of promotion.

The official announcement contains this gem:

The series is produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for the BBC and Disney Branded Television and will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK in December, and exclusively on Disney+ outside of the UK (where available) in 2026.

I thought the Disney deal was unquestionably a good thing at the time, too - it looks like it went as badly as it possibly could have, though.

As for RTD…I honestly thought he delivered two typical RTD seasons. A few absolutely terrific episodes, a bunch of silly camp, and unbelievably messy finales. Not too different from his original run, IMO.

That’s what he does best!

I feel like the obvious rewrites to cover Gatwa’s exit were so jarring, it’s hard to feel overly positive about the twist.

But taken in isolation…IDK, there’s potential there. It’s all about the execution.

With RTD still on board, he’s all but guaranteed to do…whatever it is he has in mind with Billie Piper.

Whether it’s a one-off or an ongoing thing is pretty hard to say.

A “search for the Doctor” arc could actually be an interesting change of pace, assuming Piper isn’t playing the Doc.

The BBC just confirmed that the show will continue and will return with a Christmas special in 2026 penned by showrunner Russell T. Davies.

Good. Let’s just put it all behind us and move forward.

I’m glad we’re finally dispensing with, “this was always the plan.”

We’ve also had cases where the shows are produced in a reasonable amount of time, but the streamers sit on them for months. Over in Trekland, the new Starfleet Academy show wrapped its first season back in February, and has started filming the second season…but that first season won’t see the light of day until early 2026.

I don’t think it’s controversial to say that the Disney deal has ultimately been a bust - I thought it was a good idea at the time, and I’m among those who think the “new” series has been creatively fine, more or less, but there’s just too much uncertainty.

Unfortunately, the BBC seems to be in a bit of a state right now, as well…

I’m going to try something different this time and type out my thoughts in real time. That’s sure to make them more coherent and less disjointed…right?

The effect of materializing the TARDIS around Rose is cool.

It’s interesting that the Doctor talks about the Time War in somewhat abstract terms - it’s his people that destroyed the Daleks - but the Dalek Emperor seems to lay the blame more squarely on the Doctor.

This is the first “Oncoming Storm” nickname. I’d honestly forgotten where it came from.

A little convenient that the Emperor’s ship just happened to be the one that survived the end of the war.

The whole “we’ve been hiding on Earth for centuries” thing really makes no sense, and has no emotional resonance for me at all. We probably needed to see some of the humans they speak of being converted.

That said, a Dalek cult is a fun idea.

The sound mix is terrible, and I can barely make out the dialogue.

My library-issued DVDs are scratched, so I missed the scene where the Doctor tricks Rose into going home. From what I remember, it’s pretty good.

The scene in the restaurant is great - I love Rose and Jackie’s debate over whether the battle is happening 200,000 years in the future, or right now. And good on Mickey for helping Rose, despite the things she’s saying about there being nothing for her in the present being incredibly hurtful. The scene where Rose tells Jackie she met Pete is also dynamite.

It’s a lot of fun watching the civilians getting picked off. Waht can I say - I like these sorts of stories. RTD’s bloodlust is in fine form here, and he gives each of them just enough characterization for you to give a damn, if only a little.

I wonder if there’s an alternate universe - maybe the one in which Eccleston had stayed on - where Rose doesn’t survive staring into the heart of the TARDIS, and regresses to an infant or something.

Billie Piper is decent as the Bad Wolf entity, but it’s interesting to see the contrast between this and her second time 'round in “The Day of the Doctor”.

Hey, who’s this new guy? He’ll never last.

This episode belongs to Christopher Eccleston, and he makes the most of it, running the full spectrum of the Ninth Doctor’s emotions. He turns on a dime from despondent, to aloof, to furious, and everything in between.

And that’s a wrap on series 1. I think it’s a pretty mixed bag overall - they’re definitely still figuring things out. But there are flashes of brilliance throughout. It’s definitely not my favourite series, but Eccleston will be missed.

I find it interesting that Capaldi seems quite determined to stay away from the role now that he’s out of it.

It’s absolutely his right…but it’s interesting.

From the sounds of it, what it is is “expensive”.

the implication is that the Daleks have been pushing things for a lot longer than just 100 years anyway.

Yeah, I’m not convinced that the Daleks’ Master Plan actually makes any sense, but I’m prepared to withhold judgment until I’ve rewatched the big finale.

“Society collapsing into a horrifying regime way more quickly than you’d expect” is actually a bit of an RTD running theme, and…I think history is on his side there, to be honest.

I kept putting this off all week, dreading The Reality Show Episode. On rewatch…it’s silly and dated, but I didn’t actually mind it.

Oddly prescient for them to feature game shows that are still around 20 years later.

The episode itself is pretty thin, though: the Doctor, Rose, and Jack get separated into different reality/game shows, discover that losers get killed, and find a way to esacape. The highlights are Eccleston and Piper’s performances - they both do terrific work here, selling the emotions that they go through quite well.

They probably could have done more with the fact that Rose had to play that entire “Weakest Link” episode, sending quite a few people to their deaths.

Jack is…present. He seems somewhat stilted again, much as he did in “The Empty Child.”

The guest cast all turn in good performances, which help elevate the overall episode.

I can’t decide if setting the episode on Satellite 5 100 years later was simply an excuse to reuse the sets (which I likely would not have recognized anyway), but confronting the Doctor with the revelation that he’s the cause of this divergence in history works pretty well.

And, of course, the whole thing is a setup for the full-on return of the Daleks in the big finale. The weight of their reveal is really felt, with the heavy lifting having been done back in “Dalek”.

I don’t know, this feels like a pretty scattered collection of thoughts, but…it’s that kind of episode.