I'll preface this by saying I have absolutely no issue with same-sex relationships in media. But claiming that Ellie and Dina have "undeniable" chemistry in the show is truly absurd. There was no buildup whatsoever to their relationship, and such an extreme lack of chemistry, every time they express romantic feelings for each other its cringeworthy. I think for it to make sense, either one of these actresses should have been recast - preferably Bella, because her range is limited in a way that is making the character clearly difficult for large swaths of the audience to connect with. And these reviews that gush about the show without acknowledging the drop in viewership in season 2 and vocal criticism from fans seem staged.

My greatest hope is that all of this is leading to an absolutely insane reveal that this Doctor and the previous one were never real and the real Doctor is trapped, with all this as a projection by the "God of Stories," retconning the entire Timeless Child storyline and revealing the real Doctor - Michael Sheen - at the end. It would save the show, redeem everything RTD has done, and explain all the divisive changes people have been so upset about. It would be an amazing triumph. Also I'm sure it's not happening.

I'll give you The Alternative Factor, but the rest of these should not be skipped. Sidenote - in reference to Miri, TOS had a "scientific theory" of parallel development of worlds that explained why several planets they visited mimicked Earth's development. This theory was scrapped when TNG got a bigger budget and the studio could afford to create different worlds rather than reuse old sets.

I'll preface this by saying I'm far left, so my issue has nothing with being "anti-woke" or whatever. But all the people who keep saying "Doctor Who has always been woke! Doctor Who has always been political!" don't seem to understand the difference between smart sci-fi that prods the audience toward progressive thought on social and moral issues and media that performs outright pandering and lecturing. Doctor Who has never been the latter. The irony is that once you trade smart writing and allegory for pandering and lecturing, the people you want to reach with progressive social messaging will, at best, tune out and stop watching. At worst they'll despise your project and attack it and become hardened against the progressive issues you claim to want to advance in real life, which is where we are currently with this show. It's become a societal net negative, which is heartbreaking when you consider what a positive force it was for years.

Show me the legions of fans who were clamoring for the Doctor to be more emotional. Who watched Eccleston, Tenant, Smith, or Capaldi and was like "this would be good if he cried more and talked about how scared he was"??? No one. The Doctor isn't just some "guy - he's a 1000+ year old Time Lord who watched his entire planet destroyed. JFC.

I honestly don't know why RTD has done what he's done with Doctor Who. I think when people say "Doctor Who has always been woke," they don't really understand the difference between being progressive and beating thee audience over the head. Doctor Who has always been progressive, certainly. It always used metaphor to address social issues, wrote assertive female characters when women were mostly relegated to damsels in distress, and was able to introduce characters like Captain Jack in a way that built good will from the majority of the audience - to such a degree that he earned his own spin-off. The writing was smart, pushed viewers to be kind and toward progressive ideas without insulting large swaths of them, and was truly inclusive. The problem isn't diversity - most of the critics of DW I've seen tend to love The Expanse, which is arguably the most diverse show of any genre ever made - but certainly sci-fi/fantasy. The problem is writing and storytelling vs tokenism. I'm a black female leftist, but I find tokenism insulting. I also think diversity and inclusion are fine goals. But i dont see that here. What i see is tokenism, writers indulging personal grudges, and a showrunner who actively hates large portions of his audience. RTD could have come in and saved this show - and so many of us expected that. He could have retconned the Timeless Children debaucle, brought back cool epic monsters, and cast a Doctor that would have excited viewers - I saw people clamoring for Michael Sheen, but I was partial to Kris Marshall since his character on Death in Paradise is basically the Doctor without the Tardis, and I had fantasies about him looking in a mirror and shouting "Finally ginger!" But Ncuti could have even been good if he were written in a way that didn't turn him into just "some guy" who runs from danger, dismisses the value of life if its too "incelly", cries all the time, and isn't particularly convincing as a mega-genius 1000+ year old alien.