10 Times the Doctor Visited America

The Doctor has been all over time and space. Though the Time Lord hasn’t traveled to the Revolutionary War or the signing of the Declaration of Independence (as far as we know), the Doctor has been to the United States a small number of times. So to celebrate the Fourth of July, let’s revisit some of the times the Doctor came stateside. 

The Chase

It was a brief visit while on the run from the Daleks, but the First Doctor and his companions briefly ended atop the Empire State Building. The TARDIS crew encountered Steven Taylor’s 20th Century American doppelgänger before flying off in the TARDIS again.

The Gunfighters

Every science fiction epic needs a cheesy western story apparently. I can’t exactly recommend this one as a good Doctor Who story (not just because it features Dodo) but it definitely covers plenty of western cliches. And all because the First Doctor had a toothache. 

TV Movie

Of course this story took place in San Francisco when Fox had a chance to produce the Eighth Doctor’s adventures. While the movie was obviously not picked up to be produced in America, it kept the franchise alive enough to be revived by the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler. We’ll never know how the franchise would have been different if the movie had succeeded, but I would love to revisit the Doctor’s friends in California. 

Dalek

Bringing back the most iconic Doctor Who villain, the Ninth Doctor and Rose ended up in the near future (now in the past) in an underground vault near Salt Lake City. It showed a different side of Rose and the Dalek. Unfortunately, this story introduced us to the worst TARDIS companions since Dodo, the infamous Adam Mitchell. 

Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks

Despite this story featuring Spider-Man in New York City, it might be one of the cringiest and forgettable Dalek stories ever (except for maybe the Churchill one with the Dalek Power Rangers). Who’d have thought the Daleks would be involved in the construction of the Empire State Building? And just a few decades before the First Doctor would chance upon it. 

The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon

We start out in Utah again before heading to the White House and the FBI. And a conspiracy involving the moon landing and the most forgettable aliens. It was the beginning of the mystery surrounding the Doctor’s supposed death. No other Doctor has visited the Oval Office and only the Eleventh Doctor could handle it with that amount of poise.

A Town Called Mercy

Unlike “The Gunfighters” this Western story was decently enjoyable. It wasn’t my favorite of the Eleventh Doctor stories by any means, but it was a fun adventure in Nevada towards the end of Amy and Rory’s time traveling in the TARDIS. And this story had an alien twist on the Western, unlike the First Doctor’s toothache. 

The Angels Take Manhattan

Back to New York City for Amy and Rory’s farewell. For fans of the Ponds, it was an emotional farewell. For fans of the Statue of Liberty, you’ll never see the monument the same way again. And if you’ve been to New York, you know there are enough statues peppered through the city to give you nightmares after meeting the Weeping Angels. It’s a shame we haven’t seen them in such a central role since Manhattan though. 

Rosa

Say what you will about the Thirteenth Doctor’s tenure, but this is one of my favorite historical stories of Doctor Who ever. Because of the mixed races in the TARDIS team, we got a great vantage point to the story of Rosa Parks. I don't care what anyone says about Jodie Whittaker’s time on Doctor Who, this story was beautifully and tragically written, especially when Graham had to take the last seat on the bus. 

Lux

In case anyone is a little behind on Doctor Who this year, I’ll try to avoid being too specific here. But bringing our first purely non-white TARDIS team to the American south was brilliant. Though the story was based in 1950s Miami, very little had to do with the racial attitudes. I felt like there was a sprinkling of awareness before getting a commentary on storytelling and the fourth wall. I definitely need to watch this season again. 

So while my family is still more likely to watch Captain America or Independence Day for the Fourth of July, I enjoy the fact that the Whovian in me has some options too. Maybe I’ll watch some Weeping Angels in Manhattan while my wife and older daughter are out watching fireworks this weekend. Or it’s a good time to revisit Rosa Parks. Or maybe I should just keep working through the Fourth Doctor so that TJ and I can podcast about more Doctor Who. However you spend your Independence Day, I’m grateful we’re able to celebrate at all. Happy Fourth of July!

LDS Geeks Podcast #40: Twenty Years of Modern Who

I'm not sure any other franchise could celebrate its 60th anniversary and then its 20th anniversary two years later. Doctor Who is special like that and it fits the franchise well. So TJ and I had stop to talk about the modern era of Doctor Who, since we're not done with the Fourth Doctor's tenure yet. Enjoy!

--Spencer 

The Thirteenth Doctor

I recently finished rewatching the Thirteenth Doctor’s run before the Centenary Special. As we say goodbye to Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. Her run as the Time Lady was filled with controversy, largely because of the Timeless Child saga (but I covered that in a previous post). All the same, I enjoyed seeing her as the Doctor, so let’s celebrate her three-season run with a little recap. 

Series 11

Top Story: Demons of the Punjab
Sometimes I just really like these stories that have no supernatural villain. The “demons” in question are just there to mourn, which is beautiful. I also appreciated this episode more after watching Ms. Marvel and understanding a little more about Partition. There’s also the time loop version of time travel I love.

Flop Story: Witchfinders
Maybe it’s just hard dealing with impossible people, but I just got so annoyed with the witch hunters. Why couldn’t they just chill out, especially once the Doctor showed up? Granted, that’s discrimination for you… you can’t exactly logic yourself through it. The episode also felt like there were so many moving parts and it was resolved in a snap. A bit anticlimactic.

Honorable Mention: Rosa
As a white man, I have a hard time talking about racial issues, because I feel unqualified. However, even if you’re not a minority, I think the story of Rosa Parks can be inspiring to anyone who feels misunderstood or mistreated. Portrayed in this episode, it was heartbreaking to see how people treated Ryan, Yaz, and Rosa  (makes me reevaluate how I’m treating people around me too). Even more heartbreaking was seeing Graham forced to keep his seat on the bus and make history happen, no matter how wrong it felt to him. 

Series 12

Top Story: Fugitive of the Judoon
Return of the police rhinos from space! I think the last time we'd seen them as an antagonist was The Sarah Jane Adventures, so it's been a while! I loved the mystery of this story, introducing the confusion of who Ruth is and how she plays into the Doctor’s past. I’m probably one of the only people who liked this plot twist of more past Doctors. But we’ll get into that shortly with “The Timeless Children”. 

Flop Story: Praxeus
Not a bad story, per se. But again it had so many moving parts that I didn’t care for it. I can appreciate the message to protect the Earth and treat it right though. At least it wasn’t preachy about its “green” message, like Supergirl (they literally had a trash monster at one point–like something out of Power Rangers).

Honorable Mention: Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children
Unlike many of the more vocal Doctor Who fans, I enjoyed the idea of the Timeless Child. Unfortunately, I didn’t like how it was revealed (but I’ve covered that already). All the same, this story opened the door for so many other possibilities in Doctor Who. With Chibnall leaving and Davies returning, I doubt we’ll revisit it. But who knows? At least we don’t have to revisit the Doctor continually being given more and more regenerations… especially since the Time Lords are gone again…

Series 13

Top Story: The Vanquishers
A satisfying (mostly) way to round out the story of the Flux. While Chris Chibnall had written out UNIT the year before, we had them back again here, albeit very small. But I’ll take any chance to see Kate Stewart back, representing UNIT and her father. While overall I enjoyed this story, two things didn’t sit right with me. One, the Doctor just ditches her fob watch, after all that time searching? Not very satisfying. Two, what happened to the universe after the Flux? Is it back? Is it broken? Is it resetting? We get zero indication.

Flop Story: Eve of the Daleks
The 2022 New Years special left me wanting more. Maybe it’s because so many series have done the Groundhog Day thing already. I liked the Doctor’s scheming and how she had to adapt each time the loop started again, but it just wasn’t engaging for me, being thrown in with two new characters who are both awkward in their own right. And then there was Yaz confessing her feelings for the Doctor, to which I’ll refer you to my feelings about shipping the Doctor, regardless of gender.

Honorable Mention: Once, Upon Time
It was an interesting way to delve into the Doctor’s forgotten past and into the lives of her companions, while still keeping the story moving forward. I really enjoyed getting the Fugitive Doctor back, even just for a flashback (kind of). I hope we get to see more of her in the future stories. I doubt we will, with the change in showrunners, but I can always dream.

Centenary Special: The Power of the Doctor
I did a whole review of this special, but it needed a mention here anyway. We get the return of a number of Classic companions, primarily Ace and Tegan. The return of the Master and the return of various Doctor faces made this story heartwarming too. I would love more stories like this, with returning companions. And then that cliffhanger. Jawdropping.

COMPANIONS:

Yaz The Woman Who Fell to Earth - The Power of the Doctor
Ryan The Woman Who Fell to Earth - Revolution of the Daleks
Graham The Woman Who Fell to Earth - Revolution of the Daleks
Dan The Halloween Apocalypse - The Power of the Doctor

Favorite Companion: I probably liked him for the same reason I loved Donna Noble. The sense of adventure, plus the comedic timing from John Bishop being a professional comedian, lent well to making his character endearing and memorable. So while he was the shortest of the Thirteenth Doctor’s companions, he still outranks the other three to me. Also, he hit a Sontaran with a wok. How can you top that?

Least Favorite Companion: I’ve seen plenty of comments online over the years of people complaining about Yaz; I don’t want to do that. She was my least favorite of Thirteen’s four, but not for lack of character. She had some great growth, reminding me of Clara in a way (though plenty of people didn’t like her). Honestly, the biggest issue I had with her was the reveal of her being in love with the Doctor. It just seemed to come out of nowhere. No prior indication she was a lesbian. But I suppose that’s just how it is with people sometimes, closeted even to themselves.

And now we wait for the Fourteenth Doctor’s adventures in the 60th Anniversary Specials. If you need me, I’ll be watching some Classic Who on Britbox.

One of the great things about a female Doctor is being able to explore sexism in history,

Doctor Who Review: "The Power of the Doctor"

I’ve been a Whovian for nearly ten years (I started watching during winter semester 2013, so I’m only off by a couple months) and it’s been a long time since I was so antsy for a new Doctor Who episode. It was probably the 50th anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor” that fall that got me so pumped up. My anticipation for the Centenary Special “The Power of the Doctor” might have almost matched my excitement for the 50th. Returning villains, companions, and even Doctors. There’s no way to avoid spoilers in a review like this, so here’s your final spoiler warning. The only spoiler I’m actively avoiding is the cliffhanger of the episode (AHHHH!!!). Anyway, let’s jump in…

The “Extended Fam”

For the first time since Jo Grant Jones appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures, we got the return of a classic companion. But not only one, we got a few. The two major ones were Tegan (last seen in “Resurrection of the Daleks”) and Ace (last seen in “Survival”), but we got the return of Graham, Ian, Mel, and Jo. The Doctor called the group her “extended fam” shortly before her regeneration and extended they are. And did I see a little romantic spark between Ace and Graham?

A Few Old Favorites

Just as the Curator told us in “The Day of the Doctor” we got visited by a few old faces. Returning to help the Thirteenth Doctor in her mental landscape we got the First, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Doctors. In addition, the Fifth, Seventh, and Fugitive Doctors helped out in hologram form, encouraging the TARDIS team and tricking the Master and his Cybermen.

The Spy Master

Returning as the Master, Rasputin, and (temporarily) the Doctor, it was eerie to get Sacha Dhawan playing the role of the Doctor’s nemesis again. And he finally got around to stealing her body, like he tried to do in the TV movie! Only temporarily, thanks to Yaz and the gang, but it had my jaw dropping in the meantime. Even knowing the Doctor couldn’t possibly be gone for real, I couldn’t see how the TARDIS team would undo a forced regeneration.

Goodbye, Dan

I’m glad we got to see him at the end of the special, but I was disappointed to see Dan exit the TARDIS, especially so early in the episode. I really liked Dan during the Flux epic. His comedic air reminded me of Donna (probably because both actors are comedians). I had actually hoped he’d end up joining the Fourteenth Doctor in the Davies 2.0 era of Doctor Who. 

The Chibnall Loose Ends

With this being Chris Chibnall’s last Doctor Who story, I had heard we’d get more resolution to the Timeless Child arc and the Flux. Specifically, I want to know what the state of the universe is after the Flux. It was mostly destroyed. Is it back now? It seems so, but no one actually confirmed anything is back. And with the Timeless Child, we got a Ruth hologram during this episode, but we didn’t really get any resolution to the Doctor’s lost memories. I’m sure it’s always possible Russell T Davies will pick up one or both of these storylines, but I’m guessing he’ll just go his own direction next year.

And just like that we’re without the Doctor again for a time. No holiday special this year. Instead, we’re waiting for the 60th anniversary next fall. Allons-y!

Unpopular Opinions: Doctor Who

With Flux finally on HBO Max, I’ve taken the opportunity to begin rewatching the Thirteenth Doctor’s run in preparation for the Centenary Special and her regeneration. Like with the other Doctors, I’ll be writing a post about Thirteen’s adventures. In the meantime, I’ve pulled together some of my potentially unpopular opinions regarding the Doctor Who franchise, classic and modern. For simplicity, I’m going to use female pronouns for the Doctor (unless I'm talking about a specific regeneration), in keeping with her current regeneration. 

I don’t want to know the Doctor’s name

Over the years she has been known as the Doctor, Dr. Who, and John Smith. However, we’ve yet to learn her name. During the Eleventh Doctor era, we were led to believe we’d learn the Doctor’s name, only to find his darkest secret was a regeneration he’d buried deep down. As enticing as the Doctor’s name is, I think it’s better left a mystery. If we learned anything with the Timeless Child arc, it’s that the Whovian fandom will not agree on anything. Better to leave it a mystery.

Timeless Child is just fine

Speaking of the Timeless Child, let’s get into that. I took a long time to watch the Timeless Child arc, as I waited until it was on HBO Max. By then I’d seen rumors and spoilers about the Timeless Child and who they were. Also saw so many complaints about the writing team breaking Who canon… let’s be clear guys… there’s nothing in the Timeless Child that breaks canon. The Doctor Who canon and mythos is constantly evolving. Easy example: Regeneration wasn’t even thought of until William Hartnell got sick and needed to leave the show. So to add infinite regenerations before Hartnell and infinite regenerations afterwards, not really a problem for me. That being said, I didn’t like how it was revealed. It was a lot of exposition and the Master talking, instead of giving us pieces bit by bit until the Doctor puts it all together, which feels more Doctor Who.

Amy is overrated and lasted too long

For a long while, it seemed like all Doctor Who fans would know was the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond. So when she and Rory left, Clara was judged. In addition, these viewers who disregarded the previous Doctors (even the modern ones) created oodles of memes that made it seem like Matt Smith was the only Doctor. So while Amy Pond may be the favorite of many, she’s not my favorite. I didn’t like her throwing herself at the Doctor, while engaged and married to Rory. He deserved better. But you can read more about my opinions on Amy if you check out my Eleventh Doctor post.

Stop shipping the Doctor

It started with the Eighth Doctor kissing Grace, but then in modern Doctor Who it got out of control. Rose and Martha fell in love with Ten, Amy tried to jump Eleven, and now we’ve got Thirteen and Yaz. Thankfully that’s not even half the modern companions, but it’s enough that it’s become a stereotype. Every once in a while was one thing, but it happened so often between Ten and Eleven that it’s almost expected in the modern era.

Five, Seven, and Eight are underrated

When you talk to someone about classic Doctor Who, they’ll likely think of William Hartnell or Tom Baker, the first Doctor and the longest Doctor respectively. But they aren’t my favorite classic Doctors. My favorite would be between Peter Davison, Sylverster McCoy, or (if you include him in the classic era) Paul McGann. “Earthshock,” “Arc of Infinity,” “The Happiness Patrol,” “Remembrance of the Daleks,” and the TV movie among my favorites. So if you’re checking out classic Who, don’t limit yourself to just the Fourth Doctor (as cool as he is) and give the others a shot too.

What are your unpopular opinions of the Doctor Who franchise? Any overrated companions and Doctors? An episode you love that no one else does? Drop it in the comments and wait for someone to argue. In the meantime, I’m going to continue my re-watch of the Thirteenth Doctor (next up, “The Tsuranga Conundrum”).

2020: Year in Preview

2020 is fast approaching. So as I watch the new episodes of Runaways, here are some of my thoughts on stuff coming in the new year.

Doctor Who Series 12 (January 1)
We got confirmation recently that Doctor Who series 12 would be starting with a New Year’s episode this year. We’re gonna see more of the Thirteenth Doctor’s personality and of her companions’ lives. I’m looking forward to the return of different enemies. Judoon, Cybermen, and Daleks are all slated to appear. We’ve also got historical figures like Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison appearing. And an overall series arc, instead of just individual stories. It should be great!

Crisis on Infinite Earths (January 14)
SPOILER ALERT FOR PARTS 1-3
The December portion of this year’s Arrowverse left us hanging in… well, the Vanishing Point. We’ve got two more episodes left (the Arrow and Legends portions). Confirmed characters yet to appear are short (most of the confirmed characters were in the first three episodes); we can still expect appearances from Stargirl, some of the Legends (probably in their episode), and parts of Team Arrow (probably in their episode as well). I was really hoping to see more of Black Lightning, Clark Kent-167 (from Smallville), Huntress-203 (from Birds of Prey), and Superman-96 (from Superman Returns). But perhaps, like the final battle in Endgame, we’ll get all the heroes back together for a final battle in January.

Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna (February 21)
Premiering in Japan first, this new Digimon Movie later come to the United States in the spring. After the events of Digimon Adventure Tri, we’ll jump forward another few years. Everyone is slowly progressing towards their lives featured in the Adventure 02 epilogue. And finally we get the reappearance of the 02 kids! They were just silhouettes in Tri, but they’re back! It also looks like we might get a new Digivice (looks like a smartphone) and possibly a look at a level above Mega (previously only officially addressed in video games).

Onward (March 4)
Not a lot has been released about this new Pixar movie yet. We know it’s star-studded though: Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Octavia Spencer, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are all set to voice characters. The small amount that’s available tells us that we’ll be introduced to a world of magical creatures. However, it seems they’re losing their magic. I’m curious what the overarching plot will be. I’m looking forward to it.

Mulan (March 25)
Adding to the ever-growing list of Disney remakes, we’ve got Mulan coming in a few months. We’ve been told it’s going to be quite different from the cartoon. We won’t have the music, we won’t have Mushu, and we won’t have Shang. I’ve heard that it’ll be more accurate to the original Chinese legend. I’m honestly not sure how I feel about it (I loved Mushu and Cri-Kee) but I’m willing to suspend judgment until I see it.

Black Widow (May 1)
After years of waiting, fans finally get a Black Widow movie. As long as it’s not 100% fan-service, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it. We’ve got it set between Civil War and Infinity War. No indication that it’ll show us how she ends up with Cap and Falcon before Thanos’s goons come to Scotland. The recent trailer did show us that we’ll end up getting glimpses at Natasha’s past. Even if it’s not shown in explicit flashbacks, we’re likely to get some explanations at least. I’m hoping that we get some small tie-in to the future of the MCU. My brother had the idea that maybe there’ll be something with the Skrulls and SHIELD that’ll tie into the credit scene in Far From Home. I guess we’ll see.

Agents of SHIELD Season 7 (Summer)
No official release date yet, but we’ve got one last mini-season of SHIELD left. As the team blasted into the past, FitzSimmons were split up and Mack, Deke, and Daisy were brought in with May and Yo-Yo in critical condition. And on top of all that we got a Coulson Chronicom LMD joining the team. So into the early 20th Century we go, with different SHIELD personnel set to appear along the way. Since they had time to plan for this end, I’m optimistic for a solid ending.

Lizzie McGuire Reboot (???)
After almost two decades, Lizzie McGuire returns. Disney+ hasn’t announced a release date yet, but we have had some details of what to expect. We know that Lizzie and her family are coming back. Shortly after the reboot was announced, Gordo was announced to be returning. The part I’m looking forward to most is that animated Lizzie is coming back. Not adult animated Lizzie, but it should be teenage animated Lizzie, meaning she’s still a kid at heart (is that too cliche?). In the meantime, Lizzie McGuire and her movie are on Disney+ already.

Obviously not a comprehensive list, but just some things to get excited for. We know The Eternals and The Little Mermaid remake are set to release. What else are you waiting for?

5 Times the Doctor Directly Influenced History

The Doctor has been traveling through time and space (and our TVs) for 55 years now. Not counting spin-off material, that gives us 284 adventures that we know about (as of today). He's gone to the creation of the Earth ("The Runaway Bride") to the end of the universe ("Utopia") and he's influenced history (both in the past and future history), but there's only a handful of times that he's influenced historical Real World events.

Man's Discovery of Fire ("An Unearthly Child")
After accidentally traveling to the Stone Age, the First Doctor, his daughter, and their unwilling companions (Ian and Barbara) get caught in the middle of a tribal feud. In order to gain their trust, Ian makes fire for them. Teaching the tribe to make fire wins them enough points that they're able to leave in the TARDIS (even though it takes them a while to actually return to present-day London).

The Destruction of the Dinosaurs ("Earthshock")
The Fifth Doctor and his TARDIS team (Adric, Tegan, and Nyssa) end up in the middle of a 26th Century Cyberman plan, which includes an explosive freighter crashing into Earth, to prevent an anti-Cyberman alliance. The Doctor's team manages to change the freighter's course... into the past. Before Adric can stop it, it crashes into the Earth, killing him and (as they've travelled millions of years into the past) the dinosaurs as well.

Mount Vesuvius ("The Fires of Pompeii")
In an attempt to show Ancient Rome to Donna, the Tenth Doctor ends up taking her to Pompeii, the day before its destruction. They got flipped around, due to some oracles and a missing TARDIS, they ended up in the middle of an alien plot. In order to stop the Pyroviles from conquering the world, but the Doctor has to cause Vesuvius's eruption, sacrificing Pompeii to save the world.

Vincent van Gogh's Paintings ("Vincent and the Doctor")
Following a possible alien to the 1890s, the Eleventh Doctor and Amy meet Vincent. As they befriend Vincent, they track down the alien. Along the way, they learn of Vincent's depression (which will eventually lead to his suicide) and they drop hints along the way of paintings that Vincent will do. These paintings may have very well happened without the Doctor and Amy's interference, but in this version of events the Doctor and Amy lead Vincent to the sunflowers ("Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers") and the church ("The Church at Auvers").

Rosa Parks ("Rosa")
SPOILER ALERT FOR CURRENT SEASON
Trying to get her brand new TARDIS team back to 2018, the Thirteenth Doctor ends up in 1955 Alabama right before Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat. A time traveling racist comes back from Stormcage Containment Facility (same place River Song was imprisoned, FYI) and tries to rewrite history to stop the end of segregation and all the progression that came since. However, as they stop the time racist, the Doctor and her companions realize that (by taking up seats on the bus) they helped make history happen.

What did I miss guys? What historical figures and events did you enjoy from the Doctor's adventures? What events would you like to see?