Gallifreybase looks like its not coping - taking ages for the forum to load.

4 minutes ago, ElectroBoy said:

Gallifreybase looks like its not coping - taking ages for the forum to load.

Gallifrey Base about to be revealed as a wish and we come back to reality minus some of its posters 🙏

3 minutes ago, Calum said:

Gallifrey Base about to be revealed as a wish and we come back to reality minus some of its posters 🙏

Haha

Yeah some posters on there are awful tbf

Ncuti Gatwa is basically Colin Baker without the cancellation at the end.

Decent actor, working his own take on the character, in a time where the show is proving divisive with audiences, with poor scripts and a limited number of episodes in his tenure.

Thankfully RTD has left it open ended enough that Piper can be passed of as a temporary glitch if the decision seems unpopular.

Edited May 31May 31 by Severin

That bit at the end I’d actually seen rumoured but just assumed could not be true! Could be here for it.

This did a good job of wrapping things up. A shame the Rani went out quite quickly but I kind of knew they would keep Anita Dobson on somehow.

Only disappointment (aside from Ncuti going) was that Susan didn’t appear and nor was she mentioned.

Anita is an absolute icon.

53 minutes ago, T Boy said:

That bit at the end I’d actually seen rumoured but just assumed could not be true! Could be here for it.

Yeah the rumours had been online for some but i figured it was nonsense as it just seems to stupid to be true.

I have so many thoughts about this episode and I'm still reliving it in my head but I watched it at the cinema (first time I've done that for Doctor Who!) and it felt like such an amazing event. I loved the episode, so many amazing twists and turns. Anita's return was amazing, and I really adored the conversation between 15 and 13 - it addressed some of the lingering issues of 13's character head on (like how she felt about Yaz, and her inability to identify and discuss emotions). 15 and Belinda's conversation at the end was beautiful too, I'm really going to miss both Ncuti and Varada, and their dynamic, which has made this one of the best Doctor Who series in years.

I'm really sad Ncuti's not the Doctor anymore as I feel like he had so much more to give, but he's been so great in the role. If Billie really is the next Doctor, I'm here for it! She's an amazing actress so I know she'd play the role in a way where we don't even think about Rose. The credits do cast doubt on that, though, so I'm intrigued to see what happens now.

Gutted it seems like it'll be a while before the next episode but I know everyone involved will be working hard to get it back to us ASAP (with or without Disney), and I know it'll be worth the wait.

Just had a thought , this year is 20th anniversary of it returning to screens, is it just coincidence that regeneration into Rose

I don't think I've recovered from seeing Billie at all

Well that was a lot to take in! I needed a bit of time to process, now that I have done I think it was...good in parts, but it left me feeling a bit empty overall?defeated

While it was better than Empire of Death, I found it had a lot of the same problems of the big bad just being defeated too easily. The Rani was fantastic, but dispatched in one fell swoop and Omega looked very good, but the so called most powerful God ever seemed to be defeated instantly by what looked like a cosmic electric guitar! I also really liked Anita and Susan Twist coming back, but again, they did their bit and then they went! Just way, way too much going on, which tbf was always going to be a challenge with just eight episodes.

The second half was a lot better handled, The theme of one person slipping through the cracks and being forgotten is a good one, Whittaker's appearance worked really well (it's a shame that a lot of that iteration's best moments have come right in regeneration scenes) and the final scenes had some great lines. Not sure about Belinda's resolution though because while I got it to an extent, I'm just not sure how I feel about a companion that seemed much more direct and interesting than usual sacrificing doing literally anything in the final or any more character development just for this baby that pops out of thin air. It weirdly feels very anti-woke and against the ethos of the show, ironically!

As for THAT reveal...I'm caught somewhere between cynicism that this is blatant fan service to make up for the low ratings and intrigue as to what will happen with it. I would imagine it's linked to time not being quite right rather than Rose actually being the sixteenth Doctor. It's wonderful to see Rose back especially after she missed the anniversary specials, but I'm not sure how I'd feel about her as the actual Doctor. I'm not really worried about it being canned even without Disney, it's too big to do that and honestly I feel the people complaining constantly about it being woke are doing it a favour at this stage keeping it in the public discussion!

Also, I'm just a little sad about Gatwa. Maybe I'll feel differently when I've had time to reflect, but it doesn't feel like his time was up and this season he seemed to finally be growing into the character. He never fought the Daleks or any iconic villain (which I get they were resting, but they're iconic for a reason) or really had the development or the 'I AM THE DOCTOR' moment that others have had. I suppose the only thing he'll be remembered for is one that was much more emotional to the point of fault, yet I don't feel that was ever quite explored as much as it could've. I just hope it was his decision to leave and he wasn't forced out by negative media and execs looking to get ratings up.

According to "an insider" who has been far more accurate than not with the leaks:

This is from the original ending to Ncuti's second season:

^ Allegedly shot in May 2024. The Doctor wins and everyone celebrates at a party where the Vlinx is the DJ (!). At least Ruby is there as well, some suggestions a bunch of UNIT people. The camera was going to pan up to reveal Susan watching from above and then into the end credits. Whilst baby Poppy would have gone back to her original reality timeline.

The original plan was for there to be a third Ncuti series, with Belinda as his assistant, which would have been about Susan, linking all the way back to Hartnell's Doctor, and trying to sort out the remaining timey-wimey leakages, Timeless Child, and "mavity" issues with the big bad being "The Boss".

However, as Disney wanted to do a wait and see before signing off the $$$ for a 3rd series taken up to the end of the agreed 26 episodes with the BBC, that meant filming could not begin (between August & December 2024 as originally planned, as Disney were more interested in filming The War Between the Land and the Sea spin off instead), so rather than leave Ncuti in limbo to miss out on potential acting roles, he decided to exit the role. Resulting in a hasty rewrite/edit, and in February 2025 filming his blue screen regeneration; with #13 cameo in the Tardis; and the Poppy is Belinda's baby retcon were all filmed.

So the final scene we all saw as a headline grabbing reveal is RTD's equivalent of a Screensaver....

So blame Disney!

Shared from HavenForum

That would make sense, because when Anita said your boss says hi, it did feel like was setting up a 3rd run with Ncuti

Plus that picture was used in teasers but didn't happen

Edited June 1Jun 1 by 777666jason

I'm sad that Ncuti has gone, he was a good doctor imo. I was pleased that this episode didn't finish halfway through because I was completely underwhelmed by how the story about the Rani was wrapped up, just a really chaotic mess of a story and a total waste of Archie Panjabi who I hoped was going to end up being a recurring villain like the Master - how wrong was I! I mean, after all that to just be picked up and casually eaten was such an anticlimactic way for her to bow out and one of the worst bits of story writing I think the show has had this season...

...but fortunately it didn't end there and instead Ncuti got a chance to play out his final episode in a much more reflective and deserving manner. I really enjoyed the second half of it, even if it did have the impending dread feeling when you know someone is going to soon. He just had much more room to breathe and actually act, and portray a much more poignant ending than the chaos that had come from the first part with far too many characters all rushing round for no real reason. I liked the joke around it not being the one who always shows up when Jodie arrived too... I'd have loved for them both to stay and somehow play out a third season with both versions of the doctor trying to repair the remaining time issues - that could have been great and I think the two would have worked really well together.

As for Billie Piper... I'm neither here nor there about it really. I was more wtf than excited by it though. If she does stay on as a doctor then I just hope she gets better scripts than the past couple of main ones have!

Anyone fancy some crudités and dips?

I think I've had enough time to take in everything that happened now. Honestly, my one constant feeling at the moment is still deep sadness that Ncuti's gone (I can't recall feeling like this at the end of any other Doctor's tenure, and I think it's because there's so much 'what could've been', 'what if', etc). It's pretty clear this was not the plan all along and that he's had to jump ship with so much uncertainty. And it's a massive shame. We have lost an actor that - no matter what you think - poured his heart and soul into the role and made it his own. After a bit of a shaky start in season 1, from Joy to the World onwards he truly looked and felt comfortable and was, without question, the Doctor. This episode firmly reiterated all of that. It gave him a beautiful send-off with some very poignant, touching moments even if it does feel we were robbed of a lot of the filling in between.

If the Disney deal is to continue the BBC have to take a much firmer stance and ensure they can retain talent for extended periods of time. Whether it's cementing a deal that means a Doctor's entire era can play out as planned, or surrendering to trying to grab big-name stars and giving us another Matt Smith that can stay with the show in these periods of limbo. Ncuti could've very easily filmed another two seasons back-to-back before this regeneration story came to light, I reckon. But they've fumbled and made the mistake of letting Disney wield power and control over the situation.

I fear a lot of the hyperbolic online discourse about how bad this episode supposedly was is resting on the fact that people are bewildered/annoyed/frustrated at Billie returning, and in that capacity. Sure, I somewhat agree that it's not a great look having such a culturally monumental Doctor's era bookended by two nostalgia-baiting and - most likely with Billie as well as David - short-term Doctors for special(s). But I'm very intrigued to see what happens and Billie will be amazing whatever happens.

The Rani... well that was camp having her just picked up like a punnet of grapes and devoured by Omega Again, a lot of the reactions I'm seeing to that seem a bit OTT. Could we have had more of a build-up and more time with Archie before that happened? Sure. Could Omega have featured more or been alluded to earlier to make it seem less random? Sure. But her plan made sense, there was enough of an explanation there to make it acceptable for the very being she was obsessing over and wanted to 'use' to achieve her goal of a new Gallifrey just... being more powerful in that moment than she could've imagined and not giving her the time of day. One thing that irked me slightly though is I wish it could have been Mrs Flood that was eaten instead. Do we really expect to still be able to see Anita Dobson return however long down the line, or can we live in hope that Archie Panjabi would be open to returning should they explain away how she blasted her way out of Omega's bony stomach? It doesn't feel like we've had a lesser-than-deserved Rani or Omega story, in my opinion.

Ruby was sensational in this episode. I've given her a bit of a hard time throughout the era but Millie really smashed every scene. Her scene with Conrad, and then her frustration at being the only one to remember Poppy, and what really broke me was the scene in the TARDIS. The heartbreak seeing her just stood there watching the Doctor and Belinda as Poppy's jacket faded to nothing. That was so powerful. I'm willing to excuse how convoluted the conclusion to Belinda's storyline became with the moving of the timeline because it was all just a really beautiful ending for this group of characters. Was also great to see Anita back even if relegated to holding a door open for 45 minutes after her initial re-introduction, that was a lovely touch bringing the era full-circle regardless of whether bringing her back was always part of the plan.

All in all I'm pretty satisfied with that as a finale and as a regeneration story (and it helps Wish World hold its own, I think), despite how quickly it's come about and under the circumstances. Ncuti, you have been unforgettable.

Whilst I don't think Piper will end up playing The Doctor for anything more than a handful of episodes I don't feel, once again, RTD has fluffed an open goal.

If the logic behind the ending stems from the 'visit old faces' line there were two golden opportunities to hit it out of the park.

Paul McGann would be popular with old and new fans and is on record saying he'd love to.

Or bring back the 'Fugitive Doctor' where you give her a run and either address or ignore the Timeless Child.

Either would win many hearts and minds gar better I feel

Rematches the Omega episodes just to see what all the fuss was about and they were definitely wasted here, yes the appearance makes sense after being stuck in the anti matter universe and with classic who appearances he was so different, but he had actual story, here he was just in out wasted 🫣