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February 2nd, 2020 50 comments

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What Did You Think of Praxeus?

Now that the Sixth episode of series 12 has aired what did you think? Was it everything you had hoped for or not what you expected.

What connects a missing astronaut in the Indian Ocean, birds behaving strangely in Peru and a US naval officer who washes up on a Madagascan beach? Team Tardis investigate.







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50 comments

  • TimeLordParagon

    February 3rd, 2020 - 12:07pm

    Completely agree with The Watcher. And BooBoo, having opinions that aren’t praising the show doesn’t constitute being called a “moaner”. Recognising that the Bbc are attempting to put everything into the show now, CGI and known guest actors but still finding it rubbish doesn’t make you a moaner. Finding preachy scripts, far from escapism doesn’t make you a moaner. And finally finding a lack of subtlety to political statements doesn’t make you a moaner. RTD was amazing at subtlety whilst still keeping a story

    Reply
    • booboo

      February 3rd, 2020 - 12:13pm

      My comment was a reply was to another user (Davros) that used that word NOT me. Some people seem to imply its unique to this site and just pointing out it very much isn’t.

  • prototype dalek

    February 3rd, 2020 - 12:01pm

    Overnight viewing figures at 3.97 million, certainly in to Series 10 territory now.

    I know some people might claim a small loud minority hating for the sake of hating, and there is probably some that are. Though figures show that less people are tuning in each week, even after consolidation with 7 day and +4 screen they are still 3 million on average less than that of series 11 and over 1.5 million less since episode 1 of this current series.

    Conclusion, how ever you put it, less people are watching the show and this is a majority or an equal to those who still enjoy it, it is certainly not a small minority anymore.

    Episodes 3 and 4 were 2 of the lowest 10 episodes ever watched since the revival in 2005, this means the lowest rated episodes are now across Series 9, 10 and 12, and even Series 9 managed to achieve an average rating of 6.03 million per episode, Series 12 after the first 4 consolidated episode’s average at 5.88 million per episode, the second lowest watched series after Series 10. Even viewing figures in America are on the decline as well as here.

    People may think they are being funny when they say haters gonna hate or cue the ranting, but a lot of people, more than what seems to be acknowledged do not like the series, whether to do with Jodie, the Writing, or it being to PC, in the end the not so small loud minority are tuning out. People are more than welcome to hate it or love it, no one is forcing either upon anyone, people who don’t like it may still watch it, maybe not for something to hate on purpose but to not give up on Doctor Who, it’s either than or let the ratings drop by more than they have.

    If you love the episode’s, keep on watching it. If you hate it, just stop watching. If someone dislikes it, don’t tell them they are wrong, everyone has an opinion. Calling people “your not a true doctor who fan” just because they don’t like her is just a silly statement, quite a few people didn’t like the Capaldi or Colin Baker era, though I don’t see them argument used then. You can’t pick and choose, you either stick up for them all or none of them, not just stick up for Jodie but let any criticism for anyone else slide. If you don’t like her then say why you don’t, not just an empty statement of I hate her because I hate her.

    Whether you like it or not, viewership in Doctor Who is going down very fast. If only a few people didn’t like it then this wouldn’t happen, this isn’t the case and it is happening, before making assumptions about things, take this in to account that interest is declining no matter how much you love or hate her.

    Reply
  • The Watcher

    February 3rd, 2020 - 11:47am

    Come on now people, writing massive paragraphs about supposedly good things in an episode to drown out all the negative reviews/remarks doesn’t work. Let’s be honest, most of you probably barely, if ever, criticise the show now out of fear the Beeb are going to give it the chop or you’re too fearful of how the vocal minority who seem to dictate what is good Doctor Who now will say.

    The show’s been in a downwards spiral for years now, not just since Chibnall and Whittaker came along. It’s no good pretending it’s not or that those two have fixed some of the problems. People want escapism in their entertainment, not be preached to and have message rammed down their throats. This overt political agenda is ugly and not needed. If this is the future of the show, I believe it wont just be in a downwards spiral, it will be in a death spiral.

    Reply
  • The Moffat Paradox

    February 3rd, 2020 - 10:12am

    Anonymous the only head of the modern series that really knew overall what he was doing was RTD and this nadir since Chibnall is also partly Moffat’s legacy.

    I said last week I thought after “Fugitive Of The Judoon” that if it was with a seemingly established story arc precipitous to now judge everything yet but if we get BIG fluctuations in episode quality before we even GET to that point.

    And when was there a really noticeable drop in the quality of episodes in the Tennant/Smith eras? Oh yes when someone like Chibnall wrote them.

    Reply
  • Anonymous

    February 3rd, 2020 - 9:03am

    I think it is a trait of all sci fi fans, right?

    The loud minority of Star Wars fans are never happy with films and always think they can do better. The same goes for Star Trek fans and Doctor Who fans. I think constructive criticism is essential. Obviously the silly comments contribute nothing and are just ignored. When RTD took over, fans complained about him (I for one think some of the 9th and 10th Doctor episodes are very poor indeed but was just so happy the show was back), then people complained about SM (this is my personal favourite era of DW but I completely understand why it wasn’t for everyone) and now, surprise surprise, Chibnall is being hammered.

    The sad thing is, all 3 of these head writers grew up as fans and were part of a movement that kept DW alive during it’s time off air. Yet they are being pelted with a lot of hate as if they are part of some faceless corporate writing team with no emotional connection to the show. These are fans who actually got off their bums and did do better.

    One thing to note, I’ve been watching DW since the late 70s and fans complained about the “new stuff” even back then. Although it wasn’t as easy to rant back then. With a few clicks of a phone screen, everyone now is a TV Critic.

    As for this episode. I enjoyed it. A lot.

    Reply
  • The Ergon

    February 3rd, 2020 - 8:43am

    I thought we were going to have Constructive comments. Although i have struggled with jodies portrayal of The Doctor, there are some scenes where she at least is trying to define her character. This for me works best when she explains the science and with the help of her friends, (sometimes her companions just seem surplus to requirement when they add new characters to the mix) can defeat a threat without swishing the sonic as she tends to do a lot and has been mentioned before on this page but unless her character goes ‘dark’ like Mccoys did, i don,t know what more she can do with the part. I have to agree that she does seem out of her depth when up against someone like Jo Martin who instantly owned The Doctor role. She has improved slightly in the last few stories but i,d like her Doctor to be more commanding and assertive And not trying to be funny. Comedy is not her forte’.

    Reply
  • Anonymous

    February 3rd, 2020 - 8:29am

    In all honesty i was gripped from start to finish – which is not always the case, well done to all, really enjoying this series I feel Jodie is really growing in to the role whilst Yaz gets better & better and is starting to remind me a bot of Sara Jane.

    Reply
  • Davros

    February 3rd, 2020 - 7:08am

    These episodes aren’t any worse, or better, than a LOT of David Tennant’s episodes and yet the negative posters here rip every one to shreds.

    While the poll votes show the silent majority – ie. those who have better things to do than moan, moan, moan – are enjoying them for what they are. 50 minutes of drama/sci-fi to pass a bit of Sunday evening.

    Why don’t some of the moaners tell us how they would do it better?

    Even moaning about the Doc referring to her companions as mates. Just tedious nitpicking.

    I just know if this was 1975 they would be on here every Saturday night telling us how rubbish Genesis Of The Daleks is and that Tom Baker needed to go.

    Reply
    • booboo

      February 3rd, 2020 - 7:26am

      This site is not unique in having its “moaners”, like it or not its everywhere not just here.

  • Jordan9364

    February 3rd, 2020 - 1:58am

    Nope. Not good at all. In fact, the family found it entertaining, but only because some parts were laughably bad. To me, felt like a ‘greatest hits’ of everything wrong with Chibnall’s era. I’m not trying to hate, just disappointing compared to the decent other few episodes (bar Orphan 55)

    Reply
  • Time Maker

    February 3rd, 2020 - 1:43am

    My Top 5 favourite Parts of Praxeus

    * A great episode that shows the dangers of humanity’s wasteful attitude towards the environment without it feeling like the episode blames the viewers. the scenes of the Indian ocean were so detailed that I wonder if that was live footage which is deeply worrying and a subtle reminder that humans as a whole need to start working harder to save our planet. seeing all the plastic bits inside the birds stomach was to me both a shock and a tragic realization that too many animals are suffering from the results of humanities careless behaviour.

    * The threat of a spreading virus caused by aliens who are using the whole planet as a test subject to find a cure is a creative new way for earth to be under attack and also a great way for the doctor to have conflicting opinions for these mysterious humanoid aliens by admiring their intelligence and technology while disgusted by their lack of morality for experimenting on innocent humans to save their own skin.

    * The Animation for the attacking birds was a incredible and frightening work of CGI art that rivals the film “The Birds” and the close up shots of their attacks in the dark worked great to boost this episodes fear factor.

    * The Acting of the companions I feel has greatly improved in this episode and Yaz is starting to show more independence in this episode and the slight tension between her and the Doctor makes for some good character building, It was also great to see Ryan using some resourceful skills that greatly helped and it was nice to see Graham doing his part to fix a strained marriage having been married himself.

    * The Reveal of the gay partnership between the astronaut and the former police man was probably the best representation of gay characters since Madame Vastra and Jenny. these two guys were both very different but likeable in their own ways and I felt the episode didn’t make the fact they were gay a big fuss as it portrayed them realistically, issues came up between them due to each others differences but they managed to work through it and proved their loyalty and love for each other, and thanks to the Doctor this couple gained a well deserved happy ending.

    While this episode may not have been the most exciting I still found it to be a decent example of a regular day for the Doctor and her Tardis crew saving the world, probably the only thing I didn’t agree on is that Ryan and especially Graham seemed a little too Dim at certain moments. considering Graham had cancer and was in hospital for a long time I was surprised he didn’t know what a pathogen was.

    Reply
  • Mick C

    February 3rd, 2020 - 1:26am

    I can now guess what one of the episodes for season 14 will be,
    Fire Monsters.of the Outback.
    Jodie and the team visit Australia to counter a group of Sentient Fire Monsters running around the Australian Bush setting fire to everything as well as evaporating up all the Water.
    Chibnell surely won’t miss another chance to serve up his environmental messages.

    Not a bad episode 7/10 for me.

    Reply
  • The Moffat Paradox

    February 3rd, 2020 - 12:52am

    Mediocre, mediocre, mediocre ! Sorry obviously, even if there is a rally with the odd episode, my personal conception and expectation of what Doctor Who should be (regardless of gender) and what actually is on offer are fundamentally at odds if this can ever get past Chibnall

    Reply
  • Doctor Mysterio

    February 3rd, 2020 - 12:24am

    You know what, I’m really enjoying this season of Doctor Who!
    I read these same old comments each week from all the doomsters and the gloomsters but I just don’t get their negativity. Yes, Orphan 55 was a poor episode, but it is not alone in this fact as there have been more than a few stinkers over the years (Fear Her, Sleep No More, The Rings Of Akhatem etc). Hwever, the rest of the series this year has been pretty fantasic.
    Firstly, this episode looked great. Plot wise it hit the ground running and then carried on at great pace. It found enough for the series regulars to do. The science was a bit shaky obviously, but still not as silly as say, the Doctor saving the humans in New Earth.
    Secondly, Jodie was great again in this episode. I think at times that her Doctor is poorly written, and suffers from there being too many series regulars, but given good material, she absolutely shines, and like last week she does here again. No one can be in any doubt now that the Thirteenth Doctor has arrived and is here to stay.
    Thirdly, I was disappointed that last week’s events weren’t touched on this time, but given that so much was going on, I can understand why. But It is great that seeds can be sown for a series or multi series arc as well as having stand alone stories too.
    Lastly, I’ve seen almost all episodes of Doctor Who, classics more than new, and this story wouldn’t have been out of place in either the Pertwee, Ecclestone or Tennant eras. It is great that Doctor Who can change so much and yet still be the same show.
    Admittedly, Series 11 wasn’t the best season, but with a new production team coming in, they had a lot to learn. Much as RTD once did. But this year they have found their feet and gained confidence. There’s some bold storytelling going on here, and until we know the full story, we won’t all appreciate it fully. But the show still seems to be in safe hands now. Let’s celebrate it, that’s why we are here, after all. We are being spoilt again. I remember hiatus and cancellation and wishing for so long the series was back on air. I remember the disappointment that McGann was for one night only. I remember buying the early Big Finish stories… on cassette! I’d have given anything for this series then, and I therefore intend on enjoying it! Who’s with me?

    Reply
  • Anonymous

    February 3rd, 2020 - 12:02am

    I really enjoyed that. A good old romp of an adventure.

    Reply
  • Doctor Stu

    February 2nd, 2020 - 10:11pm

    I thought it was fairly good, I don’t understand the hate, tho I suppose in 2020 and the existence of outdated attitudes explained some of the hate. The plastic message was subtle and actually worked with the plot as opposed to the third episode where it just didn’t really and was beat around our heads. The couple were really nice and the scene when he takes control of the ship was actually really tense. Overall I really enjoyed it, sure it wasn’t as good as last weeks but was anyone actually expecting it to be? It’s like watching Journeys End and then expecting ‘the next doctor’ to be the exact same quality

    Reply
  • The Ergon

    February 2nd, 2020 - 9:33pm

    In the scene where Jake is walking down that alley with all the lanterns in Hong Kong and before the doctor made the comment about Autons, it got me thinking of that Lost Robert Holmes scripted story’Yellow fever and how to cure it’ which was set in singapore, which would have been far superior story.

    Reply
  • Trenzalore

    February 2nd, 2020 - 9:27pm

    I quite enjoyed it, sure it wasn’t as good as last week but it was still above average and far superior to stories like Orphan 55, Tsuranga and Arachnids – this is one of the few times I think some of the comments calling it awful are unjustified.

    For such a large cast they were utilised quite well and all contributed to the story, I especially thought Yaz had a great episode, probably one of her best as you can see the Doctors impact on her – wonder how that will turn out though! There were a few scenes where Jodie actually felt like the Doctor and I just wish we saw more of that as well as more of the Doctor-Companion dynamic we had here in previous episodes – it sometimes felt like the characters were acting how they should act after having spent a lot of time with the doctor, however this development is absent in previous episodes where they still act as if they’ve only been with the doctor a few weeks, so I guess I’m trying to say the character development isn’t consistent which detracts from what we saw here for me.

    The dangers of pollution was tackled much better than the climate change issue tackled by Orphan 55 – instead of making us all feel bad it simply raised awareness of the issue which was great. Finally I enjoyed seeing a same-sex couple being written the same way a heterosexual couple would be written, its nice to have lgbt represented in a normal way on TV.

    Reply
  • The Temporal Jelly Baby

    February 2nd, 2020 - 9:23pm

    Some interesting stuff, with the virus attaching itself to microplastics and so on…yet quite unexciting. The message about plastic pollution is certainly worthwhile, though again not exactly subtle. Also, as a side-note, the foes missing really easy targets early on took away from the believability of that scene. It’s nice to have some proper gay representation though, and the scene with Jake flying the ship is fairly tense.

    Overall, there’s nothing particularly bad about it but it did feel quite bland. Doctor Who shouldn’t feel bland. A definite disappointment after ‘Fugitive of the Judoon’, but still at least better than Orphan 55.

    Spyfall: 7.75/10
    Orphan 55: 4.7/10
    Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror: 7.25/10
    Fugitive of the Judoon: 8.85/10
    Praxeus: 5.5/10

    Reply
  • The Prydonian

    February 2nd, 2020 - 9:07pm

    Rubbish. Jodie is awful. Dialogue awful. Companions ( sorry mates) awful. Story awful. Either so much exposition to explain what is happening or happened off screen filling in the story, or that plank of wood JW describing what the viewer is seeing. Some nice shots but this is bad. I can’t be bothered to type my feelings

    Reply
  • UKWhovian

    February 2nd, 2020 - 8:48pm

    We (wife and I) enjoyed that thoroughly. 10 out of 10.

    A solid alien menace story with an eco twist that wasn’t thrust down your throat like in Orphan 55. I could easily see that as a 3rd Doctor (Pertwee) story made modern.

    Yaz is evolving and seems to be growing disillusioned with the Doctor, she seems to be getting more and more fed up with the Doctor not interfering more to save people, hence her thrill when Doc went back for Adam.

    Ryan is getting more involved and confident.

    Graham is getting more Doctor like, but still good old Graham.

    The Doctor seems to be struggling, trying to cope with their adventures while knowing that some nebulous temporal threat is coming for her at some point.

    The alien menace was a bacteria so there we’re no gray areas (“oh woo, do we have the right to kill them?” it was just “Bacteria bad… kill it!!”

    Also great to see a couple NOT split up at the end for a change!

    All in all good solid Doctor Who like the old days…

    Reply
  • Demdike@CultLabs

    February 2nd, 2020 - 8:45pm

    I sympathize with Jodie.

    Nobody would come off well having to spew forth that direlogue.

    Reply
  • Anonymous

    February 2nd, 2020 - 8:36pm

    Amazing

    Reply
  • Dalek Eye Stalk

    February 2nd, 2020 - 8:21pm

    Average story. Would have been better if it had the Autons in it to be honest. Wasted chance to use them. So plastic was the agenda in today’s episode. There can’t be that many agenda boxes left to tick for Chibnall to use now surely! Chibnall is just using the show to make political statements. Where has the pure escapism gone? That’s what I liked most about Doctor Who. It would take me away from reality.

    Reply
  • Tardis23

    February 2nd, 2020 - 8:19pm

    Thought that one was alright. Neither really good or really bad just an averagely decent self contained story. Something the show does need especially between episodes like last weeks so no real complaints. Also next weeks looks very atmospheric and creepy I’m looking forward to that one a lot.

    Reply
  • Voldermort

    February 2nd, 2020 - 8:18pm

    I do wonder if there is a number of people just voting ‘very good’ just because its Doctor Who and not based in the episode quality.

    It’s also more apparent when the votes totally outweigh the comments.

    I think it was a poor episode after last week’s excellent ep.

    Reply
  • ColinB

    February 2nd, 2020 - 8:17pm

    Another eco friendly plot but this time it’s plastic. After last week fantastic episode I guessed that this one would be a duller one. To be fair the music and locations were superb especially the beach. The plot was so so and forgettable. Am afraid jodi’s doctor is still annoying and no where near as good as Jo Martin’s doctor who was amazing.

    Reply
  • Rikki Krystal

    February 2nd, 2020 - 8:17pm

    trash not dr who anymore

    Reply
  • Anonymous

    February 2nd, 2020 - 8:11pm

    Absolute trash bad script and terrible acting Jodie has to be the worst dr ever I give up now

    Reply
  • 1

    February 2nd, 2020 - 8:10pm

    I’m sorry I don’t want to join the rant brigade, but it’s not the same show that was made 3 or 4 years ago. It cares more about human stories than the escapism TV it was.

    Reply
  • Anonymous

    February 2nd, 2020 - 8:02pm

    Decent. Predictably but decent. Now cue the ranting!

    Reply

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