Stu, you're the kind of KZfaq that even when I disagree with you - which is rare - I'm still very much entertained and love hearing your opinion. Never change

I thought it was one of the better episodes of the season mostly cause of how entertaining Alan Cumming was.

Fun fact - Alan Cumming was actually offered the role of the Doctor during the RTD era, but turned it down as he 'didn't want to have to spend nine months a year in Cardiff'.

So safe, predictable episodes piss you off huh? Well, I'll be interested in your thoughts on It Takes You Away given that it's... not that.

They should have done Doctor who meets the Wicker Man

I really loved King James, I don't think it was meant to be a serious one, Alan Cumming's performance was so campy but I loved it. I think the really big problem is that it needed a second part. Also Willa. She needed more.

Alan Cumming camping it up was fun and should have been in a completely different episode where Alan Cumming camping it up didn't feel as tonally dissonant. The mud zombies looked good as well, but the alien looked really shit. The rest was just painfully generic and dull. It doesn't help that Whittaker's performance is very one note and she lacks the charismatic performances and snappy dialogue that made mediocre episodes under previous New Who Doctors more tolerable to sit through. Like, The Shakespeare Code's not a great episode but David Tennant being David Tennant does serve as a distraction from it's flaws. Also did a double take when you said "Nancy from Empty Child" because it sounds a bit like "Nazi from Empty Child". Next time, a completely nuts bit of weird Who that drunkenly meanders from idea to idea, lets Bradley Walsh really flex his acting chops, finishes with a bizarre piece of imagery that is destined to become the iconic representation of Series 11, and is by far the best episode of the series.

Alan Cummings perfomrance was the most engaging thing in the entire season! If you don't enjoy that then that about wraps it up for series 11.

The Chibnall Era's problem is it's way too boring

Personally, I find the whole episode to be a bit of a let down. As you said, missed opportunities. And they had so much potential on their hands. Felt more like a checklist than a story. And this is all coming from someone who actually liked this series

If you wanna make this episode more fun aside from the Soldeedesque performance by Cumming, take a shot of booze everytime someone says Satan

In terms of the Doctor this is one of the best showings of Thirteen and it gave her some of the best material from a character perspective. I loved Graham and Alan Cumming but thought it would have been far better as a pure historical. I still really appreciate everything in the episode until the reveal of the aliens and do really enjoy it overall but the alien plot was really shoddily handled. The hysteria was a good enough threat. I am so interested in your opinion of the next one. It's a fascinating episode and oh boy are the fans divided. I'm in the "OMG it is amazing camp".

Stu is one of the only ones can actually appreciate, he's not just another idiot screaming about ratings and non existent sjw commentary every video. And he does more with his channel that makes it an interesting and engaging channel and doesn't just focus on politics in a fictional show every single second, cough cough bowlestrek...

Chibnall era DW is just so...boring. It's not brain-meltingly stupid like his "Cyberwoman" or "End of Days". It's just dull like his "42". And his "Power of Three". And his "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship", and his "Hungry Earth" and "Cold Blood".

I'm re watching all the season reviews as I really enjoy this channel. I was trying to think of something to say, to illustrate that stupid bit of Doctor dialogue about drowning or whatever it was, and I looked down the comments and saw, "It's hard being a Who fan. When you're not being burned alive, you're being underwhelmed to death.". I thought, that's the kind of thing I was thinking of. Then I scrolled up slightly and saw it was me who posted it. Lol.

It's hard being a Who fan. When you're not being burned alive, you're being underwhelmed to death. :)

I actually enjoyed this episode. Just thought the treated as a woman line was used a tad too many times. I did love king James though. Always good to hear your opinion and i can't wait until next episode.

Maybe I'm reading too much into these things again, but this time the immersion-breaker was the scene between King James and Ryan. Not because, as noted, he recites Wikipedia, but because he recites it to Ryan. This is supposed to be 1612 and the Atlantic Slave Trade has been going nearly 100 years at this point, but we have the King having a chat/exposition dump with a random black guy just because a complete stranger (Graham) vouched for it. Not wanting to go too deep on this (you could write a book on how dumb this is) but it just wouldn't have happened and with this episode occurring in the same season as Rosa, it implied to me that they should have looked at some other pages in Wikipedia when writing the script.

I agree with JackIntheBox. I love campy character acting like Cumming's. I loved his portrayal, and can forgive a bit of tell-don't-show if it means more campy acting and scenery chewing. It's probably why I enjoy the Netflix version of Lemony Snicket's A Tale of Unfortunate Events so much. (That show is so incredibly self-aware, though, that it can be a bit much for some viewers.) An episode that covers this subject, however, should have gone in a different direction. Pulling off "Camp witch-hunting" requires a team that is capable of doing so, on a show that can be expected to do such a thing. Kudos to Cumming, though, for giving us something to giggle at/with.

I've seen people call series 11 the worst series ever yet it's about as doctor who as it gets because this is exactly the kind of episode that as you said would fit in perfectly between 6-10. It feels like they just changed the paint and not the actual structure of the show ( I mean granted there's only so much you can do) But still as a series that should've been on the more experimental side, it never went beyond "huh that's kinda different"

I really want it to take over as head writer/producer (because I can’t write scripts) but I know what people want from Doctor Who. We want tonal consistency. We want imagination. We want themes that intertwined with the plot as that is how you do story telling. There’s no point in telling you a plot and then going “now this is the point” it’s got to go hand in hand and work off of each other. We don’t care about the budget!!! It looks amazing now yes and I really do like it, but doctor who has never looked amazing so there’s clearly a reason people love it that’s not visuals. It’s the stories, the characters, the developments.

Anyone else feel like this should've been a two-parter?

Is it really unfair to expect a show to be comparable to a good movie in this day and age? Many tv show have actually been of higher quality than movies these days Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Expanse, The Walking Dead(seasons 7 & 8 notwithstanding), Daredevil, and even Star Trek Discovery(far better than the recent movies). Doctor Who has going down the toilet for some years now and doesn't even measure up to it's tv peers or most B movies anymore sadly.

I loved the episode right up to the alien reveal. I was super down for a pure historical

I thought the mud creatures were a representation of evil. A woman comes a long and in an act of anger is infected with something, she tries to cure it with good deeds but these are only pushing her to become crueller and then THE FACES OF ALL THE PEOPLE SHE'S KILLED LITERALLY COME TO HER and she admits to everything she's done but in the end it's too late and she becomes the evil she so desperately tried to fight.

it was really funny when i found out tilly steele who plays willa is a regular on a youtube channel that plays board games i watch and also was a voice director on balders gate 3

Why do people who change into monsters in Doctir Who always keep their hair?

Agreed so much. I think the King was the one thing that worked, but what does it matter. We both agree only 1 thing worked and was not used well. This would have been a fit for Season 1 of New Who for christs sake. God, this season of Doctor Who was my biggest pop culture dissappointment of all time. I guess some people liked the stupid frog because they could fool themselves into believing they had witnessed the very first inklinging of creativity in the new season, but it really wasnt. Disaster of a season and by far my least favorite.

Seemed like most people thought willow was a bad actor, like she smiling in tense scenes

It's almost like Chibs is on a tricycle dressed in full sports safety gear and also being buckled up into the back of a station wagon with some paper and a sharpie while his mum tells him that no matter what he creates it will be amazing and perfect. 🙄

I have some friends in Danvers and I can tell you that depending on where you're from, it can in fact be "Holy fuck that's bleak and I want to cry." It's just that these days it's fairly localized to, well, Danvers, Massachusetts and maybe other places with notable witch trials. (For those unaware: Danvers used to be called Salem Village. The town of Salem is a different political entity, and has kept its name. Which honestly works for everyone, because a fair number of Danvers-ites still feel shit about it and/or are descended from some of the people involved)

I really like King James. I get a kick out of Cumming hamming it up, but I also like that there's more dimensions to that character, and I really love the scene of him and the Doctor before her trial. Pretty much everything else about the episode is wack though. Least favorite of the series apart from the finale and Arachnids.

stubagful have you ever watched the sarah jane adventures? as a classic who watched id recommend an episode called the death of the doctor. has some great moments

Stu, you need to be the new showrunner

I think that a show that got away with telling instead of showing was Game of Thrones in it's first seasons, specially in that scene with Cersei and Robert talking about their dead child... though that scene has great acting and writing and Witchfinders well, doesn't.

To be honest it was this point I was just not arsed to watch the next episodes

Interested to hear your thoughts on It Takes You Away as I couldn't stop thinking of Rob Shearman throughout the run time

Looking back, this has been one of the best episodes of this season...

Nice burning scream 😂

I guess this episode lives and dies on how on-board you are with Cumming's King James. I enjoyed series 11, but the main issue I had with it, is that some episodes could be so dry. Cummings livened things up. It's the kind of daft juxtaposition that makes me enjoy Doctor Who so much. In fact, of all the episodes this Season, this is the one I would have liked to have been a two-parter. There was a perfect cliffhanger towards the end, and it would have given more time to develop the aliens and the young girl.

I really like a lot of these historical episodes in past seasons and I've had a real interest in the witch trials so I was super excited for this episode. I thought they might switch it up and rectify a few historical misconceptions, accuse ryan of being a witch for example but nope, same old same old with a splash of "drs a woman now" which at least hit the right spot for once lol In all honesty though I'd wigged out and started doing house work by the time... well I don't know, something about a tree? I came back to aliens... left again after a few seconds. Was disappointing

I'm NOT the only one who wasn't in love with Cumming's King James!

Mud possessing freshly berried corpses is a grate idea do something with that

This episode was pretty much a really watered down and annoying version of the Marian Conspiracy or even the Settling, taking a period of time and instead of showing off the character of interest in an interesting way and showing the world through a second interesting character, it went the complete opposite direction.

Cool drawing of Nathaniel Wayne

The only thing I’ve really been able to appreciate with the witchfinders and most of s11 is that most episodes shot outdoors have somehow got a really distinctive colour palette throughout

I very much understand your viewpoint. Whilst I liked this episode it was my least favirote of the historical episodes this Series. I made a review on my channel and a ranking of Series 11 if anyone wants to check it out.

Christ, I'd forgottn I'd seen this episode. Whenever I mention which ones I have seen I've been forgetting this one....

I was kinda waiting for you to mention James was flirting with Ryan but even with that they didn't make James gay enough to be anything more than a historical cameo (Doctor could've talked about exploits with James as a male timelord but god forbid tying this series with anything before), or was it any excuse for the lack of direction

Are we not going to mention how this episode kind of justified the Witch hunts?

I cant wait for your review of the talking hamburger episode.

Stuart was burned at the stake and there were no more Fake Doctor Who reviews! Yay!

How did you know I would be part of the Witch Hunt? I do actually have a copy of King James's book on Demonology so have you been rummaging around my house?

Ahh yes the witch finders, or being as the doctor who story which has a literal technolo-tree.

I did find alan cummings odd but it was the generic alien part that I hated the most. When the historic episodes got announced I worried that the show was going to be too educational. Classic who was able to teach the kids at the time but without them feeling tought but I worried it wouldn't work and would bore a lot of kids today. So I was glad when they claimed to be adding a scfi twist yet for me the scfi elements where the worst parts often feeling forced in

The aliens in this story were awesome if ya ask me

Nice Wicker man reference

After 5 seconds into the video, and I already agree with everything you said.

If it had been a two parter like it should have, the Willa stuff would have been huge

HOW DID YOU KNOW I'VE BEEN WATCHING SINCE SERIES 8!? HOW DID YOU KNOW!?

I see series 11 as a palette cleanser its as simple as that, you had 7 years of Moffat of which the last 5 were a mess of overhyped sensationalised territory marking by Stephen and now he's finally gone we've got a fairly unremarkable showrunner who can act as a way to just neutralise all that by being inadvertently underwhelming. Also after a decade of the show and at the rate they chew up stories I'd expect the show to be plateauing by now, its not like old show its not going to go for 30 years uninhibited it will need a hiatus soon enough.

I really like her Doctor. But just how many companions are required. It’s ridiculous and a shame for her.

If you read The Plotters...

My least favorite episode. But next week is It Takes You Away, so it’s all good.

My husband and I did feel like King James was the start to this episode being pretty dumb, but we couldn't deny that he was kinda fun to watch too. Mostly feel bad for Alan Cumming having to put up with such clunky dialogue.

At last the harvest this year shall be good.

I really very much liked this episode

Interesting how the King James stuff seemed to garner a lot of praise from some corners, that stuff could have worked in another episode, but not here. As soon as he appeared the tone was all over the place, and people say the Trump character in Arachnids was jarring and out of place (okay it was, but still, that's series 11 I guess)

What, you've finally came up with a different ending?

Honestly, The Witchfinders was the way only episode this series I thoroughly enjoyed.

10:00 - Let the ceremony commence...

Oh damn Clicked on a bowlestrek video Whoops . . Wait STUBAGFUL!! WTF

Personally loved this one, for what it is, it's good. First time i've disagreed with you here! AND Violent Death Ending!

I thought it was a pretty okay episode I enjoyed it

No, Chibnall's era is gonna be super safe. Longtime fans are going to be samey.

I was enjoying it until the aliens turned up , but I get your point about the wasted charachters

It's a look at religion but unfortanutly for this I have subsequently listened to the holy terror and that is a great commentary on religion

“Surely pretty much everyone knows what the show is all about by now” ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME Jesus Christ I make the commented about bowlestrek as a joke but maybe it’s true. Did you s e r i o u s l y just say that ?

A witch hunt story I recommend is Nomad of nowhere, It's a Western Fantasy about a Nomad thats wanted for being the last magic user. You can watch Nomad of nowhere here kzfaq.info/sun/PLUBVPK8x-XMh6lFZABV45mRBbsuJpXA-8

And I thought I was the only one thinking Willa was the best charakter in this story and her actress does pull off a really good perfomance ! And yeah it's a okay episode for me. Like you said nothing too interesting really

So no Episode 9 and 10 and Resolution review then? *throws phone and smashes skateboard*

From what I've read Series 11 suffers from the same illness Series 6 Part 2 --> Series 8 & Series 10: The BBC Stepped in b/c they don't have confidence in a 55+ year old franchise and forced Chibnall, like Moffat before him to do a really down to basics form of Doctor Who, with mostly stand alone episodes b/c the BBC wants Doctor Who to be like Black Mirror since we are in. "The age of Netflix". The Black Mirror comparison comes directly from Chibnall at Comic-Con. Can I just rant about how Doctor Who, a 55 year old Science fiction drama that has continuing characters isn't Twilight Zone 4.0... I mean Black Mirror, an Anthology which introduces a new cast and premise every episode. I find it very annoying That the BBC thinks "The Age of Netflix" line and Black Mirror go hand in hand. The point of Netflix is the Binge a continuing ongoing narrative. Netflix makes a show with X amount of episodes telling 1 long story or multiple stories forming an overarching narrative and that's why people binge, they become invested in the characters and the plot - I just feel like the BBC doesn't get this. The RTD Era (and Series 5) are looked back on as the Golden years of Nu-Who because it did these things, and did them well. Ever since the BBC for some reason lost confidence in their 55+ year old franchise the quality has dipped because they keep getting involved & removed the very formula & creative freedom that worked for Series 1-5. I really feel like the Series 1-5 formula of 13 episodes with 6-7 stand alone stories & 3 multi-part stories (comprising of 6-7 episodes) with a lose plot thread a la "Vote Saxon" "Crack in Time" & "Bad Wolf" is the formula the BBC should be pushing, not this Black Mirror nonsense that doesn't allow a flowing story arc that gets views causal of die hard to find a reason to be invested.

5:12 She could turn into a tentacle?!?!

What an amazing image at the end Give me money, and the image at the background is you being burned LET'S MAKE 100 NONSENCICAL THEORIES TO UNDERSTAND IT My thoughts on Whitchfinders??? Oh yeah i think the episode was pretty shity as usual. Unfortunatly there's nothing new Let's see if Big Finish has hope for us All hail the Great Brigsy

Irritated by loud and intrusive scores? You must of loved Resolution.

No criticism in this video is original to this episode.

Tune.

I loved it up until the ending.

Yeah I didn’t enjoy this one. I personally have it in a tie between Arachnids for the least enjoyable watch this series

chibnalls era is soooooooooooooooooooooooo dull this is why insted of makeing new doctor who tv eps for a while so they can have a fullly polished series we need to animate the bbc audios (paridice of death n stuff) and some of the hard to get novels like lungbarrow edit: also at 5:35 dose any one here nansi as nazi and pictur hitler im sorry but that just made me laugh but i get ya stu

it's less shit and more meh

Wait... Doctor Who is still relevant? I must have missed that.

I just have to say it: Doctor Who probably isn’t for you anymore. The only thing you can do is stop watching it. Also Queen James 1 was BRILLIANT!!

Dude The Witch was shit. The writers didn't know how to end the movie