I still don't get Series 5
OK small introduction: I am a very casual Who fan who's only watched all or most of doctors 1, 9, 10 and 11. And some of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. I also have never been on this sub before I just felt like ranting. Please diss me for being such a filthy casual!
Anyway, I see people swear up and down that 11 is their favorite doctor from NewWho. I'm currently doing a NewWho rewatch, and the last time I tried this (about 5-6 years ago), 11 is where I lost steam. On this rewatch, Series 5 for me stands out as by far the worst-written NewWho series of the first 5 (can't say definitively for 6 as I remember very little).
First of all, I really don't like how STUPID everyone is. Everyone acts like an absolute fool in nearly every high-stress or spooky moment without exception. No one listens to the Doctor, especially not Amy, who spends nearly every moment on the screen ignoring what he tells her to do and doing the DUMBEST possible thing in a scenario. The supporting characters are also all helplessly stupid. I couldn't stop facepalming in "Flesh and Stone" as the soldiers continue to walk into the delete-forever hole in the wall despite Amy warning them not to. "Cold Blood" pmo so bad when the woman whose child and husband are being held hostage kills their only bargaining chip despite being explicitly told not to.
The Doctor has become so reliant on the Sonic Screwdriver in this series that it's amazing that everyone doesn't have such a device. It doesn't just lock doors, it disables guns, it stuns monsters, unlocking wood has become basically the only thing it can't do. And it's such a shame, because it means the Doctor and Co. are never really forced into creative solutions for small problems, it's always just waving what has basically become a magic wand.
And my last huge critique that bugs me so bad... The writing. I'll just highlight the main thing that really gets me going, the bootstrap paradox, the most egregious examples of which are in "The Lodger" and "The Big Bang." This is such lazy writing that it's unbearable. In "The Pandorica Opens," it ends with the Doctor in a box that cannot be opened, Amy dead on the ground, and the entire universe wiped out. At this cliffhanger, I was actually, seriously excited. "How on earth is he going to fix this mess?"
Then, the writers pull the single most lazy trick I've ever seen.
To surmise:
The Doctor travels back in time and gives Rory his screwdriver
Future Doctor tells Rory to go and take him out of the Pandorica and put Amy in there
Rory does that, freeing the Doctor
The Doctor goes back in time to do step 1.
This is so dumb! I can buy the Bootstrap Paradox as a deux ex machina under limited circumstances, but solving the entire big cliffhanger of the last story in the series with a bootstrap is such cheap writing. I really struggle to see how people can look past the problems with the writing in this series. While I really like the actors, the monsters and the concepts in this series, man the writing is really trying me.
My question: Am I blinded by nostalgia for Doctors 9 and 10? Did they have these same problems but I just can't see them? I'm going to try to soldier on through 11 this time. People swear by 12 as a great doctor and I want to give him a try this time. I've never actually made it to Series 7, does 11 improve considerably there?
Apologies for this very long and rambly post and my general negativity. I hope I haven't broken the rules of this sub in any way. Have a great day/evening!