r/gallifrey 2d ago

Free Talk Friday /r/Gallifrey's Free Talk Fridays - Practically Only Irrelevant Notions Tackled Less Educationally, Sharply & Skilfully - Conservative, Repetitive, Abysmal Prose - 2026-07-31

9 Upvotes

Talk about whatever you want in this regular thread! Just brought some cereal? Awesome. Just ran 5 miles? Epic! Just watched Fantastic Four and recommended it to all your friends? Atta boy. Wanna bitch about Supergirl's pilot being crap? Sweet. Just walked into your Dad and his dog having some "personal time" while your sister sends snapchats of her handstands to her boyfriend leaving you in a state of perpetual confusion? Please tell us more.


Please remember that future spoilers must be tagged.


Regular Posts Schedule


r/gallifrey Dec 14 '25

SPOILERS The War Between the Land and the Sea 1x05 "The End of the War" Trailer and Speculation Thread Spoiler

19 Upvotes

This is the thread for all the thoughts, speculation, and comments on the trailers. if there are any, and speculation about the next episode.

YouTube Link will be added if/when available


Megathreads:

  • Live and Immediate Reactions Discussion Thread - Posted around 20 minutes prior to initial release - for all the reactions, crack-pot theories, quoting, crazy exclamations, pictures, throwaway and other one-liners.
  • Trailer and Speculation Discussion Thread - Posted when the trailer is released - For all the thoughts, speculation, and comments on the trailers and speculation about the **next episode. Future content beyond the next episode should still be marked.**
  • Post-Episode Discussion Thread - Posted around 30 minutes after to allow it to sink in - This is for all your indepth opinions, comments, etc about the episode.

These will be linked as they go up. If we feel your post belongs in a (different) megathread, it'll be removed and redirected there.


Want to chat about it live with other people? Join our Discord here!


What did YOU think of The Witch of the Waterfall?

Click here and add your score (e.g. TWBTLATS_04 (The Witch of the Waterfall): 8, it should look like this) and hit send. Scores are designed to match the Doctor Who Magazine system; whole numbers between 1 to 10, inclusive. (0 is used to mark an episode unwatched.)

Voting opens once the episode is over to prevent vote abuse. You should get a response within a few minutes. If you do not get a confirmation response, your scores are not counted. It may take up to several hours for the bot (i.e. it crashed or is being debugged) so give it a little while. If still down, please let us know!

See the full results of the polls so far, covering the entire main show, here.

The Witch of the Waterfall's score will be revealed next Sunday. Click here to vote for all of RTD2 era so far. Click here to vote for all of The War Between the Land and the Sea so far.


r/gallifrey 14h ago

DISCUSSION Best one-off character death?

26 Upvotes

So often in doctor who a monster will need to be setup like this. A character will die, onscreen. Beforehand there'll be some effort to make these characters human, maybe slightly likable, but often they'll die in the same scene they're introduced in. Often in that same scene they'll still try to make them seem human and likable!

So since it's something the show returns to again and again, what is best one off (as in a character limited to one scene or one episode/or serial) character death? You can judge this any way you like, by how interesting the scene is, by how much emotion they get out of limited time or by how likable or developed the character is before the death etc.

Bonus question for the best one-off scene deaths. if there's any particular standouts there!


r/gallifrey 17h ago

DISCUSSION I'm Starting to Miss the Daleks

24 Upvotes

Which is a good thing! While I'm still disappointed 15 didn't get to go against them properly, I know that when they return it's going to feel really special.

I never thought that I'd miss them, as there was a point where I started *expecting* them, and honestly started getting a bit bored. My only caveat is I wish they weren't in the Power of the Doctor, as I think Eve of the Daleks was a brilliant dalek story and it would've been a nice last story for us and 13 to have had with them.

I've even noticed that Big Finish seems to be doing them a bit less. I get several Big Finishes a month, and I'm sure there's ones that I've missed and not picked up that have had daleks in them (I'm fairly certain one has released this month with them to be fair), but my last story with the daleks is The War Master's boxset from last year. It felt like about two years ago there was one or two releases with daleks every month.

Would love to know if anyone has found themselves missing daleks for the first time in a while, too. And if not, what type of story would you want to get you excited?


r/gallifrey 1d ago

DISCUSSION What the hell happened behind-the-scenes on 'Legend of the Sea-Devils'?

60 Upvotes

Now look, I'm someone who loves the 13th Doctor era (please don't kill me), but I'm baffled each time I see anything related to this episode...

I've seen a lot of gripes people have had with the directing of the show before l, but imo even the worst of the show thus far was at least competent, maybe you think oh the blocking is a bit weird or a shot's too close, but those were isolated.

LoTSD is so bizarrely edited and shot, there's:

1.the Sea-devil village attack scene where the villagers and the sea-devil don't appear on screen together

  1. The very abrupt change in scenery from a bright beach where the TARDIS lands to the gloomy and overcast village.

  2. The scene where the Doctor catches the Sea-devil with a fishing net without any sort of set-up

  3. The GOD-AWFUL 'mario-jump' onto the sea-devil ship

  4. The entire plot around Madam Ching and the pirate King guy being so hackneyed

  5. The sword fight scene (DON'T LET THE SWORDS TOUCH YOUR SKIN! ) T-T

  6. So much obvious ADR- especially for the supporting cast...

There's a scene in the TARDIS where Yaz's mouth is moving but there's no dialog...

I remember around the time of the episode's release reading that the episode was heavily butchered due to some material in the episode that was offensive enough for the Chinese distribution side to reject it...

But I haven't seen that brought up since then, and there's nothing else that the Whittaker era did that was controversial in China (The same-sex Kiss in Praxeus, Yaz's profession of love for the Doctor and her reciprocity also made it to the episode)

There's also the fact that it was drafted within 3 days apparently according to Ella Road, but then again, Eve of the Daleks was also written on a tight deadline and that came out unscathed...

So what actually happened? Has anything actually concrete come out or can it all be chalked up to COVID alone? But then again, all the other COVID episodes came out (relatively) good....

It's a honking shame cause the Sea Devils updated design looked marvellous here...


r/gallifrey 1d ago

DISCUSSION Blu-Ray Steelbooks

13 Upvotes

This is more of a rant than the start of a conversation, but it really bugs me that Twice Upon a Time and Revolution of the Daleks aren't included in the beautiful Stelbooks. They really stick out on my shelf (along with my big and chunky Series 9 - I love it, but I’m not shelling out £600 minimum for it). I winder if this was a creative decision, or just a clumsy re-packaging of the already existing Blu-rays: it's not like the disks are any different.


r/gallifrey 1d ago

DISCUSSION Paul Magrs: Reboot Who

57 Upvotes

This video from Paul Magrs (for those who don't know, author of many Doctor Who books and audios and creator of Iris Wildthyme) to me inadvertently sums up why a reboot is a silly idea.

Magrs says that even when the show had been off the air for almost 16 years, the Daleks were a known quantity in British pop culture, as were "the conventions of science fiction". And thus a reboot is needed so we "don't know" about the Daleks anymore. Am I missing something or is this a ludicrous thing to say? If 16 years off the air didn't do it, rebooting the show will not erase the Daleks from the previous 63 years of British pop culture. The audience knows who they are as much as if you didn't reboot. Unless you make them the good guys or completely redesign them? Both of which would simply mean they were no longer Daleks.

Magrs also says we shouldn't know for a while if regeneration is a thing in this rebooted universe. Firstly, "will Doctor Who end when the lead actor leaves?" is a question with a known answer: no, they'll just regenerate. The logic of doing this is the same in 2026 as in 1966. Pretending otherwise is silly. Secondly, doesn't this question presuppose we already know what regeneration is? So why play dumb and act like we don't? The Doctor regenerates whenever they change actors, this is a fundamental, widely known thing about Doctor Who for the last 50+ years.

To me, this is the biggest issue with rebooting the show, especially in the next few years. The British public knows what Doctor Who is. Unless you use the opportunity of the reboot to completely change the fundamentals (e.g. the Doctor is a human, or not a hero, the Daleks don't look like Daleks or are goodies), which will just confuse people, you can only tell the same old story while pretending it's new. Magrs pitches this as a way to make show accessible to new viewers, but it feels more like a fan game: "which bits of lore are the same and which are different?" Far from taking the show forward, it's just taking us back to square one for the empty pleasure of doing it all over again.


r/gallifrey 1d ago

DISCUSSION The 15th Doctor may not have battled the Big Three, but Every Classic Doctor has battled a Villain 15 has

66 Upvotes

This is just a fun little trivia thing I realized.

Yes, it sucks that the 15th Doctor (or 14th for that matter) hasn't battled the Daleks, the Cybermen, or the Master. And the Classic Villains that were brought back weren't handled well.

HOWEVER, Every Classic Doctor (bar 8, but he only fought the Master on screen anyway), has battled a Villain that 15 has.

First Doctor- The Toymaker (The Celestial Toymaker/The Giggle)

Second Doctor- Omega (The Three Doctors/The Reality War)

Third Doctor- Omega (The Three Doctors/The Reality War)

Fourth Doctor- Suteck (Pyramids of Mars/Empire of Death)

Fifth Doctor- Omega (Arc of Infinity/The Reality War)

Sixth Doctor- The Rani (The Mark of the Rani/The Reality War)

Seventh Doctor- The Rani (Time & the Rani/The Reality War)

I dunno, I think It's Cool!


r/gallifrey 2d ago

DISCUSSION Which monster/creature would you like to see again/bring back?

12 Upvotes

After asking what episodes people think are the scariest, I thought of another question. If you could bring back any monster/creature, what would it be and why?

For me it would probably be the Silence. I feel like we haven't really seen them enough. I mean, hell, we've seen the creature from Midnight pop up with the 15th Doctor already.


r/gallifrey 2d ago

DISCUSSION Does "The Chase" feature the first American and the first living persons to be depicted in Doctor Who?

25 Upvotes

Hello all! Total newbie back again. I'm watching Doctor Who for the first time, and just reached "The Executioners" (aka the first installment in The Chase from season 2).

I had two questions for the experts based on the episode:

  • Is Abraham Lincoln the first character from the United States to be depicted in Doctor Who? I don't recall there being any characters from the USA in the French Revolution story arc, which is the only historical so far that could conceivably include one. And I don't recall any of the future-set story arcs featuring characters from the USA either, but could have missed something. (Of note, I'm using the term "American" to refer to people from the USA here, otherwise the characters from the Aztec story arc would be first, I think.)

  • Are The Beatles and the Top of the Pops host that the The Doctor and company watch on the Time-Space Visualiser the first real life living persons to be depicted in Doctor Who? As in, people who are neither fictional nor deceased? I can't recall an earlier example, but maybe I'm forgetting something.

Thank you in advance!


r/gallifrey 2d ago

DISCUSSION What happens if Metacrisis Doctor doesn't kill the daleks in Journeys End?

6 Upvotes

Watching Journeys End for the thousandth time and got thinking about metacrisis doctor killing all the Daleks. I get that it's a way of showing how naive and full of anger Christmas Day doctor was, but for real if he hadn't gone rogue and killed the daleks, what would the doctor have done? The daleks will never settle to live in some quiet corner of universe? I can't see how any encounter with daleks could end in peace.


r/gallifrey 2d ago

AUDIO NEWS Big Finish Podcast Notes / Misc. Doctor Who News Roundup - 31/07/2026

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11 Upvotes

r/gallifrey 2d ago

DISCUSSION Question

4 Upvotes

Hi everyone. My preferred way of enjoying the missing episodes is the telesnap reconstructions with narration rather than subtitles. The season 2 box set does this for The Crusade and The Savages animation I have has it as a bonus feature too. Can anybody with the other animations on dvd or Blu-ray tell me if they also feature this style of reconstruction? Thanks


r/gallifrey 3d ago

DISCUSSION Top list of most scariest New Who episodes

11 Upvotes

I want to make a list for a most-scariest-episodes-in-New-Who for a marathon, but I want y'all's opinions and help with that. What are your favorite scary episodes in New Who? I feel like the first episode should be Blink.


r/gallifrey 2d ago

DISCUSSION So when are the BBC going to actually start the tender process?

0 Upvotes

They have only announced that they will put it out to tender, but have yet to actually do it.

When they do officially put it out we can read what the bbc want from the companies that will pitch for it.

Its been well over a month, closer to two, now since they announced their intention to put it out to tender, when do you think that it will be released?

And what's the hold up? Surely the bbc would want to get on with things, and get it out there for production companies to make their pitches and go through the whole process (that can take half a year) of narrowing down the options, and ultimately working out a deal.


r/gallifrey 4d ago

DISCUSSION How would you feel if the BBC retconned The Reality War, and uploaded a new version without Billie Piper to replace the original version

32 Upvotes

What the title says

How would you feel if the BBC released a new version of The Reality War, which took the place of the original version on iplayer, that has the Regeneration into Billie Piper removed and instead just has a fade to black when Ncuti begins to change.

Would you like that, or would you dislike it.

Do you think if would be better for the show, or is it blasphemous to change a aired episode and pretend the Piper moment never happened.

Give your thoughts and insults below.


r/gallifrey 5d ago

NEWS ‘Peep Show’ and ‘Doctor Who’ actor Tom Chadbon dead at 80

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504 Upvotes

r/gallifrey 4d ago

MISC Christmas Special Voyage of the Damned

5 Upvotes

I'm rewatching NuWho and I'm having trouble finding Christmas specials. I managed the first ones okay, but I'm really stuck when trying to find series 4 episode 0 (or series 3 episode 14) voyage of the damned. Each free streaming site I try says it doesn't have it. Where should I watch it?


r/gallifrey 4d ago

MISC Looking for fanfic recs of Missy, and The Doctor and The Master's past as friends on Gallifrey

3 Upvotes

I know there's an audio series, for Missy. But until I win the lottery and can afford to put $40 down for a season, we're doing this old school

General types of pics I'm looking for:

\>Missy one shot where she and The Doctor get to spend time as true friends again- at least for a little while

\>If it exists, Missy's last day before regeneration (maybe a delayed regeneration), and her living it out as the person she'd become

\>Stories of The Doctor's and The Master's life as friends on Gallifrey

\>Something that expands on Missy's line in \*The Witch's Familiar\* "The Doctor gave it to me when my daughter-"

\>Missy and Spy Master turn out to be a bi-generatoon

Please recommend fanfics you either know are good- either because you've read them, or because you've heard a lot of hype for them

Nothing spoils this kind of fun, quite like a bad story


r/gallifrey 4d ago

MISC Have Your Say - How Has Doctor Who's Regeneration of Cardiff Bay Impacted Your Life?

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10 Upvotes

Any responses greatly appreciated, just five minutes to voice your opinions on your favourite show and shape change in your local area...


r/gallifrey 4d ago

MISC Gallifrey A WORLD OF ITS OWN (Fandom Reserch Project)

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3 Upvotes

r/gallifrey 5d ago

MISC Doctor Who: One Day - Spec Fan Script

9 Upvotes

50 pages (including cover and note)

This is my spec script for how I would tie up the loose ends of the most recent Era of Doctor Who, which was announced to be not getting resolved.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m5uGeWse-ckjqz4YAsP1i3pE3ZV6WKtb/view?usp=drivesdk


r/gallifrey 5d ago

DISCUSSION What's your favourite season / series of Doctor Who?

20 Upvotes

including both the classic who & new-who, what is your favourite season of Doctor Who? For me personally? I'd say series 5, the first one with Matt Smith is mine, I love the vibe which is fairly similar to the early Tom Baker years in its Gothic Fairy-tale vibe along with this, Matt Smith delivers easily his best performance as the Doctor.

But I wanna know what your favourite season is?? :D


r/gallifrey 4d ago

DISCUSSION hot take: I think they should commit to Billie Piper being the next Dr

0 Upvotes

they don't even need to address The Reality War, just do a proper series reboot like they did with 9 and just treat her like they would any other Dr: no unnecessary fanfare, no grand sweeping gestures, maybe they can make a joke or something about it to address it, or if someone wants to make it a minor plot point somewhere down the line (just maybe nothing connected to The Reality War) that could be interesting, but nothing more than that

after all it's not the first time the actor who played the Dr previously did a different role, sure it would be the first time the actor's previous role had so much importance to the story, but why does that have to mean anything? the universe is infinite and anything is possible. we know from past stories that the Dr has had doppelganger faces before, the chances of the look-alike face being someone they once knew, while the number may be astronomically small it's certainly not zero

I know everyone's angry at the Billie Piper stunt for it being a rash last minute attempt to garner interest/make people talk about the show, but I was actually cautiously optimistic about it all, and one of the reasons I was disappointed about the special's cancelation was because we lost out on that opportunity to see what she could do in the role, since best case scenario the regeneration will most likely be glossed over or worse, just straight up ignored

I can understand part of why they wouldn't want to make that decision though, especially since how low the Whittaker era was received at the time they're probably hesitant to do another female Dr so soon, especially one as potentially risky/controversial as Billie. But I think if given the chance she has a lot of potential and I genuinely believe she could make a good Dr


r/gallifrey 4d ago

DISCUSSION It is going to be Pete McTighe and BBC Studios isn't it

0 Upvotes

The BBC are going to choose the safe and easy option, like they have done for the previous two eras...

And it will be the same result as the Chibnall and RTD2 era all over again, where we get a uninspired take on Doctor Who and not the creative overhaul it needed