Is anyone watching NIghtflyer? I'm a few episodes in, and it's pretty interesting so far.

This season of Doctor Who has come across as if it's heard of morality and thinks it's a good idea but, like, what is it, really?

Thanks for the reminder, sj, I had meant to give that a try but it has been sneaking past me.

They've been airing one a night. So, they're really adding up on my DVR.

OH, wow, I wondered how they were on episode 10 already.

DW: actually, it's more like someone was given a set of bullet points of "what people like about Doctor Who" that included things like "moral authority" and told to crank out something appropriate by tomorrow. Feels like an essay written on the Cliff's Notes rather than the text, somehow.

I quit all the CW superhero shows cold turkey, like, 2 seasons ago, but managed to DVR the Elseworlds crossover after catching some ads for it. Turns out I didn't really need to know what each respective show was up to -- it was pretty self-contained (except for the part that Oliver was apparently... in prison recently and was on the outs with Felicity. Ehh, whatev.) And as usual, the crossover was a ton of fun. Especially the earlier parts where Grant Gustin and Stephen Amell tried to play each other's role (man, that Flash suit is not designed to flatter someone with Amell's build.) And Oliver being a total grump about Batman. Reminded me of why I used to love these show so much.

Not sure what to think about Ruby Rose as Batwoman. She looked cool but I think she was a bit flat, acting-wise? I know nothing about DC Comics canon other than through various movies though.

Aw, cool, I haven't watched any of those in a couple of seasons but was intrigued by the Elseworlds ads.

Elseworlds was very good. Though, I'm still watching all the CW shows.

Now here's an oddity in the evolution of Chris Chibnall. Chris Chibnall wrote an 11th Doctor episode back in Season 7, called Dinosaurs on a Spaceship. I rate it as one of his best, because it is entirely true to label (it has dinosaurs! And they're on a spaceship!). But it has problems; the villain is an uncomfortable embodiment of certain anti-Semitic stereotypes (and is named Solomon). And in the climax, after Solomon's already been neutralised as a threat to anyone, the Doctor rather gratuitously blows the guy up. A rather out-of-character act of violence.

Pretty much the antithesis of this season. Aside from the equally gratuitous 'splosions at the end of Kerblam! (also true to label!), this Doctor is more opposed to killing than any previous incarnation. It would make sense for her pacifism to be Chibnall's reaction to a backlash from the end of Dinosaurs on a Spaceship. (Which could also explain why it's so incoherent, if it's reactive rather than due to any personal conviction.)

But I've heard a more entertaining theory. It's a reaction to criticism of DoaS, yes, but it's Chibnall's backlash. "You got a problem with the Doctor killing someone? Fine, this Doctor agrees with you! Let's see how that works, huh?" By the end of the season, we have people complaining this Doctor is too nice, too unwilling to take decisive action. She lets people get off scot free. Her inaction is sometimes more cruel than prospective killings she berates. Her moral code is so indistinct that she equates a genocidal maniac with a bereaved husband killing said genocidal maniac. Her own unwillingness to 'neutralise' Tim Shaw back when he was a pathetic petty killer is what gave him the power to become a genocidal maniac. It's Chibnall's master plan: show up the contradictions in (what he believes is) pacifism until the audience is up in arms and ready to beg for every ep to end like Dinosaurs in a Spaceship! It's moustache-twirling villainy at its best!

Or, as one wag put it:

"Good! Your hate has made you powerful. Now, fulfill your destiny and watch my morally weird finale!"

That's s surprisingly compelling theory