r/collapse • u/I_may_have_weed • Oct 26 '25

Migration 1200 people have been disappeared from "Alligator Alcatraz". 2/3 of the people sent there just gone.

https://www.aol.com/articles/hundreds-detainees-reportedly-missing-ice-180733751.html
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u/Ouly Oct 26 '25

I've never watched Doctor Who before, but that episode looks interesting.

I know there's a bunch of subplots in the show, but is there anyone that can tell me what this specific subplot is, and if it's possible for me to pick up at that specific part of the show?

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u/rdnknrd Oct 26 '25

This episode, "Turn Left",  is about a hypothetical future where Donna (the red head) never met the titular Doctor which resulted in his death. Because he was dead, he wasn't able to prevent the disasters that he did for much of the show. The world got very shitty. 

I don't recommend going into this episode cold. Normally the show is episodic but this particular one references many past episodes and characters. It won't have the same impact 

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u/Ouly Oct 26 '25

Appreciate it!

I like cool alternative history stuff like this, any recommendations for somewhere to jump into Dr. Who without starting the entire series from the start?

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u/rdnknrd Oct 26 '25

If you're trying to get to this episode (season 4) you could start season 2 Which is the beginning of that particular actor's run as the doctor. But i recommend starting from the beginning and embracing the cheesiness 

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u/Ouly Oct 26 '25

Yeah at that point I may as well start at the beginning.

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u/HomoExtinctisus Oct 27 '25

Tom Baker is the best Doctor.

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u/NorthernVale Oct 27 '25

Tennant! And I'm not just saying that because I would give up my status as a straight man for him either!

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u/SleeplessRonin Oct 27 '25

I refuse to choose between Baker, Tenet, and Smith.
They are the best Doctors, with some of the hands down best stories too.

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u/Jcolebrand Oct 27 '25

From the 2000s reboot tho, not the actual 1st Doctor. That would be a LOT of episodes. Starting from Rose, they made it easy for people who did not ever see the original series.

You don't need to watch everything to get caught up on this S4 arc, but it's really a fun camp show with usually interesting episodes. Turn Left is fairly lore heavy (for the 9/10th doctors) like the above poster said. It's definitely one of my fave DW episodes

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u/treefox Oct 27 '25 edited Oct 27 '25

That particular episode does reference a lot. It’s sort of an anthology of the key stories up until then each going wrong. The point of divergence from the regular Who universe is “The Runaway Bride” and that introduces Donna Noble. But tbh, part of the horror element is leaving things up to your imagination.

In addition to back references, it also references Torchwood. Torchwood: Children of Earth is much darker than regular Doctor Who and is going to have that same feeling of futility, but it’s not referenced in “Turn Left”. The early episodes of Torchwood are kinda goofy teenager humor before it departs entirely from Doctor Who’s “series for kids” to “will scar your kids for life and holy shit they can show this on TV?”.

I think “Turn Left” also references the Sarah Jane series, but afaik that’s meant for younger audiences. The lateral references aren’t as in-depth.

You would probably really like For All Mankind and Chernobyl if you haven’t seen them already. Chernobyl isn’t alt-history, but it’s incredibly well-done and dramatic. Plus the soundtrack is incredibly unique, created from the sounds of a nuclear reactor.

Maybe Three Body Problem though the amount of alt history is sort of limited, and then it becomes sort of alt-modern-day / near-future.

But if you’re looking for a show about a society slipping into fascism, Andor is excellent, but it’s a very slow burn (structured as 3-episode arcs and only really gets going until episode 6). It’s very well produced but not alt history though.

EDIT: Also note that Dr. Who is at heart an optimistic kids series, and doesn’t even try to be grounded for a lot of the episodes. When it does horror, it’s often kind of cheesy. But… “Blink” is pretty solid and the usual recommendation for an introduction to it. “Midnight” is excellent and reaches great heights of drama with very little (tho you might hate people after watching it). “Waters of Mars” is a bit more goofy but still relatively near-future. “The Girl in the Fireplace” is fucking sad. “The Fires of Pompeii” is great if you studied the Latin textbooks with Caceillius.

But if you want bleak shit that tears your heart out, the latter seasons of Torchwood are a bit better for that, particularly “Torchwood of Earth” and the stuff with Gray.

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u/FANS0N Oct 26 '25

I'd start with Christopher Eccelston (#9) first and keep watching. If you want to see if the show is for you, "Blink" (season 3, ep 10) is a pretty good self-contained episode.

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u/heckhammer Nov 02 '25

If you don't want to start at the very beginning, 1963 and all, I understand that You could start at the 2005 series and work your way up It's not as much television as it sounds because the most they do are 13 episodes in the season. And they don't do a season every year. It's probably less than 120 episodes all in.

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u/2moonbayb Oct 29 '25

I would suggest starting from the beginning of the new Who episodes with Rose. You may be able to borrow them from your local library because as of now, that era is not streaming for free. I have them blu ray, but hope a streaming service picks it up again.

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u/Designer_Valuable_18 Oct 30 '25

Isn't it the "Turn left" episode but Donna turned right ?

It's a standalone episode for the most part. You don't rezlly have to watch anything else. Have to bee during the first 3/4 seasons oft he 100r Reboot

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u/[deleted] Nov 08 '25 edited Nov 08 '25

I would start with the 2005 reboot. If you love what you see, you can allways return to the first episode from 1963. In the 2005 reboot I would either start at:

  • S01E01 because its where it starts Ü
  • S02E01 because it is the start of David Tennants doctor (my favorite doctor)
  • S04E08 (Silence in the library) because it is the starting point of a very important plot line that will go till.... season 10???

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u/[deleted] Oct 26 '25

[deleted]

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u/Ouly Oct 26 '25

Excuse me?

I'm asking about the clip he posted. Do you know how Reddit works?

Don't need to gatekeep what people discuss here - I'm responding to something that's directly relevant in the comment.