On The Sofa (10)

[doctorwhofan @crazydoctorwhofan]

Well that is one long life!!

[janetteB @janetteb]

Saw the news about Earl Cameron last night and recognised the name instantly. He was memorable in Tenth Planet too, giving depth to the character. A fine actor.

Cheers

Janette

[nerys @nerys]

Oh my, I am late to the party! Apologies to @winston @blenkinsopthebrave @arbutus and all, and thank you for the Canada Day wishes! It was a good, quiet day for us.

And yes, we do live in a beautiful country. My little neck of the woods, along Nova Scotia’s south shore, is especially exquisite. I’ve been driving to our local beaches and watching piping plovers, willets and Arctic terns. I haven’t seen any chicks yet, but hopefully will soon. I love being by the ocean, and the shorebirds make it all the more enjoyable. You never know what you will see. Thursday I was watching an adult piping plover foraging on sand lance (a small, eel-like silver fish). S/he was having quite a good meal of them! It does my heart good to see a wild animal living its life as it should, without any care or concern for all the “stuff” going on in human lives.

[winston @winston]

@nerys  You do live in a beautiful part of the country! We love to walk the shore and to sit and watch the shore birds. I once had a tern drop a little fish right in my lap. It was a small mackerel, pretty funny. I love the gannets too and I can watch them dive for hours.

We have a mom and baby river otter who swim around our creek eating fish and playing while we sit quietly and watch. A mallard duck who has 8 ducklings likes to sit on an old log with all 8 babies sitting in a row. Too Cute!

Have a great week and stay safe.

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

@nerys, @winston,

Thank you for the wonderful wildlife descriptions. I suspect you both live in a more rural setting than we do, but there are still delights to be had, even here. A couple of days ago we rose early and walked along the waterfront at Willows Beach, when a small river otter (or a sea otter?) quickly dashed from the undergrowth into the water. Fortunately, we live within walking distance of the water, and the opportunity to see the geese, the ducks, the otters, is wonderful. But nothing quite compares to our first visit to Vancouver Island 20 years ago (from Australia), when we were staying in a B&B in James Bay and we were walking along the inner harbour  by Parliament House. It was deserted, late at night, and we heard a gurgling sound from the water. We looked down, and there was a baby seal looking up at us. At that moment, we fell in love with Victoria. It took a long time, but here we are, absolutely content, and never likely to move.

[The Idiot From Gallifrey Base @dalekbuster523]

@crazydoctorwhofan My favourite Doctor is and always has been David Tennant, because he’s the one who most captured who the Doctor should be for me.  I doubt there will ever be a Doctor who will top him, although for me Jodie Whittaker comes close.

[winston @winston]

@blenkinsopthebrave   We have spent a lot of time on the west coast of Vancouver Island as my daughter lives there. It is a nature lovers paradise and when I am not there I always wish I were.It is so beautiful that at first it is almost a sensory blow out. My neck was sore from looking up at the mountains and the eagles and my shoes fell apart from being soaked with salt water exploring the tide pools.

I am land locked in Ontario but I am lucky enough to live in the best place for a birder and nature lover, a marshy creek that runs into a large wetland. It is lush with life at all times , winter or summer and if you can handle all the little (sometimes huge) bitey insects it is a good place to be. I just wish we had seals.

[Davros @davros]

Grant Imahara from Mythbusters has died at the age of 49. I only mention that here because he was a massive and active Doctor Who fanatic, and indeed presented the US pre-show for the 50th anniversary special.

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

@davros

I did not know about the Doctor Who connection with Grant Imahara. Thanks for the clip.

49…that is way too young.

[janetteB @janetteb]

We were recording a podcast during the week and everyone was saddened by the death of Grant Imahara. Way too young.

The descriptions of Canada were lovely and gave me “itchy feet syndrome”. We were talking to a Canadian yesterday which made it worse. One day, maybe..

For the first time since February we went out to the Barossa yesterday. I would hardly call it “country” but it is rural and beautiful, especially when the later afternoon sun falls on the jagged hills that border the valley.

Cheers

Janette

 

 

 

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

Not much happening on the Who front, so I thought I would engage in some idle thoughts (of an idle man). Am I correct in thinking that there was only one appearance of the Valeyard (“Trial of a Timelord”)? My fading recollection is that there was reference then to the Valeyard appearing after the Doctor’s 12th regeneration? If so, we are now at some point after the 12th regeneration (given a War Doctor or two). So, if they wanted to, they could re-introduce the Valeyard. But would they? Should they?

Who has always played around with the idea of moral opposites (the Doctor/the Master, the White Guardian/the Black Guardian, even the Toby Jones character in “Amy’s Choice”).  So perhaps the Valeyard as a character is less interesting than the memory of watching “The Trial of a Timelord”. Which, to be honest, was a bit of a slog.

 

 

[janetteB @janetteb]

@blenkinsopthebrave I still check in most days but am currently on a borrowed laptop, mine being out of action for unknown causes. Hopefully we can get it working again in the next day or so.

I have never seen the valeyard episode and don’t really care to. Nor have I slogged through Trial of a Timelord”. I am not a completist. I have only watched some of the Davison stories, a couple of Colin Baker’s and the last series of Sylvestor McCoy. From what I have read the idea of the Valeyard sounds like a betrayal of what the Doctor stands for and I hope it will never be revisited but as I have not watched the stories perhaps I am not doing justice to the concept.

Cheers

Janette

 

[nerys @nerys]

49…that is way too young.

Indeed it is. Very sad news about Grant Imahara.

[Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip]

@blenkinsopthebrave and @janetteb

Only one TV appearance, yes. There was a name check in the Moffat era – Twice Upon A Time?

No,I wouldn’t bother with the Valeyard episodes, Janette. It was very much ‘what the heck is going on here?’ but not in a good way. Good actors and crew slogging their way through as scriptwriters died, script editors resigned, the BBC cut the 50 minute episodes back to 25 minutes so Doctor Who had to dump every commissioned script… amazing that they managed to get something half decent on screen.

As the joke goes, I don’t want it good, I want it Tuesday. They managed Tuesday.

Of course, the really interesting question is now whether the Valeyard is ‘future’ or ‘past’. Or was always a possibility, an ‘alternate Doctor’, that the Doctor has to avoid.

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

@bluesqueakpip

Yes, they did have good actors. Michael Jayston. A brilliant Peter Guillam in “Tinker, Tailor…”

I was not aware of the chaos behind the scenes. Scriptwriters died…!? They had to dump every commissioned script!?

As I reflect on it, I wonder if there might actually be a logic to bringing the Valeyard back. The Master is fun, but…well, that is the point. The Master is fun. But the Valeyard is something quite different.

 

[janetteB @janetteb]

My Who lore really tapers of after the Tom Baker years. I have books on the making of up to the eighties but nothing beyond as that was when I left home and stopped watching for many years.

The Master is fun and I have trouble viewing Sacha Dhawan as evil. He has always played nice characters, (that I have seen anyway). I think he would have been better cast as the Doctor some time in the future. Perhaps, (crazy theory forming here) the Master is The Doctor, a Doctor splinter or alternate Doctor or perhaps they are twins, both seem to bend the regeneration laws and neither are typical Time Lords.

Cheers

Janette

[toinfinityandbepond @toinfinityandbepond]

Not sure where this belongs, but the Guardian is reporting the death of Dan Martin, whose  weekly episode live blog brought together the founders of this place.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jul/26/dan-martin-music-journalist-of-passionate-enthusiasms-dies-aged-41

 

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

@toinfinityandbepond

At 41! I popped in to share the link myself, after I put a short comment about his encouragement over the years.

Hope everyone else is fine. Sorry I haven’t been around but .. it’s a long story.

Best regards.

[JimTheFish @jimthefish Time Lord]

@toinfinityandbepond and @phaseshift

Yeah, saw that. Very sad news. Dan was genuinely enthusiastic and as the article says deeply passionate in his writing. And this forum definitely owes him a debt.

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

Whoa! That is terrible news about Dan Martin. 41…my god,  that is far too young. He was a genuine Who enthusiast with a real appreciation of what the show represented. But more importantly, he was somebody who shouldn’t have died so young.

 

[Whisht @whisht]

Just read the same article about Dan Martin.
So sad for him to die so young.

My heart goes out to his loved ones, as well as those his passion and enthusiasm touched.

[Juniperfish @juniperfish]

Hey everyone <waves> Came here too when I saw the news on Twitter this morning.

Absolutely gutted about Dan. Without his Doctor Who exhuberance and the extensive space provided back then below the line of his recaps on The Graun, we wouldn’t have this lovely place. I’ll always think fondly of the Moffat/ Guardian “golden years” on his blog.

LGBT Doctor Who fandom has lost a prominent member.

May his spirit wander with the TARDIS now.

[Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip]

Hi, everyone

Terrible news. Forty one is far too young. He was a real enthusiast who helped make his Guardian blog a lovely place to be – one of the few above-the-line commentators who’d join in below-the-line and (sometimes) argue it out with posters. You could tell he saw himself as a fellow fan, not simply a critic.

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

Quite a nice interview with Colin Baker. He is spot on about the end of the 50th. It’s funny how Colin’s reflections on the show seem to outshine Colin’s performance on the show…

Colin Baker on the Spiritualism of Doctor Who

 

[Oochillyo @oochillyo]

hey everyone, I am new to this community and would love to talk with you all about Doctor Who 🙂

Quick question – What is your fav episode from the modern series (2005-2020)

[winston @winston]

Hello @oochillyo  and welcome to the site. I love Doctor Who and when people ask which episode is my favourite my head starts to swell as I try to narrow it down to one episode. I think it always changes for me depending on which Doctor I am watching at the time and so many other things. If I was forced to pick one (maybe by tickling or something) it would be Rose. The first one I watched and the one that got me hooked. That episode started me on a great adventure in the Tardis  and I have loved the Doctor since then.

I hope you like the site and that you explore it and have fun.

[Oochillyo @oochillyo]

hey @winston , I haven’t seen Rose fully but I know many love it, my fav episode of the modern series is GridLock and I know its not everyones cup of tea but I believe it was the first if not one of the first episodes I saw of Doctor Who and I loved it then as the Doctor was awesome, the cars looked cool, the Macra were scary and soo many reasons at the time and re watching it recently the episode resonates with me differently which makes it even better yet some aspects always stay the same like the thrills of the Macra nearly getting the car Martha was in and the joy of the Doctor jumping into cars below him in a funny ‘I am the Highway Inspection person how is your time on the Moterway’ montage overall the episode makes me very ‘happy happy’ 🙂 thank you for welcoming me into the Community 🙂

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

@oochillyo

I am tempted to say “Blink”, as it is a brilliantly conceived and realized story, but my heart goes with “Vincent and the Doctor”. I just “speaks” to me on every level, and I love the way it reaffirms the premise of of early Hartnell-era Who that you cannot change the past. I have always been a bit ambivalent about the way the show plays fast and loose with changing the past.

 

[winston @winston]

@oochillyo   I also like Gridlock for its humour and montage and for the ending where the Doctor finally tells Martha about his home. A rewatch makes me happy-happy too!

@blenkinsopthebrave  Those are 2 very good episodes and also some of my favourites for different reasons. Blink out and out scares me! The characters are great but the Angels are creepy. Vincent is all heart and feels and tears for me. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if he really knew just how important he would be to the world? Sigh.

See, I cannot pick a favourite episode. It is impossible for me to make up my mind.

[janetteB @janetteb]

@oochillyo Welcome to the forum and thank you for starting up a discussion. I do like Gridlock. Certainly up there in the favourites list however like @winston I cannot pick a particular favourite. I have so many favourites including Blink and Vincent which we re-watched recently. My other favourites include Heaven Sent, The Empty Child and the Doctor Dances and Turn Left Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead. Each is brilliant in a different way but these are the episodes that for me stand out most. These are the episodes that I will watch again and again, and then again..

Cheers

Janette

[Oochillyo @oochillyo]

@janetteb thank you for your kind welcome, I am very happy that this discussion is very much loved its great to hear everyone’s thoughts on wonderful episodes they love for various reasons.

I recently watched Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead and it was soo thrilling, I remember as a kid it scared me very much but I often said ‘who turned of the lights’ to my Dad as we both watched it together and it became a little joke which was sweet 🙂

The parts that really scared me as a kid was Dona’s dream world you know for example the kids questioning if they are real or not (which I think they know they aren’t real), the red sky and Miss Evangelista’s face that was the worst in fact re watching it I was sweating with fear from anticipating seeing that face its soo creepy.

There is soo much that makes the 2 episodes amazing such as the shadows as they are great and scary (especially as I get really freaked out by seeing human skulls probs as a result of watching the episode as a kid) and the Doctor getting angry at them ‘don’t play games with me’ and they retreat its wonderful that part really shows the power and threat of the Doctor which you don’t see as much now and with David Tenants excellent acting capabilities as you all know its an incredible 2 parter.

[janetteB @janetteb]

@oochillyo Our boys were young when Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead first aired and they were terrified of those episodes too. It was some years before we could watch them. I don’t blame them either. The threat that cannot be seen is one of the most frightening in all of Who and I can see how the idea of children who are not real would be quite confronting for child viewers. As a Mum it brought tears to my eyes. I really felt for Donna in that second episode.

Cheers

Janette

[Oochillyo @oochillyo]

@janetteb Thank you for sharing your personal account of the episode, what Donna faced would have been awful beyond comprehension for anyone let alone any parent such as yourself, its clear that those two episodes can affect people in various ways given different circumstances, time or 0ther aspects.

[Oochillyo @oochillyo]

hey everyone, what do you all think about Jodie’s era of Doctor Who and have you watched series 11 and 12 fully or lost interest along the way ?

[janetteB @janetteb]

@oochillyo  There are some fine episodes in series 11 and 12 but for me, none really stand out as either exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. They are all average to above average. I like “Team Tardis” though I am beginning to find Graeme a bit annoying. Yaz is my favourite of the three and I hope to see her character get more “space” to develop next series. J.W. is good but again, not my favourite Doctor. I feel that she is a bit too human. I would compare her to Peter Davison only with good companions and better scripts. Like P.D. she is following a brilliant Doctor. Had she been before P.C.  I think she would have possibly really nailed it for me. I am a little biased as I really liked P.C. as the Doctor. He was my “Tom Baker” equivalent.

I have yet to re watch series 12, in part due to computer crashes. I must remedy this situation soon.

cheers

Janette

[Oochillyo @oochillyo]

I am slowly getting through series 12 with my Dad after we went all the way through series 11 (the last episode we watched was Orphan 55 which I liked a lot for various reasons) , out of Seris 11 my fav is The Ghost Monument however Kablam was pretty cool, the Witchfinders was funny in a lot of parts and it takes you away I can appreciate some elements however after watching all the eps in the right order it has been out done in some parts.

Seris 12 so far I think overall SpyFall part 2 is better ish cause its a bit quicker mmm there are funny parts such as Grahams funny shoe attack ‘don’t make me do the old shimmy shuffle’ and when they tricked the guards which I didn’t see coming (as I was thinking are you crazy Yaz your a Police Officer in training don’t you realize your gonna be tracked) I was genuinely impressed with them however I find Orphan 55 the best ep in series 12 so far as its pretty relaxing, has a good start I liked the various people in the hotel which we didn’t get to know much off as they were all killed off , I really liked the Green haired Father and Son ‘ I cant remember his name but the Father is from the Inbetweeners and it was really sweet to see him play a more serious and caring role which I think he did very well at , there are some hilarious aspects such as that Old Lady who honestly was useless but hilarious at how bad she was I mean yes she is acting but who decided that she had like one goal and didn’t react to anything seriously even though she was actually pretty normal at the beginning when Yaz spoke to her and Benny , I understand she was likely grieving and in shock but she was endangering the people around her like when she kept screaming ‘Benny’ in the Truck, thinking about it when she said ‘which one of you killed Benny’ to the monsters with her arms in the arm that was priceless.

I got strong Midnight vibes from this ep like the uninhabitable planet, the hotel and when everyone was on the truck which broke down from crashing into a rock (like who was driving that they said it was a trap but didn’t you see it or did it spring out from under the ground which I don’t fully believe as it looks like a bolder that was already above ground even if the monsters could pick it up and use it as a ‘trap’ I cant believe they crashed into it) and the cabin being attacked and damaged , however the similarity’s changed a bit as they went through the SubWay tunnel (like in that Yeti ep with the Second Doctor) and went back to the Hotel.

I really liked Ryan and that girl flirting with each other in the Hotel, getting to know each through lying about their careers haha and developing a relationship which was sweet and they worked well together.

I liked the look of the virus bug in the vending machines and it was interesting that it could hack biological and mechanical things even though its a bit plot convenience in fact the food and the hotel room where the vending machines are look pretty good and futuristic and I would be happy to spend time at the hotel apart from the threat of Dregs yes I just remembered their names now haha.

Ryan’s ‘girlfriends’ mother was a bit one dimensional, she was alright until she said to the Women ‘I shoot Benny’ to her face which was too harsh , she kinda redeemed herself at the ending though of which I was shocked of the fact the Doctor left all the other quests behind I think the two green haired people were going to teleport of the Planet but what about Ryan’s ‘girlfriend and her Mother’ I reckon they are finished unless I missed something, like at least the Doctor could have rescued or recruited Ryan’s ‘girlfriend’ and no one really reflected on that fact like the Doctor abandoning them at the end of the ep which was a bit of a unimpactful ending to the ep but overall I really like this ep as you can tell, I could go on more but this is probs my longest discussion of an ep and it would take ages to discuss everything about this ep (I give Orphan 55 an 7.5 up to 8 out of 10)

I am not sure if its the same for you where you are but it may be possible for you to search BBC IPlayer on your T.V. as some have a list of options like All 4 and BBC IPlayer

I am sorry guys if my long texts are getting annoying I can try and cut them down in the future if its a problem.

Thank you all for listening and Janetteb’s lovely discussion 🙂

[Oochillyo @oochillyo]

Hey @janetteb‘s out of the three companions I like Graham the most and Ryan is closely behind as Yaz hasn’t really been developed and sometimes its strange how she fails to understand or act upon certain concepts she should know as a Police Officer in training such as smashing her phone when they were being tracked in SpyFall part 2 and possibly knowing the best ways to hide from CCTV ect as Police sometimes have to find criminals who hide from CCTV.

From the Classic Era the Fourth Doctor is my fav closely followed by the Five Doctor each for various reasons such as ‘do you care for a Jelly Baby’ and the adventurous spirit of the young and agile Fourth and Five Doctor respectfully in fact the Five Doctor is like a predecessor to the Tenth Doctor in the way the Doctor goes about things running, wearing funny cloths and making little jokes to the enemies to make himself look stupid which the former is what The Second Doctor did I know but I think it carries on from him to the Fourth and Fifth in the classic era into the Tenth Doctor in the Modern Era and if you watch the Children in Need Special video called Time Crash the Tenth Doctor explains what he gets from the Five Doctor in a wonderful way 🙂

Thank you for listening 🙂

 

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

Hi (he says, jamming himself on to the end of the sofa), is this the place for newbies?

First, I’m no relation to any Dentarthurdents anywhere else, though obviously I’m a fan of an old Doctor Who script editor, one-time Pink Floyd collaborator and Mark Knopfler admirer.

I came here following a time trace from Dan Martin’s Guardian review of Before the Flood. Like him, I detest the ‘minority of trolls’ (his words) that infest the Comments section of any online reviews. When I watch an episode (particularly one I like) I just want to see an acknowledgement that others also appreciated some of the awesomeness of the better moments and I don’t want to have my enjoyment killed by persistent nitpicky moaning. Pathetic, eh?

I first saw Who on TV in the very first episodes (yes I’m older than Marvin the Paranoid Android), but lost track of it. No more scifi until decades later I caught Blakes 7 in re-runs, I’m a sucker for ironic black humour, especially when delivered with style by Paul Darrow (Avon), cardboard sets notwithstanding. (I suspect the budget for one ‘effects’ shot for NuWho probably exceeds an entire series of B7). Never got into Star Wars/Trek.

My first acquaintance with online Internet ‘fandom’ was when ‘Xena’ was being made a few miles from my home. (I’m in Auckland, New Zealand, btw.) Surprised to find so many obsessive ‘fans’ who hated any new eps, wanted all storylines to suit their preferences, thought their favourite character was being sabotaged by the writers, yadda yadda… every fandom has some, it seems.

Next time with Who was NuWho with Rose (the episode), I followed that on NZ TV until it got irregular at the end of S4. Caught a few more eps on DVD but then the excellent video store in Newmarket that stocked almost every ‘cult’/scifi TV series, tragically closed. I knew Capaldi was now the Doctor, about 6 months ago I caught a random episode on TV and decided to ‘catch up’ so acquired all the DVD sets, watched from ‘The Eleventh Hour’ through to ‘Twice Upon a Time’, then went back to ‘Rose’ and started again. So, I’m currently at the start of Series 9, I loved Magician’s Apprentice and Witch’s Familiar, the two ‘underwater’ eps not so much (which is odd because they seemed to have got excellent reviews). So that’s where I am right now.

Cheers

[Oochillyo @oochillyo]

hey @dentarthurdent its great to have you, everyone is welcome here 🙂

I am not sure if it would work in New Zealand but if you type BBC IPlayer on a Laptop or if your T.V. has it you can watch all New Who episodes from each series for free this may safe you a lot of money as you go into the newer series’s (10-12) so check that out 🙂

I know a lot of people who love the show are not happy with Jodie’s series for various reasons although I think its alright in some areas but thats my opinion however I find it good now to enjoy the ep then see full reviews instead of spoiling the ep for me and having a negative view of the ep before I start.

I have been going through Series 11 and 12 with my Dad, we have finished series 11 and just got past Orphan 55 which I really liked (you can find my opinion on it somewhere on the Sofa) and I am hoping round eps when watching on my own but have been going through Series 8 which is pretty enjoyable and I am starting to appreciate the 12th Doctor and his eps even more now 🙂

Thank you for sharing your wonderful views on the show and some wonderful eps , we look forward to hearing from you again 🙂

Declan Sargent

 

 

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

Hi Declan,  thanks for your kind reply!

I believe (from what I’ve read) BBC iPlayer is area-limited (to UK only?)    Apparently there are ways to get around that e.g. using a VPN, but I’ve never tried.   I do have all of NuWho in boxsets up to Series 10,   I’ve also got Series 11 but haven’t watched it yet, I picked it up after I’d restarted watching from ‘Rose’.    So it can sit on the shelf unopened until I work my way through to it in a few weeks time (I’m currently on The Woman Who Lived).

Series 8 has some great eps in it. I like Twelve and I like Clara, but I also like their interaction even when they’re clashing head-on (if that doesn’t sound paradoxical).   I love good dialogue and a clever plot, so I’m definitely a fan of Moffat’s style.   Series 11 – I’ll wait and see, I’m not sure if anyone else can match Moffat’s ideas and plotting BUT I’ve thought that before about TV series and sometimes been proved wrong, sometimes not.    Like you I prefer to watch the episode before reading any reviews – I’m quite good at letting occasional accidental spoilers go right over my head.   Helped by the knowledge that different people see the same episode in, sometimes, quite bizarrely different ways, so any random spoiler ‘fact’ may be quite insignificant to me.

Female Doctor – fine.   It depends entirely on how well it’s written and how good Jodie Whittaker (who I don’t know) is in the role.

The advantage of viewing on DVD is that I can decide when to watch and I can watch it uninterrupted by adverts and I don’t have to worry about missing an episode.   The disadvantage is that everybody’s already discussed it and moved on – I’m a little bit uncertain about posting my comments at the end of a thread where the last comment was 4 years ago   🙂      But I might do that anyway on the assumption that everybody can ignore it if they want to.

Oh well that’s enough from me

Cheers and thanks

[Oochillyo @oochillyo]

hey @dentarthurdent I am very happy you are enjoying your adventure through Doctor Who all the way through 🙂

I asked ‘what is your fav ep of New Who from 2005-2020 and why’ for everyone when I joined and perhaps you can share your pick with us, take your time to think about it and whatever you say its your view and thats great dont feel concerned about saying a particular episode for example my fav New Who ep is GridLock and I understand its not everyone’s cup of tea but thats fine 🙂

Declan Sargent

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

Hi Declan,  what a lovely invitation!

I had to make a little list.   I ended up with six (but it could well have been longer).

A difficult choice, but I think it has to be  The Day of the Doctor.   John Hurt makes a fine Doctor and it was great to see Tennant back, plus Clara, Osgood is an excellent new character, and if you include the Night of the Doctor prequel, Paul McGann as Eight (he would have made an excellent TV-series Doctor).     Oh, and lovely to see Billie Piper as The Interface (that girl can steal a scene just leaning against a wall in the background, and I don’t mean that in a bad way).   Quite often, adding more characters can result in none of them being effective (e.g. Journeys End), but in DotD  Moffatt controlled this excellently, and did justice to all the cast.  And it was also visually appealing, and a nice balance between drama and humour  (“What’s our cover story for this?”  “Er, Derren Brown.”   “Again?”   “Oh, we’ve sent him flowers.”)

Blink was also on my list (what a surprise), the opposite of DotD (in terms of size and characters), and possibly the neatest time-loop story ever.   The Weeping Angels are uniquely scary and the scene with Old Billy is incredibly moving.

Last Christmas.    Love those sarcastic elves pointing out all the ‘inconsistencies’ in the plot!   That was an episode that really paid re-watching – on about the third watching the foreknowledge means that everything makes sense.   That’s not a defect – on the first watch-through events were as confused as a dream often is.   And it’s not a reset-cheat as ‘dream’ sequences often are, because it warns you in the first few minutes to beware of dreams.   BUT even before I had a clue, it was fun to watch.

Asylum of the Daleks – the first appearance of a Dalek ‘skin job’, I think.   And the sight of the entire Dalek parliament telling the Doctor “you will save us”.   And the same parliament later not knowing who the Doctor was, thanks to Souffle Girl hacking their database.   And – we can’t say Moff didn’t give us a massive heap of clues (‘where does she get the milk?’) – the final tragic reveal that Oswin was a Dalek.   That caught me completely by surprise, quite simply because Oswin was so vivacious and upbeat the possibility never occurred to me.   My brain just didn’t want to suspect she might have been ‘turned’.

Listen – Capaldi doing a genius solo act (and breaking the Fourth Wall, iirc).   And the spookiest bedsheet monster that might not have been one.

Flatline – gotta love the cute little Tardis.   And I do like Capable Clara.

I should also mention Magician’s Apprentice / Witch’s Familiar, Hell Bent (I think that’s maybe a little controversial?), The Doctor’s Wife (I’ve seen the Tardis in a different light ever since), and The Girl Who Waited  (Amy’s finest hour, but a heart-wrenching ending).

(I find  Gridlock a perfectly satisfying episode to watch, it just doesn’t make my highlights list.   Nothing wrong with it, and I like Martha, a very smart companion).

Cheers

[Oochillyo @oochillyo]

hey dentarthurdent all of those are wonderful suggestions, I love Flatline and after watching Listen I was shaken about thinking of the possibility of the episode ‘if something could perfectly hide’ and we would never know although I am kinda annoyed that Clara is made soo important again like she made the Doctor scared of the dark is what I got through that ending even though she tried comforting him also is it a bit strange he is still scared of the dark even though as the Tenth Doctor he took on and won powerfully against the Vashta Nerada I quesse there could be other dangerous aliens that operate when its dark but beating the most dangerous version of that sure would help you overcome that fear of the dark.

I cant really stand Clara that much mayby she got better with 12th as sometimes she was more focused and reasonable with the task as it wasn’t all about her and she was kind to some people also 12th could shut her down more when she was in the wrong but she was still bossy and ungrateful a lot of the time and her being soo important from 11th’s era and then she got resurrected by the Doctor, got her own Tardis and an immortal companion which basically gave her the power of the Doctor was too much to end her journey in addition to making the Doctor scared of the dark.

I just hope she returns one day and the Doctor stops her cause she honesty could cause devastation throughout time and space and we really think Masey knows enough or doesn’t have a big enough ego to prevent any serious disaster from occurring unlike the Doctor and he has many talents such as speaking every language and a legend so he is respected or feared by a lot of alien species I just dont see them coping with anything similar to what the Doctor faces as their limited knowledge and lack of gadgets like a sonic screwdriver makes them more like time traveling tourists not getting involved too much.

Anyway thats just my opinion on a lot of this of course any one can disagree with it I just think its crazy Clara and her buddy have this much importance and power without earning it or challenging themselves to gain it with serious conviction.

Thanks for your sharing your fav eps with us all I really liked you joking about the elves knowing their Christmas ep is silly I might watch that ep now as I haven’t seen it as I thought it was too bad through some reviews and its similarity to alien and half life with its face huggers ect therefore it didn’t really give off that Christmas vibe but I will check it out at some point 🙂

Declan Sargent

[Anonymous @]

Hello –

I have come into possession of my uncle’s meticulous collection of Region 1 Doctor Who classic series DVDs. He has the complete set of every DVD released for Doctors 1-7 through 2016 (so no #30 or #34). In addition to these 140 DVDs, he has 18 others (Series 1-7, the Movie, and some other miscellaneous titles).  They are in like new condition – most were purchased and watched once. I am going to sell the lot of 158 DVDs on eBay and I’m hoping for some feedback on what the collection might be worth. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for your time!

 

 

 

 

[winston @winston]

@dentarthurdent  Hello and welcome to the site. I live in Canada so we are a long ways apart but united in our love of Who. This is a great site that can keep you busy just reading all the posts and the people are all nice and friendly. Go ahead and post on older forums because it will spark conversations as Who fans can and do re-watch episodes over and over again and like a new perspective.

Your faves are great and I like them all  and like you I can never pick just one. Maybe “Rose” because it was the first new Who I watched and it got me hooked. I too like a cute little Tardis.

[winston @winston]

@janetteb   Just a shout out to you and your family! hope you are still all good. Some day we will get a vaccine and this will all be a bad nightmare (I keep telling myself ) and we will get back to whatever normal life is. Until then stay safe.

[janetteB @janetteb]

@winston Hi. Hope you are well. We are relatively fortunate in that our state is managing to keep things under control thanks to strict border patrols but we are all holding our breaths and wondering how long it will last. It is so hard for small businesses. some are afraid to re open still as they would not survive a second lock down.

I am really enjoying the discussion @oochillyo and @dentathurdent. At the moment I have a backlog of work to do hence not replying. I am following your posts with interest. Please do revisit old threads. it is always good to revive old discussions. We are all of us here because we never get tired of talking about Dr Who.

@cbsbacon welcome to the forum.

cheers

Janette

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

Hi Declan

Well Clara is one of my favourite companions, so we’ll just have to differ on that.   Your point about Clara and Me flitting about the universe in a stolen Tardis with too much power for their experience is – well, worth considering, but I think I have to disagree on the ‘experience’ side.   Clara went through some pretty harrowing experiences as a Companion, and while we only saw a few quick snapshots of Ashildr/Me’s life, she lived throughout the entire duration of the Universe, the hard way.   I think they earned their freedom.   As for their potential to create chaos, well, it’s no more than The Master / Missy, Davros, assorted Gallifreyan timelords, the Great Intelligence and others have been doing for decades or millennia, I’m sure the Doctor can handle it    🙂

As for Last Christmas, I’d suggest just watching it and not taking too much notice of reviews  (though if you don’t like Clara obviously that may diminish your appreciation).   What I’ve found (with all TV fiction, not just Who) is that Good-Bad is not a linear scale, it’s more like a ball of wibbly-wobbly – er, threads.   Different things may matter to different people, so a reviewer may praise or condemn an episode for some point that you never even notice.   Particularly in Last Christmas, Santa Claus and the sarcastic elves are great fun (OK, humour is subjective) but they all have a valid sci-fi-ish explanation in the end.    But then if I like the ‘feel’ of an episode I don’t worry too much about plot holes (though Kill The Moon was a step too far for me).   But the Zygon eps by the same author – which had nearly as much improbability, 20 million Zygons living in secrecy? – I find I can quite happily dial out the quibbles and go with the nice dialogue and the fan references.   And the awesomeness of Zygella’s realisation after ten minutes of the Doctor’s oration that the Osgood boxes were actually empty.   Wow!

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@winston

Thanks for the welcome.     Yes ‘Rose’ was the episode that got me hooked too, though my favourite episode of S1 was probably The Parting of the Ways, and the awesomeness of Bad Wolf Rose after she looked into the Time Vortex.

But I’ll happily adopt your suggestion and add a few comments to the discussion on specific episodes.   Probably means I should read the preceding comments so I’m not just repeating word-for-word.  That’ll give me something to keep me occupied.

[Oochillyo @oochillyo]

hey everyone here its wonderful you are all talking to each other and sharing soo kindly, this site and all of you have  honestly helped me a lot through this awful Covid-19 crisis as I cant go back to school or see my friends as I am in the at risk category so not seeing any of my friends for more than half a year has been pretty tough at times so being welcomed into this community with you all as my friends talking about a show I love is amazing and I am very thankful to you all for your kindness, encouraging us all to show our love of Doctor Who passionately and everything you have all done for and said to me hugs 🙂

Declan Sargent

[Author]

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