@whohar Well, my Nanny theory was a second glass of wine theory. Even I recognize that  inebriation is not always the equivalent of illumination…

There is a scene in the cinema, where they are screening an old black and white Western. It immediately reminded me of one of the most wonderful 1950s British comedies ever made,  “The Smallest Show on Earth,” about a young couple who inherit a run-down cinema, and try to make it work, by showing cheap movies, including an old Western. As I…[Read more]

First impression–I thought it was pretty good. And it was the one episode of the RTD2 years so far that made excellent use of all that Disney+ money.

I really liked the meta allusions  with the trio of fans and their constant answer to the question of which was the best episode–“Blink”,”Blink”,”Blink”. In fact, the trio of fans reminded me the…[Read more]

We were watching “The Daemons” recently (after long gap) and we both noticed what many other viewers  in recent years must have noticed and commented on, but which (I confess) passed us by. And that is that one of the members of UNIT (and regarded by his superiors as too slow in getting this done) was…Sgt Osgoode! It all makes sense now–if one…[Read more]

@ps1l0v3y0u  He was indeed, and he has my sympathies–60 years too late.

But the way he was replaced could only have happened in the context of the story in “The Mind Robber”, which I think of as really enjoyable romp between reality and fiction and back again.

@bobbyfatv2 @ps1l0v3yOu

“The Mind Robber” is one of the great original Who stories (with a real “Alice Through the Looking Glass” feel to it) and could well be related to the way RTD2 wants to play in the land of fiction.

As for Mrs Flood, while Mrs Blenkinsop and I were sitting out in the garden room this evening, I pronounced to her (after…[Read more]

@whohar

You were asking about the Jean Marsh story we were going to watch. it turned out that the Blenkinsop basement failed to reveal a Who story with Jean Marsh, so we watched an episode from The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes where she played a small but key role in an excellent episode called “The Looting of the Specie Room”.

Highly r…[Read more]

@juniperfish Excellent critique, with spot on examples. I totally agree with you about the death of the long-form TV story telling. It provided a way of immersing yourself, getting to know characters, and reflecting on their actions. Slowly, and over time. Indeed, it was a little bit like reading a novel. But what is now on offer is more like the…[Read more]

@whohar

All good points. And if they really are dismantling the studio that does, indeed, sound ominous.

But for tonight, watching Jean Marsh in a Who story is where this evening is heading.

Sad news has just come in that the wonderful actress Jean Marsh (who was in a number of Doctor Who stories and was previously married to Jon Pertwee) has died.

Most people will remember her for Upstairs, Downstairs, but she was so much more; including Doctor Who Stories from the 1960s to the 1980s, and movies like The Eagle has Landed.

I tho…[Read more]

More thoughts:

Tonally, I felt it was all over the place, The robots were killing machines, but looked like large, cuddly toys. The same goes for the spaceship that kidnaps Belinda from Earth.

The Doctor inadvertently causes a power outage in a major London hospital,  and it is played for humour (aka the cat).

Why did RTD2 feel the necessity…[Read more]

Some immediate random thoughts.

* I think it would have worked better if they had been brazen enough to have  called the episode “Planet of the Incels.”

* Never kill a cat and expect a laudatory review from me.

* I assume RTD2 is pitching his stories to the generation that constantly plays video games. Alas, I am not part of that cohort.

*…[Read more]

@craig

Opening it up for comments when it screens on TV works for me. And, as always, many, many thanks for keeping the site going for all these years.

@scaryb

Great to see you back! Am responding on this forum as it is just general “hi!”

As we are of a similar vintage (and like good wine, improve with age) I could relate to your memories of watching TV back in the’70s. My university days really began in ’75 (after a bit of disorder back in ’71 but all sins were forgiven). The mid ’70s years…[Read more]

Mrs Blenkinsop and I spent the last few evenings watching “The Mind Robber” with the Troughton Doctor. We both loved it. The best way I can describe it is that it has a Lewis Carroll feel to it, particularly in the way it mixes reality and fantasy. For example, there is a plot twist that results in Jamie, played by Frazer Hines, being played by a…[Read more]

@winston So very sorry to hear about the ice storm.The loss of the garden is particularly unfair, as a garden is something one puts one’s personality into. There are no instant solutions, but at least Spring is on the way.

Stay strong.

@whohar Yes, Delgado’s early death was very sad. Another (small) role by him that I will always treasure was in the wonderful 1953 comedy “The Captain’s Paradise” with Alec Guinness and Celia Johnson that features a wonderful comic sequence with Delgado as a policeman.

I did not realise that there were plans to reveal his Master as the Doctor’s…[Read more]

@whohar Totally agree on The Daemons. One of the best. And I have always loved the Delgardo Master. Not every story featuring him was brilliant, but Delgardo always was.

Mrs Blenkinsop and I were just rewatching “The Space Museum” with Hartnell. was it good? Well… But it was classic “Who” and it had characters like Ian and Barbara and Vicki.

And it brought back my teenage years .

We used to discuss those early years quite a lt. If there is anyone out there who who would  like to continue to talk about those…[Read more]

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