Rewatched this last night, for the first time in ages. Had forgotten just how good it was. Karen Gillan puts in a bravura performance. The emotion is complex and riveting, the decisions that have to be made are complex and painful, the Doctor is both caring and brutal. Everything about it works–the writing, the acting, the direction. This was an…[Read more]

The (new) War Doctor

https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-10-14/doctor-who-war-doctor-recast/

I am starting to wonder if the most interesting Who these days is now not the TV show…

@winston Yes, Happy Thanksgiving Day in return! Of course, as a recent Canadian, I am still a little unknowing about the whole Thanksgiving thing in Canada. Mrs Blenkinsop tells me that it is connected to harvest time. I am willing to go with that, but that has no actual resonance for someone who grew up in Australia. What it means to me now is…[Read more]

@janetteB

When I was a teenager in the 1960s one of my favourite books was “The Australian Ugliness” by the architect Robin Boyd. It was a lacerating critique of what passed for Australian architecture, and one of the many memorable reflections he had was that suburban Australians suffered from “Aboraphobia”–the psychological fear of trees. And…[Read more]

@janetteB Thought I would move the talk of housing over here. Yes, you are absolutely right about houses in Australia completely forgetting about the fact that it does actually get cold in winter! I grew up in one of those typical brick veneer post-war houses that seemed to be always hot in summer and cold in winter. Whereas our current house has…[Read more]

@janetteB I suppose I have always interpreted spoilers as a reveal of something that is going to happen in a future episode, but if an episode has already screened and been discussed, then it is hard to spoil something that has already happened. Otherwise, revealing that the Doctor can regenerate might be seen as spoiler to someone who has only…[Read more]

For those parched for news, here is a drop of information. No spoilers, and first seen on the Radio Times.

https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a34315582/doctor-who-festive-special-daleks/

Wasn’t quite sure where to post this. It is official (I think)

It is very hard to read the news these days without being confronted with American politics. And it is tiring. The more I read about where Trump is taking America the more I think of the original Star Trek episode about the mirror universe, where where all the positive aspects of the Federation had been turned into a violent, ugly world of naked…[Read more]

@mudlark. I came across this article that made me think of your past reflections on working in your garden. The longer we live in this lockdown, the more Mrs Blenkinsop and I have turned attention to our garden. Not to the degree evidenced in the article, but his story is very inspirational. It is also a great reflection on managing the trade-off…[Read more]

@thane16

Puro!

How brilliant to hear from you! Eating is to be encouraged, but how do you acquire it? We make the occasional furtive raid on our local grocery and wine store (suitably masked up) but the days of dining out seem to be a distant memory. Over here it is mid-summer, but being on an island, where we are,  it is a very gentle summer. M…[Read more]

@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…[Read more]

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

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.

@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,…[Read more]

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…[Read more]

@davros

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

49…that is way too young.

@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…[Read more]

Just read that Ennio Morricone died. He represented a huge part of my life at the movies, particularly, but not limited to, the Sergio Leone movies. I have posted extracts from some of those before, so shall not do it again (well, not now). Perhaps there are others, such as Syzygy the elder…

@thane16

are you out there?…who could reflect in a…[Read more]

Whoops! I stupidly typed in the wrong name in my message above. It was Earl Cameron I was referring to. I clearly need another coffee to get the brain working properly.