@janetteb I wish I could say I saw it on the big screen, but we watched it at home, courtesy of one of the very few video stores left. (I cannot see either of the two ageing Blenkinsops inside a cinema anytime soon.) It was still visually stunning.

Just finished watching “Dune”. We both thought it was really good. And when I say really good I mean that it told a complicated story (i.e. given the novel if you have read it) surprisingly clearly, was visually spectacular, and with all the actors giving really good performances, especially the young guy playing Paul Atreides, which is a…[Read more]

@winston So sorry to hear about the family. Out here, there are only myself and Mrs Blenkinsop. Back in Ontario there is a large extended family coping with every thing from the medical issues that come with age (at our age cohort) to the economic issues that come with Covid for the next age cohort (and their children). Of course, everybody copes…[Read more]

Last night, we watched something from the Blenkinsop DVD collection that had been sitting on the shelf for years: “The Flipside of Dominick Hide.” For anyone who knows it, you will remember it fondly. For anyone who doesn’t know about it the show was on the BBC programme “Play of the Day” in 1980. It was a time travel story (hence the attraction…[Read more]

@mellouie, Welcome!

@miapatrick, You are, of course, quite right about Moffat appealing to a particular cohort. I readily admit to being part of that cohort. I confess, I was never really excited by RTD’s take on the Doctor and all the episodes I liked tended to be written by others (and not just Moffat). When it came to Chibnall, I tried really…[Read more]

OK, just finished watching The Big Bang. Was it fabulous? Yes. Obviously. Was it about about the end of the universe? Yes. Was it better than The Vanquishers in the way it handled the potential destruction of the universe?

What, is that a trick question?

We just finished watch The Pandorica Opens. What a fabulous episode. The Big Bang follows after dinner. If there was an explanation of why Moffat was brilliant and why Chibnall isn’t, then honestly this is it.

Where I am it is 7pm. Mrs Blenkinsop and I just got back from getting our booster shots. Hurrah! On the way home, we stopped off at the local shops–I got a bottle of shiraz while Mrs Blenkinsop decided that we deserved a pizza (which we haven’t had in the house for ages). We also realized that this was the first time we had been out driving at…[Read more]

@craig

Just supporting what @devilishrobby said.

@winston Sorry to hear about your grand daughter. From what I understand it has milder effects, and the youngsters are more resilient than we are, but it is still something we would all rather was not there.

take care and be safe.

Well, yes, that was actually a fun episode. I agree with all the wise comments above (but only the wise comments).

Have just finished it, so perhaps more thoughts later. Except for this:

As I watched it I could not help but be struck by the weird connection with a fabulous Japanese film I watched last night called “Beyond the Infinite Two…[Read more]

@scaryb Sorry to hear about the dreaded lurgee, but very pleased to hear it was only wee bout, and that you are back!

And also, a shout out to the wonderful @craig, who continues to keep the lights burning for us in this home away from home.

Happy new year to all!

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@janetteB I loved that story about taking out the bin! (Particularly the photo of it in the phone booth: “It was just talking trash.”) I was showing it to Mrs Blenkinsop the morning, and at the same time an email from an Australian friend who has recently retired to New Zealand came in with the header “We should be proud to be Australian”…[Read more]

@janetteb

Yes, HECS was a bummer (I only managed to go to university because of Gough). But at least Bob came from a union background, and represented a world that is long since gone.

Have a great Christmas. (And that goes for everyone at the pub.)

@janetteb, @thane16

Something to rekindle memories of Australia in the 1980s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT120JBL4yo

Ah, the days of yore, back when the left-wing Prime Minister was a champion beer drinker. These days, the Prime Minister is a right-wing evangelical.

So much for progress.

I have been contemplating “The Flux” as a whole story told over six episodes. I am still contemplating, and I have already (as others have) expressed thoughts on the whole story. But…I think it requires a dedicated blog. I am contemplating it, but would also be keen if others wanted to jump in before me.

A quick preview: looked fabulous, was…[Read more]

@devilishrobby Yes, the lack of a big bad (unless Chibnall brings in Time at the end to say that time itself is the big bad–and that sounds ridiculous even as I write it) has been a problem. Absolutely agree with what you say about the less-than big bads that are jammed together–Swarm, Azure, Tecteun, the Grand Serpent. The only one that had any…[Read more]