I have just laughed my way through all your gift giving and getting stories! Special mention must go to @PhaseShift’s denture tablet story and @purofilion’s underwear.  🙂

@janetteB   I wouldn’t think port would be strong enough, you might have to ply the SO with whisky. But will your shower be bigger on the inside now? I wish I could make tha…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave I do dearly hope so. Looks great to me too. Thank you.

When ‘Beyond Thunderdome’ was made the studio felt Miller could only do action so he had to co-direct with George Ogilvie who did the quieter stuff. Since then Miller has proved himself able to direct anything, from ‘Lorenzo’s Oil’ and ‘Babe: Pig in the City’ to ‘Happy…[Read more]

@Purofilion and @Arbutus. WE have the car for you. A fiat 128 It was a gift for the boys from an old family friend who is a motoring enthusiast. (That gene skipped my partner and our offspring too). Drove it home today from the and half way home the muffler fell off. We managed to get it safely into the drive where it will stay until the boys are…[Read more]

@purofilion   @BarbaraLefty     We are big drink sniffers in our house, too! I will drink a bit of single malt to keep Mr. Arbutus company, but he appreciates it more than I do. (Bourbon is the official alcoholic beverage of our medieval music ensemble, due to the influence of a member with family ties to the American south…[Read more]

@purofilion Don’t forget the tangerine! (wrapped in foil, of course).

Right! I shall make a start on The West Wing this week, and keep you posted. @blenkinsopthebrave has Deadwood exactly right, I think – that’s certainly how David Milch is on record as having conceived it, too. I’d add that the violence is rarely just for the sake of e…[Read more]

I didn’t have a chance to watch last weekend, so I have a double bill of McCoy to enjoy…..and I’m enjoying him a great deal. When he was first announced as the Doctor I didn’t think he’d work, and his first season was pretty awful. By this point though, I think he’s great in the role.

Hats off to Sophie Aldred as well. It may not be apparent if…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave –all fair points which I totally respect and a big Yes to tolerance of ideas in this forum. And this is obviously a subject which means a lot to you and I totally respect that too.

However, I’m not sure I’d say the historical context is of vital importance, rather than just of secondary interest or resonance, largely because…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave I could go on about this for some time, but quite frankly, I had to fight so many battles over this that were so toxic over so many years, that I think that is all I really want to say on this topic.

Oops! Apologies – I only read this after I had just posted. I hope that this has not become toxic – I find it an interesting…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave

Well, I don’t like postmodern relativism either. I just disagree that this episode is an example of it.

Why on earth would a story need to say ‘by the way, the Earth is round, we have winter every year, and Britain is an island?’

I mean, you do have to set the scene a bit if Who lands in the Peninsula War. But World War…[Read more]

@Blenkinsopthebrave

it is the complete absence of historical context

The thing I think you are forgetting is that this episode was broadcast in the United Kingdom in 1989. There was absolutely no need for the story to provide ‘historical context’. None.

The historical context had already been provided. By grandparents, and by comics, and by…[Read more]

@Blenkinsopthebrave @Purofilion (Happy 13th to Boy Ilion – that sounds like Moffat-standard secret-keeping, impressive)

Must be the Black Friday effect – everyone’s off shopping!

*watches the tumbleweed blowing past*

I have  a big soft spot for Fenric. It was one that I  caught first time round by accident (I’d pretty much given up on Dr Who by then) and it sucked me in from the first episode, mainly due to the chemistry between 7 and Ace, and the location shooting, especially the underwater shots – gotta love an underwater viking longship 😯

I agree wi…[Read more]

Greetings @Blenkinsopthebrave. How are the Canadian cellars these days…?!

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...