@thommck

I’ll echo others and say there were some great links there. Mathiesons blog is very entertaining, and I love a couple of the stories – his joy about Janet being his first “Doctor Who kill”, because he loved her work in The Singing Detective, for example.

@mudlark @blenkinsopthebrave

On the TARDIS weight, the only time I can remembe…[Read more]

@Thommck

Great posts, great links!

(love the VFX blog one, and the caterpillars. (Can only imagine what the slug mat was like @Purofilion. Sounds like the stuff of nightmares!))

Re the background in the Missy screengrab from the end of Flatline – that looks very like a cyberman style eye to me (on the right). Does that rule her out for being a…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave

I used to work in an academic department with a faction that just like that…

Lol – oh yes, the slime-ademics – hideous beasties often encountered crawling the corridors of the ivory tower 🙂

@blenkinsopthebrave @DrBen

The spreadsheet was fun to do – I was able to cut the data in many ways – for example I was able to do averages of categories, such as the Christmas Specials, the Paternoster Gang episodes, River Song Episodes or Dalek Episodes.

I was rating stories (BG) and episodes (AG). This means that The War Games gets a single…[Read more]

@Purofilion

LOL at Clara PrimePlus! And you’re right – after everything she’s been through it’s a wonder she’s any sort of normal at all. The timetravelling with the Doctor isn’t necessarily a problem in itself (tho it looks a lot like burning the candle at both ends while melting it in the middle as well). Lying about it to your SO definitely…[Read more]

@ScaryB

@Blenkinsopthebrave Clara as the Doctor’s daughter – not really convinced, but I love it anyway.

Ah ha! A challenge! OK, I will try and find all the evidence from Clara’s first appearance onwards.

Of course, this may take a little time.

@FatmaninaBox Love your idea that the equations are the calculations for moving Gallifrey in Day of the Doctor. (All the others have the sonic working on it in the background – 12 goes for the blackboard 🙂 )

@Barnable (are you back to Barnable, I get so confused!! 😉 ) That really was a note to myself, but kudos to you for ‘fessing up if you…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave – I think the first big lie Clara ever told was in DotDoctor when she told us her story was done
I always found it amazing that 1 of the claricles was a “Galifreyan” who told the first Doctor which Tardis to steal -was she there in training to be a TimeLady ?
She is a souffle girl [which is a complicated recipe] The doctor…[Read more]

Nice discussion @Phaseshift and @JimtheFish and @Blenkinsopthebrave about the nature of soap as a genre and in its defence.

To that I would add that there is often an un-thought out response which labels “soap” as a derisory form when there is a gendered cultural history to that. Soap was created as drama aimed at women (paid for by soap m…[Read more]

@JimTheFish

Sorry – lots of posts followed and I had limited time.

I agree, in that I think when you look at the writers who came out of soap, you get the feeling they were almost programmed for arcs, development, social relevance, and so the list of writers and what they went onto (Jimmy McGovern! Russell T, !) shouldn’t surprise, but alw…[Read more]

@Pedant

What a great link, thanks for posting. And completely agree with @Blenkinsopthebrave – there’s some great TV in there (and don’t you dare knock Dixon of Dock Green!! (though I jumped ship when I discovered Z Cars)).  Sadly I was mostly packed off to bed before TW3.  Though I remember seeing some of them so I must have sneaked back up a…[Read more]

Some interesting points on the Soap Opera front. It’s not a term I can really equate with criticism for very specific reasons. I think it must have been levelled at virtually every writer of a franchise I’ve followed internet comments on. @bluesqueakpip may have a better grasp of the Whedonverse than I do, but I’m sure I’ve read criticism of Angel…[Read more]

Excellent episode. Lots to like in this one. It really has been an excellent series this year. I agree with @Blenkinsopthebrave in that it seems to be very much a stand alone while running with the general themes of the series. Compliments must go to the writing team and to Moffat for maintaining those thematic elements through the various…[Read more]

@Phaseshift You are sweet – cheering up a sick fish 🙂

I have to say that I find the mythological undercurrents in Moffat’s Who somewhat frustrating because whilst they are clearly there (and I love your sycamore tree catch) it wouldn’t take much, and needn’t disturb the waters of the casual viewer, to sew a more consistent thread…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave
everybody, really…
It might be strange, given my predilection for bonkers theories, to say this, but:
I think we might be reading too much into this episode.

Much as I hate to admit it, you’re probably right.

Although I still think…

No, No! You are right. If there was a deeper manipulation it would be as you put it: t…[Read more]

@PhileasF

Well done in tracking down the dialogues from the BG episodes. Definitely not a new thing that companions threaten to leave and forcefully call the Doctor out on things. I seem to remember it wasn’t unusual for Ian or Barbara to do it either. I see lots of echoes of Hartnell in particular in Twelve.

@pedant – Stop doing that!!…[Read more]

@Juniperfish

Re Missy’s world – there’s a 4th option – that it actually exists, rather than being somewhere digital.  It could be in a bubble universe, it could be where the lost Time Lords are.  IF people are being teleported there, it suggests something timelordy to me. But I love the idea that it’s a Moffat tease to folk who say he never k…[Read more]

waves at @bluesqueakpip— good points about the production difficulties re. Courtney btw. Presumably this would continue to be an issue if she were to become a more regular companion too.

RE. the whole pregnant thing. I’m afraid I’m not convinced, and actually nor do I want to be. One of the major aspects of the Pond arc was that it took great…[Read more]

@Blenkinsopthebrave

I agree – Clara (series 8) seems a bit disconnected from  Clara (series 7).  I suggest a couple of possible reasons for that –

1. the possible side effects of jumping into the Doctor’s timestream. She survived only because she was rescued by Matt, and it was touch and go, so a PTS reaction wouldn’t be unexpected.  She woul…[Read more]