oh boy, yes, the latest info on all things Who made me feel a tad off? I found out that the so called Special wasn’t really much of a special at all: whilst in a hotel room, doom scrolling on YouTube on a site run by a young British lad…[Read more]

I saw a sign the other day that made me ch…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave good to see you about these pages, also.

@blenkinsopthebrave. I have not heard of that one. Will have to look it up. there is something magical about old cinemas. Are there any extant episodes?

cheers

Janette

Can’t say I was a huge fan of JNT, but there is a argument that he kept the show going for longer than might have been the case. And he did then nearly save it through the agency of Andrew Cartmel.

RTD WAS the show’s saviour 2 decades ago. I’m sure Chris Chibnall has a middle name too.

As, I expect, do Michael Grade and Pi…[Read more]

I was quite excited by The Colourised War Games. Such an important story canonically, but 10 eps (250mins) was a bit long: the mad charging about, scenery chewing and interminable sonic screwdriver action, tedious. Nonetheless, the contraction to 90mins seemed too drastic. Two 1hr or 75 min films (The War Games and The Time…[Read more]

The Christmas Carol tour of southern Britain is real! Both Bakers & Peter ‘kid show’ Purves. But I’m sure none of them object to plugging their show…

But both the Shearman and Ford stories… and Millie Gibson too? Is this all actually the ultimate tease?

Bear with me… some bonkers theo…[Read more]

Welcome back!

This is one of several links to the story

https://cultbox.co.uk/general/carole-ann-ford-describes-unused-doctor-who-finale-scene

all these seem to come with their own interpretations.

I just note there seems to be a lot of activity. Presaging an announcement perhaps?

@blenkinsopthebrave I confess that I didn’t make that connection to Hazran. What did spring to mind when I watched the episode was the connection with role played by Lillian Gish as the woman who protects her orphan charges against Robert Mitchum’s deranged Preacher in the fabulous “”Night of the Hunter”…

[Read more]

So, your reading of “with or without Disney’s involvement” is that The Mouse is still interested, whereas we all thought he’s skipped away? But why go if he’s interested? They want a better deal. Yeah, that could be out of Trump’s playbook.

But do we know they are still ne…[Read more]

@whohar, you are always welcome back!

Interestingly, I had two job offers to go and live in Canada in the early 2010’s – both in Montreal. I umm’ed and err’ed about it for some time before heading to Melbourne.

@winston If you like live action / cartoons, have you seen ‘Cool World’ from 1992? It’s my favourite of the…[Read more]

@ps1l0v3y0u @whohar It’s quite definitely Eiffel Tower, it…[Read more]

Happy Canada Day!

I’ve only been to parts of Western Canada (mainly Vancouver and Whistler / Blackcomb) but have very fond memories of both the place and the people. Enjoy the day.

Specifically, at some point in 2021 say, The BBC contact Russ and say ‘we need help. That show you really like is heading for the bin. This is our wish list. What can you do?’

Not sure how that negotiation played out but, at a guess, Gatiss, Whithouse and Matthieson were all considered too adult.

Nonetheless, having had 5-10 yea…

[Read more]

stand by for a Strictly/Who crossover with Craig Revel Horwood as show runner.

The problem with The BBC is it is a public service broadcaster. The fans may think they ‘own’ the show but so does every license fee payer, and there’s always been a vocal set of critics who will be delighted by the though…[Read more]

Yes the ‘hello’ really struck me. There’s usually a moment of confusion – though not so much I think with Fifteen? But at least, maybe a sense of being newborn. She was more as though she’d stepped through something.

@blenkinsopthebrave – yup, when I thought it, I thought I knew the lot that would appreciate…[Read more]

Agree with your analysis, I think that is exactly what’s happened.

@miapatrick <hello, welcome back> @blenkinsopthebrave

I suggested in an earlier post that Piper might be another version of Idris from The Doctor’s Wife, so similar to your Tardis idea.  I hope this is what pans out on screen as it’s the most palatable option, for me…[Read more]

it’s easier to find duff eps pre twice upon a time than good ones after (up until RTD2 anyway)

9 eps per season does seem a bit mean, with not a lot of scope for additional writers. I would say the only real clunkers were Russ’ Legend and Empire. But did they clunker. I keep lookin…[Read more]

To…[Read more]

agreed. Those are top notch episodes. The Eleventh Hour was an hour long, wasn’t it? I think most of those series increased runtimes from 44 mins to 52. And there was still 13 eps per year.

RTD initially had an Easter special (as well as the Christmas ones) travelling to Dubai to film Planet of the D…[Read more]

Series 5 was wonderful from the very beginning to the bitter end. The Eleventh Hour was such a great introduction to a new Doctor and companion that my regeneration shock wore off quickly. The episode is set in one big lonely house  and a very small village with only a small amount of FX but…[Read more]

I wonder to what extent it’s now about new sources of funding; a lighter show for youngsters; Disney’s expectations & the bottom line: not to mention the contract Gatwa negotiated so he wasn’t doing 13- 14 episodes per year? I think this explains a lot.

special mention for Amy’s choice. Toby Jones does creepy.
And Big Bang was totally off the wall yet elegant. Better season ender than Wedding or Time of the Doctor.
I wasn’t overly fond of the return of The Angels at first. Especially Angel Bob. Or the Silurian stor…[Read more]

As a bit of a palette cleanser, I’ve just been watching a few eps from Smith’s first season (aka Series 5):

The Eleventh Hour (still the best regen story imo)

Pandorica / Big Bang

Plus a couple of other eps: the Angels two-parter, and Vincent.

It’s like watching a different (and much better)…[Read more]

So… no talkin shop dahn the pub. Ok I’ll remember that.

I mentioned Ace, not because I thought she’d be coming back, but because she (and Sarah Jane) are the favourite Classic companions. And, of the two, the writing for Ace was probably better. And she was the first ‘supered’ companion, apart from Romana. I…[Read more]

Sorry, posting under time pressure. Of course, I meant ‘Twice Upon a Time,’ NOT ‘World Enough…’

I haven’t studied Chib’s Dalek stories. I really will have to check out the post TTC arc and specials. Albeit reluctantly. But Moff drilled right down into Dalekdom, whereas Chib just wheeled them around, didn’…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave – A midges love poem!
Wow – great to hear poetry here.

@scaryB – oh god.
Dagga Doo is bad enough, but I now have a Kenneth McKellar ear-midge!
;¬)

Though “Och aye the midges” by Bob Strachan might live longer!

;¬D

what I meant was, John Hurt was credited as ‘The War Doctor’ in Name of the Doctor but, apparently, Billie didn’t get anything like that this time. So, I assumed she’s The Doctor… but, if she is another version, you have Ruth, The Watcher or The Valeyard. Mind you Valeyard is french for Old Man. Don’t kno…[Read more]

@mudlark

I have been thinking (over-thinking?) about Poppy and the question of whether we are in a world of reality or not at the end

Unfortunately, we just don’t know. And, in actual fact, we have more questions now than we did before the finale. That shouldn’t be the case. I’m fine with leaving a few threads hanging and to…[Read more]

Murky. Gritty.

oft mocked. Very nasty, dumb title: Vengeance on Varos. If the current arc is VR it needs a Visit to a Virtual Varos if only to dunk The V’linx in some Vitriol!

Some will be outraged, but it’s a weird mix of unlikely personal thesp triumph not even JNT and Seward combined could contain: Caves of And…[Read more]

I have to admit, I’m not sure why Gatwa had to regenerate? But there was mention of moving the “phenotype to the left? and lots of talk about “degrees.” However, I wasn’t particularly gutted: I haven’t been a fan of this doctor -the “babes,” the…[Read more]

@juniperfish Agree with you (and I think @WhoHar and others made the point…[Read more]

And at the conclusion all 15 Doctors form a conga line, waving to the audience as they ascend to the own individual Tardis.

😀 😀 😀

Maybe a bit too low key for RTD2 tho.

@thane16 Always love how you pick up on musical cues

Re doubts – I think the Rani says that it’s the Vindicator which creates the…[Read more]

Omega House. Delta waves… this COULD actually be based on Animal House!??

15 and Ruby duet on ‘Shout’; 14 communes with miniature spectral forms of Ruth and Swarm. Clara and Cherry dance with Ruby and Belinda’s dates. Conrad falls off a ladder…

no no no I can’t go on!

Given that the Wish World is designed ultimately to fail, the fact that the bony and insubstantial dinosaurs (VR?) are such an anomaly may be the point; a way of testing peoples acceptance of the illusion and at the same time prompting doubts and questions

My understanding was that it was the Doctor’s doubts specifically that were…[Read more]

Many thanks for that; I hadn’t come across it before and it’s lovely.  And yes, midges are best contemplated from a distance, dancing in columns in the sun.

@scaryb

😀  Well midges are admittedly one of the few downsides of the Scottish countryside, so I should have realised that it was the Scots if anyone who would come u…[Read more]

That’s beautiful. Hadn’t come across Anthony Hecht before.

It’s a sub canon thing that The Doctor was once known as Sigma Theta or ‘Thete’.

But it ain’t sigma, it’s zeta. Zeta and theta have connections with various number theories and functions, especially Riemann surfaces which form the basis of fractal theory.

But that’s me talking, so a lot of the last paragraph c…[Read more]

As an afterthought I have just checked on the Secure Container Cube used to confine the Screech in Lucky Day, and it bears a distinct, though not exact similarity to the Giant container in the trailer. So container for the big O Ω ?

I also made a slight error in my transcription of what Belinda said, it should h…[Read more]

Conrad is not redeemed

Fifty-fifty in my opinion but I think, given RTDs very clear theme on the subject, it’s probably even less likely, so maybe 40-60. UNLESS he somehow feels something for Ruby and tries to make it up with her, sacrificing himself in the process, so maybe 60-40. Ah, hell, I don’t know.

Similarly, I wonder…[Read more]

You’ve prompted me to go back for another look. In scene 9, which directly follows scene 7 with the giant safe or secure container ( I seem to have missed out 8 in the reckoning), it isn’t actually clear who Belinda is speaking to, but there is no indication that it is the Rani and the setting does not seem to be the bone…[Read more]