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I go away for a couple of days, I come back and there are lists! The sci-fi/fantasy list I won’t even engage with. As Amelia would have said: “It’s rubbish!” And seems to reflect a collective memory of about the last 5 minutes. What about the “children of Hydra” skeletons in Jason and the Argonauts? Has no one seen This Island Earth or Forbidden Planet or…damn, I am engaging with it, and getting really upset!

Deep breath.

OK, now onto a real  list…@scaryB’s list.

I totally agree with his #1 and #6, and with @jimthefish‘s #8, and for all the same reasons.

In the same spirit, I would have to say that the entire first episode of of An Unearthly Child is at the top of my list. Of course, it has something to do with the fact that I saw it when I was 11 years old, and I have never been quite the same ever since.

I would add, in no particular order:

Barbara’s first encounter with a Dalek as it looms up on her in The Daleks

The Doctor leaving Susan on Earth at the end of The Dalek Invasion of Earth

Vicki and Steven climbing into the medieval sarcophagus and realising it is another Tardis  in The Time Meddler

Your first realisation in The War Games that it is all an elaborate computer-generated world

The Times Lords sending Jamie and Zoe back to their own times at the end of The War Games

Dear me, rather a lot of early Who…

 

 

 

 

 

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@bluesqueakpip

But this reinforces my point, my friend! I would imagine that the legions of people starved of the opportunity of watching YouTube are hungry for more Doctor Who dvds, not less!

But seriously, Black Orchid and The Awakening would be a great Peter Davison treat.

But, as @phaseshift has reminded us, it is Friday afternoon (in Canada, finally) and almost “a quarter to beer o’clock”. The bar beckons.

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@phaseshift, @bluesqueakpip, @jimthefish

Should it really affect the decision if the two-parters are sold on different discs? I wouldn’t have thought that dvd sales was the primary rationale for these retrospectives, but rather it was to introduce or re-introduce to whoever is lurking on the site representative stories of past Doctors, and providing a forum to share their thoughts.

On that basis, screening these two-parters would be a great way of introducing or re-introducing Peter Davison’s Doctor.

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@phaseshift
I second the excellent suggestion by @jimthefish that we pair up Black Orchid and The Awakening. It would do justice to the 5th, we could see that period with and without Adric, and it would be great to see how the show handled two-parters from that period. On a purely personal level, I haven’t seen either since they were first broadcast, and would love to get a double dose of Peter Davison.

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@purofilion, @janetteb

You are both starting to make me wonder why I decided to emigrate to Canada. But then I think about the current incumbent “suppository of wisdom” and I know why I did.

Take care, my fellow compatriots.

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I have been re-viewing the Loncon 3 – London Calling clip that @bluesqueakpip posted. Can anyone identify the source of the bit which has Australian flags hanging from the Exhibition Hall? I feel that as an expatriate, I should know this.

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@phaseshift, @bluesqueakpip

The Thames draining. Besides the movies you mention, there is also a sequence in season 3 or 4 of the US sci-fi show Fringe set in the alternate universe where the Thames is draining down a whirlpool (if you haven’t seen it, don’t ask, as it is too complicated to explain). Sorry, but do not have a screen-grab. What is it, I wonder, that attracts story-tellers (and not necessarily British story-tellers) to the idea of the Thames draining?

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@bluesqueakpip

A brilliant clip. I think you captured most of them. There might also have been The Day the Earth Caught Fire and perhaps a Quatermass? Will have to re-watch a couple of times to be sure.

@phaseshift

I love The Bed Sitting Room. It is totally unique. And as you say, what a cast!

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The World Tour is coming…to everywhere…except Canada…typical!

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@wolfweed

Yikes! That completely put me off my breakfast. Even the thought of a Disney version of Who is too awful to contemplate. And actually, the rendering is probably an accurate interpretation of what they would do with it.

I shall now spend the rest of the day trying to forget that I ever saw the image!

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@phaseshift

I was gutted too when I heard. “The Young Ones”, “The Comic Strip Presents”, “The New Statesman”, “Bottom”, “Blackadder”, so much wonderful stuff.

I remember when “The Young Ones” was on, and he played the strangely innocent anarchist, I was in a relationship with an anarchist at the time and she and I would have the odd difference of political opinion. There was a brilliant episode of “The Young Ones” where they stay in a cemetery overnight, and at the end of their ordeal of terror, as dawn comes up, Rik Myall proudly proclaims: “We stayed up all night. Now that’s what I call real anarchy!”

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Fabulous. It was only after watching it again that I realised how much of the dialogue has slipped into my own pattern of speech over the last 30 years. No wonder people respond to my conversations at cocktail parties the way they do. Mainly by moving away…

The other thing about watching it now is how dark the premise of the story is. The obliteration of humanity. That is sort of dark. But at the time (I am, or would have been, had he lived, the same age as Douglas Adams) it captured perfectly the frustration and feeling of absurdity that seemed to typify everything about so-called civilisation. As the Vogon commander said: “Apathetic planet. I’ve got no sympathy at all.”

Cannot wait for the next episode.

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That breakdown of the “Rain” trailer was stunning. Thanks for posting it, @wolfweed.

I think back to my dismal attempts to make a collage in school with cut-outs from magazines and some glue. Oh well.

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Back from a short hiatus. Well, lots to catch up on! First up: City of Death.

I find myself tempted to agree with @thekrynoidman on this one. Well partly. Well, for this episode. I too, always preferred Mary Tamm’s Romana. There was a strength of character in her Romana, that I never saw in Lalla Ward. And in light of Operation Yewtree and the late 70s, seeing Lalla Ward flirting with Tom Baker while dressed in a schoolgirl uniform is, well, I hate to say this, but…just a bit creepy.

The whole tone of the acting is almost Panto. I know that they were playing with it (the silly large black hats on the hired henchmen) and we are not meant to take it too seriously, but if you compare it to the tone The Avengers could strike with Steed and Mrs Peel, you realise that this is decidedly more Panto than whimsical.

But it is still fun, nonetheless. And it gets better as the story goes on!

 

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@craig

Actually, thank YOU for the advice!

Sorry, @rob, I suppose I was thinking of your recent fully suited and helmeted march at the time of typing, which led to me addressing you instead of @craig. Or perhaps it is the Blenkinsop brain that needs a full virus scan.

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@rob

Thanks for the advice. Just finished a full scan. All seemingly ok, which is strange, as I think I was on board during the hours you mentioned. A few weeks ago I abandoned Internet Explorer for Firefox. Not sure if that made any difference. (My knowledge of these technical matters is minimal, to say the least.)

 

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@whisht

I feel for you, my friend. My advice is that the only recourse at this point is to dull the pain, and lose yourself in another’s misery.

For the first, I recommend a good bottle of red, and for the second, I recommend the following:

Both should be consumed at the same time.

 

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@wolfweed

That fan-made “Rain” trailer is excellent. And more atmospheric than the official one the BBC put out.

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@phaseshift

Hitch Hikers? Absolutely!

Just the thought of hearing Richard Vernon as Slartibartfast again…wonderful

So, yes, a hundred times yes.

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Finally caught up with these episodes. A tantalising reference to the Blinovitch Limitation Effect, a spectacular mini skirt on Jo (and yes, she is one of my favourite companions as well–and not just because of the mini skirt!), distinctly fembot-like assistants to the Controller, and, watching it this time, the whole relationship between the Daleks and the Controller was strangely like the managerial culture of contemporary universities…sorry, the last one was sort of an in-joke for anyone who works in university administration.

And as for the final escape on the motorized tricycle, less Steve McQueen in The Great Escape and more Rocky the Rhode Island Red in Chicken Run.

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@bluesqueakpip

True, not much in the way of spoilers, but…what was the first scene of Matt Smith in series 5? His innocent, playful face appearing out of the up-turned Tardis as he greets Amelia. And what is the first image we are shown of Peter Capaldi’s Doctor? A dark (literally in the dark) Doctor, surrounded by fire.

Actually, I think we have been given a hint.

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@rob

You are a hero.

I suspect that there is more than one of us who frequent these boards that can identify in a personal way with your story, but less of us that do what you are doing tomorrow.

And as I notice that you have been knighted, I salute you, Sir Rob!

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Hurrah!

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@phaseshift, et al,

Re: City of Death. One should never miss the opportunity of even a snippet of Eleanor Bron:

 

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Time to cast my vote.

Any opportunity to see Eleanor Bron (however briefly) is an opportunity that should never be missed.

City of Death

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@thekrynoidman

You are right. It is one of the greatest musical numbers of all time.

And a brilliant parody of something that so deserved being sent up.

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I saw a few strange things today. And then I saw this.

http://makingstarwars.net/2014/05/star-wars-episode-vii-mysterious-nexus-character/

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It seems that I am Sherlock. Mrs Blenkinsop is in agreement about the sociopath bit.

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@phaseshift

You’re old? Young whippersnapper!

<Blenkinsop re-adjusts his dentures>

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@thekrynoidman

I hope you enjoy it, but I am not sure the movie could possibly be better than your leaping Godzilla gif. Brilliant!

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@fatmaninabox

<Blenkinsop furtively emerges from his place of hiding in the wake of his rather unfortunate failure to distinguish fact from fiction, and…fortified by an evening glass of wine (hurrah!)…engages with the outside world again>

Yes, indeed, apparently Tennant is confirmed, along with Colman and <get it right, get it right…> Darvill <whew!>.

As for The American version, I too had read that they were going to reveal a different murderer. But, given the fact that the impact of the resolution in the original on Olivia Colman’s character is absoultely central to the whole show (boy, is it difficult doing this without revealing spoilers…) it seems to imply that the American version will lose all of that. Which seems like losing much of what made Broadchurch the emotional punch to the gut that it was.

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@toinfinityandbepond

whoops!

What can I say that adequately responds to my hideously embarassing error? Under the circumstances, it will have to be the following:

There is a great sequence of dialogue in “Letter to Three Wives” (1949) where a character is addressing Kirk Douglas, who plays a school teacher, only to realise he has made a mistake. He tries to laugh it off by pretending he has to leave, by saying:

“Tempo fugit. Right, professor?”

To which the Kirk Douglas character replies:

“Almost.”

 

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@fatmaninabox

Just following up on your link (sadly no longer active) to the trailer for the American version of Broadchurch. Watching the trailer brought on a strange feeling of deja vu, yet they claim the story is going to have new characters and a different resolution. I fear no good will come of this!

I assume you have heard that Broadchurch 2 is a go, with Olivia Colman, Rory Williams and David Tennant all back and Charlotte Rampling as the lead?! I do so hope it doesn’t become Midsomer Murders-by-the-sea.

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@fatmaninabox

Exactly!

And here is the evidence of the essential compatibility of Eurovision with James Bond :

 

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@thekrynoidman

Absolutely not! Alice Cooper doesn’t work at all as a James Bond song. Working as a James Bond song has got nothing to do with being good music, but everything to do with capturing the essential silliness of the James Bond product. Conchita Wurst captures it in a pitch perfect way, and understands what makes James Bond, well…James Bond.

A good James Bond song (to work as a James Bond song), is much closer to the Eurovision song contest than it is to actual music.

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@thekrynoidman

Wow. That Alice Cooper James Bond track was really bad! Let’s face it, Conchita Wurst’s “Rise like a Penis” (that was the title wasn’t it?) would make a really good James Bond theme.

(Sorry, on an iPad, otherwise I would provide a link.)

Surely someone could provide a link…

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@arbutus, @phaseshift

The Seventies. Definitely my period as well. Not sure if you know “Detectives on the Verge of A Nervous Breakdown” from The Comic Strip Presents; about a group of 70s TV detectives brought back to solve a crime, but it is brilliant. The music number start at about 1 minute 30 in…

 

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@fatmaninabox

As Eurovision is on shortly (I’m watching it under duress, honestly)

Yes, of course we believe you…

But as for Day of the Daleks…wine and cheese, a ruffled shirt, velvet jacket, lots of curly hair and a companion with a very short skirt…it is sort of like the Doctor as Jason King. And I love it!

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@arbutus

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@arbutus
I will think about some fine wine related music clips to accompany your clip, but in the meantime, what was the killer South African malbec? Mrs Blenkinsop and I are in Vancouver for a few days (hurrah!) and, unlike dour presbyterian Ontario, Vancouver is home to many purveyors of fine wines!

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@phaseshift

Happy with any of them. (oh, well, maybe The Daemons) But then, Inferno…what a great story! with an evil version of…oops, spoilers!

No, any of them are great.

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@thekrynoidman

I love that song from South Park! And you have provided a meta-dimension to the humour, because when I click on the link, it tells me that the video is not available in my country. And my country is…Canada!

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@purofilion

Your brother sounds like a man with very civilised interior design skills. I must have a word with Mrs Blenkinsop about the necessity to move her clothes.

And speaking of wine, I believe the time has arrived in the Canadian colonies for a glass of Australian shiraz. I shall toast ABC1 and my fond memories of rage.

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@arbutus

You are right, it was the late 80s. How time flies.

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@wolfweed

Brilliant Pathe clip of Jon Pertwee at the Radiolympia exhibition. (How do you find all these things?)

One is tempted to wonder whether it had any influence 23 years later when they put him in Bessie in a cloak.

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@purofilion

You really are suffering. Not only the lurgy, but still over 30 degrees at the end of April! That is really unfair. You could always rely on the summer heat to end by Easter.

What one needs to cope with the lurgy is something really silly and they don’t come much more silly than this (and it is, I confess, an old Blenkinsop guilty pleasure). And it comes from rage. Now rage is one thing from the 90s that I do miss about Australia. Watching rage late at night after a very long day at work was one of the things that kept me sane.

 

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@purofilion

You have my sympathies, my friend. Not only do you have the lurgy, but you have the lurgy in Queensland! I always felt that simply living there was a form of the lurgy.

I tried to find some music that captured the sophistication that is Queensland. I offer you this:

 

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@whisht

It is hard coming up with a caption when the personality is completely unknown (to me) and the picture does not have any of the laugh-out-loud appeal of @wolfweed ‘s crazy caption images.

But since I discovered she is a food writer, the best I could manage was “Eggs-terminate”

I know…feeble.

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@thekrynoidman

I have long wondered whether this a Morricone score at all, but instead a John Carpenter score with, perhaps, minor tweaking by Morricone. It does sound strangely similar to numerous other John Carpenter scores for movies he directed.

 

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@thekrynoidman

Ha! Well, guilty pleasure, like beauty, is perhaps in the eye of the beholder.

Now, THIS is clearly one of the greatest films of all time. (Oh, all right, one of the greatest opening credit sequences of all time) With fabulous music, and, another Blenkinsop guilty pleasure.

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