I’m with Pip on this one. While there are crash-bang-wallop shows on Disney+, the general trend, as far as I can see, has been for character and plot driven series. WandaVision, Obi-Wan Kenobi and especially Loki (which is so timey-wimey that you’d swear that Moffat had had a hand in it) have all looked…[Read more]

I suspect we are talking about slightly different things. I accept that the artistic decisions will be left to the director and show-runner. I suppose I am invoking a “corrupting influence of money” argument. I am a bit concerned that when there is enough money on offer to visualize black holes and exploding…well, anything really…[Read more]

I’m very, very disappointed that only four million people in the UK (or who seem to be in the UK, but…[Read more]

But I agree that, when we look back, we will see this as a great ‘opening up’ era

Yes, and I am really grateful for it. The seeds were sown in The Doctor’s Wife, with the off-screen appearance of the Time Lord, the Corsair, described as sometimes regenerating male-embodied and sometimes female-embodied. And Missy and Whi…[Read more]

Sadly, I don’t think this is a channel I can substitute for one of my other cable channels, since it’s very…[Read more]

What @bluesqueakpip said. I believe the prevalent theory at the moment is that this new Rose is new character and not some new version of the original Rose (there is a more specific theory but I think I’ll save that for the Spoilers section). As to Yasmin Finney’s credentials, they look pretty solid. I’ve only checked out a couple…[Read more]

@bluesqueakpip What are your current thoughts?

@Juniperfish (big furry wave to you) – totally agree with your take on Tecteun (interesting to get her side of it which pretty much corroborates what the Master described to the Doctor, only “justified”), and like @Mudlark I wondered about her adopted child seeming to have so…[Read more]

I know it’s taken plenty of your time and energy (and some money too). It’s your gift, so if you’re weary, you should look after yourself first. We appreciate you.

But, I…[Read more]

Your recent post led me back to your brilliant post  on Deus Ex Machina from…2014 (!) Have we been here for that long? No, longer! Which, in itself, is pretty fabulous.

You made the point in that earlier post that DEM could be used as a joke, even flirtatiously. But, if I read your recent post correctly, you imply that C…[Read more]

I’m playing catchup as well and I’ve just binged the first two episodes.

I have to say I probably enjoyed them more than I was expecting, but confess that I started with such low expectations that I probably had a lot of room for manoeuvre. I thought the Halloween Invasion was interesting in terms of structure (although I thought it may…[Read more]

As @bluesqueakpip says , Williamson’s tunnels do exist, date from the 1820s, and are nothing to do with mining.

Williamson, who was a wealthy businessman in Liverpool, bought an area of undeveloped land in the Edge Hill area of Liverpool and proceeded to build houses there of very eccentric design, and to excavate an extensive…[Read more]

@whereami62 – the credits described blue crystal-face dude as “Swarm”.

But there’s a lot we don’t know. Swarm the blue entity seems to consume life-force in a similar way to the space-cloud called the Flux. So, are they they same entity, say, at different stages…[Read more]

Thanks to @Craig for keeping the Forum going.

I’m excited for a serial story, as I much prefer a contiguous narrative thread to pull on, Minotaur style.

There WAS a lot going on and I feel I need a re-watch – bit of a Halloween smorgasbord of aliens, with Sontarans, dog-aliens, whoever blue-crystal-face (Swarm) is, Weeping…[Read more]

I’d say the odds of Olly Alexander as the next Doctor just shortened dramatically.

I’m not so sure. I doubt RTD will want to return to YoungWhiteBloke territory plus Olly has a lot of irons in his fire to be taking on the life-consuming task of the Being The Doctor. I am hopeful though that it gives T’Nia Miller (currently t…[Read more]

Since all we have been given so far is a 30 second teaser, it would be nice if…[Read more]

My ‘favourite’ ‘wrong’ artefact (which…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave I may have to bite the bullet and go the purchase route. Or be prepared to be patient…[Read more]

Question: Did I hear correctly that the security official, who eventually became leader of her party and prime minister, was called Secretary? Is that correct, in the UK? I would have thought she’d be…[Read more]

I thought Martin Belam provided a very good assessment of the episode, particularly his reflection that “it was an extremely long slow burn of a set up before it got going”. Exactly. I am talking about pacing, and about showing, rather than explaining, what is happening.

For example, my reference to “Robocop”. The opening of…[Read more]

“It’s possible that the storyline is heading in a direction where the Doctor is losing all her ‘props’ – Gallifrey, Time Lord and now the Police Box – in a way that symbolises the past she now knows she’s lost. But if that’s the direction I’d expect it to end with the Police Box back as she gets her sense of self and identity (w…[Read more]

Stay safe

Your explanation certainly makes sense. I suppose, for me (and I confess that my Master never really included the RTD years) I have always seen the Master as (highly) unreliable narrator.

Still trying to get my head around how he (of all people) managed to destroy Gallifrey in such a targeted way that he could save just enough (…[Read more]

Sadly, there’s no great glowing eye any more, though there was 25,000 years ago – known as the Taupo supervolcano, it was a humongous eruption in the middle of North Island where Lake Taupo is now. I think the lake is in the crater.

There are (of course) books and probably websites that tell where all the locations for LOTR are. I…[Read more]

Wonderful story. I am biased because my admiration for Van Gogh’s work began when I was around 11 years old, and have five prints (large ones) on my walls.

Missy

Yes, they did have good actors. Michael Jayston. A brilliant Peter Guillam in “Tinker, Tailor…”

I was not aware of the chaos behind the scenes. Scriptwriters died…!? They had to dump every commissioned script!?

As I reflect on it, I wonder if there might actually be a logic to bringing the Valeyard back. The Master is fun,…[Read more]

Hang in there. Some old faces are going to start to appear, and the new, dark universe of Picard is going to connect with the optimism of The Next Generation.

@bluesqueakpip

Those are some really vicious-looking scissors; I’m not surprised they later agreed the scenes where Susan threatens Ian and Barbara with them went a bit too far.

It’s to hope nobody is doing that when they get fed up of each other in lockdown…