Sophie Okonedo rocks!

(Why couldn’t she have been the first female Doctor?    If Capaldi could do it why not Sophie?   Maybe because Liz10 was far more memorable than some snotty Pompeiian aristocrat.)

Is ‘On The Sofa’ back?   I thought it had sunk without trace.

Anyway, @blenkinsopthebrave, I took a look at Waris’s diary and now I’m hooked, down the rabbit hole we go again…

Thanks for the link!

@janetteb It’s perfectly all right (but interesting) that we disagree!

In the case of Whittaker’s costume, it’s those braces! Braces (IMO) NEVER look good, whoever’s wearing them, instant dweeb. Plus the horizontal stripe across the midriff. And those slightly baggy trousers that end just below the knee, which is never a good place for trousers…[Read more]

@janetteb    Ah well, your list is pretty well the opposite of my list.   Just as well our mutual appreciation of Dr Who isn’t predicated on agreeing on his sartorial predilections, isn’t it?    🙂

As an aside, I’ve just watched Listen, and it blew me away even more than the first time. There’s so much in it, for a simple episode. (I stuck m…[Read more]

@devilishrobby   Very probably those Doctors you mention had the odd question mark.   I think in Seven’s case (McCoy) it got out of control.   I seem to recall reading that he wasn’t happy about it and eventually managed to get them to tone it down a bit.

And here I am again. Kind of embarrassing to find the last post was me, saying much the same things. I cut a few repetitous comments and just left the rest.

The intro makes me realise just how spooky the Tardis must be when one person is alone in it. Just you, in all those miles of corridors, with no other living thing within light years – except…[Read more]

@janetteb   Well that was entertaining.   But I’m genuinely not sure if they were supposed to be ranked best-to-worst or worst-to-best.

Personally, I would rank Sylvester McCoy’s costume as the absolute worst (though I love McCoy as the Doctor).   Those question marks!

And Jodie Whittaker’s as second worst, that baggy trench coat makes her look…[Read more]

@janetteb I forgot to mention that Robot is also a very visually appealing episode, at least the outdoor scenes. The whole episode has a very pleasant feel to it (which is odd considering the nastiness of the robots).

Interesting that you picked up on the golden arrow too. As a dramatic device saving the day it was a good idea, pity that it…[Read more]

The Sheriff is a really nasty piece of work. In fact him murdering Quail was so unexpected in an episode like this, it was shocking.

The hollow in the woods is, I’m certain, the same one in the Sherlock episode The Hounds of Baskerville. But some great comedy in the Doctor checking Robin’s men to see if they’re real. And suspecting some…[Read more]

@janetteb Well, I’m not sure whether “Dad skills” really indicates that the Doc had children, he could have picked up such skills as an uncle or something. He also speaks Baby but then he also speaks Dinosaur (and I’m not sure that indicates anything about his progeny 🙂 And horse. (Where did he pick those up? The influence of the…[Read more]

@janetteb ‘Silence will fall.’ It just seems an apposite quote.

Modern communications put us in touch easily with people on the far side of the planet, but if we’re not here to operate our end of the link, we just – go quiet.

It’s slightly sad, that. We all have an instinct for closure, to know how the story ended, but mostly the…[Read more]

You’re probably right about Danny and Clara. I just naturally tend to take Clara’s side because I like her, and she’s found herself in a slightly awkward position trying to lead a double life. I’ll see what I think as the situation develops.

Re Susan, was it canon that she was actually the first Doctor’s granddaughter, or was she just a…[Read more]

@janetteb Yes, Danny was a bit problematic. Possibly part of this was that he only had a few episodes to develop in. So it seemed rushed even if there were implied interludes between stories that we didn’t see. But he also seemed to be quite demanding – not a good thing when his potential girlfriend was a strong character aka control…[Read more]

My impressions –

Really good opening. Love the way the Doctor takes the moral ascendancy over Journey who is holding the gun and makes her ask ‘please’.
DOCTOR: The Aristotle’s the big fella parked in the asteroid belt, yeah?
JOURNEY: It’s shielded.
DOCTOR: More or less.
Love the understated way Capaldi delivers his lines.
And the new…[Read more]

Ah, I think I escaped having one of those pacing wires. I don’t have a pacemaker, I just had a defective valve that they repaired in situ with a new valve seat. The biggest pain for me was being on rat poison** for the next six months with weekly blood tests. (**Okay, warfarin).
Still, we live in fortunate times in that respect, a…[Read more]

@devilishrobby What surprised me was how quickly I ‘recovered’. I’d expected to be in hospital for weeks, I was out in a week. I think the day after the operation, or maybe the next day, I was able to shuffle to the toilet unaided.
Actually the whole experience was – not unpleasant. I had a nice comfortable bed in a light airy room,…[Read more]

@winston @janetteb Well I can claim to being a literal tree-hugger. When I had heart surgery (they take a chainsaw to your breastbone for access, I’d never wondered about it before, just assumed they pressed a button and a panel in your chest slid open like all good androids), they wire it back together afterwards and it doesn’t hurt while its…[Read more]

@janetteb @winston Hey! Life exists in the forum! I too hate the sound of chainsaws (also leaf-blowers and weed-whackers, if they’re powered by obnoxious little two-stroke engines). But chainsaws particularly, because it means some tree is getting murdered. That said, I have a chainsaw, but an electric one. I think there could be…[Read more]

@winston Yes, if I have to choose one Who episode to watch (as a one-off) it’s likely to be The Day of the Doctor. Dramatic and enjoyable to watch.

I’m an inveterate hoarder of ‘things that might be useful to somebody’ (as Mrs D rightly says, “Too many things!”) So I can never just throw away a book because somebody, somewhere, might be looking for just that book. If somebody wants it, that’s great and I don’t care whether it’s worth anything (in monetary value). I take the slightly…[Read more]