@DrBen I think the Doctor made the TARDIS go into siege mode. didn’t he say something along the line of “I was able to turn on the siege mode just before the train hit. but there’s not enough power to turn it of.” ?

but I agree that the failing of the life support was due to the power loss, otherwise it’d be a pretty pointless mode

@DrBen

Yes, I was thinking very much in terms of symbolism – a pointer, if you will – rather than a literal notion. Moffat likes his subtle signposts.

@DrBen and @Brewski

I like your speculations about Missy being in the Doctor’s head. It was certainly quite marked – the conversation he had with himself in his cabin on the Orient Express in space – almost as if two distinct personalities were present.

If Moff is going for the Valeyard story (which I know some people don’t want, but I’m up for…[Read more]

@Arbutus @purofilion @DrBen

Yeah after your comments I watched it again and that made me realize how cold 12 is. He is playing his version of 12 perfectly, I don’t have any objections. 11 Is just so much warmer, a quality that the 12th Doctor hardly shows.

@DrBen    No, it’s the tree, like my avatar. There are lots of them along the shorelines of the west coast of Canada, where I live.

@idiotsavon    Hm. I’d say he will still lie when it suits him, to accomplish something or keep someone out of danger. But he clearly doesn’t lie purely out of kindness.

@DrBen     That does sound a blast! For the record, I stand firmly in the wishy-wash on Wagner. A lot of it is great, including big chunks of the Ring, and my husband the trombo…[Read more]

@purofilion    @DrBen

I have never felt a need for the Doctor to be perfect, but it’s interesting that the one time I can recall being annoyed by his imperfection was in Ten’s last story. I think there’s a lot of truth to this: he is actually cold and distant, and his charming veneer is actually an act, employed to keep anyone from getting…[Read more]

Hi all, not checked in here as much as usual so just ploughing through all the brilliant ideas and critiques.

I really enjoyed this episode; I love the more character-led stuff and I’m partial to a fun-but-slightly-rubbish McGuffin like the Skovox B.

My initial thoughts (/concerns) mirror @drben ‘s somewhat, in that they seem to be stressing the…[Read more]

@DrBen – I’m more convinced than ever that Clara is not long for this world. (All that talk about keeping her safe, etc.) I’m sure this has been talked about before, but my guess is that Clara will die (or “die”) and turn up in the Nethersphere, and the Doctor and Danny will go after her.

indeed, perhaps clara is already in the nethers…[Read more]

OK – @juniperfish was quite right. I did enjoy it a lot more the second time around. It’s actually really well put together, and the idea of Doctor Who doing a heist movie is such a good idea, you wonder why no-one has really done it before.

I’ll echo the praise @JimTheFish gave to Douglas Mackinnon after last weeks Listen. His direction is gre…[Read more]

@DrBen

The diagram, like so many of Moffat’s stories, would be a perfect circle.

Aww – but wibbley wobbley circles are so much more fun than perfect ones!

@Bluesqueakpip – Actually, I really like the TARDIS solution to the Ouraboros plot (doesn’t Karabraxos sound a bit like Ouraboros – same rhythm of syllables) – after all, we know that Sexy c…[Read more]

@DrBen     In my memory, she whacks him playfully on the arm before hugging him     That’s what I thought too. Then I went back and checked, and realized that she whacked him in a totally different area than he place he grabbed. So now I’m going with “not a hugging person”.   🙂

Can’t resist putting my twopennuth worth in on the degree of 9’s newness in the “Rose” episode. I think he had been around for a while as @DrBen said Clive seemed to have an archive of what appeared to be 9 having been around for some time at least on earth.

As to the ears thing which I didn’t think much of at the time has bought to mind a…[Read more]

@DrBen   On the whole, I think you’re probably right. The “old age” thing occurred to me as I was writing, and I threw it in because, well, bonkers, and so on.   🙂

@wcasey5   Yes, I’m aware of that scene, but that’s what I meant by not definitive. It suggests he’s still getting used to his looks, but that doesn’t mean that as @DrBen says, he hasn’t had a few adventures already. We know that he regenerated alone in the TARDIS, but we have no idea what happened next. When Rose met him, he was already in the m…[Read more]

@DrBen – alternatively, Nine went on a history tour between dematerialising the TARDIS when Rose turned him down, and coming back to give her a second chance.

@DrBen    That’s a really good point about preconceived notions playing out in an unexpected way. And yes, it has been suggested that we might also be making assumptions about Missy (although I would argue that if so, we have been deliberately misdirected through the way she was written and played in her first appearance).

Also, if the Doctor un…[Read more]

@RickGreen and @DrBen

Any information derived from a not-yet-broadcast episode does not belong in this thread. If it’s from one of the episodes leaked online it’s flat out forbidden – that’s stated on the home page.

If it’s from location photos, cast information or a mate on the production team, it’s a spoiler and belongs in the Spoiler thread,…[Read more]

Welcome @DrBen. I see you already have your bonkers theorising hat on.

Cheers

Janette

@drben  Exactly 🙂