@geoffers

i’m not so sure. i think he stopped travelling the universe, in that case, simply because of the threat of the time war breaking out again.

Yes. Exactly. That’s why, for the Doctor, it’s not an addiction. One of the definitions of ‘addiction’ as opposed to ‘something the person finds fun’ is that an addiction will interfere with s…[Read more]

@geoffers—

 i think he stopped travelling the universe, in that case, simply because of the threat of the time war breaking out again

I’m with @bluesqueakpip on this one. It doesn’t really matter why the Doctor stopped travelling but the fact is that he did (and therefore could). It’s Clara that has the addiction because it’s now been shown that…[Read more]

@BadWulf and @geoffers

I think the monster wasn’t a monster at all and was a mirror of the Dr.

Trapped as a mummy driven by programming to harvest energy the honorable soldier took those who were sick or suffering around the “flag/banner” no good choices only bad against worsererer choices

When released from this eternal cycle by the Dr the…[Read more]

@geoffers

given the dialogue in today’s episode, between clara and the doctor, it’s clear that he has never tried to stop doing what he’s doing (she has the “addiction,” as she’s the one trying to quit).

The dialogue was definitely about Clara. The Doctor can stop – he proved that with his 1000 year, to the death stay on Trenzalore. He’s a ‘pro…[Read more]

Poirot crossed with Hammer Horror indeed, but with added depth and layers.

I approached this one with caution, hoping that it would at least be rattling good fun but fearing the worst. In the event it offered a good deal more than just that and I was completely won over.

It looked gorgeous, of course, from the train interior and the costumes, to…[Read more]

@geoffers yes I know the doctor is supposed to sense other Timelords but there have been occasions where he hasn’t sensed them before. My actual first thought on Perkins was that he was actually the controlling force behind GUS and the doc had him in the tardis to trap him as he just appeared a little too convenient.

@geoffers

 they fixed what he did (in ‘the day of the doctor’), but they didn’t fix his decision to do it…

No, The Moment clearly manoeuvred the Doctor into finding a better solution (while robbing him of the memory of having done so). I’d say (from the Moment’s PoV) that the punishment was turned into a reward in the long run.

But that was Th…[Read more]

@ScaryB I have to agree with @geoffers that it is an old plot postulated by @Seyhall

@Seyhall is referring to the wikipedia entry for “Time and the Rani”, but it is an interesting point given the events of this episode.

I’ll allow it as bonkers theorising, although they could have been clearer… And they may be on to something.

I know it’s a bit late, but thanks very much @bluesqueakpip for the Tempest synopsis, and for explaining the parallels. (Out of curiosity, I rented the Helen Mirren version that you mentioned from iTunes, and regret not buying it instead. Tom Conti in particular was a real treat.)
I confess I have a copy of Shakespeare’s Complete Works displayed…[Read more]

@geoffers 1 more thought – this was one of the last 8th Doctor novels — SM brought back the 8th in Night of the Doctor — hmmm ??

@geoffers — I like the way you are thinking re: Missy ! I cant recall the last time Ive been so gripped by a Doctor Who story arc
Ive been reading about the Galifrey Cronicles novel on Wiki and learned about another Timelord called Compassion that apparently survived the time war- Idiotsavon pointed out to me that another name for Compassion…[Read more]

A couple of references in recent episode threads to The Doctor

suddenly treating people like chess pieces

@serahni

and the possibility of Missy

setting up the board for a cosmic game of chess, and gretchen and humpty are two of her pawns

@geoffers.

A game of chess is central (quite literally) in the final scene of The Tempest, as well.

And now…[Read more]

@5faces  @geoffers   Nope, no luck pasting. See my avatar instead !

@5faces @geoffers

Hope I’ve pasted the image correctly! It’s exactly the same poster. Good spot! 🙂

@geoffers     You’re wise; it probably makes for a pleasanter life.     🙂

@geoffers    I completely agree that the humour is necessary, it’s what makes him likeable much of the time. This was true of the Larroquette show as well, his character was not always likeable, but was incisively funny. I too liked Night Court, and there were similarities, but the Larroquette show was much darker, less quirky. I do actually th…[Read more]

@geoffers   You know, I hadn’t made the connection to House, but you’re right, Capaldi brings a very similar feel. I like dark as well; dark, as opposed to evil. Years ago there was an American TV show starring the very talented and funny John Larroquette, in which he played a recovering alcoholic in charge of the night shift at an inner city…[Read more]

@geoffers Thanks for pointing that out: feel a bit of a fool for missing it now! I wonder if this is the same poster that appears in Let’s Kill Hitler, during the early scenes where Mels keeps getting into trouble at the school? (I don’t have that episode on video to check.)

@geoffers Was there a ‘Break the Silence’ poster in this one as well? I missed it, if there was.

On the ‘nethersphere’: this is all very confusing, and I’m not sure that anything I had thought before now makes sense. But one thought that struck me is that Chris Addison’s character is called ‘Seb’. Could that be short for Sebastian, which would…[Read more]

@geoffers

but, i thought all the calculations were done by the sonic, in the 400 years between the war doctor and eleven?

That’s what the Smith Doctor thought. But he also said the Time Lords would be trapped in a single moment (according to Steven Moffat, via The Doctor(s)). Yet in Time of The Doctor (written by one S. Moffat), the Time Lords…[Read more]