@drben  Oh Master Blenkinsop, what a beautiful thought. For the Doctor to be in a position (yet again) to save Clara’s life, and for Ashildr, with her (by then) 1100 or so years of life, convincing him that the kinder choice is to let her go rather than prolong the inevitable. It’s poetic – bravo.  I also envision this as being part-an…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave  Oh!  Thanks, I’d lost that bit.  It’s been so long since we’ve seen River (or seems so long) that I tend to lose sight of her altogether, although she is due back this season, of course.

@arbutus  Does the TARDIS still not like Clara, or was that resolved after Name of the Doctor?

Mmm, search me — I’m not the one to answer that, memory in sieve mode.  If resolved, would Clara’s treachery in Dark Water have annoyed the Tardis again pretty severely, even though no actual damage came of it?  The time-line crossing thing is an is…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave  In fact, what might be called for is a visit from “her indoors” to give him a bit of perspective.

Who would that be?  The Tardis in person, maybe?  *Somebody* will sure have to help get him through the sads.  If they can catch him: “I’ll run and I’ll run” (he said it himself).  He might set the Tardis for “any universe…[Read more]

@purofilion  It’s only an affectation, IMO, if your eyes aren’t more sensitive to glare than normal.

@purofilion  I think if anyone can do sans companion it would be this Doctor in particular -he really is larger than life. His tone and unusual presence, height and funky accoutrements would make him fearsome. Even with the sunglasses which seem to have caused an internet ‘burn down’

Oooh, yeah.  But what *is* it with the sunglasses, for cripe…[Read more]

@arbutus  I think that @JimTheFish probably meant that Twelve is not being written as a romantic lead. But from an audience perspective, he gets my middle-aged heart beating a tad faster–

Thanks for that correction, quite right I’m sure.  And yes, thaaaaat’s what I’m talkin’ about.  The heart thing.  Mmmm.

@purofilion  Oh yes, he sonics phones…[Read more]

@bluesqueakpip  when Series 2, Series 3, Series 6 and Series 7a of the After Gap Series all had an ongoing romantic arc. As Jim says, times change – we had to go through that arc to get the Doctor to a place (effectively, he’s a widower) where he can say that his Companions are far more like surrogate family than they are romantic interests. He i…[Read more]

@purofilion  Oh, avoid Youtube.  Many of the loudest shouters sound as if they’re still in school, secondary level mostly, or uni.  Reminds me of the boys at the movies back when I was a school kid myself, and there’d be a close-up kiss onscreen and all the boys would make “EW!” noises (now they’d be yelling “Oh, GROSS!” I guess), while the gi…[Read more]

@purofilion  Moffat’s brain….wunderbar.

Not to mention what he’s done to the brains of the rest of us through DW!  We’re all — *bonkers* here!  I rest my case.

@randypan  There’s a sketch where Stephen Fry is ranting about that book to Hugh Laurie, and keeps saying “balls” about things he thinks are stupid in it, including the line, “Reader, I married him.” Hugh points out she’s talking to the person reading the book, and Stephen says, “Oh, double balls and bollocks!”

Damn, that’s wonderful!  Thos…[Read more]

@purofilion  Also, I must add, that on this Forum, and in this place, I’ve left my mind open and my mouth closed (not today evidently 🙂 and this really means I’ve changed so many of my opinions and habits. To be 47 and to be open to change, is rather marvellous, no?

It’s wonderful at any age, IMO.  The problem with rigid, long-held opini…[Read more]

@jimthefish  he’s not really a romantic lead any longer anyway.

You might be surprised; for at least one sector of DW viewers, CapDoc most certainly *is* a romantic lead — in their own minds and conversations, and certainly in the fan fiction stories they write.  Well, look closely: Moffat said he looks for an actor who is attractive but off…[Read more]

@jphamlore  But above all the episode is about what is just, what is fair, what is balanced. In the end Ashildr decides her role is to try and be some sort of balance in the lives of those who survive the visitation of a demigod the Doctor.

Love it!  “Justice” is a card that I always have trouble with, maybe because I’m a Libra, and as such h…[Read more]

@miapatrick  I would say Masie is better in Game of Thrones- but she’s been doing it for so much of her life. Watching her act with Charles Dance was one of the best experiences in my life.

I know — those were a few wonderful scenes!  I wanted to see them developed, but since it didn’t happen in the books, no such luck.  This was Arya as a youn…[Read more]

@purofilion Says Martha: “oh you know the Doctor….he’s wonderful. But he’s like fire. Stand too close and you get burnt” This is what Ashildr was referring to, I think. And it stands to reason that these things don’t change -with the Doctor -no matter the incarnation

Well, as long as he both attracts dangerous situations and can’t seem to res…[Read more]

@nerys  Am I overly sentimental, or somehow bringing the show down because I appreciate an emotionally true story over a fastidiously logical one?

Naw.  You’re going in exactly the direction the creative crew goes in: the Doctor gives a perfectly logical explanation of why “run!” is all the help he’s going to give the villagers in The Girl, and h…[Read more]

@seeoswald   I’ll make my last remarks about Doctor Who here now.

Anyone wanna bet?  I do wish this Underbridge would toddle off now to eat a goat or two, because my stomach is hurting from laughing.  This “forus” has had such funny use lately that I’m sorry to have missed the fun as it rollicked along like a dumb ol’ ‘merican hayness ride…[Read more]

@nerys  by the end of Smith’s run, I felt he was suffering from an overdose of mania and an underwritten companion. It was a relief to slow things down a notch with Peter Capaldi’s Doctor, and also see some vastly improved writing for his companion, Clara, who no longer felt like a placeholder but a more fully realized character. The chem…[Read more]

@spacedmunkee  yes I thought it strange that ashildr would be so dismissive of Clara, given she helped her and was so nice to her in previous episode. Possibly she was jealous that the doctor chooses to travel with a “Mayfly” rather than her

I think so too — she clearly had expected that Clara was long gone, being just a mayfly, so Clara’s stil…[Read more]