@thane16  . . . the sound of three legs . . .

This phrase delights . . . so evocative of . . . something???

. . . Zombie movie made in the UK where the oldies were fighting off zombs with walkers.

Gods, I loved that movie!  Funny as hell.

@mudlark  . . . white chocolate barely deserves the name at all

So true!  Thanks; I’ve never seen its…[Read more]

@miapatrick  don’t know about the characterisation. He’s set up a situation with two male companions linked by someone they both loved who is dead.

Agreed, I like that, and the novelty of it.  My doubts about characterization are actually centered on the Doctor, rather than the companions. Of course, Moffat said the show was really all about the c…[Read more]

@thane16  . . . recent CTs and MRIs show low pitch calming to most but not all species.

That makes sense, since in many species warning cries — “Danger, danger, everybody to get from street!” (Alan Arkin in “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming!”) — are usually pitched high to carry well and be instantly comprehended by the h…[Read more]

@thane16  NO DESSERT?  I may not even have a crumb of cake from all this long way off, but I will defend to the death your right to a humongous slice!

Me, I have to settle for muffins.  The only bakery in town that knows how to bake at high altitude (we’re 5,000′ up here) has gone crazy with veganism, so 90% of what they put out now looks de…[Read more]

@thane16  Whuzzit?  Who’s going to mod you off?!  On the internet, nobody minds if you throw up . . . <ggg>  Or if you have an opinion to express, in the tradition of bonkers-ism.

@shinymcshine  What I found most offensive though was when the Doctor started talking to him about changing and becoming a new person. I’m sorry, but I’m not ready to let him off the hook for being a psychokiller that easily. This kind of writing betrays a lack of seriousness about the situation and characters. This villain needs to be brou…[Read more]

@juniperfish  I hope the writers’ room has had some deep conversations about authority and a female-embodied Who. 

Exactly.  There are other aspects of this, of course, than costume; voice pitch is another, and it’s a doozie, IMO.  I’ve seen studies supporting the idea that humans find lower voices (in both men and women) more impressive and a…[Read more]

@lisa  Jodie is trying to make her mark as the ‘all Doctors combined’ alpha female Doctor

Some comments I’ve seen have pointed out Jodie throwing bits of the other Doctors into her performance, but I have to admit, I’m not seeing that, and I remember that in interviews before the season started she said that she hadn’t watched DW before, and w…[Read more]

@notime  I did love seeing Venusian Aikido put to such a good, simple use, and so effectively.

@pedant Good grief — I did that?!  NO more wine at bed-time!

@mudlark  Yes, the sonic did what we know it’s supposed to do — I just felt it was used an awful lot in ep 2, but you’re right — it was warranted.  Just felt a bit intrusive.

Yep, they’ll get to Jaz soon, I hope.  Meantime, good point about who she knows!  I also really liked her greeting to the Tardis — it had occurred to me that a female Doctor’s relationship with a (so far) female Tardis might be interesting, and it was — very warm and sweet.

@mudlark  Agreed on the Tardis — I loved the spaciousness of 12’s ship, full of stuff but never cluttery — like, you know, space.  That in itself was a sort of statement of authority, a Time Lord’s ship.  This new one — dungeons, no dragons.  I will try to ignore it until (?) it begins to seem natural by sheer habituation.  As for the poli…[Read more]

@miapatrick  the things I love about Moffart Who the most are the things that made it difficult for him to follow

Exactly!  So heading in new directions, in search of different strengths, is an excellent strategy for Chib & co.  It feels a bit ploddy by contrast, but that can make room for good character work — which is definitely needed for Ja…[Read more]

@mudlark  the dialogue did not have quite the wit and depth of Moffat at his best

Yes; no snap, little sparkle, but those are some of Moffat’s gifts — but not, as I thought watching B’Church, Chibnal’s.  It’s going to be workmanlike at best, which kind of suits the steam-punkish look of things so far.  I’d be missing Moffat’s brilliant fl…[Read more]

@mudlark  perhaps my ageing brain has a problem processing  words delivered at machine-gun velocity.

For me, it’s that plus the swallowed consonants — but I had trouble with “Deep Throat” for the same reason, and I’ve been watching with subtitles on ever since.  It helps a lot!

the redesign of the Tardis interior; at first glance it seems vi…[Read more]

@craig  @nearlysane  @pedant  Something I came across in the NYT Magazine section a couple of weeks ago about “The Good Place”:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/04/magazine/good-place-michael-schur-philosophy.html?fbclid=IwAR0avBkFnWqcGpb_dk4wv0Jz8gRpVWhRBWR3qz_Iz39XFhIVw-VNOCEmm1c

My name is Ichabod, and I am addicted.  People lov…[Read more]

@pedant, quoting @Kharis  Every show a self-contained story” sounds to me like a return to 100% “monster of the week” and no need to bother staying for the end, because there’s no chance of failure, and everyone ends up exactly as they started so the next “self-contained story” can toddle on without any continuity with what came before.…[Read more]

BBC APPROVED SPOILERS...

BBC APPROVED SPOILERS...

@mudlark  It is difficult if not impossible to imagine that anyone who watches and enjoys Doctor Who and who understands what the Doctor stands for could ever have voted for Trump

So true.  The Doctor really can’t stand bullies, can she.

@janetteb  If only there really were a Doctor..

If only . . . !!

@pedant  Hoodezfield!  My old stom…[Read more]