@mersey  Clara at the beginning was really undeveloped and that’s why I didn’t like her.

Same here; in an early pre-S8 interview, Moffat said it outright: that Clara was originally conceived of as a plot-mule, not a full-fledged character, and she pretty much remained that, IMO, until S8 began.  At that point, of course, lots of fans compl…[Read more]

@delta  — hello!  That is a very bonkers theory!

@purofilion  . . . a motor mouth in those early years -I wonder how much of that was the inexperienced actress -the higher pitch, lacking in pause, matching the whirly-gig of Eleven -instead of a balanced person using the language properly, the tone, the deft gesture to communicate -in the way Capaldi does – so expertly and effortlessly (th…[Read more]

@countscarlioni  Ashildr also seems problematical: she has brought her village bad luck

But has she?  Her father says, she thinks that every bad thing that happens to this village is because of her; and the villagers don’t react to her the way small communities tend to react to people singled out as bad luck — just the opposite.  That bit doe…[Read more]

@purofilion  I think she’s held up rather well -as to throwing herself about, still grieving, with adventure after adventure, lapping it up and possibly making a balls up of it, that’s another question entirely.

I’m with you on this, puro — I like her better now than I did before because she’s different from S8 Clara, so there’s nothing to be b…[Read more]

@rob  Hmm.  Maybe next week.

@blenkinsopthebrave  I’m *always* on the look out for Silurians . . .

@rob  Directions to Wooky Hole would be much appreciated . . .

@countscarlioni   if he gives her the chip, Clara too has the potential to become another destructive tidal wave. The Doctor, as he shouts at the end of The Girl Who Died, can do anything, but here he grasps, after Ashildr has hugely sharpened his understanding of this, he shouldn’t save Clara. No wonder the Doctor has to go off by hi…[Read more]

@lisa  This ‘burden of care’ he mentions a lot (the phrase is “a duty of care”, UK rather than US, and is about parental or state guardianship of minors, I think — but probably other situations of responsibility as well, like for elders)
now. I think he is wondering going forward that he will not be able to control her. So will he let someth…[Read more]

@denvaldron  Thanks for the extended take on the decline of the Viking/Norse culture — absorption as a far corner of Europe sounds about right.

I am sorry to hear about your father’s death.  I hope you’re able to take some rest when and as you can.

@purofilion   Oh, yes, there was some erotic tension between S7 Clara and 11, but it had the weight of  “dalliance” — just funnin’ around on the surface of a connection that was way deeper than that per “my Impossible Girl”.  12 in S8 just dumped the flirty human trimmings and zeroed in on the central matter, a strong but very unequal pairing up…[Read more]

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@jimthefish  On which note, I for one am very glad that she didn’t turn out to be Susan, or Jenny, or Romana or whoever.

Me too.  Too much backstory, better to move on to something new, IMO.  @denvaldron  Thanks for the Viking overview — densely packed and concise; only what, exactly, does kaput mean in this context?  A swift and somewhat catast…[Read more]

Came across a very interesting review of this episode here:

http://reviews.doctorwhonews.net

Scroll down a bit to find it.  I’m thinking I have to back and read reviews on that site of the other episodes of S9 so far. Good ideas, I think — stuff I never would have come up with on my own.  Did anyone else see the transfer of Clara and Ashildr t…[Read more]

@purofilion  yes, I wondered if some ‘power’ aspect had been detected in Ashildr from awhile ago -perhaps as young a babe herself: maybe her cries were once the harbinger of doom? Her father was nonetheless loving and proud. 

There’s clearly a history there, of bad things that have occurred in the village that Ashildr has blamed herself for,…[Read more]

@purofilion  Sure thing; Lashner and Gruber both did work that impressed me, which is why their names, though not their titles, have stayed in my mind.  If you like the Belize gothic from Lashner, he has several other books about the lead character, a shady Philadelphia lawyer, that you might like too.  Gruber is a cut above, in my opinion.  E…[Read more]

@purofilion  Funny that you should say this, for I always feel you to be quite optimistic and ‘heart-y’??

I am, a lot; this has been largely a damn good life, and looking back over it (as you are forced to do when you really need to, as they say, “get your shit together”, ie documents etc.) I’m pleased.  On the other hand, I think I inher…[Read more]

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@purofilion  Lashner?  Yes.  He wrote a brilliant sort of superntural gothic horror novel set in Belize that I remember enjoying very much.  His other work, what I’ve read of it, not so much.  Also check out Michael Gruber, three books about a detective involved in supernatural doings in the Cuban community of Miami — can’t remember titles.  Good books!