All  — went to see a new film, “Mr. Holmes”, tonight; Ian MacKellen, Laura Linney, that kid with the strange pixie face with a flat pug nose in the middle of it.  A dismissive review in the latest New Yorker Magazine had piqued my interest, so — I dunno whether to say more or not, at this point, cuz spoilers — ?  This much you can get from sy…[Read more]

@Craig  Wow, that timeline page is great — the one for LOTR is *beautiful*!   I think I saw “Primer” at my local teensy weird film house, and those are *exactly* the kinds of stories that blank my mind so completely that I steer away from time travel stories in general — I *always* miss a lot no matter how many times I watch.  Exceptions, si…[Read more]

@purofilion   Wait, what?  You mean we’re NOT all mad?  And, yes, along those lines — we could have an episode or more of people desperately trying to figure out why the Doctor has retreated into a Silent order of Gramdillion monks, spends all his days there in prayer or weeding the rocksour beds and pinchfoot vines, and won’t come out . . . th…[Read more]

@purofilion   Nobody ever needs adventures with the nob of a tooth.  *Nobody*.  So sorry!  Better days ahead . . . !

@purofilion   Oh, absolutely — the Doctor is about the least “worshipful” character on TV, at least so far (well, he damn near worshiped Clara in S8, but he did it with a lot of banter-y insults that most people don’t associate with the idea of “worship”, and besides, he really needed her to help remind him of what kind of guy he was.

Wait a…[Read more]

@purofilion   Oh, I’m reaching back to a 30-year-old memory, and the story was set far in the future, so I just used shorthand here.  Thinking back, I recall that the human visitor spent half a lifetime there, encouraging the documented development of whatever formal sort of governmental bodies that that time required for recognition by the F…[Read more]

Neat stuff, in case others here haven’t seen it yet, first two items on this DW news site today:

http://www.doctorwhonews.net

It’s hardly surprising, but is *very* nice to know, that S10 has already been green-lit for funding.  Yippeeeeeeeee!

@bonkers2015  Good question — maybe it can lie to non-Daleks, but not to its mates?  Have any of th…[Read more]

@DenValdron   Oh, yes, there are real-life examples of the outsider succeeding in a new cultural environment.  How often in reality is the outsider-success a success specifically in the skills (previously unknown to him) of the culture he has joined?  If he succeeds *by virtue of* his position of marginality in his new culture (or, upon return “h…[Read more]

@DenValdron  Yes, “Lord of Light” is wonderful, and was a huge hit at the time.  I don’t think I ever read Piserchia, or that particular book of hers, anyway — good reminder, thanks.  We have a good SF used bookstore in town, and I should be able to lay hands on a copy.  To tell the truth, I never read much Burroughs except a couple of Tarzan boo…[Read more]

@Linds738  Listen is about how the Doctor, left traveling on his own too long, gets lost in that piano-sized brain of his and can end up freaking himself out, so it’s not surprising if the episode itself freaks us out too.  No shame, no blame!  It’s a handsomely built episode — I like the way he starts out with harking back to a fear shared by ma…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave   Thanks for that link — I think I did miss part of this adaptation when it was first broadcast here — more great UK tv to watch!  Such a burden .  . . : )