@idiotsavon I agree that in this episode, Bill seemed very much a callback to Donna in The Fires of Pompeii. She has reminded me of Donna in several ways. Good catch!

Something caught my eye at the very beginning of the episode, after the Doctor and Bill did their wardrobe change. The Doctor bumps into a street vendor with a basket of produce.…[Read more]

@jimthefish @mirime @idiotsavon @thane15

I think we have here two stylistics mixed, the first is drama with all this conversations and speeches about morality, killing and moving on, and the second is comic-book in which bad guys get what they deserve and an urchin becomes an heir (after what had happened with Ashildr, Doctor should be very…[Read more]

@purofilion  @bluesqueakpip  It is worrisome to me that Clara other than her teaching has no life outside of her travels with the Doctor.  What other life is she supposed to have that we’d see? 

Exactly, IMO, the kind of “other life” that was completely omitted for Danny, which made him a nonviable character for so many viewers who have poste…[Read more]

@idiotsavon

All this talk of the colours attendant upon the Dalek death rays–can it be explained by reference to Goethe’s theory of colour, perhaps?

(Well, no, not being entirely serious…but it does have the makings of a great bonkers theory!)

@idiotsavon   Welcome back!

When both Missy and Clara were zapped they became translucent and their skeletons showed in silhouette, which has traditionally been the effect when Daleks shoot people.  In the old days the glow faded and their was a body, but I can’t recall whether that has been the case more recently.  I have a feeling that in Into t…[Read more]

@idiotsavon

Thank you so much for tracking that down.

Pity it’s such an un-bonkers thing, though.  😀

For a second I thought I had something!

@idiotsavon

Davros as the Magician’s Apprentice. I like it!

I, for one, am looking forward to your Goethe-heavy analysis of season 9…

@idiotsavon Hey I remember you from way back 🙂 In season eight even when
they were zapped showing the red ‘after’ light they disappear. I agree however
that dead people usually leave behind their bodies.

@Brewski I was thinking that maybe she pre-dialed the vortex manipulators
at some point with a delay?

Ok – found some time this evening (night) and listened to all the great stuff people had posted (thanks from me let alone all the other lurkes out there hungry for great music!).

And, as I may have spotted a trend of post-ers posting to a thread and then next to the Spoilers thread, I’m even scared a little of reading an threads in case anyone…[Read more]

@Ixion

Welcome. @idiotsavon made a link to numbers occurring throughout the series which are multiples of 11, and 22 and 55 are more examples.

I think it’s interesting, and may play into the fact that the soldier motif is leading us to the end of the series just before Remembrance Sunday. The armistice for the First World War occurred at the e…[Read more]

I have read through page one and made some many notes that I thought I would clear them before embarking on page two.

@bluesqueakpip Re post 33742 Excellent comment about the Doctor’s “defining” moment. I felt by “Mummy” that he was the Doctor but here he announces it. It was well done. Oh and also congratulations for the Graun…[Read more]

@purofilion’s use of “buffa” to describe the comic touches in this series is interesting. It reminds me of the classification of many of Shakespeare’s plays, which were called comedies because of the wit of the dialogue and (I think) because, unlike the tragedies, they didn’t end badly.  🙂   And Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, which he called ope…[Read more]

Hello everyone
Hi @purofilion, as you know I have been rather unwell for a long time, so big commiserations to you on your recent hospitalisation and hope you’re feeling better now.  Are you up for a <small> glass of red wine, perhaps?  A large one?

I love your writing (purofilion) on the closeness or otherwise of the Dr.  I think we are se…[Read more]

@idiotsavon

 I got the impression from this that she is not trying to hide her “addiction”, but genuinely feels like she is protecting Danny by lying to him.

Yeah, that’s pretty much classic addicts rationalisation – the person the addict lies most to is herself.

@idiotsavon Sorry the answer is so late. I did a bit of reading (it’s been a few years since school time German lessons) and the idea of Brecht is to have theatre do more than just entertain. Brecht wanted to show social differences to further social and political change. This is especially true for the proletariat.

@Bluesqueakpip

Congrats on your (virtual) award of  Geek of the Week on the G 😀  (They’re a bit slow over there, we’ve known that, like, forever 😉 ).  The train no spot should get you Geek of the Universe!

Anyway – champagne cocktails (as @Purofilion so aptly suggested) all round – CHEERS!

@idiotsavon @janetteB

The bar’s been restocked -…[Read more]

Agree with @idiotsavon – good spot from @JanetteB re miniaturisation this series.

<waves @Purofilion > Great to see you back Puro, sorry you’ve been ill. Hope the drugs are working 😉 I think maybe this series has been about putting a bit of distance between us and the Doctor, in terms of re-establishing him as more alien. But I agree that…[Read more]

@idiotsavon – I agree with your take on the belief in heroes – and I also keep thinking this goes back to when the Doctor asks Clara ‘am I a good Man’ – that was central and very upfront at the start of this series
All these different belief options we have had with each new episode forms for me a circle to get to the Doctors
conclusion-
We are…[Read more]

@idiotsavon

I agree with @janetteB. In some ways, distancing the story from the real world can make it easier to make difficult points about the world.

Star Trek, I think, made a number of decisions in it’s initial run that did resonate. The kiss between Kirk and Uhura is an obvious one. Having a Russian crewmate (with hilarious accent) in t…[Read more]

@idiotsavon

That said, perhaps just making thoughts happen in people’s heads is the main thing.

I somehow missed that line when I read your post. It is exactly what I was trying to say above and this conversation is the proof if it. 🙂

Cheers

Janette