Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
2 July 2017 at 04:15 #60173
@wolfweed lots of terrific pictures. That costumes Nyssa is wearing !!! OMG my poor eyes. Love the two doctors shot. I guess it is beyond rumour status then that Doctor 1 is returning for the Christmas special. I have been only reading comments not clicking on links in order to avoid ruiners. Is that a new coat Capaldi is wearing. Looks nice indeed, rather Pertwee-ish.
Cheers
Janette1 July 2017 at 15:05 #60097@wolfweed Hum wonder if that counters the evil of rising electricity prices. Surely witchcraft is to blame. (alright witchcraft in the form of stupid and or corrupt politicians)
(random comment refers to Aus’ energy price rise today.)
@ichabod Have heard people talk about “hate watching”. Personally I think there is too much to do to waste time watching something that one doesn’t enjoy/learn from.
cheers
Janette1 July 2017 at 14:58 #60096@cathannabel Well said. Having just had one of those nights where a family game turned into a family battlefield, and ended up in lots of discussion which hopefully was beneficial to all concerned, your post had extra relevance to me. This forum is not unlike family and yes, at times there are conflict but we forgive, learn, grow, move on better for the experience, hopefully.
@wolfweed they look depressingly like a football team.
cheers
Janette1 July 2017 at 08:49 #60076@thane15 Really sorry you feel let down by the site. Yes at times the discussions do run on and sometimes I tend to skim over them because at core the site remains what it always was, a place where a group of like-minded people get together and share our love of Dr Who. I often tend to be a bit distant when the show is airing and discussions running hot, feeling that too much is being said and I either have little to add or contribute. Sometimes the discussions don’t really engage me but there is always another discussion going on elsewhere on the site that does.
I hope you won’t be away for too long as you are so valued here.
@blenkinsopthebrave I visit the site, many times a day, whenever i need an excuse to avoid what I should be working on. I really enjoy being part of the community here.
I think we are all feeling a bit on edge at the moment especially with news outlets saying that tonight is the final episode for both Peter and Moffat. I thought they were both doing the Christmas Special. Will feel very cheated if we miss out on one more outing with them both.
Into the void with fingers crossed.
Cheers
Janette
30 June 2017 at 05:09 #60011Just checked Tom Rosenthal’s IMDB page and he is channeling Tom Baker there, with the wide eyes and a scarf also I see that he was on Broadchurch so is familiar to Chibbers which appears to be important so the odds are high there.
As I said in the World Enough and Time thread that I think that we will see the regeneration next episode. That is the best way to introduce the regeneration. Maybe, maybe, just this once, just for the novelty of it, I might be right.
cheers
Janette
28 June 2017 at 12:48 #59839@missrory but amidst all the horrors of war there are stories that are uplifting, stories of people defying orders or risking their lives to help another human (or animal). There are examples of beauty in all the horror and those stories are vital because they remind us that at the worst of times our “humanity” can prevail. The Christmas Truce is one such story. Would love the series to visit that one Christmas. So often the Doctor is the good that prevails so it works.
cheers
Janette
27 June 2017 at 09:31 #5976027 June 2017 at 09:16 #5975927 June 2017 at 09:01 #59758Reading comments is always an added pleasure and an excellent way of procrastinating when there is R.L work to be done.
@drben Your theory regarding the possibility of an earlier regeneration than expected chimes with my thinking. It is even possible Moffat will throw in an extra regeneration. I have often thought that one way to really introduce a female Doctor is to do it with a short regeneration as I have a feeling that the BBC would view a female Doctor as too risky to be permanent. I think they are too worried about the future of their most lucrative product to take chances at the moment. I am certain however that Moffat would love to introduce a female doctor and a short regen’ might be the only way he can pull it off. As @jimthefish (I think) mentioned he had already played with multiple regenerations in Curse of Fatal Death, a forerunner for many of the ideas developed in his years as show runner. (and well worth watching)
@littlehouse Well picked up on the tear drop reference in the first episode. I had forgotten that. (and welcome.)
cheers
Janette
26 June 2017 at 14:21 #59715One page in and a thought regarding the regeneration. I wonder if it will happen at the end of next week’s episode and thus the next Doctor is revealed within the show as opposed to on stage in a glitzy special. That would be very neat. But through some timey wimey story telling, of which Moffat is the master craftsman, the following Christmas Special will still feature Capaldi as the Doctor. Yes. I can picture Moffat rubbing his hands with glee at this moment.
Cheers
Janette
26 June 2017 at 13:51 #59713Have just finished watching and thought I would type out some reflections before I start reading the comments, as I am never likely to get the end of them. I have the feeling this will be one of those discussions that I cannot keep up with.
R.2 (2nd son) saw this last night with friends. R.2 is a rather critical fan. He and I have had some quite heated discussions about some episodes, (such as Robots of Sherwood) he is not forgiving and he rarely re watches anything so when he was so eager to watch the episode again tonight it was a good sign.
Yes the episode was brilliant. Like most Moffat episodes it demands a re watch to fully appreciate. Moffat’s stories are all like good wine, they age well. the Doctor again ignored Nardole to great cost though what happened to Bill wasn’t really Missy’s fault. It was the Doctor being reckless, so desperate to prove a point that he jeopardised the safety of his companions. Also I think Bill will be saved, somehow, maybe incorporeal but in a way that she can join Heather and Missy will enable that justifying the Doctor’s faith in her. It might not reflect real life but Dr Who is fairy tale as Moffat has often reminded us and in Doctor Who good not only can but must ultimately prevail.
As to Missy, is she becoming good? I think so and though at the end she and Simm/Master appear to be teaming up I don’t think it will last. Neither tolerate competition. Loved the Zathras/Master. (B.5 reference) R.2 said that on the re watch he could see it was Simm/Master.
The setting was so well done. The hospital reminded me of somewhere I was recently, long empty grim corridors with doors leading to operating theaters that looked like the kind of places where cyber conversions would be taking place. It had the same aged, grimy, abandoned feel and trying to run while attached to one of those drip things, that is the very essence of nightmare. If I have bad dreams tonight it is definitely Moffat’s fault.
Well now to read comments at last.
Cheers
Janette
23 June 2017 at 16:08 #59496the argument that Susan cannot be brought back because new viewers won’t be familiar with the character doesn’t really wash. Any writer worth their salt, (and as a writer S.M is worth is weight in saffron) can introduce a character in such as way as to explain that character to a new audience. After all characters are introduced in every episode and if the writer is good, which they mostly are, those “red shirt” characters come alive. Ever since the reboot it has been established that the Doctor had family. He refers to being a father on more than one occasion. He has “Dad skills”. The Doctor’s family has become a little bit of a Chekhov’s Duck. Plenty of characters from BG (before gap) Who have been revived in AG Who. Rassilon for instance. Kate Lethbridge-Stewart for instance is a strong and interesting character in her own right but incidentally the daughter of a favourite BG character. Also these days, given the ready availability of old stories many new fans have watched the first story at least.
If Susan does return then I would expect it to be in the Christmas Special however rather than in the next two episodes. I expect we have a lot of dark stuff to come, or maybe “bright” would be a better word thinking of the trailer which I finally got to see today, clinical, hospital, nightmare kind of bright.
cheers
Janette
23 June 2017 at 15:55 #59495@cookgroom I think Nardole was spinning a tale for the amusement of the locals. Nardole “going native” was one of the delights of the episode. I feel as though we need more moments with Nardole, Bill and the Doctor in the Tardis.
Oh and popcorn is now added to the Doctor Who party menu. Question; does popcorn really explode like that if thrown on a fire? Second question, Why was Nardole carrying a bag of unpopped popcorn?
finally got to re watch the episode alone with head set so caught all the dialogue I missed on first watch. Watching the end I wondered if at the end of the previous series Missy sees the Doctor as changed because she has changed.
One undercurrent in this series is the suggestion that the Doctor is being self indulgent in forgiving Missy and putting the world at risk. This would mean that Missy is playing with him, leading him on, which of course completely contradicts my earlier post where I stated that the main theme of this series is forgiveness, need for compromise and rule of compassion which would require Missy to join with the Doctor or undermine that moral message. I still think that trust and cooperation will win out though not without some testing of loyalties.
I wonder if Nardole has a bigger role to play. The Doctor brought him back to life possibly using some of his own regeneration energy. Is Nardole actually some kind of splinter Doctor, the shadow Doctor, created to be a kind of external conscience?
Cheers
Janette
22 June 2017 at 13:33 #59470As a few other people mentioned Babylon Five over on one of the other threads I thought I would mention the sad news that Stephen Furst, the wonderful Vir Coto, passed away the other day. His was one of the characters that made the series so watchable.
“I would look up into your lifeless eyes and wave, as a warning that some favours come at too high a price.”
(Wording is probably not correct as is written from memory and has been a few years since I last watched that but so unforgettable.)
Cheers
Janette
21 June 2017 at 06:53 #59423@wolfweed and @nick so tempting, so tempting but I will be good and wait. I like spoilers not ruiners. I speculated right at the start that we might finally be meeting up with Susan this series. (But then I have been suggesting that for several series. Guess I will eventually be right.) I have always had the feeling that Moffat has been holding the “fan boy” in check a little but this being his final series he is letting rip. fingers crossed, not because I particularly liked the character of Susan, but because she is an unsolved mystery which now demands some answers. Two unsolved mysteries actually and a broken promise. Who is she and what became of her after the Doctor left her on earth and will he ever keep that promise.
Cheers
Janette
21 June 2017 at 06:02 #59422Just saw the news about Dracula. I think it will be very interesting to see what Moffat and Gattis bring to it. Looking forward to it already but now I will be disappointed if Capaldi doesn’t get the lead after reading the comments above. Yes he would be perfect…
Cheers
Janette
20 June 2017 at 14:24 #59352@pedant I thought the British Labour Party was escaping from its neo-liberalism straight jacket and re embracing some of those fifties socialist values and it was that ditching of Blairism and picking up of some Clement Attlee values that helped swing the election. Of course not all fifties values were good and neither was every idea of the Attlee government. We have moved a long way since then in terms of human rights and social understanding but the core ideas of free education and free health care and a government whose role is to provide for its population are what the Labour Party (and the Australian Labor Party) should be all about.
My impression is that the divisions in British society really developed under Thatcher but there have always been divides, North/South, Upper Class/Middle Class/Working class Rural/Urban London/The rest of the country. Add to those cultural divides on the basis of religion and ethnicity and then clamp down the pressure with overpopulation, pollution, rising unemployment, diminishing benefits and services and bullying bureaucracy, (which it does regardless of government leaning) and the result is a powder keg. (I put pollution in there but in a sense I really just mean the ugliness of the built up environments because if I had to live in quite a few urban areas in England I would go mad.) Getting back to Dr Who I think the emphasis on tolerance and cooperation in this last series is in part a response to this. Of course anger is rising world wide and it certainly not purely a British problem, hence the growing strength of the far right, in Europe, the U.S and here in Oz. Media plays a huge role in fueling this anger as well and directing it away from the real culprits, generally manipulating that anger for purely self serving purposes.
but that is enough. I am rambling. It is late and time I hit the pillow. (I dreamt of Romans and monsters last night.)
Cheers
Janette
19 June 2017 at 13:53 #59291@wolfweed. As always great images and links. Loved the Vitamin D pic.
@soundworld You can’t say too much about Scottish history/archaeology. Orkneys are very high on my “to go wish list”. (Every so often I re-watch the Neil Oliver docos on the subject) There are also several stone circles which I have not seen and for family history reasons I am now eager to visit the south west coast, that bit we drove straight past last time we were there. A few years ago I read a fascinating book about the Picts. The theory was that the western Scots were always part of a Scots/Irish kingdom which makes sense given how close the lands are and water was the superhighway of the time whereas the mountains were the real barrier, so there was little communication between East and West.
Cheers
Janette
19 June 2017 at 13:32 #59289As this is where the bonkers theorising is happening I thought I would post this here. Having just watched Eaters of Light I have been pondering the theme of this series, reconciliation of enemies, and it seems likely that this is premeditating the relationship between the Doctor and Missy. If the Doctor forgives Missy then she turns on him and betrays him it would demolish that theme of forgiveness and reconciliation and I am certain that a Moffat etc would not do that. The theme at this point of time, of history, is no coincidence. So Missy and the Doctor must be going to work together at the end. My theory, if any so vague could be called that, is that Missy will ultimately save the Doctor. She may turn on him betraying his trust initially but at the end she will turn back, the lessons he has taught her will pay of and she will save him and “everything”, thus reinforcing the moral of the series.
Cheers
Janette
19 June 2017 at 13:27 #59288Finally caught up with Eaters of Light. I missed bits, mostly because I was making custard to go with the home made Jammy Dodgers. Jammy Dodgers dipped in custard is the new Who viewing addiction around here.
From what I saw a very enjoyable episode but then Romans and Scotland, how could it not be. Once again the clear t theme of the episode was reconciliation of enemies, a theme that has been central throughout this series. More thoughts on that over in the Spoilers thread.
Loved the crow, some great lines and really looking forward to a re-watch without distractions,
Cheers
Janette
19 June 2017 at 04:03 #59278@nick and @blenkinsopthebrave yes sadly it seems that hate had struck again, and as Blenkinsop says it is about hate, about exacerbating division, mistrust and resentment. An eye for eye makes the whole world blind. There are some that want a blinded world. It is no coincidence that in the latest series especially Dr Who has been promoting a message of peace and unity. It reflects the growing concern about the divisions that would tear this world apart.
Cheers
Janette
18 June 2017 at 12:43 #59231@missrori I agree that the Master/Missy are highly unlikely to be at each other’s throats. The Doctor hasn’t always got along with his former selves but how much greater will be the rivalry between two regens of the master. Looking forward to it. (or would be if it did not mean the end of P.C. and S.M’s respective tenures.)
Cheers
Janette
18 June 2017 at 07:57 #59225I find it difficult to resist any discussion involving B.5 which helped fill in the “Who-less” years in this household. B.5 is however a very different beast to Dr Who. It was conceived of as a stand alone, Science Fiction series set in the future and dealing with politics, not a series style that can easily be applied to Dr Who but there id more than one way of telling a story and just because it hasn’t been done before, or done well doesn’t mean that it can’t be done. Will be interesting to see what Chibnell has in store.
I think part of the problem is that we, fans, had already warmed to Moffat before he took over so we were all very excited at the prospect of him taking the helm. (I had “warmed” to Moffat before AG Who even started. I was charmed by the way his eyes lit up when asked if he would want to write for Dr Who should it ever return to screen at the end of Curse of Fatal Death, so was thrilled when he got the change in Series one.) We don’t really have a feel for Chibnell and so he is “unknown” quality to us hence the level of trepidation.
Cheers
Janette
18 June 2017 at 05:16 #59223Gloomy days indeed. We certainly are living in “interesting times” as per the Chinese proverb. Grenfall Tower has burned its way into all our hearts this week but there are wider implications. This is where austerity leads, to almost incomprehensible tragedy. If there is one story that should be highlighted and told again and again is that of the trapped mother throwing her baby out of the window, not to safety but to the possibility of safety. There is no human on the planet who has empathy who is not moved to tears by such a story. It is the kind of human story that can change history and right now we desperately need to change the course this world is headed on. IT is time to put human welfare first.
It is no surprise that this current series of Dr Who has been the most political in some time. So much that needs to be said and repeated and repeated..
@arbutus I add to the congratulations. Finishing school is a major milestone. Good luck to Arbutus jnr in the years ahead. Finding one’s path after school can be challenging.
Cheers
Janette
11 June 2017 at 16:12 #58915@wolfweed. I’m convinced. Those damn monks. They are everywhere.. (urgh I don’t know which is uglier, actually I think I find the monk less scary)
Cheers
Janette
11 June 2017 at 14:29 #58911Like @optimall (hi welcome good start) I wondered if the Doctor has already begun regenerating but at this stage it is only visible to Missy. A prolonged regen” would certainly fit the “something different” description. If so however I would suspect it was triggered before Bill shot him and the fact that his regen’ was in progress enabled him to heal without requiring a full regeneration. This would mean that something has happened which we don’t yet know about but will be revealed in the end. Moffat does like non-lineal stories.
A return to Paledon would have been lovely. @wolfweed you have us guessing now with that comment.
cheers
Janette
11 June 2017 at 14:16 #58910That was jolly good fun. Really enjoyed it. Good characterisation, excellent sillyness and a bit clever too. A little sniff of mystery at the end. What is wrong with the Doctor? Gatiss was definitely playing to his strengths as a writer and having fun, which shows that let a writer do what they enjoy and the audience (reader) will most likely enjoy it too.
I really hope Gatiss does continue to write for Dr Who. Though not all his stories work well his love for the series always shines through and never did it shine brighter than when we heard that iconic voice of Alpha Centauri one of Doctor Who’s most unique aliens and one of my favourites when I was young for that reason.
Now to read comments,, looks somewhat less formidable a task this week but perhaps only because it is early yet.
Cheers
Janette
10 June 2017 at 14:41 #58851@nick. I have probably told this story before so apologies for that. I was working in Surrey at the time of the miners strike. There was no television and no papers found their way into the staff quarters and if they did they would have been Murdoch rags so i wasn’t really up on the news at the time. One night we had a group of fat cigar smoking conservatives, (the usual stock broker belt client) sitting around sipping cognacs and discussing the strike. They were of the opinion that “Maggie” was being too soft on the miners. “She should just nuke them”, one proposed. Eavesdropping from the coffee station I wondered just how much of England would be affected by the fall out. It seemed to me that being such a small country Surrey would not be immune.
What I saw of stock broker England certainly reinforced my left leanings.
In Australia and I am certain it is not much different in the U.K. it is currently the salary earners who pay the bulk of the national tax. Businesses pay 20 percent tax, most big business none or almost none at all. We pay more tax than one of the major national energy suppliers. If Governments taxed the wealthy there would be more than enough to pay for infrastructure, public health, education and maybe a living wage. The problem isn’t a lack of money but the lack of distribution. Sorry if that is out of context, getting late and currently watching Pyramids of Mars so bit distracted
Cheers
Janette
10 June 2017 at 13:22 #58843@thane15 Gareth Evans I think. Labor of course. Bit to the right from memory but did serve under Whitlam. He was a consummate politician. As for the Friar, I think, (from memory, been a few years since I studied R&J and it has always been my least liked Shakespeare play) he meant well but was responsible for the deaths of R&J, highlighting the dangers of well meaning interference. I always thought the message was to think carefully before interfering in the lives of others, advocating selfishness maybe. Shakespeare was indeed a great writer but not always a great moraliser. Don’t be afraid to attribute to him a message that you do not agree as long as you can justify it well. Too many people “like to think” that Shakespeare is perfect. I tend to think of him more as a brilliant opportunist who wrote what others wanted to hear.
Like @blenkinsopthebrave I have found the discussion here more informative and enlightening than what is in the news. Just saw about the Kensington result which is a bit thrilling. Only twenty votes. What a win.
I hope that the resurgence of Labour with a leftist mandate shows that left policies have traction and this gives confidence to the left world wide. If so something positive will have come out of this election.
the result is certainly far more positive than I expected when the election was called. Interesting days ahead.
Cheers
Janette
6 June 2017 at 05:08 #58610@blenkinsopthebrave Yes was very sad when I saw that this morning. Loved Wallace and Gromit so much. It was our eldest son’s favourite TV show when he was very young. His favourite toy was a soft toy Wallace closely followed by Gromit. Somewhere in their soft toy collection there is also a Shaun the Sheep and though we never found Penguin there are several substitute soft toy penguins about. (Youngest is 16 but none of the soft toys have been disposed of)
Might have to re watch A Grand Day Out tonight in his honour.
@missy when you live in a place you rarely get to see what it has to offer. When I lived and worked in London there was never time to play the tourist so it wasn’t until I returned with my family that I finally got to visit the Tower and the British Museum but still so much more that I haven’t seen. Always always need to go back.
cheers
Janette
5 June 2017 at 14:34 #58569@isuedtobethedoctor. wonder when you last watched Genesis of the Daleks because coincidentally we watched it last night. And while it is entertaining great writing it is not.
@thane15 I also thought the laugh was out of character. Not sure if it is meant to mean anything or just poor direction.
Why did the Monks bother with earth? I think because it’s what they do. They want to control, to generate order on their terms, perhaps because they believe they are doing good. It is that desire that drives them. Several times in these episodes I have detected (most likely only my imagination) shades of B.5. The monks are akin to the vorlons and the Shadows who both vie for control of the younger races because they care and want to nurture them, each in their own way and it turns out that both are undesirable because neither allows for freedom of choice.
(still on page one but it is late and will continue tomorrow.)
cheers
Janette
5 June 2017 at 13:37 #58568Have finally watched the episode and thought I would jot down a few thoughts before reading through the thread as I am now three weeks behind with posts. I feel as though I need to watch at least once more to fully appreciate it especially as on first watch with the family I am usually a bit distracted by annoying RL things such as dinner. Pearl Mackie was excellent. She really carried the episode. Nardole get better and better. I like the dynamic of two companions and Bill and Nardole have a nice rapport. Interesting to see Missy looking a bit wasted, not in control or putting on a fine act. I suspect the later. The one thing the Doctor really don’t understand is evil. He wants Missy to be redeemable. Poor Doctor. I think he is in for a big disappointment.
The monk story did seem to end with a bit of a whimper. Still they were cool villains but I doubt we will see too much more of them. Their modus operandi is rather limiting narratively. Again a lot of politics in this episode. Nice to see the story tackling the issues of the day as it used to do. I think this has been the most politically aware of S.M.s series.
Again we see the Doctor making the grand gesture, having another tank and guitar moment.
One of the questions for me was why the tatty coat from Missy’s execution? It seemed out of time here.
Now off to read comments..
cheers
Janette
4 June 2017 at 11:20 #58479@missy there is something magical about London. I hated it while I lived there and had to get out but I love it too and feels more “home” to me than any other city I have lived in. When the plane banks and you get that view of the snaking Thames, the dome of St Paul’s the Eye and the Tower my heart races with joy. It has been home to so many remarkable people from all over this crazy planet of ours and hopefully always will be. (I have just finished editing a book I wrote about two Aussie girls living in London and backpacking about, fictional but drawing on personal experience.)
Cheers
Janette
4 June 2017 at 03:46 #58460That this is happening in the run up to an election suggests a political motive to me. They want Brexit I suspect, divide and conquer, They want to see Europe broken because despite its many faults it is still a bastion of humanist values.
so sad. Sad sad world right now.
Janette
3 June 2017 at 06:46 #58400@scaryb Great to have you back. Safe from the annoyance of RL for a time I hope. 🙂
The discussion of the recent episodes has been flowing so fast that I have been left behind. Too much of that annoying RL stuff too and so much to be discussed. I am two weeks behind and am unlikely to have time to catch up this week.
Cheers
Janette
2 June 2017 at 12:24 #58388@blenkinsopthebraave I just watched the trailer and though I am no longer a fan of Christie I am looking forward to this one. Branagh is always good. I loved his Henry V and recently watched his Hamlet and found it much better than expected, He and Tennant are by far and away my two favourite Hamlets.
cheers
Janette
1 June 2017 at 12:34 #58358@thane15 Hilarous but made me feel better. R.3 would definitely be down on 75%. He missed most of week two this term due to a cold and I was so concerned about him missing important lessons that I sent him back with a cough. We are having a really cold, dry winter, with overnight lows of around 2-3c which really isn’t helping. Maybe it is time our education system moved into the 21st century and explored some more flexible education options, like working from home via skype or the like when ill.
Metropolis is a great film. Really must put it on one night when the boys are around as I haven’t been able to persuade them to watch it yet and has been many years since I last watched it.
Cheers
Janette
1 June 2017 at 04:08 #5834231 May 2017 at 05:22 #58312@fatmaninabox Glad that you finally made it safely out from the back of the sofa.
@abaath good viewing choices. We were just discussing the first series after the gap the other day and how good it was. If you enjoyed An Unearthly Child then I heartily recommend watching more old series. They can be patchy, some not good, some best passed over but others really shine. There are some discussion threads on some of the earlier stories under the respective doctors which are worth a quick read through too.
Cheers
Janette
30 May 2017 at 12:56 #58269Whew. I’m back. Has only been a day AFK but feels longer. Last night my beloved Laptop decided that enough was enough and quietly retired. After 7 1/2 years it deserved a medal. So I’m back with a shiny new laptop and I will be impressed if it lasts half as long, but just to show some level of faith in it I have named it Romana.
congratulations @miapatrick. Well done.
@pedant. Indeed she does..
Cheers
Janette
26 May 2017 at 05:09 #58041Oh drat. I was thinking to avoid watching Anne of Green Gables having overdosed on the books as a young teen but if @pedant @winston and @blenkinsopthebrave approve then I have no choice.
@missy I haven’t watched Halycon. Sounds interesting but maybe a bit too soapy for my taste.
I just started watching Last Kingdom again. (last time I lost interest half way through the first episode) I think I might start to enjoy it after all which is good as it is set in one of my favourite periods of history and does make some attempt at historical accuracy, a rare thing indeed these days.
Cheers
Janette
22 May 2017 at 10:49 #57848so many posts and it has taken me all day to read through, (between other things) and I am still not to the end but just a few points before I forget,
The similarity in the alien design in recent years might have far more to do with the design team than any intention of Moffat’s, though having read the script it still might have been an intentional choice, or just simply artistic style.
Reading through this possibility was alluded to by someone else, (Whist or Phaseshift I think but apologies for not making a note at the time) so not my idea but I thought it a strong possibility that the Simm master is behind the planned conquest of earth. While Missy is locked away in the vault, (assuming she is still in there) there are other Master’s operating on earth, all of those we have “encountered” since 1963 in fact. This could just be one incidental incursion by a earlier or later regen’.
Will comment more after I have finish reading through and doing all those annoying chores. (Actually there will always be annoying chores. I will comment first.)
Cheers
Janette
21 May 2017 at 11:04 #57763@missy Khaza’dum is a location in Babylon Five, the home of the Shadows who are the big bad in that series. The captain is warned that if he goes there he will die. Of course he goes. The warning wasn’t frivilous, maybe a bit of a clue there from Matheison.
@phaseshift love the photo merge too though I think Servalon had a lot more style. We were just watching a Doco about Blake’s 7 a couple of night ago and started a re watch but now I need to re watch Matheison’s stories and look for B.5 references. I have something noted some similiar themes in recent years but don’t recall just what and when at the moment.
Cheers
Janette
20 May 2017 at 05:45 #57674@icahabod and @countscarlioni My heart sank too when I read that.
@missrori and @winston Yes I think there is far more to Bill’s Mum than meets the eye. When I first saw the photo I thought Susan but then that might just reflect my own wishes to find out what became of her after the Doctor left her. I have always felt that there is an as yet to be developed story there. I agree there is more of a likeness to Clara. Like Winston I thought her calling out to her mother was surprising and certainly hinted to something more going on that is yet known.
I am thinking that the Doctor’s promise may be about more than just watching the vault. If his promise was to watch over Bill (as I speculated somewhere probably on another thread), then he is free to travel provided she is with him.
cheers
Janette
19 May 2017 at 06:40 #57648@winston I thought that was odd too. I think there is more to Bill than we have been led to believe.
Cheers
Janette
19 May 2017 at 03:35 #57646@missrori I still think/hope that Orson is not a descendent of Danny’s but a twin possibly married to a Claricle. Just more interesting and less obvious. Maybe Bill is the daughter of Orson and a claricle. Now that is just too bonkers. It has occurred to me that maybe the Doctor’s promise has more to do with looking after Bill that watching over whatever is in the vault. Or maybe it is Bill’s mother in the vault. I am getting tangled up in my own bonkerising now.
@wolfweed I adored Richard Ayoede as Moss but I don’t think he has the acting range required to play the Doctor. He might make a lovely companion though.
Cheers
Janette
18 May 2017 at 04:05 #57613@mirime I agree that simply fixing the Doctor’s sight at the end of the episode would have been too easy and reduced the impact of what happens so sad though it is I was glad that the writers didn’t take that option. Sometimes there have to be serious consequences. The Doctor can’t be killed, we all know that or the series would not continue but he can be hurt, not enough to force a regeneration but enough to matter. That gives the stories a more serious edge, a tension that the magical “fix it all at the end” lacks.
Cheers
Janette
18 May 2017 at 03:53 #57611@nerys I like that suggestion. I am suspicious that all the claims that there is nothing complicated about Bill might be a deliberate mislead. Moffat cannot do simple. It isn’t in his DNA. There is certainly bit of a focus on Bill’s Mum. We keep seeing her image, which suggests it has some greater significance.
The fifty years also intrigues me. If what we are seeing is the present and given Bill’s mobile it would appear to be so though there have been no other real indicators of time, Bill’s style is ‘retro” and I don’t recall seeing any traffic, the Doctor must have been working at the University from about 1967, a few years after he first arrived on earth with Susan. I wonder if he started work there in 1963. Maybe this is an alternative universe where the Doctor stayed on earth and became a lecturer, his study certainly has an “alternative” world feel to it. As some of our own academics have remarked, what university provides its academic staff with offices like that?
Cheers
Janette
16 May 2017 at 14:04 #57562@pedant I think the sonic paper exists more for the benefit of the script writer than the Doctor so that might be last to go, when it is no longer useful.
@missrory I guess there is always the Tardis though he ended up Tardis less last series so that might be a bit repetitive.
Cheers
Janette
16 May 2017 at 08:04 #57555@tardigrade. Quite right. That is why I had so much fun working out the trajectory of the toy solder from Listen and was so attached to my final theory, (though I have pretty much forgotten it now) that I was glad that Moffat never provided an explanation for Orson though I still do speculate on he and Danny being twins, separated at birth by the devious Missy and the time travelling ancestor was a previous companion. There are a few candidates.
I must put my thought into my two pet theories about the resident of the vault, either Missy’s daughter or the President’s daughter, not because I think either remotely likely to be correct but because both are fun. (if the later is she Susan’s grandmother? Did he have to keep Susan hidden from the outraged President. Is it a young Susan in the Vault?) Maybe I should get back to my own writing. No time paradoxes to create headaches there.
Cheers
Janette
-
AuthorPosts
