[janetteB @replies]

Not sure that the second link from @wolfweed isn’t potentially even more spoilery than the first because there was one thing mentioned there that I am considering discussing in the spoilers thread just in case. I don’t want to upset anyone. 😉

I agree with @chickenelly that the photos of the Christmas special look like the real thing and we will see Matt as the Doctor at least in the beginning. I am rather hoping that they don’t leave the regeneration until the end as is usually done as it would be nice to see P.C. established as the Doctor proper given the long wait until the next series.

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@wolfweed my thanks to for the links. I really enjoyed the Davidson clip. Just what was needed on a dismal overcast Tuesday afternoon in post-election Oz. I don’t recall him being quite so grumpy when he was the Doctor though. I was expecting him to find a Tardis so that he arrived on time after all but it was rather a pity that, when he stepped out onto the stage, he didn’t close the Tardis door behind him.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

Hi @juniperfish. Nice to hear from you. Feels like the end the summer here too but a different kind of summer.

I too am really looking forward to seeing how Capaldi interprets the role, what he brings to it, what he will wear, which accent he will use.. sad though I am to loose Matt.  Ah the beauty of regeneration..

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

Love all the dopplegangers. Agree once again with @bluesqueakpip. There might well be a casual Roman reference which will more than suffice but as the actor is playing a different character I don’t really feel that it is necessary. Torchwood, (thank goodness) is not Dr Who and given that it became something that most of us would prefer to forget, I see no need to reference it. When Gwen Cooper appeared in Dr Who Torchwood still showed some promise and the reference to her family background was a nice touch. I felt that they would have been better not highlighting Martha’s identical cousin though. Her previous character was minor and the double casting would have been easily overlooked.

I haven’t seen The Massacre. I have only tried watching one of the reconstructions but found the sound quality really let the story down. I am not sure if it was done by Loose Canon.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@wolfweed the silence scream would be ideal for crazy captions. (only because on showing it to my partner he immediately suggested a “caption” which I will happily plagiarise.)

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

No comment from me either in the original Guardian thread. Maybe I felt as though there was nothing sensible I could add, rather as I feel now having read the comments above. As is so common in Moffat stories much of what happens is little more than a  distraction, albeit a very entertaining one, from the real story which in this case is Amy’s pregnancy and conversion into flesh. Also as is common with Moffat episodes, it needs to be watched and then rewatched and rewatched again. As the season unfolds the meaning of the first two episodes changes and thus they are very rewarding when watched with a fuller understanding of what is really going on. When watching now I am trying to work out when Amy becomes felsh, when that photo of her with baby Melody was taken, what became of the child she regenerates into and how she ends up in the U.K growing up with her parents and ensuring that she is born in the first place.

From memory I didn’t really warm to Amy in the first series but I think it was in these two episodes that I began to relate to her character and Rory was simply wonderful. The scene with him cradling that link in his hand, listening to her voice, is heartbreaking. Oh and creepy orphanages are  cool.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

Thanks for putting up that link @chickenelly. I read the article this morning. I am glad that he had enjoyed his Who experience and found the fans to be pleasant people. I think a little bit of fantasy role play or indulgence in escapism is healthy, provided one doesn’t let it take over one’s life but no more harmfull than being to obsessed with a football game to care about the outcome of an election. In fact most of my Who fan friends are far more switched on and caring about real life than the average nine to five, Murdoch media addict. (sorry beginning to rant but I do get really angry when people make the assumption that a love of “fantasy” implies ignorance or indifference to reality and I am feeling rather touchy today.) Other than that it was a good interview. 🙂

Cheers

Janette

 

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

@scaryb. Nice to hear from you. Sounds like you have a very interesting time at the Edinburgh festival. I’ll second your wishes re @htpbdet. He has been been absent for some time how and I miss his contributions.

@jimthefish My cat was most unimpressed by the Dalek relaxation tape. 🙂

cheers

Janette.

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

I thought that was one of the funniest news stories I have read all year. They are just going have to reposition the sun..Can’t have it melting peoples’ jags.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

I don’t think anyone other than Colin Baker would think veering in the dirction of his Doctor would be a good thing. 🙂

Are you departing these sunny shores for ever @blenkinsopthebrave? If so I hope you have time to visit the Dr Who exhibition in Sydney before you head off.

Cheers

Janette

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

He certainly looks unhappy there. He chose well in the end, given the choices on show in that blog..

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

Many thanks @bluesqueakpip. Another fun little gem that I hadn’t seen before.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

A Christmas Carol was everything a Christmas special should be. As @pendant says it really makes the season itself the point of the story. It plays upon the ideas that Dickens is promoting in his story of the same name of what Christmas should be, one magical time of year where we remember our humanity and put compassion and altruism before mercenary self interest, and as @bluesqueakpip points out it has Michael Gambon in it. It also highlights the importance of nurturning affection and fantasy in childhood and how those values inform us as healthy adults. Karzen is a broken human in the beginning because he was emotionally starved in childhood. This also ties with what Phillip Pullman was saying about the importance of fairy stories in the Guardian article the toher day. Thus far Moffat has used the Christmas specials to put the series heart on its’ sleave, because at Christmas time one is permitted a little emotional indulgence and now I know what I will be watching tonight. 🙂

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

Thanks for the links The Moffat interview was very interesting. I liked his remark “Your bookcase doesn’t tell you when you can read. Why should your television tell you when you can watch?”. That is exactly what I have always thought.

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@tardisblue. I intend to post pics, (once I work out how to) but right now I am making room on my laptop to download the pics from my camera so it may take a little while. 🙂

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

Moffat’s interview was indeed full of little gems of information or hints at least. I would not be at all surprised if J.K.Rowling writes the story of the eleventh. I am certain that she would love to do it too. Likewise I am certain that Moffat and Jackson would have talked Dr Who and discussed potential collaborations as “maybe’s” or “if only’s” while working on Tin Tin so now it’s a matter of S.M calling P.J and saying, “remember that idea we were tossing about over a few ales at the front bar of the Green Dragon. Well I was thinking…”

cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

Fantastic drawing @jimthefish and you certainly have mastered the graphics tablet. I would love to master shading like that with mine.

@Shazzbot, I must protest. Photoshop is a form of art and the graphics tablets are a tool like a pen or pencil just a hell of a lot more difficult to use. However I suspect I might be in need of a “database defragger”. 🙂

Today I sent my youngest off to school with his scarf, hat, and a bag of English jelly babies. (Australian ones are different. I had to go to a lolly shop which sells imported stuff to get them.) It was the book week fancy dress parade so just to prove that Dr Who is a book character he had one of my old Target novelisations in his pocket. Through lucky happenstance his best mate went dressed as a cyberman. A few years ago his parents who are artists made a fabulous Dalek costume for him. I will try and find some pics of it.

Cheers

Janette

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@fivefaces, I have only visited two Who related locations and they are both “embarassingly” obvious. The first is Paris and yes, when I first walked up the Champs-Elysees I was trying to work out just which cafe the Doctor and Romana were sitting at. (City of Death) I was nineteen at the time and despite having studied history and art it was Dr Who that I was thinking of when I first went to Paris. More recently I was pointing Dr Who locations out to my sons from the second stage of the Eiffel Tower so, not much had changed really over the years. 🙂

We also visited the Cardiff Bay area in 2007. We were supposed to be visiting castles but changed plan when we found out about the Dr Who exhibition. Wish I had known more about Dr Who locations last time I was in the U.K because I would have loved visiting some of the villages etc.

Oh and Weclome to the forum.

Welcome to @whoviansrcool too.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@htpbdet. I was glad to hear from you. Hope there will be no more delays to your recovery.

@wolfweed. You never fail. 🙂

@tardisblue. A lot can be explained with Weeping Angels..

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@tardisblue and @htpbdet I will wholeheartedly agree and volunteer to aid and abet TardisBlue with pet minding, cake delivery etc. We are missing you HTPBDET.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

Given that the Raft of the Medusa was certainly a contributing factor in the demise of the French government of the time that might be a very bad omen indeed @Shazzbot.

The BBC do seem to be taking the stance, (with their heals dug firmly into the ground & hands placed hard on hips) that the anniversary does not begin until November. I suspect it will end in November too.. In one of the clips that have been linked to recently, (I don’t recall which particular one) someone associated with  the BBC (and I also alas don’t recall which particular someone) remarked that the anniversary had not yet begun.

I am certain that it would nto be too difficult to produce a few documentaries on the history of the show and I am certain that they would be “cost effective”.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@Shazzbot the  nazi-fan-daleks will be onto you now… Did you not mention recently that there is a duck pond in that village sans ducks?? If I remember correctly then I think you might be in serious danger. Watch out for cracks and strange people who bark instead of their dogs..

An attempt to get back to topic.. I don’t really care what excuse is used, ie “all planets have a north”, just as long as P.C. keeps his accent. Meanwhile my P.C. research continues. I have just watched series 1 of “Field of Blood.”

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

Nice to hear from you again @scaryb Hope you will have more time for bonkers theorising soon. Welcome to new members. I look forward to hearing more from you all.

I hope @htpbdet is about. Haven’t heard from him for a couple of days and I miss his insights.

I do have days where I prefer just to “lurk” enjoying what others are saying but not feeling as though I have anything worthwhile to contribute but I am never far away. 🙂

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@thommck Because Rupert is the more cuddly version of the Doctor of course… 🙂

 

[janetteB @replies]

It might well turn out to be Rose who gives Clara the telephone number. I think if Clara turns out to be the Doctor’s granddaughter it will be as a result of his union with River Song and not as a relation of Susan’s. I do hope that at some point AG Who will address the question of “what became of Susan”. I don’t necessarily think or want that to happen in the anniversary though it would be a nice past reference. I think of all the assistants Susan raises the most questions because she is identified as his granddaughter and because she is one of the first assistants. I suspect that AG viewers are more likely to know of Susan than say Polly or Zoe or even Tegan or Mel.

I don’t think having the Doctor start travelling with another granddaughter need feel like “a lazy remake” at all @Shazzbot. Given Moffat’s writing and imagination at play it will probably work very differently to the original. As @htpbdet says, “it’s the way it plays out that matters.”

@bluesqueakpip the two Davids, Ellie and Susan do have remarkable resemblances in those photos. I don’t think there will turn out to be any relationship though. I am still wondering just what became of Clara’s mother however and it did seem to be rather a screaming coincidence that the Maitland children’s mother died just when Clara turned up in their life. (I don’t quite recall the line about when exactly she died.) I think the possibility that the children she nannies are time lord children has been raised before. Maybe every Claricle is caring for Time Lord children seeded on earth to save them from the Time Lock and maybe that has not yet happened. It is possible that Clara, in the time vortex intervenes to save the children, hence she is scattered through time as a nanny. Which takes me back to Clara being an ordinary girl until she steps into the Doctor’s Time stream and is splintered and not River’s child. I do love nurturing contrary theories.

Cheers

Janette

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

The apple with the smiley face is freshly cut when Amy gives it to the Doctor, adding to the impression that her mother has just be swallowed by the crack.

Given the Doctor’s jealousy of his wife’s superior piloting skills his comment on entering the Tardis could be easily dismissed.  Also we don’t know if the Doctor knows why the Tardis exploded. He might well blame it on River’s piloting.

I don’t think Doctor Zero is associated with prisoner Zero as the later is evil. The paradox theory does explain the exploding Tardis well enough, but so does @MadScientiest72’s theory that the Tardis fell into the crack. I favour the later one because I was not comfortable with the Tardis being able to destroy the entire universe. If the explosion takes place in the crack then the repercussions might be greatly amplified. Both theories would fit but the real answer will probably surprise us all, if indeed, we ever do find out Moffat’s reasoning.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

I was just reading that article @Shazzbot. It is well worth reading and not simply because it is Who related. But like AL Kennedy I am getting so tired of those whose knowledge of Capaldi’s acting career seems limited to The Thick of it.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

Sorry for going off topic but as someone who loves reading but can’t spell, I was interested in @miapatrick‘s comment. I hadn’t heard of dyspraxia before but suspect I would tick some of those boxes. Looks like we are in good company though, Danial Radcliff, the Bronte sisters..

And so back to topic before @Shazzbot gives me a sound rap across the knuckles.. Struggling to think of something relevant, Amy as flesh. I always found the question of just when she was converted rather confused. It would seem that the Doctor scanned the human pregnant Amy and was comparing those scans to non-pregnant flesh Amy though I am rather surprised that the flesh would scan at all. Wouldn’t she be made of gloop and why didn’t she show up as gloop on the scanner? Assumably he scanned her after she told him she was pregnant unless the Tradis just automatically scans its’ crew which seems to be a rather invasive thing to do. (Reminds me of Black Books, the five minute retina scans “just to make sure you are still you”) If that was the case he would surely have known she was pregnant before she told him. All of which suggests to me that she is taken between episode one and two rather than “before America”. It probably doesn’t really signify just when she became flesh because one assumes the illness is morning sickness regardless of whether she is human or flesh and that River’s symptoms appear to be related.

I do like the suggestion someone made in The Next Doctor thread that Clara is his granddaughter rather than his daughter which would leave him travelling with his granddaughter again. I just hope they don’t do a switch, instead of granddaughter and teachers it is granddaughter and “students”, ie the children she is nanny too. I thought the nanny role was a reference to her fate as carer for the Doctor but maybe it is a mirror role to Barbara and Ian.

cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

I agree with @jimthefish. (like the Sam West Doctor avatar too) Matt Smith, Arthur Darvill and Alex Kingston really come into their own in this episode. I think that this was when I finally warmed to River Song. Rory was simply wonderful. His expression when the Doctor fails to notice him is etched in my memory as is his agony when he kills Amy.

Yet for all that I still felt that there was something unsatisfying about the episode. It sets up so much more than it can deliver. I feel that S.M is not fully in his stride in this series. He is still trying to emulate the RTD big bang stories which just are not his style. His small stories are brilliant, but in this final two parter he has stepped out of his narrative comfort zone and doesn’t quite succeed in pulling it off. The universe had been destroyed one time too many already.

Cheers

Janette

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

Happy that @Shazzbot is back and @htpbdet is home even though subjected to the horror of the Twin Dilemma. The family is whole and well again and dancing but not to Glenn Millar, please. (Glenn Millar is on par with Twin Dilemma. )

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

I think that Amy became “flesh” sometime between her telling the Doctor that she is pregnant and telling him that she isn’t which means it happened while in the U.S. As @stevethewhistle points out, he was only speculating on when she was taken by the silence. There was plenty of opportunity for her to be captured by the silence in the time between TIA and DotM.

cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@bluesqueakpip. Some excellent points there. You picked up on the “Blood calls to blood” line from Hide which is funny because I was thinking about that this morning but didn’t see the significance. It is one of those lines which could easily have been edited in. The family connection element wasn’t essential to the story. In fact it slightly confused the issue. Was she simply able to hear the spacewoman because she was her ancestor or was it because she was an empath.

This theory links with the theory running in the “Companions” thread. Maybe Clara is the Doctor’s grandaughter. her mother being River’s daughter. (It could be the father but there appears to be something rather Timey/wimey about the mother.) Clara therefore might have predominently human DNA. This would mean the Doctor was once again travelling with a granddaughter, but one acquired through his AG family.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

I did get the tail end of that troll invasion Monday morning when I sat down with coffee, eager to read what everyone thought of the big announcement. Those who missed it are fortunate.

I just want to second, (third, fourth??) the fine words of both @blenkinsopthebrave and @htpbdet. @craig and the other mods are doing a wonderful job and it is not easy and nor is it always fun but it is very definitely appreciated.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

LOL @tardisblue. Your knowledge of musicals is soo infinitely better than mine, (which is non existant) that if you hadn’t pointed out the error I certainly wouldn’t have noticed. Now we need @wolfweed to find us a picture of a blushing Tardis. 🙂

And back on topic,(scratches head to think of something pertinent to say) I have a feeling that Susan will not be returning to the story in the forseeable future. She will be referenced but not be a major part of the story arc. I now think Moffat’s story arcs are contained within the years of his tenure, and maybe his earlier Nu Who stories. I will refrain from stomping my foot and demanding a resolution to her story, for the time being, provided Clara does indeed turn out to be the Doctor’s daughter.

I do recall discussing this a very long time ago but it was discounted because of the Christmas snog. Now with an imminent re-incarnation of the character that does not seem so damning.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@tardisblue, you missed the second t in my name so don’t take it out on your keyboard. You will be .. forgiven..

I would hope that the Doctor’s new family, (taking on this wonderful bonkers theory as fact now) is not his old family. I would prefer for him to have had a family in his youth which, with the exception of Susan left on earth, perished in the Time War or earlier. River, Amy and Rory are his new family, part of his post Time war life. I don’t think we will encounter Jenny, not within this arc anyway. Moffat thought the character should live because later writers could use her. I don’t think he intended to use the character himself, necessarily. I think there would be hints if Jenny was returning. Clara however is part of an ongoing four season arc. Her connection to the previous series arc is not immediately apparent, but it is certainly there, or so Moffat has implied.

I suspect Anthony is simply what he is stated to be, a son for Rory and Amy to tie off their story arc, a form of “happily ever after”, nice but not essential to the story.

I like the idea that the Doctor was in fact watching over his own daughter, growing up and as for that cringeworthy snog, perhaps that is why it was so cringeworthy. Maybe that was intentional and that was only a Clarical, not the real thing.

@tardisblue, I’m never going to be able to watch a Rose episode again without thinking of Energizer Bunnies. .

Cheers

Janette.

[janetteB @replies]

@wolfweed, another thank-you for providing great links. I loved Karen Gillan’s tweet, “CAPALDI! Superb choice. Swear I’ve seen him in Pompeii…”

@pedant, I think that teenager is far scarier than P.C. could ever be.

@whisht seconded.

I am currently doing some P.C. research. Having just finished watching the final episodes of series 2 of The Hour I am now catching up on Local Hero. Next week will start watching “The Thick of it.”  I can see potential Doctorish elements in his Local Hero performance.

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@fatmaninabox and @blenkinsopthebrave, brilliant! brilliant! brilliant! Clara as River and the Doctor’s daughter. Now that would work. I was always puzzled by River claiming to feel sick in DoTM. It didn’t not seem to “fit” into the story in any way yet was obviously there for a reason. Not sure about the flesh avatar part of your theory but the rest I like a lot. River could easily have hidden somehere obscure until the child was born then, using her time travel ability, left infant Clara on earth to be raised with a fob watch equivilant, (the book?) so that when Mum and Dad took her to the Doctor’s for routine check up the G.P wouldn’t be in danger of heart failure.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

I am sorry that I can’t help you @fatmaninabox You might have to wait until the “day shift” are back on duty. (I’m having the same thoughts as you but reserving judgement for the time being.)

@blenkinsopthebrave  I like the idea of just hearing P.C. voice rather than seeing his face, especially as his voice would be recognisable to most views, especially if he uses his Glaswegian accent. We now know something the Doctor doesn’t and that is always fun to play with. Showing one future regen” in the Time stream raises the question of “what about the others”. As Moffat does seem to be really emphasising that the doctor is nearing his final regeneration I suspect this is going to be dealt with.

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

I hope that @shazzbot is back with us again soon.

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

I liked your theory re time lords being evolved humans @MadScientist72. Oh and thanks for yet another great pic @wolfweed.  Interesting that JLC implied her arc is not yet over @blenkinsopthebrave. Time to start brewing up more bonkers theories?? I had assumed when she entered the time line that all has been revealed and that she had been just an ordinary girl afterall. I thought the governess thing was because she becomes in effect the Doctor’s governness when she enters his time line, watching over him and protecting him through all his past regenerations. I wonder if we will see P.C. in the time stream in the 50th assuming that at least some of that action takes place within it.

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

@nick. no worse than me..:)

 

[janetteB @replies]

@jimthefish and @bluesqueakpip good points. If the script writers want time lords to interbreed with humans then it will be so. There have been precedents in other Sci fi series. Though @nick I don’t think Doctor was the father. And agreed, if Time Lords were as sexually active as humans then they would be the rabbit plague of the universe. In regard to Rose and the Doctor, I often felt like reminding her that “he is a 900 year old alien so get over it.” Attraction is one thing, but I hope to be spared the (RTD) puppy love in future.

cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

Peter Capaldi at 55 is a Dr Who fan. How many other fans are of his generation? A fair few I’d guess. (I’m almost one of them.) I loved Matt Smith’s Doctor, I loved Hartnell’s doctor when I was considerably younger than I am now. People, especially “arses” make big issues of irrevelvant details. Age does not matter. All that matters in the end is performance as Matt Smith proved to all those who feared he was “too young”. The real question is “how long will be stay.” I hope that having an established career means that is his willing to commit for a reasonable length of time. I should not grumble about three years but it still seems to me as though M.S. has only just settled into the role and needs at least one more year to mature.

There have been so many wonderful links posted that I can’t thank all the posters in name though thanks are sent, but I must mention @nick‘s link because it included that brilliant scene from The Hour and saved me going through the entire series to find it to show my family. Anna Chancellor for the Master/mistress or even as a future Doctor?

As to sexual relationships in the series. I disliked the “elephant in the room” feel of BG Who and other series of the time where relationships were taboo but nor do I like the shoehorning in of sexual relationships which marred the Rose/Doctor and Martha/Doctor relationships. Donna made it clear that she wasn’t interested and I never thought that was due to her age, especially as it was during her time as a Tardis travellor that he met River who was older than her. (A.K. turns 50 this year too. A good vintage!! Just wish I looked as good as she does..) I attributed that to Donna’s personality and the realisation that too much romance turns the series into soap opera. (I really dislike claims that any romance= soap opera) however when the Doctor starts falling in love with every attractive woman who crosses his path it does get that feel. The occasional flirtation or hint of deeper feeling is fine and has the more impact by being “occasional”. After all any romance involving the Doctor should reflect the fact that he is a 1,000 + alien, something I felt that Rose forgot but was essential to his relationship with River. Re the other Time Lord/human relationships I don’t think age was a factor. Susan was young, probably comparable in age to David Campbell. Though the writing out of Leela was so badly written that the script writers later felt the need to apologise for it, there was no clear disparity of age between Leela and Andred. It was implied that he was young, on his first regeneration if mere citadel guards are even permitted to regenerate. It has never been made clear if regeneration is the exclusive right of Time Lords or the natural ability of all citizens of Gallifrey, assuming too that there is a distinction between the former and the later.

Now I have rambled on to much. Apologies. (Blame the rambling, typos and spelling errors on the excellent Barossa Shiraz..:)”

cheers

Janette

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

My sons got home from school and headed straight to the computer to re watch Fires of Pompei. I really don’t see any issue with the actor having had a minor role some years back. I am sure that if there is any reference to a similarity to a certain Roman citizen it will be handled rather better than the Romana regeneration into Princess Astra/Lalla Ward. And after all he is not playing the same character. There seems to be a tendency to confuse the actor with the character, hence all the sad comments on the Guardian.

I am now going to have to watch “The Thick of it”, “Crow Road and try and find a copy of “Local Hero”, which I saw so many years ago that I barely remember it but those clips showing the misty highlands have whetted my appetite.

Thanks for the link @chickenelly. And nice to see you back as well as @juniperfish. I wonder why MOffat didn’t appear on stage if he was at Elstree. Perhaps he was too embarassed to be associate with that dross though it was his idea I believe.

Cheers

Janette

 

 

[janetteB @replies]

Watched the live broadcast with my partner while he waited for his car battery to charge providing the perfect excuse for being a little bit late for work. (I had set the alarm for 4.30 but my dedication failed me when the time came and I turned it off.) I think of all the names suggested Peter Capaldi would have been high on my list of possibles. I have just rewatched a couple of episodes of The Hour to remind myself of him and have to say that I hope that Ben Wishaw might be in the running next time.

It will be very interesting to have an older Doctor. It will certainly change the dynamic with the companion. I can see them adding another companion, possibly a younger male, someone to do the running, as they did before Tom Baker was chosen. They wrote Harry Sullivan in as they were considering casting an older actor as Doctor. Also as my partner says, having an older Doctor running about with a sexy young companion in his TArdis might not be the best look.

Of course at the moment we are seeing Peter Capaldi, not the twelfth Doctor. When he steps out of the Tardis in character we will see someone entirely different so we can’t judge him until we see the performance but I have high hopes that it is going to be rather good. P.C. has the most important qualification of all, a love of the show.

Now back to pass the afternoon reading through all the posts and avoiding the other, considerably more depressing news for the day.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

@Bluespeakpip. “Yes, it is a cautionary tale of the co-producers deciding they know best what will work for the States. And in the process, destroying what makes the show work.”

I think that sums up the problem with the film perfectly. When it came out I was bitterly disappointed. (I just can’t bring myself to watch it again because it is not Doctor Who and tramples upon everything that for me at least Doctor Who is.) At the time I believed that the film had killed any hope of a future revival of Doctor Who. When I first heard about Nu-Who I wasn’t interested. I had no intention of even watching, until reading the Guardian review. (Bless you Guardian..)

I have always felt sorry for McGann who did his best and delivered a Doctor that has survived even transcended the original source. I guess this is in part because of his work for Big Finish which I have not had the opportunity to listen to. He has earned his place in the Tardis.

[janetteB @replies]

Thank-you @whisht  Totorwho is brilliant. @Shazzbot, yes. Exactly what one would expect him to say..

Cheers

Janette

 

[janetteB @replies]

I always felt that Martha was a “rebound” character. RTD simply didn’t quite know what to do with the character. In my view the only episodes in which she really came into her own were Human Nature/Family of Blood where the Doctor was really in her care. When “Martha” was strong the characterisation worked. When Martha was the love lorn companion it didn’t.

The “Rose is wonderful” meme irritated me too and I was also rather shocked by the way the Doctor treated Mickey and thought it most “undoctorish” until re watching the early Baker episodes. “Harry Sullivan is an idiot.” I think the problem was that C.E. did nasty too well whereas both D.T and T.B. managed to soften their harshness with humour.

I think that every companion is a little in love with the doctor, but more in the way that people fall in love with Hollywood stars or Mr Darcy, not the way people fall in love with flesh and blood fellow mortals. And that works because it adds to the mystique of the character. Rose and Martha’s respective infatuation with the Doctor was of the everyday, reducing the character to “fellow human, fellow traveller”. River’s relationship with the doctor is far from the everyday as she operates on an elevated plane as well thus preserving the mystique of the Doctor. There now I have worked out why I disliked the Doctor/Rose and Doctor/Martha relationships. They humanised the Doctor. S.M. has endeavoured to “de humanise” him again. Rory is the optimal human partner for Amy. The Doctor is reduced, or elevated, to the role of outsider.

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

I have seen Peter Capaldi in a number of small roles but not in The Thick of It. He certainly has the range. I could see him as a Doctor. I think he is an accomplished enough actor to transcend a single role, and he had the right kind of back ground for the role, a mix of comedy and drama. If S.M is angling for an older doctor it will be more difficult to cast an unknown. I don’t quite see him as the Doctor though. However I can’t picture any other actor as the Doctor at the moment. Still I suspect that this is just one more rumour with as little substance as any of the previous ones and when the announcement is made we will all be “gobsmacked”. I just hope that we don’t have much longer to wait.

(the one actor I really want in the role just now is Matt Smith and I keep hoping that maybe the news of his departure is just another Moffat lie,)

Cheers

Janette

[janetteB @replies]

Colin Baker looks so much better as a cat. I will second @whisht‘s request.

Cheers

Janette

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