@craig — yes, I saw that. Lots to agree with in it. She says something that I’ve been fumbling towards expressing myself in that part of the appeal of Who in the classic days is that he is a hero that appeals to the marginal, the awkward, the loner (and the lonely). For those of a certain age when he was around in this form, he had an enormous…[Read more]

@bluesqueakpip —

if there were a surprise regeneration on the cards, I don’t think Peter Capaldi would be even mentioning the word ‘leave’

You’re almost certainly right there.

And if it does turn out to be a year of ‘Specials’ then I suspect it’s unlikely they’d lumber a new Doctor with that. They really need a full run to find their feet.

@bluesqueakpip — Yeah, I don’t think Capaldi will stay for more than one more season (and next year is already rumoured to be some kind of truncated affair). But I wouldn’t be completely surprised if they sprung a surprise regeneration on us this year.

Still a tenuous conclusion to leap to from those quotes…

@wolfweed — I like the armoured-up Voord. And definitely want me some more War Doctor action. Will look out for that….

And in our Shit Journalism 101 slot, how to leap to wildly unsupported assertions in a headline from the flimsiest of quotes (courtesy of the Metro and the Mirror)….

@indigomoose — I do like the idea of a ‘senile’ TARDIS. Like it a lot. I seem to remember an old Marvel comic strip flirting with the idea of the ‘untrustworthy’ TARDIS — the Stockbridge Horror, I think.

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

I must admit that I quite like the Romana theory and she’s definitely one of the companions who could fit into the show as it is now — I can actually see Lalla Ward as she is now and Peter Capaldi being quite a good fit.

And @indigomoose, it’s definitely a bonkers enough theory to fit in quite nicely here. Keep ’em coming.

@indigomoose — and presumably heads off the ‘threat’ of the Doctor regenerating as a woman in the future. Am I right?

Thought it was looking a bit unloved in here after the Great Database Massacre of 2015.

This is probably one of the single best episodes of the BG show in my opinion. Doesn’t put a foot wrong at all and I think it’s Davison’s finest hour. From his ‘small beautiful moments’ speech to the race against time in the TARDIS, to the look on his face as…[Read more]

To echo @phaseshift‘s call-out for The Killing Joke — it’s a small but perfectly formed work.

I’d never heard the the dual-role rumour regarding the first Batman. That’s an interesting idea and I think Keaton could have pulled it off. But I always got the impression that he got the gig because Burton saw something beyond the overtly wacky in…[Read more]

@craig & @thekrynoidman—

Ledger’s Joker is probably overrated these days but I’d still prefer it to the rather baroque but ultimately style over substance performance that Nicholson gave. I also quite like the first Burton too but the extended bit of nonsense with the carnival floats in the middle just seemed to kill the film’s momentum stone…[Read more]

@thekrynoidman — The Dark Knight is well worth watching for Ledger’s performance alone. I’m personally not that crazy about the films either side of them. I personally really like Keaton’s take on Batman and would rate Batman Returns as the best of all the films (tie-ing with TDK)

@ichabod — well, her stuff has a trippy edge too. And I wouldn’t put it past old PKD spiking her….

@lisa

If there was, it was probably acid….

For the cosplayers out there. Some Who people in there but it’s the teeny tiny Browncoats that got me….

On the Cyber design. I think it’s one of the better ones — the translucent ‘chin’ plate is a masterstroke that emphasises the organic nature of the creature inside. None of the AG iterations have really worked because they just look far too much like robots in their entirety. The latest ones are a nice design but it’s too slick, too robotic. They…[Read more]

The Cyber kisses to the past continue. Now we’re on to The Invasion — and why not, it is the best Cyber-story bar none (unless you include Spare Parts ). BG stories tend to really find their feet in episode threes and this one’s quite a belter. Beryl’s is not quite so terrible here but she’s still no Hobson or Cutler. Scott gets to be the…[Read more]

After that cliffhanger this episode was initially watched with the open-mouthed astonishment of actually seeing the Cybermen in action again. And, yes, they are rather camp but in fairness it’s not that noticeable and is rather restrained in Earthshock. It’s only by the time we get to The Five Doctors/Attack and especially Silver Nemesis that…[Read more]

@phaseshift —

mutters to self ‘must watch Strange and Norrell, must watch Strange and Norrell’.

But, yes, if I were a betting man, I’d be thinking that a small flutter on Harness being Who’s next showrunner might not be an entirely ridiculous wager.