@PhaseShift — nice survey and I think I agree with your rankings entirely. Also would add I think Moffatt was very clever with the casting and hopefully headed off the ‘we want the Rani’ back brigade. We’ve now got a Master who fills both roles quite nicely. And Michelle Gomez — definitely mad as a tree — in the nicest possible way.

@fonsini — shoosh.

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@bluesqueakpip — I’m soo hoping it turns out to be an egg….

RE. the Graun — I’ve posted a few things over there — most are just there for the trolling but there are a couple you can decently and enjoyably engage with, though obviously not our multiply monickered pal. I do feel a bit sorry for Dan being left to their tender mercies and it does make me cringe that that is seen as the public face of fandom…[Read more]

A truly jaw-dropping level of ARSE on display on the Guardian thread if anyone’s masochistic enough to look btw….

As ever, proper thoughts later but lots to love here. Just great rather than awesome though. I still think that SM is yet to match The Big Bang for a finale. This still trumps most of the RTD season closers with a couple of notable exceptions. And loved the Cyber-Brig. And Capaldi has definitely found his Delgado. Those two were great together.…[Read more]

@burrunjor

Like I said imagine that in reverse imagine a female hero who constantly needed her male companion to save her and needed a man to keep her sane people would find it offensive.

I never once said that those characters were defined by their gender

Actually, you’re still doing it. What I’d say RTD and SM have done is display the…[Read more]

@burrunjor —

The role of the female companion is to keep the doctor on his toes and in some ways protect him

Says who? There are many, including myself, who would dispute that. Especially as it’s dated, sexist and just downright limiting. The dynamic between Doctor and companion changes all the time. There’s a world of difference between the…[Read more]

Yes, indeed, our esteemed Emperor is looking very glam in that avatar.

On another note, I see over at the Graun — I’m not even going to dignify it with a hyperlink these days, is drumming up more faux-outrage over the ‘dark’ subject matter of the episode. This has been something I’ve been gritting my teeth and trying to avoid all week. As many…[Read more]

Great work on that spreadsheet, @BadWulf. Will try and put in my scores when I get a moment.

And good to see that @wolfweed is still lurking out there. Hope to see a more permanent return soon….

Well, that was quite, quite splendid. Quite traditional finale territory in many ways, after a series that I think has taken some admirable risks and twists and turns. But lots of moments of real darkness here too. This is real assured stuff — SM writing at the height of his powers and I think with even more  elan than The Day of the Doctor. How…[Read more]

Great episode and, yes, @everyone, that was the killer line. The ending kind of throws my Missy is a future-Clara idea out the window. Must cogitate further on that.

And, yes, @bluesqueakpip, I think this is the episode where the 12th incarnation decides to take on the mantle of The Doctor. Loved that whole scene.

And agree with @phaseshift, we…[Read more]

@gothamcelt — let me be clear. I was not lumping you in with the faux-offence, usually Daily Heil-reading ‘down with this sort of thing’ crowd that I was referring to in my last post. However, I do still think you’re overreacting a bit.

@wordmuse — as @scaryb says, you don’t need to worry RE. ratings. The show is doing as brilliantly now in terms of audience than ever. And as SM has pointed out, the show is now a global brand. It’s kind of pointless to just focus on UK overnights (which don’t take account of things like time-shifted viewing, iPlayer etc). The final viewing…[Read more]

@scaryb — I didn’t know McGrath had written for Z-Cars. That show had quite a pedigree when it came to writers….

@thatoneguy — as @scaryb says, it was referenced in the episode. It does beg the question though if the Doc Amy and Rory didn’t actually go to the Orient Express then, where did they go?

@wordmuse — I think it’s just a case that this particular arc is just not doing it for you. And that’s fine. I never really found myself on board with Martha’s…[Read more]

@mudlark — regrettably I’m old enough to remember Z-Cars but not in any great detail and you’re right, ground-breaking of the time. I’d argue it was a soap of a kind too though compared to the more straight-down-the-line cops series of the time. But aside from launching the careers of a lot of great actors, it also produced some real writing…[Read more]

@GothamCelt — but probably accurate in the context in which it was used…

@PhaseShift — great post and an excellent analysis of British soap. I think I’m probably more forgiving of British soaps of the 80s than some and the fact is I think that they often produced some of the best writing British telly has ever produced. Jimmy McGovern, Tony…[Read more]

@wordmuse — I think the messianic/Lonely God side of the character was certainly played up during the RTD years and SM certainly seems to have had a long game of ramping that back down again. I do think that Capaldi’s doc is definitely starting to resemble BG Doctors quite a bit in his ambivalence. Others may disagree.

RE. Clara. I am certainly…[Read more]