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@Bluesqueakpip- it actually reminds me of one thing in Buffy- before she died, she was willing to risk the end of the world rather than let her sister die. After she died she admitted to (or reassured) Giles that she probably wouldn’t make that choice. but she never made the other one.

I personally do think it was the right choice, partly because I don’t like Unitarianism. I find it interesting because Moffart suggests that the consequences of the earths majority decision being carried out would have had this effect on the human race- and the effect of the choice that was made was this, which gives an argument about how it really isn’t necessarily for the greater good to make the hard, pragmatic decisions. I also think it’s pretty clear that the fact that the earth made the choice it did, and Clara and Courtney basically overruled it, somewhat undermined his rational for stepping out (unless Clara was right and he was building Courtney up.)

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@BadWulf- I know, that’s why I put the inverted coma’s in!

inevitably, on the day I finally get around to paying the damn bt bill it starts blinking so I just lost a whole post, but I think what I said was:

the doctor, when he returned, made a few arguments from his considerable experience as to why the crisis was probably going to turn out ok. The tendency of hatchlings not to destroy their nests, for example, rather passing over what some Cuckcoos do. Not only did he have the advantage of experience, from a safe distance these arguments were quite logical. Clara had no distance at all. By putting the decision on the human’s, we was refusing to let them avail themselves of his knowledge and skills and experience, and that was unreasonable.

two other thoughts regarding ‘right choice’. Firstly, whether what they in fact did was the right choice depends on what we think of human beings unleashed on the universe, which the Doctor (10) has called monsters in the past. and secondly, I’m not s scientist, so genuine question: would exploding 100 nuclear bombs on the moon definitely not have a harmful impact on the earth?

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@badwulf yeah, I kept thinking of abortion arguments and it did nag at me a little. Particularly because, to make it a pregnancy metaphor, it’s the whole world that is pretty much equally late stages pregnant with something that might or might not kill them all. And then the choice is made by a person who has the best chance pretty much in the whole world of surviving whatever happens.

That said there was a lot of interesting stuff in this episode. An Earth that had turned its back on the stars (that had stopped making nuclear weapons as well as spacecraft, though) dragged back up with a feeling of dread. Insight into Danny’s experiences, and evidence, I think, that his words to her at the end of last weeks episode were not controlling, but came from experience.

I liked Courtney here. She was brattish sometimes, brave sometimes, cowardly sometimes, brilliant sometimes. Not too good or too bad. (Of course, she had already helped Clara in episode one, through Clara’s memory of her first day at school (threats can only escalate).  b.t.w. Clara said to Courtney last week pretty much what she accused the Doctor of saying to her this week :you’re big enough to look after yourself.

I think it came OK at the end. Clara was angry because the world made the ‘wrong choice’, she nearly made the ‘wrong choice’ and he didn’t know for a fact at the time that it was the wrong choice. And because the Doctor said it was ‘their moon’. The first Doctor could probably have said that. Quite a few, maybe. But by now the Doctor has been with us enough, been here enough, to have a stake in the matter.

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@Marconi- sorry, but are you complaining that the episode is too soap operary- too much romance- or not enough because they didn’t show us every step of the way?

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sorry, it’s something else to link thingy your name isn’t it? Can’t remember what it is.

@pedant, that’s it!

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@IAnNotAFishIAmAFreeMan- well, quite- but still officer class… and that’s probably why he lost it when he said that. He has a noticeable way of taking charge- as noted in the last episode. I think Danny touched a nerve.

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@PhaseShift- yes that was interesting. The Police Officer also differs in that he didn’t willingly go to his death- no self sacrifice, just wrong place at the wrong time.

I meant to say as well, I liked what Danny had to say about the Doctor, officer class etc. (I also think this strongly implies that it was a boarding school we saw in the Doctors past.) It’s no dissimilar to Rory on the Doctor, but I wonder if it means something else. Is Missy (CAL/Papal mainframe etc) ‘saving’ and collecting cannon fodder as well as people of ‘officer potential’?

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I did love that he was quite happy when he thought it was the Matt Smithalike. Yes, healthy.

Despite this episode being so much about rivalry between the two men, I think it has also established that the relationship between the Doctor and Clara is no longer romantic. (Her space dad. Perfect.)

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re-watched earlier today, and- did Orsan say that the Tardis is ‘smaller on the outside?’ like Victorian Clarical?

The shot of him packing his bags ready to go with the Doctor reminded me of Dalek Clarical as well. Not that a person wouldn’t be packing their bags in such circumstances, just that it isn’t the kind of thing that is usually shown.

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@theatreguy when the Teller was getting at her memories, I thought that there was some kind of reference to her time in the Doctors time stream, and wondered if she was trying not to think of it.

Then when the Doctor used him to undo the effect of the memory worm, I wondered if she might have begun to remember something about it that she had lost.

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Since the first two episodes featured Missy, and the first three mentioned the ‘promised land’, I’m assuming that the last two episodes must contain some sort of a reference/clue. This one could be quite simple. Imagine what you want most of all in the world…

On that subject, what did the Doctor want most of all in the world? Obviously he sent himself down their to complete his mission. And he managed to save a species from dying out. The whole ‘last of their kind’ scenario has been there since the re-boot. And he’s still, effectively, the last of his kind.

Anyway, really liked that. Capaldi is a wonderful doctor. His bedside manner defiantly improved from episode two when it comes to being with the dying.  Looking forward to his caretaker turn. Don’t think he’ll quite take to it the way his predecessor did.

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Immediately after watching this, I had to walk out of a house, up a dark country lane, open and lock a gate (no light from the sky, no street lights, pitch black) across a courtyard, into a barn, to turn on the light in my campervan/ex disability bus with an airmattress in the back.

Anyway. I don’t think any episode that comes after Blink will every be widely accepted as being as good as Blink. Even if it’s as good, it wouldn’t be as unexpected… Because this was post blink, I’m glad this wasn’t a new monster. I think this episode relates to the Angels and the Silence in a way because it relates to how Moffat might come to create them.

I loved the Doctor in this. A bit of a bastard. I like that. Did Orsan seem to realise Clara was his grandmother? At one point I thought that something was going to be changed in Danny’s life, but then it seemed to be a time when they didn’t change the past, they had always done this.

I need to watch it again. Um, in daylight. It’s a very creepy barn I’m parked in.

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damn just lost quite a long post, bloody bt.

main points, the doctor and robin: heroes and stories. I liked Clara’s comment about the sonic. In this episode, trickery feature heavily: Robins’ response to the doctors ‘box’ (yes, that was a tad vulgar) the cheat with the arrow, Clara bluffing the Sherriff. Then she points out the absence of the sonic. Then she sees it, but doesn’t steal it, point and think. And in the end, it is Clara telling the Doctor’s story that brings Robin back into the game.

there was other stuff, I assure you it was great…

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OK, while my bath is running:

I liked this for one of the lighter episodes- compared to COTBP (which I didn’t hugely rate)  and DOAS (which I enjoyed especially for Rory and his dad, and also, incidentally, had Rory playing the move the doctor mentions here- getting captured) I found this somewhat better. I actually laughed at the spoon. I wonder if the increased contrast of having Capaldi playing silly made it funnier? Smith could be serious, but you didn’t assume he would be.

I liked the Toy Story Buz Lightyear moment, and that the tension over Clara wasn’t Romantic, or rather it was, but not sex/hearts and flowers Romantic, but heroism and story-telling Romantic.

I have other thoughts- I didn’t like the golden arrow thing, the size of the arrow made it seem a little silly- but most of all: if they cut a beheading scene, I didn’t notice it’s absence. If they didn’t cut it, and it was the robot, I can’t see why there was ever considered to be a problem.

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I was talking to someone about Who last night (like you do) and they suggested, if the library mainframe and the papal mainframe are the same, could Missy be a virus? Then I was reminded on how a coding mistake (or something) warped someone face but made them a genius. So glitches can happen…

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@nick @janetteb I agree about Jenny’s self assertiveness. What’s surprising me is so many people seeing her as submissive. She seems perfectly prepared to call her wife out when she thinks she says something out of line.  In a way I’m reminded of Jane Eyre. Originally she is more comfortable as Rochester’s employee, he is her employer but outside of that they are equals, than when she thinks she is about to marry him, as a penniless, familyless woman. And besides, maybe you don’t, as some people think, have to be (Northen) English to make a decent cup of tea, but maybe you need to be human. Vastra provides the beverages when they do the mind-link thing…

 

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@midnyt- actually, I was trying to remember if she slapped him there, thinking if she did there was a kind of justification for it.

A lot of classic film noir and pulp fiction seem to involve women slapping men rather painlessly, and men slapping women, harder, either to calm them down, or knock them out (for their own protection, naturally). For this reason, occasionally the sight of a woman slapping a man hard almost feels justified as a reaction to this. Given that River is dressed straight out of pulp fiction and narrating the events of the episode in a novel (that is in fact written by her mother) the (not painless) slap rather makes sense.

One problem with River belting the Doctor is unlike Clara and Twelve, River looks as though she could be physically as strong as her husband.

Overall, I think in life one can never slap a person of the opposite sex. Men because the tendency for greater physical strength has rightly created a taboo against it, women because this taboo renders men (or ought to) unable to retaliate. It’s ungentlemanly either way (taking Trollops distinction between gentlemen and ladies, the Great Lady Glencora would have made a perfect gentleman.)

On TV- I wonder of one of the appeals of Buffy was the sight of a delicate looking female in a full on fight that wasn’t just her being beaten up. I don’t know if the sight of a female slapping a man feels funny partly because overall violence is more frequently inflected on women by men and it’s seeing the reversal. Moffart probably does use female on male violence a little too often, I think it encouraged people to see the Last Centurion as the wimp he really, really wasn’t. I don’t think it comes across as domestic violence, though, anymore than I think the Vastra-Jenny marriage appears abusive.

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Hi @DoctorBoe- although I don’t agree that Missy is River, but you’re right to remind us about the unbroken physic link. I’m sure River’ last ‘spoilers’ wasn’t just a farewell trotting out of her catchphrase, and I do agree with you (and @giulia42, as I meant to mention earlier) about the Library being connected.

If only that meant we would see Donna again! ;(

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@purofilion- well, not arrogant all the time. I’m just thinking of his tendency to try and drive away enemies (sometimes successfully) just by telling them who is was. For example, in his first episode, ten drove away the badies by pressing a button, fighting a duel, and quoting legislation (the shadow proclamation at them. Eleven, in his first, drove them away by the same laws, but mostly by introducing himself to them. When eleven found the pandorica and started shouting at all the ships gathering above, I could rather see how everyone else involved could come to see him as the biggest threat to the universe. interesting thought about him trying to impress people, though. The whole ‘basically, run’ (which I think he said more than once) could possibly be out of nervousness, or a kind of bluff…

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@purofilion, @Bluesqeakpip, I like this idea of a less humanised doctor. This definitely fits with what Vastra said about him ‘trusting them’ and ‘letting down his guard’, rather than trying to impress them. Someone once said eleven ‘imprinted on Amy like a little baby chick’, tens relationship with Rose got a little… intense. It might be nice to see a little more distance, space for the Doctor to be the Doctor. It’s worth noting that when the Master arrived, the Doctors loyalties were instantly torn…

I love the books and the equations, as I said. I’ve always liked the Doctor as a professor. And now we might be moving away from the lonely god thing- once he is no longer so lonely (he gets his people back) he might start feeling less god-like. If he is no longer automatically the most intelligent person in the universe. I think, disturbingly, eleven’s growing arrogance (basically, run, etc) was a little like the high council- a result of being isolated?

 

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OK, back to try and make a more coherent post, now that I am sober and have watched the episode on a television screen.

I think the young girl shown in this and episode one will be featured more prominently in an episode. Maybe that will be the episode where Danny first comes along in the TARDIS? This would be like the first ever episode, only with Clara and Susan switched. And if this happens, I di think we might find something out about Susan at last.

We learned something important about Missy: she isn’t just collecting expired baddies. Now I’m thinking that the robot did jump, which doesn’t mean the Doctor isn’t responsible for his death, just as he has some responsibility for Gretchen’s death.

Journey was great, I will admit I laughed a little at the ‘top layer’ joke, until Journey got hold of him, and then I felt suitably chastised. In that sense, she worked very well as a companion in this episode. As for the Doctor banning her, I know he rejected Captain Jack because he didn’t like the effect of Roses resurrection, but it seemed to me, show wise, that there was a feeling that Jack, with his gun, was better suited to the adult end of the television market? (I remember SJS, from the child end of the Who spectrum making a comment about too many guns. He needs companions like Amy and Clara who will push him to find a ‘third way’, and he was very pragmatic in this episode, which would have made the ‘good dalek’ comment more painful.

I love the new TARDIS, books, chalk, etc. Despite this episode being about physical healing, this doctor does seem very much a doctor as in a learned man. (Didn’t the first doctor say he wasn’t ‘that sort of doctor’ i.e. a medical physician?)

The Doctor’s sadness at what he had created in the dalek, his realisation of what a ‘good dalek’ by non dalek idea’s, would be. In fact, we’ve had three kinds of good dalek: Clara, who was a dalek but also good, though this was done by rejecting the dalek mind, Rusty, a dalek on the side of the ‘goodies’ (non- daleks) and the doctor, who, if was a  delek, would probably be the best dalek in the world…

re: trolls. Well done to moderators and everyone who tried to reason with them. It’s a shame that people are finding this place just for the purpose of posting inflammatory garbage, but if that is the price we pay for the sites success and all the lovely new and interesting members and their posts, then so be it 😉

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I liked, for the things I liked and the things I disliked. The doctor feeding the doomed man something so that he could use his death, I hated that. So did the doctor, and what else could he do? The loss of triumph when the dalek went off fueld by the doctors hate. We saw the difference between this and the last doctor. Essentially, they’d feel the same conflict and sadness, but this felt like twelve sadness.

Oh, and soldiers. The doctor rejects, Clara doesn’t.

Missy ‘saves’ another? I’m liking my CAL/papal mainframe/missy idea more.

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@Arbutus- yeah, I should have worked that out re: phonecall. Red face.

byw, glad you managed to watch it in one go. I started watching on laptop, switched to TV when the mother in law went to bed, missed a few minutes then a friend popped in, saw what I was watching and very kindly sat in silence till it ended. I like that my friends have realistic expectation about me…

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thinking of missy’s ‘heaven’, and the papal mainframe- what happened to the consciousness of the little girl in SITL so concerned with ‘saving’ people?

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bloody hell I was waiting till I re-watched it to come back here, I forgot how busy these threads are during the run (It’s been a long time) fantastic!

still on page one, @littlemess, yes I thought so too, and again on re-watching. And I also like the new title sequence. I liked the music a lot more the second time around, maybe it’s quite right that it is both familiar and unfamiliar.

The main thing I’m taking away from this opener is about regeneration. He recognises his new face, it’s as if he’s trying to tell himself something- not about Clara, at least I don’t think so. I think the character from Pompeii is relevant. And then what Vastra said. He chose a young face to impress ‘you’- probably not just Clara, but in a fashion, the last few companions, and in a fashion, the audience. Now he trusts ‘you’ and has let his guard down- see above- but interestingly, this is not a conscious decision. It’s as though Vastra is talking about ‘the’ doctor, the continuity. The man in the bedshirt ranting in an ally is the current personality, but not the ‘he’ Vastra is talking about.

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just a quick reaction- using my boyfriends iPhone because Internet not working. I never had a problem with Clara, but she is even better here. brief Capaldi doing smith before the new personality bedded in. he looks like the character from Pompeii because he’s trying to tell himself something? his ‘sorry sorry’ to the dinosaur was more moving to me than all of tens apologies. quibble: if thought eleven though he wouldn’t regenerate. I know the doctor lies, but….

i liked it, I liked that we didn’t see if the cyborg fell or was pushed, the ref to Moffat written episode. some of the special effects seemed a little shonkey, but we are spoilt these days…

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happy Who day everybody! so close!

@arbutus I thought of you this morning, at a quarter past eight when my mother in law and her husband arrived. Someone forgot to tell me…  more awkward because we sleep in the living room. This is the woman who piped up with ‘I didn’t know doctor who was stupid’ during the Christmas special. But I came back from the Manchester Pride Parade and she’d fed the (five) dogs, so I’ll probably let her live.

This means I’m most likely live-watching tonight from my laptop. Got a nice bottle of wine, steamed dim sum for dinner. And I’m 78% certain I paid the last BT bill, so moderately confident for tonight.

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@JeanettB yes, and this is why I don’t just think capaldi is a fantastic choice.

, he’s also perfect to follow Smith.

 

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@Arbutus- brilliant, I don’t feel quite so petty and antisocial now

Being cut off half way through could be terrible- could you get away with watching it last thing at night? Heh, as for not being grown up about it, at least we’re not locking ourselves in our rooms and watching it anyway (are we not? ) and it has been such a long time, and such an important episode. At least iPlayer exists, otherwise I’d have to come down with a cold or something….

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@wolfweed- I saw that when broadcast. First thought, Capaldi when asked about being the same age as the first doctor gave such a youthful grin I felt like I could see the child who used to write in about the doctor. Matt Smith was a young actor playing a very old doctor, I can see Capaldi as an older actor playing a very young doctor. Second thought: not a kids show. A family show. The Wizard of Oz and father Christmas points are well made. Third thought: he’s funny. I think you need shades of light and dark to be funny.

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Just over a week to go and my boyfriend informs me of an approaching event called ‘his sister’s birthday’. Sulk, rant, mutter how typical it is. But then it turns out her birthday is on the Saturday at the end of the month, which isn’t quite as bad, and is exactly, to the letter, why I got a kindle fire last Christmas. (We’ll be going for the weekend, dogsitters allowing)

It made me realise how impatient I am to see Capaldi begin as the doctor. This really is the first important change for me, my memories of who as a child are so sketchy (which as I think I have said is weird, because I can quote Blake’s 7 and Sapphire and Steel to this day) and although I watched, and re-watched Ten, and felt concerned at Tennant and RTD’s retirement, those feelings didn’t survive the first ten minutes of TEH. All the signs seem so good so far (assuming Capaldi, unlike the character he plays and Moffatt) doesn’t lie.

I’m looking forward to the return of the @danmartinuk blog as well, though with some reservations. The next few months could be brilliant and brutal there, I’m glad this place exists as well.

@craig, that tube poster is fantastic, and if they ever decide to film another episode in the Underground, I think the creator has earned their self a walk on part…

final question- though this should proably be on the books thread: if you had a £75 book token (not amazon, a Waterstones style thing) what would you spend it on?

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@Craig- I think I was the worst offender there. I think I knew it was wrong when I did it but I got a bit giddy- very sorry!

A Game of Thrones blog could be good- if there is the demand for it. (which there probably isn’t.)

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@whisht and everyone- I was going to vote for Rani because people mentioned the industrial revolution etc, but I don’t know now- can I give my vote to asking Colin Baker on twitter? without mentions of red hot pokers etc, though from the fiveish doctors he does seem to have a sense of humour about it…

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@janetteB- I see what you’re saying. What I meant, I suppose, is that given the influence of Judo-Christianity, classical culture etc on our middle ages, I can imagine, without these things, a society would be very different. That said, given how influential these things are, there might be something a but shonky about using a medieval style setting. But personally, I always appreciate it when a writer who wants to use medieval style settings without years of research choses a sci-fi or fantasy setting, and adds dragons. The interesting thing here is why they have had the middle ages for so long. What draws me in is the sense of a world who has forgotten vital history, has forgotten what a long winter brings, has forgotten why the wall was really built, has forgotten, for the most part, their ancestors religion, has forgotten what dragon eggs can lead to.

There is a balance issue with the ordinary people- which might have been solved by spending more time at the wall- as for sympathetic characters- what is interesting to me is that I’ve found myself warming to Jaime. I think he is, at times, a terrible character, but a sympathetic one for all that. The noble ones- Sam, Ned, Breanne (I have a nightmare spelling the names- the female knight) seem mostly interesting as a contrast.

It is grim, though. As I said, I’m not quite enjoying re-watching from the beginning. But I know there are moments, conversations, frankly, mostly conversations I’m looking forward to. And re-watching the first episode I realised how many seeds they sewed at the beginning.

the opening credits are fantastic, underlining the change in title from the book to ‘Game of Thrones’

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@whisht- isn’t it odd how the brain can jumble up sentences like that? I like that you were at least surprised at the idea I’d say that, and were contemplating a reply to such madness!  There are a lot of things I like about it, not really a boob woman, but there are some nice bottoms sometimes as well…

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@Whisht- game of thrones! I watched the first series on channel four (back when terrestrial channels bothered buying sky shows) but it took time for me to feel really hooked. But I recently went into a rant with someone for dismissively saying that it was ‘how some American’s imagine the middle ages to be’.

I think the following is too vague for spoilers, but…

I think it is in fact a reasonable idea of  human society if: we had a very different pattern of seasons, magical elements and perhaps as a consequence of these two matters, no enlightenment, few scientific advances, (Mind you, Clarke’s second law?) no Christian/post Christian/Abrahamic morality, but human nature still being, more or less, human nature.

One thing I would say, though, is that though they’ve started showing it from the beginning, I’m not sure I like re-watching it. If there is anything that can give one an insight into the curse of precognition, it’s that…

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@Whisht- thank you. In fact we have just returned from the wedding for which said tweed was purchased (his sister said, buy something dapper…) and went down very well, far better, in fact, than the alcohol he consumed during the reception. Fortunately the tweed survived intact.

 

@purofilion- just as belated a thank you (see above) and balloons sound lovely. Red ones that follow me down the street. 🙂

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I never realised that was Peter Davison. Knowing, and watching, I can see it- ish- have decided to put my ignorance down to his skill as an actor. It made me think how he would have been as Author Dent, and I decided: too sympathetic.

Always loved this episode and wondered: how does the space work? are these alternative versions of the end of the world when different people attended? Or is it only as many people as would fill the venue that book a table, and how would they make sure of it? (I was a fun child.)

Wasn’t the west country Darth Vader also the green cross man?

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@blenkinsopthebrave, @janetteb: thank you, it feels particularly good because for the past few years he has been wearing mostly (or only) combats and tee-shirts. The module result is also good because I hadn’t done much creative writing for the year or so before this course, it was nice to have the focus.

@phaseshift: well Morrison’s had the offer of twenty cans of Stella for £16, that should do us for the weekend we said.  Well, we were half right…

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@bluesqueakpip: I has to hide quite how happy I was about the bow tie at the time, or it might have scared him off! 🙂

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Oh yes, and the bow tie is red.

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@scaryb, thank you! I can happily picture that. I meant to say as well, many thanks to and I am opening a tab at the Rose and Crown for @bluesqueakpip for her help. @fatmaninabox, quite. I like to think of the bow tie as my reword.  @wolfweed, that is actually very similar to the tweed jacket he got. We’re contemplating the waistcoat as well 😉

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This just might be the best day of my life: not only have I found out I got a distinction on my OU level two creative writing module, but my boyfriend has bought a tweed suit and a bow tie! which is just cool…

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Had a lovely evening watching HHGTTG. Like singing along to a song I heard all the time as a child, I noticed new things, and familiar things. @craig, the dalek entry for the guide was great, never saw it before. Especially the obvious solution to the stairs.

I think the thing that dates it the most is the digital watches. When exactly did they stop? I have trouble reading a clock face, so I quite liked them. The guide itself. In its clunky, chunky glory, is rather digital watch-esqu.

What happened to Authors dog? And the poor whale! As a pedantic child I was too bothered by the idea that the whale had words with which to name its new discoveries just as it came into existence. This time I enjoyed that the whale was cheerfully finding words to describe the sensations that related to its immanent death.

It’s the lines I mostly remembered: ‘The hours are good- the minutes are lousy- I’ve been using that since I was a child. ‘When men were real men, and women were real women, and small furry creatures from… etc’

Infinite improbability generator- is that an agnostic version of a deus ex machiner?

I came across ‘robiti’ in a book I was reading for my next OU course, which made me look into the etymological roots of the word robot (work… used for serfs). When Marvin came in I started thinking how his moan about brain the size of a planet underline the absurdity of the idea of developing sentient robots for menial tasks, when it went into the galactic definition of robot it reminded me of the above. I have always sympathised with Marvin anyway: the doors are annoying and just asking for a starring role on November 5^th and being depressed is (about the only thing) worse than being around someone who is depressed.

Nice Doctor Who moments: I wonder what will happen if I press this button- Author Dent wonders off. Though it is weird I now see these as Doctor Who moments. I should see them, in DW, as HHGTTG moments. In a similar way, when they came through the doors in this episode, I thought for a moment it was a dalek weapon pointed at them. I didn’t have that association as a child.

@phaseshift, The spare head seemed more realistic in the 90’s (when I last watched it) also never noticed the bald caps in the conversation with deep thought before, ah, youth, when people just have funny heads. I remember the Trade union philosophers, not sure I appreciated it as much at the time. And I never noticed about the death song= American national anthem, but this episode might have been the first time I heard that tune…

Finally, I think the worst poetry list is a little out of date… the worst poet in the universe is surely now John: Camel Holocaust. Anyone? Anyone?

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@scaryb thank you- and ooh, I know, I almost squealed a little at the clock. Good thing my boyfriend is away for a while, I would have dreaded a ‘what?’ at that point.

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@phaseshift thank you! and yes. Started feeling a little repetitive with the constant TMA result announcements, so decided to reserve it for module results. (@Bluesqueakpip has been incredibly helpful.)

It was a long time ago, but I remember thinking that the film seemed a really bad rendition of a great idea. I will admit, I love the avengers film (though it was my second favourite Whedon film that year) and your comment about Mr Hyde makes me wonder if Whedon was also a fan of the league of extraordinary gentlemen…

And yes, obscure literary references from the 19th century are always good. That sounds amazing, with the war of the worlds. Growing up, all I read (all that was in the house) was 19th century novels and 20th century science fiction novels (Bridged by H.G. Wells)

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ooh, and Hitchhikers! used to have that recorded of TV (I suppose access to it via a forum is the modern equivalent of that…)

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Hello everyone, finally managed to get myself back here, very happy to see so many of the old faces, the slightly newer faces I had seen popping up via email updates, and completely new faces here. Right, looks like I have a lot of catching up to do…

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@phaseshift I’ve been watching and enjoying,  though I have missed the odd episode without minding (certain shows I’d have a meltdown).  I only saw the league of extraordinary gentlemen, because I thought the idea sounded great, but found it very disappointing. I’m not surprised the original is better. Penny Dreadful is better too- I think the name is inspired. A lot of supernatural, especially vampire/violence/both themed TV series are about right now, some gorier than others and I have thought of them as a modern successor to the PD, especially when they get dismissed as being inferior to Proper Novels/Quality Television, with varying degrees of fairness and snobbery.

(Incidentally, it interests me the different ways we treat ‘popular’ and ‘folk’, as they pretty much mean the same thing.)

Eva Green is amazing, her eyeballs, in one episode were outstanding. (Literally). Frankenstein is more interesting than his monster. And in the last episode I found it interesting to see this as an alternate universe where Mary Shelly and Bram Stoker don’t exist.) Pipers accent is dreadful (no pun intended) which is a shame for her. If it had to be Billie, did she have to be Orish?

Worth waiting for a boxed set, I’d say. @phaseshift, thank you for the context.

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@purofilion- thank you! that was a really nice mention to come across when I was checking my emails. Just been reading Psychotic  Reactions and carburettor dung again for the first time in years, really enjoying it.

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