@Bluesqueakpip

He makes her kneel to him, call him Master, just like previous incarnations would have done – and then he needs to talk to her and kneels down to do that.

And that, as much as anything, seems to me evidence that this is a post-Missy incarnation. He can’t sustain the arch enemy act and succumbs to a need to engage with her on equal t…[Read more]

In a second viewing it isn’t a surprise that the theme and the narrative thread were easier to follow, but the time-loopy resolution also seemed more logical and less of a rush.

What struck even more forcefully than on first viewing, though, is the masterly (cough) way in which Sasha Dhawan  conveys the internal contradictions and warring…[Read more]

@thane16

I may have known who Ada Lovelace and Noor Inayat Khan were but, having just consulted what I wrote yesterday evening, I note that I wrote Child of Time* when I meant Timeless Child 😳  Tiredness or senility? It could be either, although I can still do the Times cryptic crosswords** so I I’m probably not yet totally gaga.

* I did…[Read more]

In my case the couple of gins and tonics were before dinner, but I agree with @craig and @spider that, for my money, those two episodes are well above the standard of the last series and suggest that Chibnall is finally hitting his stride. Episode 1 as the opener was highly enjoyable and the Bond theme was fun with all the essential ingredients -…[Read more]

@juniperfish has expressed beautifully almost everything I could wish to say about Dracula.  Gatiss and Moffat have done a brilliant job of adapting and expanding on the story and themes in the original book, even better than their take on Sherlock in the first series in my opinion; the transition at the end of the second episode from the late…[Read more]

@pedant

Why do I seem to be the only one who thought the electrical charge thingy going down the stringy things, when Yaz was there, seemed neurone-y rather than DNA-y?

You’re not the only one. The stringy things with sparks of light coursing down them, even though not dendritic in form, evoked the idea of nerve fibre/electrical firing, therefore…[Read more]

One worth a rapid re-watch, I think; and I certainly didn’t see *that* coming – though with hindsight the clues were there.

It appears, also, that they have at last relocated the Tardis universal wardrobe, which is a bonus.

Like @cathannabel  and  @janetteB I am finding it difficult to summon up even a flicker of optimism in contemplating the year ahead, but there is still a hope that at least a few gleams of sunshine may pierce what looks to be – at least to some of us –  the impenetrable gloom of the storm clouds ahead. So, to everyone here, my very best wishes fo…[Read more]

@lisa

If you think that the adjective ‘decent’ applies in any shape or form to Cummings you are either ill informed or your judgement is seriously askew, and one of the most dismaying things about the House of Commons as currently constituted, and more particularly the Conservatives, is the lack of talent on the front benches.

As for Alexander…[Read more]

@lisa

Boris has an good and well educated  intellect

Well maybe. He certainly had an elite education (Eton and Oxford) and was apparently regarded as bright by his teachers, at least initially. They also concluded that he was bone lazy, and it may be noted that he didn’t get a First Class Oxford degree.

What his record does show is that he is an…[Read more]

Or there is this, also long but perhaps more readable, which explains why leaving the EU on January 31 is only the beginning and details the options open to the UK trade negotiators and the pitfalls and drawbacks. Suffice it to say that they will not be in a strong position, whichever course they choose.

Re Brexit   Those who are interested and have the time to spare might care to look at this .  It is a lengthy and somewhat dense read, but it details the lobbying and pressure groups behind the Brexit campaign and their various agendas and aims. I do not get the impression that these were necessarily in the interests of the majority of those voting leave

The BBC have another treat in store on Christmas Eve for viewers in the UK:  An adaptation by Mark Gatiss of the M R James story Martins Close featuring  Peter Capaldi as Dolben. the Prosecutor.

@pedant

‘Until it’s done’ is an alternative and perfectly sound approach, but for the novice it does tend to entail hovering over the pan on the hob or checking the oven every five minutes when you could be doing something more productive or entertaining 🙂

@janetteB

The phrase ‘easy as boiling an egg’ is completely misleading, because it isn’t by any means the easiest task for a cook.  If you truly desire guidance I can, being of grandmotherly age if not technically a grandmother, provide some. Otherwise ignore the following.

To start with, it depends on the freshness of the egg, although if you…[Read more]

@thane16

Very belated congratulations, Thane, on surviving school and graduating!  May you succeed and be happy in whatever path you choose to take from now on (provided it’s reasonably legal, of course 😉

As for cookery, if you start with a basic and reliable cookery book and bear in mind that it’s basically just chemistry plus the patience…[Read more]

@winston

Avert your eyes now, there be spoilers ahead.

@thane16  @pedant

Fair enough, although I did in fact realise that it was a riff on the Hammer Horror Dracula – and possibly on vampires of more recent literature; my point was that I found  it so jarring that the satire didn’t work and any subtler intention was lost. Put it down to p…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave

As @bluesqueakpip  says, that looks distinctly promising, not least because it clearly isn’t going to glamorise or romanticise the vampire.

I disliked the episode of Buffy which featured Dracula precisely because, despite one or two nods to Bram Stoker’s novel, it depicted him as a youthful looking and magnetic, even…[Read more]

@thane16  @janetteB

After writing the above, and on reflection, I had feared that the reaction would be ‘too much information’ or ‘teach your grandmother’; so I’m gratified if it was of the least use.

Janette: when it comes to what to put in the compost bin the rule is; no meat or dairy products and no cooked foods – although I think left-over…[Read more]

@winston

So very sorry to learn of your recent painful losses. When the death of a beloved relative is followed so closely by that of a much loved pet I can well understand how much the latter serves to compound the grief and make the process of adjustment all the more difficult. It is good to know that you have the support of family and friends…[Read more]