@ichabod  @Thane16

*Continuing off-topic, but it happens that I have a spare moment while drinking yet another mug of tea.*

According to my father, who was an authority on the subject, white chocolate barely deserves the name at all. It consists of cocoa butter, milk solids, stabilisers and a *lot* of sugar, but none of those parts of the cocoa…[Read more]

@pedant  @juniperfish

I’d never given it any thought, but now that you have drawn my attention to the matter I realise that I think of her automatically as Whittaker.

In an academic context I have been accustomed to refer to people, whether male or female, either by their title and surname or by their full name, so that comes naturally now. My…[Read more]

@ichabod

Some comments I’ve seen have pointed out Jodie throwing bits of the other Doctors into her performance, but I have to admit, I’m not seeing that,

As you say, it has been stated that she deliberately didn’t watch any of her predecessors in the role, but perhaps the writing and direction may have influenced her performance in that res…[Read more]

@ichabod

Did anybody else have a bit of a reaction to how often JoDoc uses the sonic?

Yes, it did rather bring to mind the War Doctor’s sarcastic comment in The Day of the Doctor. On the other hand, it was used mainly if not entirely for opening and closing doors and as a scanning and diagnostic tool, both uses which are now established as…[Read more]

@Miapatrick

That there is a custard cream. Absolutely useless in my opinion without a cup of tea,

I cling to a fading hope that some day before I finally pop me clogs there will be a Doctor who likes ginger nuts or chocolate digestives. Sadly, custard creams, with or without a cup of tea, appeal no more to my palate than do jammy dodgers, which…[Read more]

@Arbutus

Yes, I received two separate notifications, as presumably did everyone else who was tagged, but no apology is needed. These things happen, and anything is better than losing a lengthy post entirely, which happened to me a few days ago.

@Rob

The Timeless Child could be Jenny

Somehow I don’t think so. The Doctor felt that the Remnants…[Read more]

@thane16

Well, the saga of Puro and nurofen made me smile, at least, though it was a somewhat drastic way of learning the wisdom of reading the label and the instructions in the packet, even for over-the-counter drugs.

One thing puzzled me, though, because in the UK at least and I presume elsewhere, nurofen doesn’t contain aspirin. It is just a…[Read more]

It rained all day here, so there was no incentive to work in the garden and I seized on the excuse to indulge myself be re-watching the episode, as well as watching the BBC adaptation of The City and the City which I recorded months ago but had never got round to viewing.

First, though, I succumbed to a masochistic impulse and ventured BTL on Dan…[Read more]

BBC APPROVED SPOILERS...

@JimTheFish

Although I have refrained from commenting on it until I had seen it in context, I agree about the costume. It seems too overtly gimmicky in the style of the 5th, 6th and 7th Doctors, rather than simply idiosyncratic, and I very much hope that they don’t stick with it throughout Whittaker’s time as the Doctor. I like the coat, though,…[Read more]

@Bluesqueakpip

True that there would be a survivable interval, but the probable after effects were, as you say, glossed over, with barely a hint of the medical intervention that would have been necessary. I suppose that we were intended to take that as read, but I confess it bothered me slightly.

@Thane16

Re Anecdote v. data.  As an illustration;  on this forum recently someone adduced the example of a smoker who had lived into her 90s without developing lung cancer (anecdote) as evidence against there being a link between cigarette smoking and cancer. Of course there are individuals who smoke and don’t develop lung cancer, just as t…[Read more]

@Miapatrick

there was something in her reaction to it that caught my attention,

Yes, mine too; she was clearly both struck and puzzled by it.  I suspect that it is something which refers to her in particular and not to Time Lords in general, and that will resonate through the episodes to come; a linking thread if not exactly a narrative arc.

That was fun, and I think I may have underestimated Chibnall. There was plenty to like; pace, further character development, running in corridors for the traditionally minded, the triumph of intellect and quick thinking over brute firepower and of teamwork over cut-throat competition and, yes, the reappearance of the Stenza from the first episode,…[Read more]

@pedant

Thumbs up from me, and best of luck. I’m not signed up to YouTube – at least not yet – so can’t do the same there, but maybe I should think about it.

With you all the way on the subject of the NHS. My experience of it over the past few years has been amazing. And yes, they do take chest pains very seriously indeed. Trouble was, for…[Read more]

@TempusFugit

It is understandable that you feel upset. Some of us here are old enough to have experienced the deaths of several of those we love – parents, other relatives, close friends – whether from cancer or other causes and sometimes in very distressing circumstances.

Like @Cathannabel, though, I saw Graham’s situation differently. He has…[Read more]

@troygorsline

It is possible that the Doctor, in mid regeneration and still a bit confused, thought that anything referred to by an acronym, even A&E*, sounded worryingly bureaucratic.

More probably, though, it was just an off-hand way of dismissing the suggestion without having to go into lengthy explanations.  Apart from the fact that the…[Read more]

@Juniperfish

I’m not the only low-brow type to have noticed this little Freudian twist

True, but then, as the patient said to his psychiatrist after the latter started asking questions centred around his response to inkblot patterns; ‘What do you expect, if you insist on showing me all these feelthy pictures?’

@thane16

‘ – who knows, there c…

[Read more]

Back again, and delighted to see so many familiar names assembled once again, as well as some welcome newcomers *waves indiscriminately to all*.  The wait has been long and tedious and it is good to have something new to get our teeth into.

A number of people here and elsewhere have commented on the death count, often to the effect that it was…[Read more]

Just remembered that spoons were involved in the creation of the new sonic screwdriver.  ‘I’m the Doctor  …. and this is my spoon’!

@pedant

PS Apparently the Daily Mail has been spectacularly predictable.

Which is why, though I try to be broad minded and tolerant, I’m allergic to the DM and tend to feel the need to disinfect my computer if eve…[Read more]