@blenkinsopthebrave Very well put. I agree with your analysis of Chibnall’s run. Given the problems Covid created, why not go small, with small casts playing intimate stories set in singular locations? Instead, we got these grand ideas, often with lots of CGI and seemingly wide-ranging locations (many of which were sets), but little in the way of…[Read more]

@devilishrobby To be honest I think it would have been better if the baton had been passed back to RTD for Jodies final/regeneration episode because in part I have a feeling that Chibbers has in part been purposely steering the Who franchise to its demise.

Interesting, I never contemplated that it could be deliberate. I’ve always felt he just…[Read more]

I should add that not all of the CGI and special effects looked awful. The Sea Devils and the huge sea serpent all looked great. But it was the background scene images, specifically especially those showing the ship in the harbor, that looked so amateurish they took me out of the moment. My husband was walking by and laughed at one. Not a good sign.

Thank you for the reminder, @craig. I received a couple of spammy messages, but those were easily deleted and have not recurred. Whether that is due to action on your part or inattentiveness from the spammer, I don’t know, but either way it’s resolved.

I also want to echo the sentiments @blenkinsopthebrave posted in the latest episode thread.…[Read more]

I’m with @jimthefish. For me this was an underwhelming episode. It carried the “flash and action, but thin on substance” story style that has plagued much of Chris Chibnall’s run on Doctor Who.

And the CGI? Don’t get me started. I felt like we were back in the Tennant era, which had its share of dodgy special effects.

This was a disappointing…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave You mentioned that Slow Horses is on Apple TV, which we don’t have. I will have to seek it out via some other network (which might be possible in Canada).

@blenkinsopthebrave I keep hoping things will improve, but it just doesn’t feel like the same series at all. It was telling that I didn’t even recognize the opening theme music. I had to give the old theme another listen to remember what it sounds like. Why they felt they had to replace it with that overly dramatic mishmash is beyond me.

Last…[Read more]

Has anyone been watching Picard this season and finding it … well, a little off? It feels very different to me … and not in a good way. Season 2 is really lacking the serenity of Season 1, IMO. And what on earth did they do to the opening theme music?

@winston I too love the fresh scent of line-dried laundry. I stopped using scented products years ago, after reading Slow Death by Rubber Duck by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie. They pointed out that, in trying to rid our lives of artificial chemicals, the easiest place to start is to avoid anything with “parfum” on the label. So that’s what I have…[Read more]

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@winston Oh my, homemade maple syrup? How wonderful! Do you sell it, or make it only for your own consumption? My husband made blueberry pancakes this morning, and we had Canadian maple syrup, but not made by us. Still, it’s so much better than the table syrup I grew up on. I thought that was maple syrup, until I finally had real maple syrup. I’ve…[Read more]

@mudlark Thank you for your cautionary tale about Time Team. My husband and I have watched the series and, not being archaeologists, we wouldn’t have taken into consideration the points that you make. The flip side is that series like this encourage me to be more aware of local history and the steps needed to preserve its artifacts. One other…[Read more]

I would love to see Michael Sheen or Ben Whishaw as the Doctor. Sheen would be a fun wink, since he has partnered up with David Tennant in Good Omens and Staged (and also that voiced role in “The Doctor’s Wife”). But I agree with @devilishrobby that they may go for a younger and/or lesser-known actor to take on the role, someone who does not bring…[Read more]

@thane16 Good to see you back here in these parts! I’m glad you enjoyed the New Year’s special. It hit all the right notes, for me. I could ask, “Now, why weren’t we given more of that with this Doctor?” (And I did.) But I’m also grateful that we got what we got.

@dentarthurdent Re: the Doctor not asking the waitress for her name, why didn’t I…[Read more]

We made it through this latest nor’easter without incident. The power stayed on, and there was no storm surge along our waterfront. (Fortunately, the wind was blowing from the northeast, driving the waves away from shore, rather than toward it.) We took advantage of a lull in the snow, then ice pellets, then freezing rain, then rain, to get out…[Read more]

@dentarthurdent No wheels on the roof rake; just a wide, narrow shovel blade attached to a long, (often) extendable handle. The shovel blade part carves off the snow as you pull it down the roof toward you. If you Google “roof rake,” you should see photos of the contraption. This article from Erie, Pa., shows someone doing it. Our roof rake…[Read more]

@dentarthurdent Still. shovelling snow off the roof sounds high-risk, isn’t there a danger that he’ll slip and fall off?

When we lived in Ontario, we used something called a roof rake to pull the snow down off our roof. It’s basically a long, narrow shovel on an extendable handle. You stand on the ground and maneuver the roof rake up onto the…[Read more]

I just watched Eve of the Daleks again this afternoon and enjoyed it even more. Now, this felt like a proper Doctor Who episode! Which is baffling. Clearly Chris Chibnall is capable, so why can’t all of his episodes draw me in like this? It’s an old question, at this stage of the game, and I’m not sure it’s worth debating. Better to celebrate the…[Read more]

We recently finished up all four seasons of Unforgotten. Powerful, powerful stuff. In between waiting for our DVDs we’d put on hold at the library, we also watched two other series, Time (starring Sean Bean) and Mare of Easttown (starring Kate Winslet). All equally powerful, in their own ways. Between that and watching No Time To Die (Daniel…[Read more]

@devilishrobby Spelling is a thing for me going way back. I can blame my parents, I suppose, since they were always such perfectionists about it. It must’ve rubbed off on me.

@miapatrick I was a newspaper reporter and freelance writer from 1981 right up through early 2020, when my freelance assignments dried up and have never resumed. So I know…[Read more]