@nerys @mudlark @janetteb

Here’s an interesting thought… Pyramids of Mars was hinted by Doggo in Space Babies and the desolate world without music… BUT I wonder if there is also a link to Image of The Fendahl, 2 years later?

Evidence…

There are 12 deities in the pantheon; The Fendahl is a Gestalt being with 12 components Fendahleen and ‘the co…[Read more]

@nerys I second @mudlark. It is a fun story, Tom Baker Doctor, Sarah Jane and lots of pseudo Egyptian silliness. One of the best stories from that era. It may wobble a little now (as in doesn’t quite stand up), but it is still a very enjoyable watch.

Cheers

Janette

@nerys

A lot of strange reactions to this series; gen z-ers really seem to have a down on Dot say, but seem to be more forgiving of these last two eps. On the other hand everyone else execrates them. It is hard to say because social media is so divisive.

I need to rewatch the last two; got as far Legend, gave up, not good…

The new Unit…[Read more]

@nerys @ps1l0v3y0u Space Babies (the title sort of says it all, doesn’t it?) Damn, do I *have* to watch it? Well, maybe I’ll just skip-watch to see if there were any developments in the long-term story.

OK, I liked the little joke about the Butterfly Effect. (Did they have butterflies in the Jurassic? Does it even matter?)

Um, snot monsters and…[Read more]

@nerys   Whoo!   You’re racing through the DVD’s, aren’t you?  Up to the Sutekh thing already.

I’ve been out of action (and mostly, contact) the last few days, since I munged my main laptop, the one with the DVD drive and my email client configured.   I’m just sorting a newer one (but I still have to configure the email, for now I just have t…[Read more]

@nerys

If you wish to know more about the background to Sutekh, look up Pyramids of Mars which is from the Tom Baker era. It’s well worth watching and can be found here on the home page. A condensed and edited version is also available.

@nerys

Do I mind the in fiction quotation of current ills/issues…? Not really. You may think Russ has reaped what he’s sewn, or he might argue he was on a hiding to nothing because the targets and statements aren’t really that different to the first run, it’s just the ratings are lower.

River… she has a damascene conversion in Hitler’s…[Read more]

@nerys

the central ‘2 quarters’ of this run were superb. With more than a hint of an agreeable ‘what the hell?’ More than a notch up on eps 1 & 2 anyway, though thematically they were also getting there.

My favourite is Dot and Bubble: though gen Z do seem to have taken it personally. Rogue is a marmite one and provoked lots of gnashing of teet…[Read more]

@whohar @nerys @dentarthurdent @janetteb

design by committee? More dictact in my opinion, and contrary to the spirit of the show at that. I’ve probably said too much already.

The question is, with so much (supposed? imagined?) interference, why HAVE the main parties been so diplomatic? Well Andrew Cartmel wasn’t. Moffat has made the odd sal…[Read more]

@ps1l0v3y0u

@nerys

@dentarthurdent

@janetteb

I think the reason Chibz gets a ‘free pass’ from other showrunners is just politeness or ‘professional courtesy’.   You don’t badmouth your fellow workers even if you think they’re crap.

Absolutely understand this. What I don’t understand is why RTD doubled down on it in the latest two series. He co…[Read more]

@ps1l0v3y0u

@nerys

@dentarthurdent

@janetteb

Moff’s legacy:

Timelords rehabilitated

The Doctor gets a new regeneration cycle

1 is 1, he turns the cylindrical uncamouflaged Tardis into a police box.

All three are trashed in TTC

This is why I am surprised Chibnall gets such a free pass from the previous showrunners. He must have known what t…[Read more]

@nerys @dentarthurdent
TTC… Russ at least was at pains to point out that TTC was as sound an idea as anything in Who. Of course Missy is shown as being heavily invested in Cybermen. In The Doctor Falls, The Doctor makes Gallifreyans ‘upgradeable’. Dunno what the significance of Ashad is. Anyway, that plot line COULD have been a slow burner…[Read more]

@dentarthurdent @nerys

I still maintain Church, Babies and Devil were coming from the right place… but the execution is unaccountably off.

Also… song and dance went away after Devil. Came back a bit for Lux. Actually I don’t mind it. Though it’s not very well done.

So… was it Disney’s brief? ‘Ok’, says Russ ‘but two eps only.’

As for th…[Read more]

@nerys   (I’m just coming up to a re-watch of this – after I do The Church on Ruby Road).

The Babies reminded me quite strongly of the goblins in Labyrinth, except not so well done and they didn’t have David Bowie to give it some class.   Or maybe evil Muppets.

Oh, hang on, is this the right episode I’m thinking of?   (Quick frantic google for T…[Read more]

@nerys

I hadn’t realised you didn’t see this first time round. It IS a marmite ep and I struggle to find enormous virtue therein, BUT… thematically and politically it’s sound. The problem is the plot seems undeveloped. There are a couple of nods to later in the series, but the babies in heavily armed buggies remind me of a certain classic W…[Read more]

@dentarthurdent @nerys

Mitchell and Webb: Many favourites. The post apocalyptic game show, Sir Digby Chicken Caesar… most all ‘Get Me Hennimore’… just a bog standard parody of 70’s sitcoms and then one week they utterly subverted it… something to do with the Klan… I can’t remember now. It’s up there with the Shaun The Sheep when Shirley ate the I…[Read more]

@dentarthurdent @nerys

An Android Princess became Romana 2.

Lots of reoccurring thesps in less prominent but varied roles…

The War Lord and Solon

Poule and Mawdryn

David Troughton got in a few times.

As for 12’s face… it’s specifically to do with Ashildr, who he recognises, and acts so weirdly around that Clara calls him out. And in the…[Read more]

@nerys   You’re probably right about the Doctor saving Caecilius.   My memory of that episode isn’t precise.   It was not a terribly convincing reason, but I suppose Moff needed something to explain why Capaldi reappeared.

I don’t think Karen Gillan’s reappearance was ever ‘explained’, though.

Freema Agyeman’s cousin was in UNIT (?) in ?Doom…[Read more]

@nerys

Speaking of faces turning up later, I’d forgotten that Karen Gillan played the soothsayer in “Fires of Pompei.”

And Freema Agyeman, who was in the Torchwood team in Doomsday. This was later explained as her character being Martha’s cousin.

@dentarthurdent @nerys

I WAS being picky. ‘Eve’ is a worthy effort. Perhaps, if T’floox was itself an improvement but err… confused, Chris was learning, trying to up his game, maybe (in my mind) telling The Corp to back off: the notional post Moff straightjacket was too tight.

But not all Who falls apart upon inspection. And this was ok. Sally…[Read more]