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17 April 2017 at 16:08 #5636116 April 2017 at 21:55 #56307
@kharis Actually, the EW article wasn’t a review, but rather got into some spoiler-ish territory about the season finale, which then, predictably enough, led to some “good riddance”-style Facebook comments from some. Those comments were what I was replying to, mentioning, among other things, Capaldi’s acting tour de force in “Heaven Sent,” along with his stellar work in last night’s season premiere. Which then prompted the “run of the mill” comment by someone else. Bleh!
@redlemons I’ve had the same thing happen. Here in Canada, hubby and I were watching the last few episodes of the Doctor Who marathon running up to last night’s season premiere. On first viewing, I loved “Heaven Sent” but was a little underwhelmed by “Hell Bent” (I think because I was expecting the same sort of narrative flow and intensity). But watching it again last night, I felt and appreciated “Hell Bent”‘s emotional resonance. So sometimes it just takes time … and multiple viewings.
16 April 2017 at 21:05 #56296Someone responding to my Facebook comment on an Entertainment Weekly article called this episode “run of the mill” for introducing a companion. Hard to imagine that being someone’s opinion, but there it is. Someday I shall learn to stop responding to such comments.
16 April 2017 at 15:45 #56268@thane15 I just read through the comments in this thread. Your mum’s comments have been in the back of my mind ever since she posted them. The last thing she should feel is embarrassment (though I think I understand why she would feel that way). We are all thrilled she has not shuffled off this mortal coil! How wonderful it is to know that improved treatments are making that possible.
16 April 2017 at 15:26 #56267One other thing I noticed, and others have remarked on this, is the sense of awe and wonder pervading this episode. With Clara, I often felt that was missing, simply because she knew so much. As a result, we in the audience did, too. With Bill, we’re back to everything being new again, with the sense of surprise smacking her (and us) in the face. It’s refreshing to have that back!
16 April 2017 at 03:56 #56234I was completely swept away by this episode introducing us to the Doctor’s delightful new companion. I agree with @jimthefish that this was the best introduction of a companion since Amy, probably my favorite of all the intros thanks to its Peter Pan whimsy. Pearl Mackie made her portrayal of Bill seem effortless … when I’m sure it was anything but. I would love to see her beyond this season. And Peter Capaldi was wonderful! Since his introduction, I have felt a tension (probably manufactured by me, and not real world at all) in trying to resolve his Doctor’s relationship with Clara; that tension seemed to overshadow so many of the episodes. I loved Clara, and was sad to see Jenna Coleman go, but I admit that tonight felt like a breath of fresh air. As so many of you have noted, I have a feeling that this season is going to be a tough one for me, with so many favorites signing off at the end. Well, it looks like we’re in for a great run, so I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts.
(Speaking of endings: This third and final season of Broadchurch gives me much more confidence in Chris Chibnall taking over the reins. The first season was brilliant, the second disappointing, but in my opinion this season has restored the series to its former brilliance. So I feel like post-Steven Moffat Doctor Who is in very good hands.)
23 February 2017 at 17:44 #55642Heartbroken to read this news … sorry about that.
I am reminded of my favorite poem by e. e. cummings:
since feeling is first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the worldmy blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don’t cry
– the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids’ flutter which sayswe are for each other; then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life’s not a paragraphAnd death i think is no parenthesis
23 February 2017 at 17:36 #55641I just finished The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson. An amazingly detailed novel about a place of which we know so little, and quite apropos for the times in which we live.
@craig Heartbroken to read this new about your wife. Beautiful photo, and I’m sure memories of her to match. I wish I could offer more words of comfort, but words do so little. You are in my thoughts.
19 February 2017 at 14:01 #55609<div class=”_5x46″>Trump now: “The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!”</div>
<div id=”js_c0″ class=”_5pbx userContent” data-ft=”{"tn":"K"}”>Trump then: “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from dealing with politicians over the years, it’s that the only thing guaranteed to force them into action is the press — or, more specifically, fear of the press.” (attributed to Donald Trump in “The Art of the Deal” by Donald Trump and Tony Schwartz, page 305)
Makes your head spin, doesn’t it?
It’s been a weird year … already. I find myself agreeing with people I never imagined I’d agree with. Before the U.S. presidential election, Jeb Bush described Trump this way: “He’s a chaos candidate. And he’d be a chaos president.” His observation was spot on. I believe Trump thrives on creating chaos, and watching everyone scatter. Trump’s press conference from the other day is just the latest in a relentless series, and we’re only a month into this administration. Bizarro World.
</div>
19 February 2017 at 13:55 #55608Trump now: “The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!”
Trump then: “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from dealing with politicians over the years, it’s that the only thing guaranteed to force them into action is the press — or, more specifically, fear of the press.” (attributed to Donald Trump in “The Art of the Deal” by Donald Trump and Tony Schwartz, page 305)
Makes your head spin, doesn’t it?
It’s been a weird year … already. I find myself agreeing with people I never imagined I’d agree with. Before the U.S. presidential election, Jeb Bush described Trump this way: “He’s a chaos candidate. And he’d be a chaos president.” His observation was spot on. I believe Trump thrives on creating chaos, and watching everyone scatter. Trump’s press conference from the other day is just the latest in a relentless series, and we’re only a month into this administration. Bizarro World.
6 February 2017 at 03:44 #55440I just finished binge-watching Westworld. Whoa! It’s going to take me a while to unravel all of that.
1 February 2017 at 21:08 #55360@missy Well, his Brutus is not likely to be Steve Bannon, who scares me even more than Trump, and who seems to be the one in charge of this show. I too am sick to death of Trump … yet I know of people who are thrilled with him and what he is doing, and also irate with all the “fuss” being made. Those who oppose him are characterized as “sore losers” (as if losing were the only reason to oppose someone and what they are doing). I’d hoped against hope that he would be a better president than candidate, but those hopes have been for naught.
1 February 2017 at 18:55 #55358I will miss Peter Capaldi … but if Ben Whishaw is to be his replacement, then my mourning will be brief.
24 January 2017 at 15:55 #55206I’ve been watching Victoria and cheering on our Jenna Coleman. The beauty of it is that right now, Jenna can play a wide age range, and do it believably. Jenna is wonderful, as I knew she would be, but I really have to erase my mental image of the older Queen Victoria in order to imagine her in this role. I’m also torn on whether I think the series good, despite Jenna’s superb acting. It’s a wee bit too soap opera-ish for my tastes, especially in its treatment of her relationship with Lord Melbourne.
And one pivotal piece of the story is missing. I know it’s not a documentary, but as luck would have it, my husband and I just watched Fit to Rule: How Royal Illness Changed History. It mentioned a period prior to Queen Victoria’s reign in which she was doing a public tour of England, became ill with a fever, but still withstood pressure from her mother and Sir John Conroy to make Conroy her personal secretary. That part was missing, along with a clearer picture of the Kensington System invented, invented by Victoria’s mother and Conroy largely to isolate Victoria during her childhood and make her submissive to them. I would have liked to have seen an installment based on this earlier conflict, because I think it would have served to show, rather than tell, why Victoria loathed Conroy.
24 January 2017 at 15:11 #55204Commiserating and seeking solace with my fellow Whovians over Herr Trump. I had no idea there might be a literal link, not just a perceived one, between Brexit and Trump, but this article posits that unsettling bridge via Big Data:
6 January 2017 at 00:55 #55039OK, after watching this on my DVR, fast-forwarding through the commercials, I enjoyed it much, much more! I loved the lighthearted nature of the episode, but with some seriousness regarding River, relationships and everything ending. But I also loved what the Doctor said about beginnings being good, so enjoy them.
29 December 2016 at 02:10 #54940And now her mother is gone. 🙁
26 December 2016 at 20:22 #54926Yup, another immensely talented soul … gone. I knew he was something special, so much more than his “pretty boy” marketing image, when I heard “Careless Whisper.” That song has chops, and so did he for writing and singing it. The other reminder I recall was when Queen put together that tribute concert to Freddie Mercury. I always knew Freddie had an amazing voice, but it really showed with all the singers who struggled to hit those notes, and couldn’t manage to pull it off. All but one. George Michael was brilliant. Not only did he nail the notes, he captured Freddie’s spirit in his delivery. It was mesmerizing.
The man had his personal problems, but it sickened me to watch the schadenfreude of many in the media, who seemed to delight in tearing him down. Rest in peace, George. You’ve earned it.
26 December 2016 at 19:33 #54925I’m feeling a bit underwhelmed by this one. Dunno why. Here in Canada, we are forced to watch it with commercial interruptions, which always take away from my enjoyment of Doctor Who. So I will try watching it again and fast-forwarding through those pesky interruptions. My favourite of the newer Christmas specials is “Last Christmas”; I didn’t think it would be, but on repeat viewings it’s the one with with the most emotional staying power, for me. “The Husbands of River Song” felt too frantically paced, though the last 10 minutes were utterly charming and mostly made up for it, at least for me. Another viewing of “Return of Doctor Mysterio” might well improve it. But how I do miss watching these episodes, completely sans commercials, on Netflix!
15 December 2016 at 01:30 #5487311 December 2016 at 02:25 #54863@missy Post-surgery, I really don’t need my glasses for anything except reading text close-up. So I ended up with an expensive pair of reading glasses. My eyesight is the exact opposite of what it was before surgery. I was nearsighted (couldn’t clearly see things far away) before, and now I’m farsighted (can’t clearly see things close up).
@mudlark You’re at the stage I was at prior to my surgery. I was very cautious about where/when I drove, and I tried to avoid driving at night, especially because of the extreme glare from headlights and even streetlamps. My night vision still isn’t what it should be, but that may be the result of approaching 60 more than anything else.
7 December 2016 at 23:45 #54845@missy Best wishes on the cataract surgery. I’ve had both eyes done. My surgeon was perplexed at how quickly mine developed. Cataracts are supposed to be slow growers, but mine became a problem within a year, after my previous year’s eye exam showed no cataracts. As my husband drove me to the hospital for my first surgery, I covered my “good” right eye, just to see how bad the eyesight in my left (the one being operated on) was. A red car was approaching in the opposite lane. With my right eye covered, I couldn’t see it. So I got the surgery not a moment too soon. My surgeon was going to hold off on the right eye, but then, at my insistence, he had that eye checked, and it had already deteriorated noticeably from my appointment just a few months earlier. As @mudlark says, the post-cataract contrast in vision is startling. Colours are so much more vivid. The world is suddenly in Technicolor!
25 September 2016 at 21:33 #54032I can’t remember if this is where we had the discussion about Doctor Who no longer being carried by Netflix, but it has indeed disappeared from my Netflix Canada lineup. However, it looks like past seasons are being carried by Crave TV.
25 September 2016 at 21:30 #54031You are not alone. I received a similar flirtation in my message inbox.
27 June 2016 at 03:22 #52946@pharellman Re: Clara, I feel just the opposite. I loved her Oswin incarnation in Asylum of the Daleks, then felt they didn’t quite know what to do with her when they paired her up with Matt’s Doctor. I liked her, but felt her character was rather anemic when compared with the little spitfire who was Oswin. Then, as Seasons 8 and 9 unfolded, I felt her character was vastly better written, giving Jenna more to work with as an actor. But I also realize there is quite a lot of disagreement among fans on Clara … and this is just one more of those points.
26 June 2016 at 22:33 #52933@ichabod I didn’t see it as being such a wonderful, romantic ending. Not at all. I found it tragic, and a huge loss of someone who had so much worth, so much to give. I also saw the ending as an indictment of mental health “care” at that time, and also Victorian society’s treatment of women. I didn’t see any real redeeming feature in it, other than that Vanessa was finally at peace. The tragedy is that this is what it took to give her that peace.
I know the story was about Vanessa saving the world by sacrificing herself, but for me the other layers were more powerful, and captured my attention far more. The thing is, once you release a piece of art out into the world, it goes from being a form of self-expression to being interpreted by others. What it is is whatever people interpret it to be. In some ways that’s wonderful, but in other ways it can be very strange to hear or read others’ take on the same work. Come to think of it, it can be strange to hear or read the creator’s take on it. There have been many times when I’ve read a writer talking about something s/he’d written, after I read it, and then thinking, “Oh. So that’s what was going on. I had no idea!”
26 June 2016 at 01:58 #52917@ichabod So true. The willingness to agree to disagree is in short supply on the Internet, and elsewhere. I’ve seen enough flame wars to don my flame-retardant suit (even though I know none is needed here).
Staying with what transpired on Penny Dreadful, I guess I felt that the ending followed the overarching theme of this season: how the Victorian era dragged so many women, including extremely capable women, through the dirt and ground them into submission … one way or the other. A possible allegory, I thought, is that this is an outcome from horrific “treatment” (and I use that term very loosely) of mental illness. For me those ideas were intertwined throughout this entire season. So I would expect that anyone wanting Vanessa to emerge victorious from this would be bitterly disappointed. Certainly a part of me was hoping for that, but given the way the series was headed this season (especially when we got that little ray of hope at the end of the season opener, which I felt certain was a red herring), I wasn’t holding out any hope. For me, this was what was so powerful. This is what the world did to women. Still does, in many cases.
As for the horrors of the real world … ugh. I can’t even imagine Trump as president, yet it could possibly become a reality. Quite frightening, and this is coming from a U.S. citizen. I’m relieved to be living in the relative sanity north of that border.
25 June 2016 at 00:55 #52884@ichabod You are not alone. I’m reading many reactions which are similar to yours. And reactions similar to mine. Clearly there’s a split of opinion. Which is fine. For me this worked, but obviously for others it didn’t.
24 June 2016 at 05:08 #52864Bawled my eyes out over Penny Dreadful tonight. Haven’t been moved like that by a television show in ages. (Even our dear old Doctor … which has come close on a number of occasions.) Enough said.
23 May 2016 at 18:58 #52488Speaking of gore, Vikings is no walk in the park. We’ve been treated to the blood eagle, as just one example. Yet one thing I appreciate about this series is that it goes beyond the barbarism and shows these people as complex: ruthless, yes; there’s the stereotype. But also ingenious, ambitious, tender, loyal, suspicious, bewildered, shuttered, insecure, driven, brave, joyful … all the aspects of human character. Obviously Vikings is a contemporary rendering of Norse mythology, but watching Norsemen (and women) striking out into the unknown, attempting to conquer foreign lands and deal with the people living there, has caused me to think very differently about them.
23 May 2016 at 03:00 #52467I have mixed feelings about Broadchurch, as I do about The Fall. I felt the first seasons of both were stellar, then both fell down in their respective sophomore seasons. So I suspect there will be complaints, especially about the second season of Broadchurch, that I would agree with.
22 May 2016 at 04:55 #52450Yahoo, other Penny Dreadful fans here. I love that show! Also (in no particular order): Broadchurch, The Fall, Orange is the New Black, Vikings and The X-Files. Hubby and I watched one episode of Happy Valley, liked it but weren’t sure if we wanted yet another bleak series (we had much the same reaction to Luther), so we didn’t continue.
In the midst of a lot of other bleak television we were watching, Hannibal made its way in. Can I say I liked it? Odd choice of words. I admired it, especially the first season, but became less enamored as seasons went by.
Canadian TV series: 19-2 and The Romeo Section, the latter by Chris Haddock, who gave us the brilliant Da Vinci’s Inquest and the underappreciated Intelligence (not to be confused with a lame U.S. TV series of the same name).
For comic relief: Episodes, Angie Tribeca and The Mindy Project.
Oh, and I’m currently enjoying The Night Manager mini-series, plus catching up on some wonderful old Twilight Zone episodes.
11 May 2016 at 18:25 #52259This item made it into my Facebook newsfeed. It doesn’t sound official, so I figured I’d better post it in spoilers: Rumour
26 April 2016 at 00:26 #51907Yup, I too have received another message. (Drat, the massage was so promising!)
23 April 2016 at 18:38 #51813Glad I’m not the only one who thought this was a grownup Courtney. I like her. Bill looks fun!
23 April 2016 at 01:13 #51790I should have known, LOL!
23 April 2016 at 00:20 #51788Ah, ha! I must be the favorite. Miss Tina/loveuu left me a massage. Apparently @blenkinsopthebrave only got a message.
20 April 2016 at 23:01 #51753Ah, I should have known. Another one bites the dust, LOL!
5 March 2016 at 00:08 #51188@winston You’re welcome! It was good to revisit that episode again … as I should have typed in my previous post.
4 March 2016 at 20:44 #51183Hubby and I watched this episode last night. I’d seen it multiple times, but this was hubby’s first viewing. He loved the layering of comical moments with dramatic ones, and also how this Doctor was introduced as quite vulnerable. Vulnerable in a different way than, say, Tennant, but still vulnerable and trying to get himself grounded in his latest regeneration. I’d remembered the broad strokes, but forgotten so many little details that added so much to the story. It was revisit that again.
2 March 2016 at 16:41 #51149A meme making the rounds today:
1 March 2016 at 12:25 #51136Not sure if this is considered a “spoiler” since it’s making the rounds in the news:
1 March 2016 at 12:14 #51135I received the same message. Sadly, not “the one” after all.
11 February 2016 at 05:58 #50944In the immortal words of the spousal unit, “How the hell are we supposed to know what to subscribe to for the content we want?” Yeah, my words exactly. Or some paraphrase therein.
8 February 2016 at 23:33 #50922It’s all down to contracts and renewal dates but the chances are that it’ll be pulled from Canada too at the earliest opportunity.
Yes, I imagine that the contract runs out at some future date and then we will lose it as well.
Gah, my hopes hopes dashed. Oh well. If I’m going to do any more Doctor Who binge-watching, I’d better get to it soon.
P.S. Where is this thread “hiding”? I see the locked Dr Who News (3) thread in the General Forums list, but not this one.
8 February 2016 at 03:15 #50899Interesting development: In the previous Dr Who News (3) thread, I read that Doctor Who was being dropped by Netflix on Feb. 1. However, I just took a look, and at least with Netflix Canada it is still there. Maybe this is something we will actually have that Netflix U.S. doesn’t? That’s rare. Our Netflix lineup is far less substantial than the U.S. one.
8 February 2016 at 01:46 #50897Well, I’m late to this party. Doctor Who is no longer available on Netflix? I’m glad I did some reviewing between “Hell Bent” and the Christmas special. I guess that means I’d better save the episodes I recorded on my DVR.
25 January 2016 at 02:28 #5043125 January 2016 at 02:09 #50430I’m not sure where to post this question, so hopefully I’m not too far wrong here. Someone once kindly posted where Doctor Who episodes can be found online. May I have a reminder as to where that is, again? Silly me, I did not bookmark it. Thank you.
25 January 2016 at 01:55 #50429@puroandson You know, reading other posts here, I felt a bit guilty in liking the Slitheen. I guess fart jokes still crack me up, sophomoric humour and all. But I felt there was a balance there between the humour and the seriousness of what the Doctor is all about. He is about protecting Earth and human civilization, yet he is not without sensitivity when it comes to the “sins” of his foes. I appreciated this deft exploration of the vulnerabilities of Margaret Blaine, and what she might or might not use to manipulate the Doctor.
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