The story was written in the first year of Doctor Who Weekly in 1980. Very different times. I was 10 for a start! Living in the industrial Midlands in a mining town.

Obviously @jimthefish has talked enthusiastically about the production transition from comic to screen and I share his awe. 10 year old me would have been…[Read more]

Gutted to hear that myself. If anyone doesn’t know about the impact Halo Jones had on Andrew Cartmel’s run on Doctor Who can I post this link to the blog on 2000AD I wrote back when we were doing retrospectives?

2000AD Doctor Who (Gridlock edition)

The Toymaster did go full Prince Ludwig from Blackadder @ps1l0v3y0u, @phaseshift. But showed his sinister side with that “sunnier climes” comment. With the excellent “I was born in Cheltenham” as the response.

I thought that was particularly well handled myself, and although RTD went for it in the behind the scenes stuff I think he shou…[Read more]

I’m pretty certain there is a lot of evidence that RTD is going to lean into the more fantasy arm of Doctor Who history as we discussed last week. The question of who the…[Read more]

@devilishrobby beat me to it, but the start of End of Time Part one has flashbacks to the scene indicating it was ‘The Cult Of Saxon’.

Time to break out that copy of Lord Voldermorts Bumper Book of Resurrection Spells again!

I’ve had a go at transcribing:

RTD: So then, the whole timeline bi-regenerated. Sylvester McCoy woke up in a drawer in a morgue… and Jon Pertwee woke up on…[Read more]

It’s almost like RTD can never let David Tennant go

@juniperfish

I think you’re right @craig, that RTD can’t quite ever let Tennant go. But honestly, what’s not to love about that?

I honestly don’t think it’s that controversial to be honest but I think it’s bound to be read by some as a lack of faith in N’Cuti. They have Tennant in rese…[Read more]

are you suggesting that there’s a link between the Fendahl and the Great Vampires — maybe relates species or sub-species? Cos I like that idea a lot.

Yes, although I blame Steven Moffat who had Missy musing that maybe all lifeforms may hit a technological point that they think “let’s give cybermen a go! What could go wro…[Read more]

And @phaseshift, I suspect RTD2 may continue to refer to him as the Celestial Toymaker, in keeping with the dictionary definition of being from the heavens or the stars.

It would be nice to think he had the choice. I don’t want you to think that I buy the criticism is any way, but it has been fashionable for the past decade…[Read more]

Yes to a bit of Blackadder! That’s exactly the kind of thing I was thinking about. Having the Doctor mock him in that way would definitely work.

(Talking of Blackadder, I watched the millennium special ‘Back and Forth’ a while ago for the first time in a decade. I actually found it a lot funnier than when broadcast for some reason. The…[Read more]

Did anyone else think about E-space from Tom Baker’s day, and the Great Vampires?

Actually your musings on salt and mythology reminded me of something else from Tom’s era. If you fancy looking at it on i-player, it’s in season 15 and called ‘Image of the Fendahl‘. It shares a link with ‘State of Decay‘ in that the F…[Read more]

I’m actually finding myself weirdly disconnected from the episodes to the extent that I’m wondering what they are for exactly.

When the Disney deal was ann…[Read more]

Happy 60th to you all.

I’ll definitely respond to the blog in depth. To be honest I’ve struggled to organise my thoughts when approaching the Chibnall era, so maybe having your thoughts to bounce off may be helpf…[Read more]

Hi and Seasons Greetings!

Yeah, I really enjoyed the trailer and was delighted to see the comic characters you mentioned Jim. If you’d told 10 year old me that we’d have this 42 years later … well, I would have probably dropped my Curly Wurly!

It’s fascinating really – on the one hand it’s a big statement of i…[Read more]

I’m playing catchup as well and I’ve just binged the first two episodes.

I have to say I probably enjoyed them more than I was expecting, but confess that I started with such low expectations that I probably had a lot of room for manoeuvre. I thought the Halloween Invasion was interesting in terms of structure (although I thought it may…[Read more]

Really unexpected development that really makes you wonder what’s been going on behind the scenes. Not only Russell “The” Davies, but outsourcing production to Bad Wolf Productions (first time since the Eighth Doctor movie, fact fans) would seem to indicate that the BBC may be admitting they’ve screwed…[Read more]

Sorry about Whittaker – what might have been,eh?

At 41! I popped in to share the link myself, after I put a short comment about his encouragement over the years.

Hope everyone else is fine. Sorry I haven’t been around but .. it’s a long story.

Best regards.

The novelisation of Day of the Doctor is an absolute joy. Other books in the range by Russell ‘the’ Davies (a nod to ‘fiveish doctors’ there) and Paul Cornell all seemed to try to go for the Terrance Dicks approach (and why not). Day of the Doctor has a clear authorial voice – if you’ve listened to…[Read more]

It brings back a lot of warm memories.

Just to note Moffat has temporarily rejoined Twitter and is posting a Twitter commentary which is quite nice of…[Read more]

I disappeared after the finale because the Coronavirus issue led to some emergency work with a couple of utility clients about emergency preparedness. It’s actually been a sobering experience looking at the reaction to this. I apologise to @rob if…[Read more]

While I take your points and believe you can rationalise these choices of dialogue either way I think my main point is still that when you go down the path that this seems to be going, you have to be very trope aware so you don’t fall into those narrarive traps.

The above article from @jimthefish is a good exploration of how…[Read more]

That is an excellent read Jim (it popped up in my Google recommend feed this afternoon) and I’d recommend it to everyone.

I hope the next series makes it clear that the reason the Doctor is so different, personality-wise, to most other Time Lords is not because she’s the Timeless Child, but because she’s the Doctor. I don’t think it would send a very good message to the audience if the only reason she decided to escape from being a puppet to the Time…

[Read more]

You forgot to include the terms “SJW” and “woke”. Otherwise, a fine effort. Or, in real money, completely desperate.

A good evening to you.

Let’s be clear here, because I think one of us needs to take a break from internet comment.

I went with you though your displeasure with the Capaldi era. I don’t think I hectored you or even tried to change your mind. I think I was the first person to highlight the unDoctorly behaviour of Capaldi in S10. But I gave you, I hope, the…[Read more]

If regenerative ability is down to the special ability of the Timeless Child, and therefore not exposure to the Time Vortex as has been established previously then how do we think that Amy got that extra bit of “Doctor juice” to create baby Melody? Perhaps it really was a ‘Big Bang’!

Of course that would mean that that … Oh no.…[Read more]

But ‘I repeat’ this is as cynical a fanwank as you are likely to experience.

I’ve explained my reasons. Your response is pretty poor. I think that the obfuscation and misattriubution paints a picture. And then colours it in.

Go at it.I have no grist to…[Read more]

But I suppose my main point is that I’m developing a deep suspicion that had the Holmes/Hinchcliffe/Nation plot points been broadcast under the name ‘Chris Chibnall’, you would even now be telling me how awful they are.

Well that’s a rather lame attempt to paint me as a ‘bowelstreak’ type naysayer, isn’t it? Especially when coupl…[Read more]

Holmes wanted to eventually write a high stakes story about the ‘death’ of the Doctor and seeded these ideas that would feed into it and establish those high stakes.…[Read more]

That was as cynical a bit of fanwank as you are likely to experience. A “story” that the legendary Craig Hinton (the undisputed ‘King of Fanwank’ in Doctor Who novels) would have cried at not being able to write.

Don’t get me wrong – I love a good rewrite of history. As a Doctor Who fan of old you come to appreciate…[Read more]

Take it by PM to Craig. As I suggested. A good while ago. You remember?

Any further additions will be DELETED. To allow the rest of the Forum to get on with enjoying themselves.

Have a good time.

I think most forum users here are experienced enough to see:

1. You started this chain of events
2. You’ve tried to propogate the argument to stupid lengths
3. Your grandstanding is embarrassing, even towards the lurkers who just want a bit of argy-bargy

If you want to have a laugh and and a joke, talk Who and post a couple of choona…[Read more]

Part of me wonders if Chibnall likes wearing hair shirts. His younger self accused Pip & Jane Baker of producing a story based on the Doctor & companion running down a corridor. For his first Who episode in “42” that’s essentially what he has Martha doing.

@blenkinsopthebrave

All of which leads me to ask: are we witnessing the John…

[Read more]

I don’t know if the Doctor himself knows how to travel the timelines. Poßibly just the TARDIS operating in 11 dimensions can work it. The only time I can think that the Doctor did it (other than Pyramids of Mars, where it was inevitable) is the implied reunion between 11 and Amelia at the end of Angels take Manhattan. Amy and Rory…[Read more]

I did get MrsP to help me (with my arthritis) and she loved it too!

Wishing you the best xxx

Thanks for bringing so much joy into our lives!

..And yet you initiated this exchange and continue to do so. How very pedantic sorry pedestrian of you? All I want is for you to enjoy your time by conversing with like minded people. I’m guessing that’s not what you want is it?

You….almost died…?!

Break out the tambourines MrsP and let us praise the Lord!!

(You started this newbie – as you say, get over yourself, deal with whatever inner demons you have 😉 )

Well, this guy Bill McClintock could help. He’s a You Tube remixer of some repute.

His channel is seriously funny if you have a bit of knowledge about rock/metal.
His mashup of slayer &…[Read more]

To pick up on the everyday finger fumble by the arthritic trying to use a touchpad! Lawks alordy! Trances = Frances.

God bless you! Your parents must be so proud!! I’ll show MrsP your post tomorrow. She. Will. Be . ASTOUNDED!!!

While I’m sniggering I’ll just point out I may have arrived at a (admittedly poor) reason for last week’s mindwipe.

The first Mindwipe was completed by the Timelords on Jamie & Zoe. If we are looking at the lies of Timelords then the memory wipe will do. Could be a reminder the TLs do have this power and the DoctorMaster may have…[Read more]

I did mean to post a response to your question earlier, but things happen.

In the BG episodes the mindwipe never happened. Well, once, but in a different way. And is wasn’t the Doctor who performed it.

When we finally meet the Timelords at the end of Patrick Troughtons’s run (The War Games), they mindwipe Jamie and Zoe (the companions)…[Read more]