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Hell – Hitch Hikers can even make a “previously on” plot catch-up entertaining. 🙂

It’s actually quite a surprising episode, because for large parts of it our heroes are just used for framing an important story about the Earth, which Award winning fjord designer Slartibartfast imparts to Arthur, and therefore us.

The Deep Thought computer is Douglas really channelling his love for Monty Python with absurd dialogue, classy names (Vroomfondel and MagicThighs) and jokes about philosophers. It owes an awful lot to a real standout voice performance from the magic Valentine Dyall. What a majestic voice he had.

Unfortunately, it looks like we won’t be enjoying him with Peter Davison in Enlightenment this time, as something else has won, but in it he reprises his occasional role as The Black Guardian.

But hearing that voice dismissing the other computers, and having a jolly good time with the dialogue, is a joy.

“A mere abucus – mention it not.”
“Molest me not with this pocket calculator stuff. “

I love his sweet-talking of the philosophers, as they demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty.

“As long as you keep slaging each other off in the popular press. We’ll keep you on the Gravy train for life!”

42!??!!!??!!

And so to the answer – How many times has 42 been referenced in pop culture now? I have no idea. It’s even there in Voyage of the Damned.

The other extended sketch, regarding careless talk costing lives, is still quite funny. I particularly love the channelling of graphic styles from Asteroids and other arcade games of the time.

The meeting with the mice is short, but quite funny for it. The mice want Arthur’s brain. Prepared. Treated. Diced. Zaphods cheerful dismissal of this as a problem as he summarises Arthur’s usual input to a conversation is great work from Mark Wing Davey.

The “It isn’t easy being a cop”.shoot-out isn’t as successful I think, although bonus points for the “Shoot, I mean, fire away, aarghh!” delivery of an obvious old joke again from Zaphod.

How will our friends escape the fiery destruction?

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@janetteb

inspired by a genre of film which I really dislike.

I used to be really bemused as to why these films were so popular, because you saw one, you effectively saw them all. Just different scenarios and different hazards. Growing up, Christmas wasn’t complete without one though (as far as TV land was concerned). As a teenager, I developed the theory that it was down to family Christmas. After a day of hell, you wanted to flake out on the sofa, get drunk and see people who were having a more miserable time than you were having. 😀

It’s an invaluable public service, I suppose. These days we have the Soaps who do it. I still quite like the joke in the Impossible Planet about Eastenders, who usually deliver a double bill of misery every Christmas Day.

Ida: Well, we’ve come this far, there’s no turning back.
The Doctor: Oh, come on! Did you have to? “No turning back”, that’s almost as bad as “Nothing could possibly go wrong”, or “This is gonna be the best Christmas Walford’s ever had!”

@thekrynoidman

I find the first 40 minutes of this quite engaging, and rewatched thinking “why don’t I watch this more often?”. And then I remembered.

When I look back on the Russell Christmas specials, they seem on balance to have stand-out “spectacular” scenes that the plot just serves to get you to, and the gradual payback on that idea diminished over time. I don’t think (from memory) this is the worst though. We’ve still got Giant stompy robots and the Master race to come.

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Gosh – Episode 4 came round quick didn’t it? I think that was always my immediate thoughts when watching these originally. I could tell my engagement in the story by saying after four weeks, “was that it? Surely we have another episode of this?”.

Really enjoyable rewatch, reminding me just how good Lalla (who should have a Happy Birthday, thanks @wolfweed) and Tom were together. Throw in a few good guest stars, a script with some decent lines, and watch them go.

Duggan is on top bemused form, “Mad, insane, inhuman!!” – well quite. So Scaroth was split into 12 parts (“poor lamb”, mocks Clara) and has spent his time advancing Earth. Not only that, but the original explosion helped start life on Earth. As @bluesqueakpip says, we’ll add you to our list of aliens we have to thank for our genetic makeup (Daemons, Fendahl also take a bow).

Shakespeare had nothing to say?! The Doctor is obviously a liar and outrageous namedropper. We couldn’t shut the bugger up in The Shakespeare Code!

It can’t end well for the Countess after the Doctor plants the seeds of doubt in her mind. “How discrete. How charming.” Well, you would be discrete wouldn’t you? She’s hardly about to parade being married to a bloke who really looks like an explosion in a squid factory.

All hail the Fourth Doctors sense of irony. “I’m a professional”. Even as a kid, you can see the laughs in the one.

Duggan really is the man to have around. Who needs a Sonic with him around to open doors for you? I’m increasingly drawn to @arbutus s comment last week about keeping him around. I’ve imagined every stupid thing Adric did, and Duggan would have been so much better. Hypnotised by Vampires? Duggans thick head is impervious to hypnotism and he thumps them. It could have been awesome, let’s face it.

I love the John Cleese Eleanor Bron cameo. “The art lies in the fact the art is here”. Oh no it isn’t. “Exquisite.“

Duggans so on the ball “That’s a spaceship.” And he finally gets to punch someone to good effect.

Alas, for the Count. Back to the future to meet the devoted Herman. Not blind love on the his part then?

No very good. I can understand why some people are resistant to its charms, but for a show that can go anywhere, be anything, you have to accept it may tread paths you don’t particularly like at times.

I love it. It’s slightly knowing about the limitations of the format, but it’s a corking script delivered under difficult circumstances due to the original writer (David Fisher) having to step back due to personal difficulties. Adams said himself he was never good with the day-to-day grind of being a Script Editor. What he regularly lacked was pressure, and when this story went tits up, he had real pressure. I think he rose magnificently to the challenge. I think the modern era (and the back end of the eighties) does owe his tenure something. The show shouldn’t be afraid to be irreverent and absurd on occasion.

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So – Last call for Votes, and looking at first choices, the scores on the doors are currently:

VOTE DAVISON – VOTE FOR AN EPISODE FOR THE FIFTH!

Story (Episodes)	Notes
Kinda (4)	@thekrynoidman @whisht
The Visitation (4)	@bluesqueakpip @phaseshift
Earthshock (4)	Null points
The Arc of Infinity (4)	Null points
Enlightenment (4)	Null points
The Awakening (2) Black Orchid (2)	@blenkinsopthebrave @janetteb @jimthefish @scaryb

 

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Largely, to call out to someone, just put a @ in front of their name, and the software does the rest. Clicking the help tab at the top will give you more instructions as it gets a little more complicated when you’ve changed idents. So @fosterferris works, but @TheCrackInTheWall doesn’t (the help menu gives some hints on how to check this).

It’s great you’ve grown into it, and I’d certainly like to see more thoughts on other episodes. We’re fairly new, so not every story is covered as yet. One hint though, we love long posts, but it can be helpful to break them down into paragraphs for readability.

There is a lot to explore, and I think you asked about recommendations for older Doctors, so I’ll give you a link to our ongoing Doctor Who retrospectives. A lot of good stories for you to follow up.

If you’d like to read about different peoples introduction to the Doctor, some of us put some thoughts into a Doctor Who memories strand (including mine, the origins of which are lost – I can’t remember how exactly I came to watch Doctor Who – I was too young to really remember). And we looked at the Doctors on the Faces of the Doctor strand.

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@scaryb

And I’ll ignore Phaseshift‘s attempt at lowering the tone

Oh, I am awful. But, go on, you still like me, don’t you.

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I put a link to a SFX interview between Russell T Davies and Verity Lambert on the Voyage of the Damned thread, but there was an extract in it about actors and age, which I’d completely forgotten.

Would you cast an older Doctor?

R: No. There’s no question of it, because he’s doing this 12 hours a day, six days a week for nine months of the year. If we cast someone who was 50-something they’d be dead now.

V: I think that nowadays you don’t really want an older Doctor. I think the fact that these guys are hip and modern is very good, and the audience likes that. I don’t think that they would respond to some older man. I thought David Tennant was a really, really good idea. I have to be very honest and say I wasn’t quite so sure about Christopher. I think he’s a wonderful actor, but I wasn’t sure that he was right, and I felt that he was not completely comfortable.

As much as I respect both of them, I’m hoping that Capaldi will blast these views away. I think looking at the teaser trailer, and the way Capaldi moves, he’s going to be far more dynamic than even I anticipated.

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@blenkinsopthebrave

Glad you enjoyed it. It was @craig reminding me this was dedicated to Verity that made me remember it. I may put another quote on the Season 8 thread (because it’s a bit more suited for that).

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@alvaro21197

I think you may be a bit late with that observation to win any kind of prize. But well done.

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@blenkinsopthebrave @wolfweed @bluesqueakpip

Let us not forget what I’m going to refer to as Rassilon’s ring in The Five Doctors. Apparently, people who put their finger in Rassilon’s Ring were gifted immortality.

At least, that’s what he told everyone. Insert your own filthy joke here.

If we were ever to venture back into New Adventure novel territory for ideas, the Seventh Doctor had a bit of an attachment to an apparently cheap looking ring.

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Just before I kick in, I think its fair to say that RTD and SM probably remember Christmas in the 70s/80s as I do. When SM wrote his Christmissier-than-Christmas episode A Christmas Carol, he threw a shark in. Jaws was always a Christmas movie once the TV rights were sold. For about 10 successive years.

The other staple (apart from Bond, natch) was a good old disaster movie, and I think RTD must just have just thought “Let’s revive that tradition. Is Ernest Borgnine still available!? No – oh well.”

So there are clichés from just about every disaster movie – your Towering Infernos, your Airports, and your Poseidon Adventures. With a huge, healthy dollop of a tribute to the Tom Baker Robots of Death. In Space. With Kylie. It’s everything upto and including the kitchen sink.

Does it work? I think my feelings are largely yes. I’ve actually found myself laughing at this in all the right places.

After two Christmas specials stuck on Earth, it’s actually lovely to get off-world, even if we’re just in orbit. The set design looks fantastic. Opulance abounds, and that extends to the filming. It has a lushness that suits the story.

OK – the Doctors miserable. His Christmas song is “It’ll be lonely this Christmas” by Mud. Even in that state though he has enough innate charm to start meeting and charming people. The dinner scene is still chucklesome as the Doctor gets to make the bullies look stupid, including all-round arse Rickston Slade.

The more you learn about the society these people come from, the less palatable it sounds as we meet our cast. Nice down-to-Sto couple Morvin and Foon Van Hoff are there by luck and are the underclass. As is waitress Astrid Peth, working her way to the stars. Earth “expert” Mr Copper seems to have some weird views, but a nice enough bloke. And then we have red midget BannaKaffalatta.

It’s tradition in disaster these people will have the skills to get the group out. Most of them will have SOMETHING TO HIDE, as its Rule #3 of Disaster Movie scripting. I immediately suspected the Robots as well. The stylised faces and voices immediately made me think of the Tom Baker stories and the Voc series of Robots. This can’t be a good sign.

It was too much to ask to be completely in Space, so we pop down to Earth for a look around. That’s made up for, because LOOK, it’s only Bernard bloody Cribbins. I’m sure a nation of inebriated adults of a certain age went completely misted eyed when this was first shown, almost drowning in soggy nostalgia. I certainly did. The joke about London evacuating was OK but does highlight a growing problem with the “everyone knows about aliens” thing. You can paint yourself into a corner.

Back on the ship and the casting is just as good – Geoffrey Palmer as the Captain (with a secret!) and Russell Tovey as Midshipman Frame. And the captain seems intent of going down with the ship on purpose! Meteor was another disaster movie of the 70s, but not a particularly good one.

OK we have our band of survivors. Rule #2 of Disaster movies will be that the people in immediate authority in the group of survivors will actually be pretty inept, so it’s goodbye to the officer as he ejects himself. Tick Rule #2.

Rule #1 of Disaster movie plotting says the survivors will include a charismatic leader, usually a priest or a cop who actually has a vague plan. Usually he’s driven by a need to atone for something. Huzzah – we have a Doctor!!

Oh dear – who saw a robot rebellion coming in the middle of this carnage? Well – most of us oldies certainly. As we know robots act on programming, surely there must be a fiendish Taren Capel like character in our midst?!

And we’re off. Rule #4 of Disaster movie plotting means that our survivors will be wittled down, and usually it’s the nice characters who suffer. Because they are ones stupid enough to have empathy and help other people.

So we say goodbye to the nice couple (who at least have an end to their money problems) in the pretty thrilling encounter with the robots. And red midget gets to save the day even though his society hates him because he’s a cyborg. Midshipman Frame is still in the mix, and gets to seal himself in from robot attach severing a hand. My god – that scene is lifted straight from Robots of Death. No shame at all. 😀

It’s actually a thrilling ride around here, lots of to-ing and fro-ing. It is a pretty good pastiche of the genre. It seems really quick before the Doctor is teleporting himself down to the missing deck, to seek out his Taren Capell. And here’s Max, looking a bit poorly frankly. That’s no way to be the head of a major corporation. No way to get ahead. I’ll stop now. It’s actually quite a nice performance from George Costigan underneath all that.

And it’s Kylie to the rescue! Oh noes!!

The Doctor has to pull himself together then. He’s got a planet to save after all. And we’re entering dangerous territory. The red mist descends on me as the Doctor assumes the Jesus Christ pose, is lifted up by the Angelic hosts and born aloft to the heavens.

WHY! Come on Russell – this is Christmas! Do we really need to bring religious allusions into it?! This is a bit too soon after Last of the Time Lords. I want to vomit.

Frankly – after this, the site of a huge Titanic flying towards Buckingham Palace is welcome relief.

And in the end, our survivor from the initial batch are a niceish guy who lied, and gets a confortable retirement. Oh, and a complete utter shitbag. The Doctor can’t decide who lives and dies, etc. A heartwarming Christmas message.

Largely – this is a fine bit of nonsense, but the Doctor as God thing – someone really ought to have had the confidence to have a bit of a chat to Russell about it at this point. I think he has a problem.

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@craig

Dedicated to Verity Lambert, the first producer of Doctor Who, who died a month prior to broadcast. I’m glad she got to see the series reborn and be a huge success yet again.

Well said, and I agree. Back in 2006 SFX (doing something more constructive than coming up with spurious annoying lists) arranged a meeting between Russel and Verity. Their first meeting. The interview is quite good, and is now online:

http://www.sfx.co.uk/2013/11/21/from-the-sfx-archive-russell-t-davies-meets-verity-lambert/

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@wolfweed

Thanks for locating the clip, as I couldn’t see it yesterday.

@bluesqueakpip

Yes – I was wondering about the “feature length” bit myself. Could be like DotD with 75 minutes, but it could be longer. It may explain why the series itself looks to be running at 12 episodes, then a short break to the Christmas Special.

Collating the press releases there are a couple of new writers, and a real change in directors in the series. I’ll put what what has been officially released below.

Ep	Writer	Director
1	Steven Moffat	Ben Wheatley
2	Phil Ford	Ben Wheatley
3	Mark Gatiss	Paul Murphy
4	Steven Moffat	Douglas Mackinnon
5	Steve Thompson	Douglas Mackinnon
6	Gareth Roberts	Paul Murphy
7	Peter Harness	Paul Wilmshurst
8	Jamie Mathieson	Paul Wilmshurst
9	Jamie Mathieson	Douglas Mackinnon
10	TBC	TBC
11	Steven Moffat	Rachel Talalay
12	Steven Moffat	Rachel Talalay

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Ooooh – well done @craig. Loving the countdown clock on the front page. T-56 and counting. It seems to have come round really quickly.

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Glad to see you are still around @tiddler.

I had one prediction from May shot down (Doctor Who Exlusive at SDCC) and one win with the 23rd (not a feat this one – you hear August/September as a Start date and immediately pencil in the nearest Bank Holiday).

Not much in the teaser to go on, but – the excitement builds. I have a feeling they may do a bit more promotion for this one because he’s a new boy. In place of the SDCC they have the world tour, so I can imagine a drip feed around that time.

(BTW 23rd August – tis an official thing now people – BBC link)

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@bluesqueakpip

Her barely reined-in exasperation with Duggan is indeed pitch perfect, as is the moment of compassion when she hands him her coffee.

To paraphrase Elizabeth the first “I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the temperament and demeanour of the First Doctor, so hang on to your gonads Duggan. Have a coffee” 😀

That relationship between the count and Hermann is deeply weird. He’s just so devoted. It has to be true love.

@arbutus

God – Duggan would have been so much better in the TARDIS that the Adric we actually got. You’re making me thing of a parallel universes here. One in which I’m writing a retrospective of how Duggan was written out after heroically head butting a Cyberman to save a prehistoric Earth and it all went wrong.

It would have been heartfelt and epic.

@scaryb

Fascinating bloke Leonardo. MrsPhaseshift did one of the Open University short courses on him, and the material they sent her was fantastic. It was linked to the Mark Steel lectures of the time, and the one he did on Leonardo, which is a fascinating snapshot of him (highlighting in a humorous way his faults but in the enthusiastic way Mark had of talking about his subjects). I’ll stick this link in here (even though it’s not the best rip).

pt ii pt iii pt iv (total aprox 30 mins)

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@fosterferris (@TheCrackInTheWall)

Well – I asked upthread for people for who this was their first introduction to Doctor Who, and I’ve been rewarded! Many thanks.

I guess if you were 10 when this first started then you are 19/20 now? It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on how you followed the story through the years. How was your first regeneration?

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@blenkinsopthebrave

Piped you to the post?! Ah well – at least we mentioned it. I do find that scene very magical. I therefore admire you and MrsBlenkinsop immensely!

@wolfweed

I’ve just realised that I could make a list of 10 reasons why I shouldn’t make lists.

I have to say, I immediately distrust people who can categorise stuff in order of preference like that. If I go away for a day, my top 50 could look completely different. I can nominate scenes I love, but never place them in any coherent order. Depends on mood. I am proud that no-one on this forum has been so foolish as to follow the lead.

@craig

I admire your dedication to research sir!

but there is no Pit as far as I can tell, or Blake’s Seven

Sob – how soon we forget those heroes of the past, and what they did for us! Free the Blake’s 7!!

find that kinda interesting. Games are becoming more like films or TV shows, and offer even more immersive experiences in many cases. It’s like we’re getting more sci-fi by the day.

I remember the day it happened (for me) – I’d been killing these do-gooders from GDI in the original Conmand and Conquer game. My “Middle-Man”, an idiot called Seth, interrupted to give me a new mission, and it all went wrong (for him).

I have to ask – was Kane a relation of yours?!

And thanks for all the clips peeps – Had a laugh at Darkstar @scaryb and loved the Jason from @blenkinsopthebrave.

And congrats to all the winners (even though, you know…well). You retain your pride!

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On the face of it, some bewildering choices in that list BUT then I remembered SFX did a similar poll around the millennium which was similarly biased towards more recent material. From memory, a lot of references to X-Files (cause Mulder and Scully were just to die for), Star Trek:TNG “Best of both worlds” (cause Picard and Borg!) and the like.

It’s the test of time I guess. In 20 years I think Avengers Assemble, Game of Thrones, the random Firefly scene (and I think Doctor-Rose) probably won’t register that much and we’ll have a new set of johnny come lately’s. 😉

I think films like Alien, Empire and Blade Runner must have something though – just by being visible in most lists of this type you come across.

Lots of good suggestions afterwards (especially for non Who material). From a Brit perspective, I’d say the “poltergeist” scene in Quatermass and the Pit, the end of Blake’s 7 would be musts for me.

For Who I’ll chime with @blenkinsopthebrave ’s “one day I will come back” speech from the first, @whisht “Have I the right” with Tom Baker, and I’ll add Eleven, Amy and Vincent lying under the stars as they transform into one of his paintings. Simple but magical.

So – who wants to write a blog on their nominations for greatest moments for each individual Doctor to date, so we can argue about it in the comments below? 😀

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As I collapse, wearily onto the sofa I find nominations stuck behind the cushions! Huzzah for Mr Davison!

@scaryb has been counted twice provisionally because I got the impression she was teetering on the fence, and if anyone wants to reappraise their votes/correct mistakes let me know.

VOTE DAVISON – VOTE FOR AN EPISODE FOR THE FIFTH!

Story (Episodes)	Notes
Kinda (4)	@thekrynoidman @whisht @scaryb (?)
The Visitation (4)	@bluesqueakpip @jimthefish
Earthshock (4)	Null points
The Arc of Infinity (4)	Null points
Enlightenment (4)	Null points
The Awakening (2) Black Orchid (2)	T@Blenkinsopthebrave @janetteb @scaryb(?)

@The KrynoidMan

How bad is your ophidophobia? Kinda should be fine – there is snake imagery, but it’s not particularly convincing. There is similar imagery in Snakedance, but that does feature a real snake belonging to a mystic character who performs the Snakedance of the title. Again, it’s pretty tame (both the snake and the scenes it’s in) – I know someone who isn’t keen on snakes and they were fine with it (but I don’t think they would describe themselves as phobic).

@whisht

In a way Phase, the tables you’ve been creating with episodes, would make a good resource for the “hi – I love the Doctor but where do I begin with the old stuff?” comments.
Not that I want to give you extra work to do!

Not at all. Actually that could be a good idea once we’ve finished this run of the retrospectives perhaps? Shove them onto a blog as what we’ve nominated and what has been covered. Ask people for their advice on where to start in comments, and we can update the list in the future. It would also be a good place to post requests for future episodes, etc.

It’s something we could easily link to for questions like that, and should be in time for when we get a bit more active around the new series.

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I’ll just add that Adams love and inspiration from Monty Python increases as the series goes on. For anyone who doesn’t know, Adams used to pitch ideas at the team, but finally got to work with Graham Chapman on a pilot for an aborted sketch series called Out of the Trees in 1975.

It’s notable for having one sketch which clearly shows some of the absurdity that would make Hitch-Hikers, features the end of the world, and Simon Jones (Arthur) first appearing in something that Adams had written.

It’s a funny curio, so I’ll add it to below for anyone interested:

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For me, while repetition may have dulled its impact somewhat from when I first saw it, this review continues to highlight just how full of barking imagination the series is.

From the small furry alpha-centuarian helping to “boldy split infinitives that had never been split before”, to Arthur and Slartibartfasts (“I told you it wasn’t important”) trip through the underworld in their bubble vehicle, this is a delight.

The visual jokes in film continue to add flavour, such as the care and attention lavished upon a grape to give to the rich, bored Empire man (who promptly feeds it to his dog) to the small callouts to planet construction “Meringue Layer (optional)”.

It’s difficult to know which would be more impossible to live with. Eddie the over enthusiastic, Eddie the alternative school-marm personality, or Marvin – the complete miserable git.

Eddie in over-enthusiastic mode obviously believes in finishing existence on a song, burbling “You’ll never walk alone” as the courtesy nuclear warheads home in. I also like the stress alleivment interlude, which is paid off after the credits at the end.

A typical self-deprecating Brit would never make it in Zaphods Galaxy would he? He dismisses his achievement of being a clever ape – and so is dismissed. I note the voice of Steven Moore on duty again for the whale, about to meet a splashy end.

Ah, the Bowl of petunias – “oh no not again”, which we learn about in the third (untelevised) book Life, the Universe and Everything. Incidentally, the majority of the plot of that book was an idea that was rejected from Doctor Who. We could have had “Doctor Who and the Krikkit Men”.

The good lines come thick and fast in this one, and include lines that have entered my own vocabularity at work:

“I’ll reprogramme you with an axe”
“I could have a better time in cat litter”
“We are going to be amazingly amazing” “Sounds Awful”.
“I’d trust you as far as I could confortably spit a rat.“
“The stars are coming out.” “I know, wretched isn’t it?”

OK – the surface of Magrathea looks more than a little quarry like. But it wouldn’t be a BBC sci-fi show without a quarry at some point.

Richard Vernon is great as Slartibartfast. The lines about “It’s a kind of threat, you see” and “This may disturb you. It scares the willies out of me” are brilliantly delivered.

Douglas Adams spotters will no doubt spot him in animation form sitting behind a typewriter in the dolphin sequence.

Mice!?

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Very entertaining episode, and the quality of the performances is really what makes this as we start to unpick what the fiendish plot is all about.

As well as Tom being as delightfully Tom-ish as only he can, Lalla is doing great work as Romana. Her outfit is possibly explained by being only a slip of a ‘gel at a mere 125 years old. In partnership with Duggan she really does come across as a female Doctor. Impatient, commanding, funny and downright insulting towards her “companion”. I love the line about “come on, let’s get back to the château, where at least you can thump somebody”, and the business about him going into partnership with a glazier. They’re good lines and she’s pitch perfect.

Excellent eye rolling evil from Julian Glover in his many guises. Shattered through time, but able to communicate with his splinters, allowing him to form the perfect scam to fund his experiments. Tancretti must have needed those thumbscrews often if he was relying on Leonardo to complete all the copies. The bloke was notorious for not finishing work (the original Mona Lisa wasn’t delivered to the man who commissioned it, Leonardo had it for decades saying it wasn’t quite finished).

Nice touches like the Doctor writing his note to Leonardo backwards (which was another foible of the very odd Leonardo). It’s such a throwaway little touch.

Duggans partnership with Romana is bringing out the best in him as he realises he’s completely out of his depth. He really needs to thump something soon to decrease his bafflement levels. 😀

As well as the Counts scams, he seems to indicate to the Countess that he feels responsible for much more when it comes to the human race. Building pyramids, mapping the stars. Inspiring Leonardo?

Gordon Bennet – how many aliens are responsible for dabbling with our DNA and guiding our development in Who history now? We can’t take credit for anything. It’s surprising the Doctor still admires us considering what he knows about these interventions!

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@scaryb

Sorry to hear you’r feeling under the weather. Get well soon, and if you need cheering up theres also City of Death and Hitch Hikers! 😀

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So Last of the Time Lords I don’t enjoy as much as the first part.

I mentioned might-have-beens and if people followed the Day of the Daleks retrospective I mentioned that plot about a “false future” based on a Paradox was originally pitched as a story in which the Master had conquered the Earth. I think this was RTD going back in time and using elements of that scenario for The Master finally.

Largely, that plays out as expected. As soon as you see the dark future Martha has walked through you know the resolution is going to involve undoing that damage in some way. Some people don’t like that, but its not unique in Who history.

Little egomaniac that he is, he’s carved his image everywhere while he floats above torturing his aged Doctor by making him listen to the Scissor Sisters (only joking – I quite like the quirky “I can’t decide”). He’s “dancing” with the Doctor. Won’t someone think of the Children. And the Aged Doctors Hip?!

The revelation about the nature of the Toclafane is well done. Its one of those ones where it makes absolute sense from how the story is set out. With a limited set of destinations, they must be from the end of the universe. Having the future humans cannibalise themselves is nicely gruesome.

It all starts going a bit pear shaped with the arrival of Doctor Dobby. Sorry Doctor Dobby fans, but it gets my goat. Marthas apparent betrayal by a double agent in the now expected “plucky resistance” is a nice touch, as is the double-double cross as its revealed Martha wanted that all along. The secret weapon turns out not to be a fanciful gun, but the power of the story.

And lo – the meek of the Earth raise their eyes to heaven and pray to the good lord Doctor, who rises in a Christ like pose to swat the Master like the filthy bounder he is. At this point the red mist descends in front of me, I’ll cheerfully admit. I’ll join @scaryb and anyone else who condemns it.

And so the Paradox machine is broken, and then timelines revert.. don’t worry children it never happened, and possibly won’t if you avoid voting for politicians who are vague about policy with an easy charm. A lesson for us all there.

I can remember when I first watched this I actually thought Marthas mum was going to kill The Master, and then its poor Lucy. Have to say in the guest cast stakes Alexandra Moen was quietly impressive as Lucy, driven mad through seeing a little too much.

A funeral pyre and a farewell for Martha. I think this sequence is well written and performed and gives Martha some dignity after some of the indignities thrown at her throughout the series. She’s grown up – she makes a decision that’s good for her.

It’s funny, but I think watching just the RTD episodes in this retrospective helps to put Martha into context. I think RTD knew exactly what he wanted to do with the character, and wrote her well.

I think some of the briefing to other writers may have been not that good. The repetition of longing and rejection undermined what is a very good character. What’s peculiar about Martha is that she’s just so unselfish. The Master calls her the “Blessed Saint Martha” and there is something very unselfish about her (whereas Rose could be very selfish). Martha wants to do good (as a Doctor), is centred, reliable, dependable. When she comes against something she wants for herself, she’s rejected, and that sense of rejection seems to define her in some minds. It’s a shame really that her better qualities tend to be overshadowed and selfless actions can become perceived weaknesses. Very Odd.

I think the longing/rejection in some earlier stories outght to have been removed. Although only on screen briefly in Blink, the dialogue is jocular an playful. That ought to have been more the norm, leaving the standout moments in the RTD stories and the Family of Blood two-parter, which would not have laboured the point.

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OK – I enjoyed much of Sound of Drums. The idea of the Master doing a timey wimey in the background of series 2 was an interesting thought. Again in a finale we have the idea of the Doctors past actions (often flippant) can come back to bite him on the ass. In 2, he and Rose inadvertantly inspired the formation of Torchwood, which separated them. Here his deposing of Harriet Jones allows a charismatic Time Lord to become elected.

There are some nice pokes at political life in general – authoritarianism, surveillance culture and the facile salesman personae of the modern political elite. For Harold Saxon, read Tony Blair, David Cameron, amd many others. Politicians who don’t seem to actually believe in much. Would you buy a used policy from those gentlemen? Like Martha says “he sounded nice”.

There are a lot of jokes and references to fan lore about The Master in here. @thekrynoidman, @bluesqueakpip is quite right about the fact that the love angle was very popular in certain fan circles. There are slash fictions about the Third Doctor and The Master which are probably older than you! 😀 I think that was the purpose of lines like:

Doctor: I’ve been alone ever since. But not anymore. Don’t you see? All we’ve got is each other.
Master: Are you asking me out on a date?

Another popular one was that the Doctor and the Master were brothers. So you have:

Martha: I thought you were going to say he was your secret brother or something.
The Doctor: You’ve been watching too much TV.

There are a few parallels with official Master lore and “might-have-beens” as well. The Doctor locking the TARDIS controls to only allow limited travel is summed up as:

Martha: The only place he can go is Planet Earth. Great!

Which mirrors the Third Doctor stranding The Master on Earth (and taking a great deal of joy in that fact). Delgado watching The Clangers becomes Simm watching the Teletubbies.

I think the plot about Marthas family in jeopardy lacks some power. Frankly they were a big disparate group, we hadn’t got to know them that well, and none of them were particularly engaging (in a Rose’s mum kind of way).

I still get a thrill from the “This is Gallifrey” sequence. A great soaring piece of music and the modern audience gets its first look at Gallifrey and the “noble” race of Time Lords (no chortling, you older fans). More comic book references by lifting the untempered schism from Alan Moore’s 4D War from Doctor Who weekly.

Nice jokes about the Special relationship with the glory seeking President Winters pulling “rank”. And we’re all on the Valiant, with the Doctor discovering a Paradox machine built from the TARDIS.

Goodbye President Winters and hello Toclofane. I find the child voices for the Toclofane a bit tiring actually. Not a fan. And then we have the sight of The Master and Missus freaking out to the Rogue Traders “Voodoo Child”. He’s determined to prove, like Christopher Eccleston before him, that Time Lords “dance”.

Excellent use of the word decimate. I doff my fez.

I shall be back later, once I’ve watched the second part.

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@thekrynoidman @bluesqueakpip

I think the way the Master is presented here is probably not my preference. I think you could say that the Third Doctor (summoning Holmes) had his Moriarty, the Tenth Doctor (summoning Batman) had his Joker. An over-the-top homicidal prankster. It seems a very post-millennial thing, but its roots are firmly in those 80s comics, like Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke.

RTDs Master, Ledger’s Joker, Moffs Moriarty, etc. Some people really like the approach, and it can work, but I think it needs to be balanced with cold menace and occasional bouts of reflection. I think those moments are in this two parter, but tend to be overshadowed. They were really absent in his return and that was when I thought the damage was really done.

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I’d just like to post a grateful thanks to the England football (as I believe it’s called) team!

Look lads. You did your best. You played your hearts out. You dreamed impossible dreams, and, in the end, fulfilled my own impossible dream.

You kept it short.

Congratulations.

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@bluesqueakpip

Steven Moore is “just this guy” as Zaphod’s physiatrist says. When Sue Townsend died a few months ago I went back to the Adrian Mole TV series and completely forgot Steven Moore was his dad! Every time I come across him it’s “Hello Steven Moore”. He’s really good, but it seems oddly appropriate that his most famous role is a voice only part. 😀 Truly astonishing (and very undervalued) actor though.

@whisht

Oh don’t get me started on Pamela in Superman III. What a thing to do to a teenager. She ought to be on a register.

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This video is more than a little odd. I remember the track being likened to Black Sabbath channelling The Beatles, which actually seemed really appropriate. The video is a tirade against those gated suburban communities in the US.

Black Hole Sun – Soundgarden

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@theimpossiblegirl

Welcome to the site! Pick a soufflé, plonk yourself down, help yourself to a nourishing cup of tea.

If you are a fan of the Fifth Doctor, tell us your favourite story of his if you’re minded. We’re currently trying to decide on a good story to do a retrospective on him (see upthread), and all votes matter.

Cheers!

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Loving the XTC and Buddy Holly double bill from @whisht and @thekrynoidman.

I’m in the mood for oddness this weekend. When aren’t I? This bloke is the son of yer’ actual physicist who didn’t get invited to those sort of parties and dies early – having given us the “many worlds” or parallel worlds theory. His son buggers about with instruments and is much more successful. Shows you how life works doesn’t it?

The story about this is weird. Not only did Mark Everett have his dad die early on, but his sister committed suicide shortly before this was written. The studio were that fearful of this track it wasn’t released officially in the US. Only in the UK and the glorious land of OZ, where it became a minor hit, leaving the record company thinking D’oh! as it became one of the early digital music pirates across frontiers.

Odd.

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@blenkinsopthebrave

I have a cool one slipping very nicely down the throat at the moment, so good luck on your own “beer o’clock” search.

Just on the episodes, I think we’ve tried to keep it as inclusive as possible for those who prefer to buy the DVDs as opposed to just accessing a digital feed. I think that’s why we’ve tried to highlight deals on DVDs wherever possible. For some people, like Stevethewhistle (when he’s available) – he doesn’t contribute to stories he does not have. I can understand the philosophy.

I think that’s why discussion of a watch list is so valuable and I welcome feedback. I’ve got virtually everything on DVD and VHS but there is such a variety of special editions, box-sets and others you can forget that other people may not have access to the same material.

For instance, one of HTPBDETs suggestions (which a few of us opposed) was to feature single episodes from multiple stories for the first and second Doctors. I didn’t think that was in the spirit of the review (which tended to focus on the story “warts’n’all”) and would have required a major investment for people who prefer to purchase the DVD.

Ultimately it’s a balance, but I think we always try to even out choices to stories that – on DVD – are available in deals/box-sets and Mid-price (about £5-6).

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@jimthefish

and Rodney Bewes! Don’t forget Rodney Bewes.

Yeah – whatever happened to James Bolam? We need him in modern Who to complete the set of The Likely Lads! 😀

Not seeking to sway the vote, but I think the Earthshock point is well made. Sometimes familiarity breeds contempt. Earthshock was an immediate “classic”, but its surprises are pretty well known now. I think, just behind Earthshock, @bluesqueakpip highlights the problem with Kinda. While people laughed at it in droves at the time, (I winced at the “special effects”, but genuinely liked the story) it soon became a serious proposition for “study”. I can’t help but think I can’t add anything to what has already been discussed about it )on other fora). This doesn’t stop me from enjoying either story though, and if they get enough votes, I’m in, and I’ll try to inject the familiar with my usual idiocy.

The others are all less walked territory.

I like the suggestion about pairing Black Orchid and The Awakening to makes a four episode story, but wonder if we could take that further in the future, and put them together with the other (rare) 2x 25minute stories like Edge of Destruction & The Sontaran Experiment to look at story duration. These come closest to the modern episode length so, possibly, ask if there are significant differences? It may make an interesting BG retrospective against an AG retrospective consisting of “one-off” writers like Rob Shearman, for example.

Visitation is pure Fifth, complete with problems with the packed Tardis. And @bluesqueakpip is correct in that Michael Robbins as the fruity Richard Mace is a brilliant and memorable turn by a guest star.

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It’s Friday, it’s half past three, after a long hot gruelling week. That must make it ….. a quarter to beer o’clock?!  Something like that anyway.

Unbelievably, as we approach the third episode of the Fourth Doctors City of Death, we need to turn out attention to the first full Doctor of the eighties, Peter Davison, and work out – just what will do the auteur who came up with The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot justice?

Last time we picked his swansong, Caves of Androzani, an untypical “Five” episode for many reasons. What now?

Here are some of the stories which I’ve collated from mentions in a “hey – could we cover?” way in the past, but if you prefer any other five story, let us know.

Story (Episodes)	Notes
Kinda (4)	Thrills! Spills! Gobby Australian! Nerys Hughes! The Doctor confronts the Dark places of the inside, with a dose of eastern philosophy thrown in.
The Visitation (4)	Thrills! Spills! Gobby Australian! An alien presence in the 17th century up to no good.
Earthshock (4)	Thrills! Spills! Attempts to surprise an audience abound in this story, which is possibly the equivalent of “Genesis of the Daleks” for Four, in that it’s the one most written about.
The Arc of Infinity (4)	Thrills! Spills! The return of a Gobby Australian who was a sucker for punishment! High Jinks on Gallifrey and possibly a timely reminder about a time when seeing a forthcoming Doctor in another role wouldn’t raise an eyebrow.
Enlightenment (4)	Thrills! Spills! Gobby Australian! Really odd ships! The close of “The Guardian Trilogy” sequence of stories.
The Awakening (2)	Thrills! Spills! Short! Gobby Australian! An ancient evil comes back to threaten a small village….and – the world!

It occurs to me from this that the Gobby Australian (Tegan) was possibly unique because her tenure was only one story short of the total of the Doctor she was most associated with.

Weird, after our conversations about comedy performers, I’ve only just remembered that Five saw the appearance of both of the first “Liver Birds” (a Carla Lane sitcom) with Nerys Hughes in Kinda and Polly James in The Awakening.

All input for the choice gratefully received. Remember – anything is up for grabs. We have a week to nominate, and the winner will be decided on the weekend for the last part of the City of Death.

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Late night evening tuck with more Hitch Hikers, and this second episode introduces us to the other main cast elements.

Some of the jokes and references are time and place. The stuff about digital watches for instance. 01 telephone numbers for London! What surprises me though is how much more of it is still relevant.

The opening segment regarding the small green pieces of paper for instance is still very funny, with Douglas, as @craig suggests, going full monty for our entertainment (he always claimed they couldn’t pay anyone to do it, but any excuse 😀 ).

Just to add for Adams spotters, his face is the template for the animated Marketing Exec for the Sirius Cybernetic Co-orperation and, allegedly, Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings was supposed to be Adams in drag.

Who was Paula Nancy Millsone Jennings? No-one. The name was different in the Radio and was real. Paul Neil Milne Johnstone was a schoolfriend of Adams, and was indeed a poet. Paul asked him to change the name for other versions because he was already getting stick.

Arthurs attempt to review the poetry positively always gets a giggle. With creative review skills like that, Arthur should really have a job at the Guardian Culture Section. Death can to too good for some of them as well.

I really like The Southend “unreality” sequence. Because it’s supposed to be an extreme the dated fx still suit the surreal, as legs drift off into the sunset and Ford goes penguin. And those infintite monkeys with their script for Hamlet.

It’s the former Mrs Peter Davison (and mother-in-law of David Tennant) Sandra Dickinson as Trillian – like Ford, a controversial choice for some fans of the radio show. Douglas Adams was, at first, reluctant himself, but suggested he grew to love her approach.

Physicists don’t get invited to those sort of parties it seems. Happily for me, Chemists get invited to those sort of parties all the time. We’re infamous for it.

And it’s Marvin! Groaning, grumbling Marvin. Probably my favourite character in the Hitch Hikers Universe. We have another Doctor Who link here, with Stephen Moore doing a great piece of voice work, dripping with disdain and resignation.

“Here I am, brain the size of planet, and dressed up as a lizard.”

Again, it’s the extra aspects you can do with the visualeffects, and a bit more budget on audio which expands the book entries – I love the “Your plastic pal whose fun to be with!” jingle.

And Mark Wing Davey as Zaphod. Brilliantly bewildered and childlike.

“If there’s anything more important than my ego around here, I want it caught and shot now”

The Second head – not great is it? I’m sure many of my generation remember it being bigged-up as a technological marvel on the science show Tomorrow’s World. Yeh. The clip is on the DVD collection (and can still provoke a chuckle from me.

And – with the introductions over, can’t wait till next week.

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@arbutus

Definitely a bit of a poke.

It’s a kind of joy to see it in action. All the Doctors have that ability to poke their enemies but some like the Fourth and Fifth just do it so elegantly that you have to bow down.

@bluesqueakpip

All I can say is that you are adorably bluesqueakpipy and if we could mine your intellect we would be a richer nation. Is that enough crawling?!

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@bluesqueakpip

That’s the point about theology – always changing the goalposts.

Would you care for a drink? You’re a beautiful poster. Probably.

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@bluesqueakpip

The Futurekind, it’s rumoured, were recruited from such terrifyingly tough extras that no acting was required in the chase scenes. There was no way the regular cast wanted that bunch to actually catch them.

Brilliant. That’ll get the running (in a heroic, coat flapping kind of way)!

I have to say that I do find RTD’s perpetual pessimism bloody depressing when seen weekly.

That actually surprises me. I think there is a streak of black humour (and high incidental death count) which runs through his episodes, but largely I’ve found a kind of humanitarian stream in the endings that balances them to this point. I’d say this (and the follow ups from memory) are his darker days.

Most seem to have an optimistic tone at the end (although transfering one problem to the other seems to muddy the issue).

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@craig

That’s the joy of opening a thread – you can always get the best lines in first!

In these retrospectives, I’ve tried to explain the joy of seeing various incarnations of the Doctor goad enemies in different ways. I think this highlights this era of the Fourth Doctors “wilful offensive insouciance”, and isn’t it a weapon of mass destruction?

This Doctor is so cool in that meeting, he doesn’t only know where his towel is, he knows where everybody else’s is as well. Taking over the drinks, organising the seating as he does the introductions, grinning like a loon. It’s guaranteed to get your goat, and is a massive weapon in his armoury.

“You’re a beautiful woman… probably.”

Always quoted by the Keep Doctor Asexual Society as evidence of the Doctors ambivalence towards attraction, I see this as another offence. The Countess knows she’s good looking, and the Doctor is talking (to me) about the physical v. mental. She’s cruel and venal mentally.

I love the early attempt to pair Duggan with Romana. That’s germ warfare isn’t it?

The Chicken or the egg question? Simple. If you are a creationist – you think the chicken came first (God created the animals, etc). If you are anyone else, and follow Darwin, the egg came first, being laid by a flightless bird that was similar, but not genetically exact to a Chicken.

Did you know that effect of the egg/chicken regression (and the sound effect) was mirrored in the Red Dwarf ep “DNA” when Arnold Rimmer was condensed to Chicken form?

Duggan really is a thick ape isn’t he.? He’s clearly a hardman, kicking a cheap wall in still makes him look a bit mental. Then the Doctor ticking him off. Before he disables the countess with a Ming Vase. (How do you know it’s Ming ? you flick it with your finger and it goes “Miiiiiiiiiiiing”).

So back to visit Leonardo and a bit of unexpected colour. It’s the Count! My theory, after seeing series 7 was that he jumped into the Doctors grave at Trenzilore and was splintered through time!

What about yours?

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@thekrynoidman

That was a lovely tribute to the man, although to be honest he’s not quite my favourite Master, that would be Peter Pratt, although Delgado is a very, very, close second.

Many, thanks but – you’re dead to me……. 😉

No, I love Delgado first, but I think Pratt did a fantastic voice performance behind that mask. I was at a convention in the late 80s in which Terrance Dicks talked about Deadly Assassin (because he worked so closely with Robert Holmes).

He said the original pitch had the Doctor going back, facing a Time Lord conspiracy, and the Doctor not knowing which one of the normal looking Time Lords was the Master. So it became a “whodunnit/whoisit” affair. Philip Hinchcliffe was concerned it wasn’t “monstrous” enough, so the concept of the decaying Master was born, and the “whodunnit” became the story of his accomplice.

Rumour, and Wikipedia, still records the fact that Pratt was recruited for his voice behind the mask, but Dicks said he was always on the cards because of his looks and physical performance. It would have been great to see the original play out, I think.

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@wolfweed

Utopia was written as a sort of continuity-fest or Fan-’Porn’. RTD was concerned that this would kill the ratings but he needn’t have worried.

That line about “nobody knows nothing” in TV and film comes to mind, doesn’t it? I think he played it very well – by this time the new show had its own mythology and it could afford to be self-referential and expand the horizon to include something like the Master.

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@thekrynoidman

Yes I definitely get that feeling, and I think RTD (& probably SM) know that streak well. Largely, it doesn’t matter if you know the material or not to the story they tell, but it seems like a little bit of a reward.

@wolfweed pointed out last week the mood patches were from another spin-off book called Only Human (for the ninth Doctor) and I’ll add that 42s sentient sun had a couple of antecedents in Who spin-off books (the Eighth Doctor novel Beltempest comes to mind).

I just really find it interesting following those strands of where ideas come from. When I watch Series 3, it’s so full of them that I can’t help thinking that Russell thought he’d have a bit of fun now he had a successful product. In particular, I think he wanted to reference a lot of spin-off comics, novels, short stories and influences because they helped keep Doctor Who alive during the Gap. Don’t know for sure, but it’s a nice thought and I hope it’s true. I think knowing people love to spot references will mean sites like this spread the word and the original material may get a bit more interest.

Just on your point on Jacobi though, I think you’ll see I fully agree. In fact I wrote a tribute to Roger Delgado last year in which I think if Jacobi had continued, he could have nailed the character for a new generation. I think he would have been epic against Capaldi.

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I mentioned Doctor Who weekly and this story had a couple of resonances. I know I’ve been banging on about similarities since Smith and Jones, but I do find it quite interesting that Series 3 wore its influences on its sleeve probably more than any other series.

I mentioned the call-outs to 2000AD, you have the Shakespeare-fest, you have a remix of a couple of classic Dalek story strands (human/dalek factors, etc) which lead on to summoning the ghost of Quatermass Experiments monster in the abbey for Lazarus Experiment. You have the deliberate real-time structure of Jack Bauers 24 remixed as 42. You have Paul Cornell revisiting his New Adventure novel, and Steve Moffat using elements of his Sally Sparrow short story “What I did on my Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow”

With Utopia, there appears to be an echo of a Fourth Doctor comic strip from Doctor Who Weekly, which we know Russell liked. The writer was Steve Parkhouse and the art by Dave Gibbons.

The End of the Line sees the Fourth Doctor materialise at some future point of Earth seeking a pleasant time. He lands in a subway system and narrowly avoids being splattered by a train before meeting his welcoming committee. Unfortunately they are mutated feral cannibals who inhabit this underground and they hunt him down. There is no respite overground as it’s a radioactive, polluted nightmare. The inevitable happens.

Thankfully, he’s saved by Angel, and taken to the refuge of the last of the humans. He meets an old man who goes by the name of The Engineer, who has a dream to seek sanctuary, but is having a problem diverting one of the automated trains to a new track to lead them to salvation.

Well, the Doctor is a dab hand at this sort of thing, and while under attack from the mutant cannibals, he manages to divert the system and send them on their way, at personal risk. Narrowly avoiding being eaten, he manages to make it back to the TARDIS.

He can’t leave. He wants to know if they made it to their Utopia.

I think Utopia really does have echoes of this, especially when you consider the eventual fate of those who “escape” in Utopia (to be revealed later). It was the first Doctor Who story I think with such a downbeat ending. Sometimes, the destination possibly isn’t worth it, strive as you might. It’s collected in this graphic novel collection.

And before anybody asks – yes, I am bored by all the World-Cup coverage. 😀

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As we’re skipping a lot of episodes, I’ll briefly run through the episodes between Gridlock and Utopia. Gridlock (which I’ve stated I genuinely love) was a good high point, and then I think it struggled for a while.

I thought Daleks in Manhatten/Evolution of the Daleks, The Lazarus Experiment and 42 were OK (there was no fear her here) with some strong ideas, but the execution and some variable performances here and there made them a bit unfulfilling. The main strands picked up continuing references to Mr. Saxon, reminders of the Time War and the Doctors status of last of his kind and, unfortunately, Marthas ongoing state of rejection.

Then we had what I’m going to refer to as the triumvirate of awesomeness. Human Nature/Family of Blood is just a great execution of a previously good idea, with a host of stand-out performances. Blink is just clever TV full stop. More reminders and expansion of Time Lord lore.

So to Utopia, and I think the strands really started to come together. Actually probably a bit sooner than we anticipated as the previous two series had a definite two part ender. This does blur the line.

I like Jacks reintroduction here in the intro and his breakneck run towards the TARDIS, to hang on to the exterior as it enters the Time vortex. To the year one hundred trillion, which looks a bit gloomy.

And it’s Derek Jacobi (always a pleasure, Sir) who dresses a little bit retro for a man of the future. I don’t know how many of you have watched Scream of the Shalka, but he played a character called the Master in it, you know. Here he’s showing his versatility. Obviously more compassionate, and a little bit bumbling as he realises someone has arrived on the planet.

The big ‘ol reunion in Team Tardis is quite entertaining. Martha gets her “you leave us behind” revelation from Jack, gets to show a bit of tiredness at the Rose-love (unlike some earlier episodes, well done). And Jack and Martha get the wrong end of the stick about companions (or do they?).

Martha: Is that what happens though, seriously? You just get bored of us one day and disappear.
Jack: Not if you’re blonde.
Martha: Oh she was blonde! Oh, what a surprise.

Because in Who history, you’re statistically less likely to have fun in the TARDIS if you’re blonde. Jo? Romana II (at a real stretch). Maybe that was why Rose was special. He was waiting for the first full on treated blonde to come along? 😀

The Futurekind look appropriately nasty with much licking of lips and sharpened teeth as they consider a human hunt. The resulting dash to safety is chase-y enough, with Tennant and Barrowman obviously having a competition to see who can get their coat flapping in the most heroic way.

I love some aspects of the set design. The camp looks run down and dirty, the Professors lab a cornucopia of the odd. Jacobi is on fine form here. Yana is charming and a bit odd. The intro between Doctor and Professor is pretty fun. Love the line about “A hermit with friends?” “Hermits United, we meet every ten years. Swap stories about caves. It’s good fun – for a hermit”.

So the good Professor has a dream. To convey his people to sanctuary – Utopia. As a former young reader of Doctor Who weekly, some aspects of this story are starting to resonate.

I’ll just say that although I had some reservations about Jack in “full-on” mode, the exchange between him and the Doctor while he’s in the “plot device death room” is really nicely played. A mixture of humour, pathos and playfulness. Intercut with us realising there is something very wrong with Professor Yana.

Ahhh – Martha and her analytical skills. She uses them to good effect here and guides the audience towards the revelation of the watch.

Lovely build up for the reveal – the confused voices of Jacobi & Delgado, the Ainsley chuckle. Pandoras Box in watch form. I think Jacobi firmly earns his money here. His transformation from Yana to the Master, from warmth to cold, from bumbling to controlled is done with a face and a turn. And those eyes.

As I’ve come to like Chanta quite a lot, her death is pretty powerful. As is Tennants performance as he begs entry to his time machine. It really is a shame to see Jacobi depart at this point as he regenerates into John Simm, but Simms immediate portrayal is OK – hasn’t the Doctor always been a bit wiggy after regeneration?

It’s quite a ride this episode. Add it to the triumvirate at the top to form the quadrumvirate of awesomeness for the back end of series 3.

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@juniperfish

You’re surely not going so swim in here, flash your scales, and leave are you? There’s nothing out there but fusballs I tells ye!

At least give us your levels of anticipation for Series 8! 😀

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@rob

Sterling work mate. Excellent suggestion from @whisht for call signs.

Good luck with it!

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@jimthefish

You know, even though @bluesqueakpip had clearly put The Avengers (UK) I spent most of yesterday thinking she meant the Joss Whedon movie. It only occurred to me this morning that it was Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman and Sean Connery with a bloody great weather machine. D’oh! Apologies to @bluesqueakpip.

Yes, of course you are both right. I’ll go back to blanking it from my mind now because I don’t think it was that unfairly maligned. 😀

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@thekrynoidman (from Rose & Crown)

That’s interesting about the Horror Channel showing films like Twisted Nerve. I don’t have access to it unfortunately.

I guess at 20 you probably missed the last great series of retrospectives on BBC, which went between 1988 and 2000?

It was a strand on BBC2 called Moviedrome. Basically Alex Cox (or later Mark Cousins) would introduce the movie, providing opinion and a lot of related stuff about the film-makers. It was a really eclectic choice (which this list mostly covers).

They could really do with doing something like that again. It was a always a quirky choice, and although I can’t say I enjoyed everything it was never dull. People really did like it (as this Den of Geek review probably demonstrates).

I knew a lot of the films before, but it still introduced me to stuff that I would never have probably considered watching, like the really freaky Society, which I’ve put the intro to below. If you watch it in Youtube, you’ll see most of the other intros have been uploaded at some point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr5dJaeP5Dk

[PhaseShift @replies Time Lord]

@craig

Oh, that’s excellent detective work on Konga. I’m going to have to bookmark that in case I’m ever in the mood for trying something that may be really awful. 😀

@blenkinsopthebrave

I’d forgotten that bit from the end of series 3 of Fringe. I know at the time some people thought it may be related to the same FX company that did the Fantastic Four film. A small shot here.

@thekrynoidman

Thanks for the info on the Horror Channel. I’ll put a response to you in the film thread, if you don’t mind.

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