[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@dentarthurdent

‘Duck. Sally Sparrow!’ Well the Doctor’s got Sally’s notes. Which presumably mention Wester Drumlins so The Doctor either had to go or set up a paradox, or he (more likely) he forgot. All Moffat’s first run of stories were super but Blink was genius level. The best thing you can say about Sally and Larry is it was downbeat, that she was another casualty of The Doctor, a rejected companion (whereas Martha was the unwillingly platonic companion) or that the relationship was somehow in memoriam of Kathy. And, of course, a return to ‘Sparrow and Nightingale.’ But this was a naked man she met wandering about Kathy’s… and I’m surprised Moff didn’t have more fun with the fact that Sally didn’t know Larry was Kathy’s brother. Probably wouldn’t work. We don’t know if Sally and Larry are happy (no don’t do it Carey) but actually it was a faux happy ending.

So maybe Sarah (not Laura) and Nick is faux happy too. Because using a Self Store as a trophy room is quite nasty. And it does seem a bit desperate. And something else is needed to resolve something so mean (if it was intentional) but this a feature of Chib… he can be quite cruel. Unless it’s signalling the Thasmin queer baiting to come? (it is) Maybe an after after sequence with useless Jeff?

But it was good. It would have held up under another show runner. Chib is probably better at stand alones than arcs. 42 was based on the concept of 24 of course. Sentient suns is a reference to Masters of The Vortex. More EE doc Smith please. It was  competent chase with peril, not in a hurry to rewatch. Power of Three was about as good as Chib got… the Shakri was like dry run for The Ravagers unless he sprang fully formed with the mighty cerebral cortex of Berkoff.

Anyway, far better than the Silurian two parter which could have been done in one ep (though the realisation of the lizards was far better than the Sea Devils… just started that one). And as for the Dinosaur epic miss…

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@dentarthurdent @nerys

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

But not all Who falls apart upon inspection. And this was ok. Sally Sparrow and the geek from Blink were an unlikely couple too. Why can’t unlikely people get together and have unsatisfactory relationships which we mercifully don’t then witness? Getting zapped eight times in fifty minutes might well make you less fussy about with whom you jump into a taxi. My point is more that the set-up almost deserved something more, because the cold start was as good writing as we’ve had from Chib.

So I get the ‘moral’: chuck the duff job, bin the junk, new year, new start, live. And Yaz/Doc therefor is also teased, with the Tardis as a taxi. And Dan the gooseberry. You see, Moff and RTD could throw Xmas shapes and everyone knew where they were. Chib had been bumped onto hangover day.

It’s my tastes that demand something more downbeat for Sarah and Nick, and I’m sure Aisling and Adjani would have relished something more… ‘twisty.’ Don’t ask me what.

But Eve is stage 1 of its own 3 part mini series. Chib doesn’t want to peak too soon and keen to present his dalek kill fest thought experiment in sharp relief rather than blur it with a more nuanced resolution. That makes Eve a competent Chib story like 42 or Power of Three, slightly off kilter but not worthy of a foot through the screen.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@dentarthurdent

Eve of The Daleks

Thank you. You rescued me from 5; I was about to watch Warriors of the Deep, just to snigger at The Myrka. This is MUCH better. It comes with a high rep. The long cold start works. Chib’s dialogue practically sparkles. The set-up intrigues. It has urgency. Everyone… well five people… get zapped again and again. And in the end, when the loop closes, they will all be dead, permanently. Oooh Peril.

Written in a hurry due to lockdown production problems which also explains the cast of not very many. Less is more.

Overall, this IS about as good as the very best bits of T’floox, or Villa of The Bad Boys, maybe some parts of other eps, but not MUCH. It seems to me the sense, built around contracting time loops, is lost half way through.

Now you might say I’m not being fair; always running Chib down. What’s wrong now? The fam is under control, the daleks reduced to their primary function, people running down corridors. And the end of the Universe is not on the menu. Whoopie! Should be fine.

Well yes, Dan and Yaz almost function like real people, if it wasn’t that Yaz is reduced to an existence dependent on The Doctor, every seven minutes or so. Or six… five… yeah. Moff got crucified for that didn’t he? Then Dan gets misty eyed about the belle epoque and stops to give Yaz the talk. That’s right, everything stops. The running. The zapping. Problem is, this is a red flag for the rapidly decreasing time available to the doomed as we rush towards the end. I know it’s a metaphor for lives on hold, for the love lorn and Yaz, and it does come with some kind of in-narrative explanation. I could always rewind and put text on, and take notes. But I’m not going to.

Also eight zaps and the Doctor didn’t start to regenerate once.

Oh and there’s STILL northern stuff happenin all over: calm down calm down, whippets, parkin, Blackpool, ee that black pudding’s black.

As for Chib’s love lives of random people, it’s bearable for about a page: the set up, it’s agreeably weird. Oooh. What are you going to do with all this then Chris? Oh. That. You know, for all Chib’s digs at awkward singletons: hoarding, duff new years eves, naggy parents, I can’t help but think Sarah’s initial instincts about Nick were not entirely wrong. Well, I suppose inventing a new character that’s supposed to walk and talk for a whole hour but no more must be tough… but it’s not something Moff ever had that much of a problem with.

The daleks… when Chib first put pen to paper this time, top of the page must have been, ‘what about five people zapped to death what? Forty times between them in an hour?’ THAT is the hook. It’s new ground. Reductio ad absurdum. Actually it’s horrible. And repetitive, and wearing. More is not more. What point is Chris really trying to make? Or is he at all?
Jeff is apparently slang for someone arrogant and manipulative. So it can’t be that.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

Mara Stories.

I suspect the snakes were about to raise their heads… whenever we get underway again.

So, early 1980’s… other people may have different views but the three ‘peaks’ of the Davison era must be ‘Caves’, and Chris Bailey’s Mara Stories. I know Earthshock had impact (see what I did there) but to say it was flawed would be a mumbling understatement.

There again, flawed and Who go together, even in the age of Nuwho. 1970’s: The Robots of Death rests on the premise that a lunatic wants to kill people using Robots. 2007: The Doctor has to set up a video call with a 38 year delay in Blink and it’s not preposterous at all. Don’t spoil the fun.

Opinion: Earthshock is NOT fun because the dialogue is ridiculous and the various parts of the story never really join up. Caves IS fun because the dialogue zings, the direction is brilliant and little touches like John Normington’s strange asides to camera somehow… work. The trapped Peri subplot is appallingly exploitative but it IS of it’s time, I suppose. The Magmabeast… is it worse than Mestor or The Myrka or The Tractators?

Therein lies the big problem with both Mara stories. The snake is BAD. This was the early 80’s; Michael Grade would soon have to decide if Buck Rogers or Dennis Watts would be the future. Who apparently demanded monsters even when, like Magmabeast or Primord, they weren’t necessary.

Beyond that, this is a matter of suspending belief… when credence and storytelling itself is the issue. The monster IS the mind. Any mind. It can manifest in innocence. It can be conquered and then recover itself through arrogance, indolence and complacence.

Kinda is revered and Snakedance, in comparison, rather denigrated… by the critics: the fans love both. I can’t see the difference. What is that about?

If you want to knock either, go ahead. This is the birth of woke, I suppose. Colonialism bad. Elites bad. Militarism bad. Scientific method bad… depending on your perspective. Spiritual enlightenment… that gets about as good as you can get.

Now, this not really Who of the past or the future.This could cut Mary off at the knees and garner a tumbleweed moment at a Tory Party Conference. Do fans really want to hear The Doctor called an idiot, or have him locked up for hours on end, or see a companion (Nyssa) sidelined for entire episode presumably because 5 rescued her from being an android and no-one told the script-writers…? Apparently they did, because it gets a thumbs up well on the way to the scale of Blink. Well done Jonathan! Not sure how you did it. Eric then. Thank you for not going violently doolally, unless it was actually intended to be a sunday school picnic until Tegan started chewing on her strawberry lace and the snake vomited various flavours of Angel Delight in soft focus.

Also, Simon Rouse and Richard Todd are brilliant in Kinda, bearing in mind the parts would be completely impossible to play straight. Martin Clunes in Snakedance is a revelation. He not simply sold teenage ennui effortlessly but made it more sexy than Nyssa’s new kit or Tegan’s really rather fetching shorts. Not that I ever took my eye off the ball.

But Chris Bailey throws everything at both stories and the actors respond. There’s so much there that you might think ‘oh it’s too much, how the hell could the count them out and count them back establishment’ cope. But everyone, with a remote interest in the show, approved. If Russ tried that today you should expect a tirade.

Just good writing, good acting, be careful with the effects.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

Moff… I come to praise Moff not bury him.
There were those who thought he was too clever. Clever in the Nuwho is what psychobabble was to Classic.

There were those who missed Tennant. Tennant was the new Tom. Interesting that Hinchcliffe/Holmes are never really praised for ‘making’ Tom. Most of those who say ‘I liked Tennant’ probably wouldn’t know who Stephen Moffat was.

There were the ‘big friendly red button’ and ‘no body dies’ issues.

There was the ‘writing for women’ thing. I can’t say Moff’ and Amy was worse than the way RTD wrote Martha. And Donna was only ‘rescued’ from cliche by Tate’s comic talent. Of course, Amy brings Rory with her. THAT is the point. Surely?

River IS more psychopath than woman. That’s an odd statement and it’s an odd statement by the writer. BUT great writing? I don’t think anyone blinked.

Clara is very odd. A guardian angel? At this point I can understand some people getting fidgety. In hindsight. For a long time she was a mystery wrapped in an enigma. So much so, you do think ‘why write that?’ I say meta. Others go straight for the ‘offensive’ button. And Moff DOES raise the older man question with 12. And he is there in the sacred cattle byre wielding a meat cleaver: kissograms, child abduction, religion, WW1, Bechdel Test…

Good writing? You bet. Did he garner lots of praise as well? Certainly.

Is he writing about aspects of himself? This is the real accusation. It’s a sci-fi show. Ideas. Where do you get them? You can only have so many bases under siege. You can make daleks levitate and then what? But people who go on and on about emotional depth are soap addicts. Cos where people get emotional. They just think they can call themselves critics.

If there wasn’t other stuff happening at the Corp, it might not matter. But there’s always stuff happening at The Corp. If the alternative had worked, I wouldn’t be writing this. But Whittaker came with Chibnall and vice versa. Maybe a Lady12 could have been Fay Marsay. Or… Freema? Or Orla Brady??!

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

Yes bring in Billie as the Doctor. If Maxil can become 6, Caecilius becomes 12, & 10 becomes 2 other versions of himself, why not? I can no more understand the voices saying ‘no. Not happened yet. Can’t be real. La la lala la!’

As to… WHY? I assume Rose represents something to the Doctor… and you might as well call it love. And 6 represented a pompous functionary, 12 was the potential to act, & 10 was vanity and arrogance.

Or Rose is just the show eating itself. Bottom of barrel – scraper; scraper… bottom of barrel. Just putting it out there.

I will add a postscript re the Moff debate ‘On the Sofa.’ After all, Moff only ever wrote The Moment for Billie.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@whohar

‘Moff the marked man’… yes I have alluded, heavily. Will try to keep this short.

In respect to romance in Who, Moff couldn’t do anything RTD didn’t really want, so Russ must have been happy with the tone. And he had previously worked with the idea of ‘Rose the perfect companion’ himself. So, forget ‘The Doctor is Gay Man who women like’ schtick. This WAS teased in the past and we knew where it was going to end.

However, Moff gave us MUCH more: potential polyamory in The Doctor Dances, the green eyed god in ‘The Girl in The Fireplace,’  and the Time Traveller’s Wife in ‘Silence in the Library.’ Some people harrumphed but, the ratings were stellar and everyone looked forward eagerly to the next marvelous Moff outing.

The problem with Moff, as a friend said to me, is that he was the best writer under RTD and the best writer under Moff. He’s spread more thinly; the average will come down. And he hadn’t got Tennant. The red tops, who like nothing more than to point out the obvious, point this out. But there are questions raised about romance and kid’s programs, and teasing romance, and how female companions are written. So, Moff does what RTD shied away from and creates the perfect companion, or he gets The Silence to do it… a Psychopath! And Amy becomes his mother in law. She even says that.

This seems to fail the Bechdel test. Epically. There’s not many women on Moff’s rota of writers, and the Corp is peering nervously at storm clouds: Saville, Hall, Harris. They must know the salaries issue is round the corner.

The first real critical moans start in series seven. Was the Paternoster Gang angling at a spin-off? If so, they ain’t buying it. And WHAT is Strax doing there? Really?? ‘Nightmare in Silver’ is slaughtered by the critics, a bit unfairly I thought, but Moff apparently needs to tighten his grip. The Doctor now has a Snogging Booth and seems to be love bombing Clara. But it’s alright really… cos he’s going to turn into an older man!

Please don’t get me wrong, I think this is ALL great. The Trenzalor arc turned out a bit meh, but otherwise, what is wrong with the critics? The thing is, I am but one small unit in a vast society; some people didn’t think ‘great’ at all. There was a particular objection raised to Clara admiring her own rear view in ‘Listen’! Oh. And this is the series with The Soldier narrative. Moff marks the centenary of The Great War with Cybermen resurrected, flying into the sky and blowing up. I expected outrage… I detected some wincey fixed grins. ‘I am not you boyfriend’ says 12, but Clara still goes behind Danny’s back and gets breathless in a pod chair with Rigsy. Before that, Moff and Mathieson deliver the ultimate digitus impudicus to Bechdel with Maisie and Clara on The Orient Express.

I suspect by the time that was broadcast, Moff was told to wind it in. But, for Moff, the writing is the meta is the things you can’t REALLY have seen, can you? The Doctor recognises a Viking girl and Clara offers to fight him for her. Then he starts talking baby again. Oooh. Did we REALLY see that? Moff predicts Who up to 2020. So, there IS something like Cartmel 2.0 out there. Maybe he was told he couldn’t do the very things we saw/didn’t see/weren’t meant to see/were Meta, but they might yet become the plan. The soufflé isn’t the soufflé, it’s the recipe.

There is a mention of new funding, a streaming deal maybe? We get Husbands of River Song and Doctor Mysterio. But Moff doesn’t get the gig. Maybe he was always going to hand over the baton anyway. How long can you do that job? But it’s more Fin de siècle than the 2009 specials. Whithouse and Gatis get to point pistols at each other in Twice Upon a Time. Series ten, after a fantastic start, seemed rather rushed. Bill becomes a Cyberman, which is jaw-dropping. But also, is this Meta for ‘what does the Corp want from a companion?’ Yes Steven, it’s not you, it’s us. We need a deal, and a Lady Doctor, and she must be squeaky clean.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@dentarthurdent @winston

Rose is a good shout. Billie’s reappearance still seems to mystify the internet ‘World of Gammon.’ So, what’s it all about, eh?

I think Micky the bin is a good place to start. RTD has a sense of humour, something that continues with Cassandra desiccating, Slitheen flatus issues, and Adam need a hole in the head, like a… hole in head. RTD2 should be seen in the same vein. Better than a hole in the head.

Billie being a ‘singer’? Surely it’s more the case of Billie breaking out of her career straightjacket? Good move! I can’t honestly think anyone was seriously sniffy about that. Still, playing opposite major theatrical, film and tv talent. I thought Ecclestone was great and the welcome contrast to all the sniggers. Wouldn’t it have been great if he lasted longer or appeared in 60th anniversary special? But he didn’t like the set-up, which may have included the humour, and by now most people suspect he disliked some cast behaviour.

The romance? Well, The Doctor Danced before you realised it. Previous romance?

Katatina looked on The Doctor as a God, something that disturbed the writers so much they immediately killed her off.

Jamie was keen on Victoria but no-one was keen on Jamie.

Zoe had fun grabbing hold of the TARDIS console.

Jo liked Mike and Cliff. Sarah Jane threatened to spit in Harry’s eye.

4/Leela was quite heavily teased. And she did indeed shack up with a Gallifreyan… Rodan or Andred or someone like that.

Romana was a time lady… I wondered when they were going to wheel on a Loom… and Romana 2 and 4 became the fourth wall breaking REAL thing. She indulged his schoolgirl fantasies and everything!

Davison was keen on Nyssa the character. Unfortunately that meant Sarah Sutton was deprived of dialogue and action for AGES. In Snakedance, Nyssa DEFINITELY flirts with 5 and then gets very shirty with him. No good Nyssa. You can wander around Terminus in your underwear for three whole eps and then threaten to work with plague victims, there really is nothing there.

Until 6 and Peri. My theory is there’s no way they could survive their mutual antagonism unless something was going on. Let’s face it the rest of creation is NOT saying no. Or did this have something to do with Eric Saward?

Mel was Ace, and Ace and 7 was actually quite creepy. Be honest.

So 9/10 and Rose is really nothing new. And this is RTD, NOT Moff. Apart from The Doctor Dances.

But Moff became a marked man.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

Series 18 concluded

The Great Entropy Expedition ends with ‘Keeper of Traken’, a story about an ideal society which seems to exist through the force of sheer niceness, and ‘Logopolis’ wherein it is revealed that The Universe is actually kaput and only held together with chewing gum, gaffer tape and Maths. Only then does The Master, no longer Hot Smoked but wearing the skin of Nyssa’s dad, decide to shake the Universe up at, of all places, Jodrell Bank; well, a model of it, just to see if it will give in.

Now, I can’t say I like either of these eps. I saw Keeper first time round and the fantasy stylings struck me as quite dull. At least the writer gave Sarah Sutton some proper lines and Adric promised to be not quite so useless. Logopolis is barking and yet not nearly as enjoyable as The Leisure Hive. Even now, does anyone know what Chris Bidmead was doing with this? Apart from killing off Tom Baker?

But these two were preceded by Warriors’ Gate, which I missed first time round, and comes with a fair rep. It had a difficult gestation with arguments between the showrunners and both writer and director. But it looks, if not stunning, then still very striking.

So, we have arrogant Leonine time-sensitives who Walz off with Romana and K9 after they’ve stuck two furry fingers up at a feeble crew of gitty humans reminiscent of the crew of The Nostromo. And they all live in a yellow submarine… sorry in pocket Universe, like the inside of a ping pong ball. And it’s in an even worse state than our one even after The Master got his mitts on it.

Otherwise, what the hell is happening? I suspect the Lion people (who do remind you of Ashildr’s friend in Woman Who Lived) deliberately shipped the rubbish humans up in the plughole at the end of Universe knowing THEY can get out easy, but the morons can’t because, as K9 keeps reminding us, the Universe is collapsing.

So the cats escape to Valhalla where cat lady Romana decides to feast with them for all eternity. You would have thought that should be Adric, but Lalla would really much rather dodge that vaunted desk job on Gallifrey. At least Adric get’s to deliver the apt and immortal line ‘I feel so useless!’

Then Tardis dematerialises for N Space though it’s not really explained how. The mechanics had supposedly been quite fraught until then. Lost in the rewrite maybe?

The ep is a curiosity, walking the walk well for early 80’s Who, but can’t actually talk. The whole season is a mixed bag, treading water until Tom was gone, without a nailed on classic like City of Death/Ribos Operation/Fang Rock etc. However, each of the next three series did manage one pearl each, even with JNT in full sail; Barry Letts was actually still executive producer for season 18. Having said that, production decisions and poor quality control really began to take their toll after 1981; the Davison seasons also contain at least two utter clunkers each. I won’t be reviewing those!

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

Further on with Series 18: State of Decay

Entropy

A fairly large pocket universe discovered by impossible coordinates.

A smaller one, collapsing.

Hard science at beginning and end.

A supered companion lost and a decidedly un super one gained

Bracketed by hardish (for Who) stories by Fisher and Bidmead; forming a sandwich for some extremely runny Camembert… sorry, fantasy.

Meglos. Do I want to see Tom Baker in cactus form again. No.

Full Circle. Do I want to hear Lalla Ward screaming at rather duff giant spiders. Not really. Alzeria is vaguely reminiscent of the Land That Time Forgot, or perhaps a deconstruction of the spaceship on the hostile planet trope. Which could be clever but I’m not sure anyone got it. I’m not sure I did at the time. And just when you thought you’d seen the last of Adric…

State of Decay. Not seen this before. I was temporarily in a household which objected to Who. It happens.

This story has a mixed reputation. No one is very keen. Some people compare it to The Horror of Hinchcliffe/Holmes but actually that itself could be quite varied. In my opinion, even the detractors are being extraordinarily kind.

It’s a spaceship on a hostile planet story, the hostility coming from a vampire beneath the spaceship which looks like a castle. Double take. WHATT??? THAT’S a SPACESHIP??!!! I would never have guessed. The vampire is the last one of its kind, defeated by The Time Lords at the dawn of time, well before The Jaggeroth, The Carrionites or The Racknoss. There were billions of years to spare in the olden times. Room to spread out and behave irresponsibly, bwahahah: a bit like driving in the 1930’s. Question is, this must be preCambrian at least, so why the folk memory of vampires? Passed on buy molluscs and fungi presumably? What’s with the bats?? And the Vampires are ridiculous. Entropy gets a kind of look in via Grimm’s sound law, so Commander Sharkey becomes Vampire King Zargos. Sigh.

They BIG problem with State of Decay is episode 3. By then, it’s SO obvious what happened/what was going to happen/but no, The Doctor is required to spend most of the ep having a slumber party with K9 gossing about stuff he should know already, but checking the fine print with The Tardis Library, cos you would, wouldn’t you?

Let’s face it, this is stuff that Tom clearly doesn’t want to engage with. There he is, looking at the prospect of the next scene with Matt and Lalla, hair kinda giving up, thinking ‘it’s just me! I might as well be on my own…’

It’s almost worthy of Chib really, though not quite as dire as Underworld. Has no-one realise Underworld was so bad?

Having said that this is the low point, things actually look up after this though the general trend is downhill. But Chris does his best: and no one had yet imagined what the likes of Eric Saward might do to the show.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

The Leisure Hive

I thought I’d indulge myself a bit before diving back into the Chib endgame. The temptation is to luxuriate in Hinchcliff/Holmes but really what does that tell you? Holmes could write dialogue and Mary Whitehouse got unreasonably annoyed. Instead I thought I’d examine the evidence behind my reaction to The Chibnall era, and look at 4’s last series, #18, the start of The Jonathan Nathan Turner’s tenure.

So, Douglas Adams had departed for The Restaurant at The End of The Universe, and Chris Bidmead became script editor, declaring a desire to go back to sci fi basics, and coming across rather like Graham Chapman imploring the rest of the Python crew not to be silly. At the time I thought bring it on. The reality was quite different.

Rather than Manichaean tutelary beings (don’t you just hate those), Chris makes entropy and collapse the season’s theme; this was to be the end of the Baker era. So, no jokes made at the expense of legless daleks or detachable Movellan power packs but actually there’s not really that much science. If Nation and Adams had thought about it, they could have gone for the triple crown in Destiny of The Daleks, and made some very relevant comment about the problem of evolving a biological wheel. Chris’s contribution seems to amount to ‘you better watch out cos I’m sure the chaos is gonna get you, yeah.’ Most of the series actually dabbles unashamedly with fantasy stylings.

The big changes are down to Nathan Turner: question marks on Baker’s collar and a new scarf); new gaudy screechy titles; Adric the Jammy Dodger; K9 blows up repeatedly before it’s finally written out; ugly new synthesised incidental music; and a pitch at the Australian market in the erm body of Janet Fielding. And the ‘Death in Venice’ long panning shot at the start of Leisure Hive was JNT’s idea. Bye Tom. We’re off on holiday!

The Leisure Hive rarely gets a mention and there’s a good reason for that: it is barking mad. David Fisher drops tachyons on us but, quite honestly, this is a Gilbert and Sullivan non stop psychobabble fest. Oh well. Quite a lot of fun though.

So, someone is trying to sabotage the Argolin Leisure Hive, the sole economic activity left to a race defeated and sterilised in a nuclear war. As a metaphor for (pre Thatcherite) post industrial Britain, that’s pretty damn brilliant. Turns out criminal elements of the Argolin’s arch enemies, the Foamasi (not quite an anagram of Mafioso) want to bankrupt the Hive so they can pick it up on the cheap. We get odd glimpses of reptilian claws and eyes, and a human ‘skin’ found hanging in the wardrobe: all unintentionally hilarious.

Then there’s the Argolin’s heads, which resemble ice cream cones crowned with bejewelled top knots. When all the sprinkles have fallen out, the ice cream dies. I assume this is another reference to holidays but then, strictly speaking, Argolins should melt shouldn’t they? Or get attacked by gulls.

Turns out that the Tachyon generator is a front for an attempt by a genetically engineered crypto fascist to clone an army of himself.

Well, this is actually a tasty and powerful mix, sadly a little incoherent, but you have to admire the ambition.

When I first saw The Leisure Hive, on the back of seeing the rerun of City of Death and reading Bidmead’s sci fi manifesto, I wasn’t convinced exactly but I thought I’d give the series a chance. Unfortunately, next up was Meglos and Full Circle. Then I was denied access to a television for a few months. I’ve only just seen State of Decay for the first time. It’s pretty bad.

David Fisher seems to be quite a good writer: I need to check out his work on series 16 and Creature from The Pit.

Did he not want to work with JNT, who did seem to upset a lot of people in a very short space of time? It has also been pointed out that JNT was uncomfortable with established writers. Remind you of anyone?

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@janetteb @winston

earlier companions in opposition to The Doctor.

Not seen the movie for some time; and no plans to soon. So, I’ll start with…

Ace… *not really critical but kind of antagonistic. However, if anything, The Doctor is critical of Ace, as the first ‘supered’ companion. Ok Romana and Susan were technically Time Ladies but hardly supered at all.

Mel… do I have to? Propensity to force feed carrot juice does not equate to criticality.

Peri… ** yes. But can you blame her? The unfortunate outcome of many insane production decisions.

Turlough… *more simply antagonistic and unsympathetic. I suppose you might say the Universe was in a permanent critical position to 5.

Nyssa… not at all. Poor little endling adopted by 5. Literally. But no one ran with the idea, unless there was a brief nod in the change in costume in Snakedance and Mawdryn Undead. 5 ignores her. Equates to negative *

Tegan… *** heck yeah! Too much though. Then she got possessed by The Mara… I always thought that was very undersold by the writers… did JNT lose his nerve? But this was The Fam mark 1; you really don’t want to expend too much mental energy. She finally ran away in abject terror. Can only have been The Mara who dragged her back to The Tardis.

Adric… * toddlers can be critical

Romana… * #1 obvs. Permanently. But non human. Romana #2… interesting in that Baker started off very uncritical and then quite… and then they were married. Did that impact the writing… well Tom was apparently pushing his weight around by then. Romana’s ace card was the psychobabble chorus with 4. Inverse of exposition. The writers couldn’t keep it up.

Leela… * mutual criticality/incompatibility. Trouble was she was so damn useful. ‘Leela! Shank this reprobate good and proper.’ Finally shacked with Andred. Or was she really interested in Rodan?

Sarah Jane… ** could be extremely critical but only when well written. Given ludicrous final story.

Unit mob… not really companions, not even Harry.

Jo… nah

Liz… **oh yeah! But again, underwritten/undersold. What a waste.

Earlier, the production values and show development means the question is very different. And there are many companions I don’t really know. And a lot is missing too.

Zoe, Susan no.

Victoria driven by fear * and Steven, perhaps? He was a handful as I remember.

Jamie, Ian and Barbara** developed in occasional opposition to Doctors 1 & 2 as the titular character developed.

Interesting exercise.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@janetteb

Claudius. I can think of 4 or 5 quite horrible moments, done in such a matter of fact, unshlocky manner that the memory even now is really unsettling. But the ‘principal’ Caligula episode did have one scene, which received so many complaints, the offending seconds were cut immediately by the beeb themselves. And it was never restored. Quite possibly destroyed immediately. I’m not particularly outraged.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@janetteb

Finn finn Phineas Finn. Oh yes.
And I Claudius! I still remember the continuity announcer’s warning before the fall of Sejanus: ‘scenes of bl**dy mayhem!’ I think Jean Luc Picard always looked rather different to British audiences. And Caligula had barely got a look in by that point!

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@nerys @winston

Yes. Exposition, Comic Relief and Critique… could be a useful analytical tool. So, going back in time… criticality indicated by *

Belinda… ** really just a functional companion, being transported from a>b. But revealing of ‘The Doctor Question’ and so a little critical. Not really worked that part of the arc out though.

Ruby… really not critical at all, was she?

Dan… got to look at the last of 13’s specials before I judge. On the face of it mainly scouse.

Yaz… * critical in terms of the incipient relationship with 13.

Chucklegramps and Kid… sigh. Can you have a negative *?

Bill… ** started out very critical and that’s echoed again in Twice Upon, but the second half of that season, before the terrifying finale, was poorly written for Bill.

Nardole… was an alien (technically) and comic relief. Faux critical.

Clara… *** lots of opposition and angst. The most unhuman human companion really.

River… not sure if she’s critical or not. Essentially an alien.

Rory… ** critical at a lower level. Also Doctor proof (see God Complex)

Amy… really only faux critical. Unnaturally forgiving really. Cutie to woobie and back again.

Donna… **** has been called a mouthy cow. Bring it on!

Martha… *** varies but ultimately the spurned companion. Does she quit or has she outgrown him?

Jack… is he a companion? Or beefcake to The Universe? Unless you’re Rory, male criticality doesn’t seem to compute.

Rose… well this interesting. * She is critical but she’s clearly the romantic object and human. In that respect more like Yaz than Martha say.

Is that useful? Might look a classic Who too.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@winston @janetteb

I did dispose of a K9 keyring when our neighbourhood put on a ‘yard sale’ for Oxfam a few weeks back. Bought by a kid who said his mum loves Who.

Life Preservers… I know that’s not what you mean but I immediately think of the Victorian gentlemen’s cudgels ala Anthony Trollope!

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@janetteb

the animated arms are a bit distracting.

I think they should have cut to the remaining actual footage of Oak and Quill’s gas attack (kindly preserved by the Australian censors.) It is still absolutely terrifying.

Your library system sounds impressive!

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

So… Fury from The Deep… the last hour and a bit.

To be frank, and obviously this is animated, the second half didn’t have anywhere near the creep factor of the first. The sonic attack courtesy of Victoria was a long time coming and… just as Moff would have it, no one dies! Nothing for Mary Whitehouse to worry about at all really. But it have been a four parter. And there was some nonsense about mind triumphing over matter…

Production values were different. Victoria’s farewell was affecting. The idea that she was too terrified to continue is an ironic flip to all the gutsy Liz Shaws, Sarah Janes, and Leelas who were given rubbish send offs by writers who just want screamers. In Liz’s case no send off at all! Well not everyone can have a gruesome Peri/Bill demise. Imagine! Married to Brian Blessed! Or watching Harold Saxon preparing a fry up.

The animated helicopter ride does make you wonder what that would have been like in live action. Yes, I think of 12 and the mechanical horse.

Future echoes… not simply base under siege… Inferno, Seeds of Doom, Robots of Death… Waters of Mars, Oxygen, and The Well. My feeling is previous ‘siege’ stories were more monster based whereas these stories deal with primordial. Unfortunately, with Inferno, they tried to make the primordial literally into monsters. I shall never forget the look on Benton’s face…

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@janetteb @whohar

It’s a bind.

On the one hand, why does The Corp insist on trying to ‘set the tone’ for the program? Why CAN’T Who be unashamedly kidult? Because it’s a scratching post for antiwoke, pro-bechdel, anti-exploitative, ‘loadarubbish/don’t understand’, don’t frighten the horses & is this where our license fee goes brigades. Most of the criticism sounds pretty unintelligent to the fan. But the program is made for a larger audience than the fans. What we need to do fight the ‘scratchers.’

There again, setting the tone is definitely part of The Corps job. And the job of whoever partners the funding of the show. Glitzy effects: the realisation of Wild Blue Yonder/The Giggle/Finetime/Lux/Story & Engine/Intergalactic Song Contest… was money well spent; Empire of Death and the Omega Zombie, less so. As long as we don’t get 12 on the back of a mechanical horse again.

The Camp Thing, I think, was a combination of Russ’ natural position, a way of ditching Chib pseudopuritanism, and his pitch to The Corp/Disney… this the way it will look. Shiny. Glitter.
I don’t mind it. The problem was the arcs, in terms of length and the VR thing, but in particular, RTD’s bette noir, the season ends.

Like to hear more about these writers.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

Not really sure if this should be here or on The Winchester. But there is no dedicated Second Doctor forum. And, with all the frightful C21st stuff happening out of the corner of our eye, I thought the faithful could do with something to help remove invaders from The Activity List.

So… Fury From The Deep 1968… the first burgeoning of The Base Under Seige. All lost bar audio recordings, the Tardis landing in the sea , reused in The War Games before it could lost, and Mr Oakes and Mr Quill, expurgated by Australian censors before broadcast (don’t frighten the roos!)

I’ve watched half so far, but for the reasons above, I thought I’d post now.

I’m grateful for the animation because it’s such an important episode… some people may not realise but the immediate impact was huge. This is the ep with the seaweed. I remember the foam, screaming,  and older (mainly female) siblings being genuinely terrified. For another ten years, genuinely scary stories like Inferno, Terror of the Autons, and Ark in Space were compared with this.

You can find the original footage of Oakes and Quill can be found on the net and must be one of the main reasons for its reputation. You might conclude that’s be because intention is to horrify and it works. Mrs Harris is the victim, though nervous Vicky Waterfield also gets famously screamy.

Is it exploitative? Yeah! Or is this like Sarah Silverman channeling ‘something’ when Wreck it Ralph destroys Venelope’s Car? That is also VERY disturbing. And dramatically sound. Many more like this and Mary Whitehouse would have been twitchy five years early.

Mrs Harris also walks into the North Sea. And submerging. Oz was apparently ok with that scene!

The animation can he a bit duff. And production values were different even when you only have dislogue. But this rolls along at a pace, except for the suspense, which hangs around like wet kelp underfoot.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@craig

The Flux is upon us. Sontarans, Daleks and Cyberbods

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@ dentarthurdent

Smith and Hurt are obviously first rank, though we didn’t know that about Smith in those days. Tennant seems slightly dazed to able to do his usual stuff and bask in thespie love. Billie more than holds her own. Assuming we get another series, that’s gotta be a good sign!

The Moment is DEFINITELY in The Tower, or was it The National Gallery? Cos Hurt had his ‘about time I grew up’ moment.

Nit picks. I probably DIDN’T connect ‘job’, ‘office’, and Zygon Kate. Not absolutely sure there ISN’T a plot hole or some fridge logic there, but you CAN get away with this when you don’t have to explain everything to Chucklegramps.

What? Is that me?

It’s official. Good ep.

New fav ep just suggested itself: The Pilot.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@dentarthurdent @whohar
VAR have confirmed… he never got it, at all. Ever

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

As per The Winchester discussion, I did give this a whirl, and… it is still fantastic!

Three fantastic Doctors. And Billie.

Little nit picks: like the memory thing in the black archive. Does that mean Clara was briefly unsure if she was a Zygon or not? And, if the Earth was ‘ripe’ in 2013, and the Zygons had already broken into the black archive, why flash the VM base code around so arrogantly (unless they’re just arrogant)? And Clara needed a way out? And how did the Zygons know, or Clara, or The Doctor? Except Clara had told him she was in The Tower,  during the witch/well discussion?? And improbably he remembered. Did I get that right? Timo Wimo might be over-plotting.

Did anyone else notice, in the first 15 mins, the set/up, 11’s eyes and brows intercut with Wardoc AND… 4/Curator??

But it is brilliant. The quibbles are minor. Contrast to T’floox, where (IMHO) all was quibbling confusion and we struggled to find any there were hints of brilliance. Perhaps the disposal of The Fam allowed a little bit of light. But you can’t retcon The Fugitive Doc. How is that supposed to work, Chris?

That’s all to come. I wonder if the fiftieth anniversary special was the point at which Who became interesting to third parties as Russ had always intended. Stakes had been raised. Moff was now too idiosyncratic and The Corp out of its depth. Two series later ‘Husbands’ and ‘Mysterio’ were shamelessly touting for the main action.

 

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@dentarthurdent

I shall have to rewatch Day of The Doctor. No great hardship.

Highlights… 10 in Elizabethan England, The Moment, Jenna Coleman settling into the role… and Bill’s mum running for cover (same actress)! If only they’d persuaded Timothy Dalton and Lee Evans to return.  Actually, not a problem: it’s practically perfect.

Oddly, I’ve not read many Who novelisation’s. I have got Fury From The Deep, because the show itself is lost. And it was the most mythically sofa-hidingly and terrifying one of the lot. ‘Oh my god do you remember the one with the seaweed?’

So, I’ll watch the animated recreation of FftD after DotD. Then the 2 Mara stories, cos they’re out there somewhere. Then Caves of Androzani (3 Davison eps??) and Blink.

That will build me up for Eve of the Daleks.

Then I’m into pre xmas viewing. Looks like I’ll have to line my own fave up for the day.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@translatorcircuit

I know that Mandela did not die in prison and that he became president of South Africa. These are strange times. There may be people out there, right now, who can’t accept that truth. I know Harry Enfield’s Mandela sketches are now considered unbrosdcastable. A lot has changed in 15 years. They actually mocked celebrity endorsement, but their creator doesn’t consider the point worth disputing.

Obama and Clinton taking selfies? Was this before or after Barak told Trump ‘I’m something you never be… POTUS’. Hmm was that really a good move? Maybe the liberal elite did appear that entitled and arrogant, depending on your specs, at the time.

A stitch in time is an old saw, oft abused by literary idiots. It’s not in Chrissies Transcripts, and I’m happy that Wrack always said ‘time stands still.’ It’s The Doctor’s miraculous survival in Eternity that taxes me, like Timelash. Weak scripting. But no Myrka.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@whoizzy

We’re only going to meet Mickey again in another universe.

Another Tardis…? But NOT Clara (or presumably Ashildr)? Actually I suspect The American Diner might be the same Tardis: see Name of The Doctor.

I note from Flux that the Sontarans seem to have got over the Briode Nebuliser/Kartz Reimer issue. Perhaps Strax could cook up a steam-punk KR machine for Vashtra and Jenny.

Could someone nick The Master’s Tardis? Mind you Lucy got exploded and other associates tended to end up in burger buns, or turned into action figures.

Davros is a clever chappie; I know he loves his children but don’t you think he would work out that he should avoid The Genesis of the Daleks at all costs? So, somehow, a Kaled ends up wandering the universe with a genetically impure sidekick. But NOT Davros.

But if there was a special series along these lines, can it NOT be ‘special’ like Flux? Please. I’m getting worried about the impending Sea Devil thing.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@devilishrobby @blenkinsopthebrave @janetteb @nerys @translatorcircuit

So, your reading of “with or without Disney’s involvement” is that The Mouse is still interested, whereas we all thought he’s skipped away? But why go if he’s interested? They want a better deal. Yeah, that could be out of Trump’s playbook.

But do we know they are still negotiating? Anybody heard anything? This could be just a form of words, saying we’ll work with Disney or another streamer, but only WITH them… ie the show remains free to air for license payers. Or we do it on our own. And it’s free to air. For now.

Obviously, lots of noises being made on that score but no immediate solution forthcoming.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

The Vanquishers

Right… Who are these Vanquishers? The Doctor, split into 3? Her motley crew? The Sontarans, who stitch up the other two mook armies? Or The Uglies, with their pseudo religious devotion to Time?

Or is it meant to be ironic because, whenever it was in December ‘21, absolutely everybody may not die, but the death toll must be rather more than nobody. More than under your typical Moff effort. Not saying this is itself necessarily an issue, but how do you play this? What is the message, Chris? War is stupid and people are stupid and people who do it should be sent to bed early? Do we care anymore? You see, I’m afraid this is a bigger mess than Apocalypse or O,UT.

Not saying there aren’t hints of something more interesting. Chris, as predicted, makes a good point about crisis and bad players. Then he casts his net wide: bad players includes Racial Supremacists, Religious Bigots and Spooks. Sounds great… what then does that make The Grand Serpent?

An oddity. Nonetheless, Chris’ imagination (and not just here) is often quite a scary place, with mass hostage taking, remote assassination, and asymmetric warfare. He’s making a big play about Real Politik and Post Truth and this ought to be really quite good. T’floox, for all its faults, IS better then the previous two series. Unfortunately, the results are only marginally better.

And the detail…

The Uglies and their deity seem like an oblique rehash of The Guardians and The Eternals. This just ISN’T interesting. At all. If they’d been more specifically Shakri-esque, I might have been intrigued.

As it is, the physics is dopey. Well of course, but this is dopey like the seventh dwarf.

And what was Tecteun’s plan again? She’s supposed to be ready to destroy the world to save an idea. This could be a metaphor for a multinational or security organisation or a collapsing civilisation. In fact it’s almost the famous trope: ‘woobie, destroyer of worlds’ which really should be fun. But having gone for it and seccesfully trashed at least some of the Universe, Tecteun then tries to bargain with The Doctor. She even offers to save The Earth. Sentimentality? Or manipulation?

Otherwise, why Diane? No really? Why? At least Bel and Vinder expand the narrative. Diane spends 5 eps stuck in a passenger form. Dunno why. Claire, another enigma, and good ol Jericho are terribly heroic. They suffer, but do they understand?? Do we?

Next… I’m going to say it. Is Prentis the Mara? In which case does he personify mass psychosis, as opposed to other mundane modern monsters?

And the Doctor spilt in three is like O,UT all over. There are some references to her fancying herself ala 11 with bow tie and Fez whether he’s at River’s birthday twice over or not. Jodie doesn’t seem that happy to sell this idea. In fact, we know multiple Doctors don’t work. Doctor lite might be better: tough to write I admit, but Chris seems to think he’s quite clever. Dunno why. This ep owes lots to Logopolis, The Stolen Earth, Pandorica and Name of The Doctor; none are exactly quicksilver but this is really quite dumb.

Karvanista takes news of genocide like Thatcher has just shut down his coal mine.

Oh. And Sontarans and chocolate. Really?

It’s a sorry mess, isn’t it? Have I said that already? OK, a bit better than the rest. Gawd elp us.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@nerys @dentarthurdent

Forget dates. I just wonder why some random date is sometimes quoted by the writer. Yes, Village was broadcast on that date but Chibnall didn’t have to be so precise. Is it a nod to the discerning fan?

Of more importance is The Master’s timeline. 3 and Delgado, unless it was 5 and Ainley, may have talked about remaining ‘relative to each other within the causal nexus’. Seriously, are they continually interacting? And do we think The Master is actually that bothered?

More precisely…

Saxon was sure he would become Missy. Missy was evasive.

Missy boasted she could use a death ray to charge up a vortex manipulator/teleporter.

Missy was surrounded by Daleks on Skaro. Someone got zorched on Skaro and 7 took the remains to New York.

Spydoctor has Tremas Doctor’s Tissue Compression Eliminator. Or vice versa.

Max Capricorn had gold tooth like The Toymsker’s. And the tooth really did THAT ✨. Maybe that’s a bit silly.

We see mainly The Doctor in what seems to be a logical narrative sequence because the narrative is about The Doctor and we need to grasp it. Ignore T’floox for the moment.

In any case, as two time travellers, who only occasionally interact, does this logically have much bearing on The Master’s Timeline?

Another thought. The Doctor asks Cuddly Tecteun if what Spymaster said was true.

Significant pause… no? Wasn’t there? A moment of doubt or calculation. Tecteun says, ‘yes.’

1. Does she know what Spymaster said? If so, how?

2. Did she tell Spymaster what to tell The Doctor? And was he a dutiful and accurate mouthpiece?

3. Were the two of them actually in the destruction of Gallifrey together?

4. Is T’floox actually about destroying The Master?

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

Survivors of T’floox

So, The Angels have powers we never imagined. And they’re cruel and vindictive. And work for Division. OK. Could be.

However, will someone explain Tecteun’s motivation in destroying the universe and then removing The Doctor in case she stopped the destruction? Except she then offered to take The Doctor with her and save the Earth… or was it just to be saved because Prentis is one of her stooges who is going to let the ravening hoards have it? The ultimate revenge?? See what I do to your toy, Doctor?

And why is Tecteun called Awsok, bearing in mind I’m not sure we heard anyone ever call her that? And Prentis, for some reason, has the same name as the Tivolian stooge from Under The Lake. Surely shome mishtake?

Also, how exactly did The Uglies get released? Was it T’floox did it? Or do they somehow aid T’floox and were let out on purpose only to get sucked down the plug hole at the end?

Cos that part didn’t really work out. Hmm. Disappointing end for Cuddly Lady. Suspiciously so. There are other candidates for The Doctor’s Mother and I think The Doctor knows it. Therefor The Doctor may think the restoration of her memories would be a mind control technique.

We’ll meet Cuddly Lady again. As soon as we get Who back (sigh). That doesn’t mean this story isn’t being undersold.

Maybe it’s all gonna come out. Bel and Vinder are members of The Division too, aren’t they? They know too much about Passengers and Vinder was Prentis’ sidekick. I don’t mean The Tivolian.

Williamson has finally been revealed. Personally, if Chib had to base the end of The Universe on Liverpool, couldn’t it be to do with Eric’s in 1979? Or The Liver Birds (the sitcom)? Or Husskison getting run over?

The messing about in The Belle Epoque was almost droll… I nearly watched it all in one go. But also quite annoying. Contrast with Doctor lite action like Left Turn or 73 yards. Not sure why they’re bothering with all the Indiana Jones stuff anyway. Jericho has deteriorated from an tortured but heroic character into a spare wheel, there to squeak should anyone wonder what Yaz and Dan might do together when they got bored.

And what happened to Claire?

I hope my questions get answered in part six. Not very optimistic though. The thing is, there is something engaging here. Once Chib can control his instinct (or instruction) to be tedious, the story tends to the epic. But is this newfound epic nature,  his or Cartmel 2.0: the overarching plan, hinted at by Moff in 2015, whereby The Doctor’s backstory is explored and extended?

And can just say, having given the pack a chance… The Lupari are rubbish. They’re only there so The Earth doesn’t get Roger Dean’d in The Halloween Apocalypse. Bad dogs.

I’m sure there must have been a better way to tell this story but Chib’s not to know that.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@nerys @dentarthurdent

Village of The Angels: The Afterthought.

Do you remember my date theories? Significant dates of eps. Dates mentioned in eps. For November 21st (Village of the Angels) there are two other eps.

1. Dalek Invasion Earth: Could this have been a flux event? If so then that’s definitely a retcon. That is plans start with Andrew Cartmel and he was six at the time. But it’s also the last appearance of Susan. Clearly significant in the era of RTD2

2. Face The Raven: The Doctor gets extracted, but this time by The Timelords. Or did he? Could The Division have had a hand? If so… and it’s a big if, is this ANOTHER retcon? Or Cartmel 2.0? Got to control continuity. There MUST be a plan.

The latter might add extra weight to Russ and Moff’s loyal defence of The Timeless Children. This was NOT simply Chib’s fault; it’s the way he tells em.

Now, that whole story series 8 & 9… how did this Confession Dial malarkey start? Well, yes, it’s a story but how do people, Moff whoever, make stuff up? And know it will make sense. This is straight after Missy suddenly appears with rather more Cybermen than you can shake a stick at? Why exactly did she think The Doctor needed an army? Against who?

Also how exactly could Danny extract the dead Afghan Kid from the Data Slice? What was Clara supposed to do with him? It’s like something out of a dreeeam. Not just that: where did Orson Pink spring from? With a testimonial from The Tardis no less!

And what else can be done with a Data Slice? Does a Data Slice generate AI? (You bet) Why does the same volcanic landscape appear both in Dark Water and Last Christmas?

Why does Missy make a great play about recharging a VM from a death ray? She says The Doctor thought it up but we only get to see her do it.

Then we see her get zapped by Saxon who, dying and incapable, heads down into a hold full of Cybermen.

Missy gets cornered on Skaro. The Movie<span class=”Apple-converted-space”> </span>Master is executed on Skaro.

Why is there a lone, semi-converted Cyberman at The Villa? Maybe conversation failures are deleted before we get to see them. Maybe there was a reason Ashad didn’t work… like an incompatible substrate… or someone mucked up the parameters. Wonder Who?

Then there’s Claire’s DoB… 13th May: The Mutants?? Rise of The Cybermen (oh yes) and Oxygen.

13.05.85 would have been right after the fateful season 22, when season 23 had to be rewritten. Make of that what you will.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@janetteb @ dentarthurdent

thank you. Village is obviously streets ahead of the rest. Not perfect but I could virtually watch it in one go: always a good sign. The previous 2 were poor but not as disastrous as most of series 11 or 12. Most of that is down to ‘the chuckles’ I’m afraid.

Chib is a mystery wrapped in an enigma submerged in disinterest. I may have to introduce some related bonkerising on Sofa 11. Yes, I have theories!!

Chib was not just an accident waiting to happen. This happening is to do with The BBC. I don’t rate Chib but these are not necessarily the three series Chib wanted to make.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

The Village of The Angels

Toward the end of O,UT, The Doctor says to Dan ‘you have no idea what you’re dealing with. I do.’

Phew, THAT’s a relief!

Mind you, in Village, she also says ‘I’m many things but I’m not ridiculous.’ And… I’m not so sure.

There are moments when you wonder if Chib fully realises what he’s written. That is it’s not a million miles away from The Brigadier’s dad saying, ‘yes, one imagine those words attached to some meaning or other.’ Well, a few hundred miles then.

Here I am, fourth time in a row, dead-panning the snark. Is this the behaviour of a rational being?

However, Village comes with recs. It hits ground running. This is good for Chib. Mind you The Angels come with problems. They once were all cthonic, elemental and curiously unlethal but damn inconvenient. Next thing you know they’re snapping people’s necks and talking trash with The Doctor. They finally set up an elaborate time factory in 30’s New York to torture Pond, and Mr Pond. This is fine. Less I’m afraid IS more, the sequel was never going to be as amazing as Blink but all that happened on Moff’s watch. Gotta be careful with other children’s toys, Chris!

There are also echoes of ‘Hide’ by Neil Cross: psychic experiments and shrinking universes. Good ep! It now strikes me that Akhaten, also by Cross and rather less groovy, was nonetheless not dissimilar.

Please note: Village was co-written by Maxine Alderton who did Villa of The Bad Boys. Maxine seems to make a difference: dialogue snappy; characters, good and bad, are engaging; The Doctor, relatively unridiculous. Yaz and Dan get good lines and respond well. As an indirect criticism of Chib, this is nothing new. Got to wonder why Maxine isn’t writing for RDT2. Can we have her, Moff, Whithouse, Matthieson and maybe Pete McTighe?

Not everything works: the final chase down the tunnel; what happened to the people in 1901?; Belsen gets tossed out in typical Chib fashion (that is he might get away with it but he’s got form); and the stuff going on with Ugly Git minor and tamagotchi woman rather lets the gas out. Still, this is possibly the best Chib era ep to date. Some others might have got there if not for Chucklegramps and Kid.

The question is, once Steptoe and Son had been parked, why did it take four eps to produce a proper story?

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

Once, Upon Time (T’floox 3)

Did someone say title of T’floox 2 is a bit ‘This of That’? At least it didn’t alliterate metonymically.

I don’t want to say I like T’floox 2 because it has so many problems: Gung ho Dan; slaggin The Wirral, ‘calm down calm down’; Logan’s guiltily satisfying and violent revenge is somehow not sold at all; the ugly twins going deadpan snark with Passenger spinning the decks, what a hip-hop group they would make…

Don’t get distracted. ‘War’ was almost acceptable. I mean it’s main virtue is that this moves more quickly than the handful of OKish stories from series 11. Bar Byron’s Italian shenanigans, it’s better than anything in sorry series 12.

Onwards… titles… O,UT… is that the hint of a subscript Chris? We gotta get O,UT of this place?

O,UT intrigues… it kind of nods to Twice Upon a Time, even as Chris’ Division backstory renders ‘1 meets 12’ meaningless. It seems to reference Moff era timey wimey reality implosions like Big Bang and Wedding of Song or ‘wrong’ worlds like Forest of the Dead or Turn Left. You get the feeling this could be the Big One, the lynchpin of the whole sorry mess. Then you learn that ‘Time’ which The Doctor was Upon, Once, is actually just a planet… uh?

So… anyway, Time has gone weird and everything happens all at once. The Doctor raids The Temple of Atropos and comes across like poor strange ijit boy Brendan from Ascension, or like something out of a dreeeam… The triangle priest lamps speak like Berkoff the Shakri. This DOES seem like what Chris really wanted to write all along. The two tedious series prior, led to this: a mind-bending series of interlocking revelations. And perhaps he decided it should be more organic, subtle (no, don’t laugh) without the symbiotic Tardis, the ‘old girl’ taking The Doctor where she needed to go. Not so much lots of little things happening and revealed as something big, as SUDDENLY! Nothing happens…

Until it does.

Maybe story arcs ARE the problem. Fans learn the tells and it becomes a bit annoying. Could arcs, like Cartmel 2.0 be on The Corps crud list? Don’t get fancy, just wheel out a monster.

But Who can’t just be about a madman (or woman) in a box, with or without a ‘Fam’. Chris needs an alternative: the Doctor WITH a job, and not with UNIT: new territory, experimental and bold. Hmmm. But Chris… will anyone know what’s going on?

Also Chris’ assessment of his own abilities might be a bit inflated.

Nonetheless, we get to see his special moves. Too much. It starts promising, then gets messy, though not that hard to follow really, if anything it’s over explained, 3 times over cos we now seem to be Fam quorate. Oh for 11, popping here and there with VM, Fez and mop. ‘Come along, Pond!’

Yes, can we figure it out on our own? I dunno.

The major villains get wheeled out but they’re just mook wallpaper, it’s the dayglo blue stuff that’s really lethal.

The psychobabble is off the scale. Or is someone going to tell me this bit, which I strongly suspect may have been Written in Crayon, could be related to developments in theoretical physics. No? No, I didn’t think so.

But we do get to see Jo working nine to five. Not sure you could write that hostage situation now. The old gits are younger and philosophically opposed to the presumably emerging Gallifreyan civilisation. So are they murderous or misunderstood? The (lack of) noses doesn’t help, and they’re getting through Passengers like Spinal Tap with drummers. The Mouri are presumably spectral Sisters of Karn. Mad Regency bloke turns up again. No idea who Bel is (yet) but she has a tamagotchi!

That the mooks should be trying to carve up a universe falling apart might be an even more powerful story… imagine Pepperpots, Cyberium and Potatoheads going post truth and justifying their totalitarian deckchair rearrangement to the masses. I would have led with that Chris, then drilled down for T’floox.

The closest he gets is Vinder’s dubious promotion; every time someone unveils a character like The Grand Serpent, I ‘Kinda’ feel like ‘Dancing.’ But this seems to be ‘Dot’ Cottan, ‘The Caddy’ from Line of Duty. Ohhh.

Nonetheless, Vinder’s dilemma really resonates and very nearly saves the ep: certainly better than Yaz revisiting the last two unfortunate years and picking up a Weeping Angel on the way. Dan searches for Diane to prove he’s not made of cardboard. Though, I must say, John Bishop is not just streets ahead of Bradley Walsh, he seems to be the real deal.

Then cuddly lady turns up and admits she did it, but it was The Doctor’s fault! What the hell cuddly lady??!!

Well, it’s not the disaster that was reported. Potentially a good story but it actually owes a lot to The Stolen Earth, Big Bang and The Silence; and the whole arc should be told differently.

I haven’t really got 3 more eps to go, have I?

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@dentarthurdent

the beta text or whatever it is means I pasted my spiel and then edited it, did something it didn’t like and then navigated away. Strangely, it sounds like Whovian space-time coordinates. I wonder if that where they first originated?

Sorry to go on at such length. I am being unfair because all Who writers have and will continue to be guilty of the same quirks and lazy tropes as Chib, just less frequently and egregiously. WiC. Though, as I say, The Corp also bears responsibility.

The Flux is kind of preferable to what we were initially served up after Moff because the Fam have been decimated and the nonsense appears, on the face of it, less random.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

The War of The Sontarans.

‘I don’t understand it and I hate not understanding!’ sez The Doctor at the end of Halloween Apocalypse. Welcome to the world of The Chibnall Who Critic, Doctor.

That is unfair. I was unfair last time, I suppose. Why not just say, ‘I don’t like Chib’s writing’?

OK, I don’t like Chib’s writing. In addition to which I suspect The Corp also had a fair old go at the institution of Who. Well, what else is it there for? Obviously NOT controlling arrogant and overpaid misbehaving stars. But, RTD & Moff both being very slightly suggestive in front of kiddie winks is NOT to be countenanced!

Anyway T’floox seems to be Davros’ Reality Bomb with added timey wimey. Looks suspiciously ununiversal me, don’t you think? This happens. The Daleks tested The RB on the cast of Goodness Gracious Me and Eastenders. Tremas’ Entropy Scam happened on a scanner. The Pandorica and Trenzalore put some lights out. Universal Obliteration might be a tad underwhelming from the inside.

Also, if T’floox is so pant-wettingly lethal, how can Lupari ships be designed to resist it with a fancy manoeuvre they don’t know? Maybe T’floox ain’t got enough Z neutrinos. Screwfix ran out or something. And why should a species be bonded to humans? Apart from the dumb joke potential. And amazingly they also have something to do with The Division, who we’ve never heard of before because of a Mind Wipe?

There is Narrative and there is WiC. He’s making it up as he goes along. In Crayon.

Miss! I don’t like Chris’ writing.

On the face of it, The War of The Sontaras might be a bit fun. Not a cast of thousands. Understandable in 2021. Gatiss managed to make Godsacre and Catchlove living breathing caricature but Logan just looks like a thin line from the side.

Mary Seacole, much favoured by the GCSE syllabus and Horrible Histories could be given a more interesting intro than ‘oh! You must be Mary Seacole.’ Or, why not give that line to Yaz or Dan?? Do they know nothing? Rose knew stuff and she was a chav. Martha saved the lives of fish people. Donna wowed The Doctor with TV Trope jokes.

Y & D conveniently dematerialise. Williamson turns up and spouts gruff Regency gnomic stuff. And stomps off again.

Nontheless, I thought this iteration of the potato heads could be quite cool, in that Moff made Strax far too cuddly. On the other hand he was also an alternative. Strax can take his place in<span class=”Apple-converted-space”>  </span>human society and so reveal what it really is.

It’s like the Cybermen’s denial of<span class=”Apple-converted-space”>  </span>humanity or Daleks subverting the philosophy of humanism. Sontarans, left to their own devices, relentlessly pursue the most pointless and reviled human activity. So, what do they get out of T’floox? Unless that’s the point. Crisis will be exploited by war. And The Sontarans have replaced The Russians, because we know what they’re like, don’t we children? Yes, in 1850, mostly serfs. While The Chinese are reeling from asymmetric European narcotic attack.

What if you’d made it The American Civil War, Chris? Hey? Or WW1? Or Suez? Or Vietnam? Oh, but you’re not very good at this are you?

And there’s a Temple, too. It’s all a bit Elemental, a tad Guardianish. Watch out for low flying vultures. And The Doctor is pursuing Pooch because apparently he’s the only Division operative she knows. Does she assume the rest of her old mates are dead? Understandable: them death particles sound proper lethal. Alternatively, does she suspect there are other Time Lords still out there? See, we’ve been here before, haven’t we? Doesn’t The Doctor ever doubt what she’s told?

The Time Lords: a species so cr*p they had to be genocided twice. I’m not sure this can be adequately discussed in fiction, let alone sci fi. But The Doctor WILL apparently believe ANYTHING.

Question: is The Doctor… IDK… brain damaged? Just too many regens, wipes and Chameleon Arches? Or is this simply the lot of Time Lords? They know time is gonna scramble them sooner or later, which is why most stay home to become irritating bureaucrats. Or is this the next Cartmel phase, The Doctor is NOT the messiah but a genuine basket case, and Chib couldn’t or wasn’t allowed to bring this off?

But there is next to no Fam still. And only FEELS like a Timeless Children 1 hour special: you watch 25 minutes, switch off to breathe, and then you’ll only have to do it once more. There will be an end. Maybe next time someone will tell me what’s going on.

And I’ve done it again: tried to be fair to Chib, but the best I can say is one deluded man alone could not make this many poor production and writing decisions. The show IS in crisis and it’s NOT Chib’s fault. He’s just the mug left sitting in the cellar full of gunpowder with a box of matches.

For Chib, the villain is the Streamers with their nonsensical reboots (oh did anyone notice? Don’t matter, there will be another one along in a minute). Maybe he decided they should be meta’d as… The Flux!

For RTD2 it’s Continuity: the day destroys the night, the night divides the day… break on through…

Yeah, Russ, good luck with that.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@dentarthurdent

Was this, purely hypothetical, acceleration enforced by Covid or by The Corp (because Chib was being politely shown the door, wasn’t he); or designed, because the previous two series were such dogs; or simply symptoms of narrative insanity?

All I can observe is something changed. And then Chib and Whitdoc were both gone.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@dentarthurdent

I mentioned Diane but it was Claire being tragically meaningful of course.

There was an attempt to speed up story development. Is that the reduced number of eps or Chib trying out some Blink/Big Bang Moff style timey wimey? Or just a slimmed down Fam?

 

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

Halloween Apocalypse

As promised/threatened.

I’d given up by this point: not really watched Who properly since Fugitive, having lost patience with The Battle of Stupid and Pratfall. So I missed Revolution… apparently Granddad went. And Our Kid. Whoopee!

Thesis: you COULD have Granddad on his own. IMHO rather dull. Or you COULD have Kid, that might be the best way to make the character meaningful. Though you’d still need to write for him. You might be justified in having both together but only for one season, and if one finally killed the other. Not fussed which one.

But, what you definitely CANNOT have is chucklegramps AND chucklekid, AND Yaz. Nonetheless, it took two series to flush them away. Even once you’ve finally done that, you really have to improve the writing.

And this does have a feeling of a reset. And I am aware that Covid forced a truncated series 13. The thing is, I suspect by this point Chib had more or less given up the ghost; squaring the contradictory demands of The Corp had become too difficult.

So, what do we get? Apparently we’re halfway through one story. OK. Moff did that a lot. But this is a bit desperate. The Doctor and Yaz are off to see not a man about a dog, but an actual dog. Cue to laugh like a dog. But hold on, Yaz is also revealed as a functionary! Never mind exposition and comic relief, were the Fam only ever three cardboard cutouts: people Whitdoc could babble nonsense at? There, I’ve said it.

So Yaz is, literally, hanging around with The Doctor. And there’s something a bit weird here to tell the truth. Right, we know The Doctor is stewing over The Division and Fugitive Doctor and the end of The Time Gits, but to have her say ‘aren’t you glad the chuckle family have wandered off’ is a bit off. By quite a long way. It’s as if Chib is forcing them to have a spat because that’s the only way he can imply that the Woman, who used to be a Man, might quite like another woman. Mr Cholmondly-Warner thus reveals their utter female irrationality. It’s like Miss Marple has discovered something deep disturbing in rural England. What stuff did Chib used to write…? Oh yeah.

Now, I’m guessing this move is in fact contrary to Corporate Instruction. But, hey, doesn’t matter because nothing is ever going to come of it. Nonetheless, it’s neither subtle nor funny, and Chib knows this because the next glove puppet to appear is a Scouser: a Real One, but the way Chib writes em, John Bishop might as well be built of uPVC.

Well, if Russ can rib the Welsh in 73 Yards, then surely Chib can have some gentle fun with Merseyside? I certainly don’t want three pugilists in shell suits growing Jimmy Case taches and calling ‘calm down, calm down.’ I LIKE John Bishop; there are bits of him vs Rolf the implausible dog alien that very nearly make me smile. But is Rolf a Yorkie or a Patterdale? Then John has a ‘you are Leeds’ Stone Roses rock Elland Road moment with Yaz. See, I recognise this stuff. But is it funny? Chib is the man who wasted the talents of a robotic Mitchell and Webb double act. I suspect Stephen Berkoff gurned and extemporised his own deadly mumbles for Power of Three because no one present had the courage to tell him ‘no.’

Then there’s the psychic thing. Last seen in The Deadly Assassin with further hints in The Two Doctors… because there were two Doctors, I suppose. Nonetheless, you could call that form. I reckon it’s either lazy writing or a duff Marvel Move as recommended by The Corp. But what is there to like about ugly monsters from beyond the dawn of time? Apart from the trope? Oooh. The dawn of time must have been an ugly camp catwalk. Also, in the words of Borat, why are you selling me old sh*t?

This is the bit that was Written in Crayon. Chib needs his Crayon Box to construct an arc, something he has studiously avoided until the first hints in Fugitive. Yes, I’m ignoring the ridiculous villain who habitually stuck victims’ teeth in his own mug.

Or, is this actually Cartmel 2.0, as per Moff’s reported sketch c2015? Was Chibnall not bothered to flesh it out with proper grown up development? Not saying the same problem was never encountered during Moff’s tenure; the Silence arc was never properly resolved IMHO. But I’m quite certain RTD1 never seriously indulged.

But Written in Crayon, or WiC as I shall henceforth refer to it, appears to be a specific reaction to Marvel and Gradean gripes about Who not being proper SciFi. Gatiss is wrong; it’s not the Old Fans, it’s the New Streamers. To Chib’s desperate mind, did the latter become all meta and bring forth T’floox???

Then there is the small matter of coherence. The previous season hadn’t exactly helped me wrestle with TTC so it would be a leap of faith to think even a full series 13 would sell the idea to me.

I’m reliably informed that Mr Williamson’s subterranean shenanigans wasn’t some real estate scam. Some laughably tragic woman called Diane is presumably doing a far far better thing than turning down a dog of a Who script. And the ugly git from beyond the dawn of time has a slightly less ugly sister who has been slumming it on Earth with bad attitude. Sigh. Chib’s Who is still not an easy watch.

And you know, as soon as planets start dissolving (don’t you hate it when that happens?), that it presages a reality bomb/end of time/all the stars going out moment.

Meh. This defines boredom. Just get a life Doctor: go and save someone worth saving.

Confession. Still not got to the end. I’ll post any errata on War of The Sontarans.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@dentarthurdent @whohar

‘Macho’… even pre Chib Nuwho had Timelord Invictus, Good Man C*cks It Up Good and Proper, Epic Sulks, Confession Dials and Other Idiocies.

I’ve no quarrel with the ‘tone’ of RTD2, more the execution, which again may be down to the story. But will we ever know? Will a big break demolish the precious continuity? Can the beancounters finally ditch Cartmel 2.0 and get the nice safe show they always wanted?

The tetchiness of 15 and Kate I reckon is down to the Remembrance element of the October 5th connection. 7 had a damn good go at committing Genocide. Will that now be resolved?

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@whohar @dentarthurdent

The ending… it did seem like a bolt on. To the extent that, though there was supposedly a ‘reason’ to regenerate I just know, if I check it out, I’ll think it was nonsense.

It’s a pity because the rest of the series built up quite a head of steam, even if the ratings were in the basement. The worst regeneration story since McCoy had to don Baker’s coat of many colours and the curly wig. And I know everyone was desperate to be nice about Jodie Whittaker but… WHAT? Compare that to the gravitas of Karen Gillen (also in a wig) descending the stairs to talk to her Raggedy Man.

Oh for Saxon going doolally and stuffing pulled grease spot flipper in his brioche bun, or for Dalek/Cyberman dead pan snarly face offs, or even Davros technobabbling the reality bomb. Does the abstract threat of VR nullify the glorious nuttiness of an all out RTD season ender??

 

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@translatorcircuit

WOW! It really IS for pre-schoolers! Urghhh. I DO apologise. I GENUINELY thought that was a mistake/joke.

Embarrassing. Kids Show! Official.

So, the Venn Diagram HAS become THAT small. I don’t like it, and some noise might just help, but this COULD be the end. Though to be fair HE mentioned US, I mean us, the weirdos. In the minuscule Venn Bit. Whoever Tom Fussell is.

Expect the anti-woke brigade to proclaim a victory. Loudly. Annoyingly.

btw any tax system, not based on regular income/business/large individual expenditure, really is unenforceable. The only people who ever pay are those with some money who HAVE to. No point making it ‘fair’, if you can’t make ‘fair’ people pay. There’s no point in making people, who can’t pay, pay because they’ve nothing with which to pay. Unless you chip them at birth, so they’re always in debt. Ah. That’s The Sunmakers, isn’t it?

Best bet is a tax on streaming services, but not even Mark Carney can get that past Trump and his crawling, arrogant tech mates. Or The Usurians.

It’s The End of The World as We Know It and I haven’t felt that happy about things for a while (if you hadn’t guessed)

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@dentarthurdent

for the record, can I just say I have Nothing to do with Deep Thought… more like Roosta or maybe Zarniwoop.

Seriously, can someone string up the non sci fi focus groups and actually do research and writing?

Russ season enders? MHO:

Good (but not that good);Bad Wolf plus, Army of Ghosts/Doomsday; Utopia plus

Indifferent; Stolen Earth+, End of Time, The Giggle,  Reality War.

Bad; The Umpire of Dearth

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@translatorcircuit

I think you mean CBBC not Cbeebies. If DW IS indeed being pitched at pre-schoolers then, yes, the end has come.

And perhaps… the end has come. Can you square the iconoclastic demands of the frothing anti-woke brigade with trimming critiques of beancounters and filmschool script neuterers who would much rather be talking about a soap? DW has ended up as a very small Venn diagram indeed; therefore a rapidly shrinking audience. Possibly all that is left is continuity.

I’m not sure it is just DW. I have said before that I’m fussy about scifi, but the televised genre seems to be in some trouble.

Severence is cool. Silo is slightly meh/downright dodgy. One day someone will strap me down subjected to Clockwork Orange stylee eyeball clamps to make me watch Foundation. I’ve managed 10 minutes so far: sententious exposition, infantilisation, the inability to drop a bridge on key characters, and some bright spark obviously had the blinding insight that Cleon is an anagram of clone. Duhhh oh yeh!

Ok I didn’t get all of that from the first 10 minutes. I was looking for reasons to stick with it because I like early Azimov. Obviously my mind is too highly trained.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@dentarthurdent

You may not have registered certain recent UK government climb-downs; Trump does tend to drown everything else out but the ableist/disableist debate is extraordinarily relevant to the UK. Certainly not merely ideological. Spot on Russ. That wad the best bit.

Not only is Dobson channeling Briers, Conrad is an echo of Pex from Paradise Towers. I think there is also a theme about Architects, see The Reality War. Nearly dropped a spoiler there.

15 married to Belinda. Well this is Conrad’s firmly traditional and het view of the world. But also 15 wondering where Susan came from. Was the discovery of Susan, presumably on Gallifrey, specifically the reason that 1 left?

To tell you the truth, I need to watch this ep, indeed both series again, now being aware of how (I think) Russ’ construction lines were calculated.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@dentarthurdent
Key take-aways…

NOT that someone thinks Omega is coming through, why you would want that? But:

Poppy was in Space Babies… maybe she’s Russ’ fav child actress.

Poppy Honey is farmed on Hellias by Harmony Shoal.

It’s The Ranii’s VR, with Conrad utilising Male Supremacist Fantasy to keep it ticking… a bit like the ‘minor master’ from The Mindrobber.

IMHO Anita Dobson is still hamming it up left right and centre ala Richard Briars in Paradise Towers.

Key faces were missing from the Rani VR Unit. Sue Triad, Rose and The Vlinx?

The teaser shows a stasis cube labelled zeta alpha theta iota. I got quite silly over that. But it was fun.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@dentarthurdent

I really liked ISC. It could have been a nondescript Chibesque Fam outing but this was done with a certain panache.

The blown into space section was of course problematic, though it looked a million dollars. Mavity is apparently at hand so maybe none of it was real…?

The glitter gun was surely a tribute to the McCoy opening credits.

Torturing Kid followed on from Kate losing her cool. Something going on, there. Remembrance (broadcast Oct 5th) was the destruction of Skaro. Delta waves are of course from Parting of the Ways. Hi Rose.

May 24th 2008 Silence in the Library was pushed back a week because of Eurovision. That leaves The War Games as the only previous May 24th ep.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@dentarthurdent

List compiled in haste. I missed out The Mindrobber. And included Voyage of the Damned twice. Though it is fantastic. Yes, I like Russell having camp fun; it explains Love and Monsters.

Really, for 5&6 it is so tough to pick worthy eps but. Apart from the Mara stories and Androzani, very few were remotely acceptable. And then there is the dross.

But then the last 2 Tom Baker series were pretty ropey. And so was the first McCoy series. I gave up on Paradise Towers. 7 incredibly poor years. The peak was the Leela run up to and including The Sunmakers. Though the previous 2 years were almost as consistently good. And so Baker’s reputation rumbles on. However, you really MUST watch Ark in Space to Sunmakers.

Makes you realise why Nuwho series 3-10 made such an impression. You could nominate another 15 eps for that run.

[ps1l0v3y0u @replies]

@janetteb

‘does it hold up?’ Sounds like time for a list! top 5 each Doctor anyone?

1 & 2 is difficult because so much is wiped and the production values are quite other…

1. Unearthly Child, The Daleks, Marinus… because it’s both complete and quite other, the Time Meddler, and whatever is left of Dalek Master Plan and 10th Planet.

2. The Evil of The Daleks, The Web of Fear, Fury From The Deep (reconstructed), Seeds of Doom, The War Games (too long but the recent hatchet job was a disgrace)

3. Spearhead from Space, Inferno, Terror of The Autons, Carnival of Monsters, The Time Warrior. Sorry, no Silurians. Getting the correct geological eon is not that hard.

4. The bar is high. Ark in Space, Pyramids of Mars, Genesis of the Daleks is too long but has to be there, Robots of Death and City of Death. And you know what? I really like the Leisure Hive.

5. The bar is lower. So… Four til Doomsday (huh? Did I say Revel Horwood could be a show runner? It’s a joke, a joke) Kinda, Snakedance, Frontios I suppose… Caves of Androzani. No, I don’t like Earthshock. What part of it is supposed to make sense?

6. Urghh. It’s nonsense but… Attack of the Cyberman I suppose for sheer chutzpah and invention. Then Vengeance on Varos, The Two Doctors, Revelation of the Daleks, Mindwarp.

7. I don’t know much about 7. Remembrance, Greatest Show, Ghostlight (on reputation), Fenric, Survival because the Doctor saves Ace.

8, War Doctor, 9 (see what I did there?): Day of The Doctor, Rose, Dalek, Empty Child/Doctor Dances, Badwolf/Parting of the Ways.

10. Could be the Moff Show: the bar is stellar; ha ha, Love and Monsters! Blink; flawed in many, many ways but… Utopia/Drums/Last of the Time Lords, Voyage of the Damned, Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead, Voyage of the Damned.

11.This is practically impossible. Amy’s Choice, Vincent, The Doctor’s Wife, God Complex, Hide. Eleventh Hour should be there but it’s Moff. We know Moff can do it.

12. Mission Impossible 2: Listen, Flatline, Heaven Sent, Oxygen, World Enough/Doctor Falls.

13. The bar is notional: Rosa, Kerblam, Villa… I understand there were other things that might not drive you to chew off your own leg. Yeah them.

14/15: Wild Blue Yonder, Boom, Dot and Bubble, The Well… & Story and Engine I suppose… only because it’s somehow more explicable than 73 Yards.

[Author]

Posts