[syzygy @replies]

@mudlark

We’re sorry to hear about your Christmas (I can relate) and am very glad to see you back here and enjoying some Who.

I liked Lux and The Well.
Fondly, Puro.

[syzygy @replies]

Interesting thoughts. I also noticed how Belinda’s fond mention of her dad’s routine at the pub on Friday turns to an interest in the wardrobe with barely a tear after the Doctor promises her she’ll get home, he will “sing” and Bel’s mum can “whistle” at his behind. I thought it a strange reaction?

So, is Belinda the new Master or Mrs Flood?
Puro.

[syzygy @replies]

@whohar yup. “Sad Man.” It was nicely done

[syzygy @replies]

Rich score

Amy’s theme and in the diner, a take on the Adagio Molto Beethoven’s Symphony 1.

[syzygy @replies]

@scaryb good to see you! 👋👋

[syzygy @replies]

@winston that sounds horrible. Sitting in your home, hearing the groans & sighs of trees while the whole house’s shuddering is very scary. It’s the sounds of this impending damage that’s often worse-but then in the light of day you really experience that awful truth. I hope some Dr Who & your family around will begin to return your heart & soul to something close to normal. We’re thinking of you. ❤️

[syzygy @replies]

@nerys @janetteb @blenkinsopthebrave lol. Yes, there are so many differing docos & series/movies on Henry & Wives, it’s flooded. But, yes, WH is quite lovely. The medieval wind & brass are a nice touch.

To all, Severance on Apple+ is terrific- a lot of the visuals are perfectly executed; office styles from a photographic book* inspired the director (I won’t say who because you might think “what? HIM? Wasn’t he once an obnoxious, American sit-com, comedian? Yes, no, yes, yes and yes but bear with).

The drama examines the nature of corporate control & trauma; identity-loss; corporate religious-style governance; renditions of grief & ennui. It’s honestly one of the best shows in 10 years, & worth purchasing considering  U.S. corporate environments & the direction of American theocracy.

It’s also very funny. But not bloated or broody or self absorbed.

Only a few DAYS for Who? Wonderful!
Puro

* Lars Tunbjork, Office.

 

[syzygy @replies]

@blenkinsopthebrave @winston @ nerys @janetteb an’ all. Thank you, yes, all well. I didn’t receive any notifications for awhile so thanks again.

I guess, afterwards, I did have a sense of humour but the week before? @winston crying in a ball, on the floor, was tempting. Basically I was doom scrolling for 7 days listening to every weather report & checking the electricity and the internet every few minutes. I kept asking “should I tape up the windows? Does that even help?” Or “can the bath can hold more water in case the latter is turned off?” But, yes, thousands of homes damaged beyond repair.

Mr Blink I didn’t realise you’d lived in St Lucia during that time. That was also a terrible flood, as you say.

I’m glad you love the Island. It sounds absolutely beautiful.

How many days until Who? A month? I’m always waiting for something! I’ve enjoyed Yellow Jackets, Wolf Hall 2 and Unforgotten. But the trailers for the Doctor look exciting.
Much love,
Puro

[syzygy @replies]

Hallloooo from Brisbane!
yes, we are A-OK. Thank you so much for your concern.

25 years ago we decided to find a house a little higher in Coorparoo – but not so our tin roof would be blown off in Brisbane gales.

Naturally, 3 weeks later. the cul de sac behind us hadn’t yet made its drains flood proof so a massive storm caused a 3 metre deep whirlpool at 1 am.

Local volunteer workers were dragging people out of it who thought it was a fab idea to swim in this terrifying in-land sea in the middle of the night. 😳

Since then, the backyard has flooded twice but this last cyclone, for us, at least, had little effect. Much of the rest of Brisbane & the South East is suffering terribly & I also noticed the homes we rented many years ago are on streets experiencing flash flooding.

Aaaand we were a little late, realising we had 1 torch & only 4 candles. The shops were devoid of anything in 48 hours so I filled up the bath tub & every container of water (in case the power & water were turned off) but as it was we could’ve happily showered in the street!

Warm wishes to all.
Puro and Fam. Xx

[syzygy @replies]

@craig yes on NFlix’ The Crown. Fagan was stunning. And the very last ep was VERY Who. The hubby is not a monarchist but there were almost tears. Clare Foy & Matt Smith were superb.

John Woodvine (Dangerman) was brilliant also.
• David Annen from An Adventure in Space & Time.
•Tim Bentinck (a bit of a Who legend)

[syzygy @replies]

@blenkinsopthebrave

golly! Hallooo…. I was in & out of hospital…. Back in on Saturday and out Monday for the last time. Which I’m looking forward to.
So, to everyone … Have you seen Severance? 👍👍👍

Puro.

[syzygy @replies]

I absolutely loved it! I was sobbing mess throughout and I felt our Doctor showed a little more sensitivity and emotion than earlier this year?

Merry Christmas to all.
Puro.

[syzygy @replies]

In rewatching S10 episode 6, ‘Oxygen’ -with 12, it’s very similar to Boom.

But there’s no song.

[syzygy @replies]

@ps1l0v3y0u

Ah, anything Tecteun tends to confuse me… zzz…probably to do with how I substituted The Nightmare Child for the abandoned kid…

I also rewatched 12’s The Flood 2parter. Where O’Donnell’s character mentions The Minister of War (post 1980) reminding me of Roger ap Gwilliam. There’s always a minstry of ….😔

The more I think of this season the more I believe it’s a Story created by some God, possibly Mrs Flood who recognises the One Who Waits and her Clock which is a different clock…. Perhaps she’s a God of Time? Because the clock ⏰ in Empire of Death doesn’t read the time, for example, when Susan is supposed to begin her live speech (at 3 pm) -it’s many minutes later. Also not enough time for 15’s scooter visit to Susan…But, if she’s playing with lives (& stories), Mrs Flood is WITHIN the story, which isn’t usual? 🤔 Still working on anagrams of MissusFlood -hopeless! I have only ‘SIMS’ as useful.

Though I noticed @jphamlore referenced Sutekh in 2015 on the Under The Lake/Before The Flood which was lovely! 😻

Mmmm, the only Dukkha I know is one I eat.

Puro

[syzygy @replies]

Data splice/slice…

[syzygy @replies]

@ps1l0v3y0u

Interesting …. And you DID mention “Splice” (….Data Splice….) before -as in Daughter of …who also said “silly, he’s not gone. He’s just dead” of her dad.

[syzygy @replies]

Was watching Dark Water…. (S8) and how 3W is cyberpeople. Dot and Bubble gives me the same feeling. Like the hint of light before dawn….

puro

[syzygy @replies]

@juniperfish “ …Bad Wolf” …. Oh very noice!

[syzygy @replies]

I’ve  watched a lot of this season several times -Rogue was fabulous as was the penultimate episode @whohar but no, I didn’t get the reference myself -funnily enough I’m no proper fan of Sci Fi: Blake’s 7  I tried once or twice. Though I DID catch Foundation (big fan of books and 2021-24 series).
@cathannabel indeed. I welcome the Garnett.

[syzygy @replies]

@ps1l0v3y0u the Tardis was exploded by the Silence effectively implanting this in Dr Song’s mind (at that point relatively early in their I hate you/I love you relationship). 🙂

Even in the Tardis itself, in The Pandorica Opens, River says over & over “I’m sorry my love” as it begins to explode causing a detonation event across time and space which naturally the Doctor fixes IMMEDIATELY. This is what he always does …. So that also explains, narratively and continuitively (!) why Doc Gatwa can fix All Bad And Evil Death in Empire of Death, speedily.

😲 😉

[syzygy @replies]

@ps1l0v3y0u

Silver Nemesis?! = Harbinger…. Noice. That’s a great sp0t.
@nerys I get where you’re coming from & yes, keeping life free of added-on bits & pieces is less stressful. Our boy has remade his room & study into a monastic copy- bed, shelf, chair, Desk (there’s a 4m by 2.5m world map too). clothes fit in the shelf & the shelf’s study books. He seems to have hammered hooks into the wall for various sporting clothes. 😮

@winston DVDs are always a great buy. I bought a yearly Disney sub but I forgot that Who was only 8 episodes, not 13. It’s a big difference leading Rus to get to the point super-quick which shows, at times!

[syzygy @replies]

@mudlark -ah yes, no, I understood (a tad late) but I’m not sure that PPP is going to be any different to RTD’s original intention. It would be interesting if there was a different configuration.

@miapatrick. Absolutely. I wholeheartedly concur. & I think that RTD explained, somewhere, that the hooded woman was “shadowed by time…..?”

Mudlark. Maestro is wary: “she’s very wrong.” Is this significance that the Doctor spoke of in the finale related to Sutekh’s attachment to Ruby? So Maestro describes her as “very wrong” but is that because the Doctor is perhaps obsessed with her & this perplexes Sutekh?

And Ruby’s determination to locate her mum is…..enormous ….to the point of obsession… where she can’t function at all. Except none of that’s true. So, yes, I’m a bit stumped. But we know that RTD is interested in theme over plotting & this show comes with acres of backstories, cruft & continuity issues as well as obstacle courses…. Maybe this season was exactly as it’s supposed to be?

But as you said IS the One Who Waits the same as the Oldest One? Is it Mrs F?

@ps1l0v3y0u I think you’ll find the Tardis crack was explained? It was the angry TL’s who’d been cup-of-souped at the ‘side’ of the universe & were calling to get out….😄

As to the SN connection ….I haven’t read that post yet. Though I’m not sure what SN means -unless it was another, nearby also-voiced nasal consonant? 😀

Yes, backtracking to R & even that scene…R’s mystery bracketed the entire season.  Given that R was peculiar to the Doctor, her magical mystery tour is what drove the season so if she’s back then it has to be = mystery + twist.

[syzygy @replies]

@mudlark @whohar @ps1l0v3y0u @vickymallard  et. al

I appreciate the theories but I wonder to what extent it’s likely the Christmas episode (or Eps 1-2, next season) will address issues of the Position of Pointing Person (PPP)  particularly the differences between the first & last episodes under forensic analysis? 😁

If it turns out R’s birth mum isn’t ‘ordinary’ it might cut into RTD’s socio-political vision of the Doctor’s companions as @juniperfish & others have eloquently described. I guess the same goes for R herself & if the PPP is shown to be an overlay figure thus accounting for subtle changes in directional shooting etc., I’d question RTD’s marriage to his core assumptions or whether he’d undercut the dogma. I recall Joss Whedon discussing the importance of not hanging a serious plot point over a season’s break as it dilutes its power.

Elsewhere I read a theory about R’s snow. It suggests Sutekh is confounded by the Doctor’s concern for R’s cosmic potential, so much so, that suspicions cause him to “shadow her continuously as he’s wary of R’s mother’s uber-power & also thinks R’s a dodgy being.”

He cannot let R die until this mystery’s solved so extends a protective corridor around her. Key to understanding this, is Sutekh’s presence can sometimes be discerned where there is ice: when Mel was infiltrated, Sutekh “concentrated his powers to the extent that the area around her (& others also) became intensely cold, thus whenever R is anxious & in danger, there’s snow….” Unless, as others pointed out, in this complication of Mrs Flood (water, ice…) there’s a snowy twist.

Could it be that TenDoc’s assertion of the supernatural caused mere wishes to be supersized, leading to a TL resurrection or re-creation of another god entirely: Tialoc or Enlil… -& who recognises a tardis?

Another idea is whether R’s dad could be involved in a way that’s….irregular? But again a dilution of RTD’s core theme.

Puro.

 

[syzygy @replies]

@mudlark despite the 2 women, I do think that there won’t necessarily be a return to R’s mum. Pretty sure Rus would say it’s all tied up -theme over slavish addiction to plot.

[syzygy @replies]

Thanks @whohar !

[syzygy @replies]

@juniperfish yes, the article mentions Peter Pan

– also makes it clear the wish is over (the snow won’t necessarily be happening again)

-RTD is aware of other Disney shows….
-spoons

-and, ordinary people. They MATTER.

[syzygy @replies]

I’m trying to link this -anyway  please, please FIND this and read it (I’m actually saying thank fuck). It’s from bleedingcool.com “What you missed, got wrong and much more” article. Someone else can probably link it. Courtesy of a pedantic friend.

it’s probably for us… 😎

[syzygy @replies]

@ps1l0v3y0u

….Linx that I to my theory.”

Yup.

 

[syzygy @replies]

Thinking about it more & more, why is Ruby’s mother really pointing? As others have said repeatedly, how on earth could anyone see it and why is she really pointing? If she’s  determined enough to cover herself up, why would she also point? 🤔

I know the answer we’ve been given, but ‘I want to name her Ruby Sunday” doesn’t make much sense.” If she’s aware of the camera then pointing would make less sense.

It’s the dramatic presentation of that scene which concerns….

[syzygy @replies]

@ps1l0v3y0u

I think the false face REG lookalike Doc in Rogue could be successfully utilised at any time? And wasn’t it Moff’s last hurrah in 2016 too? I’m sure he’ll come back unless he has more writing for BBC or HBO to do?

God yeah, “the earth should be …enough.”
RTD loves reality bombs, end of universes, outside of universes, cyber men AND daleks etc etc. Maybe it was time to put dog on a leash? – which I have to say was very funny.

I’m not sure how copyright works in telly. Maybe those with education can tell me? If a story is written by …. (Insert name) then can anyone use snow, for example & have it linked to, say, REG in The Snowmen Xmas special with Matt Smith, without series legal issues? Q

It’s a bit like those hoping for River. She had a fantastic end with CapDoc… it’s over! And that’s a good thing. There are others.. Well, God, I sure hope so.

So I really don’t think they’d bring a low level baddie like that back? After all, 20-somethings were all “WHO?” when Sutekh returned.

[syzygy @replies]

@whohar no, I totally get that. Certainly there’s a feel that the series is a tad ….thin, for me, at times? I’m reminded of characters who pirouetted on screen during 2011-2017 in chewy, but digestible stories in 11-14 eps a season including Christmas -certainly RTD had all sorts of specials after the success of season 2.

Whilst I like Ruby I do wonder if she’s sufficiently…complex beyond the not-orphan story? Rogue & Doom were captivating enough, showcasing her talents, but in general I have to admit there were meagre triumphs & vagrant habits.

I recall Mickey’s knavery, Rose & her mum -how operatically those stories were laid out. Amy & Rory: from boy to the man; the punch & humour;  the investigations of, & deep dives into, their alliance; their daughter; & their almost-divorce.

Then jousting Clara, all fractious sarcasm & a noble almost-death, recalling her simple-duple “Run you Clever Boy & remember mes” & the stunning writing. Compiling her losses is too difficult to do- there were many. But Moffat knew that a finale had to be earned, in the  campaign & the pursuit, was the win. Better to keep the capture til the last.

Sigh. 😞

Mind you, I don’t write verse: why enter a crowded field? 😀

Puro x

[syzygy @replies]

@whohar I don’t agree that it is the writer’s, necessarily. We all have some form of post-grad here so we can think, obviously, but could it not be a situation where we are not accounting for the concise writing RTD might have shown here?

We want MORE emphasis on why Ruby felt/saw snow or why the carol’s so dynamic & I believe that this was answered specifically in Wild Blue Yonder & in The Church on Ruby Road.

Very old Who, like the original PoM, had a series of obstacles which the Doctor either failed to climb or eventually succeeded in climbing. Audiences now see that a LOT in the dross of excessive streaming platforms & new series (after series), soulless pieces with little development of specific characters who are trite, have claustrophobic scenes in which we’re not invested & yet rumour spreads like a blaze in thatch….
Perhaps what this episode needed was more spine…

[syzygy @replies]

@juniperfish and @bunface you both referenced the Spoon.

[syzygy @replies]

@krathoon because she’s remembering only her previous memory of the Time Window & her previous memories of looking at the VHS. We’ve learned, in the last 10+ years, that when we think we recall a fact or a memory that really we’re remembering HOW we remembered it last. But recall now how the Doctor LET wishes into the universe. This is significant.

Lastly, Ruby has no awareness-memory of being a baby BUT she was there: her DNA, her construct, her super structure, was there. This memory, then, is still a true one.

Also the SPOON. a clever clog remembered the spoon in The Sherwood Story (sorry, I can’t scroll back at the mo) but it’s also in Hell Bent and Heaven Sent.

I’m reminded of the Doctor eating soup from the village dwellers. This was sufficiently concise a point for us to recognise his alliance with them & his dislike of TL society. That conciseness is in this episode but I’d argue it’s a simpler story.

Puro.

[syzygy @replies]

@krathoon I’m not sure the episodes hinged on Ruby remembering anything as a baby. She has the VHS tape. She went to the time window where they could see who else was there & to closely see if she could describe who her mother was -as in clearly describe or draw. UNIT would have sufficient information to be able to create a composite of this person I’m assuming.

[syzygy @replies]

@krathoon

Interesting point!
@blenkinsopthebrave

ah! Yes I think it probably stayed with the Doctor proper?! What do we called that? Doctor to the first power…. 🤔
(Sorry about this -I do most posts on my phone & attempting to cut & paste quotes is often not possible for some reason).
@mudlark I think the snow came because of the world now hinging on wishes -from Blue Yonder. I think this comes from further exposition in The Church on Ruby Sunday. Also words like “luck” were chucked about a lot & we had goblins 👹 which reminds me of fairies- the same category perhaps.

[syzygy @replies]

@bunface & @juniperfish yes, I’m thinking which is it?
If it’s collective wishes emerging from Wild Blue Yonder then why did the Doctor narrate a completely different reason for the return of life itself? That  “ memory is life ?”

@classicsrule1

A pedantic friend said that RTD “has the gift of conciseness.”  In rewatching  Before Gap or classic episodes, many of them stretched the plot out undesirably with obstacles each Doctor fixed before moving onto another. This didn’t happen here, RTD was concise, providing just enough information for us to follow along.

I know @juniperfish you stated that ideas “needed to breathe” & I get that, but is that our problem rather than the writer’s, I wonder…?.

Puro

[syzygy @replies]

Brilliant posts people!

With the wishes at the end of the universe as @juniperfish elucidated, is it possible this applies to “death to death = life” @bunface you wrote of “2 wrongs don’t make a right.” And @blenkinsopthebrave yes, it seems “stupid” unless it IS connected to the wishes?
But if that’s so, then wouldn’t the Doctor need to work through this which, he decidedly did not do, so I’m stumped too!

@craig “characters stuck up a tree and get them down.” Yes, quite right.
@devilishrobby  indeed, is seems she is a big bad or, with the “clever boy” idea is it that she’s a watcher figure? But this doesn’t explain the prophetic utterances about “tell your maker.”
😳

 

[syzygy @replies]

Now why did we think the episodes were part of a virtual reality? I remember how Rose was able to phone her mum on her first trip into space. The same scene and photography with Ruby -who also phoned her mum, Clara… We had Rogue, much like Capt Jack…. There’s probably something there which could still be relevant to our ideas about VR… & the similarity of these episodes to many others. From Carla to Clara etc etc…

[syzygy @replies]

@classicsrule1 welcome to the forum!
I do think that the entire season WAS about the significance of Ruby’s mother. Pretty much from Christmas.

Many orphans, like the Doctor, and those who don’t know their parents, have taken this story to heart (Still, I understand you registered just to complain  😀). The series is strong and has been this way for many years. I’m sure it’ll go from strength to strength. There’s usually something in it for most people. This season, no exception.

@miapatrick yes, agreed. The ordinary amongst us shine. Not everyone is the Impossible Girl. I loved The Kind Woman. How memories die before people -like a virus attacking before the Dust drowns. I liked that image and idea.

Puro. x

[syzygy @replies]

@winston absolutely, laughter, music, the best medicine. And Who is so comforting and comfortable a lot of the time. As recent reviewers stated, it would be rubbish if the Doctor couldn’t reverse the evil he met. But I know what you mean… “how did he hang the laundry that way?”🤨

[syzygy @replies]

@miapatrick I think you won @mudlark some cash… “Mrs Flood chameleon arced til Christmas.”

Niiice.

I really, really would’ve liked the carol to have been used a little more. But overall, I can see why RTD has gone down this particular path. We’ve had reality bombs, the most important woman in the universe, the end of the world. And the death of the end…. So the death of death makes sense…..

and I enjoyed the use of 73 Yards.

[syzygy @replies]

The Doctor says, though, @blenkinsopthebrave that “we invest things with significance.”

you did good work @craig 🙏

[syzygy @replies]

@bunface yes indeed you did!!

[syzygy @replies]

@magdiragdag welcome to the forum!

wow, the time is incorrect on Mrs Flood’s clock? Well spotted! I wondered too -why is the clock used? Is it JUST to show the storm (because we already see the storm) or is it something else entirely? I like it! People have suggested she’s chameleon arched.

Puro

[syzygy @replies]

@bunface “the triad programme may be an evil entity…” ooh, I like it, I like it…” !!

A bit like the end of Nine’s run? 🤩

@miapatrick “Mrs flood is Susan who has been chameleon arced” I ageee with @mudlark for  this is super bonkerising…

And @mudlark 3+ hours is insanely good in your garden. And I agree, you don’t need it to be too shaggy -just a bit, shaggy….

@ps1l0v3y0u yes, we still don’t know why REG is in Rogue’s Gallery??? Im still wondering to what extent all these episodes really happened.

And, shepherd tones on I am The Walrus …. But only as in all Shepard tones…. being an example of something else….

[syzygy @replies]

@bunface ever notice ears ringing? As you listen to streams or cars passing  -you might have access to a keyboard, guitar, tuning fork -or heck, whistle over a bottle, & you can match the ear ringing to “A” 440 hz. Fun trick. ‘Course, like a lot of tricks, it doesn’t always work 😬

[syzygy @replies]

@mudlark wow! You got both 😳-please, please don’t read them both. 🤓 You’ll run out of time! -I said a lot. I’m so glad you’ve  regenerated a new knee. Back braces can be cumbersome &  bruising… & I know how important the garden is to you.

@bunface believe me, I have one eye open when I read about a title- all  the better to go “La La La” I can’t see you; can’t buy you (sing song voice). 😄
The music in Who shreds me. Watching the last of Amy Pond with SmithDoc & her motif combined with the Doctor’s, caused watery  “moosh” face & tear floods.

[syzygy @replies]

@bunface -aw, shucks, thank you – back with my own username. classic radio is fantastic. How you interpret & why it makes sense to you is in keeping with Kramer’s The Hum of the World.
I liked nine too -the Moffat ep where he beamed? “everybody lives”  & you’re right he said “fantastic.”  He was swaggery doctor. Gatwa has that.

Edit: I was going to say that you do know music theory if unconsciously-that swelling, sonorous loudness at the end of Dot & Bubble filled with many instruments peeling shame…

Puro

 

 

[syzygy @replies]

Yes, I said this. Had a massive post and it’s ….gone. Never mind!

[Author]

Posts