Imagine ordering Empress of Mars, a colonialist, capitalist and slavery themed episode of Doctor Who that demonstrates 19th century military and mercantile values and not realising it was accomplished earlier, with more nuance and to a more satisfying degree in the episode Thin Ice? As if to make up for this, some fetching steam punk … Continue reading Doctor Who: More ice?
Mark Gatiss
A review: abominable TV
The Abominable Bride, the next instalment of Sherlock, aired in Australia. Well I say aired. It was available via BBC Worldwide (through proper pay TV) and via subscription streaming TV and it also screened at selected cinemas for about 2.5 seconds. Needless to say, I missed these. It's typical Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, self-referential, messing … Continue reading A review: abominable TV
Doctor Who: Eye Spy
I wonder if writer Mark Gatiss has a thing about sleep, what with this episode Sleep No More, but also Night Terrors with monsters in the dark and things that haunt us. And also, both have frames. Night Terrors had a cupboard containing the terror inside a flat, while Sleep No More has a story-teller … Continue reading Doctor Who: Eye Spy
Heroic Codes in Doctor Who
Cooking up a story Writers are like chefs. They have ingredients: pop culture tropes, personal influences, knowledge of their audience, big themes and little obsessions. They also have recipe rules they can choose to follow or ignore when they cook up a story. They chuck everything into a mixture, have it whiz in their brains for … Continue reading Heroic Codes in Doctor Who
‘Who’s’ that Girl?
Clarity on Clara Everything about Clara is repeated. Not just phrases and names, but repeated numbers, repeated words, colours (red) and flowers (roses) and items (like the umbrella). Look for them. They're there. Or try Pinterest. Some suggest Clara is the daughter of the Doctor and Rose from Pete's World. Others say she could be the Doctor's … Continue reading ‘Who’s’ that Girl?
Writing Bec 