Doctor Who 2015 Christmas Special - beware: spoilers, sweetie. He's right, The Doctor hasn't laughed for a long time. Hopes have been dashed, with companions lost. Plus, he's continually confronted by the every day mortality of those he loves or just encounters, until all he's left with is a time machine trying to cheer him up. … Continue reading Doctor Who: big night out
The Doctor
Doctor Who: quoth the raven nevermore
...our sign of parting, bird or fiend... Once upon a Sunday dreary, I pondered an episode wearily for a blog quaint and curious. Yes, it was Face the Raven. As a single episode it had pathos, pretty nice world building details and special effects, it also had history and the start of a mystery. It … Continue reading Doctor Who: quoth the raven nevermore
Doctor Who: Lying, the witch and wardrobe malfunctions
Review: The Witch's Familiar I think the Dalek loop is complete for the moment thanks to Steven Moffat. The Doctor has killed them, refused to kill them, transformed them, saved them, run away from them, and helped in a way, to invent them. Davros and The Doctor are the same and different. Scientist geniuses, the … Continue reading Doctor Who: Lying, the witch and wardrobe malfunctions
Doctor Who: Told You So
AKA remembrance of things that might be retconned So yes, it's just like I said in my last review. Lo and behold, with The Magician's Apprentice we get the double bill return of Missy and of Davros. No sweating on slow burn mysteries, Steven Moffat is leaping straight into the big themes of the season: … Continue reading Doctor Who: Told You So
Doctor Who: Last Christmas Analysis
Shortcuts & slogans This Doctor Who episode, Last Christmas wore many of its influences overtly. Within a few minutes they could be identified as a formula: Alien + Inception + Christmas X 2 = Doctor Who. It's fine I guess. We can all rest and consider that we 'get' the episode. Any dream within a dream … Continue reading Doctor Who: Last Christmas Analysis
Doctor Who: Relative Heroes
With Death in Heaven and Interstellar I've been thinking about relativity and time, cycles, and returns, and death and how these are represented in narrative. Then I remembered Buddhism. Ouroboros To be Buddhist is to be awake to reality. It occurs to me that to be in suspended animation sleep to cross space is like … Continue reading Doctor Who: Relative Heroes
Doctor Who: Role Play
Upon watching the 2014 finale of Doctor Who I've never been so happy to have Nick Frost appear. He was the ray of weird that lifted Death in Heaven from being one of helluva Halloweeen-ish downer episode to something a tiny bit hopeful. Character assassin If previous series were about fairy tales, this series was solid SF ideas and … Continue reading Doctor Who: Role Play
Doctor Who: Master of our fate?
Soldier Man Some characters are too good to live. In Tess of the D'Ubervilles, Thomas Hardy created a character he loved, and mourned that the story he created killed his Tess. Hardy, though, didn't change the ending. He let it stand. Tess died and he didn't diminish her sacrifice with her ghost in some saccharine sequel. … Continue reading Doctor Who: Master of our fate?
Doctor Who: Clara vs The Doctor
Flatline - Clara's Choice Seems some people are upset with Clara, mainly for not wanting the kids saved in Flatline. I think she spoke as a someone who has seen a bit of the universe and seen how lonely and dangerous it is for survivors. I also think she spoke as someone who has lost … Continue reading Doctor Who: Clara vs The Doctor
Doctor Who: Wood for the Trees
From the previews I thought this would go down a spooky girl fairy tale path, influenced by William Blake (Tyger Tyger!). Easy to assume with the kid in the red coat running around through the woods, and with the wolves, and the deliberate spoken references to Hansel and Gretel. This current series does like making … Continue reading Doctor Who: Wood for the Trees
Writing Bec 