A girl can dream...

30 January 2016

So Steven Moffat is leaving Doctor Who. He must really need a holiday by now.  Interestingly, when I just went to google this story, Google suggested 'Steven Moffat has ruined Doctor Who' as a search term.  Everyone's a critic! 

Seriously, I cannot agree with that sentiment, though I do think that Moffat produced better Doctor Who episodes as a writer than as a showrunner.  The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, The Girl in the Fireplace and Blink are among my all-time favourites. I'm less keen on the convoluted story arcs that take a couple of years to pay off ('silence will fall') or personal relationships that 'need a flowchart', as I think they tend to alienate the casual viewer.  I had the same problem with The X-Files.

It will be interesting to see the direction that Chris Chibnall will go in when he finally takes over.  Until then, I'm secretly hoping for a 'Tenth Doctor wakes up in the shower/TARDIS and it was all a dream' plot. After all, Chibnall is working with David Tennant on Broadchurch and there does seem to be a tendency for producers to work with the same people over and again. 

A girl can dream, can't she?

It's totally sonic

Saturday 9 January 2016

Last night we watched a repeat of City of Death on the Horror Channel. It's an episode that still stands up well as one of the all time greats, in my opinion.

But observing the sonic knife in the rehearsal of the Mona Lisa heist got me thinking about all the different sonic devices that have appeared in the series:

• Sonic screwdriver
• Sonic shades
• Sonic cane
• Sonic lipstick (in the Sarah Jane Adventures)
• Sonic pen (Miss Foster in Partners in Crime)
• Sonic trowel (River, in The Husbands of River Song)

What next, I wonder?  A sonic toothbrush?  Come to think of it, they have sonic showers in Star Trek.

It was a funny old Christmas...

Wednesday 6 January 2016

Owing to a lack of forethought on my part, we spent Christmas abroad in a place with no Doctor Who, but fortunately no internet access either, so at least we avoided spoilers.

As a result, we didn't see The Husbands of River Song until a couple of days ago.  I need to watch it again, but on first viewing, it seemed rather a strange choice for an episode that is likely to be watched by a family audience including people who are not regular viewers.  There were a lot of continuity references, some of which go back to River's first appearance in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead back in 2008*.

And there were some bits that were rather revolting for a post-Christmas lunch viewing.

Still, I might pinch the idea of a 'Carol Singers will be Criticised' notice.

*Update: I have just read the review in the excellent Doctor Who Magazine. If their reviewer missed the significant of the visit to the Singing Towers, what hope is there for the casual viewer?