Little House on the Solar Farm

Saturday 1 July 2017

After a very nice celebration lunch we were home in plenty of time for the Doctor Who finale, hoping that it wouldn't turn out to be a disappointment that spoiled the day. I've  found that with two-parters the set-up is often better than the conclusion. So was that the case here? 

There was a lot to enjoy, particularly the situation with Missy and the Master.  Missy is in two minds about whose side she is on "fortunately one of them is unconscious."

But the scene soon shifts from the creepy hospital to floor 507, where settlers are protecting the children in a homestead straight out of The Waltons. Bill is having identity issues (though I wonder why she has more problems with the 'Cyber' than the 'Man'). Meanwhile Nardole is proving useful, though he is something of a Marmite character.  I have warmed to him, but my other half described him as 'like K-9 only without the charm.'

All in all, it becomes apparent that the situation is without hope, but the Doctor has to try, because that is what he does, and Peter Capaldi gets to deliver another moving speech.  The Master and Missy manage to cancel each other out in a glorious moment of self-destruction.

Ultimately, though, the ending with a deus ex machine,  or more literally dea ex lacrimis, was a little disappointing, and rather too similar to the last series, with a companion who is sort-of dead surviving to fly off round the universe with a female companion.

The final moments bode well for Christmas, though.  Roll on December!

World Enough and Time

Monday 26 June 2017

We missed the broadcast of Saturday night's episode owing to a prior engagement watching David Troughton (The Curse of Peladon and Midnight) playing Titus Andronicus  at the RSC. After an extremely gory evening, we settled down on Sunday morning to watch World Enough and Time.

Having enjoyed the previous two episodes, I didn't have particularly high hopes, particularly as I find season finales tend to be a bit disappointing.  I have seen online reviews suggesting that the episode was ruined because two of the biggest shocks had been made public in  advance.  Well, maybe, but the chances of keeping them secret would have been about the same as those of the Daleks taking up charity work.  On the other hand, Bill's fate was a genuine shock. And despite the leaks, I failed to penetrate the Master's disguise.  How could I have been so dense?

The idea of dropping Missy into a typical Doctor-type scenario to see how she got on was inspired.  I can't wait to find out what happens next week.   Unfortunately, next Saturday is a significant date, the sort of date that you might go out to celebrate.

Fortunately the husband has already thought of that.  "I've booked a table for lunch" he told me.

April 2007: a monster has been created

7 April 2007

The Doctor meets Shakespeare. It looked fantastic, the Shakespeare in jokes were entertaining, and we even got a bedroom scene. The only downside was that the witches were not quite as scary as they might have been.  But Angela Pleasence’s Queen Elizabeth made up for that.

14 April 2007

Mix up Ardal O’Hanlon, a basket of kittens, car-sharing policies, the Face of Boe, a monster from the Troughton era and an old favourite hymn, and what do you get? A surprisingly good story.  This series just gets better and better.  Slightly embarrassing that I spotted the Macra before the Doctor revealed all, though. I shouted out 'Macra!' at the first sign of a waving claw.  Husband not impressed that I spotted it before he did. What sort of monster has he created?

 

So the Doctor is not alone.  OK, my guess is that the rumours about John Simm playing the Master are true, and that he is also the Doctor’s brother (cf  “I had a brother once”).

21April 2007

Doctor Who’s answer to Snakes on a Plane – Daleks in Manhattan. The ending was rather spoiled by having been given away on the cover of Radio Times. But the recreation of 1930s New York looked wonderful – especially the lift in the Empire State Building, which was perfect for a Dalek.

28 April 2007

Well, I guessed slightly wrong.  I thought that the new human/Dalek Sec hybrid would be a power-crazed maniac and the Doctor would have to form an alliance with the other Daleks to defeat him. In fact, the new Dalek Sec seemed much more reasonable and human than Mr Diagoras had been. The Doctor formed an alliance with him, but was thwarted by the other Daleks.  A very strange story.  Interesting at the end when the Doctor offered to help the one remaining Dalek (Caan) – he has clearly moved on a lot since his encounter with the Dalek in van Statten’s basement.