So What Did You Think?

To the new series of Dr Who?

I really enjoyed it the story wasn't that special it got Donna and the Dr together nicely, they seemed to have upped the comedy element compared even to other funny episodes but it wasn't that scary. I just hope that they haven't decided to sacrifice the scary, they can't have, I can't think of many jokes to be made about the Sontarans after the no neck ones. By the by I spent a whole year doing courses with a woman who looked just like a Sontaran, she had the same personality type as well, she was poisonous. Catherine Tate proved that there is space in the Tardis for 30 something women which will keep my hopes alive that one day I'll get to see its insides.



image nicked from the bbc (they tend to take them down after a while)

New Who Bootleg Stylee

Big Shout Out has to go to Phil Plait the Bad Astronomer who even though he is a perfidious American just lurves his Doctor Who

In Defence of Catherine Tate

So Catherine Tate is going to reprise her role as Donna the misfortunate bride and join the Doctor in the Tardis. I've no doubt that there are howls of outrage across the blogisphere, outbreaks of misogyny and ad hom attacks on Ms Tate going on right now.

However I think that she's got every chance of doing well. So I didn't like her comedy show, I didn't find it very funny although plenty of people I know did, but that is different from acting in a TV programme with someone else writing the lines it is mostly in the material after all. I never found the Two Ronnies that funny - Porridge was one of the best comedies of the 70s. Catherine Tate was very good in the Christmas special, very watchable and she acted well enough to convince me. Although I was hoping that the next companion would be a chap, I'm pleased because her character Donna was feisty, not starry eyed about the Doctor, and had some fight about her but most importantly she's a real woman, she isn't a 20 something poppet with perfect skin, perfect body and toned pecs, looking like she's been buffed to within an inch of her life for telly, She's about my age and it's time that 30something women took their place in outer space fighting bad guys. I only hope that the writers steer clear of having any "romantic tension" because that is getting tedious.

That Was Bloody Fantastic!

And what cliff hangers! Can't wait till Christmas!

Praise The Lord And Pass The Sonic Screwdriver!

I think I may have been saved

props to Orac

Portmanteau

Traffic

It's the May Day Bank Holiday tomorrow although it hasn't felt at all like a bank holiday this weekend apart from the scum bag traffic on Friday which made me miss a Doctors appointment as even allowing 1 1/2 hours to get home wasn't enough if there are too many caravans and idiots on the road.

I'd forgotten what it's like to live on the tourist route; trails of caravans, coaches full of over excited old biddies and outrageously bad driving from tired and harassed drivers. Harrogate town swarmed with visitors almost 11 out of 12 months and for the week of the Great Yorkshire Show all roads into Harrogate would be virtual car parks. Where I used to live didn't, as really there was nothing to do or see there after about 5 minutes so no caravans.

Flickr

Yesterday was "24 Hours Of Flickr" basically an excuse for me to take my camera out and about. Unfortunately it was grey and cloudy, it's very hard for anywhere to shine in that sort of light. The sun did eventually come out but only in time to illuminate dinner and show that it was past the yardarm. That was the picture I added to the flickr group.




Dr Who

Wooo that was good! Great story, I was so involved that I didn't recognise the Welsh Assembly Building even though Simon was saying "Oooh we've been there" I didn't see it. However as consistently good as these series has been so far there hasn't been a knock out episode for me, The best episodes have lingered in the mind, none of these have yet had that quality.

There is no Dr Who next week because of Eurovision, which I do lurve, but I'd rather have next epi of Dr Who as it looks rather good and Capt Jack is back!

oooooOOOOOOoooooo

Doctor Who - Series Three (new style) starts tomorrow at 7pm, and I'm just a little bit excited.

Autumn, bloody autumn

I was gonna blog at about the clocks changing this weekend and how I liked going home in the dark with the glow of lights of houses, shops and street lamps to guide me home. How I like the cosy feeling it gives me and how it reminds me of being a small child, learning why my red coat looked odd in the sodium light thrown out on the streets of Edinburgh at night.

Basically I was going to do about 150 words on how lovely autumn was, but it was pissing it down this evening as I went home, I got thoroughly soaked and cold and I felt miserable.

Then I remembered Torchwood was on BBC2 tonight - double bill.

Yay it's not the complete dog I was worried about.

First episode introduced the Torchwood team through the eyes of an innocent outsider who will become one of the team by the end of the episode. A stock introduction to many a new series so sit back and enjoy how they do it rather than whys of the plot. Episode two of the series was another stock episode outline "Newbie's first, disasterish day at work" So again sit back and enjoy and I did, muchly.

Torchwood may be more adult in theme and tone: swearing, orgasmic energy, some violence and on screen suicide at it's heart it is pure joyous entertainment rather than challenging, stroky beardie Drama. But that's entertainment with a capital E, very high production values, a witty script and a good cast. And they managed to make Cardiff look sexy which is a bit of a feat so props to the editors.

It's going to be an OK autumn after all.

I Don't Have BBC3 - Take Two

So could everybody refrain from blogging, commenting or showing screen shots of Torchwood until after it has been shown on BBC2 on Wednesday?

I thank you.

I Don't Have BBC3

So could everybody please tell me what happens on Torchwood tonight?

(Jane: What are you doing writing on my blog???)

(Simon: Nothing!) :-)

Today, I Have Been Mostly

Helping my Mum get rid of an old bed. Well the mattress for it the base was far too big to get into her car. We took it to the tip along with an old cheap rocking horse my niece used to play on when she was smaller then we met Simon for lunch in the local pub. We had a slight detour into the lingerie shop next door to the pub, they were having a closing down on retirement sale, which is a shame as it was a smashing, if expensive shop. I managed to pick up this little piece of nonsense for £5.



After lunch Si and I went shopping for a bbq tomorrow, so we bimbled round Wilkinson's grabbing the basics, I was sorely tempted by this on the basis as a Tardis although it looked small it would be able to carry everything seeing as it's bigger in the inside than on the outside, but according to the Wiki entry it's a fictional thing so it couldn't.



Plus at £6.99 it was a bit much for a joke.

Getting Excited Now

Have you seen this! There is a Poster, a cut out and keep sticker book and 6, yes 6 (I counted them all) free stickers. It's making me giddy with anticipation I'm not sure that I can wait til Saturday for Doctor Who.

Of course there are some nay sayers who contend that the new style cybermen are not scary! Pah what do they know?

As I said, can't wait.

Good Bye Tom Baker Hello K9

Saw this in the Guardian on my way home from Lynn this morning. Tom Baker no longer to be the voice of BT Texts Simon reminded me that it was only a temporary appointment, but it seems a very short three months.

Really enjoyed this Saturday's episode, David Tennet is excellent as Dr Who. I didn't think the opening episode was as bad as it was painted, it was too busy though, with so many ideas in it that didn't get a full and proper exploration. Also science fiction it maybe but they need to watch that they don't rely on wildly bad science such as mixing all the intravenous antidotes together then spraying them on the zombies to cure them who then can pass that cure on, as a plot device.

It was so crap it hurt.

But we've got K9 next week and Anthony Head of Buffy fame can't wait.

New BBC website

Dr Who Annual

Happy Christmas

with kind permission from Dave

It's less than 5 months to the Doctor Who Christmas Special!

A big thanks to Joanna for finding this news about the new Dr Who series and the Christmas special.

I can't wait.

David Tennant also looks rather easy on the eye too.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Past Dr Who companion to return

Dr Who Again!

Wasn't Dr Who fantastic (I sound a bit like the teenager out of The Fast Show - Brilliant ) I thought the last episode was stunning, I didn't see the Bad Wolf explanation coming. Billie Piper was superb, the bit when she had absorbed the heart of the Tardis she portrayed Rose's fragility, other worldliness and humanity beautifully. I have only a couple of quibbles.

The sound mix - the music and the sound special effects drowned out half of what Rose was saying during the denouement. Of course it did not help that my mother finally decided that after ignoring the series up until now she had watch the last episode and kept asking questions at critical moments.

The other quibble was leaving Capt Jack behind, it seemed out of character I had got the impression that the Doctor had realised that Rose had resurrected him so I wouldn't have thought that they would have left him behind. Also he made such a good companion, great character and very easy on the eye. I hope that the Doctor meets up with him again during the second series. I don't know what I'm going to do to until the Christmas Special but it is my birthday in a few weeks time and I now have a DVD player. Hint hint to any family that are reading this.

Appraisal of the Day

2nd Reporting Officer's comments
The club he runs recently raised money for a local disabled person to have an electric chair.

3rd Reporting Officer's comments
I think I should point out that the electric chair mentioned by the assessor has wheels and is used to help the owner to get about. As far as I am aware Cpl ****** has no homicidal tendencies.

BBC NEWS - Missing Dr Who Dalek found on Tor

BBC NEWS England Somerset Missing Dr Who Dalek found on Tor I'm tempted to say something about "only in Somerset" but that would be sliding into cheap and easy regional stereotypes plus I do not know enough Somerset jokes. I know plenty of fenny benny jokes but they aren't really funny when you come to think of it.

I have to point out I am not a native of Cambridgeshire although I have lived here for ten long, long, years. I was born in London, I've lived in Portsmouth, Edinburgh, Harrogate, Syracuse in New York State, Sheffield and now here. I can't say that any of those places are "home" for me. I went to primary school in Edinburgh but I've never had a Scottish accent so I was English to my school mates. I do support Scotland though I remember the 1978 World Cup I lived in Edinburgh, Scotland were there, England weren't I didn't stand a chance!

In Harrogate, I committed the ultimate sin as far as the natives were concerned of not being from Harrogate so I wasn't made to feel welcome there: this is a local spa town and tourist spot for local people, you get the sort of thing. Syracuse, well we were only there for one year, but I had a great time. I was 16, I learnt to drive, went to the Senior Prom, the whole Sandra Dee thing except without John Travolta, though I did go out with my first proper boyfriend

I liked Sheffield a lot, I went to university there and stayed on afterwards, then I got a job with my current employer so it was back to Harrogate for a few months and then down here.

Cambridgeshire.

It's too flat and they can't put a decent head on a pint of beer, but the weather is better.

RAF Appraisal Of The Day

Remarks of the 3rd Reporting Officer.

Cpl ****** biggest problem would seem to be his inability to ignore a pretty female face! While I admire his sentiments, he is frequently distracted from his primary task and this is reflected in his numerical assessments and promotion recommendation. If he does not respond to counselling, we may have to resort to bromide in the tea!

More Dr Who

I watched Dr Who Confidential this morning on the net. In it, Russell T Davies who was scriptwriter for the episode, spoke about how the episode was about redemption, however I still feel that the ending was a cop out. By regressing Margaret Slitheen back to an egg, RTD avoided dealing with the issue of whether the Dr would send Margaret back to Raxacoricofallapatorius to face what by her account would be a slow and agonizing death. The Doctor never had to confront the reality of being complicate in her murder.

However my quibbles aside it was still an enjoyable episode, Annette Badland looked like she had a wonderful time taking part.

Dr Who

Whoa! the daleks are back next week, can't wait. And we have finally got some evidence that "bad wolf" has a meaning beyond an in joke by the Dr Who producers.

The episode itself was a bit with "One bound they were free" a tactic so beloved by Flash Gordon and the other cheesy 1930's serials the BBC used to show during the holidays when I was nubbit but a youngest.

Actually that's not quite fair, although the way the writer got our heroes out of danger was a bit of a get out - Margaret Slitheen regressing back to an egg, the eppy itself did try to tackle deeper issues.

• Relationships - Rose and Mickey.

• Crime and Punishment - The Doctor and Margaret although lightly done and not really going into the issues on whether capital punishment is correct or not it did touch on it which considering this is light entertainment for a Saturday evening was about as much as one can expect, after all the aim is scare young children not to upset them.