tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70112551252454827332024-03-19T12:18:14.213-07:00The Ood CastChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-79212145742592939242010-03-08T02:31:00.000-08:002010-03-11T12:05:02.945-08:00Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the future. Or the past. Or... what is this?<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;color:#cc0000;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#cccccc;">We have an announcement to make.<br /><br />But before we do, we owe a huge thank you to everyone who downloaded the first series of the podcast. It was a blast to make, and it’s wonderful thinking that there are people out there enjoying it too. As a bit of a thank you, I thought I’d explain what’s happening with us at the moment.<br /><br />You may have noticed that we had a break this week.<br /><br />Don’t worry, that’s only because from this week, we’ll be back with the new, all-singing, all-dancing Series 2 of the Ood Cast!<br />Well, OK, less of the singing. And, well, dancing doesn’t really work that well on an audio podcast (to Andrew’s obvious surprise).<br /><br />But, we are moving to a new site. It’s a bit sad to jettison this old home and move to a new one, but if you head on over to</span><strong> </strong></span><strong><a href="http://theoodcast.com">www.theoodcast.com</a></strong><span style="font-size:85%;color:#cccccc;">, you’ll find us all there, all the posts from this blog, plus all new stuff. And you’ll (sort of) see what we all look like.<br /><br />Like someone’s first car, this blog has served us well, and is comfy – if a bit shabby nowadays. So we’ve spent ages poring over copies of Exchange and Mart, and chosen ourselves a new set of wheels. We’ve even got one with a radio. And cup holders.<br /><br />And a go-faster stripe...<br /><br />It does the same jobs and gets us from A – B, but looks, feels and, well, just is much nicer.<br /><br />In short, there’s a lot happening. There will be a Facebook page. And we’ll be on Twitter...<br /><br />I still don’t understand the point of Twitter. But you, know, the kids use it these days. And Uncle Stephen Fry is some kind of King on it, isn’t he? That can only be a force for good...<br /><br />Well, whether I understand it or not isn’t anywhere near the point. If you are on either of those sites, come and find us and say hi – we’d love to see you!</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#cc0000;"><strong></strong></span><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;color:#cc0000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;color:#cc0000;"><strong><a href="http://theoodcast.com/">http://theoodcast.com/</a></strong></span><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:130%;color:#cc0000;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:130%;color:#cc0000;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:130%;color:#cc0000;"></span></strong>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-44400242111303452122010-02-23T04:10:00.000-08:002010-02-23T04:16:08.567-08:00NEW! Ood Cast, Episood 6: The End of Time (part 2)<em><span style="font-family:georgia;color:#ffffff;">"Perhaps it’s time. This is only the furthest edge of the Time War. But at its heart, millions die every second. Lost in bloodlust and insanity. With Time itself then resurrecting them, to find new ways of dying, over and over again. We have become a travesty of life. Isn’t it better to end it? At last?”</span></em><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;color:#ffffff;">The end of an era, the passing of a baton. Another man saunters off.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;color:#ffffff;">This week, the intrepid crew of the Ood Cast tackle the final episode of the Tenth Doctor’s reign.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;color:#ffffff;">We took advice from Tom Baker’s final words as the Doctor (“It is the end. But the moment has been prepared for”) and made sure we all had drinks and snacks to take our minds off the upsetting events that unfolded on the screen.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;color:#ffffff;">It was the end. And we had certainly prepared for it. So well, in fact, that we were able to record a podcast afterwards.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;color:#ffffff;">So, listen in to see which of us was teary-eyed, which was just a bit ticked off that he took so long to actually shuffle off his tenth mortal coil, and just how much of that last sentence I invented…</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;color:#ffffff;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;color:#ffffff;">Usual method folks:</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;color:#ffffff;">Click here if you want to do the business via iTunes:</span><br /><a style="COLOR: rgb(153,170,221); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://bit.ly/6Kw9Na" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:georgia;color:#3333ff;">http://bit.ly/6Kw9Na</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;color:#ffffff;">Or here if you'd rather not give your non-profit-making business to "The Man" and get it straight from Spirit of the Stairwell:</span><br /><a style="COLOR: rgb(153,170,221); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://oodcast.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:georgia;color:#3333ff;">http://oodcast.co.uk</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;color:#ffffff;">Oh, yes. And keep an eye out in the next couple of weeks for the all new Ood Cast...</span>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-44373876130310943292010-02-13T08:42:00.000-08:002010-02-13T08:46:05.777-08:00New! Ood Cast, Episood 5: The End of Time (Part 1)<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">It is said that in the final days of Planet Earth, everyone had bad dreams...<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">To the west of the north of that world, the human race did gather in celebration of a pagan rite. To banish the cold and the dark.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Each and every one of those people had dreamt of the terrible things to come. But they forgot, because they must. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">They forgot their nightmares, of fire, and war, and insanity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">They forgot. Except for four...<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Legends tell that these four intrepid humans used their rememberances only for good. To guard against evil, protect against invasion.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">But the legends are wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br />They used it to record a podcast.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">And this week, in Episood 5, we look at the End of Time (Part 1).</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></span></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; line-height: 1.6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">As usual, either subscribe or download the latest installment via the aural wonderment of iTunes:</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; line-height: 1.6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); "><a href="http://bit.ly/6Kw9Na" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(153, 170, 221); text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">http://bit.ly/6Kw9Na</span></span></span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; line-height: 1.6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; line-height: 1.6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; line-height: 1.6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">Or go straight to the Spirit of the Stairwell if you're not feeling appley today:</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; line-height: 1.6em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); "><a href="http://oodcast.co.uk/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(153, 170, 221); text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">http://oodcast.co.uk</span></span></span></a></span></p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></p>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-89377887828151206352010-02-08T11:40:00.000-08:002010-02-08T11:44:25.103-08:00NEW! Episood 4: The Waters of Mars<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(204, 204, 204); font-family:'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(78, 78, 78); font-family:Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Geneva, 'MS Sans Serif', sans-serif;font-size:13px;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Tap tap tap tap.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Tap tap tap tap.</span></span></span></p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Do you remember the old days of "Classic Who"? You know, the days when budgets were the size of your mum's weekly housekeeping allowance which meant that stories were claustrophobic and terrifying, even when the monsters occasionally seemed to be constructed from items you saw her making a cake with the week before?</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">No? Well, it doesn't matter... Not all of us do either. But we've seen a lot of it on VHS...</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But Who and isolated bases on the surface of a foreign planet is a marriage made in heaven, right?</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Download the newest episood to find out what happened after we watched The Waters of Mars in a darkened room, complete with a few glasses of liquid handy, which members of our happy band then refused to touch for considerable time afterwards.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Oh, and to find out what exactly caused an argument that might yet cause the premature end of the podcast...</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And the others probably talked about High Definition, and CGI "rendering", resolution and other aspects of watching a lighty-up screen on the other side of the room that I don't understand.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Save your tissues though, because we've almost got to the final of the 5 death rattles Mssrs Tennant and Davies served up for our viewing pleasure. And those were where the real tear-jerking moments were... (well, that's what it said in the Radio Times...)</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As usual, either subscribe or download the latest installment via the marvel of iTunes:</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); "><a href="http://bit.ly/6Kw9Na" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(153, 170, 221); text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://bit.ly/6Kw9Na</span></span></span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Or go straight to the Spirit of the Stairwell if you're not feeling appley today:</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); "><a href="http://oodcast.co.uk/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(153, 170, 221); text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://oodcast.co.uk</span></span></span></a></span></p></span></span></span></div></span>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-22038179198376117572010-02-01T11:36:00.000-08:002010-02-01T11:53:33.421-08:00New! Ood Cast, Episood 3: Planet of the Dead...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Geneva, 'MS Sans Serif', sans-serif; color: rgb(78, 78, 78); font-size: 13px; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">It’s episode three of The Ood Cast and this week we’re talking about the first installment in the ‘He will knock 4 times’ saga that ends the Tenth Doctor’s life – the aptly named Planet of the Dead.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Flies in boiler suits, dodgy CGI, a wrecked double decker bus, Lara Croft and fires of iniquity all feature in our rambling review of the story. Allies are made, old enemies revealed and friendships tested – and that’s just during the podcast. The story itself is even more exciting.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Join us as we discuss cinematography, production logistics, morality, travel cards and Laura’s huge crush on David Tennant.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Next week: The Waters of Mars and one almighty bust up that threatens to destroy the Ood Cast.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Forever.</span></span></span></p></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Don't miss it!</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Find us on iTunes:</span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><a href="http://bit.ly/6Kw9Na" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">http://bit.ly/6Kw9Na</span></span></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Or direct from the website</span>: </span><a href="http://oodcast.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">http://oodcast.co.uk</span></span></a></span></span></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-14089111283007525692010-01-26T11:17:00.000-08:002010-01-26T11:27:18.879-08:00NEW! Ood Cast, Episood 2: The Next Doctor<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(78, 78, 78); font-family:Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Geneva, 'MS Sans Serif', sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">A hearty, and slightly world-weary welcome to you.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Think back to Christmas Day 2008. The evening.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">There you are – on the sofa – feeling a bit bloated because your nan insisted that you had that third helping of turkey and at least two goes at the Christmas pud. You’re becoming steadily more pickled as the afternoon draws on, and your eyes are feeling a bit heavy.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Then something lovely hits your screen. You hear some familiar music. You haven’t been paying attention to the first couple of minutes because you saw that a few weeks before on Children In Need night. But now you’re a bit more interested.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">You start searching your mind for what it is like a brain surgeon wearing boxing gloves…</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And then you see him. A skinny man with an unmistakable pin-stripe suit, spiky hair and glasses. You know what this is…</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">You yawn. Then your eyes start to flutter as you desperately try not to fall asleep. But you can’t combat such a force… Just before you do, you see a blurry thing that looks a little like a creature made from a milk bottle top and strips of crepe paper (a la early 1980s Blue Peter).</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And the rest is darkness.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Wonder what you missed? Well, let us discuss it in your ear. For in this installment of the podcast, The Ood Cast Episode Two, we will be discussing The Next Doctor… because it started off the year of specials.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">So come and join us.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Please.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">We miss you when you don’t let us talk at you.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Here's where to go...</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">iTunes link:</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 15px; "><a href="http://bit.ly/6Kw9Na" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://bit.ly/6Kw9Na</span></span></span></a></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Or direct download from:</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 15px;"><a href="http://oodcast.co.uk/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://oodcast.co.uk</span></span></a></span></span></p></span>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-80431943094007565712010-01-21T11:55:00.000-08:002010-01-21T12:00:16.766-08:00And with a scraping of piano wires...<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(78, 78, 78); font-family:Helvetica, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Geneva, 'MS Sans Serif', sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">It’s here. The Ood Cast: Episood 1. (That’s right, we’re busting out puns right from the get go – that’s just how we roll.)</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The most important thing we want everyone to know before we start (and we say it on the podcast too) is that we love the show. Utterly. Even when we are disappointed by what we see, we love it.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Even, it seems, when we have quite large, uber-geeky reasons for never wanting to see that hour of TV again, we still do. And we still go and buy the DVDs.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Because, to us, Doctor Who isn’t something we can take or leave. It’s almost the thing that has been with us since we were wee bairns in the highlands. Or small children from the south of England (delete according to the way you wish to think of us).</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">In the words of countless Mitchell characters in Eastenders (so I’m told), “It’s family”. And it is.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Chris has said on this very blog that the Doctor has had a massive effect on the way he chose to do things (I’m still a little unsure about the blazer and the celery in the lapel, although I’m sure we’ll all get used to it), but for the three of us who make up the male contingent of the podcast, it’s something that rings a – cloister – bell. (Ha! See what I did there?! Oh, never mind)</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Laura brings a fresh and sharp view to proceedings to prove that we are just old school idiots sometimes. And that sometimes we do have a point. But not all the time.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">We would readily admit that we are sometimes critical. But it’s simply, and only, because we love the show and like to sit around daydreaming about what we’d like to see happen next, or how something should be done.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">That could be just me.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">And sometimes, life really doesn’t come to any harm if you ask a few questions about things.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Join us for our little journeys through (limited) Time and (cramped) Space. We’d all love you to.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">This song is ending, but the story never ends … I’m kidding, that was a terrible line.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Here's the choice:</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Subscribe via iTunes:</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=351653679" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">http://itunes.apple.com/</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><wbr>WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><wbr>viewPodcast?id=351653679</span></a></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Or download straight from The Spirit of the Stairwell:</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 19px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><a href="http://www.spiritofthestairwell.net/the-ood-cast/">http://www.spiritofthestairwell.net/the-ood-cast/</a></span></span></span></p></span>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-83182843036619952322010-01-11T12:50:00.001-08:002010-01-11T12:53:22.720-08:00Allons-y!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">We always intended to do this properly, you know. But we slipped. Lives are tricky things, and sometimes things happen that get in the way.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br />The short of this is that we're back. Oh, and how!<br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">For starters, you'll need this link:</span><a href="http://www.spiritofthestairwell.net/the-ood-cast/" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">http://www.spiritofthestairwell.net/the-ood-cast/</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><br /></span><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">This is because we're going to finally get the podcast up and running.<br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The plan is simple, and is this:<br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Starting in the next couple of weeks, we'll start releasing a series of six episodes: 1 introduction, and then 5 more, covering each of the 2009 Specials that brought the David Tennant "era" to an end.<br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">That will be every fortnight. And then, when the new series arrives, and Matt Smith begins to win everyone over (as we all know he will), we'll be there every week, sharing our thoughts with everyone who cares to listen.<br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">So please keep an eye out, and then download!<br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Join us to find out what happens when you shove three Doctor Who devotees in the same room, just how sarcastic one geeky fool can get about the follies of modern Cybermen, and exactly how many wrongs can be done to a good joke.<br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">This is going to be a blast. We haven't recorded anything yet, but I can feel it...<br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family:'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Come join us.</span></span></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-55705108611014092332008-11-17T06:34:00.000-08:002008-11-17T06:35:38.380-08:00We apologise for the delay to this service...As you'll have realised, should you be reading this blog, we've had an extended break from the blog, following the end of Series 4. This was obviously to make sure we made absolutely no headway whatsoever on the back of the plug the Who Cast kindly gave us back in July...<br /><br />So let's start this creaky machine back up again... And we have things to talk about.<br /><br />There's a new Christmas special now only 5 weeks or so away (the Children In Need sampler of which got me whimpering with excitement like the man-child I am),<br /><br />Obviously the news that now not just RTD is going, but David Tennant too, the prospect of a spectacular end for their tenures and the brave new world of the Vast Toffee MN - and the inteminable debate on who should take the role. Expect the Sun to fill pages with these rumours. Its nice to know that a national "News"paper is interested in the show... but maybe not if they're going to suggest Ross Kemp has accepted the role...<br /><br />The year of the special next year, of course...<br /><br />There's also the little matter of the Ood Cast writers coincidentally all turning up to the National Theatre on the South Bank here in London to see Russell talk to Benjamin Cook about their new book - hang on, no, not a coincidence, Andrew bought the tickets...<br /><br />On the subject of that book (<em>The Writer's Tale</em>), Richard and Judy have picked it as part of their Christmas book campaign... and it'll be reviewed on their shiny new show on Watch by none other than Uncle Stephen Fry - I think on 26th Nov.<br /><br />So, people, we are returning. Plans are afoot to do something new with the blog, but as the break has not been because we've each bought an island in the carribean and spent 5 months developing an EasyJet glow, there simply hasn't been time to return with a bang and a glitter.<br /><br />Better to just return sometimes, I think! So here we are. The bang and the glitter will come limping in eventually. We wouldn't want you to be over-whelmed, would we?<br /><br />See, dear reader... always thinking of you...<br /><br />If there is anything you want to see on the site, anything you want us to look at or discuss, please use the comments on here to do it - always very happy to hear from people - and desperately glad for some ideas we didn't have to sweat over!Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-60004019463863823572008-07-15T06:39:00.001-07:002008-07-15T06:49:23.815-07:00blOODy hell, we're famous...Well, nearly.<br /><br />The wonderful eccentricities of my computer meant that for some reason I missed a couple of recent episodes of the <a href="http://www.thewhocast.com/">DWO Who Cast</a>... Which I downloaded last night and listened to this lunchtime.<br /><br />I listened to Episode 76 and nearly choked on my sushi when they started the "Random Fandom" section by mentioning the name "The Ood Cast"...<br /><br />Tony and Trevor are both very nice about us and I've probably mentioned this before, but I'll do it all over again - the Who Cast is well worth a listen, definitely one of the best DW-themed podcasts out there, and always an entertaining half an hour or so of listening.<br /><br />Oh, and they mention my rant about people's, frankly wrong, opinions on <em>The Unicorn and The Wasp</em>. Oops...!<br /><br />But the word is out... <a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=151362609&s=143444">Look it up on iTunes if you don't believe me... </a><br /><br />Or <a href="http://www.thewhocast.com/podcast/files/WC-EP-76-28062008.mp3">download it from here...</a>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-40067964832663920332008-07-08T05:30:00.000-07:002008-07-08T14:04:50.758-07:00Ood ear...Now it's my turn to be the contrarian.<br /><br /><br />Ummmm<br /><br /><br />Sorrrrrry<br /><br /><br />But<br /><br /><br />I really didn't like it.<br /><br /><br />Gasp.<br /><br />I actually nearly switched off after the resolution to the multiple cliffhanger. Sorry, I said resolution, I was aiming at cop out and accidently said resolution. No one was in any danger at all. Come ON! I lost count of the number of characters in there, shoe horned in like Old Mother Wotsit and her shoe. Davros did practically nothing, what a waste! A new Doctor was grown so Rose could have him, blergh. It was all, oooooo we are in danger!!! Oh, no we are not so that's all right then.<br /><br />Towing a planet through space? No, come ON! What would happen to the gravitational forces and therefore the atmosphere? Someone tell me if that's possible?<br /><br />You had to have some knowledge of the Christmas Invasion (the hand and Harriet Jones) and Doomsday (Rose, Bad Wolf Bay, Jackie and Mickey). You had to know who Captain Jack and Martha were. If all those companions hadn't been involved then we might have had more plot.<br /><br />What a build up to Davros' end of series entrance only for him to do almost nothing. The comparision of the Doctor and Davros as the two destroyers of worlds was interesting and I was surprised that it wasn't explored further.<br /><br />One thing did work for me! (Hooray!). The Doctor Donna. Nice idea; the companion that becomes the Doctor but cannot 'take' being part Time Lord. (Loved the opportunity to show that Doctor could fix the chameleion circuit if he wants to). How sad that this wonderful hero will never know what she did with the Doctor. What a down beat ending too. I hope Donna does make something of her life now. But then, it's only a story.<br /><br />Oh well.... I love Doctor Who. And I love what Russell T Davies has done with it. It's just this time I didn't.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484408311101662916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-83689571601563494702008-07-07T05:35:00.000-07:002008-07-16T16:48:52.042-07:00Red Letter DaysSaturday was supposed to be a momentous day for Doctor Who – it was RTD’s big finale, in effect. An episode where he pulled together as many loose strings from the last four years as he could fit into an hour and tried to tie them all together once and for all.<br /><br />We finally saw the door slammed on the ridiculous Doctor-and-Rose-sitting-in-a-tree… "tension". Mickey finally moved on (to Torchwood?). Martha finally seems to have joined Torchwood permanently. Donna is back with her family – having got better and better as the series rolled on. And we got that answer to the regeneration question.<br /><br />But did it all come off?<br /><br />I think so, yes – but to be honest, I'm not all that sure.<br /><br />It was fantastic to watch - a real visual feast. But it was a disappointing way to close off such a massive story... There was so much to go on, so much promise, and we got a bit of a cop-out and a lot of confusion...<br /><br />Personally I didn’t mind the cheesy family-stuff with the Doctor and his "children of time" as Davros put it. Actually, the way he said it made it all pretty chilling. I loved the delightfully-mad Dalek Kaan, his false prophecies and ultimate betrayal – and that the Doctor even offered to save Davros’ life at the end.<br /><br />But I didn't really understand why all the companions were needed - excepting maybe as a distraction for the doctor. A particular highlight for me was Davros. The scenes involving him were magnificent – and particularly when he thought he was in total control. Ahough they could have and should have done a lot more with him than they did.<br /><br />The two-way meta-crisis: interesting idea, although its back to RTD’s "imaginative" science… I really enjoyed the consequences – the Doctor who talked like Donna, and finally an explanation to the Ood’s mysterious Doctordonna… But for me, it was more Star Trek than Doctor Who, and I have never been a huge fan of Star Trek...<br /><br />I thought what they did with Donna’s "death" was excellent – and she was finally properly likeable – proper human emotions in trying to deal with a situation so far removed from being "just a temp. From Essex." The extra Doctor was borderline for me. I sort of saw it coming, but hoped that it would be something else. I think it was handled well until the Bad Wolf Bay bit, and then it got nauseating, but at least it got the romance element out of everything (every cloud and all that).<br /><br />The ending in particular, with Wilf, was lovely. Very sad, and I am particularly sad to see Bernard Cribbins’ place in the series go with Donna. But it was a good ending to a very good year in Doctor Who.<br /><br />Three things though – C, G and I.<br /><br />The Daleks, for me, had their appeal in being an endless force – no matter how many were destroyed or disabled, more and more came after it. Part of the secret was that you couldn’t see or know just how many there were. Genesis, Revelation or Planet of the Daleks wouldn't have been as tense or dramatic or good if you could seen thousands of them flitting around on their way to battle stations, coffee breaks etc...<br /><br />But when the Doctor walks out into a massive space, filled with flying Daleks, I lose interest. It looks like a hoard of fruit flies bustling around a discarded apple core. Its not threatening, or scary. It’s preposterous.<br /><br />The other bit that bothered me was the whole "towing the earth back home" bit. As a concept and a plot point, its fine – it’s a very Doctor thing to do. But why oh why oh why did they have to show it? It looked cheap and silly. We didn’t need to see it.<br /><br />I could see it working with say, Tom Baker - but it would certainly not be shown... It would have been one of those little asides... You know, like this:<br /><blockquote><p><strong>Sarah:</strong> But Doctor, what about the Earth?<br /><strong>Doctor:</strong> What about it?<br /><strong>Sarah:</strong> For goodness sake, its still stranded miles from where it should be!<br /><strong>Doctor:</strong> Oh that. I towed it back into position using the TARDIS. (Teeth fill the screen) Come on, let's go and find a cup of tea...</p></blockquote><br /><br />And that scene where they're all flying the TARDIS... it was the first time in a long, long time that I've wanted to go and make a cup of tea in the middle of Doctor Who (for the record, the last time was while I was watching a video at uni... and my VCR was a fancy model with a pause button and everything...)<br /><br />All in all, it was brilliant – if self-referential and a bit messy- a real climax to the first four seasons, and despite its flaws, I’m glad it was so big and bold. What a fantastic way of clearing the decks for the Vast Toffee* to step in.<br /><br /><br />And then there was the trailer (or should I say "spoiler") for the Christmas special. What was it again?<br /><br />Oh yes:"Coming this Christmas… The return of the Cybermen."<br /><br />Well. Thanks.<br /><br />That’s the surprise taken out of that one then. Where are your spoilers now, River Song?!<br /><br />Still, I suppose that stopped The Sun leaking it later on.<br /><br /><br /><br />*Vast Toffee MN (Master of Nightmares) - Steven Moffat - brilliant anagram courtesy of <a href="http://www.staggeringstories.net/stories.html">Staggering Stories</a>...Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-22957442779679486272008-07-06T05:33:00.000-07:002008-07-07T05:47:38.409-07:00Exterminate! Speculate!The week between The Stolen Earth and Journey’s End produced a huge amount of rumour and speculation. The names I heard being suggested for the next Doctor are as follows…:<br /><br />Robert Carlyle, James McEvoy, James Nesbitt, Anthony Head, Alan Davies, Eddie Izzard, Stephen Fry, Johnny Depp, Ewen McGregor, Jason Statham, Richard Coyle, Alan Rickman, Paul Bettany, Richard E. Grant, John Simm, James Purefoy, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Robson Green (?!), David Morrisey, David Mitchell, Jimmy Carr, Hugh Laurie, James Marsters, Lenny Henry, Patterson Joseph, Ade Edmonson, Richard Armitage, Dylan Moran, Kris Marshall…<br /><br />Oh this is pointless. It will go on forever. And DT is here for Christmas and the 3 specials next year at least. So why bother talking ourselves into a frenzy now?<br /><br />I’d like to discount a few though. Some are obvious – like Jason Statham for a starter (this is Doctor Who, not a Guy Ritchie film - you actually need to be able to <em>act</em>). The people who suggest him on forums want him to make the Doctor a gun-wielding action hero. Well, then, he wouldn't be the Doctor... If you want that, watch <em>Ultimate Force - Doctor Who</em> isn't your kind of show...<br /><br />Johnny Depp, James McEvoy, Ewen McGregor and Alan Rickman (as lovely as they would be, this is small fry).<br /><br />Robson Green and Jimmy Carr (I won’t even bother with a reason).<br /><br />Eddie Izzard, Stephen Fry, Ade Edmonson and David Mitchell (all would potentially be great – but I think they’d have difficulty being seen as anyone but themselves in a fancy time machine).<br /><br />Oh, and someone (you know who you are, pillock) on the Telegraph website suggested Roger Delgado (for a “wicked twist”). I don’t know which element of that is more wicked – the original Master becoming the doctor, or the excavation and reanimation of Roger Delgado’s body…Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-61531545447535398982008-07-03T06:33:00.000-07:002008-07-03T06:34:14.204-07:00A Few ThoughtsI made a special effort on Saturday. So as well as doing the bits and pieces I needed to, I actually saw The Stolen Earth on the same night it was broadcast.<br /><br />Boy I wish I hadn't. I'd caught up with Turn Left just a night or two before, and it felt brilliant to sit down and catch the next part so soon. But then I was left with a whole week to wait before I find out what's going to happen next! ARGH!<br /><br />Turn Left, I thought, was rather good. Our Wide-Eyed colleague has unpacked the events better than a German tourist in a Spanish resort, so I won't go down that route - I may have more to add at some point, but I'll have to check a few things - and I definitely don't disagree!<br /><br />I am always nervous at RTD scripts. It always seems like the bits I dislike about the series (as few as they are) have come from RTD episodes... But I'm so pleased that Turn Left has joined Midnight to prove my fears unfounded.<br /><br />I'd be happy to leave my opinion of Turn Left as this: "It's like a Moffat episode. But without the explanations."<br /><br /><br />The Stolen Earth, I notice from reading the reviews this week, has been received with a few mixed opinions. Some hated it and it's end-of-term-familiar-sight of endless monsters. Most, I think, loved the plethora of familiar faces, the shock of the ending and the only thing everyone agrees on is the return of Davros. Even if the rest had been awful, that was magnificent. Very suspenseful, despite everyone more-or-less knowing what was coming, it was damn creepy - and personally, I had a little shiver. Brilliant.<br /><br />I've heard so many rumours and ideas about a solution, including one which sounds rubbish, but feasible and something I can see RTD doing. I won't say it here. But I should just mention that regeneration is probably not what we're going to see - DT has already filmed the Christmas Special and signed for next year's specials. Personally, I'm keeping all things crossed to see the Doctor healed and Peter Davison pulled back to help DT defeat Davros... Possibly too far off the possible scales. But it makes the time go faster!<br /><br />I will go into it more after this Saturday - and hey, maybe we'll get that podcast thing done and talk all this through in vocally-expressed soundwaves.... But please! Bring on Saturday!Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-59185976376920117512008-06-28T11:58:00.000-07:002008-06-28T12:00:23.029-07:00Regarding "The Stolen Earth" Cliffhanger ...HOLY.<br /><br />CRAP.wide-eyedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16902545679234198635noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-74241368005502611492008-06-26T14:56:00.000-07:002008-06-26T14:58:19.119-07:00The last wide-eyed post as seen through Wordle...<pre id="embed"><a href="http://wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/33352/Timey-wimey_stuff" title="Wordle: Timey-wimey stuff"><img src="http://wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/33352/Timey-wimey_stuff" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); padding: 4px; width: 185px; height: 147px;" /></a></pre>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-73111513871511530462008-06-23T16:51:00.000-07:002008-06-24T11:00:38.543-07:00Too much time on my hands ...My good friend Andrew wrote me an email this afternoon concerning ‘Turn Left’, it went something (or almost exactly) like this:<br /><br />“But if the Doctor died at the end of the Runaway Bride then he wouldn’t have been able to stop the Carrionites. Or the Daleks. Or The Family of Blood. Or the Weeping Angels. Or the Pyrovilles. So Earth History would have been completely knackered from at least the eruption of Vesuvius, no? Or do RTD scripted invasions carry greater potential danger than all of the above?<br /><br />It’s time for your timey-wimey-wibbly-wobbly Oodcast post to sort all this out!”<br /><br />It’s a conundrum and an arresting one at that. For a series based around the central conceit of time travel, Dr Who (particularly this new iteration) plays its cards surprising close to its chest where matters of temporal chronology are concerned. RTD OBE would rather tell a good story than get bogged down in the geeky nuts and bolts of it and more power to him if that’s how he feels. However, I’m a Dr Who fan, dammit, and for a lot of us the geeky nuts and bolts are not beside the point, rather they are the point. No, perhaps that’s overstating it slightly but they are an integral part of the tissue of rarified pleasures that make up the dna of the show. So, with that in mind, and with every intention of arriving at an answer to Andrew’s query at some point down the line, it is my great pleasure to present:<br /><br />The Troubadour’s Laws of Time Travel* **<br /><br />First Law: Time Lords are creatures of time<br /><br />Wow. Incisive stuff, I’m sure you’ll agree. Let me unpack this a bit for you so you can see why it’s relevant. What I mean is this: time is a Time Lord’s natural habitat, they move through it as easily as a Silurian through water or a human through nitrous rich air. It’s natural for them, it’s the way they’re built. Witness the Doctor’s extra sensory perceptions, he can literally see time in flux, respond to its ebbs and flows, he is as aware of changes in time as keenly as we perceive changes in temperature or light. Also, long time fans of the show will recognise that the TARDIS is less a vehicle and more an extension of the Doctor’s physiognomy. He’s not just a bloke with a time machine, to all extents and purposes he is part time machine, the TARDIS in this case analogous to a set of gills or an exo-skeleton - a physical, outward manifestation of an evolutionary advantage.<br /><br />Now this is all well and good but how does it help us explain time travel? Aha, read on my confounded friend and I will elucidate. You see, if we accept that it is a natural state of affairs for the Doctor to be traveling in time then we can also accept that his personal timeline was never meant to be linear. Whereas we Earth bound organism were only ever meant to travel A to B, time wise, the Doctor’s personal history is more like a cosmic plate of spaghetti, all over the place basically. Where as a human companion is being pulled out of their timeline when traveling in the TARDIS, the Doctor is merely fulfilling a function of his existence. The crucial point here though is that the Doctor can no more travel backwards through his personal timeline than we can decide to visit last Tuesday. He may treat human history like a personal toy box to rummage through at will but he’s as powerless as anyone else to go back and change his own past. That’s why he can’t go back and save Adric or tell his 4th incarnation to touch those two wires together in ‘Genesis’ and win the Time War without a shot being fired. The only time he can cross his own personal history is if he has played no active role in events*** (like Father’s Day) and even then the results can be devastating. From a distance it looks like he can go anywhere and see anything but in actual fact his travels cause time to coalesce around him, possibilities solidifying into certainties as he experiences them. Setting history in stone by his very presence.<br /><br />Second Law: Gallifrean Mean Time<br /><br />So why can the Doctor change Earth’s history and not his own? The most popular theory involves a concept called Gallifrean Mean Time (or GMT). This states that the universe has an event horizon, a present day in effect that advances forwards and before which one can no longer time travel. All Time Lords, wherever they are in time and space, share this awareness of what is the present, even though they are all over the place, all over time in different incarnations, shot through the universe like a stick of rock, only one of those incarnations is ever the ‘present’ Time Lord. The rest are fixed past selves or possible futures. The twist in the tale is that this ‘present day’ is actually still billions of years in the past and Earth is actually just a probable future planet (made more probable, it must be assumed, by the amount of it’s future history that has been fixed in place by the Doctor and other time travelers experiencing it). GMT also explains why there is only ever one president of Gallifrey at any given moment, why the Doctor knows what time period to visit if he gets a distress signal from his own world and why he only ever meets the Master one time after another in a linear order despite jumping between times and places. It also explains why there was only five Doctors to choose from at the time of ‘The Five Doctors’ and not thirteen. Most of all it explains why he can never see his own people again, despite them all being time travelers, the event horizon of the present has passed by the destruction of Gallifrey, committing it to the past, and he can never go back there, nor can anyone from there ever be in the same place as him at the same time. The Doctor has to obey the second law of time travel just as surely as we have to obey the law of gravity, he can bend it but he can’t break it. There are things that are lost to him forever.<br /><br />Right, on to Andrew’s question. Armed with these theories the answer becomes pretty straight forward (I hope). When the creature forces Donna to turn right rather than left it creates a parallel universe where the Doctor has died and everything has gone to hell in a hand basket. But this is certainly not a fully fledged parallel universe of the kind we visited in The Age of Steel. It is a rickety, cowboy-builder-esque construction created by a creature of dubious power. We are told time and again in the episode that reality has been bent around Donna herself, the changes have been made with her as the conduit so we can reasonably assume the new universe shares her linear limitations when it comes to time. Consequently, the only changes that are made are one’s where the Doctor’s wibbly-wobbly timeline intersect with Donna’s timeline f<span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">rom the right-turn moment onwards.</span> There’s no way that the creature could extrapolate every change that the Doctor’s death would have across all time and space, it’s host is an ordinary, A to B, time-bound human and so it can only affect change in one direction - forwards. In fact, it is entirely possible that this new universe doesn't even have a history before the point of Donna's decision - that it merely branches off from the main continuum and exists in a little paradoxical bubble by itself.<br /><br />(If we also take the second law into account, we can really see the creature has bitten off more than it can chew. Because the Doctor manifestly didn’t die during The Christmas Invasion and that has now been set in stone. Time can not just shift slightly around such a colossal error. That is why the whole bodged-up, rubbish, fragile parallel universe came into existence in the first place.)<br /><br />So there we have it - it was one crappy time beetle against the last gate-keeper of an intrinsic function of the universe’s temporal physics (or the champion of time to give him another name). And the stupid beetle lost. Hope that helps.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />* Specifically in the Whoniverse, this doesn’t hold true for Back to the Future, Quantum Leap, the Terminator milieu or JCVD action classic ‘Time Cop’.<br /><br />** I would be wrong to pass this off as all my own work. Rather it is a bastardisation of hundreds of things I’ve read over the years all cobbled together into a Frakenstein-esque whole. I’d gladly name my sources if I could but unfortunately I’ve forgotten most of them, I seem to remember several copies of DWM, an editor’s note in a Virgin New Adventures book and one of those interminable Dr Who encyclopedia of the mid-80s all played a part. So well done to you guys!<br /><br />*** Or through massive Time Lord intervention, probably holding it all together with some sort of paradox machine on a planetary scale (see any episode where the Doctor meets himself)wide-eyedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16902545679234198635noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-23221861874090868782008-06-20T11:19:00.000-07:002008-06-23T11:22:16.733-07:00When the night is long…I find straight-up horror films pretty boring these days. I almost think its fair to say that if a film states that it is a horror film, and is not made in Japan – its probably not very scary unless you’re a horror virgin or too young to see one. They generally end up in three categories, in my experience – the unheard-of, non-english-language original version, the plastic-bimbo-populated Hollywood remake, and the half-baked predictable teen-horror.<br /><br />What’s impressive with Doctor Who at the moment, is how far they seem willing to push the boundaries for the timeslot they’ve been shoved in (I say shoved in: series 1-3 were all shown in a slot an hour later – and all pulled in roughly a million more viewers per week).<br /><br />But this hasn’t quietened down the ambition of the production team. This series has had a feel of the inevitable about it – a kind of running dread that has wound its way around the storylines. But – no stories that have tried to freak viewers out with “scary” CGI monsters… Not that spring to mind, anyway.<br /><br />And RTD’s episode, <em>Midnight</em>, seems to be the pinnacle – so far, anyway.<br /><br />I’ve said before that I have my doubts about some of RTD’s episodes. In fact, I wasn’t overly impressed with <em>Partners In Crime</em> – although I enjoyed it… <br /><br />I have found some of his other episodes a bit suspect – especially with Rose and the 10th Doctor. My personal view being that series 1 served Rose better as a character than series 2 with all the will-they-won’t-they rubbish that came along with it... A main culprit of that must have been RTD, being in charge of the overall “story arc”, and it seemed to be his episodes where that whole romance thing was dwelt on. I was disappointed with the start to series 2 – in particular <em>New Earth,</em> and I really wasn’t sure about the Peter Kay monster and pavement-love in <em>Love and Monsters</em>.<br /><br />But, with Martha, his writing seemed to hit the mark more. And even more so with Donna. Or in the case of <em>Midnight</em>, without Donna…<br /><br />This showed how far <em>Doctor Who</em> has come, I think. It wasn’t a monster-fest. It wasn’t a space war. It wasn’t an invasion. We didn’t even see the monster or get to hear what it was. And that was its strongest hand. Something that particularly Steven Moffatt has played on regularly is what people genuinely fear, and RTD has just pushed on into the psychological territory with this episode. People have an amazing talent by blowing fears up to huge proportions just by talking themselves into believing it… Just like this group of tourists.<br /><br />Opinion seems divided with the newspapers, anyway. The Times were broadly critical, the Guardian were extremely enthusiastic. Out of the two, the Guardian had the better-written review, even if that’s because the reviewer seems to have approached the episode in a better frame of mind. The Times had a point, possibly, about the episode being a bit wordy, but it the reviewer was needlessly cynical, and doesn’t seem to have bothered either doing any research on this year’s series or taking a sense of humour to the sofa with him.<br /><br />I agreed with this:<br /><br />“<em>Midnight</em> felt too much of a writing exercise to be really scary”<br /><br />Well, to an extent. I think its proved with the moment when Sky looks up at the Doctor for the first time after she is possessed. Her head movements and the way she looks through him really was frightening.<br /><br />I don’t agree that Tennant’s Doctor is becoming irritating, though – in context of the whole series, he’s not been short on confidence (after all, why should he be?), and I personally found the arrogant comments funny.<br /><br />But on the whole, <em>Midnight</em> was great. RTD may well have been watching the <em>Horror of Fang Rock</em> when writing – the claustrophobic atmosphere is every bit as good, and its well-realised without going OTT with the effects.<br /><br />There is just one thing though. I don’t see why the “hostess” would do what she did. She seemed far more concerned with rules and regulations than the good of her passengers...<br /><br />Strong performances from another really good cast made this even better. And at least this monster wasn’t unrealistic!Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-89346958328465662972008-06-19T09:55:00.000-07:002008-06-21T03:32:24.738-07:00I’d like to be ten again. I think it was when I watched <em>Dalek</em> in the first series that I first thought that. Watching that final scene where the mutant inside the machine realises the bigness of life and that it would have to stop being a Dalek to cope with it. But it realised that this conflicted with its prime motive in life: to be a soldier to advance the Dalek race. Big stuff done big.<br /><br />In my first post on this blog I looked back at what <em>Doctor Who</em> had meant for me as a kid. So what’s it mean to me now? What makes it stand out as must see telly?<br /><br />Its uniqueness is always going to be its biggest selling point. A quirky, unpredictable traveller in a time-space machine that looks like a phone box who never carries weapons and has an unshakable moral backbone faces a limitless diversity of situations and sets out to right wrongs. You can’t beat that for an idea. It’s incongruous, enchanting. It makes you think and it’s entertaining. Gotta love it.<br /><br />I like my telly to be challenging. You can be challenged by all sorts of telly but <em>Doctor Who</em> does it in a way that embraces and salutes life. It doesn’t dwell on negatives. It takes the challenges of life and reflects them in ways that bring them to the fore in fresh and sparkling ways. The <em>Lazarus Experiment’s</em> discussion of immortality, <em>The Last of the Time Lords</em> on political power and the untapped power of the masses, <em>Girl in the Fireplace</em>, <em>Human Nature</em> and <em>The Family of Blood</em> on unrequited love and self sacrifice. <em>Gridlock</em> as brilliant satire and an exploration of community and, oh all sorts of things (I could watch it over and over), <em>Utopia</em> on the potential of the very wicked (Derek Jacobi’s take on the dim awareness that Yana was more than he thought was amazing), <em>Fathers Day</em> on self sacrifice and parenthood. Ha! Take that <em>Eastenders</em>! Ya boo!<br /><br />It’s thanks to Russell T Davies, the head honcho of the series, that it’s been so good, been written and made in such a full blown gutsy, hard hitting, clever, provoking and rigorous way. And the production team. What a team. RTD’s bold and un-dentable enthusiasm and self assurance in what he wants to achieve is a huge inspiration. He just knows what he wants to achieve and does it. Each episode of the series shines with this commitment and assurance and it’s a rare thing. Fourteen episodes a year of rigorously written creative television that is really, really different each week is not a mean feat. It’s always fascinating and challenging, whether it’s the Doctor’s insistence on giving any villain a chance to change their ways or the uncomfortable way that he has sometimes dealt with them - it has created splendid debate in my office and, I hope, in the playground too. The depth of life experience too. The horror of and the choices in war, the reality of relying on people, the Doctor and Rose’s friendship - the most platonic relationship ever portrayed. The madness of the Master. Donna’s desire for betterment. The acceptance of the diversity of life. What a smorgasbord.<br /><br />My personal favourites are each of the stories written by soon-to-be head writer Steven Moffatt. He hits a deeper resonance than RTD, who I think underwrites. (I thought RTD’s <em>Midnight</em> didn’t quite make it as a truly extraordinary exploration of human fear but was close). With the Moff you get the full whack every time, his plots are so intricate and his themes so solid. And his dialogue must make actors melt with delight. Who can forget the exploration of the Doctor’s relationship with Rose in the exchange, Rose: ‘Don’t tell me the Universe implodes or something if the Doctor dances. Go on then, show us show us your moves.’ The Doctor: (flustered) ‘Rose…. I’m trying to resonate concrete.’ And in <em>Blink</em>, the extraordinary reflection on Sally and Billy’s relationship that never was summed up when Old Billy shows up in the present: Billy: ‘It was raining when we met’ Sally: ‘It’s the same rain’. And Miss Evangelista’s final words: ‘I… I …. Ice Cream’. Or was it ‘I scream’? Goodness. Brrr. I wonder how the Moff gets away with such unveiled full-on drama in a family show. Whether referring to sex as dancing or the Doctor’s yearning for a normal, mortal life in the <em>Girl in the Fireplace</em> he breaks all sorts of assumed Who rules and no one complains. The mark of a great writer. Obviously the deeper and more adult stuff goes right over the kids heads and that's fine. I hope he has the same overall creative vision as RTD cos if so we are in for a few more years yet of this remarkable show reaching the heights that I have almost started to take for granted.<br /><br />I’d like to be ten again so I could be inspired by all this great telly at the right age. <em>Doctor Who</em> was doing all this in the 1980s but today it’s just better. Telly is produced better these days. There are less restrictions. <em>Doctor Who</em> is so richly written and made with such assurance and shining team work. It speaks of the reality of life in a way that is always realistic, inclusive and optimistic and mostly outstandingly moral. What’s not to like? Darn, the series will be over soon!Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484408311101662916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-7390822751089255102008-06-12T16:51:00.000-07:002008-06-17T05:30:06.435-07:00And the nation's libraries were empty...Oh so often in television, cliffhangers are abused. Cruelly used to drag viewers back against their better instincts to watch the next installment of whatever it is they're watching. And often, this is a complete let-down. Imagine sitting back to watch the new episode of Eastenders because the end of last night's has intrigued you - only to find out that its still a soap opera of negligable merit about depressing people and their petty little existences. Nothing is ever discussed - always dismissed as either "it's family" or in fisticuffs. Or a bottling. It is London, after all.<br /><br />Where are the Krays when you need them, eh?<br /><br />Well, I'm always worried that a cliffhanger in Doctor Who was just such a hook to drag you into a mediocre fishing net, filled with slippery little bores that rumble on endlessly about continuity, mythology and characters. Incidentally, I'd like to set up a forum for people to discuss and enjoy the good doctor's universe - but it would have a strict policy - the rules of Just A Minute would apply. Say continuity twice and you're out of here!<br /><br />But why was I worried at the end of the Silence In The Library? Why did I even entertain the idea that the next part would be anything other than magnificent? I'm not sure. But I'm glad I was worried, if only that it meant I enjoyed The Forest of the Dead even more.<br /><br />I think I'm pretty clear that this was "nu-who" all the way. It was involved, and emotional to levels that really didn't even register as an option in the 80s. I particularly liked the dream-time sequences - and Catherine Tate is starting to become impressive, even... Who'd have thought after Partners In Crime that we'd see this sort of performance from her. Stunning. And considering my views at the start of the series, I don't use the word lightly.<br /><br />There were moments that brought a lump to my throat (but no, I didn't cry, in case you're wondering). And I sat grinning like the sad little fool that I am for the last ten minutes. You know the feeling when you see David Tennant sprint with such purpose, vault over things to get to what he needs to do, and slowly spread his Tom-Baker-esque grin out for all to admire, that something brilliant is happening. And in this case, I don't see how people couldn't have enjoyed this - it was a very Doctor Who ending - he couldn't let everyone die. No matter what happened, everyone still had to be saved.<br /><br />I LOVED the double bluff in the mystery of what CAL was. Everyone I talked to and listened to in the intervening week assumed that the girl being CAL would be too obvious - after all, this was Steven Moffatt - it had to be more complicated, and more chilling than that. But it wasn't. And that was brilliant, somehow. It does prove that the writing doesn't have to be complex to work.<br /><br />The completely bloodless confrontation with the Vashta Nerada is fabulous - a real harkening back to the old-school... Threatening an alien predator with an entry in a book could only be done by the Doctor, couldn't it?!<br /><br />But I do have questions about the end... For one thing - they said that the planet was cracking apart - and yet he "saved" them in the Library's core. They're not safe for very long then...?<br /><br />Also, he brought the others back from the hard-drive, so why not them?<br /><br />But oh, this was great. Anyone else? We seem to have gone oddly quiet...<br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"></span>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-31234955714462384002008-06-05T08:29:00.000-07:002008-06-05T08:30:47.168-07:00When The Going Gets Tough, The Moff Gets GoingWell. How to describe The Silence In The Library... I sat still afterwards for a few minutes, looking at the now empty screen I'd been watching it all on, and became very aware that I had a dark room behind me...<br /><br />I've loved this series so far - so many things to like about the writing, the elusive "story-arc" (yawn). But the one thing I think we've been missing is suspense. Last year was not short of suspense - I think most, if not all the stories had elements of suspense - with 42 being extremely tense all the way through, and then the ultimate trio of episodes from Paul Cornell and Steven Moffat topping it all off. But this year, I think we've seen things coming.<br /><br />The Sontaran story, as enjoyable as it was (and I mean that sincerely - it was incredibly watchable, even if I did have reservations about the plot), was not tense at any point, to me. The Doctor's Daughter gave away the suspense within a minute of the start and from then on was light on plot and pretty predictable (but great all the same). The Fires of Pompeii had some suspense in, and was a cracking early episode, but that's about it.<br /><br />But as usual, The Moff defies us all. From start to finish, this episode pulsed like one of the classic Dalek tales or the relentless tension in the Web of Fear. There were some fantastic touches in structure - they're sealed in a library, but there's a little girl on earth (? Is it earth?) who can see all and communicate with them - even if she doesn't understand. Shadows that eat you alive - "not every shadow, but any shadow" is how the Doctor described it. Weapons useless against such an enemy is something that also screams classic Who to me - and makes all this even better.<br /><br />Then there's Professor River Song. Odd name. Hope that means something good or important, because otherwise it'll annoy me as a useless comedy name that reminds me of an Ocean Colour Scene song.<br /><br />We discussed River Song briefly when we "did lunch" last week - only briefly, as none of us wanted to spoil anything and I'd only mentioned that I'd heard a couple of "facts about her". Namely that she is meant to be the Doctor's lover, but she's from a future he hasn't got to yet. So far, that's half right.<br /><br />Lovely touches, too, with the references to Donna - the way River started saying something about how the Doctor talked about her and then stopped herself. I wish they'd stop with all that now. We pretty much know that something horrible is going to happen at the end of the series - I just wish they'd let us wait for that in peace!<br /><br />Fabulous cliffhanger too. That is something I miss from Classic Who - the weekly cliffhanger. Even the one in The Sontaran Stratagem wasn't all that nervy (like Wilfred is going to die that early...). But this was great - with a horrible but brilliant touch of the real faces on the robots.<br /><br />Those are creepy too, and I liked Donna's earlier reaction to them "It chose me the face of a dead person that it thought I'd like?!"<br /><br />By the time it had finished, I'd felt like I'd only just sat down to start it. It really didn't register that I'd just seen 45 minutes of brilliant TV until I'd seen the clock. I'm not sure I'd breathed for the last half an hour of that, either. This is what it's all about.<br /><br />Bring on Saturday!Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-44406673121795611572008-05-31T13:06:00.000-07:002008-06-02T14:32:43.886-07:00The MoffI’m still shaking. No really, I am. It’s about 45 mins since <em>Silence in the Library</em> finished and I can’t decide if I need a cup of tea or a whisky. Actually I might plump for both. I’m leaving the lights on that’s for sure. And did anyone else get a slight fear of ice cream?<br /><br />Steven Moffat. What a genius. Ever since ‘Are you my mummy?’ became a national phrase meaning, ‘You are about to get brown trousers’ this genius, this extraordinary talent has been giving us an annual dose of the most clever telly ever seen. Plot lines that are tightly woven, with characters perfectly drawn and all crafted with an understanding of exactly what the most basic scares are for people aged three to 103 and beyond. This is telly that scares the whole family in equal measure. It’s amazing and terrifying and hugely enjoyable.<br /><br />I remember the wide-eyed fear and not a little bit of boyish anticipation which accompanied the possibility that any character, might at any time, turn into a zombie with a gas mask fused to what was left of their head. Then there’s the chilling riposte to Madame de Pompadour, ‘We do not require your feet’. I have a friend who still freaks out if you put your hands in front of your face and tell her not to blink.<br /><br />The Moff’s understanding of what scares us witless is not all though. He really gets character and dialogue. And his plots: he makes ‘What on earth is going on? How is that possible?’ into a finely crafted art form. Gotta love the way the final reel explains everything, turning the impossible into a beautiful logical gem. And all the while giving the regulars a lease of life and an extra dimension that just sings.<br /><br />I wish I had discovered his series <em>Press Gang</em>. My wide-eyed colleauge tells me that one episode was set inside a freezer chest. That’s genius. I loved his series <em>Coupling</em>; better than <em>Friends</em>, and somehow more real. He gets people and character and his plots are perfect, see. Ooooo, and he's written the script for the upcoming <em>Tintin </em>film.<br /><br />This is going to be a long week. But I’m going to have some fun thinking about what was going on in <em>Silence in the Library</em>. The concluding episode is called <em>Forest of the Dead</em>. It used to be called <em>Rivers Run</em>. What does that tell us? I don’t know. I’m gonna try and work it out, but you know what; I’m not going to be able to. <em>Forest of the Dead</em> will no doubt be wonderfully scary and thrilling, full of character, wit, extraordinary revelations about the Doctor and River Song and a denouement eliciting a national, ‘Oh! That’s brilliant. Just brilliant’.<br /><br />He’s going to be head writer of <em>Doctor Who</em> after next year. That’s brilliant news. I say an enormously grateful thank you to Russell T Davies. He has created something awesome in the last few years and done what we all knew could and very blimming should be done by turning Who into the wonderful thing it is after a stupidly long time off our screens. But I’m also very excited about whatever Steven Moffat is going to do with this most special of telly formats.<br /><br />PS I loved <em>The Unicorn and the Wasp</em>.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484408311101662916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-71794185733450173012008-05-30T05:02:00.000-07:002008-06-02T09:23:31.030-07:00Trailer nonsenseI am writing at the end of the week where the good Dok-tor was replaced by a bunch of over-made-up European tunebreakers. Eurovision took preference, and Who fans have had to make do with a teaser trailer again.<br /><br />I also write this just after the first ever get-together of the Ood Cast writers - fine gentlemen, all - and the night before the Moff unleashes what looks to be an even more frightening story than last year's Blink. Only this time, we have to get through two episodes behind our white knuckles!<br /><br />I actually quite like the break to accomodate Eurovision. And that's not just because I like the Eurovision (although, embarrassingly, perhaps, I do - even if it is mainly for Sir Terry) but it affords us a bit of a breather before we set off on the usually terrifying road to the season finale. And it gives us a chance to ruminate on what's been and get pant-wettingly excited about what's coming up.<br /><br />But some take this more seriously than others. Some can't stand the week's break (really - think about how long we had to wait for the series to come back, guys - what's a week?), and others take what they're given and over analyse to a ridiculous extent.<br /><br />My colleague Andrew told us about a fan website he occasionally looks at (I won't bother plugging it, and you'll see why*), and that the last time he went there, there was a huge spoiler - the title of the still secret Episode 12 - on the front page for all to see, whether they want to or not. I hate this - I really don't want to know what's going to happen until it's on a TV screen in front of me, thank you very much. And that's why I'm not overly excited by the mid-season trailer. It was much of a muchness to me - nothing very new here - we knew the Daleks would probably be involved thanks for the pre-season trailers that appeared on the BBC Youtube channel, and the trailers and other interviews with past guests seem to have revealed that we're also going to see Harriet Jones back, as well as Captain Jack and Sarah Jane Smith), although Rose holding a gun is a bit of a jarring image (not sure a certain timelord is going to approve of that...).<br /><br />Oh, except of course for the glimpse of what could be Davros.<br /><br />It would be fabulous if it was. But the thing that rankles is this: some fans have taken the images of the dalek-thing that could be Davros, and are analysing it. So they can try and find out if it really is Davros.<br /><br />I DON'T WANT TO KNOW! I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY DON'T WANT TO KNOW! And I am not entirely sure if people who do things like that are really proper fans of the show - probably obsessives rather than fans. But why inflict this on others? If you want to spoil it for yourselves, go ahead. Otherwise, go out and meet some people in the flesh instead of online.<br /><br />I just don't see the point. The beauty of the last series was enhanced for me by the fact that I steered clear of the fan debates and the speculation online. All the episodes were fresh and new to me - and I loved every second of every one of them - maybe with the exception of the bad CGI Mark-Gatiss-monster in The Lazarus Experiment... and anyone who knows how much I like the Master as a character can only imagine the kind of joy I went through in discovering the final three parts of series 3 (or 29 if you're picky). I'm more immersed in the whole "whoniverse" this time, and I like it, although some of the more critical judgements of fans make me want to stop paying attention. I'm looking forward to whatever is about to come.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">*Of course, were there to be a commentary track for these blog posts, I may accidentally reveal that I didn't plug it because I forgot the name of the site... Of course, I wouldn't do such a thing on here...</span>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-77530374201096818882008-05-22T15:09:00.000-07:002008-05-29T08:19:17.978-07:00I Think It Was The Giant Wasp In The Library With The...Erm, Giant Wasp Sting?I can't stand wasps. I have never liked Agatha Christie. I was therefore probably not going to immediately warm to this episode. Gareth Roberts was either going to be onto a total winner or complete failure....<br /><br />My problems with Agatha Christie are long and deep-rooted. I was kind of brought up with her work (my mum had read every single one, and there were hundreds of them in the house). I studied her work as part of a course at university - compared and contrasted every aspect of her novels with others of both the time, earlier and later. And I was bored rigid of her. Formulaic, predictable and annoyingly elitest, her mysteries were not exactly my favourite time-killer.<br /><br />But there is a sort of history with Doctor Who and crime fiction. They seem to be natural companions. You see, Doctor Who is not all about saving universes from horrible beings, sometimes what is worth saving is somewhat smaller than a planet. And the Doctor has been pretty good at being the detective - stories such as the <em>Talons of Weng Chiang</em> and <em>The Horror of Fang Rock</em> unfold like Sherlock Holmes tales, while fabulous murder mysteries in their own right, like <em>The Robots of Death</em> (which still stands up as a magnificent piece of drama, in my opinion) carve out this alternative and rich vein in the Doctor's psyche. And here he was again.<br /><br />I loved every second. It was like <em>Gosford Park</em> with... humour... and aliens. Its a very different episode to anything else in this series - something akin to a twisted version of Cluedo...<br /><br />Gareth Roberts seems to get all the fabulous subjects, last season it was Shakespeare and this time it was Christie - and both times there was something integral to the work of the writer that he picked out and made central to a supernatural mystery. Last time was more straightforward - some witches use the Globe Theatre to try and unleash evil forces. This time, the trademark structure (sorry - the only structure) of an Agatha Christie mystery serves as a template for a wasp trying to exact revenge on his mother.<br /><br />Oh and there were some fantastic lines and moments - the attempted poisoning of the Doctor and his "de-tox" - completed with Donna's idea of a shock (I don't think I'd recover from that though...well done, Doctor...!). My personal favourite was the Doctor's "You always fool me. Well, several times, Well, once or twice. Well, once. But it was a good once..." Says a lot about the way I read her novels...<br /><br /><br />postscript: 29 May 2008<br /><br />I just caught up with the Who Cast's review of <em>The Unicorn and the Wasp</em>, and I need to add to what I wrote.<br /><br />I tried not to analyse the episode too much, as it was meant to be straight up enjoyable telly rather than anything serious... but I don't think I can sit back and do that now.<br /><br />I think I may be able to appreciate the episode more than others because I am already a fan of the crime fiction genre. I mentioned that there were crossovers where the Doctor assumes the mantle of detective - happens more often that not, in my opinion, but not that often in such an obvious and traditional way.<br /><br />That said, the criticism I've heard, including Trevor's on the Who Cast, seems to completely miss the point. That's not necessarily a criticism - if its not your bag, its not your bag and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. But Gareth Roberts' script is much more subtle and manipulative of his source material than I think its been credited. There are the in jokes - for example, Donna's blatant attempts to get her name in print (although that pretty much echoed the in-jokes from <em>The Shakespeare Code</em> - except in that episode it was the Doctor influencing the future written works...). But that is the tip of the iceberg.<br /><br />I loved the way the script used the one structure Christie ever really used and twisted it to make it fit with Doctor Who - the flashbacks, which Christie uses, particularly in the finale to explain the previously hidden narrative - were brilliant, with even the Doctor joining in. Trevor's point of being able to work out who the murderer is alongside the detective, I disagree with. I think Christie's detectives actually kept their cards close to their chest, and clues (as with a lot of crime fiction) don't often seem to lead anywhere specific.<br /><br />What I think maybe confused people and put them off the scent of any murderer was the side plot of the "Unicorn" being present (and subsequently caught) - which is the one slight issue I had with the plot... I thought the Unicorn bit was unnecessary and got in the way a little. But that in itself is a device Christie used - everyone in the mystery with something to hide will always give some sub-plots which will distract from the main story and throw the reader/viewer off the scent. Possibly.<br /><br />But, there are a few very accurate parodies in the script - the catching of the murderer in particular. The way the Doctor names suspects, puts forward a theory or a possible motive and then discounts them (with Donna's brilliant comedic reactions) is straight out of every Poirot story. One of the quietest characters in the story turns out to be the murderer - again a recurring theme in Christie's works. That's why its at once so hard and - with experience of the novels - so easy to work out who the murderer is - there's not much to go on in terms of evidence, and the Doctor doesn't reveal anything particularly in naming the killer insect, so if you don't know Christie, you won't know.<br /><br />But after a while, you get a feel for which characters are possible suspects. And generally, the less obtrusive the character, the more probable that they've done something heinous. That's why I think Trevor's comment, about anyone who says they worked out who the killer was is either a good guesser or a complete liar, is not fair - you just had to watch a few Poirot stories and put two and two together to work that out if you wanted to.<br /><br />I loved this episode - for all the marvelling I've done at the other episodes, this may well be my favourite so far - because it taps into my personal tastes, sure - just like the Shakespeare one did - but also because it was just fun and could have gone so horribly wrong.<br /><br />Agatha Christie may well be a good old British Institution these days, but so are soldiers wearing red unfiorms during desert combat, the Royal Family, complaining about the weather, golf and horse racing. Not all institutions deserve all the reverence they receive.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011255125245482733.post-71427202595126800462008-05-16T09:17:00.000-07:002008-05-18T09:21:01.200-07:00Guns + War + Genetic Experiments = Family?There was a time - the late 80s spring to mind - that Doctor Who wasn't really viewed as, you know, "proper acting". The Doctor was arriving in places filled with Comedy double-acts trying to stretch their careers for a bit longer, the cast of Cats and actors that people had assumed were already dead...<br /><br />If there was any doubt to the quality of this show by now, I point you in the direction of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Doctor's Daughter</span>. This is, seriously, the best thing I have seen in a long time. Ok, so being daddy to a small boy, TV isn't exactly something I get to experience all that much anymore. But the point still stands. This was brilliant.<br /><br />That Tennant bloke is a master of his craft. In theory, I think its perfectly possible to play the Doctor by hiding behind the huge character and equally massive back-story and still do a fairly good job of it. But he packs so much into these performances - I'm sure that this isn't the biggest acting challenge he will ever take on - but from the way he rollocks through these episodes, it looks like the most enjoyable.<br /><br />Georgia Moffatt was superb - equally as subtle and deft with looks and facial expressions that echoed the Doctor. The beginning is a prickly one, and I felt a little nervous about where this would be going... But it becomes very obvious very quickly that the connection between them is real and from that moment on it was impossible not to warm to her.<br /><br />In terms of characters, Donna showed a bit of intelligence here - and managed to think about puzzles in a completely dispassionate way, bypassing the confusion that the Doctor was going through. Martha was her usual bold self with firm morals. And the Doctor...? That scene where Jenny dies is the single most affecting thing I've seen this series. The pain and the emotion were real, and my goodness we felt that hole reopen inside him. A huge wow-factor.<br /><br />It was hardly completely unpredictable. But I didn't - and still don't - care in the slightest. Like I said before, way back in my post about <span style="font-style: italic;">Partners In Crime</span> I think, being a Doctor Who fan, its more about escapism than gritty reality. I don't (usually) care whether the plot is water-tight and the visual effects are accurate, spot on or even good. It doesn't matter if the cast contains more wood than a 16th century Galleon being studied by a group of hormonal 15 year olds. This isn't <span style="font-style: italic;">Eastenders</span> - this is meant to be entertaining.<br /><br />And this was magnificent. I loved the similarities with classic stories - particularly <span style="font-style: italic;">Genesis of the Daleks</span> sprung to mind a few times - the multi-generation race war just about to come to a horrible, destructive head and the surface scenes in particular helped that image.<br /><br />And you know, even though I knew the end was coming, I loved it. Even though I was sitting there, waiting for it, I still bounced off walls with joy. The Doctor isn't the only Time Lord any more. And he's not the only one of him around. I really hope Andrew's right and she returns some day...<br /><br />I'm really really looking forward to next week. Not least because the writer of one of the best Series 3 episodes (<span style="font-style: italic;">The Shakespeare Code</span>) is back with a new story, but also because its allegedly written as a more straight-up comedy episode, and that its about Agatha Christie - an author that I have disliked and been bored rigid by since I was little. I now sit here impatiently fidgeting waiting for Saturday...Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07284932375100226705noreply@blogger.com0