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On at 6pm today. I'm probably the only person left on Earth who isn't bored of Christmas Carol variants so I'm looking forward to it.

Caught The Death of the Doctor on CBBC just now and enjoyed it much more than I was expecting, Jo Grant actually works much better as a batty old Granny than a theoretical sex symbol. The "Why did you never come back" stuff was retreaded from School Reunion and UNIT seem to have a CTU level of hiring evil gits incompetence but generally good fun. And I like to think the Dark Crystal style badies were defeated by not being able to handle clips of Drashigs.

Actually, whilst I was expecting brief Jon and Tom clips I wasn't banking on the full on flashback montage, including Pat and the continuation of the William Hartnell agenda from last year. And Delgardo! Yay. Loved the little catch ups on various companions lives as well, even if some of it was a bit obvious (everyone married who you'd expect to be, not sure about Ian and Barbara being immortal), the little gag over Ace's surname was nice as well ("Dorothy something..."), as is the idea of Liz Shaw running the UNIT moonbase. Though from him being talked about in the past tense Harry is dead?

Oh, and the Doctor claiming to have 507 regenerations in response to Clyde's insensate questioning is indeed clearly a gag on his part.

I will of course be watching, as unlike seemingly everyone else on the internet I bloody love New Who.
I still haven't seen Death. I haven't seen much of Stah Jane, but I'm always pleasantly surprised by what I catch and that one looked like my cup of tea. Fortunately, being CBBC, it will be repeated a million more times so I'm not worried.

I enjoyed the Sraah Jane epsiodes until it became obviously RTD scripted overtly fake emotional at the end where he basically claims every assistant to the Doctor ever become amazing or immortal. I love the fact the Doctor changes lives what he he essentially do to say Tegan to make her return to her normal life as a world leader or whatever it was.

I enjoyed todays Crimbo epsiodes, the best of them IMO with some clever ideas for an alright episode. However since when has the Doctor been so willing to mess around with peoples timelines? Though the geek in me knows the past and future Gambons should not have be allowed to touch......

So clever story and I like the way the Doctor realises the parallels with A Christmas to resist the plan he formulates. I should say as stunt casting goes Kathern Jenkins was brillianly done, a perfect use of her talents woven into the story. I quite like the understated way her death was woven into the story. Not some overblowed statement screamed out like in the RTD style to evoke obvious over cooked emotion and repeated over and over JUST SO WE ARE CLEAR. This one seemed much more genuine in that less was said.

Also, I love Matt Smith, he's so naturally wacky and his comedic delivery is perfect. Did anybody spot the Fez moment?

On and 2011 preview (from the end of the christmas special):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivUAMknjeyo


I assume it's naturally only from the first half fo the series, or should I say the 'spring' half.

So do the Ood not count as old monsters if they're in nice mode? Does that mean the nice Ice Warriors could turn up as well?

Didn't actually hear most of it but it sure looked nice, even if it was slightly odd having my Granddad's drunken rant at the evils of teh gays ("Don't call them gay... that's a fancy name. They are homosexual") running over the top of it. Hopefully with sound there will be a decent explanation as to why completely changing his life like that didn't alter his exact position on that day. Or how flying fish work. And I'm fully in favour of locking up opera singers.

I was slightly disapointed Rory and Amy were barely in it (I guess thanks to the format of four of the five previous ones having a Special Guest Companion with a solo Doctor that's now the standard for Christmas?). And I suspect it would have been more fun with Go Comperio.

Enjoyed it a lot, although it is a bit worrying to see the Doctor messing with somebody's timeline like that. Of course, the reason that the old man would have been there was because the Doctor told him that's where he'd be. It kind of played out like a Christmassy version of a book I used to have called Me, Myself, and I.

Although the book lacked flying fish.

I enjoyed the episode. Was surprised, like others mentioned, that Amy and Rory were not used much at all, and that the Doctor changed time like that so much just to suit his own needs. Felt out of place, even if it did work out better in the end. but overall, a good episode, and looking forward to the new season. When does it start?

Of the Comic Relief specials I've now seen "Time" (from the "Doctor Who Returns In..." ending I'm guessing I missed Space, no doubt it will be on Iplayer later).

Whilst be Very Stephen Moffett with the timey wimmey stuff, it was good fun, managed some nice gags in a short running time. Plus Amy and Amy... nice.

And oddly as I type this Comic Relief is doing a bit from the top of the Post Office Tower going on about the amazing technology within it that's made all the donating via phone possible. WOTAN is Richard Curtis!

http://geeks.thedailywh.at/2011/03/30/g ... -season-6/

doesn't really show much, but it looks exciting.
And the wild west is always fun.
And clowns . . .

The Eccleston/Tennant console room is on screen for about two seconds (presumably filmed before they finally dismantled it), let the baseless speculation start now! I've seen everything from Rory and Amy going back to Ten's regeneration through Time War flashbacks. I'm going with either it being used to represent another Tardis or that it's still deep in the ship somewhere and they see it as part of a (cheap to realise) tour.

Just finished rewatching the last season on Blu Ray, and I was pleasantly surprised how the episodes I'd been apathetic about on broadcast all improved on a second viewing. Amy's Choice (nice to have what's basically the Valeyard without any of the baggage) and Vincent and the Doctor especially. The only outright disaster remains the Sillurian story, which is just dull more than anything.

I still think the monster allience plan is complete bollocks though, come on guys, just kill the Doctor. Put him in the box afterwards if you like sure, but with all of you there standing in front on him if you just all fired your guns at once and them stomped on down on what was left chances are he isn't coming back from that. The Daleks alone should know how to kill Time Lords permanently. And none of them seem bothered about getting hold of the Tardis even though that's the real threat, they could have just snuck down and grabbed it when the Doctor first landed and had gone to the Romans. Again, the Daleks should know how to destroy a Tardis without it blowing up the entire Universe. Plus with the Nestene (somehow) plugged into Amy's mind they should know at least one other person can fly the Tardis anyway.

And... When River is talking about the Box opening one of the locking devices that is coming undone she mentions is deadlock seals. The thing sonic screwdrivers can't open (which makes sense, what with it being the Doctor's main tool and one also used by several of his friends who could wind up trying to come rescue him). So why, when it's locked up for good, is Rory able to use the future sonic to open it? By pressing just one button no less. Blimey, the monsters don't even take the Doctor's off him before putting him in. That's just asking for trouble in the long term that is.

Oh, and even though they make a big deal about the two sonics not being able to touch each other the two Amy's and two Doctor's both can later on. At least with A Christmas Carol it wasn't the same episode...

Still a lot of fun though. The surprise Auton appearance is a really wonderful arm in the air moment.

Oh, and according to the blurb on the back of the DVD for "Season 6 Part 1":

SPOILER! (select to read)

"The Doctor will be meeting an old friend with a new face". Baseless speculation time... I do hope they play fair with River and stick to her original claim the Doctor hadn't met her yet, it'll be disapointing if all the "It's the Rani!" people turn out to be right.

Summerhayes wrote:http://geeks.thedailywh.at/2011/03/30/g ... -season-6/

doesn't really show much, but it looks exciting.
And the wild west is always fun.
And clowns . . .

And in addiion to that, a 2 minute prequel for the first episode:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/videos/p00fxf06

Which resulted in a hilarious thread on GB moaning about Nixon's American accent when old Adam Klaus offa Jonathan Creek is American. Plus Nixon pretty much had a unique voice anyway...

Jetfire wrote:And in addiion to that, a 2 minute prequel for the first episode:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/videos/p00fxf06

Well, I am now officially excited about Easter.

The new series looks quite amazing.

inflatable dalek wrote:And... When River is talking about the Box opening one of the locking devices that is coming undone she mentions is deadlock seals. The thing sonic screwdrivers can't open (which makes sense, what with it being the Doctor's main tool and one also used by several of his friends who could wind up trying to come rescue him). So why, when it's locked up for good, is Rory able to use the future sonic to open it?

Two possible answers, both equally valid:

1) It was only deadlocked against being opened from the inside. A line to which effect is I think included in the dialogue. Deadlocks, like any other lock, can be opened fairly simply if you have the key.

Think of it like putting the bar across a door. You can't move that bar from the other side, but if you're on the side it's been locked from... absolute doddle.

2) The deadlocks were undone whilst it was being opened, and weren't set again after it was shut.

Could be (though it's a real lack of forward thinking on the part of the alliance, it's like the buggers are so used to him escaping from every one of their traps they can't even be bothered to try that hard).

I still love the overall attention to detail though, little things like making sure lots of aliens get namechecked to build up a bigger team than just whatever costumes they still had in stock or bringing back Mike to play the Sontaran for two lines make all the difference.

One thought I had: River didn't know Rory (even allowing for her being a bit of a bullshiter she's alone when she finds the picture of him and Amy and seems genuinely surprised when she has no reason to fake it), and at the same time implies the buisness where the Doctor finds out who she really is has already happened to her. So will Rory be out of the mid season cliffhanger then (the season opener of course could be happening to her at some other point in her life)?

I hadn't spotted that about River. I just assumed it might be because we keep meeting River earlier and earlier in her timeline, and she might not be fully up to speed with all the Doctor's travelling chums - but then the Doctor doesn't let on for the most part that he's travelled with other people before anyone new joins. But then she already knows the Doctor when they meet at the Pandorica. An oversight perhaps? I have a hard time working out exactly where we are in Rivers timeline most of the time!

Well 'The Impossible Astronaut' has left me going "ooh...!" A nicely perplexing set up from Moffat after a slightly awkward opening sequence. So there's the Silence ... tunnels... the proto-Tardis from 'The Lodger' ..an astronaut with a child's face...the Doctor's death...and..and... God knows what anyone coming fresh to the show would make of it, but I really great bit of telly. A mad gamble for a series opener and all the more refreshing for it.

Cliffy, if you're not watching this, give it a go

I liked it. Great way to open a season.

Mark Shepard ftw. "And how long have Scotland yard had this?"

OK, so odds on that being Amy's daughter in the suit?

A nice double bluff there actually, when she mentioned being sick I thought "Ah, she's up the duff then", but River feeling the same made it seem like a side effect of un-seeing the Silent. Unless she's pregnant as well.

Oh God, don't let all those "River is Amy's daughter" people turn out to be right. Or that be young River in the suit.

Mostly a very good, tense episode. But couldn't get involved in the "death" at the start.

And would there have been black security agents in '69? And unless they do more with it next week the foreign filming was gratuitously pointless. They could just as easily faked an American forest in Wales.

The Lis Sladen tribute on the CBBC channel was lovely as well.

EDIT: Ah, the comedy controversy over on Gallifrey Base over them putting Sladen's "Official" age on the dedication rather than her real age.