Doctor Who

Pages with tag Doctor Who

54 years of Doctor Who title sequences, constant change with one thing remaining constant Doctor Who thrives on constant change, but a few things remain constant. Once of those is the melody embedded in the opening and closing title music. It's the same pattern of beats and notes, even as the show runners change it around every few years to fit the times.

Behind the Lens - The Day of the Doctor - Doctor Who 50th Anniversary - BBC

The Day of the Doctor was the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who. This special goes behind the scenes of filming the episode.

Behind the scenes of An Adventure in Space and Time - Doctor Who 50th Anniversary - BBC

For the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, Mark Gatis was able to put together a documentary about how it all started.

Bill Potts, Danny Pink, two black Companions sacrificed on the altar of Moffatts whims

Two seasons in a row we saw a BLACK companion get converted into a Cyberman and given a strange send-off. The first, Danny Pink, was supposed to be Clara Oswin's love interest -- we even saw them rescue an apparent descendent of that match-up, until Moffatt needed someone to be converted into a Cyberman. Then in Season 10, we had Bill Potts, an excellent companion, get converted into a Cyberman because Moffatt needed someone to be converted into a Cyberman. The history of Doctor Who has not seen a successful conversion of a Companion into a Cyberman until Danny Pink. With Bill Potts we have a second successful Companion-Cyberman-conversion. What's the commonality? Both the actors are BLACK?

I was going to let this pass -- until todays news included Moffatt bragging about the story twist in The Doctor Falls of having Bill Potts saved by her love interest, Heather. Ugh. Really? It's all okay because you gave yourself a magic way out of the corner you wrote yourself into?

No matter how brilliant Moffatt is in coming up with clever stories -- this shows a weakness in that he writes himself into corners, and rather than face the consequences of the story he's penned, Moffatt comes up with a magic way out.

Capaldi is leaving Doctor Who because the Daleks are Cockney Nazi's Stephen Moffatt teases us about the 'monsters' coming up for Season 10. Missy, the Monks, new Ice Warriors, and more. The Fan Show visits the filming sets and back rooms and storage places and more. Peter Capaldi is on the Graham Norton show, talking about why he's leaving the show. Oh, and we learn that the Daleks are Cockney Nazi's.

Capaldi's Doctor is one to HATE, or is he? Peter Capaldi's Doctor (#12 or #13 depending on how you count it) has been controversial. Apparently some outright hate him, and stopped watching Doctor Who because of Capaldi. While his Doctor isn't quite my cup-o-tea, I purely do not understand stopping watching the show. Clearly if someones total exposure to Doctor Who started in 2005, they won't grok that Colin Baker's Doctor was just as gruff and disliked. If you think about the personage whose history we're watching, each Regeneration produces different emotional effects in The Doctor. Ponder that this instance of The Doctor is something of a clerical error, and that by the Rules of Regeneration The Doctor shouldn't even still be alive after his last stand at Trenzalore. Ergo, doesn't that give an excuse for a confused personality?

Connections between Silence in the Library and Impossible Astronaut / Day of the Moon (Doctor Who) Season 6 of "new Who" opened last weekend with an enigmatic story (the Doctor dies!) containing an enigmatic murderer and many references back to prior Doctor Who episodes. To me the contents of An Impossible Astronaut point strongly to Silence in the Library. Inside the astronaut's facemask is the face of a little girl who we briefly see who, to me, looks like the little girl from Silence in the Library. (Well, it wasn't the exact same girl because in the credits we see "Sydney Wade" playing the "Little Girl" in this episode, while in Silence in the Library it was "Eve Newton") I'm expecting Day of the Moon to be even more strongly connected with those episodes.

Creepy confessors from the Papal Mainframe - The Silence When first 'seen' in the Impossible Astronaut, these mysterious creatures were a puzzle. They could zap people, they were all over the place on Planet Earth, yet had a strange ability to be immediately forgotten, and were involved with training The Doctor's bespoke assassin - River Song. That last bit we didn't know until much later. Instead we knew that Amy and Rory's daughter was kept by them in a creepy mansion. It wasn't the end of Matt Smiths time we learned what the Papal Mainframe is, and the true role of the Silence.

Cyborg Tanks hell-bent on racial purity, cleansing the universe of all inferiors - The Daleks The Daleks have been The Doctors longest-running enemy. They were people once, but a thousand-year-long war against the Thals forced them to remake their race into cyborg tanks intent on racial purity and being the superior race of the galaxy. Taking that to it's logical conclusion, the Daleks develop over time technological mastery way beyond anyone's imagination, but dedicated to the cause of wiping out all other inferior life forms.

Cyborg robots, seeking a home world, improving other races by erasing emotions - The Cybermen The Daleks have been The Doctors longest-running enemy. They were people once, but a thousand-year-long war against the Thals forced them to remake their race into cyborg tanks intent on racial purity and being the superior race of the galaxy. Taking that to it's logical conclusion, the Daleks develop over time technological mastery way beyond anyone's imagination, but dedicated to the cause of wiping out all other inferior life forms.

Dalek Relaxation Tape - EXTERMINATE your worries and tensions

David Tenant has inside tips about Chibnall's time with Doctor Who, but he won't tell David Tenant, Doctor# 10 or 11 depending on how you count, has worked with Chris Chibnall thanks to his time in Broadchurch, and of course Chibnall is due to replace Stephen Moffatt shortly as Show Runner. Tacked onto the end of this interview about Tenants new movie about RD Lang (it sounds like an amazing movie) he's quizzed a bit about both Harry Potter and Doctor Who.

Doctor Who - Big Bang and paradox's and a reboot in the behind

Doctor Who - The Hungry Earth

Doctor Who - The Hungry Earth - Cold Blood

Doctor Who - The Lodger is more significant than you might think Just listened to the latest episode of The Doctor Who Podcast where they reviewed The Lodger. They described that episode as being a ho-hum filler which doesn't have much in it in terms of clues for the season-ending grand finale. And indeed it sure looks like a ho-hum filler. It's a normal middle-of-the-season story that has a lot of interesting bits to it, is well told, but is not the ground shaking extravaganza. Which does make its position near the end of the season a little curious because we're nigh on the what appears to be grand extravaganza and surely this episode should be cueing up some of the elements of that story?

Doctor Who - putting some season-long dots together

Doctor Who Episode 2 (Smile) image gallery In Smile, the preview videos promised us a visit to Earth's first colony on another world. Valencia's Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences - see my pictures at the bottom) is standing in for that colony, thanks to what looks like excellent CGI work. The actual location of these buildings in Valencia is very urban. In any case it appears the humans (in the story) are not on the best of terms with the robots.

Doctor Who The Cast and Crew Discuss Let's Kill Hitler - official previews and trailers for Doctor Who season 6 part 2 The next season of Doctor Who is coming up - and the BBC has released this bit of a video to tease our appetite. The first half of season 6 left us with lots of questions.. like, why was that little girl regenerating? The trailers they released also leave lots of questions and tantalize with many new things. The entrance into Hitler's office is - well - fitting. It's clear the arc here is about The Doctor actually dying, or not. And clearly we're gonna see more of Eye Patch Lady, and somehow River Song has an Eye Patch at some time? Why would that be. Perhaps River Song doesn't get rescued from the Eye Patch Lady until she's an adult? Or..what? What's going on? Imagine Germany on the "eve of WWII" with a bunch of Doctor Who'ish crazy timey wimey stuff. Okaaaaayyy...

Doctor Who s05e01 - The Eleventh Hour

Doctor Who s05e02 - The Beast Below

Doctor Who s05e03 - The Victory of the Daleks

Doctor Who s05e04 The Time of Angels and s05e05 Flesh and Stone Launching into a two-part episode is River Song returning in a fabulous scene befitting the enigma that she is. What a riot.. scribbling Gallifreyan graffiti on a box in a space ship, knowing that sometime in the future the Doctor will read it, then reading out some space time coordinates on the security camera, then blowing the exit hatch, having full trust and confidence that the Doctor will be there to rescue her. Wow.

Doctor Who: Amy's Choice

Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child (S01E01)

What an auspicious beginning to a TV show which would become iconic. Did they know the show would last as long as it has?

An Unearthly Child is constructed as a very good starting point, introducing the people to The Doctor and his ways. The episode introduces us to the Cold Hill School and the junkyard in which the Doctor and Susan live. Schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright are concerned about Susan Foreman, who seems to have a very alien outlook on England. She is precocious but seems to have strange gaps in her understanding of the world. They have come to her listed address to investigate. Her listed address is this junkyard, which they simply cannot grasp. Then they meet this strange gruff old man who tries to get them to leave, but instead makes it look like some kind of pedophilia or homelessness situation.

Doctor Who: Journey's End (S04E13) Wow. This episode picks up immediately following the previous ("The Stolen Earth") episode. At the end of that episode it looked like everybody was about to die, or had died. Sarah Jane was surrendering to Daleks, a Dalek was attacking Torchwood with Ianto and Gwen doing their best imitation of "let's go down fighting", and the Doctor had been shot by a Dalek and was regenerating. The big question from last week was this surprise regeneration of the Doctor since it's known David Tennant's contract went through 2010 (at least). Mere trifles... rather than regenerate into a new Doctor, the Doctor regenerated into himself. Weird trick if you ask me. And then to save Sarah Jane they had Mickey and Jacky materialize next to her car, with a huge gun for each, and blow away the Daleks. Oh, and Torchwood, they borrowed a scene from The Matrix and froze the bullets in time saying something about a Time Lock which Tash fortunately finished before she kicked off this mortal coil. Oh, and speaking of prisons (where Gwen and Ianto found themselves) these Daleks have some tricks, as a full blown Dalek Empire, which we haven't seen before. Such as disempowering a TARDIS regardless of the defenses it possesses.

Doctor Who: Marco Polo (S01E004) Marco Polo is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in 7 weekly parts from February 22 to April 4, 1964. Although audio tracks and still photographs of the story exist, none of the footage of this serial has survived. This is the first "pure historical" Doctor Who story, in that there are no science fictional elements other than the fact that the Doctor and his companions have travelled to the past. I watched the Loose Cannon reconstruction of this story and it's a great loss that the original footage has been lost. It's clear from the still pictures used by Loose Cannon that the sets and costumes were very well done, and that this story must have been a great spectacle.

Doctor Who: Planet of the Giants (S02E009)

Honey! I shrank the Doctor!

Due to a glitch the Doctor and Companions end up small. Very small. As in, smaller than the typical insect. But they don't realize this at first, as they are wandering through a landscape of strangely large but familiar looking objects. Such as a box of matches the size of a car. After awhile they realize they aren't trapped in an oddball amusement park, but instead they have been shrunk and the problem for them is how to return to "normal" size.

To make matters interesting the place they land was the home laboratory of a chemist working on a very potent insecticide. One which is especially dangerous to the humans in their extremely tiny size, as Barbara learns when she touches some of the insecticide.

Doctor Who: Silence in the Library, and Forest of the Dead

Oooooo! This is why Doctor Who stories should be spread over multiple episodes. So many of the Doctor Who episodes since the revival have been one-episode wonders where the story was rushed .. and a rushed story is often one not told as well. Even some of the two-parters since the revival have been too rushed. In any case these two stories are very well paced, extremely interesting, and excellent feats of story telling. That they were written by Stephen Moffett, the next lead writer, portends good things for the future of Doctor Who.

The story is about a library, not any old library but one that is the size of a whole planet and contains every book ever written. But, strangely, there is nobody there in this library. Why? The strange goings-on start almost immediately with an ominous message saying to watch out for the shadows. And shortly afterward a group of researchers burst upon the scene, one of whom, Dr. River Song, amazingly already knows the Doctor. Many creepy and odd events occur until there is another of the endings where someone sacrifices their life in order that the Doctor will live.

Doctor Who: Stolen Earth (S04E12) Oh my, it appears that Russel T. Davies wants to go out with a big big big bang. The Stolen Earth is essentially the middle episode of a three part story, which began with Turn Left. In the previous episode we were left with an ominous warning from Ms. Bad Wolf that darkness was coming. Of course that Rose was able to get to the same universe as the Doctor meant something seriously bad was happening. The "darkness" was spreading across all universes, but in this episode did not match with what I expected. I expected something like a blanket sucking energy out of everywhere, but in this episode we have several (27) stolen planets ... hmmm.. just how is that a blackness spreading across all universes? Either they have a continuity problem or it's going to be addressed in the next episode.

Doctor Who: The Abominable Snowmen (S05E038) Back to Tibet we go except it was probably really the Scottish Highlands in disguise. We have here a most interesting adventure about myth. The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria land in Tibet and its too cold even for Jamie's bravery and he ends up wearing a jacket despite his Highlander blood. The wimp. The adventure involves an anthropologist / explorer hunting the elusive Yeti, a monastery full of Tibetan Monks, and space aliens bent on destruction. Oh, and the Doctor gets to return a holy relic, a Ghanta, to this monastery which he had visited 300+ years before. The Monks have been hoping their Ghanta would return all these years and they're somewhat happy to have it back but for the attacks from the Yeti.

Doctor Who: The Ark (S03E23) This series establishes a continuity point which is violated by the modern Doctor Who episodes. But, okay, a violation of continuity? What else is new? The question of this series is what happens with a society where one part is downtrodden and dominated by another part, and then the tables turn and the formerly downtrodden are now in charge? The story involves a generation ship, that is a space ship that's built for a multi-hundred-year journey. There is a crew of people manning the equipment and watching over the ship, and there are millions of earthlings in cold storage. They're on a 700 year journey to a new homeworld and along the way they'd met the Monoids, a race of mute humanoids, which the humans forced into a servant relationship with the humans.

Doctor Who: The Aztecs (S01E006) The TARDIS lands in a tomb which the Doctor and Companions quickly determine is in the Aztec Empire during the 1400's. This is the height of the Aztec empire, and Barbara is accidentally identified as the reincarnation of one of their Gods. The Companions are unable to return into the tomb to escape in the TARDIS and thus ensues an adventure through a slice of Aztec culture as the Doctor and Companions attempt to work out how to get back into the tomb so they can escape in the TARDIS.

Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker (S03E024)

The Toymaker is an immortal jokester and game master. He inhabits a world of his own making, in which he traps people, makes them play games where the losers become his prisoners. Into this snare fall the Doctor and Companions. They play a series of stupid games. They win but the toymaker has a final move which is set to destroy them if they make the move. But they manage to trick him and escape without being destroyed.

Blah.

Doctor Who: The Chase (S02E016) The Doctor and Companions had, in the previous episode, acquired a gizmo. A Time-Space Visualizer. This was one of the prizes in the space museum, and at the end of that series they showed the natives of that planet destroying all the gizmos in the museum. The Doctor said, uh, wait a minute, would you mind if I take that gizmo with me? The Time-Space Visualiser is a television-like thingymajob which can pick up on any event in the whole of time and space.

Doctor Who: The Crusade (S02E014)

Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth (S02E010) This is the second appearance of the Daleks, and it's shocking to the Doctor and companions to see the Daleks away from Skaros and especially to see the Daleks had survived their previous encounter. The Doctor and Companions land in London along the Thames, which they recognize, but they also recognize it's eerily quiet. Too quiet. Something is wrong as they slowly discover strange clues such as a sign prohibiting throwing dead bodies in the river. They eventually find a calendar saying it is 2164.

Doctor Who: The Daleks (S01E02 - 1964)

It's fitting given the season finale which is upon us, to have watched the earliest of the Dalek appearances. This story was the second episode cluster of the first Doctor Who season way back in 1964, that's how long the Doctor and the Daleks have been fighting each other. In The Daleks the Doctor and companions accidentally land on this strange desert-like planet where the trees and flowers are made of stone and the lizards are made of metal. As their explorations lead them to meet the Thals and the Dals. These races had been fighting a long running war over centuries which left their planet a radioactive wasteland. The two groups chose different paths to survival, the Thals having forsaken war to take up gentler livelihood and the Dals encasing themselves in machines and taking on the word EXTERMINATE as their major vocabulary.

Doctor Who: The Daleks Master Plan (S03E021) A very long story, spanning 12 episodes, it is an extensive delving into the ultimate goal held by the Daleks. Namely the EXTERMINATION of everything which is non-Dalek. A prequel was shown, "Mission to the Unknown", which didn't even show The Doctor at all. Instead it showed a group of military men on a mission to a jungle-filled place where some of the plants had a special poison which converted people into more instances of those plants. A very rugged and dangerous place full of death and Daleks, but no time travelers. In the Master Plan we see there is an empire of several intergalactic races of beings. It's a little confusing because Mavic Chen is said to be the Guardian of the Solar System but at the same time that role places him in leadership over the whole conglomeration of intergalactic cultures. Either they mean something else by 'Solar System' or, well, I'm just confused.

Doctor Who: The Edge of Desctruction (S01E03) The Edge of Destruction is a confusing two-part story. Confusing because the characters are having memory lapses, inability to recognize each other, and none of it is explained until the end when the problem is worked out. Along the way the cast turns on each other in varying alliances. The argument between Barbara and the Doctor is very astonishing.

Doctor Who: The Evil of the Daleks (S04E036) What do you do when you're the Doctor and you see your TARDIS being hauled away on a truck. Why, you give chase, but when you can't chase down the truck you return to the vicinity and do your best Sherlock Holmes impression. In this story we have the Doctor and Jamie still in Gatwick Airport, the TARDIS has been stolen, and for a couple episodes the Doctor is playing Sherlock Holmes looking at minute clues that lead him on a trail which ends in his capture. Seems someone has set a snare for the Doctor, and they wish him to go back in time to 1866 and to do a little experiment. What is it that has allowed the Daleks to be defeated by humans, what is the Human Factor? The Daleks plan is always to dominate and exterminate anything that's non-Dalek, so they must understand how to beat humans, and to do so they must understand humans.

Doctor Who: The Faceless Ones (S04E035) What happens when a police box materializes on the runway of Gatwick Airport? Why the police come over and retrieve it. The Doctor and Companions arrive in 'modern' Gatwick Airport, leading Jamie to believe they're being attacked by flying beasties. As they're running around Polly discovers a murder. As the story progresses it gets weirder and weirder. The murder was conducted using a weapon which electrocuted the victim, leaving burn marks and scorched fabric, and why was an unused Spanish postage stamp in his pocket? Curiouser and curiouser my dear Commandant.

Doctor Who: The Gunfighters (S03E025) In another historical story the Doctor and Companions land in Tombstone Arizona a couple days before the infamous

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Sigh. So that gunfight has been portrayed in other fictional works so why not here as well. What happens? First the Doctor has a toothache because the goofy toymaker from the previous episodes had given him some candy which made a toothache. Who does he see in Tombstone? Why, Doc Holliday, that's who. The lot of them immediately fall into the middle of a feud between the Clantons, Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp and a couple others. The Clantons have a score to settle with Holliday, y'see.

Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus (S01E005) The Doctor and companions land on an island with a pyramid shaped tower. I saw that tower and thought Atlantis but the story had nothing to do with Atlantis, so much for that. In any case they immediately fall into intrigue and a planet full of mysterious peoples. The tower contained a remnant of the technological development of the people of that planet, it contained a machine that broadcast a signal which made everybody agreeable and peaceful. But some were not affected by the machine and there had been a war etc. The machine was operated by five keys, and the keys had been scattered for safekeeping. The Doctor and Companions then are sent on a quest to travel across the planet and recover all the keys.

Doctor Who: The Macra Terror (S04E034) The Doctor and Companions land on an unnamed planet in Earth's colonial future and find a man being attacked by a huge clawed insect monster. They are greeted by Medok, a half-crazed colonist, who is promptly arrested by Ola, the Chief of Police. It seems everybody who professes to see these monsters are made out to be crazy paranoids and are sent to the hospital for readjustment of their thinking, and if they do not conform they're sent into the gas mines where they tend to die. The people of the colony are doing some unspecified work to perform gas mining, and the gas has an unspecified purpose.

Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomews Eve (S03E022) A very confusing story this one is. Following their battle with the Daleks the Doctor and the sole Companion, Steven, land in medieval Paris. Yes, Paris again, fortunately it's not the horrors of the Revolution. Once they determine the era the Doctor sets off on a mysterious errand having to do with meeting a scientist and to deliver some papers. He leaves Steven to his own ends, and of course Steven gets involved with High Intrigue of the highest levels.

Doctor Who: The Myth Makers (S02E020) How did the Greeks get the idea to build a giant horse and use it to sneak their troops inside Troy? Why, the Doctor told 'em, that's how they got the idea. Uuuuuhh... It's got to be boring to be laying seige to a city for 10 years. Ten years!! Sheesh, some people just can't let go of a grudge, can they?

Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks (S04E030) Hey, who's that guy and what has he done with the Doctor? That's what Ben and Polly are asking themselves having witnessed the first Regeneration. It's nigh on impossible for the Doctors face to change like that, so it has to be somebody else, some usurper. But they quickly discover it really is the Doctor, somehow changed form, as they remember his words just before about his body being worn out. In the meantime they've landed on a strange planet, which they learn is Vulcan. The TARDIS has landed them in the midst of "mercury swamps". Pretty soon the Doctor witnesses a man be murdered, and he has a moment to search the man and retrieve a badge which declares him to be The Inspector and that the bearer is afforded all access. This rank will prove useful in the adventure to come.

Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror (S01E008) This was a very difficult series to watch, because of the horrendous conditions the Doctor and companions endured. They find themselves landed in the French countryside and it's nice and idyllic until they start meeting people. A young boy acts very badly towards them, and shortly after they come into a farmhouse that's infested with spies who use this place as a safehouse, and shortly after that a French Army unit arrive to arrest the spies. It turns out they have landed during the French Revolution during the time of Robespierre, the chief orchestrator of government during the Reign of Terror.

Doctor Who: The Rescue (S02E011) The Doctor an Companions, in need of a new young lady to be the Doctor's friend, land on the planet Dido. It seems the Doctor has been to Dido before and expected to find friendly and peaceful people. Except what they find instead is a crash-landed space-craft and a local who is anything but friendly or peaceful.

Doctor Who: The Romans (S02E012) We join the Doctor and companions in Ancient Roman times, chilling in a "borrowed" villa in the countryside. They're enjoying a well earned rest when the Doctor gets bored and wants to see Rome. He takes with him his new friend, Vicki, to come and see Rome as well. That leaves Ian and Barbara at the villa supposedly party poopers who aren't into seeing the sights and painting the town red or some such.

Doctor Who: The Savages (S03E026) The Doctor and Companions arrive on a strange planet, the Doctor is certain they have arrived in the "distant future" but Steven isn't so sure as there are signs it is the Iron age or something. The Doctor goes out exploring leaving Steven and Dodo behind, they encounter some savages who attack them with spears while the Doctor meets some soldiers from a city. They all eventually come to the city and find a civilization of high advancement, scientifically minded, highly advanced artists, etc. It is a beautiful place where they are welcome to stay. Except that Dodo feels something isn't right, she slips away and finds a laboratory in which the life force of people are sucked out of them. It turns out this civilization's high achievements are at the cost of stealing life force energy from the "savages". The supposedly highly advanced people regard these others, the "savages", as nothings, and by regarding them as nothing they then treat these "savages" without regard for humanity or concern for their wellbeing.

Doctor Who: The Sensorites (S01E007) A very confusing and intricately plotted series which ends up in a very interesting place. The Doctor and Companions find themselves on a spaceship where the inhabitants appear to be dead. They're about to say "whatever" and leave when it appears maybe they aren't dead. They're able to resuscitate the inhabitants and embark on this strange journey.

Doctor Who: The Smugglers (S04E028) The Doctor starts to leave with the TARDIS, all alone, because Dodo sent a message that she wished to stay in London. Except, Ben and Polly have accidentally boarded the TARDIS just before dematerialization. Once he sees them he's knowing that they're stuck with him for awhile, but of course they're obstinate that they're in 1966 London and that Ben has to get to his ship, etc. Then the ship lands somewhere and, despite now being on a beach, still thinking they're in 1966 they start heading towards the church they see in the distance. And thus ensues an Adventure in the past.

Doctor Who: The Space Museum (S02E015) The Doctor and Companions arrive at a strange place, a seemingly deserted building full of artifacts. They had a mishap during landing which lead to their being disjoint from time. In the building they eventually see people but the people cannot see them. Curious as to what's going on they explore further, and then find a room containing the TARDIS and they're shocked to see themselves on display. The realization comes, they're seeing their own future and the question comes, how do they avoid this future? Is the future predetermined and there is no way to avoid it? Or are they able to, having been informed of the future, take steps to avoid the future? Or are any steps they take part of the predetermined steps which will take them to their future even as they take those steps to avoid the future they already know about?

Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet (S04E029) Woah.. the first appearance of the Cybermen, and the first regeneration. And a real tense story to boot. The Doctor and Companions land on a new planet, which the Doctor declares to be the "Coldest Place on the Planet". It is 1986, and they are at the South Pole near 'Snowcap Base' which appears to have been a rocket base that sends up missions to study the weather. It's presented as a stereotypical military base, with a small contingent of stir crazy men, with no females in site anywhere. Shortly after their arrival a "new planet" shows up in their instruments, they're able to see pictures of the planet and it has land masses recognizably the same as Earths. Except the land masses are pictured as being upside down. The Doctor recognizes the place and declares this is the planet

Mondas, and that they are about to have visitors. Apparently he knows all about the Cybermen and their planet.

Doctor Who: The Time Meddler (S02E017) Okay, so who's the new companion? Turns out the guy they met last episode managed to sneak aboard and he's now their new companion. He's a little green, however, but is probably gonna learn himself a thing or two about dodging space monsters. In any case they arrive somewhere on the beach at the base of some tall cliffs. Unsure when/where they've arrived they go exploring and eventually learn they're in Northumbria in 1066 just before the Battle of Hastings. Coincidentally they've landed at the place where the Vikings led by Harold Hardrada were to invade, and due to the Viking invasion King Harold Godwinson of England had to divert the troops to fight the Vikings and then when William the Conqueror invaded the army was worn out from already fighting one foe.

Doctor Who: The Tomb of the Cybermen (S05E036) On the planet Telos, an archeological expedition uncovers a hidden entrance in the side of a mountain. When a member of the expedition touches the doors, he is electrocuted. The TARDIS lands nearby, and the expedition is joined by the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria. Parry, the expeditions leader, explains that they are here to find the remains of the Cybermen, who apparently died out centuries before. The expedition is funded by Kaftan, who is accompanied by her giant manservant Toberman and her colleague Klieg. Hmm says the Doctor...

Doctor Who: The Underwater Menace (S04E032) In Jamie's inaugural voyage in the TARDIS we travel to Atlantis. It is not an Atlantis of ancient times, but one which has been buried beneath the ocean until modern times. A modern day mad scientist, Professor Zaroff, has made his way to Atlantis and has a crackpot crazy scheme. He's told the Atlantean's that he can raise their city from beneath the ocean, and to these people who have been buried for centuries having their city above the ocean again is appealing. However Zaroff has a different plan, one which will involve destruction of the planet.

Doctor Who: The War Machines (S03E027) Goodbye Dodo, welcome Polly & Ben. The Doctor and Dodo land in London near the Post Office Tower. The Doctor senses something is amiss with the tower and goes to investigate. Somehow we are next in the central control room for what would have to be a highly top secret installation, at the top of the tower, and somehow the Doctor is being led into the room. Through a series of events we learn of a computer, WOTAN (Will Operating Thought ANalogue), which is said to be the ultimate in machine intelligence and is intended to become the hub of a network of computers which will make all decisions for mankind. Except WOTAN has a plan of its own, to wipe out humanity because humanity gets in the way of the superiority of the machines. WOTAN has hypnotic powers and uses them to enslave groups of humans who are ordered to build War Machines. Coincidentally the machines have a gun that looks a lot like a DALEK gun. Maybe their special effects budget didn't have money to pay for design of a different gun.

Doctor Who: The Web Planet (S02E013) Upon leaving Ancient Rome the TARDIS is mysteriously pulled off course and onto the planet Vortis. The story was pretty confusing to me. The Doctor and Ian explore the planets surface, finding a barren landscape, craggy rocks, pools of acid, etc. The planet is occupied by two species that look like giant bugs, the Zarbi are enormous ants, while the Menoptra are enormous bees. "Enormous" means people-sized. What was confusing was the relationship between these races and their motivations.

Doctor Who: Turn Left (S04E11)

Another tour de force of time travel stories on Doctor Who. This episode asks the question -- How would your life be different if your decisions were different?

Clearly where we end up in life is directly determined by the decisions we make along the way. It's also determined by what goes on around us, the decisions everybody else makes, and for that matter the context we all live in on this planet in this star system in this galaxy etc. But, really, what path would life take if there were a different set of decisions?

In the episode they suggest that for most people it wouldn't make much difference. Choose one job versus another job, what difference does it make? But in the case of Donna Noble, the Doctors companion, that choice ends up being between accompanying the Doctor and not doing so. Then because the Doctor truly dies because Donna is not with him, without the presence of the Doctor the whole universe dies, step by step.

Episode 1 (The Pilot) image gallery As with any Doctor Who companion, 'two worlds collide'. Bill, the new companion, is introduced to us in this episode. The episode synopsis: 'Two worlds collide when the Doctor meets Bill, and a chance encounter with a girl with a star in her eye leads to a terrifying chase across time and space. Bill's mind is opened to a universe that is bigger and more exciting than she could possibly have imagined. But who is the Doctor, and what is his secret mission on Earth?'

Episode 1's 'next time' trailers previewing Smile, episode 02 Doctor Who went to Valencia Spain to film a strange city that's one of Earth's first colonies in space, only to find the people had died and it's inhabited to Emoji-speaking robots. WTF? Valencia is a cool city, and that strange looking building (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias) is certainly a strange place, but why would they cut the building out of its surroundings? Anyway, here's a preview of what the Doctor Who team plans to do with Valencia's City of Arts and Sciences. Some kind of robots-kill-the-humans scenario.

Episode 7 (Extremis) image gallery The BBC has posted these images of Extremis, the next episode of Doctor Who Season 10. These pictures show a little more about the location (The Hereticum?), Missy's presence, the Monks, and so forth. For some reason they're going to the Oval Office (as in The White House), which I do not understand.

Extremis, Season 10 Episode 6 preview Tacked onto the end of Oxygen, episode 5, was a spoilerific preview. The Doctor became blind due to events in episode 5, and has been called to The Vatican for some purpose. The Next Time trailer contains a glimpse of Dr. River Song's diary, and a glimpse of Missy. We knew that Missy would show up later in the season, but River Song? WTF? And then there's another preview showing Bill's date with a cute black woman being interrupted by The Pope and some Vatican dudes. Despite being a Time Lord, The Doctor has no sense of timing.

Falling through Thin Ice to meet a big fish, Previewing Doctor Who Season 10 Episode 3 In 1814, Bill asks The Doctor whether there are 'side effects' to time travel, and whether he's killed anyone. Fair questions to ask at the beginning of such a relationship, perhaps. In the background is a depiction of a 'Frost Fair' on the Thames.

Getting ready to Smile, Previewing Doctor Who Season 10 Episode 2 The Doctor Who crew flew to Valencia Spain to use the City of Arts and Sciences as a stand-in for a space colony on another planet. Having been to Valencia, I agree that building complex is very strange looking, like it came from another planet. Are Emoji-Bots really a dangerous monster, however?

Hell Bent from Gallifrey straight to Big Finish - Maisie/Jenna as Me/Clara from now til the end of time Whatever else we make of the Doctor Who Season 9 finale, one thing is clear: Maisie Williams and Jenna Coleman have a long career ahead of them playing immortals "Me" and Clara, traveling the universe in their own TARDIS. That's how the episode ended, eh? Clara insisting on a return to Gallifrey to finish things, but to take the long way around. She cannot die because her death is pre-ordained on Trapp Street and, thanks to Time Lord technology, she is a walking frozen point of time waiting to return to her regular time stream, swallow the raven, and die. Until then she can roam the universe, accompanied by someone who swallowed alien technology that will keep her body fully repaired, and is also effectively immortal. There you have it, the perfectly sensible back story of a Big Finish franchise.

Into the Evil of the Daleks - Doctor Who S08E02 and OldWho #038 We just watched Into the Dalek, and we have to acknowledge something - the story line references way back into Old Who, to a set of Patrick Troughton (Doctor #2) episodes collectively titled The Evil of the Daleks. In both cases we had a humanizing of Daleks, and Doctor#12's certainty there can be no humanizing of Daleks may stem from the experiences shown in The Evil of the Daleks.

Is Nardole the Doctor's Boss? Why would The Doctor have a boss? - Doctor Who Season 10 Episode 2 Review We come to this episode wondering why Nardole is still active with The Doctor, and find him lecturing about an Oath the Doctor took as if Nardole has some authority over the Doctor. Its difficult to believe the Doctor would put himself under anyone elses authority, so maybe that's a misinterpretation. In any case, this episode's adventure has the Doctor and Bill playing hookey, visiting the first Earth colony on another planet, only to find the place inhabited by over-eager robots who might have accidentally killed the colonists.

John Simms returning as The Master, opposite Missy, the female Master This week we learned that John Simms will play The Master this weekend, opposite the incumbent Master incarnation, Missy. Oh boy, that sounds like an insane explosion. The character itself is insane with megalomania and always concocting absolutely bonkers schemes. John Simms played The Master during the Tennant era, and that was quite a romp indeed. Then with Capaldi we had a season teasing this crazy woman calling herself Missy, which we learned was The Master incarnated as a woman. That's been quite a bizarre journey and I'm sure Roger Delgado is spinning in his grave (maybe). Of course it raises a huge question or three - of HOW do they suggest this Multi-Master story could happen. Since The Doctor has had several instances of multiple incarnations of himself at the same place/time working together, why can't The Master enjoy the same benefit? Still, the last time we saw The Master he was fighting Rassilon. That doesn't bode well for The Master's survival, but he's survived seemingly impossible situations before.

Let's Kill Davros! Or, a review of Doctor Who S09E01, the Magicians Apprentice If someone pointed out to you a little boy, as innocent as could be, and you knew that boy would grow up to create the most evil the universe ever saw, would you kill that little boy and prevent that evil? Yes or No. And what would either answer make you to be? If you're The Doctor, and you're suddenly in the middle of a horridly crazy war that looked like World War I trench warfare but had biplanes shooting laser canons, and you met a scared little boy who was about to die, what would you do? You'd offer the boy a lifeline, and save him, but what if that little boy told you he was Davros and that you were on Skaro, and you knew exactly who this was because you'd fought that person and his creations (the Daleks) dozens of times before. What would The Doctor do?

Looking back at Multi-Doctor stories in light of upcoming Multi-Master story It's been announced that, before the end of this season, the John Simms Master will play opposite Michele Gomez's Missy. May Roger DelGado rest in peace, but having multiple Master incarnations meet could be immensely exciting. It also violates various 'laws of time' for multiple incarnations of the same person to meet and interact. Think of what happened in 'Fathers Day' when Rose met not only her Dad and Mom, but herself as a baby. Even so, we've seen multiple Doctor's team up on multiple incarnations, and it wasn't a smooth ride. To get a sense of the fireworks likely to ensue with multiple Master's, let's review the times multiple incarnations of The Doctor appeared at the same place.

Looking back at Torchwood seasons 1-3 - Torchwood coming to the Colonies Last friday, Torchwood came to American television with a crash-bang-bazooka-filled show that's probably typical for modern American television (not owning a television, I don't see much TV, and have no clue what's common on American TV). Before getting into reviewing the new Torchwood, it's necessary to look back to where it came from, especially since it seems the new version will pretty much ignore Torchwood's origins as a spin-off from Doctor Who. There's two ways to appreciate Torchwood, as a spin-off from and participant in the Doctor Who universe, and as a standalone story. As a Doctor Who fan, my interest in Torchwood is its' role in the Doctor Who universe, but I do understand that some may watch the show on its own merit and not care about the blue box that spawned Torchwoods very existence.

Masterfully not killing Missy, the Fake Doctor reveals secrets, Doctor Who Season 10 Episode 6 review How do we know whether the world we see is real? Many spiritual traditions teach that this physical world we see is not in the slightest bit real. For example 'A Course in Miracles' goes so far as to suggest our insanity is what creates this insane world we see (heck, politics this year is extremely insane, yes?) and that by waking up we can see the real world. Many spiritual traditions teach this sort of thing without causing those who receive that message to commit suicide. That part, people who read the Veritas committing suicide, was troublesome, especially when the story flips that around to suggest that suicide is an act of freeing ones' self from the illusory world. Really? I don't know what to think about that, but the episode was otherwise excellently convoluted.

Matt Lucas (Nardole) answers questions about Doctor Who Season 10

Want to know more about Nardole and Matt Lucas? This video has Nardole answering questions for a Youtuber named Crispy Pro.

Earlier we asked "Why is Nardole still around?" Because, well, it's kinda strange that a person presented as River Song's side-kick, and then disassembled and inserted into King Hydraflax's body, would be able to reappear as a functioning person helping the Doctor. But then this is Doctor Who.

Unfortunately our curiosity isn't answered by Matt's answers. He's very good at saying things and being funny without really answering questions or saying anything of substance.

Matt Lucas and Pearl Mackie's tour of the TARDIS console buttons Behind the scenes of filming Doctor Who, the actors play around with the set props. Little do they know of the power behind those buttons. Fortunately The Doctor set up automatic systems to disable the controls except while filming. Otherwise they might have destroyed the universe taking those balls out of their sockets.

Michele Gomez leaving Doctor Who, means a Missy/Master regeneration, or what? Michele Gomez recently held a Reddit AMA that was rolickingly fun. While advocating for a Missy spin-off show, Michele Gomez revealed in the AMA, and in news articles with other sources, she would not be returning to Doctor Who after Season 10. Which raises a question of what might happen within the show. The Master is always there to challenge The Doctor, so there would be a new Master sooner-or-later one presumes. What would happen to Missy to cause Missy to definitively stop being available in the series, though?

Not quite happy with The Wedding of Dr River Song (Doctor Who S06 E13) The season 6 finale, the Wedding of River Song, was an amazing story but within five minutes of finishing the first watching an anger over the episode erupted. I recorded some of that anger in audio feedback for The Doctor Who Podcast, hopefully they'll play it. Anyway... it was an excellent story with lots of depth, as we've come to expect from Stephen Moffatt, but there's a bit at the end that is just griping me out to no end.

Nudity in The Time of the Doctor converts The Doctor from minor deity into leering teenager The Time of the Doctor, Matt Smith's final episode as The Doctor, was a fine romp through time and space, but had a completely horrible unnecessary plot point that rather derailed our enjoyment of the show: Nudity, rather, supposed nudity. Should this show, Doctor Who, be about unnecessary gratuitous references to nudity that add nothing to anything about the plot or characters or anything?

Oxygen, Season 10 Episode 5 preview

Peter Capaldi & Brian Minchin Interview - The Aftershow - Doctor Who: The Fan Show Peter Capaldi sat down for an interview about Episode 2, Smile. Somehow Capaldi doesn't mind having his running described as being like a penguin with its ass on fire. Is it important to tell stories about The Doctor where he almost gets things wrong?

Peter Capaldi cannot be regenerating during 2017 season The 2017 season official trailer ends with Regeneration Energy clearly emanating from Capaldi's hands as he appears to be struggling. Did that mean Capaldi's Doctor will regenerate during the season, and someone else is playing The Doctor for the Christmas special? Today, Cultbox is reporting that Capaldi is filming Christmas Special scenes this summer. Therefore, he is The Doctor for that episode, and presumably his Regeneration is at the end of the Special.

Peter Capaldi et al appears on Canadian Television The Doctor himself joins InnerSpace's Teddy, Morgan and Ajay alongside Steven Moffat, Brian Minchin and new companion, Pearl Mackie!

Peter Capaldi's earlier career as an ice cream salesman? Who's this new guy, Peter Capaldi, who's body is being used by The Doctor? He looks familiar, as in we've seen that body in ancient Pompeii. Did we see him anywhere else?

Previously - On Doctor Who Hilarious retrospective of the entirety of Doctor Who from 1963 up until late 2011 Matt Smith.

Pyramid at the End of the Earth, Season 10 Episode 7 preview The Doctor has a long history of rebuking the Military, and not using the Military's machinery. Here we see that a Pyramid has suddenly taken form in a desert place, that those crazy-looking Monks are the inhabitants, and the Doctor warning that these people have studied us for a looooong time, and then ordering an attack using military bombers. WTF?

Quantum-locked angels from the beginning of the universe - Don't Blink The Weeping Angels were born before the beginning of the universe, apparently. Their curious trait is that when observed, they are quantum locked and cannot move, and can move freely when unobserved. They feed off time vortex energy created by sending victims into the past, and feeding off the time potential of the life which was lost.

Ray-shooting pyramid at the End of the Earth, Season 10 Episode 7 review It's part 2 of a three part story, so of course all heck is breaking loose, from an apparently dead helper, to a companion that just made a bad decision, and a next-time-trailer showing Missy plotting something, the Doctor working with the Monks, and someone being shot. Just like the proverbial Hero's Journey, every Doctor Who story goes through the belly of the beast before the hero emerges at the end with a treasure. What we have this time is a question about putting yourself at someone else's mercy when that person can control your perception of reality. Do you have the necessary wisdom to perceive correctly whether that person is deluding you into a bad choice?

Reclusive Time Lords, watching over all of time and space, what's their game? Gallifrey We first learned of Gallifrey at the very end of the 2nd Doctor's time when, in the conclusion of The War Games, The Doctor had to appeal for their help. After which The Doctor was exiled to Earth for a couple years. Since then we've learned more and more about Gallifrey as tidbits here and there have been revealed in episodes.

Review: Doctor Who - A Christmas Carol Typically you'd think a Doctor Who episode named "A Christmas Carol" would involve traveling to 1800's England, meeting THE Charles Dickens, and having an adventure with him that somehow inspired him to write A Christmas Carol. There are plenty of Doctor Who stories where they do this, visit some actual historical place or event, meet historical people, etc. This episode doesn't involve any such thing, while still being heavily influenced by the Dickens story. What we have instead is the, uh, spirit of A Christmas Carol while not having any actual connection to the author and not retelling the exact story.

Review: Doctor Who - The War Games The War Games is a fabulous classic Doctor Who story. It was the last regular appearance of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, and of Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines as companions Zoe Heriot and Jamie McCrimmon. It originally aired from 19 April–21 June 1969, lasting for a lengthy 10 episodes, and has recently been released on DVD. The story line is a deep exploration of war and why we make war. The DVD package includes three DVD's, two of which contains the episodes and the third contains the special documentary content.

Review: Doctor Who S06E01: The Impossible Astronaut We were rewarded for our long wait since the end of Doctor Who's last season with an inscrutable episode title: The Impossible Astronaut. The episode does feature a strange astronaut character but leaves us with a zillion questions. Of course that's to be expected for the first part of a two-part story, because we are clearly in the throes of "all h__l breaking loose". It was an excellent episode that's also a huge departure from the norms of Doctor Who.

Review: Doctor Who S06E02: The Day of the Moon Before the opening credits we see both Amy and Rory shot (apparently dead), River Song jump out of a skyscraper, and The Doctor as a prisoner in Area 51. Yup. Before the opening credits. What happens from there is a twisty story which took 3 viewings to begin to understand. I recommend taking this show in the appropriate dosage. Several times.

Review: Doctor Who S06E03: The Curse of the Black Spot Okay, why are the black spots on the palm of the right hand, and in the episode before the recording gizmo thingies were punched into the palm of the right hand? Yeah, you noticed that too, eh? What do you think is the reason? I haven't a clue. Leave a comment below.

Review: Doctor Who S06E04: The Doctors Wife After the screwball tightly interwoven story arc laden season opener (Review: Doctor Who S06E02: The Day of the Moon and Review: Doctor Who S06E03: The Curse of the Black Spot), the powers that be must have realized we needed another "straight adventure" story with not a lot more than the episode in mind. That's more or less what we have - except the topic turns out to be something which fans for decades have pondered. Is the TARDIS alive, and what would the TARDIS be like as a person. That they got Neil Gaiman to do it is fabulous and the story which came out of it is simply beautiful. And, for once, the companion Doctor Who Confidential episode is actually worthwhile watching because it too is phenomenal.

Review: Doctor Who S06E05: The Rebel Flesh What happens when Doctor Who meets a twisted version of Frankenstein? What we get (this time) is Rebel Flesh, that is Flesh that goes on a rebellion. What happens when the creations of our technology take on a life of its own, starts running around making its own decisions, having its own offspring, and engaging in rebellion or perhaps what they might think of as a war of liberation? That's what we have in this story, a technology which can program "Flesh" to be "anything" hence create life, and what happens when it takes on a life of its own?

Review: The Time of the Doctor - Smith Falls into Capaldi after Killing a Wooden Cyberman The Time of the Doctor brings to an end Matt Smith's time as The Doctor, giving us a tame Cyberman head, gratuitous unnecessary nudity, a chance for the Doctor to sit in one place for a loooooong time, a return of The Crack, a rewriting of the whole Trenzalore thing, The Doctor teaming up with the Silent's (who we now know are high level Priests in the Papal Mainframe cult), a wooden cyberman of all things, and a nod to Fandom with an addressing of the 12 regenerations limit.

Review: The Two Doctors (Doctor Who) "When you travel around as much as I do, it's almost inevitable that you'll run into yourself at some point." This is yet another of the stories where the Doctor meets various instances of himself. This time the story starts in black & white (fading quickly to color), with the 2nd Doctor and Jamie heading to a space station (as big as 20 castles) to meet with some scientists. Thus ensues a rather screwball story that could only be Doctor Who.

Review: Torchwood, Miracle Day (Torchwood comes to the colonies) Torchwood is coming to the Colonies, that is, to America. I'm not sure if I like the idea, but it's what the people in charge of things decided to do and here we are, seeing the remaining Torchwood team-members brought to the land of loud car chases.

Series 10 (2017) trailers - the gateway to everything you've been waiting for, or something like that Doctor Who Season 10 starts April 15, 2017, featuring the introduction of a new companion, Bill, and a continuing relationship with Nardol. We know that in the Christmas Special the Doctor regenerates, and indeed trailer#2 shows what looks like the beginning of a regeneration.

Songs for the Wood -- Knock Knock, Season 10 Episode 4 review In Knock Knock, we had a right proper horror movie embedded in a Doctor Who episode. We had some of the classic tropes, people wandering off and getting eaten, etc. But it was too squeezed for space, and the ending was way too easy, way too trite. For once a kill-everyone-in-sight Doctor Who episode had everyone survive, instead.

Sonics, Movellans, a Goatee'd Master, and the Mary Celeste: Easter Eggs in Doctor Who Episode 1 The opening episode of Doctor Who Season 10 was not only a rollicking romp through time and space, it had plenty of odd bits stuffed in the side of things to satisfy the die-hard fans. The story was billed as a good jumping-in point for anyone, and that it is. It was an excellent story -- dunno if it was worth the wait, but it's very satisfying. What follows are the odd bits I noticed.

THE solution to the paradox in Doctor Who: The Pandorica Opens Okay, it's Doctor Who, and maybe I shouldn't quibble over a paradox or two, right? It's nearly time for the Doctor Who Christmas Special, so I'm rewatching last seasons episodes. Ever since the original showing of The Pandorica Opens a question has raged on - just how did the Doctor get out of the Pandorica in order to free himself from the Pandorica.

Take a deep breath, don't hold it, we're going into the Dalek (Doctor Who S08 E01 E02 review) Doctor Who is finally back on our screens, and I'm going to squeeze my episode reviews together. It's a bang-up opening for Peter Capaldi as Doctor #12 (or is it #14), so it sure looks like this new guy will do well with the role. As for the content - the main theme so far is "identity". Who am I? Why do I choose this face to show the world? That sort of thing. And then there's the question of "who the heck is Missy?" Heaven? Surely that's a setup for the end of the season, so we'll have to be patient about that.

The "childhood fears" and "parenting" theme in Matt Smith's (#11) Doctor Who It's the morning after the showing of Season 6b episode 12, 'Closing Time', and for the fourth time this season we are shown a dad finding his fatherhood to be with his son. Makes me long for a father who would have done that, but let's not take that detour. Each of the three episodes would appear to be 'standalone', as does Closing Time. At first glance they don't seem to be part of the overall season arc, but when there's four episodes with similar themes in the same season we have to pay attention and take a look. Especially when the season also contains portrayal of the twisted childhood of one of the most enigmatic characters ever in Doctor Who history, River Song.

The Doctor, Harriet Jones, Donald J Trump, and Hillary Clinton Sometimes the real world and the fantasy worlds of television shows collide. This week, the propagandistic reaction to Hillary Clintons illness strikes one with eery similarity to one of The Doctor's darker days. That was the day revenge drove The Doctor to take down Harriet Jones. The method, starting a whispering campaign about Ms. Jones health, is so much like this weeks whispering campaign about Hillary Clintons health.

The Internet reviews Doctor Who Season 10 Episode 1 The title, 'The Pilot', was meant to signify a reboot of sorts, with the Doctor Who team shaping this season so it can be a jumping-in point for a new fleet of fandom. Is this really necessary? I think Moffatt has talked to us too many times about rebooting Doctor Who when it had already been rebooted. My criticism of recent Doctor Who seasons, under Moffatt's tenure, has been that it's too intensely intertwined with arcane history points of Doctor Who and perhaps that was unapproachable by regular folk. Perhaps Moffatt finally got a clue, and hopefully wants this season to downplay that aspect.

The Lie of Modern Age, Season 10 Episode 8 review

I watch every Doctor Who episode, at least once, sometimes a couple dozen times, but I almost did not watch this one. The preview information on this episode sounded like it was much too close to the reality we're living today. That's doubly so considering today's violence on London Bridge in which a 'Lorry Driver' drove his truck into a crowd of people, and in a possibly separate attack someone with a long knife attacked people in South London.

I apologize to anyone put off by my bringing reality into the enjoyment of Doctor Who, but that's what is in front of us in the real world. Once I did watch the episode, I found it to be excellent, and maybe after I write this I'll write a regular review. At the moment I cannot separate this from the concerns I have over what's actually happening in the world around us.

The timing of this episode -- June is six months into the year, and approximately 6 months ago the Trump Administration was being sworn into office. That's more than a curious coincidence especially given the assault on truth going on with the Trump Administration in power.

The Lie of The Land, Season 10 Episode 8 REAL DEAL review

This week's Doctor Who, The Lie of the Land, deserves a real review because it's such an excellent story. As I noted yesterday, this story strikes very close to reality given the problem we have with Fake News currently. This story goes way beyond Fake News to Fake History, and a telepathic broadcast of fake information to delude the population.

What happens when we're told an idea enough times? So long as the idea is plausible humans will eventually accept that idea and get on with their lives. This happens all the time in the real world with certain news channels routinely reporting falsehoods as if they're real, and fake ideas affect enough people to influence major elections. Witness last Fall in the USA, and several elections since then in France, and Moldova, and Bulgaria, and the Netherlands, where fake news propagandists had enough success to sway a few of those elections.

The Lie of the Land, Season 10 Episode 8 preview So far this season The Doctor has been shown 2 or 3 times calculatingly doing a subterfuge -- not telling the whole plan in order to keep the adversary from knowing too much, even if that left the Companions in the dark. In these preview videos we're told that The Doctor has already Lost, that these Monks were able to assert control over Humanity so much that The Doctor joined the Monks to work with them, and Bill and Nardole were left on their own. That makes one go WTF because it looks so bleak. An authoritarian government being imposed in the name of the Monks, etc.

Thin Ice - Next Time Trailer - Doctor Who: Series 10 The Doctor and Bill, apparently having forgotten about The Vault back at the college, have gone to what appears to be 1850's London in the Winter with the Thames frozen over. We see carnival action, some kind of creature under the ice that must be fed, and on ominous question - have you ever killed anyone?

Thoughts on The Silence (Doctor Who S06) In Matt Smith's first season it was the Cracks in Time which was the puzzle. They appeared in every episode and we were told that "Silence Will Fall" the "Pandorica Will Open" etc. Part of the Pandorica/Big Bang episode was the destruction of the Universe and silence (as in no noise) throughout the Universe. Indeed the ending of Vampires of Venice had the Doctor go "shhh" and ask Rory to listen to the silence (no noise). It was fair then to assume when they talked about Silence Will Fall that they meant no noise silence. Instead it's clear now it's showing the unconscious mind, shadow self, as described by the likes of Dr. Freud and spiritual traditions from the millennia. Many aspects of recent Doctor Who has been explicitly exploring this subterranean part of each of us.

What does TARDIS stand for?

The TARDIS is The Doctor's home and spaceship. TARDIS's were invented by the Time Lords, and contain a range of technology gizmos to manipulate time and space and energy systems and who knows what else. The TARDIS is therefore a central plot device in Doctor Who, and you could argue the TARDIS is also a character in the story since it has been demonstrated to have its own consciousness and will.

The word, TARDIS, has been treated as an "acronym" as if the letters have a meaning, just like the word RADAR is actually an acronym meaning either "RAdio Detection And Ranging" or "RAdio Direction And Ranging". The problem with thinking TARDIS is an acronym is language differences. Gallifreyans do not speak English, and therefore would not use an English-centric acronym as the meaning of the word TARDIS.

But, within the context of Doctor Who, several acronym/meanings have been given for TARDIS. Let's just go with that and hum a chant about timey-wimeyness.

What were Police telephone boxes?

Think "The TARDIS" and you think an old-style Police Telephone Box. TARDIS's are supposed to adjust their shape to fit their surroundings, but The Doctor's TARDIS refuses to do so. Supposedly it's a broken chameleon circuit, or maybe this TARDIS has a mind of its own. In any case there is a real history to the Police Telephone Box's in Great Britain. They served a public safety function, giving police officers a place to rest/work and keep in touch with their precinct, and it gave the public a quick way to contact the police for assistance.

What's in the Vault? Thin Ice, Season 10 Episode 3 ponderings In Thin Ice we got to see the Doctor visit the 1814 Frost Fair, after we learned he'd taken River Song, and had asked Clara to go. That was fun seeing how well they portrayed the Frost Fair. But, the little bit at the end, concerning Nardole and the Vault, that's pretty darn significant. It seems that Nardole isn't the Doctors boss after all, but some kind of hired hand or something, and that he's not entirely happy with the situation. And that whatever is in the vault is a sentient thingy, which Nardole can communicate with, and which can knock on the door.

What's the history of The Master? At least 24 bodies .... How did The Master become Missy? The announcement that John Simms is to play The Master opposite Michele Gomez's Missy, raises a question of The Masters incarnations and life stream. A careful study of history shows that Roger Delgado's Master was his 12th incarnation, 13th body, and that every instance of The Master since involved a theft of a body. And, the big question of the Master's timestream is how did he become Missy?

Why did Christopher Eccleston leave after just one season? When Doctor Who restarted in 2005, Christopher Eccleston gave a power-house performance. But, he left after 1 season. Why?

Why is Nardole still with us in Doctor Who Season 10? We first met Nardole when he was River Song's assistant, before he was incorporated into King Hydroflax's body. That was cute, and then he appeared in the 2016 Christmas Special. By that time Nardole had apparently spent quite a lot of time with Capaldi's Doctor, though of course we saw none of that because no episodes were shown to us that year. Now we're in Season 10, and Nardole is still with us. He spent 10+ months living in Cardiff working on the Doctor Whom season. Supposedly he's here because he asked Stephen Moffatt to come to the show, and that's it. Really? That makes no sense. For character-continuity, Nardole had to be reassembled in some way, and in The Pilot we saw a mechanical piece apparently drop off his hand. We're supposed to learn more as the season progresses. And, Nardole isn't being billed as The Companion, but he's appearing in episodes enough that we should consider him as A Companion.

Will Capaldi's Doctor actually regenerate in Season 10? Does the Mirror actually know who's the Next Doctor? We know that Capaldi's contract as The Doctor ends shortly, which somehow connects with the Doctor's lifestream forcing him to regenerate. We'd thought the regeneration will be shown in the 2017 Christmas Special, but the season 10 trailer clearly shows regeneration energy action. Now, the Mirror claims to have an insider source telling them who will be the next life-stream-portal-representation-of-The-Doctor.