I always forget my Christmas colds

[alexsarll]

Have just been down to Seaton to see the hunt meet. One chap we met who'd been going all his life said that lately, every year there are more and more people come to watch, just to spite the ban. So that was political capital well spent there, Tony. Officially speaking, they were just hunting a marathon runner, of course - but whatever they're after, it's magnificent watching them all charge along the seafront and up the hill after it. Personally I was hoping the hounds might go for the unusually fluffy peke (yes, even by peke standards) who kept trying to pick fights with them. Stupid animal.

Less Doctor Who discussion on the friendslist than I'd expect, but then it wasn't really an easy episode to discuss, was it? One of RTD's OK-but-flawed mid-rankers, which still makes it the second best Christmas special thus far, but...OK, I liked that Miss Hartigan's motivation and downfall were left to speak for themselves, rather than over-moralised and -explicated. I loved the Morrissey/Tennant chemistry, even if I thought it should have been Morrissey rather than Tennant who saved Morrissey Jr. The TARDIS and the sonic screwdriver, both ace. The Cyber-King was bonkers, but passably entertaining. But what the blazes was with the Cyber-Poochies? How can the Doctor recognise the Cyber-King's specifications, or the Cybermen's data-stamp contain information on Doctors 1-9, when these are the lousy alternate universe model who have only ever met 10, and then without any sign of warships?
It wasn't great Doctor Who, and it wasn't a travesty, it was just...one of those stories. But hey, it was still Doctor Who.

That aside, mainly caught up with Wallace & Gromit. My big present was an external drive, and since my computer's not here then even unbubblewrapping it would be slightly silly.

Comments

[exmoor-cat.livejournal.com]

I still get the feeling RTD can't get longer episodes right, stretching material past 30 minutes seems to just make it flimsy. Interesting re-touch of the Torchwood set too. 6/10

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

His episodes have all been longer than 30 minutes! Though the average 45-minute new Who story would have been expanded to 90 minutes in the old days, mostly by running around corridors and scenes with poachers.

[renegadechic.livejournal.com]

i think Doctor Who really struggles when its more of a one man show and succeeds when you have the light and shade of other characters. since season 1 the key number of key characters at any given time seem to have closed in or become less important. i really miss characters like the prime minister making decisions that the doctor wouldnt agree with or that sense that the humans had a little bit more power, influence and infrastructure to actually DO something. it just feels like superheros vs the average person with very little said about the potential that different life forms had. chris ecclestone was always going on about the importance of stuff and not messing up earths history. now it just feels like "you're an enemy, i'm gonna kill you".

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I like having recurring characters who aren't companions or villains, and it's good how much of that the show has these days (as with so many things, the books pointed the way). But I also like a companion-less Doctor, because half the time the companion is just a viewer-identification character - and I never identify with, or much like, viewer-identification characters.

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

They did in fairness throw in a line about the Cybermen stealing that data on the Whos from the Daleks while in the Void.

I enjoyed more of it than I expected! I may have given a little cheer when Mercy Hartigan conquered the Cybermen. And a little boo when her downfall was having to contemplate what she had done.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Right, I totally missed that line, which is odd given my family mostly behaved, so that's fair enough. And I suppose he could have picked up about the King from all that faffing about with their datastumps. Nerd polyfilla - GO!

[(Anonymous)]

Now I just have to reconcile my memory that in the pre-credits shot of them both looking towards camera shouting "Allons-Y!" they're both holding blue-lighted sonic screwdrivers. Though that could well be just my imagination.

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

That's me, there.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I assumed I'd just seen that because I was expecting to see it...I would iPlayer to check, but I already have something of a backlog on there.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Why did they all just vanish at the end? I think he should have used the vworp-machine on them first. Morrissey was very good though, as was Dirvla.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

She sort of felt as if she could have used more space, although I simultaneously think it was probably for the best that she didn't get it.

[rentaghost31.livejournal.com]

The treatment of rosita was more than a little suspect though. Mammy?

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

She didn't seem to like the suggestion of the other occupation that would keep her being seen with Jackson! Which is I think what the line was trying to get across, that the Doctor thinks Jackson should keep her around as a companion, and that this is a good cover.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Given Morrissey essentially ended up as the companion, then the role of companion's companion was never going to be terribly rewarding, and at least they didn't kill her off...

[tintintin.livejournal.com]

SPOILERS herein, be warned, ye who have not seen it.

The episode reeked of RTD's worst tendencies - mawkish over-emoting, smug preening "look how clever I am" grandstanding (both by the Doctor, and by extension, RTD himself), and really unsubtle fan-pleasing allusions to things like BLINK and suchlike. The cybershades were dreadful, looking like something straight out of a Baker (C.) episode.

And yet, it wasn't bad at all. The big 'mystery' was palpably guessable long before the reveal, but the plot was entertaining and smart enough for an engrossing one-off. The cybermen were finally fairly well handled, although allowing them to become slave to the whims of a thwarted suffragette who couldn't even dominate Victorian London's dusty old men was a bit much. Still, Dervla Kirwan was very good and the imagery of her in the scarlet dress at the funeral was most arresting.

The foam snow was a bit rubbish. And I kept thinking, "ooh, that'll have done his back no good" whenever Tennant was doing a stunt.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Yes! Especially the ones involving ropes, same here.

It's a common RTD failing, isn't it? Good - or at least, you can see how he'd have thought they were good - images, not necessarily supported by anything approaching story logic.

I rather liked the 'Blink' reference, and indeed that whole section when he thought the other Doctor might be for real - it made sense for him to behave that way, given his past.

[darkmarcpi.livejournal.com]

Dervla Kirwan: "These are not just cybermen, these are.... etc."

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I hadn't made the connection, but yes!

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

Silly billy. You spend political capital when you do something unpopular that you can get through because of your authority, at the expense of weakening it for future measures. The hunting ban was an exercise in earning political capital - Tony had no personal interest in it, but it was both supported by the public, really popular with Labour MPs, and useful for picking a fight with the Lords which made it a good one when the public needed reminding that the Tories were the party of hereditary privilege attempting to override the democratically elected section of Parliament.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Having got in with lots of talk of a new Britain, a third way and all that fluffy stuff, the hunting ban was an ugly exercise in old-school Labour tribalism and toff-bashing, which went a fair way in eroding any chance of building a genuine new consensus - and, judging by the rise in attendance at these meets, served even to alienate the previously undecided.

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

I think by 2004 it was clear that there wasn't going to be a centrist consensus, and Blair had done a far better job of alienating the left and tribal Labour, so if anything it was an exercise in maintaining the consensus by keeping them on board.

For all we know, attendance might be up because of more drag and non-kill hunts. If veal were banned at a butcher's, and they started stocking quorn and tofu as well, a huge increase in customer numbers could be explained in two different possible ways, couldn't it?

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Except that the full exploitation of loopholes in the law looks to be about as open as secrets come.

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

Could just be the free advertising too. I bet loads more people went searching for paedo websites after Operation Ore. "Ooh I'd forgotten I was into naked kids, but now you come to mention it, that's just what'd perk up this dull Sunday afternoon". Like how there are queues round the block at Woolworths today. Doesn't mean it's any good!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Yeah, somehow I'm doubting that about Ore. And the Woolworths queues more likely down to the promise of stupendous discounts, no?

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

The discounts on the first day of the closing down sale were actually no bigger than on the day before of the massive christmas sale. Just all over the newspapers and tv.

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

As if I needed any more evidence for my case, according to the latest Land Registry report released today, house prices went up in two of Londons 33 boroughs in the most recent month. One of them was Haringey.

See. No such thing as bad publicity.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

What about bank runs?

Zavvi's discounts are also very poor, but then they didn't seem especially crowded either.

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

Duncan tried to open an account with Northern Rock...

[ksta.livejournal.com]

what is a peke? Can one have a fit of it?

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

[invadergaz.livejournal.com]

Seen it now; nice dress sadly lacks the connotations possessed by say, nice boots, but anyway,

Nice Dress.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

hello dear sorry to miss yr drinks tonight but we didn't get back from Cornwall til gone 8 and the couch and port were too tempting. Hope you had a good one, see you at the pub crawl?

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Indeed you shall, and no worries!