Caves and Twins: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe
It's Christmas, it's BBC1, it's that time between the afternoon snooze and the turkey sandwich. It can only be another Doctor Who special.
Not one of the Christmas specials has been much good by my reckoning, the first one and the one with Gambon in were OK; most have been utterly awful.
I did not really look forward to the Doctor Who Christmas special this year; mainly because I never think they're up to much but partly because I found myself tiring of Who over the year. All of a sudden fatigue set in and I wasn't really bothered any more. But, because it's Doctor Who and I'll never truly dislike it, I tuned it.
So did I find a succulent turkey - or was it overcooked sprouts all the way.
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It was nice to see Matt Smith again
The reproducing, sentient trees were a nice idea.
The sets and all the period detail were impeccable.
Like most fans I appreciate the nods to the past – something that seems increasingly nice when faced with the possibility of a reboot film series.
Nice to see Amy and Rory again.
Like the tree monsters.
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I know it's Christmas and I know expectations are low and I know these specials are kind of duty bound to be stupidly Christmassy, but for fuck's sake.
I just didn't care and I didn't believe it and I didn't like it. About half an hour before it actually happened I'd guessed, no, feared, that the Power of Motherhood was going to save the day. Just like a kiss saved the day and love saved day and hope saved the day again and again and again over the last couple of years.
RTD shrugged, made Tennant cry and just fell back on some MacGuffin when he'd written himself into a corner; Moffat just relies on schmaltz. It's usually done in a clever way – and in a way that's possible to overlook for a while.
But it happens so frequently that it's impossible to ignore - and deeply tiresome. And predictable. And rather cheap and cynical.
Because at Christmas Moffat gets a bit of a bye. Perhaps he should be allowed his indulgence once a year, like we are when we stuff our face for a day. God knows the man is busy enough, what with his 15 series that he showruns.
But what I'm left with is a story that almost feels like a waste of my time. I'm sure lots of people enjoy it and would shout humbug at me. But judging these Xmas specials on the same basis we judge the usual episodes show them up badly.
Something else that creeps into these recent Xmas episodes is a Moffat-patented wackiness; last year a shark-drawn sleigh, this year a forest-possesed Edwardian mother piloting a golf ball through the time vortex.
What can we expect next year, I wonder? A TARDIS disguised as a polar bear running trough Albert Square? A Timelord that's regenerated into a reindeer with a nose made of strange matter? A flying penguin powered by faith and ridden by John Masefield?
I suppose I should mention Bill Bailey and Claire Skinner and Alexander Armstrong and Arabella Weir. I didn't care. Neither did I care for the emotional manipulation that struck a rather dubious tone, in my opinion. Once again, death has no sting. What does this say to kids about their nature of life and death? Either way it's damn lazy and cynical.
It's incredible how quickly Moffat's take on Doctor Who seems staid, overfamiliar and out of ideas. And I don't take ay pleasure from saying it. Just as I don't take any pleasure from watching it, much as it pains me to admit.
Caves and Twins: The Wedding of River Song
The sixth season finally limps across the finishing line with a few years' worth of back story to bring to a conclusion and a massive escape act required from Moffat for the whole thing not to feel like a massive cheat.
So was it as bad as every season finisher?
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Texting and scones - A funny line that kind of defines the eleventh Doctor and Smith portrayal
Time Crash - Nice conceit, fairly well pulled off.
The Brig - Lovely tribute to Nick Courtney that worked really well in the story
Live chess - I just like these throwaway quirks that make the Doctor Who universe feel just that; something beyond a South London estate and the odd trip to Europe.
Dorium - A character I like.
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Cheat - I had a lengthy whinge about the 'not dying' thing the new series has done to, er, death before Season Six started - and complained that they were building up the Doctor's death before the start of it when it was patently clear that this was going to be another cheat. Which it was.
What's more the second they showed the Teselecta in the recap - in the first few seconds - it was horribly clear how the cheat was going to be perpetrated. I've lost count of the 'didn't die' swerves in this series - there've been so many there are numerous theories floating around the web as to how Rory and Amy don't really exist, so often have they been killed off.
The Eleventh Doctor has, by my reckoning, died four times already. It's lazy; it's manipulative; it's cynical; it's deeply tiresome. Stop it, now.
Love saves the day - Or a kiss. Once again we have a 'kiss/love saves the day' conclusion to a story. Boring.
Amy machine-gunning the Silence/Silents - That just seemed wrong
River Song - I assume River's story has come to an end now. I do hope so, anyway.
Arc - I did not enjoy this story arc. Perhaps I will if I ever buy the box-set and watch eight episodes a nigh, which seems to be how people watch TV series these days. But less than half way through I found it boring and distracting. The Silence, the Flesh, the Eyepatches. They bored me.
I don't know what to make of this series, beyond the fact that it didn't do it for me. Moffat's writing seemed to be tied up in knots throughout; shedding casual viewers here and there and even alienating the fanbase to some degree.
A giant story arc should never be attempted again; splitting the season should never be attempted again; teasing lead characters' deaths and then not delivering should never have been done in the first place. River needs to be gone once and for all. The Doctor should not be a God or a lonely emo or a mighty warrior or River's Love of Life.
Please let Doctor Who be small, offbeat, funny, scary and unique again. It's surely no coincidence that the best episodes this season - The Doctor's Wife and The Girl WHo Waited spring to mind were exactly that.
If I wanted the FBI, Roswell aliens, conspiracy theories, interminable arcs and heaps of portentous bullshit I'd watch The X-Files, Lost or half a dozen other US sci-fi imports. And there's nothing wrong with any of them (well, most of them), but they're not Doctor Who.
Which is, when you think about it, the point.
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Caves and Twins: The God Complex (or Why Matt Smith Is Now My Favourite Doctor)
Apparently Being Human is the most amazing thing in the world ever, but I've never seen it so all I have to go on is School Reunion and Vampires of Venice when it comes to Toby Whithouse.
This, for me, is not an especially encouraging sign. The former is a fun runaround, the latter perhaps the most forgettable story in the NuWho run. So would The God Complex be Being Human or would it be his Doctor Who stuff (I'm taking it on trust Being Human is any good - it might be shit for all I know).
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Good monster
Good premise
Good acting
Good epilogue
A couple of really nice directorial flourishes
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The Complex of Fenric - The whole faith thing was a horrible fudge that just didn't seem work for me - plus it was a rip-off of Fenric
The fan guy - Can't remember his name. Is it just me or does Doctor Who tend to delight in lampooning geeks and losers of late? A bit rich, surely?
The first time I watched The God Complex I didn't like it. I just didn't think it went anywhere and thought the ending all to cock. For all it's 'terror in every room' premise I didn't think it was frightening; its set-up pastiched a number of sci-fi sources and while the back-story to what was going on was novel it felt like a weird swerve for the sake of it and didn't come across properly.
On a second viewing I found more to like - the potential new companion character was good (can't remember her name) and I like David Walliams' character.
Matt Smith was excellent, as usual, and the scenes where he dropped Rory and Amy off and flew off, alone, in the TARDIS were very strong.
But I still can't shake off the feeling that this series has never got out of the blocks. Splitting the series now feels like a mistake as it's been hard for it to gain momentum and the River Song saga seems to have overwhelmed the season.
Like The God Complex, I'd be hard pushed to say what wasn't/isn't working here, but I'm sensing more and more that people are becoming a lot less bothered about Doctor Who. Friends of mine have stopped watching it; I've stopped discussing it; out of the Geek Clique (a shadowy cabal of a dozen or so fans I'm mates with) only one is really enjoying this series; ratings appear to be heading downwards; and, as we fans always knew they would, the knives are coming out for Who in the media.
What does this have to do with Matt Smith being my favourite Doctor? Not a lot to be honest, I'm just disappointed that at the point that we have a TARDIS crew, and particularly Doctor - actor and character - Doctor Who doesn't seem to be working. Is it Moffat? Is he too busy? Is it lack of cash or time? Is it the much-discussed production problems?
This latter one, for me, is most worrying. Stuff leaks out. It did 30 years ago from JN-T's production office and is especially does these days, when the higher echelons of Doctor Who are staffed by people who are fans and professionals. That's a dangerous mix in the internet era and a lot of very sensitive stuff is doing the rounds of fandom chatrooms, emails and Facebook DMs.
Moffat pooh-poohs any suggestion that things aren't hunky-dory but if a fraction of what is circulated is to be believed then the production office has been quite the war-zone over the last year. It's impossible to believe that behind-the-scenes strife - and the likes of those rather odd public spats between Moff and BBC newsreaders and managers who seem keen to blurb out any old nonsense at the drop of a hat - can't have some effect on the finished product.
For now I retain my faith in Moffat - and he has the best Doctor ever available to him and Amy and Rory are excellent, believable characters who are played well. Season Five was the best in the new series for my money. So I'm keeping things crossed for next year and a good run into 2013.
Doctor Who matters to me; it does for most of us. I find it impossible to walk away; to not tune in every week and not to be irked by tabloids having a pop at my - our - show. So I'll keep watching and keep hoping. I hope Moffat and Smith keep the faith too, because next year needs to to be better than this year.
Caves and Twins: Let’s Kill Hitler
Doctor Who's back! With the second part of Series Six, which has been split in two for reasons that's absolutely aren't anything to do with money or ructions among the production team or Moffatt's schedule.
Four episodes into the Silence/River story arc and there's at least some manner of closure. But was Let's Kill Hitler The World at War or was it Allo Allo?
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The regulars - I have doubts about Alex Kingston as River Song sometimes, mainly because the lines are occasionally terrible and the character is a bit annoying, but the main trio are excellent and have great chemistry
River Song - I quite liked the set-up of who River becomes, with the diary and archaeology.
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Everything - That sounds a bit glib and unfair but I think the biggest problem with this is that it's just a massive ball of confusion, with story arcs going back several years in some cases.
Somehow, it's still not clear how, the Silence are involved as is the eyepatch lady and in the midst of everything our heroes are in Hitler's office - for no other apparent reason other than it's clearly supposed to be a kerrayzee thing to do - while miniaturised war criminal hunters are stalking around in a shapeshifting robot with the aim of torturing the Fuhrer.
No doubt a breathless review in DWM will laud it all for that very reason - bonkers! - but coherent storytelling that doesn't require an episode of Confidential to explain it all seems to be in short supply at the moment. The Silence, the killing of the Doctor, the reason for River being in prison - it's still all ongoing and I'm bored of it; it feels like Doctor Who is in danger of collapsing under the weight of its own mythos and how pleased it is with itself.
I don't think these stories are actually poor but they aren't easy to follow and require an increasing effort to keep up with that. The 'story arc' episodes in this series have left me cold - and I'm a Doctor Who fan.
Mels - Like Ace but worse. And a swerve that was pretty flippin obvious.
Funny regeneration - Firstly, River seems to experience regeneration as orgasmic, which is a rather tedious little touch if totally in keeping with Moffatt's tics, then we get the trademark 'whacky regeneration' acting and music. Bleh.
Another non death - Tiresome; decreasing returns; and feels lazy
Hitler - I'm prepared to go along with it but really? Doctor Who meets Hitler? Dangerous territory.
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Caves and Twins: A Good Man Goes To War
Well, after what feels like the longest lead-in to a mid-season story since The Dalek's Masterplan, A Good Man Goes To War promises much with bonkers SFX, a raft of returning monsters, River Song and an angry Doctor.
So, was this The Big Bang or was it that drivel with the Master as the Prime Minister?
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Sonataran nurse - Gave a bit of depth to this race, which hasn't been interesting since 1976.
New Adventures - There was something of the NAs about this in the way that it tried to establish a complicated, fleshed-out, almost unified vision of the Whoniverse where Sontarans can be goodies and Earth Reptiles live on Earth alongside humans. I liked it.
Some very good lines - "Stringy"; "Stevie Wonder"; "Get some rest"; "Make a donation"; "No it's not; it's cool" - Moff's was always one for with his zingers; he was on form here.
Regulars - I've generally like the characterisation and performances of the regulars but I thought they were particularly good here – especially Smith, who was quite different again, and Arthur Darvill as a believable, likable foil.
The intro bit - Nice bait-and-switch on Melody's Dad (one of several throughout) and good Cyberman intro bit.
The fat blue bloke - I just like him
Abberline - Just liked this reference
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Headless monks - A bit like the Smilers, these were a bit lost in the mix and didn't really come off.
Greatest hits - Rather like The Pandorica Opens, this was a bit of a greatest hits of Moff's run and beyond; rather like his version of Journey's End. The pirates, those daft space Spitfires, Cybermen, Sontarans, Silurians, that fat blue bloke. It felt very familiar and it was a little bit of a case of diminishing returns.
River Song - It's fairly clear we're supposed to think River is amazing, cool, funny, sexy ad generally fabulous. But I'm afraid I just find her a bit irritating.
Cyberman voices - Still terrible
Lots of nice elements, but it was pretty out there. So much going on - a few revelations and more questions again. Maybe, over 13 episodes, this will all turn out to be something of a masterpiece but it feels rather on the edge at the moment, like it could be an absolute disaster too.
On a second viewing this was a lot more enjoyable if you can indulge it. Smith really is excellent as the scales fall from his eyes in this episode and he continues to add more strings to his bow.
A Good Man Goes To War (even on a second viewing) does little to dispel the impression that this is shaping up to be quite the oddest series of Doctor Who in a long time. Certainly change was required but this feels fairly radical, to the point where this no longer feels like a Saturday early evening show but something that may be better off after the watershed.
I'm unsure if that's a good idea in terms of keeping an audience, but a a few teases have started to pay off this season I'm enjoying it more. Here's hoping the second half of series six is the superior one.
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Caves and Twins: The Almost People
The Almost People - the second part to Doctor Who's take on The Thing, or Battlestar Galactica - or whatever.
Last week had some strong elements and a good cliffhanger, but it was all a little bit messy and confusing, like much of this series.
There were hints that something big was going to happen in this episode to set up next week's mid-season finale, so are we going to start getting some answers?
Would we get Battlestar Galactica or, er, Battlestar Galactica?
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I though the performances were generally up on last week, with some of the humans/gangers becoming recognisable characters.
Smith Docs - I enjoyed the interplay between the two and Smith's performances - as well as the Doctor being at the centre of the story.
Climax - Obviously something involving Amy - and perhaps Rory too was coming - but this was a great shock pulled off with style by Moffatt.
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CGI - CGI is always bloody awful. The scene with the discarded flesh - a scenes that should have been a powerful moment - was just embarrassing in how poor the effects were and the Jenny Monster was another tiresome revisitation of the Utterly Terrible New Series CGI Monster.
Jenny - An annoying and not believable character not portrayed especially well.
Characters acting out of character - In stories where plotting struggles characters begin to act out of a necessity to drive the plot along rather than believable motives. Rory's behaviour was pretty unfathomable in this one - as was some of the Doctors'. Which leads us to...
Noble self-sacrifices - see above. Another familiar Nu series meme.
Smiths - While Smith did well in both parts it was horribly confusing to try and follow who was who (ahem). THis seemed to pay off in the climax, but if the two Doctors had swapped immediately then why was the real Doctor trying to strangle Amy?
Killing Amy - Didn't the Doctor creaming Amy (!) negate the moral core of the previous 90 minutes? Arguably the flesh Amy (!) was simply an avatar rather than a sentient ganger, but it was another muddled point that didn't come off well under analysis.
There was a lot wrong with this, but I still quite enjoyed it. It felt rather unlike any previous Doctor Who - and change is generally to be welcomed.
I'm still unsure about the series arc and the wisdom of leaving so many baffling answer hanging in the air and this story itself was quite hard to follow and didn't really add up.
Still, another intriguing twist in what's looking like the strangest series yet of Doctor Who. Let's hope it all adds up in the end.
Caves and Twins: The Rebel Flesh
Blake's 7, we thought upon seeing the trailer for The Rebel Flesh. No bad thing, but quite a shift in tone to previous weeks.
Would we see a further improvement over the excellent The Doctor's Wife or would be we be back to the shaky start we saw in the first three episodes? Plus that bloke from Life On Mars was back, so was it as bad as Fear Her or was it, well, better than Fear Her?
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Gangers - good make-up and quite frightening when they were normal, scared people who might just do something horrible to you.
Location - It's great to see Doctor Who actually venture into the 'anytime, anywhere' format from time to time and show a castle on an island with pink sky and Dusty Springfield.
Doc 11/Smith - Given some rather more interesting stuff to do this week; the emerging Ganger Doctor was really quite creepy. Let's hope something interesting develops here. I really do rate Smith but he's seemed a little lost in the equation of late; I hope the second part puts the Doctor right at the centre of things. And do you really have to go back Arc of Infinity (hello Patrick!) before you find a creepy Doctor doppelganger?
TARDIS scene - These were inevitably awful back n the day, in fact you probably have to go back to something like Robots of Death for a TARDIS scene that stands up on its own and is worth including in the classic series. This was hardly essential, but quite nice. Having said that, I don't know how many times we can watch the Doctor staring at the scanner and frowning in coming weeks.
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Cast - I thought most of the guest cast were actually quite poor, from the by-the-numbers no-nonsense female boss to the whiney one to the Northern bloke.
CGI - Doctor Who rarely does CGI well, and we had one of the worst CGI monster examples ever in this one. Is there anything more boring than a CGI monster?
Pacing - Up until the credits rolled I thought it was a one-parter. I've rarely felt the new series has got to grips that well with two-parters, this was another example. Which leads me to...
Two-parters - Do they work that well? The Silurian one last year was a total wash-out; the Silence two-parter this year just didn't make any impact one me at all; those awful Helen Raynor stories; the RTD-gasms arguably just about get away with it, in terms of the form, because there's so much going on but apart from Mofatt's own from Series one, three and - perhaps - four I can't think of too many that are highly regarded.
All told I found this enjoyable enough, but it was only the cliffhanger that brought me back into it. Moffatt's series last year gave a very good impression of understanding what and Who, ahem, it was. This year it feels all over the shop in terms of tone and style and I can't really work out what's going wrong.
Wrong may not be the right word to use here, but I've mainly watched this series with an air of mild bemusement. Difficult second album? Too much time spread between two show? Who knows, but I'm hoping for a more even tone and quality from the second part of the season.
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Where is doctor who theme song sheet music for bagpipes?
How do you get Doctor Who sheet music for a trombone? Does Matt Smith resemble Michael Palin? What fruit does David Tennant like? What is the height of every actor who's played doctor who?
An odd, but reasonably tame insight into the minds of Doctor Who fans across the world. These queries come from Answers.com; a strange aggregator that passes off the questions people type into it as content, with the user-generated answers adding more content.
As such it's kind of a new kind of search engine, where people don't type in regular search queries but actually post their strange queries as they would address to a person. As such, they tend to throw up lots of random and bizarre questions that only real fans could ever come up with.
Lots of questions relating to Doctor Who computer games ( I deleted them - they were boring); minutiae concerning Matt Smith and David Tennant; requests for TARDIS dimensions and specifications; Doctor Who sheet music; and many many more.
Many of these are the sort of questions Doctor Who Adventures is presumably designed for - or Peter Haining books covered - but most will never be answered. Who knows whether David Tennant was in 'richmend hill' church today? How does one go about getting Matt Smith personized? How do you find doctor who theme Latin version? And just how many times are they going introduce a 'last ever Dalek' in the show?
I've rounded up a snapshot of questions below. All are genuine; most peculiar. My favourite?
Where is doctor who theme song sheet music for bagpipes?
Matt Smith
How much does Matt Smith weigh?
Does matt smith use an inhaler?
Who is matt smith's grandfather?
Who are Matt Smith's grandparents?
Will Matt Smith or Karren Gillian come to inverness in 2011?
What are the steps to getting Matt Smith's hairstyle?
Will matt smith come to harwich?
How do you get matt smith personized?
What is matt smiths fave film?
What is Matt Smith's favorite song?
How much does Matt Smith get paid?
Does Matt Smith have any allergies?
Does matt smith resemble micheal palin in any way?
David Tennant
Does David tennant like to read?
What fruit does David Tennant like?
Has david tennant ever broken his nose?
What was David Tennants best part of life?
What sunglasses does David Tennant wear in the end of time?
Are you sad that David Tennant is not going to be The Doctor anymore? I am?
When was David Tennant's sister born?
What are David Tennant's like and dislikes?
Was david tennant in richmend hill church today?
Theme music
What are the cello notes to the Doctor Who theme theme tune?
Where can you get the doctor who theme tune sheet music for trumpets?
Where can you find a doctor who music book for keyboard?
Where can you download the Doctor Who theme sheet music?
Where can you find the sheet music for the Doctor Who theme on trombone?
How do you find doctor who theme Latin version?
Where is doctor who theme song sheet music for bagpipes?
Oddities
What was the doctor who episode where they where going to Sacrifice the doctors companion you were a kid and it was in the 80s you are sure their was probaly more than one like this?
DOCTOR WHO in the family of blood when the kid opens the pocket watch to show the alien girl and there is a scene of the doctor standing infront of a firey furnace area where can you get a picture?
How many times has the last dalek been used on the TV show Doctor Who when introducing a Delak and exactly how many more times do they plan on using this phrase?
Toys and merch
Do the Eastgate Waterstones have the book Doctor who the pandorica opens?
Does the cape of doctor who figure francesco come off?
Where can you buy Doctor Who party balloons in Australia?
Can you buy the time crash tenth doctor figure separately?
What batteries does the doctor who eleventh doctor's sonic screwdriver need?
Will there be a new doctorwho tardis play set 2010?
Where can you get a cheap sonic screwdriver in England?
Where do you get remote control Daleks in New Zealand?
The rest
Where can you find plans for a full size wooden tardis?
How do you build a tardis zipperobe?
What is Rose Tylers favourite colour?
What galaxy is gallifrey in?
Why does the doctor turn into the actor tom baker?
Who gave craig ferguson the tardis?
How many times has the tardis changed?
What is the height of every actor who's played doctor who?
Is karen gillan a catholic?
Who portrayed the daleks in the episode with Churchill of Doctor Who?
Where does arthur darvill from doctor who live?
Will the war chief return in episode 3 of doctor who series 6?
Is billie piper a rajini fan?
What does Billie Piper like?
How can you make your name look like the doctor who titles?
How do you do the doctor who regeneration effect?
Who was the woman singing in Doctor Who the tv movie?
What does Doctor Who say to the thief in the Planet of the dead?
Where can you get karen gillans purple dress from?
Who directed Dr Who?
Where is amy pond's leather jacket from?
What is Doctor Who's favourite number?
In Doctor Who What planet are the krynoids from?
Has the tardis ever been a piano?
What is the name of the final song in The Time of Angels Doctor Who Episode?
How is a Dalek made?
What happend to ace in doctor who?
How many special guests have appeared in Doctor Who?
In what torchwood novel do jack and ianto go out on a date?
Where are the vinegar bottles in K9 Deja Who?
What did Jamie do after the doctor left?
What software do people use to make their own Doctor Who title sequences?
Did Elizabeth Sladen attend John Pertwee's funeral?
What colour are the new series Doctor Who Daleks. Exact RGB colours please
What is the name of the boarding school in Doctor who Family of blood?
How can i build a dalek emperor figure about 10 inches high?
What was the dispute between the BBC and The Met over the tardis?
Will morbins returnin the new Doctor Who?
What draws the tardis to earth in 'Image of the Fendahl'?
What headset did the Doctor use in 'Planet of the Dead'?
Who was Barry Letts original choice for the part of Sarah Jane Smith before he gave the role to Lis Sladen?
Caves and Twins: The Doctor’s Wife
Neil Gaiman'a long-awaited Doctor Who episode hit the screens with an annoyingly glib title to give us a set-up that Who fans have long imaged or written bad fanfic about.
Lawrence Miles might be raising an eyebrow, with the first example of a sentient TARDIS I can think of occurring in Alien Bodies. Either that or he's writing 10,000 words on The Power of Kroll.
Anyway, was The Doctor's Wife Neverwhere or was it.... well, I like all Gaiman's stuff.
The Doctor and the TARDIS - Although some of it went into kooky/wacky mode many of these scenes were touching and peculiar. The scenes at the end were almost heart-breaking. Lovely Doctor Who.
House and the planet - Seemingly another echo from a New Adventure. House seemed rather like God in The Also People, unquestionably the best in the range to my mind. An intriguing idea.
Everything else on the planet was fascinating. The set-up and characters and dialogue and actors all fell into place wonderfully - and it looked startling. For all Doctor Who's 'anywhere, anytime' shtick it rarely looks so alien and odd as it did in The Doctor's Wife.
Scary shit - The scenes of Rory and Amy in the TARDIS were genuinely unsettling and disturbing. Well written, well shot and well played.
The regulars - Smith seemed back to his brilliant bonkers best this week after a couple of weeks where he seemed a bit lost. Some quieter stuff from the Doc was more interesting, while Darvill and Gillen were strong too.
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That title. A tiresome facet of the new series is the urge to fling out controversial, eye-catching titles. It seems to me to be the equivalent of writing stories about celebrities in order to attract search-engine traffic to your literary website. The result is always the same - the user 'bounces' back off the site the second they realise they've been conned.
Kooky TARDIS - While I generally loved this episode and the thing with the TARDIS I did feel, with a somewhat weary sense of inevitability that the embodiment of the TARDIS was one part haughty Time Lady and one part wacky Doctor-like cypher. Occasionally irritating.
TARDIS corridors - All of time, all of space, all those adventures and the TARDIS is still a collection of featureless corridors? Crikey.
Rory's old make-up - A little whinge, but such a bad hooter. Arthur Darvill looked like Clouseau in one of his disguises.
Any complaints this week can be shrugged off as I felt the episode was an almost unmitigated triumph. It was scary and funny and weird and witty and touching - everything good Doctor Who should be.
Colin Baker is on Twitter
As Probic Vent cannily predicted, Colin Baker is apparently the first Doctor to take the plunge and hit Twitter.
While Matt Smith appears to be avoiding the Twitterverse (a bit like E-Space?), the Sixth Doc has been broadcasting tweets for a couple of days now and seems to have got the hang of it fairly quickly.
Who will be next? Can't really imagine Tom, or Peter or Sylv. Definitely not McGann or Eccles. Tennant or Matt Smith for our money.
Oh, and Frazer Hines is also tweeting, very intermittently.