Okay guys, I'm breaking my own rules and doing something I've never really done before, which is revisiting a topic I have already written on. There is already a "Why I like the Movellans" post kicking around the project somewhere, but (1) that post kinda sucked and (2) the Movellans have suddenly become relevant again in a way I could not have ( Read more... )

Whenever a franchise introduces a new character, particularly a new female character, there is always great hew and cry, and whispers and shouts of that most damning of epithets: Mary Sue. It is one of our less admirable traits, such automatic and usually sexist dismissal of the new and unfamiliar. You would think that in as long and varied a ( Read more... )

This Christmas, Doctor Who gave us the gift of malevolent brains in jars. Just what I wanted! Seriously, what is not to love about malevolent brains in jars? They're brains - in jars! And, in the absence of Barbara Brain-Smasher, they pose a significant problem ( Read more... )

Wait, have I done this already ( Read more... )

Ohila is the High Priestess of the Sisterhood of Karn, keepers of the Flame of Utter Boredom Eternal Life: everyone's favorite immortality cult whom none of us ever expected to see again. That's the wonderful thing about Doctor Who. It's got a lot of continuity and all of it is fair game. Ohila was not obviously present last time around, but her ( Read more... )

In the words of the (fourth) Doctor: "Never trust gimmicky gadgets!" The psychic paper used by the Doctor (and others) is a gimmicky gadget par excellence whose purpose is to answer the age-old question of "Who are you and how did you get into my house" - and should, of course, never ever be trusted ( Read more... )

"Time Heist" is a remarkably fun episode, slotted into series 8 right when we could really use a remarkably fun episode. It's a heist episode, which is always fun, and not just a heist - a time heist! Plus amnesia! There may be people in this world who do not love amnesia plots, but I am not among them. And central to the whole story is the ( Read more... )

General Baldy, or perhaps just the General, is the head of the Time Lord War Council and the chief military officer of the Time War. He is, it has been pointed out, Gallifrey's equivalent of the Brigadier - rational, reasonable, long-suffering, and competent. For ease of identification, I'm going to call him General Baldy, mostly because the ( Read more... )

Isn't "murder castle" a delightful name? I'm not sure quite who came up with it, but whoever you are, well done team. It belongs in "Terror of the Autons" alongside the murder doll and murder flowers and murder chair. Man, too bad the murder castle didn't have a murder chair. I love the murder chair. ... but I digress. While Murder Castle is ( Read more... )

"Sleep No More", as any very experimental episode of Doctor Who, has proven to be very divisive for the fanbase. Some people loved it, and others are hailing it as the worst thing ever to be produced. Which is wonderful. There is nothing Whovians love better than fighting one another, and it is always good to be reminded that we all have wildly ( Read more... )