vivdunstan

We watched this last week, another 20-years-on anniversary rewatch. I remembered really liking this story on first watch, with some provisos. And it's still great.

Tightly written, full of content. There's an original Scottish setting, and it was nice to see David Tennant's Doctor use a Scottish accent, and be incorporated into the plot.

Rose is very resourceful and brave, leading the prisoners' defence. But at the same time she is phenomenally irritating re the repeated "We are not amused!", and her Princess Anne jibe was incredibly misjudged by RTD. And I say that as a non royalist.

The episode is full of exciting action scenes, from the opening monk acrobatic hijinks, through to the werewolf transformation, and the final climax.

A strong guest cast, mostly Scottish, helps immensely. Pauline Collins - a Classic Who returnee to Doctor Who - is a memorable Queen Victoria.

Much running along corridors, and more stairs. But effectively done, and not annoyingly repetitive.

Some nice uses of history, and as a book historian I especially liked the woodcut showing something relevant from James V's era. Unlike Jonathan Creek's "Satan's Chimney" episode with Mary Tamm, this story at least got the correct Scottish monarch!

And nods to the future, re both Torchwood and Bad Wolf.

Great stuff, albeit still with a few quibbles. And, yes, incredibly tightly written, which again RTD2 and also Capaldi-era Moffat could take lessons from.

Oh and the early 2000s special effects seemed to hold up well for me watching two decades on.

Had the first boxset waiting to listen to for ages, and finally fired up this first story. And this is enormous fun. Georgia Tennant does a grand job returning to her Doctor Who TV role as the Doctor's Daughter, and the story, characters and tone are great space comedy, in the style of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I don't know if the rest of the boxset will be similar, but this is a superb start.

Cover image for Jenny (Doctor Who spinoff) audio story 1-1

This last week marked 20 years since the start of David Tennant's first full series of Doctor Who. We weren't planning to rewatch anything, but stumbled at midnight that night into a rewatch of "New Earth". I wouldn't be surprised if we rewatch more episodes over the coming weeks ...

I jotted down some quick thoughts while watching.

DT so young!
Seeing Mickey is going to be *challenging*, but hey ho
Nice to combine first new Tenth series story with a sequel to End of the World
So many lift shafts and stair scenes in this early era of New Who!
Adjoa Andoh's voice even more recognisable for me now after watching some of Bridgerton
Certainly pre Covid, with the Doctor opening up multiple patient cells, full of people infected with many diseases, and saying it’s ok as long as you don’t touch them
Marvellous cat acting from Doña Croll particularly
Very dark storytelling, but also incredibly concise for the runtime - RTD 2 could take lessons
Overall a fun intro to a new series. And the middle part of an elongated trilogy story of sorts, which I hadn't appreciated back then.

Was worried that I was going to run out of title characters to fit that lot in!

Continuing my rewatch of the Peter Capaldi era with this opening two parter from New Who series 9. And going to put my discussion into spoiler space.

( spoilers )

Just got to Tom Baker appearing in our rewatch of “The Silver Chair” Narnia series from the BBC in 1990. And I’m constantly laughing at everything he says as Puddleglum. Brilliant character, perfectly cast.

Continuing my Twelfth Doctor rewatch. And going to put this two-parter's discussion in a spoiler cut.

( spoilers )

Continuing our slow rewatch of the newly remastered BBC Narnia TV stories from 1988-1990. Newly starting “The Silver Chair”. Looking forward to seeing Tom Baker again as Puddleglum. And Camilla Power as Jill is a fine young actress.

Recently rewatched this, and enjoyed it again, though perhaps not as much as the first time.

The Golden Age style whodunnit aspect is fantastic. Though I found it frustrating that the Doctor already knows about the Foretold, making me feel one step removed from the story at that point. Writing about (fictional) past legendary things can be tricky, but I think a smoother bit of sleight of hand could have improved this. Taking the viewer along with the Doctor on the journey of discovery can be an important element.

I still find the split between the Agatha Christie esque train setting and the futuristic lab to be extremely jarring. This is a longstanding problem I have with Doctor Who stories that have an atmospheric opening setting, sometimes historical, and then relocate to a different much more scifi setting. Think "The Stones of Blood" for example.

Yet there is a good resolution, and the guest cast is strong. Not least Frank Skinner as train chief engineer Perkins, who has an unnerving ambiguity about whether he's an ally or not. Nicely done.

Tonight’s film viewing here. Total nostalgia fest for us two. And such lovely music!

Some of the Scottish accents are urgle, but I give this film quite a lot of leeway.

Also what a fab supporting cast, not least Ian Holm.

We've started watching the new remastered Blu-ray version of the BBC 1988-1990 Narnia TV stories. Working slowly through the three televised serials (Lion, Caspian & Dawn Treader, and Silver Chair), before watching the new extended combined making of documentary on the final disc.

First "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Which I watched in 1988, and later on video with Martin who'd never seen it. He's never seen the other Narnia TV stories at all.

Some quick thoughts, more about the production side of things than the story itself (mostly):

Relatively little happens in quite a few of the earlier episodes, at least compared to 1984’s “The Box of Delights”, which admittedly I adore.
I wondered where I recognised the Professor from. Seymour in Last of the Summer Wine! Which my family was glued to on Sunday nights back then.
Barbara Kellerman’s White Witch stretches things too much towards overacting.
Aslan’s camp looks to older me now more like a 60s hippies commune.
Ronald Pickup - yay!
Aslan moves his body well but his mouth movements are very stiff.
I do like the special effects of the creatures and phantasms that the Witch conjured. But many of the other special effects are less successful for me, and often clunky. Again not overall as good for me as in the earlier Box of Delights.
The direction could be better in a lot of places, to smooth how the child actors are handled. It just often feels awkward.
And it is so unsubtly Christian. In the whole Narnia book series that is most true of this book and, above all, the final one. But I’m finding it harder to watch as an adult.

Despite all those thoughts I'm enjoying this rewatch, though am less appreciative of it now as an adult than I was as a child back in 1988. And I definitely don't think it's anywhere near as successful, or as good to rewatch years later, as my admittedly beloved Box of Delights.

Martin stunned me tonight by saying that he doesn't think he'd ever read any of the original Narnia books, even as a child, growing up in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s.

He also wouldn't have noticed the Christian/religious elements in this Narnia story, without me hinting. Despite growing up in a more religious and consistently church going household than me. Though we're not sure how much of that side of things sunk in.

Note: this aired in the UK on BBC TV in December 2025. It is expected to air worldwide on Disney+ sometime in early 2026.

Just finished watching this Doctor Who spin-off. I’m going to jot down some brief thoughts with mild spoilers in them, avoiding some of the biggest stuff. But to be on the safe side I’ll still put this into spoiler space.

( spoilers )

As I'm currently working my way through rewatching Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor stories, I thought I might afterwards those post about my favourites from his era. And since before him I rewatched the Eleventh Doctor I might as well do the same now for Matt Smith's era! Hopefully Jodie Whittaker's era will follow in due course.

So, Eleventh Doctor. I really like his old man in a young body characterisation. And he's very well performed. Fortunately also paired with strong companions throughout, and generally good writing.

In chronological order, here are some thoughts on some of my favourite stories from his era:

The Time of Angels / Flesh and Stone. The first time we see River with this incarnation, and the return of iconic monsters the Weeping Angels. This is a tight puzzle box of a two parter, with much to enjoy, and also mysteries only to be uncovered later on. It's also one of Amy's best stories. And remarkably, it was the very first story Matt Smith and Karen Gillan filmed.
Vincent and the Doctor. I've studied art history at university. But am often rather immune to its qualities. I also don't resonate much with Van Gogh's work, Starry Night excepted. But this is a beautiful story of a troubled artist, briefly enlivened by a visit from the Doctor and Amy. And the visual effects as they look up at the night sky is quite magical.
The Girl Who Waited. An acting tour de force from Karen Gillan, playing two versions of Amy, and a beautiful tale of love, longing, and survival. It's really special.
Asylum of the Daleks. On the one hand this is a difficult watch, with the fractured relationship of Amy and Rory viscerally depicted. But it's also a thrilling piece of scifi. And seeing the surprise first appearance of Jenna Coleman's Clara was a jaw dropping moment.
The Angels Take Manhattan. I like historical Who, and this is a powerful mix of 1930s New York, Weeping Angels, River, and Amy and Rory, in a story that will linger long in the mind. The music is also stunning.
The Snowmen. A call back - or forward? - to another Doctor Who tale, this is a Christmassy gem, and another introduction for Clara. The story wanders a bit in the third quarter, but overall is a strong one for me. A mix of festive fun and moving pathos.

There are other Eleventh Doctor stories that I enjoyed, but these are my absolute highlights. I tried to trim it down to just five for this list. But honestly I can't cut any of them.

Onto another one, which I could remember!

( spoilers )

Squeezing in another of these before my end of year final post.

Got through another 8 books since the last update.

( earlier books )

Katabasis by RF Kuang
Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Mr Villain's Day Off volume 1 (manga) by Yuu Morikawa
Born With Teeth (play script) by Liz Duffy Adams
A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
Doctor Who Tales of Terror (short story anthology)
Crossroads of Twilight (Wheel of Time book 10) by Robert Jordan

Of the newly finished books, Katabasis was a lot of fun, with a dark journey into the Underworld, but not as good as RF Kuang's superb Babel or even Yellowface for me. Carmilla was a book club read, and frankly disappointing, and a struggle to read. Though Hammer made a good stab at filming a better version in the early 1970s. Mr Villain's Day Off was a chance find in Angus libraries catalogue, so borrowed that way. Fun manga, but I wasn't inspired to read other volumes. Born With Teeth, the Marlowe/Shakespeare play performed recently on stage by Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel, was a brilliant read, though it would be better to see it performed in person. Yes, I did my usual Roger Zelazny pre-Halloween reread of A Night in the Lonesome October. Still love it. T. Kingfisher's A Wizard's Guide to Contemporary Baking was fun, but a bit unevenly paced, and younger than I'd usually read. It also took too long to get to dangerous fighting gingerbread men. Doctor Who Tales of Terror is a fun spooky anthology collection, with short stories by multiple authors for each of Doctors 1-12. A bit uneven, but overall fun. Wheel of Time book 10 was the slog that I expected, though still fun in many parts. But I needed a very specific approach to reading to get through it successfully. But things should be better again in the remaining books. Book 10 is generally regarded by readers of the whole series as the worst by a long way.

Very sad to hear that Prunella Scales has died. A wonderful actress, but most of all Martin and I enjoyed her charming canal trip programmes with husband Timothy West. I'm downloading (on demand in the UK) some of her past canal trips to rewatch, including the Leeds & Liverpool canal and Venice.

Onto the last story in the 8th season of Benny audios from Big Finish. Going to discuss this with big spoilers for this story and the previous but one story as well.

( spoilers )

Cover of Bernice Summerfield and The Wake

Sharing this for fellow Doctor Who, Discovery of Witches, or Born With Teeth play fans. Or anyone keen on literary history or who likes historical objects or the sixteenth century.

Watch on YouTube

Finally got to this major story, and going to discuss with full spoilers. So beware if you go in. ( spoilers )

Cover of Bernice Summerfield and The End of the World

Continuing our latest Babylon 5 rewatch, and we’re up to S2E20 "The Long, Twilight Struggle". And it’s peak Shakespearean tragedy.

The only downside for me in this otherwise superb episode is the poor overacting by the recast Draal actor. Which is a big problem for me. But the rest of the episode is stunning.

Continuing my listen, and another enjoyable instalment in this Big Finish series.

This was a tightly written drama, set in the middle of a war, across multiple locations. Though on the downside I was a little puzzled at times in the audio format determining which side of the fighting I was listening to.

There are some nice narrative experiments here, some really nice touches that let Lisa Bowerman shine as ever as Benny. And a storyline that kept me gripped. Though I was a bit confused later on re what had just happened. And also frankly rather surprised when the story finished inside an hour. I'm used to overly loose Benny audios.

And bonus points from me for the "I couldn't possibly comment!" from Miles Richardson.

Cover of Bernice Summerfield and Freedom of Information

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Page Summary

Rewatching Doctor Who: Tooth and Claw
Current listening: Jenny (Doctor Who spinoff) audio story "Stolen Goods"
Rewatching Doctor Who: New Earth
Rewatching Doctor Who: The Magician's Apprentice / The Witch's Familiar
Dr Puddleglum
Rewatching Doctor Who: Dark Water / Death in Heaven
Starting “The Silver Chair”
Rewatching Doctor Who: Mummy on the Orient Express
Loch Ness (1996)
Thoughts on rewatching BBC 1988 TV version of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"
The War Between the Land and the Sea
Favourite Eleventh Doctor stories from Doctor Who
Sherlock Holmes reread: The Golden Pince-Nez
Books finished in 2025, early December edition
Prunella Scales
Bernice Summerfield: The Wake
History lessons with The Doctor/Marlowe and Shakespeare/Marcus from Discovery of Witches
Bernice Summerfield: The End of the World
Rewatching Babylon 5 “The Long, Twilight Struggle”
Bernice Summerfield: Freedom of Information

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Entries tagged with acting

Rewatching Doctor Who: Tooth and Claw

Current listening: Jenny (Doctor Who spinoff) audio story "Stolen Goods"

Rewatching Doctor Who: New Earth

Rewatching Doctor Who: The Magician's Apprentice / The Witch's Familiar

Dr Puddleglum

Rewatching Doctor Who: Dark Water / Death in Heaven

Starting “The Silver Chair”

Rewatching Doctor Who: Mummy on the Orient Express

Loch Ness (1996)

Thoughts on rewatching BBC 1988 TV version of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"

The War Between the Land and the Sea

Favourite Eleventh Doctor stories from Doctor Who

Sherlock Holmes reread: The Golden Pince-Nez

Books finished in 2025, early December edition

Prunella Scales

Bernice Summerfield: The Wake

History lessons with The Doctor/Marlowe and Shakespeare/Marcus from Discovery of Witches

Bernice Summerfield: The End of the World

Rewatching Babylon 5 “The Long, Twilight Struggle”

Bernice Summerfield: Freedom of Information