vivdunstan

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

( spoilers )

Following my recent post about favourite Eleventh Doctor stories I thought I'd post a list of my favourite Tenth Doctor ones. These are in chronological order, not order of favourites. And I am being picky, although I seem unable to get to a shorter list!

• The Christmas Invasion. Given David Tennant's Doctor is unconscious for much of the episode, he must have made a heck of an impression on me when he woke up. I was already confident that he was going to be great in the role after having seen him in Casanova. Now I was convinced.
• Tooth and Claw. This is not a flawless story. I greatly dislike the digs at some of the Royal Family (and I'm not a Royal fan at all), and some of the other Rose bits are pretty unsubtle too. But in other respects it's a magic mix. Ninja monks, a scary werewolf, a library full of books, and Scotland! Thank you RTD.
• The Girl in the Fireplace. This was instantly my Dad's favourite Who story ever and remained so for the rest of his life. Just magical, even if you do pick it apart, and realise it's a retelling of The Time Traveller's Wife. A route that Steven Moffat went down far too often. But still, wow. Clockwork Droids and Madame de P.
• The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit. For a Doctor Who fan I'm not much of a fan of scifi in space. I'm really not. But this is a base under siege, from within, and facing dark primeval forces. So gripping. And fully merits the two part treatment. I really wish that we'd got more Doctor Who from the writer Matt Jones.
• Human Nature / The Family of Blood. A moving piece of historical fiction and lost romance and chances. This is so very special. Thank you Paul Cornell.
• Blink. Ok another where David Tennant is barely in it. But it's just so good. We needed more Sally Sparrow on TV! A star in the making. And my favourite Tenth Doctor story of all.
• Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead. I rewatched this recently. It's still superb. Tight plotting, imaginative scifi, another iconic new monster, and hey, who's this we meet?

Clearly I enjoyed Steven Moffat's writing for the Tenth Doctor. And his gas mask double parter for the Ninth Doctor remains my all-time favourite Who story ever, even beating a spaghetti-faced Count in Paris. But it's nice to see some other writers represented in the list here.

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 this story, after last time’s pivotal one. Going into major spoilers ... ( Beware! )

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.

Another story set away from the Braxiatel Collection, while things continue to be in chaos there. A story that starts sort of in media res, and isn't entirely successful as a result. There are also arc things that are only revealed toward the end of the story, which is a common situation in this series at this point, and again doesn't work great.

On plus it's an interesting piece of scifi, with a small cast. Reminiscent in many ways of the very recent "Timeless Passages". And overall a strong first story from writer Eddie Robson in this range. Brimming with ideas.

Arguably the most interesting thing though is the final reveal of ( spoilers ) I forgot how much I'd missed hearing that character.

And looking forward to where we go next. Which I do have a pretty good idea of, but will enjoy the journey there.

Been too sleepy to watch any more movies. And still haven't got to Rings of Power season 2. Our Babylon 5 rewatch is also currently on hold while we try to catch up with a mass of too much recorded telly in our Sky Q box.

I have been binge watching a lot of the early episodes of Glee. Which though cliched and corny is remarkably watchable. As a musical theatre fan I'm also happily there for all the songs shoehorned in. Martin hasn't strictly been watching it, mainly commenting as he potters around that "That sounds very weird!" But he did say tonight that having sat in for a bit more he can see how the format works, and is starting to appreciate it.

I'm also watching a lot of recorded panels/talks from the recent Cymera 2025 festival in Edinburgh of science fiction, fantasy and horror writing. Have already enjoyed panels including authors John Gwynne and Cymera regular T.L. Huchu. With many more to watch in the next 3 weeks or so while I still have access to them using my purchased digital festival pass.

Onto another one, and this is a relisten for me. As I wrote on Gallifrey Base back in June 2010:

"Timeless Passages is indeed wonderful. I've only heard Benny on audio in some of season 3, Timeless Passages, the Diogenes Damsel, and the Companion Chronicle story. Of these Timeless Passages is easily my favourite, and requires no prior knowledge. And it's *so* timey-wimey :) I just love it."

And my feelings haven't changed, though I've now heard way way more Benny audios than I had back then. Timeless Passages is a quite superb Benny audio, and a brilliant piece of scifi storytelling. Totally standalone, so you don't need to have listened to any of the other Benny audios. As is often the case this one has a very small cast, but they are used superbly, very well acted and written, and the story keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. A tightly plotted mystery box of a timey wimey puzzle set inside a giant library. What's not to love about that?

It's a rare Benny audio from this era still available to buy from Big Finish on CD, but also in DRM-free download. £5.99 plus shipping if ordering by post. If you hear just one Benny audio, this is the one I'd recommend by far.

Still struggling not to type 2024 at the top of these posts!

( earlier books )
1. Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots by Jade Scott
2. A Middle-earth Album: Paintings by Joan Wyatt Inspired by Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings by Joan Wyatt
3. Could You Survive Midsomer? – A Winter's Murder: An Official Midsomer Murders Interactive Novel by Simon Brew
4. Eerie East Anglia: Fearful Tales of Field and Fen by Edward Parnell
5. Introducing Shakespeare: A Graphic Guide by Nick Groom
6. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
7. The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson

I've written reviews of Captive Queen, the Midsomer Murders gamebook and Eerie East Anglia.

Of the others, the Tolkien paintings book was nice, though there were some curious choices, especially re the hobbits. The Shakespeare book was great in parts, but had an almost total blind spot on detailed coverage of the many plays, which felt like a huge omission. Our Mutual Friend was a delight for me, as always. And The Principle of Moments, the first in a planned trilogy, was a heady mix of fantasy, space opera and time travelling shenanigans. Probably more ambitious in its goals than it ultimately achieved. But still a riveting read, and I will read the other books.

Finally resuming my listening and reviewing of Benny audios from Big Finish's series!

Just as a reminder, Benny/Bernice was introduced as a companion of the Seventh Doctor in the early 1990s Doctor Who novels. She then spun off to have her own adventures, and Big Finish made a long-running series of audio adventures starring Benny, played by actress Lisa Bowerman. Benny, like the more recent River Song, is a professor of archaeology. The stories are set in a scifi universe full of Doctor Who lore and monsters. Benny is often sent to investigate an archaeological site or matter on other planets. But in the series she is largely based at the Braxiatel Collection, an archive of strange artefacts, run by the mysterious Irving Braxiatel.

My latest listen is another in the 6th season of Benny audios. In this one, Benny and her former husband / on-off lover Jason Kane go to investigate the status of a museum on a war torn planet.

This is another sometimes brutal audio to listen to, following The Kingdom of the Blind. Like that one this includes accounts of torture, though less directly, rather recounted later. But it's still a tough listen, and does capture the sense of a society in anarchy, with a complicated picture of right and wrong, and certainly not a clear-cut black and white image.

More worryingly the soundscape is chaotic and it can be difficult to follow what's going on. I don't think it was as coherent as it could have been. However there are extremely powerful musings on the role of museums in preserving and sharing culture, and also their potential misuse for propaganda and power reasons. Benny also faces some rather direct questions about the supposedly open nature of the institution she works for.

So it was ok, but not one I'll rush to listen to again. Though the repartee between Benny and Jason was strong. Old friends rather than lovers now, but with a comfortable relationship that sees them survive a dangerous mission.