ThEM

Doctor Who spoilers about the TARDIS.

I keep seeing people hating on the new TARDIS interior, and honestly? I personally love the hell out of it.

It's very clearly an homage to the classic eras where the TARDIS was white with the round things, with a more simple, yet still cluttered, console with all sorts of switches and levers. It's simplistic in design, just like it had been for the classic who era, and yet this new one is also massive, complicated in ways, a lot like what you see in nuwho.

It's got the dome-like shape going on, it's huge with ramps going every which way, and part of the console honestly reminds me greatly of Eleven's second interior and Twelve's.

It's a lovely, beautiful blend of old and new, just like how Fourteen's screwdriver has elements of former sonic devices (both screwdriver and laser), and even the outside of the TARDIS still hints to the past as it is clearly Thirteen's version!

I know people love the more cluttered, crazy looking versions we got in nuwho, from the corals of Nine and Ten's, to the shiny chrome and glass of Eleven and Twelve's, to whatever the hell cool-ass Meow Wolf looking thing Thirteen had going on, but I LOVE the classic who TARDIS look we have going on now.

It's retro and yet done in a futuristic way in this new interior, bringing the 60s-80s into the 2020s, with little bits and bobs of the 2000's and 2010's sprinkled in. It's perfect for a Doctor who we are watching through specials specifically meant to give us a fun set of adventures during the 60th anniversary. This is a celebration of the past and future of the show, and we need to acknowledge that Doctor Who is sixty years old, it didn't just start in 2005 with Nine after all.

But that's just my opinion, I dunno. I still stand by it, it's a beautiful design and I honestly can't wait to see what Fifteen's will be like. <3 I hope he gets the roundales as well. :D

im sorry im sorry im sorry i know it’s been well over a year but i accidentally thought about Short Trips: Deleted Scenes (again) and it’s killing me (again) so i think im just gonna go ahead and post all these stupid thoughts that have been plaguing me about it since i first heard it & maybe that’ll help clear up some space in my head for like, real life things.

Spoilers I guess? It’s like a year and a half old but also high key the most recent 2nd doctor content i believe we’ve gotten which is like, the only negative thing I can say about it

The TLDR version is this:

I literally cant believe how sweet it is? Painful, but sweet. Like. I don’t honestly know what’s more likely - did they set out to write Jamie a nice little straight love interest and just fail miserably at it by constantly likening her to the Doctor AND paralleling the Doctor’s perspective with her ex’s AND putting Jamie’s relationships with both of them in direct tension with each other while constantly letting his with the Doctor win out?

OR - did they do a very 1960s thing and say hey we’re gonna write what’s essentially a story about how much Jamie and the Doctor love each other and release it on Valentine’s Day thinly disguised as a one-off romance with a french lady?

Now, as a general rule, my attitude toward questions like that is usually “don’t know, don’t care, doesn’t matter” - and while I 100% stand by that, I also have to admit that this particular audio seems to pay enough attention to detail that I’d kind of think I was selling it short if I assumed too many of these things were just meaningless coincidences, you know?

Anyway, that’s the most coherent/overarching thought. And here’s a disorganized list of things I absolutely cannot get over about it (they don’t form any kind of argument, mind, they just all happen to live rent free in my head):

- Celine is first taken in by Jamie being an idiot (specifically him claiming not to speak French, in perfect French); likewise, her entrance in the scene where they actually kiss is marked with a little anecdote about her hat getting stuck on a doornail and her scolding it as she attempts to fix her un-tameable appearance, and the narration says Celine “would often clown for Jamie like this” - all of which, while undeniably adorable, don’t exactly strike me as entirely original traits to have been assigned to Jamie’s love-interest (but also Celine is so cool and her perspective on film/media/time is an excellent addition to the long list of dr who characters)

- When they’re in the present, describing Jamie’s relationship with Celine in 1908, they call him her “companion” and highlight his going nearly everywhere with her, which earns a laugh from the 4th doctor (and me as well, though probably for slightly different reasons - but like, is that really all it takes to have a fling with someone in 60′s era who? bc if so...)

- Celine’s ex-fiance is still in love with her and is jealously watching when she kisses Jamie ... and then the Doctor appears beside him, evidently doing the exact. same. thing. They have the following conversation:

“You know, it’s not prudent to spy on people. But then, people in pain can’t be expected to act prudently.”

“Pain, monsieur? You mistake me.”

“Ah, do I? Good, because I rather thought you’d lost something.”

“What would you know about loss monsieur?”

- I’m sorry doc but who do you think you are, saying stuff like that and smiling sadly at the floor to boot? I 100% had to pause it here the first time I listened, just to not throw my laptop across the room. 

- Then when I recovered continued, the Doctor closes the door so they can’t watch anymore and explains “Possessing things comes so terribly easily to some men that losing them can feel cruel, intolerably cruel. In my experience, only the very best of men cannot be tempted to answer that cruelty with more - I do sincerely hope that you are the best of men.” (guess who gets described as the best of men by the end of the audio?)

- Jamie and the Doctor apparently develop a habit of walking along the river in Paris in silence

- During one such walk, Jamie suggests Celine come with them since she already figured out about the Tardis - and when the Doctor’s worried by this, he says he only allowed Jamie & Celine to grow closer “because of Victoria.” Jamie takes offense at the ‘allowing it’ comment and also refuses to admit he knows what the Doctor means about Victoria, which leads the Doctor to say that he knows how fond Jamie was of her - he was too, of course, but with him, “it was different, wasn’t it?” Jamie only says maybe that’s true and maybe that’s not, but his voice catches until he changes the subject

- Jamie doesn’t see Celine for days both times that she’s recovering from the shock and depression of her work being destroyed. In contrast, when the Doctor’s not well, Jamie’s "afraid” and “guilty” and hardly seems to leave his side at all, if his being there “rushing to embrace him” the second he wakes up - after a period Jamie describes as “at least a week” - is anything to go by, anyway. so either bf writers need to learn how to write a committed straight relationship or admit that’s not what they ever intended in the first place

- Oh yeah, and the Doctor spends that week "asleep” in Jamie’s bedroom - no, there’s no explanation as to if that’s where he was when he first collapsed or if it’s where Jamie decided to take him bc why would they feel the need to explain him being there? why was it even relevant to tell us it was Jamie’s room in the first place?

- The Doctor somehow manages to control the Tardis enough to take Celine on one trip to an alien planet and then return to the correct time & place for her to use the footage she recorded there in her new film - and while the audio doesn’t do very much to explain how that was possible, it does treat this as A Pretty Big Deal, and immediately afterward the Doctor has to spend a week communing with his past self (and/or the Tardis?) debating how likely it is that the Time Lords could use this to trace him. When he decides it’s not worth the risk and they have to stop the film from ever being shown to the public, Jamie asks why he agreed to it in the first place, and all he can say is “Because, Jamie, you asked me to!” earning awkward stares from the crowd.

- Oh, but, lest we forget, that little outburst is also immediately followed by him putting his arm around Jamie’s shoulders, and, shockingly, apparently beginning to actually explain the truth about the danger from the Time Lords - until they’re interrupted, of course idk why exactly but the idea of a 60s dr wanting to come clean with a companion but not being allowed to bc the show demands the war games be something of a reveal hurts me in a very good way

- The mental image of “the Doctor and Jamie, resplendent in borrowed evening wear”

- The audio admitting that Jamie’s not very good at subterfuge, and the Doctor asking if he’s going to be alright with them having to steal the film back from Celine - and Jamie’s little “Aye, Doctor” as he feels a ‘glass arrow piercing his chest’ glad to see bf is reading all my letters about exactly how i feel any time something sad happens to james robert mccrimmon

- The Doctor’s anxious to get out of there for obvious reasons, but he hangs around bc Jamie wants to see Celine again - which doesn’t happen, because of her aforementioned shock & depression, but she does leave Jamie a note that ends “you and that Doctor of yours - look after him Jamie, he loves you dearly, as do I.” yeah, if you didn’t want people to draw a parallel there, you could’ve picked, like, any other wording in the world.

- In case you weren’t fully convinced I’ve been reading too much into this whole audio already, consider this: Celine dies in Long Island in 1968, three days before her birthday - 1968 is when this story would’ve taken place in the show’s history (between Fury & Wheel), and dying three days before/after a birthday in America seems a bit... well I had some deja vu from it, anyway

- Four of all people being the one to bring back the film - I know he does it bc Sarah Jane makes him, but personally, I often feel like despite the length of his run, 4 is the Doctor with which we might’ve gotten the fewest glimpses into his interiority, so the fact that it’s him and not one of the more overtly sentimental Doctors makes it feel like it carries even more weight somehow, to me anyway. I think I wrote a post saying roughly the same thing about 4 & Fate of Krelos/Return to Telos but maybe I only did that inside my own head lol. Still, I’m all for any opportunities for Jamie to be one of the few characters to draw some noticeable emotion out of Four, but in fairness I haven’t touched too much of his EU stuff to really be able to compare the frequency with which this happens with other past companions

- Is Four referring to Two or Jamie when he says he got the film from “an old family friend”? Two did the actual stealing, but he probably means Jamie’s involvement - either way, it’s an interesting way of describing old companions - or selves?

- When Jemima goes to call Jamie a thief, Four is “roused” to defend him: “he really was the very best of men” again, any time four freely shows he cares about someone, im over the moon about it

- Oh ha ha, there’s an audio called “Deleted Scenes” featuring the Doctor who’s most affected by junked episodes. And at the end of it, a character who’s spent her life researching and lecturing about a lost film gets to watch it be ‘rediscovered’ after it’s gone unseen for decades. I feel marginally less stupid for reading into the other details of a story like this when it ends up deciding to be to be clever & slightly meta like that

But yeah

all in all, it’s kind of amazing to me that this genuinely reads like they sat down and said okay boys it’s valentines day, let’s write an audio where jamie kisses a girl, since that hasn’t happened except as a plot device in one story in 1967 - but then when they got down to business they accidentally(?) wrote a story all about how important his bond with the Doctor is and how easily that can be compared to a legitimate love interest (even if the love interest in question is a one off character & the extent of the relationship appears to be like one kiss & then having Jamie spend most of his time around the Doctor instead)

I realize there’s something slightly illogical about writing the words “shipping aside” after a post like this but seriously - no matter how many categories you’re able to see two & jamie’s relationship fitting into, this is 40 minutes of big finish just hitting you over the head with how powerful/special/important that relationship is, and with them being two of my favorite characters, i really haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since

Doctor Who: Scratchman

So I just recently listened to the audiobook of Doctor Who: Scratchman--the Fourth Doctor adventure by the Fourth Doctor (well, Tom Baker, but same thing)! 

It’s so good. Here is an (almost entirely spoiler-free) list of amazing things about it, in case anyone’s curious:

The PROSE. It’s lovely and distinctive and fun--and in expertly-written first-person from the Doctor’s perspective, because how else would Tom Baker tell a story? “’Good evening!’ I boomed, speaking into thin air (and frightening it a little).”

The way he talks about Sarah. Her introduction is “Her name was Sarah Jane Smith, and she adored a good question almost as much as I adored her...” and the rest of the book FULLY bears that out. There’s one part in particular that I really think was specifically a tribute to Lis... and it’s great.

Harry. You have to look a little closer to see the Doctor’s fondness for him, but it’s certainly there. He gets two or three moments of Being an Imbecile, and two or three Moments of (very in-character) Awesome, which is probably the right balance... I love Harry.

The TARDIS. My gosh, the TARDIS--this is the best TARDIS writing I’ve ever seen in an official story, I think?? Both in terms of architecture and in terms of characterization. Tom Baker must have loved the chance to give his vision of the TARDIS interior.

The... feelings, I guess? The atmosphere is really good--especially in the first half. And there are strong moments of real horror here, but more than that, there’s a continual feeling of pity for the Monsters of the Week which is. Really good. And a lot--a lot--of love for ordinary, everyday people and life.

The Time Lord bits! The prologue sets up a framing device of the Doctor telling the story to the Time Lords and it’s amazing... Because they keep interrupting to ask stupid questions, and creating more scenes of the Doctor giving the Time Lords blazing lectures. (This is a great reason to listen to the audiobook, incidentally... You get to hear Tom Baker denouncing them, something we’ve never had enough of.)

Slight spoiler related to the above: In the course of this story the Doctor got a room full of Time Lords genuinely invested in Harry Sullivan’s well-being. I cannot fully express how much I loved that moment. 👏👏👏

And Tom freaking Baker, of course. The Definite Article back in action, showing his love for being the Doctor and for everything about this show.

In summary this book is really good and Fourth Doctor fans should try it. Even if you aren’t much of a Doctor Who fan, I think it’s a really solid book! (If you don’t mind some dark elements in your reading, anyway.)

Doctor Who s11 analysis: (1/11) Promotion--or the lack thereof

With series 11 and the accompanying special over, I feel like it’s time to post some of my thoughts. Series 11 had the most changes of any season since I started watching; new Doctor, new companions, new showrunner, and new composer. I didn’t post many thoughts as the series aired, wanting to judge it as a whole. 

While I’ll readily admit I’m not fond of change, I’ve enjoyed many corners of the Whoniverse since joining in 2011.   NuWho, Classic Who, the Sarah Jane Adventures, Class, Big Finish, Titan Comics, novels, and more, have all found a place in my heart. But there were several aspects of s11 that just didn’t seem to work for me. 

One of the first aspects that felt “off” to me about s11 was the lack of pre-series information from the BBC. 

Peter Capaldi announced his plans to leave in January 30, 2017.  Series Ten aired from April to July of 2017, with the regeneration scheduled for the 2017 Christmas schedule  

Jodi Whittaker was announced as the Doctor on July 17, 2017,  two and a half weeks after the season finale and nearly six months after the announcement.  According to this article, that marks the longest second-longest announcement gap in the show’s history (only the break between the show’s revival announcement and Eccleston’s casting was longer). Many factors might have impacted the timeline; in hindsight, it set a tone for the upcoming series.

A costume preview was released in early November 2017, whetting appetites further. Whittaker debuted as the Doctor in “Twice Upon a Time,” the 2017 Christmas special. In slightly less than two minutes,  we got only two words of proper dialogue: “Oh, brilliant.” And a shot of her falling out of the TARDIS; completely falling,not just barely clinging on like Eleven had. 

Series Eleven was announced for fall 2018, but no specific date was given until September 5, 2018. With the premiere scheduled for October 7, that left just over a month to go. The air date trailer was simply a shot of the Doctor standing in a chapel-like room as a glass ceiling shattered around her. 

Other information from the series was similarly restricted. Author and director names were only revealed August 20, while the first two episode titles and synopsis were released September 18. Two days, the full trailer was released.  The season finale information wasn’t released till November 14,  three and a half weeks before it aired. 

For comparison, let’s look at information for series 6,  which aired from April 23 to June 4 (first half) and August 27 to October 4, 2011 (second half).  At the end of 2010,  almost all the episode writers were known, as well as some of the guest stars and summaries for four of the episodes.  By the end of March,  we had firm airdates, multiple teasers/trailers, a full list of writers, and ten synopses of varying lengths. 

The lack of information increased my anxiety about the show. With so many changes, the show had plenty of teasers available without touching any plot spoilers. Show us the new TARDIS interior.  Give some background on the new companions.  Sample some tracks from the new composer. Even something like “episode 3 is a historical in America” would have given me something to mull over. When all of time and space is a possibility, give us some hints.  

More installments at this link

Sherlock: The Lying Detective

**Sherlock analysis/spoilers below**

In which some people don’t understand what makes villains villainous, what makes characters human, and the difference between love and disaster (or style and substance). 

And in which, again, “some people” does not refer to Sherlock Holmes (mostly).

Also ft. the id!fic I very specifically asked to not ever see, and sadness. 

Starting with the easiest bits, going towards the hardest. 

Does this give us an arc? The return of Billy. The return of Irene Adler. Appearances by Mrs Hudson and Molly and Lestrade and Lady Smallwood. Redbeard, too. The return of a whole bundle of visual motifs: Sherlock’s case wall, Sherlock’s violence towards his case wall, an almost replica of the shot following Irene Adler’s drugging of Sherlock, Sherlock’s deduction with the window and the attendant visual affects, Sherlock’s juvenile wit with the Bollocks map, Benedict Cumberbatch seeming to infuse a certain amount of joy into the role again during Sherlock’s breakdown...a lot of old favorites returned to the show this week, and it felt good. In the moment. But, at least to this point, those pieces don’t feel like they fit together. The underlying logic that would unite them isn’t there. It could be! What if Billy had given Sherlock some of the memory drug? Or what if Mrs Hudson and Billy were in cahoots to get Sherlock the least damaging drugs since, as she points out, her husband was a drug dealer? What if more of the characters interacted with each other? Or did more than their professions, since we get Molly doctoring and Lestrade detectiving, and none of the cohesive human interactions that make the characters feel like more than props? But none of that happened. Maybe the next episode will create that, but at this point It isn't betting odds imo. Not impossible, but not looking great,

Do Mofftiss understand what makes villains villainous? Culverton could have been brilliant political allegory and a psychologically haunting villain. The idea that power creates opportunities for deadly, consequence-free callousness couldn’t be more timely for either European or US audiences. The idea of a rich, powerful man who takes joy in removing people’s agency, who will discard their lives for fun, and who gets away with joking about it on TV...well. The problem is that Mofftiss don’t understand the psychology of marginalization and precarity well enough to understand why that’s a horrific scenario, what’s at stake, how it feels to face down a power that can hold your life in its hands and decide what to do with you based on a whim. They’re closer to being that power than being subject to it (and that’s one reason why this story would’ve been better told in someone else’s hands). That terror is what would’ve made Culverton work. Instead, we get close-ups of his teeth which, like Magnusson’s face-licking, were affectively gross, but not worth more emotionally then a perfunctory wince, and that does more to tell us more how Mofftiss feel about ugly people than it does to establish investment in this nemesis or Sherlock’s victory over him. Reducing him to a fallible, clownish, one-off villain is a waste, and the lack of understanding is telling and terrible.

Did Mofftiss mean to write the TV equivalent of id!fic? Powerful middle-aged white men who make veiled confessions on TV can get away with murder. Are they even trying for subtlety? I mean, I figured that was just my own reading, but then the back to back “It’s amazing what people will ignore if you’re rich and powerful,” and “With this, I could crack America.” The TARDIS-esque hospital room wallpaper and quick shot to aliens on Culverton’s lot didn’t do much to put me off either. I can no longer tell whether this is self-aware wink-wink nudge-nudging, a total lack of self-awareness, or subconscious leakage. But has anyone checked their airing cupboards?

Do Mofftiss understand what people mean about strong women? Cue maniacal laughter, because we already know the answer. It’s just particularly disappointing in this moment, when these twists could have been really fucking cool. Mrs Hudson is a confident badass and there’s a Holmes sister? That would be brilliant! If it was done brilliantly! So...it isn’t. As much fun as I had watching Mrs Hudson - and it was a lot, until the unease set in - it was so far out of left field I almost hurt my neck trying to look for its source. This is the same Mrs Hudson who jumps at loud noises and cries while being tortured by Americans and can’t tolerate being yelled at by Mycroft - and she’s dodging gunshots and strategically dropping things to handcuff violent drug addicts and convincing the lads downstairs to stuff them in the boot of her sports car? I bought that she might hide a phone in her robe, that sort of matter of fact bravery. I bought her deduction to Mycroft and that she would kick Mycroft’s men out to preserve John’s privacy and emotional space. I’ve long bought that she was exceptional in a number of ways. But put all that in a classic mid-life-crisis-mobile and add a dose of violence, and I’m not sure whether I’m looking at a Mrs Hudson or a retired Bond Girl. I am pretty sure this isn’t the Mrs Hudson we’ve seen before. And Euros...the first thing we learn about her is that she uses her appearance to deceive. The Holmes brothers work on intellect and emotion. The Holmes sister? Straight to feminine wiles. Her first big reveal doesn’t center around her mind; it revolves around the audience watching her recreate a seduction and begin to undress. It’s as though Mofftiss can’t conceive of “strong women” beyond the femme fatale trope and that’s really limited. To say the least. I want to know what Mrs Hudson listens to on the radio and why. I want to know how Molly decides what to make for lunch and what it was like for her to realize who her boyfriend Jim was. I want to know how Irene Adler learned to adminster tranquilizers. I want to know how Donovan felt about Sherlock’s death and how it is for her working with Lestrade and Anderson. I want women with interior lives, with interests and motivations and relationships that don’t revolve around men. Kind of like all the ones I know in real life. 

Who are these people? I’m losing track. John is becoming a superspy, thanks to his internal marylogue, and making some very Sherlock-esque deductions, especially with that happy birthday at the end. He also can’t forgive Sherlock, even though he forgave him a faked death and a two-year-long disappearance, but still has chats with Mycroft (who he has to tell to stop calling?), and is hallucinating his dead wife, who he never really seemed to like very much, and also, in the midst of that, completely rolls with the fact that yet another person who he thought was dead is not actually? Sherlock was abstracted and  distant in the last episode, and in this one he’s half killing himself to provoke John into rescuing him and giving mini-speeches about how death affects people and confessing that he’s afraid of dying and admitting that he texts Irene Adler back and talking about how he has the terrible feeling that we might all be human and holding John in a soft embrace? Mycroft is calling John all the time and flirting with Lady Smallwood and letting information about Sherrinford/Euros slip out accidentally? Lestrade is unconcerned with Sherlock’s well-being? Mrs Hudson is treating central London like Thunder Road? Who are these characters, and where did they come from? And who will they be next week? 

John and Sherlock - what? This meta going around suggests that John has become abusive. Watching the episode, I wondered if Sherlock had. He self-harms as a form of manipulation, he tests John’s loyalty in all sorts of ways, he makes unilateral decisions about what’s in John’s best interest even when that puts John in danger, he puts responsibility for his well-being on John’s shoulders, he condescends to and belittles John regularly, he lies to him, hides things from him, he faked his own death for two years and abandoned him while there were dozens of other people who knew...while the aforelinked meta makes some great points, Sherlock’s behavior isn’t exactly healthy. My point here is not that Sherlock is the abuser, though. My point is that their relationship is deeply, dangerously toxic, and I’m not sure how, or whether, I can keep rooting for it as either a romance or a friendship. My instinct in watching their interactions is that these are two people who have been so deeply hurt by each other that there’s no coming back, no real possibility of trust and good faith. That doesn’t mean there isn’t also love there, or that there couldn’t also be forgiveness, or that there can’t be moments of connection based on their shared history, in which they try to keep being the sources of support and understanding that they once were to each other. I don’t think, for instance, that their hug was unrealistic. But I also don’t think it was a moment of great support and reconciliation so much as a moment of convenience and/or last resort because, as Mary points out, they don’t have other options. That’s not love, platonic or romantic; that’s codependence. And I can’t imagine a scenario in which they would still be able to have a genuinely healthy relationship. For that matter, I can’t imagine a scenario in which they would be able to have a relationship that’s anything other than mutual enabling. If there’s anything to grant here, it’s that they might both want to be in an mutually enabling emotional conflagration; they’ve both got self-destructive streaks a mile wide, and this way they get all the pain and someone else to blame for it, and humans are complicated. And hey, who knows who they’ll be next week? But it’s not a thing I, personally, can hope to see more of. It’s not a thing I want to watch. It’s not a thing that makes me care for the characters or their relationship. With my last reserves of caring about either of them, I no longer want Sherlock and John to be together, in any capacity. I want them at a good distance, preferably with therapists who aren’t villainous family members in disguise. 

And then there’s the show’s treatment of their feelings for one another, which I am too tired on too many levels to even touch with a damn bargepole.

Where does this leave things? If John and Sherlock - their relationship, their teamwork as partners in crime-solving, their interactions - are the heart of the show (which I think they are), and John and Sherlock have both become so destructive to themselves and each other that their relationship, in any capacity, is one I want to see continue - what’s left? 

This episode gives an answer: flash. There were moments that were genuinely exhilarating. Seeing Mrs Hudson play the badass, the reveal of a Holmes sister, the recurrence of ‘Miss Me,’ Benedict Cumberbatch’s joyfully unhinged drug-addled attempts at case-solving...it was exciting to watch. Stylish, quick, colorful. Empty. And a bit sad. This show was great because it was tight and interesting, because the characters were relatable, because viewers’ attention was rewarded. It was never the flash that made it. When the flash is most of what’s left...that’s not much. 

tl;dr:  :( 

Things to watch:

They’ve introduced a technology that can alter memories; on a show based on deduction and intellect that could be an exceptionally powerful plot device. Was it a one-off, or will they manage to make use of it? And if so, will it be as a weapon, or as someone’s choice? And who gets to decide? Or has it already been used?

See also, the trailer for The Final Problem: “Every choice you’ve ever made, every path you’ve ever taken, the man you are today, is your memory of Euros.” “Your memory of” is an interesting choice of wording, especially since the memory is neither so strong nor so recent that (an admittedly drug-addled but still very observant) Sherlock could recognize her in multiple disguises and on multiple occasions.

Potentially related, Sherlock is intrigued by what drugs do to his mind. Will that become a profitable line of inquiry?  

We keep seeing Redbeard, and it’s clear that that’s important. Is Rebeard an abstract representation of something? Did Euros kill Redbeard? Or is there some parallel there - Sherlock was told they both were sent to live on a farm? Sherlock has confused (or been made confused) one with the other? 

When Sherlock and Mary get shot, we see the bullet in slow motion. When Euros shot, we saw a wisp of smoke, but no bullet. Was it a blank? 

Sherlock not having recognized Euros will probs be a thing too, so therefore a thing to watch, idk.

The female detective who appeared briefly in TST, only to disappear again - was that a character who will recur, sloppy continuity/disposable women, or Euros?

What or who is Sherrinford? Another sibling? A location? A code name? 

What the hell was going on in the Holmes household? 

We still don’t know who sent Mary’s CD. Who? Or is this a continuity issue? Or is the explanation that Mary already knew it was going to happen, which I would roll my eyes v heartily about? 

Who will all of the characters be next week? (It’s an adventure!) 

Random thought: There was a person of color in this episode!  Just pointing it out because that doesn’t always happen. As is, of course, to be expected in contemporary London, where everyone is white. Good times, good times. In addition to all the words spilled on this show’s sexism, perhaps we should dedicate some to this show’s casual racist erasure.

Doctor Who review - Fugitive of the Judoon

Spoilers! Obviously.

If you haven’t watched the fifth episode of the 2020 series, then go watch it now. Seriously.

No, really, extra seriously - go watch it now.

This episode sees the Tardis Team intervene when the titular space police cordon off Gloucester in their search for a criminal.

Fugitive of the Judoon will be remembered for a number of different reasons, but perhaps least among them is the actual initial set up involving the Judoon.

The canny marketing decision, probably made months before production on series 12 began, to keep as much under wraps as possible has paid off so far.

As noted on some of my favourite Doctor Who fan podcasts, pretty much the only image we got during production was of Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor facing off against a Judoon. This was probably only because news of the space police returning was about to leak, due to their appearances on the streets of Gloucester.

The amount of work that has gone into keeping all the secrets safe is astonishing, ensuring that the various surprises so far this series have the fullest impact.

My previous reviews have covered Spyfall’s revelations, which have the most direct influence on the events of Fugitive of the Judoon, but the reveal in Orphan 55 was not spoilt ahead of broadcast either. Last week’s episode does not appear to have too great an impact on the series storyline, though the fact that it's two historical celebs did not have their minds wiped allows for a return appearance.

Speaking of return appearances, the Judoon make their presence felt early on in this episode, stomping around their ship, then Gloucester, and then on the rights of its residents. We are also introduced to two characters who, it turns out, are the main subjects of the Judoon’s unique attempts at law enforcement. Lovely, hard-working tour guide Ruth, and her shifty, forgetful husband Lee are brought to life expertly by Jo Martin and Neil Stuke respectively.

That this episode was so hyped by the BBC, but with only the Judoon return common knowledge, left a number of fans anticipating all sorts of things, including a major disappointment. What could possibly be happening in a story so far so pedestrian?

Well, with Thirteen and her fam on then case, at least the Judoon were unlikely to be a big threat for very long. The Doctor draws upon Yaz’s police experience to wangle themselves a few minutes to get to the bottom of Lee and Ruth’s supposed crimes. And with Lee acting so suspicious, and Ruth so not, it was clear who the Judoon were after, right?

Having mislaid Graham, and then losing Ryan and Yaz too, it's left to The Doctor to get Ruth to safety, as the Judoon close in on Lee, who sends a quick text.

But where have her three companions got to? They’ve been timescooped by Captain Jack Harkness! A favourite returning character, who sits alongside River Song in a category adjacent or overlapping ‘Companion’ status, he last appeared in the show just over a decade ago, a cameo in the Tenth Doctor’s final story as current Doctor. An intriguing and popular enough character to sustain the spin-off show Torchwood for four series, Jack is a big enough return to justify the BBC hype all on his own. That actor John Barrowman hasn't lost any of the charm he brings to the role really helps sell Jack’s return as the big event of the episode.

But Jack isn't just back to snog Graham and reminisce about past dalliances, he has an ominous message for The Doctor. Beware the Lone Cyberman, he says. Don’t give it what it wants, whatever the cost, he says. The fam, confused as well as worried, need a little of Jack’s vast experience saving the Earth (and elsewhere), and he delivers. His snapshot summary serves also to clue in newer audience members that the Cybermen are baddies, and for everyone, that they are desperately attempting to keep their empire alive.

The return of the Cybermen was revealed during pre-broadcast promotion, including on the front cover of the Radio Times, and a solitary Cyberman had already appeared in some trailers. So we knew they were coming back, just not what state they were in as a whole.

So that's two big things already this episode, but Thirteen isn't back in her Tardis yet.

Lee, meanwhile, is face-to-face with Gat (ably played by Ritu Arya), who knows him! She’s with the Judoon, and has tracked him to Gloucester because he has kept a service medal in a box. One which gives off an alien energy signature. Gat is one step ahead of Lee, stopping him reaching for a gun, because they have the same training, suggesting some sort of military or police agency. Lee doesn't get much chance for final words, between Gat’s goading and her arguing with the Judoon over regulations. Gat dispatches him with a mocking obituary, he was a ‘faithful companion’, apparently. But to whom?

The obvious answer is Ruth, on the run with The Doctor, who has just got Lee’s text. Reading it seems to have stirred something deep in her, and Thirteen’s noticed. That Ruth can suddenly and inexplicably see off a bunch of Judoon, dishonouring their captain by breaking her horn, further perturbs the pair of them. Seeking answers, Ruth shares the text with the Doc, and they head for Ruth’s childhood home, a lighthouse. It seems Ruth’s visions, awoken by Lee’s text, want her to break the glass on a round panel there.

As The Doctor and Ruth drive to the lighthouse, Thirteen gently interrogating her all the way, her companions are finishing up with Jack. His stolen ship is attacking him, so he just has time to send them back to Gloucester, before the immortal former time agent succumbs, presumably to try to meet the Doctor again once he has revived.

Since the Judoon seem to have found their man, the Gloucester cordon is lifted, so at least the fam are safe there. But there's no sign of The Doctor.

We don’t see them search though, as things are becoming clear at the lighthouse. Thirteen is up top, scanning stuff, and Ruth has broken the glass. She releases a golden light which flows into her, her eyes glowing momentarily as it infuses her.

This sequence will be familiar to some viewers, particularly those who remember Martha Jones’ time as companion. Her run of stories introduced the Chameleon Arch, a Timelord device which rewrites the user to appear human, capturing their real identity in a specific object. For its use during Martha’s time with The Doctor, a fob watch was preferred. That Ruth appears to have had the device use part of the lighthouse, or something that could pass for such a part, helps keep the mystery a little longer. But a large part remains - which Timelord is she?

With the Master at large, and having appeared before as the female Missy, could she be what Ruth becomes?

The Doctor has decided that an unmarked gravestone, which Ruth said marked her parents’ burial place, warrants further investigation. With her companions back in Gloucester, she has no one to question her actions. Thirteen literally, shockingly, uncovers a Police Phone Box instead of any coffins. Segun Akinola’s musical cues help ram home the significance of this discovery. It is a Tardis.

And then she appears, now dressed in a suitably signature outfit, behind Thirteen. Ruth introduces herself as The Doctor, and takes Jodie’s incarnation inside her Tardis, seemingly unaware that her guest is a Timelord herself.

This Doctor’s Tardis interior looks much more like those from the Sixties era of the show, but Thirteen is more interested in figuring out what is going on.

Thirteen is sure that this other Doctor is not a previous incarnation, but so is she. They agree that they can't both be right, but are interrupted by the Judoon ship, unearthing the Tardis to bring it on board.

Gat is there to greet the two Timelords, Thirteen having promised to let the other Doctor take the lead against her. That does not last long though, since the discussion intrigues Thirteen too much. She prods, and learns that Gat is Gallifreyan, but not ultimately in charge. It seems, from various snippets of conversations across the episode, that Gat, ‘Lee’ and ‘Ruth’ trained at the same organisation, with Gat tasked with tracking the other two when they fled it. Quite what exactly any of them were up to is still unclear.

It is at this point where waiting to review an episode has its benefits. Now that I have listened to a few reviews from fans, I’ve settled on one particular theory, which has some supporters amongst the podcast community, and probably many elsewhere too. It is based on events surrounding the Second Doctor, played by Patrick Troughton, and his replacement in the role, Third Doctor actor Jon Pertwee.

Troughton’s departing story saw some Timelords force him to change (in other words, regenerate) and they sent his companions away, mindwiped. We later see Pertwee fall out of the Tardis, with other friends of the Troughton Doctor left to decide if he is the same man they once knew. He isn't the same man, exactly, but they like him just the same. No regeneration scene was filmed for the change. Probably because the production team hadn't really settled on the idea, at least not under that name.

Much later, Patrick Troughton returned to the role in a multi-Doctor story, having noticeably aged in the meantime. The idea that his incarnation had other adventures, working for the Celestial Intervention Agency, accounting for the aging, was explored in some novels.

I think this CIA could be the organisation that Gat is from and the couple fled. If true, this would mean more than one incarnation of The Doctor worked for them, greatly widening the potential for stories in what was a fairly small gap in the character’s life.

I think this is a good and intriguing idea, as it opens up a situation which has lots of narrative potential, whether for the main show or, say, Big Finish, who make audio adventures.

That Chris Chibnall and returning writer Vinay Patel have found this gap in the Doctor’s life (if indeed they have) and seem set to explore it, is great news.

That, as this episode ends, Jodie’s Doctor returns with her fam to her Tardis, and they get most of the recent secrets out of her, does not bode as well.

I think that there's been too much stability with these companions and their Doctor, and it would be a shame if Thirteen doesn't get to travel with someone else before Jodie hands on her shoes.

Before that though, the Tardis has an alert, promising a diverting adventure. Whether that's what actually happens? Who knows?