@dentarthurdent Spyfall… I confess I have issues with the Bond franchise. This doesn’t help me take the story seriously. Noor Inayat Khan… doh! I typoed her name! Sorry. If Zchib, or Moff, want to bring on Nazis for creative reasons, so be it. Better be done well tho. If they can advance the story with recent political or historical figures, that could work. Maybe contentious. Depends who. My problem with Spyfall isn’t just that Nora’s appearance seems horribly insensitive. As Clara is apt to point out: The Doctor knows. Had the Doctor said, “Do be careful with that radio t ..read more

@blenkinsopthebrave the gold tooth? Max Capricorn surely ..read more

@mudlark It seems that RTD has answered the question of @ Maestro/Master connection: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/doctor-boss-addresses-master-return-084200272.html And yet, in spite of what RTD says, we know that somebody picked up the Toymaker’s gold tooth.             ..read more

@ps1l0v3y0u Well I remember Spyfall as being, on the whole, one of the better episodes of the series (not that the standard was very high). BUT I seem to remember cringing when Noor Inayat Khan was brought into it, I get uneasy when real people** are represented (and inevitably misrepresented) in fiction. And the other thing I disliked was when the Doctor dropped the Master in it by pointing out his dark complexion to the nazis. That makes her somehow complicit in racism. I don’t think Twelve would have done that. ** Real people who are recent history, I don’t really care about Julius Caesar o ..read more

@dentarthurdent @devilishrobby I really like Love and Monsters. Even Moaning Myrtle’s (hinted) life as a paving slab. But then I happily defend doctor 6. CB wasn’t a great actor but he was given an impossible brief; Tom in that role (to judge from the occasional shouty moments from a decade before) would have been truly terrifying. And I doubt if you would ever have got him in that costume. The fault was clearly the showrunners: poor concept (JNT) badly executed (ES). But it was CB who got sacked. The Tsurunga Conundrum was poor. I thought most of the next season was worse but that may have be ..read more

@devilishrobby Yes I know that. The Absorbaloff was pretty naff, but – for a Doctor-lite episode – I found it quite absorbing. I mentioned it because I seem to recall it got a lot of flak as ‘worst ep.’ Actually, I have another candidate for worst ep ever, Kill the Moon. On the one side, it broke every single rule of basic physics or mechanics it possibly could, starting with the Space Shuttle gliding(!) to a landing on the Moon and ending with the magic flying space dragon laying an egg as big as itself. And on the other, character, side, the Doctor buggers off and leaves it to Clara and Spec ..read more

@dentautherdent what you have to remember about Love and Monsters is that the monster played by Peter Kay was the result of a competition run by the BBC run in UK Schools. If I  remember right part  of the competition was to submit a plot outline along with a ‘picture’ of the monster and as I remember the winner was a 10 year old.???? so no wonder the the monster was a bit naff ..read more

@dentautherdent what you have to remember about Love and Monsters is that the monster played by Peter Kay was the result of a competition run by the BBC run in UK Schools. If I  remember right part  of the competition was to submit a plot outline along with a ‘picture’ of the monster and as I remember the winner was a 10 year old.???? so no wonder the the monster was a bit naff ..read more

@janetteb @ps1l0v3y0u I too missed the Baker years (both Bakers!) so I really can’t comment on them. (I’m very slowly nudging back into oldWho territory from the back end, so to speak, i.e. Seven’s last season.) Colin Baker does (from what little I’ve seen) appear to be an abrasive character, though he was okay in the Five-ish Doctors. But on the subject of Worst Episode Ever (that I’ve seen, which effectively means NuWho) – Love and Monsters wasn’t that bad if you overlook the slightly cringey reference at the end. I think I’d nominate The Tsuranga Conundrum which I’m about to watch skip over ..read more

@janetteb wow that’s a tricky brief. My personal fave (?) is the Two Doctors… though it is overlong, with a ridiculously decrepit 2nd Doctor and Jamie, and even more ludicrous Sontarans. Violence (tick). I haven’t seen Revelation of the Daleks since the first broadcast. That impression was favourable. But it is a Dalek story WITH Davros. Generally reviewed positively. Vengeance on Varos is mistitled, absurdly violent/exploitative and hilarious, especially given JNT and Saward were trying to meta ‘video nasties.’ The story might have stood up in any season. The two shockers must be Mindwar ..read more