50 Days of Dr Who Meme #4

From here: http://doctorwho.tumblr.com/post/63123760534/ok-we-are-just-50-days-away-from-the-november

October 07: Favorite episode?

From the classic series, Talons Of Weng Chiang. I'm assuming, since this meme is aimed more at US audiences, that by "episode" they mean "story". It's just so atmospheric, thrilling and pulpy. It's got that whole Victorian and Holmesian gaslight thing going on, the cinematography and production design are great, the cast all do well (despite the racefail - and if you can't accept and get past the racefail in 1970s TV then you shouldn't be watching 1970s TV), and every other line is a good gag at the expense of our image of Victoriana.

From Nu Who, probably still The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, which hits all the right buttons and would actually fit as a four-25-minutes-part story if you know where to spot what should be the parts 1 and 3 cliffhangers.

Feeling nothing about Missing episodes

I find myself incapable of feeling about something so distant and impersonal as a missing Dr Who episode recovery. Partly it's cos I'm just fed up of the way fandom behaves when there's a whiff of it - anything found will be dismissed as disappointing compared to the novelisation/audio/reconstruction - and partly it's cos I've been around long enough to have heard it all before, but mainly...

Mainly it's because I've lost people this year - friends and family - and what I want back is my friend (the one who's not dead, I just lost the friend and their friendship). I've looked for feelings about whether there'll be any missing DW found; I've looked for hope, or nerves, or excitement, and there isn't anything.

Oh, I can *think* about it, and appreciate there might be cool stuff to see, and it's important for historical archival purposes, but I can't feel anything about it.

I'd take a geeky conversation with my lost friend over all the 106.

If it's time travel you want, I'd burn every episode that *does* exist if it would get me a shot at saving any of those in my life who died this year...

The All-Swearing Eye

We're watching more Thick Of It and come to the conclusion that in addition to me being (Redemption's) Malcolm Tucker (I am so having "the all-swearing eye" as my job title in the PRs from now on), Lesley is Nicola Murray.