Sweeping Strings

The high water mark for Who trailers will always be this masterpiece for series 5, shown at the end of the first episode. It helps that this arc of the show had a highly developed companion who we cared about, but also such a mix of fun, emotion and interesting stories. For me, there is simple competition for the best modern Doctor between Tennant and Smith. Don't get me wrong - Capaldi was fantastic too; I think the other two just had more impact on me.
 
This new series just looks like the latest 'armageddon' storyline where everything goes to shit again, with Whittaker making the odd joke. Could still be good - series 11 was good and had some fun moments - it just didn't really have what previous series had.
 
I even remember that my Mum got me a birthday card with Smith as the Doctor and Amy, and she always tries to find cards that reflect what I'm obesessed with that year. The fact that she knew to get that speaks volumes about how much positivity there was about the show at that point. (we even sat down and watched Smith's last episode together at Christmas, although unfortunately series 6 was more confusing than it needed to be, so none of us, myself included really understood it)
 
 

I love that they replaced the charismatic and humorous middle-aged companion with another charismatic and humorous middle-aged companion. 

Moffat said of Capaldi's casting 'Chris was 40, David was 34, Matt was 26 ... if we'd kept going that way, the next Doctor would've been played by a foetus. Time to have an old man snarl at you for a bit'  . 

Interesting to see the Sontarans looking more like they did in the 70s and 80s here. 

On the tone ... well, John Bishop is predominantly a stand-up comedian. I'd imagine he'll bring at least some of that to Dan.  

Interesting to see the Sontarans looking more like they did in the 70s and 80s here. 

On the tone ... well, John Bishop is predominantly a stand-up comedian. I'd imagine he'll bring at least some of that to Dan.  

That's a very good point about Kingsley. He was amazing across the board. I suppose it also matters how much you're invested in the character of the Mandarin from other media. I'm not. Just don't try that crap on Doctor Doom.
 
I do wonder what I would have thought of the film if I had seen Star Trek: Into Darkness first. With a week or two there were two blockbusters that set up terrorist masterminds and then the twist was that they were both paper tigers set up for the purpose of starting a fake war. But there's a hell of a lot more to enjoy in Iron Man 3 than there is in ST:ID.
 
All the stuff with the kid was a joy. "Is this the forehead of security" is still one of my favorite Stark lines of all time. This is the best Rhodey movie, right?

Dude. That's SO much worse than promiscuous minors!

There have been complaints that Michael is seen killing a team of firefighters in the new one. 

Guess that's the stage we're at now ... people complaining that there's killing in a slasher flick. Fucking hell. 

There have been complaints that Michael is seen killing a team of firefighters in the new one. 

Guess that's the stage we're at now ... people complaining that there's killing in a slasher flick. Fucking hell. 

There have been complaints that Michael is seen killing a team of firefighters in the new one. 

Guess that's the stage we're at now ... people complaining that there's killing in a slasher flick. Fucking hell. 

And his scenes with Davros in Magician's Apprentice/Witch's Familiar are effin' awesome!  Man, series 9 really is just da best.

From the article @Sweeping Strings posted
 
This is also my view on Bond and why I dislike the Craig era. 
 
 
In my experience the kind of art/culture a person likes has very little to do with their intelligence.  In fact, often I find that thinking escapism is stupid is its own kind of simple-mindedness.

An excellent article by comedian/actor/presenter David Mitchell that echoes how I feel about NTTD going where Bond hasn't before - 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/10/ah-mr-bond-i-was-expecting-you-to-entertain-me

Last Night In Soho - Edgar Wright's latest is part time-travel fantasy, part psychological horror. Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie), a modern-day young girl from Cornwall with a Sixties obsession, a strange 'sixth sense' and a passion for fashion design moves to London to study the latter. She soon moves out of her student accomodation (due to her awful roommate and her bitchy clique) and into a bedsit flat whose landlady is Miss Collins (Diana Rigg in her last screen role). She soon finds herself travelling back to Soho during her favourite decade (while there she is in the body of nightclub singer Sandie (Anna Taylor-Joy) ). At first she naturally enjoys all this, but things soon turn very dark indeed ...

Also starring Terence Stamp, Matt Smith, Pauline McLynn, Rita Tushingham and Margaret Nolan (the second 'Bond Girl' making her last screen appearance in this film).

I really enjoyed this ... Wright's inspirations were the likes of Don't Look Now and Repulsion, and it shows. And as you'd imagine, it has a great soundtrack.

Although I'm not interested in seeing this particular Bond I am definitely rooting for it to clean up at the box office still.  (a) I want Bond to continue as a healthy series even if they've lost me and (b) I want the cinema business to recover completely from the pandemic

From The Guardian's review -

'Craig’s final film as the diva of British intelligence is an epic barnstormer, with the script from Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge delivering pathos, action, drama, camp comedy (Bond will call M “darling” in moments of tetchiness), heartbreak, macabre horror, and outrageously silly old-fashioned action in a movie which calls to mind the world of Dr No on his island.'

Sounds like pretty much everything you'd want from a Bond movie, and indeed from movies in general. 

From The Guardian's review -

'Craig’s final film as the diva of British intelligence is an epic barnstormer, with the script from Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge delivering pathos, action, drama, camp comedy (Bond will call M “darling” in moments of tetchiness), heartbreak, macabre horror, and outrageously silly old-fashioned action in a movie which calls to mind the world of Dr No on his island.'

Sounds like pretty much everything you'd want from a Bond movie, and indeed from movies in general. 

Holly Goodhead's name was an invention of MR's scriptwriter but I like to think he was taking his lead from Fleming himself, with the likes of Honey Ryder and Pussy Galore being straight out of the novels.

The 'last gasp' was in Casino Royale '06 I guess, with Bond winding Vesper up by telling her that the codename she'd been assigned was Stephanie Broadchest.        

Ahhh yes, but we now have Lashana Lynch as fellow agent and Bond equal Nomi who has actually been given the 007 number as it was available after his retirement. Seems James Bond isn't allowed to be an 'unchallenged' alpha male in his own franchise any more *eye-roll* .     

Fiona Volpe, a different woman: takes a bullet in the back
 
Domino, a different woman: gets porked by Bond, underwater
 
Kizzy Suzuki, a different woman: dies by poisoning
 
Tracey, a different woman: takes a bullet in the bonce
 
Tiffany Case, a different woman: gets caught with a cassette stuffed down her bikini bottom 
 
Solitaire, a different woman: is "a complete woman" after being porked by Bond 
 
Mary Goodnight, a different woman: spends half the film in a multicoloured bikini 
 
Maj. Amasova, a different woman: does publicity photos in a red Speedo (don't believe me? Google it!)
 
Whoever Lois Chiles played, a different woman: gets porked by Bond in zero gravity
 
Octopussy, a different woman: turns after being porked by Bond 
 
Oh, yeah; they're different, all right! 
 

Your mention of Terrahawks has made Star Fleet pop into my head. Music by Brian May! 
 
 

Very happy re the RTD re-hiring news ... be great if Doctor Who regains its 'snap', swagger and sense of fun as a result. Writers from his initial era returning (and Murray Gold) wouldn't hurt, either. 

Wondering if this increases Michael Sheen's chances of being the 14th Doctor in a *Welshies together* stylee. He topped a recent Radio Times 'next Doctor' poll. 

Does the RTD announcement being made before the last of Chibnall's eps have even aired tell us what the Beeb REALLY think of his tenure? Hard not to see it that way, I must say.       

Ah yes, with Joanna Lumley. Basically ITV looking at the success of Doctor Who with envy and thinking 'Oh we'll have a bit of that, thank you very much' (see also The Tomorrow People and then from the DW initial revival era, Primeval). 

Anyone else remember the mid-70s TV Invisible Man with David McCallum? 

Aww, you can hear him get emotional at the end. 

Good to see ... there was so much crap about his 'Right now, I'd rather slit my wrists than play Bond again' comment in that interview the day after SPECTRE wrapped. Seems people ignored the 'Right now' bit and the likelihood that the guy was probably fucking exhausted ... Bond's a more physically demanding part than it used to be, since Dalton there's now an expectation that a large chunk of the stuntwork will visibly involve the lead.