The Friendly Dalek

Not one for me that is certainly a very impressive announcement.

Announcement of the evening for me, I love Rocky Horror.

@VikingGrrrl Happy birthday.

I've just put it on now, so I hope I like it as much as you did.

Rosa- Oh boy, I can't wait to ignite the fires with this one. Now let me make myself clear with where I stand on this. It has a powerful message, and details a story which needs to be remembered. However, a theme is no excuse for a lack of an interesting plot. You can have the best intentions in the world with the messages you are presenting, but your priority should be the story at hand first, and in my eyes, this episode is far from perfect. Let's start with the cast. Jodie's still far too exaggerated as The Doctor. This is a story which requires subtlety, and her over the top performance weakens it. It's not just her though. All of the lead's are wasted here. There's one memorable scene between Ryan and Yaz, and Graham gets a couple of good moments, but otherwise nothing stands out. Vinette Robinson, however, does give a very good performance. Krasko is one of the worst villains I have seen in the show for a while. I don't really want to call him a character, he is a walking caricature, who's only characteristic is that he's racist. In order to make a villain an interesting threat, there needs to be more to them than literally just being racist. Now I'll reiterate, Krasko is there to make a point about how vile racism is, I get it, but that just isn't enough for interesting character development. A good character needs depth and nuance. Make him nasty, someone we're still supposed to dislike, yes, but give us something beyond making his racist attitude his one and only defining trait. This one character alone tanks this episode in my eyes, and I just can't take him seriously because there's nothing to him. Speaking about there being nothing to the characters, the supporting characters are exactly the same. They are all walking racism machines, there is nothing else to them. The acting is fine but the material is so weak that I can't get invested in it. It is obvious what the production team are trying to convey here, and once again, it is a message that needs to be shown, but it deserves to be handed with subtlety and respect as it is a serious topic. This episode attempts comedy at points where it isn't necessary, and doesn't allow dramatic moments to take full effect, thus weakening the whole thing. That combined with the terrible characterisation of just about everyone besides Rosa herself really does drag this episode down. Also, who's idea was it to play that cringy pop song over the credits? I get why they did it but that song just doesn't work for me, and somewhat ruins an otherwise effective ending. Is the whole episode bad? Not at all. The scene in which Ryan gets slapped in the street towards the beginning is particularly effective, showing us immediately how dangerous this time period is for the lead characters. There are a few other scenes throughout the episode which also manage to be effective. Vinette gives an excellent performance, the episode is well paced despite having an incredibly weak antagonist, and the acting is solid from the entire cast. Overall- 5/10. This episode, like so many more throughout Chibnall's era, is a victim of wasted potential. The story of Rosa Parks could have made a great episode of Doctor Who. I know a lot of people out there do like this one, and I'm happy for everyone who enjoys it, but it doesn't work for me personally. This episode had good intentions, and wanted to educate on important historical issues, but those topics need to be shown in something with superior writing in order for the story to have the required impact, otherwise those themes are wasted. Story comes before messages, not the other way around.

Any lead Doctor Who cast member Joakim Broden (I know he hasn't been in films like the other music guests but I can dream ) Mark Hamill Millie Bobby Brown (I missed her last time she was here) David Harbour

I've always been more of a fan of the more mechanical TARDIS designs, such as the classic Who ones and the Smith/Capaldi TARDIS over the organic designs of the Whittaker and Tennant ones.

The Ghost Monument- This episode starts decently, but really loses momentum as it progresses. The pacing is pretty poor in his one, I was bored for a lot of the second half. The planet Desolation is well realised, and as a whole this episode looks very good. The race plot reminded me a lot of Enlightenment, but it's no where near as interesting as that story was. The supporting characters are incredibly bland, the acting is fine for the most part but the writing ruins it. Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole are the best parts of this episode, but they still seem like accessories without having much to do. Yaz is completely pointless. Mandip does a decent job but the writing lets her down. Whittaker clearly tries, but much like Yaz, the writing just isn't up to par. Her Doctor is incredibly annoying and over the top, and without the excuse of it being a post-regenerative thing, it just doesn't work in my eyes. I have a lot of friends who really like 13, and that's great. Unfortunately, her performance doesn't work for me. She does improve over time, but watching episodes like this reinforces why I'm not a huge fan of 13. The villain element is incredibly poor in this episode. Ilin isn't interesting at all, and the Remnants look ridiculous. I don't know who thought that floating fabric would make for an interesting threat, but it doesn't work at all. The TARDIS reveal at end is great, until we see the inside of it. I love the exterior design, but I'm not a fan of the interior. This episode is basically a showcase of wasted potential. A race can make for a very exciting plot if done right, but the execution was way off. The writing and pacing tanks this episode. The leads try their best with the material but there's no saving this. The episode gains points from a production standpoint (good visuals, music etc), and the TARDIS reveal was well done. Overall- 3/10.

Happy birthday @Chris1970

A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood- This was a beautiful little film. Short and to the point. Matthew Rhys carries this movie, and he does an excellent job. The film succeeds on a dramatic level, and there are lots of powerful moments. Tom Hanks is obviously fantastic, I just wish we got to see more of him. This film is simply charming, and I really enjoyed it. There's nothing that really stick out as bad in my eyes, this was an enjoyable watch. That's probably the most basic review of a film you've ever read. Overall- 8/10. Dolittle- Oh dear. I'm not a fan of the Eddie Murphy films, and I've never read any of the books, so I'm probably not the best judge of this character, but blimey this movie fails in every way. Robert Downey Jr was a major disappointment. His accent was also incredibly distracting. The supporting cast are all wasted, the biggest example being Jessie Buckley. She's a great actress, but this film utterly wastes her with a useless role. Michael Sheen plays an incredibly over the top villain. He was the most entertaining of the lot but even he can't save the dreadful dialogue. The cgi was also rough in places. The comedy completely killed this movie. I don't think I laughed at a single point where I was supposed to. What was even more annoying for me, was how a potentially emotional and dramatic scene would be immediately undercut by a lame joke, thus destroying any potential impact of the scene. There is absolutely nothing about this movie that will ever make me want to rewatch it. Overall- 1/10. Birds Of Prey- I'm not a huge fan of this one. DC have been on a winning streak recently, and I was really hoping this would be another success for them. I don't know how a film this flashy and stylised can still be so dull and interesting. Besides a few stand out action scenes, this was a very dull film for me. Margot Robbie crushes it as Harley, but the characters around her are so bland and uninteresting that I didn't really care. Ewan McGregor was wasted as the villain, and the Birds Of Prey themselves have an incredibly minimal role. This film is saved by a great central performance and good direction, but the writing kills it. It's not all bad, but I wouldn't recommend this one. Overall- 4/10. Sonic The Hedgehog- It's a strange world I live in, where a Sonic movie ends up being more enjoyable than a Birds Of Prey movie. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a blast watching this. I'm not a gamer, so I can't comment on the accuracy of this film, but I liked how Sonic was portrayed, and Ben Schwartz did a great job voicing him. I really enjoyed the central relationship between Sonic and James Marsden's character. I've been a fan of Jim Carrey for as long as I can remember, and he doesn't disappoint. I just can't help but be entertained whenever he is on screen. the action sequences are well shot, with some particular highlights being very reminiscent of Quicksilver in X-Men. The film is hurt by some very poor attempts at comedy, a lot of jokes land but a similar number doesn't, and not all of the emotional beats work as well as they should. Most of the supporting characters are basic but still entertaining for what they need to do. This was a film that was simply fun, I had a good time watching it and the leads all do an excellent job. It was far better than I expected it would ever be. Overall- 6.5/10 Parasite- Wow. I can't really say anything about this one that you haven't heard a million times already, but this film is truly incredible. Bong Joon Ho's masterpiece. The acting is stellar across the board, and the dialogue is razor sharp. All of the characters are well realised, and the pacing is great. The filmmaking on display here is astonishing, it is gorgeously shot. To sum up, everything about this movie is incredible, and you should certainly watch it if you can. It certainly earnt that best picture Oscar. Overall- 10/10.

My main concern with festivals is just that, camping. I enjoy my home comforts too much to stay in a tent for 4 days.

I've often considered trying a music festival, as I have some friends who are really into them, but to be honest most of the acts we get here in the UK aren't ones I'd want to go to a festival to see. If Sabaton were there, then I'd be tempted. Just got to work out a trip to Sweden. 

That's awesome, but sadly Sweden is a bit too far for me. Also, comic cons? That's surprising. Wouldn't have seen them as the type who'd do that, but then again I never thought Alice Cooper would either.

You just reminded me of the outfit. I much preferred how she looked in Capaldi's suit, I'm still not a fan of her main costume.

The Woman Who Fell To Earth- A surprisingly strong start to Series 11. I'll start with the new characters first. Tosin Cole, Bradley Walsh and Sharon D. Clarke are great. There's chemistry between these three actors, and whenever they were on screen together I liked what I was seeing. Walsh and Clarke are excellent for the whole episode, and I really bought the relationship between the two of them. Unfortunately, Cole is at his best when bouncing off of Walsh, and whenever they were separated I wasn't really interested in his character. The grandfather/grandson dynamic is one that works well, and that was the best material that Cole received. Yaz feels forced into this story, and she is clearly the weak link here, character wise. She is the least interesting by a good margin, and Mandip Gill didn't do anything unique here. The rest of the supporting cast are fine for what they do, but they are all forgettable. Now onto The Doctor. Allow me to make it clear: I do not have an issue with a female Doctor. I've just been underwhelmed by Whittaker's acting and the scripts she's been given so far. That being said, she gives a good first impression here. Why do I like what she is doing here more than other episodes? It's because this is a post-regeneration story. The Doctor is always more over-the-top than usual immediately after regenerating, just look at a story like Spearhead From Space as evidence of this. Due to that fact, it make sense that The Doctor would act like she does here. She still has some irritating moments (forgetting the word tongue stands out as one of those moments) but for the most part her performance works for this episode. She also gets a great Doctor moment when she confronts Tzim-Sha on the crane. We'll discuss her performance much more over the coming episodes, but as a standalone performance here, Whittaker does a good job. The whole episode looks fantastic, and the blu ray is worth getting for this reason. Doctor Who has never looked this good. The editing is snappy, and despite its increased running time, this episode is far better paced than others. We now come onto the negatives, and most of them all come from the script. Chibnall's writing for Who has never been highly regarded by me, and this episode doesn't do him many favours. He did manage to succeed in creating some likeable new characters in Graham and Grace, but otherwise the new characters are relatively bland. The Doctor herself has no established unique personality either, feeling more like a jumble of elements from other Doctors rolled into one, although to be fair to Chibnall this is her first story so I wasn't expecting too much development from her. The weakest element of this episode by far in my eyes is the villain. I think he looks stupid (seriously, a tooth monster?), and I can never take him seriously. The characters make a joke out of him at every opportunity, and as a result he never feels like a serious threat. Oatley does a decent job playing him but the dialogue is so uninteresting that I just didn't care, and his defeat was far too easy. Overall- 6/10. There was a lot of hype going into this episode, and it was never going to live up to that hype in my eyes. Watching it again now, it is flawed, but it certainly isn't an awful episode. Jodie does a good job as a post-regenerative Doctor, and Walsh and Clarke really do steal the show. Ryan became more and more uninteresting as the episode progressed, and Yaz wasn't interesting to begin with. The weak villain and side characters also further bring this one down. Despite these issues, it is still a rather enjoyable, well paced episode, and it's visually excellent.

It was indeed the real Tommy.

Thank you.

Sophie Aldred Tommy Wiseau

Well, today was absolutely brilliant. That was easily one of the best concerts I've ever been to. I'll put up some photos of my signed stuff from Sophie and Tommy later.

Afraid not as I never got a DP for him, sorry.

Sophie was really lovely yeah.

It was at the Forbidden Planet.

Currently wandering around Covent Garden. Attending Sophie Aldred's book signing,then going to see a screening of The Room,and then I'm topping it off with Sabaton's concert tonight. Today will be packed but so worth it.

Managed to pre order the re-issue of the Doctor Who season 12 blu ray set. There was no way I missing out on that thing for a second time.

Twice Upon A Time- A charming epilogue to The Doctor Falls. Personally I would have preferred to have that story as Capaldi's last, but this is still a good one to end his era with. Much like the previous story, Peter Capaldi owns this episode. This gives his Doctor a contemplative, quiet final story, which I think works as a nice contrast to his often angry and explosive demeanour which he had when he first started out. David Bradley also does an excellent job as the First Doctor. I think he captures Hartnell's performance very well, but still puts his own spin on it to avoid it feeling like a lesser copy of what Hartnell did. Although David's acting is brilliant, Moffat's writing lets him down at points. He has some very well written scenes, but there are a lot of jokes which don't land at all. Most of these are sexist jokes which he makes. Personally, I'm not too fond of this. There were some moments in Hartnell's era which had questionable lines, but they're only questionable when viewed through the lens of our current society. Context is key, and I think that reducing this Doctor to a joke because of this really hurts him, and may even turn off some new Who viewers, who may see this as their introduction to this Doctor and think he was always highly sexist. For example, the "slapped bottom" line. When this was used in The Dalek Invasion Of Earth, The Doctor said it to scold his own grandchild. Whilst this is questionable behaviour nowadays, in 1964 this wouldn't have been at all out of the ordinary to say to one's relative. To use this line, and have the Doctor say it to someone who is a complete stranger to him, annoys me. It is irritating because it removes the very important context of the scene in question, and makes this Doctor seem far worse than what the original line would ever have done. Despite this, David Bradley still manages to give an entertaining performance, which is a huge credit to his acting. I love the interactions between the two Doctors. The First Doctor feels like The Doctor when he is interacting with Twelve. I love the idea that both of these Doctors are struggling to come to terms with regenerating, and they both help each other to figure it out. Plus, it makes sense that this Doctor would be worried about it, as it's the first time he'd have ever regenerated (at least as we currently know it...), so it doesn't change the character at all to now know that he was concerned about it. The rest of the cast all do a good job. I'm not a fan of bringing back Bill in the way they did, but Pearl still played it well. Mark Gatiss really steals the show as The Captain. The return of Rusty was nice to see, but he (?) was pretty much just an exposition dump. My main issue with the story comes with the lack of a villain/ This is a very common criticism I have with Christmas specials. I understand why there was a very small villainous presence, as this episode is more concerned with progressing the story of the Doctors rather than create a compelling villain. The last 10 minutes of this episode are pure gold. From the start of the Christmas truce sequence onwards, this episode is near flawless. The armistice serves as a very effective emotional moment, and that kind of joyous, heartfelt moment is what I want to see in Christmas specials. After all is said and done, Twelve gets visited by his companions. It is a beautiful moment, and it was nice to see Clara one last time (I know it isn't really her but it's still a nice moment to see Twelve's reaction). Twelve's final speech in the TARDIS is another one of his best, and this was a Doctor who has become known for his speeches, so the fact that this is one of his best is testament to Moffat's skills as a writer. He understood The Doctor. Twelve finally accepts his regeneration, and Thirteen arrives. It's a very short scene with her though, so I'm not going to judge her at all based on this. Overall- 8/10. This is a very nice little story. It goes along at a nice pace, and the acting is great. The lack of a proper villain pulls it down, but if that was to give the Doctor's more screen time then I understand why it was done like this. Bradley is great in the role of The First Doctor, even if the writing doesn't always live up to his ability. Peter Capaldi gives a grand performance here, he really gave his final story his all. Twelve's story is one of my favourites to discuss with my Whovian friends, as he has a clear arc over his whole era. I wish Capaldi stayed in the role for longer, and hopefully either Big Finish will convince him to make some new stories, or he can return for a multi-Doctor story (the 60th anniversary perhaps?). We now move on to the Chibnall/Whittaker era, this should be fun.