I'm about to cross my timeline in the biggest way possible.

Evening all. If your reading this from anywhere other than the UK, then you are probably not aware that today is a public holiday here. Or a bank holiday as we call them, for reasons that still remain stubbornly opaque to me (actually, if anyone knows the answer to this, could they leave me a comment. Cheers). And on this bank holiday, as is traditional, the rain god has decided to catch up on all that flexi-time he owes and pull a double shift, which has given me an opportunity to have a bit of a mull today on The Time War (or The Last Great Time War if we're being exact). I've been having a think about this for over a week now after finishing Engines of War, which I really enjoyed, and started a little more reading vis-a-vis The Time War.

Now, it's an obvious point to make (and yes, I know I'm still making it) but after the events of Day of the Doctor, the Time War was always going to become ripe for plunder. And I'll be the first to admit that I am an absolute sucker for the mythological mists clearing and getting a view of events that were previously a mystery. Therein lies a problem for me. We all know that Gallifrey was subject, in storytelling terms, to a law of diminishing returns. My heart says MORE, but my old grey head, that has lived through cancellation gets very, very wary at the thought of the series having a touchstone to return to again and again.

Now, I don't think this will happen, but you never know. The point of all this though, is too ask a question. Russell made it quite clear that he believed that the events of Genesis of the Daleks was the Timelords firing their first shot across the Daleks bows and it's got me wondering if their are any other classic stories that could be looked at through the filter of the Time War and indeed if their events were influenced by the Time War reaching backwards and shaping events. Online histories of the War include the events in classic series Dalek stories, so why not others? I'm intrigued to hear any repiles you have.

Goodnight

Tony

You've Redecorated. I Don't Like It.

Well, I'm back.
I have, it has to be said, been very neglectful of my little blog and there are reason for that. Reasons I may, over the coming months, share with you or may not. They're not particularly juicy or scandalous but they are a distraction. I've started to realise that a distraction is needed from the afore mentioned distractions, so here I am.
A new era seems like a good time to make a return and it would be almost churlish to not make some comment on the new series, although, as it is something that is set to unfold over the coming months, I would rather keep my thoughts on this brief for the moment until there is a more complete picture.
I've now watched it twice and, looking at it from the perspective of a Doctor's debut, the shift in tone from "The Eleventh Hour" to "Deep Breath" is quite marked. The stand out moment, strangely enough, is an  absence of any declaration of intent. There is no "I am definitely a madman with a box" moment, no need to to sum up the new Doctor in a soundbite, which points to a greater level of confidence coming from the entire production team. This is not to criticise The Eleventh Hour, which I adore, but does point to a confidence in the production team that allows the Doctors  new identity to remain a undefined. To not give the game away first go.
The story, whilst not earth shattering by any stretch, does it's job well. Its job, in this instance, is to create just enough space for the two principles to shine(and I think it's fair to say they both share the limelight). Peter Capaldi does a fabulous job in not giving too much away, whilst at the same time inhabiting the Doctor and starting the process of showing us a new Doctor. Jenna Coleman, meanwhile, is allowed to give an entirely new interpretation of Clara, and this is all for the better. Her scene were she is under threat of torture, but still standing up to the cyborg is superb and her constant looking and looking away gives a real tangible sense of fear. The pacing is markedly different, with longer, dialogue heavy scenes replacing the breathlessness that marked season 7. The Paternoster Gang are on their usual reliable form and their growing resemblance to the UNIT family makes the "Here we go again" comment from Madam Vastra seem like more than just a passing nod to the past.
My final thought is about the new titles, or more specifically the music. I noticed what seems to be a Joe Meek vibe running through the whole thing, with it's vibrato tones. Now Joe Meek cuts an interesting figure when viewed through the prism of Doctor Who. Joe Meek was a gay man heavily influenced by the space race, the occult and ideas of the future. The fact that he inhabits almost exactly the same spaces as large swathes of Doctor Who fandom makes the idea of the accidental adoption of a theme tune in almost precisely the same style as his tenuous indeed. In fact, Stuart Maconie, in his excellent The Peoples Songs http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01l9qb8 makes the point that both Meek and Doctor Who sprang from the same very fertile soil of early 60's fascination with both technology and the space race.
I think that that is all from me for tonight. It's late and I need to turn in.
Night folks and thanks for reading.