DRW50

RTD's show was about character on the surface, but underneath the themes became very much about banging one note over and over - Rose! Doctor is sad! Female companions show value by sacrificing to save the world, but are only worthwhile if the Doctor says so! (he shamed Martha in a degrading manner as soon as she stopped doing what he wanted [when she worked for UNIT], and Donna existed only in the end to make the Doctor cry). Rose! His attempts at more were often mawkish, bizarre, and disgusting (everything with the Master). Moffat's female companions are the same - they exist for the Doctor, and as part of some mystery of life, and they are both more and less independent - they happily live their own lives, which RTD's companions did not do, but it's also made clear that their main purpose is for the Doctor's needs, or for this mystery they exist for. I do think River worked, because of Alex and Alex's wonderful chemistry with everyone, but the Melody story was unnecessary and it took away from her spark. I also hated the writing in Angels Take Manhattan where she talked about how the Doctor only wants you when you're young and cute. It validated the view of the last few years that the Doctor is becoming a sick, sad old man. I'm pleased that she got closure in the Name of the Doctor - she was less sad there, more determined, a beautiful goodbye with the Doctor, and best of all, now I know that she is not permanently trapped in that [!@#$%^&*] feminine hygiene commercial that I never believed she would want - that angered me more than almost anything else the show has ever done. I'm seriously becoming tired of the way the Doctor is toward women.

The Cyberman are heartbreaking, which we rarely see exploration of. There were a few scenes in the parallel worlds story that brought them back where you saw this, when that world's Jackie was turned into a Cyberman but still had her feelings. In the late 60s they just became baddies, and generally have stayed that way ever since. I think they're more frightening than the Daleks when they are properly written. The clanking sound when they walk has become overused. The Doctor's penis has become too much of a central part of the story in the last few years. I hope that will be over soon.

That Lucinda/Susan fight is one of the first ATWT scenes I remember (although I thought she fell off a ladder at some point).

This has a second part.

The most low-key confrontation...ever.

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DS' new look is an eyesore, and the site itself feels empty, overly cliquey, repetitive, and a strange combination of too bitter and too glib. A lot of the posts tend to read like PR shills. I haven't been to Walford Web in a few years, around the time I gave up on EE, but I'm shocked it's gone. I remember first going there in the late 90s and reading updates PBS was a few years behind so I was shocked to realize just about every character was gone, including most of my favorites. I thought Stacey was overrated and DTC/Santer destroyed everything about the character. I'm surprised Lacey didn't get more work. I guess it was typecasting. I hope they put her with Max, as they had great chemistry.

Well, it's better than the first one.

What Lauren did to Paul is pretty awful. I guess at least Y&R did not try to say it was just hot sex, even if they didn't explore the repercussions. Damn at Doug Davidson in that second clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uapqe8LupOw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUy619Rj2TM

This article talks about the perils of the search for missing episodes, and also talks about other lost, classic TV shows. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10492487/Searching-for-televisions-missing-gems-Doctor-Who-Woody-Allen-Ridley-Scott-and-Dennis-Potter.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_Sb3Ofy6XI My February 1993 self is saying: Holden sucks! Rosanna is so boring. I don't care. Love Evan/Connor/Edwina! That opening is so depressing. And my 2013 self agrees.

5 Franks. I'm glad you didn't say anything bad about Pat #2 because I would have gone off a little bit if you had. RH had a ton of bad recasts but the writing was the general failure in many of the cases. Aside from Jack, the show would not let characters grow and change, ever, unless change = being devolved for a plot purpose.

Yes. Funnily enough, Christian had a recurring role on the show a decade later. The guy who played him (Michael Hawkins) had a weird history with daytime. He never really had a popular role and I think he changed his name two or three times. He claimed he was under-par at RH because he was on Broadway at the same time, but I don't know.

I haven't watched a lot of the last two Franks, but I did think Nancy and DHK had great chemistry together. I could see their love, even if I still had issues with them as a couple. The first two Franks, especially the first, wooden top one, were another story. The initial Frank/Jill story (they'd committed adultery for many years and this was supposed to be beautiful and wonderful) always left a bad taste in my mouth and made me a Delia stan for life.

I'd hoped for a little more, but generally the midseason finales for TWD don't have a big boost, from what I can remember. They were lucky that the two Governor episodes didn't do more damage. In the past the midseason premieres have had a boost. We'll see. A few more articles. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/walking-dead-deaths-scott-gimple-660859 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/walking-dead-spoilers-robert-kirkman-661157 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/walking-deads-david-morrissey-governors-660922

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Yeah, there was a line in one of these episodes, and I kind of wonder if it was ad-libbed, where Tom says something like, "You can understand why Iva's nervous. It's not every day your daughter marries your brother."

A lot of conservatives hate this Pope. They are struggling not to say it too often but are clearly caring less and less about saying it. I had to laugh when the Vatican said trickle down economics don't work. They don't.

I'm sorry. I meant Jamie/Paulina.

I thought this was the most emotional reaction Daryl had shown to anything in a long time (aside from his brother's murder). The problem with this story is these characters are too hardened to have a big reaction, and there's too much going on. Daryl has responsibilities and relationships he won't let go of just because he's upset about Carol. They'd matured the character past that mindset. If he'd stormed off to look for Carol, or taken a swing at Rick, I wouldn't have bought it. The main way this will be dramatic is if or when Carol returns. The people at the prison were just too even-keeled to melt down over it. Anyway, that extra who's shown up a few times this season (the woman on the bus with Beth, Maggie, and Glenn) fascinates me, as she's popped up over and over in the middle of bad times this season. She's certainly a survivor. She was one of the people who was infected. The actress has her own website. http://www.2sherryscorner.com/ Ratings. 12 million, 6.1 in 18-49. That's about what I'd expected. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/12/02/the-walking-dead-mid-season-finale-draws-12-1-million-viewers/219449/

Thank you so much. I hadn't read this. I'd seen the interviews which talked about his time on Doctor Who, but not his other projects or his personal life. I didn't realize he'd directed Possession of Joel Delaney. I wish he still had some involvement in Who. I feel like it needs another voice.

Thank you both. I'll have to look for more. More interviews. I can't believe they gave Scott Wilson Hershel's head. That must have been both an honor and creepy as hell. http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/12/02/walking-dead-scott-wilson-hershel-death/ http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/12/02/the-walking-dead-robert-kirkman-midseason-finale/