Vee

I wonder when. Because Holden and Lily have been the driving interest through the whole year from what I can see - it seems they realized quickly the new Emily wasn't going to work or be that serious.

Wild Blue Yonder sounds great - watching it tonight. Don't think it has (almost) any cameos, so if there's some to come it'll be the final special. Also (SPOILER for one returnee this week):

Tragically, I have hit the point in 1986 where a bunch of timejumps come in re: the archived material on YT. Going from late July/early August to late September, it seems Iva has now resigned herself to Craig and Sierra getting back together soon, Tonio and Sierra are on the outs, Barbara's name is mud with Lisa and Hal is romancing the obvious guilty Denise Darcy who is pretending to be threatened by Tad's killer. When exactly was Tad found dead, does anyone know? He was definitely well on his way and mysteriously missing in the last episode I saw before the jump in a bad storm, so I was just waiting for the corpse. The much-discussed Beatrice has arrived and her accent is all over the place. The Wiki dates seem to be characteristically off because the always-adorable Andy Kavovit is already here as Paul. And Barbara is already fretting about having seen the same mysterious monk as Paul in Duncan's magic castle. We all know who that is, I believe, and I've never seen these episodes before. I wonder when 'the monk' first made his appearance to Barbara or anyone else. I'm also still not quite clear on the nature of Duncan's involvement with Stenbeck, etc. (Or the pre-Smith Emily's connection to him - I assume that is who she is getting strange phone calls from.) How long had James been gone at this point? Also, are they really testing Barbara and Duncan this heavy or is it just a time-waster? Shannon and Brian seem suddenly invisible atm after getting pushed so heavy in story with Duncan early on. It also seems clear Holden and Emily's dalliance is just an afterthought/spoiler at this point, if it ever was anything else. The emotional focus has always been on Holden and Lily. The way Marland has dug into the just unsustainable super-close relationship between Betsy and Craig after she married Steve and what that means for her marriage is always interesting to me. Yes, Steve is a boor and obnoxious but it is bizarre that she remains so deeply tethered to Craig after what he did. Other shows would shrug it off, and earlier on ATWT seemed to.

It's just an old troll saying a lot of that stuff trying to get attention.

They're still giving women to Galen Gering? It's like human sacrifices to a volcano at this point. I cannot get over Johnny getting back with Chanel after she left him for his twin.

And some more thirst shots for @Faulkner from SFX:

Wow - I had no idea she was one of the Eileen Siegels, let alone slumming it as a judge in the Higley years.

I totally agree. But I think the easiest solution is what needed to be done several years ago: Write her and Maxie out. The UK/European/Aussie soaps don't seem nearly as afraid of heavier women - Neighbours has several, I believe, or at least mature ones. Eastenders has Kat and Sharon whose weight has fluctuated. It's the US that has difficulty. But none of those foreign soaps dress their women the way Genie is dressed, namely terribly yet again. Anyway, this feels tacky to itemize but there you are.

I honestly think the show is just happy that Kirsten seems (supposedly) more mentally and emotionally well and isn't taking long breaks anymore (for reasons that vary depending on who you ask) that they don't want to try for anything more. She was unwell for a long time. She still looks wrung out to me and I think both the character and actor need a long break from the show.

Gatwa's first full episode begins its rollout:

The Pogues, Kissinger and Rosalynn. What a week. I always go back to Fairytale of New York around this time in the last few very hard years for us all, but especially to the melancholy Bill Murray/Jenny Lewis/David Johansen, etc. version from Sofia Coppola's Netflix Christmas special. But I'll save that for a few weeks.

Thank you. I know I'm not the only one having a hard time imagining 70+ Colleen Zenk crawling around in some vents like the Alien or Bruce Willis in Die Hard.

They don't need Roger Howarth's contract money to pay for brief funeral returns for either Lucas or Lucky. Nor do they need him to pay for Adam Huss.

Today's varying versions of the Wild Blue Yonder rumors, from key DW forums:

Is Josh being paid by the storyline? Jesus.

I am no authority on the Bell soaps, everything truly worthwhile has been said by other more knowledgeable people. But from an outsider's POV, what stays with me every time I've had the privilege to go back and rewatch classic material as an adult is the very specific, specialized tone and style, not just visually or musically but in terms of character. They clearly knew every inch of those characters and their aspirations or neuroses, and it seems to inform everything they do even in workaday episodes. They also let you live with and sit in new situations - the period where Nikki was married to Jack, Jack raising her children with her, really stood out for me when I realized (which I hadn't for a long time) that Nikki and Victor were apart for maybe close to a decade before reuniting. Jack and Nikki was not a plot point, it was a lived-in chapter in their lives that stretched out. And the generational history, with the two big Jills and Katherine, with Jerry Douglas' John and his son, with Jill's son, Nina, etc. was so rich. It could be very arch, but it leaned into it and owned that. When I was younger I often compared watching classic Y&R to staring at 'an ornate couch' - I don't think that description is entirely inaccurate, especially compared to the visceral and very different ABC soaps of the early '90s. But what a couch! It's a whole other world, and that is what I think kept people coming back. There is a reason my ancient babysitter as a small child was glued faithfully to CBS in the '80s and very early '90s throughout the afternoon, even if Nadia's Theme used to drive me crazy. (And no, I have zero memory of Marland's ATWT from that period except for the opening sequence, which I did like.) You know when you are watching classic Y&R - there is no mistaking it for another soap.

I am so behind bc of a lot of other things. Is there any break in the show coming over the holiday? I'm going to try to mainline through to at least the end of the flashback over the next few weeks.

An interesting note from David Tennant re: Wild Blue Yonder, the second special: Very little is known about Wild Blue Yonder - all but three cast members (Tate, Tennant and "Susan Twist" who may be a real actor who does exist or may be an alias) are redacted from the official listings. There have been virtually no leaks on it unlike special 3. The only rumor out there, which is not backed up, suggests

Is it not an obvious setup for him to be this dead body they've been hyping up all year? Since he's blackmailing her into claiming she lied? The show seems so silly to me now. I can't imagine what the point is of giving Phil what has to be his sixth or seventh small kid, let alone the strange mirror universe we now live in where Phil and Kat have apparently been paired up for a year or two.

So: This was a classic, fun RTD-era romp, but updated in all the right ways. Working-class or middle-class people, neighborhoods and families and children in the thick of the action, and a lot of heart and fun. Was it perfect genius, no, but it was a very, very solid, strong return - a lot stronger than I'd expected for this type of story - and highlighted all the things I personally found missing from the Chibnall years; characters being introduced and imprinted onto the audience with affection and sensitivity quickly, vs. a lot of telling vs. showing or vague platitudes about cardboard cutouts. Granted, we already knew Donna and her mother (Jacqueline King is great here as always, and they've happily kept Sylvia's development into a kinder person from Series 4) but Rose Noble is all-new, and very much an audience identification character like Rose I; it is not a surprise to me that RTD has already announced we'll be seeing her again in the new era under Gatwa. This is so important for trans youth and visibility and for educating people, as RTD discussed eloquently in the BTS material for this episode (which I can't presently lay hands on a clip of, sadly). I thought Yasmin Finney definitely had some stiffer or more awkward scenes delivering sci-fi exposition material vs. her lovely work on Heartstopper, but she was mostly quite winning especially in the first half. The moment I'd worried about re: tying Rose to the metacrisis was underplayed and inoffensive, and trans viewers seem very happy about it as a way to elevate them. I really, really enjoyed the low-key but warm reunion between the Doctor and UNIT. UNIT became much more a part of the fabric of the show again in the Moffat and to a lesser extent Chibnall eras, as opposed to what I always felt was Russell's sanctimonious puffery about them being too jingoistic in Series 3 and 4 with Tennant back in the day. Here, Fourteen is much more relaxed in greeting Shirley Anne Bingham and they acknowledge each other wryly and without huge fanfare as an everyday matter of course. As someone who's been revisiting the Pertwee era a lot lately it is nice to see that continuity of a grand old and mostly trusted association. Tennant's performance is also very grounded and stripped-down opposite the talented Ruth Madeley - he used to be 'the one in the skinny suit' he says, then lists off all the others and now he doesn't know who he is, and a lot of his performance reflects that. (Bingham mistaking him for the Tenth Doctor coming from the past was a nice touch.) Fourteen is more rooted, a sharper contrast to Ten for me in many ways than I'd anticipated based on the advance interviews. It's not just the five o'clock shadow that's him changed either, but the clear ability to say (surprisingly himself at first) that he loves both Donna and Wilf. And his bemused resignation when he determines that only he and Donna can save London, and that this moment was inevitable; there's (almost) no howling, gurning, etc. In much of this special he approaches this new life as well as the scenario with Donna that's beyond his ken in a way that reminded me a lot of Tom's silver-haired, melancholy days like Series 18, and of Smith and Capaldi, admittedly my preferred modern Doctors. There is a wistful exhaustion to Fourteen now which suits Tennant much better than Ten's most manic famed hours to me. I did love the note about Kate Stewart and UNIT providing for Wilf - presumably we will see him in the final special for the brief filming Bernard Cribbins did. Catherine Tate has always been heartbreakingly good with drama, and should still do more of it. There is nothing I can add to the many accolades about her performance, either 15 years ago or now. I love the camp-voiced Wrarth Warriors, and I was pleased to see a mention of the Shadow Proclamation. The show looks like a million bucks. The new opening is wonderful and the new TARDIS is, as I said, gorgeous and retro. People kept banging on about how much better they thought the Chibnall production values looked vs. Moffat; I never saw a big difference, just flatter characters and stories. But now, contrasting the FX and budget, lighting, etc. in RTD's typical environments and trappings from the 2000s to now, it's a world of difference from the overly lit neon backdrops and that one same industrial corridor we often saw in the first four series. Rachel Talalay has always been a favorite of mine from both horror films and the Moffat era, and she made a great return here. The neighborhood battle sequence was exceptional, including the sound FX. And the Meep was beautifully realized (great performance by Margolyes) - visually, the show has come so far. Very curious to see who the Meep's "boss" is - I believe Tennant and RTD have said this carries over into Gatwa's series, so it's probably not the Toymaker. A lovely time. It's so good to have the show back as a vital part of my life again.

A strong ratings night for DW back home: 5.06 million. Don't believe that counts the overnights, and I believe it does reflect a shift from Chibnall. After an unexpected nap I'm watching now - I love the psychic paper gag with it still having the wrong gender. "Oh, catch up!"

Colin and Nicola in the new TARDIS (I'll spoil it a little longer, just in case):

Holy shît. I didn't know Martha Nochimson had worked on the soaps vs. writing about them (specifically the media book in the '90s that quietly outed Tony Geary and alleged a pretty shocking BTS issue between him and Genie at that time) and in more recent years, writing several essential tomes about David Lynch and Twin Peaks.