The bigger on the inside Funbox

Dr Who's back!!  First things first, this is a Moffat episode, so expectations were rightly high, I reckon 90% of the best new episodes have been written by he or Russell T. Davis. Typically for Moffat, the preview which had been posted a few days / weeks earlier on the web asked some interesting questions, was this new episode going to involve the Dr walking an ethical tightrope tiptoeing around sensitivities over Nazi Germany, surely not, there was enough to follow on from after A Good Man Goes To War. Unsurprisingly, it turned out that the preview clip had really just been a dummy sold by the team to the public, Hitler was at best a minor role (in actuality little more than an extra). By the end a number of questions had been answered which had hung over from the new series. As always though, riding into view stood on the shoulders of the answers came new questions too.

This episode centered around River Song, I love River Song, best character of the new series, she's got so much depth and surprises at every turn. This was no exception. I did work out that Mels was River before it was made obvious, brilliantly done as they made it clear that Amy had almost brought her up (she was waiting outside the headmasters office and waiting outside the prison cell like a disappointed mother), but didn't pick it when she turned up initially. Also, we found out that Amy thought Rory was gay, isn't that exactly how it would have happened. Rory obsessed with Amy, Amy too self obsessed, blissfully unaware and ignorant to notice!

One slight disappointment, Mels was awesome, it's a shame we didn't get to know her more! Her best line, will remain calling the Tardis "the bigger on the inside Funbox"!

Right, next in 1940's Germany we met some kind of shape shifting justice-bot full of miniaturised people traveling in time dealing out retrospective punishment, a nice aside and something the sort of which has never been seen before in Dr Who as far as I'm aware!*  These guys though originally in Germany for Hitler, go after River as the murderer of the Dr. One flaw in the script ... I'm pretty sure they'd be after the Doctor
 

Antibodies

Skipping ahead Hitler shoots Mels and the penny drops that she's River when she regenerates. As soon as she regenerates River comes into her own straight away, Alex Kingston just lights up the screen whenever she's on it, she poisons the Doctor (that girl must have the most psychotic make up bag in the world!). It turns out that Amy and Rory named their Daughter after their Daughter (my head hurts trying to consider that). Amy and Rory end up miniaturised in the head of the Justice-bot, just escape the Antibodies whom reminded me of the suicide booths from Futurama ("Welcome ... You are unauthorised, Your Death will now commence; Welcome ... You will experience a tingling sensation and then death; Please remain calm whilst your life is extracted"). There's so much humour spread thickly throughout every Who episode nowadays.

The Justice bot does eventually catch up with River and so does the Doctor, bizarrely though he's found time to change into a tux for the occasion (what's that all about?). The Doctor asks who the people in the shape shifter think they are, but the answer is obvious ... they think they're god. River then gives up all of her future regenerations to save the Doctor, explaining why subsequently throughout her timeline she always keeps the same form.

Finally, River always said she was taught by the best to fly the Tardis, turns out she was taught by the Tardis itself after recognising her as it's child!

Right, ANSWERS: 1. The Silence are not a species but a religion, I presume that the Silence which we saw must be a separate species who are members of the order but there are also different members. 2. River's in jail in future episodes for killing the Doctor. 3. River was taught to fly the Tardis by the Tardis itself. The Doctor has accused her of flying the Tardis wrong, I thought she'd insinuated that he taught her, but turns out she was talking about the Tardis! 4. River has somehow managed to reverse her age and this is why she looks the same at various points throughout her timeline (an afterthought I guess and unusually not that well thought out). 5. The Doctor himself gave River her Blue Tardis shaped book which she's had in most episodes she's appeared in.

As always though further QUESTIONS were raised: 1. Are we seeing the Doctor's timeline in order? He seems to rush off in the Tardis alone too often for my liking and the expression "Rule 1 - the doctor lies" suggests all is not as it seems (this would also explain the tux at the end). 2. I'm starting to convince myself that the child in that spacesuit on the 22nd of April 2011 is Mels, after all she regenerated into a toddler, however I can't explain how she'd have time traveled there. Is this true? 3. What is the question which when asked will make silence fall? 4. Is River in jail in the future because the guys in the shape shifter catch up with her at a later date? And I'm sure plenty of other questions. 5. What did the Doctor say to River to persuade her to save him?

Unusually, as many answers as questions!!

*I've read lots on the forums about the fact that this bot was unexplained and flawed, pointing to the fact that there would be no bad deeds if this time traveling bot was getting rid of all of the bad guys from history and even how a race far enough into the future who have time travel take minutes to kill River. These points are all argued by the fact that the bot isn't designed to kill historical bad guys, that would have too much effect on the continuity of time, rather their aim is to punish these individuals when they are close to death!

Britain's heartbreak

I've always had enormous faith in the power of humanity and an unerring belief that this will eventually shine through in everyone. Over the last 4 days this belief has been tested and I like many have been made to question and re-evaluate it. As everyone now knows the riots in London and across the rest of the country have been appalling, distressing, heartbreaking and extreme I've heard many pundits and commentators question the underlying reasons for the disturbances, I don't think that now is the time to pick apart our society (elements of which are broken), the time for this is in 3 to 4 weeks time. Besides, however broken society is and however cross people are with the government, the lack of opportunity ... the roadworks, or whatever the hell they're angry about, what sort of person would loot businesses and destroy their own community.

These people must be completely ignorant if they think that the last two days have done anything but made the streets of London a much worse place to live in the coming months. But that's exactly what they are, I heard one girl when questioned about why she was looting say "we're cross with the rich innit, and the government, the Conservatives ... is that right? I dunno" that comment summed up one, how foolish and incompetent these individuals are and two, they're not rioting for a cause, they're rioting for gain.

Bizarrely, (as he stayed on holiday for too long) I think ol' DC has come out of this whole scenario quite well, his speech's both yesterday morning and this were rousing and though I've no political allegiances whatsoever (I don't believe in partizan politics) he left me with a sense of pride. I hope that it's not all talk and the punishments laid out to those individuals who are identified are heavy and they regret their actions for years to come.

More than angry the events made me so so sad, how can anyone torch and steal and so obviously enjoy it, there are evil evil people in the world, both far from home and on our doorstep, that much is abundantly clear! Furthermore the fact that it looked like police are terrified of taking the action which was necessary in the circumstances as they knew the force may not stand by them  and the fact that the thugs are not scared of the all too soft arm of the law are two of many effects of our justice system being completely the wrong way round, for this there are many consequences!

One final shining light was that amidst all the troubles yesterday morning I got in the car to go to work to hear a story about the rise of the swan population on the Today programme, how British to report on something so trivial amongst all the chaos. Right, it's getting towards my bedtime I'm off to make a cuppa and sit down with my book, probably as far away from a rioter as anyone could be :)

S269

An August Summer Sunday

Today in Surrey is divine, it's the sort of day that if you're not in a wood, on a mountain, by a river, by the sea or some other countryside place then it feels like you're wasting the time that you've been gifted on the planet! So, this morning I decided to go for a bike ride.

I ended up traveling through some amazingly quiet woodland, through some beautiful little villages and over a large stretch of Heathland. All within a 2 hour ride of my house, what a lucky boy I am. What amazed me on such a gorgeous day was that in 4 hours I saw 15 people, an outrage on such a day really, however I wasn't complaining the countryside seems so much more enjoyable when it's quiet and peaceful.


From Godalming, I cycled along the old railway line to Shamley Green, rode past a pub stopped and stared at it for quite a while wishing that I could go in and grab a glass of orange juice (note to self, buy a new bike lock for next time). I rode past a field full of tiny Christmas trees I presume growing for the festive season in a few months. Then into a very very quiet piece of woodland in which I found this wonderful toadstool.

After passing a few riders on horseback I stopped for my lunch on a piece of heathland, the kind which is always at it's best at this time of year, covered in colour. In fact there's colour (why does my computer want to change colour to be spelt color?) everywhere in the British summertime. Most prominent of all are the yellows from the flowers to the left, no idea what they are as I'm no horticulturist, but the look spectacular in the meadows.

Lunch spo

Anyway, as I was saying I stopped for lunch and to read for an hour. The whole time I was there only two cyclists and a horse rider came past ... I repeat, why were more people not out enjoying this spot!!??!! Finally, down a hill past a cricket pitch (one of the most picturesque I've ever seen, so civilized, the centre of the community) and around St Martha's hill. St Martha's is a very very old church cut off from pretty much everything at the top of a hill south of Guildford, it's wonderful, such a beautiful spot and I get the impression completely unchanged for I don't know how long. A fantastic ride, but man did I enjoy the glass of apple juice when I got back. (Photo's on the Flickr link above!)

St Martha's on the Mount

PS. I AM SADDLE SORE!!