ketose

The problem with Clara for me is that she has no reason to be there. She saved the Doctor from the Daleks and had adventures in Victorian England as other versions of herself. She also jumped into the time stream on Trenzalore. What the hell is she doing now? Her history has been very much in reverse. Companions in NuWho show some quality, get swept up, go on a bunch of stupid adventures that turn out to be important missions then generally end up sacrificing themselves in some way at the end. Now if this is a kids show reboot, I guess it makes sense that Clara ends up safe and sound, having been fractured through time and space, killed countless times and then winds up married on earth and done with the Doctor no worse for wear. Sometime it takes a new companion to fix Doctor Who. Clara is the new Mel.

I guess FYI won't be following Vaughn and Monet because they failed the show by divorcing. That means that anyone who's on MAFS should know if they love fame, they'd better stick to the assigned partner for a few years. I still get the impression that Monet really wanted to be on TV and not having a future on this program ticks her off.

I think 10, 11 and 12 have transcended their material. Nine was better matched and didn't really need to change it. I thought Eccleston worked as the template for a new Doctor Who that was a little less foppish than the originals (Doctors 6 and 7 had some real costumes) and seemed more damaged. Ten was more of a traditional Doctor and Eleven seemed kind of worn, despite his youthful appearance. It was a good performance from Matt Smith. I think the show runner problem is that the show runners are too important. The original Who had a stable of writers who crafted the material and there weren't these seasonal arcs. When you have all of time and space, the show really needs to be more episodic

We can't know, but my suspicion is that the season arc is somehow dragging down this season. Plus, there's this pending drama of Clara leaving. We would have been much better off if she and the Doctor had some adventures, then one day he shows up six months later in her time and she's already engaged and says so long. I keep thinking about that line about how if you use a knife in the fifth act, you have to introduce it in the third. Moffat seems to be waiting until the fourth act with the intention of beating us over the head with it just to make up for the lack of exposition. The one season-long arc that actually worked goes back to "The Trial of a Time Lord" which I'm sure is eliciting groans right now. They stuffed in regular episodes by making them newly filmed "flashback" testimony. Of course, they also introduced Mel without introducing her, which was kind of a mess. Frankly, Clara was the same way. The reason the Doctor chose Clara as his companion is because Clara was his companion. She never really proved herself.

Harriet Jones also said she was sorry as the Doctor walked away. Did she realize she was wrong or was she just afraid for her job? I know that whole sequence was controversial, but I loved it because all the Doctor did was ask one question to make Harriet spiral out of control. Her reaction ultimately doomed her. For me, it showed that the Doctor has the TARDIS and his sonic screwdriver and all these other gadgets, but he doesn't need any of it most of the time. Since the Doctor has no Prime Directive, the question is whether he respects a country's sovereignty. He didn't depose her. He only made Jones fight for her job, which she failed at.

Danny was the most likeable character in this episode. He knew the Doctor figured out he was in the TARDIS about the same time I did. He had the Doctor pegged as the man who likes to give the orders. He also saw how Clara put her life in danger because she was so sure that the Doctor would save her. What's sad is that there are all kinds of reasons for Clara to be with Danny and almost no reasons for her to stay with Twelve.

Harriet Jones told the Doctor, "What does that make you, Doctor? Another alien threat?" Remember that Jones fired that weapon after the Sycorax were leaving, probably to tell the others not to come to Earth. All the Doctor ever does is change the course of history. He saved Earth any number of times in the past and future. This wasn't just a case of Earth defending itself, it was Jones and Torchwood having to teach aliens a lesson after the Doctor had already sent them packing. I think Ten decided that Jones was wrong and did something about it. Most of all, if six words from the Doctor could take down Harriet Jones, I'm sure the Master could be just as persuasive to get her out of the way. The Doctor's failure was in letting the Master have access to the TARDIS, not keeping some tyrant with a death ray in power.

I can only assume the iPad has advanced audio compared to the crappy speakers on the average TV. The return of Aid was not entirely welcome, since it was really more of a one episode gag. Plus it smacks of Moffat not being over losing Matt Smith. Peter Capaldi's struggles have convinced me that if the same team wrote for Hartnell in 1963, Doctor Who would have been cancelled before it began. Capaldi had better characterization in The Fires of Pompeii. And more old jokes. Twelve looks like Clara's dad. You want to mention that a few hundred more times? Nine didn't look all that youthful, either.

Glee lost me after the first season. So did Lost. Even if Selfie is any good, I'll probably be watching it On Demand since Tuesday is a crowded night.

I would dispute the ouster of Harriet Jones leading to the Master. Since he was using mind controlling technology, I think he would have been elected no matter who his opponent was. That was the first time when a political leader on Earth threatened the Doctor and was willing and able to use technology that might stop him.

I think the part-time companion syndrome ties into the new found ability of the Doctor to pinpoint where and when he lands. One of the reasons companions couldn't just leave in the original Who is that the TARDIS would be pulled off course by some special event or he would miss the target by years when companions did talk about going home. Companions really are like the viewer now. They can tune the Doctor out until he comes to get them and they'll be home by dinner.

Ben is another one of those people cast by the show. If that happened on a real yacht, he'd be out on his ass.

I'm more of less current with Below Deck this season and just in time. I watched Season 1, except for the episode that shall not be re-aired. So when I watch the show, I am occasionally reminded that Bravo charters this boat and they are Captain Lee's clients. In fact, the crew / cast are also charter guests because the real crew of the boat that has been fake named Ohana has been paid off, except for the Captain and the off-camera guys who keep the boat from actually crashing (until next week, maybe). So it's either all fake or mostly fake, depending on your perspective. So last year's charter cast was re-hired as a way to get Adrienne back on this year's show. This time, she's spending 90% of the time in a far too showy bikini and with the stick removed from her ass. It also looks like some un-aired confessional where Amy explained the situation was fed to Adrienne by production because it was the only way to air it since Amy apparently would not bring it up to Kat directly. I found Kat a hot mess last season and about the same this season. She apparently has some loose morals, since she basically did the same thing to Ben that she did with Amy's friend, only Ben explicitly stated he had a GF. I'm Team Amy on this one, especially since Kate looks less and less like a real Chief Stew. That scavenger hunt thing is hilarious. She threw out the last one and had to make a whole new one? Really? I believe that Amy had an emergency Wisdom pull since the same thing happened on Big Brother this year. Her big crime to me was how she went after Jennice because she didn't want to cheat on her boyfriend with Kelley. Maybe Amy shouldn't have convinced her brother that kissing Jennice was a good idea. I think they're both a little messed up because of their parents, but this show is all about hot messes.

I'm still following them on twitter. At least until I get bored of them.

I remember NBC's "Life" got mileage out of a man who was in jail since the 1990's learning about how things changed. I remember when he didn't know about faucets in bathrooms that come on when you put your hands under them.

I remember when I was reading "All Creates Great and Small" in school, the UK doesn't call veterinarians "doctor" like they do in the US. Oh, and Peter Davison was in the television adaption of the books.

I just realized Teller was not just a bank teller, but the teller of people's guilty secrets. That may also be why there's a telepathic link between him and the bank manager. I don't think the Teller can talk.

That was Keeley Hawes? That was a waste.

I think I have an answer for some of these. 1. The atomizers looked like they had to be self-administered. Throwing one wouldn't do anything. 3. I have to assume it was a teleporter disguised as an atomizer. 4. The weird part is that they said the customers left. I guess the reaction shot was of employees. 5. If I remember correctly, the Teller aliens were on an uninhabited planet, although the galaxy seems to be scares for habitable uninhabited planets. 6. Incest babies can still be genetically viable. If you go back through mitochondrial DNA, current humans only have a few dozen mothers going back a few thousand years. 7. The Doctor often goes along waiting to see what happens next because he believes he can think his way out of any situation.

Doctor Who was a children's show, although it really walks the line in the case of NuWho. I think Clara grabbed the kid's leg to stop him from seeing the Doctor since she had just heard about how bad it is to meet yourself. Given this continued role as the Doctor's protector, I can see why that was her initial reaction before she realized the consequences.

I swear I thought she was Madam Kavarian in the promos. How many times now has the Doctor implied or stated outright that he hates himself? I think he's the one who needs a psychiatrist. This felt very much like a NuWho episode. Actually, it was a little like "The Beast Below" with the memory wipes and the enslaved creatures. That may be due in part to the fact that Clara was virtually worthless in the episode. In fact, she got the hacker guy "killed." Another trend that needs to stop is where Twelve keeps saying he can't help people who are going to die. That runs contrary to everything that makes him The Doctor. "The Caretaker" is an interesting title for next week, given that Clara has been acting as Twelve's caretaker.

The problem with timey-wimey is that it gives license to change everyone's history. Remember how Amy suddenly got back parents she didn't remember right away? The Master had the drum beat drummed into him by the evil time lords (which somehow didn't exist in The Day of the Doctor). I guess that malleability now applies to the Doctor's time line as well.

There was also the part where Henry advised Eliza how to look for the wedding, all in verse. I actually laughed a couple of times at the pilot, which is a good sign for a comedy. I think the show actually has places to go, but it doesn't necessarily feel like the writers see that. For example, Eliza's lifestyle is working for her because she is the top sales rep. What happens when she dresses and expresses herself more modestly? Does she change careers or get a different job at the company? Plus, Henry apparently need to be less rigid or even get a date. I actually am reminded a little of Samantha Who? Eliza used to be one way and then made an effort to be what she is. Now that she's comfortable with it, it's not working for her anymore. Then again, this could end up like the colossal flop "How to be a Gentleman."

I did notice the thing about the bedroom. Nine might have at least parked outside. Clara is cute enough, but she does tend to dress a little below her age. I did like what the Doctor said about the back of her head, just because Clara was talking about how good she looked from the back.

Reading this made me realize something. Ten, Eleven (and even Nine) were shown as new Doctors who needed help from a Companion. Rose and Amy stayed with the Doctor for weeks before they started doing the back and forth trips. Twelve seems like he hasn't finished cooking yet and Clara decides to just let him go crazy on his own. She's a sidekick, not a companion. In this kind of situation where we know Coleman is leaving, they should consider just bringing on the next companion now. This happened with the original series Doctors, like Tom Baker and Peter Davison, where Companions entered and left and reconfigured as a group.