tv-talk

I dont think the fight between Sauron and Galadriel was really a fight, he (it?) could have killed her at any point but had other motivations. I find it supremely annoying the show gives her and Arondir death scenes that arent. I mean of course we knew she wasnt dead, but why have her jump off a damn cliff in what should surely kill her? Very melodramatic given we know she is fine. And to just have Arondir fine after he had been literally gutted by Adar? That was just ridiculous, no excuse whatsoever for that.

She came off as a psychopath in the scene with Adar from S1 where she was saying she would kill every single orc etc etc. She has serious issues to deal with before becoming the Galadriel of Fellowship.

Oh please. She didnt tell them that Halbrandt was Sauron- that is the entire cause of the rings being made and Middle Earth almost being destroyed. That is 100% her fault and her mistake.

Trying to enjoy the show for what it is, and looking forward to a big battle scene, I have to say the Troll was an epic disappointment. I have no idea why they didnt have him rampaging far longer and doing much more damage. Especially to the Orcs as that would be a big reason for them to turn on Adar. Instead the Troll went out with a whimper. Kinda lame. No way Arondir is dead, no way. I do hope Adar makes it thru this season, he is the best character on the show. I dont know that the writers did it on purpose, but he's preferable to Galadriel in many ways. The show is written to where it's basically her fault most of the bad things are happening and why Middle Earth is in peril. Meanwhile Adar legit wants to rid Middle Earth of Sauron and was just looking for a place Orcs could call their home. Now that we know there are orc families somewhere with baby orcs scurrying about, it seems reasonable. The problem with so many storylines is now I am decidedly NOT looking forward to seeing Noorie again, especially when we already know the choice Gandalf is going to make. I do like seeing ol'Tom though even if just because it's nice to see him finally arrived on screen.

I'm finding Adar the best character in the show, consistently more sympathetic than Galadriel who has her psychopath moments. However they made Adar go from fairly brilliant in his understanding of exactly how Sauron worked and how he could manipulate anyone to instantly falling full bore into Sauron's trap. Which will obviously end up with Adar dead and his army under Sauron's control. We better get a big battle! This show draaaaags a lot. So many plotlines to follow, so much talking, scant action for long periods. We need a knock down, drag out battle that had better involve mass destruction by way of Hill Trolls. Regardless of how he is being portrayed and used, it just makes me happy Tom Bombadil has finally made it from book to screen- and as Gandalf's mentor no less.

Yeah I dont think book canon will hold that much sway over the show, The Stranger is Gandalf and they folded in him being the cause of Hobbits at all- at least that's how I took the scene where Noori's ear changed.

Is there any question the Stranger is Gandalf? I thought that was pretty clear by end of Season1? He even "created" the Hobbits when his dna mixed with Harfoot's. The other Wizards is definitely Saruman, I dont see how they could make him anyone else. Saruman is even older than Gandalf and was more powerful up until Gandalf surpasses him as the White. Gotta be Saruman and I'm glad to see him in the show.

I like this much better than last season so far and like what we are seeing in the previews. More Durin and Elrond, less Galldrielle? Count me in. There is too much going on right now but clearly some plotlines will converge and tidy things up. The dynamic building where Sauron has to win out to become the Sauron we know is really interesting, from the books and movies you dont think of him competing with but rather dominating all around him. Good to see Saruman! He was ancient even when Gandalf arrived, looks like he's been around as long as Elves or close- there is a lot they can do with that. I wasnt a huge fan of the masked crew hunting Gandalf and Noory, they look like too many desert baddies from other shows and movies. For sure the Eagle wasnt endorsing Pharazon, he just cunningly stole the endorsement given Ariel is blind and couldnt really tell what was happening.

Way better! The folks acting weird in the bar would have been a great episode. In the end though they were just...assholes taking the piss out of a scared young woman?

Apparently Louise Jameson had committed to another role, which seems strange in hindsight. Wasnt being a Companion on Doctor Who in 1975 top notch? Maybe she got sick of being 3/4 naked most of the time. I did read that no one including here was happy with the exit and that they even asked her to change it but she'd already committed to another project and couldnt re-film. I guess she ends up being Capt of the Guard on Gallifrey but of course only in the audio series which I've never heard. Another interesting tidbit was that after Sarah Jane left and The Deadly Assassin did so well- apparently Baker didnt think the show needed a Companion and wanted to have the TARDIS to himself.

That is a great outfit! I just read about no one being happy with Leela's exit from the show and how they just had some sort of redo, or follow-up where she became Capt of the Guard at Gallifrey...and coincidentally the last part of Invasion of Time was on hulu this morning. It was definitely strange that all of a sudden she just decided to stay with guard after being so devoted to the Doctor throughout. And the lengthy scene in the TARDIS with the Sontarans was certainly different, basically having it as a giant warehouse everyone got lost in- had definitely forgotten that. Baker's exquisite weirdness was on full display, his interactions with Barusa were great and the final scene before cut to theme music where he took out the new K9 and laughed was very alien. Leela and original K9 had their heads hung in sadness and he was simply onto the next!

Kudos to you if you can pull that outfit off! Leela was showing more skin than anything in NuWho. I know the word is NuWho is for kids but I am pretty sure Leela brought in some middle-school boy viewership lol.

Horror of Fang Rock on last night- had forgotten all about the Rutans and their classic "blob of goo" '70s special effects. The Doctor basically got the lighthouse guy killed, led him right into the Rutan and then had kind of an "oh well" reaction to the guy dying. Leela to mortally wounded Rutan- I hope you enjoy dying as much as I enjoyed killing you. Damn Leela! Brutal. While the special effects may be cheesy, Classic Who was little rougher around the edges than today's version.

The Roku channel seems to be playing Classic Who chronologically on "live tv." Kind of nice to just turn it on and watch whatever ep is showing rather than my standard deciding to view a specific episode streaming. Just saw the last ep of Robots of Death. Forgot how much I liked that serial! The notion of some humans having "robophobia" due to robots having no non-verbal cues and such was good, had forgotten that. Leela is fun too. What struck me though, and something I loved about Classic Who, is Leela and the Doctor's exit from the scene. The 2 crew people left were injured but all the robots had been destroyed so Mission Accomplished. The Doctor was all "Ok let's roll out Leela" and she said "Shouldnt we wait and make sure the crew members are ok?" and his response was "Nah there are medical ships on the way, we're out." Close the Tardis door and cue the theme music as the Tardis groans and fades away. Love it! The Doctor as an oddball who may or may not actually care about the situation in the way you assumed. Did he really care about that whole crew or was the whole thing more about fascination with the Robots? Sure there was a dastardly plan that "needed" to be stopped but the Doctor was not just a human savior who happened to not technically be human. He was very much different from humans.

And speaking of Brain of Morbius....have the Rani made an appearance at any point in NuWho?