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John Potts

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Everything posted by John Potts

  1. OK, this was just fun - just the sort of thing I want to see on Christmas Day (baby eating being particularly festive!). You could really see where that Disney money went with the whole song-and-dance act featuring hundreds of puppets (no making do with spray painted green bubble wrap any more, I guess). Anita Dobson (“Get Outta my Pub!”) seemed to know what was going on. Or she’s just seen all the previous Christmases in London (that haven’t since be retconned) and just expects weirdness to happen. Yes. At least, probably. With celebrity relationships, I frequently find I'm two partners out. I'm guessing "Who left Baby Ruby?" is going to be the Season's over-arching mystery. My first thought was that it was going to turn out to be Ruby herself and then that it might turn out to be Jodie Whitaker's Doctor (so it's probably neither of those!).
  2. Did anyone else get “The Wire” vibes off the whole television bit (the Doctor Who episode, not the US Series)? Not exactly an episode I'd look to remind people of, but fortunately it was handled better here. I also had the impression that the (Celestial) Toymaker was a rogue Time Lord, but I guess not. 5 days ago, everyone started believing they were always right. So it was the Toymaker (and not Al Gore!) that invented the internet? And even if everyone could access to the internet you’d still need a device to do so - the whole world isn't actually online, even if they have the potential to be. OK, why did the Doctor leave before seeing whether taking out the satellite worked? He has a time machine! He doesn’t need to rush off half cocked. Good to see UNIT’s response to a hostile is still “Five Rounds Rapid” – and still just as effective! And also good to see that Donna's first instinct is to head into danger, regardless of her own safety. But I wasn't happy with the "Bi-Generation" - I don't need to see the Doctor standing amid a pile of corpses, but Nine's "Everybody Lives!" was powerful because it was rare: now it seems "Nobody Dies!" would be more accurate. I loved the fact he was running about with no trousers (pants) and just didn’t care! I like reminders that the Doctor only looks human, he doesn't have to act like a (modern Western) human. I guess the bi-Regeneration didn’t duplicate their clothes and they had to share them.
  3. I loved this one! A creepy space station is a Who staple (Arc in Space, Robots of Death, 42, Midnight) and this handled it well. My only slight disappointment was that the aliens were actually “evil” – they could still be a threat without actually being malign (like, say, a lion – or The Ambassadors of Death). Did like that they got around the “Security Question” of spotting an impostor by introducing mind reading. And even if I’m not a fan, I’m glad RTD didn’t immediately RetCon that the Doctor is not in fact a Gallifreyan (as far as we know). And I was definitely not expecting to see Wilf at the end (RIP Bernard Cribbins). One thing I don’t understand – why did the (dead) pilot set off a 5 year countdown rather than a rapid one? It didn’t seem to achieve anything (other than putting our heroes in danger).
  4. That was my take, too. Naturally, since she apparently gave birth to a 5 years old!
  5. 20 minutes in and I went "Wait I minute... I've seen this before!" It was in Dr Who Weekly/Monthly back in the 70s/80s, which rather spoilt the twist (though the Meep didn't plant a bomb in the Doctor's stomach in this story). Still, it wasn't a bad story, even if London seemed to recover from having cracks nearly swallowing it up somehow (I guess the Doctor managed to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow and got the drive to fill them in again). What I didn't like was Donna surviving. Like Rose in Doomsday, while I don't want to see Companions dying, I wish they'd actually commit to having meaningful consequences and have no last minute saves. Floved Donna getting her essential Donna-ness back and shouting at the Doctor before going on to save the day, but she knew it would cost her her life and accepted that (after a bit of a rant, but even the Doctor did that when he saved Wilf) - so to then have her go, "Actually, I'm fine" was a real cop out. Also, thought the ending was just silly - why would the Doctor put a coffee machine in the control room if it could do so much damage? The number of times the TARDIS gets thrown around, it's just asking for trouble. Overall - fine, but not great.
  6. Well I quite liked it! Miss Harbottle might be needed at the practice, but she was in the 70s series too, so I assume she's out of the books. Quite why Helen didn't take her job (especially after James - not unreasonably - insisted on her being kept away from potential xenoviruses) when she's already at a lose end is a mystery to me, though. I also wondered where she was going when she first thought she was pregnant, since it's well before commercial pregnancy tests existed (I did wonder if the practice might have some sort of animal pregnancy test she was planning to use, though calibrating it for a woman would be something of a challenge), though since they were trying for a child it does make sense she'd be monitoring her cycle. I thought the interaction with her father over her mother's miscarriage was believable too. Really missed Tristan this season, though Carmody grew on me. He reminded me a bit of JD from Scrubs, in that he's knowledgable about animals but inexperienced with people. Once he's learned to deal with the clients and stand his ground, he should be a good vet. I never thought Mrs Hall would actually leave, but there was a lot of stiff upper lippery going on there, with everyone bottling up their real feelings like true Yorkshirefolk should! Loved the fact that while Gerald asked her to leave his home, he still came round to have his dog treated and fixed the pipe while he was there. I also wondered why his sister didn't come to stay with him, especially since Darrowby is considerably less likely to be bombed than Bradford (I think that was where they said she was living). Maybe we're too early into the war to consider the threat from bombing raids, given France has only just fallen, though I can easily imagine a call out to a farm where a stray bomb has landed that injures an animal coming up next season
  7. Presumably the Enterprise is (or at least is considered to be) a more impressive/intimidating ship to oppose the Cardassians. Other than real world (they have the sets) reasons, of course!
  8. I haven't seen the show but I have read the book and what really annoyed me was how Jake - in all his time travelling - never considered he might be making things worse. Even if he thought JFK was the greatest President ever (which, to my recollection, he didn't particularly) you'd think he might consider the possible negative consequences of his actions. And while I get that Jake hadn't seen all the subsequent time travel stories about how killing Hitler didn't actually make the world a better place (and he certainly couldn't account for its rather unnecessary literally Earth shattering consequences) you'd think he might wonder whether a surviving President Kennedy would be able to push the Civil Rights Act through Congress like President Johnson did by using Kennedy's death as a rallying point. It's not like he didn't have the time to do it!
  9. Tal-Rho! Wow, was not expecting him to show up to save the day! Though why they decided to throw Supes into the sun to power him up rather than either Jordan or Tal (who seemed less injured) is another matter. Maybe they know he's the main character? They are family - half siblings, one Universe removed! If I was going to Fanwank it, I’d guess that there is enough of a Hydrogen/Helium atmosphere if you’re close enough to the sun to carry sound. As for being able to breathe in space - well even Batman can do that! More to the point, why would you keep the two together? Even if they don't snap back together, they might if you leave them together long enough. Are there no other cells available? I figured he just knocked the corners off the merged Earth and went "Eh, good enough"!
  10. I flove Nat trying to think her way to a solution - too often Superhero stories come down to who can hit harder than whom. And I’m glad that the damage to Supes wasn’t permanent, but repairable. Because biologically, he’s still a Kryptonian and he shouldn't be turned into an ordinary human. Not that I believe he'll stay depowered for long (maybe try a big sunlamp?). Kinda with Chrissy on this one. Better to publish what she has to let people know what’s going on (yes, I believe people act better when they’re fully informed – nobody elected the DoD to act on behalf of America, let alone the world). Always amused by how often superhero stories assume that the right thing to do is to keep facts from people and act outside the law. Why are people looking to the Mayor of a small town in Kansas to have answers? And then ignoring the answers she gives even after all the $%*@ they'd seen last year! Jordan actually learnt some tactics from training with his grandpa! Good job taking out two superpowered enemies (alongside Natalie). I’m guessing everything that Ally says is pure BS and that she is the only one who will gain powers. If everyone else dies… well there are always other worlds to take over. Since Clark never swears, that would prove that he wasn’t the real Clark. Which actually might help, because it might convince people that Supes had been replaced by a doppleganger!
  11. Wow, way to make me feel old. The Kessel Run? Alanis Who? What sort of cultural upbringing are kids getting these days? I’m starting to wonder if TPTB understand how the military works. Generals are well aware that sending too few people to do a job is a good way of getting people killed (and tipping off your enemies in the process). There’s a reason the FBI use overwhelming force in a confrontation – it saves lives (at least, that’s the theory). Chrissy you had one job – and you botched it. The idea is to call in the cavalry before the people you're watching out for are nearly killed. But at least Ally managed to do what Lois’ words couldn’t! Even if I don’t care about the family drama, I’m glad the Cushing/Cortez family are doing better. Shouldn’t the DoD have Supes under a UV lamp? They seem to know the effect of radiation on Kal and Mon-El, so you'd think they'd try something along those lines.
  12. Well I guess it's rare for a Supes story to address the meta issue of why people can't tell Clark is Superman, so props for that. And I guess it is believable human behaviour for people to transfer anger onto other people (like Lana) or teenagers to act selfishly (like Jordan). But... that doesn't mean I want to see it. And I care even less about Sarah's potential singing career. I guess they needed a cheap episode (or at least to save money for the Mon-El/Supes/Ally battle). But on the subject of dealing with the pendant - did nobody consider throwing it into the sun? Mon-El had a ship in close solar orbit, so we know Kal (and his brother) can get pretty close to the sun. Surely our boy could just fly up there and toss it in? Not that I didn't enjoy seeing Mon-El/Morgan Edge again, though I was surprised he never betrayed our hero. I guess Jordan will learn it's not a good idea to Eye-jaculate on a load bearing pillar. I'm sure it's the sort of thing his dad would teach him... if he wasn't playing truant. Still, that jaunt was actually fun and might have inadvertently helped if it buried the portal and so blocks (at least for a while) a bizarro invasion. Agreed. Lois could have mentioned how long before Clark told her (I think it was just before he proposed?) which might have made it clear just how closely Clark guards his secret identity. There’s not a lot else to do but read when you’re stuck in a 10’ * 10’ cell!
  13. OK, Jonathan was kinda bratty about why he kept the drugs secret… but he did have a point about secrets. Rightly or wrongly, he seemed to genuinely believe Candice's (and her family's) lives were in danger if it was revealed she was trading - which is exactly what Clark has argued about protecting his identity (or had argued, prior to the Lana reveal, anyway). That was smart from Alt!Jonathan (threatening Lana to get Clark to get caught in the Kryptonite explosion) – evil, but smart. Good on Natalie, taking down Lana. A real chip off the old (Steel!) block. Was not expecting the reveal at the end. On Smallville, if you learned Clark's secret, it was your death warrant, but Lana has too much plot Armour to die (I guess she could get mind wiped, like Lois in Superman II). I briefly wondered if we were going to get the “hilarious” misunderstanding where she thinks Clark is about to declare he loves her but gets called away before he can set her straight (he did start off as if he was going to say something like that). So – did Jordan’s training with his Granpa amount to “Take a pounding for five minutes, then strike back”? You’d think he’d learn more tactics like “Dodge” and “Block”. Though I suppose if he knew he could outlast his "brother", it was valid (if painful) tactic. Even for teens, the “You were talking to my girlfriend!” should not trump “There's a psycho after my girlfriend's mum”! And we know how reliable prisons are at holding Supervillains… I don't know how it works in US schools, but it seems X-K is a newly discovered element. Maybe it wasn't a controlled substance until after the original QB was busted over it? Presumably it takes some time to add new substances to the banned list.
  14. I know Bizarro Earth is canonically a cube, but I can’t help wondering - what happens at the edge? Does gravity switch from North/South to East /West when you go over the edge? I guess we’ll never know. I do wonder if we’re going to revisit another Bizarro World, because (a bit like Star Trek’s Mirror Universe) it can be a fun place to visit. How did Lois instantly know it wasn’t “her” Jonathan? Does she know he never changes his hairstyle? Also, I don't see how unifying your various selves makes you any more powerful. In Supes case, he would actually gain powers (fire as well as ice breath, for example) but for most people you'd just gain knowledge. But maybe I'm overthinking this. I don’t think it was explained, but “our” Fortress managed to translate Bizarro, so I assume “their” Fortress did the same for Clark.
  15. While I tend to find most of the “drama” stuff annoying, it actually made sense here. Nat grieving over her dead mother, the Kents worried about their father, even Sarah feeling she’s being neglected by Jordan (which was fair, at least from her POV) actually gave a real reason for them to act the way they did. The Mayoral stuff was kinda dull and the result inevitable, only Lana seemed to have gone from plotting in her kitchen to having a whole campaign operation big enough to run a Senatorial campaign (which I know Smallville did). Isn’t Smallville meant to be a small town? Lois charging in to danger without thinking into danger is in keeping with her character, but why did the head of the DoD go with no back up!? What did Clark do to shield himself going through the portal? Though that kinda pissed me off. Apparently, now Superman is meant to deal with every disaster. Have the coastguard/police/army all been disbanded? He's a volunteer, they're actually paid to deal with this stuff. Of course, it's possible people would still whine about him not being there to help out, but it would be rather self centred. I’m impressed at how loyal Jon* is. He could expose at least some of his fellow X-K users but he didn’t and only gave up his girlfriend when his family learned of the X-K connection. I’m guessing she (and her family) will be OK, because govt protection proving worthless is not the sort of show this is. Nah, just put on a pair of glasses. That makes you completely unrecognisable. Except how many are there? The break out should have been revealed immediately or at least once she tried to leave the base, unless there are a lot of others who failed to prevent her escape. Even if she bluffed enough guards to escape, you'd think somebody would check with the commander well before she could get to the mine. * I guess we should refer to him as "Jon Prime"
  16. Glad the Kent boys are back together, even if Clark was maybe a little harsh (but I don’t have any kids, so maybe he wasn’t). But Jordan was an idiot not to turn up – “Hmmm, it’d be awkward meeting my girlfriend’s ex-girlfriend so I won’t show and they can bond over what a disappointment I am…” Say you were talking with your brother (which was true...ish) and lost track of the time. Why would you turn off your phone to meet with a cult leader who’s already drugged you!? Leave your phone in your pocket (a spare one and hand over a fake one) on an open line! You can have them lose connection because of the lead (or X-K) in the mines, or have their van put out some sort of interference and have them track down where she lost connection. Again, the writers just don't think about how people actually use phones today. Was really hoping Anderson would turn against Ally after seeing “the other side”. Being anti-Superman shouldn't make him pro-Ally. And didn’t he show her the pendant last episode? She seemed surprised he had it. I knew Lucy wasn’t dead (though tbf, they don’t know she’s a legacy character) and was surprised to see Pa Lane leaping straight to that conclusion. Generally people are convinced their loved ones are still alive past the point of all reason. Liked Kyle pointing out that avoiding the cheating question would only make Lana sounds evasive. Maybe ask the Mayor how many times he’s cheated on his wife? Sure, he’ll say it’s zero – but that then makes him extremely vulnerable if it turns out he did (and since he's written as a sleazebag, he almost certainly is a cheater too). I always hate the “I have to do this – it’s personal!” line because I always want the other person in that conversation to say “And that’s exactly why you shouldn’t”. As happened here, they inevitably fail to be objective and get the information they need for exactly that reason. Glad to see Ally asking for a lawyer though (even if the DoD probably is happy to violate people’s rights, if arresting Superman is anything to go by). Lois even more so. “I’m sure neither of you has had to keep a secret to protect somebody else, have you!?” is scarcely something either of them can deny. Turnabout is fair play and all. Sure, parents always have the "Do as I say, not as I do," line to fall back on, but it is a fair argument.
  17. Well at least Col Anderson was actually dismissed for being an idiot – thanks to him, rather than bringing in Bizarro, the two Krptonians he had in captivity got freed. If it wasn't for one of his captives voluntarily returning the other, there would have been more villains out there. And why exactly didn’t he take a squad with him to bring them in? He wouldn’t have needed to super hyped up on Special K if he’d had a squad of troopers on Special K to deal with them and might have kept his job. And really? Would he turn to a cult leader after his dismissal? I’d assumed he was an extreme patriot (“Anything that might threaten America must be eliminated!”) but he seems prepared to hand an unknown individual the equivalent of a nuke. Smallvillites are pretty fickle if all it takes to sway them is pointing out her opponent was attacking a woman for her husband cheating on her. Sure, it’s a low blow, but I expect people would actually be swayed by it. Don’t really care about the “Drugs are bad” plotline, but it is a teen drama. And the school already has dogs that can sniff out X-K? That was quick work! TPTB are stuck in a very 19th Century mindset where only newspapers matter. Go on “Good Morning America”* and talk about how the US military has arrested Superman. Release a YouTube video on how there is a Guantanamo for aliens. Or just use some of your contacts at the Daily Planet to run the story. Even if only 10% of people believe it, that'll be enough to raise a stink to get people looking into it and politicians will get behind it because (Newsflash!) politicians like to get behind popular causes. “In comics, nobody stays dead, except Jason Todd, Bucky and Uncle Ben”. And of those three, two are currently alive! Besides, even if Bizarro is actually dead, they can always pull another version of Bizarro from a different parallel Universe. * Or whatever morning show is running today.
  18. Don’t recall exactly what “X-Kryptonite” did to Clark, but shouldn’t it be powering up Bizarro? If anything, wouldn't wearing the suit prevent it from doing so? Granted they don't have to make everything opposite, but that seems to be the way they're going. Love Holo-Lara getting all “Boys, behave!” over her "sons" bickering! Glad Lana didn’t try to make Kyle a complete villain. Yes, he's in the wrong, but that doesn't mean he doesn't love his daughters. Presumably he can still get food stuck in his (Super)teeth! Gen. Anderson is a ****ing idiot! He may have supersoldiers, but every times they've gone up against Kryptonians, they've lost. Now you want to put down the one man who actually saved your asses? I assume Superman's arrest must be in secret, because the "Well, he ducked out on me to save a bunch of Russians from an avalanche!" is not exactly a clinching argument (though it might work with some people) and General Lane (retd.) just has the contacts to learn what had happened. I did actually wonder if he was in league with Ally Allston(?), but if that were the case, you'd think she'd already have the pendant, so I guess not. Maybe in Bizarro World, Krypto the Superdog is Krypto-Kat?
  19. So it’s more One SuperLife to Live* this week, I guess, with more soap-y shenanigans. Sarah discovers he dad's cheating! Kyle & Lana's marriage is in danger! Conflict between the super sons! Sophie has an appearance! At least the title characters' relationship seems secure. I'm getting definite Dolores Umbridge vibes off Alison, though for a would be dictator of Earth, she's got a long way to go with only at best a few hundred followers. Chrissy – if it feels like you’re working for Lois because you are. Lois may act like they're partners but she owns the paper, you just work there. Still, I'm glad the pair are back on the same side (getting drugged will do that to most people). I wondered that, too. I've seen WAY too many stories where we find somebody standing over a body only for it to turn out not to be them. And on the subject of Bizarro - was his dialogue reversed (prior to being put in the Kryptonian force field)? It seems like the sort of thing TPTB might do and I'd be curious if anyone's tried to decode it. Traditionally, Bizarro is dumb – and he certainly fought dumb, relying purely on his super abilities (though that would work against 99.9% of opponents). Clark fought much smarter, dodging Bizarro’s attacks and using his momentum against him. * Though I have to admit, I've never seen a single episode of OLTL
  20. Not just human, the reincarnation of a Chinese Emperor (IIRC)! There is next to zero possibility that Helen bought a new dress for her second wedding in two years. In terms of production, it probably was (don't ask me, unless there's a side by side comparison I can't tell one wedding dress from another), but at the time many folk* got married in their "Sunday best" rather than buy a special outfit for the occasion. * Unless they were effete Southerners with more money than sense!
  21. OK, I loved Clark going “Don’t eavesdrop on your mother… but since you did, what did she say?” Though can’t Clark just listen in himself? He seemed to be more interested in what the Podcast said than what Lois said (or didn't say). And I fail to see why Chrissie was so upset to learn Lois intervened in Lucy’s OD. Lucy may have been trying to “Expand her mind” (or whatever) but she nearly died. It’s very hard to see that being spun as something “evil”. Maybe it's a breach of journalistic ethics, but it's an entirely understandable one. Which is why I'm wondering if Chrissie's "betrayal" might actually be a ruse. Neat idea! That would completely fit, although it could be kind of risky for Ally to do that, unless she gets her own "previews" of their visions. Surely a lot of the alternative lives are going to be worse. Hey! Sarah’s sister sighting! Aww, baby Supes is learning how to avoid cameras! Yeah, the "Dark Web" sounds suitably sinister, but it's absolutely not where you go to recruit new followers (unless you're actually looking for mercenaries to overthrow the government). You run an extremely bright and open website promising they can expand your mind and broaden your horizons (or whatever) and run images of all the successful people (real or fake) who are now CEOs/Mayors/Community Leaders thanks to your (suitably vague) "Program". And at just $1000 a session all this can be yours! Throw in some legalese about how outcomes may vary and it's probably not even fraudulent (NB: This is not legal advice!). Considering how chatty he was with Morgan Edge, you'd think he'd try to talk to himself. And I did like that while Bizarro is giving Supes headaches, Clark seems to do the same to Bizarro. I would love it if the solution is for the two of them to work together (though Bizarro doesn't seem very talkative). If he survived the episode (and he did) he should be safe - at least until the Season Finale.
  22. So Bizarro? Makes a change from the usual Lex, Zod (and more recently, Doomsday). Sorry, Lana, but “Woman runs for Mayor!” isn’t going to win enough votes. She needs to have a platform that actually wins people over. And rather than coming up with slogans or hokey “This is my kitchen!” online Q&As, she really should have had an answer to “Weren’t you the one working for Edge?” Maybe the reason Sam didn’t take your side with Lucy was because she had a point and he didn’t want to lose a daughter? Granted, Lois seems to be in the right, but we are only hearing her side. Lost in Space? He did look a bit like Robbie the Robot. Annoying, yes, but it seemed believably teenaged. Though I was glad when Clark's freak out cut it short (at least the first time)!
  23. I'm glad we saw that while Siegfried is generally a model of rectitude, he did bend the rules for his brother. And good on Tristan for refusing to have strings pulled on his behalf, even if it did take Mrs Hall playing mother to get the two to settle their differences. I was slightly surprised there even was still a Royal Army Veterinary Corps by 1939 given the widespread mechanisation of the army, though it was still going at the time (in fact, it still exists today, mainly concerned with treating army dogs). No mention of how James' training was going (he joins the RAF), at least that I recall. I quite liked the little Jewish evacuee (I thought they were going to say she arrived on the Kindertransport, but maybe that would be a little too tragic for a generally upbeat show), though I was surprised we didn't see Siegfried's "Mini-Me" from last Season. Maybe they couldn't get the child actor back. Well they were under the mistletoe...
  24. I get that Amertech is inevitably going to turn evil, but the spokesman was actually fairly reasonable. And isn't the presence and/or existence of X-Kryptonite a secret? Lois really shouldn't be talking so openly about it. So Lana’s going to run for Mayor (after her candidate was blackmailed/bribed, I assume) – not quite sure why they bothered having another candidate in the first place. Really like the Jonathan/Jordan dynamic! I can totally imagine two “teenagers” bonding over beating up their evil uncle. So Sarah kissed a girl (and she liked it). I guess her boyfriend did mind it. So was scientist lady at the end calling a Luthor? A plant from Morgan Industries (I assume they still exist even if their founder is in prison)? Cadmus? My first thought too! Unlikely they'd have a Batman villain though when Supes has a fairly extensive Rogues Gallery. And while other people have suggested Doomsday, I doubt it - it looked more like a suit (something like John Henry) than the Rock Monster look Doomsday normally has and Doomsday has never been psychic (to my knowledge). Obviously TPTB can alter canon as they like, but it seems more likely it's somebody more technological (like Brainiac, perhaps). I sometimes yearn for evil characters who are just evil for the sake of being evil (well, I guess Papa-Rho was)! These days, everyone seems to have a Freudian excuse.
  25. Love Supes smelling the cologne well before everyone else. Sure, “SuperSmell” is pretty dumb, but it is canonical I’m sorry, you’re dismissing a guy because he’s more about online stuff than anything else? Way to stay in the 20th Century, Lois! “I never would have done THAT when I was his age” “Then clearly he takes after his mother!” - Love that, because Clark really has always been portrayed as a boy scout while Wow, these rubes will buy any line of BS if they were impressed with Lana’s non-answer when it came to giving teachers a raise. She promised them exactly nothing, just said it in more words. Why isn’t she running herself exactly? So I guess the DOD is going to be the Big Bad of this season? Unless that was Doomsday at the end, but I doubt they’d introduce him (at least not this early in a Season). Maybe Clark (well, Superman) should sue! I thought she was going to say she met someone at Camp (male or female), but maybe there’s some other more convoluted explanation? Partying with Chuck Cunningham?
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