DanaK

What happened after Alexis chose jail over rehab? The network broke in for Biden’s press conference

New pictures available from the Special; I think they are from IGN Magazine

Happy Holidays reel form BBC Studios. Doctor Who is represented with a few scenes

Who bosses Chris Chibnall and Matt Strevens talk to Radio Times about the new Dalek designs in the special https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/scifi/2020-12-21/doctor-who-new-dalek-design-guide/ ETA: Also, new promo picture

Was there a reason said why Genie Francis delayed her return to the show when it came back after things were shut down? Or was Laura's absence just storyline-related? I seem to recall something was said in one of the posts, but can't recall what it was

I confess, up til these scenes, I was glad to see MEK back on TV, but the role seemed, er, a little lightweight for a once leading man in the soap world and I wasn’t entirely sure MEK was really giving that much of an effort. Now, Martin’s tied to Laura and many other characters on canvas, and MEK seemed pretty fired up in last week’s scenes As for Sonny, I see him and Jason possibly holding off on killing Cyrus for Laura’s sake, depending on how she feels about him. Sonny has always been a complete marshmallow when it comes to Laura. I do wonder what Cyrus will do now that Laura knows about their connection, given she’s been working against him and his drug empire. You have to wonder what Laura will do now as well Maybe that’s why Cyrus seemed to be in a holding pattern for awhile until Genie returned

Curtis did say it was a secure facility, so unless she made friends with Martin beforehand and went in with him, they likely wouldn’t have let her in. But you’re right, the staff should have checked on the loud voices

Good episode all around, though I too didn't particularly like the way George and Mary communicated or didn't I think a need a reminder why Mary is so religious while her own mother is decidedly not and neither is George (and certainly not Sheldon).

I may have missed it in the dialog the last few episodes, but did Laura never meet Mrs. Gray before? I thought Curtis knew Taggert was alive before now? Does he know Jordan was being blackmailed by Cyrus and did things for him?

People weren’t kidding about how good the scenes were between Laura, Martin and Cyrus. Wow Did Genie interact with Michael Knight’s Tad on AMC? I don’t remember and I can’t recall her character’s name at the moment (Ceara?)

Now that we know Cyrus and Laura are half siblings, his emotional reactions (though subdued) to some of the collateral damage in the bombing, especially Lulu, make much more sense now.

Top 10 most tweeted-about TV shows in 2020 (in the UK): Doctor Who is #4 and the only scripted show. I'm sure the Lockdown Tweetathons helped Former Who show runner Russel Davies temporarily did some tweeting as part of a tweetalong for The Runaway Bride, then tweeted the first page of his first Who script he wrote, from the mid-80s (ETA: He actually tweeted several pages, this is just the first page below)

Yeah, I agree, it was a good, engaging episode. I ended up hating the “bishop”. He was such a smarmy guy. Also, I’m not sure that true believer couple should be taking in those two girls. I’d be concerned about them becoming cult leaders themselves In the real world, I don’t see Chris being allowed to take that shot at the “bishop” since she got personally involved They are keeping us guessing about Leroy Tam needs to find his backbone and push back against pushy relatives about wedding plans, plus communicate with his fiancée Not liking the sometimes masked, mostly not portrayals

Really enjoyed the Biden interview

I too am enjoying the Laura/Martin/Cyrus storyline, especially today’s scenes and I’m interested to see where it goes especially with Cyrus as Laura’s possible half brother

I put this in the Series 13 thread as well, but show runner Chris Chibnall talked to US publication Entertainment Weekly about the upcoming special as well as Series 13 (not any real spoilers there) https://ew.com/tv/doctor-who-holiday-special-jodie-whittaker-chris-chibnall/ Edited to add: John Barrowman was on The One Show earlier today and said about his meeting 13: "You see in his face and in her face the love that they have for each other and the friendship that they have" as shown in the excerpt tweeted below

Jodie Whittaker did an interview with Emily Cook for Doctor Who Magazine's 2021 Yearbook special (now available in hardcopy and digitally) and Cultbox has excerpts of it where she talks about working on set for Series 13 through the pandemic where she says "she feels really looked after" https://cultbox.co.uk/news/jodie-whittaker-feels-really-looked-after-on-the-doctor-who-set In an interview with US publication Entertainment Weekly, show runner Chris Chibnall talks both about the upcoming special (so possible spoilers) and Series 13. In regards to S13, he says he's got an idea when S13 will premiere, but he can't tell because, he joked, BBC Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore would have his ahead. But he promised it will be broadcast as soon as they finish it https://ew.com/tv/doctor-who-holiday-special-jodie-whittaker-chris-chibnall/

Some of the things I'm really liking about the show lately: - Nic and Ava have stopped fighting and admitted they love each other, but they aren't quite saints either. They've got a good chemistry together - The relationship between the 3 teens Trina, Cam and Joc. I'm glad they dropped kicked Dev; he wasn't working for me. The actress playing Trina especially is a find. I wish they would make her more front and center; it does help they brought her mom on board and her dad is Taggert. - Trina's chemistry with Ava is great too and it softens Ava somewhat - Genie Francis as Laura returned to the show after her apparent pandemic hiatus and it's nice she has a front-burner storyline - The chemistry and interaction between Alexis and Valentine. More please

It's terrible that Jason has more loyalty to Sonny and Carly than his own family. Of course, it's terrible that the show writes these gangsters as the good guys

Regarding Trina, Cam and Joc looking into Taggert's death, none of them have twigged to the possibility that Taggert is in hiding and Cyrus told Trina her father was alive in order to draw him out. Not even Carly suggested that obvious possibility to Joc and she knows the guy is alive and in hiding. I do like the 3 kids together though even if they are going about this investigation a little cluelessly. Tracy is certainly being a bit evil with getting Alexis arrested on a DUI, but Alexis wasn't helping herself by refusing a breathalyzer test. And in regards to Alexis, I know it's bad when someone falls off the wagon, but unlike Sam, I don't think I would have harassed or threatened Alexis just for drinking. I would have gently suggested she be careful and not drink and drive, put the grandkids in danger, or otherwise embarrassed herself or anyone else by getting into a public fight or embarrassing situation while drunk. And I probably would have gently indicated there would be consequences if one of those things happened. But Sam just goes full force Tiger Mom on Alexis the second she falls off the wagon when she should have started more gently

The Marie Curie charity organization had a Doctor Who-related Celebrity Quiz the other day hosted by David Tennant and his wife Georgia, with some answers revealed by guest drop ins by former and current Who actors who were/are companions or Doctors. That included John Barrowman and Jodie Whittaker. The link is from the charity’s archive and goes about an hour and a half https://m.twitch.tv/videos/838505655 FYI for US viewers, the streaming service HBO Max, which carries past seasons of Doctor Who, will be available on the Roku platform as of tomorrow (Thursday). Woo hoo!

I’m glad to see Carter win. He and Desz ended up as my favorites this season. I hope the label treats him right and that he has a long and successful career The Blake/Gwen skit was pretty funny I didn’t know John Holiday was an opera singer until it was mentioned last week somewhere. That’s how much I paid attention to backstage stuff I’m not sure I even remember last season lol. As an excuse, this past Spring was a bit of an odd whirlwind to say the least

In a Radio Times interview, show runner Chris Chibnall talks about how the Timeless Child twists were planned from the start. It was part of his pitch to BBC executives for his planned run as show runner. There’s apparently a mention in the upcoming special and fans will have to have patience as it’s played out https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/scifi/2020-12-16/doctor-who-timeless-child-plan/

A UK talent agency (I assume) called The Agency is indicating that a client Azhur Saleem is set to direct 3 episodes of Series 13. I don't know the gentleman but I'm not British. The tweet includes a comment with a tweet by Saleem where he says he's set to direct a TV episode. The comments suggest this would be his first Who directing gig (makes me wonder why they would give 3 episodes to a director on his first major directing gig) https://twitter.com/Ruther2/status/1338846875911385089/photo/1