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Today's word is "Draconian." As in, "Yamato will go Draconian on your punk ass if you continue to act like brats. Now, do you want the damn hot springs or not?" I think it would be better if Sai wasn't such a space cadet. Such a pale, grey space cadet. And talking about Naruto's genitals isn't endearing, either. Luckily, Yamato can diffuse situations with relative ease, albeit out of his pocket. And we get reminded about how Jirayah almost died peeping onTsunade. I can believe that. Question . . . before the big pig-out, what was the crow saying/cawing about? Or am I making something out of nothing?

Galileo908 . . . oh my Gallifrey. You too? All we need is Capaldi snorting stuff like it's outer space cocaine, and we'd have Rick. I can't buy Clara as Morty, though . . . she isn't as cringy or cringeworthy as him.

"Doctor Who: The Show That Goes From Zero To What The Fuck Faster Than Any Series On Television!!" I probably set the bar lower than most fans, but even I have to question Young!Doctor. It's just so . . . huh? Can "Moffaty" be a word? So, what . . . the lump in Rupert's bed was the/a Doctor from the future, maybe? It's like The Twilight Zone, only the ending twists once too often. And I really hope Danny gets on board the TARDIS soon, if only to make Clara seem less of a stalker as a result. Can't do much worse than Rory in "Vampires of Venice," right? Just bring him on board, don't shove him into any cracks in time and space, and hope that he adjusts to the Doctor's world as a friend-of-a-friend. Or companion-of-a-companion. He seems like a nice guy, and watching him banging his head can get rather tiring. At least Moffat tries to bring in some good stuff into the mix . . . like pioneer time travelers and Dan the Solider Man. It's just that everything gets twisted in the end and it gets all messy. ETA: Anybody else thankful for the lack of "Doctor Who?" this season? Moffat sure loved running that puppy into the ground.

I wouldn't recommend "The Two Doctors" to newbies. You got messy continuity, tall Sontarans, and the (Second) Doctor accompanying Shockeye to a stabbing. I think you have to learn more about Two and Six before checking it out. However, I'm half-convinced that Six's retroactive craving for cat meat might have inspired ALF, which debuted the following year. Also: it's kind of a shame that there's no scene where you see Peri through Shockeye's eyes, as she transforms into a giant steak with bare legs and high heels. Out of curiosity, what are your favorite DVD extras from the show's range? I just dug up the movie and looked through the "Wilderness Years" feature, as well as a history of the Eighth Doctor's comic strip adventures . . . including a glimpse of Nine waking up in Eight's clothes, which wasn't put into continuity.

That's how I got into the show . . . by going through the DVDs and VHS tapes, back when the latter were available from my library's system. I also won VHS copies of "The Sun Makers" and "Delta and the Bannermen" at a scavenger hunt. Please tell me I'm not the only person that uses a VCR on a regular basis. I've only seen The Rani in "The Mark of the Rani," and I figure that the character wouldn't jibe well with any talk that Missy is her. I heard "Time and the Rani" is missable, especially with The Rani taking advantage of a post-regeneration-addled Doctor by dressing as Mel. That was either cringeworthy or hysterical. ETA: I liked Ace. Even with the explosives and the shouting of "ACE!," I can see how she'd be the definitive companion of her time. I liked watching "Silver Nemesis," where the Doctor's asking her whether she packed the Nitro-9, and she's all, "Why would I do that? I'm a good girl," and the Doctor's all, "Right . . . .blow up the Cybermen ship," and she smiles and runs off.

Forgive me . . . unless it's mozzarella on a pizza, I don't like cheese. And stuffing a waffle with cheddar sounds awful. Onto good news: I got a sketch on ComicsAlliance and their "Best Art Ever (This Week)" feature. It was the smallest sketch I got in Toronto, but I think it might have been the cutest.

I think Tonton is Tsunade's pet, not Shizune's. I even got this sketch of those two a few years ago. Sorry for not posting a thread . . . I'm lagging a little behind.

Llywela . . . yeah, the story placed 25th overall, fourth-best of the Eighties. tv-talk . . . it was a fan poll in Doctor Who Magazine #474. The best story was judged to be "The Day Of The Doctor," followed by "Blink," "Genesis Of The Daleks," "The Caves of Androzani" (the former #1) and "City of Death." Tom Baker edged out Matt Smith for "Favourite Doctor," Elisabeth Sladen won "Favourite Companion" by a sizable margin over Catherine Tate, and Verity Lambert beat out RTD for "Special Contribution."

He hates tennis. He really, REALLY hates tennis.

I'd only recommend "The Five Doctors" to somebody who's seen the classic version of the show. I think it was judged to be the fourth-best story of the Eighties, and I think it holds up well, even with the continuity hiccups, the Master's failures, and "not the mind probe." Remember to get the "Special Edition," as opposed to the bare bones DVD put out in the US in 2001 (I think it was this day thirteen years ago). That has all the bells and whistles, including the Easter egg commentary and the various extras. There was actually a parade to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary, and you get footage of that.

Have you tried "Remembrance of the Daleks"? Great send-off for the Doctor's arch enemies, it was judged to be the second-best story of the Eighties, and Ace looks good in her debut adventure. Then again, I bet Mel would've looked good smacking a Dalek with a baseball bat. BTW, where would the Doctor or Ace have gotten an aluminum baseball bat? In 1963? It just seems a little off to me. Speaking of Seven . . . I saw at least one person cosplay as him while I was at Fan Expo Canada a few weeks ago. The "Riddler's Uncle" vest full of question marks was hard to miss.

I got a description for Saturday's 8 p.m. episode: Puppies AND kitties. Sounds like a good mix. Also, I never thought we'd see Sheepdogs on the show, so that's a bonus.

I figure that Six was obnoxious as a result of an uncaring universe. Look at the more memorable Five episodes . . . just about everybody dies, and the Doctor is powerless to do anything about it. Adric winds up getting killed, and Tegan gets off after "Resurrection Of The Daleks" because life in the TARDIS wasn't fun anymore. It's amazing Colin Baker didn't come out to heavy smoke and "No More Mr. Nice Guy" blaring in the background.

From the AV Club: a creepy (yet funny) supercut of Dennis. I would like somebody to explain the wacky outfits Dee and Dennis are wearing at the 2:01 mark.

It's a cop procedural spoof on Adult Swim. Oh, and it wasn't "Bac 'n' Cheese," it was "Bac 'n' Cheddar." Why would anybody do that to a waffle?

Just saw an ad for IHOP with "bac and cheese" waffles. Is it me, or are those horrifying things to put in a waffle? I can understand blueberry cheesecake-flavored waffles, but bacon and cheese?!? Yuck. ETA for MarkHB: Did you ever watch NTSF:SD:SUV::? Karen was in the latest season . . . at one point, her character was trying to go undercover as an American heiress, and the accent was horrible. Then again, it was played for laughs, so it was probably intentional.

There are good Six stories. I dug "Vengeance on Varos" and "The Mark Of The Rani," and "Revelation of the Daleks" is serviceable even with Peri looking like a blueberry. Still, anytime Doctor Who Magazine does a poll on the greatest stories in the show's history, "The Twin Dilemma" always ends up in last place. My local library system doesn't have it, and I'm not going to seek it out. According to the latest poll, the story with the next lowest score is "Fear Her." I can believe that. While I'm at it . . . here's a list from Topless Robot about how badly Colin Baker got screwed. I think the lesson to be learned is that there are no bad Doctors, only bad writers. As for me . . . I got "Ghost Light" on reserve, as well as the Black Guardian Trilogy (even though I've already seen "Enlightened"). Personally, I feel that most four-part Pertwee or Baker mid-70s stories are a good place to start. The Eighties stuff is skippable, at least to newbies, even though "The Caves Of Androzani" deservedly gets high marks in the polls. As for NewWho: start with "Rose" and/or "The Eleventh Hour" and work forward from there, even through "Fear Her" and "The Rings of Akhaten" (rated #233 out of 241 stories).

healthnut . . . Brian admitted that stalling at the end of Stage One was planned so he could go early in Stage Two and get rested for Stage Three. That plan backfired on him. Does anybody else half-expect somebody to get so frustrated by a poor run, that he grabs Jenn and pitches her in the water? I don't think she deserves it, but I think she's brave to be standing in front of the water.

Another year, another season ending in disappointment. Eighteen competitors went in, only two managed to complete the second course, and both wind up falling short of the third stage. You think the course designers got a bonus for creating a tough Stage Two? I reckon it's money well earned, because the course was brutal to watch. Next week: USA vs. The World! And Japan! Does Europe have their own version of Sasuke, or are we dealing with five free-running greenhorns?

They didn't sell action figures, because the movie stunk on ice. It was one heck of a series, though, and I think they use the animation better than Beware the Batman. You had two great made-for-TV characters in Aya and Razer. Also: Larfleeze. So cool to get a fan favorite character, especially when he's Gollum in Space. Speaking of DC Comics stuff: can you get ahold of Young Justice? That show deserved another season. Stupid Cartoon Network, dumping everything that isn't Teen Titans Go . . .

I'm sticking to my usual reality shows . . . and this write-up convinces me that Utopia isn't going to last long. As far as genre shows, I'm willing to give Gotham and The Flash a shot . . . though I'm probably going to pass on Hellblaz- . . . Constantine, even with the DC Comics cameos. And I'm not giving up on Doctor Who, even if there seems to be a backlash towards it early in the Capaldi era. ETA: Here's another essay on Utopia. Wouldn't it be easier for the narrator to wear a t-shirt that says "HIPSTER" instead of resorting to that hat and mustache?

I would check the Animal Planet schedule. There isn't anything listed for this weekend yet. I do notice that the 8:30 episode runs through 9:01, which is a bit odd. On the subject of behind-the-scenes footage . . . I'd like to see the narrator at work.

More kicking of Navy ass. More skullduggery from Spandam. One of the bulls reveals that they were saved by the Franky Family. Usopp/Sniper King's absence is discovered. And Luffy comes face to face with Blueno. I wish I had more to say, but I figure most of this episode was set-up for the action to come. While I'm at it . . . here's a sketch of Chopper I got last week. ETA: Speaking of Chopper, the episode had one of my fave tropes . . . Chopper being so shocked by Sniper King's disappearance, his hat jumps off his head. Along with his antlers. That's a cute trait, IMO.

benteen . . . according to Bleeding Cool, Patrick Troughton was the first actor to play Robin Hood on television, and they threw out a picture of him in a nice bit of serendipity.

I'm guessing that whatever messes the puppies make are off-camera. Or cleaned up. Maybe that's one "behind the scenes" vignette we'll be getting in the near future. I miss the agility-loving Pugs, though this new batch of puppies were cute enough. Anybody else mildly concerned about the puppy with the sock dependency issue?