Well, at least it's not Hobgoblins (Review: 'Doctor Who', "The Church on Ruby Road")

• I get a feeling we're going to see that mysterious woman at the church again.
• The letters in the companion actor's name get out of the way of the TARDIS. They're sensible, I see.
• Ncuti Gatwa has a very different energy about him to David Tennant or the other Doctors. Which is of course a good thing. He's got a strong heroic vibe and is a fast talker as well, which are good Doctor traits to have.
• Millie Gibson as Ruby - bit early to say if I like her. She feels generic RTD companion to me, but she does have the whole "foundling" back story. She does a decent enough job though.
• A new sonic screwdriver and those special gloves. See they're trying to sell more merchandise.
• The Disney budget is clearly displayed on the screen - they'd never have this many goblins in the old days.
• Goblins have fallen rather out of the popular mainstream in the last few decades and I'm not sure this will do much to bring them back; they don't really do that much that makes them a real threat bar "pranks".
• Most of the goblin musical bit was released on YouTube before the episode along with an accompanying single on Spotify. It's a highlight of the episode, which isn't saying a great deal for the overall quality.
• The rules of time travel have never been consistently applied in this show, that's for sure.
• Suspect we'll be seeing Mrs. Flood again.

Conclusion

A fairly mediocre episode, saved by the quality of its leads.

6/10

Merry Christmas

In this rather bleak time for many, especially those in the Middle East and Ukraine, may God's love and grace be with you all at this time.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

 

Andre Braugher 1962-2023

I watched all of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Raymond Holt was one of its greatest characters, brilliantly brought to life by Andre Braugher. He could deadpan like no other. 

He was also great at drama, in that show and the short-lived Last Resort that I watched, in which he played a submarine commander. But that was just part of a highly acclaimed career - he was nominated for 11 Emmys, winning two of them.

His death at 61 comes far too soon and he'll be massively missed.

Rest in Peace.

Dutch Angles, Get Your Dutch Angles! (Review: 'Star Trek' 3.11, "Wink of an Eye")

• Watching this on a modern screen, you can see very clearly that's a photographic backdrop in the opening scene.
• Compton, you're a bit of an idiot for drinking the water without properly testing it. No wonder you ended up a dead red shirt.
• I'm not entirely sure they really thought much about this accelerated time thing. At the rate things are going as perceived in regular time, it would be many days or weeks from Kirk's perspective.
• The use of the Dutch angle in the accelerated time was a clever idea, in retrospect.
• And it's another Theiss classic outfit, seemingly in danger of popping open but never doing so.
• The acting from the guest cast is pretty poor in this.
• So, you're kidnapping people for the purposes of sex. That would be called out a lot more these days.
• These days, you would use digi-doubles for the scenes where people are frozen in place; here you've got the actors standing as still as they can and trying not to blink.
• Kirk is actually quite clever, leaving the message on the tape and swapping it over like that.
• How are we seeing footage from earlier in the episode when there was no in-universe camera present?
• The final scene is pretty poor, even by comedy episode ending standards.

Conclusion

An interesting concept, not particularly well executed.

4/10

Chris Chibnall, Hold My Beer (Review: 'Doctor Who', "The Giggle")

• Stooky Bill really existed; I believe he might be in the Science Museum's collection now.
• The current version of the opening theme is a great one and I hope it sticks around for a while.
• I've only seen the surviving episode of "The Celestial Toymaker" - it's not got a great reputation in the fanbase. I will probably check out the animated version though.
• I guess that means "The Nightmare Fair" isn't at all canon, but it's not like this show has ever had a firm canon policy for extra-televisual works.
• When the Doctor tells a companion to go back to the TARDIS, you know that the situation is a serious one.
• Great job from David Tennant and Catherine Tate as usual.
• Neil Patrick Harris makes for a great villain; we might not have seen the last of him, but let's not bring the Toymaker back too quickly.
• Wasn't expecting that long a call back to the Steven Moffat era, that's for sure.
• RTD also allows those who didn't like the Chibnall era a good get-out that can explain it away.
• Very good to see Mel back. Not to mention Kate Stewart and Shirley. I wouldn't be surprised if they all turn up in a spin-off as we know Bad Wolf have created a LLC for one.
• This probably could have done with being about ten minutes longer.
• UNIT has really stopped the secrecy, that's for sure.
• Well, I can't say I saw that coming. [spoiler indeed]
• Where's your trousers?
• The Christmas Special looks to be a lot of fun.

Conclusion

RTD has decided that the Timeless Child was something to one-up and gave us this ending. Fortunately, unlike Chris Chibnall, he's got the writing skills to make it work.

9/10

Midnight 2: Electric Donna-loo (Review: 'Doctor Who', "Wild Blue Yonder")

• The Issac Newton scene at the beginning... wasn't really that great. It could have been dropped entirely and the episode would not have suffered for it.
• Have they added some more piano to the opening titles?
• As an episode fundamentally involving just two actors, this relies heavily on the acting skills of its leads. Lesser leads could have sunk this episode quite badly.
• David Tennant is a superb actor, able to demonstrate subtle nuances in his portrayal i.e. the doubles not getting things quite rate.
• Catherine Tate is also a lot better than many have historically given her credit because of her tendency to do comedic roles. She does a very good job here.
• I was very much reminded of "Midnight" from 2008, which doesn't have very much of Donna in by virtue of the filming lengths at the time.
• Awful lot of corridor action here, that's for sure.
• Even with Disney money, the CGI did look a bit silly.
• Clearly they're saving on the actor budget, throwing that to the other two specials in this particular "season".
• Great final scene, with the much-missed Bernard Cribbins making what would be his final appearance on the show and reminding us how great Wilfred Mott was. Rest in Peace, Mr. Cribbins.

Conclusion

 

Not quite as strong as the previous week, but still very good.

7/10

So, next week brings the regeneration...

RTD is back, for good and for ill (Review: 'Doctor Who', "The Star Beast")

• Having a snazzy Marvel-esque introduction sequence is a bit odd. It's even odder when you know that the Doctor is a Marvel character by virtue of Doctor Who Magazine having been published by Marvel's UK arm - including the 1980 comic this is an adaptation of!
• The title sequence is showing the increased budget that Disney are bringing to the show. It looks spectacular and the new theme is a grower.
• David Tennant has stepped back into the role like he never went away. Of course, he's done Big Finish audio dramas - with Catherine Tate as well - but that's different to a full physical performance.
• Catherine Tate as Donna Noble is a companion you don't forget in a hurry. She's got a big personality, a very expressive face, and a gift for reactions. Her relationship to the Doctor is more a friendship one rather than a potential lover one, like Thirteen and Yaz.
• The resolution of Donna's metacrisis issue was very RTD in style. See "The Last of the Time Lords" for one of the more egregious examples of resolving a plot issue.
• Yasmine Finney as Rose does a particularly good job - there's a great character that really deserves some appearances in audio, because I doubt she'll be getting many in live-action.
• 56 scientific advisors? That sounds like an alarmingly high turnover rate, like Spın̈al Tap's drummers.
• Plenty of good gags here, including the psychic paper not updating for the Doctor now being male presenting.
• We've not got any "regeneration crisis" stuff this time - there's already been a comics story with the Daleks that is "canon" as far as you can get here. It wasn't needed in any event. If we get it with Fifteen, it shouldn't be too long.
• Beep the Meep is an adorable villain, but I had more fun with one in Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Conclusion

A highly enjoyable story that while not the best story for a new fan to jump on, proves to be a pleasing 60th anniversary tale.

8/10

60 Years of Doctor Who

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the first episode of Doctor Who. In terms of longevity and impact on science fiction, only the Star Trek franchise beats it.

I haven't seen all the available episodes, but they are all now on iPlayer. I also intend to watch the colour version of "The Daleks", although probably tomorrow. 

Then we have three specials over the next three Saturdays with David Tennant. I will try to watch those as close to live as possible and hopefully review them here.

Many happy returns to a great show!

Let's Make MST3K Season 14

In case you're not aware, Mystery Science Theater 3000 is crowdfunding for a 14th season.

It's one of my favourite shows, but it's going to be a challenge to get the money, so they need all the help they can get. Otherwise, there might not be a new season or they'll need corporate backers that might restrict their jokes.

Please take a look and hopefully you'll back it.

That kiss is a lot darker than people seem to remember (Review: 'Star Trek' 3.10, "Plato's Stepchildren)

• That is one clumsy bit of opening exposition. Oof.
• The cold open is badly rushed.
• Having the big shadow turn out to be a dwarf is well... I wasn't entirely comfortable with it. Alexander is a good character though.
• Psychokinetic delirium is a good concept.
• Kirk's statement about Starfleet's views on equality would have resonated particularly strongly at this time, with the backdrop of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination and the election of the bigoted Richard Nixon earlier in November 1968.
• This plot wouldn't be out of place in an episode of Lower Decks, but there's a strong element of horror to the story as well. In fact, it was not aired in the UK until 1993 because of the torture elements in the story.
• The wire handlers must have had a field day. Which reminds me, I need to ask a question on Reddit...
• Lot of hamming it up here, even by TOS standards. The cast also get to show off their dancing and singing skills.
• This was not the first interracial kiss on American television. It wasn't even Shatner's first interracial kiss on television. That said, we barely see any lip contact, with the story cutting away very quickly. There's a whole long discussion about that which you can find on Wikipedia. Also, it's not consensual for either party.
• How powerful Parmen actually is varies - sometimes he can control multiple people, sometimes he has difficulty controlling one. Also, how does a population of 38 not suffer massive inbreeding problems.

Conclusion

A good overall episode, but there are some logical problems. It does have some memorable moments as well.

7/10

Walking update

Unfortunately, my plan to do Sections 18 and 19 of the London Loop back on 27 October got frustrated by a tree coming down on the overhead wires at Clapton, followed by weather warnings. I'm not going to walk in a torrential downpour, it's not fun and it's actually dangerous.

So, with the light and the weather against me, it will likely be February before I can resume this. Maybe March.

Armistice Day 2023

Today marks the 105th anniversary of the end of the fighting in the First World War, with the Armistice at Compiègne resulting in a ceasefire, followed by the Treaty of Versailles the following year.

Events in Gaza and Ukraine in particular have reminded us that war is about destruction. It means the loss of people's homes and businesses, loss of power, food and water. It means unexploded ordnance turning up decades later and entire communities ceasing to exist as anything but memories or photographs.

Most importantly, it means the loss of people's lives, military and civilian alike. Not that the distinction makes much of a difference to the people left behind and the people themselves. Everyone suffers in war, where morality erodes all too quickly in the name of "victory", whatever that is.

We have seen all too well what happens when other people are treated as less than us and we will sadly see yet more of it. All I and others can do is work to reduce the suffering.

We will remember them.

Bottle Episode of Ham (Review: 'Star Trek' 3.9, "The Tholian Web")

• Star Trek had two dedicated studios for its use at Desilu's studios - Stage 9 and Stage 10, now Paramount Stages 31 and 32. Stage 9 was used for the Enterprise sets, with Stage 10 used for off-ship scenes. This one used Stage 9 pretty much entirely entirely.
• This is very clearly a budget-saving episode, albeit one with a fairly large number of extras - the most ship personnel in one scene in fact for TOS. The Defiant is clearly a redressed Enterprise bridge, the interior only seen in one scene.
• They seem to have missed a bit explaining why the transporter went down in the first place.
• Chekov's screaming is particularly memorable, that's for sure.
• DeForest Kelley does very good anger.
• Why did they not believe Uhura when she saw Kirk? Are they stupid?
• As Memory Alpha has pointed out, this is not Starfleet's first mutiny. It's not even the first TOS mutiny.
• The environment suits from this actually look pretty decent, although were apparently a real problem when it came to bodily functions. But "MC COY" with a space in the middle.
• The effects on this episode got the show an Emmy nomination. That rather shows how far the VFX industry has come since 1968.
• The Tholian ship comes in rather too slowly for something flying at half the speed of light.
• Injecting someone through a spacesuit? That doesn't seem like it would work.

Conclusion

It's a bottle episode, sure, but sometimes those can be among the best a show does. I wouldn't say it's one of the best Star Trek episodes, but it's still pretty good.

8/10

 

London Loop Section 17

A holiday in September meant that I was unable to do any more of the trail until today. It's quite possible that I won't be able to finish it this year as the nights get longer and the weather gets colder.

We shall see.

Section 17 runs from Cockfosters to just south of Enfield Lock station, taking in Enfield Chase, which was a historical royal hunting ground that is currently undergoing a major restoration process. Nearby Forty Hill Farm has also seen the reintroduction of beavers, but I didn't see any.

The paths on this route are of high quality and it being a warm Saturday, there were plenty of people around. Curious Dog count was two.

The section also includes the most northerly part of the entire LOOP, although there is nothing on the ground to mark that. No particular reason there should be, I suppose.

The route also contains Maidens Bridge, supposedly the site where Sir Walter Raleigh laid his cloak down for Elizabeth I to walk on to avoid some mud. The local history sign does a "lost his head" pun, due to his later beheading.

Lunch was at the Rose & Crown, which claims a connection to Dick Turpin via his grandparents owning the place and him possibly hiding out there. The highwayman has a lot of legends attached to him, so we don't know how true that is.

An easy walk overall; I finished the 8.3 miles in just over four holes, including lunch.

Aim to do Sections 18 and 19 at the end of the month before the clocks go back.

HS2

Sadly, unless we can bring costs under control, cancelling HS2's Northern leg is the best option.

But the money must now be used on genuine improvements elsewhere. I doubt that the Tories will deliver that... for one thing, they might not be in power much longer.

In which Kirk and McCoy get Dalek-zapped (Review: 'Star Trek' 3.8, "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky")

• Straight into the action here, that's good. Although it's odd that there aren't further attacks on the ship after the initial missile barrage.
• That's an exceedingly long episode title!
• I believe this was still a time when cancer was a very taboo subject. However, any tension is lost because I've seen the TOS movies and know McCoy survives. He also doesn't show any physical deterioration, which would have added to the peril.
• I am sure those rocks have turned up already. Definitely some props were reused. Unfortunately, the fact this is clearly a studio is obvious on modern screens. They should have a 1960s mode on streaming platforms.
• Some pretty decent camerawork in some scenes, especially when they come down the staircase.
• The zapping effect reminds me very much of the one used for Dalek exterminations in Doctor Who at this time - with some modifications i.e. visible skeletons, it's still used today.
• We get another William Ware Theiss skimpy outfit - and a female lead with a ridiculous hairdo. It's 1960s Star Trek, I should really expect that.
• A romance plot for McCoy is an interesting one. It would have worked better had Natira been better acted; it's a very stilted performance and I wrote "Show me more of this Earth thing called kissing" in my notes before crossing it out. At least she survives, unlike some of Kirk's previous love interests.
• How does Spock know the language of a species dead for 10,000 years and where the planet was destroyed?
• The ending is a bit rushed; this might have worked a lot better as a two-parter, to be frank.
• Is that Jan-Michael Vincent as an extra in this? IMDB doesn't list it as one of his early credits, but he was acting at this time.
• The whole concept could make for an interesting mini-series; I'm reminded of Silo myself.
• I noticed the IATSE logo at the end - they've been around since 1893, but I hadn't realised their logo has been around on TV credits for that long. The AMPTP logo is also there.

Conclusion

There's a lot of interesting ideas here, but they're bogged down in a rather sappy romance plot with a poorly acted female lead.

6/10

Boiling Point (2021)

Watched this film today in anticipation of the new BBC1 series - while not the best thing I've ever seen, it's technically brilliant, being done on in one continuous take (the ad breaks of Film 4 mean that was less obvious). It's also a reflection that many of the big disasters in life happening through no malicious act, just a series of small, inadvertent errors.

Stephen Graham is a superb actor.

7/10

Spain 1-0 England

Watched this today. Despite the massive amount of Spanish simulation going on and a ref making some dodgy decisions, we were definitely outplayed at the end of the day and the result was fair.

It's good we got this far and this, along with the Euro 2022 win, will do wonders for the women's game in England.

Sir Michael Parkinson 1935-2023

A true legend of British broadcasting has died aged 88.

Rest in Peace.

London Loop Section 16

When I started my walk on Wednesday 9 August, I discovered to my annoyance that my camera had run out of battery, so the photographs are from my phone.

Section 16 of the LOOP, which runs from Elstree & Borehamwood to Cockfosters is the longest one of all, coming in at eleven miles - and has very few break points in the first section. This resulted in me spending around three hours between beginning and a break for lunch, which might be a bit much for some people.

My arrival at Elstree was rather delayed as industrial action on Thameslink meant a reduced service and a further delay resulted in me spending half an hour at Farringdon waiting for a train.

But once I got there, I did some stretching - essential to avoid major injury - and headed off.

The Section is mostly fields and wooded paths, the latter not always very well signposted, with the result I went badly off the path at least three times and as a result ended up missing at least one item of interest. I have raised my findings with Inner London Ramblers as usual.

Fortunately, there's nothing too steep and it wasn't too hot. It was moderately muddy under foot in places after the rain on Tuesday, but I've encountered worse in other sections. Make sure you have insect repellent as there are a lot of bugs at this time of year.

Overall, this wasn't much of a challenge, even if it took a good while - about four and a quarter hours of walking.

Lunch was at the Queens Arms in Barnet - decent food for a reasonable price and they had The Hundred (i.e. the cricket) on the TV screens.

Cockfosters is at the end of the Piccadilly Line and will be a bit inconvenient for me to get back as if you want to avoid Zone 1, it takes four trains. But I'll only be going back there once...

Curious Dog Count was three.

SAG-AFTRA and WGA Strikes

I support the unions in the States who are striking for better pay and conditions for jobbing actors, who won't earn anywhere near as much as the big $100,000+ an episode stars. AI is a concern, but it's not good enough yet to supplant a decent writer and may never be.

But sadly, even giving them everything they want won't fix the serious issues in the industry. It has become bloated, with too high salaries at the top, too many content providers and a dearth of decent ideas.

We are going to see a major contraction in content creation over the next few years and that will make things even harder for many.

London Loop Section 15

Did this section on Saturday just gone - I would have done it this week, but train strikes meant I would have had problems getting back from Elstree.

Frequently I've had to brush mud off my walking boots when I get home from these things, but this was not the case this time - it was a pleasant and dry day, while not being too hot.

The first bit from Hatch End was one I had done before on the previous walk and was heavily overgrown in places, but once I got past the garden centre at Carpenders Park, things got a lot more pleasant, although I did end up going badly off path more than once. There's only so much Inner London Ramblers can do as they rely on cooperation with local landowners and the various councils.

I found out that the pub I'd hoped to have lunch was in fact permanently closed - and had been for a year. So, I had to go to another one nearby that was a pricey brasserie, but no eatery is really cheap at the moment in this country.

The route takes you across Stanmore Common, with views all the way to Central London on a good day.

I'm not a flower expert, but there was also a lovely field filled with what I think are buttercups, albeit near the M1.

All of this is accessible by Oyster card and contactless travel, too! Just make sure you have a printed map and some good boots. Don't wear shorts as some of the foliage is high now and occasionally prickly.

US Upfronts 2023

The writers' strike in the States has severely hampered the television scene there and a lot of series will not start their new runs until next year as a result. We are 27 days into this strike, the actors' union is balloting its members for industrial action and we could see a near complete shutdown of Hollywood as a result.

After the boom, this is very much the bust. The 'main' networks are commissioning a fraction of what they were doing even a few years ago.

Some series of note:

• NCIS: LA was cancelled after 14 seasons - I had lost interest in it a while back.
• CSI: Vegas has gotten a third season and will likely get a fourth. While still rather good, it isn't frankly up to the original series.
• The Arrowverse is dead as the CW refocuses its efforts on an older audience. This includes a spinoff for The Librarians, which was a TNT show and will likely be set in Europe, as North America isn't known for its castles.
• The Blacklist will wrap its final season in July; as I predicted some years back, the grand finale will be called "Raymond Reddington". I have still to watch all of Season 9 and there is no firm UK date for Season 10.
• Star Trek: Discovery will be cancelled after its fifth season. It's frankly run its course now but did the job of re-establishing TV Trek. The announced Academy series will likely act as something of a continuation, reusing its physical and digital assets.
• Star Trek: Picard finished its three-season run in fine form, providing an excellent concluding chapter for the TNG-era crew.
• CBS were boasting about having five 11-million viewer shows. I remember they used to get 20 million viewers for NCIS.
• The new series announced for the networks look uninteresting - do we really need a cop show spinoff from The Good Wife?

So, we've got these prop swords... (Review: 'Star Trek' 3.7, "Day of the Dove")

Not that long to Strange New Worlds returns - and it's got a crossover with Lower Decks that should be a lot of fun, but I'm trying to get a couple more of these in before those two shows start.

• We've not had the Klingons turn up for a while - this is one of the three appearances of the D7 battlecruiser in the original series as transmitted, with four more added in the remastered version.
• In this case, the Klingon makeup is really obvious. I am watching it on HD on a tablet, not on a 1960s analogue television.
• Again, nearly all taking place on the ship, apart from one planet scene.
• This is an interesting scenario; Star Trek often does these, but the execution is sometimes lacking.
• We still haven't got the "honourable" Klingons we come to know and love; these ones still retain the strong Imperial Japanese and Soviet Union influence they were originally written with.
• Warping out of the galaxy? Haven't we just had that?
• Pretty strong anti-war message in this one, I would say.
• I really did not like the scene where Chekov, even under the influence of an alien entity, attempts to rape the Klingon scene officer. I suspect that it would not be made in modern Trek.
• This is the only time a female Klingon seen in TOS.
• Lots of sword fighting in this one, including a couple of big fights in the corridor. The choreography must have been a challenge as even a blunt sword can hurt it if it hits you in the face.
• And of course, Scotty likes claymores.
• Shatner has some good stuff, but sometimes he's acting a bit too hard, and it shows.
• Everybody laughs at the end - but this time it serves a purpose.

Conclusion

Generally, a very good episode - a great concept and on the whole, well realised. Some bits haven't dated well, mind, but that's true of TOS in general.

8/10

Tina Turner 1939-2023

 We've lost another music icon, simply put. Tina Turner's career produced many an iconic banger, with "GoldenEye" in particular a contender for best Bond theme.

Few people get a musical about them while they're still alive - she was that much of a legend, overcoming a troubled childhood and abusive relationship to become one of the biggest female artists of all time.

Rest in Peace.

London Loop Section 14 + a walk to Watford

Section 14 of the London Loop is a pretty short one - at just shy of five miles from end to end, including the station links, I was able to do it in just over two hours.

As stages go, it was distinctly average. There was some bad mud in the opening sections, and I decided as a result to take the suggested diversion route on the latter stages to avoid what might be an even worse bit.

I was justified - the alternative diversion is nicer with wider paths and less mud, although you do have to go through a couple of golf courses.

I'd come prepared for rain, but it stayed dry for the whole day bar some light spots in the morning. In fact, I ended up with a decent sweat and quite a few dead bugs on my neck as the insect repellent only partly worked.

As a near two-hour public transport journey each way for a comparatively short walk wasn't justified, I'd decided ahead of time to do a bit more. The 9.3-mile section onto Elstree was too long to do in an afternoon even if the light is now favourable for that, especially as I'd done five miles already.

So after, doing a chunk of Section 15 to get me to a garden centre for lunch, I used the Go Jauntly app to navigate my way to Watford Junction station through some more of the woods east of the West Coast Main Line, around four miles. This involved some overgrown and unkempt paths through the woods along with a few wrong turnings as this wasn't a guided path, but also some nicer bits like below:

My right leg was starting to complain (a fairly heavy landing from a stile that was my fault not helping), especially once I got to a forty-minute walk through Bushey and Watford itself - I considered giving up and hoping on a bus. But I persevered and made it to Watford Junction, which isn't exactly the best-looking station on the planet, before getting the LNWR train back to Euston.

Curious Dog Count was five. I think. I encountered several in one go at one point.

Planning to do Section 15 at the beginning of next month; I've got seven bits left to do and as some are combinable, I will need five days to finish the loop off.

Why not give it a try yourself?

The Actually Pretty Good Corral (Review: 'Star Trek' 3.6, "Spectre of the Gun")

This is another Gene L. Coon episode, albeit written under a pseudonym and is so far frankly the best episode of Season 3 that I've seen so far.

So, my thoughts:

• When an alien telepath tells you to turn around, it's probably a good idea. Especially as you people have encountered plenty of such situations before.
• The half-built town, which is obviously something done for budgetary reasons (it's also all in studio), is cleverly explained.
• The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, which didn't actually take place there, also formed the basis of an entire story of Doctor Who in the Hartnell era, "The Gunfighters". It would be one of the last 'pure historical' stories i.e. a story set in the past with no science fiction episodes and isn't considered a classic.
• Chekov really does not cover himself in glory during this - spending far too much time flirting with a vapid young woman who also does nothing for female writing in this tale.
• There's certainly a particularly good concept here and it's well handled, with a keen sense of inevitability as the characters try to avoid the gunfight. This would have made a good plot for Legends of Tomorrow, sadly cancelled on a cliffhanger.
• Spock is well done, proving his worth as the science officer and figuring out the situation in time to save everyone's lives. The others also do well, except for Chekov as mentioned above.
• Clearly the budget wasn't there for the Melkotians, of which we get one entirely static creature and a voiceover.
• Sadly, humans have not overcome their predilection for violence, as current events continue to demonstrate.

Conclusion

I don't think we get many great episodes in this run, but this is one of them, despite some flaws.

8/10

Well, I suppose a hexagonal box doesn't need lunch (Review: 'Star Trek' 3.5, "Is There In Truth No Beauty"?)

As I continue my way through Star Trek's third season, the budget cuts remain clearly obvious - this entire episode takes place on the ship bar model/CGI shots and it's clear that the set space available is now limited.

It's also clear that interesting concepts are not working in their execution. So, my thoughts:

• The music in this is a bit much - the dramatic stings should not be that noticeable in general.
• Everyone's behaviour towards Dr. Jones is frankly rather chauvinistic at best. Kirk confronting her in the med bay is just unpleasant to watch.
• Not sure how something being ugly can make someone homicidally mad. Especially as we never see the actual form of Ambassador Kollos.
• I see this is the original of the "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations" mantra.
• The idea of a blind person having a sensor net is an interesting one, but you'd think the technology would be smaller than a cloak.
• Diana Muldaur, later twice nominated for an Emmy, makes her second TOS appearance here.
• The show was still working out its mechanics of how warp drives work.
• Nimoy gets to do something a bit different from his usual Spock acting, but then it all goes to pot when he goes crazy.
• Indeed, the other bit of going crazy acting isn't that good either.
• The fight scenes we get in this look particularly badly done, even for a show not known for its realistic hand-to-hand combat.
• Perhaps this was a lower-budget episode to save money for elsewhere?

Conclusion

Not a good episode, sadly, but it isn't awful. I hope something better comes along as we continue, but I'm not optimistic.

4/10

The Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla

I rang for this at my Church this morning and the delay in getting home meant that I missed the first fifteen minutes, but I saw the rest.

It was definitely one of those events that showcase Britain at its best - we do pageantry like no-one else - with plenty of symbolism and the right level of pomp. Charles will have a challenge adjusting the monarchy for a modern age with growing republican sentiment - and the Metropolitan Police look to have gone too heavy-handed on dealing with potential protests - but he seems to be trying. He has gotten more popular over time and it says something that the two least popular royals present made quick exits after the main event. 

There also seem to be some good memes coming out of this too - Penny Mordaunt has earned herself some kudos for holding those swords for so long.

Now to enjoy the rest of the second of three long weekends this month.

Never Work With Children or Animals (Review: 'Star Trek' 3.4, "And the Children Shall Lead")

With Picard having concluded in brilliant style, I am going back to the original series for a bit, at least until Strange New Worlds starts in June and Lower Decks follows soon after that.

This one is considered one of the worst episodes of Star Trek, full stop, as I found out after I watched it. It seems to be one of those episodes with an interesting concept that falls apart in the execution.

So, some thoughts on all of this:

• It's clear that the budget has been badly cut - we only get two sets beyond the existing Enterprise ones and they look they've used previous bits of scenery.
• Good child actors are hard to come by. You may get one in a production - sometimes, like in Stranger Things, you get an entire cast - but often they're clearly not experienced enough for the job. As in this case.
• When Gorgan turns up for the first time, my immediate thought was about Mystery Science Theater 3000. Hiring a high-profile attorney - Melvin Belli was the lawyer for Jack Ruby, the man who killed Lee Harvey Oswald and was known as the "King of Torts" before that - to play a villain was a publicity stunt that the production team realised was a mistake.
• Gorgan does have an interesting overall plot - kill the adults, then use the kids to get to more adults - but how has he given them the powers to mind control people?
• The mind control gesture is a bit silly looking.
• Uhura seeing herself have a long, slow death hits a bit harder in the light of Nichelle Nichols' later dementia.
• We get two redshirts killed in this - beamed out into space - and we don't even see their deaths in space. Again, clearly budget cuts.
• The costumes for the kids look a bit silly, quite frankly. Then again, in the 1960s, many things looked a bit silly.
• Everyone gets to ham it up under mind-control. Not necessarily very well.
• I am sure that in one of the fight scenes, the redshirt flips himself!
• We also get Chekov's gun! That is different from Chekhov's gun of course.
• The resolution is poorly done - badly acted and filmed as much as anything. At least we don't get a laughing ending, but those kids will be traumatised for years.

Conclusion

It's a pretty poor episode of Star Trek but I've seen a good deal worse in other media.

3/10

London Loop Sections 12 and 13

 

Sometimes, walking the London Loop can be a very pleasant experience. At other times, you're wondering if you're going to make it to the end without sustaining injury.

Thus was the case for this walk. It was a dry Wednesday in April, sure, but for large parts of Section 13, it might as well have been a wet day in November.

Section 12 mostly operates alongside the Grand Union Canal, and I was able to walk it faster than the man driving the red canal boat could get along it, even before he had to stop at the various locks. It's no wonder that the railways very much did for the commercial canal business in this country. Indeed, you can see the under construction HS2 as you go along this route, along with the Chiltern line.

After lunch at the Coy Carp pub in West Harefield, the only eatery open on that route, I continued onto Section 13 and once I got around halfway, reaching Bishop's Wood Country Park. things got bad. Very bad.

At several points, I nearly fell over, and the mud would have been on more than my trousers. I have flagged this with the Inner London Ramblers, who "run" the Loop as the word "hazardous" is valid at several points.

Anyway, I plan to do Section 14 at least next month. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as parts of Section 13.

Easter 2023

Easter has come round again, and I thought that this article was well worth sharing:

Jesus rose from the dead. Here are 3 reasons why we can be confident.

It contains some stuff that I'd not heard before - namely the other "messianic" movements that completely disappeared.

In any event, Jesus died to save sinners - and that's all of us. I know all too well that I sin at least once every single day and sometimes a good deal more. Without Jesus in my life, I'd probably be in a much worse place than I am now morally. He has been my rock and my guide since my childhood, and I wish to continue being a Christian until my dying day. 

That does not mean endorsing everything his followers do - far from it - but it does mean holding fast to the essential truth of his message, about loving one other as he has loved us.

Happy Easter!

April Fool's Day

I don't have an April Fool's joke for this year. For one thing, it snuck up on me, like in other years, before I could think of anything good.

I might do something next year. If I remember. But don't wait up.

Picard has been very good mind. That's not an April Fool's either.

Paul O'Grady 1955-2023

I only really knew Paul O'Grady as Lily Savage and later as a TV host; I didn't know until reading his obituary of all his activism for LGBT people in this country, at a time when homophobia was much worse than it is today.

The term "national treasure" definitely applies to him, and he will be deeply missed, having gone far too soon.

Rest in Peace.

Vladimir Putin wanted for war crimes

The ICC wants Putin to face charges of war crimes for the abduction of children

It's clear that there is an attempt to ethnically alter Ukraine, or at least the parts that Russia controls, to make it more Russian - and putting these children in Russian families is just a part of that. Putin has many crimes to answer for, although I am not sure whether he will answer for them in any earthly court. If he is overthrown, Russia handing him over will likely be a condition of normalising relations, but he may end up dying first - and facing a more perfect judge.

London Loop Sections 10 and 11

I got a new warmer walking coat lately, that makes walking practical in somewhat colder conditions than previously. After a five-miler around Becontree and Chadwell Heath to make sure I could do it, I engaged on Friday in the longest batch of walking in my life - 11 miles on this stretch, with a total of nearly 16 for the entire day.

That included the long Elizabeth Line-Tube interchange at Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 & 3. Well, really 2 & 3 as Terminal 1 has closed. 

These two sections go from Hatton Cross via Hayes to Uxbridge, mostly along the River Colne and the Grand Union Canal. It doesn't start very nicely:

There wasn't that much actual activity along the canal - it was after all a fairly cold Friday in February.

There was a persistent drizzle until around 2pm and much of the route was slightly muddy, although I have seen a lot worse. It's also pretty flat for most of the two sections, which makes things easier. There's a bit where the canal goes over a river:

The final bit was rather nice, including a boat called Almost There, which seemed rather appropriate as I was getting a bit worn out!

It took me around six hours overall, including the lunch break.

I plan to do Sections 12 and 13 in the next couple of weeks before RL stops me for a while.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Saw this on Thursday evening after work - I like to go at times without noisy kids - and found it to be OK. It works best as a set-up for Phase 5 and not as a stand-alone story. There's certainly some entertaining moments, but it doesn't have enough to really fill the whole two hours and none of the guest characters are memorable.

The main thing is the huge number of effects, some of them a bit ropey, most notably MODOK, which looks like something from a 1990s comedy show. There have been reports of "crunch" caused by late reshoots and artists being pulled off to work on Black Panther - I wonder how bad it was before any "crunch".

In any case, while the MCU is still good, four films and four TV series a year is too much. Robert Iger's return as Disney CEO will hopefully lead to a focus on quality over quantity; The Marvels has been put back to November. Three and three is a decent amount - two and two might be even better.

6/10

Ukraine #4: One year on

It has been one year since Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine began, forcing millions to flee for their lives and causing devastation for much of the east of the country. The damage will run into the hundreds of billions for Ukraine, a country that has fought far better than anyone thought in February last year.

This war could end tomorrow if Russia agreed to withdraw, but it sadly seems Putin is unwilling to back down despite his massive losses. The fighting - and the suffering - will continue for months yet.

Letters from Watson

Thought I'd plug the rather excellent Letters from Watson blog:

Letters from Watson link

With the 'canon' now completely public domain in the States, a British woman is doing a serialisation of the short stories in broadly chronological order, allowing for a bite-sized experience of arguably the greatest of fictional detectives. There's also a very friendly Discord that allows for critical analysis of the characters and the world they operated in.

I strongly recommend you check it out.

Racist, pure and simple (Review: Star Trek 3.3, "The Paradise Syndrome")

It's been nearly a year since the last post in this series. I've had more modern Trek to watch - and with Picard about to start, it might be a while before you get some more posts here. But I will try to get one more in at least.

I'm not going to outline the plot etc. like my previous posts, but will instead list some of my thoughts in no particular order:

• There is some very nice scenery in this episode, but I believe it's pretty much the only location shooting done for the third season, with its vastly reduced budget.
• How on Earth can Spock identify the different tribes from that distance?
• Uhura is entirely absent from this episode.
• The depiction of the Native American characters is bad - simple minded "noble savages" with limited language skills who must be saved by a white guy. Once people realised that this episode lost nearly all of its popularity - and it was considered one of the best of Season 3 to that point.
• Scotty, Spock and McCoy all have some good stuff while in the ship... but it stretches credulity somewhat.
• Also, they're all played by white actors in brownface. Sigh...
• If this is one of the better ones, how bad are the others?
• There's a very weird CPR scene involving moving a kid's legs back and forth. Apparently, this is something called the Silvester Method, which is no longer taught.
• There's a mind meld that allows Shatner to thoroughly chew the scenery.
• Kirk gets a woman pregnant. She and the baby die at the end of the episode in what is actually one of the sadder moments - or would be if I wasn't distracted by Sabina Scharf's chest. What kind of bras did these people have?

Conclusion

The on-ship stuff does not make up for the surface plot, which as dull as it is racist.

2/10

The F-22 gets its Morrisette Moment

The F-22 Raptor originated in the Advanced Tactical Fighter programme in the 1980s, intended to counter Soviet fighter jets like the MiG-29 and Su-27, along with posited future development. The Soviet Union collapsed before it entered service and Russia was not exactly a threat to the US after that in anything bar the nuclear department; still arguably isn't considering their problems in Ukraine.

I don't think the developers on that programme for one second imagined that the first time the F-22 would engage in air-to-air combat would be against... a balloon. However, it is likely the highest altitude air-to-air kill of all time, which is something.

The pilot of that F-22 is going to have an interesting remainder of his or her life, that's for sure.

Holocaust Memorial Day

I'm currently watching the Ken Burns series The U.S. and the Holocaust, which is available on BBC iPlayer. It discusses the action that the United States took when faced with the persecution of Jews by the Nazis. Or rather the lack of it.

The immigration quotas were maintained. Jews seeking visas needed $5,000 bonds to cover them, a huge sum of money back then. And antisemitic views were publicly expressed by many influential people, including Senators and preachers with national radio shows. Only FDR really emerges with much credit out of the top people.

I think it's a reminder that evil generally has a lot easier time of it when good people do nothing - or there are other evil people in charge of organisations with the means to help.

The Holocaust was a German crime, but a global failure - and we must make sure actions like that do not happen again.

The Last of Us

Watched the first episode of this last week and got to say that's an excellent drama even if - like me - you've never played the games. There may well be a full review of the season once it's finished.

2023 Plans

I know this blog has been a bit quiet lately - I assume someone still reads it. Hopefully, I will get this a bit more active in 2023. For one thing, I hope to get round to watching original Star Trek at some point, but I've still got too much modern TV to watch including Strange New Worlds.

There's a number of Marvel movies out - and the new Indiana Jones - so I might well review them.

We shall see though. Make sure you follow me on your RSS feeder of choice.