Terrified

I am very frightened about Coronavirus. I am not frightened for myself. I am worried about my daughter. My daughter has Autism, and does not speak. She has constant pica. She has eaten stone surfaces. She is getting more destructive and violent as she gets older.

She possibly has asthma. She lives in Peru, which has obvious problems. I am worried that if I go to visit her next week. I will bring sickness with me.

Daniel Scott Palter

I was saddened to learn of the passing of my friend

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Palter

Writer, Employer, Dartmouth Alumni, Mentor, Patriot, Lover of cats

I am not a gamer but Mr Palter would be primarily known for the work he did with table top games

A life that took in the hedonism of Hollywood- Scott once described a lady friend in a fit of jealously putting a gun to his head when seeing him dance with someone else at an LA nightclub...
 Yhe sands and storm troopers of Tatootine- (He held the Star wars franchise for RPG) from the old hills of Croatia to the jungles of central America.. He watched the Wall fall, and lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis

I first met Mr Palter before the towers fell. After university on an AH list., I never met him in person, but we discussed many things. Peru, World War Two, the problem of the Picts. Coal dust air bombs..

Now the book is closed and the game is finished

Round up

Sinn Fein have made an astonishing break through political in Ireland with 36 seats as of this posting
They will enter the 33rd Dail, with 37 seats

QPR lost on Saturday on the road

My disappointment was confounded when  UNC lost in extra time in the Tobacco road derby

I watched Dr Who. I may review, or write up my thoughts on the episode later


Laura Dern, Star of A Perfect world. Jurassic park and Wild at heart. She is  one of my favourite actresses of all time won her first Oscar!

Kirk Douglas

(December 3rd 1916-  The 5th of January 2020)

Sailor, Father, Actor

I don't remember when I saw Spartacus. I have it on DVD It was old when I saw photos of it from a look and learn annual. I made a joke about it in the 6th form review

The last link of Hollywood with the Second World War is broken

Meglos

So I thought why not watch some classic  Doctor Who

I liked this a lot

Basically the Dr stops and Alien from stealing an artifact that is a source of immense power

Tom plays two roles, it is a doppelganger story The antagonist  Meglos- Meglos who is the sole survivor of a long dead race of plants.  And of course the russet coated JNT era 4th Dr, and Tom is always good as a Gillian. Sorry as a villain. Tom's breakout role was as Rasputin

A plant antagonist is interesting. It's quite different then a bumpy headed alien. I did wonder why Meglos needed to kidnap a host from Earth. Rather than any warm body. In modern Who they would make more of a struggle between the captured host and Meglos.

This is one episode where the Dr can actually pilot the TARDIS. Albeit it is something he does off screen. He returned the hos human home

It's nice to see one of the villain's of the week simply covert the Dr's long red coat.

The escape from the Time loop is brilliant. The Dr and Romana realize there is no technological solution to the problem. So they try and preempt the events, throwing the cause and effect loop out of sync.  Romana  also tries to use the fact that the planet has counter rotation like Venus to throw the goons off...

Quite fun, quite fun indeed.

Fugitive of the Judoon thoughts

So this is episode is a feint and a bob, and then a sucker punch... I was not looking forward to it. 

There was a lot of fuss about the Judoon. Who seem to be strangely popular in ``New Who''. 

I know there was a Terrance Dicks book about the Judoon . I am not  against, or opposed, or hostile to the Judoon, but I did not understand the fuss- I would not be dancing in the street if we saw Monarch again

So we have two stories here. We have the Companions meeting Captain Jack Harkness. Jack from Torchwood. Jack is in the middle of a battle in space and using a time scoop to shanghai Graham and then the other two companions. (Ryan and Jasmin)

Jack does try and deliver a warning to the Doctor- 

" Beware of the lone Cyberman! Do not give it what it wants!''


Captain Jack  also mentions the Alliance sent something back through the past... Could that be ...(1)

We also have a backdoor or a Doctor introduction. For the Ruth Dr. Like most Regeneration episode, the Doctor faces a slightly weaker protagonist. The Judoon In fact, this can be seen as a sequel to Robot. Instead of the UNIT family. We have the actual Doctor introducing the Doctor

So to begin

Do your worst...

I was not quite a tour guide. I have done similar work and quite enjoyed it So apart from the do your worst bit. I quite liked the introduction to Ruth. It is her birthday. She is trying to be happy. Greeting the dog, smiling at people trying to drum up business. It could almost be a sitcom. A comedy-drama to be broadcast a bit later on Sunday nights. Set somewhere in Northern England 
There is a great scene where Ruth goes into a cafe to get her morning coffee. She tells the guy behind the counter who fancies her, that if he chooses a nickname it's not a nickname.

It's a sitcom... As the viewer knew the Judoon were going to be in the episode from the promo's it sets the tone for a happy go lucky, runabout episode.


This is in contrast with our heroes The Doctor! Jodie's Doctor is not in a good place.  

She has been going back to the ruins of the Gallifrey. Have they ever shown the Doctor do this? Go to see the ruins of Dalek destroyed Earth. See the dead from the Martian colony- wallow in guilt 
In fact the Dr has been leaving her trio by themselves while she goes back to Galifrey to sift through the ruins. Is this safe?

There has been a change of mood in the TARDIS this season. I think it was something that supposed to be there in Orphan 55 but did not come across well. The companions are beginning to distrust the Doctor. The Master put the seed of doubt in their mind. The Doctor  is not telling the Companions everything. To go back to Orphan 55 The Doctor did not say  immediately that she had seen Russian letters  

 Yasmin tells, the Doctor not to talk to Ryan like that.

 Ryan is dismissive of Jack- Jack takes it in his stride. I think there is something brewing

So I assume you have seen the episode

But

S
P
O
I
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AHEAD

So Ruth Clayton, was the Doctor. The Lighthouse was her chameleon arch

I notice the tailored suit and the bright orange blouse. Ruth  is not a hobo Doctor, like the second. 

She is certainly a  physically robust Doctor like Pertwee.. She is introduced attacking several Judoon and ritually disarming /dishonoring one  The eye glasses are a touch of Hartnell, Davison, and Smith. 

I think there is a bit of David Tennant in their two. Still no love for old Sixie?

There is a confrontation later on a Judoon space ship. Aboard the ship we meet another Timelord called Gat.

Gat mentions Ruth has having been one of the best operatives.  Ruth had referred earlier to a job that she had tried to leave. This makes me think that Ruth was a 6 B Dr. A regeneration between 2 and 3 that had been wiped from the Doctor's memory. But then why does she not recognize the sonic?
and why is the TARDIS shaped like a police box. ?

On the other hand, there is the possibility that the chameleon circuit was broken before the Doctor arrived at the scrapyard Dialogue in the name of the Doctor

Also if Ruth is the Dr. So who is Lee? Is Lee the Master/Susan? Their relationship is close

``I'd quite like if you got out of my ship now... I wondered if Ruth had or will  develop a grudge against Jodie.
This has not been done before.  The Doctors argue but has one ever held a grudge? Has one resented his past or future- Oh with the War Doctor sure

It's been a while since I have been arguing a point about Doctor Who here. We done Mr. Chibnall

So who is the Ruth Clayton Doctor?

Theories 

1. She is a different universe Dr

2. She is the Doctor from season 6B. There is a regeneration between 2 and 3, which we did not see. 

Hence she is working for the CIA. Celestial intervention agency

3. She is the Valeyard. Which would put her in Dr's past

3. She is a pre-Hartnel Dr, the Morbius Doctors are canon. It was her coat in the control room

4. There was something going on, she is the Doctor from the past....But there were looms or something.

5. She is the Peter Cushing Doctor regenerated

Update

Chibnal says she is not a clone