h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Those people were in the Dr's time line and close to the Tardis. We haven't found out how Missy escaped the last encounter or where the Master's Tardis is.

These and many other conundrums will be explained, or swept under the carpet in a wave of schmaltz, next week.

The Master definitely 100% died for good in 'Planet of Fire' - until he turned up again with no explanation in 'The Mark of the Rani', and I've lost count of the number of times we've seen the Final End of the Daleks...

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I'm getting fed up with the same old same old villains.

Deb

Regeneration turned out to be such a good plot device that they had all the monsters do it too.

Here we have a hyperintelligent alien who, despite repeated showdowns with metal clad adversaries has clung on to tradition with his sonic screwdriver, when he should have used a spare century somewhere to create a sonic tin-opener.

Also we are lead to believe that the same hyperintelligent alien leaves all the spare keys to his (almost) unique vehicle hidden in the vehicle. How about leaving at least one under a rock just outside?

Clara kills Danny by overdoing the committment thing to the extent that he dives under a bus just to clear his mind of the thought of bunnies boiling on the stove and then she shows no remorse; she goes on indeed to immediately try to 'kill' the Dr too by stranding him in lava without so much as a marsh mallow.

My children (teenagers) cannot be bothered with this nonsense any more and I wonder what, other than misplaced nostalgia, is keeping me watching.

Not sure how I feel about that. I don't think they knocked it out of the park, but Michelle Gomez was pleasingly "bananas", and the dilemna was a decent one. It also explains how she harvested people even from the future, and from other worlds, if she has been specifically following him around.

So the Brigadier's corpse was converted into a flying Cyberman?

Of all the ways to trample all over a much-loved character, I thought that was perhaps the most tasteless. Bit annoyed about that.

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It was a foregone conclusion, really, wasn't it, right from when his daughter said that about always hoping the doctor would salute him.

Deb

The more I think about it the more Cyber-Brigadier annoys me. A data-ghost (represented by 70s Brig, obv) hiding in the nethersphere and materialising in the real world to drag Missy back with him would have been cool. Making him into a Cyberman was just crass.

Ha! Was just straight up told that I shouldn't criticise Moffat because Blink was good. Methinks his defenders are clutching at straws.

I was going to go through and mention a few key points that annoyed me about the finale but I realised I just need to bury it, wait for the next season and move on.

Talking of next series, who is the mysterious woman?

There's bound to be one. So far in the Steven Moffat series, we were asking:

2010) Who is River Song?
2011) Who is the Eye Patch Lady?
2012-13) Who is Clara Oswin Oswald, the Impossible Girl?
2014) Who is Missy?

So, without knowing anything at all about the next series, I'm going to assume that there's a weird woman in it somewhere, and my prediction is that she's going to be the Doctor's mother (as Rani would be too obvious following Missy).

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My money's on Susan.

his granddaughter? Yes, it's about time that was resolved.

GB

I think you could be right.

He's back - next Saturday 19th Sept, BBC1, 7.40pm.

There's a prologue to the first episode here. I haven't watched it yet so can't comment on it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0326pdj/doctor-who-new-series-prologue

Deb

I am disinclined to watch the prologue. I daresay they have been careful about spoilers, but I can't help worrying.

I watched it. I still can't comment on it. I think the problem is I'm not enough of a and I have a terrible memory, therefore it meant absolutely nothing to me.

Deb

I saw it yesterday. It features the Doctor talking to a member of the Sisterhood of Karn. They first appeared in the Tom Baker story 'The Brain of Morbius' back in 1976 as a people who were allied with Time Lords, are mysterious and have knowledge of life and death, that sort of thing. They then appeared in 'The Night of the Doctor' minisode back in 2013 as the people who turn the 8th Doctor into the War Doctor and it looks like they'll be in this series.

So not one of the Doctor's most common friends/foes, but the important things to remember are:

1.) They have knowledge of life and death, possibly even more than Time Lords.
2.) They are mysterious.
3.) They like wearing robes - to date, no member of the Sisterhood of Karn has worn a bikini on screen.

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I remember the Brain of Morbius!

Actually I'm now wondering if there was a single Tom Baker story which *didn't* give me nightmares as a child.

Mol

Interesting...