The Commentary Invasion

[0:00]

Hello, dear listener, and welcome back to Flight for Entirety, the only Doctor Who commentary podcast that doesn't need Jackie Tyler to shut up.

That was just rude.

I'm Nathan.

I'm Todd.

I'm James And I'm a miscellany of barking dogs for this episode, you'll find out.

They're actually not being picked up by the mics, I think.

Okay, well, we're going to be back in 2019 with a whole new series of flight through entirety, but it's a very special Christmas present this year.

We're about to watch the Christmas invasion.

So we are on the Blu-ray.

I have a very, very terrible old Blu-ray player, which will probably take about 5 seconds to get going when I press the button, but you can see the beautiful CG rendered Eccleston era Tardis console in front of you, I think.

Didn't know his randomiser doubled as a bingo.

Can you believe how old this looks?

Just from the James.

It looks fabulous.

[01:00]

It did.

It came out.

So excited.

Yeah, no, it does.

It does look a bit tired.

The very the new Blu-ray boxets look lovely.

We do.

So we're on the episode selection thing and the Christmas invasion is ready to go, so we want you to press play on your own Blu-ray player.

When I next, say the code word gherkin.

So, uh, as soon as they say that word, I want you to, you don't know why we...

Listeners, I worked it out.

Yeah, it's not something that David Tennant has 2 of, right?

It's something else.

It is.

All right, are we ready?

Gherkin.

Okay.

And so it's the very 1st shot of Rose.

In Spearhead from Space. lovely to see her again.

Oh, dear.

I like the ozone layer there.

Yeah, when we had one.

Gosh, it seems like a long time ago, doesn't it?

[02:02]

We didn't have one even then, honey.

Jackie's bauble.

And her big white bush there.

Hey.

Sorry.

And here we go.

I love this scene because it's, you know, like it's not super subtle, but it is sort of TV subtle in the sense that we've got, you know, we don't have to have explained to us how Jackie's feeling right now because she's an actor.

Exactly.

I'm like, this...

Oh, look.

There's a lovely tea cosy and some, well, how did you describe them?

They have BBC light entertainment mechanics.

That one was quite good, actually.

What I like is they hear the TARDIS are going, but they neither of them says the TARDIS, like both of them just say rose.

But that's because BBC mechanics don't have speaking parts.

But they but they know how to hammer in full...

[03:02]

You know, full Gary Downey on it.

They felt more like backing dances for bananarama than proper hammerers, but now we're back on, gee, someone needs to do something about that.

This is so fantastic.

I mean, it's a classic series fan.

I never thought that the TARDIS would ever do this and it just took me by surprise.

Real?

Oh, real?

fake.

I used to do this with my Lego TARDIS after the threat of Sutek.

Do you remember?

Did you used to play that?

It was the 1st time I ever saw it spinning.

Oh, look, and it's David Tennant doing his John Sims auditioned for life on Mars.

Will he get the part?

No.

I like all these people in the background.

I never really seen them before.

They're just standing around.

Is that wee Jimmy Cranky?

There isn't?

No, it's David Tim.

I know what you mean.

No, I never noticed there are actual autons in the background.

Oh, look, you know, BBC extras, you're not paid, love.

I think it's Dawn and Jennifer back then.

It really is.

John Sims does exactly that in the 1st episode of Life on Mars and he's wearing the same little outfit.

Hello?

I am a Salurian, and I'm going for my tea.

[04:04]

Yeah, that was the launch.

In a doctor.

Doctor Who?

God, I miss her so much.

Yeah, she's a natural actor.

Whereas tenant is actually the opposite.

He's more like pert.

Now I've been watching Pertwee again in that.

Well, pertly said he didn't know how to play it, but he did.

He played it as Ronald Coleman.

Do you remember ever reading those articles in DWM when he got terribly chatty in the early 90s before he sadly, before he sadly lost him?

But, you know, he did love the matinee idols and grew up with them. you know, Danny Kane, all the rest.

He was Danny Kay's stand-in.

I'm just going to talk about purple.

But oh, yes.

Ring.

It's a lovely.

No, I've never noticed that the Doctor Who logo was Baker-lite wrapped oven tray before.

I guess it's a Christmas theme.

How crisp that title card is.

Freckles.

Oh, it's so many freckles.

That's just new.

Like new.

What's she doing with it?

Oh, no, that's explained, isn't it?

What she's got stethoscope in the house.

Yeah, yeah.

There's a medical student in another flat or something.

Cough.

Her name's Martha.

[05:04]

Yes Fabulous.

So on the billy watch right now, that's what's produced by Phil Collision.

It does.

Did it?

okay.

I think people have had a bit too much to drink for Christmas.

How far would are Billy's teeth for this one?

They're not new.

She hasn't got the new teeth yet, has she?

Was that round one, was it?

Has she got the new teeth yet?

Sorry that was the champagne.

Because when she comes back in season four, honestly, I think she's going to eat the camera.

Yeah, she can do heart stuff.

Oh, look. come onto the screen before she does.

Yeah, no, she doesn't look at his crotch to check whether he has 2 things.

That disappoints me.

Yeah.

It's not my memory.

Well, look, space dust.

What was his nickname on set?

David 10 inch.

So he coined it himself.

It doesn't count.

That's it.

Oh, speaking of which.

That looks very rude.

It does look slightly rude.

Cosmic sperm.

That's why her everything in her fridge is white hot.

Because it doesn't have a back?

[06:05]

Correct.

Much like...

Like her tumble dryer and her washing machine.

Yep, n none of her white goods have a back.

It explains so much.

White bads, wouldn't it?

Oh, look.

Tears in her eyes.

Proper acting from Billy.

What me and him were, you know, like, a rat and a rat and a lab, you know.

She's really selling this.

I mean, I tend to forget, you know, we're all classic serious fans here, so we're used to all this, but I'm sure that you knew who fans out there would have been just morning, morning, Christopher.

But we're sort of going, well, here's the new guy.

Let's wait and see what's happening.

I think this is so well done because Russell knows exactly how you react when your doctor goes.

You know, because he's experience...

You bring you bring a bloke in from the costumongers with a pair of stripy, winsy pyjamas.

Isn't that lovely?

He is.

The PM.

Isn't it lovely?

It's not a very flashing suit though.

No, well.

I do love Penelope Wilton.

[07:08]

TVs, Penelope Wilson.

She's just fantastic. she?

Such a pity what he does to it at the end of the episode.

And we'll get there.

Would it have been amazing if we'd actually had Brexit under Penelope Wilton?

I don't think he would have had Brexit.

Oh, look, see, this is the handsome Daniel Fwellen. gotten how pretty and well she was.

Yeah, he's cute.

Pixie like as well.

Yeah, he's super young.

You know, like when you're a kid, you just sort of read bald and bearded as, you know, an old guy.

He must only be like, he must be less than 30 short.

He's 13.

Honey, I was bold and bearded by the time I was 29.

That looks a bit fake.

It does.

Yeah, it's Dr...

That's awesome.

Is he in other things?

I have the feeling that Russell may have worked with him before when he was a child in some kind of TV show.

Yeah, something like that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh, real branding.

We've had Dr. Pepper in the fridge and it stayed...

[08:10]

Russell's getting a few little titbits for Christmas.

Well, she supplies. yes.

Other fragrances are also available.

Jodie Scuff.

Jodie Scuff, Jodie Scuff.

Look, it was Jody all the time.

I do like Jody Scarf.

I wish it was a one.

The shoes?

Jody Scarf. available from Paul Smith.

Well, that's the idea. like Billy's hair here.

Okay, so we're going to shoehorn some menace into this scene.

Are we Christmas weeping angel?

Drag queens. you can get a cream for that.

Information.

Yeah.

And and some great sort of legwork here from from Noel.

Look at this. bouncing up and down.

Is he made of plastic in this?

Is it just that they're all so young?

I think in this, this is the story where I really begin to like Norse performance.

It just seems more natural and less season one.

He actually does, doesn't he?

And they're really good together.

I love her, him making fun of her for those.

Oh, I love, you know, hearing those stories about the Tartars.

[09:12]

You know, he's really funny and he's he's not being a victim, you know.

Yeah, no, this is, you're right, Todd, this is the point at which you really, you get something to do.

It's not just a joke character.

I mean, actually no.

The end of season one, sorry, series one is where that really happens, but this is the moment which you fall in love with him, isn't it?

Yeah, is when he's getting shot.

Well, why are they trying to actually kill them?

I just want to know.

I don't quite get it.

Because the episode was underrunning?

No, I think it is to put some Christmas menace in.

So we have Santa's and we have a Christmas tree and that's some proper Christmassy menace.

This is the 1st time that it's been Christmas on Doctor Who with one notable exception.

And so they're having some sort of fun Christmassy stuff, but it doesn't actually fit with the rest of the plot.

And it has the thinnest possible justification in dialogue with that sort of pilot fish thing that the doctor says, but it doesn't actually make any sense.

[10:14]

I guess I don't mind them being pilot fish, like, you know, coming down to check out what's going on, but, you know, to try and do away with them.

Yeah, somehow, somehow they know that Rose and Mickey have something to do with the doctor, the doctor explains that they're going to...

Yeah, something and they're going to run a battery off him and stuff.

But it all holds together for long enough that you don't worry about it until the episode's over. can chew on some Santas and a Christmas tree into it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And why not?

It's fun.

Yeah.

Oh, here we go.

More space time.

He should have had a breath mint.

Yeah.

He's got to give up vaping.

Halitosis is a terrible affection.

Get off the phone, get off the phone. hilarious.

And we're about to come up too, I think. this the sequence?

Yeah.

This is this...

Oh, sorry.

This is actually one of my my favourite sequence ever.

[11:16]

With all the hoop earrings.

Almost ever.

Like, it's just this when it starts to spin.

And when she says her line, I just think, I just I'm already laughing.

That's so funny, Todd, because normally I think that I would have expected you to think that it was too silly.

No, I love it.

It's the ultimate Jackie moment.

It's in no way real at any point.

The whole thing is fantastic.

This is fantastic.

That shot straight.

Oh, sorry, that is, yes.

But the like for the moment you see that's not real.

That's right.

It's point of view shots are real.

Oh, no, just let it.

Shops everything up.

It's fantastic.

Oh, yes, you've used the chair before.

That's very effective.

And Noel has little, like, their little explos- explosives or something in the chair leg that are exploding it.

Uh, it's so great.

No, first, she's too...

When's Big Finish going to give Noel his own series?

[12:19]

I thought you were going to say, give the Christmas tree itself.

That's what I thought too.

No.

Okay.

Mickey and Martha, Mickey and Martha, Mickey and Martha.

There you go. finish spinoff.

There's some great acting happening here, isn't there?

It's also cleverly, very close to what children will be playing at home.

Oh, yeah.

That is golden.

Christmas tree.

Oh, look at that.

Hair trembling with emotion.

It's got great herography.

Yeah, yeah.

So of course, we're going to have the outline of the Christmas tree in that wall for the rest of the episode, which is sort of really great.

This is actually quite well judged too, isn't it?

Because you don't want the doctor.

Like the setup where we don't have the doctor for like half an hour is a good decision.

I agree.

It also shapes the entire story.

[13:20]

He's absence is what causes a number of people to die.

It's what causes Harriet Jones to make the terrible decisions she has to make because she's seen what the world could be like when he's not there to save them.

And it's what destroys his relationship with her and inevitably ends up with her, you know, not being prime minister and then dying at the hand of the Daleks.

Oh, spoilers.

I think they watched it.

Spoilers.

Well, she doesn't, does she?

She drops through a trap door and escapes on a motorbike?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's cannon.

Yeah, yeah.

No, Russell said it was gone.

He cartooned it in everything.

Is that in the is that in the poetry book?

Yes.

Yeah, yeah.

Now the Jackie moment coming up.

Uh, he's so rude to James.

David Tennant looks so different in different shots.

Like when he's sort of rocking the giant teeth. like he looks sort of quite fierce, but sometimes he's got sort of a very weak sort of chin.

[14:25]

He's very sort of odd.

They do work together well.

Oh, dear.

It's most about hair.

It is cheap clothing.

Do you think the gurning is a Scottish doctor thing?

No, oh, do you think?

does it?

He does it.

Capaldi, does it?

Jodie's not Scottish.

No, she doesn't Gurn.

She just sort of wrinkles.

She does wrinkly nose eye acting.

Yeah.

She does Samantha from Bewitched.

I was going to say, it's actually more Kenneth Williams mid-carean.

It's okay.

I'm getting very intense.

What are you saying, Tom?

He's intense.

She's getting very blue over there in the corner.

I think Silla Gate has had very adverse reaction.

Oh, in a good way.

So that actually does look like Captain Jack's overcoat, doesn't it?

[15:27]

No, but I think, isn't it Howard's?

Howard's...

A man can dream.

Oh, gosh, he does look incredibly young.

Do you remember dial-up?

Dial-up.

Yeah.

Look at that.

No one had dialup even then.

No, we did.

Oh no, that's the sea devils.

It's so hard to... wade through the mists of time.

And I really miss this.

No one has really properly done this again.

No, we haven't been probed in ages, have we?

Daniel Llewellyn, what?

Because you all are familiar with his pixie charmingness.

No, we don't know.

Yeah, that can be something that the viewers at home can Google. because Alta Vista if they're out.

That's it.

If it's 2005.

They can dogpile.

Well, duck, duck, go if you don't want to be, you know, owned by whoever is selling your information.

[16:30]

No, that's I use that.

Do you?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

For your private inter web.

My private inter web.

It's like they keep focussing on the misspelling of Guinevere.

They got the...

Look, look, we misspelled it. this book.

Oh, dear.

But yeah, there's not, you're not getting that frame rate on dial-up with that animated shark.

I can...

Oh, used to sit there forever waiting to see.

Is he got pants on or not?

Load, load, load.

To buffer first.

Oh, load meant a very different thing back then.

Oh, darling.

This is a peachy podcast.

No star.

Oh, hello.

Oh, has anyone else seen Bohemian Rhapsody?

That's so effective?

And look at them.

That's so wonderful.

Freddie hadn't been dead that long.

I think it's cruel.

I love the way it just smashes into the news report that we have aliens.

Trinity Wells.

Yeah.

I miss you, Trinity.

And the music...

[17:31]

It still feels like an episode of the Bill.

No, but a good thing.

But look where we are.

It's so wonderful rather than just being...

No, no, no.

That's not kind of castle.

No, no.

That is kind of Castle, just...

Oh, is it really?

Yeah, that's...

Yeah.

But that's so great.

You know, it is that thing where Russell does something to London during this, you know, he puts a big auton base sort of under the Thames embankment.

He puts unit thing in the Tower of London.

I'd forgotten.

This is the 1st return of the multicoloured berries.

I'd forgotten that unit came back now.

I always thought it was...

They are briefly an alien.

Are they?

But they don't wear the same outfits and they don't get a speaking role.

They just get to be electrocuted by Joseph Green.

Yeah, this is I know who you are.

Do you notice they're actually not bee, not pearls.

[18:32]

They're stainless steel beads.

Jones.

The Le Mans 24 hours.

She must have gotten for winning that.

No, it's it's Benoit.

Pearls don't look like Benoit.

Look an Australian.

Is that strange?

Is that her assistant?

Oh no, it's Daniel.

Where is an Australian?

Australian.

Alex.

Australian.

Yes.

It's Adam Garcia.

Adam Garcia.

My favourite thing.

Oh, goodly, so it is.

She introduces him and says, I've never had a right right hand man before and I quite like it.

And he says, I quite like it myself.

I bet you do, darling.

Oh, and here's Sally, who gets to be Daniel Llewellyn's love interest in the novelisation.

No, I just finished buying that. week.

What did you think, young James?

really enjoyed it.

Yeah, I thought it was really fun.

Was it true to the germaneness of this?

It's almost word for word the same, really.

[19:33]

But flesh is out a lot of the scenes.

A lot of the descriptive text is really quite nice.

And the minor characters, like Sally and Llewellyn get a...

Yeah, they get a thing nice fleshing out.

I like how the unit guy talks about the Martians look nothing like this.

Like, it's a little nod to classic series fans. you know Thank God we'll never see those crappy fibreglass.

Lizard man ever again.

With heads that are not proportional to the rest of their body.

Do we mean those Martians or to mean the ones from the ambassadors?

I love the ambassadors.

I love them.

Love them.

Mamma Mia.

Oh my goodness, it is.

Bohemian Rhapsody.

I thought you were going to be very unkind and say free to a nanafried.

I didn't know Apple were reforming again.

It's tank cartoons.

No, they are, but they're using, you've heard about that, haven't you?

[20:35]

This is actually the new Aberclip.

They're using animated simulacre so that they will look like they did in 76.

Oh dear, that's going to work well.

I mean, like Grand Moft Hark and all over again.

Look like those things on the web you're not allowed to look at, now Tumblr's changed.

It's what it looks like.

Oh, ooh, that looks wrong.

What?

The subtitle with TARDIS spelt with a capital T. Oh, no, that's just a word.

I'm gonna write to my MP.

They should know better.

Yeah.

It's very interesting.

I think we've learnt a bit.

I like all this.

I like all this stuff that they're talking about the fact they're not translating.

The doctor's doctor does not well.

Therefore, this translation's not happening.

It's all, this whole, the construction is this whole story and the way it builds to the moment where we need the doctor back, we want the doctor back, and come on, give us the doctor and then we finally get it, is just so clever.

I think too, that it's not Chekhov's translation problem.

You know, like we aren't there sitting waiting for it to fix itself.

[21:39]

It just looks like it works as exposition in context.

And so later on when the Sicrax starts speaking English it's a surprise.

Can you imagine that we would have had a British Prime Minister that would have spoken like that to George Bush?

Well, yes, and that indeed, there was an American president who would have been interested.

Yeah, but that wasn't about him.

But remember that when she's introduced, one of the things that we learn about her is that she voted not to do the invasion of Iraq.

She voted against it and she said it and she even makes reference to it.

And so this is, again, that.

And it's cruel of Russell to do this because we know now what's going to happen to her at the end of the episode, but she's super likeable.

And what that sets up in series three.

Why do you think Russell, and he's not the 1st or last time he's done this?

Why does he diminish or destabilise his heroines like this?

I actually think that I think that it's the most interesting and dramatic moment in the entire episode.

[22:45]

You know, it's an episode where Earth gets invaded and lots of silly things happen, but the really, really dramatic thing is someone that we love, someone that we loved through 2 episodes and we're made to love here.

Which is an eternity in our little world.

Yeah, because she's a good, ethical, decent person and she makes one wrong decision.

And is it a wrong decision as well?

Right, his standards, by his standards.

And she knows too. when it happens, because I think she acts her socks off in that scene.

Oh, she's just tremendous.

Yeah, so...

The other thing is they may not have been able to get her back after this.

That's how the thing she might have been off doing a lot of stuff, so...

It's terribly popular.

I think he was trying to destabilise our very natures and the whole nanny wanting that we have, the desire, the way the reason we built up Thatcher.

I think he's actually telling us to stop worshipping the people we put in charge.

There probably is something to be said for that, you know, that even a politician who we love and who whose politics we agree with is still a politician.

[23:46]

Yeah, there's still sort of real politic.

Oh, I think that's...

It's the, I mean, Mark...

Marcus Aurelius said the same thing.

You know, you do, and Caesar had, you know, whispered, had a tiny Daniel Llewellyn next to him saying, remember thou art but a man?

Yeah, you'll die.

Yeah, and that.

You will.

Oh, and that there's no reason for this scene except to show how incredibly loving and wonderful Jackie.

She's just sniffing Howard on his job.

Oh, isn't she?

This is when about the time, um, you remember when Billy was saying Rose Tyler's the most selfish character she's ever played?

No, there's a much worse scene coming up.

You wait.

You wait.

She's horrific in it, I want to slap her.

But this is the old slap it here.

The proper doctor wouldn't be like this. is what the kids at home are thinking.

Yeah, of course, yes.

[24:47]

If you're mourning a loss of the previous incarnation.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh, magic blue glove.

You're like my new glove.

It's shiny and blue.

It's a bit Michael Jackson, isn't it?

And the gloves, too.

Yeah.

Who is it that says it looks like a spell?

Yes, it's it's the scientist.

I love that.

Well, sci-fi fan.

He probably watches Game of Thrones.

From the future.

Yeah.

Now this is so inventive.

Don't you think this is such an interesting thing to happen?

It is very interesting and I, again, not seen anything like this before on the show.

It's much more what a soap should be doing if soaps were written for us and not the other way around.

We're writing...

Russell is writing for soap audiences.

Imagine if soapwriters wrote for us.

[25:48]

This is what we'd see.

Yeah.

Well, the thing I like about this too, is that, you know, lately we've seen Doctor Who, where there's been like 2 extra characters on the regular cast or 3 extra characters, and it's very frequently that there'll just be a small number of talking parts.

But there are a lot of talking parts here and stacks of extras. of extras.

Look at that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's, it sells the, uh, the scale.

Yeah, exactly.

Of of the danger.

It's so good.

And it's happening now as we're watching too.

I swear that little girl in that sequence almost cracks up when she goes out of shot.

Honestly, go back rewatch it.

We're not rewinding.

Oh please.

We would never do anything like that.

Oh, and the guy wearing the reindeer you know, antlers.

It's all very convenient that absolutely none of them are like just in their undies or something like that.

Someone or nude.

[26:48]

Someone gets out of the shower and heads up to the roof.

Exactly.

Do they make a joke about that in the novel?

I can't remember.

Yeah.

It's so clever. still feels like an episode of the Bill.

But what's interesting is the fact that not everybody's affected and you're trying to work out why that is at this point.

Oh, he's Danny. isn't he sweet?

Gherkin.

I'd worked that out, Nathan.

Have a drink, too, listener.

It was a powerful moment at the time and it still isn't.

This is seeing this now contrasting with what we've just viewed this year, with New Who.

It is closer to new who than pretty much anything we've had since the glory dose of Russell, isn't it?

Season 11?

But it still doesn't feel at all like this.

It's very close, but it's not quite.

[27:49]

Well, I mean, this that is hilariously ludicrous.

Like, you know, obviously everyone in Italy is sort of clambering to climb on top of the Colosseum.

I see him.

They were supposed to have them on the harbour bridge and in the opera house.

Yeah, yeah.

I'm pretty sure you can't get up there.

And I did try last year. onto the Harbour Bridge.

No, to climb on top of the...

Oh, yes.

Coliseum.

Yes.

No.

Get your hint on to the opera house with your spray can.

No.

That was you.

Oh, it's so good.

And I do think this works incredibly well.

Russell does a great job of even being able to keep the doctor offscreen because this is like the Pertuy era.

Tension anticipation.

Well, again, it is Spearhead.

Yeah, there's enough people around that we know and like, and he very quickly makes us like Danny and handsome right hand man.

[28:51]

You know, it is something that Russell does just incredibly well.

The major's very pretty as well.

Yeah, he's pretty handsome.

Yeah.

And convincing.

He'll be back, though.

I'm sure that they'll bring unit back and die terribly.

Not at all.

And all of that's so interesting too.

All of it.

Intriguing.

Such a, you know, a strange thing to do.

It's an audience that's grown up with Agatha Christie.

So we like little pieces at a time and then we rationalise it as we go and post-rationalize it when she was a messy, messy woman.

They used to throw a dinner out of a creation, just, you know, throw everything in and then fib and play around with the facts.

But the human mind likes doing this and Russell knows we do.

I think too, it shows you how to do exposition.

You know, you don't just have one character just flop a whole, you know, speech of exposition in particular.

No, I'm not thinking about anything in particular right now, but this is exposition happening in a scene full of lots of interesting people where we get character stuff at the same time. conversational between people.

[30:01]

Yeah, and they're finding it out.

They're finding it out.

They don't know it.

So it's interesting.

And engaging.

I love this.

The Queen's speech has been cancelled.

Because they're all on the roof.

Just her look off camera and then her sort of slightly sort of shamefaced, you know, they're on the roof.

See, subtle touches that Russell does, that you just, the mind of a genius.

Oh, look, preliminary reports indicate genetic link.

Did you see on the Chiron down the bottom?

And now I'm...

Message to these. this is so great.

And the music is doing now.

It's always, I think it's, I don't know whether her teeth are that far forward or her tongue's always pushing in that way.

I think there's things going on in that woman's mouth.

[31:02]

The teeth are regenerating as we speak.

They're actually forcing their way out of her gums.

She needs to make more room for it.

Maybe that's it.

Oh, and having her pixelated for on a TV screen, making that appeal, like giving that distance between her and us.

And here is where Rose is utterly horrific.

And Jackie's, the look on Jackie's face is so funny because she's not putting up with any of Rose's crap here.

Because the doctor's gone.

He's left me There are 3000000000 people about to jump to their deaths, but we're really worried about how the doctors left you.

And look, she's still a child.

Come on, do we see Camille's face?

I'm sorry.

Oh, sorry, it's his. sorry.

But I'm sorry.

I don't care in this rewatch.

But now, it's lucky nobody just sort of...

Accidentally... on the edge.

Oh, and so look at them, look at extras running around in the background.

Remember when we used to have that?

So great.

[32:03]

Like any a year ago.

It does look this year had some beautifully expensive moments, but this does actually look like it had a larger budget.

Yeah, I wonder about that too.

I think there's a small scale to series 11.

Definitely.

Yeah. in the casting and we got some very cardboard episodes.

It's very simple nonsets in some cases, but this is the magic flying coral poo. invading the East End credits.

That's right We don't have the rights to that.

A giant blown up crap. 8 seconds.

It is like a giant blown up crab, isn't it, James?

Look at all these young people.

What are you young people doing on my show?

I won't be so young anymore.

It looks great too.

They do a great job of making all the spaceships look completely different for the whole RTD era.

There's a real care to make everything look really distinctive.

[33:05]

It's almost as good as the axe on...

Yeah.

I was going to say.

Yes, the albino...

That weird slug ass thing.

Yeah, yeah, yes.

I always thought it would be paperfish.

A paper fish.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Finally, Rose decides to do something.

Yeah, hide, mind you.

Yeah, no.

She's still got time in the TARDIS.

She's still got time for some self-pity, though, in a crisis.

Oh, dear.

Don't shout at Camille.

With all the extra things inside him, I wonder if he's heavier than normal, gentlemen.

Maybe he's still got bits of Eccleston inside him.

Ew.

I loved his little, he's got a compact eye pack.

You know, because this is pre-Iphone, like 2 years, pretty iPhone.

[34:09]

He's got a little handheld computer.

Other handheld computers are also available.

Yeah.

Not anymore.

She's a Blake 7 fan.

That's how she knows it's called a teleport. should have been a trans man.

That actually felt very enterprised, didn't it?

And again, we're in Wookiehole.

No, we're not really, but we are in a cave.

A little bit or Mary terms wardrobe.

I think this was Wookiehole. think it is.

Really?

Is that?

I thought it was just a set.

They do all look a bit Lala Ward, don't they?

There's Lala now.

She's really let herself go.

It's so well designed as well because that the face looks like, you know, um, the, uh, medical diagrams of the, the muscles of the human body.

Yeah, the bodyworks show.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, God, Jackie, you're hilarious.

Normally Russell just says, pick an animal, stick its head on a person, call it a day.

[35:11]

You know, job well done, but these look great.

He really does, doesn't he?

He does.

Pig rhino thing.

Yeah, cats.

That's it.

Fish rhino people. fish.

Yes, that's it.

Oh, and he's so brave.

So brave and young.

It's not going to go well.

See, that's a cave, Todd. not a set.

Is it?

Yeah, yeah.

I think they've done something to maybe that's a set.

I'm not quite sure, but certainly there's bits of this shot on location in a cave.

Oh, and his brown eyes.

Look at him.

It's not going to go well.

No.

Oh, blessed.

Bye-bye.

Oh, mind you, I think in other situations, Danny had been right up for that.

Oh, dear.

Ask Sally about that.

It's, it's also the thing about, oh, well, you can't just have alien shooting people with guns in New Doctor Who.

[36:13]

So there's always an interesting way of killing people, you know, so this one leaves a threat.

Yes. who you are.

So good.

That is so good.

But it's also the fact that, you know, people are don't, like there has now been some deaths.

Yeah, it makes the danger real. proper ones.

Yeah.

Sorry, it was Clearwell Caves.

Yeah, they are caves.

Yeah, that's cool.

I said to think it was the other one because the space is too big.

Like, you know, the, the, Yeah, I think that the, the floor, likewise, the floor so regular.

Yeah, that's probably why I'm thinking it might have been a sense, but yeah, because it's a cave that's been made.

Yeah, yeah.

Tourist walk.

Well, yeah, yeah.

It's been made safe for tourist walking.

Also, it's a it's a, you know, giant rock spaceship.

Suspend your disbelief for God's sake.

Okay, sorry.

Well, why is the dog, why is the Tartus now a circus tent?

[37:15]

mollusc.

Someone's turned the light to the seahorse.

Someone's turned the lights up.

Well, think about how yellow it was. in the last scene that we were in here.

That's a lovely pretty shell pink.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Do you think that's because it's like it's the brand new light of day?

Like as in, you know, suddenly, 0 gosh, we're awake and we have to deal with the hangover.

Maybe.

I get the impression that if we paid closer attention, we would learn that different directors directed it.

I had it lit in different ways.

Oh, it is.

Yeah.

And for specific reasons.

I mean, Russell talks about that in, um, What's his book called?

The Writer's Tale.

I'm pretty sure.

Available at all good bookshops.

And that there was a specific reason for it.

You know, they list it with, with, um, David, they listed it very different way from, from Chris to try and make it.

[38:22]

Oh, good. buggering off again.

Like in the same way they did with Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, they redesigned it for Capaldi, though.

Yeah.

Put in more round things.

Love the round things.

It still looks like a giant ovapositor in space, that's not rose's mouth.

Mickey.

The big mollusc.

Oh, it's not going to go well, do you?

No, don't open the door, sweetie.

No one look at the scanner.

Oh.

Oh, you see, they've got a telly instead of a scanner.

Back in the old days.

This would never have happened.

It does take her a while to notice that she's not on the estate, though.

I just love it's the fact that Chucky's tea and Mickey dropping the tea.

Just assist the doctor.

Like it's just, it's a series of, um, you know, coincidences or whatever.

Also, it's not a sort of space thing.

[39:24]

Do you know what I mean?

Like he gives it a kind of slightly sciency explanation, but he also says a nice good cup of tea, you know, and that's nice and that's sort of humane, you know.

Oh, and look at this.

Look at what she calls Rose.

My precious.

We've really given the compressor a workout.

Sorry.

Why is there just this blue thing under?

It's a tea.

It's to reheat the tea.

It's the t vaporiser.

Yeah, yeah.

Oh, doesn't he look young?

It's too much with his hair.

How am I feeling about tenant?

Well, I've already seen him do gurney.

No, it was refreshing anew and we loved him, didn't we?

him from the 1st moment.

I think so.

I remember thinking, you know, that Eccleston is the kind of doctor you do when you're not sure of what's going to happen, whether it's going to be good.

[40:26]

And once you know that it's huge, you can have a much more traditional doctor.

You can go for, you know, someone slightly zanier and gobier and stuff and the audience is going to stay with you.

And I think that that will eventually have a bad effect on series two.

Yes, but at this moment, they were riding such a way.

Yeah.

And again, confidence is your best friend. certainly in the early days of walking on the stage that the audience will believe anything you do.

No, she's stepping up here.

I always find it quite cringy when she strings all these things together because it's all like, oh, no, no.

It's so embarrassing and she's trying her best to do it.

She's doing a really crap job of, you know, the doctor's big speech at the end of, um, I know, it's a bit, don't fluff your lines.

But she didn't say she did say shadow thing because I'm going to get all nerdy and go, oh, yes, they've got power.

I always thought the Shadow Proclamation was a document.

Yeah, well it should be, shouldn't it?

Yeah, but eventually it's those weirdo women who...

[41:30]

Yeah, yeah.

Who meet Donna in the stolen earth.

Yeah, Okdravans.

Yeah.

Drive instead of really let themselves go.

Why haven't we got driving spec?

Moffatt mentions them.

We're doing them now.

We've heard rumours, dear audience.

You might have seen the New Year's special by the time this comes out.

No, you won't have.

My money's on it being Dardex for the new year.

Yeah, Bantral, so I'm going for.

Yeah, I just think if we're saying that Beeb has not been entirely delighted, although I don't see why they're not delighted by the viewing figures.

What was what was Brendan's latest suggestion on day eight?

Oscar Botchobee.

Oh.

You should really check that out on the YouTubes.

Tubes of you.

Is he doing it on YouTube?

Yes, he is.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And now he's speaking English.

And you see, I feel like a 90s kink party.

And as she's working out and you're working at out, you kind of realise, 0 my goodness.

Yeah.

And again, you know, like in case there, people at home who are slower on the uptake than other people, it still gets explained.

[42:37]

It's fantastic.

And now this shot with the music that's building.

Yeah, yeah.

No, where they all turn around, don't they?

And then the camera moves, here it comes.

Yeah, they can.

She turns around.

Camera closes in.

They get out of the way.

Ta-da.

The problem with those Wincy pyjamas is there's no fly.

It's just a bit of string.

Well, that's safe, isn't it?

And he's been watching Buffy while he's been in the Tartars.

Did you miss me?

Yes, very buffy.

Where are we doing the Buffy podcast?

We are doing it now.

Oh, I've never noticed all that bakle light on the back wall as well.

So it's a theme.

Oh, it is, this is your life.

He's so happy as well.

Yeah, he sells happy so much better than Eccleston.

Well, I think he's been happy in his own personal life, you see.

But I also think that the people here on set are happy now after last year's kind of cluster, you know, dumpster fire.

[43:46]

Ginger?

Yeah, you're not the fire.

Dobster.

We're not going there.

No.

And of course, he had been in Casanova with Russell T. Davis, which is why he gets the job.

It's his audition piece for this in the way that the 2nd coming is for Eccleston.

And the reason that he's sexy in Casanova is the way he speaks.

Like he's he's just so confident and so goppy.

Um, you know, and so in his 1st proper scene, that's all he does.

He just doesn't stop talking.

And he is super charming.

Where did they get all their kit from?

Does Eric Roberts advise them?

On wardrobe and symptoms.

Yeah.

Oh, bless.

[44:49]

What was that?

I don't know, is he?

I don't think the audience has decided yet.

I do like the way Russell gives us real-time audience participation sussing out this.

It really is perfectly written as an introduction piece.

And introducing the idea that the doctor can change as well.

Because, of course, you're right.

There are people watching this if not.

No.

They've never been through this.

They know, they knew that Christopher Eckleston was the ninth. doctor, but they never experienced what it's like.

Do you know my greatest disappointment for this episode so far is that this whole scene was used as the direct inspiration for Jody's Tartar set?

You're a very observant man, Richard. true.

And it's, you know, probably something they might have wanted to reconsider.

Tasting blood, tasting dirt.

What's next?

Yeah, yeah.

Matt Smith does it as well.

They're constantly licking and eating things.

Oh, he's been up for that for years, that mucky pop.

[45:51]

I love this because I never saw it coming.

The big red button.

Like, you know, having to, like, pushing the button.

Yeah, it really is just a threat, you know?

Yeah.

Yeah And again, it's because he knows what's going on.

Like, yeah.

Yeah.

So he can come back and he Rose tries to talk her way out of it, but fails, but he comes in and just immediately kills it.

Yeah, yeah.

He's a doctor.

Yeah, he's not yet the doctor, like in traits and that sort of thing, but he is the doctor doing what he's doing.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Well, we're still learning like what the doctors like.

But I think, you know, there are times later on where I will confess to saying that I find Tenant Shtick a bit tiresome sometimes.

I think his performance gets more and more mannered the longer he goes on.

He got bored.

Maybe.

Yeah.

Although no true fan would ever get bored playing the doctor.

[46:52]

Well, yeah, but it's still an acting job, I think, you know.

And he, you play it as another doctor.

Yeah I think I think that he does, he does so well here.

Oh my god.

This is the 1st pop culture reference that the doctor has done since 1970.

Really?

Don't you think?

This is it's a big call.

I could be wrong.

It's hilarious.

Because Pertry says, what did you expect a flying saucer with Batman at the controls?

He does say that, but then but then Davison also channels Delia Smith with those with a well-cooked meal.

That's right.

But it is the 1st time the doctor refers to pop culture at all.

Uh, doesn't Billy?

No, but there are moments of it, aren't there?

But it's interface.

Yeah, but no TV movies.

None of the stuff that we're watching.

You know, this is a new thing for the doctor to do. sustained all knowledge of this.

He'll do Shakespeare.

He's going to do it again in about 5 minutes. is true.

Although Arthur Dent is real in this universe, isn't he?

[47:53]

Yeah, yeah.

Why is Earth still here, though?

Point.

It's a multiverse.

Earth still exists in...

No, not at the end of, don't they collapse all of the earth and destroy them at the end of one of the books?

It's great.

We have a sword fight here.

A la Pertwee or Tom.

Yeah, Tom does that great one, which they forget to put any music over.

That's right, in Androids of Tara.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

But again, it's swashbuckling hero stuff.

It's wonderful Ooh.

He is rude.

His best is PJ's.

Thank God they've got them sewn up.

That's what we think.

The equal eyed viewer, however.

This is great too.

There's one incredibly great shot in this in this fight.

That one where they're really tiny in the frame and there's nothing but the sky behind them and they're moving along the shot.

[48:57]

I think it's so good.

All this can direct, although the shots are a little tight, but yeah.

No, I think whores is a really, really good director.

We had him last year with the empty child, I think.

Oh, and a bit of slow-mo there.

Yeah. is underrunning.

That's it.

By a second.

Oh, I expect that to happen.

And it's never going to come back into play.

No.

Look at that.

No, they don't, do they?

And my skin tone's been affected by it.

I've gone off CGZ.

This is very messianic.

For someone who's so adamant.

See, there he's talking and there's people behind him.

Right?

And then he's got no one behind him. there's a shock problem between that.

It's looking slightly up.

I don't know.

I don't think that's right.

[49:57]

That's right.

I love that.

Catch the right end.

Good.

Oh, no, I've lost another hand.

Let's regrow another one.

Sylvester caught the right end of the red hot poker in the candy kitchen.

You're right.

This is a lovely little homage to silver as well.

I can see silver doing all of this.

But he's not doing the accent.

No.

No, really?

he's not.

Which, in those days, you didn't have to.

Although, what did Russell say?

You didn't want them ricocheting all the way up and down the M4?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh, they weren't going to do a tour of the regions with the various doctors.

I didn't know that it was Russell's idea.

As great as this is in the in a moment.

I don't quite understand why they have this magic button that just happens to open up the edge of the spaceship to...

It was just one of that.

It was one of the hatches.

No, if you look at it, it's just on the on the edge near the near the airlock.

[51:00]

So again, just like that one, it's just an airlock knob.

I can forgive a knob.

But you know, he makes stuff up, though.

He's a fan boy.

I think I've mentioned before his commentary with Moffat and Davies on...

Is it Forrester of the Dead?

No, it's the 1st one.

So is a set Zuma?

It's a Mandarin.

Mandarin, okay.

And they mock Russell relentlessly.

That's awesome.

And there is... a little bit of Venio Morricone there too.

So the no 2nd chances thing is foreshadowing what he's going to do to Harriet. isn't it?

Yeah, you know.

And then spend the next 4 years giving everybody 2nd chances.

Yeah, well, sometimes he gives people 1st chances, but then he's quite happy for them to...

And, you know, like again, we've mentioned series 11 a couple of times and clearly series 11 is a reaction against this kind of, you know, arrogant judgemental version of the doctor. which, you know, persists, I think.

[52:13]

It did keep going back to that well.

Yeah, yeah.

Oh, look.

I do want to know, though, why they bugger off and not just whack them dead, whack them all them dead, because really they're beastly aliens.

Oh, but there is, they do talk about honour and stuff.

Yeah, yeah.

They're just Klingons.

They're actually better than us.

Well, yes, Achilles. straight after saying, I agree not to...

Yes, that's true.

Adam gets a hug.

Good point.

Oh, teeth.

Pearls, teeth, teeth, pearls.

Oh, bless.

Plunk.

Uh...

Oh, enjoy the moment.

It's not going to last.

No, it's really, really not going to last.

And is he goading her into doing it?

This is the same speech that we get at the beginning of Spearhead from Space?

It really is.

Yeah.

[53:14]

Yeah.

But like, why is he doing that?

What's it?

Because that's another reason.

It is a trigger.

Yeah, it is a true guy.

And she responds to it.

She says, you know, like, she says, look at her react.

But then look at him looking at her.

Like how are you going to react to this?

He is trialling her.

He's testing her.

It's a Caucasian chalk, you do it.

Will you do it?

is basically what he's saying.

And she lets him down, which is why he destroys her.

Oh, Camille.

Doesn't he look like his action figure?

Oh, look.

And they all hug.

Look, it's so beautiful.

Noel gets a hug.

It's the changing then relationship from that point.

But have a look at this too.

Like before she makes the decision, she looks over at them and sees what she's excluding herself from, she knows that in order to protect that, she has to make this decision, but she knows that that means she's excluded from it as well.

[54:26]

Like she's making...

And also, he's done that in the past, the hypocrite.

Yeah, yeah.

She's so upset there.

Yeah.

Zigons. magic word.

Look what you did to them, doctor.

Very happy to do so too.

It's the Death Star.

Although I was shocked as a little boy, I have to say, because, you know, being a 1000000 years old, that does actually look quite sexy on the Blu-ray.

The planet killer?

Yes, that's the one.

But to.

And bodies, look, there are bodies.

Bodies?

No, they're rock something?

They did actually CG some bodies floating away.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Now.

Wow.

And the great thing about it is too, that neither one of them's obviously right or wrong, I think.

I mean, the problem is too, that she starts off being better than Tony Blair, you know, Russell kills Tony Blair for his support for the invasion of Iraq, um, and replaces him with her.

[55:32]

And now she's Margaret Thatcher.

You know, bombing aircraft carriers as they retreat in the Falklands War.

She doesn't she's exactly the right person to be in this job because she doesn't want to be doing it.

Yeah.

And how easy for him, O war doctor of the future?

That's right, to say this now.

People in glass houses.

Yes.

Glass turtles, so, so, so.

Another.

Oh, but then she got all.

No, actually, I think it's when she makes it personal.

Yeah, but and then he gets all hissy and turny.

But if he has a bitchy little face, hasn't he?

This is the bitchy doctor.

But look at the scene here.

Like if you look how it's acted and you didn't know what they were saying, who would the villain be?

You know, it's clearly tenant.

Like she's so sad. otherwise.

But yeah, no, it's 10 at 10 is the one that's being aggressive and dominating.

His whole body language is hawk.

She's a good person that's made a poor decision.

Maybe she's made a poor decision.

[56:32]

Maybe, yeah.

By the standards of this alien.

Okay, I want to know which looks like Pat, who he tells?

Yeah, that's it.

Then he gets on Facebook and tells all of his friends.

Don't you think Harriet looks tired?

Like, how does that get out?

Or it's actually just her response to not knowing that creates the entire situation.

She gets so stressed by it that she starts behaving around.

Oh, maybe.

So he never says anything.

Yeah I like that. keep that.

Just the whisper.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

And I also like, too, I can bring it down with one word.

I don't believe you, but once he says 6 words and actually becomes believable.

And there she's just left.

See, he's walking off.

Texting his mates.

Wardrobe.

Mary James wardrobe.

In the novelisation, she sort of stumbled.

She stumbles after him screaming, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Yeah.

Yeah.

What's he going to do with that blue frock?

He's got a lot of frock, hasn't he?

Well, we know now.

[57:32]

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, it wouldn't have been lovely if he'd done a big Casanova?

No.

The Beatles.

Hugo's outfit from a twin dilemma.

Carving a turkey.

I love this so much.

I want you to interrupt everyone. absolutely fantastic.

I do love song for 10.

Yeah, yeah.

And he's doing, yeah, she got to have a Tom Scarf.

Why don't we ever have songs anymore?

I loved it when Russell did it.

We had like maybe 2 in the Moffatt era and they were such sort of middle-aged white guys.

Of those awful ties.

Who has he ever worn a tie like?

Or covers.

It's a good outfit.

I think so too.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's very designed, but I'm so young.

Yeah, it is ridiculously young, isn't it?

All that hair.

He's only in his early 30s in this, isn't he?

34?

Yeah, something...

I think your room's 34.

That's beautiful too, isn't it?

We didn't see enough of that.

[58:33]

Oh, wow.

It's a console room with the green screen in the middle.

It's great to see another room.

Yep.

Oh, here she is.

Oh, she's all recovered now.

And she's just fancying him. that's right That's not going to end well is it?

And of course, this pays off. at the end of World War 3 where she invites him to dinner with her family and he says, I don't do that.

And so there's, you know, this doctor isn't just a new actor.

It's a character, like there's a character change.

He's been he's been healed.

Where are the stories coming from?

They also, um, the whole glasses thing.

Um, they, in the book, it's because he's actually got bad eyesight.

Like they, um, who, was it Jenny Colgan?

Yeah, she's like, he, he, he looked, he looked at the screen and it was a bit fuzzy.

That's odd.

This is so beautiful in the snow and then...

[59:33]

In the gnome.

It's all burning.

The background there.

That's such a gloriously English thing, isn't it?

The bad Christmas jumper.

I didn't know about those things.

Till last couple of years when everybody seems to have them.

Very Bridget Jones diary.

And they're mostly Doctor Who ones now.

Yeah.

It is a great little outfit.

At the time, I thought, meh, but no, certainly seeing what we've had since, I like it.

And he looks great in it too.

Like even without the big coat, because he's so skinny, like it just looks like a...

Yeah, scruffy mod.

Yeah.

And again, you know, Russell always talks about having a distinct silhouette for the doctor.

You know, you should be able to know it's the doctor even, you know, in long shot.

Or in the dark.

Or in the dark.

I love Noel and Camille in the background.

Talk, just watching him have that conversation about her going with him.

[1:00:36]

Yeah.

It's hard too, because Noel would have loved to have had continuing work on the series.

You just know it.

Here I am sucking it up.

Other offers I'm available for other offers.

He's also such a bloody good actor.

Yeah.

Oh, well, he's done tremendously well and absolutely deserves to have. his own lick back sticker set.

Fans can adhere.

I love that detail as well Creepy hands.

He has got creepy child hands.

He does.

Creepy, wrinkly child hands.

Teeth.

It's very Russell too, to have the beautiful meteors and the snowfall be, you know, burning up dead bodies.

Like he's, he's sort of cynical and horrible deep down on some level.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That way, let's get that way, let's smile at each other.

[1:01:39]

Yes, hold hands.

Crane shot.

Yeah, this is going to turn out well. one crane shot in this episode, we can't afford to remount.

Imagine that.

We're going to have a lot of fun this season, imagining what...

Sarah, imagining what it would have been like if we'd had Eccles for all of these.

Quite exciting.

And some of them are quite late, didn't they?

Well, that was from like episode 11 or something.

I don't think Eccles would have sold the joy of working with Elizabeth Sladen. in the same way that because he wasn't a fan in the way that DOVID was.

That's true.

Whereas, I'm in tears for half that episode because it's your childhood coming back.

Oh, that was gripping. awesome.

It was wonderful.

Yeah.

Really great introduction to...

I don't remember that being so good.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's rusty.

I remember at the time going, I want more of the doctor in this than feeling a bit cheated, but I honestly feel now and have felt over the years just the whole buildup and the little titbits and it's just what was required.

[1:02:51]

Yeah, and if you do it, you can't just do it for, you know, you have to really go the whole hog and have him absent for like 40 minutes or whatever.

You have to do it properly.

So they give us enough of a taste at the beginning.

So we get, you know, because we are watching to see what the new doctor's going to be like.

So we did get that, but then keeping him off screen, I think, for the most of us, the right decision.

I think we're gonna wind up.

The 1st of many brilliantly excellent Christmas specials, so I hope you're far less sober than we are.

Well, dear listener, that's all we have time for this week.

We'll be back next year with our coverage of series two, starting with new Earth.

If you want to hear our searing hot take on the New Year's Day episode of Doctor Who.

We plan to record and release a new episode of Jody into Terror very soon after it airs.

So that's Jody Interterra.com, Jody Interterra on Apple Podcasts and at Jody Interterra on Twitter.

[1:03:53]

And don't forget, over on Bondfinger.

You can find commentaries on every film in the James Bond franchise.

That's bondfinger.com.

Bondfinger on Facebook and Apple Podcast and at Bondfingercast on Twitter, and we're hoping to bring you thrilling new Bondfinger content sometime over the next few weeks.

Until next time, may you and your loved ones have a very Merry Christmas and a delightful and prosperous New Year.

We'll see you in 2019.

Thank you very much for listening and good night.

See you soon.

Good night.

Stay warm.