Don’t look at the future. We drew something awful on it.

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Elizabeth Sandifer

Elizabeth Sandifer created Eruditorum Press. She’s not really sure why she did that, and she apologizes for the inconvenience. She currently writes Last War in Albion, a history of the magical war between Alan Moore and Grant Morrison. She used to write TARDIS Eruditorum, a history of Britain told through the lens of a ropey sci-fi series. She also wrote Neoreaction a Basilisk, writes comics these days, and has ADHD so will probably just randomly write some other shit sooner or later. Support Elizabeth on Patreon.

17 Comments

  1. Nyq Only
    September 20, 2013 @ 12:21 am

    //Moffat keeps each episode moving, but the series as a whole goes out with a bit of a whimper when it started with a bang.//

    Yes – good but not great.

    //Beyond that, the puzzle box doesn’t come close to hanging together.//

    Watched Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead again this afternoon – for the first time after Matt Smith became the doctor. He makes some very clever puzzle boxes.

    Reply

  2. BerserkRL
    September 20, 2013 @ 7:25 am

    Yeah, this is one where the plot holes become more and more enormous with each episode. But the writing is still sparkling and the lead actor brilliant.

    Plus it has a version of Torchwood.

    Reply

  3. Adam Riggio
    September 20, 2013 @ 7:43 am

    A version of Torchwood staffed by almost-Doctor Paterson Joseph and run by Wedge Antilles! I mean, acclaimed and versatile British character actor Denis Lawson.

    The first time I watched this, I had the benefit of once-a-week episodes (thanks to Canadian cable network Showcase's addiction to UK imports as pretty much the only things on that network people watch). I didn't really notice that many plotholes at all, as I was too mesmerized by the actors. Also, it strikes me as another one of those stories where the emotional and character narratives were more important than the straight plot or causal narratives. In other words, the technical details of Jackman/Hyde's condition and how it's related to his family are less important than the emotional narrative of Jackman and Claire, and the reiterative multi-generational nature of their relationship.

    I find this quite similar to Moffat's version of Doctor Who logic.

    Reply

  4. Ross
    September 20, 2013 @ 7:54 am

    When Lawson joined the cast of New Tricks, I spent two episodes squinting and saying "Where do I know that guy from?"

    I still don't know the answer, since there's no way I was actually recognizing him from a minor role in a 35 year old movie I don't even like all that much, and in which he's wearing a helmet and visor almost the entire time he's on screen.

    (This was of course the second time I had this experience with New Tricks, since Alun Armstrong is also in it)

    Reply

  5. Andre Salles
    September 20, 2013 @ 11:01 am

    Reading this, a question occurred to me. I know you don't plan to move past the Smith years, but are you planning to reference Capaldi as the Doctor at all (in the write-ups on The Fires of Pompeii or Children of Earth, for instance)? And if so, will you be doing a Pop Between Realities on The Thick of It? I would be interested to read that.

    Reply

  6. Elizabeth Sandifer
    September 20, 2013 @ 11:14 am

    I was actually always planning a Pop Between Realities on The Thick of It to go with Children of Earth.

    I will surely make mention of Capaldi, though it might not be much more than a throwaway joke, as there's not exactly going to be a lot to say when we get to Fires of Pompeii – I mean, not a frame of him as the Doctor will have aired.

    Reply

  7. Anton B
    September 20, 2013 @ 12:22 pm

    I came late to Jekyll, catching up on DVD after Moffat was announced as Doctor Who Show runner but before he'd cast Matt Smith. I loved it and was particularly impressed by James Nesbitt. I was convinced Moffatt would bring Nesbitt with him and cast him as a kind of charmingly dark Doctor who could turn unexpectedly nasty if pushed by a pathetic monster or two. I'm wondering now if that's where he'll go with writing Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor?

    Reply

  8. Matthew Blanchette
    September 20, 2013 @ 4:36 pm

    …is it just me, or does Nesbitt look disturbingly like Moffat in that picture? :-S

    Reply

  9. jane
    September 20, 2013 @ 6:55 pm

    It's you. Moffat's face is much more short, squat, and mashed in, a bell pepper to Nesbitt's yam.

    Reply

  10. Matthew Blanchette
    September 20, 2013 @ 7:59 pm

    But the hair. It's so CURLY…

    Reply

  11. Monicker
    September 21, 2013 @ 12:29 am

    He did have a larger role in Return of the Jedi, and in Local Hero. Or maybe you were a watcher of sitcom Kit Curran in the early 80s, of which he played the title part. Other appearances include Sensitive Skin, Candy Cabs and the 2005 Bleak House.

    Reply

  12. Rob Shearman
    September 21, 2013 @ 6:05 am

    No, I see the similarity too! Appropriately enough, I think – I don't believe there has ever been a character Steven has written that is closer to his own persona than that of Jekyll.

    Reply

  13. Rob Shearman
    September 21, 2013 @ 6:06 am

    Oops – to make clear, this was a response to Matthew.

    Reply

  14. Nicholas Tosoni
    September 21, 2013 @ 6:38 am

    That's probably the face he makes as he goes to write the impending deaths of beloved characters.

    Reply

  15. Matthew Blanchette
    September 21, 2013 @ 7:13 am

    Oh my god, I got a reply from ROB SHEARMAN!!! You've made my week! 😀

    Reply

  16. Eric Gimlin
    November 30, 2013 @ 5:03 pm

    Hindsight is always 20/20, isn't it? I've been rereading the blog from the Wilderness Years on the past couple weeks, and this pulled an LOL from me.

    Reply

  17. Elizabeth Sandifer
    November 30, 2013 @ 5:20 pm

    Well I was only off by one!

    Reply

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