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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.

58 Comments

  1. elvwood
    May 24, 2013 @ 11:06 pm

    Well, our host says we can talk about whatever in these comments; so since the TV series is over until November I thought I'd try an experiment and start a discussion on a story for which there was no blog entry. This week I'm going to bring up a subject I intended to discuss in the post on The Creed of the Kromon, but didn't get around to. It's not posting, so it looks as if I'm going to have to split though. Let's see if removing the intro is enough…

    Reply

  2. elvwood
    May 24, 2013 @ 11:06 pm

    The Natural History of Fear
    Jim Mortimore's only Big Finish gig as author (though he did the sound design and music for several) is a slightly marmite release, largely loved or hated. In my case (and I'm in the majority, here) it's loved: in fact, it's my favourite story from the Divergent Universe arc, pushing Rob Shearman's (also rather lovely) Scherzo into second place. That isn't why I was sorry Phil stopped his audio run just before getting to it, though: rather, it's because of its themes and linkages. So I want to look at some of them now. Spoilers ahoy!

    First, the Divergent Universe arc. Whatever you think of it as an idea, or how poorly the concept of a universe without time was executed, it did have some thematic coherence. Most prominently, perhaps, is the idea of "revolution". This crops up either as violent social upheaval or as a recurring cycle in almost all the stories (the possible exception being The Creed of the Kromon, which I'd rather not think about). Social upheaval covers The Twilight Kingdom and Faith Stealer, cycles cover the rest. You've got the Doctor and Charley going round and round in Scherzo, time doing the same in The Last; there's the labyrinth (and its modern analog, the town hall) in Caerdroia, and – finally – The Next Life turning the whole arc into a loop. A 360° arc, if you will.

    The Natural History of Fear is where the two meanings fuse. Dormir comme un sabot, the images of the spinning top and the Disc Jockey's discs, the minds being endlessly recycled; the (literal) questioning of the social order, culminating in revolution. And then there's the lack of time, represented here by the lack of social change (again accentuated by the same personalities being used over and over): if every day, every generation is the same, time might technically be marching on – but what is the point of it? So this is, in effect, a story about time's arrival in Light City (and note the discussion of lifespans only occurs after the revolution has begun). And it also tells us all we need to know about C'rizz: he's a monk, and of the three main character's personalities, his is the one that simply blends in. In summary: you don't need the arc, you just need this story.

    There's more to it than that, though. Take Light City. It is, of course, a homage to the film Dark City, which is the source for many of the ideas behind this story. But it is also a reference to White City, home of BBC Television Centre. And what does the Broadcast Lodge of Light City broadcast? Why, Doctor Who, of course. In a story that we are listening to via an old-fashioned radio (listen to the theme music), recorded on a couple of CDs in a case labelled, clearly, "Doctor Who". Can I mention emboitment here? Or perhaps Möbius strips?

    The thing is, as well as being Doctor Who, this is a story about Doctor Who: the fans, the creators, the stories. There's the Restoration Team (sorry, Restoration Group), trying to restore the Doctor and his companions to the pristine glory of their original form. There's the discussions of repeated, lost, misfiled and unmade episodes – at least one of which, Dark Rising, is an actual unmade story in our universe. And there's the horror we feel seeing our show being used as a weapon by a totalitarian state. In addition, there is a sense in which it's not actually a Doctor Who story, since the current TARDISless crew only appear in recordings referenced by various characters; and this is playing with the format in a way that echoes, but goes far beyond, the structure of Vengeance on Varos.

    And…cut. I could go on, but I'm out of time for now – and anyway, I want to hear your thoughts, if you're up for it?

    Reply

  3. David
    May 24, 2013 @ 11:28 pm

    For extra essays, how about the Telos novella "Ghost Ship" by Keith Topping? It's a truly bizarre book written entirely from – supposedly – the 4th Doctor's point of view, but he doesn't sound or act anything like him. It tries to get by with just a sense of doom and horror, but that just means the 4th Doctor telling us how scared he feels.

    I'm not sure what you might get out of it – maybe an essay on how attempts to write the books from the Doctor's POV have largely failed, or how many booklines just avoided it entirely? Why is it hard to do? Why is it inadvisible (is it?) And specifically for this Doctor, is it simply that the 4th Doctor doesn't really have a strong "character" as such – he's a collection of tics, bravado and funny line readings held together by the charismatic force of Tom Baker, but you can't really imagine the 4th Doctor having to, for instance, comfort a drunk and crying companion, or getting involved in genuinely emotional circumstances? And the 4th Doctor novels – aside from the season 17 ones – have largely been boring or lifeless, as there's not much to mine or explore in the 4th Doctor's persona beyond just replicating it?

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  4. David Anderson
    May 24, 2013 @ 11:38 pm

    I like elvwood's idea above as a regular slot.

    In addition, this week I want to speculate about new Who-era Pop Between Realities.
    Phil has said he'll be doing Battlestar Galactica because it was on just before Doctor Who in the US. But then by that logic when we get to Matt Smith he'll be doing Don't Scare the Hare.
    He should probably do Graham Norton anyway.
    My impression is that this is when we start to get series that are obviously influenced by Doctor Who. Being Human is obvious; Life on Mars / Ashes to Ashes slightly less so. I finished watching Broadchurch last week: it is excellent. It seems Chibnall is better at scripting when he knows he has to start with the ending rather than the premise.

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  5. Bennett
    May 24, 2013 @ 11:43 pm

    I'm currently enjoying my eBook starter kit, starting with the extra essays in the Hartnell version. I'm glad to see you're already on top of that comment about people who cite Hartnell as their favourite Doctor hating the vast majority of Doctor Who. Hartnell fans aren't just curmudgeons or contrarians, they can also be fans who came into the show through his era, and appreciate its breath-taking ambition and variety as the germination of a seed that would grow into the series we know today. Or I might just be saying this because I'm one of them. (Though surely it can't just be me who sees Classic Season 2 as more similar to the New Series than anything which came after it?)

    Other than this I have been more than satisifed with everything I've read, and can only make the obvious suggestion of revising the "Is his name Doctor Who?" essay based on its treatment in Series 7.

    In fact I can only think of one Eruditorum essay I've ever read that I'd suggest a revision for. But that will have to wait for the Willliams-Turner era book.

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  6. goatie
    May 25, 2013 @ 12:07 am

    According to the ratings at thetimescales.com, "The Wrath of the Iceni" is the best 4th Doctor/Leela story.

    Reply

  7. elvwood
    May 25, 2013 @ 12:13 am

    "I like elvwood's idea above as a regular slot."

    Ta – let's see if anyone bites…

    Reply

  8. Anton B
    May 25, 2013 @ 12:24 am

    Oooh I'd put that 'Hartnell fans' comment out of my head as a piece of teasing on a par with McClaren's 'never trust a hippy'. As a Doctor Who fan from my my own early childhood's 'Unearthly Child' onwards I see no conflict of interest in appreciating the early incarnations as much as the later ones. All of them are unique and yet maintain that certain mix of elements which we and this blog are constantly striving to define as quintesentially Doctor Who. As somebody said quite recently 'The souffle is not the souffle. The Souffle is the recipe.'

    As to suggestions for discussion or essay. How about some kind of analysis of the ways in which each successive actor who has played the role has managed the Doctor persona off-screen; in TV interview, personal appearances, conventions, signings etc. I am thinking mainly here of the contrast between Pertwee and Tom Baker and to a certain extent Hartnell (who it could be said invented the habit as a kind of 'Of course Doctor Who is as real as Sant Clause. Don't spoil it mums and dads' attitude) who all relished maintaining character outside the narrative and perhaps Troughton, Davison, Eccleston who preserved the mystique but never lost sight of their role as actors.

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  9. Triturus
    May 25, 2013 @ 12:56 am

    Way too trivial for an extra essay I'm sure, but in terms of full-on geeky completeness, what about the 1980 board game "The Game of Time And Space"?

    http://boardgamegeek.com/image/14058/doctor-who-the-game-of-time-space

    I got this as a christmas present. It was a right faff to set up (something like 60 x 3 tiny cardboard circles had to be put out every bloody time) but I remember quite enjoying it (when I was nine).

    From reading this blog, I've started to realise how full-on some fans can be re. continuity fetishism and pulling everything into the canon, so I'd be interested to know if anyone ever bothered trying to work the companions (Lyla?), planets and monsters that weren't taken from the TV into the "Whoniverse". Because despite being an exercise in sheer pointlessness, I'd be slightly disappointed if nobody did.

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  10. David Anderson
    May 25, 2013 @ 12:56 am

    Unfortunately, I don't know Natural History of Fear.

    Reply

  11. David Anderson
    May 25, 2013 @ 1:00 am

    Does anyone remember what was on before and after Doctor Who during the Eccleston and Tennant years? My search engine skills aren't up to it.

    Reply

  12. Matthew Celestis
    May 25, 2013 @ 1:07 am

    For the Fourth Doctor book, how about an essay on those Doctor Who jigsaw sets? The ones with the giant Robots on another planet and the Zygons in the marsh.

    They were such amazing paintings.

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  13. Anton B
    May 25, 2013 @ 1:12 am

    I still have that game! you're right it was a complete nightmare to set up and the rules were the most complicated I had ever seen in a board game at the time but many a hilarious evening was spent trying to win it. The opportunities within the game play to form alliances and scupper players was almost limitless. Now you mention it some of the characters and objects did seem as though they'd been created by someone who had never seen the show. The board design was beautiful though.

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  14. Triturus
    May 25, 2013 @ 1:16 am

    Now that we're post-Time War, of course, it's be impossible to win. Just a big hole in the centre of the board…

    Reply

  15. William Whyte
    May 25, 2013 @ 2:24 am

    Though surely it can't just be me who sees Classic Season 2 as more similar to the New Series than anything which came after it?

    Me too! And especially similar to New Series series 1 before the formula really baked in.

    Reply

  16. William Whyte
    May 25, 2013 @ 2:44 am

    I'd like to see you revisit the part of Daleks' Masterplan where you talk about the plot to kill Vicki. From what I can tell this isn't exactly what happened — although Vicki was meant to leave before the end of Masterplan at the latest, I can't find any evidence that there was an explicit plan to kill her which Katrina was later swapped into.

    (I also think you have the wrong take on it — killing Vicki off wouldn't be a dismissal of youth culture; if she had died heroically, as Katrina did, surely that would be an endorsement of her rather than a condemnation?)

    BTW, since everyone's doing it, I've started up a Who-marathon blog, but with a very specific mission: one post a day on the stories in order, pointing out something to love about each of them (and in some cases relitigating discussions from the Eruditorum). It's over at http://wwhyte.livejournal.com (yes, Livejournal! I am very old). So far only The Reign of Terror has really defeated me. Some of the entries are throwaway, but I'm pleased with the discussion of truth as a way to set you free in Marco Polo, the attempt to make sense of the dual Doctors in The Massacre, and the first observation on the Internet that Lord of the Flies is an important antecedent to Power of the Daleks.

    (hat tip to Celebrate, Regenerate for the idea of being basically celebratory about everything, obviously).

    Reply

  17. Wm Keith
    May 25, 2013 @ 3:02 am

    Now, this is the advantage of taping it off the TV. If Phil wants to do a redemptive reading of The National Lottery Draws or World Cup Match Of The Day then, go ahead and ram!

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  18. Wm Keith
    May 25, 2013 @ 3:06 am

    Or, shit, I'd forgotten this one, the gameshow called something like National Lottery Pack Your Suitcase.

    We really need something on Celebrity Wrestling.

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  19. Abigail Brady
    May 25, 2013 @ 3:07 am

    S1 and S2 were between Strictly Dance Fever and the Lottery draw; S3 seems to have been sandwiched between The Lottery (People's Quiz) and main lottery programme. S4 was initially between "The Kids Are All Right" and "I'd Do Anything"; it got delayed for Eurovision and the week after that there was more Anything so the running order was changed round and you get Kids Are All Right/I'd Do Anything Final/Doctor Who/Casualty/Lottery/I'd Do Anything Results. Then it starts being before the lottery again, mostly.

    IOW S4 was the season when they started fitting it around the schedule rather than it being the fixture around which the other programmes were organised. I wonder how much of this was Jay Hunt taking over as controller after Peter Fincham had to resign…

    Reply

  20. Andrew Hickey
    May 25, 2013 @ 3:59 am

    The Fourth Doctor/Leela Big Finish stories aren't really very good. I'd do the Paul Magrs audios instead (Hornets Nest, Demon Quest, Serpent Crest), which have the huge advantage of being by Paul Magrs rather than Nicholas Briggs.

    Reply

  21. Arkadin
    May 25, 2013 @ 4:45 am

    A Time Can Be Rewritten essay on Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf?

    Reply

  22. brownstudy
    May 25, 2013 @ 5:04 am

    6 days a week postings appeal to my greedy eat-everything-from-the-buffet nature, but I do get behind and it takes some time to catch up. It's also a bit like eating really rich cheesecake — I liked the old 3 days/wk + 1 weekend post as a way to digest it all.

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  23. jane
    May 25, 2013 @ 5:18 am

    You've covered everything so well, elvwood, I'm hard pressed to say much else but cheer in agreement. Cheers!

    Oh, but there's this: it's another story that's made for the audio format — I'm not sure it would work so well in a novel, or on TV. So it's also got that specific self-consciousness going for it, and in a way that lends to the self-consciousness of the people being a crucial step in their movement towards revolution.

    The old man must die and the new man will discover to his inexpressible joy that he has never existed.

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  24. Unknown
    May 25, 2013 @ 7:22 am

    One Fourth Doctor novel I wish you had done is Jonathan Morris' Festival of Death. I haven't read it for a while but its playing with time was very satisfying.

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  25. Pen Name Pending
    May 25, 2013 @ 7:37 am

    As for shows that have been I influenced by Doctor Who, I'd expect Merlin and Primeval. Merlin has some of the same production team, billed as Saturday night family drama, but in a later timeslot and with a planned 4/5 year run with an actual ending; something that Doctor Who can never do. There's an interesting contrast there. I don't know much about Primeval, but I read that it was ITV's answer to Doctor Who. RTD liked it, but felt that the cast wasn't racially diverse enough.

    Also, you mentioned that you were interested in doing Torchwood/Sarah Jane/Sherlock episode by episode because it will fill out a book; are we getting these on the blog or only as a book? Just curious.

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  26. Bob Dillon
    May 25, 2013 @ 7:38 am

    I backed a Hartnell extra essay and now can't think of a subject, as the ones I had had in mind are going to be done, so I'm casting around for ideas….

    Austin Powers on the power of sixties nostalgia?

    Bob

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  27. Phil
    May 25, 2013 @ 7:49 am

    "I'm already going to rephrase the infamous "trust nobody who lists Hartnell or McGann as their favorite Doctor" line"

    But wasn't that line originally phrased more like "anyone who lists Hartnell AND McGann as their favourite Doctors"?

    I mean, it's still wrong. Anyone who can appreciate both weird 60s TV plays with a focus on exploration and continuity-mired multi-media cult sci-fi is clearly the ideal audience for Doctor Who.

    Have I said this before? I've been having a lot of deja vu lately

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  28. Ethan Iverson
    May 25, 2013 @ 9:15 am

    Hello, I supported your Kickstarter; I'm looking forward to receiving hard copies of all your books. You're brilliant.

    I only really know the Tom Baker stuff well, but enjoy reading WHO criticism about all eras.

    My one complaint about your work is how little you pay attention to the music on the show. I'm a professional musician, I play in a jazz group called The Bad Plus. As a kid Baker WHO was a formative musical influence.

    You are shockingly harsh about Dudley Simpson the two times you mention him here. I don't understand this; of course not everything he did is equally great, but the scores of PYRAMIDS OF MARS, THE INVASION OF TIME, and CITY OF DEATH are pretty famous among those that like that era of WHO music.

    When I was on tour in Sidney a few years I called all the "D. Simpsons" in the directory and actually spoke to him. It was a pleasure to tell him how much his work meant to me…as in, "I might not be in Sidney right now unless you hadn't been in-house composer for most of Tom Baker WHO."

    Anyway, keep it up, I really enjoy your incredibly intelligent and wide-ranging perspectives.

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  29. Lewis Christian
    May 25, 2013 @ 9:16 am

    Weekends / off-days could be a great chance to discuss DVD material – documentaries, interviews, making-ofs, etc. It sounds dull, but there's a lot of value in many extras (the one which springs to mind instantly is "Come In Number Five").

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  30. Ewa Woowa
    May 25, 2013 @ 12:48 pm

    Have you considered doing a post on monkeys?
    I myself have won the award for "sexiest monkey whose name begins with an E" for the last 7 years running.
    As you are an award winning blog, this makes perfect sense.

    Finally, blooming germans,… couldn't they have both lost???

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  31. David Anderson
    May 25, 2013 @ 1:15 pm

    I haven't heard them but given Magrs' aesthetics I'd guess those would fit better into the Williams-era book?

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  32. Andrew Hickey
    May 25, 2013 @ 1:25 pm

    They wouldn't be a wonderful fit in either — they're very much their own thing, rather than a recreation of an era, but they have aspects of both the body-horror and mind-control stuff in the Hinchcliffe/Holmes period and the camp humour of the Williams stories.

    Chronologically, though, they'd have to fit into one of the gaps in Baker's Doctor's story where he's not got a companion, and that's only either after The Deadly Assassin or The Invasion Of Time. I'd suggest the former, because there's no K-9, and because he seeks out Mike Yates, who must be relatively fresh in his mind at that time.

    Also (SPOILER!!) one of the Demon Quest stories features the Emperor Claudius, and so that one would tie in quite nicely with the I, CLAVDIVS Pop Between Realities, which would be in the Hinchcliffe volume.

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  33. elvwood
    May 25, 2013 @ 1:29 pm

    Ooh – love this idea!

    Reply

  34. Anton B
    May 25, 2013 @ 1:41 pm

    Yeah a charred, smoking hole with John Hurt's face peering out of it.

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  35. Bennett
    May 25, 2013 @ 3:33 pm

    Rereading the Hartnell essays now, and…well, it's almost too picky, but there's a brief claim in The Daleks (¶ 11) that the Fifth Doctor goes on a "brief solo trip in Frontios that can theoretically be of any length". I've recently rewatched it, and its made explicit that Tegan accompanies him during this journey.

    This isn't the first time I've heard this claim. I think the confusion comes from Big Finish setting solo Fifth Doctor plays like Excelis Dawns during this trip….which I've also just listened to (it being the 5th month of the anniversary year) and does include a line about Tegan being holed up inside the TARDIS waiting for him.

    Not that it hurts the argument…any Doctor with a fully-functioning TARDIS has an arbitrary number of opportunities for solo adventures. I probably wouldn't have mentioned it at all if it wasn't followed up by the sentence "I know my pedantry as well as you do"….which sounded like a challenge :).

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  36. Kit
    May 25, 2013 @ 5:25 pm

    (psst, in case you ever need to type it again: Sydney.)

    (signed, someone in Sydney who likes The Bad Plus and found the Dudley panel a highlight of this year's Whovention)

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  37. brownstudy
    May 25, 2013 @ 5:29 pm

    I think we have a new blogger in the family with his own unique take on Who!

    My memory of most Who music from the classic era is of electronic rinky-tink that I always had to screen out so that I could focus on the dialogue or visuals. I'd certainly welcome someone knowledgeable about that particular Who facet contributing to the ongoing conversation; I'd love to learn more about listening to music (as I'm learning from this blog how to look at television stories).

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  38. brownstudy
    May 25, 2013 @ 5:33 pm

    6 days a week postings appeal to my greedy eat-everything-from-the-buffet nature, but I do get behind and it takes some time to catch up. It's also a bit like eating really rich cheesecake — I liked the old 3 days/wk + 1 weekend post as a way to digest it all.

    That said, I do like the idea of minor supplementary material (good DVD commentaries, etc) dropped in as filler.

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  39. William Whyte
    May 25, 2013 @ 5:53 pm

    It was reminiscent of the TSR board game DUNGEON! but perhaps less fun.

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  40. Scott
    May 25, 2013 @ 10:21 pm

    "And the 4th Doctor novels – aside from the season 17 ones – have largely been boring or lifeless, as there's not much to mine or explore in the 4th Doctor's persona beyond just replicating it?"

    I dunno; I think "Managra" does a pretty good job of hinting at more of an emotional inner core to the Fourth Doctor while still keeping him recognisably as the Fourth Doctor (although that said, it is mostly kept as a series of implications and untold stories).

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  41. Scott
    May 25, 2013 @ 10:22 pm

    I cannot support including "Managra" in the Tom Baker book enough; a personal favourite of mine, that one, and I'm interested in your views on it whether you like it or not.

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  42. elvwood
    May 25, 2013 @ 11:11 pm

    Thanks! I missed one trick – when I mentioned the lack of social change, a more appropriate phrase would have been "lack of material social progress" – but I was pleased with how it came together. (Saying "I could go on" was a bit cheeky; I really meant "I'd probably think of something else if I had time to listen to it again".)

    Yes, it certainly matches the medium, making it a good partner for Scherzo – a couple of the audioist audios I've ever heard.

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  43. jane
    May 26, 2013 @ 4:36 am

    At the very least, a post on minkeys.

    Reply

  44. Tymothi
    May 26, 2013 @ 9:34 am

    So, this happened: http://www.rifftrax.com/vod/dr-who-and-daleks It's pretty damn funny, includes lots of jokes about canon, and even a chunky Web Planet joke.

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  45. vitaminbillwebb
    May 26, 2013 @ 1:10 pm

    I've always felt that LOST was a major influence on Moffat's approach to the show as showrunner. Piling mystery on mystery without really thinking things through thoroughly seems like his modus operandi. (Note: This isn't, from me, at least, a criticism. I think, for the most part, both shows operate very well using this approach)

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  46. Froborr
    May 26, 2013 @ 3:04 pm

    No thoughts on essays, alas, but since no one else seems to have answered your last question: My weekend was excellent. I spent it at Anime Boston, my favorite convention, presenting and attending panels. I got to heavily evangelize two of my favorite discoveries of the past year (this blog and AKB0048), hang out with my friend Charles Dunbar (who is a serious intellectual heavyweight, Ninth Doctor cosplayer, and Joseph Campbell fanboy–I want to put him and Philip in a room and film the resulting explosions), and present panels to my favorite crowd at any convention–my panels at AB are always better-attended and get meatier questions than at any other con.

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  47. inkdestroyedmybrush
    May 26, 2013 @ 5:53 pm

    Yes! Festival of Death is one of the two that i wanted to mention. I had the ambition to take a TV plot, one from the williams years that was let down by budget and approach and try to do it right. And i thought succeeded quite well actually.

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  48. inkdestroyedmybrush
    May 26, 2013 @ 5:58 pm

    The two worth looking at, in my opinion, are Festival of Death and Tomb of Valdemar, which finally takes an approach of presenting a 4th Doctor that we both recognize and don't, since he's Tom's Doctor under stress in way that we're not used to seeing him. Its ambitious in its scope and a bit oblique in its storytelling, but actually captures the Doctor and Romana I in themiddle of the Key to Time season. Quite enjoyed that one.

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  49. JohnB
    May 26, 2013 @ 6:07 pm

    Managra is a must!

    Hell, it reveals the Enemy of the 8DA's!

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  50. nimonus
    May 27, 2013 @ 3:13 pm

    I would definitely recommend looking at the Tom Baker / Leela lost stories, as both are very enjoyable – I certainly got into them more than the new stories with Tom and Louise – and both are historically interesting. Foe from the Future is the script that became Talons of Weing Chiang once it was heavily re-written by Robert Holmes, and Valley of Death is written by Philip Hinchcliffe – though bizarrely it feels more like a Graham Williams story in many ways.

    Of the BF original stories, Wrath of the Icini is by far the best, serving as a very strong character piece for Leela (which is only one of the ways it is totally atypical of the era, the other being the fact that it is a pure historical, but it is still very good nonetheless) and does continue the Hinchcliffe-era idea of the Doctor "educating" Leela and introducing her to the history of her distant ancestors.

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  51. Elizabeth Sandifer
    May 27, 2013 @ 3:16 pm

    Oh, good call – the lost stories are perfect for what I want to do.

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  52. Elizabeth Sandifer
    May 27, 2013 @ 3:17 pm

    Both strong contenders, but the last episode covered in this book is Talons of Weng-Chiang. Volume 5 will be Seasons 15-18.

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  53. Brandon
    May 27, 2013 @ 3:25 pm

    So the Edge of Destruction post used to be substantially different, right? I'm not just radically mis-remembering it back from when it first went up? Because I remember thinking the original version was interesting.

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  54. Elizabeth Sandifer
    May 27, 2013 @ 3:36 pm

    The only post I've changed here, on the blog, is The Massacre, which I replaced with the revised version when a production error left it out of the print version of the Hartnell book (a major reason I'm revising it).

    But all the Season One posts were pretty heavily rewritten for the book because, frankly, I didn't learn how to write TARDIS Eruditorum until The Dalek Invasion of Earth/The Rescue or so.

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  55. Daru
    May 28, 2013 @ 5:15 am

    Hi there – coming in late to the party! A wonderful Bank Holiday weekend here in Scotland. Spent saturday and the weekend away from laptop – spent time in wonderful sunshine with my partner by a beautiful salmon river in our area, just reading dozing and eating food. Sunday did a spot od care work for learning disabilities. Was due to run and outdoors-based story making and arts workshop for adults but postponed date till August as had very few bookings (the feeling of a surprise day off was good after the disappointment!)

    Regarding your current posts – enjoying the frequency and the evolving of your blog's scope and your writing. Good to hear via these 'waffling' posts what others are up to also.

    Ideas for possible posts: Some of these MAY have been covered by you already, so apologies if they have (still gotta catch up with the Eighth Doctor's era). These are:

    – As with Ethan above, I would love at least one post on the shows music. Perhaps if as he said you were not keen on Dudley it may be interesting to contrast his work with Murray's? Especially in the current show it may be interesting to look at how music affects viewing.

    – Roleplay Gaming – though you may have covered this? As it spans all the way up to Matt's current era, could be of interest?

    – Conventions may have a lot to offer as there are those within the UK and US circuits.

    – Don't know if you have covered Iain M Bank's Culture novels?

    Just some initial thoughts anyways, Cheers for now.

    Reply

  56. Elizabeth Sandifer
    May 30, 2013 @ 8:33 am

    Sorry to be slow to reply to this. I need to not be shockingly harsh to Simpson, you're right – he is quite good. However, I'm not the person to go talk at length about music, as it's not my field, but yes, Simpson did some marvelous work. I'll probably expand Horns of Nimon a bit to talk about him, as that's a bit of a slender post.

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  57. Andrew McLean
    June 6, 2013 @ 3:52 pm

    Brownstudy – you might want to check out the podcast Adventures in Time, Space and Music. It looks at individual stories and composers from the old series, providing analysis of what the music is doing and sometimes a history of the musical instruments involved.

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  58. Andrew McLean
    June 6, 2013 @ 3:56 pm

    Managra is also one of my favourites. My one great regret in relation to it is that I missed the charity anthology Perfect Timing, which included a short story by the same author set in the same world. I would dearly love to find a copy.

    Reply

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