Drums Along The Mersey?

From the Radio Times:

Britain has recently elected a new Prime Minister: one Harold Saxon. Viewers who were paying attention will have heard his name mentioned throughout this series. But it's only now, as he announces mankind's first contact with alien race the Toclafane, that his dark plans are coming to fruition. John Simm guest-stars as the sinister Saxon - and a host of familiar faces come along for the ride.

John Simm is hilariously heinous, donning the Master's dastardly mantle and adorning it with his own fun accessories. And yes, he upstages David Tennant just as Roger Delgado used to do to Jon Pertwee in the 70s. This thrilling first part of the season finale plays like a Spooks with the ideas department in overdrive. Amusing cameos, crafty Torchwood overlap, a Captain Scarlet homage and some serious jeopardy complete a first-class package. One week will never seem so long.

For readers wondering why this post is called 'Drums Along The Mersey', there were, in Fact, drums along the Mersey whilst I wrote it. Those with their windows open may have herd them.

See you all next week...

Peace, at last...?

From the Radio Times:

On a flying visit to Cardiff, the Doctor is reintroduced to a familiar face. Shortly after, the Tardis spins out of control and its crew find themselves transported to the end of the universe. There they discover that the remnants of the human race are under threat from the savage Futurekind. Even the Doctor finds the situation rather disconcerting, but a committed science professor (Derek Jacobi) refuses to accept that his people are beyond help.

Derek Jacobi is as great as you'd expect, and there's engaging banter between Jack and the Doctor, but otherwise Utopia is a surprising clunker, seemingly created for its climax alone… thankfully, it's a beauty.

This episode (and the next two) have been hyped to promise great things and I think that what we'll see tonight will have The Professor regenerate at the end into Mr Saxon but we'll find out tonight if I'm right!

Sleep well?

I never thought it would happen, but it did. Last night, I hardly slept - for two reasons!

The first was toothache.

I had had difficulty concentrating during the day and in the early evening, had to take some paracetamol to combat the ache. It was when I was eating a packet of crisps that I broke part of an old, dead tooth and this only made the pain worse.

I went for a short walk and in the park area at the end of my street, there is a war-memorial with a statue of an angel.

That was the second reason.

During the night, I lay awake as the dull thud of my toothache hammered its way further into my brain. Eventually, I got out of bed and looked for some tweezers. The only set I could find were old and rusty but they served well. Shining a torch into the bathroom mirror, I manoeuvred the tweezers onto my broken tooth and after 20 minutes or so of prodding & twisting, finally pulled out the broken part of my tooth.

The pain died down and disappeared after a few minutes so I made a cup of tea before going back to bed.

Then I still could not sleep. The statue of the angel played in my mind, lurching around the house and creeping closer and closer...

All I can say is that last night, I had Doctor-Who-induced nightmare. Thank you to the Doctor Who team for that, especially Steven Moffat (writer) for his fantastic imagination.

Matchsticks on Standby...

OK, so I missed a couple of weeks with the Rdio Times previews - I've been busy!

Never mind, here's the preview for this week.

From the Radio Times:

A young woman called Sally comes to regret breaking into an old, abandoned house. There the Weeping Angels wait. As people begin disappearing, Sally intercepts cryptic messages from a mysterious stranger known as the Doctor, who's trapped in the year 1969. But can she make sense of them before the Angels claim their prize?

Suggestion can be a powerful weapon, and writer Steven Moffat uses it with consummate cunning in this neat little mindbender. Those hoping for a full return to action of Martha and the Doctor may be disappointed; they do appear, but only fleetingly. It doesn't mar enjoyment of a creepy and clever episode, carried well by promising actress Carey Mulligan. It's a real haunted-house special and one that will unsettle impressionable children. This is the story that even made the Duke of Who Russell T Davies "scared to death".

The preview at the close of last week's episode looked really unsettling.

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the angels look like they've taken a cast of Steven Moffat's head?