The gravity globe is such a weird little thing - I guess it’s called that because of the way it hangs in the air? Pretty risky when you’re in a planet orbiting a black hole, that’s also projecting some kind of gravity funnel into deep space.

Even weirder is the fact that it’s recurring - the Anglican Marines use one in Matt Smith’s Weeping Angels two-parter.

also implying there’s no way Rose can get back to the other universe where Mickey and Pete are.

I like this thought - it had never occurred to me before.

What’s that you say? You were underwhelmed by last week’s bland TV lady as a villain? Can I interest you in the actual, Biblical Satan?

I don’t think I quite knew what to make of this episode when I first saw it - it’s so unlike anything else we’ve seen in the new series. But hot damn, do I ever love it now.

There’s a base! And it’s under siege! Groundbreaking! The Doctor’s quip about these bases being built out of kits is another bit that I definitely didn’t appreciate at the time, but it’s pretty funny. I think the Doctor/Rose relationship is in its ideal state here. Low-key flirty in a way that feels pretty real, without being maudlin (though it walks up to that line as they discuss what they’ll do if they ever escape Sanctuary Base 6).

The episode handles the base crew very well - they’re necessarily sketched out quickly, but they all seem like living, breathing people, and I really felt it when poor Toby and Scooti met their fates. Will Thorp deserves particular credit for making Toby seem like a sympathetic character, and then flipping to seeming incredibly threatening once he’s been taken over by the Beast.

Pretty nice spacesuits. I wonder if we’ll ever see them again.

I’m sure there’s loads that can be said about this episode, but I dunno. It’s great. Bring on the next one. I’ll be waiting here with an inverted self-extrapolating reflex of 6 to the power of 6 every 6 seconds.

Every one commits treason who, in Canada,

(a) uses force or violence for the purpose of overthrowing the government of Canada or a province;

(b) without lawful authority, communicates or makes available to an agent of a state other than Canada, military or scientific information or any sketch, plan, model, article, note or document of a military or scientific character that he knows or ought to know may be used by that state for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or defence of Canada;

© conspires with any person to commit high treason or to do anything mentioned in paragraph (a);

(d) forms an intention to do anything that is high treason or that is mentioned in paragraph (a) and manifests that intention by an overt act; or

(e) conspires with any person to do anything mentioned in paragraph (b) or forms an intention to do anything mentioned in paragraph (b) and manifests that intention by an overt act.

CBC:

The Criminal Code defines treason primarily as the use of force to overthrow the government or sharing with another state information that may be used for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or defence of Canada.

Seems pretty much the same?

This is another episode where the pair of Doctor and Rose feel to have jumped around a bit. After last episode’s downer ending they’re all upbeat again. This has happened a few times this series.

Yeah, I know I’ve been banging on about this all season, but it really seems the like episodic sequence is all out of whack.

This is a pretty average episode, and I don’t have a good sense for what people think of it in general, but I’ve always been fond of it for one reason: the domestic approach.

Eddie Connolly is an absolute cartoon character, but he’s a type of stock character that I like a lot. A petty tyrant in his own home, clearly a product of older times that are coming to an end, likely having experienced a fair amount of wartime trauma, who ultimately gets his comeuppance. Jamie Foreman’s performance is a little over-the-top, but in a way, that makes it work even better for me. He’s got so much impotent bluster, it really paints a picture. To a lesser extent, this expands out to the overall setting - this is a society in transition, and there’s a palpable tug-of-war between the old and the new that I find compelling.

The core plot with the Wire? Adequate. It does what it needs to do, and not much more. Maureen Lipman plays the character well, and the notion that the Wire was “executed” by their own people is interesting, but there’s not a lot to chew on.

Mark Gatiss seems to have a really good grasp of who the Tenth Doctor and Rose are - their dialogue, both together and separately, has a lot of energy. A fun random bit that I’m not sure I noticed before: when the Doctor is cornered by the police and does the bit about wrapping your hand around your elbow, the goon in the background tries it while Detective Inspector Bishop is trying to act intimidating.

Using an historic television signal to transmit to the masses is a good idea. Maybe the Doctor should keep that one in mind.

Often themselves. The focus of the article is overwhelmingly on children who were injured in without the involvement of another vehicle.

AFAIK, Rogers still has the brand. It just won’t be on CBC.

I remember starting Fringe when it debuted, but it didn’t grab my attention and I dropped it pretty quickly. I know its reputation is quite good - I should give it another go sometime.

Martialer Law

Why is lumic in a wheelchair throne, he’s got a metal body?

I’m not proud, but I laughed. I suppose it’s supposed to be a throne, but the optics are awful.

I read up on the wiki later and realised they were meant to be in a gay relationship.

I totally forgot about that. I think Andrew Hayden-Smith sells it pretty well, and Noel Clarke absolutely doesn’t.

At one point lumic “declares independence” - this dialogue makes no sense

I think he’s referring to London, which I guess makes a kind of sense given the appearance of the PM in the previous episode, but yeah that line is a whole lot of nothing.

The first thing that strikes me is that the story here is held together by a lot of wild contrivances. Mickey and Jake get to the roof of Battersea undetected…somehow! Despite normally clanking around, the Cybermen can still sneak up on you when convenient! Mickey’s hacking skills (granted these have been halfway established in the past) are strong enough that he can find the override code for the emotional inhibitors in a matter of seconds! Also, he knows how to fly a Zeppelin because PlayStation!

With that all the way, I think the emotional core of the episode is strong. The body horror is executed perfectly, with the “why am I cold” scene being absolutely outstanding (and something that I’d forgotten about, shame on me).

I really appreciated Pete’s “rejection” of Rose, even after he learns the truth. It’s unsatisfying in a very real sort of way.

I’m less fond of Mickey’s departure - it’s fine, I just don’t care much for Mickey. I do think it would have been more resonant if Eccleston was still the Doctor, since he showed more disdain for Mickey last season.

It was nice that the episode spent some time with Jake, and especially Mrs. Moore. It’s a little surprising that we never met their counterparts in the mainline universe.

Lastly…the Cybermen could be a good metaphor for toxic masculinity. Maybe it’s time to revisit them.

Don Warrington did a good job

For sure - he made the most of that role.

The earpod hack could be more subtle.

But you’ve gotta have the handles!

Torchwood is repeatedly mentioned in this episode, which doesn’t make sense. Torchwood only came about because the doctor existed in the main universe.

That’s…a very interesting point that I hadn’t considered.

Yeah, I guess my issue with Lumic is that I feel like he should either be more charismatic, or far less - a real Zuckerberg type. As it is, he strikes me as something in between.

I came in to this one expecting to hate on it a little bit, but it’s not really bad - it’s just doing too much.

This two-parter is basically all table-setting for the finale, and this one in particular is stuck (re-)introducing the Cybermen and establishing this parallel universe, which could (or should) each be a separate story on their own. It’s a lot of heavy lifting, all in service of an episode we won’t see for another month.

But there’s a lot to like! The Doctor’s dismissiveness toward Mickey is awful, but I find it funny every single time. The aspects of the story that are a pseudo-sequel to “Father’s Day” work very well - it’s always fun to see Pete again, and this version of him really does seem the-same-but-different - ditto for Jackie. Noel Clarke - scandal noted - also does a good job when it comes to Mickey’s sudden backstory.

That said, Clarke is really not good as Ricky - I don’t know if he was directed to play the character the way that he did, but it was a bad choice. And John Lumic is a bland and forgettable villain. Since the Cybermen are rather bland by their nature, you’d hope that their creator would have personality and charisma to spare, but it’s just not the case here.

I’m not a big fan of Cybermen stories in general - a bunch of emotionless killing machines aren’t the most compelling, though from what I can remember, the next episode wrings some good drama out of the body horror of it all. Like the Borg, I find them to be a bit of a dead end, made interesting only by what’s going on around them. In this case, the themes of the people of Pete’s World giving themselves over to an omnipresent app and wearable technology is better now than it was 20 years ago.

A dreamer. I like it.

I haven’t seen any reporting on it in quite a while, but full coast-to-coast electrification is a pretty challenging issue, and doing it piecemeal would also be complicated, since you’d likely have to switch locomotives frequently (though I think hybrid diesel-overhead wire locomotives do exist).

And then there’s the question of interoperability with the US rail network, which will likely always be important.

Honestly, I think parties that support it need to accept that it’s not a top-of-mind issue for most voters, and focus their efforts on other priorities, while still keeping it in their platform.

I think this could work if a critical mass of people showed up and spoiled their ballots, or voted for the Rhinoceros Party or whatever.

But just staying home won’t do it.

It’s petty technically-minded and not very user-friendly in my opinion, but it’s a way to give them a piece of our mind.