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Have you ever considered that the Prime Directive is not only not ethical, but also illogical, and perhaps morally indefensible?

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Cake day: June 11th, 2023

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  • “New Earth” is…fine, I suppose?

    It delves into familiar territory for Davies - he seems to have an affinity for the banality of evil, with societies taking a theoretically-well-intentioned turn into darkness. Unfortunately, I think it’s handled better in episodes like “Turn Left” or even Torchwood’s “Miracle Day” (which I remember enjoying the one and only time I watched it, which I know is a very unpopular opinion).

    For all the talk about DW being a low-budget show at heart, the makeup and production design were frequently top-notch, even back then. It’s really the VFX end of things that lagged behind the rest of the industry. The cat people in particular look great in this one.

    Cassandra’s back! Uh…yay? Probably not who I would have picked as a returning series one antagonist, but here she is, talking out of her ass. I don’t think she’s used particularly well here - her motivation to uncover the secrets of the hospital is unclear (maybe I missed something), and her human supremacy goes largely unacknowledged in favour of some basic classism.

    And of course, much of the fun of the episode involves Cassandra possessing Rose and the Doctor. Piper and Tennant do fine with this individually, but they do not seem to be playing the same character to me. Overall, Tennant’s seems to be more authentically Cassandra, but even he is upstaged by Sean Gallagher at the end, when Chip is possessed.

    I don’t really know how to feel about the final scene where Cassandra dies in her own arms. I know it’s meant to be touching, but she’s also a vain murderer, so there’s an upper limit to how much I care about any of this.

    The test subjects in the hospital vaccilate between intelligent and mindless zombies as the plot requires, and the resolution of spraying disinfectant all over them is pretty convenient, even for this show.

    A pretty middling episode all in all, and I don’t think it’s a great introduction to this new incarnation of the Doctor for anyone who missed “The Christmas Invasion” some four months earlier.

















  • The Sycorax are quite terrifying

    Such a good design, I’d like to see more of them.

    I actually rooted for Harriet all the way up to her call with Torchwood.

    It’s a really great portrayal, and TBH I think the episode does a decent job of laying out her motivations, right down to her rather weak apology at the end.

    Maybe it’s just the third that’s on the roof at the moment.

    I believe so.

    I’m really not a Doctor/Rose shipper, but I am a big fan of the Tenth Doctor as a swashbuckling romantic, so I’m here for the flirting. I just never had any investment in things going beyond that.

    I know this is more relevant to the upcoming Queen Victoria episode, but I think the themes of a Doctor and (especially) companion getting carried away with things were more aptly explored with Twelve and Clara.


  • Okay, I’m back.

    Of all the times I’ve seen this episode, I’m not sure I really noticed that you can actually see the TARDIS blurp into existence mid-air when it first arrives in London. Neat, and not really what I expected.

    I can’t quite put my finger on it, but Daniel Llewellyn (RIP) is a pretty memorable character for me. Shame what happened to him.

    On the other hand, even though it’s quite memorable, I keep forgetting that “everybody going to the roof” is the plot of this episode. Not sure why.

    The “pilot fish” are a ridiculous idea, and clearly just an excuse to have killer Santas and a buzzsaw Christmas tree. I’m not mad about it, but it’s a good reminder that RTD has always had an affinity for deep silliness.

    Daniel Llewellyn decided to include blood in the Guinevere One “care package,” but…he didn’t use his own? Where did he get the blood?

    The Torchwood buzzword is stronger than “Bad Wolf” right out of the gate, because we actually get a sense of what it means.

    And on that note, much ink has been spilled over what the Doctor does to Harriet Jones, Prime Minister. There’s always been some truthiness to the suggestion that there’s some sexism in play, but…recent history has reminded us just how easy it is to topple a government over health concerns, if factors line up just right.

















  • The agency says a total of 227,947 accounts were affected and that RBC transferred and refunded more than $22.4 million in refunds for those affected. The bank also made a $299,000 charitable donation.

    Nathaniel Wallace, a spokesperson for RBC, says the lender takes its regulatory obligations seriously.

    He says RBC self-reported the matter to the financial consumer watchdog and that RBC has fully co-operated with the regulator throughout the process.

    Assuming this is all true, and assuming the refunds were full refunds, it looks like the bank was acting in good faith, which is honestly refreshing.