shadowhive | Entries tagged with doctor who season 15

The past few days I’ve been so drained which has been so annoying. A few days ago I had to go down and pick up mum’s meds, which was pretty tiring (even more so cause I had to swing somewhere else to get her a card). It didn’t help that, when I got back, they’d messed up mum’s prescription. So we have to go back again to pick them up. We would have yesterday, but the weather was bad, so she wants to tomorrow (which ugh it’s gonna make her birthday exhausting).

Friday I did watch some of the Xbox uk stream and had some luck, winning a code for Legends Of Kenzara, which looks so incredibly pretty. I got a comic too so have to send my details, though twitch whispers are being bitchy and not letting me (ugh verification is dumb)

I’m kinda glad I didn’t have the gig yesterday because of how exhausted I was. Hopefully they’ll post pics soon. (I saw a fan pic and Jay’s arm is so thick👀)

Despite tiredness I did watch the last Who season 15 episode last night, The Invasion Of Time.

The ep is a six parter, which usually tend to be overlong but this felt like it worked pretty well. (Albeit it could have ended as a four parter if it wasn’t for that reveal at the end of part 4.) The ep is in some ways a follow up to The Deadly Assassin, with a return to Gallifrey and the doctor taking up his role as president. The central mystery of the first few eps is why he’s doing that, because going home isn’t exactly a thing he likes, nor is the responsibility that comes with it. He spends at least a third of the ep acting out of character, in a gambit with some aliens to invade the planet.

His actions do come off as reckless, endangering his home by damaging the defences with K9’s help. It probably didn’t enamour his to the time lords in the aftermath, though the Castellan probably fared worse with him actively siding with whichever invader came along. Also it was so odd that Time Lords just died, like they seemed to forget about regeneration. It was so odd.

The twist reveal about the Vardans being in league with the sontarans (for some reason) is kinda ruined by the ep originally being in the sontaran boxset. They’re only in the last two eps and I’m curious to see in the making of if they were always intended or just… added for reasons. And speaking of the last eps, we get to see more of the tardis! …and it’s kinda a random warehouse?? Of course it’s nice to see more of it be put you can’t help but find it odd that’s what you see. (And there’s a sontaran eating plant?)

Of course the biggest thing about this ep is it’s Leela’s last ep, she does get some stuff to do, making friends with Rodan (a nice smart time lady) and help encourage rebellion which was nice. However you can’t help but find her suddenly deciding to stay to be with Andred so out of character. They didn’t have much interaction so it just felt so… sudden. If you’d had Leela say she wanted to help them with their defences, or because she’d made a friend with Rodan that would have been believable but as it is? (Also why does the doctor just have a K9 mark II?)

But it was a pretty good ep despite that. I say my fav eps of the season are definitely Fang Rock and Fendahlhough, but I expected that. I’ll watch the special features for the ep soon but I’m not sure when.

This coming week is gonna be so busy and draining. There’s mum’s birthday, getting the meds (again), the food delivery, voting and then the Birmingham trip Saturday. It’s free comic book day, plus Star Wars day, plus Episode I in cinemas again (I wonder if the Odeon is gonna have anything). So it’s gonna be a busy day, but hopefully fun.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Seapeekay stream

Past few days since the last post haven’t been eventful but the new Magic arena set went live yesterday. I didn’t expect to actually like the western vibes all that much, but I do. It helps that there’s a bunch of hot shirtless guys and also cute animals as well as cards that are puns a (a creature called prickly pair especially). And I was surprised on of the free packs I got had a unicorn! So I hope to make something with that.

There was an indie showcase thing today which I’d completely forgot about until announcements came in. But it was worth a watch, I think my favs are Little City Big City (where you play as a cute black kitty) but the game I’m most looking forward to is Steamworld Heist 2 which ahh! The first game was so awesome and this one has you on a ship instead of a spaceship.

There was also some Hades 2 stream, which I didn’t see but saw pics of the new characters and damn. A+ work again Hades 2 designers.

Tonight I watched the next Who ep Underworld, which, ironically given the Hades 2 reveals, was based on Greek myth. (Mainly Jason and the argonauts, but it also had a ship called P7E.)

I’m gonna start this by saying the obvious, it’s the weakest ep of the season and I think that’s partly due to it getting the short end of the stick budget wise. Having the tunnels be green screen might have been ok if they were just short scenes, but they were as decent chunk of the story. I admire them trying to make it work and their ambition but it didn’t quite work.

I did think that the story did start as an interesting concept, with the Minyans trying to find a genetic race bank. The model of the ship looked great and the whirlpool in space was a good concept, as was the ship they were looking for being turned into a planet. However when you got to the planet and those CSO tunnels it kinda fell apart a bit.

I think it’s because the villains were a bit…I dunno? One dimensional? Which is a shame because a rogue computer and weird robot like servants could’ve been a good idea, but they didn’t really do anything with them. It’s a shame really, but it does feel like other eps have done similar concepts and better.

One thing that was interesting was a thing the Doctor said at the start. That they were at the edge of the universe, which instantly made me think of Wild Blue Yonder.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Eret stream

The past few days have continued to feel low energy which is so, ugh. Ah well.

Anyway post time! (I still need to post the monthly roundups and need to finish fic but alas)

The weather hasn’t been great the last few days, with rain coming randomly and hard which has meant we’ve not taken Naryu for walks some days. The worst rain was probably Monday, after the last post I made. About an hour after it I heard loud card screeching from outside. At first I thought it might be Leia (or someone else) sheltering in the garage but no. So I ventured outside and saw there was a little cat out there, crying up a storm.

I’ve seen him around before and whenever I’ve seen him he’s always been skittish, running off right away. I knew he lived in one of the houses nearby but I wasn’t sure which one and they were all in darkness anyway. So I went back inside, grabbed a little tray and put him some of the girls food, which he seemed to appreciate, even letting me pet him. I put it down under the car he was sheltering under then went back in. (I did consider trying to get him in the garage, but I think trying would’ve stressed him out). I went to check later and he’d ate all the food and let me pet him, then as I was heading back in I saw one of the doors open and him running inside. So I’m glad he’s safe but I dunno how they missed him making that noise (especially cause he was quite far from us when he was making it)

Other than that things have been uneventful, other than mum stressing me out (I wish I knew how to block eBay on her kindle because she keeps looking at this jewellery and stressing me out over it) which has been… ugh.

But I did watch the next Who (thoughts soon) and I randomly decided to start a game pass game called Gris. I saw Eret play some of it so when it came up on game pass I downloaded it but I didn’t play it right away. It’s a game that’s incredibly pretty (just look at the screencaps on steam). It’s kinda like a platform, but it’s also colour based and there’s puzzles. I feel that there’s a lot of things I’ve missed because there’s things that seem to be very specific to do. (And there are som odd choices when the camera pulls back making it hard to see.) but overall I’m enjoying it. I think it’s something I can finish over the weekend (depending on time) and hopefully it’ll help me get back into the grove gaming.

But yeah it is very pretty.

(Although boo the Xbox controller charging thing acted up so I had to order one, which at least came fast so)

I’ve also tried to organise things. The big hello fresh box is now filled with some of the potter Lego (cause I can’t stand having it around for obvious reasons) and I started sorting the Dungeons And Dragons Adventurer issues I have. The dice and the art inside are so pretty though I wish I’d be able to do something with the stuff in them, but I guess we’ll see.

Anyway Who thoughts now. The next ep in the season 15 was The Sun Makers.

It’s a strange ep, because the title implies the sun making would be a major feature and yet it’s something that’s barely touched upon. In fact the concept of the suns themselves feels odd, even unnecessary given the setting. (Short version every ‘megropolis’ has its own ‘sun’, yet most people aren’t even allowed to see it so wouldn’t why bother making them?)

It’s easy to see why it’s Leela’s actress’s favourite story because she does get a lot to do (and has some awesome lines, both to the revolutionaries and to the company people that capture her later). I really love how badass she is in this, it’s one of my fav parts because she’s just so awesome.

But the ep did make me think of Vengeance On Varos (I mean it even has a televised public execution!) and the dystopian vibes are a little depressing, with the company (what do they even make?) being in complete control and exploiting everyone and even the revolutionaries at the start weren’t… the best people. But at least the Doctor inspires them to actually act to free their people from the company so at least it ends on a more positive note. And aww K9 wags his tail throughout which is cute.

Overall though it’s probably my least fav ep of the season so far, but that’s down to the concept itself not the people in it (because everyone does act really well in it, even the kinda over the top villains)

Next is Underworld, an ep I remember nothing about but is apparently… not the best. But someone must like it because the game Lost In Time has a ‘waypoint’ set on a ship from the ep which feels strange. (Compare to some of the other waypoints: Skaro, Gallifrey, The UNIT lab and it’s clear how odd it is)

This weekend mum’s friend is coming so I hope I don’t have to rush to town again (ugh), but otherwise it’s the last No Dice ep and I hope to finish Gris, The Sun Makers special features and finish this fic I’m working on. Let’s see if any get done!

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: Kwite stream

After a double song Saturday is a general post time.

It’s starting, as feels often the case these days, with a health update. The past few days have been back to being iffy. I’ve been drained and woke up unsettled, even having a brief temperature which was annoying. My head’s been achy too, as have my eyes, which sometimes feel light sensitive which is annoying.

It’s so annoying because my focus has been all over the place. I was able to do a few things I’d hoped to do over the weekend but other things have been so illusive. Like reading. Or ficcing, which had been something I’d hoped to work on but alas.

Anyway.

This weekend was easter, which isn’t something I celebrate other than getting a few chocolate eggs (though this time it’s felt like we didn’t have many). Though it’s felt… odd. Maybe it’s because it seems early this year, but it definitely seems like there was nothing on tv that was interesting (I remember there used to be at least one detective thing or specials of shows but it felt like there was nothing).

And of course because ‘christian’s’ floating holiday has been on transgender day of visibility this year there’s been people throwing a fit and using it as an excuse to be transphobic which has been fucking awful to see (followed by a certain other person stirring it up too).

It’s not all been bad, on Saturday (which was probably my best focus day), I built up the Lego Invisible Hand which looks cool. There was also mail in the form of the new Doctor Who magazine (though I didn’t have the focus to read it) and a tee shirt showed up. The trouble is I don’t remember ordering the tee and have no idea where it came from so I’m very puzzled.

On Sunday I watched the first ep of 3 Body Problem and I’m curious to see how it’s gonna go, though it didn’t exactly start in the way I expected it to. I dunno when I’ll watch more though, but hopefully soon enough I won’t have lost the thread.

The rest of the day I got pretty drained and lost focus, though I did have enough to watch No Dice which was fun and next ep is gonna be a heist!

Yesterday was also draining for some reason. Set It Off was gonna livestream a gig but cause it was at 2am I decided it was best not to (especially which how my head been and how it was livestream only without an option to watch later).

However, I did continue the Who ray run with Image Of The Fendahl. At the start of this rewatch I said there were two eps I was really looking forward to seeing, one being Horror Of Fang Rock and this was the second. There’s a lot to love here with the spooky setting and the gothic vibe, I mean it’s set in a priory! There’s a mysterious skull! And there’s a cult in the basement! (And a slight homoerotic sexual sptension between two scientists) Plus there’s a witchy old lady with a completely different vibe to the one in the Daemons.

I love the design of the Fendahl, both the Fendahleen creatures (big and small!) and the Fendahl core which is such a cool design. It’s just a shame they’re not in it more (mostly confined to the last ep). And there’s some unanswered questions and mysteries. (There’s a time fissure that just happens to be in the village? The time lords messed up planet 5 and erased knowledge of its existence? Why is the skull that started it all human shaped?)

But Leela is awesome again (as always!) and I just love the whole vibe of it. It’s one I might have to ep rewatch when my focus is a bit better. (K9 doesn’t feature but that’s due to his joining being so last minute he couldn’t be added to the plot)

It’d be interesting to see the Fendahl again, it’s kinda a shame they haven’t been back, though I guess it’s because the story made them out to be so powerful. (However they are in a Torchwood audio, which I got in the sale awhile back so I’m gonna listen to it soon now I’ve watched the ep.)

I had meant to take my pad in today to be looked at but was much too drained ugh.

My head is starting to ache again now so I’m gonna rest some.

Current Mood: exhausted
Current Music: Primeval

Time for a post, mostly cause I continued my Who ray run last night.

First off health update. Mostly I’m ok now, although I still get drained easily which is annoying. My head has still been annoying too with random sharp pain coming every so often though that’s eased off too. It’s made my focus a bit off which has been annoying and meant I’ve not done as much as I’d hoped.

However I did feel up to Dungeons and Dodongos Sunday which was fun. My character got suddenly taking by a wall master which was honestly such a cool thing to happen.

I’ve also felt ok enough to do some of the things I put off cause of being sick, so I went through the icons and purged the Wilbur, George and Punz ones (at least I think I’ve got them all). I do feel so sad about it, but it freed up a lot of spaces so I’ve also done a bunch more icons and might add some more soon.

There was an Amazon spring sale and I picked up one thing from it, a dugtrio building set and it’s so cute! It has a basic mechanism which makes them bob up and down and I love it.

Mum ordered some clothing thing from Sainsburys so we had to pick it up Wednesday which was the furthest I’ve walked in weeks so was so exhausting. I did pick up some stuff from TK (a Lego Star Wars book, a Holga Honor among thieves figure, some Red Nose Day stuff, but alas no tees) and some of those nice carnal hot cross buns from m and s (I wish I got more). Though we ended up getting too much (mum said we only needed some butter, she ended up fully filling our bags) so we were both tired.

Then yesterday we had to get a stamp from the next village over and got caught in heavy rain back so that was exhausting as well.

Hello Fresh also sent a box yesterday even though I’d skipped the week (they didn’t charge us cause it was an error on their part) but it was so disappointing cause all the things were meat and none of them particularly appealed to mum so ugh. I’ve made sure to deactivate it so it doesn’t happen again, which is a shame cause the chipotle stuff was nice.

I also had an email from a zavvi sale on blurays so looked through it not expecting to see anything and found that there’s a Ju-On boxset like the Ring one so I’m tempted to pick it up.

And damnit why did I find this vid of Hasan crushing watermelons with his thighs damnit.

Anyway! Who thoughts now.

Last night was The Invisible Enemy. It’s one of those eps that I couldn’t remember the plot of, in fact all I remembered was the obvious: that this is K9’s first appearance. Sometimes going in largely blind like that is a good thing, cause it makes it surprising, sometimes it’s bad, because there’s a reason my brain blocked it out. Thankfully this one was mostly the former.

The ep started out pretty strong, with a virus that takes people over and some nice model work as the first victims land on a base and take it over. It’s so unsettling when the doctor also gets taken over and how he slurs his speech, misnames Leela and generally acts strangely. Then the action moves to what’s essentially a hospital in space (which is a pretty cool concept) on an asteroid (also a cool concept) with a slightly eccentric professor and K9. K9 is pretty cool he gets to show off what he can do (scan, shoot enemies, use his laser to treat obstacles) so I can see why he joined (though I do feel sorry that his master just kinda… gives him up when he clearly has an attachment to him, maybe he made another one of him later?).

toward the end of ep 2 the story becomes a bit bonkers, with short lived clones of Leela and the Doctor being miniaturised and injected into him to find the virus. The sets for his brain are pretty cool looking but the nucleus of the swarm in his head just looks like a blob with a claw. Then when it escapes it looks cooler for a few seconds at the third ep’s climax before it’s basically a shrimp that shuffles around and isn’t intimidating. Don’t get me wrong the whole thing is an interesting concept it’s just one of those times where the execution isn’t the best. However the whole thing was still entertaining and Leela was awesome, being a person of instinct she knew instantly that things were wrong and her confusion at K9 being technical was funny too.

I might watch the special features over the weekend and next week is the other epic most looking forward to: Image Of The Fendahl.

My plan for today is to fic some (I did start a new thing oh no) and watch Seapeekay’s 12 hour stream which will hopefully be funAnd include a horror game as well as the event later. (And I hope he’ll be unhinged) Then this weekend I wanna build Lego and maybe watch stuff. (And I wanna do song Saturday I just need my brain in gear a bit, though if it’ll be slam dunk or Wuant focussed I dunno. Or maybe both)

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Blueyes - Somebody

Today has felt like a tiring day. We had the zoom cancer appointment, which turned out to be a little draining surprisingly. The result of it (after much emotional talking) is going to be mum having a blood test at the local doctor. If she has the gene, then I’ll have to take it too, but if not then it means we’re fine. Of course it’ll take time. So… we’ll see.

Other things. I posted fic Monday so that’s that done, I wanna try and post more prompts to the dead dove meme I got the prompt from (since prompts close Monday) but we’ll see if my brain comes up with any cause it’s been fuzzy.

I also cleared a bunch of my icons which was quite sad to do. I had thought of clearing George’s anyway so his is not much of a lose but I still feel so… ugh about Wilbur. Still it freed up a bunch of slots which I filled up a bit already and I’ll try and make more soon.

Yesterday was exhausting cause it was a food delivery day and since I’m low energy it was draining. But things did come. The Small Robots book came back in stock so that came, along with a Lego Minecraft set that was on offer with the shop. The main delivery though was the new Doctor Who boxset, season 15 which I started tonight. (More on that soon)

There was also a trailer for the new Star Wars show, The Acolyte and it looks pretty good. I’m definitely looking forward to it. It does seem to be Jedi centric, but with it being set at their height it should be at least something different. (Plus there’s at least two hot guys which is a plus)

Tonight I decided to watch the first ep from the boxset, which was Horror Of Fang Rock. When a new blu ray boxset is announced I always look through the episode list and most of the time there are episodes that I really look forward to. This boxset had a few I couldn’t remember too clearly but also two I was really looking forward to, this being the first.

As the name implies Horror Of Fang Rock is a spooky story, being set in a fox shrouded lighthouse. It’s the perfect setting really, being naturally atmospheric due to its location. The whole thing looks great and it’s really effective, with the members of the guest cast all succumbing to paranoia (or just generally being unlikeable). Plus Leela gets to be a badass which is always good, because she’s awesome.

The enemy of the ep (with updated effects which look nice) is a rutan, and I always think it’s funny that they’re the sworn enemies of the sontarans yet this is their sole appearance. I’m surprised there’s never been an ep with them together fighting (though I know Big Finish are doing audios this years with them). Hopefully we’ll see the, sometime.

I’m gonna watch the special features of the ep tomorrow I think, since I don’t think I have the focus to watch anything else on screen tonight. However I definitely think this was a great ep to start the season, let’s see how the others hold up (I feel this’ll be my fav or at least second fav).

Tomorrow’s plan is to get some supplies for the girls (their dry food is running low and only one place nearby has it) and also to hopefully fic some more and come up with prompts. But we’ll see.

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: Badboyhalo Hollow Knight stream