@avclub-23dc117ef9479407fb6c6a666005af40:disqus Didn't KOTOR or KOTOR 2 invent some backstory for how Tatooine became a desert planet? I forget what it was.

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I believe the Obsidian Order "observers" from DS9 were based off that conceit. As was, quite possibly, Lord Vader in "A New Hope".

For playing a character named Colonel Breen, I think he counts as having been on "Deep Space 9" too.

Easily the best episode of the season so far, and one of my favorite DW episodes in a while. It didn't really deal with some of the weighty themes that made, say, "The Girl Who Waited" such a triumph, but it just used every element of the episode so well. It was thrilling — and just what I needed after a very busy day.

lol u mad bro?

Unpopular opinion: Ann and Ron have more chemistry than Ann and Chris or Ron and Xena, and should clearly have a thing.

I think that would have been the commercially smart move, although I will defend the merits of "Discothèque" to the death.

"The Fountain" is one of my favorite movies. I'm not really sure why — it just connected with me somehow the first time I saw it.

@avclub-62812d8eb06386505986efff8b5e43ac:disqus Including "Zooropa"? I wouldn't call that mainstream at all, except for "Stay" and maybe "Babyface".

"War" slaughters "Fables" for me, "Boy" tops "Murmur" by a less lopsided margin, but yeah, I'd take "Reckoning" and "Pageant" over "October" and "Fire".

"If You Wear That Velvet Dress" is one of my all-time favorite U2 tracks (and made for a great addition to any mixtape when I was in high school). "The Playboy Mansion" and "Miami" are pretty lousy, IMO.

I agree, but I see the case for "Zooropa". Neither really got the buzz that "Achtung Baby" did and they've been overshadowed — the same way "October" is overshadowed being sandwiched in between "Boy" and "War".

Felt the same way. And I hate and loathe "All That You Can't Leave Behind" and "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb".

It's really a pity that they did end up giving a shit when "Pop" wasn't a commercial smash hit.

U2 between 1981 and 1997 was probably the greatest alternative rock band in the world. And I say that as a massive fan of R.E.M., the best output of which was contained within that same period, and Talking Heads, which I think had more influence on U2 than you might figure.

I thought the episode was pretty mediocre — and very reminiscent of "The Beast Below" and "The Shakespeare Code", two other humdrum sophomore outings for new companions — but it's striking how great Matt Smith is even in episodes that don't really grab me. And full credit to Jenna-Louise Coleman for holding her own. I…

Obviously has to be "Grace Under Pressure", although "Permanent Waves" and "Test for Echo" are pretty good ones too. "Vapor Trails" would work as well, I suppose — as would "Hold Your Fire" in a scrape.

They can't help trouting out new puns.

I'm really hoping Eccleston comes back, but I don't expect he will.