MOONS OF MADNESS!!!!

One thing I forgot to add: there is an intriguing tension in this story. Doctor Who almost always takes the side of science against "religion" (or more accurately superstition or myth, frequently demonstrating that the myth or religious belief can be better explained by a scientific account.) Here Binro is the classic…

One thing I forgot to add: there is an intriguing tension in this story. Doctor Who almost always takes the side of science against "religion" (or more accurately superstition or myth, frequently demonstrating that the myth or religious belief can be better explained by a scientific account.) Here Binro is the classic…

Inferno is so good it virtually insists that it be covered, and I love your point about the Trial season being the inversion of the Key season. Very astute.

Inferno is so good it virtually insists that it be covered, and I love your point about the Trial season being the inversion of the Key season. Very astute.

Yes—to do them in order, but alternating with other stories, would be a wonderful way to handle it.

Yes—to do them in order, but alternating with other stories, would be a wonderful way to handle it.

The stories are more enjoyable as individual units than as an overall arc. If one is willing to write off the Key as a MacGuffin, though, it is an enjoyable ride. Ribos is my favorite story of this season. Although I am pleased, Trekinosis, that you are willing to say they are all above average individually, I…

The stories are more enjoyable as individual units than as an overall arc. If one is willing to write off the Key as a MacGuffin, though, it is an enjoyable ride. Ribos is my favorite story of this season. Although I am pleased, Trekinosis, that you are willing to say they are all above average individually, I…

I like Romana I much more than I did the first time through as a young kid. I probably enjoy seeing the Doctor taken down a peg a lot more. Plus, I appreciate he striking beauty, whereas my prepubescent self could not have cared less.

I like Romana I much more than I did the first time through as a young kid. I probably enjoy seeing the Doctor taken down a peg a lot more. Plus, I appreciate he striking beauty, whereas my prepubescent self could not have cared less.

Yes! The show can be ironic or satirical, but ultimately not mean-spirited (why a lot of people have problems with Saward/Colin Baker era.) It ultimately affirms life as worthwhile amidst the pain, something to be relished nevertheless. Unstoffe's kindness is wonderful there with Binro, regarding it as worthwhile to…

Yes! The show can be ironic or satirical, but ultimately not mean-spirited (why a lot of people have problems with Saward/Colin Baker era.) It ultimately affirms life as worthwhile amidst the pain, something to be relished nevertheless. Unstoffe's kindness is wonderful there with Binro, regarding it as worthwhile to…

This is a great review. Thnks for
a wonderful write-up of a wonderful story. It is incisive (“It’s a story about
a con game gone wrong between two hard-luck grifters and a fallen aristocrat who
thinks they’re his route back into power.”) and accurately humorous (“But what
really got under the Doctor’s skin was that they…

This is a great review. Thnks for
a wonderful write-up of a wonderful story. It is incisive (“It’s a story about
a con game gone wrong between two hard-luck grifters and a fallen aristocrat who
thinks they’re his route back into power.”) and accurately humorous (“But what
really got under the Doctor’s skin was that they…

Speaking of "stark light," I think juxtaposing Richie and Ralphie raises another issue: their different sexual quirks, both arising in the context of their respective relationships with Janice. While Richie's (pointing a gun at Janice's head while he penetrates her) is less likely to trigger homophobia or gay panic…

And "Wait, so he can have sex without any penile contact with her Volvo?"

"You know, Quasimodo predicted all of this."

absolutely—the absurdity of claiming that was something "nice" just kills me.

I see what you mean about the show setting Ralph up as a "weird little shit," inviting the audience to adopt that attitude and drop any sympathy for him, but I do not think it intends to "other" him in quite so clumsy a manner.