May I ask, andyradicalpossumtackler, why you skipped "Terror of the Vervoids"? It was and still is my favorite stretch of that season. Sure, in many ways it is a by-the-numbers Agatha Christie murder mystery in space, but that isn't so bad. It does introduce Mel, for which I dare not make any apologia.

you don't look like Mentiads to me

you don't look like Mentiads to me

Great review as always—-insightful and informative. I enjoyed this review far more than the episode. I would nitpick about a few things, though. While I get the point, fewer than 99.9% of Doctor Who stories involve time travel. Very few integrate it to the plot in a central way (e.g. Day of the Daleks, The Girl in the…

Great review as always—-insightful and informative. I enjoyed this review far more than the episode. I would nitpick about a few things, though. While I get the point, fewer than 99.9% of Doctor Who stories involve time travel. Very few integrate it to the plot in a central way (e.g. Day of the Daleks, The Girl in the…

Like what you say about minimalism, but I think plenty of arguments have been made that Denzel works for the role (right age, good presence). I do hope they resist the temptation to 'tart' it up too much. I always thought the bigger 'racial' issue with the program was the possibility that part of its appeal was…

Like what you say about minimalism, but I think plenty of arguments have been made that Denzel works for the role (right age, good presence). I do hope they resist the temptation to 'tart' it up too much. I always thought the bigger 'racial' issue with the program was the possibility that part of its appeal was…

That scene is brutal. I felt for Chris, and was outraged at how despicable Paulie is. I am accustomed at laughing at his foibles and tics, which reveal his fragile and vulnerable humanity in a way that makes me feel tender toward the character or find him endearing; conversely, attacking Chris' hopes and besmirching…

That scene is brutal. I felt for Chris, and was outraged at how despicable Paulie is. I am accustomed at laughing at his foibles and tics, which reveal his fragile and vulnerable humanity in a way that makes me feel tender toward the character or find him endearing; conversely, attacking Chris' hopes and besmirching…

The Brothers Karamazov is highly underrated as a page-turner. It took me a month, but I promptly started again and finished in a week. That book is life. It needs an expert adaptation as a single season, 12-episode cable channel series.

The Brothers Karamazov is highly underrated as a page-turner. It took me a month, but I promptly started again and finished in a week. That book is life. It needs an expert adaptation as a single season, 12-episode cable channel series.

I am an enormous fan of Crimes and Misdemeanors (clever how the title disrupts the natural connection Dostoevsky draws between crime and punishment, and trivializes the punishment part.) Did you find his revisitation of the same themes in "Match Point" equally enjoyable? I was struck by the scene of the "protagonist"…

I am an enormous fan of Crimes and Misdemeanors (clever how the title disrupts the natural connection Dostoevsky draws between crime and punishment, and trivializes the punishment part.) Did you find his revisitation of the same themes in "Match Point" equally enjoyable? I was struck by the scene of the "protagonist"…

Wow, surprised no one called me on the repetition of the first person singular pronoun ("I I do not believe…") by alluding to Colin Baker's first scene as the Doctor after the regeneration in Caves of Androzani…

Wow, surprised no one called me on the repetition of the first person singular pronoun ("I I do not believe…") by alluding to Colin Baker's first scene as the Doctor after the regeneration in Caves of Androzani…

The interpretation of the house thing is a tough call for me. Certainly the characters engage in mendacity, self-deception, and selfishness, so Tony's harsh judgment of Carmela's actions (in which he is implicated) are credible. They could easily have sold an unsafe house for profit to strangers, acquaintances, or…

The interpretation of the house thing is a tough call for me. Certainly the characters engage in mendacity, self-deception, and selfishness, so Tony's harsh judgment of Carmela's actions (in which he is implicated) are credible. They could easily have sold an unsafe house for profit to strangers, acquaintances, or…

It is devastating for A.J. and hard to watch, but in large part because she is right not to get involved with him. The relationship was good for A.J. because it cultivated all sorts of qualities of responsibility and nurturing, which had never been encouraged in—or drawn out of—him before, but it would ultimately be…

It is devastating for A.J. and hard to watch, but in large part because she is right not to get involved with him. The relationship was good for A.J. because it cultivated all sorts of qualities of responsibility and nurturing, which had never been encouraged in—or drawn out of—him before, but it would ultimately be…

Meadow is more sophisticated, which just empowers her to be more cruel to her parents. A.J. crassly swears at his mother, and generally slouches around like a glum, rude teenager. Only Meadow goes so far as to mock her mother and humiliate her by showing how she has become more educated and literate (during the time…