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Staggering Stories Podcast #106: The Curse of the Mild Mannered Silence

Doctor Who: The Curse of the Black SpotSummary:
Adam J Purcell, Andy Simpkins, Fake Keith and the Real Keith Dunn talk about the new Doctor Who episodes Day of the Moon and The Curse of the Black Spot, find some general news, and a variety of other stuff, specifically:

  • 00:00 – Intro and theme tune.
  • 01:22 — Welcome!
  • 01:58 – News:
  • 02:06 — Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut ratings were excellent.
  • 04:53 — BAFTA Nominations: Matt Smith for Doctor Who and other nominations for Misfits, Being Human and Sherlock.
  • 06:00 — Primeval: Back on UK screens, on cable channel Watch, on May 24th 2011.
  • 06:20 — Sarah Jane Adventures: No new episodes to be shot but existing unaired ones will be screened.
  • 07:50 — William Shatner: The Shat is going to dramatically interpret classic rock music.
  • 11:59 — Misfits: New character, Rudy, is to be played by Joe Gilgun.
  • 13:29 – Doctor Who: Day of the Moon.
  • 35:55 – Doctor Who: The Curse of the Black Spot.
  • 50:28 – 30 Second Recommendation: Staggering Stories.
  • 51:29 – Emails and listener feedback.* Hit us yourself at show@StaggeringStories.net
  • 95:33 – Farewell for this podcast!
  • 96:16 — End theme, disclaimer, copyright, etc.

Vital Links:

15 Responses to "Staggering Stories Podcast #106: The Curse of the Mild Mannered Silence"

  1. Below is the feedback we kindly received for this podcast, including those bits we sadly couldn’t squeeze in.

    These will be presented in rough order of when we received them. This won’t match the order in which we read them out!

    As ever, please feel free to comment on them here on the blog, though please note we won’t read any such replies on the podcast, for that please continue to email us at show@staggeringstories.net.

    Thank you all!

  2. HELLO TEAM!
    Its mw – Mister M.

    Its a nice sunny day, but im on my laptop, eating creme eggs and watching doctor who – the impossible astronuat for the fourth time! Im going to give you my best bits – and they arent going to be edited either.

    The Openign Montage is my least favourtie part of the episode (But i like the trubute to elizabeth sladen and the skirt amys waering) it doesnt seem to fit very well. And now we go to rvier song int eh stormcage – safter the events of the pandorica, but before the crash of the byzantium. And Then – AMERICA! And amy and rory stepping being driven throgh the desert. And Then – cool Stetsons. An Then BAM! River Song – Hello Sweetie. Will we ever meet Jim The Fish? Amy – ‘Synving There Diarys.’ The Doctor: “I’ve been running. Faster than I’ve ever run, and I’ve been running my whole life. Now it’s time for me to stop. And tonight, I’m going to need you all with me.”

    And Then The Opening Credits – Matt Smith! Karen Gillan! Arthru Darvill! And Doctor Who Season 32, Episode 1 ; The Impossible Astronaut By Steven Moffat! I Like the way the doctor says amys put on a couple of pounds… And now amy sees something – or did she? Rory: “The moon landing was in ’69. Is that where we’re going?”

    The Doctor: “Oh, a lot more happens in ’69 than anyone remembers. Human beings… I thought I’d never get done saving you.” The Music is amazing this week as well. And an astronaut coming out of the water. And then – BAM! I defin tly saw that coming, although i did think he was going to properly regenerate tis time. Karen Gillan is beutifal. And Then the way River shoots at the astrounaut is good – but why does she say of course not? My Nan has the theory that the little girl is River Song – which i dont belive. Then, the old Canton. I Think the young canton will become a companion – that was my inital thought when i first saw the old him. And Then they burn the doctors body, with great music from mr gold at that piont. Hang on – so the envlopes were numberd in order importance. River had two – so that doctor trust river most (except for himself of course). Doctor – JUst popped out to get my special straw, It Adds more fiz. Doctor – Of Course im Okay. Im teh King of Okay. And Then River slaps the doctor. Interesting to note that in the origional draft for Time of Angels, River was goign to the say the next time she would see the doctor, she would slap him for something he hadnt done yet… The Fact that the companions know more than the doctor does at this piont is a very interesting twist and i think (and hope) that this will continue for the rest fo the series, and the future doctors death will happen in episode 13 (SPIOLER MUSOC – And apparently in episode 13, along with Winston Churchill and The Silence, The bearded doctor from episode 2 will appear as well.) Amy: “River, we can’t just let him die. We have to stop it. How can you be OK with this?” River: “The Doctor’s death doesn’t frighten me, nor does my own. There’s a far worse day coming for me.” Doctor – Im Being incredibly clever up here and theres nowhere here to stand around looking impressed. whats the piont in having you all?. And Then The Doctor has taht wonderful speech about Sunday and Thursday afternoons which i cant be botherd to write out because there already in the oval office by now. I Also Likedit when The Doctor tells Amy and Rory to go make babies… Doctor – I Love a Bad Girl Me. Just A Note – I Think the only reason The The Doctor will Trust River in The Future is Because She Made Him Trust Her, Makign Her Trust Him, Makign Him Trust her, Making Her Trust Hin, Makign Him Trust her, Making Her Trust Hin, Makign Him Trust her, Making Her Trust Hin, Makign Him Trust her, Making Her Trust Hin, Makign Him Trust her, Making Her Trust Hin, Makign Him Trust her, Making Her Trust Hin, Makign Him Trust her, Making Her Trust Hin, Makign Him Trust her, Making This go on for far too Long… Canton – Thats Okay, You Were my Second Choice for President. The Way river controls The TARDIS Is Fascinating. But Then i Think that teh only wasy she knows how to do it is because she taught The Doctor, So The Doctor Taught her, So She Taught The Doctor, So The Doctor Taught her, So She Taught The Doctor, So The Doctor Taught her, So She Taught The Doctor, So The Doctor Taught her, So She Taught The Doctor, So The Doctor Taught her, So She Taught The Doctor, So The Doctor Taught her, So She Taught The Doctor, So The Doctor Taught her, So She Taught The Doctor,and So on. Anyaway The Oval office stuff is great, but then the spiode starts to drag a bit (BTW you can tell im speeding up – im gettign bored now.) We eventually get tot the lodger TARIDS (Which i belvie is from before the Lodger, what with it being 1969 and all that! And Then, The Little Girl is The Astornaut? And Amy Shoots Her? And Shes Prengnanat (Good job Rory)? Cantw ait for tonights ep!

    Anyway, its time for anoher 30 second recommendation – Staggering Stories

    Every Two weeks Five Nutters gather round a Microphone and waffle on abotu sci fi shows, and other interesting things They are podcast 106 at he moment and sometimes they natter on too much… But anyway. Theres is some good stuff there…..um…..Fake Keith! Shes Good! Not real Keith though. Hes Just stupid……..oh! And they have a cardboard amy. Any type of Amy is good for me….Um….Yeah, Listern to it. Its….Fun

    Amys Skirt A.K.A MISTER M

    P.S Please

  3. HELLO TEAM!

    ONE OF MY PREDICTIONS OFR THE NEW SERIS IS CORRECT – I said i could
    see river in the lodger TARDIS (Adam Siad he didnt see that at all) but
    she was there!

    I KNow Evreything A.K.A MISTER M

    P.S When i sent in my list fo trailer analsyis, i signed i tby saying I
    Know EVreythign A.K.A MISTER M! Continuty!

  4. Hi Guys,

    Pleeease mention the welsh word of the podcast!! Please!!

    Big news! I HAVE A FEZ and just cos Keith loves it – eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeoooooooooooooeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

    My next review – the Day of the Moon!
    It was really good, I spent most of it at the edge of my seat. Did anyone else guess that the girl was Amy’s daughter? Did you guess that she would regenerate? No me neither! Cry- ee moments – River’s last kiss
    Rory’s sad face – Poor Rory!!! – with the legs!
    Amy trapped in the dark

    One gripe! The Doctor tricking the Silence into order their own deaths! That is not very Doctory, other villians such as Daleks you understand his contempt and his mercy-less-ness because they have been after him since he was a young, old man!
    Okay then I bid you adieu!

    Bye Clive
    Welsh phrase of the podcast – Coesau Rory – Rory’s legs!

  5. Hello All team Members real or in animate objects

    Well I live, yes I am back and would like to do a review of the first two part
    who story The Impossible Astronaught/ Day of the Moon: doctor in some womans
    skirt,utah, doctor with new hat, stetsons are cool, River, River in those jeans
    Grrrrr, letters,doctor dying, strange bloack, doctor alive?, back in time (
    insert timewarp here), richard nixon (instert futurama impersonation here),
    HOLY ShBleeeeep What the FuBleeeeep was that wait what was I saying ? River’s
    pants, lodger tardis , amy freaking out, crashing end title sequence. Well
    those were bloody good episodes. who is the little girl : AKA – Time Tot, well I
    think she is Romana with a wiped memory, river and the docotrs daughter,or in
    some werid way amy and rorys daughter ( when amy rememberd everyone in pandorica
    opens she rememberd rory as a timelord. also arent we supposed to be in an
    alertnative universe ? well I cant wait for new WHo next week.

    PS: just so fake keith can get angry and pedantic I am leaving these errors in
    PPS: Fake keith you are the second most pedantic person I know ( apart from
    Chris from radio free skaro)
    PPPPS: ScReW your lame aceents Fake Keith 😉

    Friend of the Show
    JD

  6. HELLO TEAM!

    Podcast # 105 – The Impossible Loss
    Podcast Quote ; Fake Keith – Leave My Graham Alone

    The Impossible Astronaut – I Loved this episode. Some peopel ahve said that kids may not udnerstand soem of the more complicated parts of the plot – im 13 and i understood it all, and had to spend an hour of sunday explainign it to my nan who watched it wiht me and was rather lost (i gave up explaining day of the moon to her).

    FOllowing many mentions fo the daily mail, i just thought i would mention an article ont he website which was published a few weeks beofre series six satretd, sayign the sixth series would begin on BBC Three and 7.15pm with The Hungrey Earth P1!

    So, Day of The Moon – The Openign sequence was very good, But That star dwarf alloy stuuf that they used to build the perfect prison for the doctro – if its teh densest matiriel in the universe, then two men shoudlnt be able to lift it on there own! And Then The Haunted House, and teh creepy scenes with the silence, and A Strange woiman wearing an eye patch at a door, and Amy with a Baby in a phot – is the girl amys daughter?, and Then Amys Taken by The Silence, But Then they find her, and its all over (HANG ON – IF THEY DEFEATED THE SILENCE IN 1969, THEN HOW COME AMY SAW ONE IN 2011 IN THE PICNIC SCENE!!, an then teh little girl regenerates. Is THe girl still amys daughter and the doctors just been naughty! Anyway – Lookinf orward to five more episodes!!

    Right! So ! I Know its not much but if i want to get my reivew of ep 3 in on time, and you are all there this week, then thats Four peices of feedback for me! So, im Going to Go

    Amys Child A.K.A MISTER M

    P.S I Feel like doing some more P.P.P.S’s
    P.P.S 30 Second reccomendations arent really 30 seconds are they
    P.P.P.S I Might do some escape pod discs as well
    P.P.P.P.S Did you like that video, adam?
    P.P.P.P.P.S P.S
    P.P.P.P.P.P.S Love To Fake Keith
    P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S And Cardboard Amy
    P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S I Like Karen Gillan
    P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S And Her Legs

  7. Howdy there Staggering Stories and the Stetson wearing Head of Smith (of course).

    Bit long again, hope Adam’s managed to calm down by now.

    The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon

    I think it brings to mind an infinite number of monkeys with typewriters working for eternity and even then perhaps not coming up with the first scene in this series, Steven Moffat you have a strange, strange mind. And then the letters arrive, the Doctor in a Laurel and Hardy film by the way, love it, and were off to AMERICA!!!! Some truly majestic shots for both parts chosen by Toby Haynes, I do hope this isn’t his last directed Who. With Stetson’s now on the cool list the gang’s all back together and were off to Space 1969! Again another great pre-titles sequence from Steven.

    Now then, the scene by the lake, what to say…it’s the most tense and dramatic first ten minutes of an episode since episode four of The Daleks’ Master Plan when Katerina was killed. Some superb acting from Karen Gillan as well both at the lake side and back at the diner, both strange and surprising but perfectly judged. And then suddenly…

    Hello to the Head of Smith with his special straw that adds more fizz. Matt Smith was excellent in this story as always, a nice little reference to Saturday being one of the more exciting days of the week. There was also some very good quiet, dangerous acting when confronting River and Amy in the Tardis and some incredibly funny stuff in the White House with the little notebook.

    Speaking of the White House I thought Stuart Milligan did a fantastic job as Nixon and what a great prosthetic from Neill Gorton, well done. I will admit though that he didn’t really look like Nixon but I certainly felt like it was him. Loved Rory’s reaction when the three companions’ came out of the Tardis and well, the legs, the nose and Mrs Robinson, need I say more?

    As for the other heavyweight actor in this scene, I really enjoyed Mark Sheppard’s little smile as he listened to the Doctor explaining everything. Overall Canton was just a really great character, in terms of US secret agents; I’d take this guy over Bill Filer any day. Now the Silence, like the Weeping Angles before them a very simple and scary concept. Great looking too, death mask in a suite and not,..not something. Oh yes the Silence, like the Weeping Angels before them a very simple and scary concept…hang on, didn’t I just write this?

    Point of order; weren’t Nixon’s bodyguards rubbish, only entering the room once Canton had tackled the Doctor to the ground and then letting the five of them run into the Tardis and disappear off. Rory keeps having to explain the Tardis cause he’s the newest, aww sweet. Really lovely speech by River when she’s down in the tunnels with Rory, Alex Kingston made me feel slightly heartbroken for her character. Oh look, the time ship from the Lodger’s back. And well, the big revelation, the little girl’s inside the space suite, interesting.

    Three months later…

    Suddenly everyone’s on the run and, WHAT!, Canton gone bad NO! No indeed. Turing the plot in a completely different direction and then flipping back and having the four of them escape all within the space of the pre-titles, watching that was so much fun. Cool looking sideways Tardis too. Once again another outstanding pre-titles sequence, perhaps the best one yet?

    The stuff with the nano-recorder, nifty idea and, for me, really showed the frightening potential of the Silence. This continued into the scenes in the orphanage with Amy, utterly terrified when the marks came up on her hands and face. Then there’s the guy at the orphanage who had a superb southern accent.

    You get the sense there’s something odd about this orphanage, people looking through windows in doors and such. Now we come to the child’s room, I’m sure that picture of Amy is going to have people making certain connections but you know me I don’t like to do that, we’ll come back to it I’m sure.
    Didn’t Rory look fab in his 1960’s gear, especially the glasses; I somehow wish he’d keep those. I wasn’t very comfortable listening to Amy’s talking through the nano-recorder, very upsetting. However it did lead to a nice chat between the two boys. This brought out a harder, steely edge to Rory’s character I thought, I like that.

    Great idea using the moon landing to resolve the situation, as usual Matt Smith was in full flow in that confrontation scene. And then the shooting starts, the slow motion sequences just leave me speechless with all the smoke and the colours, breathtaking.

    So the Pandorica has now opened and the Silence have fallen, but where does that leave us now. Amy may or may not be pregnant, the Doctor might know, and a little girl is regenerating in a New York ally. I’m certainly going to enjoy finding out what that’s all about.

    And this is just the start of the season.

    Happy Trails,

    Chris.

  8. Helloooo team!

    It seems that’s how everyone addresses you all so I guess I’d better do the same. Any-who, I found your podcast via a mention during a DWO podcast and thought I’d check you out!

    I apparently missed the “cranky” review on Ep 6.1 but I caught your review on Ep 6.2. I am curious about all the crankiness so I will have to download that as well. I mean, aren’t all of us sci-fi fans a bit of a crank anyway?

    ++++++

    Ah, and to give you a baseline for my “Who-Fandom”: My first Doctor & Companion pairing was Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen. They brought a lot of wonder and joy to my adolecence. And then I found girls. Sorry Doctor. (Hmm, two of my most remembered crushes and two of my greatest loves were all named “Elizabeth” in one way or another: Beth, Beth, Elizabeth, and Libby. That kind of freaks me out to realize that now).

    Chris Eccleston was my next exposure to the “Who-ni-Verse”. He didn’t get enough time as the Doctor, I thought. He did a great job showing how “alien” and separate the Doctor can be. He was a tired old soldier who was lost without his war. (Was there ever any prequel footage made with Paul McGann turning into Chris by the way?).

    David Tennant’s tenure lasted just long enough to be bittersweet. His time was one of the Doctor’s shortest lives, right? Fitting for the “most human Time Lord”. RTD and SJM were Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard and Jane Espenson all rolled up together for me. Masters of the emotional gut-punches all!

    Matt Smith is growing on me more and more. I’m glad BBC is allowing him to be stranger than the uber-popular Tennant. To me, Tennant was a man pretending to be a boy while Smith is a boy pretending to be a man. Tennant seemed suprised when wonderful things happened while Smith seems surprised all the time.

    So now you can approve or condemn my writings better? Okay, on to the baseless assumptions and inane opinions!

    +++++++

    1) “Matt Smith is a spazzy weirdo!” –

    But “that’s cool” as it is a nice contrast to the overly-humanized David T and the angry alien that was Chris E.

    I guess you could say we had Chris “No More Tears” Eccleston; and then David “The Tears of a Clown” Tennant and now we have Matt “It’s My Party and I’ll Cry If Want To” Smith.

    (But I think Matt’s not sure if he wants to).

    +++++++

    2) “Amy’s a brazen tart!” –

    She’s all over the Doctor when she first meets him in Series 5 and then is all like “You can certaily kiss the bride!” to him at her wedding! That’s kind of the opposite of emotional growth. No wonder Rory aka “The Nose” is insecure. Maybe if he starts flirting with other women she’ll get the hint?

    Unfortunately he doesn’t seem the type to do that so he’ll either have to put up with it or decide he deserves better and moves on. Maybe she’ll grow up and out of her immature behaviour? Or not as she even flirts with herself in those “Tardis in the Tardis / Mini-Skirt Over the Glass Floor” prequel mini-episodes. (Or he’s a masochist so this is all okay).

    +++++++
    3) “Here’s to you, Mrs Robinson” –

    So, why was River surprised when Matt referred to her as a Professor in the “Time Of Angels” arc in Series 5? Didn’t the guard call her “Doctor Song?” Same thing, yes? No! As she is married to the Doctor she would take his name, right? And she can’t use his real name in public so….

    Then her legal name is actually…”Doctor River Song”! (Because “River Doctor-Song” or “River Song-Doctor” sounds silly). So she can be “Doctor Song” and without being “Professor Song” yet. Which is better than calling her “Doctor Doctor Song”.

    +++++++

    4) “Time = Yellow CGI?” –

    Using his own time-line to avoid death again? I love this show but maybe they shouldn’t repeat the same plot device so soon. (Series 5 end and Series 6 beginning). Fun but repetitive. Repetitive but fun. (See what I did there? Wasn’t that fun? Hah!).

    So I hope the end of Series 6 and the start of Series 7 don’t follow the same pattern. Maybe we could have “The Pandorica Waters at the End Of the Doctor’s Next Big Time Bang 3”? Hmm, I hope that doesn’t sound dirty…

    +++++++

    5) “Genocide, it’s cool!” –

    Again? Really? I guess he did give the Silents (the Silence?) a choice: “Go or Die”. But still it was a little disturbing to see this hypocritical dichotomy again in the Doctor. Is it “No guns!” or “Die Daleks Die!”? Is it “The Time Lords were awesome!” or “Sorry I had to kill them all!”?
    I guess David T was a little kill-happy too but he was more “human” and emotional and, well, unfortunately killing seems to be a big part of humanity. (Not mine just so you know). And how many times did he kill the Daleks? 239 and a half? (Just kidding).

    Chris E was going to kill the Daleks too (End of Series 1) but wouldn’t sacrifice all of humanity at the same time. Of course, then Rose went all Dark Phoenix and fixed the problem. (Sorry, Marvel reference there). Hmm, well and that was at least his second Dalek genocide if you count the Time War that pre-dated Series One.

    I guess that’s some of the wonder and horror of Doctor Who. His abhorrence to violence and others taking advantage of those who are weak versus the almighty holy wrath of extinction that decends upon you when you piss him off. (Or threaten humanity specifically).

    And then there’s all the times that he gets people to kill for him. Davros said it best I guess, “The Doctor who hates guns. But you make killers of all your friends.” (Paraphrase of course).

    Matt did this too by hypotizing humanity into assassins…. Nobody’s perfect, eh? Then again, “So you never ever interfere unless there is a child crying?” and “Someone very old; very kind and the very last of his kind could never stand to hear children cry.” And what are we but the Doctor’s Children that he can’t help but to save?

    Wow, I think I digressed a bit there sorry. Back to Series 5! I mean 6!

    +++++++

    6) “The Time Head Baby! It is aliiiiiiive!” –

    Ok, so I think: Baby in the Picture = Amy’s & Rory’s baby = the “Regenerating Time Head Kid” at the end of 6.2 = River Song = a new race of Human Time Lords!

    Let me explain:

    The Unborn-Amy-Baby gets dragged all over time and space (including the End-of-Everything and the Reboot-of-All). All that exposure to Time, The Pandorica, the Regeneration Field, the Big Bang 2 and Who knows what else triggers an evolutionary step. Into what you ask?

    Into the first ever Human Time Lord! Not a full Time Lord so with each regeneration she loses her memories instead of them carrying over. And only one heart so the Doctor can’t tell or sense that she isn’t “just human”.

    Then River would not remember her parents are “The Legs” and “the Nose”. Nor that that she is all “time-lord-esque” (or “time-lordy” if you prefer). Nor that she killed the Doctor as “The Impossible Astronaut” in Ep 6.1? (If she did that is).

    So she’s more of a “Time Human” or a proto-TimeLord.

    Now why did the Silence (Silents?) take River the “Red-Headed-Step-Time-Child” as a baby? Because they needed a Power Source for the Lodger Tardis. They do strap Amy in too, eh? Only she didn’t need the space-suit for protection as she wasn’t a premeturely born Time Head baby.

    Maybe the Lodger Tardis isn’t even theirs and that’s why they need time-affected beings to jump-start it? They stole it just like the Doctor!

    Remember what David T’s Doctor said, “Oy! I don’t look human. You look Time Lord! We came first!”. Maybe all or some of Humanity is fated to evolve into a new race of Time Lords? Maybe the Gallifreyan Time Lords are actually what used to be Earth’s Humanity? That would be a “Moffat Mash-Up Moment” if there ever was one! That could explain why all of the incarnations of the Doctors are drawn to us so? At least subconsciously?

    ++++++

    7) “Pulling a ‘Keanu’ or The Cake is a Lie” –

    River doesn’t have to stay dead or stay a ghost in the Libarary Matrix machine from Series 4! Why? Because she is a “Human Time Lord”! (See lack-of-reasoning in above section). So can’t we get a “meta-crisis” thing going that would give her a body again?

    I guess she could incarnate in or copy from Amy’s womb? There is a “matching genetic template” as the Shrodinger’s Hesienberg Baby in Amy is her. Yes, bold statement, I know!

    Then we might have have two Rivers: baby inside and adult outside? Or would this just complete the cycle from River’s Life & Death to her Retroactive Birth? (A “River’s Path” or “River’s Run” that cycles in on itself?). Or would she just regenerate if she leaves the Library Matrix in general?

    ++++++

    Okay I am tired now. And my head hurts from all my meanderings and bad puns above. I imagine this email is too long to read on the Podcast. Feel free to read any bits you liked or hated though. Or ignore this email entirely! Either way I need to get back to work so I don’t get fired from my job like one of you did for Dr Who related activity. (Did I hear that right?).

    So to sum up: Dr Who is fantastic show and you all do a brilliant podcast show. Having so many co-hosts makes for some great debates! Thanks for all the hard work and I can’t wait for more of Dr Who and you!

    Oh, and Greetings from America! (Los Angeles, California). Don’t hold that against me though. (I may be USA born and bred but I don’t like guns)….

    Sincerely,
    Adrian Parris
    P.S….
    I think I will never use a P.S. again after that one email you read with the Crisis Of Infinite P.S. going on.

    P.P.S…
    Hah! Gotcha! Ok, this was the last one. No really. I’m American! Iwould only ever lie to myself! Never to you all!

    P.P.P.S….
    Okay, I lied. Just wanted to say I love the fact that Matt’s Doctor made Nixon into a paranoid wacko: “So we’re safe now?” “No! But if you want to pretend that’s ok. But don’t trust anyone!” Nixon could have been normal if not for the Doctor!

    ; – )

  9. Dear Staggering Stories Team,

    Forgive me for being a bit choppy; I’m going to try to bring the word count down. I was going to hold off and add in commentary about Curse of the Black Spot, but seeing how long this is, I’ll leave that for later.

    1) Congrats to all your Mr. M awards – and Fake Keith, congrats on all that knitting! Well done you!

    2) I think the American premieres are only in New York city because of money. It costs a lot to get everyone here; schlepping them across a country this big would eat up all the profit they make by courting the American market. Plus, Jeff is right – a lot of the population’s here on the East Coast, and NYC is an easy city to reach by public and private transport. If in Europe all roads lead to Rome, in America many of them pass by New York city.
    3) Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon. While there were individual moments I liked and Matt Smith is finally starting to convince me with his ability to portray sorrow, on the whole I was left with so many questions and objections I’m irritated. If the Silents are a species, how can people say “Silence will fall” instead of “Silence will invade”? If Silents are forgotten the moment you don’t see them, how did the other species know they were invaded? If you can kill a Silent more or less the same way you kill a human, why didn’t the vampire fish people just eat them? If the Silents can be killed by basic weaponry and “outed” by cameras, why did they let either be invented? Why are we viewers supposed to be terrified of a species that isn’t just repelled but utterly defeated in such a way that they can’t (unlike, say, the Daleks) attempt a re-invasion without being slaughtered on sight? Silence was falling all right – falling over dead!

    Speaking of which, I hadn’t really thought about it until I listened to podcast 103 but you’re right — why must we also be subjected to endless teases of “Someone will DIE”… well, no, not die really, or permanently, or not all all, but just have a memory lapse or a strop about being shuttled off to a different dimension. Talk about a show that cries (bad) wolf – or cries wolf badly, more like it!

    And that’s not even starting in on the running modern PSA about gay marriage dropped with a heavy and anachronistic hand into a historical context. I’m assuming that everyone was supposed to assume that it was a racial thing, with Virginia v Loving only being decided two years earlier, but I’ve got to ask – in the intended British market, do the words “Virginia v Loving” even mean anything? How many people guessed right off that this was about sexuality and not race? I did. And I remember ’69 from the first time around, when it was a career killer just to be gay. The FBI wouldn’t have cared if he wanted to marry or to sleep with the entire CIA, they would have fired him just for his sexuality. If Moffat wanted to make a civil rights comment, at that time and place “it’s okay to be gay” would have been head-turning enough. Sadly, that’s a basic fact that still needs to be repeated now, too.

    I hope Black Spot is better. And if it isn’t, that I can be less verbose when complaining about it.

    Best to all, and carry on and keep knitting, Fake Keith!

    Nea

  10. Greetings Staggerers Hope you are all well

    So according to you lot, in order to be more random I have to completely disregard the written English language. Well as an English graduate that is something I just don’t do. Often. On purpose.

    I must say your Elisabeth Sladen tribute was very sweet and fitting. I actually found myself tearing up a little, which wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t been in line for a cash machine while it happened.

    And yay Doctor Who is back, and it certainly was an interesting two parter to open. I liked a lot of elements, I loved Canton, I thought he was a great character. River Song was fun, the Silence were interesting and creepy and I admit I was raising my eyebrows at that ending. However, something about it all felt a bit…….flat. I think Steven Moffat is getting too smart for his own good. That’s now four episode in a row (the two parter finale of last year and now this opener) which have had all over the place openers. There’s only so many times you can do that without the audience getting annoyed. Also the whole drama revolving around the child and the potential pregnancy feels forced. Not to mention the fact that we’re meant to believe that the Doctor, the person who “never gets involved unless there’s a child crying”, would just swan off whilst there’s a mysterious frightened child who was trapped in bizarre alien technology wandering around. Just doesn’t sit right to me. However Team TARDIS are still strong and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

    I recall Fake Keither mentioning doing a piece on the tv series of Neverwhere when you review the Neil Gaiman episode. Much to my shame I have not seen it, despite the book being one of my favourites. Seems like as good a time as any to track it down and watch.

    Just a quick reccommendation, I recently saw the Thor film and thought it was great fun. Very non-typical of other superhero films and definately worth checking out.

    Goodbye for now
    I can’t think of a random quote this time.
    Sarah

  11. Ahoy there Staggering Stories Shipmate and the Head of Smith wearing a Tricorne hat.

    The Curse of the Black Spot

    So Pirates in Doctor Who, great idea, in nearly fifty years we should have had more than two of these. Anyway, we’re introduced to Hugh Bonneville as Captain Avery and thrown right into the action. The stowaways are discovered and in next to no time are walking the plank.

    However they’re saved by possibly the best part of the story, ‘Amy Pond Pirate Queen’. The sword fight was AMAZING!!!!, not the best sword fight ever I’ll agree, but she really went for it, I’d certainly be scared if Amy Pond came at me with a large sword, wouldn’t you, Adam need not answer this. Then we get the black spots themselves and the very nice haunting music, Rory’s reaction to this was just bizarre and a little un-nerving. And the Siren arrives, Lily Cole was very graceful and serene and very scary when she had to be.

    This story had a lot of great lines in it, ‘a green, singing shark in an evening gown’ and ‘he has his good days and his bad days’. Avery’s son stowing away was interesting although since this story is throwing all things pirate at us it shouldn’t be too surprising. I think Avery and the Doctor seemed to work well together, I thought Avery equating all the Tardis’ controls with those of his ship and his silent gloating was very good.

    The scene where the other pirate tries to break Toby’s faith in his father was quite a dark way for this story to turn. It really must be one of the Doctor’s bad days if he can’t figure out that any reflective surface can make the Siren appear. Hang on, that woman’s there again!

    I think the scene with Avery and the Doctor out on deck is more important than you first think and I’ll tell you why. You can tell by the way Hugh Bonneville plays it that Avery is mostly a good person but, as this scene hints, he’s possibly had some bad experiences and chosen a life as a pirate. He’s also run away from the responsibility of being a father.

    When that crown dropped and rolled away, during the storm, that’s what must have really shaken Toby’ faith in his father. Having him built up and then discovering he’s basically a criminal, that has to be devastating to a kid his age. This made worse by him then being captured by the Siren and Rory being thrown overboard.

    I liked the reveal of the two ships in the same place and the human virus that wiped out the crew, even if we’ve seen it before. It was funny seeing the Doctor getting snot on his hand but don’t wipe it on Amy. Again not the Doctor’s best day if he only now realises the Siren’s a nurse, probably the first time he’s been saved by a snotty handkerchief, though.

    The scene where Avery decides to stay with his son and travel the stars was quite touching, hopefully now he can change his ways and prove to his son he’s a better man than Toby was led to believe. As for the Tardis team, wow Amy’s tough exterior was certainly put under stress when she’s reviving Rory, so utterly heartbreaking to watch and it could have been even worse. But a happy ending and why’s the Doctor scanning Amy again? Didn’t it work last time?

    Casting off,

    Chris.

  12. Forrest Leeson says:

    (The wedding was conducted by Baron Greenback?)

  13. […] Stories has Podcast 106: The Curse of the Mild Mannered Silence, Adam J Purcell, Andy Simpkins, Fake Keith and the Real Keith Dunn talk about the new Doctor Who […]

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