What Who Are You Currently Watching?

[shada pavlova]

I believe the Doctor fiddles with their radio mast, so the Dalek spaceship falls down a big hole.

I think.

[Rob McCow]

Doesn't ring any bells, I'm afraid. I remember Barbara telling all Robomen to attack the Daleks - surely that worked?

[Si Hunt]

No, it failed as she forgot the crucial words "this order cannot be countermanded" so after she issued the order, which she felt moved to do in the style of what can only be described as a weird impression of a robotic child playing Red Indians, the Daleks soon swept in and countermanded it. Then some time later, the Doctor bumbled in and Barbara told him what her idea had originally been and the Doctor thought this good enough to try again. So the Doctor did the same thing, but this time HE remembered to say "this order cannot be countermanded" and lo and behold it worked.

Such was the neccessity of all this, Milton Subotsky was later able to bin these 50 pages of the script when he turned it into a film and overall chop out two and a half hours of pointless incident without anyone noticing.

Si.

[Andrew Curnow]

@ Si's summary of the facts!!

We've just watched not only The Empty Child but also The Doctor Dances, and I rather enjoyed them both (although still not as much as AOL/WW3, sorry). This story always reminds me of three random facts, which I shall now bore you with:

1. It was the first story to really scare Little Miss to the extent of her actually not being able to sleep after part 1.

2. Our dog Mitch arrived here during this story, and I always associate the one with the other.

3. On first airing, I had a bizarre pang during the little scene with Eccleston & the TARDIS phone - it was an odd sort of 'Full Circle' feeling, when I realised I was enjoying his Doctor, but I knew his days were numbered.

OK, you can all wake up now and carry on!!

[Si Hunt]

"The Final Test"

Somehow, maybe it was the lush DWM colour photos that did it, but I've changed my mind about this one. I think it would have been great. I even liked the final episode more, and noticed things I hadn't done previously - the robot, the giant Dolls House, the bit where the Toymaker levitates in mid-air to stop Steven reaching the TARDIS.

It's entirely appropriate that you have to fire up your imagination, and if you do this story just comes to life. It's such a shame that the episode we have is the only one without Carmen Silvera and Campbell singer in - and it makes me ache that so many wonderful scenes of them playing at clowns or being Alice in Wonderland-esque fairytale characters are lost forever...

Si.