Happy Birthday, Russell T. Davies!

Russell T Davies celebrates his 50th birthday today. He is largely responsible for the return of Doctor Who in 2005. His pitch included a Doctor who was "your best friend; someone you want to be with all the time", the nineteen-year-old Rose Tyler as a "perfect match" for the new Doctor, avoidance of the forty-year back story "except for the good bits", the retention of the TARDIS, sonic screwdriver, and Daleks, removal of the Time Lords, and a greater focus on humanity. Read more on his involvement in the show here.

Bad Wolf Day

Bad Wolf Day is Monday, 3 June. 

Here is the link to the Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/440513236043497/

"Turn Left" 4x11

Original Air Date: 21 June 2008

I almost hate this episode enough to not want to watch it again. I hate it because it is what would be without the Doctor!
Always go left....
I think they make that bug thing in like a backpack-y thing.
Did you pick up on that in "Fires of Pompeii," Lucius Petrus Dextrus said to Donna that there was something on her back?
This episode is invalid. Timelords have respatory bypass and therefore cannot drown.
The person in the stretcher wasn't DT. DT doesn't even know who it was.
Well, isn't that wizard?!
Is that like a sequel?
And Rose literally just disappears.
Its playing with Donna's hair!
It's more in a state of temporal grace than flux....
This...is to combat dehydration.
The music from this episode is particularly awesome. The released ones are: Turn Left, A Dazzling End, and The Rueful Fate of Donna Noble.
And the Doctor's all like...IZ MAH ROSE!

"Midnight" 4x8

Original Air Date: 14 June 2008

Can you spell sensory overload?

The Lost Moon of Poosh!

This professor guy is a loser.

Did you see Rose? She was on the TV screen! Yelling "Doctor" like in "Idiot's Lantern"?

Shamble bobble dibble dooble.

This whole episode is almost very Salem Witch Trials-y.

I guess humans can be the scariest of all.

"The Doctor's Daughter" 4x6

Original Air Date: 10 May 2008

You are completely impossible! It's not impossible, it's just unlikely.
What, Martha? Like you swallowed a hamster????
Look, David, It's your future wife!
Aww yay! Martha's OK!
Messaline? Isn't that a type of lettuce?
Pet the Martha....pet.
Technically, I don't have time for this. I might use that.
Anyone else tear up when we found out she had two hearts?
Did ya notice that here is the first time we hear some of  "This is Gallifrey, Our Childhood, Our Home"?, when he's talking about how being a Time Lord is a sum of knowledge, a code, a shared history, a shared suffering.
Look! A little mouse!
What's a Time Lord for?
The Hath has gills...can't it like swim in that stuff?
I almost cried when he died...
There in the terraforming room....I know what's coming....the feels! Did you know that terraforming is a real concept?
In all of my re watching of DW, I have never as anywhere near the same emotional responce as I did as the first time...except for this. I guess it just goes to show how good of a job DT did in the scene.
We need to see Jenny again!

Time Lord/Weeping Angel Theory

SO, here is one theory about the Weeping Angels.
Remember in "End of Time", there was that woman who was ment to be the Doctor's mother?
<---her?

Well, then you probably remember how she had her eyes covered like a Weeping Angel.

Here is the cool theory I found:

"I heard that the reason they made her put her hands like that was a Timelord form of disgrace. And that she was stuck in limbo forever, until her and the other disgraced Timelords became the first weeping angels. Monsters forced into feeding of time energy, as it used to run through their veins. Now their veins were stone they need to get it other ways."

-RiverTheDetective on tumblr 

If you can navigate around that grammatical train wreck, good for you.
It makes sense. Pretty much right after we see her face, the Doctor sends them through the Untempered Schism back to Gallifrey during the Last Great Time War. No one ever said that they made it back or what happened once they got there. This theory would say that they were thrown to the dawn of the universe and evolved into the angels.
What do you think?
Comment!

"The Poison Sky" 4x5

Original Air Date: 3 May 2008

Are you my mummy?
That awkward moment when you watch yourself die.
Aaaand everything's okay again.
He's so willing to die. If I hadn't been like that, I'd find it disturbing.
Congrats Luke. You got the world into that mess, good for you for getting it out.
If you could go with the doctor, if you really could, would you? I would.
Wot! Wot!? WOT?!

"The Sontaran Stratagem" 4x4

Original Air Date: 26 April 2008

You hug him and you get a paper cut. I say that about my brother all the time. Why can't I have that part of his genetics?
Oh hai, UNIT.
Yes. That's exactly what he did to her. He turned her into a soldier.
I have a cup of tea...a really good cup of tea.
This is a specifically good episode.
Mah leg!
Ermahgeherd we're fighting Mr. Potato Head!
"A hothouse for geniuses. I wouldn't mind going. I get lonely." Can I come?
Advance the conquest. Oh, men and their conquests.
More tea!
The place where Donna lives looks so nice. I would live there!
The whole scene in Rattigan Academy is great-it's kinda all like "talk nerdy to me!"
Intruda window!
The lasts of the Time Lords will not die at the hands of the Sontaran Empire in the ruins of his prescious Earth!
OooOOOhhh battle status one.
Sontar-ha!

"Planet of the Ood" 4x3

Original Air Date: 19 April 2008

Have a nice day!
NO, Donna you did not just insult the TARDIS.
I miss the Ood. They should bring back the Ood. They best be at Trenzalore.
Ooh, Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire.
Hi Ood Sigma!

Who else thought of this?
I wonder what a baby Ood looks like.
Hear the Songs of Captivity and Freedom here.
My brother had a fish named Red Eye once.

"Partners in Crime" 4x1

Original Air Date: 5 April 2008

Who else thought that the Doctor and Donna were already working together?
I've met cat people. You're nothing like them.
Look! That taxi has ATMOS!
I love how Donna is such a teenager even though she's like 35ish. Parents who yell at her, hard time getting a job, spunky. I think I like her the best.
Aww, the Doctor stars talking about his findings and looks up and no one is there to listen to him :(
Why'd they shoot the door? I mean I know it was locked but like, don't they have a key?
You caught that puppy!
They said the title!
I wonder what an adult Adipose looks like.
Yes, Donna. You are waiving at fat.


DOCTOR: I just want a mate.
DONNA: You just want to mate?
DOCTOR: I just want a mate!
DONNA: You're not mating with me, sunshine!
DOCTOR: A mate. I want a mate.
DONNA: Well, just as well, because I'm not having any of that nonsense. I mean, you're just a long streak of nothing. You know, alien nothing.
DOCTOR: There we are, then. Okay.

Iz Rose.

"Voyage of the Damned" 4x0

Original Air Date: 25 December 2007

Wot? Wot!? WOT?!
Did you see the Union Flag throw pillow? Like the one in Sherlock?
New theme! Yay! I like this one a lot. It's all rockin' and such.
You know, Astrid is an anagram for TARDIS?
I should report you, but instead, I'll get you a drink.
That was not a buffalo wing. Buffalo wings have a sauce in them. My dad went to college in Buffalo, NY, where they invented the buffalo wing. So I know buffalo wings, and that was not a buffalo wing.

To repeat, I am Mister Copper, the ship's historian, and I shall be taking you to old London town in the country of UK, ruled over by good King Wenceslas. Now, human beings worship the great god Santa, a creature with fearsome claws, and his wife Mary. And every Christmas Eve, the people of UK go to war with the country of Turkey. They then eat the Turkey people for Christmas dinner like savages.... Now, spending money. I have a credit card in Earth currency if you want to by trinkets, or stockings, or the local delicacy, which is known as beef. But don't stray too far, it could be dangerous. Any day now they start boxing.

Possibly one of the best lines...

ITS WILF!

DOCTOR: Okay, okay. Shush, shush, shush, shush, shush. First things first. One. We are going to climb through this ship. B. No. Two. We're going to reach the bridge. Three. Or C. We're going to save the Titanic. And, coming in a very low four, or D, or that little iv in brackets they use in footnotes, why. Right then, follow me.
SLADE: Hang on a minute. Who put you in charge and who the hell are you anyway?
DOCTOR: I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm nine hundred and three years old and I'm the man who's going to save your lives and all six billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?
SLADE: No.
DOCTOR: In that case, allons-y!

They could have like....Space Dowton Abbey.
Things are gettin' intense....time to take off the bow tie!
Bannakaffalata...dead.
Always be very afreaid of women with forklifts.
ALLONS-Y, ALLOSNO!
You're not falling...you're flying. Nah, you're falling with style.
Nope...only Britain is Great.
50,000,056 credits=1,000,000 credits. Good to know.

Can anyone else not help but smile when you hear the TARDIS dematerialize?

Happy Impossible Astronaut Day!

"42"

Original Air Date: 19 May 2007

Who else things that this entire episode is a LOT like "Impossible Planet"/"Satan Pit".
Ha. Here comes the sun....
This crew, and this ship, reminds me a lot of the crew of Serenity from Firefly. Anyone else?
Tennant in the space suit! Matt Smith just doesn't look as good in it.
The period of time when the Doctor has the Sun living in him, I think it shows how good of an actor David Tennant really is. In intense moments like that, it is so easy to over act and then you can see that the actor is acting, but with David here, you can't, it really does seem like he is actually in legitimate pain. He really makes you believe this moment.
Yay! They did it!
It was nice...not dying with you.

Remember, kids: Always scan for life!

"The Lazarus Experiment"

Original Air Date: 5 May 2007

Doctor! Don't touch ladies' underwear!
Both my brother and dad, with whom I am watching this with for the first time, were like: "They're just leaving her there!"
If you could be immortal, would you do it? Really, would you do it? I would.
The actress who plays Lazarus' wife looks like Maggie Smith. I know she's not, obviously.
Maggie Smith would make a good Doctor.
Tish stop flirting with him she's like three times your age
Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It's not the time that matters, it's the person. But if it's the right person, what a gift that would be or what a curse.

"Evolution of the Daleks"

Original Air Date: 28 April 2007

Gossiping Daleks...#YouKnowItsBadWhen
OOH LOOK, a Dalek. Sing in Latin!
You told us to imagine! And we imagined your irrelevance.
Pig slaves: they take the elevator just like the rest of us.
He said Allons-Y!
My brother goes...."And that's how the Mafia started."
So....are they Dalek-Human-TimeLord hybrids?!

Oh, Tallulah with three Ls and an H, just you watch me. What do I need? Oh, I don't know. How about a great big genetic laboratory? Oh look, I've got one. Laszlo, just you hold on. There's been too many deaths today. Way too many people have died. Brand new creatures and wise old men and age old enemies. And I'm telling you, I'm telling you right now, I am not having one more death! You got that? Not one. Tallulah, out of the way. The Doctor is in.

Tallulah and Laszlo had a baby. Her name is Miss Piggie.

"Daleks in Manhattan"

Original Air Date: 21 April 2007

Ermegeherd a pig. Like the Slitheen. But not really. Why a pig again?
Love how he has no trouble landing this time.
When he picks that thing up, and smells it, I'm just like "please don't lick it, please, please don't lick it."
I kinda wish my ears lit up when I spoke, like a Derlerk.

Basically....run.
Three Ls and an H!
Doctor, what did your mother tell you about putting weird alien crap in your pockets? What if you forgot it there, then found it like a month later?

It's the Depression, sweetie. Your heart might break, but the show goes on. Because if it stops, you starve. Every night I have to go out there, sing, dance, keep going, hoping he's going to come back.

-Tallulah 

Tallulah's eyes are huge.

"Gridlock"

Original Air Date: 14 April 2007

Shut up, Sally Calypso.
Martha...don't ask about Gallifrey. Just don't. You butt face. No, you can't go there.
Oh, look! It's Captain Jack!
They took Martha! Aw HELL naw.
Yay, cat people!
And the Doctor's all like: Imma go car jumping.
Ohh. Macra. Giant crabs.
Quick! Get the duck tape! The Face of Boe's container is breaking!

I was so excited. Just for a second, just a second, I thought we were going to find out about the Last Great Time War.

"Doomsday"

Original Air Date: 8 July 2006

Yes. We are called Daleks. Thank you, Rose Tyler. I didn't know that we were Daleks.
Random car fire!
Next time I video chat with someone, I'll be like "establishing visual link."

This is one of my favorite scenes:

DALEK 2: Identify yourselves.
CYBERMAN: You will identify first.
DALEK 2: State your identity.
CYBERMAN: You will identify first.
DALEK 2: Identify!
CYBERMAN: That answer is (??) and illogical. You will modify.
DALEK 2: Daleks do not take orders.
CYBERMAN: You have identified as Daleks.
BLACK DALEK: Outline resembles the inferior species known as Cybermen.
CYBERMAN: We followed in the wake of your sphere.
BLACK DALEK: Long range scans confirm the presence of crude cybernetic constructs on worldwide scale.
DALEK 3: We must protect the Genesis Ark.
CYBERMAN: Our species our similar, though your design is inelegant.
DALEK 2: Daleks have no concept of elegance.
CYBERMAN: This is obvious. But consider, our technologies are compatible.
CYBERMAN: Cybermen plus Daleks.
CYBERMAN: Together, we could upgrade the Universe.
DALEK 2: You propose an alliance?
CYBERMAN: This is correct.
DALEK: Request denied.
CYBERMAN Hostile elements will be deleted.
DALEK: Exterminate!
CYBERLEADER: Daleks, be warned. You have declared war upon the Cybermen.
BLACK DALEK: This is not war. This is pest control.
CYBERLEADER: We have five million Cybermen. How many are you?
BLACK DALEK: Four.
CYBERLEADER: You would destroy the Cybermen with four Daleks?
BLACK DALEK: We would destroy the Cybermen with one Dalek.
BLACK DALEK: You are superior in only one respect.
CYBERLEADER: What is that?
BLACK DALEK: You are better at dying.

Isn't that great?

The Cyberleader's head exploded, lol.

Does Pete's World not have its own Doctor??

Mickey, you dumb tin dog, you touched the Genesis Ark.

Pete and Jackie! Such a mushy scene. 

You know, in the 50th, there better be some follow up as to the new Tyler.

Rose! Hold on! No, Doctor I'm gonna let go on purpose.
Dårlig Ulv Stranden, of course it means bad wolf bay. I wonder if it's a real place...

Even when he's crying, David Tennant is so cute!

Aaaand, Donna Noble's sassyness!

"Army of Ghosts"

Original Air Date: 1 July 2006

So, I finally am getting my brother to watch this with me.

She said the title! SHE SAID THE TITLE!
You have no idea how excited I was when she first said that she died. I really thought she did!

Awp, Jackie's crazy.

Was that Martha working at Torchwood???? Googled it...yep! And Katheine Gillian was a soothesayer in "Fires of Pompeii" #HowToBecomeACompanion (Yes, I know they validate it by saying that she's Martha's cousin.)

Ever notice the music in this one sounds like the music from Torchwood?

Jackie, why can't you just be happy for your daughter?

Ooooh the Void Stuff glasses!

He said "allons-y!" for the first time!

Now, what do you make of that? Its a giant cookie.

Oh neowww teh grosts is cybermens.
And teh sphrere haz derlerks!

Live Streaming Link

From any country in the world, you can watch the new episode today at 1:45p EDT here at this site. From here, you can watch BBC1 at any time. Enjoy today's new story, the hundredth episode in the revival, "Hide"!

"Smith and Jones"

Original Air Date: 31 March 2007

Is the title of this episode a joke on something? Or is it really just for John Smith and Martha Jones?

Yes, the Doctor really could use a visit from psychiatric....

Love how Martha's the only one who's like, chill.

Love how they even mention the spaceship crashing into Big Ben, and showed Big Ben intact just a few moments ago....

How polite, the plasmavore uses a straw.

I love how the Doctor speaks Judoonese.

Does anyone else move the radiation in to their feet when they use the microwave? I stand there and shake my foot and get the radiation out.

Dear Doctor, if you're gonna kiss a girl and want to even have her think just a tiny bit that it means nothing, don't grab her head!

She is drinking David Tennant. I'll have what she's having.

This is me, putting my foot down.

Shut up, Martha Jones. You know you're interested.

"The Shakespeare Code

Original Air Date: 7 April 2007

What would you do if some guy played the lute at your window?

I kind of love that he actually is Sir Doctor of Tardis.

In bed with David Tennant! I'll have some of that.
Oh, fifty-seven academics just punched the air.

Oh, he's quoting Hamlet! I'm involved with a production of Hamlet right now...title character.

What's in a name? Apparently, if you're a Carrionite, quite a lot.

I've actually seen Love's Labour's Lost. It's quite good!

Tetra-decagons. Fun.

Expelliarmus!

The Title of the Last Episode of Season 7

So, what do we think? 

Are they really gonna do it? Because if they do it at all, THAT needs to be saved for the 50th, if you ask me. Discuss in the comments!

We Miss You, Elisabeth Sladen!

I think the next companion's name should be Elisabeth, even though her middle name was Clara (a clue?).

As many of you may know, today is the second anniversary of the death of Elisabeth Sladen, who played Sarah Jane Smith, probably my all-time favourite companion, and to my knowledge, the only companion to appear in both the classic and revival series.

I think David Tennant in the forward he wrote for her autobiography said it best.

Here is a delightful song written in her memory.

She died in 2011 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two months prior. (The type, I believe, was not officially confirmed by the family, although several sources say that it was that, and I know from personal experience that it kills you very, very quickly.) She was 65.

In her honour and memory, this will be the only post today.

"The Runaway Bride"

I'm skipping "Love and Monsters". I hated it the first time. #SorryNotSorry
And I'm gonna save "Army of Ghosts" and "Doomsday" for later--I plan to watch it with my brother soon.
Okay, you got me. I have already watched "The Runaway Bride" a second time...but I don't care.

Original Air Date: 25 December 2006

What IS on Donna's mother's head?  Is it a baby ostrich?

This is like an intense game of peek-a-boo.

doooweeeoooo oooh weee oooo  dun duh duh ah ah oh wee ohh nuh nuh oooh wee oo dun nuhhhh

DOCTOR: What?
DONNA: Who are you?
DOCTOR: But
DONNA: Where am I?
DOCTOR: What?
DONNA: What the hell is this place?
DOCTOR: What? You can't do that. I wasn't. We're in flight. That is, that is physically impossible! How did
DONNA: Tell me where I am. I demand you tell me right now where am I?
DOCTOR: Inside the TARDIS.
DONNA: The what?
DOCTOR: The TARDIS.
DONNA: The what?
DOCTOR: The TARDIS!
DONNA: The what?
DOCTOR: It's called the TARDIS.
DONNA: That's not even a proper word. You're just saying things.

DONNA: You're an alien.

DOCTOR: Yeah.

DONNA: It's freezing with these doors open.

Just love that Donna slaps him.

Why is it Chis-ick and not Chiswick?

Ooh, Donna bit someone at school. So did I... it was 12 years ago...I swear I won't come out of your screen and bite you. And it was provoked.

Slitheen reference, YES.

My wedding dress will have pockets.

I'm, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not from Mars.

And that goes double for your mother!

BEWARE THE SANTAS! They will blow you up.

Those kids. In the car behind them. They stole the scene. Love them with two hearts.

You know, they had the reception without her....

Hey Doctor, you at a party...did you forget your banana?

Now, all I have's this anguished heart,
For you have vanished too.
Oh, my girl, my girl, my precious girl,
Just what is this man to do?

And he's thinking of Rose...

Killer Christmas trees for the win.

I wonder how many pairs of Converse DT went through....

Donna=Pencil Inside a Mug

They're on segways (segues?)!

I'm just gonna fastfoward to WET DAVID TENNANT.

Guess what I've got, Donna? Pockets.

EMPRESS: My children may feast on Martian flesh.
DOCTOR: Oh, but I'm not from Mars.
EMPRESS: Then where?
DOCTOR: My home planet is far away and long since gone. But its name lives on. Gallifrey.

WET DAVID TENNANT. Now with fire.

omg a tank.

Does it, like, really never snow in London???

And it's terrible. That place was flooding and burning and they were dying, and you were stood there like, I don't know, a stranger. And then you made it snow. I mean, you scare me to death.

Yes, Doctor, you need someone. You really do need someone to stop you.

Be magnificent!!!
 

TSwizzle and the Doctor?

I think Taylor Swift may have met the Doctor then written a song about it.

LOOK AT THIS. JUST LOOK AT IT.

"Superman" by Taylor Swift

Tall, dark and superman
He puts papers in his briefcase and drives away
To save the world or go to work
It's the same thing to me 

He's got his mother's eyes, his father's ambition
I wonder if he knows how much that I miss him
I hang on every word you say, yay
And you smile and say, "How are you? "
I say, "Just fine"
I always forget to tell you, I love you, I love you, forever 

I watch superman fly away
You've got a busy day today
Go save the world, I'll be around
I watch superman fly away
Come back I'll be with you someday
I'll be right here on the ground
When you come back down 

Tall, dark and beautiful
He's complicated, he's irrational
But I hope someday you'll take me away and save the day, yeah 

Something in his deep brown eyes has me sayin'
He's not all bad like his reputation
And I can't hear one single word they say
And you'll leave, got places to be and I'll be OK
I always forget to tell you I love you, I loved you from the very first day 

I watch superman fly away
You've got a busy day today
Go save the world I'll be around
I watch superman fly away
Come back I'll be with you someday
I'll be right here on the ground
When you come back down 

And I watch you fly around the world
And I hope you don't save some other girl
Don't forget, don't forget about me
I'm far away but I never let you go
I'm lovestruck and looking out the window
Don't forget, don't forget where I'll be 

Right here wishing the flowers were from you
Wishing the card was from you
Wishing the call was from you
'Cause I loved you from the very first day 

I watch superman fly away
You've got a busy day today
Go save the world, I'll be around...
Forever and ever here 

I watch superman fly away
I swear I'll be with you someday
I'll be right here on the ground
When you come back down

"The Idiot's Lantern"

Original Air Date: 27 May 2006

This episode is, yes, very, very creepy. Obviously, it has Ten's "when in doubt, lick it" moment, but otherwise its really extremely boring, I find.

How many of you tries to wrap your hand around your elbow and make your fingers meet? I did this time but I don't recal the first time. I guess I trusted the Doctor on that one!

Rose sans visage: she's never looked better!

"The Age of Steel"

Original Air Date: 20 May 2006

Ooh. Maximum Deletion. Not just ordinary deletion.

Aw man, Rickey got deleted! Now the City of London will never paid for those parking violations.

This is the age of steel and I am its creator. Oh! OOH!, they said the title!

I'd call you a genius, except I'm in the room.

LUMIC: You are proud of your emotions.
DOCTOR: Oh, yes.
LUMIC: Then tell me, Doctor. Have you known grief, and rage, and pain?
DOCTOR: Yes. Yes I have.
LUMIC: And they hurt?
DOCTOR: Oh, yes.
LUMIC: I could set you free. Would you not want that? A life without pain?
DOCTOR: You might as well kill me.

Hear that Rose? You CANNOT switch between realities! Understand? Nope, you never will.

"Rise of the Cybermen"

Original Air Date: 13 May 2006

This person who made the Cyberman, John Lumic, he looks a lot like Davros...with his wheelchair and such.

The TARDIS crashes and little air masks come down like an airplaine...

Here's a song about the episode.

Ha. Rose is a bitch. No, really, I'm not being vulgar, she's a female dog.

This is another episode I really don't care for. I'm not sure why. I didn't like it the first time Iwatched it, and I'm not quite fond of it this time, either.

Yea, Rose, they don't have a daughter now and they're rich. You're why they cant have nice things.

Maybe all the screaming and people slicing is why I don't like it.

Awp, they just deleted the President...

...and, it's David's birthday!

Happy Birthday, David Tennant

Today is David Tennant's 42nd birthday! As we all know, David played the Tenth Doctor (and will be returning for the 50th!), which was a realization of a life-long dream.

For me, David is an extremely inspiring actor. His desire to play the Doctor was a huge motivation to be an actor, and he shows us that even our wildest dreams are possible. He's hugely sucessful as an actor, though he's still down-to-Earth. He's constantly regarded as a sex symbol, and though you'd expext that sort of thing to inflate any man's ego, he has this to say about it:

"The moment one is made aware of that sort of thing, it's very hard to enjoy because it feels so absurd and unconnected, because you're patently aware it's not true. It's not true because it's not to do with you, it's to do with characters you play, it's not to do with who you are, or even what you look like."

Other inspiring DT quotes:

"I've always been a geek and slightly awkward. I was never the cool kid at school." 

"I'm a good person, I hope. But I'm never as good as I want to be, never as nice as I want to be, never as generous as I want to be."

Happy Birthday, David!

"New Earth"

Again, with these revisited episode posts, I'm not doing the ones I've seen for a second time already. Live with it. When I go and watch it a third time round I'll do it.

Original Air Date: 15 April 2006

Here is a fantasticly fun song about this episode.

Oh, how I love a young David Tennant!

They're both laying on his coat! (Officailly on the list of things I'm gonna do with my 10th Doctor coat when I
get it [hopefully for my 19th, which is in a few weeks], lay on it with my sig. other!) How cute.

New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York!

How does Cassandra recognize Rose? Didn't she, like, explode?

WET DAVID TENNANT.

Okay, fine. Cassandra's her back now.

The Doctors's all like: mah Rose just kissed me!

Wake up and smell the perfume.

I'm really not quite fond of this episode. Its creepy. Like, I feel like creating this human farm is something that people could and would actually do.

Get out of mah Rose!

"Oh, my. This is different. Goodness me, I'm a man. Yum. So many parts. And hardly used. Oh, oh, two hearts! Oh, baby, I'm beating out a samba! Oo, he's slim, and a little bit foxy. You've thought so too. I've been inside your head. You've been looking. You like it!"

-Cassandra in the Doctor's Tenth Body

Isn't feminine David Tennant fabulous? Yes, yes he is.

VERY WET DAVID TENNANT. Gawh, it's like Christmas.

Dying can wait. Oh, thank you Face of Boe.

Oh, sweet lord, I'm a walking doodle.

Its such a beautiful scene when Cassandra-Chip goes to visit herself in the past.

CASSANDRA [OC]: Oh no, don't. Stop it. Simply not true. Tiny. The beaches were so dismal, and the mosquitoes were
CASS-CHIP: Thank you.
DOCTOR: Just go. And don't look back.
ROSE: Good luck.
CASSANDRA: And if you actually see them, you're shocked. But don't quote me on that. Oh, naughty. A bientôt!
CASS-CHIP: Excuse me, Lady Cassandra.
CASSANDRA: I'm sorry, I don't need anything right now. I'm fine, thank you.
CASS-CHIP: No, I just wanted to say you look beautiful.
CASSANDRA: Well, that's very kind, you strange little thing. Thank you very much.
CASS-CHIP: I mean it. You look so beautiful.
CASSANDRA: Thank you.
(Chip's body collapses. Lady Cassandra cradles him.)
CASSANDRA: Oh, my Lord. Are you all right? What is it? What's wrong? Someone get some help! Call a medic or something, quickly!
WOMAN: Who is he?
CASSANDRA: I don't know. He just came up to me. I don't even know his name. He just collapsed. I think he's dying. Someone do something! I've got you, sweetheart. It's all right. There you are. There you are, I've got you. It'll be all right. There, there, you poor little thing.

That might just be one of my favourite scenes in all of DW.

"The Parting of the Ways"

Original Air Date: 18 June 2005

Jrak brew urp teh derlek!

"I wish I never met you, Doctor. I was much better off as a coward" -Cpt. Jack Harkness

"If I'm very clever and I'm more than clever, I'm brilliant, I might just save the world." -The Doctor

Then he goes and saves Rose. He saves his world.

This is Emergency Programme One. Rose, now listen, this is important. If this message is activated, then it can only mean one thing. We must be in danger. And I mean fatal. I'm dead or about to die any second with no chance of escape. And that's okay. Hope it's a good death. But I promised to look after you, and that's what I'm doing. The TARDIS is taking you home. And I bet you're fussing and moaning now. Typical. But hold on and just listen a bit more. The TARDIS can never return for me. Emergency Programme One means I'm facing an enemy that should never get their hands on this machine. So this is what you should do. Let the TARDIS die. Just let this old box gather dust. No one can open it. No one'll even notice it. Let it become a strange little thing standing on a street corner. And over the years, the world'll move on and the box will be buried. And if you want to remember me, then you can do one thing. That's all, one thing. Have a good life. Do that for me, Rose. Have a fantastic life.

-The Doctor

What is the bad wolf story? Is it just the thing from the three little pigs?

Bet cha wish ya had all-wheel drive now, Mickey.

Captain Jack's so cute when he's mortal.

Go, Mickey, save the world with a yellow truck...and break the TARDIS.

Congrats, Jack, you are now a fixed point in time and space! A temporal anomaly!

mah head!

mah Rose!

Kiss the girl.

and then...regenerate.

Oh, but first, abandon Jack.

Sing a song and the Daleks will go away? Yep, that's it.

BECOME DAVID TENNANT! Yes, get rid of that daft old face. And yes, you were fantastic. Now be David and make smiles come to my face. Yep, that's right: Barcelona.

"Bad Wolf"

Original Air Date: 11 June 2005

Have all of you seen the Weakest Link DW special? Its great!

I'd never British Weakest Link...and it was kind of really funny. 

Ever notice that the Doctor is the 9th person to get evicted?

"Boom Town"

I'm skipping Empty Child/Doctor Dances for now- I've already watched it a second time. Maybe I'll write about them when I watch it a third.

Original Air Date: 4 June 2005

I like how they casually blew up Downing Street...
Did you know/realize that the actress who is Margaret (Blon Fel-Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen) plays the prostitute in "Casanova" with David Tennant?

"What are you captain of? The innuendo squad?"

It was a very icy patch!

The scene where the Slitheen shows mercy is so...cute. And the Raxacoricofallapatorians are kinda cute to begin with.
...and the bit with the teleport....

We're in Cardiff. London doesn't care. The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn't notice. Oh. I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I've gone native.

Pan-dimensional surfboards! Yay!

"Don't worship me- I'd make a very bad god." -The Doctor

They mentioned pizza. Now I want pizza.

Ok, so the Doctor and Blon's little last meal, last wish, date thing, they're talking about icky death penalty processes and her only being a killer because that's what she was taught, and the other people in the restaurant are just, like, chill?

She's an egg!

"Father's Day"

Original Air Date: 14 May 2005

Rose's dad is a ginger!

Rose, there's a man alive in the world who wasn't alive before. An ordinary man. That's the most important thing in creation. The whole world's different because he's alive.

 -The Doctor

Oh crap, the TARDIS is just a box!

"The Long Game"

Original Air Date: 7 May 2005

The Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. And there it is, planet Earth at it's height. Covered with mega-cities, five moons, population ninety six billion. The hub of a galactic domain stretching across a million planets, a million species, with mankind right in the middle. Come on, Adam. Open your mind. You're going to like this. Fantastic period of history. The human race at its most intelligent. Culture, art, politics. This era has got fine food, good manners. The thing is, Adam, time travel's like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guide book, you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers. 

-The Doctor

Wait. Guys. Face of Boe is pregnant. What is this, whaaaa?

Is there a ground floor on Satellite 5? Or do they just start on first floor?

Ooh, the Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe! It kind of looks like the Prisoner Zero thing.
It...exploded. Nasty.

"Dalek"

Original Air Date: 30 April 2005

It is about 10 minutes in that, if you listen close enough, you see how much self-loating the Doctor has for himself at this point.

DALEK: I am alone in the universe.
DOCTOR: Yep.
DALEK: So are you. We are the same.
DOCTOR: We're not the same! I'm not (pause) No, wait. Maybe we are. You're right. Yeah, okay. You've got a point. 'Cause I know what to do. I know what should happen. I know what you deserve. Exterminate.

The Dalek say that it and the Doctor are the same. At first, the Doctor denies it, then realizes that he can channel the hate of himself into the destruction of what he believes to be the last Dalek. He agrees that they are the same: they both deserve death because of what they have done.

Then, moments later Goddard and van Statten ask about the Last Great Time War and asks to clarify if the Doctor is the last of his kind. He said he survived, but not by choice. He says that he would have rather died than survived.

No! Rose don't touch it! Aww, Rose....

What are you gonna do? Sucker me to death? Yep. That's exactly it!

Ohh crap, it's a flyin' dalek.

Back to the Doctor's survivor's guilt we go.

DALEK: Then I shall follow the Primary Order, the Dalek instinct to destroy, to conquer.
DOCTOR: What for? What's the point? Don't you see it's all gone? Everything you were, everything you stood for.
DALEK: Then what should I do?
DOCTOR: All right, then. If you want orders, follow this one. Kill yourself.

Suicide. That is his advice to the Dalek. That since it has destroyed so much, since everything it was and everything it stood for is gone, that because it is all gone, it should kill itself. The Doctor, though, has Rose. Rose and all of humanity is the one thing the Doctor has left at this point.

Don't you just love it when Daleks have existential crises?

I love the song they play at the end. I know it's somewhere on my DW Spotify playlist but I cant find it...

Doctor...what are you doing standing inside a box?

"World War Three"

Original Air Date 23 April 2005

Ever notice that the Slitheen have little tails?
Raxacoricofallapatorius! Yay!

The telephone is actually red! And there's skittles next to the phone.

ROSE: If we could just get out of here.
DOCTOR: There's a way out.
ROSE: What?
DOCTOR: There's always been a way out.
ROSE: Then why don't we use it?
DOCTOR: Because I can't guarantee your daughter will be safe.
JACKIE: Don't you dare. Whatever it is, don't you dare.
DOCTOR: That's the thing. If I don't dare, everyone dies.
ROSE: Do it.
DOCTOR: You don't even know what it is. You'd just let me?
ROSE: Yeah.
JACKIE: Please, Doctor. Please. She's my daughter. She's just a kid.
DOCTOR: Do you think I don't know that? Because this is my life, Jackie. It's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will.
ROSE: Then what're you waiting for?
DOCTOR: I could save the world but lose you.
HARRIET: Except it's not your decision, Doctor. It's mine.
JACKIE: And who the hell are you?
HARRIET: Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people for the people. And on behalf of the people, I command you. Do it.

"Aliens of London"

Original Air Date: 16 April 2005 (Eight years ago today!) (Well, I finished the episode on the 17th...)

Dear Doctor, how do you mess us twelve hours for twelve months? And, why not take her back to when you actually meant?
You gotta love the kid who spraypaints "Bad Wolf" on the TARDIS
And would you look at that--UNIT's back, and Tosh (Torchwood) is the one who analysed the body found in the spaceship! (Hmm, and right after we had Eve Myles [Gwen on Torchwood] as Gwenyth? That, I'd say is one of the few coincidences in all of the Whoniverse)

HARRIET: Excuse me! Harriet Jones. MP for Flydale North.
GANESH: I'm sorry, can it wait?
HARRIET: But I did have an appointment at 3:15.
GANESH: Yes, and a spaceship crashed in the middle of London. I think the schedule might have changed.

I just love Harriet Jones. She just might be one of the funniest DW characters. Even the Daleks knew who she was! But I'm sure she's having a great time with Downton Abbey (which I've started watching after I ran out of DW episodes, and I really like it). One say, I'll introduce myself, and they'll say "yes, I know who you are."

Awe, how cute, he gave her a key to the TARDIS! And then Mickey runs into a wall.

Why does the UNIT guy suddenly have a zipper when none of the others do?

*I appoligize for the original error in the title of the post

"The Unquiet Dead"

Original Air Date: 9 April 2005

Relatively far into the episode, we get a good amount of information the Last Great Time War.

GELTH: We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction. Once we had a physical form like you, but then the war came. The Time War. The whole universe convulsed. The Time War raged. Invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away. We're trapped in this gaseous state.

I have to say, this is the episiode where I became a fan. The theatre group I was with for five years did a performance of "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" (referenced at the end of the episode), and as soon as that happened I was a bit like "yes they've got me!"
And, just before that, they quote my favorite play, "Hamlet," with "There are more things in heaven and Earth then dreamt of in your philosophy."

"The End of the World"

Original Air Date: 2 April 2005

First date with a girl? Of course! Bring her to the end of her world.
It makes a bit of sense. The Doctor is fresh off the Last Great Time War (we don't quite know it yet) and just watched Gallifrey burn (and we find out that at the end of the episode). Rose is running with the Doctor now, and he's an emotional mess, drowning in survivor's guilt and wants to make her be able to some how relate to not having a home planet any more. Its not quite the same as it being gone forever, because Rose will, of course, return to Earth. But I assume watching your planet, your home, you childhood, burn is watching your planet burn.

One of the guests is The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. They're not talking about those things on tumblr (ours is here). The original definition of "meme" is an idea that is passed from person to person through culture. Personally I think Clara is a living meme. I guess she gets Adherents. I know its them that let out those mechanical spider things, but who ever said Clara was good?

I give you air from my lungs!

STEWARD: And last but not least, our very special guest. Ladies and gentlemen, and trees and multiforms, consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth the last Human. The Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen.
CASSANDRA: Oh, now, don't stare. I know, I know it's shocking, isn't it? I've had my chin completely taken away and look at the difference. Look how thin I am. Thin and dainty. I don't look a day over two thousand. Moisturise me. Moisturise me. Truly, I am the last Human. My father was a Texan, my mother was from the Arctic Desert. They were born on the Earth and were the last to be buried in its soil. I have come to honour them and say goodbye. Oh, no tears, no tears. I'm sorry. But behold, I bring gifts. From Earth itself, the last remaining ostrich egg. Legend says it had a wingspan of fifty feet and blew fire from its nostrils. Or was that my third husband? Oh, no. Oh, don't laugh. I'll get laughter lines. And here, another rarity. According to the archives, this was called an iPod. (Its a 1950s jukebox) It stores classical music from humanity's greatest composers. Play on! (A 45 of Tainted Love by Soft Cell.)

Then, there is the second time we see the Doctor's survivor's guilt, after Rose has realize how much of a complete stranger the Doctor is and really starts asking him where he's from: "This is who I am, right here, right now, all right? All that counts is here and now, and this is me." He knows his past, and what he's done, that he let his planet burn exactly like the Earth is about to, and can't bear to think of it now, even though he is sort of making himself think of it given where he is and what is about to happen.

"Rose"

Original Air Date: 26 March 2005 (leaked on 5 March 2005)

Have I ever mentioned that I love the song that plays at the very beginning  It's called "Westminster Bridge" if anyone's interested.
Did you notice that one of the autons chasing Rose is a shirtless woman?
About sixteen minutes in, we get the first glimpse of how this Ninth Doctor is gonna be.

Do you know like we were saying about the Earth revolving? It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling round the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go. That's who I am. Now, forget me, Rose Tyler. Go home.

And, as soon as that bit ends, we hear "The Doctor's Theme" for the first time. It is an almost entirely vocal piece, deigned to evoke feelings of sadness and being lost. And it does. Prior to hearing this, the Doctor has appeared as a happy man, and every time we hear the song and the note progression from it, we know that the Doctor is remembering his past, what he is running from, and how alone he is.
Just once, I'd like to see someone go in the TARDIS for the first time and just be like, "Oh, okay, bigger on the inside."
Why do the boyfriends of "Who" get turned in to plastic?
"Lots of planets have a North!"
I've always found this episode a bit rediculous. Perhaps its just the idea of the Nesetene Consciousness and the whole living plastic thing. I don't know.

Episode Revisitations

So, because reasons, I'm home for the semester. (If for some reason you're interested in my personal life, you can read about it here). It sucks that I'll now be graduating a year later, but some good things have come out of it, like me getting in to DW. I've not got much to do, so I'll be live-blogging through the past revival episodes I haven't already watched for the second time. The posts will have the tag "Episodes Revisited"
Enjoy!

50th Question

So, hey, I've got a question about the 50th. We know for sure the DT is back for it, but do we know if he is the real Doctor or the Metacrisis Doctor?
Please comment if you know!

Hearts to Boston

I try to keep the real world out of this blog, but not today.
Tonight, I send my heart(s) to the peoples of Boston. May they have the strength to have hope carry on.

CYBERLEADER: You are proof.
DOCTOR: Of what?
CYBERLEADER: That emotions destroy you.
DOCTOR: Yeah, I am. Mind you, I quite like hope. Hope's a good emotion.

-"Doomsday" 

A Thousand Pageviews in Less Than a Month!

*banana required for entrance

A huge thank-you to everyone who viewed this blog prior to 12:50 on 15 April! You were in our first thousand hits!

"Rings of Akhaten" and "Cold War"

I have to say, the second part of this season is not living up to my expectations. I really am quite disappointed  They remind me of the classic episodes in that they have a good plot, but lack the character development and complex emotion that I really love--and fully expect--from the show.
Moffat designed these episodes to be stand-alone, and I do get that having less of an over-arching plot helps new watchers ease in to how complex Doctor Who can be. While I'm sure that the 50th will be full of "never apply logic to Who" moments, I really miss the clever callbacks to previous episodes.

Here's what I've thought of the past two episodes:

Rings of Akhaten

I was certainly skeptic of the episode being billed as having the most aliens we've ever seen, but I was proven wrong. The one thing I have to ask: what was with that one who barked? is the translation matrix on the fritz?

The episode definitely filled my desire for those moments when we remind ourselves that the Doctor is going to be okay because we know that there's another episode on next week, a desire which was still left longing after "The Bells of Saint John".

The story and symbolism of the leaf was beautiful  I think that's almost a fact rather than an opinion  I wonder if Akhaten really sucked anything out of the Doctor-perhaps his memories of Rose? Why not go for the best (and worst) first?

I thought Emillia Jones was magnificent as Merry Gejelh. I hope that maybe we will see her again at some point. I always like seeing plots revolve around a child. It adds a new layer to the emotion behind things. 

Cold War

Talk about a stand-alone episode! It may have been a returning monster, but everything got explained perfectly. 

I'm a bit suspicious of the Ice Warrior out of it's armour. Was I the only one who thought it sounded like a Silent? I liked it a lot from an artistic perspective.

It seems that the translation matrix is still broken-even though it translated the spoken Russian, I saw some Cyrillic writing! 

I don't really have anything overwhelmingly bad to say about it, but there also wasn't anything very good, either. 

Aside from the wet Matt Smith. And even that-Matt, please stop trying to fix your hair: it is very distracting!

Doctor Who Streaming

With the close of TardisBlue.net, which I relied on for new episodes of Doctor Who, many of us have been left out in the cold for the new episode  I did some snooping around, and I've got help for ya! BBC1 is always streaming live here. The new episode, "Cold War" will be on at 1pm EST (were I am).
Allons-y!

Clara Brain-Blast

Alright, so, while reviewing the design of the page, some synapse went off that was like "LEY," (that's my name, its pronounced Lee, like key but with an L) "LOOK AT THIS AND THINK OF THAT".

"Clara Oswin Oswald" is an anagram for "A Window Across All". That is an indisputable fact.

The Claras have personal information that is parallel to real-world info about Doctor Who (see them here), both the classic series and the reboot.

---

There is the idea that Clara is a living meme. Let me explain. The original definition of a meme is:
Meme (n) \ˈmēm\:  An element of a culture or behavior that may be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, esp. imitation
Comment your theory!

Clara Fun Facts

So, here is some fun information about Clara.

23 November 1963: First Episode of Doctor Who
1989: Doctor Who's first run ends
26 March 2005: First Air of the revival of Doctor Who
----
23 November 1866: Clara Oswin Oswald's birth (the Victorian one)
1989: Clara Oswald's birth (the modern one)
March 2005: Death of Clara's mother.

Now, if you want to get into the exacts....

• 5 March 2005 was the date that "Rose" was leaked into the internet and the date that Clara's mother died.
• 1866 was the year the First Doctor regenerated into the Second
• The diary missed age 23: the classic series had an eighteen-month hiatus between Season 22 and 23
• The diary also missed age 16: There were sixteen years between the end of the classic series and the revival series.
• Clara Oswin Oswald (Victorian) died at age 26. The classic series lasted 26 years.

Is she the TARDIS or something?

Ideas?

Old Who, New Who

I'm not really sure if you can call yourself a Whovian if you haven't watched any of the classic series. You don't have to like them, you just have to give them a try. I've made my way through all the on-demand Netflix episodes, and I will definitely say that the revival episodes are much more exciting.

Of course, there are the big differences  There are the things that they really can't help, like the quality of the film itself and the special effects and alien costumes being silly (yes, I know, they were great for their time), but there are also stylistic choices that don't appeal to me. The relationships the Doctor has with his companions in the classic episodes, and this gets more prominent the further back you go, are more of a mentor/protégé(e) relationship as opposed to the friend/friend relationship that we see in the revival. There are some points that the classic Doctors are just plain mean to the companions, especially the female ones. As a girl, I cringe a little bit when I see it. It's probably more of a sign-of-the-times thing, but I'm not going to get in to gender politics now.

The element that really makes the difference for me is the personality and psychological makeup of the Doctor himself. He's a bit more stable in the classics. With a character of this nature, that has been redesigned literally from the inside out more than ten times, there is going to be huge changes from actor to actor. Perhaps it is that the art of television is evolving. The overall "strangeness" of each doctor is a character choice for each individual actor, but I think that the actors now feel more at liberty to go all-out with the Doctor's idiosyncratic behaviors. Is my theatre arts major showing?

Christopher Eccleston set the stage for this with his Doctor. Fresh off the front lines of The Last Great Time War, the ninth Doctor is drowning in survivor's guilt. With Tennant's Doctor, I'd go so far as to say that he's developed some serious PTSD, especially after the ordeal with Rose. His psychological state is still in one of decompensation, and it has to be if he is in fact going to become the Valeyard (and I really do want to see him become that), but he is more emotionally static as Matt Smith. Is my psych major showing?
None of this is to say that I don't like the classic episodes, because that's not true. While I favor the revival, I appreciate the classics.

Entertainment Weekly's Best Adventures

Netflix really is a gem. It's got almost all of the revival episodes, and some of the highest-regarded classic episodes. The first Doctor Who Entertainment Weekly issue gave a list of each Doctor's best episode (more on that here) and with the exception of William Hartnell and Colin Baker (There are no episodes with him, aside from the end of Caves of Androzani when he is regenerated in to.), all those episodes are there, plus some more.
According to EW, the best adventure for each doctor was:

1. William Hartnell-An Unearthly Child (The first episode. I've only been able to find clips of it on youtube. Let me know if you know of a free way to see it in its entirety.)
2. Patrick Troughton- The Mind Robber
3. Jon Pertwee- The Green Death
4. Tom Baker- The Ark in Space
5. Peter Davison- The Caves of Androzani
6. Colin Baker- I don't remember. I couldn't find the info online; this is pure memory recal from four days ago. Possibly Trial of a Time Lord
7. Sylvester McCoy- The Curse of Fenric
8. Paul McGann- Only had one television appearance, the made-for-TV movie.
9. Christiopher Eccleston- The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
10. David Tennant- Blink (I must disagree with this one. The Doctor didn't appear much in this to really warrant it as his "best adventure.")
11. Matt Smith- The Doctor's Wife

Clara Oswin Oswald: A Window Across All

I know the edges on this aren't the best. If you can do better then I'd be glad to see it.

LOOK AT THAT. JUST LOOK AT IT.

I'm sure it means something, but what? I have no idea.

Comment! 

Please be mindful of our spoilers policy.

Happy Birthday, Sydney Newman!

Today, Sydney Newman, one of the original creators of Doctor Who, would be 96 years old. He died on 30/10/97 of a heart attack in Toronto, Canada. He is responsible for the TARDIS' dimensional transcendentalism (it's bigger on the inside), the Doctor being called the Doctor and not a proper name, and the show's title. He was against the addition of the Daleks. Newman was a long-time lover of the science fiction genre.

"Up to the age of 40, I don't think there was a science fiction book I hadn't read. I love them because they're a marvelous way—and a safe way, I might add—of saying nasty things about our own society."

Fishfingers and Custard Day

Hey! SO, this Wednesday (3 April) is Fishfingers and Custard Day!

While fishfingers are easy to find as fishsticks here in the US, its a task to find custard. So here is a recipe from the BBC:

Real Proper Custard (This is the actual name of the recipe!)
You'll need:

• 570ml/1 pint milk
• 55ml/2fl oz single cream (This can be hard to find in the US. It would be sold under "light cream". It means 18% fat.
• 1 vanilla pod or ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, yolks only
• 30g/1oz caster sugar (US: Superfine sugar. Can be made by putting white sugar in a food processor)
• 2 level tsp cornflour (US: Cornstarch)

Instructions:

1. Bring the milk, cream and vanilla pod (if using) to simmering point slowly over a low heat.
2. Remove the vanilla pod (if using)
3. Whisk the yolks, sugar and cornflour together in a bowl until well blended.
4. Pour the hot milk and cream on to the eggs and sugar, whisking all the time with a balloon whisk.
5. Return to the pan, (add vanilla extract if using) and over a low heat gently stir with a wooden spatula until thickened.
6. Pour the custard into a jug and serve at once.
7. To keep hot, stand the jug in a pan of hot water and cover the top with cling film to prevent skin forming.

Enjoy!

And don't forget (see what I did there?)...