Hello, Seb.
Hello there, faceless rhetorical device.

Why did you like the Earthshock Cyberman figure so much?
Well, it was in my opinion Character Options’ best and most accurate sculpt to date; and furthermore, a sculpt of a quite brilliant monster design, one that is for me the defining image of what a Cyberman should look like.

Why is that, do you think?
Well, my first experience of Doctor Who was watching season 25, so “Silver Nemesis” was one of the first stories I ever saw. Consequently, all other Cybermen look ever-so-slightly a bit wrong to me. If you say the word “Cyberman”, the ’80s vintage is what I think of.

Ah, but that figure wasn’t from Silver Nemesis, was it?
No, but the designs are similar enough that I wanted it on my shelf. And it’s not as if “Silver Nemesis” is a very good story that I have any particular loyalty to. Hell, it’s not even as if it’s a mediocre story.

So what about this new Silver Nemesis twin pack due out later in the year?
Well, it’s lovely, of course. We get a black-handlebarred Cyberleader (did David Banks have to sign away image rights, I wonder?), tweaks to the costume to make them screen accurate for that story (although honestly, I can’t tell the difference until you put them directly alongside one-another), 1988-era guns, and simply the fact that there are yet more of the things to add to the shelf.

They haven’t got the moon boots, though.
No, that is a shame. And also a reason to have bought an Earthshock Cyberman rather than waiting for a Silver Nemesis one. Got to love the moon boots.

So will you be buying this set?
Well, £25 is an annoying price to pay, considering the fact that you could get two and a half Earthshocks for that instead of just two. But assuming the Southern England McCoy Shortage of 2010 doesn’t strike again… then yes, I’ll probably be buying this.

Excellent.
Well, quite.

The man generally referred to as The Flatmate of the Site, Julian Hazeldine (who will be joining us as a writer later in the series once prior commitments are out of the way), is quite good at coming up with theories, even when they don’t turn out to be correct (his predicted final words for the Tenth Doctor, “I’m that sort of a man”, were a better idea than the ones Russell came up with). And he’s got a doozy of a one about River Song, and Who She Really Is. I’ll hide it behind the jump for those who’ve yet to see The Time of Angels, as it relies partly on hints from the episode, but he reckons…

You fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking cunt.

Good episode, though.

It’s Saturday, it’s 6.20, so that must mean it’s time for a cunningly-scheduled-in-advance Reactipost to head your way! So until the lovely John Hoare turns up later in the week with his thoughts on the episode… what did you make of it?

And since I’ll be out when the episode is on, and thus not watching it until later, this is where I try and turn off email comment notification so that my phone doesn’t get bombarded with spoilers.

Okay, so we’re all still overexcited about all things MoffatSmith at the moment, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a moment to enjoy things like this. And it really is utterly wonderful – very well edited (love the Eccleston interludes), terrific song choices throughout (except for not using the original of “Changes”), and when certain songs start recurring it just gets even funnier.

Shame it does that annoying American fan-fic thing of saying at the end that “Doctor Who is property of Russell T. Davies, Steven Moffat and BBC Wales”, though. Cos, y’know… it isn’t.

I can certainly pick ‘em, can’t I? When dividing up reviews for the early part of this series, I was happy to sit back and let Cappsy and Ben take the first two eps, so excited was I about covering a Rollocking Dalek Adventure (nb – not to be confused with a Rolykins Dalek Adventure). But as it turns out, while they got to gush forth about a pair of Moffat scripts that collectively made for the most scintillating season-opening combo we’ve had since the series’ return, I’ve somehow left myself in the position of having to write a balanced review of what might just be the most controversial episode, in terms of fan reaction, since “Love & Monsters”.

And yet. Despite being unable to refute just about every criticism levelled at it… I rather liked it.

I’m willing to put my neck on the line say this is definitely the weirdest New Who news you’re likely to hear this year.  Just let that sink in for moment (unless, you know, you’ve read this days ago – we’re nothing if not devastatingly current.)

For a start, I still find it slightly strange that SJA even exists.  I mean, in telly terms it’s very successful and acclaimed and all that but it still feels weird having this RTD spin-off still hanging around.  Does Moffat have any creative control or is it entirely out of his hands?  Are they going to make any effort at all to co-ordinate with one another?  Of course, a lot of that is answered with this news, but it still feels a little off.

You know the drill – I’ll be along with the URP! Official Review later in the week, but for now, if you’ve got something to say about multicoloured Daleks, Spitfires in space, Fat Winston Churchill, Iron Man 1945, that cute radio operator girl or anything else, do so here. GO.

And yes, this should have been here yesterday. I FORGOT OKAY?

It’s a beast! It’s below! It’s a beast and it’s below! It’s The Beast Below!

Right, apologies to anyone reading the RSS feed (as apparently WordPress’ “more” tags aren’t accounted for in it), but this is INTERESTING STUFF, and I’m doing my best to keep visual spoilers out, but this stuff happens. Anyway, following the pictures posted yesterday, production/concept designer Peter McKinstry has shown up on Gallifrey Base to face the barrage of “WTF??!!1″s and give a bit more explanation about the thought process behind the redesign. Obviously this will make more sense to read when we’ve actually seen them onscreen, but it’s nevertheless interesting enough that I’m going through and quoting some of his pertinent posts now.