Doctor Who 10.4 "Knock Knock" Review

                                            
Ye olde haunted house ep but not in the sense of ghosts, which made a change.  Though we did get the spooky sounds and creaky floorboards just what you'd expect in an old house.  Another one of those Doctor Who eps where you get the mass of potential Vics, like the hotel ep The God Complex, with Doctor Eleven (Matt Smith) and a few other eps too.  Bill (Pearl Mackie) decides she an d her five friends all need to move in somewhere and can't find a suitable house, until they chance upon one owned by a old codger who's willing to give them all a lease, subject to signing of course.  Which means not only signing away your life, well literally it did, but also everything you own, cos you won't be needing it!  Ha.  Of course Bill was right when she queried why it was being rented dirt cheap, always the case with such properties in real life too.  No it's true, you have to know what you're getting into cos there's not much you can do after you've bought it.

Bill waits for the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) to arrive in his TARDIS so she can move her things, well he can move them and also get a chance to suss something's not quite right with the tower or the house.  The tower being off limits.  Then the trees are moving but there's no winds so he's staying, as she has to introduce him as her grandfather, the Doctor.  But surely they all know him from the uni anyway.  Paul (Ben Presley) has got a bit of a thang for her and asks hr out to the freshers party in     the park, as well as helping her with the boxes.  Pavel's (Bart Suavek) locked himself away with his music, but he's already missing, the first Vic.

Everyone heard noises and some tiny footstep like sounds from the floor above Harry's (Colin Ryan) room.  That sound to me was like someone's false teeth chattering, seriously not insects at all or lice as the Doctor referred to them.  Of course they were wood lice of the alien variety, what else would you find in wood and the walls.  The Doctor's staying for Chinese too as he tries to eat a prawn cracker without too much noise. As the old codger landlord (David Suchet) turns up again with his tuning fork.  There's plenty of things need fixing and the  Doctor is right, so he says he'll get onto that as a landlord cos he can't have them moving out. They haven't noticed Pavel missing since they say he spends ages in his room trying to get used to it.

The house tries to shut them in as the others go to bed, Bill tells Paul that she's into girls and he's not really disappointed cos yeah he wasn't rejected for a fellow bloke!  Though Shireen's (Mandeep Dhillon) into him.  He makes sounds and then he vanished too when they knock on his door and there are knocks back (ha that could've been a pun, sorry!)  Then knocks are heard from all around them and as the doors close they try to find the way into the tower, which had to be behind a bookcase naturally.  Here they find abed and a musical box which Shireen opens, as well as the man's daughter, Eliza (Mariah Gale).

The Doctor and Harry try to stop Felicity (Alice Hewkin) from leaving but she manages to get out through the window only to be swallowed by the tree outside.  The Doctor then discovers the lice, which he thinks could be wood nymphs or triads as he calls them cos it's better than lice.  As the kitchen's infested with them, the Doctor and Harry escape through the lift or rather the dumb butler kinda lift, surprised that worked and is met with the Landlord again.  The Doctor talks about his daughter and how she couldn't be saved but he's a Doctor so he can help.  As Harry runs and is swallowed up in the stairs by the lice, okay alien triads!  Bill and Shireen meet Eliza and she's all wood, anyone think Pinocchio here?  They end up in the tower and the Doctor tells them the story of how he found the insects in the garden and bought them in to show his daughter, which helped her. Asking why a father would bring in insects to her when she was ill.  And what would he be doing pottering around in the garden, maybe some gardening.

The Doctor realizes she's not his daughter but he's her son, since he's older than her but is still younger.  Only a boy would bring in insects from outside to show his mother.  They made her wooden and also the vibrations from the music brings them out, as the Landlord does so now using his tuning fork.  The Doctor tells her she's the parent and she needs to control this now and she makes the insects disappear.  He tells her she needs to see the world outside, after all what's the use of surviving if hes' stuck inside.  Eliza tells him she has to make this right and this is their time to end this.  She brings the others back as they run out of the house and it destroys itself.

The Doctor gets back with takeout as Nardole (Matt Lucas) tells him he doesn't need to go off world since terr are plenty of threats and enemies here.  He tells him to have a break cos he's hungry and he wants to look after the vault now.  Which plays Beethoven's Fur Elise on the piano.  Nardole commenting he put a piano in there.  He tells whatever's inside the vault the story with plenty of death and it begins to play again, this time, Pop Goes the Weasel.  Still can't help but say it just looks like it's all be done before.  As for the 'knock, knock' jokes well, there was one funny bit when the Doctor says what?  Doctor What??  Ha.  Okay maybe it was just me then!

Clearly the Doctor will always be around to solve whatever mystery or event needs to be unfolded even if he drops massive hints for grandfather to leave, he thinks he's too old to be a grandfather, but of course we know that in his 'real' life he is one.  Also how  he needs to be here cos he helps earth as we know.  He also tells Bill about the Time Lords, that's his species and they have big collars.  Bill: "sounds posh, do you wear robes and big hats?"  Although Bill wasn't too curious to know more about them and what happened to them, if anything.  She'd rather just have this time to spend with her flat mates and herself.  Bill does mention the puddle again and the robots, as well as the big fish.

David Suchet was menacing and not a hint of Poirot anywhere (though the little grey cells must've been working overtime!  ha.  Bill is knocked for having Little Mix on her phone and the house was the same one from the ep Blink.  Let's not forget Bill muttering "Indiana Jones" when she was at the bookcase.  Also we got the Doctor's allusion to regenerating here, so that was a bit too timely a mention, saying, "sleep is for tortoises, unless we've regenerated or had a big lunch."  Which would've been a little cryptic for Bill.  But we knew what it meant and means for the future!  Funnily enough or not, the Doctor brings Mexican food back and not Chinese, so who has a penchant for Mexico, though we know the last series had a trip to New Mexico with UNIT and the Zygon
invasion, though Mexico isn't the same thing I know.  Also Rose (Billie Pipe) had a friend named Shireen too.

As for the Landlord saying who wouldn't try to save their mother, a reference to Bill and her own mother.  Sure there's some foreshadowing going on here and scope for an episode with her mother. The Landlord could've been a great spin-off series here with David Suchet in the title role, continuing his dastardly removal of humans! In a little Psycho-esque mode!

Once Upon A Time 6.19 "The Black Fairy" Review

                                     
At least this ep had quite a bit going on.  With Rumples  (Robert Carlyle) using dragon breath to awaken the Blue Fairy (Keegan Connor Tracy) since she's the one who knows where the rest of the wand is and the Black Fairy (Jaime Murray) getting agitated cos she knows her dark secret. Obviously we were going to find that out too since it wasn't conducive to have that drag out for weeks, especially nearing the end of the season.  So we get flashbacks to his mother, Fiona/Black Fairy, giving birth to Rumples and always singing a song to him, but not even naming him.  As the Blue Fairy and Tiger Lily (Sara Tomko) arrive, Tiger Lily being his fairy godmother and his protector since Rumples is the Saviour and destined to be a great hero! Of course Fiona wasn't too happy with this since she didn't want to lose him and they shouldn't have told her, with hindsight, cos she really lost the plot when she found this out and not in a good.  She reads all the magic and spells and wants to find the child with the crescent tat who will kill her son.

Tiger Lily tries to stop her since she's here to protect him, but Fiona tricks her into taking her wand and using her powers on herself to become a fairy too.  Yeah it wa s more important to become a fairy than a mother.  Travelling the land looking for the tattooed child born that winter, but not finding them. Also explaining why she kept stealing all the babies!  The Blue Fairy and Tiger Lily interfering again when she wants powers and has a spell to help him, but Tiger Lily finds it's a spell to cast a dark curse.  As they try to stop her, Tiger Lily also gives her the shears to sever her powers and stop this.  As the Blue Fairy arrives to stop her from crushing Tiger Lily's heart.  But Fiona takes the shears and removes Rumples' powers instead.  Knowing that's what she wanted all along.

As the Blue Fairy awakes she tells them wand is at the heart of Storybrooke, which was cryptic so leading the others to look for it.  However, Snow tries to strangle her, was going to say why is Snow's hand on her throat.  Turns out Snow is the Black Fairy and Charming was Gideon (Giles Matthey). So she searches for the wand too but why bother when it's just easier to come out and take the spoils after they've already been found.  Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming (Josh Dallas) the real ones arrive at the clock tower cos it's the heart of town but don't find anything.  'ere Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) was desperate in getting answers from the Blue Fairy as to where the wand was, barely giving her time to  recover let alone open her eyes.  See the Black Fairy got that trick from Reggie about pretending to be someone else!

Regina (Lana Parilla) has Zelena (Rebecca Mader) staying with her now as she tries to assemble a flat pack cot for Robin.  She regrets not having any power and Regina tells he it'll take time to get used to it.  She didn't have any powers for 28 years during the time of the curse.  However she has an idea how she can help during the final battle.  Regina buys her a car so she can leave here when things go wrong and take Henry (Jared S Gilmore) with her.  So he can look after her!  Does Henry still need looking after though, he's old enough isn't he.

They realize the centre of the heart means something different for fairies and that it's at Granny's (Beverley Elliott) who isn't too happy with Regina messing up the lunchtime orders!  Hook and Charming find it under the jukebox and Regina takes it.  However the Black Fairy turns up again and Regina challenges her.  However she can't do much and is about to be taken care of until Zelena arrives and runs her over, making the Black Fairy vanish for now.  Appears it was easier to learn to drive for Zelena when aiming at something.

Rumples finds the way he can see where Gideon's heart is by using Morpheas' sleeping powder.  As he tells Belle (Emilie de Ravin) he must do this and asks if she trusts him.  He takes Gideon and Emma with him.  He tells her he couldn't have her killing the Black Fairy when he wasn't around until he finds his heart.  Ending up in the house where he was born.  Emma telling him she knows what it's like to be an orphan and have no one.  But he tells her it's not the same.  This isn't Gideon's dream but Rumples'.  She wasn't a good mother at all, she didn't even name him.  Seems Rumples doesn't have much of a track record when it comes to women, especially since Milah left him in the lurch too with their son!  He finds Gideon but it's Rumples' basket and Emma says he needs to find out for himself and to do it for Gideon.  Rumples finds out her secret, that he was the Saviour and she took his powers and made him a coward.  Emma tells him he must fight her and not her fight. Obviously it won't turn out that way.  He's not going to kill his mother no matter what he thinks of her.  Oh and as for his father, will he wasn't much of a father, makes you wonder why Fiona married him.  Again the same with Milah too cos Rumples wasn't much of a father, even though he tried to do the right thing by Bae.  Rumples' father being the one to name him, Rumpelstiltskin.

Heading back he's given the wand and he meets with the Black fairy but she convinces him otherwise.  He's not happy she took his powers cos she wanted powers for herself, of course it's the same with him, he could never give up his powers either.  So like mother like son.  Though he does get Gideon's heart back, which he did for him for once but then promptly lies to both Belle and Gideon!  Including the others, as he gives them a shrivelled black heart saying it's her's.  Snow now saying the wedding can go ahead.  How could Rumples not see she was still lying and manipulating him!

Oh no just thought the OUAT musical ep, it's not going to be the wedding?!!  Cos you know, the alternate dream reality ep where Emma was wondering around as a princess singing!
Hook wants Henry as the best man cos they've been through quite a lot.  As the Black Fairy prepares for the showdown and now has Rumpels on her side too.  Seems the meddling fairies had a lot to answer for with their interfering and blabbing!  I mean remember Sleeping Beauty, they couldn't save her either.  Although Cinderella go to go to the ball.  Let's not forget we haven't had Tiger Lily's story yet about how she arrived at Neverland!  Oh and it says plenty about why Rumples' father ended up as Peter Pan.  Thus maybe her story has something to do with him, seeing as the Lost Boys were after her too.  So Rumples could take care of his father, but couldn't take his mother's life!  Yet still lied to his family straight to their faces, so much for wanting to give his son a fresh start.

Ghost Adventures 14.6 "Exorcism in Erie" Commentary

A first for Ghost Adventures (GA) as it ventures into showing an exorcism in the show and it was much needed by the family and especially by Chris.  The last one they touched upon was return to Bobby Mackey's Music World, which was with Zak, but it wasn't filmed.  Which is why he said he understands what Chris was going through here.

At 27.33 the voice says, "who's they?"  Followed by:"three."  
Also there were three of them there at the time: Zak, Billy and Aaron.  Oh boy is my mind working overtime or what??  But could also be a reference to the Holy Trinity! More specifically in context as the next response that comes up is at 28.08 is "ghost".  Again perhaps in reference to the Holy Ghost?? Especially with the, "I'm bleeding" coming through next and the bloody handprint on the wall that wasn't there!  Especially also in reference to Jesus Christ and his bleeding. The stigmata.  Manipulation with the female voice! (Not being flippant but I would've taken a swab for analysis to see what that handprint consisted of.) As well as plenty of mockery!

Crazy energy and evil there in that moment! The hooves sound later on and the horns on the bedposts and they were hot as in hell burning hot!  The hooves though, making its presence known!  Followed by the black mass!

Wow remember Loftus Hall and how the devil came a-calling to that place with his hooves and everything else. Well this GA just brought it right home for real.

At 29.02 the voice says, "I am spirit" Not 'soul'!  It was a "strange voice" as Zak says and it sounds like it has an accent. 

Wasn't intending to write about this ep for various reasons, such as 'oh look am writing at Devil's Hour!'  No, seriously that was a strange one, in actually witnessing the exorcism and how it affected the family who finally got the help they needed for their son.  But more so I was fine watching it, then got chills for some reason and the room felt so cold and legs felt like jelly.  

That dark mist hovering which was only seen by Bill Chappell's Mag Cam or the naked eye, but the photo was validation that it was around.  As well as the Puck with "HourBishopUs."

Wonder why Jay got slapped like that, surely hope it wasn't his tattoos again, but it was manipulating as well as showing its presence towards all of them.  Billy felt anxiety with his increase in heart rate just as Jay did.  (Billy going through similar at King's Tavern.  Luckily this one wasn't as scary for him or as intense.)  Then Aaron falling to the floor like that as well, in the basement, whilst that dark mist was hovering above the stairs.

Seems the only one not affected was Zak, that we know of.  Though he did stand at the top of the stairs where Billy picked up that fluctuation on the EMF detector.  Now how many times did I warn Zak about standing at the top of the stairs!

The horse shoe ending up in the garage, almost like a slap in the face, no pun or insensitivity intended towards Jay and his slap, but it was like those Ouija board's people try to destroy or throw out and they always end up fully intact and back in the house. Connotations towards horseshoe, bad luck but also in reference to hooves! Even the horse shoe was shaped like horns!

The part by the arrow above even looks like it has a goat-y type face on it!

As for the figure on the SLS camera in the bathroom, was that too trying to 'attack' Billy like it did with Jay when it slapped him.  Another figure that appears near, or on, Billy like the Silent Movie Theater ep.   Glad the family got the help they needed and were able to overcome this dark oppression.

Doctor Who 10.3 "Thin Ice" Review

                                                 
London 1814 with the Thames frozen over and leading to the Frost Fair, where the crowds gather and skate plus other stuff, before mysteriously vanishing beneath the ice.  Once again the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) explains to Bill (Pearl Mackie) that the TARDIS involves delicate navigation in terms of negotiation, cos come on how difficult is that to understand first time round!  Too many chips on the brain me thinks.!  She doesn't think they can go out exploring cos of "melanin".  A new way of saying too much colour and she won't fit in. Though they changed outfits and no one gave her a second look. Especially considering they came upon Kitty (Asiatu Koroma) and the other urchins.  This London not being like the movies.

But before that more time to explore and try out the wares.  Pie wares and other such stuff, with the Doctor telling Bill to take a flier and she cautiously steps on the frozen river.  Really anyone would think she's never seen ice before!  Pretty sure it did snow in ep 1!!  Ha.  Once on the ice, the Doctor has the Sonic stolen by Spider (Austin Taylor) and as they give chase, they lose them.  But then they reappear and end up alone on the ice.  Also the Doctor has noticed the green lights under the ice, of course he would so I don't know why she was so surprised.  It is after all what he does! Spider ends up encircled with the green lights which is some sort of bioluminesence and he falls through the hole, with the Doctor just grabbing the Sonic in the nick of time.

Cue Bill's outburst and anger at not being able to save the boy.  Once again we get the question that was unanswered last time (or should that be the question that should never be asked?!)  As she wants to know why he's not angry and didn't try to save him.  The Doctor doesn't have the luxury of outburst he tells her.  He's two thousand years old and doesn't, isn't able to contemplate such emotions.  She then asks if he's ever killed anyone before, cos she's never seen anyone die, the people in the garden last ep, were already dead.  He says he has and it's not about being able to make choices.   Obviously he can't do that since he has to save people whatever that takes.  He tells her more will die unless they find the urchin's hideout.  He kits them out in diving gear a la Jules Verne variety and finds the ice opens up when people are alone.  So Bill is taken under and he jumps in before it closes up.  Here he sees the fish with the green eyes and also the sea creature held in chains. Bill finds Spider's hat.  The sea creature with Smaug's eye!

Kitty takes them to their hideout and he gives pies to the others stolen from the pie maker (Peter Singh). They tell him about a man with a 'drawing on his hand' and he's probably by the docks. They get paid to give out the fliers.  He reads them a story.  They ask the Pieman about the man with the tattoo and he tells them about some men.  Easy way to get out when he was fishing for those bug eyed fish.  Looked so very rubbery and if they had one eye would've been something out of The Simpson's.  The Doctor saying, "laters" to the children in typical Sherlock fashion!! Here the Doctor uses his ID to get in saying he's from Lord Sutcliffe.  Asking the man about the mud, which is fuel he tells them and is made from the human bodies waste after they're fed to the creature.

The meet with Sutcliffe (Nicholas Burns) who comments on Bill being here cos of her colour and the Doctor pops him, after giving her a talk on being diplomatic so they can get answers from him, not two seconds before.  Sutcliffe's all about the money and doesn't really care about humans and humanity, so the Doctor's speech is wasted on him.  "Human progress isn’t measured by industry. It’s measured by the value you place on one life."  They're tied up so they can be blown up when the crowd comes to see the elephant again and he'll have all the fuel he needs.  The Doctor tells Bill to reach for the sonic and he undoes the ropes whilst the tattooed man is wallowed up by the green lights, cos they  respond to sound.  He asks Bill what to do cos he needs an order, as it's her world and her people.  Should he save the creature.  She wants him to.  As she tries to get the people off the ice, the Doctor had time to get into his diving gear and make sure Sutcliffe detonates the charges beneath the ice.  Falling into the cracked ice too.  The creature leaves and the Doctor forges the will so that Perry becomes Sutcliffe's heir, allowing the urchins to live there.

Returning home in time for tea, Nardole (Matt Lucas)  realizes he's gone off world, but the Doctor says he's wearing clothes for here to drink his tea.  As Bill searches for the creature but he directs her to news of Sutcliffe's heir, who was accepted as such.  Nardole hears knocking from the vault.  Let's not hope that the Master's knocking!

Yes it was all seen before.  Remember the creature in space which was the ship Doctor Eleven (Matt Smith) and Amy (Karen Gillan) found themselves on in 5.2 The Beast Below in the Britain of the future.  This time we get the creature in the sea.  Also the Doctor and River (also visited a Frost Fair before as he tells Bill he's been here "a few times."  This was mentioned in A Good Man Goes to War, River (Alex Kingston) tells Rory (Arthur Darvill) how the Doctor took her ice skating and even got Stevie Wonder to sing for her under London Bridge.  Lots of mentions of River, or should I say allusions to River.  Some form of foreshadowing perhaps to seeing her again in the future?   There was a Frost Fair in 1814 and an elephant did walk across the ice pulling in punters.  The Doctor also engaging in some offal eating!  As well as some alcoholic beverages no doubt.    The Doctor read the children the story of The Little Suck-A-Thumb  - Heinrich Hoffman's Strewwelpeter from 1845.
Next week's ep looks more inviting with the mysterious house and none other than Hercule Poirot himself, okay David Suchet!!

Once Upon A Time 6.18 "Where Bluebirds Fly" Review

                                             
An episode that concentrates on Zelena (Rebecca Mader) just to drag the final battle out a little bit longer.  Once again showing she's made mistakes in her past but she'll make them again cos there's a kind of arrogance that comes with being wicked and possessing so much powerful magic.  Beginning with being better than Regina (Lana Parilla) and more powerful and that their mother should've kept her for this reason.  Obviously she was going to come down to earth with a thud.  Anyway as a little girl she's seen as an outcast by the rest of Oz and is considered a freak for her magic.  One day she's helped by Stanum (Alex Desert) who found a nest with an egg in it.  She puts it back finding it was the local bullies who did that.  She makes a friend.

However years later when he needs help cos he accidentally knocked down the Wicked Witch of the North's tree and she turned him in tin.  He needs the crimson heart which will help him become human again.  She doesn't want to help him and as he walks away she agrees, but only to show that she should be feared and her magic is stronger and she fears no one.  When they gets there they meet a lion along the way and frightens him thus becoming the cowardly lion.  Yeah just as I said where's the lion, out he pops!  Ha.  Stanum tells her she needs friends and not to be alone but she doesn't listen.  When they get to the heart, she finds it's worthless and it's draining her magic away so she lets Stanum become tin and suffer as a tin statue.  Taking the heart with her.

In Storybrooke the Black Fairy (Jaime Murray) wants Zelena to help her, but she refuses, again thinking she could destroy her withe her magic but she disappeared.  Obviously she's forgotten that the final battle will be with Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and only her.  Regina needs eye of newt, she still hasn't stocked up on that, though last time she told Henry (Jared S Gilmore) to get if from Emma's shed.  This time she goes to the Pawn shop where she finds Zelena has left Robin and has entered the Dwarf mine on her own.  Belle (Emilie de Ravin)  being left to look after Robin. Rumples (Robert Carlyle) still hasn't found away to get the Blue Fairy (Keegan Connor Tracy) her magic back as she's older than him and will know things about his mother.

Henry finds his author powers have made him powerless, he can't write anything, the words vanish. He's been working on what he drew in Regina's crypt.  Charming (Josh Dallas) tells him he should take a break and come back to it, he can't write anything even if he tries he couldn't change anything. Charming thinks he recognizes part of the symbols for a moment.  Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) is busy making wedding plans and interrupts Emma and Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) in their romantic interlude in between making pancakes.  She wants her to have the perfect wedding which wouldn't exactly be at Granny's or the Town Hall cos that's so romantic a setting.  Charming wants Emma to have one in a palace at least cos she's a princess.  Oh enough with the class defined roles already! Ha. They decide, well Emma decides they will have a wedding after the battle cos even if the wedding is about hope, it's best left until then and even if it's not, it will only be shortlived anyway.

Regina finds Zelena and they notice the fairy crystals which are what the Black Fairy has been mining.  Being interrupted by her and Gideon (Giles Matthey) she tricks Zelena into using her powers and turning all of the crystals black and thereby becoming part of dark magic.  She knew Zelena's powers were unstable and that's why she tricked her.  Regina's angry and tells her to go back to Oz cos she has to fix her mess now and tell the Charming's what she's done.  Zelena magics a tornado but she doesn't return.  She tells then to take her power and make it better with the use of the heart.  As the crystals turns back into light they have an idea to wake the Blue Fairy.  Said that minutes ago!!  Belle tells Rumples that they've lost time with their son but she won't let the Black Fairy make them lose anymore time with him.  As Emma uses the crystal on Blue.

As said, a bit of a stretch in getting Zelena to relinquish her powers as it's the right thing to do and to reverse the Black Fairy's magic in feeding off the crystals.  Of course she would be listening in on their plan and Gideon just came across as so weak as usual.  Even if she does have his heart.  He's not so determined anymore as he once was when he first arrived here.  Zelena getting to learn that magic isn't everything and to act before thinking has consequences, as does arrogance.  Can't believe Gideon could keep Regina down like that and she couldn't use her magic on him.  Only know she thought to cover the Blue Fairy with a blanket!  As Zelena and Regina landed on those sacks instead of the ground when they were expelled out of the mine.  No snow and then suddenly the land's covered with snow!  It's magic.  Wish we could get some magic snow here!  Ha.

The title of course being a line from the song Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz.  Suppose the bluebird's nest was shown at Oz, the egg that was rescued.  Did like Zelena's line about the last one who crossed her is peeling bananas with their feet!

Doctor Who 10.2 "Smile" Review

                                             
Getting topical with the ep this week as we find emojis are the future of the world, or the world in our future.  Couldn't help but notice some aspects had been covered before like the bones ground into bread...fe fi fo fum!"  Or a take on Soylent Green.  Turns out there's always a spaceship involved and the destruction of the human race.  Clearly the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) is getting bored of guarding the vault, whilst we still ponder the age old question of 'what's in the vault?'  A bit of a Pandorica mystery me thinks.  As he takes Bill (Pearl Mackie) on a journey to the future (so only fitting at the end they end up not back in their own time, but the past - yeah so how'd that happen?)

Lots of other questions pondered yet again as to why the Doctor does this and is able to do this, interfere in other planets and people etc!  Since he tells Bill he's not a galactic policeman or anything of the nature, as she thinks she's sussed out what the words on the Policebox mean: "assistance immediately given."  She also thinks the seats should be nearer the control panel in the TARDIS which he says is a negotiation with the TARDIS when it comes to flying.  Nah then it'll be too Star Trek-y, we don't need to get comfortable in seats, he's not exactly in there long enough to need them.

Nardole (Matt Lucas) offers to make him a cuppa, but not for her, he's not going to be a slave to humans, but slave to an alien is fine!  Ha.  So the Doctor sees it as his chance to escape the monotony and go exploring and being back in time for tea, as in English tradition.  Ending up on the planet where the workers who live there have been erased since they didn't smile and the emoji badge gave them two tears.  Cos mother died and they needed to grieve but instead had to try and smile.  Well that didn't work.  As the swarm of nanabots, which comes out of the sky and after them.  Knew the storm was actually what the city was made from even before it broke away and chased them.

Then we get the whole exposition about the badges and smiling and the expressions changing, not so much wearing your heart on your sleeve, but wearing your expressions/feelings on a badge on your back.  As the emoji changes with your mood.  Two tears and you're out, it seems, or more likely taken out.  Also having a conversation about the magic haddock and the food, as to why Bill gets one piece of blue jelly on her plate and he gets too.  No it wasn't a sexist food thingy for the future but the Doctor tells her he's got two hearts.  And why not, why one heart he asks?  Algae being the future food source or so she thinks.  Er, did she just eat a piece of human?  And the Doctor saying he's not into fish when she says it smells fishy, but he was into custard and fish fingers, Doctor Eleven (Matt Smith)!

As they set about exploring and the emojis change, finally being chased by the robot with their 'revenge' face, the Doctor takes her back to the TARDIS and returns to blow up the city, cos the colony ship can't be (probably need some Colony Gin now! after this ep! Re The Apprentice!) left to arrive here and suffer this fate.  Of course we get the obligatory bit first, about discovering the garden and how the robots were sent on ahead and had to cultivate and prepare for them.  The twist being the ship was already here and the humans were in cryogenic status.  Then he finds out what happens to the 'skeleton' crew who were meant to get sent here ahead to control the robots.  Which he finds in the cupboard.  So why not burn their remains?  Peter looked good with that skull in his hand, hey I'm sensing a future Hamlet??!!  Of course she's not going to stay behind in the TARDIS.

He shows her the wall and how the swarm is part of the walls, chancing upon the ship as it has nuts and bolts which is what he likes.  That city reminded me of a ship.  (Which is actually the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia.)  The ship is reawakened as it senses the presence of humans and he leaves Bill there to read the map and guide him, naturally he doesn't need guidance, but he sees the humans bought everything with them, their little nick knacks.  Even the letterbox!  Bill figures out she can take a photo instead of standing around.  Then she meets the boy that the Doctor saw in the locket he found in the ground.  He wants his mother.  Bill also finding the room with the old woman and the history of what happened to the humans.  Doctor: "Grief! Grief as plague...the Vardies’ job was to maintain happiness, so they identified grief as the enemy of happiness and everyone who was experiencing grief as a problem… A grief tsunami."  They all carked it!
The Doctor realizing that he can't blow the ship up cos the humans are already in there and they all come back to life now.  Taking matters into their own hands with guns, what else, after he "lectures" them about what happened to their families.  The swarm surfaces since they shoot a robot and attacks them, where the Doctor gets the idea of resetting the robots.  Then negotiating on behalf of the humans with the Vardies and the humans.  Asking how much rent they want, cue pound signs!  Yeah that was so human greed induced!!

Oh and the magic haddock: apparently it was akin to Aladdin and the genie in the lamp. With the fisherman getting three wishes and wanting his son back from the war and a hundred pieces of gold. He got his son back, dead and the gold thanking him for his service.  The magic haddock not being able to reverse wishes.  Again the age old story of be careful what you wish for, even if you can't reverse them.  Obviously.  But the Doctor shows at the end how he could reverse them but turning the button on and off on the robot and making them forget their memories of everyone they killed.  That they have feelings, well he killed one then when he three it over the bridge!  So much for Bill asking if he's ever killed anyone, to which we didn't get a reply for obvious reasons!  The magic haddock reminded me of the WW Jacobs story/movie of The Monkey's Paw.  You can't undo a wish, it just gets worse.

Sharp viewers would've caught the David Bowie tribute from Ashes To Ashes as the Doctor tells the Emojibot; "I'm happy, hope you're happy too."  As well as references to Aberdeen and if there's a Scotland in space, well clearly there's everything in space! As well as letting us in on guarding the vault cos " a long time ago a thing happened.  As a result of the thing I made a promise.  As a result of the promise I have to stay on Earth guarding the vault."  But 'I have my moments of escape,' probably one reason why he took on Bill as a student.  The Doctor also warning her to stay away from his browser history, what's he been browsing some more Beethoven tracks?  ha.  (Clara's in the vault!  Well I can speculate!)

This one was just a typical story in a return to the 'older' style eps in some ways even though was typically topical with computers/Internet speak.

Once Upon A Time 6.17 "Awake" Review

                                               
Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming (Josh Dallas) hate having to keep waking up and falling asleep for each other to be awake, as Regina (Lana Parilla) shows Emma (Jennifer Morrison) the book and what was said about Henry (Jared S Gilmore) last ep.  She thinks they should head to the library to check it out whilst she realizes she'll be the one facing the final battle alone; her tremors begin again.  Snow and Charming both want to be here for her final battle and help her but they know they need to defeat the curse to do this.

The Curse Before it was Broken  shows Mary Margaret heading for the hospital with a sunflower, obviously for David and she says hello to people along the way like Granny (Beverley Elliott) and Archie (Raphael Sbarge) who are all grouchy.  Before bumping into Regina.  Wrecking her flower. Snow then spots a pink flower growing by the side of the road and picks that for David instead, leaving it by his bedside and walking away, the pollen from the flower touches his hand and he wakes up.  Breaking the curse.  He recalls who he is and who Snow is and she finally remembers with the use of the flower too.  As they leave the hospital, Regina shows up asking where he is.  Snow agrees to meet with him at an abandoned cottage as she's got to put Regina off the scent, telling her she saw him head towards the woods.

Regina calls a search and thinks something's amiss with Snow and tests her by preparing to detonate the explosives in the mine.  Snow gets ready to stop her with a par of scissors as she thinks Snow is  a hero and would save everyone.  But the others show up and Archie comes out of the mine.  In the chaos Snow runs away and meets David.  They decide they must find Emma and the only one who can do this is Rumples (Robert Carlyle) (a la wig!  ha.)  David heads there and he claims he doesn't recall anything but hearing the name Emma he seems to be lifted from his bout of forgetfulness.  He says they can't get to Emma since she isn't 28 yet and won't become the Saviour if they interfere in her life.  He gives them a potion to make them forget until the time's right and they see Emma through a portal.

Snow agrees with Rumples, that they can't interfere cos it's not just about them and their family.  The others in the town also have families and hey can't be selfish, so they close the portal. Back in present Storybrooke  Regina tries to find a spell to break the sleeping curse and comes up with one by putting both their hearts into the potion with Zelena's (Rebecca Mader) help, however it only makes Snow weaker and she will be asleep by the end of the day.  David awakes and says that Snow found a cure to he curse but didn't realize it showing Regina the photo of the flower on her phone.  It's a pixie flower and blooms when there is severe evil in town, i.e. the Black Fairy (Jamie Murray).  Thus they search for one.

The Black Fairy surprises Rumples telling him he'll come back to the family when he's ready and she won't force him.  Gideon (Giles Matthey) saying that she's his mother and he won't come and join Belle (Emilie de Ravin) and Rumles.  Also telling Emma that she'll face the final battle with her, it's her destiny, but that won't be yet.  When she and Snow find the flowers in the woods, an abundance of them.  The Black Fairy gets Gideon to destroy them and they're too late.  Well if they hadn't stood around gabbing so much!  Just when all else seems lost they find a solitary flower and Regina makes a potion from it.  It should be enough to help them both beat the curse.

Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) is rescued by Tiger Lily (Sara Tomko) on Neverland and she takes him hostage.  He pleads he needs to get back to the woman he loves and she finds it funny, that a pirate should be in love.  He tells her he needs to help her and she says he has  a ship and needs to get the wand to the Saviour to help in her battle.  The wand forms part of a larger one.  When she realizes Emma and the Saviour are one and the same, she releases him.  The Lost Boys are even more violent now after losing Pan.  But she says there should be some of Pan's magic he can use to get back.  He manages to use the magic to make a shadow of himself, as he's about to fly off he's caught again, as is Tiger Lily.  She was the fairy who was meant to help with the Black Fairy but failed.  Hook tells her if he got a second chance then so can she.  As he gives the wand to his shadow and tells it to fly.  The shadow reaches Storybrooke as Snow is about to take the potion, but she stops.  The shadow has Hook's hook and gives her the wand, as well as touching her face.

Snow says she must get Hook back since she deserves her happiness cos he should be by her side even if they can't.  Giving her the potion to locate Hook and through the portal she rescues him and Tiger Lily escapes.  He's not here for long he tells her but he proposes to her again saying he should have stuck around instead of running off.  She accepts and Snow falls asleep.

Regina thinks the rest of the town should share in their curse and perhaps they will make them come out of it, as Snow and Charming were selfless in not thinking of their family.  She takes a sip, as does Hook, Emma and Henry, before everyone else does the same.  Where was Belle.  Snow and Charming wake up, as do the towns people.  The Black Fairy says the same to Rumples about joining her when he's ready.  But he tells her he knows Gideon isn't loyal to her, she might have his heart and he will get it back, but he left a flower for Emma and she doesn't have his loyalty and he gets that from his mother.  Which infuriates her.  

So how long is this showdown going to take to get here cos we just seem to be getting endless flashbacks and some of them are even flashbacks of flashbacks!  Ha.  Wouldn't really have expected Charming to be so forgiving of what Hook did to his father even f it was a long time ago and he has changed.  Especially considering he was so determined to find out what happened to his father after getting the coin and being told he was murdered.  Well it was Hook, so that's okay then.  Anyone else he wouldn't have been so forgiving of since he was always so gung ho in doing the right thing, as well as in exacting revenge.  As he very readily picked up the sword in Rumple's shop to make him remember who he is during the days of the curse.

It was this easy to break the sleeping curse and yet Regina just seemed to struggle with it as much and the use of the pixie flower appearing was timely.  How come Snow didn't recall it before now if it can reunite true love.  How come Rumples always manages to 'lose' his dagger and someone always ends up with it so easily.

Doctor Who 10.1 "The Pilot" Review

                                            
A new series, a new companion.  As far as companions go most of them grow on you even if you don't like them at first.  As for Bill (Pearl Mackie) well not your usual companion material and yes we've seen it all before. Gullible, in trouble, had fun, wanna stay! So nothing different there, a side from her being gay, the rest is just old.  Which sin't really meant to be relevant at all.  This one won't really grow on me, sorry if it sounds harsh but as I said, she's not someone new or original and we haven't seen before.  Okay I'm very discerning when it comes to companions!  Same with the plot/story!  Stumbling onto the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) by attending, gate crashing his classes, which obviously have to be about time and space and TARDIS!  He's up to something again on Earth with that vault and probably using his teaching gig as a cover and perhaps even to keep an eye on Earth as usual and silly humans.  As well as wanting to get away from it all, so seems easier blending in doing something he loves: talking!  Ha.  Everyone saying that this episode was 'fresh' and it didn't seem that way to me, maybe I was in the minority, but it just didn't!  Still have to see what this new reboot will be like though with new cast etc coming next time.

Obviously all the clues were there and was he really grooming Bill as a companion?  Waiting for that moment Nardole (Matt Lucas) said waiting for her to realize it 's bigger on the inside than the outside, wish someone could say that about peoples' brains!  Ha.  SO maybe eating chips contributes to a higher power and purpose of not wanting to remain boring and stagnant in the same life.  Or perhaps seeing the TARDIS interior as a posh kitchen with metal!  Really?  Anyway this week's big bad wolf was the puddle, a puddle remaining from a spaceship, the scorch marks and requiring a pilot and passengers, so she looked at the puddle and the reflection, so why didn't so-called puddle take Bill and not Heather (Stephanie Hyam) would've been more interesting.
As for chips, a foodie reference from the Doctor on the planet that is on the other side of the universe but love's ties and bonds surpass even the time and space of endless galaxies in finding each other. Okay a silly reference from me about time and space but someone's gotta be silly!
Doctor: "Hardly anything's evil.  Most things are hungry.  Hungry can look a lot like evil from the wrong end of the cutlery.  Do you think your bacon sandwich loves you back?"  Not bloomin' likely, but not everyone's into bacon butties.  Sticking with the chips as a subtle harkback to Sherlock's newly acquired taste for chips a few series back!
Maybe we're too busy watching the 'penguin's arse"  ha.
Doctor: "ergonomics."
But the toilet next to the macaroon vending machine!!

This series for me I think will be a little tedious cos a great companion always makes it better, but alas, no!  The Daleks were a bit of a great addition, but poor Dalek, as said, was exterminated by Heather, the thing taken her over.  She was like a water wraith or something and again not like something we haven't seen before.  Maybe not in this show but obviously in others.  Of course she would follow her around after making that promise and yet she broke it though when she vanished into the puddle, so a bit lame in saying she made her promise to stay there, even if it was the last thing she mentioned in her conscious/subconscious.  Nardole: "That's the Doctor for you, never notices tears."  Oh but he did and of course he used to, but noticing the tears will just make him seem weak and where did tears get him anyway?  Losing River, Clara who isn't even a distant memory for him.  At least with River he remembers!

As for the mind erase, again seen before with Donna, and yes even with the Doctor when he forgets Clara.  Ahh Clara,  was a moment there which made you think if he stopped from doing the same to Bill cos she asked if he'd like it done to him, but then he wouldn't really recall that.  Cos it was done to him, but...as there was meant to be a photo of Clara on his desk but we got River and no Clara.  As well as his granddaughter, Susan Foreman (Carol Anne Ford) someone he 'promised' to visit, so maybe he needs to fulfil that promise for himself too.
The people fighting the Daleks were the Movellans from the story, Destiny of the Daleks (1979).
As for Bill being a 'person of colour' as the press described her, well, she's not the first companion to be as such, remember Martha was already this and it's not a big deal either.  People just like to make out that it is.

But really Heather appeared to be just cobbled together and 'the star in her eye' was perhaps just a talking point for Bill to notice her and immediately develop a crush on her, since the puddle didn't really seem to have any other agenda for being there, stranded, looking for a pilot or whatever.   Perhaps also a bit of a sci-fi reference with the star cos Bill was into that too.  Anyway am looking forward only to the Master(s) both of them and what more we have in store with the Doctor's storyline.
Some of the Doctor Who allusions in this ep:
The Doctor also has an abundance of sonic's now in that jar.  Plus behind that is the raven, a not too subtle reference to Clara and the raven from 9.10 Face the Raven.  There's also the busts of Shakespeare and Beethoven again from series 9 Before the Flood and the Bootstrap Paradox, using Beethoven to illustrate his point.  To the Doctor playing his Fifth in this ep.  Let's not forget Clara's little musical reference as Bill talks to him about wiping memories.  The blackboard is from Class. Then there's Nardole's explanation of the small box within a larger box and then having to make it, reference which was used by the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) in Robot's of Death.

Ghost Adventures 14.3 "Samaritan Cult House" Commentary

Looking back at the GA Route 666 post I wrote last year, (see link below) there were many things there that manifested at the Samaritan Cult House investigation and lockdown.  Such as the three figures Zak saw in the basement through his mind's eye.  At the Concordia cemetery, Billy saw three robed figures in the graveyard, with a sense of ominous purpose. 

Jay said here how this was on the pentagram they came up with back on Route 666 also.  Not to mention Billy sitting by the 666 to conduct the paranormal puck session at the Samaritan Cult House.

Remember the investigation at the De Soto Hotel and the fan being thrown in the basement falling, being pushed, the poltergeist activity.  The same as at the house here with the wooden board.

Let's not forget Jay losing his temper in the Route 666 investigation too and how we've never seen that before. Jay seems to be a 'target' or being targeted since then on.  As well as after he performed the non-Satanic ritual at Goatman Bridge.  Jay also bought up the pentagram passing through Oklahoma reference.  When Darren was using the Ouija board and the letter 'J' came up I immediately thought it would spell out Jay, but that wasn't to happen until later.  Also I tweeted Jay when the ep was being aired in the US and asked his most memorable moment.  Of course that wasn't being insensitive of me, not having seen the ep until the next day!  I just felt I had to tweet that and ask for some reason.  As I later tweeted and told Jay.  It really becomes very personal when family is named and almost used by negative forces as a means of instilling fear and control.  The more it attempts to reel in others unconnected to the paranormal.

The dowsing cards in the basement, as if the figures Zak saw were leading him there, the cards referring to Jay with his initials, once again unknown entities having it all neatly packaged up for themselves, all of this seemed a foreboding in many ways, even before the lockdown began.

As for the barcode suppose many will steer away from those self checkouts at the supermarket when it says, 'suspicious item in bagging area.'  Just a little joke to break the monotony. But then many could say the same about the vampires on the phone reference too, preached by cult leader, Linda Greene, you know I didn't even want to say her name, forget about the 'Zozo' demon being mentioned!  (As I also wonder why I write this during 'devil's hour'?!)  I mean come on do vampires even need phones for communication or other purposes?  Flying is much easier.  Zak not mentioning this vampire aspect on the show.
As Zak asked, "how could a woman think she could dispel negativity when she was the epitome of it?..."  That being the crux of the question, the same way she could control the masses in the Cult itself being one possible answer.  And why people signed up to join to begin with.  It wasn't about logic or reality.

As well as Zak thinking he could get Darren to use the occult and her evil to conjure up evil in her own dimension.  Which however, sadly backfired on Jay.  Seems Greene was still reaching out and doling out her control from the other side, not wanting to let go of her evil ways even after death.

This GA ep was also trending in the UK on the Sunday morning, again at devil's hour and the ep wasn't even aired here.

Anyway just a few allusions to be mentioned in relation to the Route 666 ep.

Linda Greene was married five times and her fifth husband was Allen Ross, she killed him and her friend, Julia Williams helped bury his body.  She was charged with accessory after the fact.  Linda's fourth husband Denis Greene reported what she had done to the police, she maintained he killed Allen.  Apparently two psychics were involved,both said he was alive in Dallas somewhere and the other one said he'd been hit on his head with something and suffered some form of trauma.  He had been shot twice in the head.  The police found his DB where Denis said it would be.  Greene believed she was 'Christ' and that she gave her soul to save others!  She died in 2002 at the age of 50, from liver failure which people put down to her excessive drinking.  Not to mention how many people will now steer clear of soy milk, phones, barcodes, videos, even!  Seriously how can anyone be duped by such nonsense?!

As for the building being a jail, the Black Jail built in 1892, housed some famous inmates such as the Dalton Gang and Bill Doolan.  There indeed was a prisoner named James Phillips who died of heart failure after he was due to be hanged in 1907.  The jail also had no insulation thus explaining the prevalence of black mould, in the Summer, the prisoners suffered from dehydration and in Winter from flu and respiratory diseases.

Link for the Route 666 ep.

http://mila255.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/ghost-adventures-route-666-halloween.html

Once Upon A Time 6.16 "Mother's Little Helper" Review

                                               
Emma (Jennifer Morrison)gets fooled by Gideon (Giles Matthey) so what's new, as he says she must help him, but she doesn't demand Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) to be returned first before she helps him out in the other realm against the Black Fairy (Jamie Murray).  Noooo that'd be too easy.  Instead she goes along with him even though he tried to kill her and then she also tells Rumples (Robert Carlyle) and Belle (Emilie de Ravin) about what he's done, but they don't do much of anything, except for Belle pleading with Emma not to kill him cos he's a good boy, he's just been led dark by his grandmother, whom he has to call mother!  Ugh.  Then we have more flashbacks of how he became a coward when he didn't help his friend, Roderick after he was dragged off by her into the 'mines for you laddie!'  ha.  That's why she needs child labour, to mine the magic dust for her.  I mean you've heard of pixie dust but this was a little over the top.

Of course Gideon is a coward, he still is in many ways since he was forced to grow up without his mother, but also in a land where time works differently, probably why the Black Fairy hasn't aged! She finds her key is missing and tasks Gideon with finding out who stole it.  Of course this leads him to find Roderick again whom he thought was dead.  Apologizing to him for not helping, well it's too little too late and he asks Gideon to help them in their fight against the Black Fairy.  Gideon wanting to destroy her (in another use of Regina's fave word by another character!)  He tells Gideon about her orb which will help them.  He finds the orb, but she finds them and she turns Roderick into a bug and squashes him like the bug that he was in her eyes!  Spoiling her boot in the process.  Then she takes Gideon's heart, a la Regina and this is why he's so dark.

Back in Storybrooke, Gideon takes Emma to the sorcerer's house and she falls for it without caution or a second thought just cos he gives her the sword back as a gesture of trust and here he lets her do the spell but she conjures the giant spider through the portal, which begins weaving its web and if that wasn't enough starts firing web pellets at them too.  She is pushed into the web by him (well we've all seen Lord of the Rings etc by now) and is helpless.  She does manage to break her hands free, but not for long as she's caught out by the web of deceit.  Which is what all these was to begin with anyway. No the spider wasn't Charlotte either, or she could've defeated it easily!  Ha.  As she loses consciousness, Gideon uses the sword to create a portal, but Rumples turns up with his powers and his dagger and saves Emma from the spider, as well as shrinking it to size, whereupon Emma squishes it.  Just when Gideon thinks nothing else could go wrong, in walks the Black Fairy who was able to squeeze through the portal and get here!  Well bully for Rumples!

Elsewhere Hook turns up at the tavern in a bid to get home and offers jewels from Agrabah to Blackbeard (Charles Mesure) who isn't buying the tiny gems!  They play cards and he gambles the Jolly Roger if he wins and Blackbeard will give him a magic bean.  Of course Blackbeard cheats after Hook's exposition about having to get back to the woman that he loves, the same woman, however he can't.  Blackbeard cheats and sees hook tricked him since the ship is back at Storybrooke.  So they jump through the portal together and end up in Neverland.  See Hook can't go back and will always end up somewhere else in a cheesy version of The Time Tunnel!  Ha.  They're chased by the Lost Boys who have gotten even rougher without Pan around and Blackbeard steals the boat after knocking Hook out, see as useless as Emma at times.

Regina (Lana Parilla) tries to break the sleeping curse but it's tougher than it looks, whereas all the other ones were easy to remove.  She asks Henry (Jared S Gilmore) to get some ingredients from Emma's shed, like tongue of newt and not eye and as Henry writes them down he ends up in a trance writing down symbols instead.  She takes him to the author, Issac (Patrick Fischler) who will only spill once he gets a sports car and a free trip to New York, one way.  He doesn't get a sports car, but a car and he tells her Henry will become like this so she should leave here too.  He tells her the answer's in the book and Henry sees it's the final chapter but he doesn't tell him the ending.  Just that Emma will fight the biggest battle and the outcome won't be good for anyone.

Just can't get into these episodes which just seem tagged on stories adding things onto what we already know, I mean Gideon told us about Roderick and not saving him, so this ep we had to see it visually.  Emma as the Saviour always too trusting and she doesn't tell anyone where she's going or what she's doing, when we know she'll always end up needing help.  Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) was being very un-Snow-like agreeing that it's okay for Emma to kill Gideon if he comes after her a third time.  Well this time she'll be facing the Black Fairy.  Clearly Rumples is not prepared for unexpected arrival and dearie you're 'dearie' needs more practice!!  Haven't quite mastered it like Rumples.  Also with Hook ending back up with the Lost Boys, do they still really need guidance and don't they want to get back to their homes.