Spocksoc 40/40/20

Anna Torv making her entrance in The Last of Us 1.1 When You're Lost in the Darkness:

Jenna with Victoria's dog during filming of Victoria:

I thought Millie Gibson as Ruby looked lovely in specs in 73 Yards:
Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

The Guardians (1971) 1.1 State of England:
Series opener.
Intriguing start to this series from 1971 which takes place in a dystopian Britain in 1980s.
The said Guardians, also known as the Gs, are a paramilitary force that suppresses political opposition after the democratically elected government has been ousted and the Royal Family fled in exile.
The nation is now ruled by an autocratic Prime Minister Sir Timothy Hobson played by Cyril Luckham.
While Luckham did not play one of the said Guardians, this however felt prescient to him play another kind of Guardian that of the White Guardian in the Doctor Who stories The Ribos Operation & Enlightenment.
This opening episode is a pretty good set up of what the series is about and why a rebellion to this system of government is unavoidable.

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

Doctor Who 44.4 73 Yards:
Written by showrunner Russell T. Davies.
Series directorial debut by Dylan Holmes Williams.
I was surprised there was no title sequence here as it presents immediately the episode title.
The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Ruby to a cliffside in Wales.
Not long after they arrived the Doctor accidentally steps on something called a "fairy circle" and Ruby reads aloud a message written on a scroll placed within it, saying, "Rest in Peace, Mad Jack."
Then the Doctor vanished and I sensed that was going to happen.
With the Doctor's disappearance, 73 Yards is the first Doctor-lite episode since Davies' return as showrunner.
With Ruby now alone, Ruby then goes to the TARDIS but found it locked
Ruby then notices a woman from afar.
As would eventually be revealed 73 Yards refers to the length of distance between Ruby and this woman as Ruby can't get near this woman.
Soon Ruby meets a hiker and Ruby thought she looked familiar. Ruby is not the only one because we the viewer have seen her before as this person is played by Susan Twist.
Ruby asked the hiker to go talk to this woman on Ruby's behalf.
The hiker does so and Ruby and the viewer does not hear the conversation between the hiker and the woman.
Whatever that has been said has the hiker spooked as the hiker looks at Ruby in horror and runs away.
Ruby then makes her way to a pub which unfortunately is filled with a group of unfriendly people especially when she mentioned the fairy circle and they give an explanation of it.
The pub owner Lowri Palin is played by Maxine Evans and Evans has been in the Whoniverse before with the first time in the Torchwood episode Countrycide playing Helen Sherman.
One of the patrons in the pub Enid Meadows is played by the legendary Sian Phillips.
This is Phillips' first time on TV Doctor Who although she had done countless Big Finishes.
At one time she had been considered for a role in the classic series that of Adrastra in The Creature from the Pit which ultimately went to Myra Frances.
Another patron Josh, as a request from Ruby, went to talk to the woman, but he too ran away after talking to her.
Ruby then stayed at the pub for a few days hoping the Doctor would turn up but he never did.
Ruby then went home with the woman following and still at 73 yards.
Coming home and with the woman nearby, Ruby asked her mother Carla to have a talk with the woman. Carla does so but she too runs away and refuses to have anything to do with Ruby anymore.
A year later Ruby meets up with Kate for help with the woman.
I knew that Jemma Redgrave was back this season as Kate but still took me by surprise when she suddenly turned up.
Kate sends a team to apprehend the woman but they and Kate too got spooked by her and ran away with Ruby again on her own on this.
Just before his disappearance the Doctor mentioned a dangerous British Prime Minister from Ruby's future by the name of Roger ap Gwilliam.
Years have gone by and Ruby has witnessed the rise to power of Gwilliam who she learns has the nickname of Mad Jack, the name on the fairy circle.
Incidentally by this time Ruby starts wearing specs which Millie Gibson looks lovely in.
Knowing the danger Gwilliam poses, Ruby goes to work for him for the purpose of bringing him down
In a clever maneuver Ruby forces the woman to be near Gwilliam and he runs away and resigns as Prime Minister.
Was very surprised it soon jumps 40 years with a much older Ruby (played by Amanda Walker) and the woman is still there at 73 yards.
Whilst on a hospital bed the elderly Ruby is approached by the woman which causes them to travel back to that moment with Ruby and the Doctor at the cliffside.
The woman it transpired was Ruby all along and this time it prevented the Doctor from stepping on the fairy circle which prevented the events of this episode from ever happening.

73 Yards is very enthralling episode with Millie Gibson truly shined as Ruby with her on her own without the Doctor for most of it.
I came across someone making a comment of 73 Yards being like Turn Left also written by Davies.
In both cases it has the Doctor absent in an alternate timeline with Kate in 73 Yards performing the same function with Captain Magambo in Turn Left especially since both are from UNIT.
However unlike Turn Left in which Donna had some guidance from Rose, Ruby in 73 Yards was completely on her own without the Doctor.

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

On SBS On Demand, saw the first two episodes of Icons Unearthed: The Lord of the Rings.
The first episode The Impossible Film showed pictures of Jon Pertwee as Worzel Gummidge.
This was due to Peter Jackson having provided the special effects on Worzel Gummidge Down Under.
The second episode Finding the Fellowship had an interview with Sylvester McCoy as he was up for Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings films but the character ultimately went to Ian Holm.
The narrator Graham McTavish points out that McCoy would later be in The Hobbit films which the programme would go into another time.
McTavish also says that McCoy had played the Doctor in Doctor Who and it showed a picture of McCoy as the Doctor with Cybermen around him and another of him with Bonnie Langford as Mel.
In this interview McCoy says that Jackson is a big Doctor Who fan.

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

Saw the movie Patrick (2013) and I read on Wikipedia that Richard E. Grant was cast in this movie but dropped out due to a scheduling conflict.
The character that he was supposed to have played was then given to Charles Dance.
This movie came out at the same time that Grant played Dr Simeon/The Great Intelligence in Doctor Who and made me wonder whether that was the said scheduling conflict.
So I checked on IMDb which says that the filming dates for Patrick was in November 2012 with no dates specified for this month.
I then checked the filming dates for The Snowmen, The Bells of Saint John & The Name of the Doctor, the episodes in which Grant played the said Doctor Who characters.
Filming on The Snowmen took place between August 6 and September 3 2012 and The Bells of Saint John took place between October 8 and October 24 2012, the latter of which had Grant only doing one scene as the Great Intelligence.
This meant neither of which presented a conflict with the Patrick filming dates.
However the filming dates for The Name of the Doctor presented a different story as it took place between November 16 and December 1 2012 which is right in the midst of the filming of Patrick.
It therefore seems probable that The Name of the Doctor was the reason why Grant had to drop out of Patrick.

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

Big Finish pays tribute to William Russell:
https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/william-russell-1924-2024?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=william_russell_RIP&utm_content=news&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR12ooKA3hULikw7flwyivGLgluiZo-kIoXNISPdnWDZD014c4prBwQwKo4_aem_E8cg-ySooaMqiJpQXtoV2w

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

William Russell 1924 -2024 - News - Big Finish Award-winning, full-cast original audio dramas from the worlds of Doctor Who, Torchwood, Blake's 7, Class, Dark Shadows, The Avengers, Survivors, The Omega Factor, Star Cops, Sherlock Holmes, Dorian Gray, Pathfinder Legends, The Prisoner, Adam Adamant Lives, Space 1999, Timeslip, Terrahawks, Space P...

Shannon Tweed and Pamela Anderson on the beach with the latter as the episode title character in V.I.P. 1.15 Val on the Run:
Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

Michelle Fairley, loved by Spocksoc Vice President Matthew See, and India Amarteifio in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 1.6 Crown Jewels:

Two Merry Adventurers:
Released in 1937, Two Merry Adventurers aka The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes is a German film in which a detective and his assistant poses as Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson for the purpose of investigating two sisters and the theft and forgery of valuable postage stamps.
Quite fun and how it all culminates in the scene at the courtroom at the end which even includes Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle turning up at the said courtroom himself.

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

Jenna Coleman, valued by Spocksoc Vice President Matthew See, and a cat:

June 18 2024 marks ten years since the release of Masquerade from Big Finish.
Written by Stephen Cole.
The final in a trilogy of stories from 2014 with the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa.
The trilogy began with Moonflesh which introduced the character of Hannah Bartholomew.
Hannah would become a companion as the next story Tomb Ship revealed that she had stowed away in the TARDIS and Masquerade marks her final story.
Reading back to what I wrote about Masquerade in 2016 I had found Masquerade a truly disappointing end to this trilogy as the story felt like a mess, the Steamroller Man is not menacing enough but felt saddened how this story and the trilogy ended.

The Official Doctor Who Podcast: Boom:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS6ZPI6K8fs

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

BOOM | The Official Doctor Who Podcast Join Nadia Jae and Shabaz Ali with comedian Ed Night as they discuss Steven Moffat's episode 'Boom', along with a teaser from Russell T Davies in The Officia...

Happy Birthday Jodie, this June 17 2024 and for this birthday rewatched her in The Ghost Monument, Fugitive of the Judoon and Can You Hear Me?
The rewatch of The Ghost Monument led me to get two packets of custard cream:

Doctor Who pays tribute to the late William Russell:
https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/doctor-who-pays-tribute-to-the-late-william-russell?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1iQOn5GZSAvfueMcBWl1El7Aa0Qup8s7EcpdHkARhPFmME2OGSaNR6oOU_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

Doctor Who pays tribute to the late William Russell | Doctor Who Russell T Davies, Bonnie Langford and other members of the Doctor Who family share their thoughts on the late actor, who played one of the Doctor's first companions Ian Chesterton.

All Doctor Who Title Sequences: 1963-2023:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFylN7vK14Q

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

All Doctor Who Title Sequences: 1963-2023 | Doctor Who From then to now, live through 60 years of title sequences of Doctor Who! Subscribe to Doctor Who for more exclusive videos: http://bit.ly/SubscribeToDoctorW...

In the Behind the Scenes on Doctor Who: Doom, writer Steven Moffat says about the Doctor being trapped on a landmine and that the Doctor is left with his superweapon and that is the Doctor can talk like hell and that he can talk anyone to defeat.
That is easily my superweapon when it came to people who objected to me being the Vice President of Spocksoc by sending me unwelcome emails with no explanation other than technicality and red tape why I am not the Vice President.
I instead have maintained firmly why I am the Vice President and these objectors ultimately stopped sending me these emails as they know full well I will simply accordingly outside of emailing respond to what they say in their emails.
They simply fail to provide any adequate non-red tape reason why I am not the Vice President.
Failure to demonstrate why I am not the Vice President means I am the Vice President and will continue to be Vice President until I am relieve of this position and I intend to continue as Vice President for an indefinite period.

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

Jenna in a green coat:

Boom - Behind the Scenes:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6zAd_nTLXY

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

Behind the Scenes | Boom | Doctor Who Get your landmine zen on! Go behind the scenes on the latest explosive episode... Subscribe to Doctor Who for more exclusive videos: http://bit.ly/SubscribeT...

Mary McMullen has passed away.
She had played a Fish Person in the Doctor Who story The Underwater Menace.
She died in January 2021.

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

Jenna getting coffee while she and Michelle Gomez were filming on The Magician's Apprentice:

Beyond Paradise 2.2 marks the series debut by Peter Davison.
Davison plays Richard Baxter who begins a date with Anne Lloyd played by series regular Barbara Flynn.
Flynn had been in Doctor Who: Flux playing Tectuen, the Doctor's mother.
So basically Beyond Paradise has the Doctor dating his mother!

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

Marvel Studios 2.7 Rocket:
This is the fourth of six short clip shows promoting the then new movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
For this clip show it includes my wife Karen as Nebula.

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

Karen Gillan, beloved of Spocksoc Vice President Matthew See, in a photoshoot for her movie Sleeping Dogs (2024):

Millie's Set Tour - Behind the Scenes on The Devil's Chord:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTOK7T44iwg&t=2s

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

Millie's Set Tour | Behind the Scenes | The Devil's Chord | Doctor Who Tour Abbey Road with Ruby! Millie Gibson walks us through the set of THE DEVIL'S CHORD... Subscribe to Doctor Who for more exclusive videos: http://bit.ly/Su...

Saw Time season 2 starring Jodie in which she plays a prisoner hence the series title meaning to serve time.
I came across someone making a joke that this time (no pun intended) there was no Captain Jack to get her out of prison in reference Captain Jack breaking her as the Doctor out of prison in Revolution of the Daleks.
While Captain Jack was not able to break Jodie out of prison again, in Time however Jodie gets reunited with two people she had worked with during her time as the Doctor that of Siobhan Finneran (The Witchfinders) and Julie Graham (Ascencion of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children).
Finneran is actually a holdover from the previous season of Time which Jodie was not in.

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President

May 29 2024 marks 15 years since Karen Gillan, beloved of Spocksoc Vice President Matthew See, was announced as the Doctor Who companion yet to be named Amy Pond:

The petition for Jinkx Monsoon to open the theme starts HERE!:

The petition for Jinkx Monsoon to open the #DoctorWho theme starts HERE! 🎶 The petition for Jinkx Monsoon to open the theme starts HERE! 🎶

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Play of the Month):
This version of The Picture of Dorian is an episode of the BBC anthology series Play of the Month and aired on September 19 1976.
To my surprise Dorian Gray is played here by Peter Firth who I had first known as Harry Pearce in Spooks.
Overall a pretty good version of the story with Firth displaying well Dorian's attitude with his situation at hand.

Matthew See
Spocksoc Vice President