[bowers]

Kind of hard to comment on the new Doctor Who debut without spoilers, but I'll try.
I think Jodie Whittaker gave an outstanding performance and didn't feel in the least awkward portraying The Doctor. Will she make the character her own? We'll have to wait and see.
A good, fast-paced script kept held my interest, even though there was not a lot of time to develop the new companions' characters. The ending gave us a tease of a situation which could become an interesting plot device- or maybe not. The only part I disliked was the 15 minute panel(?) discussion at the end. Pure rubbish!
I may have some concerns that the new showrunner, Chris Chibnall, might repeat the mistakes he made in the last, meandering season of "Broadchurch". He sacrificed plot and pacing for more character-driven interactions, forgetting that a strong plot is the reason for these interactions in the first place. Again, we'll see.
All-in-all, two thumbs up for the debut! Cheers, Bowers

[The Australian Panther]

Dr Who starts next Sunday for those of us Downunder (or Upover depending on your point of view) Bowers, your point, "I may have some concerns that the new showrunner, Chris Chibnall, might repeat the mistakes he made in the last, meandering season of "Broadchurch". He sacrificed plot and pacing for more character-driven interactions, forgetting that a strong plot is the reason for these interactions in the first place.' is exactly why I only watched one episode of 'Broadchurch' and don't understand what the fuss is about with that show. I thought Peter Capaldi was excellent as the Doctor but his tenure was let down by too complex scripts. Not a kids show any longer. Which is a shame.   

[bowers]

Greetings, Panther! To be fair to Chibnall, I did think his first season of "Broadchurch" was first-rate. I can't actually say I enjoyed it because of the subject matter involved, but it was quite powerful. The second season felt like patched-together writing and was hard to follow, and the third season was just plain awful. I couldn't even finish it.
Capaldi is one of my favorite actors. Did you ever see his Cardinal Richelieu in "Musketeers"? I also think the first year of his Doctor Who stint suffered from poor writing and too many dark and claustrophobic sets. Even Steven Moffat can have a bad year, and this was it. Too bad Capaldi suffered for it, but when Peter finally hit his stride he became a damned remarkable Doctor!
Enjoy the debut! Cheers, Bowers

[paw broon]

I haven't posted about this because poor old Panther and other folk wont have seen this yet.  But as we're off and running......................
I thoroughly enjoyed Jodie Whittaker as our new Doctor. We found Broadchurch too difficult to watch, so I've no idea about Chibnall's work, but we watched The Assets with Whittaker as a CIA operative in Washington.  Apart from the show being well done - Linda loves spy stories - Whittaker was very good in the part.
From finding out that the new Doctor was to be female, there was never any problem about my accepting it. Time Lords are aliens and, as we know, this isn't the first time a Time Lord has changed gender.
The first episode then, awfy good. I was looking forward to Bradley Walsh and how his part would develop and he is good. The threat was quite disgusting looking, and all the better for that, as the story was of necessity, a set up for what is to come.
As for Capaldi, I loved his Doctor and agree with Panther that he was let down by too complex plots.  But he had some great, funny lines.  He made a good and menacing Richelieu.  I wonder if any of you saw him as Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It?  The sweariest, and funniest thing on tv for a long time.
However there were things that didn't get explained in the story but they'll have to wait till the rest of you have caught up   I hope we get answers to where ...............spoilers, and how she ...............spoilers.

[The Australian Panther]

Yes, I have seen Capaldi as the 'good' Cardinal. He was also ( if memory serves) in DR Who as a civilian much earlier on and he was definitely in Torchwood in a substantial part. And I also remember him in an early episode of 'Foyle's War.'  If you appreciate Capaldi, this bit on Grahame Norton is a must.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpKPnb5MoRs
Poor David Walliams. Notice Capaldi comes to his rescue. A genuine nice guy and a credit to Scotland.
(That's for Paw!)     

[Captain Audio]

The new Dr seems to be trying to out talk Matt Smith's Dr. A sort of David Tennant/Smith mixture. Not sure I like it. Then again the accent makes following what she says difficult enough without speed talking. Hopefully she will calm down a bit.

[paw broon]

A West Yorkshire accent is so very different from my Central Scotland accent, and, for that matter from a Cornwall, Somerset, Newcastle, hinterland Aberdeenshire, Welsh, some London accents, but I'm managing to follow. The Doctor is speaking in express mode but it's probably the effects of regeneration. 
The same problem of accents comes up with many shows.  Some/many? British viewers can have slight problems understanding some words and expressions or accents on American programmes.  Or, recently, we've been watching a NZ cop show, Brokenwood Mysteries, and the lack of, and weird, vowels, sometimes makes for a "what was that" moment.  Same with Mystery Road, the Aussie noir. At times it wasn't easy to get all that was being said at the start, but as these shows went on, our ears became accustomed to the accents.
I think as viewers become accustomed to Ms. Whittaker, you'll start to understand and enjoy her lovely Yorkshire accent.  I do already.

[crashryan]

Reminds me of the time I attended a talk by an Australian speaker with a heavy accent. He was making the point that part of courage was the ability "to bear pain." To our ears it sounded like "to bee-yuh pyne." Obviously he'd had comments from other Yank audiences, because he was quick to add, "Note that I'm not suggesting you should be a pyne, but that you should learn to beer pyne."

[bowers]

 Just finished the second episode, and I'm still liking her! Quite good interactions between the characters, and still fast-paced action. Again no spoilers, but I'm not sure how I feel about the last scene reveal.
I subscribe to the Acorn Channel, so I am watching stuff with all sorts of accents. Like Paw, I also have a bit of bother with some of the Aussie and Kiwi shows, although some are quite good. The strangest mystery I saw was a Welsh production that had the characters switching between English and Welsh (Cymraeg?) with subtitles.  There was no apparent rhyme or reason to the language switching, but it was a great story! Cheers, Bowers

[The Australian Panther]

Still haven't seen Ms Whittaker in action. Had a social engagement and I am not set up to save programs. (Actually I just realized while writing that, how I can get to watch it) Ah, accents! Americans seem to have more trouble with them than most, or at least their programmers think so. That's why many UK programs were adapted (Steptoe and Son for example) and localized for that market. Aussie and NZ shows have been dubbed for the US market, much to our disgust! It's good to see British actors becoming proud of their accents, so we don't have the Royal Shakespeare company or Plummy Traditional BBC accents all the time. I am still embarrassed decades later when I think of my mistaking the cohort of friends I was with in London for Liverpudlians when they were in fact Brummies!  Ouch! And it's too easy to mistake Canadians for citizens of the US.         

[paw broon]

Bowers, that Welsh noir was Hinterland.  Set in the West of Wales, where most local folk speak Welsh, often as their first language, they regularly switch between Welsh and English. In and around Aberystwyth, a university town, you will mostly be greeted in Welsh, and occasionally, a few locals will not be happy if you don't understand.
Great show, Hinterland.

[bowers]

That's the one, Paw! Cheers, Bowers

[Captain Audio]

"Aberystwyth"
Did you just make that name or did a cat run across your keyboard?

[paw broon]

Hey Captain, no cat but strange as it might seem, it's all correct.   Have a look here:-
http://www.aberystwyth.com
My aunt Betty lived in Llandudno - the North coast of Wales - and when I was young, the family went on the train to Wales to spend a weeks holiday at her house.
Welsh is a celtic language and in the same group as Scottish Gaelic, Erse (Irish Gaelic), Cornwall (Kernowek) and Breton. I don't speak any of them, just plain Scottish English with an Airdrie accent.
The longest place name in UK is:- Llanfairpwllgwingyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllandysiliogogogoch
and it's in Wales 

As for The Doctor and the 2nd. story. Well, avoiding spoilers, the effects were good, Art Malik was as menacing and dismissive as he can be. Monsters? Wait and see. Different. Do I like the Tardis? Let's wait till you've all seen it.

[The Australian Panther]

I had read about this place. Seems the name was the Victorian equivalent of 'Boaty McBoatface' etc.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Cheers!

[Captain Audio]

Really liked episode two. Adventurous characters introduced, hope we see them again some time. Decent attempt at scientific explanation for the cruel planet.

Haven't worked my way through episode three yet. Having lived in the south in that time period I don't cotton to seeing it replayed in a preachy manner, at least not by any UK series. The UK has its own ghosts in this regard that are seldom disinterred and held up to the light.

[paw broon]

Haven't managed to watch ep. 3 yet - been away from the house for a few days as the builders were in.
Captain, I have to say that I find your comment,
"The UK has its own ghosts in this regard that are seldom disinterred and held up to the light."
a bit odd, but that could be a simple unawareness on your part of publicity, t.v. documentaries, radio documentaries and many newspaper pieces on the subject of English and Scottish involvement in the slave trade. Also, there has been a huge amount of material produced about The Windrush generation and the scandal of the terrible treatment many W. Indians suffered on their arrival in the U.K and currently.  Same with  people from the Sub Continent, who many British were happy to have driving their buses but didn't want living next to them. Although in Bristol in the '60's, the local bus company barred Black or Asian bus crews for a few months. These same people suffered discrimination in housing and employment.
Over the decades, some films have spotlighted or had sub plots about the treatment of "coloureds" and minorities.  Sapphire springs to mind:-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire_(film)
As to what information is available, the tiniest selection might include this section from the National Library of Scotland, open to all and sundry.  It might be of interest:-
https://www.nls.uk/collections/topics/slavery/
As might this piece produced by the National Trust for Scotland:-
https://www.nts.org.uk/learn/downloads/Scotland%20and%20the%20SlaveTrade.pdf
This will start you about the Windrush generation:-
https://www.itv.com/news/2018-04-16/what-is-the-windrush-generation/
None of this means that in the U.K. - I'm writing now about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, not simply about Scotland - doesn't have a lot of problems of integration and racism nowadays. But if you want to know more, look it up. It's just that there is a lot of information about our "ghosts" and it's all freely available.  Schools also have these subjects on the syllabus. Don't start me about the clearances!
Back to more enjoyable things.

[bowers]

Episode 3 left me wondering if I was watching "Doctor Who" or "Quantum Leap". And does it seem the Tardis is driving the plots? Won't say more because of spoilers. We'll see next week. Cheers, Bowers

[Captain Audio]

Paw Broon:
You must realize that despite this information being available if looked for the vast majority of UK citizens remain totally ignorant of any of this.
I've visited many forums that were partly or mostly populated by UK citizens of all ages and found them to be mis-informed or un-informed when it comes to this subject.

Most seem to have developed the notion that only the USA dealt in the transatlantic slave trade. When pressed to look into the involvement of Europeans they begin making excuses.

They like to point to American mistreatment of the native population in colonial times while managing to forget that those colonials were in fact British subjects at the time.
Few even admit that Major Amherst was an officer of the British Army when he suggested spreading small pox among the Indians and using mastiffs to hunt down native hunters as they were used on runaway slaves.

They also managed to turn a blind eye to the British arming and stirring up Indian tribes to massacre American settlers.

For every film that has dealt with anti black or other forms of racism in the UK there are dozens that deal with racism in the USA.

I don't doubt you've spent more time among the well read , but the well read are the least of the problem. Even then much of what is read is revisionist bull pookey by the likes of Ward Churchill and Howard Zinn.

We can put it down to different venues.

[paw broon]

Having given this a bit of thought, I do not believe this forum is the correct place for this sort of discussion  which seems to be getting a bit edgy, and I'm sorry I got involved in public. I wont be responding, but should anyone wish to contact me, you all know how.
Let's turn our attention back to Watcha Watchin'?
I tried the Rosa episode, but as I was a tired and a bit down, I didn't see it through. Later, when I steel myself for the upsetting scenes.
However, I just had time to catch the start of Ep. 4, right after reading the gardening column in the paper telling me that spiders were the gardener's friends.  Wonder how I'll see them at the end of this one.
An adaptation of The Little Drummer Girl started last night and as my wife is a LeCarre fan, she's keen to see it. We'll get it on I-Player.
Recently finished was Vanity Fair, an adaptation of the Thackeray novel, and it was very good.  If you haven't seen it, it's well worth looking out for. I doubt you'll be able to access the episodes on this page but it'll give you an idea:-
https://www.itv.com/hub/vanity-fair/2a5315
vpn might help?
As I don't keep up to date with a lot of tv superhero show news, I was excited to learn at a comic mart on Sat. that there is a Doom Patrol show coming along.  Always been a fan of the comic so I hope they can do the idea justice.

[bowers]

 Well put, Paw. The new version of "Vanity Fair" looks amazing but, unless Masterpiece picks it up, I probably won't be seeing it for awhile. I enjoyed seeing some of the other series ITV offers and am glad I can access many of these on Masterpiece or Acorn. Am currently watching Season one of "Vexed" with a favorite "Doc Martin" alumnus, the gorgeous madcap Lucy Punch. (Definitely not for those who are PC). Also a season of "The Syndicate- All or Nothing". Lenny Henry is always a treat to watch. "The Last Kingdom" season two wasn't as good as the first season, but still good. The spouse and I are still following "Poldark" and "The Durrells in Corfu".
I've already seen the first two incarnations of "Poldark" so I already know what's going to happen. Still, I enjoy teasing the wife by cheering on George Warleggan's evil machinations and the shots of the wild Cornish coast and countryside are well worth seeing. The Doctor episode four tonight! Cheers, Bowers

[Captain Audio]

Haven't gotten into any Super Hero series since Smallville wound up. Thats been quiet awhile back.

I used to watch a lot of British TV series on PBS. Some older Canadian series as well. The series about the Vikings was a real breath of fresh air back in the day, I understand all episodes were lost. Its remotely possible that one of the UHF channels around Eastern Tennessee might have some stashed away. Its not well known but many of the pioneers of early television had homes near here, either full time or as vacation homes, especially screen writers.

[bowers]

 Cap, are you talking about the 1960 "Tales of the Vikings" tv series with Jerome Courtland? If so, there are a few episodes up on YouTube, mostly poor quality. This was a favorite of mine, especially the opening theme.
I'd also forgotten how much I miss "Smallville". Cheers, Bowers

[Captain Audio]

Yep "Tales of the Vikings". Made by an American company but IIRC filmed in Canada.
I just finished downloading the four available eps on Youtube.
Two appear to have been found in some Middle eastern TV station.

The after school line up here was "Robin Hood", "Tales of the Vikings", "the Buccaneers", "Circus Boy", Captain Gallant of the French Foreign Legion", and other quality TV series that make modern day time TV pale by comparison.

[bowers]

  I had the same lineup, Cap. I remember watching Captain Gallant and waiting for a Legion vs Arab shootout that never, ever happened! Monkee Mickey Dolenz was great as "Circus Boy". I saw some episodes , along with "Robin Hood", last year on a retro cable channel. Good to revisit some old friends. Cheers, Bowers