Plum Pudding Reviews

  Aquitaine by Simon Barnard and Paul Morris Once in a while you find a Doctor Who story that truly, completely gobsmacks you. Something that while it isn't anything groundbreaking, is just so inately attuned to your own personal taste. Something that isn't doing anything universally new or never been done before, but just tells it's own simple story remarkably and astutely well. Similar to The Middle, Aquitaine is hard sci-fi, and certainly a tale that has you set up and take attention, where the characters are more auxiliary to the ideas, the mood. Forgive the hyperbole, but Aquitaine feels like it was written by Douglas Adams. That level of pure magic is present throughout it, it's a piece that is quietly clever and witty, and uses it's basic plot to the ultimate advantage, telling a lovely average episode of Doctor Who- except the result is completely faultless. While it is no Heaven Sent, or Caves of Androzani, not having that level of emotional depth, Aquitain...

 Torchwood Parody Among Us 7.13 The Snapping Beneath The Floorboards Starring Natalia Cordova Buckley, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Mendelsohn and Ian Alexander  Warning: Shit is heavy The Hub Cherry came to, and The Light was blinding. Her view fuzzed in and out of focus as she came to. Her head ringing from the strike. She had...She had been shot. Holy shit. She had been shot. Her mind was frantic, but her body was drowsy, her eyes barely fluttering open. And what was that light? It all began to fade in as Richardson shone the light into her eyes.  She was tied to a chair.  Richardson.  She shouldn't have...it was him?  Richardson? "Don't bother trying to get up, you're only alive because I wanted you to be," Richardson said in his melodic rumble of a confusing voice. "It takes a great degree of talent to shoot someone in the stomach without puncturing anything superbly important."  She was in the original torchwood hub's rubble. Not the hub they worked...

  NCBBDAS: Dreams Trauma Conga 2.2 Starring Brenda Blethyn, Ted Danson, Stevie Nicks and Ming Na Wen Featuring Kathryn Hahn  Chapter One "Wait, where are we?" Millie asked, getting up. Her face reflected about the room like a maze of mirrors.  The Doctor moved herself upright, groaning. "Ooh, me back.." She complained.  "Hello, Doctor dear." A familiar voice rang out. "We're going to play a game." "Wonderful, it's Saw," said Millie, once again referencing something she had no knowledge of. "Truly, Doctor, you take me to the best places." "I'm not sure it was me that brought us here, love. Where's Calvin and Fourteen?" The Doctor said, looking about. She looked more disheveled than even usual - her hat was lumpy and her overcoat was worn and wrinkled. As the room continued to reflect about, a stream of light appeared, reflecting in and about the mirror like surface of the room, leaving color and depth ...

  Missy Series Two After my opinion on Missy Series One being mixed on the whole compared to her phenomenal appearances in River and Ravenous?  I was cautiously optimistic with the following installment in the series, Missy Two, and I am happy to day, yep, it’s the same, with all the highlights and pitfalls of the previous set. Wait, oh no. Yes, Missy One had two excellent episodes, but it also had several pitfalls it fell into - and it proved that you can only really trust the most exemplary writers with Missy, as a balance with her character is something even the strongest writers have a challenge with, and unlike the War Master, who can slink into the background, Missy is loud and boisterous, making her a difficult protagonist. Coming Volume Two, I think the writers began to understand this, and proceeded to try and give the stories a protagonist other than Missy, which definitely works in the best episodes of the set, but this creates a secondary problem of the quality of ...

 Torchwood Parody Among Us 7.12 Daily Grind Starring Ben Mendelsohn, Scarlett Johansson, Natalia Cordova Buckley, Jason Hughes, Ian Alexander Warning: Horny, Depression  * * * The Hub “So.” Ash began, “What exactly do you want from me?” Hunter nervously looked at the floor. “No one ever likes that question.” “Two months ago you were treating me like shit and now you’ve tried to plant one on me.” Ash pointed out. “If that means anything I need to know that you respect who I am.” Hunter nodded. “Of course.” “It’s worth asking. Especially- I mean, you know. New boss, new ranks, new everything. I just want to know I can depend on you, that you’re attracted to me as a man and not something I’m not.” “I’m bad at relationship stuff.” Hunter said, not assuredly.  “Oh, come on. It’s been a week. A week since Tania left, since we were told that every child in Cardiff is going to turn against us at any second- I think we’re entitled to move quickly in this scenario and you’ve been g...

 NCBBDAS: Honk Honk The Series Is Over  Trauma Conga 2.1  Starring Brenda Blethyn,   Judi Dench! Ted Danson, Stevie Nicks and Ming Na Wen  Crossover With NCJDDAS Season Six Note: The 300th post on my blog! Wowee!  Previously On Doctor Who Holy shit I cannot begin to summarize, but if you don't remember much from this sort of shortlived series, this is now a soft reboot so you're fine. On the other hand, you might wanna be up with what the Dench Doctor is doing.  Chapter One "Golly, that was a long cliffhanger," said The Doctor to the audience. "Oh, hi. Yeah. It's me. The Judi Dench Doctor. Yeah, um, I've decided to cancel the NCBBDAS. Possibly the Brenda Blethyn Doctor. No hard feelings."  She winked.  "Actually, all the hard feelings."  She snapped her fingers.  "Henceforth, your series is cancelled. Your planned plotlines - trashed! Your future character development, burned to a crisp! Now hold on, let me kill the Main Range too....

Torchwood Parody Among Us 7.11 Cabbie Starring Rebecca Root, Tracy Ann Oberman, Paul Clayton, D'Arcy Carden, Ian Alexander * * * Ursula was standing in the rain. Oh, she was used to that bit, standing in the rain and all that. It was Cardiff. That was what people did- and she was used to it. You can't take an Umbrella to Cardiff. It blows out exceedingly quickly and then you have a stick with an inverted flag on it. As such, many people in Cardiff simply find a place with a slight overhang to stand under.  And if you can't do that, you stand in the rain.  As Ursula stood there, she saw the lights of the city, the houses and the cars, all light faded and dappled with raindrops.  She would have stuck her thumb out, but standing on the pavement, still as a statue, drenched as she was, made a decisive sign to those driving the cabs, so she tried to bunch her arms underneath her coat - which incidentally wasn't build for rain.  A cab pulled over, and Ursula stepped in. ...