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typingtess · 2 months ago

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NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14 Rewatch: “The Reckoning”

The basics: With four dead, including a CIA Officer, NCIS investigates if this has something to do with the DRONA project.

Written and directed by: Frank Military Military wrote "Little Angels", "Deliverance", "Lockup", "The Job", "Greed", "Betrayal", "Crimeleon", "Vengeance", "Out of the Past" Part One, "Rude Awakenings" Part Two, season four’s finale "Descent", season five’s premiere "Ascension", "Allegiance", "Spoils of War" (directed by Military), "Black Budget", "SEAL Hunter", "Rage" (directed by Military), "Unspoken", "Unlocked Mind", "Revenge Deferred", "The Seventh Child" (directed by Military), "Crazy Train", "Uncaged" (directed by Military), "The Silo", "Monster", "Line in the Sand" (directed by Military), season ten opener "To Live and Die in Mexico" (directed by Military), "The Patton Project", "Better Angels", "False Flag" (the season 10 finale), "A Bloody Brilliant Plan", season 11 finale "Code of Conduct" (directed by Military), "Raising the Dead", "Through the Looking Glass" (directed by Military), "Indentured", "Down the Rabbit Hole" (directed by Military) and "The Body Stitchers".

Military directed one episode he did not write, season 11’s holiday episode "Answers".

He also appeared as Donald Kessler in "Raising the Dead" and several other episodes in photos.

Guest stars of note: Jere Burns returns from season 13’s “Genesis” as Howard Pembrook, Duncan Campbell is back from the last episode (“Sensu Lato”) as NCIS Agent Castor, David DeSantos as Anthony Beltran and Milissa Sears as Leah Novack are back from “Sleeping Dogs”, Philip Anthony-Rodriguez as CIA Officer Rafael Cortes, Scott Christopher as CIA Officer Chris Behr, Amy Kim Waschke as CIA Officer Avery Lamica, Maurice Hall as AMT Julian Cousins, John Marshall Jones as Jonathan Hunter and Rick Tunell, the series’ longtime producer/director was the Head of Airfield Security

Our heroes: DRONA drama blah blah blah.

What important things did we learn about: Callen: Lone wolfing. Sam: Out of town. Kensi: Tailing Callen. Deeks: Airport trip. Fatima: Figured out early that the CIA was up to no good. Rountree: Tailing Callen with Kensi. Kilbride: Side-eye master.

What not so important things did we learn about: Callen: Wasn’t getting violin lessons as a kid. Sam: Absent. Kensi: Waiting for Deeks to return from the airport. Deeks: Mostly absent. Fatima: Side-eying with the best of them. Rountree: Started the day with Deeks, ended it with Kensi. Kilbride: Friends with the head coach at USC.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange? Basking in guilt according to Pembrook.

Who's down with OTP: Not a lot of OTP time.

Who's down with BrOTP: Down one part of the BrOTP but Pembrook’s final conversation with Callen was all about the brotherhood of Callen and Sam, the show’s most important relationship.

Fashion review: Callen wore a light blue and white plaid button down shirt before going in the pool and a navy blue hoodie post-pool. Kensi wore a wine colored long-sleeve top. Deeks wore a pale blue henley. Fatima had a fabulous black leather jacket (soft like butter!) and a white sweater with blue piping at the collar. Rountree black long sleeve tee-shirt with a black jacket. Kilbride, as always, dark blue three-piece suit, red tie, pale blue dress shirt.

Music: “Home” by Aron Wright plays at the end of the episode.

Any notable cut scene: Not today.

Quote: Kilbride: “And you are not leaving my office until you tell me everything you know about Pembrook and Beltran.” Cortes: “And you're gonna stop me? With force?” Kilbride: “Don't tease me.”

This is was very solid Kilbride as a badass episode.

Anything else: The previously-s include all the Pembrook nonsense.

In the hospital, a still comatose Leah Novak is being moved to a rehab facility with serious CIA security around her. Callen is there as well. Nobody knows where Leah is going except the head security man – who is driving the ambulance. Novak will be checked in under an alias. The security chief promised to keep Callen advised of her status.

As the security team leaves, the second security team member tells her boss they found one of the Drona subjects, Clayton, dead. If they can find Clayton, the head man tells her, they can find everyone. for some reason, the head of security thinks it is a good idea to meet with the other Drona subjects in Pershing Square. He leaves the ambulance with only a nurse watching Novak. Clayton was tortured before he was killed, according to one of the Drona survivors. The group realizes none of them are safe. And they’re not as a sniper picks off all the Drona subjects except the security chief. He dodges bullets getting back to the ambulance and driving off.

A cranky Admiral is marching from his office to Ops. Deeks and Rountree are just behind him. After a Deeks mindfulness joke falls flat, the Admiral explains that four people, including a CIA Officer named Avery Lamica – she was the number two person moving Novak - were shot dead in Pershing Square. Kensi has already left for Pershing Square to meet with Callen.

In Ops is CIA Officer Raphael Cortes (another person allowed to wander about the super-secret office). After the Admiral does some introductions, Cortes wants to talk to Callen and Sam. Sam is out of town and not available. Cortes does not want Callen running the investigation but the Admiral makes sure Cortes understands that Cortes doesn’t make staffing decisions for NCIS. When the Admiral brings up that Cortes asked for help, Cortes makes sure the Admiral understands that the CIA doesn’t need help, they need information. Since the FBI is investigating the shooting, Cortes wants to question Callen about letting Beltran get away. And Cortes wants the Admiral to do that right now. Knowing Callen wouldn’t return to the office even if Kilbride ordered him to do so, the Admiral won’t – and didn’t plan on anyway.

Deeks asks if the CIA is tracking the ambulance. They can’t find it, according to Cortes. CIA Officer Chris Behr is missing – he’s the head security guy. Cortes thinks Lamica was meeting with other Drona team members. Pembrook ran black ops for the DoD, NSA and the CIA. Rountree mentions Beltran’s plan for a lawsuit against Pembrook for what was done to him and to the others when they were children. Cortes believes Pembrook made monsters – “including Agent Callen.”

At the crime scene, Callen is covering Avery Lamica’s body with a tarp when Kensi arrives. Callen has not heard from Behr. Looking at a high rise building just off Pershing Square, Kensi is going to check the victim’s locations and angle of the gunshot wounds to see if she can backtrack the math to the sniper’s location.

On comms, Callen asks Fatima to check out security cameras. Also on comms, Kilbride tells Callen that Cortes would like to speak to him – the FBI can cover the crime scene. Callen tells Cortes that the FBI isn’t even at the crime scene – though LAPD is all over the crime scene. Deeks talks about Drona and Callen thinks it makes sense – Lamica and Behr were put on the protection team by the CIA and likely Drona. Cortes pushes for Callen to come in but Callen fakes some static and is off comms.

Kensi returns to Callen. Based on the wounds, there is no way the sniper fired from the high rise. The angles of the bullet wounds are too steep. The sniper was likely in a helicopter and one great shot.

Fatima has eight helicopters over that part of Los Angeles at 8:16AM – the time of the shooting. Kensi thinks the shot came from at least 1,400 feet east of Pershing Square. On the big screen in Ops, Deeks finds the helicopter. Deeks traces it to a company called Cypress Park Industries. Rountree asks where did the helicopter come from – Camarillo Airport. Kilbride is sure there are witnesses or video of someone getting on the helicopter. Deeks is going to track that down.

Cortes orders Callen to return to the office or he’ll get the FBI to bring Callen in. Callen says he’s returning but gets a call from an unknown number followed by a text message telling Grisha to pick up. Callen has Kensi take them off comms. It is Pembrook on the phone. Callen has a flashback to his happy times with Pembrook. He wants to meet and Callen does too. Kensi gets back on comms to get Fatima to trace the call. She does this quietly. Pembrook is about a block away inside Pershing Square, watching Callen and Kensi.

Pembrook starts to walk away from the crime scene, saying that Callen won’t miss a chance to face the monster of his childhood. Under a bench near the coffee cart is a discarded water bottle with an address in it. Pembrook wants to meet Callen without any other agents around. Pembrook hangs up and walks away. Even tosses his phone into a half finished glass of water. Callen and Kensi check out the bench – he finds the water bottle. Cortes hears from the FBI – they’re on site and want a sitrep. Callen shows Kensi the address in North Hollywood. With the FBI closing in on Callen, he’s off to deal with Pembrook with Kensi on his tail.

At Camarillo Airport, Deeks confirms that Beltran and three other people were on the helicopter but Pembrook wasn’t one of them. Deeks is getting security video. Cortes demands that it is sent to Langley as soon as it is available. The Admiral does his version of rolling his eyes and says “of course.”

Callen arrives at the address Pembrook provided with Kensi just a few blocks back. No one is at the home but since the bottle had the word “pool” in a circle, Callen check out the backyard. There is a pool with a box at the bottom and lots of cameras all around. Realizing that by going in the water Callen shorts out all his comms, Kensi tells Callen not to let Pembrook control the next move. The Admiral doesn’t want Callen to go offline Callen tosses his earwig and phone into the pool before diving in for the box. Cortes pitches a fit that Kilbride has no control over his agents. Saying they can track Callen through his car – and Kensi can trail him – the Admiral wants Rountree working with Kensi.

A wet Callen finds a key to the house in the box. Inside the house is a change of clothes and a key to a vehicle.

Kilbride wants Kensi to go in and see what Callen is up to.

Callen is up to getting into a van and in the van is an armed Pembrook. Pembrook does the Pembrook stuff – talking about teaching Callen the language of violence. After getting Callen’s gun, the two are off for a drive.

In Ops, Fatima has video from Camarillo Airport. Beltran and three randos – two men and a woman - are walking to the helicopter. Cortes demands Fatima send him the photos to run them through facial rec. She was going to do that but he barks “send them to me.” The Admiral nods and Fatima sends the photos.

Entering the house by picking the lock, Kensi finds Callen’s wet gear. Kensi tells Ops that Callen mentioned a van by the house. Cortes is disgusted they lost Callen “completely.”

Using Kaleidoscope, Fatima traced Callen through Van Nuys to LAX. Cortes disses Kaleidoscope as a tenuous connection and tells Kilbride – who is quiet with a lot of side-eyeing – they better pray they don’t lose Callen. Cortes gets a call – the CIA has ID the three with Beltran. He leaves Ops.

Callen asks Pembrook what are they doing? Pembrook says he’s trying to understand what Callen is feeling but Callen is not “doing that.” Not wanting Pembrook as a therapist, Callen asks what Pembrook wants. Pembrook wants to save Callen’s life, save Leah’s life and by that, maybe save his own. Callen really doesn’t care about Pembrook’s life – “full stop.” Pembrook leads Callen to an underground garage of an office building.

Fatima is still tracking the van on a bit of a delay. The vehicle is near San Pedro. Kilbride thinks that an awful long ride for Pembrook to take Callen on just to kill him. Cortes disagrees – Pembrook could be taking Callen someplace off the grid to torture him. After his phone beeps, Cortes has IDs for the three people with Beltran. The three are Russians but not FSB. The CIA got intel on the three entering the country but nothing else. Fatima is joining the side-eye brigade.

In the parking lot, Pembrook starts by telling Callen he was obsessive and filled with anger. Callen says this isn’t about him but Pembrook keeps pushing. Callen’s anger drives his obsession. Again, Callen really doesn’t care. Pembrook admits he did horrible things – he won’t deny it. And the Drona subject were children. Pembrook says he thought his training methods were justified. He’s consumed with remorse. Callen doesn’t care. Pembrook says he takes solace that Callen has moved on from his trauma. Angry, Callen tells Pembrook he doesn’t know anything about Callen’s life. Pembrook does – he’s been following Callen for 35-years.

Fatima hears from Vance’s assistant. Kilbride is needed on a conference call in three minutes. The Admiral is not pleased as he returns to his office.

Rambling, Pembrook has been following all the Drona children, trying to help those in the most distress. Callen doesn’t believe him. Knowing Callen so well, Pembrook offers to turn over Callen’s paper file – everything about Callen’s past. Pembrook tells Callen he can date test the ink. Pembrook starts talking about his own childhood. If Callen isn’t interested in hearing Pembrook talk about Callen’s childhood, he certainly doesn’t want to hear about Pembrook’s. All Callen cares about is the file and is offended that dangling the file in front of Callen is an apology. Callen starts talking about having a hard time building relationships – he went from the DEA to the CIA to NCIS because Pembrook took from him the most elemental part of being a human – the ability to feel. Pembrook knows this and knows it was a terrible thing to do. He apologizes again and Callen isn’t interested in another apology.

In his office, Kilbride is waiting for Vance. Fatima sends him the NCIS facial rec runs on the “Russians”. They are, of course, Americans. Cortes approaches Fatima, asking that she check the last area where the van was seen – maybe there is a CIA safehouse in the area. Kilbride pops up on the big screen – he wants to see Cortes in his office.

Entering Kilbride’s office, Cortes asks if Kilbride shared what’s going on with Vance. The Admiral did not and asks Cortes to close the door behind him. After bickering about Cortes sitting down, Kilbride brings up an issue of dishonesty, especially with Callen being in such a precarious position. The three with Beltran were Americans, not Russians. Cortes tries to sell it as a good job with backstopping their IDs. No, one of the men played football for USC. Kilbride texted the head coach at USC to confirm it. Cortes is not leaving the office until he tells Kilbride everything. Sneering, Cortes asks if Kilbride thinke he can stop him by force. “Don’t tease me,” the Admiral sneers back.

Rountree meets up with Kensi near the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro. They are sitting tight, waiting for an update on Callen. Kensi asks Fatima about Cortes’s Russians and Fatima is sure they aren’t Russians. She’s watching what’s going on Kilbride’s office via a security camera on the second level over the bullpen.

Callen asks Pembrook why is he killing the other Drona subjects. Pembrook has been running a black ops Drona team for years. Beltran was part of that team but wanted to start doing jobs for the highest bidder. The only way Pembrook could get the rouge Drona subjects to stop doing these jobs was to kill them. Beltran and his team killed a pro-democracy presidential candidate in Ethiopia along with the candidate’s family. Pembrook was outraged that they killed children for a paycheck (as opposed to Pembrook I guess who only tortured children for a paycheck). Since Pembrook was trying to kill Beltran’s team, they are returning the favor. Callen reminds Pembrook that he is responsible for turning these people into psychopaths.

A team of shooters open fire on the van. Callen gets his gun back from Pembrook and the two make their way to a stairwell. From the stairwell, Pembrook shoots into the van and blows it up. Callen and Pembrook start running up the stairs but Pembrook is slow – he’s been shot. Neither Callen or Pembrook have phones – Callen’s went into the pool, Pembrook ditched his burner at Pershing Square. Pembrook has more happy news – he’s out of ammo.

Walking into an office that is being refurbished, Callen and Pembrook have Beltran and a partner in hot pursuit. Hiding in a cubical farm, Callen and Pembrook escape to a stairwell but almost run into Beltran’s other two partners. Callen and Pembrook go up another flight.

In Ops, Fatima downloads some photos of Beltran and his team – Cortes is in one of the photographs.

Kilbride wants full transparency on Pembrook’s Black Ops from Cortes. That is going to happen according to Cortes. The CIA is willing to cooperate in the matter but not everything is going to be shared. With his earwig in, Fatima tells the Admiral that Cortes worked with Beltran. Cortes gets a text message with a list of CIA safe houses near where Callen and the van were last seen. Kilbride starts talking to Fatima with Cortes in the room. Cortes wonders what the Admiral is doing.

Callen and Pembrook get a higher floor. Pembrook is in rough shape. Finding a server room – that is fireproof and locks from the inside – Pembrook wants to stop running and let Callen go. Callen and Pembrook wind up locked in the server room with Beltran and his team now on the floor.

Kilbride accuses Cortes of being part of Beltran’s team. Cortes denies it. The Admiral wants to know what Cortes’s role is in all of this.

Beltran tries to open the server door but it is locked. He is about to move on when he realizes there is blood on his hand. He asks the team to find something that will cut through the steel door.

Saying that Kilbride’s accusations are stupid, Cortes stands to leave. The Admiral warns him not to so Cortes pulls a weapon on him. “Are you insane,” is Kilbride’s reaction. Saying his life is over as he knows it, Cortes is desperate to get out of the building. Looking at the big screen, Fatima sees Cortes with his weapon out.

Fatima walks into Kilbride’s office with her tablet and a pretend update. Cortes orders her to leave – he’s exiting the building with Kilbride as a hostage. Fatima won’t leave, earning a second gun pulled by Cortes. She tells Cortes to look around. There are several NCIS Agents with their guns drawn all over the second floor of the office building, including Agent Castor directly across the second floor.

Cortes wants to leave the office and threatens to shoot Kilbride and Fatima if he can’t get his way. When nobody moves, Cortes fires a shot into the floor by Kilbride and promises the next one is going into Fatima’s face. While Fatima is clutching her tablet, she has her firearm under it. To protect Fatima, Kilbride stands. Cortes wants everyone to lower their weapons and Fatima gives the order to the others. Cortes wants her to move to the left. Causing a distracting, Fatima makes a Beyonce joke, asking if it is her left or his left. When it is her left, the Admiral hits the deck, as does Fatima and the other agents on the floor unload their weapons in what was Kilbride’s office. When Cortes does not go down, Fatima starts shooting and before long, he’s fallen out the window and onto the main floor outside of Hetty’s office.

As Beltran and company work to drill their way through the lock, Callen is looking for a way out of the server room. Pulling down an air vent, he makes enough noise to stop Beltran for a second but only a second. The drilling resumes. The air vent is way too small to fit Callen or Pembrook.

Using Cortes’s facial ID iPhone, Castor is able to open the phone and pass it on to Fatima. She finds evidence that Cortes was sending out everything NCIS was working on while he was there (and alive). She starts tracking Beltran’s phone location. Fatima sends the office building location to Kensi and Rountree who are on their way. They were waiting for Deeks but are going in without him.

As the drill gets closer to opening the door, Pembrook tells Callen that when Hetty found out what he was doing she pulled Callen from the program. He’s to blame for all that happened, not Hetty. Callen wonders why Hetty didn’t tell him. The drill breaks through the lock.

Kensi and Rountree see smoke coming out of the garage. Inside, they find the burnt remains of the van with no bodies. Bringing the big guns, Kensi and Rountree follow the bloody handprints Pembrook left on the stairway walls.

When Beltran gets into the server room, Pembrook looks to be alone. Asked where Callen is, a seemingly struggling Pembrook says he doesn’t know, they split up. Beltran says everyone always thought Pembrook was evil, a monster. But Beltran knew otherwise and that was going to be Pembrook’s downfall. Pembrook doesn’t agree. Living with what he’s done is far more difficult than dying will ever be. Beltran promises to put Pembrook out of his misery.

Hanging from a small ledge over the door, Callen shoots Beltran. Jumping down, he takes out Beltran’s partner. As the other two team member rush back to the floor, Kensi and Roundtree arrive, arresting both. Kensi gets an ambulance for Pembrook.

Outside of the ambulance, Pembrook hears that Officer Behr and Leah are safe. Callen has arranged for NCIS Agents to take Pembrook to the hospital. That’s not happening as Officer Behr shows up with Intelligence Agents from both the DoD and NSA – they’re taking Pembrook somewhere safe. Callen is livid – does Behr know what Pembrook has done? He does, Behr was a Drona subject, “There are a lot of us. He made us, for worse or for better.” As Pembrook drives away, Callen wants to know why Hetty never said anything.

Back in the office, Callen looks at all of Hetty’s things. He gets a phone call from Pembrook. He wants to meet Callen outside.

Outside, Pembrook has a large file. He answers Callen’s question – Hetty never said anything because she was consumed with guilt for getting Callen involved in the Drona program. Callen isn’t really interested in Hetty’s guilt about trying to turn children into super-agents. Pembrook disagrees. Hetty put Callen into the program because he was brilliant and gifted, wanting him to live up to his full potential. Hetty’s world was the arts and Callen wasn’t going to learn how to play the violin. She wasn’t going to make the mistake some parents make of taking child with one set of talents and forcing the child to master a different set.

Callen points out that Hetty isn’t his parents. “You mean everything to her. And you always have.” Callen is as close to a son as Hetty ever had – she told Pembrook that because even Hetty needs someone to talk to sometimes. While Callen may feel he’s been alone in this world, “you’ve been far from an orphan.” Hetty loved him deeply. Both Callen and Pembrook are a little weepy.

Pembrook turns over the file with some advice. “Don’t make your life be just about the past. Let it be about the present and now the future.” Pembrook offers his congratulations on Callen’s engagement and wishes him all the happiness in the world. As he leaves, Pembrook mentions he gave Hetty the dossier on Senior Chief Petty Officer Sam Hanna. “I thought he’d make a great partner. No, that’s not true. I thought he’d make a great friend.” With all he did, Pembrook tried to look out for Callen as a way to make up for it all.

What head canon can be formed from here: “Frank Military, please come to the front desk, clean up on aisle Drona.”

As an independent hour, this was great. There wasn’t a dull moment, there wasn’t a dip in the tension, the dialogue was crisp, the action was top notch and there wasn’t a useless scene or conversation. Frank Military is the king of “competence porn” – everyone on the team was at the top of their game, doing their best work. Sam being “out of town” was a bummer – nobody writes the Sam Hanna competence porn better than Military.

But Drona. For the life of me, I don’t know why in season 13 the program completely retcon’d Callen’s childhood. For years, the backstory was Callen bounced from foster home to foster home, some bad, some really bad and some good. He was found by Hetty, went to a good college, joined the DEA/CIA/NCIS and served his country. Now, it seems Callen was some test subject where beating children was seen as great training and Callen completely forgot that part. He remembered all his foster parents but not the guy who took a hammer to his fingers.

Feh.

And if Drona and Hetty were keeping their eye on Callen from the time he was a little boy, could someone maybe have grabbed Amy Callen out of the orphanage and moved her in with a foster/adopted family before she drowned.

Retconning characters’ past isn’t new to me – Samantha Mulder had multiple middle names and multiple kidnapping scenarios. I have a high crapola tolerance level when it comes to this stuff but 13-seasons in, knowing that every season could be the last, introducing a complicated new storyline just seems like a bad idea. And it was.

Nice touch having Cortes land right outside the Hetty’s office, what Mosley called Hetty’s throne. Glad to see Castor not knocked out, instead being a key part of taking Cortes down.

So what did we learn today – you can abuse children physically and psychologically but if you suggest Sam Hanna as a friend to Callen, all’s good.

Episode number: This is episode 19 of season 14. The 321st episode overall.

#NCIS: Los Angeles Rewatch #NCIS: Los Angeles #NCIS: LA #NCIS Los Angeles #ncis la #Youtube

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mariacallous · 5 months ago

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A Texas bankruptcy court judge brought Infowars back from the brink of death on Friday, a surprising ruling which conspiracy kingpin Alex Jones attempted to use to—naturally—make more money. This time, Jones is promoting a supplement company owned by his father.

Judge Christopher M. Lopez issued a split ruling last week, saying that Jones can follow through with a plan his attorneys had requested and liquidate most of his assets to pay the nearly $1.5 billion judgment he owes to the families of children and staff members killed at Sandy Hook after repeatedly calling the mass shooting a “hoax.”

Though Jones lost by default in defamation cases brought by Sandy Hook families in both Connecticut and Texas, the families have yet to see a dime of the money owed to them; Friday’s hearing was one piece of a long-awaited day of reckoning for the man they said was the single biggest driver of lies about their dead children and hatred, threats, and harassment directed toward their families.

But the judge rejected a bankruptcy plan that would have also liquidated Free Speech Systems, the parent company of Infowars, the 25-year-old media empire that made Jones into the foremost face of conspiracism in America. The network will live for now, although it remains unclear how long. Jones responded to the crisis in his usual way: by shilling supplements, albeit this time with a curious twist.

As the bankruptcy proceedings have dragged on—and on and on—Jones has used his one true talent to powerful effect, urging his viewers to send money to an entity not directly owned by him, and thus not answerable to the Sandy Hook families and his other creditors.

In recent weeks, Jones has been promoting a new supplements site, Dr. Jones Naturals, on air. He says it’s owned by his father, David Jones, a dentist. Alex Jones has been urging people to spend their money there in addition to, or instead of, at Infowars' in-house store. “My dad is a sponsor, and he has a warehouse that’s not under their control, full of products ready to ship to you,” Jones said on-air last week. A representative for Free Speech Systems also testified in court that Infowars had stopped ordering supplements for its in-house store several weeks ago, expecting an imminent shutdown.

The things on offer from Dr. Jones Naturals don’t differ greatly from the things Infowars sells itself; there’s the usual bouquet of colloidal silver products, a longtime faux cure-all in the natural health world, along with something oxymoronically called Rocket Rest, a product called Top Brain, and, for the completist, a set of products called the Patriot Pack. There’s also a pack of “super silver lozenges,” where the product photo shows an expiration date of 2022.

“It’s an obvious fraud on the bankruptcy court,” Chris Mattei, an attorney for the Connecticut families, tells WIRED, referring to Jones' directing people on-air to his father’s supplements website. “He’s not supposed to divert assets.”

This isn’t the first time the families have credibly accused Jones of diverting Infowars’ assets to businesses owned by family members. When the company first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2022, lawyers for the Texas families accused Jones of “conspir[ing] to divert his assets to shell companies owned by insiders like his parents, his children, and himself.” One of those companies was an entity called PQPR Holdings, an alleged Infowars vendor that claims to supply virtually everything in its online store. Other shell companies, the lawyers alleged, were holding companies that the lawyers said were “directly or indirectly” owned by Jones, his parents, or his children, and which in some cases bore their initials. (The fight over PQPR continues in bankruptcy court.)

For both sets of families, the concern about Jones allegedly looting the company on his way out the door remains very real. Lawyers for the families made clear during the hearing that they were ultimately looking to preserve the value of the company to create an equitable distribution of Jones’ assets to his many, many creditors, and, of course, prevent him from carrying out what they allege is the latest fraudulent scheme he’s using to keep money hidden.

In the hearing, Jones’ assets were ordered dissolved. Though he will be allowed to keep his house, other personal assets, like his gun collection, could also be up for auction. But since the court rejected a bankruptcy plan for Free Speech Systems, the families can now try to collect the judgments they won in state court. The Connecticut plaintiffs had asked the judge to pave the way for an “orderly wind down” of Jones’ business affairs, as several lawyers put it, while the Texas families favored a plan to keep the company operational for now, with their lawyers arguing that they could better pursue claims for their clients that way.

Besides hawking his dad’s business, in the leadup to the hearing, Jones also milked every bit of content and attention from Infowars’ possible imminent nonexistence that he could. He sat down for laudatory interviews with both Tucker Carlson and Russell Brand that aired on Infowars and loudly ruminated on what he called “the twilight” of the network and “the countdown to the end of this place.”

Jones’ last week of broadcasts was a greatest-hits of weird characters from across the conspiracy-verse. Besides Brand and Carlson, Mikki Willis, the filmmaker behind the viral faux-documentary Plandemic, also showed up with friends to promote a new project, as did Stew Peters, an antisemitic far-right broadcaster who has recently been named the communications director of an armed national militia. Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes also hosted a segment where he ranted about Black Lives Matter.

On Friday morning, Jones posted a video on X of himself driving down a Texas highway toward the courthouse, declaring that “the Democratic party and the Deep State” were trying to take control of his assets and social media accounts.

“This is real tyranny,” he declared, adding that if Trump is reelected, “he’s going to put them all in prison.”

Jones also claimed on-air last week that an Infowars shutdown would only make him more powerful. “You make it bigger by shutting it down, dumbos,” he declared. After the verdict, in an “emergency broadcast” over the weekend, Jones called the hearing “absolutely epic” and denounced allegations that he was “stealing money” as “fake.”

The verdicts against Jones, Mattei told WIRED last week, were “a cathartic moment of validation. And Friday if the judge rules that the company needs to be liquidated will be another moment where they feel like they’ve done everything they could do to protect others. They didn’t lay down.”

But that is, of course, not what happened. “It’s just Biblical,” Jones exalted over the weekend, speaking to one of his frequently replaced junior hosts. “It’s almost like God is really just being entertained by all this and is just wanting to see the fight continue.”

While the families have clearly fought hard, Friday’s split ruling is, instead, a signal that their fight is, for now, not even close to over. And as Jones and Infowars keep covering their own unlikely survival, they’re still hawking both their in-house store and Dr. Jones’ Naturals.

“We’re selling it for $12 and change,” Jones said at one point during the “emergency broadcast,” extolling the virtues of a certain supplement. He paused for a moment. “My dad is.”

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fionamccall · 2 months ago

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Ingestre: Christopher Wren's only country church

I stopped off on my way South from Scotland and Manchester to visit Ingestre church in Staffordshire, the only known church outside London designed by Christopher Wren. And its a beauty! Hard to pick a photo so I'm just going to have to load them all.

Its also got some fabulous windows, including one by Burne-Jones/Morris:

#Christopher Wren #Ingestre Church #Staffordshire Churches #Stained Glass #Burne-Jone #william morris

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short-wooloo · 1 year ago

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Ahsoka spoilers/leaks

Ahsoka leaks compilation

Previous posts: TBOBF post-series | Kenobi (pre-trailer, post-series) | Andor (pre-series, post) | Mando S3 (pre-season, pre-finale, post)

Cast

There is another young actor playing Ahsoka (MSW). Very questioable sources (Nerdgasm) said she's played by Savannah Steyn.

Hayden Christensen (THR).

Darth Vader team (MSW, Bespin Bulletin), voiced by James Earl Jones AI. Fully suited Darth Vader will exclusively be played by Tom O’Connel. Tom O’Connel is being fitted for a new Darth Vader suit (different than the one used for Obi-Wan Kenobi last year). MSW

Ezra played by Eman Esfandi (Jordan Maison, THR). There were false reports of him being Mena Massoud.

"Riz" codename (The Illuminerdi) - a man in his 20s, described as a bit of a lone wolf, world-wise despite his young age and able to handle anything life throws his way. This character is listed as a series regular with options. [Most likely Ezra]

Sabine played by Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Deadline). There were false reports about frontrunners.

Hera (MSW), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (THR), Hera played by MEW (Bespin Bulletin)

Ivanna Sakhno (Deadline) plays Shin. According to The Illuminerdi, the character is codenamed “Astrid”, and is described as striking and ferocious. A formidable mercenary who must now decide between two paths. Astrid can either follow the path of her unit or take hold of her own aspiration in service of her own glory.

Ray Stevenson plays Baylan, previously thought as "Admiral" (THR). Loyal to Thrawn. He has a droid and an assassin by his side. Has a lot of screentime. (MSW)

Thrawn played by Lars Mikkelsen (guesses, KRT, Christopher Marc, MSW). There were contradicting reports by Jordan Maison.

Commander Rex (Christopher Marc) played by Temuera Morrison (BSL)

Captain Enoch (MSW) played by Wes Chatham (Deadline), Thrawn's bodyguard [Note: the article doesn't say he's Enoch, but it's hidden in the metadata of the article, viewable in view page source]

A new cyborg/droid character named Carnast who serves Thrawn and Baylan. Might be a Dark Trooper. (MSW)

Morgan Elsbeth (MSW)

Unknown character played by Matthew Law (DanielRPK)

Unknown character played by Shakira Barrera (DanielRPK, Jordan Maison, Charles Murphy)

David Tennant is back (reddit user PlayThenPause) as Hyuang

Mon Mothma (MSW)

Jacen Syndulla, has black hair (Lego set)

Barriss Offee (The illuminerdi). Most likely wrong and mixed with the "Barriss" codename which was actually for Sabine.

Officially revealed minor characters

Senators - Senator Mawood (Maurice Irvin), Senator Rodrigo (Jacqueline Antaramian), Chancellor Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly), Senator Xiono (Nelson Lee) and Gran Senator (Erica Duke)

Mark Rolston plays Captain Hale - Source

Hawkins, first officer in the New Republic, played by Nican Robinson (Lego set)

Beyta, a Mon Calamari lieutenant pilot in the New Republic (Lego set)

Porter, a New Republic captain pilot (Lego set)

Crew

All epsiodes were written by Dave Filoni.

Directors: Dave Filoni, Steph Green, Peter Ramsey (first reported by THR), Jennifer Getzinger, Geeta Vasant Patel (first reported by MSW) and Rick Famuyiwa.

Eric Steelberg and Quyen Tran are the Cinematographers - Source

Databank entries & officially released photos

Marrok (Inquisitor): Once an Inquisitor hunting Jedi for the Empire, the mysterious Marrok now works as a mercenary hired by Morgan Elsbeth to carry out dark deeds. Fully encased in battered battle armor, the warrior still carries a red double-bladed saber with a circular hilt.

Shin Hati: The eager apprentice of Baylan Skoll, Shin Hati is adept at lightsaber combat, a skill she uses in their work as mercenaries allied to Morgan Elsbeth, the former Magistrate of Calodan.

[Note: The Illuminerdi said Ivanna plays "Astrid" - "A formidable mercenary who must now decide between two paths. Astrid can either follow the path of her unit or take hold of her own aspiration in service of her own glory". This implies Shin will have to decide between following Baylan or betraying him].

Baylan Skoll: Baylan Skoll is lightsaber-wielding mercenary for hire overseeing his apprentice Shin Hati. But make no mistake: although there was a time when Skoll knew the acclaimed Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Baylan is no Jedi. Now allied to Morgan Elsbeth, the former Magistrate of Calodan, after the fall of the Jedi and the Empire, Skoll remains a shrewd fighter in search of power who believes that another war is inevitable.

Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth: The coldhearted former Magistrate of Calodan, Morgan Elsbeth is an ally of Grand Admiral Thrawn and an enemy of the New Republic. A formidable fighter with a mysterious past, Elsbeth once hunted Ahsoka Tano on the world of Corvus before she was bested in battle and arrested for acting as an Imperial sympathizer.

Officially released 10 photos and their source episode - link. Sabine has short hair in episode 2.

Officially released concept art

Plot

Structure (MSW)

Ahsoka will have a midseason time-jump. The Rebels epilogue takes place in the middle of the season, and the season is like 2 different parts (four episodes each).

The first part of Ahsoka has New Republic centric-content which will feature Mothma. The first half of Ahsoka is a story about a failing New Republic, Ahsoka's warnings are ignored, and about Sabine.

The second part is finding Ezra and Thrawn. (MSW)

The "New Beyond" & Skeleton Crew

The Ahsoka show is gonna introduce concepts that are gonna be explored in Skeleton Crew. (MSW)

After Rebels, Thrawn and Ezra end up in a completely new and unexplored area of the universe, of which he calls ''The New Beyond” or “New Space'' until an official name is revealed. This region views and uses the Force differently, and magic users in the Star Wars universe we have seen before (like the nightsisters), originate from this place, and we have seen outcasts from there in past SW stories. (MSW)

Both Ivanna Sakhno and Diana Lee Inosanto's (Morgan Elsbeth) characters have a connection to this place. (MSW)

Skeleton Crew kids end up in this unexplored part of space too. (MSW)

World Between Worlds, Vader battle & different Ahsokas

The World Between Worlds is in Ahsoka too. (MSW)

We will get glimpses of Tano in other times and eras via The World Between Worlds. There is a version of Ahsoka in her late teens, one for another undisclosed time (might be present day Ahsoka in terms of the narrative itself), and finally for the version we saw in the final moment of Rebels in her white robes. (MSW)

Ahsoka will fight “Darth Vader” (Vader being dark side Anakin, not necessarily in the Vader suit) in more than one way and Hayden Christensen required some training for a sequence in the series because we will see his face again on screen, wearing the same costume he wore on Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith. (MSW)

We will see many possible outcomes for Ahsoka’s life and how in essence, no matter what, they all lead to a particular moment in her story. If Ahsoka had returned to the Jedi Order, she would be the one fighting Darth Vader on Mustafar having the high ground, not Obi-Wan Kenobi, because what happened had to happen, to get Tano to where she and the Skywalkers needed to be. Hayden Christensen filmed fight scenes with Clone Wars Ahsoka in this scenario. (MSW)

Through the World Between Worlds, it seems present day Ahsoka will learn that Anakin Skywalker was destined to take the path he did and we the audience will see aspects of those outcomes and in some of them we see live action Clone Wars era Ahsoka Tano played by a new actor in a duel with her former Jedi Master, taking the place of Obi-Wan Kenobi in this reality that never was. To be clear, these are glimpses or small sequences and Dawson will play Ahsoka during the majority of the story. (MSW)

Ahsoka will also see other visions in these sequences. Had Ahsoka killed Thrawn and Ezra Bridger did not need to use the Purrgil, Ahsoka’s destiny remained the same. The lesson for Tano appears to be that she cannot change her destiny and instead she must embrace it. (MSW)

There was an Obi-Wan corpse made. (MSW)

Ezra & Sabine

Ezra and Sabine have action scenes together (MSW).

MSW heard about a sequence in Ahsoka where Ezra uses the Force in a way compared to Luke Skywalker shattering the Beehive Hut on Ahch-To when he catches Rey talking with Kylo. However, the difference is one source saying and others confirming Ezra “hadoukens” with the Force. (MSW)

Sabine Wren uses Ezra's lightsaber. There are sequences with Sabine using the lightsaber with Ezra Bridger. It is not clear if Ezra gets another laser sword at some point or just finally takes his lightsaber back from her but she’s usually using it. (MSW)

Ezra developed his own martial arts based Force powers, not unlike Teras Kasi, but his own style. This martial arts style coupled with his connection to animals makes him an interesting take on a Force user on screen as he uses his hands, feet, the Force and nature to beat up undead Stormtroopers. (MSW)

Most of the scenes: Ezra doing Force Karate while Sabine swings the lightsaber around (MSW)

This series has more lightsaber fighting than probably anything we have seen on Disney+ (MSW)

We will have sequences where Baylon, Shin, have red sabers, Morgan Elsbeth and the witches standing off against Ahsoka with her two white lightsabers, Sabine with the green saber, and Ezra doing Force karate. (MSW)

Sabine will duel Shin with her red rapier laser sword while Ashoka Tano will fight Baylon’s red claymore lightsaber. The duel happens concurrently while Ezra fights Stromtroopers with his force Karate in the Nodian Highlands.

Thrawn and his minions

Will have an army “resurrected by dark side shadow magicks.” (MSW)

Zabrak troopers in white and burgundy uniforms (Christopher Marc)

Thrawn’s command ship, Chimera, is in the series. (MSW)

A survivor of Order 66, a Jedi named Babylon, fled to this unknown region of the galaxy for safety. Sources think Babylon wanted to maintain the Jedi way but was corrupted over time, maybe from the influence of life with the Nightsisters. (MSW)

"Nightsister" Morgan Elsbeth has a plan that the New Republic cannot respond to. "Nightsister" Morgan Elsbeh is searching for Thrawn, like Sabine and Ahsoka for Ezra. (MSW)

Elsbeth was extracting resources from the planet to build a ship capable of bringing Grand Admiral Thrawn back to the core worlds (ship or TIE fighters - some project to bring back Thrawn)

Baylon and Shin are in the core worlds initially and allied with Elsbeth. They are in both parts of the series. Baylon is dedicated to the mission to extract Thrawn and bring him home.

Thrawn has a new bodyguard named Enoch - MSW says looks like a "golden Destro from G.I. Joe with Samurai influences". They also have a new cyborg/droid character named Carnast.

Ahsoka and Sabine follow the Nightsister and her allies to Thrawn

A large fight will take place in a location that could be called "The Nodian Highlands." (MSW)

Kintsugi (MSW)

*In Episode IX, Kylo Ren visits an ape named Albrekh who fixes his armor (also an old MSW scroop). The mask is repaired using “Sarrassian iron.” The red iron is used to weld the red cracks of his armor together giving it that red veiny aesthetic.

*Ahsoka will riff on this aesthetic. Most of the Stormtroopers have been destroyed, their armor obliterated, much like Kylo’s helmet. However, instead of the red veins running through the rebuilt armor, these troopers have what has been described as “golden cracks” or “yellow veins” running through their exterior.

*The visual used in Episode IX is based on Kintsugi, a Japanese art which translates to “golden joinery.” Broken valuables use gold or silver to mend and join the broken pieces of antique or art. The process sees the breaks as part of the history of the object.

*MSW doubts it's “Sarrassian” as these troopers were “reforged” by The Nightsisters. MSW says: "In The Clone Wars, the Nightsisters of Dathomir had a green magic, but these are different Nightsisters from a new place and perhaps their magic is golden instead of green to match the Kintsugi look?"

*These troopers will be on the hunt, serving Thrawn, under the command of Baylon, but led into battle by the red sabered user named Shin. They will be tracking the reunited Ezra, Sabine, and Ahsoka.

*When the trio is finally reunited, they will face off against this new take on the Imperial Stormtrooper.

*Visually it will be a new evil Force user (Shin), red saber ignited and an armor with a battalion of reforged Stormtroopers with golden veins through their armor. Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra fleeing from them before being forced to fight.

The ending (MSW)

Ahsoka is basically The Empire Strikes Back of the “Mando Era”. The good guys fail in the end.

Ahsoka and Sabine inherit a secondary mission to stop Grand Admiral Thrawn and his cronies from returning to the core of the galaxy.

Thrawn returns to the main galaxy at the climax of the 8th and final episode of the season, with his forces all laid out before him. Thrawn revels in the moment, promising a reckoning is coming and ready to take on a faltering New Republic and take back the galaxy.

Most likely, the allies who sprung him from the far reaches of space have been a part of a power play he has had cooking for years.

The general consensus from those working on the show is that Ahsoka will have multiple seasons.

The story/cliffhanger will likely pick up in the second season of the series.

Looking at the grand scheme of things and the information MSW has been given, it’s likely that this attack/war is what will really allow the first order to rise.

Misc

Temple Ruins set photos (Bespin Bulletin)

MSW said that a woman seemed to want to be let in to what in the photo. He thinks the woman might have been Ahsoka, but he's not sure.

Ahsoka with white cloak will ride a loth-wolf (horse) nicknamed DOOM (MSW)

Ahsoka episode 1 is 54 minutes and 21 seconds long (credits at 51:06). Episode 2 is 42 minutes and 15 seconds long (credits at 38:33) (Cryptic HD)

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Rosario's favorite episode is 5, Natasha's 1, Ivanna's 6.

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"Sources" that are not included: Mike Zeroh, Doomcock, Hashtag Show, InsideTheMagic, Nick Santos, Giant Freaking Robot, fake "leaks" twitter accounts, 4chan, new accounts in wild rumors thread, etc.

#wooloo-writes #wooloo writes #star wars #sw #ahsoka #ahsoka series #ahsoka show #ahsoka spoilers #star wars ahsoka #ahsoka leaks #sw spoilers #star wars spoilers #ahsoka tano #sabine wren #ezra bridger #grand admiral thrawn #baylan skoll

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alchemisoul · 5 months ago

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Christopher Hitchens and his wife Carol Blue at a Washington Correspondents Dinner in 1995 (Photo by Dafydd Jones)

"I miss his perfect voice. I heard it day and night, night and day. I miss the first happy trills when he woke; the low octaves of “his morning voice” as he read me snippets from the newspaper that outraged or amused him; the delighted and irritated (mostly irritated) registers as I interrupted him while he read; the jazz-tone riffs of him “talking down the line” to a radio station from the kitchen phone as he cooked lunch; his chirping, high-note greeting when our daughter came home from school; and his last soothing, pianissimo chatterings on retiring late at night.

I miss, as his readers must, his writer’s voice, his voice on the page. I miss the unpublished Hitch: the countless notes he left for me in the entryway, on my pillow, the emails he would send while we sat in different rooms in our apartment or in our place in California and the emails he sent when he was on the road. And I miss his handwritten communiqués: his innumerable letters and postcards (we date back to the time of the epistle) and his faxes, the thrill of receiving Christopher’s instant dispatches as he checked-in from a dicey spot on some other continent.

The first time Christopher went public and wrote about his illness for Vanity Fair, he was ambivalent about it. He was intent on protecting our family’s privacy. He was living the topic and he didn’t want it to become all-encompassing, he didn’t want to be defined by it. He wanted to think and write in a sphere apart from sickness. He had made a pact with his editor and chum, Graydon Carter, that he would write about anything except sports, and he kept that promise. He had often put himself in the frame, but now he was the ultimate subject of the story.

His last, unfinished, fragmentary jottings may seem to trail off, but in fact they were written on his computer in bursts of energy and enthusiasm as he sat in the hospital using his food tray for a desk.

When he was admitted to the hospital for the last time, we thought it would be for a brief stay. He thought – we all thought – he’d have the chance to write the longer book that was forming in his mind. His intellectual curiosity was sparked by genomics and the cutting-edge proton radiation treatments he underwent, and he was encouraged by the prospect that his case could contribute to future medical breakthroughs. He told an editor friend waiting for an article, “Sorry for the delay, I’ll be back home soon.” He told me he couldn’t wait to catch up on all the movies he had missed and to see the King Tut exhibition in Houston, our temporary residence.

The end was unexpected.

At home in Washington, I pull books off the shelves, out of the book towers on the floor, off the stacks of volumes on tables. Inside the back covers are notes written in his hand that he took for reviews and for himself. Piles of his papers and notes lie on surfaces all around the apartment, some of which were taken from his suitcase that I brought back from Houston. At any time I can peruse our library or his notes and rediscover and recover him.

When I do, I hear him, and he has the last word. Time after time, Christopher has the last word."

- From an edited version of Carol Blue’s afterword to Mortality by her husband Christopher Hitchens

#christopher hitchens #heretic #heretics #writing #author #writer #journalist #essay writing #essayist #bard #orator #poet #quote #philosophy #photography #film #photographer #portrait

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denimbex1986 · 1 year ago

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'To celebrate David Tennant’s triumphant return to Doctor Who for the 60th anniversary, we’ve scoured the Radio Times Archive to present some fabulous images from the numerous RT photoshoots Tennant took part in between 2005 and 2009, when he first played the Time Lord.

Many have never been published before, and some were never shown in this form with plain studio backdrops that were digitally changed for RT covers and features across those years.

Christmas 2005

By Christmas 2005, showrunner Russell T Davies was flush with success after his storming first season starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. But now he was introducing David Tennant as the 10th incarnation of the Time Lord.

Writing in the Christmas double issue of Radio Times, Davies explained, "This is the advent of a brand new Doctor. With David Tennant now at the helm of the Tardis, bringing a wholly different dynamic to the show, we decided to make the story even more epic."

For much of the storyline of The Christmas Invasion, the new Doctor was running around in pyjamas – as reflected in his first Radio Times photoshoot. But Tennant was already looking ahead, as he told RT: "Filming [for the new season] lasts 38 weeks. It’s relentless, certainly, but it’s not like a real job. Daily, it’s incredibly exciting because it’s so mind-expanding and bonkers!"

The Radio Times Covers Party

In February 2006, Russell T Davies, David Tennant and Billie Piper were honoured guests at the Radio Times Covers Party, celebrating the magazine’s cover stars of the previous year. Acting giant Helen Mirren, who has never appeared in Doctor Who, joined in the fun on the night.

Piper said of co-star Tennant, "He is just the most straight-down-the-line bloke you could wish to meet. He’s your best friend, your brother and your boyfriend kind of rolled into one."

Season 2 - 2006

For the launch of season two, David Tennant’s first full run, Radio Times set up a special photoshoot that would form a gatefold cover of friends and foes.

The photographer, Matt Holyoak, appears himself in several of these rare behind-the-scenes images taken by Ben Gold.

Asked how long he thought he might play the Doctor, Tennant told RT, "I just don’t know and, of course, it’s all anybody ever asks me.

"We’ve just about finished this series and I’m fairly certain I’ll do the next one. Although I’ve yet to record the closing seconds of episode 13 – literally anything could happen. Who knows who’s coming back?!"

Christmas 2006

Come Christmas 2006, the Tenth Doctor found himself embroiled with Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) in The Runaway Bride. "There’s no let-up for him," Tennant told RT. "He’s suddenly flung into a new, bizarre set of circumstances with this woman who’s appeared in his front room, as it were. Then he’s off on this madcap romp with Donna."

Sadly, we have no RT pictures of Donna from that year, but Tate told us in 2006, "We were just delighted that no one was expecting me to turn up in the TARDIS. They said it’s the first time a secret hasn’t leaked out on Doctor Who." Of her character, she revealed, "She’s absolutely furious! She has no time for this madman. And she’s quite feisty, is Donna. That’s her keyword: feisty."

Season 3 - 2007

For his second season, David Tennant teamed up with Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones. He told RT, "It’s one of the things that’s given this show the longevity it has; that it’s essentially the same format, but putting a new relationship at the heart of it spices things up a little bit. Also, obviously, Freema’s a very different actress, so that gives it a different vibe, too."

By the end of the season, the duo would become a trio with the return of John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness for the final three episodes, Utopia, The Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords.

These two sets of RT pictures were all taken on the same day in February 2007, allowing for a change of clothing for Tennant and Agyeman.

Children in Need - 2007

For the BBC’s fundraiser Children in Need in 2007, David Tennant was unexpectedly united with Fifth Doctor Peter Davison.

This short interlude set inside the TARDIS was written by Steven Moffat, who told RT: "I bumped into David at a concert and we talked about a way of getting Peter Davison back, because we’re both big fans of Peter’s Doctor. They hadn’t had different Doctors meeting up on the new show. So if we could justify him being a bit older and pop him back in, that would be a laugh."

Moffat continued, "They loved each other! And they worked really well together because they’ve both got a lot of pace and energy as actors. There's a tremendous charm to these two men: both Doctors and both Doctor Who fans."

Tennant would later marry Davison’s daughter Georgia Moffett, bringing them even closer together.

Christmas 2007

For the 2007 Christmas special, Voyage of the Damned, David Tennant joined forces with pop icon Kylie Minogue, who was persuaded to return to acting to play Astrid Peth, a doomed waitress aboard a space liner called Titanic.

Tennant told RT, "The Doctor and Astrid very quickly become inseparable." He described co-starring with Minogue as "a very nice meeting of the planets". But would the Time Lord and Astrid kiss? "Well, if you had Kylie in the Christmas special, would you have her kiss the Doctor?"

As the special was set on space version of Titanic, the creative forces of Radio Times and Doctor Who built a set-up in homage to the James Cameron cinema blockbuster with Tennant and Minogue on the prow of the ship. For the RT cover and features, a starry background was added. These are the raw shots.

Season 4 - 2008

For David Tennant’s final season, Catherine Tate was back full-time as Donna Noble.

"Everyone assumed Donna was a one-off – myself included," she told RT. "But now she has a whole season to have a story arc. So none of the feistiness has been lost, but you also get to tap into a different side of her – a much more vulnerable side. They’ve really rounded Donna out from being a shouting fish wife to someone who’s quite vulnerable and emotional."

Tennant added, "They’re good at limiting each other’s less appealing excesses. There’s an equality. It’s not quite teacher and pupil, which in a sense the Doctor and Martha and the Doctor and Rose were."

Speaking of whom… Freema Agyeman and Billie Piper were returning as Martha and Rose later in this season – and attending the same Radio Times photoshoot.

Christmas 2008

David Tennant had recently announced his departure from Doctor Who, and this festive special was teasingly entitled The Next Doctor.

Russell T Davies told RT, "Hopefully, that creates a bit more intrigue and hints at interesting developments in the show’s future. Let’s just say that regeneration is a complicated process and never as simple as it seems."

Although the Doctor’s identity and future were in question, Tennant posed for a definitive set of photographs in a Radio Times shoot.

Planet of the Dead - 2009

David Tennant’s initial run in Doctor Who ended with a series of specials. In Planet of the Dead, for Easter 2009, he was teamed with former EastEnders and Bionic Woman star Michelle Ryan as Lady Christina.

"She’s very easy-going," Tennant told RT. "Considering she’s been to Hollywood and back, she’s untouched by pretension or actors' lunacy, which others in her position might be. She’s a delight to have around and seems to be having fun."

Tennant continued, "This Easter episode is, I suppose, the last hurrah for my Doctor. The end is nigh. You can sense the Grim Reaper knocking on the door. But how many times?"

The Sarah Jane Adventures - 2009

By May 2009, David Tennant had filmed The End of Time, his last two episodes of Doctor Who as the incumbent Doctor. But there was one further assignment. A guest appearance in The Sarah Jane Adventures for The Wedding of Sarah Jane. Which makes this his final photoshoot for Radio Times during his four-year tenure, alongside his childhood heroine Elisabeth Sladen.

Tennant told RT in 2009, "If The Sarah Jane Adventures had existed when I was eight, and [Fourth Doctor] Tom Baker had come in for an episode, I would have thought that was the coolest thing on Earth! It’s the sort of proper, sophisticated, exciting drama with which we should be inspiring young minds."'

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