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finefeatheredfriend · 6 years ago

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The Bodysnatchers!

This time on Eileen reads the EDAs we’ve got a thrilling and gorey adventure with Eight and Sam and some Zygons, brought to me by my laptop’s text to speech function cause I’m too distracted to focus on actual reading lol

I liked this book! It was a bit slow at first and it took me longer to really love the book than it did with Vampire Science, but the Victorian setting and some really brilliant lines won me over in the end haha! And we had Litefoot in this! And the Zygons (and some nice ones as well, what??), which for some reason I didn’t recognise on the cover, but I still got spoiled by myself because of my brilliant idea to use text to speech.

I was rooting for something to happen between Sam and Emmeline, but alas. There are some parts that I will interpret that way though, even though they were definitely not intended that way lol.

Still no naked Eight, so that’s a big minus.

I’m going to write down my reactions to all the EDAs in this series of reviews, and here are some of the highlights and my favourite quotes:

‘splendid, we’re where we’re supposed to be. I'm getting the hang of this.’ Doctor stop ahahsgahga

‘Leela is married, with children I believe’ I’m sorry what

what is it with me and shipping Sam with any woman she comes across hahah

(please let something happen between emmeline and sam)

'That didn't do much for your image, did it?' said a voice behind her, as though stealing her thoughts. Sam pushed herself up on to her elbows and looked round. The Doctor was just a few feet below her, leaning back against the wall with his hands behind his head, looking so relaxed she wanted to hit him. 'I missed my footing,' she said huffily. 'Several times,' said the Doctor, nodding.” Oh my god Doctor I love you ahahahahah

“Sam opened her mouth to protest, but the Doctor effectively plugged it with a jelly baby which he produced out of nowhere” that is such a Doctor thing to do ashafsgsfs

it’s so weird that the normal zygons are so soft (they have voices like songbirds????)

“bigger and nastier people than you have tried to suck my brains out before with no success whatsoever - well, not much anyway.” ... am I. am I really going to say it. am I really. ok no I won’t but seriously eileen get your mind out of the gutter ffs

I love how the doctor went ‘eeny meeny miny mo. hm. which one of these do i like the most? eeny!’ I love him

“That was a very uncool piece of headgear,' she said weakly. 'Not my style at all.' 'Oh, I don't know. I've got some rather fetching photographs. I thought we could blow them up and have them printed as T-shirts.” doCTOR (this is the kind of brother/sister dynamic that I love about these two)

Sam pretending not to know it’s a Zygon impersonating her just to say ‘who’s that gorgeous person?’ aaaah i love her

‘Is my nose really that big?’ ‘Only in certain lights’ DOCTOR NO

I was promised lots of naked eight in the EDAs and so far they have NOT delivered

AAAAAAAH SAM NOTICED EMMELINE’S BREASTS

‘Confusing emotions’ ‘jealousy’ aaaaah Sam I love you please be gay

“'That's assuming that the elastic band hasn't snapped of course.' 'Elastic band!' He grinned. 'I'm joking. It was one of those really thick ones. There's no way it would break.” I’m screaming I can’t stop laughing

‘My motto is never to get too attached to thing’ ‘does that include people’ oooooh (in clueless voice) that was way harsh Sam

‘nimble as a ballerina’ oh my god I love Eight and thank you for this hilarious image in my head omg

As usual (I’ve only done one of these before but still lol) this section is way longer than I expected haha!

And also as usual, you’ll find the unabridged version of my liveblog under the cut! (It’s technically just for me to be able to go back to so I can see how I reacted to reading this for the first time, but read it if you want to!)

I bolded my favourite quotes and reactions again! Enjoy ahaha

this one’s a bit slower

I mean in the way that I don’t absolutely love it from the first page on like I did with Vampire Science

but I love the Victorian era vibe it’s giving off

I can’t wait for Eight and Sam to show up though

oh that’s so the doctor - accidentally setting a book on fire ahahah

oh no it was an original printing of Sherlock Holmes aaaaa

oh I love it when companions get to dress up for trips

name dropping the BBC ahaha

AAAAH she’s in Nyssa’s room!!! I was wondering whose room it was when they mentioned that in Vampire Science! and obviously if it was Nyssa’s room then it’s also Tegan’s old room since they shared

I love Eight and Sam so much

“’How do you want to look?' asked the Doctor. 'I dunno. Cool. Confident.' 'You definitely look cool,' said the Doctor. 'In fact, you'll be one of the coolest people around.The 1890s equivalent of a... a Spice Girl.' 'I think I'd better take that as a compliment,’ said Sam carefully. 'Otherwise I might end up giving you a slap.’” omg

‘splendid, we’re where we’re supposed to be. I'm getting the hang of this.’ Doctor stop ahahsgahga

“'No, this is Earth all right. Smell that air.' Sam did so, almost choking on the sulphurous fog. 'Only London smells like this,' said the Doctor cheerfully. 'It has a certain... ethos. A certain bouquet.’” have I mentioned how much I love Eight

when Sam falls onto the Doctor and he hits his head and he goes 'what pretty fireworks, are they yours?” oh my god doctor I love you

Aaaaaah jago and litefoot!!!!!!

oh well or just litefoot but still!!!

‘Leela is married, with children I believe’ I’m sorry what

touch telepaths. time lords are touch telepaths. how did he get that information about the constable’s wife

first a house keeper called mrs hudson and now a revolting man called mr stoker looking hungrily at emmeline i see what you’re doing here

“Sam did as instructed (put her foot in the noose of the rope), and felt herself being hauled upwards at an alarming speed. It was as if there was not just the Doctor, but a ten-man tug-of-war team heaving on the other end.” wow the Doctor is STRONG

oh no it’s emmeline’s mum sitting in that armchair but she’s gonna be dead isn’t she

but the way emmeline describes the figure sitting there it sounds more like a man somehow

oh ok I was right it’s her dead mum

please don’t die please don’t die please don’t die I like you emmeline pleeeaase don’t die

why is Sam so jealous of emmeline :(

ok good, Sam likes her now and feels bad about thinking awful things about her that makes me happy

“’Great,' said Sam sardonically. 'I've always wanted to wallow knee-deep through -' 'Shh,' said the Doctor, holding a finger to his lips.” Oh my god anahahahahha (this reminds me of all the times they did this exact same thing with Lucie lol)

what is it with me and shipping Sam with any woman she comes across hahah

(please let something happen between emmeline and sam)

“She would rather die of curiosity than betray her ignorance and inexperience in front of Emmeline and the professor.” oh I love Sam

“As the more petty concerns of life began to filter back into her consciousness, she found herself hoping that Litefoot and Emmeline had seen little of her graceless descent. 'That didn't do much for your image, did it?' said a voice behind her, as though stealing her thoughts. Sam pushed herself up on to her elbows and looked round. The Doctor was just a few feet below her, leaning back against the wall with his hands behind his head, looking so relaxed she wanted to hit him. 'I missed my footing,' she said huffily. 'Several times,' said the Doctor, nodding.” Oh my god Doctor I love you ahahahahah

“Sam opened her mouth to protest, but the Doctor effectively plugged it with a jelly baby which he produced out of nowhere” that is such a Doctor thing to do ashafsgsfs

“Even though she bent her knees to cushion her body from the impact of landing, the unexpectedly short fall jarred her legs and caused her to lose her balance. However she managed to convert her momentum into a forward roll and sprang immediately to her feet in what she hoped looked a professional and athletic manner.” god I love how Sam always wants to look like she knows what she’s doing

BRAVE HEART TEGAN oh my heart

“The Doctor: ‘This has the effect of drawing out their fierce but latent aggressiveness and, supposedly, making them more single-minded in battle.' 'Stupid, you mean,' said Sam,'like most men.” Sam I love you. and this reminds me of that scene in the 50th where Liz 1 says something similar

can you believe zygons look like that because they’re sterilised and normally look ‘’’’dainty’’’’ and white and have smooth skin instead of suckers???

also I love how the doctor just spends soooo much time explaining every single little detail about zygons while they’re sitting not even that far away from three actual zygons they’re currently hiding from

oh no Emmeline is a zygon

I’d be more shocked if I hadn’t accidentally seen this while setting up the text to speech

“A trap,' said the Doctor with almost child-like wonder” I love him. How many times can I say that before it gets boring to see this in my reactions (i don’t care cause I’m going to say it as often as i like so that’s gonna be a LOT)

it’s so weird that the normal zygons are so soft (they have voices like songbirds????)

“You have no choice, human. Either you each enter a cubicle or you die.' 'Hang on, that means we do have a choice,' said Sam with a cheeky bravado that she didn't really feel.” me

“As Litefoot blundered along, he found himself thinking about the nature of the astonishing beings whose clutches he and his friends had fallen into. (...) Were they physically attracted to one another despite being genderless?” interesting your mind took you in that direction - thinking about alien sexuality..? okay

the Doctor is wearing a wet suit I repeat the doctor is wearing a wet suit someone help me

and he’s wearing goggles and flippers I can’t (it’s actually a face mask and not goggles but I don’t care I’m just going to imagine him wearing goggles)

ugh and when it said that the doctor was stripping down... I was expecting more of this scene. although I must admit that the image of the Doctor standing there in just his long johns before he puts on the wet suit was... a nice thought. (and he ‘expertly folded each item of clothing’ as if he had all the time in the world agxjagsgsg)

what the fuuuuuuck

that guy who witnessed his friend being killed by a zygon is ‘hacking away’ at a young man’s mouth because he made a joke at his expense omg

eeew now he’s got the youth’s tongue in his hand

I love how the doctor went ‘eeny meeny miny mo. hm. which one of these do i like the most? eeny!’ I love him

gaaah an Ace mention!!

double punch!! (how)

“What time is it?' she asked, her voice faint, rusty. 'Time to go,' replied the Doctor.” an icon

“Suddenly Tuval registered the Doctor's attire, and the Zygon's borrowed features creased in puzzlement. 'You have changed, Doctor.' The Doctor looked momentarily alarmed. 'Not again, surely?’” anxhkavdbz

Sam pretending not to know it’s a Zygon impersonating her just to say ‘who’s that gorgeous person?’ aaaah i love her

‘Is my nose really that big?’ ‘Only in certain lights’ DOCTOR NO

‘Sam, who was blushing wildly but trying to appear cool’ I love you Sam

oh and also - the doctor’s only wearing his long johns and that’s already a nice image but

I was promised lots of naked eight in the EDAs and so far they have NOT delivered

“Magnificent,' the Doctor murmured, examining the readings once the straining of the TARDIS's ancient engines had faded. 'When it comes to the crunch, the old girl never lets me down.' He flicked a couple of switches.” the Doctor really does love the Tardis noise ahsgsggahdgs

Oh no

Oh no Doctor

it’s ok you didn’t mean to kill them all

but oh god

I am so sorry

“The Doctor left Emmeline and Nathaniel Seers to the end. He awoke Emmeline first, greeting her with the charming smile and silken voice that Sam had observed him employ often in the past to get them out of awkward situations. She knew, not without a slight sense of superiority, that this kind of treatment would have caused most of her mates at Coal Hill to go weak at the knees.” I’m screaming but also same

“The simple choice is this: work together under my guidance or PERISH” doctor, a little bit less of the dramatic (i’m kidding pls keep doing this)

aw I thought emmeline was going to step forward to go first but then her father did

AH HE SAID NO AND NOW IT WAS EMMELINE AFTER ALL I LOVE HER

Jack choked on shit (that’s a twisted reference)

AW SAM let it out it’s okay to cry and show feelings sometimes!!!!!!!

I love her

AAAAAAAH SAM NOTICED EMMELINE’S BREAST

‘Confusing emotions’ ‘jealousy’ aaaaah Sam I love you please be gay

“You know, I've been far more conscientious since I regenerated. I even keep my room tidy sometimes.' 'Congratulations,' said Sam drily.” AhahahHhha

HE WAS SINGING A VENUSIAN LULLABY

‘My motto is never to get too attached to thing’ ‘does that include people’ oooooh (in clueless voice) that was way harsh Sam

‘nimble as a ballerina’ oh my god I love Eight and thank you for this hilarious image in my head omg

‘That other doctor, will you meet him on your travels?’ and the Doctor shudders and says ‘I sincerely hope not, once was enough’ ahsgdga tell that to then curator from the 50th lol

#the bodysnatchers #edas #eileen reads the edas #edas reviews #not for kitty #not for abbey #not for franzi

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captainwhogotthecanary · 6 years ago

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ClexaCon: Day 2

Same deal as day 1: this is probably too long and detailed, and if you want the facts, you can probably get them from the official videos. This is more about my reactions and vibes and the like.

I dressed as Wonder Woman this day. It’s my only store bought costume, but I look great in it, and I finished off the look with tall (not not heeled!) boots and rainbow socks and brighter makeup than I usually wear. I looked good enough that the barista when I grabbed coffee asked for my employee discount; she assumed I was a performer at the hotel. I got great comments all day, a little overwhelmingly so, but it felt pretty awesome until I left the convention. CW for brief mention of assholes at the end of this post.

Nyssara

I met some cool people in line waiting for the “doors” to open for the standard attendees. We ended up sitting together while my Friday friends sat behind, since we had trouble finding six seats together, not too surprisingly.

I needed the intro video because as I’ve mentioned, I like my faves to be happy, and while I never ever doubted Sara loves Nyssa and vice versa, they didn’t exactly get happy times together on screen, and I wasn’t yet into Arrowverse fic when they were on screen. It was a good video. They’re both great actresses and can seriously crank up the intensity when the scene requires it. Any Nyssara fic recs are appreciated, btw.

The panel was good. It was fun, different kind of energy, something like nostalgic and speculative and silly. And Jes came through! Again, there are videos and gifs, so go do yourself a favor and look if you haven’t.

Of note to people following my blog, when asked her favorite one night stand of Sara’s, Caity’s first thought was of Snart, though she said she couldn’t count him since they hadn’t slept together. I think that’s just so awesome that the characters had that connection, and the actors according to what I’ve read, that even after years have passed, there’s still some sort of nostalgia or whatever because they were genuinely close. The actors and characters in different ways, but still.

More is More: Polyamory in Media

I’ve got some ot3s (ahem, Rogue Canary), but as far as real life, I don’t know much about polyamory. It’s something I’ve long thought works with the RIGHT people and the RIGHT communication, which makes it rare and challenging, and it has to be so hard for some people, like some of the ones in the panel who explained that being poly is, for them, the same as their sexuality; it’s a need, a wiring, not a choice or a lifestyle. It’s rare (or rarely talked about/seen) and so there’s not a big demand for more of it in media, but then the lack of representation means fewer people know it can be a healthy option, so it becomes a cycle, like so many things.

Most of the panel ended up the panelists sharing what it means and what it means to them to be poly or practice a poly lifestyle. There’s a big no-no/disparaging negative in the community regarding “unicorn hunters,” which I’d like to have someone properly explain to me but google says it’s usually couples looking for a third person who fits their needs without considering the needs of that third. It’s objectifying and not setting up for a healthy relationship and I get why that angle is negative, but I’m not sure why multiple people in that panel and then in a later panel seemed to use it to apply to anyone looking for the trio presentation rather than the open relationship presentation. Not complaint so much as genuine confusion there. So anyway, there wasn’t much discussion of the trio+ aspect I was most interested in, because I’m not planning to write or practice a relationship where the people in it date other people but I adore stable (usually potential) trios in media.

I still enjoyed it very much and learned a lot in the “I didn’t know I didn’t know this” category. My favorite part (though it also made me sad) was how excited and relieved the panel was about being in a room where they could discuss all this without judgement.

Bi+ Representation in Media

I adored all the panelists here. I didn’t learn much; the basic gist was “there’s not enough representation.” Still, it was cool listening to and watching a bunch of bi+ folks talk about their faves and what they’d like to see. I bought a book by one of the panelists and will do a rec post later if it’s any good, ya and lgbt and superheroes. I’m excited.

Romance Between the (Book) Covers

Sigh.

Okay, so…

I don’t think of myself as an amazing or particularly experienced professional writer, but I do feel like I could contribute more than a lot of the writing panelists, and I found that very frustrating. It wasn’t that they were all lacking experience or talent, to be clear, but it was that for most of them, their experiences or input were almost entirely unhelpful for new or aspiring novelists.

For example, there was a writer whose story was, “I’d never written anything before in my life but I decided to write a book and they published it so that was cool.” Another said she’s unique because she writes in first person, which she does because “it’s a lot easier to tell instead of show. And I know they say you’re not supposed to do that, but I think it works.”

I get that the expectations are different in the smaller market that is LGBTQ+ romance, but…

I don’t know. I feel like standards are important. That’s why I all but stopped writing while I’m struggling with words and with tying things together; I don’t care whether it’s original fiction or fanfiction, free or paid, I have standards for my work.

I also had my feathers ruffled slightly when the moderator asked the panelists, “Did you write heterosexual relationships to start out in order to get a foot in the door or earn money?” with a clear implication that there was no reason to write a m/f relationship other than for mainstream success. The one bisexual panelist low-key called her out but I don’t think she noticed, with an, “I’m bisexual so writing a male/female relationship is a perfectly valid choice for me.”

For one, yeah, there was a bisexual panelist and there was a huge bi population amongst the attendees, so that wording could have been more sensitive, and for two, I know plenty straight people who like to write m/m or f/f romance, so why wouldn’t that be a valid choice in reverse, for something other than a cash grab?

Personally, I mostly write m/f relationships because I started writing while still closeted, because that’s where my actual experience is, and because my go-to is still to write canon or canon-adjacent pairings and tv still likes to fuck up most of the few canon lgbt ones. That doesn’t make me less valid as a writer who is lgbt.

Mazikeen: The Devil in the Details

This was enjoyable. The actress says Maze is her spirit animal, which is awesome. I was pretty frazzled and distracted (people were saving me seats even though I SAID I’d be late and it was equally appreciated and discomfiting) and also trying to liveblog the panel to a friend, so I didn’t get as much emotional impact from this as the rest. It sounds like we probably get to see Maze with a real relationship this next season, so that’s exciting. It seems like a decent next step for her after the growth over the last seasons. I’m also suuuuper excited she and Trixie will be okay; they have one of my favorite relationship of the whole show.

Amber Benson: Tara Maclay and the Legacy of Buffy

Teeeeearrrrsss. Do me a favor; if you watch the video for this one, watch the behind the scenes one first. The intro video they played left very few dry eyes, and then Amber came out all teary and emotional.

The singalong was a lot of fun, despite “Under Your Spell” being notes most humans can’t hit.

There was one answer she handled with some unfortunate wording, but it was so clear she meant well and she’s such an icon, so she didn’t get boo’d like I was almost afraid of. There wasn’t much applause, but then we moved on. She was the only panel I went to that earned a standing ovation. I cried a lotttttttt.

And then I left the con to go change before having dinner with Friday friend. And people were gross and staring in creepy ways and there were homophobic comments made “accidentally” too loud and just bleh. It was a small thing in an otherwise fantastic weekend, but it made me feel like I needed to take a shower.

#clexacon diaries

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circular-time · 7 years ago

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Spare Parts Liveblog 7 -Disc 3

EEEK. I’m impressed just how suspenseful and exciting Spare Parts is, even when we know it hinges on a fait accompli (creation of the Cybermen). Then again, Genesis of the Daleks was pretty good too.

Track 3.1 - “Popping the Seals”

The Doctor’s in an unusual, impossible situation. Normally he’s trying to stop the Cybermen. This time?

IF HE DOES NOTHING, the Cybermen will be destroyed along with Mondas. Bonus: he and Nyssa may be killed before they can escape, and they’ll abandon a lot of innocent people to die, too. IF HE TRIES TO HELP, he’ll be saving the Cybermen. On the other hand he and Nyssa may die in that case, too. And either way the people of Mondas are screwed.

Ouch. Good luck with that, Doc.

Inside the Committee Palace, Sisterman Constant and Sisterman Allan are trying to herd some extremely terrifying cats: half-processed Cybermen demanding tasks.

Infiltrating the palace, the Doctor digs out some of Mondas’ history from Dodd, who doesn’t know which way to jump. This society is...sort of Communist? The leaders were executed, the People’s Committee rules.

The Doctor grabs gold leaf from an old statue. Early classic Who had Cybermen allergic to gold like werewolves to silver, but i think that may have been the Telos models. At any rate, nice nod to Deadric, whose gold star was handy for Five’s Cyberman-disposal on a previous occasion.

Poor Cyber-Yvonne bumps into them so Dodd can see how horrible they are— the Doctor is trying so hard to get this “I don’t care” cynical opportunist to care, but he’s just scared. Yvonne can’t remember who she is, only that she wanted to show off her uniform to her father (but he’s already seen photos and thinks they’re horrible). The pathos of having a Cyberman whose identity we know will be used again later by New Who.

[ETA: Apparently the Yvonne scene was adapted by new Who in The Age of Steel / Rise of the Cybermen, on which Marc Platt got a writing credit. Much like Dalek, that was new Who cribbing/adapting a Big Finish story.]

Track 3.2 - “Power Vacuum”

It’s snowing inside the city cavern. Perfectly festive for the Christmans holiday (Big Finish and its scary Christmas stories!) except that’s a sign the planet’s icy exterior has broken into the biosphere. Power’s out, heat’s off.

So Nyssa and the two surviving Hartleys are standing on the doorstep of a poor apartment complex in near-darkness, watching the city die as cold death rains down... utterly helpless and terrifying.

Toto, I don’t think we’re on Traken anymore.

_____

Meanwhile Allan and Constant are now prisoners of paranoid, half-processed cyber-recruits. Allan manages to talk them into letting her go work on the generators. Bidding farewell to Constant who gives her a scarf and blesses her; that’s what passes for a touching farewell in this hellhole.

The Doctor sees Allan being herded by a mistrustful Cyberman and leaps to her rescue (of course) rubbing gold on its grill. A brief moment of gallows humor:

“Well, go on! Choke and fall over.” “Is this a thre-eat?”

Whoops. Mind your head on that lampshade.

Allan proves she does actually care about life; she deactivates the cyber-recruit. “I had to abort him. I don’t take this decision lightly.” “No doctor does.” Speaking from experience: he doesn’t kill unless he absolutely must either. But the difference between them is that Allan still thinks of the Cybermen as people, and to some extent, her children.

“I’m closing his eyes. He was a human being.” “It’s a Cyberman.”

And yet the last one the Doctor saw had vestiges of humanity— but that’s only because Yvonne was half-processed.

Nyssa doesn’t have a key and gets locked out of the TARDIS. Eeek. (Why did she go out without a key? Argh, the Doctor’s lack of common sense is rubbing off!)

She wants to go to the Committee Palace to find the Doctor— brave lamb to the slaughter— but she and Frank see Cybermen on patrol and decide to take cover at home.

Track 3.3 - “Dead Planet Walking”

Eeek. Another really disturbing scene. As horrible as Sisterman Constant is, telling a Cyber-recruit “You were chosen for a purpose” as if she is somehow superior and had the right to condemn the person it used to be— it still freaks me out when it breaks her shoulder.

Likes Robespierre, she’s about to find out how sharp that guillotine blade is.

She treats the Cybermen as second-class citizens, yet Constant still deludes herself that the recruits are people and is outraged when Zheng shows up and shoots the one hurting her.

(actual first Doctor cliffhanger, first time Cybermen ever seen I think)

Zheng establishes himself as the Boss at once. Nick’s being brilliant again: same singsong voice, but deeper and more menacing. “Resistance will not be tolerated.” He sends Constant off to be processed, without pity. Buh-bye Constant, religious hypocrite who still somehow manages to be a (slightly) symapatheic character.

Back to Allan and the Doctor arguing Mondas’ fate in the chamber with the Committee, the 20 top minds of Mondas (literally; they’re kind of brains in jars).

Peter has some great speeches, and he just goes for it. Passionate, outraged, horrified, blunt, trying to get Allan to see how ghastly the Committee is, that it and the Cybermen have both lost every human spark and shouldn’t be in charge of saving people they don’t care about.

Zheng barges in, interrupting him before he really gets going. The Doctor starts fibbing as only he can fib...

“How do you do, I’m the... Doctorman’s assistant. (Every Doctor should have one.)”

YES. YES YOU SHOULD. GO FIND HER. (Every now and then these audios’ tendency to split up Doctor and companions drives me mad. They work together more often on TV.)

And now Platt provides a really good reason for the creation of the Cybermen: Mondas is moving into a radiation-heavy and highly dangerous region of space; they’re installing engines to move it away, but surface construction requires Cyber-processed workers. Plus, the radiation from the nebula and ice from the surface is reaching into the depths of the planet, so Cyber-processing may be the only way to keep anyone alive.

Amazing how this whole story maintains the atmosphere of crazed desperation, the frenzy of rats in a trap turning on one another, or a wolf gnawing its own leg off trying to live.

Track 3.4 - “Switch Hitter” (Platt must be responsible for these gallows humor puns)

Back to a spot of home repair and ethical debate. Allan says the Cybermen are their saviours. Zheng: “We are the future.” Doctor: “EXACTLY!!!! *throws switch* Four down, six nails in the coffin to go.”

He knows damn well what he’s doing now: putting the future back on course, condemning the citizens to be cyber-converted (their fate is inescapable now), sending Mondas back towards Earth, where it will eventually meet up with the First Doctor.

He’s complicit in the Cybermen’s creation. At least in THIS version of canon.

And now back to the human side of things: the ordinary people, the stroke of Big Finish genius that digs into human characters more in order to make the monsters more personally, intimately horrible.

Yvonne breaks into her old home, and we get the pathetic image of a Cyberman weeping. Oh this scene is so bleeping heartbreaking. (and awful; her dad tries to take off the mask not realizing that’s her face, and she screams.)

Mr. Hartley is so sweet to Yvonne, treating her like she hasn’t changed, even though he’s horrified. He takes her over to the [Christmas] tree and gives us a little Mondasian symbolism: “the forests that once grew on the surface of the world... the stars... the worlds we pass...the star on top, the old Sun we left behind...”

To her surprise, Nyssa learns that some Cybermen do have feelings (or do they? This one’s broken.)

And Frank learns that what he wanted to be so badly -- a crewman -- is the ultimate doom of his sister. Talk about growing up in a hurry.

Ooops! Time for Agony Acting Pete. He’s so good at screaming. (Zheng uses the Doctor to get the repairs done and then electrocutes him, and Allan thinks he’s dead.)

Track 3.5 - "Seeing the Tree for the Forests”

So let’s see. Gearing up for a classic Who Everything’s Gone To Hell Episode 3 Cliffhanger.

Doctor is dead. (Not)

The Hartleys have had their world shattered, though Mr. Hartley’s in denial “We’re all back together now, like a proper family.” While a cyberman cries on his shoulder. Ugh. Poor Yvonne.

Constant gets to meet the whizzy end of a dentist drill, just so we can squirm some more at the visceral image.

Doctor not dead; there’s still a few minutes yet before the cliffhanger. First thought as he wakes up is “Nyssa, must find Nyssa.” Someone should’ve hit him on the head sooner.

(Then again, until now he had a Time Lord duty, horrible as it was: secure history. Done. Now he wants to get her out of there.)

Unfortunately the Doctor is not in good enough shape to go anywhere, so Allan decides to use him as a template to improve the Cybermen and make them more durable. Uh oh.

HEY DOC? NEVER SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN INVOLVED.

Back to the Hartleys --- the power is restored, and Yvonne cries “DAaaad!” as her last vestiges of soul are ripped from her. :( Again, she stands for all the Mondasians we don’t know about.

And now Frank’s watching the frozen atmosphere pour through a break in the roof onto the hydroponics plant. Which means starvation. What an image.

Track 3.6 - “Wetware Piracy”

Back in the Palace, the Doctor’s in hospital, and Dodd, who’s been skulking and hiding, offers to help him make a call to Nyssa at the Hartleys (”I never forget a creditor”) if the Doctor promises to give him one of his two hearts. Which may be a lie, but you never know; Five has a terrible self-sacrifice problem. (Again, he and Nyssa are too well-matched.)

Thought Frank would have learned a lesson after seeing what happened to Yvonne, but know, he’s still being all too human and lashing out. When Nyssa tries to comfort him he screams something about how she can’t understand, “Who have you ever lost?!” and storms off.

Well, her mother, her father, her entire world... but teenagers always think their problems are bigger than everyone’s.

FINALLY. Phone call from Doctor to Nyssa. He tries to ask for her assistance, but she doesn’t have a TARDIS key. You can hear his hopes dying as he tells her nevermind, he’ll think of something. They’re screwed.

Cliffhanger time!

Dodd’s caught and sent for processing, Nyssa’s caught (thanks to the Doctor’s call?), the Doctor’s trapped as a guinea pig for Allan’s experiments.

“NO! I will not be the template for your monstrous parodies of humankind!”

Typical broad-stroke Marc Platt script: after 40-odd years, he dares to suggest that the better, later, more powerful Cybermen were based on the Doctor! (I’m not entirely thrilled with retconning and making so many things the Fifth Doctor’s fault; Fallible Five is so cursed. But it’s a heck of a concept.)

Episode ends with the eerie Cyber-voices of the Committee summing up their plans for TEAM MONDAS: WE. WILL. SURVIVE.

*twitch*

DOOO WEE OOO.

#spare parts liveblog

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