#reappeared in the Centenary Special

[inspectorspacetimerevisited]

As much as the rip-off wishes it were true, *Inspector Spacetime* actually now holds the World Record for the longest period between when a character first appeared on the programme and the last time they showed up.

Irma Rong appeared in the first episode on 22 Nov. 1962, then reappeared in ‘The Might of the Inspector’ on 23 Oct. 2022 — an amazing total of 60 years, 31 days.

[hesgomorrah]

trying extremely hard to be happy for my friends who are going to get fed rather than being grumpy about the missed opportunity that would appeal to me and like five other people

[yahoo201027]

October 14: Happy 77th Birthday to English Actress Katy Manning, who played the companion to the Third Incarnation of The Doctor from 1971-1973 and reappeared again in The Sarah Jane Adventures two-parter Series 4 episode “Death of the Doctor” (2010) and in the Centenary special “The Power of the Doctor” (2022) as a cameo as the Doctor Who character of Jo Grant.

[litcityblues]

Doctor Whoquest Part 10: Flux Capacity Overload

I'm going to have to depart from the usual format of these posts for this season because they did something kind of unusual with it. I don't know why they structured this season the way they did- whether it was a weird post-COVID timing thing, whether it was the mixed reviews of prior seasons, or just some BBC internal decision-making, but this series marks the end of Jodie Whittaker's time as The Doctor and producer Chris Chibnall also took a bow and exited stage left to prepare for a new (and old?) era with Russell T. Davies coming back to take the reins for the next series.

For this season, they had a six-part series entitled 'The Flux' followed by three specials which culminated in the feature-length special 'The Power of The Doctor' for the BBC's Centenary celebrations. Because of that, I can't really do the 'Three Episodes I Liked, Two I Didn't Like, One To Consider' thing because it's a pretty small sample size. So, I'm just going to break it down and take the two components separately.

First, The Flux:

When I was a kid, they would show old episodes of Doctor Who on PBS late at night before the channel went off the air. You'd be staying up late at a sleepover, trying to stay up all night and you'd stumble across them. You wouldn't know what the hell was going on. The plot wouldn't make much sense. But you'd watch it anyway.

The Flux is a lot like that, only supercharged and on steroids.

Don't me wrong: there's a lot to like about it. If there's one thing to consider about the Chibnall Era it's that the show took some big swings here and there and sometimes they worked (like The Lone Cyberman) and sometimes they didn't. The Flux may well be the biggest swing the show has ever taken and unfortunately, they missed.

The Flux jumps right into the thick of it and doesn't let up for all six episodes. it is very much 'all gas, no brakes' which makes it fun, but it's also a glorious ride on the Hot Mess Express. I couldn't tell you the plot in any meaningful way. The Doctor and Yaz are on the trail of Karnavista, who is supposedly a bad guy, but turns out to be a good guy and a big alien dog species called The Lupari who are bound to protect Earth from an oncoming Universe destroying event known as The Flux.

Time gets all twisted in on itself and takes the plot with it, but someone there is Sontarans in the Crimean War and just everywhere in general. The Weeping Angels get involved. Division is back- though I'm confused, did they make references to Division in the last series? Did I miss that? There's a creepy-looking guy who is called The Great Serpent that's floating around somewhere. There are these bad guys called The Swarm with bits coming out of their heads and Old Lady Raiden and an Ood show up to connect all back to the TImeless Child thing AND to top it all off, there's an old guy in 1820 wandering around tunnels he keeps digging in Liverpool oh and they pick up a new companion, Dan Lewis (John Bishop) who is very much from Liverpool and has a lady friend Diane who is kind of has a thing for and there's a couple of other people floating around too.

That makes sense, right?

I will give it this: Doctor Who once again, succeeds at making side characters incredibly interesting sometimes. Professor Jericho (Kevin McNally) and Claire Brown (Annabel Scholey) are standouts that I wish had more time on The Flux because their plot lines got interesting even if they did take a left turn into Weeping Angel territory. Similarly, the reappearance of the Sontarans makes me long for the Paternoster Gang to show up again- though to be fair, would another plot point in an episode absolutely packed with them.

Also, full credit for attempting to raise the stakes in a serious way. A big, Universe threatening *thing* for the Doctor to tackle is legitimately ambitious.

Ultimately, The Flux was that. A glorious, ambitious mess of pure distilled Whovian energy. But it’s beyond that– somehow you managed to put an infinite number of plot lines and villains into this and it collapses in on itself like a black hole and forms a pure dense neutron star of Whovian energy. It’s that much of a glorious mess.

Second, The Specials.

Eve of the Daleks, in the wake of The Flux, time-loopy shenanigans on New Year's Eve feel like a breath of fresh air with a plot that's... oh, what's that word: straightforward and one, singular Dalek is a nice change. It's an even nicer change when you throw in the fact that they've seemed to have thought their plan through for once AND they have super cool machine gun thingys now. Bonus points for casting Aisling Bea, who is pretty great in this.

Legend of the Sea Devils was entertaining enough. I like it when the Show digs around resurrecting villains from way back because they've got plenty to choose from. Pirates are always nice. Chinese pirates? Not what I was expecting and pretty awesome as a result.

The Power of the Doctor: Well, I'll give them this-- they went out on one hell of a high. This was exactly what you would want in a Centenary Special. The Master (Sacha Dhawan) returns along with the Cybermen and The Daleks for a plot to destroy the world- but really, to capture the Doctor and force her into a regeneration to essentially take her over. The Doctor has to rally friends and companions both new and old-- we see the return of Ace (Sophie Aldred) and Tegan (Janet Fielding) alongside multiple Doctors who appear both in the in-between space as the Doctor is being forced into a regeneration and as various incarnations of a hologram helper the Doctor created to help coordinate the efforts of her friends to stop the plot to destroy the world. The Master manages to mortally wound her in the end before seeming to succumb to his own injuries. She says farewell to Yaz, who finds herself in a support group for former Companions and then goes off to regenerate and finds that the Fourteenth Doctor looks a lot like the Tenth one.

I feel bad for Dan in this, because he kind of dipped out right at the start and we don't see him again until the end. Would also have been nice to see Ryan with Graham, but I'll take what I can get. Loved the old Doctors and the old companions coming back. That was a nice touch and it underscored the name of the episode-- the real power of the Doctor is that of her friends both old and new.

The Season Verdict:

The Flux: Hot Mess Express, 5/10

The Specials: Solid and ended beautifully with the last one. 8.5/10.

The Whittaker Verdict: Nowhere near as bad as the Interwebs would have you believe. I know, because of the times we live in, that there were going to be the inevitable grumbles about her gender, but you know what? It's not really an issue. There is, I think, nothing written in the rules excluding the possibility of a woman in the role and for that reason, I didn't have a problem with it-- after 60 years, you're going to have to do some things you've never done before if you want to keep your franchise fresh for new generations and fresh full stop.

Jodie Whittaker is an excellent actress. I loved that they took some swings here and there and tried to push the envelope over the course of her tenure. Ambition is not a sin in my book and there was lots of very very good moments and fresh takes on things we've seen before during her run. The Flux was a glorious hot mess though and for that reason, I'd probably put her at a solid 7/10.

[f1]

Peugeot celebrate Le Mans-winning 905 with special livery for centenary race | WEC

Peugeot will replace their regular grey livery with a striking alternative design at the Le Mans 24 Hours. The manufacturer team has revealed a special livery for its two 9X8 cars. It was created by Spanish artist J Demsky and presented at Milan Design Week. Peugeot design director Matthias Hossann said the new look is styled to celebrate its 905, which won the endurance classic in 1992 and 1993. “The Peugeot 905 is an icon of the nineties whose energy and creativity we wanted to celebrate,” said Hossann. “J Demsky shares this passion and this inspiration.” This year’s Le Mans 24 Hours will mark the 100th anniversary of the endurance classic. In addition to its back-to-back wins in the nineties, Peugeot scored a third triumph in 2009 with the 908 HDi FAP. It last contested the race in 2011 when it took second, third and fourth places behind the race-winner Audi. Peugeot will enter two of its 9X8s for this year’s race. The number 93 car is shared by Jean-Eric Vergne, Paul di Resta and Mikkel Jensen, and the number 94 belongs to Loic Duval, Gustavo Menezes and Nico Mueller. The latter scored their best result of the season so far in Portugal last weekend, finishing fifth. The 9X8s will appear in their regular colour scheme one more time at the Spa Six Hours later this month before reappearing in their new look. Philippe Alliot/Mauro Baldi/Jean Pierre Jabouille, Peugeot 905 Evo 1 bis, Le Mans, 1993 World Endurance Championship Browse all World Endurance Championship articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net/

[pope-francis-quotes]

10th May >> Pope Francis' Full Address at today's General Audience in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City: ‘On Mary, Mother of Hope’ ~ ‘We are not orphans: we have a Mother in Heaven, who is the Holy Mother of God’ This morning’s General Audience was held at 9:25 in St. Peter’s Square, where the Holy Father Francis met with groups of pilgrims and faithful from Italy and from all over the world. Taking up again the series of catecheses on Christian hope, in his address in Italian the Pope reflected on the theme: “The Mother of Hope” (Cf. John 19:25-27). After summarizing his catechesis in several languages, the Holy Father expressed special greetings to groups of faithful present. The General Audience ended with the singing of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing. * * * The Holy Father’s Catechesis Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! In our itinerary of catecheses on Christian hope, today we look at Mary, Mother of hope. Mary went through more than one night in her path as Mother. From her first appearance in the history of the Gospels, her figure stands out as if she were the personage of a drama. It was not simple to answer the Angel’s invitation with a “yes”: yet she, a woman still in the flower of youth, answered courageously, despite not knowing anything of the destiny that awaited her. In that instant, Mary appears to us as one of the many mothers of our world, courageous to the end when it is about receiving in their womb the story of a new man that is born. That “yes” is the first step of a long list of obedience — long list of obedience! — that will accompany her itinerary as mother. Thus, Mary appears in the Gospels as a silent woman, who often does not understand all that is happening around her, but who meditates every word and every event in her heart. In this disposition, there is a very beautiful [demonstration] of Mary’s psychology: she is not a woman who gets depressed in face of the uncertainties of life, especially when nothing seems to go the right way. Nor is she even a woman who protests violently, who inveighs against the destiny of a life that often reveals itself with a hostile face. Instead, she is a woman who listens: do not forget that there is always a great relation between hope and listening, and Mary is a woman who listens. Mary accepts existence just as it is given to us, with its happy days, but also with its tragedies, which we would never have wanted to come across – until Mary’s supreme night, when her Son is nailed to the wood of the cross. Until that day, Mary almost disappeared from the plot of the Gospels: the sacred writers let this slow eclipsing of her presence be understood, her remaining silent before the mystery of a Son who obeys the Father. However, Mary reappears precisely at the crucial moment, when a good part of the friends vanished out of fear. Mothers do not betray and, at that instant, at the foot of the cross, no one of us can say which was the most cruel passion: that of an innocent man who dies on the gibbet of the cross, or the agony of a mother who accompanies the last instants of the life of her son. The Gospels are laconic and extremely discreet. They record with a simple verb the Mother’s presence: she “was” (John 19:25), she was. They say nothing of her reaction, if she was weeping, if she was not weeping . . . nothing; not even a brush stroke to describe her sorrow: on these details the imagination of poets and painters would then venture, giving us images that have entered in the history of art and of literature. But the Gospels only tell us: she “was.” She was there, in the most awful moment, in the cruellest moment, and she suffered with her Son. “Was,” Mary “was,” she was simply there. Behold her again, the young woman of Nazareth, now with greying hair with the passing of the years, still struggling with a God who must only be embraced, and with a life that has reached the threshold of the densest darkness. Mary “was” in the densest darkness, but she “was.” She did not go away. Mary is there, faithfully present, every time that a lighted candle must be held in a place of mist and fog. She does not even know the destiny of resurrection that her Son at the moment was opening for all of us men: she is there out of fidelity to God’s plan, of whom she proclaimed herself handmaid on the first day of her vocation, but also because of her mother’s instinct, who simply suffers, every time there is a son who goes through a passion. The sufferings of mothers: we have all known strong women, who have faced so many sufferings of their children! We will find her again on the first day of the Church, she, Mother of hope, in the midst of that community of such frail disciples: one had denied, many fled, all were afraid (Cf. Acts 1:14). But she was simply there, in the most normal of ways, as if it were an altogether natural thing: in the first Church enveloped by the light of the Resurrection, but also by the tremors of the first steps that it must take in the world. For this, we all love her as Mother. We are not orphans: we have a Mother in Heaven, who is the Holy Mother of God. Because she teaches us the virtue of waiting, even when everything appears nonsensical: she is always confident in the mystery of God, even when He seems to eclipse Himself because of the evil in the world. In moments of difficulty may Mary, the Mother that Jesus gave all of us, always be able to support our steps, always be able to say to our heart: ”Rise! Look ahead, look at the horizon,” because she is Mother of hope. Thank you. [Original text: Italian] [Translation by Virginia M. Forrester] In Italian A warm greeting goes to the Italian-speaking pilgrims. I greet the participants in the Ecumenical Week promoted by the Focolare Movement and I exhort them to continue on the common path of unity, of dialogue and of friendship between religions and peoples. I am happy to receive the faithful of Ischia, accompanied by the Bishop, Monsignor Pietro Lagnese, and those of Andria and Marano of Naples, as well as the participants in the Family Business Network meeting, promoted by the Dicastery for Integral Human Development. I greet the Presidents of the of the International and Italian Federation of Taekwondo; the European Association of International Studies; the participants in the Hydrae Course; the Sassari Brigade and the Lazio, Umbria and Abruzzo Group of the Operation Safe Streets, whom I thank for the service of security carried out also in the surroundings of Vatican City and the Papal Basilicas. I encourage each one to live well the Easter Season in their families and work environments taking, with the enthusiasm of missionary disciples, the joy of the Resurrection. A particular thought goes to young people, the sick and newlyweds. Next Saturday will be the centenary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima to the three little shepherds. Dear young people, learn to cultivate devotion to the Mother of God with the daily recitation of the Rosary; dear sick, feel Mary’s presence in the hour of the cross; and you, dear newlyweds, pray to her so that love and mutual respect will never be lacking in your home. [Original text: Italian] [Translation by Virginia M. Forrester]

[airwingspotter]

RIAT 2017

“Made in Heaven, tattooed on Earth”

During the third weekend of July, the gates of the RAF base in Fairford opened once again for the lucky visitors of this year’s Royal International Air Tattoo. 160.000 people were gathered to witness one of the best aviation feasts in Europe. Let the show begin…

A series of spectacular flypasts and jaw-dropping displays ensured the success of this year’s RIAT. In fact, it was considered by many, one of the best RIATs of the recent years. The airshow, which took place from July 14 till 16, attracted a record crowd of 160,000 people who met 246 aircraft from 32 air arms representing 26 nations. On the other hand, the typical English weather, with the low level clouds and the rain showers was again the only disadvantage of the show.

This year’s main theme was the 70th anniversary of USAF. Back in 1947, the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Army became a separate branch of the military. For this celebration, the organizers of RIAT, had prepared many surprises for the visitors of this year’s feast. The attendance of US military aircraft was catholic. After an absence of three years from the European airshows, mainly due to cutbacks, the US military aircraft were back again in Fairford. This time for good! Up in the air but also on the ground, the aircraft honored, with their own way, this big celebration.

At the very early stages, during winter, the famous aerobatic team, Thunderbirds, announced their participation at RIAT, which was also the only European visit of their schedule. Thunderbirds had visited RIAT in the past in 2007 and this one was their second visit.

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The second surprise was the announcement of the extraordinary, in terms of capabilities, solo demo team of the F-22 Raptor. This unique fighter had made its first appearance in 2010 and was reintroduced last year along with the F-35 which was appearing over the English skies for the first time. Unfortunately the aircraft was not able to display on Saturday because of the low level clouds, but on Sunday it did perform its long waited display. The Raptor performed a powerful and superbly executed demonstration winning the “Paul Bowen” trophy for the best jet demonstration.

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The aircraft, after its display, made a few flypasts with a P-51D warbird for the “USAF Heritage Flight Display” theme. The P-51 warbird flew across the Atlantic only for this reason. There were some rumours that the F-35 would also reappear at this year’s RIAT, but the DoD decided to send it to Paris Airshow instead.

Joining these two aerial assets to celebrate the USAF anniversary was also a special flypast of five of the main aircraft types currently operated by US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) from bases in the UK and Germany. These aircraft performed an aerial parade on all three days of the show at RIAT. These were:

A KC-135R Stratotanker from the 100th Air Refueling Wing/351st Air Refueling Squadron at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk. A C-130J-30 Hercules from the 86th Airlift Wing/37th Airlift Squadron stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Two F-15C Eagles and one F-15E Strike Eagle. These fighters were from the 48th Fighter Wing/493rd Fighter Squadron from RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk. Two F-16CM Fighting Falcons, flown by the 52nd Fighter Wing/480th Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.

But the highlight of all the aerial assets for this big celebration was the unexpected visit, on the last day of the show, of the rare bomber B-2A Spirit. The aircraft, taking part in an epic 23-hour transatlantic “Global Power” training flight from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, performed two flypasts over the show with an escort of two F-15Cs before returning back to its base.

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On the ground the presence of the USAF was also huge. The visitors had the chance to see and admire up close a variety of bombers, fighters, tankers, helicopters such as B-1B, B-52H, MC-130J, C-17A, KC-135R, F-16CM, F-15C/E, CV-22B, HH-60G. But the main attraction was another rare example, the U-2S Dragon Lady, another legendary example of an old design which still exists in the modern theater of warfare.

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Apart from the Thunderbirds, other flying display highlights included the newly founded French Air Force’s Couteau Delta team flying two Mirage 2000D fighter aircraft; the Midnight Hawks, Finland’s aerobatic display team who last performed at the Air Tattoo back in 2004.

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On the static display others notable attractions were the E-7A, a Boeing 737 Airborne Early Warning aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force. The Royal Canadian Air Force Boeing CH-147F Chinook Helicopter which had been airlifted over in the back of a giant Boeing CC-177 Globemaster airlifter. The Greek Phantoms made their second consecutive appearance at the RIAT. This time, the other Squadron, 338 “Aris” of 117 Combat Wing, brought two examples (01508 and 01619). The 01508 was carrying two special painted external fuel tanks and it had a very nice livery on its vertical stabilizer.

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But the most “exotic” visit was the reappearance of two Eastern-built Su-27 Flankers (a single seat and a two seat) of the Ukrainian Air Force escorted by an Il-76 Candid. This participation was announced in the beginning of the final week before the show. The single seat Sukhoi Su-27P1M amazed everyone with its unique capabilities and won the “As The Crow Flies” trophy for the best overall flying demonstration as judged by members of the Friends of the RIAT. These Ukrainian fighters had made their first appearance at RIAT back in 1996, while their last flying was held in 1999.

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The greatest disappointment was the cancellation of the rare visit of an A-4N Skyhawk from a fleet operated by Discovery Air Defence, based at Wittmund. These A-4s are contracted to provide services ranging from threat simulation, target towing to flight test support. The aircraft were originally Israeli Air Force airframes before being purchased, stripped and modified by Discovery Air Services. This participation was cancelled literally at the very last minute, one day before the show. The last time an A-4 visited the Air Tattoo was 1977, when a small number of A-4Gs visited Greenham Common from 805 Squadron, Royal Australian Navy.

Next year’s RIAT is going to celebrate the centenary anniversary of RAF. So it is expected that next year’s show will break every record of attendance. For those who want to visit RIAT 2018, you should start planning your journey early. From our side, we will make sure we’ll be there. Cause after all, life is a RIAT!

See you there!

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Article and Photograph by

George Karavantos

RIAT 2017 RIAT 2017 "Made in Heaven, tattooed on Earth" During the third weekend of July, the gates of the RAF base in Fairford opened once again for the lucky visitors of this year's Royal International Air Tattoo.