Oh yes that’s a brilliant scene! That whole story is a great one for Tate.
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Meant to add my thoughts on The Horror of Coal Hill.
Yeahhhh…
I thought it was okay but I think I’m a bit out on a limb thinking it didn’t really feel like the First Doctor and, if I’m honest, when it switched to 11 and then switched back I carried on picturing 11 and had to remind myself it wasn’t him.
I’m also not entirely sure why there was the Third Doctor bit in the middle. The different Doctor bits with Sarah Jane seemed rather random and, for me, interrupted the flow of the story.
I’m also going to be a tiny bit controversial (and I’m more than willing to be corrected) but would there have been high school teachers of Indian (or South Asian) descent in 1963? The detail of Shivani’s family coming over in the 50s tracks somewhat and yes there were a lot of immigrant families from that part of the world in the 50s and 60s but I’m not sure teaching was a career the young women of those cultures were going into.
Sort of pulled me out of the story because it kept niggling at me and seemed to be diversity for the sake of diversity.
But as I say, totally willing to be corrected.
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Not having read this before, I was waiting for the angels to appear.
Also, being a Moffat story, I wondered if the spy was going to be River Song, but the actual answer makes more sense.
Favourite Donna
It’s hard to choose one, so I refuse! 
- Pockets!
- Mime through the glass
- Being moved by the Ood.
Back in the day, when I heard Donna was coming back for a whole series, I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy it. I’d found The Runaway Bride a riot but I didn’t think I could do a whole series of shouting. But Russell and Catherine evolved the character so well, whilst still feeling like the same person, that I loved her.
I wasn’t a fan of her next return. It felt purely motivated by ratings and her character added nothing to that story IMHO. But the 60th celebration episodes were SO much more fun.
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I think that my favourite Donna moment is when it is revealed that she is the DoctorDonna - the first female Doctor (and I won’t be convinced otherwise ).
I’ve seen some clips of Catherine Tate being on 8 out of 10 cats does countdown, and while I love the woman, she is not the sharpest tool in the shed 
And having her then spout off all that utterly, utterly ridiculous Technobabble is just glorious 
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Well played
(Sorry, I do tend to see the Curse of Fatal Death purely as a spoof - plus I don’t want to think of the Doctor using the Sonic that way 
)
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The Sally Sparrow short story is also collected in The Cruel Sea, the Ninth Doctor DWM comics collection.
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That’s where I read it the other day.
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In what way do you mean?
Hmm, it’s almost as if Moffat has a theme going here…
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I feel like a proper fan for finally reading Sally Sparrow!
It’s very recognisably a simpler version of Blink, only simpler and lacking some of the strongest elements of the TV episode. I love how it’s written as an essay Sally writes for school and a push, but it actually feels like it was written by a 12-year-old. It was also weird to picture Ninen in this one because my brain wanted to picture Ten instead.
Great story, but I prefer Blink.
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A truly great little short story. Not my favourite Moffat short story mind you, but it’s super sweet and it’s fun seeing the groundwork for Blink.
Question 5
I think my mind immediately goes to the end of The Fires of Pompeii. Sure, it’s the Doctor’s big moment but nothing makes me hurt more than seeing Donna, teary-eyed, begging the Doctor to just save one person.
Also when she loses her kids is Forest of the Dead
Also when the Colasantos are taken to a concentration camp.
Also when-
You know what, she has too many.
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Day 5 Commentary
The story today was pretty good. I thought that making Sally Sparrow a child was a justified choice, and it made for an intriguing narrative. It seemed to be fairly similar to Blink in many respects.
One of my favorite tangentially related to Donna Noble moments was when I went to the Who North America store, and they were playing The Runaway Bride in the screening room. I was too busy to watch it, but my sister did, and she liked the bits that she saw.
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Well I am a bit late but here are some thoughts:
The short story is pretty solid. A bare-bones version of some concepts that would be fleshed out in Blink much better (I prefer the TV Questions works much better in a visual media and/or audios). Moffat is great at writing prose, so it’s always nice to read them. He writes the child wonder greatly, he already did great in that one Short Story in that 13th Lockdown Anthology. I probably sound much harsher than I should, but I did thought it did its job well and was a lovely read.
To answer that Question
To answer the Question…
I LOVE Donna, easily one of the best NuWho Characters. Tate is so delightful in the Role and I just adore what she did with her Performance, there are so many great ones to chose here and many already mentioned some great ones, so here are some of mine:
- Literally every second of Turn Left, especially the “You lie” Scene or where she shouts where the family is brought
- Literally all her interactions with the Oods in Planet of the Oods
- “Just save someone…”
- Her panic when her children disappear
- Her Comedic Bits in Episodes such as Unicorn, "Runaway* and "Partners*
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6
Today's items
Houdini and the Space Cuckoos, parts 1 and 2 (of Four) Joseph Lidster, 2012. Adventure Calendar short story.
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Cheers Loving these little advent treats
But being just a bit pernickety, today is the 6th not the 7th
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I reviewed this story for my marathon a while ago:
There are a few other stories featuring Houdini that I reviewed for my marathon and there was actually a bit of a character arc for Houdini between them which was quite neat.
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Another really nice story, interested to see how this one will go on!
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I’m late and catching up!
Thanks for posting the Sally Sparrow short, I had no idea it was available online. As others have said, Moffat writes children perfectly, and it was laugh-a-minute. Absolutely brilliant!
And Donna? Too many great moments to choose! And you’ve all mentioned some of the best. I suppose I’ll add a couple of moments in The Star Beast because I was so stoked to have her back.
- Her chat with Rose, “I will descend”
- Later on when she actually does descend!
- Binary binary… non binary. I know it has issues but I was on the edge of my seat and absolutely loved it. The callback! The clever use of wording! Transness saving the day! Great
I now need to catch up on day 6!
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Easy! You buy one for yourself
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