John Drake

A few posts removed. This is the obituary thread. Please be kind. And if you want to make a wider point about someone who has been mentioned in here, please start a new thread about them in the relevant section. Thanks.

One of the genius aspects of the Doctor Who format is if the leading actor gets on your wick for any reason, fear not, there'll be another one along soon.

I love all Doctor Who, even the slightly rubbish bits, which only help to make the great bits even greater. And there were a lot of great bits in The Star Beast. I’m not one of those who is going to say the return of David Tennant, Catherine Tate and Russell T Davies is a return to some mythical ‘glory days’ era, as I really enjoyed all the stuff that preceded it, and thought Jodie Whittaker and show runner Chris Chibnall got a horribly rough ride from critics who have forgotten how to enjoy the show for what it is, rather than what they think it should be. The pace of modern television is frenetic, and Tennant channels that in his portrayal of the Doctor. Not only is he a great actor, as proven by the roles he has played away from the TARDIS, but his love for the show shines through his involvement in it. He seems to relish the publicity rounds that are required to promote the show, or if he doesn’t, he makes a very good job of looking like he’s enjoying it! That enthusiasm transmits through to the audience. He is undoubtedly the most popular of the modern Doctors, and it’s not hard to see why they brought him back for the 60th anniversary specials. His partnership with Catherine Tate is up there with the best Doctor/companion pairings of all time. As for the writing, Russell T Davies just has that knack of mixing drama, comedy and character development that brings the show to life. One minute he’s making you laugh, next minute he’s making you well up with tears, and he makes the storylines accessible to a general audience as well as pleasing geeks like me with subtle continuity references. He’s also unafraid to challenge the audience and play with the format to keep it modern and fresh. Basically, in my view, the bloke’s a genius. Fans of the show are truly spoiled these days. If only some of them realised it. Those who aren’t keen on the more modern approach can now easily dip back into any era from the past on BBC iPlayer and wallow in old memories to their (two) heart’s content. Back when I first started watching the show in the 1970s, you got one chance to see an episode, as it was transmitted, and that was it. You missed one, tough luck, wait for the Target book novelisation to come out. Here we are, sixty years on from its remarkable debut back in 1963, two more anniversary specials to go with Tennant and Tate, and then a brand new Doctor and companion arrive on Christmas Day. Doctor Who fans have never had it so good.

The online edition is available now at https://pocketmags.com/rugby-league-world-magazine

I am not, and never have been, a morning person.

It's the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who today, and tonight BBC Four are showing a newly-restored, 75-minute colourised version of the first-ever Dalek story from 1963 starring William Hartnell.

If they only showed you the beautiful bits of nature, and omitted to mention that the beautiful bits won't be around for anyone to enjoy in future (except in archive footage), wouldn't that be a dereliction of duty on the part of the programme makers? If they did that, when all these beautiful bits of nature are gone, people will complain 'why didn't they tell us this was gonna happen when we could've done something about it!!?' In nature, you have to take the rough with the smooth. For these shows to ignore the impact of climate change and human activity on the natural world would be dishonest. Just as if they avoided showing animals killing each other for food because it's a bit upsetting to watch.

I bought a Region 1 DVD copy of Paul McCartney's less than admired musical movie 'Give My Regards to Broad Street' on Ebay last week. Widely considered a bit of a turkey, and a box office disaster back in 1984 when it was released, as a Macca fan I just fancied seeing it again and was surprised how hard it was to find, not being on any of the streaming services or available to buy or download either. I watched it last night. The plot is thin to non-existent, but the songs and musical set pieces are good. Ringo's in it too, along with most of the cast of The Bill, Tracey Ullman and the wrestler Giant Haystacks. I don't feel like I wasted my money on the purchase.

Various posts deleted involving people insulting each other. Two people suspended too. I'm sick to the back teeth of posting on here that if you post personal insults aimed at another forum member, you run the risk of being suspended, and that if you are the one that gets insulted, to just report it and not respond, rather than wading in with a few insults of your own. Maybe now the message will sink in...?

Discuss the Third Test: England v Tonga here.

Discuss the Women's International: England v Wales here.

Discuss the Pacific Championship - Final: New Zealand v Australia here.

Discuss the Pacific Championship - Bowl Final: Fiji v Papua New Guinea here.

Discuss the Wheelchair International: England v France @ First Direct Arena, Leeds here.

(Almost) all of Doctor Who, from 1963 to the present day, plus spin-offs, now available on BBC iPlayer. Feels like Christmas!