Something really odd...

about John Simm: in a suit, he looks smaller.

Also?

RTD Master? Every bit as annoying as I expected, sadly.

Sense of wonder

Are there any sf shows (beside Farscape and Doctor Who, that is) that actually excel at evoking a sense of wonder? Because for all of Who's defects, that *is* something it does very well indeed. And so did Farscape, though the wonder was tinged a darker shade there fairly consistently (instead of just occasionally, as it is in Who).

It happens to be one of the main reasons why I like sf. It's sad it's so rare in the tv incarnations of the genre.

Never thought I'd say this, but...

one of the biggest things wrong about The Sound of Drums is actually John Simm.

Not that the rest of it is good, either. It's an ep that sort of oscillates between "meh" and "arrgh." But, really, Simm's Master is so unbearable I had to take breaks from watching the ep. And now I think I'll rather watch the 11th Doc Christmas Special first, before advancing to the next ep tomorrow.

Granted, some of the wrongness (a lot, I'd guess) is probably due to writing and direction. But surely, he could have turned down the zaniness a *little* bit? Maybe?

Then again, that would probably not have saved much.

How could this train wreck have followed so shortly after Human Nature, Family of Blood, and Blink, three of *the* very best New Who eps?