Well this was a fun day for me - in the morning I had watched a fun film that I had a small part in called 'Fight The Eternal Evil' - in which I get shot! And then I had rushed back to Mark's to watch some Doctor Who and dinosaurs.
GRRR!!! DINOSAURS!! REAL....CONVINCING...DINOSAURS...
Yeah - whilst those ARE great, we in our group really wanted to see, rubbish, rubber models that would not convince a doggy.
Wuff.
Well thank GOODNESS for Doctor Who! They delivered exactly that in this thrilling six part serial which we all gathered around Mark's (with the addition of some great cheese and crackers!) to watch....
MJ: "Here we around Mark's -"
Jason: "- We're already referencing Pigbin Josh."
Leigh: *Laughing* "Hooray!!! I'd forgot about Pigbin Josh!!
*Shaun laughs*
MJ: "Well because I thought he was in 'Spearhead From Space' but he turned out not to be, it was another old tramp who said 'Never you mind, Woman! Ooo-arrr!'"
Shaun: "Oh yes! That's right!"
Jason: "He found a box, didn't he?"
MJ: "He found the Auton's plastic sphere - that was perspex and glowing."
Shaun: "There was like a weather-balloon/parachute thing coming off it."
MJ: *Confused* "Don't know. Maybe?..."
Jason: "I think we've forgotten, I think we should watch it again!"
MJ: "I think so."
Shaun: "No!"
MJ: "Oh and we've got Gavin here as well!"
Gavin: "Afternoon."
MJ: "And we're going to be watching 'Invasion Of The Dinosaurs' which I have never seen before." *Puts on Boycie impression from 'Only Fools And Horses'* "Six parter. Del-Boy!"
Shaun: "Jason, Jason, Jason!"
Jason: "Boycie's voice."
*Leigh laughs*
Shaun: "Oh yeah. Jason can you just say you've never seen this one?"
Jason: "I've never seen this one."
Shaun: "Fantastic."
Leigh: "Why?"
Shaun: "'Cos I've been reading a lot of MJ writing them and Jason very often says 'I've not seen this one' and then two episodes in he goes 'Ohhh! I've seen this one! I remember it!' I just thought I'd make sure we had it in - for continuity!"
Jason: "I mean I know I HAVE seen this one BUT I did watch it on Youtube (other video clip websites containing fun stuff with cats,dogs and idiots are available). So..."
Shaun: *Laughing* "Oh he's such a teacher's pet! He's doing it on his own - extra curricula activity!"
*Leigh laughs*
Jason: *Laughing* "No! This is LONG before we started watching it as a group!"
*Mark chuckles*
Shaun: "I think you probably watched them all on a Friday night - so you're nice and fresh! This week obviously you were down the pub with me and Leigh - so you did it on a Saturday night!"
*Leigh chuckles*
MJ: "Before we start, as I say, I've never seen this one, but the first part of it is a bit awkward. It's in black and white, and didn't have them chroma-dots. So they couldn't do the colour-recovery and they really didn't think it was worth spending lots of money to recolour it. So they've done a half-hearted attempt of doing it."
Jason: "Oh, excellent."
MJ: "So we have to choose that (option on the DVD). So don't press 'Play all' as you have to select it separate for the colour one - or partial-colour one."
Shaun: "What, otherwise it will just go to Episode Two?"
MJ: "No, no. It will just go to the black and white one. It would be nice to see what they've TRIED to do in the colour."
Jason: "But I thought we were watching the original!?"
Shaun & Leigh: "YEAH!"
Jason: "Well, I know it's not the original original but..." *Discussion ensues about where to find it on the DVD menu* "Oh I don't think I've seen the colour version."
MJ: "No, well you won't now! You'll see a partially coloured one..."
Leigh: *Sarcastic* "Yeah! You won't now, Jason!"MJ: "No, well you won't now! You'll see a partially coloured one..."
Shaun: *Shouting at Mark who is going through the DVD menus* "Subtitles!!? What is WRONG with you!!??"
*Laughter*
Jason: "I will see an ATTEMPTED colourised version."
MJ: "Ahh yes."
Jason: *Looking at clips on DVD menu - which shows dodgy dinos* "Don't ruin it!!! Don't look at the screen!!"
*Shaun laughs - high pitched!*
Shaun: "This is already not disappointing! I must say!"
Leigh: "It's disappointed ME! I thought they were going to be worse than that! Like I said, I imagined the 'Chewits' monster!"
*Laughter*
Shaun: "That didn't look bad - so that is CLEARLY the money-shot bit!"
*EPISODE ONE STARTS*
MJ: "So yes, I've never seen this. And as you see (as the title comes up) it's just called 'Invasion' because the big thing about it was the reveal that there's dinosaurs. We already know there - "
Jason: "- Because the DVD gave it away!"
Shaun: *Joking* "I didn't know that! You've just told me!"
MJ: "No, I meant on the original broadcast!"
Jason: "I KNOW that! And suddenly dinosaurs!"
MJ: *Joking* "Oh that colour's crap! But yes, this episode was missing until the 1980's, I think when they finally got a version back."
Leigh: "It's certainly before the 80's."
Shaun: *Watching start* "Nice stills. You're certainly right! That is a half-arsed re-colouring!"
Jason: "I think that pretty bearable!"
Leigh: "Yeah, I don't think it's bad at all."
Jason: *Looking at TV* "'Wimpy'!"
Leigh: "Where?"
Jason: "There - there's a 'Wimpy' (Burger shop), right at the back (of the shot)!"
MJ: "That's why they didn't feel confident just to show it (on it's own) - they put both (black and white AND re-coloured) on the DVD, so you can see their best attempt at what they could do."
Jason: "Well I think that's better than a lot of coloured versions I've seen."
MJ: *Looking at TV* "Oh dear, what's going on there? A dog licking a car?"
Shaun: "Is that dog a dinosaur!?"
Jason: "Yes, that's the best effect they could do!"
Leigh: "No, that's Pigbin Dog!"
*Laughter*
MJ: "They did wonder of this episode had got deleted because they just put 'Invasion' and they thought 'Did it get mixed up with the Patrick Troughton story 'The Invasion', but apparently not."
Jason: *Looking at TV* "Well, this is just London on a Sunday."
*Mark chuckles*
MJ: "TARDIS! And I'll pause it there...."
*EPISODE ONE GETS WATCHED*
Photo 1: At Mark's house.
Gavin, Leigh, Jason (with the sign),
Shaun (with the DVD case) and Mark (With 'The Book').
Shaun: "We saw it halfway through!"
MJ: "Well we did see it halfway through! I did actually think they would leave it right until the end but no it was a big - very convincing - looking dinosaur!"
*Leigh laughs*
Jason: "YOU don't know what they looked like!"
Shaun: "I know they don't look like THAT!"
*Mark chuckles*
MJ: "Erm, The Doctor has been - well, he hasn't been locked-up yet, but he's been caught and captured with Sarah Jane." (caught by the army who, in a deserted London, take them for looters!)
Jason: "He's been captured - escaped - captured again."
MJ: "And they don't believe him. Well there we go - there's a big surprise. That annoys me." *Leigh laughs* "'Cos I was always told to tell the truth and The Doctor's telling the truth and no-one believes him. And that really gets on my goat!"
Jason: "I think he (the interrogating army guy) did believe him, I just don't think he cared!"
*Leigh laughs*
Shaun: "I'm wondering how long the farce is going to go on for, because they've already sent someone to the holding centre from U.N.I.T. to collect The Doctor. But now he's on his way to the detention thing. Maybe the first four episodes is just him going to various detention centres and U.N.I.T. being a minute too late to collect them!"
Jason: "Yeah, the final episode has him about to be executed."
*Laughter*
MJ: "And the General-guy shoots him and says 'Say hello to Tom Baker for me!' Bang!" *Sniggers* "And onto Part Two..."
*EPISODE TWO GETS WATCHED*
Photo 2: At Mark's house.
Jason gets bitten by Shaun
and MJ (with the sign and DVD case).
Shaun: "You had one job! Don't kill the guy who's going to save everyone!!"
Leigh: "Just give it (the T-Rex) some 'Chewits'! It'll be fine!"
*Laughter*
MJ: "I think the T-Rex is probably the worst dinosaur."
Shaun: "Yeah! You'd have thought they have made that the best!"
MJ: "Yeah, it just looked REALLY dodgy. The others, you know, you could SEE they were models but they looked quite you know."
Shaun: "It's only a model!"
Jason: "It's got character!"
*Leigh laughs*
MJ: "It HAS got character but it does remind me of the 'Chewits' one as you say!" (In the 1980's there were TV commercials with an animated model of a dinosaur (in the vein of Godzilla) who tried to eat all the famous monuments in the world - before deciding he preferred the chewy 'Chewits' confectionery treats!)
Shaun: "I think it was when we were down the pub of Friday that Leigh was saying if one of them doesn't look like a crappy 'Chewits' puppet, he's going to be very disappointed!" *Laughs*
Leigh: "I'm NOT disappointed!"
*MJ laughs*
MJ: "And we're just saying that Mike Yates appears to have betrayed them, but only because he thinks he's going to bring mankind to a better age!"
Jason: "A better life - a new golden age, yeah."
Leigh: "Yeah. Hitler thought that."
Shaun: "Yeah."
*Leigh laughs*
MJ: "Hitler DID think that!"
Leigh: "Yeah. Hitler said that!"
*Laughter*
Shaun: "Once again you say 'Yates isn't willing to kill for it' but it just immediately said there were a bunch of casualties when the dinosaurs first showed up! So obviously he IS willing to kill for it as he's not giving up the gang yet!"
Jason: "That's not HIS fault. We don't know what his PLAN is yet! Maybe the dinosaurs were a mistake and that's not what's supposed to happen." *Laughing* "That's not part of the whole 'Golden Age' thing! 'We're going to make a NEW 'Golden Age.... Of Dinosaurs'!'"
*Laughter*
Shaun: *Laughing* "What, so Yates has been a dinosaur in disguise - a la The Master - all of this time!!?"
Leigh: "All scientists are evil!"
*Jason laughs*
Mark: "If that was the case though, which one would you love more at this point? The Dinosaur Yates? Or The Master?"
*Laughter*
Shaun: "Well, knowing that The Master is dead - right -" *Laughter* "- Right! Here's what the best thing would be: if Yates would take off the mask to reveal he was a dinosaur all along - but then reveals THAT mask to reveal that he was The Master posing as both of those things! However, as Roger Delgado is dead, I'm fine with Yates pulling off the mask to reveal a Velocoraptor! OR, even better, TWO Pterodactyls in a trench coat!!"
*Laughter*
MJ: "I have wondered why I often see Yates, in these ones, walking around like this:" *Does visual impression to much laughter* "For the tape, MJ does an impression of a dinosaur!"
Jason: "Two dinosaurs!"
Shaun: "In a trench coat!" *Laughter* "So is everyone enjoying this so far?"
Jason: "Yeah!"
MJ: "I am! I think it's really good. Some of the effects seem dodgy but the story seems quite good! I'm sure I recognise that General - the dodgy one."
Shaun: "Finch."
Shaun: "The one in charge of -"
Jason: "- Have we seen him before?"
MJ: "No, but he looks like the guy who dresses as a Chinese man in the Tom Baker story 'The Talons Of Weng-Chiang'! (good spot MJ - as it IS the same actor!)"
Jason: "It probably is him. I thought I recognised him."
MJ: "But I don't know. Anyway I'm going to pause it there!"
*EPISODE THREE GETS WATCHED*
Photo 3: At Mark's house.
Gavin, Leigh, Jason (with the sign),
Shaun (with the DVD case) and Mark (with 'The Book').
Leigh: "Three."
MJ: "Three. She's on a spaceship - Sarah Jane - and she got tricked by the Minister, who pretended he was good, but then he was bad! And you called it, didn't you Leigh?"
Leigh: "Totally called it!"
MJ: "Totally called it."
*Leigh laughs*
MJ: "And Sarah Jane got put in a room where she was hypnotised and now she's woken up on a spaceship or something!"
Mark: "Yeah."
MJ: "So we THINK!"
Shaun: "It's probably just a special effect!"
Gavin: "In double-denim!"
MJ: "In double-denim, yeah! They've actually taken her clothes off and put new ones on! Which is nice..."
Shaun: "Well that kind of explains Yates."
MJ: "Yes, Yates wants a better world and so -"
Leigh: "- In space."
Jason: "In denim."
MJ: "Sorry, Leigh, in where?"
Leigh: "SPA-AACE!"
MJ: "THANK you! Say it properly!" *Laughter* "Well there we go! Exciting stuff! Well I'm quite enjoying this one - and that's high praise!" *Laughs along with Leigh* "No, I really am!"
Shaun: "You'll probably give it your usual eight anyway!"
MJ: "Yeah probably."
Mark: "I'm actually, genuinely, liking this one."
MJ: "Yeah I am."
Mark: "Which I haven't said so far, I think."
MJ: "No I don't think you have, ever!"
*Laughter*
Mark: "Not for Pertwee, I haven't!"
MJ: "No that's what I meant."
*EPISODE FOUR STARTS*
MJ: "Sarah Jane does have a nice figure to her."
Shaun: "Bad hair though."
MJ: "Oh I quite like it."
Jason: "Suzi Quatro hair."
MJ: "Yeah."
Leigh: "And an annoying personality."
Gavin: "Very good for 1974."
MJ: "Pause."
*EPISODE FOUR GETS WATCHED*
Photo 4: At Mark's house.
Jason laughs whilst
Shaun (with the DVD case) and MJ do Dinosaur-hands.
Shaun: "Which is ridiculous!"
MJ: "Ridiculous."
Shaun: "No-one's going to believe it! Except, probably, EVERYONE!"
*Leigh chuckles*
MJ: "Sarah Jane is still in space -"
Shaun: "- Well, to be fair Benton won't and The Brigadier PROBABLY won't."
MJ: "It's all kicking off."
Shaun: "We've had a whole episode with just a completely incoherent side-plot about a spaceship!"
Jason: "That IS the main plot!"
*Laughter*
Shaun: "No! That is SUPPOSED to be the main plot - that's what they're going for - but currently it's a disjointed mess!"
Mark: "But they've got to do a thing to help the spaceship..."
Jason: "I genuinely prefer the story if I don't know what's going on for most of it. So, as long as it ties up at the end, I'm happy."
MJ: "I'm quite happy with this so far, it doesn't seem to be..."
Shaun: "Yeah but that is SO far out of... (left-field) Well, we've just not had enough basis - or thing to it. I mean we don;t know if it's a real spaceship or anything yet!"
Jason: "I'm saying yes."
Shaun: "It's just bizarre. It's not really working."
MJ: "I don't think it is."
Mark: "I don't think it's a double-bluff."
Shaun: "Well I mean where did it come from? Where did it go? Cotton Eyed-Joe!" *Laughter* "How did it take off from the centre of London without destroying buildings and getting a tremendous amount of attention?! Admittedly not from U.N.I.T. who are utterly incompetent, but The Doctor probably would have noticed!?"
Leigh: "And dinosaurs."
Shaun: "And the dinosaurs would have noticed!"
MJ: "Who said it took off from central London?"
Shaun: "That's where Sarah Jane Smith was."
MJ: "Yeah but they knocked her out and they probably transported her - didn't they?"
Jason: "Maybe she got in a van first? She was in a van for three years before she got to the spaceship!"
*Chuckles*
Mark: "Yeah, how did they get out of there?"
Leigh: "Magic."
Jason: "They got help from the military! Yates can do it."
Mark: "Also we do have a tendency to over-think Doctor Who scripts."
*Leigh chuckles*
Shaun: "Yeah."
Mark: "So there probably IS a spaceship. It took off from somewhere. Nobody noticed!"
*Leigh laughs*
Shaun: "I'm just saying that the cohesion of the narrative is not too great up to this point! And it's VEXING me rather than entertaining me!"
Mark: "I like it! What's going on..."
Shaun: "Edith is going to murder her!"
MJ: "Oh yes, Carmen Silvera, who played Edith in (the sit-com) ' 'Allo 'Allo' she's in this (playing Ruth). Last time we saw her she was in 'The Celestial Toymaker' as the Queen of Hearts or whatever."
Shaun: "Was she!??"
MJ: "Yeah."
Mark: "I forgot she was in that."
MJ: "Well that WAS a long time ago!"
Shaun: "I remember a lot about 'The Celestial Toymaker' - I remember quite enjoying it. But I don't remember Edith being in it."
MJ: "And she was like the female clown and she was like:" *Puts on high voice* "Oh dear! La-la-la-la-la!" *Leigh laughs* "And all ridiculous. So yeah that's it - 'Dinosaurs' Part Four."
*Leigh laughs*
Shaun: "That's not it! There ARE two more."
MJ: "There are two more."
Shaun: "If that ended THERE - that would be a VERY confusing ending!"
MJ: "Yeah, The Doctor's just doing nothing. No he's trapped in a room with a dinosaur and it's going to kill him! Arrrrghh - it won't kill him."
*Leigh laughs*
Jason: "It's the one he helped earlier - probably."
MJ: Ahh."
Leigh: "It can't be the SAME dinosaur!"
Jason: "Why can't be the SAME dinosaur?"
Leigh: "Well...I don't know!"
Shaun: "It's also something of a misnomer! They're not safe with it - just because a Stegosaurus isn't a meat-eater, doesn't mean it won't attack them if it's territory or itself is threatened!"
MJ: "No, that's true."
Shaun: "And it's still quite a hefty beast!"
MJ: "Yeah."
Jason: "No-one's ever been hurt by a rhinoceros....FACT!"
Mark: "No."
Shaun: "Exactly!"
MJ: "Or a hippo."
Mark: "Or an elephant."
Shaun: "Hippo's aren't vegetarian." (I've since looked it up - yes they are!)
MJ: "They aren't?"
Shaun: "No, they eat fish." (They don't!)
MJ: "Oh. Well there you go."
Jason: "They eat penguins."
Shaun: *Laughing* "Did you say they eat penguins!??"
Mark: "What, the small chocolate bar?"
Jason: "Yeah."
MJ: "Well on THAT bombshell - next part." *Laughs to self* "Small chocolate bar..."
*Mark laughs*
Mark: "It was in a different street though - and he was in a car this time."
Jason: "Well, we know the basic plot now!"
MJ: "Yeah. What was it? They want to clean the Earth?"
Jason: "Roll-back time."
MJ: "They want to roll-back time, clean the Earth and start again with these band of chosen-ones."
Shaun: "Idiots!"
Jason: "To do it better!"
MJ: "To do it better because the Earth has just gone mad!"
Shaun: "Yeah. They've paid NO attention to the consequence or the larger picture of what they are doing! Their entire plan is incredibly silly!"
Shaun: "Yeah. They've paid NO attention to the consequence or the larger picture of what they are doing! Their entire plan is incredibly silly!"
Jason: "I've taken a lot from this episode. I've learnt that I'm FOR pollution now."
*Laughter*
Shaun: "Do you know that's what I was going to say as well! Like, they're pointing out genuine problems of the time and the only people acting on it are psychopaths AND idiots!"
*Mark laughs*
*Mark laughs*
Jason: "There's only one way to solve this..."
Shaun: *Laughing* "Yeah!"
MJ: "They're just 'Fake News'! That's what I've just learnt recently. Everything's 'Fake News'."
Shaun: "Everything's 'Fake News'. Yeah."
*Mark gets up to go out*
MJ: "Why are you going out now then?"
Mark: "I'm just going to have a quick cigarette."
Leigh: "That's breaking the rules!"
Jason: "He got stressed out by the last dinosaur cliff-hanger."
*Leigh chuckles*
MJ: "Okay, last part..."
*EPISODE SIX GETS WATCHED*
Leigh: "- Annoying!"
Shaun: "It's got what!?"
MJ: "Has it? He was in Doctor Who before!"
Jason: "He's in it again - John Abineri."
MJ: "John Abineri, yeah."
Shaun: *Whispering* "I've no idea what they're talking about!"
Jason *Annoyed* "Okay, well alright, so what do you know, that we know, with somebody called 'Rimmer' in it!!?"
Shaun: "I didn't quite hear what you said!"
Jason: "Oh okay."
Shaun: "So a bloke who played Rimmer's dad in 'Red Dwarf'."
MJ: "Okay, so I think photos time! So bye then!"
Shaun: "Wait - is it half hour yet!!?"
MJ: *Lying* "Yes."
Shaun: "Yes! Bye!"
MJ: "It's not - it's twenty-nine minutes!"
Shaun: "NO!!!"
*Mark chuckles*
And dat woz well wicked, innit! It gave us an average of 8.23556666 out of 10!
Okay next time we have Daleks. Or rather we HAD Daleks - I write this just before the weekend where we will watch the story AFTER that!
So I'd better go! Until then I shall return, yes I shall return....
MJ - 15/02/17
MJ: "That's 'Dinosaurs' then. 'Dinosaurs On A Plane'!" *Leigh chuckles* "Errr - that was okay!"
Gavin: "Yeah! I quite liked that one."
MJ: "And in the end they didn't go to their 'Utopia'. The people on the spaceship found out that they weren't on a spaceship and went 'Heyyyyy'! And the bad guys sent themselves back in time 'cos The Doctor had reversed the polarity on the machine!"
Mark: "It fixes anything techy."
MJ: "It fixes anything techy."
Mark: "Although he reversed the polarity so it will al go bad now."
MJ: "And Sergeant Benton got to punch the General in the face! Which was quite good."
Leigh: "On the NOSE! Not in the face!"
MJ: "It's on his face!!?"
*Leigh laughs*
Jason: *After a long pause* "Yeah!"
MJ: "I think we're all a bit stunned and full of cheese!"
*Leigh chuckles*
Shaun: "Yeah."
MJ: "Did you enjoy it, Shaun?"
Shaun: "I certainly enjoyed it! I mean it collapsed under the weight of its own stupid, pointless plot at the end!"
Jason: "No! The premise was 'mad inventor bloke' - therefore all rules are off!"
Shaun: "But I enjoyed it up until that point."
Mark: "Have you NOT watched all of the Doctor Who's we've watched?!"
*Leigh laughs*
Shaun: "I KNOW, but THAT just seemed particularly stupid!"
Mark: "But they actually had a reason for their plan!"
Shaun: *Laughs* "Well, yeah!"
Jason: "I DID like the fact that it was one - or a couple of - mad people and everyone else just thought it was a different thing."
Shaun: "Yeah, everyone else was a complete idiot."
Jason: *Smiling* "No, if you're TOLD you're going on a spaceship you don't go checking out air-locks to see if they're all right! They had radio contact with other airships - well, not airships but to other..."
Leigh: "Spaceships."
MJ: "Well that's true! If you had an air lock you wouldn't go: 'Oh I wonder what happens if I open it'!?"
Jason: "Yeah - I don't do that every time I go on an aeroplane! 'I don't believe this for a MINUTE'!"
*Laughter*
Shaun: *Laughing* "There IS a difference between an aeroplane and, what is ostensibly, an underground cavern in set-dressing! That they have to be knocked-out before they are put into it!"
Jason: "Okay - admittedly if I can get knocked out before going on a plane - like Mr. T. Mr. T was always opening air locks!"
*Laughter*
Mark: "They were also building this brand new future without any physicists or engineers to work it out."
Shaun: "Or medicine! They weren't bringing modern medicine or anything. Power."
Mark: "Know they didn't know if they had doctors!"
Jason: "You don't know who was there in their - "
Leigh: "- Yeah there were two hundred of them! That was only on the first ship."
Mark: "They just woke up the ones who didn't know space travel."
MJ: "Oh that's right."
Shaun: "Yeah 'cos they reckoned they had a load in suspended animation. So if they don't have the capacity for a spaceship, they sure as HELL don't have the space for cryogenic spaces!"
MJ: "Yeah that was probably only just lies."
Shaun: "So they were like re-populating the Earth and. to be fair, they were going to go back to a more savage time where they probably would have been murdered by the humans there anyway! But REGARDLESS of that, there was like twenty of them!"
Mark: "They were crazy - it wasn't necessarily a good plan!"
Shaun: *Laughing* "Basically, we've just watched six episodes where a doomsday cult bring dinosaurs to the future!"
*Laughter*
Mark: "Yeah, but in spite of that..."
Shaun: "I'm going to say 'I didn't enjoy it' - I did. As long as we can all appreciate how unbelievably stupid everything about it was!"
Mark: "I'm disappointed nobody had 'Chewits'."
*Laughter*
Leigh: "That could have solved the T-rex problem!"
Shaun: "And Yates didn't even get to have a big... well, Yates was the betrayer and he believed in their goal and everything. How did he get in touch with them? How LONG has he been in touch with them? Why has he decided to turn against everything he knows and loves!?"
Mark: *High pitched* "You don't need that explanation!"
Jason: "You don't need that explained! If they explained everything you'd have two further episodes of back-story!"
*Leigh laughs*
Shaun:"There could have just been a thing of 'Oh the Minister came to me a few months ago...'"
Shaun: *Laughing* "Basically, we've just watched six episodes where a doomsday cult bring dinosaurs to the future!"
*Laughter*
Mark: "Yeah, but in spite of that..."
Shaun: "I'm going to say 'I didn't enjoy it' - I did. As long as we can all appreciate how unbelievably stupid everything about it was!"
Mark: "I'm disappointed nobody had 'Chewits'."
*Laughter*
Leigh: "That could have solved the T-rex problem!"
Shaun: "And Yates didn't even get to have a big... well, Yates was the betrayer and he believed in their goal and everything. How did he get in touch with them? How LONG has he been in touch with them? Why has he decided to turn against everything he knows and loves!?"
Mark: *High pitched* "You don't need that explanation!"
Jason: "You don't need that explained! If they explained everything you'd have two further episodes of back-story!"
*Leigh laughs*
Shaun:"There could have just been a thing of 'Oh the Minister came to me a few months ago...'"
Jason: "Look Jo went off with another bloke, he got really upset -" *Shaun laughs* "He went of and met some other woman in a bar, who was in a cult."
Shaun: "And also ''Allo 'Allo' in a few years time."Jason: *Laughing* "And also ''Allo 'Allo', and THAT'S how he got into it."
MJ: "Yeah."
Shaun: "It doesn't help the story that THAT wasn't in the story!"
*Leigh laughs*
MJ: "He just liked their ideals and thought that he was doing a good thing - but he didn't know about all the - "
Jason: "- He probably didn't know all about the dinosaurs!! Or the rolling back time - like Cher sung about." (Well, it was 'TURN back time' but we'll let Jason off....)
*Chuckles*
Shaun: "No, he did know about both of those things."
Jason: "Probably not when he first got into it."
*Laughter*
Shaun: "No, not when he first got into it."
Jason: "But once he'd invested, he would have felt stupid backing out."
*Mark chuckles*
MJ: "Still." *Leigh laughs* "There we go, that's..."
Jason: "But I like that Yates was involved."
MJ: "Yes, I liked the idea of having someone, you've known for all this time, turn out to be the betrayer."
Shaun: "I've never liked Yates as much as Benton. So I'm very glad that it wasn't Benton they chose."
MJ: "No."
Shaun: "He's still around and got to punch a General on the nose!"
MJ: "Yes. He got to do some good stuff. In fact it was a good U.N.I.T. story."
Jason: "Yeah!"
Shaun: "It was an OKAY U.N.I.T. story, but it was a very good Sarah Jane story. Because she got to be a companion who got to figure a load of things out AND help avert most of the crisis. Whilst the Doctor was being chased by U.N,I.T."
MJ: "Yeah."
Jason: "And we shouldn't forget the overall message of the story which is: buy rope."
*Uproarious laughter*
MJ: "Yes she was very good in this - "
Leigh: "- No she wasn't!"
MJ: "- I enjoyed her. She was brave, she was clever, she was -"
Leigh: "- Annoying!"
Jason: "She wasn't annoying!!"
Gavin: "I don't find her annoying."
Leigh: "She WAS annoying!"
Jason: "She did NOTHING annoying - well she was only annoying if you were the mad genius trying to pretend that you weren't going to kill everyone!"
Leigh: "I just find her general presence and attitude annoying!"
*Shaun laughs*
*Shaun laughs*
Jason: "You don't like the philosophy of women!"
MJ: "Oh dear, we just can't seem to agree on the companions we like!"
Shaun: "To be fair, it's nice NOT to be the guy who has the problem!"
*Laughter*
MJ: "No!"
Shaun: "It's normally me that doesn't like them!"
MJ: "You've passed on the mantle."
Jason: "We were all fine with Barbara, weren't we?"
*Laughter*
Shaun: "Yes we all liked Barbara."
MJ: "Oh God! Let's go back.... ten years...." *Leigh laughs* "Well, it was only three years? Three or four?"
Shaun: "Three. Four."
Jason: "Fifty-something now..."
Shaun: "Thirty-four..."
MJ: "It's mad isn't it? So yup, good! There we go. Did you enjoy that one, Gav?"
Gavin: "Yeah."
*Laughter*
MJ: "Was that worth leaving Cambridge for!?"
Jason: *Laughing* "He didn't JUST come here for THIS!"
MJ: "Yes he did! He said 'I was promised dinosaurs! Convincing dinosaur in 'Doctor Who'!"
*Shaun and Mark laugh*
Gavin: "Well, we got dinosaurs!"
Jason: "You shouldn't believe everything you hear - as you've just seen."
MJ: "Well they did them again, in the future, in 'Dinosaurs On A Spaceship'."
Shaun: "Yes."
Jason: "They DID do that! Much more convincingly."
MJ: "But was the STORY as good?"
*Leigh laughs*
Jason: "No, it wasn't! Do you know what I remember about it? Dinosaurs on a spaceship!"
MJ: "I remember Mitchell and Webb were robots."
Jason: "They were, and it had, erm, Rory's dad."
MJ: "Oh yeah." *Quotes a character he did in 'The Fast Show'* "You ain't seen me, roight?!"
Jason: *Laughing* "That's what he said!"
Shaun: "I thought 'Dinosaurs On A Spaceship' was the one where there was an evil smuggler on a spaceship and The Doctor kills him at the end."
MJ: "Yeah, yeah!"
Jason: "There were lots of things in it."
Shaun: "Oh okay - I don't remember a lot of it."
Jason: "And wasn't there pterodactyls on a beach?"
MJ: "I think so."
Jason: "IN the spaceship."
MJ: "And there was 'Holiday On The Buses'." *Laughs*
Jason: *Laughing* "There was 'Mutiny On The Beach'."
Shaun: "I did think you would have a field-day with one of those characters (in 'Invasion Of The Dinosaurs') being called 'Butler'."
*Laughter*
MJ: "Oh! I didn't even think of it!"
Mark: "I'm surprised there was none!"
Jason: "I've put myself in a corner, by giving other stories nines, now."
Shaun: "Yeah."
Mark: "See, too early on the nines - that's what you've done there."
MJ: "Why do you think this was BETTER than the other stories you have watched?"
Jason: "I think it was equal to, erm, 'Maggots' ('The Green Death'), probably."
MJ: "Ahh."
Jason: "Although THAT had lots of maggots!"
Shaun: "Yeah."
Jason: "Whereas this had lots of denim."
*Laughter*
Shaun: "Yes."
Jason: "I counted six denim outfits - a lot of complete denim outfits were made for this."
Shaun: "I hope 'The Book' will tell us!"
Mark: "I hope so, yeah."
Jason: "There was at least four, full complete ones."
MJ: "Okay what will you give it out of ten?"
Jason: "I'll give it an eight point two."
MJ: "What about you then, Leigh?"
Leigh: "Errrrrr I'll give it an eight."
MJ: "I think I will also say eight. I did enjoy that."
Jason: "You give them all eights!"
MJ: "Probably!"
Shaun: "Yeah, pretty much."
Mark: "Erm, I'll give it a nine point one."
MJ: "Ooo! You REALLY liked it!"
Mark: "I ACTUALLY liked that one so it's gets a nine point one!"
Jason: "He can see the end of Pertwee coming!"
*Laughter*
Mark: "Yeah that maybe what it is!"
MJ: "Gav?"
Gavin: "Eight point two five. Purely 'cos it did get a bit... well by Episode Four it went astray slightly. But, yeah it was a good plot."
MJ: "That's probably why I'm not going up to nine."
Mark: "This was the first one, I feel, hasn't been over-stretched."
Gavin: "Yeah."
Mark: "I've felt THAT in some stories that are only four episodes."
*Leigh laughs*
MJ: "Yeah, that's true. That's true."
Mark: "But this had ACTUAL plot for most of it."
MJ: "And Shaun?"
Shaun: "I'm basing this on enjoyment - rather than overall quality."
MJ: Ahh okay."
Jason: "As you should!"
Shaun: "And I'm going to give this a seven point eight six three four."
MJ: "Ahh - because you enjoyed it, no. Yes, you ENJOYED it more than you LIKED it!"
*MJ and Leigh laugh*
Shaun: "No, it's just I really did enjoy it and I thought it was pretty well-made and everything. But, if you put any critical analysis into ANY of that story it just completely collapses under it's own weight."
MJ: "Oh yeah, yeah, yeah! I think you just have to enjoy it for what it is: a load of fun!"
Shaun: "But, moreover, more so than a lot of these Doctor Who's - which are quite straight A to B - they tried to do something a bit more complex and just FAILED!"
MJ: *Laughs* "I'm interested to see what 'The Book' says about it, 'cos I have heard lots of people say they do generally regard it as a good story. But with the effects not-so-good."
Shaun: *Smiling* "I'd go the other way around! But I delight in a terrible dinosaur effect!"
Mark: "What's terrible about that?"
Shaun: "Oh the T-rex."
MJ: "Yeah."
Shaun: "And everything based around it!"
Mark: "I've seen NO special effects." *Laughter* "I think that was great!"
Jason: "So the book says:" *Reading from 'The Book'* " 'Dinosaurs terrorise London and Sarah uncovers a high-ranking plot to alter the course of time'!"
MJ: *Gasps* "I know - we just saw it!"
*Shaun laughs*
Jason: *Reading from 'The Book'* " 'Rodney Fuller designed five dinosaurs, usually filmed on model backgrounds, but sometimes inserted into studio footage via CSO.' Which stands for 'Colour Separation what'?"
MJ: "Colour Separation Overlay."
Mark: "I thought they investigated murders..."
*Laughter*
Jason: "CSO Miami - CSO Chiswick that was!" *Laughter* *Reading from 'The Book'* " 'Part One was entitled 'Invasion' to maintain the surprise of the first cliff-hanger. The Doctor's unnamed futuristic car, sometimes referred to as 'The Alien' or 'The Whomobile', made it's first appearance. London locations included Westminster Bridge, Whitehall, Trafalger Square, Haymarket, Covent Gardens, Moorhead, Wimbledon Common - blah blah blah.'"
Shaun: "And the Chiswick buttery."
Mark: "It was the Moorgate Buttery."
Shaun: "Oh, it was the MOORGATE Buttery! Well, apologies!"
Jason: "They guy who sells more butter!" *Leigh laughs* *Reading from 'The Book'* " 'Verdict: An intelligent and atmospheric conspiracy tale with a concept-heavy plot that's sufficiently well-written to make up for some poorer effects work. The fake colony ship is a wonderfully cynical idea and scenes of deserted London are fabulously eerie. Ten out of ten'."
MJ: "Ahhhh! 'The Book' really liked it! Ten out of ten - it's clearly liking these later ones."
Jason: "'The Book' is a Pertwee fan!"
*Leigh and Shaun laugh*
Leigh: "Like Mark."
*Laughter*
Mark: "Obviously."
Jason: "Next time is - shall I give away it?"
MJ: "Yeah."
Shaun: "Yeah."
Jason: "'Death To The Daleks'!"
Leigh: "Starring.... The Daleks!"
Shaun: "The Cybermen!"
Jason: "The Sontarans and Rod Hull."
MJ: "I think that's got, err -"
Jason: "The Daleks in it."
Leigh: "A Dalek in it."
MJ: "I'm sure there's a little character played by somebody famous?"
Shaun: "Well let's find out next time!"
MJ: "Okay."
Jason: "I'm looking. Oh, it's got Rimmer's Dad in it!" (Rimmer is a character in the sitcom Red Dwarf - played initially by the actor John Abineri)
MJ: "Ahhhh! 'The Book' really liked it! Ten out of ten - it's clearly liking these later ones."
Jason: "'The Book' is a Pertwee fan!"
*Leigh and Shaun laugh*
Leigh: "Like Mark."
*Laughter*
Mark: "Obviously."
Jason: "Next time is - shall I give away it?"
MJ: "Yeah."
Shaun: "Yeah."
Jason: "'Death To The Daleks'!"
Leigh: "Starring.... The Daleks!"
Shaun: "The Cybermen!"
Jason: "The Sontarans and Rod Hull."
MJ: "I think that's got, err -"
Jason: "The Daleks in it."
Leigh: "A Dalek in it."
MJ: "I'm sure there's a little character played by somebody famous?"
Shaun: "Well let's find out next time!"
MJ: "Okay."
Jason: "I'm looking. Oh, it's got Rimmer's Dad in it!" (Rimmer is a character in the sitcom Red Dwarf - played initially by the actor John Abineri)
Shaun: "It's got what!?"
MJ: "Has it? He was in Doctor Who before!"
Jason: "He's in it again - John Abineri."
MJ: "John Abineri, yeah."
Shaun: *Whispering* "I've no idea what they're talking about!"
Jason *Annoyed* "Okay, well alright, so what do you know, that we know, with somebody called 'Rimmer' in it!!?"
Shaun: "I didn't quite hear what you said!"
Jason: "Oh okay."
Shaun: "So a bloke who played Rimmer's dad in 'Red Dwarf'."
MJ: "Okay, so I think photos time! So bye then!"
Shaun: "Wait - is it half hour yet!!?"
MJ: *Lying* "Yes."
Shaun: "Yes! Bye!"
MJ: "It's not - it's twenty-nine minutes!"
Shaun: "NO!!!"
*Mark chuckles*
Photo 5: At Mark's house.
Leigh checks his phone
and Jason (checks the DVD case and sign).
********************************************************************************************************
Well cor blimey that was a long one, Gav'nor! Here's what we did do go and do go and voted for, did we do we:
Well cor blimey that was a long one, Gav'nor! Here's what we did do go and do go and voted for, did we do we:
Jason: 8.2
Leigh: 8
MJ: 8
Mark: 9.1
Gavin: 8.25
Shaun: 7.8634
And dat woz well wicked, innit! It gave us an average of 8.23556666 out of 10!
Okay next time we have Daleks. Or rather we HAD Daleks - I write this just before the weekend where we will watch the story AFTER that!
So I'd better go! Until then I shall return, yes I shall return....
MJ - 15/02/17
