Please be true...

ReBoot Rumour
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War on Scales 13

After a week in Overlook, we are asked to meet one of the high up dwarfs (that we had encountered before) for a potential mission. After the recent raiding of the weapon stashes around the city, he has found some paperwork indicating where an old mine related to his clan was (and evidence suggests where the Warforged ally of ours came from). He puts to the proposition of going looking for this mine... and we accept!

The assassin gets us a guide, and after some quick shopping (I pick up some useful rituals), we set out for the desert where the mine is thought to be. After trekking across the increasingly arduous territory (although as a cleric of the nature goddess, I don't complain), we find a city on the edge of the desert. However, they have their own problems.

A gnoll and his creature (not entirely sure what it was, it breaths lightning!) was terrorizing the village for tribute. We can't be having with that, so we set about killing him. Which we do. However, satyrs turn up. And his creature isn't best pleased with me (as he saw me doing the apparent killing blow). They set about beating us up.

We barely manage to hurt the creature, although it gets us good. And we have spent a fair bit of time on the satyrs, but they're still around too. It's not going well for us... will this be TPK???

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DW 513: The Big Bang

Superficially, yay! However, don't think about it to hard.

Cheating with time travel. Had to happen, never impressed by it when it is. Because, as the word goes, it is a 'cheat'. Confid refers to it being a farce (ha! It's funny music! Laugh, damn you all, laugh! IT'S FUNNY!) then slams in with the dying Doctor (who regenerates into River Song? Or not). But... there's a lot of just running around in this episode, and this is just a part of that.

Because not a lot actually happens. Think about it. They get out of the Pandorica, run around the museum for a while, then the Pandorica goes into the TARDIS, and we have a wedding... and that's it. Remove the running around, and it's a very short episode.

And what about the answers? As the Doctor says, what brought the TARDIS there? What is the Silence? (Or Psilence?) Just as well there's another series.

As for not thinking to hard about this: where does the star cult (led by Richard Dawkins!) work when there are no stars? Once the Doctor is erased from history, whence River Song jogging Amy's memory? And why would Rory remember being plastic, when that was just a Nestene creation in the first place? And without the Doctor, just how does the Earth survive the universe then??? Argh! Suspicion is: Moffat thought it was cool when he wrote it.

As ever, this is trying to be a character led finale with lots of big spectacle. Nearly there, would have liked some answers, and it doesn't stand up to scrutiny. It's nice, but... could have been nicer.


Next time: Aliens on a train in space? Huh.

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DW Running - Series 5

So, updating the statistics for Series 5.

Average over all episodes: 46'32". Sans just Eleventh Hour: 45'02". Sans just Big Bang: 45'56. Sans Eleventh and Big: 45'56". Not much in in.

Shortest: The Time of Angels (41'37"). Longest (ignoring Eleventh, Big): The Pandorica Opens (48'41").

Moffat stats: Average 46'10". So, just shorter than the average for series 5.

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Yayarama!

Huzzah! Futurama has once again returned to the screens! With a double episode to kick off with!

First episode back was Rebirth, which was one of their more serious episodes (as serious as it gets), featuring Fry and Leela's romance. In some ways, they had to back pedal in order to get their series back, as, as they say, nothing kills interest more than tension being filled, and the Fry/Leela tension was one of the main driving forces of the show. (That said, this was the second time they had to back out of the relationship, which they tend to go for when the series looks like it's being canceled again.) So, while funny, I find the relationship episodes more of a strain to get through as they are basically belabouring the point they can't get to over and over again.

Then we have In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela, in which they get back to the more usual silliness of the series. Which is the only way to go when the episode is a heavy Zapp Brannigan one. Unfortunately the "revelations" are rather over done, and the ending is just bizarre given the character set ups, but still, this is more the classic style.

But, best of all... it's back! Here's to many more episodes to come!

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(Toy Story)^3

It's a story about toys... damn that's some good story telling there!

Andy's come of age, so now his toys aren't really needed any more. So what happens to them? A hilarious series of events in which they face their own death! What else? Let's not be coy here, there are some extremely emotional moments, but also some great moments that make you remember why you love this series of films.

(And it also really shows that some animators have a clue, unlike others.)

We have the core set of character, and it's great to see them back. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen sound like they've barely stepped away from the mike for several years (ah, the joy of being audio only), not to mention Joan, Don, Wallace, John and Estelle. And we get some great new toys as well, voiced by Otis, Beetlejuice, James Bond and Mel.

This is definite must-see movie. And must get DVD as well. Pixar will always be the King of Animated Movies. (That said, still haven't seen Cars.)

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Zombiegeddon: 6th Bite!

Down the mine, we have Duergar trying to open up a path for more Duergar. We can't have that, can we? Attack! Two guards come over to us, and seem to rather effectively manage to block our progress. And a stray shot from an arrow puts down the monk. We're doing well!

Dox fires off a rather powerful bolt that knocks down the cleric in the room. Finally getting a clear shot, I manage to use my mind to blow the cleric's up. Heh.

Meanwhile, the others take out those trying to raise the cog, the monk spinning around the room laying the smack down on everyone there. We continue the fight. One Duergar escapes, but is cut down. The monk manages to close the cog, and I get poisoned. Ow! And nearly collapse. So close...

Sitting for a while, others find a few interesting items, and the dwarf with us finds his cousin. And we find a large obsidian shard coming out the floor. What the...?

The shard hits our minds, and I see an image of Seaian. I'm not having that, and lash back with my mind, smacking it hard. We chase it about the room, with it dominating some of us, and us attacking it. Eventually the monk shatters it. That was annoying.

With that out of the way, we stock up on armour and weapons, and head back first to the brewery (to get some beer), and then back to the inn. We investigate the staves some more, find one is good for terrifying prisoners, and the other staff attracts zombies. And opens a portal to some tomb. Hmm... we could store stuff there...

So, with the sun setting on other day, we take stock of our position, and contemplate the future...

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