Happy Birthday, Bernard and Mekhi!

Today we have two birthdays to celebrate.
The first one is Bernard Cribbins and English actor and voice-over artist whom we know as Donna's grandfather Wilfred Mott in Doctor Who. He has been in show biz more than half a century now and during this time he has played in several movies, TV series and theatre plays. In 2011 he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
The second is Mekhi Phifer is an American actor who played Rex Matheson in Torchwood: Miracle Day. He played in TV series like ER or Lie to Me but he had also roles in movies like 8 Mile.
Happy Birthday to the boys who couldn't be more different.

Christmas Special: The Snowmen

Summary:
Clara works as a waitress in a pub and when she goes out a snowman appears suddenly. The Doctor walks past but he isn't very interested in the snowman. Somehow Clara is really fascinated by him and follows the Doctor's coach. They encounter the snowmen again but when Clara envisions them melting, they really do. The Doctor tries to erase her memory of the events but he isn't able to do so, so he just puts her in his coach and Strax should bring her home. Clara still follows him and there she sees the Tardis on a cloud. The next morning she returns to her duties as a governess but something strange happens on the grounds of Captain Lattimer's house. There is a pond that is still frozen where the old governess died. Clara tries to find the Doctor again but Jenny finds her first and brings her to Madame Vastra where she has to answer some question why the Doctor should help her. It seems that Clara has found the exact right word and soon the Doctor is back in the game. The old governess appears again as an ice woman who is wanted by Dr Simeon. Can the Doctor save the world from ice people and more important, can he save Clara?

I think this really was a great Christmas Special. It gave me some of the Christmas feelings with the snow and everything that I miss in reality. Yes, I know the snow was an alien life form but it looked pretty nonetheless. Vastra, Jenny and Strax are a brilliant trio and it's just great to see them all together. Strax is just funny in an unintentional way and he often makes you smile. We've met Clara before as a Dalek but after this Christmas Special it's still not clear who she really is. I think this puzzle is also the reason why the Doctor starts to travel again after the loss of the Ponds. Vastra, Jenny and Strax tried their best to keep him company but he needed Clara to get him out of his Scrooge mood. The Snowmen are really terrifying and maybe we will see them again in the future because the Doctor hasn't really defeated them in the end. The Great Intelligence is still out there somewhere and it probably wasn't the last time we have encountered it. Well, you can argue about the new design of the Tardis as well. I don't know what to think about it right now because it looks so totally different than before but I guess I'll get used to it. It has a kind of modern touch to it now and some parts look a bit futuristic. I'm really looking forward to the rest of series 7 and I want to know what the mystery behind Clara is.
You can watch the episode online here.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Dear all,

I wanted to thank you for a great year and for all the visits on my blog.
I'll take a short blogging break over Christmas (except for a review of the Christmas Special of course) and I hope to see you again at the beginning of 2013.

I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
May all your dreams come true.

Thank you.

Losing your memory (video)

This is a Jack and Gwen video, which was made by lookslikeacrime. I hope you like it.

Merry Christmas, Doctor Who

The Eleven Doctors wish you all a merry Christmas. This wallpaper was made by DV8R71.

Quotes from "A Good Man Goes to War"

Amy: I wish I could tell you that you'll be loved. That you'll be safe and cared for and protected. But this isn't the time for lies. What you are going to be, Melody, is very, very brave. But not as brave as they'll have to be. Because there's someone coming. I don't know where he is, or what he's doing. Trust me, he's on his way. There's the man who's never going to let us down. And not even an army can get in the way. He's the last of his kind. He looks young, but he's lived for hundreds and hundreds of years. And wherever they take you, Melody, however scared you are, I promise you, you will never be alone. Because this man is your father. He has a name, but the people of our world know him better as the Last Centurion.

Thin One: Hello, I'm the Thin One. This is my husband, he's the Fat One.
Lorna Bucket: Don't you have names?
Fat One: We're the thin fat gay married Anglican marines. Why would we need names as well?

Thin One: But what's he like? The Doctor.
Lorna Bucket: He said, "Run."
Thin One: Just "Run"?
Lorna Bucket: He said it a lot.

Madame Vastra: Send a telegram to Inspector Abberline of the Yard. Jack the Ripper has claimed his last victim.
Jenny: How did you find him?
Madame Vastra: Stringy, but tasty all the same. I shan't be needing dinner.

Arthur: Will I be okay?
Commander Strax: Of course you will, my boy. You'll be up and around in no time. And perhaps one day, you and I shall meet on the field of battle and I will destroy you for the glory of the Sontaran Empire.
Arthur: Thanks, nurse.

Commander Strax: Captain Harcourt, I hope some day to meet you in the glory of battle, when I will crush the life from your worthless human form. Try and get some rest.

River Song: Oh, are you boys dressing up as Romans now? I thought nobody read my memos.
Rory: Doctor Song, it's Rory. Sorry, have we met yet? Time streams, I'm not quite sure where we are.
River Song: Yes, yes, we've met.

Rory: I've come from the Doctor, too.
River Song: Yes, but from a different point in time.
Rory: Unless there's two of them.
River Song: No. That's a whole different birthday.

River Song: Why on earth are you wearing that?
Rory: The Doctor's idea.
River Song: Of course. His rules of engagement: float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
Rory: Look ridiculous.
River Song: Have you considered heels?

Dorium Maldovar: No! No, no, please, not me! You don't need me! Why would you need me? I'm old, I'm fat, I'm blue! You can't need me!

Colonel Manton: He is not the Devil. He is not a god. He is not a goblin or a phantom or a trickster. The Doctor is a living, breathing man, and as I look around this room, I know one thing. We're sure as hell going to fix that.

The Doctor: Ha-ha. Hello, everybody! Guess who! Please, point a gun at me if it helps you relax. (the soldiers and monks prepare their weapons) You're only human.

The Doctor: I'm not a phantom.
Colonel Manton: Doctor.
The Doctor: I'm not a trickster.
Colonel Manton: Doctor.
The Doctor: I'm a monk.

The Doctor: No, Colonel Manton, I want you to tell your men to run away.
Colonel Manton: What?
The Doctor: Those words, "run away." I want you to be famous for those exact words. I want people to call you "Colonel Runaway." I want children laughing outside your door because they found the house of Colonel Runaway. And when people come to you and ask if trying to get to me through the people I love... is in any way a good idea, I want you to tell them your name.

The Doctor: Oh, look, I'm angry. That's new. I'm really not sure what's going to happen now.
Madame Kovarian: The anger of a good man is not a problem. Good men have too many rules.
The Doctor: Good men don't need rules. Today's not the day to find out why I have so many.

Amy: Who's that? Who's there? You watch it, because I am armed and really dangerous, and... cross.
Rory: Like I don't know that.

The Doctor: Euu. Kissing and crying. I-I-I'll be back in a bit.

(to baby Melody) 
The Doctor: That's okay, she's still all yours. And really, you should call her "Mummy," not "Big Milk Thing."
Amy: Okay, what are you doing?
The Doctor: I speak Baby.
Amy: No, you don't.
The Doctor: I speak everything. Don't I, Melody Pond? (adjusts his bow-tie) No it's not, it's cool.

Amy: She doesn't like the TARDIS noise. I asked him to turn something off, but it was all "But I don't want to punch a hole in the space-time continuum."

(as Melody cries) 
Jenny: Is she all right?
Amy: Yes, she's just crying.
Commander Strax: Give her to me, human fools. She needs changing.
Amy: I just changed her. I think she might need a feed.
Commander Strax: A feed? Of course. I'll take care of everything.
Rory: Uhh... I really don't think you will, actually.
Commander Strax: I have gene-spliced myself for all nursing duties. I can produce magnificent quantities of lactic fluid!

Madame Vastra: How did this baby....begin?
The Doctor: Oh, you mean...
Madame Vastra: Quite.
The Doctor: Well, how would I know? That's all human and private stuff. It just sort of goes on. They don't put up a balloon or anything.
Madame Vastra: Could the child have begun on the TARDIS? In flight, in the Vortex?
The Doctor: No, no, impossible! It's all running about; sexy fish vampires, blowing up stuff, and Rory wasn't even there at the beginning.Then he was dead, then he didn't exist, then he was plastic, then I had to reboot the whole universe. Long story. So, technically, the first time they were on the TARDIS together in this version of reality was on their...
Madame Vastra: On their what?
Dorium Maldovar: Hmm?
The Doctor: On their wedding night.

Amy: Rory, no offense to the others, but, uh, you let them all die first, okay?
Rory: You're so Scottish.

The Doctor: The child is not a weapon!
Madame Kovarian: Oh, give us time. She can be. She will be.
The Doctor: Except you've already lost her, and I swear I will never let you anywhere near her again.
Madame Kovarian: Oh, Doctor, fooling you once was a joy. But fooling you twice, the same way, it's a privilege.

River Song: Demon's Run when a good man goes to war.
Night will fall and drown the sun,
When a good man goes to war.
Friendship dies and true love lies,
Night will fall and the dark will rise.
When a good man goes to war.
Demon's Run but count the cost.
The battles won but the child is lost.

Commander Strax: It's strange. I'd often dreamed of dying in combat. I'm not enjoying it as much as I'd hoped.
Rory: Come on, Strax. Don't give up.
Commander Strax: It's all right. I've had a good life. I'm nearly twelve.
Rory: Listen to me. You'll be back on your feet in no time. You're a warrior.
Commander Strax: Rory, I'm a nurse.

The Doctor: You think I wanted this? I didn't do this, this--this wasn't me.
River Song: This was exactly you. All this. All of it. You make them so afraid. When you began, all those years ago, sailing off to see the universe, did you ever think you'd become this? The man who can turn an army around at the mention of his name. "Doctor." the word for healer and wise man throughout the universe. We kept that word for you, you know. But if you carry on the way you are, what might that word come to mean? To the people of the Gamma Forest, the word "Doctor" means "mighty warrior." How far you've come. And now they've taken a child, the child of your best friends, and they're going to turn her into a weapon just to bring you down. And all this, my love, in fear of you.

Series 4 Episode 4: The Sontaran Stratagem

Summary:
Martha phones the Doctor and calls him back to Earth. Something strange has happened and 52 people have died at the same time all over the planet. The thing they all had in common was the Atmos device in their cars. When Martha and Donna meet for the first time, the Doctor thinks that they won't get along very well but they seem to be the best mates from the start. The Doctor investigates the Atmos device but can't find anything unusual at first but he has this feeling that there has to be something more. So while he goes to the Rattigan Academy  Martha stays with UNIT at the Atmos factory and tries to find out more about the workers who seem to work for 24 h a day. Donna visits her family and can share her adventures with the Doctor with her grandfather. The Doctor finds a teleport device when he visits the Rattigan Academy and now he knows that the Sontarans are behind the strange happenings but what do they want to achieve. With a clone of Martha and all of the Atmos devices activated, the plan of the Sontarans seems to work.

I think it's great to have Martha back who's now working as a doctor for UNIT. The fact that you don't know who's behind of the Atmos device and everything else is very clever and gives you some time to ponder which alien it could be. The Sontarans have appeared before in Doctor Who but I think this is the first time they are back in the episodes since 2005. They really look a bit like potatoes when they take their helmets off but they are interesting although they live for the war. In this first part of the two parter you still don't really know what their plan is, only that they've activated all the Atmos devices and a gas comes out of the cars. They call it a weapon but nobody knows what it'll do on Earth. Even the Doctor is a bit clueless and doesn't know what to do to help the people but we know he'll find a way.

Happy Birthday, Bill!

Today is the birthday of the actor Bill Pullman who played Oswald Danes in Torchwood: Miracle Day. He was born in Hornell, New York and started his acting career in the 1980s on stage in different theatres. Bill played in different movies and television shows but people will probably remember him as the President in "Independence Day". He is a creative writer as well.
Happy Birthday, Bill!

Animus Vox (video)

This video was made by MsLyraGW. I hope you like it.

Doctor Who Christmas Carol

I hope this wallpaper brings you a bit closer to Christmas. It was made by danidraws.

Quotes from "The Almost People"

The Doctor/Ganger: Rory and Amy, they may not trust both of us.
The Doctor: Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
The Doctor/Ganger: Inevitably.
The Doctor: See, I'm glad we're on the same...
The Doctor/Ganger: Wavelength. You see, great minds...
The Doctor: Exactly. So, what's the plan?
The Doctor/Ganger: Save them all, humans and Gangers.
The Doctor: Tell you what, that sounds wonderful.
The Doctor/Ganger: Is that what you were thinking?
The Doctor: Yes. It's just so inspiring to hear me say it.

The Doctor and Doctor/Ganger: Hello. Sorry.
The Doctor/Ganger: But we had to establish...
The Doctor: ...a few ground rules. For later. Protocol.
The Doctor/Ganger: Protocol? Very posh.
The Doctor: Protocol between us. Otherwise...
The Doctor/Ganger: ...it gets horribly embarrassing.
The Doctor: Potentially confusing.
Amy: Well, I'm glad you solved the problem of confusing.
The Doctor/Ganger: That's not helpful.
The Doctor: She's very good at sarcasm.

The Doctor: Yowsa! An escape tunnel. You know, I'm starting to get a sense of how impressive it is to hang out with me.
The Doctor/Ganger: Do we tend to say "Yowsa"?
The Doctor: That's enough, let it go. Okay? We're under stress.

Cleaves: Can you really get the power back?
The Doctor/Ganger: Oh, there's always some power floating around.
The Doctor: Sticking to the wires like bits of lint.
Amy: Would you stop finishing each other's...
The Doctor: Sentences.
The Doctor/Ganger: No promises.

Amy: Come on, okay, how can--how can you both be real?
The Doctor/Ganger: Well, because... we are. I'm the Doctor.
The Doctor: Yeah, and so am I. We both contain the knowledge of over 900 years of memory. And it's apparent we both wear the same bow-tie, which is cool.
The Doctor/Ganger: Because bow-ties are...
The Doctor: ...and always will be.

Amy: Hang on.
Cleaves: You can't let him go. Are you crazy?
The Doctor/Ganger: Am I crazy, Doctor?
The Doctor: Well, you did once plug your brain into the core of an entire planet just to hold its orbit and win a bet.

Dicken/Ganger: You don't look good.
Cleaves/Ganger: Monsters never do.

The Doctor: This place is going to blow sky-high.
Cleaves: Exactly how long have we got?
The Doctor: An hour. Five seconds. Uh, somewhere in-between.

The Doctor: This is going to overheat and fill the room with acid. Just as a point of interest.
Cleaves: And we can't stop it?
The Doctor: Just as a point of interest... no.

Jimmy: It'll never hold up.
The Doctor: If you have a better plan, I'm all ears. In fact, if you have a better plan, I'll take you to a planet where everyone is all ears.

The Doctor/Ganger: Ha! Hello. Adam, I'm the Doctor. Well, I'm the Doctor, or Smith. It's complicated and boring. Anyway, who cares? It is your birthday.
Adam: Yay!
The Doctor/Ganger: Yay! Now, have you been getting up very early and jumping on the bed?
Adam: Yes, really high.
The Doctor/Ganger: I expect chocolate for breakfast. If you don't feel sick by mid-morning, you're not doing it right.

Jennifer/Ganger: You tricked him into an act of weakness, Doctor.
The Doctor/Ganger: No, I've helped him into an act of humanity. Anyone else like the sound of that, act of humanity?

Amy: I never thought it possible.
The Doctor/Ganger: What?
Amy: You're twice the man I thought you were.

The Doctor: Dicken, remember, people are good. In their bones, truly good. Don't hate them, will you?
Dicken/Ganger: How can I hate them? I'm one of them now.

The Doctor: I needed to see the Flesh in its early days. That's why I scanned it, that's why we were there in the first place. I was going to drop you off for fish and chips first, but things happen and stuff, and... shenanigans. It's a beautiful word, "shenanigans."

Series 4 Episode 3: Planet of the Ood

Summary:
The Doctor takes Donna to her first alien planet and they land on a snowy world where they encounter a dying Ood. Soon they find a factory where the Ood are "produced" and sold into the galaxy as servants. Donna can't understand why the Ood don't want to be free but she and the Doctor soon find out that there is more going on in the Ood-Sphere than they are allowed to see. They watch the humans treat the Ood like slaves and some of the Ood get red eyes and turn wild. The situation gets out of control and the humans start to shoot the Ood. Donna and the Doctor are on their list too because they know too much but they still need to find out why the Ood turn against the humans. When they enter hangar 15 they know how the humans could enslave the Ood and help to free them, so they can live in peace on their planet.

I think it's great to have the Ood back in an episode because they are some of my favourite aliens so far. It's interesting that they are all connected to each other and are a peaceful race. This episode shows the darker sides of humanity and I guess it will always be a problem that humans think they are better than others. Maybe we need TV shows to remind us of the fact that we are not better than other humans, animals or aliens. Although this is a more serious episode than the ones before, it still has some funny moments, especially because everybody thinks that Donna and the Doctor are a couple. In this episode we get the first hint that the Doctor doesn't have a lot of time left before this incarnation ends and he doesn't react very good to it. We will see how he proceeds from now on.

The Doctor(s) perform on Britain's Got Talent (video)

This is a really great montage of Doctor Who and Britain's Got Talent. It was made by doctorwhofan6308.

Martha Jones wallpaper

Today I have a Martha Jones wallpaper for you. It was made by davids-little-star.

Happy Birthday, Noel!

Today is Noel Clarke's birthday whom we know as Mickey Smith in Doctor Who. Noel is an English actor and has appeared in different TV shows and films but he also writes and directs.
Happy Birthday, Noel!

Quotes from "The Rebel Flesh"

Rory: My mom's a massive fan of Dusty Springfield.
The Doctor: Who isn't?

The Doctor: You see this weather vane, the cock-a-doodle-doo? It's a solar vane, feeding the entire plant with solar power. When that wave hits, ka-boom. I've got to get to that cockerel before all hell breaks loose. I never thought I'd get to say that again.

Rory: Oh. For want of a better word, "Ow."

The Doctor: How long would you say we were unconscious for, Cleaves?
Cleaves: Not long. A minute, two minutes.
The Doctor: I think we've been out a teensy bit longer.
Cleaves: For how long?
The Doctor: An hour. I've seen whole worlds turn inside-out in an hour. A lot can go wrong in an hour. 

Jennifer: I couldn't get out of my harness. I thought I was going to die.
Rory: Welcome to my world.

Rory: Uh, the Doctor's always saying "Don't wander off." First rule with him, actually, "Don't wander off." 

Amy: Doctor, Rory.
The Doctor: Rory?
Amy: Rory!
The Doctor: Oh, Rory. Rory! Always with the Rory!

The Doctor: Exit?
Jimmy: Keep going straight, can't miss it. But you're never going to get your vehicle in here.
The Doctor: I'm a great parker.

The Doctor: Hello. How are we all getting on?
Ganger Cleaves: Why don't you tell us?
The Doctor: Well, we have two choices. The first is to tear each other apart, not my favorite. The second is to knuckle down and work together. Try to work out how best we can help you.

Jimmy: This is insane. We're fighting ourselves.
The Doctor: Yes, it's insane. And it's about to get even more insanerer. Is that a word?

Series 4 Episode 2: The Fires of Pompeii

Summary:
The Doctor wanted to take Donna to Rome but soon they find out that they landed in Pompeii instead. On the next day, the volcano will erupt but the people in Pompeii don't know about it. Donna wants to save them but the Doctor tells her that Pompeii is a fixed point in time that can't be changed. When they want to leave, the Tardis is gone which leads them into the house of a Pompeiian family. There they find out, that many people in Pompeii are able to make predictions and that these are always true. The Doctor soon thinks that some kind of alien has to be the reason for that and that turns out to be the truth. Soon the Doctor is faced with a horrible decision between the destruction of Pompeii or the destruction of the world but he has Donna at his side who supports him. Is everybody in Pompeii doomed to die?

Somehow the episodes with Donna as a companion always have some funny moments in them. There is just this great chemistry between her and the Doctor especially when people think they are a couple. I think Donna would go everywhere with the Doctor but she is nobody who holds her tongue when she thinks the Doctor is wrong in his decisions. This also happens in this episode when she persuades him to save the family. The episode has an interesting story and I think it was a great idea that the Doctor was the one who decided that Pompeii had to fall. He didn't knew about it before but I guess even a Time Lord can't know everything. An interesting episode in a historical setting.

Doctor Who goes to Glastonbury (video)

This is so brilliant! You definitely have to watch this. Made by Matt Partidge.