Moffat marginalia, genre savviness, Tennant charisma, whodunnits/whydunnits/whodonewhats, suspense mystery farce, lying as authorship, Brits writing America, & more are discussed in this review of the first two episodes of Inside Man, Steven Moffat’s 2022 thriller.

(00:00:00) What is the show?

(00:04:40) Ideas of the show

(00:07:16) Jefferson Grieff, mini-cases, Sherlock style

(00:13:28) Genesis of the show

(00:19:15) Brits writing America, fantasy America genre

(00:23:30) Cleverness

(00:24:42) Moffat career stages

(00:30:28) Themes & focuses of the show

(00:35:19) Jefferson Grieff’s morality & ego

(00:37:24) Lies & authorship: major theme of the show

(00:42:41) Gender ideas, & Tennant’s charisma

(00:52:52) Mary & where the show might go

(00:58:14) Edgar & rewatching scenes

(01:06:36) Harry, Edgar, & religion

(01:15:21) ‘Normal people’

(01:18:23) Janice

(01:24:53) Memorable lines, Dillon, Mary’s speech about the Internet

(01:33:51) Style of the show

(01:41:49) Structure of the show

(01:46:57) What’s to come?…

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Technology & technofarce, mechanisms of control, contested history, joint authorship, iterations in Moffat's career, matrices of ideas, repressive morality, sitcom structure, evaluating Captain Jack, what's changed from 2005 to now, & more are discussed in this review of Steven Moffat's 2005 The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances episodes of Doctor Who.

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:03:55) Moffat’s career & writing women

(00:07:44) Nancy & sexual repression: changing perspectives

(00:13:38) Rose and RTD’s attitudes

(00:17:37) Jack and the Doctor’s journeys

(00:22:50) Matrix of ideas

(00:25:16) Representations of history

(00:35:35) Sex storytelling; script parallels

(00:39:07) Who created Captain Jack?

(00:49:10) Technology & normalisation

(00:58:10) Chula warship; class & colonialist readings

(01:04:35) Final thoughts

(01:08:02) Deleted lines from the script

(01:13:01) Debrief: sex, tech, & war

(01:24:02) Debrief: Moffat & gender

(01:27:33) Debrief: Barrowman & the 2020s

(01:51:32) Debrief: RTD to RTD2…

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Science fiction romance, tonal shifts, narrative exoneration, what’s unique to the book compared to the adaptations, body horror, predetermination, sequels, & more are discussed in this review of the 2003 novel The Time Traveler’s Wife.

(00:00:00) Introduction & impressions

(00:07:06) Thoughts on the author’s anniversary note

(00:12:17) Repetition & pacing

(00:19:07) Time travel metaphors & memories

(00:21:25) Book/TV/film differences

(00:28:26) Allusions & epigraphs

(00:36:06) Inspiration for the novel

(00:40:45) Chapter 1 & 4 passages

(00:49:49) First kiss

(00:55:20) Predetermination & religion

(01:01:57) Sci-fi, time travel mechanics

(01:03:56) The sequel novel

(01:07:48) Loss, grief, mindfulness, absence

(01:11:46) Body horror, tonal shifts

(01:18:14) The novel’s ending

(01:23:29) The final Gomez scene

(01:29:05) Audrey’s 2022 thoughts

(01:32:30) Kangaroos

(01:34:58) Final thoughts…

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Wish fulfilment, adaptation comparisons, time travel tone, advantages of film, movie metaphors, interior vs exterior conflict, stages of grief, sweetness & sincerity, drama & stasis, & more are discussed in this review of the 2009 film adaptation of The Time Traveler's Wife.

(00:00:00) Intro, & if we liked the film

(00:04:04) The film's pacing & approach

(00:10:06) Movie metaphors & dramatic focus

(00:18:30) Film advantages, actors, & ages

(00:23:56) Film Clare, stasis, & getting pregnant

(00:32:44) A first kiss + grooming discourse

(00:39:41) Tone, time travel, & romance adaptations

(00:43:49) The novelist's thoughts on the film & TV show

(00:52:00) Film/TV/novel comparisons

(00:57:20) Wish fulfillment & Alba

(01:02:50) The film and show's pacing & tone

(01:16:15) Time travel romance stories

(01:22:45) Lotto & interior vs exterior conflict

(01:29:17) The ending, music, & bookends

(01:36:46) Inspiration for the film

(01:42:54) Legacy of the film & show…

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Effective finality, mindbending time travel, miracle moments, greener grass, marriage totality, separate selves across time, ideal versions of partners, wedding metaphors, maturity levels, romance of devotion, memory perspectives, & more are discussed in this review of the 2022 finale of The Time Traveler’s Wife.

(00:00:00) Intro & first thoughts

(00:07:34) A wedding surprise

(00:11:08) Clare’s arc

(00:15:48) Relationship whiplash + cheating

(00:20:52) Biology & betrayal

(00:27:14) Clare and Henry’s families

(00:31:44) Was the show romantic enough?

(00:43:00) Determinism & foreknowledge

(00:47:54) A musical ending

(00:52:50) The director David Nutter + bad trips

(01:00:41) Time travel & male responsibility

(01:06:04) New perspectives on old memories

(01:16:57) Final thoughts…

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A new Doctor Who spinoff? We discuss Doctor Who: Redacted, the 2022 audio series, looking at liminal eras, generational shifts, distinct characterisation, corrosive continuity, storytelling priorities, dramatic irony, accessibility & diversity, & more!

(00:00:00) Intro & first thoughts

(00:07:48) Genesis of the show

(00:16:00) Generational handover

(00:20:31) Differences from Big Finish

(00:28:32) Regional diversity + long distance friends

(00:34:46) Cleo and characterisation

(00:44:05) Conspiracist socialising

(00:48:04) Contemporary spinoff

(00:55:15) Priorities of the storytelling

(01:08:18) What era does this belong to?

(01:14:25) Continuity focus

(01:26:16) Dramatic irony & character knowledge

(01:32:18) UNIT + other spinoffs

(01:42:26) The story’s resolution

(01:47:36) The Doctor + dialogue

(00:55:33) Format & structure

(02:02:30) Shawna & Abby

(02:14:09) Final thoughts…

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Childhood vs adulthood, relationship scorekeeping, sacrificing identity, friend determinism, viewpoint characterisation, the right to expectations, Moffat humour, continuums of change, & more are discussed in this review of the 5th episode of The Time Traveler’s Wife.

(00:00:00) Intro & haircut thoughts

(00:05:26) Henry changing + the true clearing

(00:10:07) The sister Alicia

(00:13:17) Gomez & friend determinism

(00:24:21) The dinner scene, brother, & violence

(00:29:50) Nell the housekeeper; childhood perceptions

(00:36:17) Henry’s self-image

(00:43:33) Relationship thinking vs transactional thinking

(00:50:17) Haircuts & people changing

(01:04:00) Clare & personality

(01:10:50) Double standards + self-insert characters

(01:18:14) Title sequences

(01:20:24) The clearing setting

(01:22:14) Complaints…

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Marriage experience, future foresight, sitcom farce, multi-character specials, age attitudes, Moffat comments, fidelity & infidelity, dwelling overlong, seeing yourself and others at different ages, & more are discussed in this review of the 4th episode of The Time Traveler’s Wife.

(00:00:00) Intro & first opinions

(00:03:28) Changes from the book

(00:09:34) The dinner party and the roommates

(00:15:11) Claire dependence; 'I groomed you'

(00:26:33) Age attitudes

(00:33:35) Claire & flashbacks

(00:37:13) Falling in love & agency; Netflix's 'Dark'

(00:41:12) Moffat self introspection

(00:46:22) Claire & Ingrid

(00:49:52) Theme Time; Moffat clip

(00:53:31) Predictions & friendships

(01:00:23) Stray thoughts

(01:07:41) Moffat on age matters

(01:17:03) Author experience; non-linear living

(01:21:17) Marriage experience…

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Love predetermination, feedback loops, characters across different actors & ages, relationships as art, Moffat themes, book differences, time travel rules, stagings & implications, & more are discussed in this review of the third episode of The Time Traveler's Wife.

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:03:09) Characters at different ages

(00:10:29) 11 and 16 year old Clare

(00:15:39) Rose Leslie playing teenage Clare

(00:20:57) Clare's adolescence

(00:27:05) Differences from the book

(00:32:19) Henry's revelation

(00:34:57) Moffat themes

(00:42:54) Two reveals

(00:45:16) Older Henry's attitude to younger Clare

(00:50:55) Marriage as a sculpture; love predetermination

(00:55:53) Relationships as feedback loops

(01:00:36) Time travel rules in the show

(01:04:23) Structure of the show

(01:08:19) Stagings and implications of Clare scenes

(01:17:49) Final thoughts…

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We discuss the first Doctor Who story from Russell T Davies, looking at the development of his style, what’s changed between 80s TV and today, a ‘draft renaissance’, writing for TV vs audio, Doctor Who before 2005, RTD’s second reign, writer repetition/iteration, family focus, & more!

(00:00:00) Introduction + where did RTD’s first Doctor Who story come from?

(00:17:44) Releasing drafts + archival focus

(00:23:03) What would present-day RTD make of the script?

(00:31:32) The writing of the Sixth Doctor + what was changed

(00:41:44) Writing for audio + family focus + disconnections

(00:53:26) The second episode

(01:03:03) Comparing Davies’ and Handcock’s episodes

(01:07:27) Getting into Doctor Who before 2005

(01:10:04) RTD on Hodiac + his second era

(01:16:02) Different RTD eras + writer repetition/iteration

(01:20:59) Do we recommend this story?…

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