Eye Candy 1.7 "SOS" Review

                                              
A couple enter an apartment for a romantic night and next morning the man, Nick (Ryan-James Hatanaka) wakes up to find Beth's (Kaitlyn Bausch) passed out and he's got cuts on his back.  Jake (Ryan Cooper) meets Lindy (Victoria Justice) to ask for her help.  Nick doesn't want to go to the police cos he's an intern at Jake's firm and Jake's the only one he can trust.  Lindy agrees to help but if there's anything serious she's going to the police.  Jake wants to cook but she says there's plenty of places in New York that'll cook for you.  They kiss and the Killer watches him.  He asks if Lindy likes how that tastes.  And if she wants him to kill another for her.

Lindy returns home of find Sophia (Kiersey Clemons) with her old friend from boarding school, Tessa (Theodora Woolley).  She's staying there and she's been travelling the world.  George (Harvey Guillen) comes over and he's "impressa" with Tessa, but they can't party and need to work.  Lindy has him hack the website and they find it's too encrypted for them to look at.  However Lindy does rent an apartment online.  Lindy and George both think of fibre hacking at the apartment itself.  They have to bring in Cybercrimes cos of the disturbing amount of footage of couples being watched.  This leads them to 'Dolls House.'  Tommy (Casey Deidrick) says it's a voyeur site.  Lindy finds Beth's site and also finds some footage on Nick, who's been cheating on Beth.  She already knows when Lindy makes contact with her online and she's gotten her revenge.  George searches through a whole of load of files on her computer  and finds the footage with Nick and Beth where she gets someone to whip him, needing an alibi for herself.

George discovers Lindy's been purchased.  She thinks it's a good chance for them to catch whoever's doing this, but Tommy decides against it.  He changes his mind and says he's coming with her.  She says she bought it as a single occupant.  Lindy wants Sophia and Tessa to stay away from the apartment and sends them to Montauk.  Of course they don't go since Tess parties with Connor (John Garet Stoker) and Sophia even after she tells them about the killer.  Connor still lamenting over Oliver not being in touch with him.  Sophia says it's cos their first date was with a serial killer around and the second one was with the fiasco at the club.  Sophia is worried about Tessa cos she's changed. Connor tells her people change, but she doesn't believe they change this much.  Lindy finds they haven't gone to Montauk and tells Tessa the killer's killed ten people taking them to Cybercrimes to be safe.

Lindy and Tommy arrive at the apartment but they seem so distant and not like a couple at all.  Det Yeager (Marcus Callender) calls and tells Tommy they're online and Lindy's swapped the wine bottle cos they think it was drugged.  George pulls up in his carpet van for Jake and gets him to sit into the operation.  Tommy and Lindy kiss and Jake isn't happy about it.  Infact he was downright jealous. Lindy says they should get ready for bed and spends ages brushing her teeth and combing her hair. She goes into the room and finds Tommy drugged, it's the pillow and not the wine.  The man's also been watching from behind the mirror and enters the room, eventually knocking her out.

Jake watches Lindy brushing her hair and realizes she's been doing that for a long time.  Duh, what was everyone else doing.  Yeager was too busy telling Sophia they can't be anything more, when she confronts him about the flirting.  Why didn't George realize either.  Jake says there's a glitch in the video and runs out to the police. They find Lindy missing and Tommy.  Jake telling him he was supposed to protect her.  Tommy searches from the top of the building and whilst still in the apartment, he hears Lindy screaming when she's tied up.  He finds the elevator shaft and heads down it, as she's about to be branded with an 'X.'  Thought he was taking a little too long in actually branding her!

Jake finds them too as Lindy hugs Tommy and he just walks away.  The looks exchanged between Jake and Tommy as he knows Tommy has feelings for her, but no words are exchanged, ha.  The man, Michael (Lance Olds) says Babylon knows everything and he was paid to scare her, not actually brand her.  He doesn't know who paid him and that's how it works.  Also saying the man said Lindy would know what he means.  The killer speaks again saying he'd never hurt her, she's too perfect.  Of course his intention to scare her was cos she kissed Jake and again why didn't he go after Jake.  He was cleared as a suspect but are we still meant to think he's the killer or a  something to do with him. As I said, nothing happened to Jake yet and it was so easy for the killer to remove him from the picture.  Will Lindy decide to stay away from Jake now that Tommy's kissed her, even if it was in the line of duty.

Supernatural's Back To The Future Allusions

                                          
Supernatural is one of those shows that have everything covered, no matter if it's ghosts, demons, angels, or heartbreaking stories of brotherly love and angst.  Yet there's tonnes of pop culture references involved too.  So every now and again we get references to movies, TV shows and one such allusion was to'Back To The Future.

In 4.3 In The Beginning. when Dean (Jensen Ackles) was sent back home and met his 'future' parents and grandparents, there were numerous scenes which were similar to the movie.  On top of that he remarks to Cas (Misha Collins) about whether angels have DeLoreans?  The scene in the bar where he's with Dad and someone shouts out, "hey Winchester!"  Leading both Dean and John to turn around.

5.13 Song Remains The Same  the title was to be Back To The Future II but had to be changed cos there was no approval given for the use.  None the less it was left to Dean to come up with another reference to the movie and once again a DeLorean reference to Cas saying he's like  DeLorean without plutonium.

6.18 Frontierland is riddled with Back To The Future III references when Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean travel back to the Wild West.  With Dean calling himself Clint Eastwood, (Marshall Eastwood) as Marty (Michael J Fox) did too.  Even the letter at the end.  The link below references the movie in my review of the ep, in the penultimate paragraph.

http://mila255.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=supernatural+frontierland

Season 7.12 Time After Time has Back To The Future II references with Biff and Dean says he's "using the Chronos strategy" to bet on races when he already knows the winners.  In the movie Biff Tannen from 2015 gives the younger version of himself in 1955, a sports almanac, knowing the outcomes of the sporting events he becomes filthy rich.
Jim Michaels also worked on this movie.

Dean also resorts to needing some paper as in Back To The Future III.  When Doc Brown is in 1885 he lets Marty knows what's happening by writing a letter and ensuring it's delivered 70 years later. This takes place at the end of the second film, but the letter's contents are revealed until the third.   This is what Samuel Colt did to make sure Sam and Dean get the Phoenix's ashes in Frontierland. Dean's letter is from 5th November 1944 and Marty's letter was dated 5th November 1955.

Downton Abbey Series 6 Episode 5 Review

                                            
Breakfast involves talk of the Dowager (Maggie Smith) inviting the Minister for Health to Downton, Neville Chamberlain, so he can take her side and ensure the scheme to merge the hospitals doesn't go ahead.  The Dowager expects him for dinner on Friday as she's his wife, Anne's, godmother and so he will have to come.  Neglecting to mention that she will use some blackmailing tactics on him, which Branson (Allen Leech) manages to fidn out at the end.  How his wife's brother, de Vere Cole is a prankster and he and some others dug up a road in London and caused chaos with the traffic, dressed as workmen. Chamberlain was relieved he didn't have to go through with the dinner since he isn't one for fights or arguments.  Which shows in his dealings with the Nazis and Hitler back in the late '30's, wanting to appease him.  However that is another matter cos he's not even PM yet and if word got out of his antics, the press would put a spanner in the works as far as his career progression goes.

Robert (Hugh Bonneville) thinks the Dowager hasn't got a chance to convince him, let alone getting him here and says it's like a cat in hell without claws.  She doesn't want Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) to know about it.  But it's not like Robert will keep it a secret and he tells Cora, whilst he's still in pain.  Edith (Laura Carmichael) is going to interview to find an editor for the magazine and Mary (Michelle Dockery) asks if they're women.  Of course, she said as much last week.  She and Branson will attend the racing circuit, as Henry (Matthew Goode) is trying out his car there and she's been invited.  Mary never one for racing of course.  Before that though, they must deal with the little matter of the pigs and Mason (Paul Copley) moving into the farm.  Mary worries he won't be able to handle it physically.  Edith has had a note from Bertie Pelham (Harry Hadden-Paton) and she tells Robert about meeting him.  Robert calls it a date and says as much, which makes Mary shocked more than anything.  Edith denying it's a date.

Denker (Sue Johnston) isn't happy that Dr Clarkson (David Robb) is changing his mind and is siding against the Dowager and tells him as much, including saying he's a traitor and how the Dowager was in running things in the village a hundred years ago when he was just having his porridge as a little boy.  He takes offence to that and he sends a note to the Dowager telling her of this outrageous behaviour.  This leaves her no choice but to fire Denker.  Which Isobel (Penelope Wilton) thinks is a little drastic too.  She says if he didn't intend for Clarkson to have her fired, he wouldn't have mentioned it.  The Dowager making a reference to unleashing the dogs of war.  She takes no prisoners.  Cora is happy Clarkson has changed his mind and hoping they will get things their own way.

Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) will be testifying and Sgt Willis (Howard Ward) arrives to take her to court, with Molesley (Kevin Doyle) accompanying her.  Anna tries to be supportive and Bates (Brendan Coyle) even sounds like he's going to talk her out of going before Molesley tells him Baxter's considered it very carefully.  However when it comes down to the moment, she hears he's changed his plea to one of guilty.  She's a bit disappointed after resigning herself to the fact she was going to testify.  Molesley asks if he should go back and make him change his plea to not guilty.  She later says she doesn't think she can put this behind her.

Mrs Hughes (Phyliss Logan) asks Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nicol) for dinner tips and she says she'll pack a basket for her and Carson (Jim Carter).  Mrs Hughes hasn't cooked in a number of years.  Daisy (Sophie McShera) adding that Mrs Patmore's just jealous.  In the basket she's packed lamb chops and bubble and squeak, which Mrs Hughes likes, but he doesn't think it's a good accompaniment to lamb. As well as complaining the plates are cold.  Makes you wonder why he doesn't just eat at the house, instead of finding fault with everything she does.  As men do.  Mrs Hughes mentions it the next day and Carson also thanks Mrs Patmore for the food.  However it does seem Mrs Patmore was jealous and the food that she gave them was probably to cause a bit of friction between the married couple. She also prepares a basket for Mason and she and Daisy will take it over to welcome him, and Andy (Michael Fox) offers to help.

Mary and Bramson drop in on him, after discussing the perks of marriage, or rather Mary saying she won't marry beneath her and have more money and title than her husband.  Matthew was to inherit the estate.  Branson tells her it doesn't really matter, it's not about money.  He and Sybil were equal in their marriage, had strong opinions and it wasn't about money or his position when he married her. She understands that now, as does the family.  Mary asks if Mason will be able to handle the physical side of handling the pigs and Andy says he can help out.  He wants to learn farming.  So Mason gives him some books on pig farming which will allow him to handle the theoretical side of it. Of course Mason would like Daisy to move in with him.  She won't do that, as she later says he likes being alone and was just being kind.  Maybe they should get Mason and Mrs Patmore together!

Andy looks at the books but he doesn't really know what they're about.  Thomas (Rob James-Collier) asks him about the books and he just mentions the red one.  Later he hears Andy shouting as he's just thrown a book and it hit the lamp in frustration.  He's realized Andy can't read and is willing to teach him.  He just messed around in school and it was too late to learn.  He also apologizes to Thomas for treating him the way he has.  After only telling Bates and Anna (Joanne Froggatt) that he's got nothing against Thomas and they were friendly when he first got here.  Thank goodness there was no talk of Thomas having to leave and finding a new job this ep.

Branson and Mary see Henry racing and she's so bored she has to take out the lipstick even when she's got more than enough on.  Branson invites him for a drink and says that they should just say he and Mary are interested in seeing each other.  Mary remarking on how he's assimilated but knows nothing about rules.  Henry telling her that Evelyn asked about her and is still madly in love with her. Not that Mary's interested.  Oh just get her and Branson together already!  You know keep him in the family!! ha.  Edith interviews and finds there's one woman she likes, who was born in 1892 like her. She shows Laura Edmunds (Antonia Bernath) the magazine she brought out and says she'd be good as an editor Edith proving if she can do it at her age, then so can she.  She later meets Bertie at her flat for drinks and they kiss.  She thought it'd never happen, don't let Mary find out.

Denker blackmails Spratt (Jeremy Swift) into getting her job back by threatening to tell the police and the Dowager, no doubt, about keeping his criminal nephew on the land.  He manages to do so by saying she was being loyal to the Dowager and looking out for her, as well as lady's maid being hard to find and then having to train them and she's not very grateful at him talking the Dowager round, insisting she will use that about his nephew again if she has to.  So how are the Dowager and Denker different in their modus opernadi?  They deserve each other.

Chamberlain arrives for dinner and already is pounced upon by the Dowager and Cora, with Branson rescuing him with a drink.  There's heated debate and Robert is clearly in distress as he finally gives way and has some spasms , throwing up blood via projectile vomiting all over the dinner table and Cora too.  Not a scene for the fainthearted, be warned!  Well that was one way to settle the debate and end the dinner!  Clarkson says his ulcer has burst and Robert manages to say if this is the end, then he has loved Cora (for an eternity.)  The servants are worried and there's nothing they can do.  With comments that Carson's met his mortality and is visibly worried and disturbed by it all.  Cora, Edith and Mary all head to the hospital and Mary overhears the Dowager saying she accepted Marigold and she's got other things on her mind to worry about.  Cora being adament the new hospital is finally the right thing to do.

Mary telephones and tells them he's had his operation and is stable.  Thomas was worried and is shocked that he would be, thinking he wouldn't care either way, calling it getting soft in his old age. Molesley joking he'd better not let the other animals hear him say that.  Edith thinks they should take turns being with Robert and give Cora a break.  With Mary itching to find out about Marigold, she later asks Anna what the servants are saying about her.  Anna just says they think she's lucky, what else was she meant to say.  Of course with Mary prying, you know the secret will be out with Mary being the last to know, which will make her even more angry and insufferable.

Let's hope this wretched hospital business is behind us now, that dragged on far too long.  But we've still got the dealings with Mary and her not finding the man for herself, with Downton still looking like it's heading for more of a whimper in the closing hurdles!

Doctor Who 9.5 "The Girl Who Died" Review

                                               
Clara (Jenna Coleman) floats in space as the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) struggles to deal with the TARDIS and locate her.  As we hear the cloister bell again.  That's been heard quite a few times this series.  She's got a spider in her spacesuit and he asks her if she can see a green nebula before fixing on her and trampling the spider in her helmet after he gets her inside.  He goes outside to clean his shoes and says he's not really the police, the sign just says that.  They're met by Vikings, as the Doctor remarks 'anyone but vikings'.  He puts on his shades saying they've not confronted superior technology before.  One of them pulls off his shades and breaks them in half.  They head to their village, two day ride on their longships and are greeted by the people.  The same viking wears his shades and gives it to a girl.  As the Doctor sees the girl, Ashildr (Maisie Williams) he thinks he's seen her before, at least Clara thinks he has.  He takes about premonition and how it can mean more than a feeling of the past or present.

This time the Doctor doesn't have a plan yet, there's not much he can do without his TARDIS and no sonic; but he has a yoyo and he uses it to declare himself Odin.  They laugh as a face appears in the sky, claiming to be Odin (David Schofield) albeit a fake one.  Who appears to run a scan and take the most strongest of the vikings away.  Clara sees Ashildr and tells her to put the broken shades on, well half of his shades.  The Doctor calls to Clara but she gets scanned and taken too.  Ending up on what looks like a ship.  One of the vikings walks the corridor and is killed, leaving behind only his helmet and weapon.  Then the wall begins to move in, forcing them closer towards the corridor.  Clara tells them to try and pry their weapons into it to stop it and she walks Ashildr to the other side, attempting to open the other door.  The vikings are killed and she and Ashildir see their weapons and helmets. Running into Odin, who really isn't Odin as we worked out. As the Doctor asks, "what's the one thing gods never do.  Gods never actually show up."

Clara talks Odin out of killing them and leaving here with his ship as he takes his nectar, the testosterone and adrenalin of the vikings which keeps him strong.  She almost had him leaving, but Ashildr opens her mouth (can I say big gob) and tells him the village challenges him to battle.  The Doctor says he's lost someone he cares about and Chuckles (Ian Conningham) says he has too, Ashildr's his daughter.  Just then they are returned and the Doctor holds his thumb up to Clara, "I'm not a hugger" but hugs her anyway.  Ashildr tells them fo the battle tomorrow.  None of them ca fight, they're all farmers and fishermen, so they haven't got much of a chance.  The Doctor asks how many of them have ever wielded a sword and only he and Clara put up their hands.

He tells her Clara should get a hobby and she replies she has one, the Doctor, he tells her to get a new one.  He has no other choice but to train them, as he listens to the baby cry and translates what she's saying.  About needing her beautiful mother.  Clara saying he can "speak baby."  Clara knows he's changed his mind as he hears the baby again, talking of the thunder and being sad, the fire and water. He teaches them how to use a sword, but he gives them all his own names first cos he's got too much going on to remember theirs, like Lofty (Tom Stourton) Heidi (Barnaby Kay) ZZ Top.

He worries about what to do and talks with Ashildr who's a story teller and makes large viking puppets when the men are away, then finally he recalls the baby's words as he hears her cry again and Lofty taking her fishing to comfort her when she gets restless.  He has a plan, brainwave, idea and rushes to the barn.  Fire and water, fire in the water.  He says he needs a blacksmith, who is Lofty and he says they're eels, electric eels.  They can use their power.  They'll need to take one of the helmets of the Mire as he's explained to Clara, they are a war mongering breed who are feared the universe over. Even if they defeat them now, they'll be back to earth again.  It's just a ripple in a tidal wave.

They will use one of Ashildr's creations.  The Mire arrives and finds they're all having a party and the Doctor tells them they don't want to fight and aren't even armed, as his soldiers scan for weapons. Okay did anyone think early Cybermen when they saw those tin soldiers?  You know all about that ripple in a tidal wave and how they've evolved into what they are now.  No??  Okay maybe just me then!  Ha.

As the Doctor distracts him with his talking, Lofty throws metal rings around their helmets until he misses one and the soldier looks at it.  The eels are used and their helmets are removed.  Ashildr places one on her head and then she conjures a great beast like a dragon, as it gets closer the soldiers shout "retreat" and head back to the ship.  The Doctor says they can play the recording of his humiliation all over the galactic web, if he doesn't leave.  Which Clara had Chuckles record on her phone.  He leaves, but adds it's not over.

Ashildr is dead and the Doctor overestimated the use of the helmet, it caused her heart to fail as she put it on.  He then talks about being able to do something and the ripple in a tidal wave.  It's more than that.  Then mentions his face and why he took this face.  He took it for a reason.  His face is a "reminder."  So that he could save people.  As we have a flashback to Donna Noble and Doctor Ten from The Fires of Pompeii episode, where Doctor Ten beckons Caecilius towards the TARDIS. One reason why the Doctor took that face.  He then takes a chip from the helmet and modifies it to get Ashildr back and it is absorbed into her forehead.  She'll be conscious in a few days and will be okay. She wakes up to thank him.  As Clara says it will repair her from within.  He gives Chuckles another chip.

He tells Clara she's immortal now.  Immortality isn't about living forever.  One day she might meet someone she can't live without.  That look on Clara's face, was she thinking about Danny, or do we suppose that was a reference to her and whatever might happen to her before she leaves.   Ashildr is now a hybrid.  As we see her standing still as time presumably passes around her.  As for this hybrid comment, seems that Davros started it all off by mentioning it in the early episode, The Witch's Familiar and now the Doctor mentions it himself.  Davros mentioning a Gallifreyan prophecy about races coming together to make one great warrior.  Also the Doctor tells Clara that "she'll see me often enough, once she understands."  Understands her immortality and who she is, but more so isn't it the case he will make her see him during his time travels.

Doctor Who always comes up with such titles, like The Impossible Girl, The Girl In the Fireplace, next week's ep is The Woman Who Lived.  When the Doctor tells Ashildr about making puppets and people often do that, thought of Amy Pond and her Doctor Eleven doll, for some reason.  Though having thought that, we did get a flashback to Doctor Ten.

Eye Candy 1.6 "ICU" Review

                                           
A doctor carries out brain surgery on a boy whilst he's still awake.  Soon all the staff pass out, being gassed.  As Lindy (Victoria Justice) prepares dinner for Jake to thank him for cooking her dinner, she finds it tastes repulsive.  If they said a few eps ago that they can't cook and the kitchen is never used, then why was she even attempting it.  He calls to cancel and Tommy (Casey Deidrick) shows up asking for a favour.  He tastes the sauce or whatever she's made, wishing he hadn't!  The Doctor who was the neurosurgeon is being blamed so he has to find out who hacked into the system.  Lindy says all the machines are automated so it'd be easy to do.  Heading to the hospital, they meet Doctor Wells (Elizabeth Alderfer).  Lindy asks if they used to go out and he says one Summer, cos neurosurgeons and cops don't mix.   The Doctor seems a little jealous of Lindy as well.  She gives Lindy a pass key to the server room and she heads inside.  As a van pulls up for carpet cleaning.

Lindy is being watched by the hospital cameras and it's obvious that it's the Virtual Killer.  But why would he be watching the hospital and know Lindy would turn up, besides stating the obvious. Especially since he knew what was happening at the hospital but did nothing to alert her to it, if he was so interested in helping her.  As he did at the end.  Also she gets the notion to check herself into the hospital to investigate further.  She asks George (Harvey Guillen) who is in the van outside, to make sure she has a condition that is serious.  She runs up and down the stairs and takes pills which shows she's got a high temperature.  So I suppose the Virtual Killer was also watching her on the camera.  Oh wait wasn't there a camera on the stairs. The nurse takes her blood and runs it through     the system.  If only all hospitals were so efficient.  We have to wait a week here at least before we get back blood work results.  George gives her neurosyphilis cos it's the only thing he could think of.  So she can be taken to ICU.

He tells Lindy to faint and she throws the tray down before pretending to faint, but she doesn't faint anywhere near where she dropped the tray.  She's left in the hall on a gurney and a girl, Erika (Erin Wilhelmi) is wheeled up in a chair connected to her IV.  She's a bit of a strange one.  She ask Lindy what she's got and she can't recall it.  However Erika knows what she has and has remembered it. She needs a heart transplant but the medication she's on has destroyed her liver.  As we see her take a cocktail of pills.  That was a bit of foreshadowing for later.  The doctor tells Indy she's too young to have that disease and so more tests are needed.  When Lindy's in her room, she takes her tablet with her and looks for the rogue signal coming from a wireless router.  When she sees Erika again.  She's hooked to a machine which is her heart and her boyfriend Michael (Christian Coulson) leaves the room in anger.  He's British and she says that they're not really that close and she doesn't know what he'll do without her.

Lindy finds the signal which is coming from the router in the chapel, placed under a table.  The nurse comes back to get her as he finds her there and she replies she's meditating.  The nurse glancing back at the table so we consider him a suspect.  He was too obvious though.   It's time for her lumbar puncture and Tommy comes in the nick of time to save her.  Telling them he's her fiance and she didn't tell him she was coming here.  The doctor tells him to hug her, it'll be easier and he needs to have one too if they're intimate.  Doctor Wells comes in and takes over.  Saving them both.  George finds the tablet that was used for the hack belongs to Lawrence Kennedy, the nurse (Tobin Mitnik) . But Lindy notices the tablets are left at the nurse's station, so anyone can take them. Lawrence's social media page, shows Lawrence was in Chicago at that time.

Erika's machine stops functioning and she dies.  With a suspicious Michael attempting to fiddle with it.  Lindy questions Michael asking what job she did and he doesn't tell her, but she reads the name of the company from his ID on his coat.  Yeah what is it with people wearing their IDs everywhere they go.  Hate that!  Either they're showing off, or advertizing to the world where they work.  She asks George to check out the company and turns out he and Erica both worked for a company manufacturing viruses.  The virus was triggered at the same time Erica's TOD was recorded.  Michael tells them she developed the virus and she wanted to use it to get revenge cos they couldn't save her. It's stopped by a kill switch but he doesn't know where it is.  Which is what Lindy saw him frantically searching for in her room.  As the virus is triggered all the systems shutdown in the hospital causing dangerous chaos.

George looks at the camera security footage and the kill switch is very tiny as they see Erika swallow it.  They have to remove it from her DB in the morgue.  Tommy is nervous about finding it and George gives them instructions.  Lindy says they'll do it together, as Det Yeager (Marcus Callender) tries to find Doctor Wells.  Who eventually does it for them.  Lindy heads to the server room and they need a password.  It's not the name of the drug that destroyed her liver.  It's something different. Lindy gets a call from the Virtual (I know it's meant to be Flirtual but I like Virtual better) Killer who tells her she needs his help which she does.  He says she should try the chemical formula of the drug. Disaster averted.  "I have such high hopes" he intones.

Doctor Wells asks about Lindy and Tommy says it's hard to explain what she does with him.  Doc's not engaged she just wears her grandmother's ring so she doesn't get asked out by patients.  She'll call him.  Lindy gets home and finds a package outside which is from Jake obviously.  It's a cookbook from around the world and he apologizes for missing dinner, until next time.

Still it appears it's Ben who's the killer, I know I keep saying that. But never mind.  We get an ep where the killer strikes and then one where he takes a backseat, so it's no wonder the show didn't last. People must've gotten tired of the format.  This episode wasn't that good, it's fairly routine, it was obvious Erika was behind the virus, she must've been one sick person (no pun) sick in the head to make those innocent patients suffer like that.  It's not like they were responsible for her condition. Same as the Killer, he's one sick in the head psycho too.  Tommy's line of having half a brain to access the system was a bit harsh under the circumstances especially that boy in the opening getting brain surgery!  ICU in the title needs no explanation of course!  Unless it's referring to the Killer watching Lindy.  Yeager asking George how he sleeps at night, "on my back or in the foetel position if it's cold."

Downton Abbey Series 6 Episode 4

                                                     
Whilst the Carsons are away on their honeymoon, Thomas  (Rob James-Collier) is the butler now and he relishes the position, and ordering everyone around.  At breakfast, the family is glad to have Branson (Allen Leech) home and Edith (Laura Carmichael) wonders if he will now take back the position of Agent from Mary (Michelle Dockery).  Branson doesn't know what he's doing yet and Robert (Hugh Bonneville) tells them they don't need to get into a fight over it just yet.  The Dowager (Maggie Smith) has involved Lady Shackleton (Harriet Walter) in her plans for the hospital and she thinks she has an ally on her side for the hospital to be run by them and not in York.  Lady Shackleton can't see the objections if modern equipment will be good for the people.  But the Dowager insists she should show her support for her.  Asking if she's here to help or be a hindrance. Lady Shackleton  has also invited her nephew to Downton with her, of course we all know who that is.

Rosamund (Samantha Bond) tells Edith that she's trustee of Hillcroft College for bright girls and she intends for Edith to become one too, so she's invited John Harding (Phillip Battley) the treasurer and his wife, Gwen (Rose Leslie) to Downton to introduce them.  Edith would like to co-edit the magazine and wants to hire a female editor, which Isobel (Penelope Wilton) thinks is a good thing and applauds her.  Mary being in agreement for once, saying that it is a lady' magazine after all. Rosmaund is surprised that Mary actually supports her for once, but she still comes up with a sarcastic comment and a putdown about if enough monkeys read the bible.

Sgt Willis (Howard ward) comes to see Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) in the hopes of getting her to testify against Peter Coyle ("the handsome devil" - but she tells Molesley (Kevin Doyle) he was just a devil) The man who put her up to stealing the jewels.  He's been doing the same to two other girls and the sergeant thinks if she testifies it will prevent other girls from falling into his trap.  Baxter is reluctant since she doesn't want to see him again and Molesley thinks she should do it to help them.  Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nichol) wanted to be there when the sergeant came in place of Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan) who is Mrs Carson now, funny how Mrs Patmore still called her Mrs Hughes.  But Baxter's asked Molesley which she wasn't happy about.  Thomas also telling Mrs Patmore that she should've told him about the sergeant coming down and the phonecall.  Anna (Joanne Frogatt) and Bates (Brendan Coyle) were a little unkind when they both say for once the police coming doesn't have anything to do with them.

Mary asks about the baby but she hasn't told Bates yet.  Though he says she's noticed she's put on weight and thinks she's probably eaten all the pie.  She hasn't told him yet which is why it was absurd that Mary asks Bates for help with the suitcases when there's no one else isn't around, with Bates saying Anna can carry one.  Mary replies it's too heavy for her, of course if that didn't give away the secret, then I don't know what would.  Also Anna later feels some pain and thinks she may lose the baby.  Molesley sees her in distress.  She does the same thing when she's with Mary who insists they head down to London right now in the night. Mary will say she's got some medical emergency and they can head to York if they've missed the train.  Branson offers to drive them to York and Mary tells him it's for Anna and not to tell anyone.  Mary abruptly telling the family she needs to go right now and there's nothing more to be said.  With everyone remarking on how Mary looks perfectly well, as did Bates when Anna tells him she has to go.

Baxter tells Thomas she's not like him and hates when people talk about her.  She's not strong like him and he just ignores what they say.  Of course he tells her that she's wrong about him, he does think about what people say.  Thomas also tells Baxter about Molesley liking her, she doesn't agree though. But Thomas did enjoy ordering everyone about.  "I am the butler now and don't let's forget it." He also needs volunteers to clear Mrs Cobb's cottage for the Carson's when they return and Andy (Michael Fox) says he'll take some maids with him.  Thomas says he'll go too, but he doesn't want him coming.  Mrs Patmore looks at Thomas as if to say he hasn't yet cleared the air with Andy. Seems they will be forgetting this and forgetting Thomas too very soon.

Molesley tells Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) about Baxter and the police and she isn't pleased with that. But when the sergeant comes again the second time he explains how Coyle's ruined lives and two of the women had to turn to prostitution cos of him and one is dead.  She decides to testify and they will give the names of the witnesses to the prosecution.  Who will decide if they need them, especially if he pleads not guilty.  She tells Molesley she changed her mind cos she can't see anymore lives ruined, just like he ruined hers.  He changed her and after all that she still own't be rid of him.

Lady Shackleford arrives with her nephew and Mary is surprised to learn that it's Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode)  He's now into cars and particularly racing them.  He was raised in London and so has no idea about the country or its manners.  When Lady Shackleton doesn't support the Dowager at dinner.  She needs facts before she can take sides.  Henry gives Mary his card so they can have lunch or drinks and she accepts.  Robert thanks Lady Shackleton for the way she handled herself and didn't make everyone get into any deeper arguments.  Cora notices that Robert's pain has returned twice, but he just tells her he can't drink port anymore and not to make a fuss.  Does this mean they may kill off another Crawly before the series ends.  I mean it's only fitting for them to end the drab hospital storyline in some way.

The Harding's arrives and Thomas recognizes her, but Gwen doesn't acknowledge him.  She speaks with Anna though who's glad to see her.  Gwen was the maid in series 1, who went off to secretarial school and then became part of the civil service, which is where she met John.  Thomas is angry she didn't greet him and at lunch, he lets slip on purpose that Gwen was a former maid.  The others are surprised and a little embarrassed, but Mary knew she'd seen her before the way she kept staring at her.  Edith thinks it's good she made something of herself, as does Isobel.  Gwen says she was going to tell them and then says she had Sybil to thank for everything.  She applied for the job for her, drove her to the interview, where they broke down and also she convinced the telephone repair man to give her a job.  Robert recalling how he remembered he couldn't go into the library, so it was Gwen in there.  Sybil helped her which brings sadness and tears to their eyes, even Mary is moved. Gwen used to send out cards to Sybil and then she heard what happened.  Rosamund remarking on how nice a way to remember Sybil.

Branson doesn't know what he's going to do but he thinks maybe cars are for him.  Not racing them, but being a part of them.  Edith telling him that's nowhere near Downton.  Mary is also at a loose end as Gwen's made her think of how she isn't doing very much.  Gwen heads down to meet the others and Bates has a go at Thomas for landing Gwen in it with the family.  He is taken aback that she didn't even see him and that he didn't know she was planning on fooling the family.  Robert also has a word with him about it and tells him he didn't like what he did.  Later Thomas tells Robert he liked being butler and Robert hopes he learned from it.  That Carson is very kindly too.  So he'll know how to act when the time comes for him to leave.  Don't see where they're getting rid of him, the household functioned perfectly fine with him as butler when Carson was away.  Not to mention the fact that their attitude towards him just reflects their pompousness.  They finally accepted Gwen for who she used to be, didn't recognize her cos she was only a maid and they treat Thomas no better.  Dismissed after using his services for so long.  It's not like the rest of the staff are saints.  With Bates and Anna both being charged with murder.

Daisy (Sophie McShera) has another bee in her bonnet, when she finds out that the farm may be handled by Downton and that they're not looking to take on anymore tenants thinking that Cora misled her.  Of course it was Daisy who did all the misleading and only has herself to blame.  But she's determined to confront Cora about it.  She does this after they've decided that Mr Mason (Paul Copley) should become the tenant and they can decide now whilst Mary is away.  Branson says he will sort things out with Mary.  Daisy is waiting for Cora and Baxter comes with her.  She asks about the farm and Robert comes in the nick of time to tell Daisy the good news about Mr Mason, before she can put her foot in it again.  Even if it meant losing her job.  Cora thinks she's been spared.  Yes she was spared Daisy's wrath.  Let me see, will Daisy now get together with Andy, the way they looked at each other when Mrs Patmore tries to talk her out of confronting Cora.

The doctor has carried out the minor surgery on Anna and he says he's "cautiously optimistic."  Apparently he was only interested in his huge fee for being called out at night!  Mary is relieved and see sit as a chance to go out with Henry, who she knows will make a pass at her, she won't accept, but she's ready for it.  The newlyweds return and they have drinks ready for them, with the whole family coming down to congratulate them.  The Dowager hasn't been in the kitchen for twenty years and Isobel hopes she has her passport.  They would prefer to be called Carson and Mrs Hughes (a spin off in the works? ha) which is a relief to Robert and Rosamund.  Since Carson and Mrs Carson didn't sound right to them.  Anna and Bates finally celebrate their good news.

Yet another episode where that wretched business with the hospital is still being stretched out, it's been four weeks now.  How long must it continue.  Think Mary has eyes for Branson rather than anyone else and I have said that for a long time now, well as far back as last series, ha!  Mary and yet more snickering, this time over the Carson being on honeymoon in Scarborough (they can attend the fair) and nothing more spectacular! She also has a flashback moment to Matthew when he crashed his car, or rather we were meant to have one, when Henry tells her he races cars.  Will he meet the same fate?  As well as Mary having to wear one of Rosamund's dresses when she meets Henry.  Daisy mashing the potatoes with such force in her ire and Mrs Patmore calling her Madame DeFarge.  Yes she was about to ignite a revolution of her own downstairs and upstairs too!

Doctor Who 9.4 "Before the Flood" Review

                                                
The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) walks us through the TARDIS talking about Beethoven and how someone comes along and gets him to sign his name to all his sheet music, who then goes on to use it and he becomes Beethoven.  He talks about the Bootstrap Paradox (see below) and to "go ahead and Google it."   (Which presumably we all did and will do.)  Then playing Beethoven's Fifth on his electric guitar.

Clara (Jenna Coleman) is on the base with Lunn (Zaqi Ismail) and Cass (Sophie Stone) as they watch the Doctor still outside.  Lunn asks if Clara's been in these situations before and he doesn't know what he should say to her.  What would she say.  She tells him that everything's going to be all right and the Doctor will come back for her.  He asks if she believes that and she does.  Cass works out the Doctor outside is saying their names, Moran, Pritchard, Prentis, O'Donnell, Clara .

Back in time in the village, the Doctor says they're back in Scotland in the '80's and a Soviet training camp, as he licks his finger and holds it in the wind to tell them that.  O'Donnell (Morven Christie) used to be in Military Intelligence and she was fired for dangling a colleague out the window.  He asks how you do that.  They head to the spaceship which is already there and it holds a DB, the Doctor explains the ship is a hearse.  The message is already on the wall too.  Prentis (Paul Kaye) approaches and he hands them out his cards.  He's from another planet but he's found his way here to use the entire planet.  The Doctor throwing his card away like last ep.  He doesn't need a card, as he says later on to Bennett, he's "a dead man walking."  Watch out for O'Donell look away when there's aloud thumping sound, for later.  When they return to the TARDIS and he converses with Clara via her phone. She tells him he's here and that he's saying something different. She then shows the Doctor to the Doctor (which is what I said, couldn't she have used the phone camera before.)  The Doctor notices his sleeve is torn at the shoulder.

He wants to talk with the doctor and she places the phone on the cabinet.  The Doctor looks at him after he's let the ghost out of the Faraday cage.  The Doctor remarking how it's nice to speak with someone like him.  Clara asks if he can go back in time and change the future but it will cause other things to change.  The Doctor tells them to head to the cage but she won't be able to use the phone, so she should leave it outside and watch for his contacting her.

They head  back to the ship after the conversation, but O'Donnell doesn't want to stay behind as he asks her to and also Bennett (Arsher Ali) does too, cos he's protecting her.  If you hadn't already realized it, he's got feelings for her.  She tells the Doctor she's not staying cos that's what got her fired from the base. When they get to the ship, they find the Fisher King (Neil Fingleton) gone and then hear loud thumping.  They need to get back to the TARDIS now.  I now they always leave the TARDIS in one place after they land, but why don't they use it to get around more often, even if it's short distances. Guess the Doctor would say, where's the fun in that.  They split up and O'Donnell hides and the Doctor and Bennett run into a room.  He puts a chair up against the door and the Doctor looks at him strangely.  The Fisher King walks past them and then the walking sound stops.  O'Donnell comes out of her hiding place and stands with her back to the camera.  Obviously he's going to come out behind her.  The Doctor and Bennett get to her, but it's too late.  Bennett confronts him saying he knew this would happen and this was just his experiment.  He knows the order of the names and he asks who's next.  That would be Clara.   Benetta saying he's going to save her now but he couldn't save O'Donnell.  He let her die.

Heading back to the TARDIS they leave but the TARDIS doesn't go anywhere.  Coming out the Doctor finds they're still here and then hears them outside by the other TARDIS, there's two of them.  Which means they've only gone back in time half an hour.  Bennett wants to warn O'Donnell but he tells him they can't and they need to stay out of sight.  Even Prentis is alive and they return to the scene where they met him before.   They hide behind some bins and Bennett thinks Prentss should know about his death.  The Doctor pulls Bennett back and stops him from going, as they fall behind the bins.  When they reemerge, the Doctor has a torn shoulder in his sleeve.  The Doctor says they don't have a right to warn him.   Bennett tells him he's going to save Clara now, which the Doctor will do, he's not saving himself, cos he's already a dead man walking.

The Doctor heads into a building where there's the statis pod and also the Fisher King.  How did he know where to look?  The pod is beginning the countdown to open.  He tells him how he's a Time Lord and they showed their teeth and began killing, except for the Doctor, he can see their deaths and he wanted to change things.  The Doctor tells him they can't go back in time cos of the ripple effect and change things.  Any little thing could have a huge ramification.  The Fisher King is stealing their souls and turning them into ghosts.  He replies it's to get his armada here and fight.  The Doctor tells him he's not guilty of using time but of destroying people and their souls.  Using them as electromagnetic pathways.  The statis pod opens and the Doctor appears in the TARDIS mentioning a safety protocol, before the TARDIS leaves and heads to the base.

Back at the base, O'Donnell appears and she walks towards them.  Then spots the phone and takes it. Er, how'd she pick it up then, assuming the phone isn't metal but plastic, even if it has metallic components, we saw last ep, they had to specifically touch the metal part.  Clara then tells them that Lunn can get the phone back cos he didn't see the message in the ship and it's not imprinted in his synaptic brainwaves.  That's why Pritchard didn't kill him.  (As I said in the last ep review.)
He leaves and Cass wants to go and search for him.  Clara convinces her it will be okay but then says if they're going they're going together.

Lunn encounters the others and they stare at him but he's able to walk past them back to the other room, where he find the phone, but gets locked in.  As Clara and Cass try to find him, they get separated and Clara slaps  her head saying she's a fool.  Moran comes after Cass with an axe (with a wooden handle, he's not exactly holding the metal part of it) and drags it along the floor making an awful lot of noise.  She doesn't hear it, but then puts her hand to the floor and feels the vibrations. Moran strikes with the axe, but she makes a run for it.  SO if Clara was next, how come MOran came after Cass before anyone could get Clara.   Meeting up with Clara they get Lunn out and then they head for he cage when the ghosts return.  They enter the room with the statis pod which is about to open.

The Fisher King heads back to the ship after the Doctor convinced him that there's no message on the wall.  He goes inside and sees that the message is still there and he's been tricked.  He lied, of course he did, which is what I said.  Love saying that line, "I'm the Doctor and I lie."  Becoming eponymous with Doctor Eleven (at least for me it was.)  Opening up the box with the power cells inside, one is missing.  (Now we know where the missing power cell went last ep and why no one could find it, the Doctor already took it for flooding the village this ep.)  This one the Doctor's placed outside and is aimed towards the dam, which breaks and water runs out, drowning the Fisher King.  The statis pod opens and the Doctor emerges from it wearing his shades. The ghosts hear the Fisher King calling and they walk to the cage where they're locked in.

There, see the Doctor was just a hologram as I mentioned last ep.  If they could have one for Clara of course they could have one for him.  The giveaway here, or the clue was the Doctor's torn coat. which means he tore it in the future and then came back with this plan of his.  UNIT will leave the cage in outerspace where it can't interfere with the earth's magnetic field and the ghosts will eventually fade. The Doctor uses the sonic , er, shades to wipe the message from their memories.  He'll do Bennett's later as he looks at O'Donnell in the cage.  Clara tells him not to give up and to go on and live.  As she's done after Danny.  There are endless possibilities in the galaxy.  Bennett tells Lunn to give Cass a message saying how much Lunn loves her.  To tell her before it's too late, which he does and she kisses him.

The Doctor says that they all will die one day and then explains about Beethoven and how he wrote all that music and was Beethoven.  So he went back in time and set all the events in motion, with the missing power cell, the message in the ship and lying to the Fisher King, as well as the hologram and being in the statis pod.  But he couldn't save anyone else who was already dead, even if he knew they were going to die.
Though it wasn't hard to guess (as in last week's ep that the Doctor was a hologram.  It was just a way for the Doctor to communicate between Clara and also for him to fool the Fisher King and stop the signals.  The Fisher King was voiced by Peter Serafinowicz and Corey Taylor did the scream.

He refers to the Bootstrap Paradox and if you knew what that meant beforehand (or even not) you'd know just what the Doctor was up to.  The Bootstrap Paradox being a way for someone to go back in time to begin an event in the past, which eventually causes something to happen in the future.  This is what he meant when he said he went back in time and took Beethoven's manuscripts.  Since in the past he discovers Beethoven wouldn't write music.  So the Doctor copied his music and then later in time he listens to his music and decides he wants to go back in time and meet the composer.  Who (no pun) then wrote the Fifth Symphony?  The Doctor or Beethoven?

The Bootstrap Paradox was based on a book by Robert Heinlen, called By His Bootstraps. In which a writer goes back in time and writes a book by copying each line of it.  He then finds he was the actual author of it.  But did he really write it?

Anyway, O'Donnell mentions Harold Saxon and then also the Minister of War which makes the Doctor all ears and we wonder why?  Anyway as he tells Bennett Clara is next in line and that's why he has to save her, above all.  Bennett adding that's why he'll change history and help her. It's like that's some sort of foreshadowing to something that may happen to Clara later on, it did sound that way.  Also the Fisher King is the one who has not only meddled in time, but more seriously he has played with matters of life and death.  Then there's the FisherKking telling the Doctor he is "one man lost in time."  A reference to Gallifrey and its re-emergence perhaps.  But he is a time traveller anyway,  Once again we had more messing around with the timey wimey.  So much for the Doctor telling Clara and the Fisher King that he can't alter time and what's happened as it could lead to a massive alteration somewhere.

Eye Candy 1.5 "IRL" Review

                                          
Hamish (Eric Sheffer Stevens) from Reconnoitre (okay I spelled it the French way, ha) decides to throw a party to show the Virtual Killer that New Yorkers aren't afraid of him. Lindy (Victoria Justice) thinks it'll be a good idea for them to grant him a licence so that they can monitor who comes and goes, thinking the killer may show up.  Choosing Sophia's (Kiersey Clemons) club, IRL, as the venue.  Elsewhere, Tommy (Casey Jon Deidrick) gets home to find his apartment cleared out of all his furniture and belongings, including his dog. There's a man there who says there was an online ad telling people to come and take everything.  Remember him for later.  Tommy rushes down to the pound after tracking his dog and he would've been put down in 96 hours, but he hasn't been there that long.  The man shows him the file which says, "Bubonic."  Apparently, Bubonic is a hacker the NYPD has been after and it's his one year anniversary, since it's been a year since he struck. Catherine (Melanis Nicholls-King) tells Tommy he should've told her he's been in touch with him.

Connor (John Garet Stoker) goes on a date with Oliver (Parker Pogue) and they attend a dining in the dark place.  Connor takes a potty break, checking himself out in the mirror before he goes in (ha) and there's a woman with a loud, freaky laugh at the restaurant, which gets Oliver a reprieve from being killed, as she's had her throat slit and her tongue placed on a plate on the table.  If it wasn't for her, he'd be dead by now.  That's what I said, she should've got it cos of her imperfect, irritating laugh.

Lindy spots Jake (Ryan Cooper) at the club, but she doesn't want to talk to him cos she's the reason he was arrested.  Sophia thinks she should tell him about Ben before he finds out he was arrested cos of her.  Oliver turns up at the party even though Connor thinks he wouldn't after what happened last night.  Sophia is also adamant the undercover cops shouldn't wear polyester.  As the party gets underway, the video screen's taken over and there's a virtual lockdown of the club.  A voice on the screen sets up a game and for each activity that is highlighted they do, they can win up to a million dollars.  Including kissing your neighbour for $250,  Connor decides against it cos he doesn't want their first kiss to be about money.

Then things like licking the sole of a shoe, punching someone, cutting off a finger.  Which quickly gets out of control.  Tommy gets a message to meet him outside before the lockdown of the club and he gets beaten up by someone who claims he's been seeing his girlfriend behind his back, showing him a photoshopped picture, which he doesn't accept isn't really Tommy.  Tommy lies beaten on the ground and is visited by a man in one of those Venetian doctor masks.

Lindy needs to get out of there and find Tommy and Sophia suggests the boiler room window.  She realizes they're dealing with Bubonic, the world's greatest hacker, who went bad.  In the boiler room Jake is knocked out and handcuffed to a pipe near a bomb.  George (Harvey Guillen) says the bomb is most likely connected to the temperature of the boiler room and also the money being won which will trigger it off.  They need to reverse the game and get all the money back.

Hamish also tries to hire Lindy to get his money back which has been stolen and is being used for the game.  She says she's not for hire.  She needs the phone which Bubonic (Peter Mark Kendall) has and she tracks him with George's help to the boiler room.  She can have the phone or she can catch him, it's her choice.  She prefers to take the phone and he also tells her she's being used by the police and they've kept information from her.  She was arrested by the police and she hanged herself the next morning in her cell by a shoelace.  She manages to give the details from the phone to George and he gets the money total back to one million.  So much for doing stupid things like actually cutting off a finger.

Lindy tells Jake about Ben and he asks if she wants to make $250 and they kiss, but they'll just be friends.  Tommy sees them together.  Oliver forgets his phone inside and goes back to get it, only to find a noose around his neck and is hoisted up.  Connor doesn't find him.  Hamish meets with Bubonic in the alley and he was behind the game, Bubonic owes him now.  So in this ep we get away from the Virtual Killer for a bit until he strikes again at the end.  It had to be him didn't it when he strung up Oliver.  It wasn't Bubonic copying what was happened to the woman he loved.  Seems everyone's lost someone they care about in this but have different ways of getting over it.  Bubonic was Charlie the man in Tommy's apartment at the beginning, but he doesn't know what he looks like, he was right under his nose and that's what I say about the Virtual Killer.  To me it seems it's someone they know, or Lindy knows.

Obviously Lindy and Tommy will get together when they realize their feelings for one another, but I keep coming back to Ben as the killer for some reason, well reasons I've explained before.  Just wondering why Tommy hasn't been targeted by the Virtual Killer yet, or is he biding his time.  This episode was an improvement on the last one, which was a bit low key.

IRL means 'In Real Life'.

Downton Abbey Series 6 Episode 3 Review

Wedding fever is in the air and Mrs Hughes (Phyliss Logan) thinks she'll just wear one of her own dresses, which Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nichol) thinks is very drab for a wedding but it'll have to do. Mrs Patmore orders one from a catalogue.  Cora (Elizabet McGovern) has a word with Mrs Hughes much to Mary's (Michelle Dockery) chagrin about settling the venue for the reception once and for all.  Mary thinking Carson (Jim Carter) should have it in one of the halls since he's been in service at Downton for so many years.  That was snobbish of her, yet she accuses Cora of being snobbish, which is far from right.  Mrs Hughes would prefer somewhere like the school since it's their day and she doesn't want to be here.  Cora understands that since this is where she works and of course she'd want the reception somewhere else and not be reminded of here.  Carson overhears Mary telling Cora about being snobbish.  Isobel (Penelope Wilton) hopes they'll be invited to the wedding.

There's still problems and arguments galore surrounding the hospital merging with the Royal Yorkshire and the Dowager (Maggie Smith) thinks Cora can be persuaded to her line of thinking. However she thinks the merger is a good idea especially after she visits the hospital and has luncheon there too, which the Dowager thinks is a betrayal and Isobel accuses Dr Clarkson (David Robb) of not wanting to go ahead since he's in a position of authority here and she calls him "the king."  Which he doesn't take too kindly to.

The dress arrives but it isn't much better than the one Mrs Hughes was going to wear, it looked better in the catalogue.  There's not much they can do about it and Anna (Joanne Froggatt) mentions it to Mary, who thinks she can wear one of Cora's embroidered coats over it, but no one asks Cora.  Mary also asks Anna if she's pregnant but it's too early for her to tell.  Saying that it's not Bates's (Brendan Coyle) fault then. Mary adding as soon as three months are over they'll pop down to London and she can get her business done.  Anna acting coy over half the things Mary says.

Edith (Laura Carmichael) has to go to London again having more problems with the editor and she'll stay at the flat instead of with Rosamund.  Even if no one will see it as proper she says she's almost middle aged now anyway.  Edith meets Bertie Pelham (Harry Hadden-Paton) there and they met last year.  More filming of Downton at legal London, by Lincoln's Inn and outside the bookshop, known as Wildy and Sons on Carey Street. They added an underground sign outside for good measure.  He asks Edith for a drink later before he heads home and she accepts.  When she gets back to the office she gets fed up of the editor refusing to listen to her and sacks him.  Now she has to get the magazine to the printers herself by 4am. Telling him she can't have a drink, why didn't she just phone him. Bertie comes along and helps her cos he was going to ask her to dinner anyway.  They get the magazine out and he tells her she makes him feel needed and appreciative.  Edith feels she needs a purpose and this job gives her a purpose, but she won't be taking this over just yet.  She'll get a caretaker editor for the time being.  Of course Mary isn't so impressed when she shows Robert the stills/proofs of the magazine, cos Miss Snooty Pants turns her nose up at everything, especially anything to do with Edith.

Mary's got a letter from Branson (Alan Leech) who had a dream about walking by the trees at Downtown and waking up in tears.  He misses home and she says she'll write him later after the wedding, talk about lazy.  Cora returns home from the awful meeting where she's badgered by the Dowager for taking sides with Isobel again and rushes up before Mary tells her the others are up in her room.  Cora loses her temper at them saying someone should've told her, feeling like the scavengers are rifling through her clothes.  Anna, Mrs Patmore and Mrs Hughes leave.  Anna tells Mary about what happened and Mary tries to fix it in her meddling way.  She tells Cora she told them they could borrow a coat, but it would've been courteous if she had asked her first.

Cora gives Mrs Hughes a coat and apologizes since she was angry about something else and took her anger out on them.  Which Mrs Patmore says they've all done.  Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) fixes the coat for her.  Daisy (Sophie McShera) gets high hopes for Mr Mason (Paul Copley) taking over the Drewe farm and she thinks that's what Cora meant when she said she has a plan.  So she confronts Cora about it thinking that's what's going to happen and Mr Mason will be able to take it over.  Jumping the gun as usual, she still hasn't learnt her lesson and doesn't keep her mouth shut.  Molesley (Kevin Doyle) telling her she mustn't get carried away yet.

Thomas (Rob James-Collier) is determined to find another position before he's sacked, but why are Robert (Hugh Bonneville) and Carson so set on firing him anyway.  It's not like they don't have enough room for him.  He's also angry that the others have poisoned Andy (Michael Fox) against him, when he told him about the position at Downton and he just wants to be his friend, which he was, until they said otherwise.  Baxter tells him to tell Andy that.

Thomas applies for an interview at Dryden Park which Robert used to attend with the family years ago.  Living up to its name, it was kind of dry.  The place is empty now with only a few staff so Thomas can't see why it was still advertized as being prestigious.  Even if royalty had been there in   the past, that's not the present.  Sir Michael (Ronald Pickup) wants someone who's clearly all in favour of royalty and Thomas hasn't thought about it.  It's not the right place for him.  Spratt (Jeremy Swift) is hiding a secret which Denker (Sue Johnston) finds out about, in Great Expectations fashion, he's been hiding his nephew who's on the run from prison.  She tells him she'll keep his secret but obviously that'll come at a price.

The day of the wedding arrives and manages to go off without a hitch. The Dowager finds Dr Clarkson might be changing his mind about the merger being a good thing for the local hospital, which the Dowager isn't pleased about.  She thinks that a peer like Lord Merton (Douglas Reith) changing his mind and being in favour of reform, is like a turkey wanting Christmas.  The school teacher thinks Molesley missed his calling as a teacher since he's all for "education opening up a gate" for all possibilities.  Daisy blabs to Mr Mason about the farm before anything's been decided and before Cora gets to put him right, Branson returns.  He's home now and he had to go to Boston to realize that this is his home, if they'll have him.  Of course they will since they want Sibby around.

More fairly routine things happening here and nothing to get too excited about.  There really isn't much to enjoy this last series and it feels like stories were just being made up as they went along to get through the final series.  Still we got some funny lines like Mrs Hughes wanting a proper breakfast table for the wedding, with solid food, not these posh nibbly canapes getting stuck in teeth. Much to Mary's surprise and being put in her place when she tells her people still do the sit-down wedding breakfast tables bit.

Doctor Who 9.3 "Under The Lake" Review

                                                   
In an underwater mining facility known as The Drum, (oil drum?) in Scotland, the crew has taken on board a spacecraft or some sort of ship which looks alien.  They see a man with a hat in period attire who also has hollow eyes.  Just before they can find out what it is, Captain Moran (Colin McFarlane) is killed.  He then later appears to them as some sort of an apparition with his eyes hollowed out which they call a 'ghost.'

The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Clara (Jenna Coleman) arrive but he tells her the TARDIS isn't happy being here, though he can't yet work out why.  She wants adventure and asks if they can go back to the place where the creatures with the long necks celebrate new year for two centuries.  So if we did that here, that'd mean no more work! A holiday everyday. Ha.  She wants him to high five her, but he leaves her hanging even when she asks him, "don't leave me hanging!" They encounter the ghosts in the corridor and must seek shelter.  However the Doctor remarks upon how cool they are and how they're not hurting them, until much later.  Apparently these ghost can handle metal objects and use them as weapons. Remarking, "hello, did you want to show us this."  Inside the ship he notices markings which he can't work out and the TARDIS can't translate them.

Once again Steven Moffat delves into the subject of ghosts and the afterlife to an extent as he did in 8.4 Listen last series.  The Doctor talks of how when they die they return in some form and maybe even having killing tendencies than when they were alive.  He'd want to ask questions like what it's like on the other side.  That there is no end after death.  Also similar to Danny when he died and he allowed that boy to come back.  Clara is over Danny as the Doctor tells her she needs a new relationship and that's what humans do.  They're always writing about it in songs, or getting tattoos. The TARDIS wants to leave this place and he says it's cos of the ghosts and that's why she didn't want to be here. So he applies the handbrake to stop her from leaving.  Also Clara is ready to go back out there.   The Doctor says he's seen all this before and Clara remarks how he just "poo-pooed the ghost theory."

The crew opens up the cage for them, which we  later learn is a Faraday Cage for radiation leaks, incase there's one on the base.  He shows them his card, and Pritchard (Steven Robertson) notices he's with UNIT.  He then hands the Doctor his own card, he's with Vector Petroleum.  Which the Doctor takes and comically throws down on the floor.  He's just into money and later when they examine the craft the Doctor finds a power cell missing.  None of them took it, but Pritchard thinks it could be worth something.

One of the crew is deaf, Cass (Sophie Stone) and needs a translator/signer, Lunn (Zaqi Ismail)  Though not being horrible, but half the time she doesn't even look at him when he's signing for her, too busy looking at the Doctor or the screen.  But she's in charge and why don't any of the other crew tell the Doctor what's happened.  They see them as ghosts as they have no other explanation for it and they only come out at night.  So when the computer tells them it's day, they can all come out of the cage.  They have to simulate day and night modes as they're so far below the surface.  The Doctor tells them he's sorry for their loss after Clara prompts him with the cards.  Seems he needs those to express his emotions.

The computer manages to turn day mode back into night before it's time which sends them into a tizzy and they must gather what they need and return to the age.  With O'Donnell (Morven Christie) trying to fix the mode back to day.  Pritchard returns from outside after looking for the missing powercell and is drowned in the locked chamber.  His ghost then returns and Bennett (Arsher Ail) thinks it's really him when Clara sees him floating outside.  If there was a man overboard, wouldn't it be too late to rescue him anyway, clearly he had no signs of life.  Pritchard picks up the chair by its metal legs and is about to throw it when day is re-activated.  The frozen statis chamber emerges which they surmize contains the pilot and when he was inide the ship, he's written those symbols They're co ordinates and they're like magnets sending out magnetic pulses so the message is imprinted in their minds.

The Doctor comes up with the plan of getting the ghosts into the chamber whereby he uses Lunn, Clara and Bennett as bait.  They have to follow his directions and hide in the airlocks before the ghosts see which direction they head in.  Which backfires since they split into two groups and Pritchard follows Lunn into the chamber.  He picks up the wrench and appears to whisper something to him, before leaving him alive.  Why did O'Donnell just open the door back to let him out.  They manage to catch them in the cage after they see Clara inside to lure them in, but it's obvious she's a hologram.  The Doctor using his shades again tries to see what they're saying from outside but he can't.

Cass manages to work out, the dark, the sword, the forsaken and temple, by lip reading them."  He enters the cage but they can't  hurt him as they don't have any weapons.  He then realizes the words are actually co ordinates to Orion's belt and earth is the fourth planet thus they need another victim so they can enhance their signal.  The Doctor works out the ghosts were manipulated by someone else. So the village was flooded by water and they find the missing church, the temple.  There's a breach and the base is being flooded.  The Doctor thinks they can escape in the TARDIS.  However he and Clara get separated.  But he promises to come back for her after taking the others to safety.  He's going back in time to see what happened and to prevent the flood.

Clara is stuck with Lunn who asks if he'll return.  Of course he wouldn't leave her behind.  Clara sees someone walking towards them outside and sees it's the Doctor, who is now dead and a walking ghost.  Suppose that was inevitable with all this talk of the Doctor dying.

Clara actually high-fiving the Doctor this time round through the glass, as they're separated. Probably best quote: "surely just being around me makes you clever by osmosis."  As for Pritchard not harming Lunn was it cos he didn't enter the ship and why Cass told him to stay out.  O'Donnell is another fan of the Doctor's.  The Doctor asks the TARDIS, "what's wrong, you're not happy, why aren't you happy.  Why have you brought us here?"  If she was afraid of the ghosts and didn't like being here as he says when they're inside the TARDIS, then why did she bring them here?

Back to one of those eps where the foe is kind of cryptic and they don't know what's going on or why, but seem to find the answers, comically or otherwise.  The real cliffhanger of this ep is what happens to the Doctor, unless he's not really the Doctor but a hologram, as Clara was...we had the Waters of Mars (timely for back then, seeing as water is discovered on Mars) and now we get the lake and what's under it.

Actually liked some of his other index cards, written by Clara of course, including: "I completely understand why it was difficult to not get captured."  "No one ins going to get eaten, vapourized, exterminated, upgraded, possessed, mortally wounded, turned to jelly.  We'll all get out of this unharmed."  [unless you're the Doctor, added by me.]  "After two weeks of Peter Andre's Mysterious Girl [clearly not a reference to Clara] I was begging for the brush of death's merciful hand." Ironically he may just get exactly that.  Other references included Shirley Bassy and his behaviour after seeing her and also someone turning up with a peanut allergy he needs to know about right now.