Hayley Atwell and Stanley Tucci Talk Heroes & Villains Fanfest London 28 May 2017

Just an open talk before and then a Q&A with fans.

Stanley found it difficult to adjust to languages and driving in England.  He's not used to conventions and this is his second, one and he didn't know anything about it.  But he attended one in in Philadelphia.  Exciting actor's dream for 8 hours.

Hayley says it helps with playing characters she likes, but do get some positive and rude comments playing the villains.

Stanley watches food shows, he's obsessed with them.  Hayley likes to watch Stan cooking and he likes it when she does tha.  What in  some macabre way!! ha.  He wants to do a  travelogue where can travel and talk of food.

Hayley worked with Chris and  Leander Deeny, who was so slight in composure compared to Chris, worked with him, lost weight.  Leander watched Chris and copied Chris's moves and then they superimposed his face onto Leander's body.  Chris's scene was funny, to get right the height for her, it was surreal as he was squatting.   Then he had a deep voice for a slight man.

Dr Epstein talked to Steve becoming father figure.  The chemistry between Stanley and Chris was great and Chris has a great sense of humour, excited to do it.   Stanley was insulted at first to be playing a 70 year old man.  It was funny and a great experience, stayed friends.   Chris is king of games especially, charades, but Stanley wouldn't tell kids about the games  as they were inappropriate.
There were no 'chemistry' auditions for Hayley, only eight pages of dialogue, hair, make up and last scene, a fight sequence, she also loaded and unloaded a gun.  That was intimidating, didn't think she'd hear from them again.  Then 3 weeks later she got the part of Peggy Carter.

She met Chris at Shepperton with Sebastian Stan and was in the film.  Stanley's didn't have to audition, they just asked if he wanted the part.  He had a German accent and studied it for 3 years in high school like 75 years ago.  Stanley's obsessed with the 70 numbers, me thinks!  ha.  He listened to a dialect coach and his accent was based on  Gunter Grass (German novelist and playwright) it was based on his accent, could understand him, his accent was thick, but not too thick.

Hayley's fighting ability took a lot of confidence and little skill, "quite a few stuntmen were hurt in the making of Peggy Carter".  She practised the first scene with the 'guy in the green suit' in season 1 when he comes out of the cupboard and she hits him "in the balls."   The fight scenes are all choreographed like a dance. so you feel safe when doing it.  Gave perks up in the morning with all that energy.

She was in Agents of Shield as well as other TV.   Saying there were a few other jobs where she just turned up and do the best you can and go home and do the next best thing, on being asked if she thought of her job and role.  No, it was just a job to her, no views/opinions on character and that's it.  Not  a very good attitude for an actor to have in my opinion, for a character/actor that's revered by so many (not me) that you have nothing to say about it, nor did any research on it or her character and have any views to share about it, like many others do when they play a character they love and for so long!  They have so much to say and bring forward about how must they enjoyed it, but that was boring of her!  Acting is more than just a job, there's a lot to think about to bring into a character to make it all round and real

Marvel Company president called and asked her if was interested in a spin-off and Peggy came from there.  She keeps on popping up.  Hayley got a text from Chris; sent her texts when filming her funeral scene and he was so asd she died and she told him to keep away from her niece and she was filming in London.
Stanley would like Dr Erskine being revived and cooking and return as the doctor and Hayley  in a show about chemistry and food!

Fan Q&A

Their fave roles in careers today. Hayley:  Howard's End based on Barbara?? Schaffer's work.  Emma Thompson called her up and her  character of Margaret was relatable and real.  Good experience to work with that sort of writing.

Stanley loved Devil Wears Prada, had a caustic sense of humour and  Nigel was fun and extreme.  Hayley said fashion Peggy has sense of it.  Stanley's pink hair etc not very comfortable.  Hayley saying filming is restrictive, she only wear clothes she can rough it in.  Her fave Peggy outfit were the loose pants.   She renewed licence at the DMV and had all the gear on, the spanx etc.  Her photo for her driving licence is Peggy Carter; which fits in well.

Hayley and Captain America weren't frozen, could they be together, so busy been amazing had little time for him.  She saw something in him, kindred spirit before he transformed.   They would've had adventures together.  Captain America introduced Peggy to her husband.  Filmed the Captain American Winter Soldier picture on her bedside table, originally it was Peggy's husband and kids.  Her husband was just an extra, an extra wouldve launched his career as Peggy's hubby, so had to be edited out cos they didn't know she was married then.  So still had possibility of who she ends up marrying.  would it have been such a bad thing for an extra to have gotten a career break.  God the movies, actors and the establishment are as greedy as ever, holding people back in such a mean way!  How did she and others get her start.  Sorry not a fan of hers, never was.  Just posting this talk for those who are!  The best thing about Agent Carter was James D'Arcy, now her's a super kind and down-to-earth actor and human being!!  Only reason worth watching!

Stanley which film was his fave Undercover Blues (1993).  An extreme film comically and was his wife's fave, she was 10 at the time.  It was shot in New Orleans for a few months??

Hayley if she'd like to be the first female Doctor Who.   She doesn't want to play her, but respects it.  She's a big fan of Phoebe Walle-Bridge, big fan of and was talk of her being the next one, but she didn't get it.  Actors gets to reinvent themselves and the part, which is brilliant.  Well she had an opinion on that.

Which period of time for fashion would they have lived in?   Hayley was an '80s kid and loved Madonna, the big hair, stonewashed jeans, leather jacket.  Stanley loved the '20s-40's, interesting out of the Victorian era and elegant and beautiful stuff.

Stanley said he always has input with the costume designer in Hunger Games, collaboration, it's good to have designer with clear vision of what they want.   The nicest, simplest costumes a long time ago were in Road to Perdition, costumes were beautiful, built from the fabric designer had chosen.  Tom Hanks fabric was made for his suits in Upstate New York.

She liked the scene Captain America when she was in the pub in her red dress, Joe wanted alternatives, so she was flirting with him, and with Bucky! Agent Carter the series was more physical, season 1 diner scene, gets to hit someone on the head with a tray.   A lot of fight and action sequences.  Shooting the shield in Captain America filmed with Dominic and Chris and she knew Dominic from years before, good to have laugh between scenes and trust each other.  A sense of responsibility, training for it, but Chris not so much into the .

Hayley and season 1 with the ghost of her brother, wanted to explore where she came from.   Support for her to live again in the future if there was some way to bring her back, she'd want to explore the relationship with  Edward Jarvis (yay James!!) fans liked him in season 1, so they brought him back in season 2. He and Peggy had a working relationship and knew each other, great wit and wordplay.  She wished to live until 96 and would would love to see Peggy through the years as in the '60s civil rights movement, shoulder pads in the '80s like Working Girl.

Ghosts of Shepherdstown 2.5 "Now You're In That Sunken Place" Review

Well that title sounds ominous!
The episode we were all waiting for: the caves but for me it was a little anti-climactic, sorry but investigation-wise it was interesting, but I don't know, there just seemed to be something missing. Perhaps it was the fact there was nothing captured in terms of EVPs.  Don't get me wrong I'm not putting the episode down, far from it, maybe it was just the rainy day, watching it probably felt a little down.

However it was great to see Bill actually locating Keith, the curator of the Adam Stephen's house who told him about the cave entrances still being open on this property.  Of course meaning they'd be able to investigate down there.  Apparently there were two openings and they led from one house to the other house, again all overflowing with limestone.  The discussion in the Beast was all about the limestone and the river not having much of an impact, thus far.  But again my question is why would the negative entity need such a cave system to move, aside from the fact that limestone is a great conductor of spiritual energy and so maybe this is one reason why the entity needs to get energy from its surroundings in order to to so powerful; and my question being answered in a roundabout way by Elizabeth when she said the spiritual conductor aspect of the limestone that is.  The cave openings being in Martinsburg.  (Another 'burg'.)

What was creepy was the growl which was clearly heard, though it sounded more like a breath and the scratching.  The scathing question being what was on the other side of the cave when Elizabeth and Nick finally managed to get down there.  Elizabeth using her 'X-Boss' device which along with the Mel Meter was going off the charts again, just like it was in Nina's house in episode 2.  Due to the presence of the Native American woman's spirit.  Wonder if the scratching could have been the 'two' that the Father referred to when Lorie was doing her 'psychic sweep' of the house and land.  The coupe who died down there due to illness with the Father being unable to administer last rights to them.

Who Dana found out was Father Dennis Cahill, the only Catholic priest in the area dating back centuries.  Who also appeared to Keith and Rose in the form of a green mist.  His spirit being more residual as he was following the same path, in an attempt to get closure for himself but also for the two unfortunate souls he couldn't save.  It was good that Elizabeth managed to talk Rose into telling her side of the story since it did vilify and reinforce what Keith saw, but also that she wasn't imagining it or going crazy.  As well as others allowing who don't feel they can share their experiences too to come forward.  As well as Chief King having the friend, Bob, who was able to take Nick and Elizabeth down to the caves [you know I wrote mines here with that tweet of mine to Nick about him looking like a miner in his helmet on Monday, guess still had that on my mind!] and finding that there are also caves in Shepherdstown.  That was a revelation.  Which means the river probably isn't the only means of 'spiritual' travel now.  But heck, thought Nick would just jump right on down into the cave opening, he was rearing to go!

This map's getting interesting!  The locations are next to the river, some of them, but also now the caves taking a prominent lead in this mystery!

That negative entity really doesn't want to have anyone coming into it's domain and territory as it tried to gas them out when Nick and Elizabeth were down there.  Maybe it contributed to that couple dying down there by releasing the gas.  Though that's just speculative on my part.  At least Dana also found records showing that there were skeletons discovered under the kitchen floorboards during renovations.  Confirming the Father's reason for being around.  As well sa the activity starting up with the excavations in the caves.

Lorie giving them last rites and using the black salt clearly only held the entity back for  awhile and we still need to know why it's there and why it's got such a strong hold on the land and attaches itself to people so forcefully?  What is its real intentions?  Also Elizabeth giving closure to the couple and the Father at the end to help them move on.  Then there were more train tracks here as they also featured in Shepherdstown season 1.  Though I don't really think there's any connection to that.

Ghosts Of Shepherdstown 2.4 "I'm You're Biggest Fan" Review

                                                   
Episode 4 and halfway through the second season, as the quest now leads to The Opera House in Charles Town with reports of activity in the basement (again) and how smoke was smelt by Ashley, the manager, but there wasn't any fire.  Also how the children rehearsing there have also heard noises and and footsteps but haven't seen anything.  When Nick went into the basement with Ashley, they heard more noises down there, as well as in the area above the stage.
That is until the teacher's assistant, Addison, tells Nick and Elizabeth how she saw a 'lady in grey' with a wreath around her neck and ringing a bell.  She also heard the bell.  Dana's research comes up with a Annie G Packette, who was the patron of the Opera House and single handedly gathered funds to build the Opera House.

Back at HQ, they collated their facts and put together everything they had found over the past 3 weeks of their investigations in the 3 different towns, which showed that 2 of them were nowhere near any water.  But the basement, limestone, caves, dark entity, attachments all featured highly on their list.  Not to mention I also added that activity also involved children too either directly or indirectly, as in the first and third cases as well as in this one.  Whether that's just a coincidence remains to be seen.  Dana also mentioned there was a fire at the opera House in 1951 and Annie's business partner died in the fire, Percy Synder.  As soon as she mentioned Synder, I couldn't help think of the Snyder's in 1.3 She Didn't Have A Face episode.  Synder was Ray Ray's family name as her father, Harry Synder was the newspaper owner.  However that's probably just a coincidence with the name.  Although Shepherdstown does still feature into this, as the activity is spread around the town as if it's emanating around or from there.

[Interesting article here: http://www.journal-news.net/opinion/local-columns/2016/07/there-s-always-a-snyder-in-shepherdstown/ ]

As for the fire was it accidental, deliberate, as Annie knew about it when she waved her fan to warn of the fire and how did Percy manage to get killed in it when it seems it was only in the basement area.  However  a news clipping from the Maryland Express 12 November 1951 states a Percy Synder was killed in a fire at his apartment, not sure if the same Percy but the year matches. A tad confusing.
However Elizabeth along with Lorie finds that Percy isn't the one they're dealing with but an even
darker entity who doesn't want them in the basement and is below ground, with the cavern system running throughout the town and the surrounding towns too.  An entity which Lorie says is 'ancient' thus reinforcing the EVP caught on the Geobox stating it's "2,000 years old" back in 2.2 We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes. Lorie adding it's neither male or female, so I had to question how it managed to communicate through the Geobox, with the laughter and the other responses.

A perfect investigation for Elizabeth to use her gadgets such as Pandora's box which rotates with sound and movement. (As she demonstrated on her blog as an intruder.)  As well as her GTS device, which apparently Nick kicked over and broke in half!  What were you doing Nick??

During their night investigation Lorie saw Annie and heard the bell too saying she was protecting the Opera House over the years and doesn't want to leave it as it's her home.  She carried out a ritual with the sage so the entity would be kept underground and not roam freely, drawing a cross on the floor with the sage and leaving the bell there, which appeared in front of her when she was in the basement.

At 33.13 there appears to be an anomaly which goes shooting across the stage from left to right again after Elizabeth finishes her narration about their questions not being influenced.

At 34.15 is that another anomaly.  Doesn't look like a bug. which is seen when Nick asks "Annie are you here with me?"  However it's seen at the stage just like the first one above, not on the balcony where Nick is.

That evil laughter though, so mocking, yeah it's 'in the caves and you can't get in!!'  The approach was a good idea to keep the questions and responses away from one another.

"Are you the one everyone's been seeing," Nick asks, it says "yes I am..." very faintly, at least it sounds like it.

Clearly the caves do warrant further investigation to drive out this entity once and for all and hopefully the caves will be in episode 5.  As well as determining what it is and where it came from, why it's there.  So many questions!

Richard Dean Anderson #LFCC 2017 Sunday Diamond Pass Talk

Another talk with RDA but somehow I preferred the one from 2 years ago as he spoke about his own stuff and didn't get into the Q&A with fans until much later on!  Since, sorry but my efficient memory which stores everything found these Qs to be repetitive and oh by the way they were things I've already written about in the book, for starters.  Such as Sea Shepherd and how he got started in it (cos he also answered that 2 years ago).  If you don't have the book see below.  Oh and I managed to get Rick to sign it!  Hopefully he was suitable impressed, well he was.  He just waned an audio version cos he falls asleep whilst reading books.  Thankfully he was also impressed by the sketch on the book cover!  That was a relief!!

Fan Q is he: 'Acting or semi-retired?': He took time to build his house in the Malibu area, 2 dogs "that love me to death, Wiley's on a break from college, I'm an insomniac so I'm still awake at night. Would  you go to work [with all this?]"  He's lazy and also too impressed about that the 'Vancouver lot' are doing something with him in mind which may or may not happen...Which we'll see if it's feasible."  Also can ride around on his motorbike.  The wonderful sea views from his Malibu home, so why would he want to leave that and work!!"  Yeah!

If he's doing much: "no one's approaching me with anything these days!"  Seriously he's out of whack and again with the demo of nodding off when reading a book like he did with me!!  Must be my book ha!
Rick says he has no other talent apart from acting, realized needed money to live when younger, wanted to be pro ski-ier, pro Formula 1 type of thing racing; dad introduced him to Sterling Moss so yeah."  Also wanted to be an Ice hockey player so luckily he had the talent for acting and not anything else he wanted to do. Wanted to be a forest ranger in high school.

Gonna post this pic again  Sooo hottt!

Here's an extract from my book on that racing aspect: from the season 4 ep Collision Course of MacGyver.

Q on Window of Opportunity ep of Stargate SG-1 in the scene with Daniel asking the same question Rick: "those who know me have no idea what is being asked...the mustard clip."
Fave Jack moment: all tech/scientific dialogue went to Amanda and what's his name, Shanks, Michael..."  Rick used to say 'ya think.' a lot.  As well as "for crying out loud;" a quote on his grandmother when she'd comment on behaviour."  She was from from Northern Minnesota.

Re Environmental stuff in MacGyer he was involved in other stuff outside of the show.  The show lasted long enough for them to do other stories.  Former LAPD deputy chief Stephen Downing came up with the Challengers Club storyline.  Added a lot of things he did off camera: like his real life.   The eps with the black rhinos, eagles, etc, "it worked."  [Again as I said in the book!]

Re the ant ep  season 1.6 Trumbo's World, asked by fan if he's afraid of anything?  Rick commented the ep was "a disgusting ep to shoot and he had to walk around in ants."  But hey they also used stock footage from the film with Charlton Heston: The Naked Jungle (1954) (again all this is in book) and yes I recall all the eps too!  Rick doesn't like ants, spiders and they have coyotes around too where he lives.

He then talked about Irwin Allen and they wrote themselves into the show and sea salt comes back to town to a fishing village and these killer whales in the harbour, he learned about them and how'd they'd splash around on you.  Then 16 feet off the water with a killer whale.  He had to hold the fish in his mouth and you're not supposed to move but he moved his head and the whale knew exactly where to aim for the fish and knocked him on his head like a boxing glove to the noggin!
See here for the pic with the killer whale, which I tweeted a few years back!  (NO mention of the Hoff though cos Rick's prob forgotten about him!)

As for being involved with Sea Shepherd, he was in Alaska, ski-ing and met Capt Paul Weston and heard him speak, "he was articulate and compassionate with his experience with humped back whales.  He was emotional about it."  Rick hasn't actually gone into action in the ships yet as he's not done it.  They've lost quite a few boats though colliding into others, especially with the Japanese ships/fishing boats.  Sea Shepherd is more hands-on than Greenpeace which Paul Watson was also a part of.

Fan Q: He and Sam Carter so would've been doing "the nasty"  With apologies the kiddies he said for speaking like that.  But they had Air Force Codes of conduct and all that!
He was her superior so they couldn't get into that.

Rick showing off a bit of keg there!! Ha.  yeah Rick the hair too!!  You still got it...!

The idea to be comedic as Jack O'Neill was all his of course.  "All the laughs were in the right place." He had a "freeflow to the scripts and it all worked out."

Word of advice for actors: if someone offers you a role just take it!  Don't hesitate.  It's a godsend in getting started especially, or even if you're established!

He loves Formula 1 and he would've wanted to race had his acting career not come along. "Hamilton's good you've gotta give it to him...congratulations Britain [sarcastically!] (Applause and laughter!)

Rick apologized for all the fans who have to queue in those lines waiting for pics/autogs, waiting for "an arrogant actor."  Why the queues were so long esp for the 9.30 am photoshoot on Saturday and the queue being too long.  But thanx for your patience and "my heart really goes out to you."

He was only one executive prouder on the show [SG-1] so he'd go through the script and make notes, writers found stories out of legends and the like.  "The art of movie making involves a process with momentum and then you move on".  Made his notes and "were legitimate ideas...but it's always a team effort...The guy in front of the camera has the last say...that's not true I take it back, it's the editor."

The moment when our eyes met again...!  Yeah it's Mi-la!! ha.

"Thanks to all for coming."  & you too cos I got to chat properly, get a front row seat for his talk and Rick will forever be one of the most friendliest down-to-earth actors/human beings out there ever!! Glad I've been a fan since 1989!!  God bless ya Rick!

http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-MacGyver-Unofficial-Unauthorized/dp/1326492756/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1449852654&sr=8-6&keywords=mila+hasan … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … #MacGyver

Ghosts of Shepherdstown 2.3 "Whatever You Do, Don't Fall Asleep" Review

Another episode of GOS which attempted to join the dots, but didn't quite manage to make that elusive connection just yet aside from some mysterious 'dark entity' which appeared to be in all three episodes thus far, but whether all three are related or not remains to be seen.  This time the team were in the town of Martinsburg as Chief King called in Nick to speak with Tricia who had a scary experience in a room she stayed in at the local Boydville Manor.  Her friend  wanted to hold a wedding there and how Tricia was held down in her bed and pushed into it by the entity, pushing her back down.  With Nick explaining this is how attachments begin and can lead to oppression and possession, by it getting hold of the spine of the person..

As they drove to investigate the Manor,  Elizabeth and Bill spoke about the town again and Elizabeth mentioning the Potomac River being close by again.  Elizabeth spots a figure in the window and it did look like someone was there and in the same room where Tricia stayed.

Jon, the owner, wants to build up this business and can't be doing that with a haunted reputation attached to the place.  They also mention the law office of the Boyd family home and how it appears to be haunted by the dark entity.  Also how the Boyd family lost a child, 4 year old Edward, to an 'unknown' disease.  Which Dana finds out about.  As she also talks of Jen the psychic who visited the law office with her husband and was possessed by the entity.  As another voice is heard on the recording when she speaks.

There definitely is a dark presence there as Jen senses it there, wanting them to get out and also how the Mel Meter was going off before they even entered the office.  With Elizabeth getting a stabbing pain in her eye on the second floor.  The entity going after Elizabeth like that was so out of order. Wonder what he used to cause that sharp pain just cos she refused to open herself up.  Didn't pick on any of the men though, coward!  So much for being the "King of death."
The entity telling Jen that Elizabeth's not opening herself up.  They decide they should investigate immediately and set up the 3D computer in the room where Edward died.  With Nick appearing in an elegant shade of pink mapped on the computer!  The producer notices a figure on the computer screen and it's a child.  Hey I said the same thing as Nick; "that it's a kid" two seconds before he did!!

Lorie senses the presence of children around the house and the tunnels beneath the ground before doing the same in the law office where she senses the negativity, not wanting Elizabeth and Nick to come in as she feared for them. Conducting a ritual using Indian sage she drove the entity away and salted the house outside.  It was pretty scary how the wind picked up moments before and was that dust flying around in the second floor room but the room was void of any dust before.  Lorie adding the entity was using the wind to blow the salt away as she salted around the house outside.

Nick and Elizabeth got communication from Edward before he was shown the light and appears to be captured on camera in one of the mirrors of the house as a figure.

Re the voices on the device:
31.06 a child's voice says "I'm dead."
31.59 the creepy voice sounds like it says "black ssheeeeep."?? Before Elizabeth says she doesn't know what that is. After this can you hear an old man's voice saying, "Edward" like his grandfather is looking for him. At 31.02.
31.14 does the man's voice answer "our door's not open" when Nick asks if they can speak to Edward.
31.41 "here."

Seems like Edward left when Lorie finished her ritual, as also seen by the shadow figure on the camera.  Leaving Edward at peace.  As well as Jen having undisturbed sleep.

Whether or not these entities could be related remains to be seen, as said, but they're all dark and as Elizabeth said they vanished when the rituals were carried out by Lorie and also Elizabeth last episode at Nina's house.  Whether they're actually gone or for how long, no one knows.  It was odd how in 2.1 and this episode the entity disappeared when the children were sent on their way to the light, with children being the connection of sorts, in two out of three cases.

Wonder when they're actually going to investigate the caves/tunnels running underneath the land as they definitely appear to crop up in their investigations.  (As said in their radio interview for Americas Most Haunted, when Nick and Elizabeth actually go into the cave.)  Another episode where so much was going on and intriguing how children seem to be involved, as I said.

Next episode looks exciting with the opera house! I'm Your Biggest Fan.  Yeah me too!

Hamlet with Andrew Scott My Short Review

This version of Hamlet some may call the definitive version of an oft-done play, was one production of our times and for our times.  The use of TV monitors and surveillance cameras in the castle itself to pick up the appearance of Hamlet's father's ghost was a neat touch.  Especially in the paranormal realm of finding evidence, the camera picks up what the eyes can't see, which I thought was a nice touch, even a glorious sense of irony in mirroring the murder of the King of Denmark, Hamlet's father by Claudius without anyone knowing or seeing him do this.  You'd think with such CCTV monitors he wouldn't have gotten away with it.  But alas as we know, it did take the appearance of his father to appear for Hamlet to speak with him whereupon he spills the "secret of his murder most foul."

Andrew Scott made the role his own with many funny scenes, including some 'akin to 'tantrum throwing' marking his slow spiral between being lost in his own soliloquies at times and the reality of what's happening around him, the plotting to bring down Claudius, his declaration of love for Ophelia which strikes him as an affliction as she also notices how he's changing.

The use of the cameras for news reports and filming the royals watching the 'play within a play' also adding a modern slant.  As well as Polonius wearing a listening device to hear the conversation and rely it to Hamlet's mother, Gertrude and uncle Claudius, show his actions.  Which at the end of the scene, Hamlet too pretends to speak into his jacket like Polonious does.  Again showing how everything is under scrutiny, but still Hamlet can get no justice for his father's murder and vengeance until he takes it upon himself to exact revenge via the play.  In which the cast were seated in front of the stage in front of the audience as they were watching the play too, another good touch.

The end scenes were poignant and indicative of reuniting everyone after their death, but at the same time showing the futility of the dastardly deed, whereupon all this heartache could've been avoided. With the protagonists giving up their wrist watches when they're dead.  As if to signify their time was up (as was the play's end) and to quote Shakespeare's MacBeth: "a poor player who struts and frets his hour upon the stage...and then is heard no more!"

Andrew portraying Hamlet with suitcase in hand travelling like a vagabond prince, as his thoughts were travelling with him and were all over the place whilst trying to make sense of the madness and utter despair.  On and quite a bit of 'rolling around' by the characters on the stage!!  Re aiming to mimic 'bedroom' scenes.  Also on hand was Bob Dylan's music interspersed between scenes where words weren't needed but to see the action only as watching the character's thoughts unfolding.

There was a moment on the TV screens where several scenes are played simultaneously and you just wanted to say, "miss me!"  I did.  The modern version also using the TV screens to signal the intermission with 'PAUSE' coming up on the screen.

All in all it was an interesting production and yet different, as each production of Hamlet stands out for its own various reasons and each actor brings their own interpretation of the doomed, sweet prince to light...

Ghost Adventures 14.11 "Return to Asylum 49"

This episode of Ghost Adventures was a return to Asylum 49 and a chance to investigate the nursing home which they couldn't do back in 2011, before it's demolished.  A final chance to release any spirits roaming and still stuck there.  Thus Zak spoke to them and released them from their consciousness, conscious bodies and minds, especially those not able to understand or not realizing they had passed and perhaps to move on.

That part of the nursing home and in particular the part known as 'The Green Mile,' where the nurses saw the shadows and spirits turned out to be deftly?? creepy for them too and not cos of the clown dummy there, but since they captured quite a lot there.  Including Zak almost giving Aaron a heart attack and making him hurt his back as he walked down there, with Aaron thinking Zak's shadow was a dark shadow figure.

It was tough Marie getting fired after they filmed there, what did they want her to do stay silent.  She was taking about the spirits there and not exactly the other staff, patients or management, so she had every right to speak about her experiences there.

Billy volunteering to stay the night there in that room where they left patients to be collected and that bed no one touched with the powder on it, looked like two faces in there.

Was quite a bit of activity taking place there during the night, including the door banging shut and then that figure that's seen behind the glass doors at around 19.02.  It vanishes very quickly or appears to, the editing was a little rough there, so couldn't get a good look which direction all this happened in.  Appeared to be filmed by Billy's cam or the static cam?  But played that back several times to have a good look.  And Billy in a hospital gown too, going all out for the sake of investigating.

Coincidentally, rather not, the door that closed was the same one where Aaron looked into where he said he saw a man.  As well as being near where Zak said he heard the man's voice in his ear.  Zak running to turn his back against the wall, was kinda funny, I mean how's that gonna help.  Had to laugh at that.  As for the man's voice, it was validated when Aaron uses the SB spirit box and asks those questions of "are you here taking all those lives when this place is going on?" When the 'unexplained female voice' replies, "he did."  Referring to either the man they heard, or the evil figure that haunts the place, taking lives.  As well as the EVP Zak caught on the digital recorder which says, "noooo."  The same voice he said he heard in his ear.
New equipment developed by Billy and Bill Chappell, the Spirit Sweep, which they also used and actually caught a man's voices on it.

Ghosts of Shepherdstown 2.2 "We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes"

Leading on from last week, the team now head towards Sharpsburg, another town situated near the Potomac in a bid to help Nina who has been plagued by a negative entity and a Native American woman appearing to her, outside her window and in her dreams.  Chief Mike King catches up to the three as Nick asks if they've got a broken tail light.  Actually they've heard about the activity through the scanner and were heading there.  With Elizabeth asking if Nina's home is near the river.

Sharpsburg is another town severely affected by the Civil War where a bloody battle took place, where the river also turned red from the blood and the limbs were just thrown out of the window onto the street.  As well as every house being used as a hospital as the Union Army bombarded the Confederates with artillery fire.  Nina tells how her ex-husband, John, found a bullet in the ground of their yard and the paranormal team helping out took it in order to help ease the activity, which didn't work.

Nina tells of how she's been affected and how the activity eventually led to her relationship breaking down and to her divorce.  As well as anyone who entered the basement suffering from 'manic'-like episodes almost and have broken their lease with her.  Elizabeth is immediately affected by the basement and suffers from some form of "mania" as she describes it.  Nick and Bill run a baseline sweep of the basement using their equipment and don't find any activity on the Mel Meter.  With Bill adding how the toilet isn't haunted.  And Nick replying he'll use it later.  We all know Nick's track record with spirits and toilets!

Elizabeth sweeps the upstairs and finds the Mel Meter activates via the antenna in exactly the same spot where the Native American woman appeared to Nina.  In her bedroom, the Meter doesn't stop going off and goes crazy.  The same thing happens to the one that Bill places on her bed too.
Elizabeth leaves her ComSphere gadget in the basement so that if it activates they will return here. Nick and Elizabeth speak with John who confirms everything happening at the house and how their son doesn't want to inherit it.  Whilst Bill speaks with Dana and Ronnie who shows them the bullet. Bill swapping bullet samples for Ronnie to look at which had all been fired and mushroomed, showing that the bullet hasn't been fired thus there wouldn't be any residual energy associated with it causing the activity and the bite mark shows it was given to someone to bite on to ease their pain. Thus the term, "bite the bullet."  The EVP was haunted screams of the woman in such agony.  At the house in the basement there have also been symbols on the wall and Elizabeth notices the infinity symbols when she takes photos.

Lorie tells them about a Native American woman who was murdered here and she appears to be protecting Nina from the negative entity in the basement.  Where there's the presence of a portal.  The ComSphere goes off later and they return to t he house where Elizabeth finds that the wire from inside the ComShere has been pulled out, which is impossible to do without actually getting into it.

The light that Elizabeth mentions being on in the basement room with the laser is what I saw on the wall too, it's on and then it goes off when the producer enters the room.  You can see the light on the wall.

Was the shuffling coming from the same toilet area that displayed no activity earlier on.  Nick uses the Geoport and gets some amazing voices!
33.12 "...I hate it..." after it says it's in the basement.
33.18 the woman faintly says, "I'm here..."

Infinity symbols and crescent moon on the wall.  Was it just me or when the Geoport died, didn't that sound like an eerie gunshot!  IT was such a loud bang!
34.49 "no leave," sounds like the male voice says this or "no need." ??  When Nick asks where the female spirit is.

Bill using the dowsing rods finds the portal/vortex and Elizabeth tries to close it.  When the sage burns out the portal should've closed.  And that's when the laser went off.  Reed and Melody Oglala Sioux Spiritualists conduct a Native American ritual to enable the woman to find peace.  With Elizabeth giving her handmade moccasins so she can walk easier after having the soles of her feet removed after she was killed.

Whether the portal has been closed and the activity ceases remains to be seen, since it can start up again at any time, until as Nick says they work out how the portal opened up; but it was good seeing them try to help Nina and the Native American woman find some sort of peace and closure.  Once again stepping in to help the resident as much as possible.  Agree with Elizabeth about more activity taking place in the basement  as in 2.1 whether this is a coincidence or related remains to be seen. Also was great to see Elizabeth conducting the sage ritual in the basement too as we haven't seen her use her skills before in this way.  Again each of them bringing their own individual and unique talents to the investigation.

Read more about the ComSphere here:
https://www.sparkfun.com/news/2390

also more about Elizabeth's ghostly gadgets at:
https://elizabethsaint.com/tag/ghostly-gadgets/

The Musketeers 1.6 "Death of a Hero" Review

                                             
Aramis (Santiago Cabrera) finds a woman, Agnes (Amy Nuttal) whose baby has been kidnapped.  A priest is killed in the church nearby and another one hides out and makes his escape. He makes a remark about her being a loose woman and she says she's very respectable when wondering who would've taken her baby, she points to the grave and he apologizes, cos she's a respected, married woman.  As they walk in the road a crowd of people tell her to go away and Anne (Alexandra Dowling) calls her a witch.   D'Artagnan (Luke Pasqualino) follows the man who took the baby to a house.

Athos (Tom Burke) and Porthos (Howard Charles) are at the King's (Ryan Gage) hunt, as a group of people ride out, getting Louis inside, they find it's his mother, Maria di Medici (Tara Fitzgerald).  He didn't want her to return to Paris after he banned her since she plotted to overthrow him and take the throne.  She tells him assassins are after her and there's already been a failed attempt on her life. Louis refuses to see her and Anne thinks she should hear her out.  The Cardinal (Peter Capaldi) tells her to leave and Athos and Porthos escort them away.  The cardinal telling him it wouldn't be good for the morale of France if Louis lets his mother be killed.  En route they are ambushed in the woods and her man kills one, whilst he slits the throat of another, when Athos tells him not to do it, as they can question him.  Of course it wasn't a real attempt on her life, but one orchestrated by her.  Just to get close to Louis and into the palace.

She ends up there and Constance (Tamla Kari) finds D'Artagnan watching the house, as they see a woman leave, she says she's a wet nurse, she feeds the baby.  That's a way for her to get into the house and she tells him she can't feed the baby.   He tells her to improvize.  The others arrive as Porthos and Athos followed Maria to the same house and spot Aramis and D'Artagnan there with Agnes.  She tells Aramis about her husband who was born deformed and everyone thought he was a devil and they hated him.  She was sent to care for him and fell in love.  (Beauty and the Beast??) They ended up being married by father DuVal and one day they went out walking together, but he was beaten.

Father Duval arrives in Paris and demands to see the Cardinal as he has vital information.  He tells him about the baby Henry and how he was the legitimate heir to the throne, as Philippe was Louis's brother.  Showing him the records, Maria is Henry's grandmother.  She leaves the house after speaking with Constance and seeing Henry, they move in and attack, Constance having signalled from the window that there are more men inside.  They manage to overpower them and Constance gives Aramis the baby to hold, as she sword fights one of them, as she's been learning from D'Artagnan.  Aramis left holding the baby, as she asked him if he has a family.  The Musketeers are his family.  That's a question they're all asked.

As they leave with the baby, the Cardinal tells Aramis he knows what she's doing here and plans to take over the throne as she's Henry's grandmother.  The Cardinal still wants Treville (Hugo Speer) to find the baby, but Aramis tells him they can't hand him over cos he'll be killed by the Cardinal or used by his grandmother.  Aramis plots to send her to Spain and as they hide out, soldiers arrive at the bridge.  He pays off a man to take her, but he gets an ever bigger payment from another man, as he points them out to him.  The other Musketeers turn up and Athos tells him they should've told them what he was doing, otherwise it was just suicidal.  That's a common thread that runs through this, not telling each other what's happening or what they're doing.  Maria telling him that her husband tried to make France a good place and she wants to do the same, it's not about money.

Athos tastes the brandy in the barrel which they can use to throw into the fire where it'll explode and cause a diversion.  (Which D'Artagnan did in series 3 when he threw out Porthos's wine barrel when they were under attack.)  She crosses the bridge and Aramis rides out with the baby where he's stopped and throws the baby into the river.  She's upset and tries to jump in.  Everyone now thinking the baby's dead (a ploy also used in the next episode!)

Treville conveys the news to the Cardinal who tells Maria that the baby died, as her man is arrested. She leaves.  It was the only way for Henry to be safe and she thinks she can return to her home and live a normal life.  Her life wouldn't ever be normal and Henry wouldn't be safe.  As they ride up with Henry, Aramis needed her to react normally otherwise they wouldn't believe her anguish.  He gives her money and tells her to find somewhere and find someone else, Phillipe would want her to.  She'd ask him to come with her, but she knows they're his family.

This episode was done again, well most of the events were similar, including the title in series 3. Louis had another brother called Phillipe Feron as we saw and he died saving Louis.  Here Louis' father had another son, Phillipe who was also deformed, like Henry's father and he was driven away.  Louis not knowing about him.  Here was the death of a hero then for Henry dying like that, supposedly, or was it a reference to his father.  Coincidence that both Phillipe's were deformed and how history repeated itself.  The Cardinal destroying any proof of Henry's birth and marriage and also getting Duval murdered so he couldn't talk.  He should've known that would happen, but he was trusting of a fellow man of the cloth.

Cardinal: "Bravo, I'm not unable to savour a strategem of elegant construction...let's not pretend, we both know what big teeth you have, grandmother."

This ep definitely needs to be watched in conjunction with 3.6 Death of A Hero.

Ghosts of Shepherdstown Season 2.1 "Harper's Ferry"

Season 2 was always a must, on the cards and almost all fans and supporters of Ghosts of Shepherdstown wanted more and finally the calls were answered.  But as I tweeted the activity in Shepherdstown is no longer present and how the residents wouldn't want to be constantly bombarded by paranormal phenomena.  However the activity this time round in season 2 centres on other towns around Shepherdstown.  These now have activity which needs to be investigated and Chief Mike King gets calls from the neighbouring law enforcement bodies.  As he tells Nick Groff, he's now seen as the paranormal "go-to guy."  Elizabeth Saint once again mentioning the strong water connection.   The buildings at Harper's Ferry were made with a lot of limestone and stones from the riverbank.

This time in the first episode the activity was at Harper's Ferry and specifically at the John Brown Museum.  John Brown was the famous slave abolitionist who was hanged.  The song (words written by Julia W Howe in 1861) about him being the Battle Hymn of the Republic including the following: 
He captured Harper's Ferry with his nineteen men so true
He frightened old Virginia till she trembled through and through
They hung him for a traitor, themselves the traitor crew
His soul goes marching on
Glory, Glory! Hallelujah!...

His wax figure stands in the sub-basement of the museum, where Ann tells the team of Nick, Elizabeth and Bill Hartley that she doesn't go near there.  But Nick and Bill did, where they got EMF readings and Nick got his hair touched.  Yeah man always with the hair!  With Bill remarking how Nick was "feeling the surface temperature cos your hair gel is starting to fail you..."

Ann also told them how she heard loud bangs and the wall "breathing" like it was moving.  Here they were certain they were dealing with a negative presence.
As well as Elizabeth not being able to breath.  She took Ann and went to meet Dana Mitchell, their historian for background history on the house and who lived there.  My sis kept wondering about the family who lived there too.  Oh yes Ann great "grave sense of humour" as she called it, with the dummy that actually breathed.  Thought it moved, was just about to say that.  But it wasn't paranormal and was meant to do that.  Oh and the figures were all meant to be made of real human hair and dentures!  Not surprised Elizabeth didn't touch them!!  Or did she.  Must ask her.  Elizabeth replied, "oh no no no!"

Nick and Bill were at the wall on the first floor where they heard the door banging; that's where I said they were when Nick jumped over the banister!  Anything for the investigation!
Funny I tweeted a question for the Destination America Facebook Chat on 10 July and guess what: it was all about the risk factors! My uncanny senses are tingling again!! Ha.

Will we see @NickGroff_ taking anymore risks cos a show isn't the same unless he goes all out for the investigation shows dedication? #GoS  July 5 
(Didn't get to watch the ep until 8th July.)

The family who resided there were an Irish immigrant family, Martha Walsh, who had nine children and the eldest Sarah, looked after the others.  Which backed the spirit that was seen by Melissa, who worked there.  She also heard four knocks, which Lorie Johnson tells them about, that Sarah's two siblings were there.  Saying that Sarah died of some "form of disease," which as Dana found, was pneumonia.  Again showing how Elizabeth felt the breathlessness too earlier on and it's relevance.

The night investigation reveals more activity, more bangs and thumps and Lorie wanting to take the girls to the light so they can find each other without the negative entity stopping them from reuniting.  A dark shadow being captured on the thermal camera in the basement, where Elizabeth had been not a few minutes earlier (according to the edits.)

The dark mass does look like a figure.

Ann also having an 'accident' were she ended up in hospital with a broken arm, thinking she was pushed by something from the museum.  Lorie managed to send the girls towards the light and the negative entity appeared to have gone too.  Though where it went to is anyone's guess.  No further activity was reported at the museum.  This is one museum I'd like to visit with such creepy and authentic, life-like looking figures.

However Chief King had another 'break out' for them to investigate at  Sharpsburg; a neighbouring town.  Elizabeth just happened to be standing by the map on the board showing its name earlier.  Also near the Potomac River

Lots of crazy activity going on here showing that the show and the investigators haven't lost their touch (well obviously not) but the show is compelling as always and there's so much to come in this 8 episode run and to look forward to.

Doctor Who 10.12 "The Doctor Falls" Review

                                           
The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) is carried by Bill (Pearl Mackie) and we see him at the rooftop with the Master (John Simm) and Missy (Michelle Gomez) in restraints and he flashes back to what happened with the lift and Bill, being hit on the head by Missy, falling onto a computer keyboard and Nardole (Matt Lucas) running away, then the Doctor falling down.  He asks them where Bill is. Whilst they dance on the rooftop and the Master says how he'll be turning into her soon, a woman. Missy" hold me. "
Master: "kiss me"
Missy: "make me."
They would tell him where Bill is but...she's behind him, as a Cyberman.  She waited for him and the Master comments how she waited 10 years but he was 2 hours too late to save her.  The Master shows him his city and how everyone is being converted to the Cybermen.  The Doctor speaks of his return.  How he left him at Gallifrey and they fixed his condition.  He then left there, it was a mutual leaving.  He tells the Master how his TARDIS crashed here and he took over the city with the people finally rebelling his cruelty and he had to go into hiding in a disguise as Razor.  The Doctor surprises them by saying Missy shouldn't have hit him since he had time to mess with the programme, even if it was only one key he could press and initiate one change, altering the the Cybermen's humanity.  When they find that out it will take them a while to figure it out and reconfigure themselves. Remembering how the  planet, Mondas, Earth all fell.

They also question the Doctor on his last requests and ask if he's ever been burned, or drowned. Missy saying she recalls he fell once.  Was she alluding to now when the Doctor will fall.  Te Cyberman exit the lift and they fire at them with their Sonic, with one of them getting through and getting hold of the Doctor as Nardole flies in on a spacecraft to rescue them.  Bill gets angry and kills the Cyberman.  The Doctor can only exclaim "Bill."  Was this since she saved him or that she had the ability to do this now: to kill.  She holds onto the ladder and carries him out as he loses consciousnesses, I wanted to say faint, but that'd be uncharacteristic.  Missy was also going to help him with the Sonic, but Bill got there first.

They arrive on the solar powered floors where farming is taking place with a holographic number and sky.  Nardole tells the girl, Alit (Brianna Shann) they need help.  Bill wakes up in the barn and Hazran tells her the Doctor wanted her here to be safe.  She wants to see the Doctor and Hazran (Samantha Spiro) appears to be afraid of her.  The Doctor's getting his injuries tended to and they've been here two weeks.  Alit isn't afraid of her as Bill tells her she would never hurt her.  She brings Bill a mirror and she looks to see herself as a Cyberman and is in denial.  The Doctor turns up and Alit  tells him she gave hr a mirror, to which he says it's okay and offers her a jelly baby, having one himself.  (A penchant of the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker)).

The Doctor tells Bill she's now a Cyberman but she can't believe that's her.  She waited for him for ten years and he didn't come.  He says he can fix this, however he can.  Bill gets angry and blows up the barn.  She's allowed to get angry for what she's become.  Nardole meanwhile gets set on finding effective weapons against the Cybermen as they will be arriving soon and their guns won't do.  With Hazran finding she's attracted to him.  He tells her he's not human, but she'll try anything once.

Missy and the Master have a conversation about becoming a woman as they take the Doctor to find the lift hidden in the woods so they can evacuate the children.  The Doctor tying to conceal his regeneration.  They find one and then some more and Missy pushes the call button alerting them to their location.  They'll be here now which makes evacuating the children imperative.

He asks them for their help telling them it's what he does in an impassioned speech about saving humanity, but they both refuse as he and Missy find that they can use the Master's TARDIS which is on the bottom level to get away from here.  Obviously the Doctor can't us his TARDIS cos it's on the bridge and it will take them too long to reach it, by the time they do they'll be invaded by the Cyberman already.  No they must stay and fight.  The Master refuses cos he tells the Doctor he wasn't listening to him, yeah with his 'round face' but Missy appears to have second thoughts and they touch hands.  However she tells him she's not staying either.  See mistake putting her in the vault and trying to get her to change.  He tells her he's noticed she has changed, but she says she hasn't.  Of course we know she'll be coming back to help cos she has changed.  With the Master applying some eye liner, well it was meant to be guy liner for now!  Also Missy used lip gloss on the roof so shades of make-up sneaking into Doctor Who!  Ha.
Doctor: "where I stand is where I fall, stand with me.  It's all I ever wanted;" he pleads but she was dogged determined to follow the Master.

So the Master will regenerate into Missy and that's why she was in the vault to begin with so that the Doctor could help her change and become a better person/Time Lord with her regeneration.  At least that's how I see it.  As they reach the lift;  the Master wonders if he's wrong about his feeling this way.  She tells him it is wrong and then she retracts her hidden knife after stabbing him.  He didn't feel that, in some ways she was still herself.  He says she gave him enough time to reach his TARDIS and have a cup of tea before he regenerates into her.  Begging the question of why they were killing each other anyway.  Missy telling him this is what it was coming to and was meant to be, them helping the Doctor.  But he says no it wasn't and gets her in the back with the full blast of his Sonic so she can't regenerate. Knew that was coming.  Missy dies and the Master will become her, suppose they couldn't have two of Missy around.  Without the Doctor even knowing that she was coming back to help him.  Is this where Missy was meant to have led them all the time when he let her out of the vault and onto the ship last ep, since she told the Master she can't remember everything, but they're his memories.

Nardole upgrades their guns, however there are fuel lines underneath the ground that's how they can blow up the Cybermen when they arrive.  The Doctor mentioning they'll think they have upgraded weapons and so the Cybermen will have to upgrade theirs too.  He unearths a service tunnel which can be used to evacuate but someone must remain behind to blow everything up.  Nardole wants to but the Doctor sends him with the children since he's stronger.  He knows it has to be the Doctor who must remain behind and Bill wants to stay too; reminding the Doctor what she said about rather being dead than being a Cyberman.  This is their farewell then and Nardole says he won't find the words.

                                              

As Bill and the Doctor fight the Cybermen and he gets killed twice over for his two hearts.  This is how it's going to be, no stars, he wished there were stars but there's only a tumultuous explosion.  As he sees all his companions, Rose, Martha, Donna, Amy and Clara as well as Captain Jack Harkness and Sarah Jane. This is where the Doctor falls/fell.  Ahh the Doctor remembered Clara after all.  Bill finds him and cries as Heather (Stephanie Hyam) the 'water' girl  from the 10.1 The Pilot ep, appears and Bill leaves her body with the cybershell falling to the ground.  She asks if she's dead and she kisses her and asks if that feels like she's dead.  They can't leave the Doctor here and tells Bill she gave her tears.  Flashing back to the first episode where Bill comments those tears aren't hers.  The Doctor also referring several times to the Cyberman having tears now.  "Where there are tears there's always hope" as he told her and Bill repeats this.  The Doctor having uttered his last words of  "without hope, without witness, without reward."  
The words of River Song from 10.6 Extremis:  "‘Only in darkness are we revealed. Goodness is not goodness that seeks advantage. Good is good in the final hour, in the deepest pit, without hope, without witness, without reward. Virtue is only virtue in extremis. This is what he believes. And this is the reason above all I love him. My husband, my madman in a box. My doctor.’ "  

They take him to the TARDIS and she tells Bill she can return her to human form rearranging ehr atoms and she can make chips or come with her (in a scene reminiscent of Clara and Ashildr when she left.)  Heather shows her the universe and she can show her around it.  But Bill says she's been around a lot, so she can show her around.  The TARDIS being piloted by Heather, as she was a pilot after all.  Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the TARDIS have a mind of its own in the Doctor's Wife so why not be able to fly by itself and reach them in the ship, though I know that would've been too easy.  Even though Idris's (Suranne Jones) body died and she disappeared into a burst of light, that would've been something unique about the TARDIS now.  Oh one ore thing, before Idris 'died' she told Rory (Arthur Darville) who tells the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) of  "the only water in the forest being the river."  Once again Doctor Who having a watery connection with Heather too.

Was this more of a mish mash, sorry to use that expression, of the Doctor going to war.  As he speaks of how he falls where he stands and he will help save whomever he can, however he can.  That even if he saves a few it will be worth it.  That's all he does since he is THE Doctor.  Ahh tears anyone, sure some were shed aplenty, admittedly I had a teary moment, it was too difficult not to.  Especially since we're used to losing Doctors so fast now, they come and they go and each one surpasses all expectations than the one before.  Hated seeing David Tennant go, then Matt Smith and didn't think Peter would be much good, but I take back my words and eat a large chunk of the TARDIS, cos he was magnificent and actually brought the Doctor into his own showing again that age doesn't matter when playing this eternal, immortal Doctor.  He gave it his all and after Clara/Jenna Coleman leaving thought it couldn't get any sadder than that but the Doctor refusing to regenerate cos he's had so many faces and doesn't want another one, wishfully thinking he could stop it from happening even repeating Doctor Ten when he said "I don't want to go;" was all incredibly breath taking and sombre! We didn't want him to go either!  Doctor: "Never again... I can't keep being somebody else..."  We'd have liked for him to become Missy though, she did redeem herself in many respects and yes the Doctor a woman, they said it enough times.

The Doctor saying the only one to stop the Cybermen and that's "me."  Which he did do by calling out the places where he had victory over them all and exploding them: "Mondas, Telos, Voga, Planet 14, Canary Wharf, Messier 13... and the moon."  Before meeting his final demise (final being used loosely) he awoke after Bill left and once again after she dropped a tear on his forehead.  The tears again and the tears of a companion who stood by him enthusiastically and who herself 'lost' her life. Could Missy have uttered it so graphically and in so many descriptive ways: "she's dead, dismembered, fed through a grinder and doomed to spend an eternal afterlife as a biomechanical psychozombie."  However the Doctor told Bill she was strong resisting the consciousness of the Cybermen and spending all that time with the Monks, made her 'compartmentalize - my word - her emotions.  She still has human emotions.

Alit was reminiscent of a young Bill and as plucky as Bill now, with the Doctor giving her an apple, calling it humanity's first weapon.  (Garden of Eden there) and she threw it at the Cyberman making them explode.  With Nardole's non-too witty remark of "the ultimate apple upgrade."  Well the Doctor did swipe Nardole's technology to the Sonic to enable him to fight the Cybermen, it was his destiny as always.  Another reference/dig by Stephen Moffat to Drumpf and how "like sewage, smartphones and Donald Trump, some things are just inevitable."

Then came the Cloister bells with the Doctor determined not to regenerate and his meeting the original Doctor (David Bradley) leading to to the Christmas Special...