Doctor Who 12.7 "Can You Hear Me" Review

                                            
Our story begins in Aleppo, Syria 1380 when a girl, Tahira (Aruhan Galieva) asks to come into the asylum.  Here her fears are unleashed as a hairy monster with sharp claws takes away her friend, Maryam (Sirine Saba) and everyone else at the place.  The Doctor (Jodi Whittaker) drops back Yaz (Mandip Gill) at home for the anniversary she's here to celebrate with her sister, Sonya (Bhavnisha Parmar).  She can cook now and that comes as a shock to Yaz.  But we're not told what the anniversary is for, except it appears to be a painful time for them.

So Yaz it appears was empowered in this episode when Sonya says she always runs away so she's no help.  Apparently this probably emboldens her for what's to come over the next few weeks.  Well only 3 eps left.  Ryan (Tosin Cole) turns up at his friend, Tibo's (Buom Tihngang) place who is scared as he's uses all his locks on the door and doesn't want to let Ryan in, but he had chips! Reluctantly he does and Ryan gets to the bottom of this asking what's wrong with him.  He is hesitant in telling him since he doesn't want to be laughed at.  He tells Ryan about the strange man in his dreams but he's really in his flat.  Ryan stays over and he sees the man place his disembodied fingers in Tibo's ear.    Cue complaints about encouraging the hacking of fingers for the impressionable viewers.  He then vanishes with Tibo when Ryan confronts him.

Graham (Bradley Walsh) is in a card game with his friends who tells them he's feeling better now whilst being on a cruise.  He gets a vision in his head of a girl asking for help on some sort of a planet.  Yaz dreams of being in the open road with Sonya and a police woman behind her.  Then the man appears in her flat too.  The Doctor also sees the man in the TARDIS and she finds there's a clue leading to Aleppo which she decides to visit alone of course.  She finds Tahira and the creature appears again.  Of course that was her own manifestation of her fears. The Doctor doesn't get any reading on the Sonic as the creature doesn't exist.  She does find a hair on the wall which she analyzes but still gets nothing, even though the hair is real.

The others tell her what happened and she pinpoints the planets Graham mentioned after plugging him into the TARDIS telepathic device, which is painful.  They come in space where she sees two planets heading for a collision course and spots something in between them.  It's the woman Graham saw asking for help and the Doctor tries to reverse the lock holding her prisoner.  As the others vanish looking for Tahira, the man appears again and releases his fingers to capture them. Tying them up.

He then confronts the Doctor and we get the usual exposition about how humans are pathetic whereas she defends them.  He is an immortal, Zellin (Ian Gelder) and he's playing with the humans as fun to last through eternity.  He tells the Doctor he knew she would come and also help rescue the other deity friend of his.  The people of the planet locked her up in the hopes of destroying at least one of them, setting their planets on a collision course, after the gods messed with them over the years, causing fighting and wars.  The companions each have dreams where Graham is told by Grace that his cancer has returned and he only has hours to live.  Grace asking why he didn't save her.  Ryan's is more about Earth burning in fire in the future and Tibo asking where he was.  Yaz is more of the same of running away and is spoken to by the policewoman, Anita Patel (Nasreen Hussain) who convinces her to go home and places a bet that she will be okay and to look her up in three years.  The Doctor is confronted by the Timeless Child, heading ever forward to this story.

Zellin mention the Celestial Toymaker and the Black Guardian and is overjoyed the Doctor fell for his cunning plan to rescue Rakaya (Claire-Hope Ashitay).  The mysterious creatures, Chagaskas (seems like we needed a little chug of something here) as to the dire nature of this plot.  As it was Tahira's creation to begin with why even have the Doctor travel there to begin with to get her.  Tahira did much of nothing, except the Chagaskas being used to catch Zellin and Rakaya into the orb again and lock them away.  Their dreams aren't so fearful or scary either.  Just more fuel to see what the Doctor now sees in the child. 

The Doctor is caught and the pair go to Earth to torment the people there and Rayaka wants to take it slow as they have billions of years.  Oh yeah well the rate at the which the planet is being consumed is anything to go by, infact does she have billions of years.  Anyhow, the Doctor wriggles her hips, well kinda, to get the Sonic out of her pocket and catch it so she can undo her ties, releasing the others.  Using the orb and the Chagaskas, Tahira can get the two into the orb, fearing for their lives, but they're immortal what harm could it do them.

Graham tries to tell his real fears to the Doctor who isn't very sociable and replies she'll come up with something reassuring about two minutes later.  However there must be some cure out there if Graham ever needs it.  Ryan helps Tibo get help as he's not one for talking in group counselling.  As Yaz visits Anita to give her the 50p in the bet.  She remembers Yaz of course.  Ryan wonders how long they can keep doing this as they're older and people are moving on without them.  Even if, as Yaz says, the Doctor can put them back at any time, he says they're changing and everyone else isn't.  The Doctor breaks up their desperate talk to tell them "Frankenstein" and they'll need a change of clothes.

Seems like just a filler ep which really didn't add much to the scheme of things this series.  Their fears weren't that drastic or scary, except maybe graham, but he still fears not being bale ot help Grace, would've thought that was more guilt than anything else.

Doctor Who 12.6 "Praxeus" Review

                                              
Another topical ep of the show where certain people will have their knicks in a knot over it and claiming it's not the same as it used to be.  Add to that the number of times plastic was used and how humans were to blame and well you get the picture.  Some mention this ep being a timely inclusion due to the Coronavirus.  The action starts right off as the companions are dropped into three different countries, Ryan (Tosin Cole) in Peru where he comes across the element of birds falling from the sky and meeting up with Gabriela (Joana Borja) whose friend, Jamila (Gabriela Toloil) vanished from their tent after hearing a noise.  With their fave camping spot being overrun by landfill.  (& it's pronounced Ja-me-la not Jermilla!  Tsk!)  He retrieves the dead bird and tells her how the birds have gathered.  The Doctor (Jodi Whittaker) is in Madagascar and comes across a navy sailor, Zach (Tristan de Beer) in the water, as his submarine met with trouble.  She shouts to Suki (Molly Harris) and Aramu (Thapelo Maropefela) for help in fishing him out of the water.  As for the word fishing, good question as there were no little fishes around or big ones either.  Instead we got The Birds and yes I mentioned that before several of them formed an attacking spiral and headed to the lab too.  Just like the one solitary bird watching them on the beach too.

Graham (Bradley Walsh) and Yaz (Mandip Gill) find themselves in Hong Kong as they meet Jake (Warren Brown) who is trying to break down the door to a building with little success.  He's a police officer as Yaz says she's one too but isn't doing what he does.  You see he's looking for the missing astronaut he saw on the news, Adam (Michael McNulty) who texts him for help and sends him coordinates to his location.  So how'd he manage that then, or did I miss something seeing as he was otherwise suitably tied up in the warehouse.  He's connected to some contraption and as they try to remove him from it, Graham tells Jake to stop since it may be keeping him alive or something.  They're fired upon by people in masks and have to unhook Adam anyway.  Making a run for it, the Doctor arrives and rescues them in the TARDIS.  Having turned up for Ryan and Gabriela in Peru in time to save them from Jamila's zombie-esque awakening.  After they find Jamila in quarantine.  She opens her eyes and the Doc arrives to tell them she's not alive as they watch her develop a stone-like appearance and shatter into sand.  That was more a Medusa touch-like scene.  The same happened to Zach.

As the Doctor takes them all inside the TARDIS, of course we get the astonishment of it being larger on the inside; Yaz wants to remain behind and see what the device was that the aliens wanted.  Since the Doctor sneaked a peek under the mask and saw he had an alien face.  They head back to Madagascar where Aramu stands watch over the birds as they gather in force and form an attack pattern.  Poor lad, he was forgotten quick smart!!  Inside she uses the lab to see what they're dealing with and asks Ryan to dissect the bird as he must've done that before.  She compliments on the lab and its impressive equipment including micro-filtration of the water.  Ryan finds plastic inside the bird and the Doctor gets a brain wave, well 'brains wave'.  Since the micro-filtration means they consume plastic into their bodies even if they think they don't.

Thus the virus is a pathogen that utilizes plastic and she analyzes Adam's blood as well.  Hoping to find a cure.  In Honk Kong, Yaz and Gabriela are disturbed by a surviving alien who manages to make it back to the device and transports himself away.  Yaz wants to do the same and goes for it, reminding Gabriela of her blog and they end up on what Yaz believes is an alien planet.  As she finally clues the Doctor in on what's happening after she sets to work on a cure for Adam, having gotten off Madagascar and escaped The Birds, and finding out Suki is an alien too.  With the equipment being a giveaway.

Down below, the Doctor bursts Yaz's bubble when she finds out they're under the Indian Ocean and not an alien planet, which leaves her peeved.  Kinda glad, Yaz was never one of my faves, she just didn't seem to do much or fit in, very uppity (so kinda waiting for her betrayal of the Doctor soon!)  She finds part of the submarine there and then Suki turns up too.  It's her ship and she's an alien scientist who sent the virus to Earth in the hopes of infecting an entire planet so she could find a cure for her own people, the few who were left.  (A nod in some ways to Gallifrey and its destruction, as another planet is destroyed.)  There follows an explanation of how the plastic clogged up the ocean and the virus find a source to feed off by attacking the microplastics in humans. 

Was also going to mention Tim Shaw and the Stenza re the teeth but these weren't teeth, though equally grotesque in many ways.  The Doctor finds a cure in the organic part of the ship which can be used to detonate the antigen above the Earth and destroy the virus.  However autopilot won't work and so Jake goes back to show Adam he is capable of doing something, even if it involves self sacrifice and we think why isn't the Doctor able to retrieve him, which she saves until the final millisecond, thus reuniting the husbands and giving them a new chance of life together.  With Gabriele in tow who will be able to vlog. 

Uncle Vanya - Harold Pinter Theatre

                                                 
Anton Chekov's play brought to life in such topical fashion, but still maintains it's subtle nuances on what was written over a hundred years ago but is reminiscent of today.  Comedic elements add to the fray of the opening scenes in Summer in the garden of the Serebryakov estate where Dr Mikhail Astrov (Richard Armitage) has been summoned to check up on Professor Aleksandr Serebryakov (Ciaran Hinds) who has ill health but really doesn't want to see Mikhail, as he finds out he's been gallivanting around the gardens.  Cue Uncle Vanya (Toby Stephens) who has tirelessly looked after the estate and brought up his sister's daughter, his niece, Sonya (Aimee Lou Wood). Unrequited love rears its ugly head as she pines for Mikhail who really isn't interested in her, maybe if he'd known how she felt six years ago but not now.  He's more interested in Serebryakov's young wife, the stunning Yelena (Rosalind Eleazar).  Jokes on age, whilst indulging in some singing, lots of vodka and a vast nod towards climate change and sustainability as Mikhail brings out his charts showing how green the land was and how the trees have made way for buildings.  It's progress which you can't argue with but so much green has vanished.  Thought hey, could've been a map from The Hobbit here for some reason, ha.

Then there's the professor's wife, so beautiful and yet off limits.  Vanya longs for her, as does Mikhail who she does eventually kiss and is found out by Vanya, that wrecks him too but Mikhail can only argue how she creates havoc with her beauty and allurement.  Peppered with commentaries from Mikhail of how beautiful she is, but one must be beautiful inside too, in the mind and soul and not just outward beauty.  Though that doesn't stop her being coveted.  Mikhail wants to stop drinking but can't.  Is distraught over losing a patient under chloroform and when he's told there's been an accident at the factory, he lingers preferring a drink before he eventually goes.  For an instance you sense he questions his calling but then that doesn't last when Vanya steals his morphine to end it all after he tries to shoot the professor and this backfires.  With Mikhail demanding back the bottle before he's found out and struck off.  The professor decides to sell the estate and Vanya doesn't want this since he spent all his years here and now has nothing to show for it.

Sonya encourages him to stop this talk and to help her, she will be there for him and they carry on working with the invoices that have piled up as the visitors leave during Autumn.  Coming round full circle in a way as their lives will continue in the same way on the estate, gathering hay.  Whereas the others will be in the city, the professor and Yelena and as Mikhail returns home to his estate full of trees and greenery.

The cast excel in this timeless production adapted by Conor McPherson and directed by Ian Rickson with Toby Stephens giving a funny and poignant performance as troubled and put upon Vanya who has nothing to show for his life at the estate or for his age of 47.  With Richard Armitage showing he's more than capable of delivering a mesmerizing stage performance full of energy and life, including token shirtless moment; making this a must see production.

With the added cast of:
Nana - Anna Calder-Marshall
Grandmaman - Dearbhla Molloy
Telegin - Peter Wight

Uncle Vanya Harold Pinter Theatre until 2 May 2020

Doctor Who 12.5. "Fugitive of the Judoon"

                                            
The Doctor (Jodi Whittaker) finds herself up against the Judoon again and this being the first time the others have come across them. They have a forcefield surrounding Gloucester and look for a fugitive.  This fugitive happens to be Lee (Neil Stuke) married to Ruth (Jo Martin) whose birthday it is on a Monday no less.  She's a tour guide and when she gets her birthday coffee from the shop, she is given a dossier on Lee from All Ears Allen (Michael Begley).  But she refuses to read it not believing he's like that.  The Doctor does some more fixing to the TARDIS and the others ask more questions about where she disappears for days on end and doesn't return after she leaves them on planets to explore.  She doesn't want to answer them and after some coaxing she says  is searching for The Master, hoping to locate him with some form of gadgets.  She always prefers to say "it's personal."  Referring to what The Master told her.

Then the Judoon alarm goes and she's interrupted so we don't really get to see much more on this.  She rushes to save whoever's in trouble, but already Marcia (Judith Street) is executed after their fugitive checks.  Their actions and mannerisms are akin to when we viewed them in Smith and Jones ep and that's to be expected from their particularly characters. (I keep hearing David Tennet's voice everytime he said 'Judoon.') The TARDIS lands coincidentally, or not, into the said coffee shop's kitchen and as they are about to leave, Graham reaches for a cake and is zapped away.  He ends up on a ship with Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) who's in search of the Doctor.  Obviously we got Graham mistaken for the Doctor again as he was in the opening Spyfall.  Until he tells him she's a 'she.'  Which he finds interesting.   He uses the beam and zaps Ryan (Tosin Cole) and Yaz (Mandeep Gill) as they leave Ruth's building as they attempt to stall the Judoon from entering until the Doctor can leave with Ruth.

This after the Doctor uses Psychic paper to show the Judoon she's an authority figure and they don't have jurisdiction here.  She negotiates five minutes so she can enter the building as long as they don't use their radiation cannon which will kill humans.  Inside she tries to get Lee and Ruth to tell her what's happening but they don't and Ruth doesn't believe Lee is hiding anything.  Even after Ryan notices their bags are packed so they were escaping.  Ryan and Yaz search the house and Ryan finds a box in their bedroom which isn't earthly.  Lee again refuses to speak and as time runs out, the Doctor leaves with Ruth.  The Judoon enter the building and are confronted by the woman, Gat (Ritu Arya) who hired them.  She doesn't want him escaping and he's sentimental about the medal in the box which is how she tracked him here.  She has him executed too as she searches for Ruth.

Ryan and Yaz end up with Jack as well and he finds out they're her companions too, as he says he always wanted a threesome, but that's another story.  He finds the beam is faulty so he can't hone in on the Doctor, but as the nano genes are getting him, he has to leave, programming the ship to take them back.  But not before a message of warning for the Doctor about the Lone Cyberman who is coming to wage war.  The Doctor finds herself in the cathedral and she asks Ruth what the text message says but she doesn't tell her.  The Judoon catch up and Ruth busts out into Ninja  moves and breaks the horn off one of the Judoon Captain's face.  She's still evasive but tells the Doctor about the message and takes her to the lighthouse where she was raised by her parents before she left.

As the Doctor searches outside at an unmarked grave, Ruth breaks the glass and is transformed into another person, dressed differently with a weapon.  The Doctor digs and finds a TARDIS.  As they confront one another, Ruth introduces herself at the Doctor and doesn't know how she fought them off other than having her memories triggered when she broke the glass.  The Doctor takes the Doctor inside her TARDIS and she uses the Sonic to analyze them both.  Ruth doesn't have a Sonic and also she used the weapon too.  The Judoon arrive outside along with Gat who is a Time Lord from Gallifrey.  The Doctor doesn't recall any time as Ruth nor does she know Gat but she says that they must be her past since Gallifrey is no more.  She uses her mind to show Gat this.  However Ruth knows she would use the gun even if she warned her not to.  Being so characteristically different from our Doctor who never uses weapons.  Which in a way probably also alludes to why there were three Vics here who were exterminated by the Judoon, including Lee.  Though don't know how much of a Vic he was even if he did speak of honour.

As the others return they end up in the TARDIS and give her the message, not knowing who the Cybermen are, the Doctor explains and also mentions the Daleks.  Heck I was just thinking about them the other day too and how the companions haven't come across any (yet) so hopefully they will.  The others reassure the Doctor that they're here for her always and she can rely on them.  They're not just friends but they're more importantly family, as Graham says.  Which makes her feel better.  Although she did want to meet Jack again.

Does this possibly mean that the Doctor is the Timeless Child that's been mentioned over the past eps now.  Especially since there can't be two of them in the same time space continuum.  As the Master told her she was lied to.  Ryan refers to Jack as cheesy, but a good cheesy and each one of them has different reactions to him, but he takes it all in his stride.  Fans tripping at the brief return of Jack even if just to deliver a message and not really doing much.  So Ruth as the Doctor, destroyed another Time Lord, seeing as they're in short supply.

Doctor Who 12.4 "Nikola Tesler's Night of Terror"

                                             
The Doctor (Jodi Whittaker) follows energy to Tesler's (Goran Visnjic) where he and Dorothy Skerrit (Hayley McGee) are being pursued by a hooded man shooting at them.  She saves them and asks if he's seen anything unusual.  The Doctor takes them to the train where the others are and the Doctor tells Tesler he's a liar.  As the hooded man pursues them still.  She manages to take his gun which she identifies as an alien weapon, obviously.  As they manage to evade the man they end up at Tesler's lab, where she admits she was expecting to see more.  Seems Yaz (Mandeep Gill) hasn't heard of him but everyone else has, where have you been Yaz?  However Tesla is portrayed as more of an intellect than possessing any intellect for finance and well with his knack for inventions seems he should've had the same to help him get investors for his inventions.

He's in period America and is now rivals with Thomas Edison (Robert Glenister) after leaving his employ.  Edison invented the light bulb, his name up in lights so you couldn't forget!  Tesla and Edison competing between AC and DC currents.  With added aliens, known as The Skithra, resembling giant scorpions with a Queen who is a pillager and looter of others' inventions, of course.  Seemed different to other historical stories/characters they had on the show in that the Doctor was in awe of meeting him and really helped him save Earth, as well as having Tesla being open to the existence of aliens, which made it easy as he says he received a message from Mars with his Teslascope. 

References to Tesla's future inventions are thrown in such as wi-fi as Ryan (Tosin Cole) comments and a look at Wardenclyffe Tower.  When Edison's own lab is attacked and his workers killed, the Doctor finds out that the hooded man was holographically masked and taken over the face of Green, one of Edison's missing employees he had spying on Tesla.  The Doctor also discovering that they end up running into a lab where she can mix some chemicals together and exact their escape.  Also taking Edison into her TARDIS, where Graham (Bradley Walsh) ensures he doesn't touch anything. 

With the Queen (Anjli Mohindra - who was in The Sarah-Jane Adventures) I thought of Madam Vastra for a second from the Paternoster Gang.  Ha.  They're after Tesla as they want him to create weapons and other things for themselves as they're too lazy to do it and the Doctor isn't impressed with this at all.  As they come for Tesla, Yaz jumps with him into their beam and ends up on their ship, which is conveniently cloaked above New York City.  Reminiscent of  Ada Lovelace doing the same in Spyfall.  The Queen threatens Yaz unless Tesla helps him.  Meanwhile the Doctor finds a teleportation device she bought in a market and ends up on the ship rescuing them.  The Queen now threatens the destruction of everyone unless she hands over Tesla.  Seems she didn't really want Edison even though her holographic lacky did turn up at his place too.

They end up at Wardenclyffe where Tesla plans to generate electricity and the Doctor says they can get the energy to strike the ship.  Leaving the others to raid his lab for weapons or anything they can fight the Skithra with.  As Yaz and Edison get the people off the streets.  Graham and Ryan find weapons, a gun which fizzles out at the last minute.  As the Queen arrives at his lab, the Doctor tricks her into stealing the bracelet she used earlier and she's transported back to her ship where the electricity destroys her, thus wiping out the rest of the Skithera too, as they're a hive. 

The Doctor getting back the Orb of Thassa which wasn't as significant other than it was modified to spy on Tesla, as it wasn't heard of again.  And just leading the Doctor to her meeting with Tesla to begin with.  That's why she called him a liar as he had the Orb.  As with Rosa, this one is sad in places as Tesla never realized the glory he was after in the sense of his inventions being accredited in his lifetime, which left him penniless and accruing debt wherever he went.  As Yaz feels sorry for him and he labels himself  a man for the future. A moment of sadness for the Doctor as the Queen comments on the destruction of a planet and if she's seen it, a faint hint of Galifrey's music from the Spyfall ep was heard.

Hellier 2.10 "Night of Pan"

                                              
Robert Moore lectures on paranormal, Greg has lots of this after reading, such as synchronicity and Union looked at it and "synchronicity is the sign of the process of an initiation."
Dana wanted to conduct a ritual inside the cave.  Her use of "16 steps to let the phenomena know we're there to communicate and to learn as much from it."  Iron can't be worn - second step: a repellent of the faith (when someone mentions iron and repelling I always think of Sam and Dean and how iron repels spirits - any old excuse to think of Supernatural right.)  The purpose of the ritual was to get to see Pan and introduce themselves to him.  Dana says they will "pass an energy circle" which is also for protection for all concerned.  She needs to put things with the four quarters such as oak, greens, honey, carnelian on an altar in the middle of the ritual space.  Each tool has cinnamon and vetivert oil which is associated with the Green Man and Pan.  (As well as sweet birch and oak moss.) Burn mugwort.

During the ritual set up they hear some rustling, unknown noise.  "Calling the porters - four sections of the circles to all of the each of the four elements."  Dana wanted Greg to lead them in the invocation since she didn't feel Pan was reaching out to her.  Greg was raised very religiously and so he had to ponder over it.  He thinks since he did the research that he should do it.  It gets colder in the cave.  Greg felt emotional and he looked really out of sorts after they did the invocation.  They all experienced some change, such as the temperature dropping further and something passed through.
Two Weeks Earlier Greg talks of the tones and why they're vital.  They need to make noise, clap, drink and use the cave and turn it into "a giant instrument for the ritual."  Out comes the "bing, bing, bing."  Connor played some notes on the piano that Dana thought were the exact tone.  They felt nauseated by the tones.  They were played for half an hour.  Strangely enough when they were doing that I got a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach whilst watching this and a headache.

They ate and drank wine and grounded them back into the Wiccan reality.  Tyler mentioned initiation and thought frustration was a part of the initiation.  She released the four quarters and said thanks for the living creatures here with them, including the elements, archetypes, energies, gods and said goodbye.  "Optimal frustration" is required for a good initiation.  In chronic subliminal state Greg feels people experience things: activity such as poltergeist activity etc.  Karl feels whatever happened was probably bigger than them; he feels the results of the ritual might happen to the audience watching at home.  (Only felt the same when the tone was playing.)

Connor played with the numbers in altering concepts and his girlfriend and he used them mathematically and found a pattern.  Without a context and asked for help from John Tenney.  Connor thinks they have "cracked the numbers."  Some sort of symbolism with the Brown Mountain, the balloon, the abduction experiment and Greg was fine with that.  Until he was astounded there was another meaning to the numbers.  The ink line was a reference to Indrid Cold - was still on earth and "door is closed window is opened' and using the cipher that adds up to 1025 value.  '= the man and the name of that house is 418 the end of the hiding' which is the sentence Connor found it aligned with.  Or perhaps there's something more there.  Indrid Cold = 112 = 49th place.

John looked at it through fresh eyes and he looked at it in simple terms, he saw results.  3600250581906840 = 57.  John suggested to do the easiest maths in a magic square then add and subtract.  Similar to numerology.  The sequence always came out with 9 or 3.  Which he told Allen and says 93 is the cipher for Hellier.  A significant number to Thalomites as Allen told them.  31 also 31x3 =93 31 refers to Libra 31 and written by Aleister Crowley's apprentice.  'Libra 31 as delivered by 93 - 418' is on the book.  John says 3rd chapter 9th verse "lurk, withdraw upon them.  This is the Law of the Battle of Conquest: thus shall my worship be about my secret house."  As John says.  Tyler adds the battle of conquest is a chapter attributed to Terry Wriste's book in The Secret Cipher, the chapter before the interview.  Terry references some to Crowley and the last two are concerning Terry doing a ritual called the Star Sapphire, the Blue Star.  Re the balloon they found.  The chapter Terry wanted Greg to read.

Tyler went to the mountain area and believes the phenomena was "taking notice" and being shown what they did was relevant.  So what do they do next?  Dana researched the ritual for Connor.  She doesn't know much about Thalama - the ritual of this.  Which had to be done in order or could be dangerous.  Nox appears a lot.  Known as "the night of Pan."  John thinks they are just showing they're heading in the right direction but that it requires something new and not old magic.  He thinks they're meant to do a ritual but not this one.  The Star of Sapphire as Dana explains, is "an invoking ritual."  Invoking Pan.  Greg wonders if that's "a synchronicity or a slap in the face."  Everything is connected.  All their work for two years is "all on purpose, being guided."

Connor adds it's more than creatures in a Kentucky cave.  Greg doesn't know if they should do anything in Somerset.  Dana thinks it will carry on with people and their experiences and perhaps the ritual with Pan was "enough to create a ripple of healing."  They still need to traverse to other places and where they have been and perhaps return again.  Greg lists everything they have to use such as maps, geomagnetic anomalies, maths, numerology etc.  Which explains why they have been doing this.  Allowing people to continue asking questions to progress and move further.  Connor believes Hellier, Cold, goblins was a symptom of what something bigger Terry told them about, so they need to go further and "open a window ourselves..."

So do they come full circle in their research and investigation especially realizing it was all staring them in the face to begin with.  It took them to do what they did to find it, decipher the ciphers, numbers and leading to the books and the rituals.  Still ii continues.  Will they return to Somerset in the future or will they leave this to rest and will they be contacted again??

Doug Skinner on the cover of the book, Flying Saucer Subculture by John Keel, Greg points to the goblin-like creature holding a tin can, the tin can robot: the tin can chimera 1994. Greg questions if that's a synchronicity...

Also see Hellier 1.5 The Heart Of It re the tin can.
http://mila255.blogspot.com/2019/02/hellier-15-heart-of-it-review.html

Doctor Who 12.3 "Orphan 55"

                                             
Graham (Bradley Walsh) wins a voucher for a break and puts the pieces together before the Doctor (Jodi Whittaker) warns him it will actually transport them there now and they haven't packed.  Graham is disappointed that he hasn't packed his speedo, cos he's wearing it.  Didn't see him sunning in any speedo, infact he wore a jumper, ha.  They arrive on Tranquillity Spa and you know there were many instances of deja vu already with this episode.  Not listing any but I'm sure the one with Clara and Doctor Twelve comes to mind with the smiley faced robots in Smile etc, though it wasn't really a spa etc.  Then the Doctor Who ep with the bus in the desert - Planet of the Dead).

Upon arrival they all go their separate ways and the Doctor says she'll investigate.  Ryan (Tosin Cole) gets infected by a Hopper virus from the vending machine which the Doctor must remove from him and leaves him to stick his thumb in his mouth and suck on it for the hallucinations.  From the Hopper she posits something is wrong here and attempts to investigate further.  Okay scratch the attempt, we know she'll succeed.  As Hyph3n (Amy Booth-Steel) is asked why she's using high level security key for the cupboard and wants in, showing her psychic paper as she's a resort inspector.  Kane (Laura Fraser) tells them they've already been inspected but she manages to get in and finds the ionic membrane is not working.  Asking her to explain what's happening, since they don't use guns, as a message for a drill is heard.

Ryan in the thumb sucking position meets another fellow thumb sucker named Bella (Gia Re).  She claims she's a hotel critic as Ryan says he's a doctor for pilots.  Failing miserably with his pick up lines.  Yaz (Mandip Gill) stumbles upon an elderly couple where Benni (Col Farrell) is about to ask Vilma (Julia Foster) to marry him.  Graham meets Nevi (James Buckley) and his son, Sylas (Lewin Lloyd) at the vending machine as they're trying to repair and his son tells him what to do to effect repairs.  There's a massive hole in the and the Doctor fixes the membrane showing the spa is surrounded by a dome, as Graham walks into it.  Yaz turns up with the same news, late as always.  The planet is a 'fakecation' since it's not real but is cheap for those wanting a getaway.  The creature inside the dome (Millennium Dome anyone?)  rids most of the holiday makers before it's transported out and they are known as Dregs.  (Dregs of society no doubt.)

The species is meant to have survived some sort of war and as more attack, they are summoned to the linen cupboard.  Ryan and Bella don't make it there and neither does Benni who goes back for Vilma's hat.  They look for the others and she wants to find Benni so they get on the vehicle which is the only mode of transport as the air is toxic and oxygen is limited, using nose clips and bracelets to indicate oxygen level, the Doctor forces Kane to take them on Benni's trail. Vilma even pays Kane with her necklace to make her follow.  As the vehicle is damaged they get out only to be attacked and must find other ways of leaving.  Benni says goodbye to Vilma after proposing and asks her to kill him.  Escaping through the hatch on the floor they run to underground tunnels and the Doctor finds the sign in Russian showing the tunnel is a Siberian underground network.

They realize this is Earth in the future and after the Doctor has explained the significance behind orphan planets where some war has been fought and after time are taken over.  This one was taken over by Kane and she is Bella's mother.  Bella having an agenda for wanting to burn down the spa.  After a Dreg enters the tunnel, Ryan saves Bella and they are transported back to the spa were she sets about threatening Ryan with a gun and setting the timers on the bombs.  Using the tunnels to return the Doctor finds the Dregs omit oxygen and breathe in carbon dioxide and this can be used to defeat them.

They transport father and son and back home and Kane and Bella remain behind to fight the Dregs as the others return to the TARDIS.  The Doctor explaining she only realized this was Earth a few seconds before they did.  Thus the future is bleak and a topical episode which some will have found to be so preachy in respects of scientists warning of global warming etc but humans not listening.  How they can change their future with billions of voices and action.  Yeah well a good start would be the BBC toning down the music so it doesn't drown out the dialogue.  Thus half the episode came across as garbled, I mean how loud must the volume be to watch the bloomin' show!
Most of the characters were used as Dregs fodder and again showing how people became dregs in the future.  Most of the episode was sombre and not as light hearted as the others, yes the subject matter in reality was grim, but still a little interjection of humour would've helped.

One thing I wanted to mention was how this episode followed after the Doctor finding out the revelation of how Gallifrey is no more and burns.  To see Earth suffer much the same fate, at the hands of humans, whereas that was at the hands of the Master.  How the 'timeless child' was mentioned and here the planet is known as "Orphan 55", another child reference.

Digital Spy mentioning Planet of the Apes as did my sister.  Also I mentioned Alien, Godzilla and other freaking monsters!  Digital Spy also does a good review on the political statements from past eps so I don't have to, ha and I especially like how they put forward the case of how so many people out there are just on the "leftist this and leftist that" bandwagon and critics of this.  At the end of the day you have to take a side and decide what you want for the future, for your children, your legacy and humanity in general.  You can't forever live like an ostrich and bury your head in the sand (radioactive) shirking responsibility and denying.  You are responsible for what is happening even if you don't want to be political.  As I've said a thousand times politics makes the world go round (not flat) and it affects you even if you are closed off to it!  And OMG stop with the "woke" already, fed up of hearing that everywhere!

They mention Doctor Three's story The Curse of Peladon (read Pelaton into that ha!) and show that politics in the show went as far back as the early seventies.  And kudos for saying how all the ranting for Doctor Thirteen and her stance is jealousy on the part of men.  Women can't - but men can...!

Hellier 2.9 "The Center of Your Mind"

                                                   
Greg speaks with Amy and she tells him she was arrested after she contacted him.  She heard 'UFOnaut' when she was going through some things.  She heard a girl screaming when she was by the lake camping.  She was third grade teacher and what she's experienced has "ruined my entire life."  Green men are in the caves and underground and warns against digging into something he won't be able to "unsee."  Tyler saw a green man in the tree after everything Amy said about being seen,  as well as alluding to Pan and his relevance to the green man.  Everything was linked eerily.  Amy's green men are "literal green men."  Bringing them full circle to goblins as Greg explains.  Doug told her to find out about someone who did this, referencing Greg.  He's an old man she's known for 20 years.  She believes in the pagan rituals in the caves but there's much more going on in her view.  Inexplicably and no one lives there.  She's certain it's the government.  Amy warns: "dig quietly."

Greg believes she's trying to make some sense out of what she's seen.  Connor thinks it would've been better if Greg called her when they were far away, not within the town.  The "scary people are literally surrounding us right now."  Marginality is more apparent in smaller areas as Connor says.  They should look into the creatures in the caves.  Greg wants to continue the ritual.  In The Mothman Prophecies it was written that all UFO encounters were hallucinations as Karl reads.  They suggest Karl should use the Estes method as he's more objective.

"What's going on in Hellier?"
Karl: "A gateway...to other places...it's closed...I'm supposed to open it...need to come out [when it opens].
"What's going on in Somerset"
Karl: "The fringe is here...between..."

Karl explains a similar phrase in the tin can ep season 1, where do we use this?
"In the space between."  He has liminality on the mind but he thinks it's subconscious as he wouldn't have connected it.

"What happened to Indrid Cold?"
"What happened to David Christie?"
"Keep saying he's dead."  They hear noises almost like footsteps upstairs.

"What are the goblins?"
"Are they there to keep us out or show us in?"
Karl: "The gate exists so the gate keeper exists in turn."
Do they need some sort of signal to allow access to those gates?
Karl:  "They have the means of something - an offering of bread?"

Karl: "create a fountain..don't know how [to create.]"

He's gone to 'that other place' where he can communicate with someone. They'll know if 'it's them.'
Talking to a preying mantis.  The symbol is like a pyramid with light coming out of it... Illuminati is what came to my mind.

Karl attempted to do word association in a trance-like state.  The fountain was in a cave, of stone or a stream akin to a landmark.  Mentioned the well and anyone who drank from it would return to Somerset.  Speaking of this he explains how it could be the all seeing eye which was in the pyramid at Somerset.  Showing there's more happening than just his subconscious.  The bell was placed in the wall and could have had a fountain in it.  Greg reads of the "Intergalactic radio like the blindfold with a note like the Estes Method."

Greg doesn't like ghostboxes.  Tried the Estes method which he called "weird."  Using the Franks box, Dana felt a tingling sensation". 
"An early version Frank Sumption built under the influence of ETs and are rare."  He gave them to people "he felt were right."  They got one days before heading to Somerset which made them think they had to use this in conjunction with the Estes Method.  Tyler tried it and got a "strange accent."  They get a thread about Indrid's family and they don't know what to do with it, Connor and Connard.  Tyler: "leave it alone and point to the story."   Dana feels he's communicating with Indrid.
 "He is one."

Why did Tyler make me think of Captain Kirk (William Shatner) with that accent?? 
He calls himself "Michael."  Greg asks where he's from?  They hear him reply sunny - a talisman."  Connor asks what he looks like, he says "angel."  Connor had a talisman with different predications and gave Tyler a St Michael ,medallion.  He says Connor is "wigged out." 
Didn't hear anything under the ledge but it came when he mentioned "adrenalin"???  I think it was like a response to that word, either whatever stirred there felt it had to get away or it was an adrenalin fuelled reaction from Tyler, in either wanting him to react that way.

Tyler hadn't gone through anything like that.  He's not religious but he thinks angelic entitles are all part of this: "I think one man's angel is another man's alien."  They needed to do a ritual in a cave and invoke Pan...

I actually do like ghost/spirit boxes and didn't much like the Estes method.  Also since I didn't like the blindfold being used and not being able to listen for myself what was happening and what was coming through.  That's my only criticism, I like to be involved and see/hear for myself.  That being said I do get why they use this method, for them it's tried and tested.  I also think they got good responses from Tyler, coming through Tyler.