Finished Spare Parts last night, and now get what everyone was on about. First two episodes are fine enough, with some lovely post-Adric flailing inadequacy from the Doctor, and a brilliant bit where he shouts at Nyssa, er, rather a lot. But it all seems rather bitty and directionless, with the Doctor encountering a Cyberman! escaping the Cyberman! encountering another Cyberman! escaping again ad infinitum while Nyssa bumbles about facilitating guest character development.

And then BANG CRASH WALLOPY-DOO, parts three and four are feckin' marvo. I never really got Cybermen before: never thought they were scary, never thought they were interesting. (Apart from killing Adric, ahem.) And I was a wee quivering thing listening to this. One bit in part three is one of the most disturbingly 'eek' moments I think I've ever heard from Who: right up there with 'Are you my Mummy?' And Fivey inevitably gets tied to a table and poked till he squeaks, which never gets old. And there is aaaaaaaangst and consequences and all that good stuff. Hooray!

Oh, and one of the Cybermen has the best voice-pattern ever, all rises and falls in the wrong places. If they use that in the new thing I will be really quite delighted.


And lo, since my brain has apparently melted and I am incapable of useful work-type-stuff, I steal memes from ph34rthedragon and memeify!

List your six of your favourite TV shows.

1. Doctor Who
2. Firefly
3. The Professionals
4. Farscape
5. Buffy
6. Starsky and Hutch

( important questions about telly )

Now listening to The Mutant Phase. Five and Nyssa are having a snarking competition and being really rather lovely. There's a lot to be said for the solo companion thing: means they actually have a chance of doing a bit more than saying 'But what does that mean, Doctor?' in turn.