Doctor Who is in flux giving us not the promised reality war, but a reality whimper

Far too often, Doctor Who has done this to us. Across multiple writers now, they’ve given us what seems like a cohesive and defined narrative that sets up what promises to be an equally cohesive and satisfying finale. But too often this does not happen. And sadly, last night’s episode was no different.

The episode called itself “The Reality War”. But it wasn’t a war. It was more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly, time wimey… bad stuff.

For what it’s worth, I thought the preceding episode, “Wish World” was brilliant, even if it did use a common modern Doctor Who trope now of bringing us back to Earth but a kind of strange alternartive Earth but that’s like a dream that’s nice but something isn’t quite right.

And it did bring in a new modern “Rani” who showed so much menace and promise in an episode that had me riveted from start to finish.

The Reality War can’t seem to make up its own mind. The resolution seems to rest on the identity of a baby we’re supposed to care about. Is she Belinda’s Baby? Is she not? Okay, she is. And then she’s not. And then… hang on? She is? For real? And is the Doctor her father? He is. Well, this changes everything. Oh, but.. where did she go? Are Belinda and the Doctor not her parents after all? (I’m struggling both to keep up and to care). Is reality back the way it should be? (I’m struggling both to keep up and to care). What was the point of invoking even the name of Omega if all it took was for The Doctor to “Ghostbusters” whatever he is even was now back into hell. Are we even going to see either of the Rani’s again? (That strand of the story ended far too quickly, and I’m struggling both to keep up and to care.)

There are too many loose ends… too many “What on Gallifrey?” moments that are simply never going to be addressed, and if they’re not going to be addressed… why should I care about any of it?

I realise I’m being quite eviscerating about what I’ve seen. I’m probably giving off the impression that I didn’t enjoy it. But I did. Kind of. I enjoyed it while it was transpiring on screen. These are not terrible actors, or writers, and the production staff clearly do what they do as a labour of love. RTD is better than this, and I just don’t think he’s been doing himself or his staff justice. It’s all very well liking the journey as you’re going along. But when you get there, you have to ask yourself what you went on the journey for. Was it worth it? And I just don’t think it was.

It felt like a mesh and mess and clearly things have had to be re-written.

That said, it’s not exactly unheard of for RTD to basically end the story with about half an hour to go. So the carrot was there. The threat, whatever you think of it, was dealt with, and as the episode went on, it became quite obvious that the speculation that it was the end of Ncuti’s time as The Doctor was quite correct, and that this was goodbye.

I do, however, get the feeling that it wasn’t supposed to be. RTD is doing his best here but I don’t think anyone can hide that plans for whatever reason have been changed. Belinda is staying behind to look after Poppy, who is her daughter after all (Congratulations Doctor, you’re an uncle). The Doctor hopes she will see them again. He probably means it when he says he wishes Poppy was his but we all know it’s very likely he’ll never see either of them again.

Just stop holding back your regeneration, please and get on with it. I want to see who’s next. One thing that struck me at this point was this: This is the first time (I think) that the next Doctor is seemingly an open book. There had been no confirmation (much speculation, but no confirmation) about Ncuti Gatwa’s Future. So much speculation. But here we are.

He finally does start to regenerate, and there is going to be time to see who’s next. Or… what’s next. Because chief in my mind was that we were going to somehow see David Tennant as the Doctor to join back up and complete the bi-generation. But we didn’t. This was a one-doctor show again. And the next Doctor just… appears. No morphing effect… no special effects of any kind. Ncuti just seems to fade to black and then….

Billie Piper????

Oh. Billie Piper.

Yes, of course.

“The rumour was true”, I exclaimed aloud. And all of that in the space of a couple of seconds.

Once again, some speculation or rumour I’d heard somewhere on the internet, probably social media, had come true before my very eyes.

And it all, for me, landed very flatly. It would have been the same if I had not read that little morsel of gossip.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I have absolutely nothing against Billie or her place in Doctor Who. I’m sure she’ll do well in whatever role she’s actually taking on – note that she was not “introduced” in the post credits as The Doctor. I’ll be to see what how it all works out, whenever that happens to be.

But there was a chance here. A chance to pull of something incredible. A chance to pull off a surprise “new” Doctor on us. Not someone we’ve seen before; not a placeholder actor or actress while the behind-the-scenes stuff sorts itself out. But a surprise and someone new.

This shows that it can be done if the will is there.

Unfortunately, “The Reality War” has let us all down again. The effort was there. The love for the show is there. They probably all thought they’d done a good job for the viewer (I have no doubt there are opinions out there different from mine). But what we saw was a product of a show that is not in a good place. What we saw was what happens when a show is mired in so much uncertainty about its future.

But it does seem we are going to be getting more Doctor Who. Even if we don’t quite know when yet.

I want to end with a little comment about the 13th Doctor. It all feels so pointless and out of date now. But I remember how I felt when Jodie Whittaker was announced as The Doctor. I must reiterate that my reaction to her casting was never about her. All it was ever about was the fact that it was a gender swap that involved a profound change in the lore of the show. It happened, she lasted a whole era, which is, of course beloved by a sizeable part of the Whovian fanbase. It changed the show, and the show has changed again since.

I’m only mentioning it because when she appeared on screen, I was happy to see her. Her scene with Ncuti’s 15th Doctor was for me the standout moment of the episode. I’ve since made a promise to myself to rewatch her era and see if that scene stands up to how she was in the Chris Chibnall era. But in that scene, I thought she seemed more like “The Doctor” than at any moment during her time from 2017 to 2021.

Doctor Who is not in the best place at the moment, despite some fabulous episodes in the last couple of years. And that’s a shame because in RTD’s hands, it ought to be thriving. But whatever is happening behind the scenes, it will pass and Doctor Who will always be here to delight generations new, current and past.

Newcastle United have won a domestic trophy this week and I don’t know what to do ⚽⚫⚪

I’ve been on cloud nine all week.

I’ve often wondered what it would feel like if my club ever won a trophy. My whole life it seemed like something Newcastle United would never do. But it’s not just that. I’ve been told and bantered at all my life that my club didn’t deserve to win things. Because if you’re young, Newcastle simply haven’t in living memory.

At least, before 16th March 2025. Now we have one. And I just don’t know what to think. How to feel. Or what I am now supposed to do. Until 6:15ish on Sunday, it was all about the trophy drought. A drought that was “too long” for a club as big as Newcastle. That drought was the proverbial stick I was beaten with. My club was mocked for it and in turn, I felt mocked too. Maybe it meant we weren’t as big as we thought? Maybe the club was simply cursed, and I was doomed to follow a “nearly” club at best.

I still cannot take it in what has happened. Because readers, until then it was 70 years prior when we won our last domestic trophy.

It’s gone.

It’s a slow realisation. That drought is gone. That whole narrative is now a thing of the past. It’s not 70 years anymore (56 years since our last European Trophy). That’s the best thing about the win on Sunday. It’s not the performance, although that was good. It’s not even beating the giants of English football that are Liverpool. I don’t think it’s even the trophy itself.  It’s the epoch-defining nature of it.  It’s the slow realisation that in almost an instant the narrative around my club has changed.

It’s gone.

We earned that trophy and it will not be another 7 decades before we do it again. Of that, I am sure.

I often wondered how I would feel when the time finally arrived if it did. Would be emotional? Would I cry with tears of joy? Would I feel relief? I didn’t really know. I don’t consider myself to be an emotional person so I really didn’t know I would feel.

I can tell you my feelings have reverted between the 2 main ones of “warm glow” of happiness and what I think of as the closest I’ve been to an out-of-body experience. But 5 days on and I still haven’t come down from being almost completely unable to take it in.

It’s gone. And I don’t know what to do.

I suppose actually the emotion of “relief” is in there somewhere. I don’t really recall feeling as nervous as this for the 2023 final against Manchester United. After the game, I figured that this was because I never really believed we’d actually win that game, even though perversely, it was probably the best chance we had; better than against Liverpool who we actually went on to beat.

But even then, looking back today could I hand on heart say that I expected us to beat Liverpool in 2025? No. Of course not. Liverpool win trophies. We do not. That’s what a simple study of English football tells you.

All I wanted was for us to compete; to step up and play well. Readers, we stepped up and played well. Within a few minutes of the game, I could feel the sickness from nerves that I was experiencing just slip away. We looked composed, assured and equal if not better than Liverpool were offering. If you want to say that Liverpool looked below par, I would argue that was just as much down to our game plan than the way Liverpool were also playing. Liverpool offered little, but that’s because we were the ones winning challenges, and headers and tackles and soaking up the possession that Liverpool inevitably had.

And when the first goal (Big Dan Burn (BDB) the man from Blyth!!) what a goal and what a header it was. To power that header through with such precision and such distance, from outside the box I believe was a moment for Dan, and all Newcastle fans to savour.

To a man, every one of the lads from minute one to the last were absolutely outstanding. But what can I say about the second goal? What struck me about Isak’s goal, apart from the finish was just how much space he was given. Jacob Murphy knocked it perfectly to him but the right-footed volley was exquisite.

After that, I was certain we’d have enough, even when Liverpool reduced the arrears beyond added time. Yes the fear would always be there beyond added time. But I just felt that Newcastle were switched on from the first minute to the final whistle.

We earned the win and earned the trophy. Every single one of that squad deserved that winners medal.

I do want to end by pointing out just a few names I was thinking of while the players were collecting those medals and why I as a fan, I was filled with such pride.

Bruno Guimaraes, who came to the club to challenge for top European places – bought into what the club is all about team captain on the night and now a trophy winner.

Jamaal Lascelles who is the club captain who joined us 10 years ago. He has stuck by the club thick and thing, good and bad for all these years. Now a trophy winner.

Jacob Murphy, signed a few years later in the Rafa era, his future not always certain at Newcastle United, overcame the odds and is now a trophy winner.

BIG DAN BURN, the man from Blyth.. who came up the ranks from non league… an England International and trophy winner in the same week,

Kieran Trippier – the first player of the new era to take a chance on us when safety from relegation was by no means certain. A trophy winner with Newcastle.

And many many more.

All now Trophy winners with Newcastle United. There are so many stories and so many reasons why NUFC have made us all proud forever.

And that’s it. I still don’t know what to think or how to feel. Maybe I never will. But the drought is over. It’s gone!! And I hope words have done the lads justice and given me something to start from as I adjust to the new reality at Newcastle United!

Doctor Who – Family of Blood

I’ve been a fan of Doctor Who, (a fan in that sense of the word) for about 17 years now. I liked it for a lot longer than that. But there was a period between Spring of 2007 and Sunmmer 2008 when my interest had turned into something of an obsession.

It started with a run of the episodes in Series 3 of the 2nd “Era” which was overseen by Russell T Davies. And that was the episodes “Human Nature”/”The Family of Blood” through to “The Last of the Time Lords. Everyone has different tastes but for me, this is a run that hasn’t been bettered.

Everyone has a favourite Doctor or an era in the History of Doctor Who. And if RTD1 (2005 to 2010) is my favourite era then

• Human Nature
• The Family of Blood
• Blink
• Utopia
• The Sound of Drums
• The Last of the Time Lords

… is my favourite run of episodes in that era. To me, they are as close to perfection as it gets.

I watched the Family of Blood 2-parter several weeks ago and it has barely been away from my mind ever since. There are many things I like about it.

It raises profound moral questions.
It has a beautiful setting with an important historical context.
It has a strong supporting cast.
And it allows the lead, David Tennant to explore an acting range you normally wouldn’t see with that era’s Doctor.

Because you see in that 2 parter, The Doctor barely appears at all. Beyond the beginning, the end and some cameo appearances via screens The Doctor is not The Doctor. The episode makes a fast start when The Doctor and Martha Jones scramble inside The TARDIS to evade a green firing shot from an unseen enemy. The situation is so tense and you’re given the sense that whatever it is they are running away from it is an enemy you do not want to cross lest they so much as see your face.

The enemy is so fearful The Doctor has to do something so drastic as to change his species from Time Lord to Human. Because apparently, he can do that. He has a device in the TARDIS designed to rewrite his biology and painfully, horribly take away everything that makes him a Time Lord.

It is incumbent on Martha to trust The Doctor with what he is doing and the ultimate success of their plans rests entirely on her shoulders

And then quicker than the blink of an eye it all changes. The events I have just described are apparently nothing but the events of dreams of a man called John Smith. It’s a nice and strange way to begin. We, as the audience can do no more than trust that this is The Doctor’s doing. But who or what are they running from? And why was it necessary for him to hide in such an elaborate way? Or maybe they weren’t doing it at all and what we saw maybe it is all just a happy imaginative dream of an early 20th-century English professor.

Well, deep down we know that isn’t true but it gave me the feeling when I was first watching it, that it was a battle of realities. All John Smith wants is to keep the life he dreams of separate from his real life. He is visibly very happy that the year is 1913 and that this is his real human life.

This is a problem for the rest of the Universe.

So there we have it. As we go on through the episode, we learn that Martha and John Smith have been working at Farringham School for Boys in 1913 for around 2 months. The Doctor has established the identity of a human and has invented a scenario of a kindly teacher who found employment for Martha. As for The Doctor himself, his life, his essence and his true identity are locked in a Fob watch that must not be opened until the proper time.

But what is the proper time? How long was this plan supposed to go on for? What was the end game? If they were running, did they not want to be found? Did they have to wait for a certain amount of time before the threat would simply disappear?

“Like mayflies” he said.

There is an answer to all of these questions. For the time being there’s a focus on world-building and on Martha Jones who has nothing to do except stay as close as possible to John Smith and watch over not only his life but threat for signs of threats to their plan. As we do, we learn a bit more about the job Martha has to do and the strain it is having on her.

In an ideal world, they’d have been able to wait out for however long they needed. But, this is Doctor Who and there’s a story to tell so it isn’t long before and we start to find out what she and The Doctor are hiding from.

They make their presence known taking possession of schoolboy Jeremy Baines, local farmer Mr Clark, a friend of Martha’s called Jenny, and a small girl called Lucy Cartwright. It becomes clear that in doing so, their intent is to find The Doctor as a Time Lord and consume his lives so that they can keep living. It is clear that they are malevolent and powerful. But are they really so powerful that The Doctor cannot face them? Beyond their malevolence, they feel like characters The Doctor can easily deal with. And yet he cannot. because he no longer exists.

Then there comes new problems. The human John Smith, bonds with the nurse of the School, Joan Redfern over his “Journal of Impossible Things” which is his written journal of the dreams; what we know to be the events of “The Doctor’s” Life. Their bond grows to such an extent that they fall in love. What better reason to stick with your human life than to stay with the woman you love?

“Falling in love? That didn’t occur to him? Then what sort of man is that?”

The second problem is the fob watch where The Doctor has hidden his life goes missing, taken by a schoolboy called Tim Latimer who seems to have an intuitive connection with it. He’s a normal, timid schoolboy and yet there seems to be something “more” about him and his fascination with the watch is more than just childhood curiosity.

So the threads to the story are growing. The Doctor has hidden himself so well in the human John Smith, that he has fallen in love and is utterly happy in life oblivious to his true identity. The Fob watch that holds his identity in the hands of a curious small boy. Martha is losing control of the situation bereft as to what to do. The alien threat is fast closing in on the true identity of The Doctor and there’s little sign of getting The Doctor back – the only way to turn the tide is to open the watch that no one can find.

By the time the possessed Jenny, a friend of Martha makes her intentions known, Martha knows the game is up and The Doctor has to return.

From a personal point of view, I always thought Martha handled this situation very badly. Why did she think that bursting her way into John Smith’s room and blurting out what must have been nonsense would make John Smith understand the true nature of his situation? Did she expect The Doctor to come back to her in front of her very eyes without the need to open the fob watch? John Smith could not comprehend any more of Martha’s words than a story that he might have put in his journal. And condescending as Smith might have been in a very 1910s fashion, Martha would have served her better than to talk to John at his human level and most not definitely resort to physical assault to coax the Doctor out of his human mind. The female-on-male slap is a trope used in modern Doctor Who all too often.

Anyway, in her furiousness and desperation, Martha has estranged herself from anyone who might be able to help. Even when she more calmly this time, tries to reason with John, the situation is taken out of her hands. The aliens maliciously gatecrash the village dance, ruthlessly killing anyone in their way. It all comes to a head when the aliens (We’ll get to their true identity in a moment) take Joan and Martha hostage. By doing so they hope that the Time Lord within John Smith will show himself, so overcome by the choice of which one of them will die.

But there is no Time Lord within. Smith is completely human and is completely lost for words and bewildered as to what is happening. He has no conception of aliens or Time Lords in the 1910s human world he inhabits. It is a choice is literally cannot make. Even if Smith did comprehend, he did not have the means to transform into anything.

It falls to a young boy to save the day. Latimer who has kept the fob watch with him. He is the one with the connection to the essence of the time lord within. He is the one with the foresight to open the fob watch and in turn, distract the aliens from their ultimatum.

That is a cliffhanger resolution chaos ensues allowing Martha to turn the tables and talk the Famly out of causing any further deaths in the hall.

The rest of the episode is about coming to terms with the true nature of events. Can John Smith come to terms with who he is? Will Tim Latimer is openly disgusted with John Smith and the way he’s been treated at the school, so he runs off in a rage. And the school is mobilised to prepare for an attack with no understanding of why, only that young boys are being gathered together to prepare to kill.

But we have now reached the point where pretence is over. The Family, who are now open about who they are and the reason they are have made their demands clear. To be given access to John Smith and everything they need to get access to the consciousness of The Doctor and maybe then they’d leave 1913.

After an initial attack round in which the school successfully defended itself against a wave of strawmen, soldiers of the family. Now the true emotional weight of the story begins. Throughout the rest of the story, John Smith face to face with The TARDIS forcing him to confront who he really is. The penny drops and it is devastating to him. The TARDIS represents his fantasies, very different from the life that he actually wants and he emotionally pours out that he only wants his human life.

They all retreated somewhere quiet and secluded, which turned out to be back at Lucy Cartwright’s home. Ultimately they have come to make a choice – to give up the Doctor’s life.. or to give it up to the family in the sheer hope that they would end the bombardment that the family have started to rage.

While this is happening… we see tantalising glimpses of The Doctor through John Smith.. where he talks about the effects of the watch on Timothy Latimer; another jarring difference that Smith picks up on straight away. And when Joan doesn’t get anything from the watch there’s that little touch of The Doctor again as Smith knows intuitively how to share the possibilities of a human future, sharing hands as they do. I think of these as “echoes” of The Doctor, little bits of excess consciousness that come out from time to time.

“Oh, I think the explanation might be you’ve been fooled by a simply olfactory misdirection. Little bit like ventriloquism of the nose. It’s an elementary trick in certain parts of the galaxy. But it has gotta be said I don’t like the look of that hydrocholometer. It seems to be indicating you’ve got energy feedback all the way through the retro stabilisers feeding back into the primary heat convertors. Oh! Because if there’s one thing you shouldn’t have done. You shouldn’t have let me press all those buttons. But! In fairness, I will give you one word of advice! Run!”

One of my favourite monologues. A classic but of Doctorish trickery. We as the audience can only look on and guess if Smith and chosen to remain human and give the watch away. It was such a good performance by David Tennant, I guessed that it probably was The Doctor standing in front of them but I really didn’t know. It apparently fooled Mother of Mine “confirms” Smith is still human. But then, it transpires that the watch was empty in fact of the Time Lord consciousness.

“He never raised his voice. That was the worst thing. The fury of the Time Lord. And then we discovered why. Why this Doctor; who had fought with Gods and Demons why he’d run away from us and hidden. He was being kind”.

What we see is a brutal display of Timelord’s fury, authority and power. And when we see it, we finally understand why he was willing, even desperate to hide and let the Family’s lifespan just go on. The family were not just deprived of liberty. He did it in particularly grisly ways ensuring they would live, but never, ever be free again. The punishments metered out including being sent into collapsing galaxies, wrapped in cosmic unbreakable chains, trapped in Mirrors and scarecrow bodies until the end of time. not nice; not cool and not kind. He was just as ruthless with the Racnoss and her children in the events of “The Runaway Bride”, in which he was happy to stand and watch them drown.

I think with The Family from his point of view The Doctor was doing what he thought was necessary as the last of the Time Lords; not because he got pleasure out of delivering harsh punishments on evil beings.

“if the Doctor had never visited us. If he’d never chosen this place on a whim. Would anyone here have died”

So after all of that, it was time to wrap up some loose ends, particularly The Doctor’s relationship with Joan. They meet one more time after The family is dealt with.

In this conversation, he makes clear that John Smith will not be coming back. But by way of a compromise offers to take her away and travel with him as his companion. In addition to or in place of Martha? What of her in this arrangement? It was almost like in that quiet moment in the Cartwright home, she didn’t matter and was forgotten about.

Also, in making this offer I always thought The Doctor showed his alien arrogance even if he doesn’t mean to. As much as he claims John Smith is as much a part of him as his Time Lord being, insisting that he can be John Smith and that travelling with him and that having more dangerous adventures like the one they’ve just had in 1913 would fix everything. Maybe that’s what provoked Joan into charging the Doctor with being responsible for all these deaths at the School. It was a powerful end to his time there.

But is it a harsh charge? I think what certainly is true is that The Doctor asked something big and profound of Martha, to ask her to look after him as a human in an unknown time and place in England and assimilate himself into that time in the mere hope that he could just avoid bringing danger.

But I always thought it was harsh of Joan to expect The Doctor to give up his life again and to put the blame on him for the deaths. The Doctor’s adventures are always dangerous. But the difference is hardly anyone ever holds the mirror up to him like this and it’s a very interesting angle to the story and the way he walked off without a word shows that it hit home. He gets to move on while Joan picks up the emotional pieces.

He chose this action because he wanted to avoid giving harsh punishments to the family which he eventually ended up doing. So death was inevitable either way.

Not everyone was sorry about the Doctor’s presence at the school though.

“You’ll like this bit”

This is one of the longest posts about a Doctor Who story I’ve ever written. Probably about any topic actually. And there are many threads about this story I haven’t touched on. But there’s one more I wanted to talk about because it links to the ending sequence.

When the boy Timothy Latimer takes the fob watch and every so often peers into it, one of the visions he sees is of him and a friend at war facing a direct missile attack.

“In June, 1913. An archduke of Austria is shot by a Serbian. And this then led from nations having treaties with nations like a line of Dominoes falling. To some boys from England walking together in France on a terrible day”

Because of these visions, he is able to anticipate the missile and survive. The fob watch therefore becomes a treasured antique; a reminder of his connection to the Doctor and the war he survived thanks to him. To see Tim as an old man cradling the antique fob watch at a memorial service is a poignant way to close the episode, especially with The Doctor and Martha attending. Something that can be watched annually at the time of remembrance

The Family of Blood is one of the finest editions of modern Doctor Who. Its period setting; the fact it gives Martha something more to do than to just be The Doctor’s companion; David Tenning something more to do than be The Doctor… some of the scariest and most ruthless villains in Doctor Who and a great supporting cast make this a highly recommended watch.

Star Trek Voyager – The Tuvix Conundrum

Life is precious. But what is one life compared to two? What do you do when you’re forced to choose between one life and two lives? 

The first thing to say about “Tuvix” is it is one of Voyager’s very best episodes. Secondly, the morality of the episode has kind of passed me by over the years. In my life I’d maybe seen it once or perhaps twice and if I ever appreciated the gravity of the premise of the episode then it since slipped away. The goal of the episode is to get back what we lost; Tuvok and Neelix who are part of the regular cast of Voyager and we want them back. (maybe not Neelix based on comments I see online. 😊)

But that was essentially it. And last week was the first time in decades. I’ve since read a few takes online and seen how it has gone down in Star Trek Fandom. Last week I took the time to watch it again and make my own observations.

The Premise

Put simply, in Star Trek Voyager’s “Tuvix” there’s an away mission in which Talaxian Neelix and Vulcan Tuvok, 2 of the Voyager crew are on a…. supply gathering mission on a random planet and on their return a tragic turn of events occurs; a transporter malfunction. Tuvok and Neelix are literally fused into one individual. That’s it. That’s the premise. 2 unique individuals become one after a freak and unexpected accident. The episode is about working out the problem and how to fix it. We then explore the loss of Neelix and Tuvix. The episode then becomes about finding out how this accident happened, how to fix it, and whether they *should* fix it. It explores whether to do so is to commit murder. When does it become an issue of what they have gained in Tuvix and his life?

Who is Tuvix?

When we begin the episode, it’s worth pointing out that the characters in the opening scene are displaying their peak characteristics – Vulcan stoicism and logic and Neelix… being Neelix. They prepare for the transport alongside the materials they have gathered. Then the accident occurs apparently caused by a glitch in the transporters’ molecular scanners. Everyone kind of just assumes the issue can fixed by narrowing the annular confinement or some other such technical thing. They do that, but when the transport is completed, somehow it transpires that Tuvok and Neelix are literally merged and a new person is left standing in the transporter bay.

To describe what you see, if you know Tuvok and Neelix… what they look like and imagine an amalgamation of the 2… then this is what happens.

Tuvok and Neelix combined merged at the molecular level along with everything that was transported with them which means Tuvok and Neelix’s molecular patterns were mixed with a plant-based genetic pattern, explaining the patterns on Tuvix’s uniform.

Tuvix himself

So we lost 2 and gained a new individual. Who is Tuvix?

Tuxix is in every way the embodiment of Neelix and Tuvok. But he’s not either and he is both, He is not Neelix and he is not Tuvok. He is his own unique individual. However he came into being, Tuvix is a person. A single consciousness with the memories of both men he left behind. He inherits their skills choosing to resume the duties of Tuvok. He is friendly. He is affable. And retains all the good characteristics of both. He is not a threat to the crew in any way.

He even aids the Voyager crew in working out how the accident occurred and working on a fix. Then the morals of the episode really come to the fore. Until the prospect becomes real… Tuvix seems to be keen to help the effort to bring back Neelix and Tuvok. When they do find that solution he finds that he does not want to die. And that is essentially the goal. For Tuvix to no longer exist and the lives; the individuality of Neelix and Tuvok to be restored. He realises he doesn’t want to lose his life as an individual. –

At what point, Captain Janeway muses, “at what point in the last few weeks did he become an individual”. The answer to that question is a very simple one. He became an individual the second he emerged from the pattern buffer from two people to become one.

Ultimately it’s hard not to disagree and sympathise with Tuvix’s position. As an individual with a consciousness and a healthy mind, he does have the right to live. But so do Neelix and Tuvok.

Observations

At this point, I want to go through some of my thoughts and musings while watching the episode; and then I’ll make my own judgement about the restoration of Neelix and Tuvok at the expense of Tuvix

• From the start., Janeway looks at Tuvix with a suspicious eye as does Kes who obviously finds the new situation very difficult. This episode is about loss and gain and distance. Tuvix retains the love he has for Kess from Neelix as well as his family on Vulcan. But if it was going to prove impossible to save Neelix’s life, was Kes ever going to be able to learn to love Tuvix?
• “is it Tuvix’s decision?” – I feel like at the very least he deserves a say. He has his own mind, his own needs and wants. This needs to be taken into account. “would Tuvok and Neelix want to live?” – They both have something to live for. Neelix has his romantic feelings for Kess – and Tuvok has a family to return to on Vulcan.
• 2 Dads 🙂  Neelix and Tuvok… without whom Tuvix would not exist – he thinks of them as his parents
• There’s an interesting quandary with Kes being asked to plead on Tuvix’s behalf which was a very difficult position for Kes to be put in.
• One of the most powerful moments of the episode sees Tuvix on the Voyager Bridge, steadfast at his duty station and ultimately, pleading for his life “Doesn’t anyone see that this is wrong”
• The Doctor makes a moral stand refusing to perform the separation procedure. It’s like Pontius Pilate washing his hands of the crucifixion of Christ. He will not participate in the death of a condemned man 
• Janeway’s reaction to being the one who killed Tuvix, doing harm and restoring Tuvok and Neelix, She was ruthless enough to perform the procedure herself. But in the end, it broke her “It’s good to have you back” she says to the restored pair, her voice breaking.  Although I have to say… the lack of any reaction or protestation from either Tuvok or Neelix was conspicuous… and a little disappointing.  The episode did end a little abruptly.

Now…. the moral question…

As I said, the ending of the episode was abrupt and rushed. Whether it is some sort of attempt to brush aside the fact an individual who has committed no crime other than come into being by complete accident was put to death, or the fact the episode was running out of transmission time, I don’t know. This wasn’t made in the age of streaming, so time was a definite issue.

Was it an execution? Yes. I don’t think there’s any getting around that. But what it was not the taking of life because of any punishment for crime. Should they change him back? It’s an evocative question. In my view, Tuvix has the right to live and shouldn’t be killed. Because he doesn’t deserve it. But his existence was an accident. Not an accident of natural conception but an accident of technology. It was a freak accident that killed 2 other people. They also deserved to live if their lives could be saved. Ideally, we’d also like to be able to keep all 3 individuals alive. But that was not possible.

Ultimately the crew, or that is to say Janeway made the decision to end Tuvix’s life in order to bring back the original 2.   “each of you”, says Tuvix. “is going to have to live with this.. and I am sorry or that. For you are all good people  … my colleagues… my friends. And I forgive you.” My conclusion is… there is no easy answer to this question.  Each of us has to make our own decisions based on our own morals and beliefs.

Personally, I think it was right that the lives of Neelix and Tuvok were restored but I also do not fail to understand the compromised morality of ending Tuvix’s life in order to put right what was made wrong.

Tuvix did not deserve to die.

Reflecting on Doctor Who and how I feel about how it has changed over the years.

Doctor Who

I’ve been on a bit of a journey with Doctor Who over the years. I was a Star Trek fan long before I considered myself to be a fan of Doctor Who. I preferred the Enterprise D to the TARDIS, intrigued though I was about the story of a time travelling alone in a blue police box. I was aware of a few of the classic actors from the 63 to 96 era… actors like Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. They are 2 of the most recognisable faces in the history of the show.

One of my earliest memories of the show is a Pertwee era story that I caught sight of as a child in the early 1990s. I don’t remember being all that aware of what was going on but I remember watching on a small TV in the kitchen, a monster just rising from the top of the hill and it scaring me. Because again, not only was it a fearsome looking creature, but I had no idea what it was and what was going on.

Later it confronted a gentleman I can only remember me thinking of as the protagonist (The Doctor, obviously) and a woman with him as the same monster confronted them noisily in some sort of cave. These events I’d later learn were from a 1970s story called “The Daemons”.

I’d reacquaint myself with the show for its anniversary showing, introducing Paul McGann for the 1996 TV Movie. A new Doctor for a new age of special effects. Doctor Who goes to America. It was a very interesting story. It’s the first time I remember myself absorbing the concept of an interior that’s bigger than the outside and a time machine that you can take anywhere in time and space. And I’m sure I could remember thinking I could get into this.

But then, almost as quickly as it had started, it was gone again. A show of some 30 years history was still not being backed by the BBC and would not be back on screen for some 9 years yet.

That was a shame. But I guess I just shrugged my shoulders and got on again.

In 2005, the BBC did announce that its Wales studios would be bringing back the show on BBC1 for 13 episodes bringing with it a new Doctor and stories for a new generation. It has been in production ever since, (with the odd break here and there). And I was very happy. Happy to hear of the BBC bringing back an old British classic TV show.

I’ve been watching ever since, but It wasn’t until 2007 and the third series of the revival that I considered myself an avid fan, bordering on obsessive around then and 2008.

It is now 2023 and the show has endured, reinventing itself as it always does through the years.

That’s a little thesis on my history with the show. Now here comes the tricky part of the blog which may stick in the throats of some of my readers. (Do I have readers? Hello. Do say hi if you like) especially as I’ve just demonstrated my watching history of the show has for so long been best described as “mildly interested” at best.

I am a person who for as long as I have lived, has liked things to be simple, familiar and the same. That’s not anyones fault, it’s just the way my brain works. I like what’s familiar.

Now, the following IS my fault. I have struggled over the years with the idea of representation. The notion that people take so much from “seeing themselves” represented on screen. I’ve never given much thought in my life that we don’t see enough of certain jobs, races disabilities, sexuality, religion represented on screen. For me it’s always been, “do I like watching a certain show?” “Yes”. “Okay. Great I’ll keep watching.” If I don’t like it, I’ll find something else to entertain me. I’ve always had a problem with quotas rather than picking parts on merit.

And please, at this point can I just reiterate I’m not taking a stance of so called “anti-woke”. Dear me, no. By the definition I like to think I’m as woke as they come. (Although I really do hate the word in this context). I just haven’t been able to come to terms with change, that comes from years and years of storytelling and the fact that diversity and representation is real. And matters.

So what is it I’m trying to say exactly?

Back in 2017, it was time to welcome a new Doctor into the world. Actually I think it was sooner than that, thar the new actor was introduced. There was a lot of talk, talk that split the fanbase as far as I was seeing that it was time for a woman to play the part.

I was against it. But why? For what possible reason? Surely not because of some belief that a woman could not play The Doctor. No. That’s not the reason. It’s ludicrous for anyone to put forward that reason. My objections were down to 2 reasons. Familiarity. I don’t like change and this would be a very significant change in the show’s mythology. Which leads into the second reason – it had never happened before in 14 regenerations so why in canon should it be happening at this point?

Those were my main reasons. It’s not about disliking a woman playing the role per se. It’s simply an aversion to the fact that the change has been decided and was coming. But here’s another thing that puts me to shame on this topic.

I’ve talked about being slow on the meaning and importance of representation. Here was me getting hung up on the Gender Swap in Doctor Who when all the time I was being thrown a bone on it right under my nose. One of the characters was written with Dyspraxia. I was overjoyed. Dyspraxia was being mentioned and made a big part of the show. Without even realising it, I was being represented. Ryan Sinclair was nothing like me of course, but it was a joy to see him overcome challenges most people take for granted and to see the Doctor take an interest in them.

Now, I know I haven’t blogged much to this blog, but I’ve made no secret that the 2017-2021 era, helmed by Chris Chibnall was never my favourite. But this was one of the few positive I found in his era.

The Timeless Child arc was not one of them and it was a storyline that split fans more than most. For me, this is where I’ve kind of let the show go as something that I follow obsessively. Doctor Who can go on forever and ever. But my collecting every last moment, DVD boxset or mini episode cannot.

I think it’s perfectly okay for people to have a favourite era, times in the show they’d love to go back to again and again.

For me it’s the classic era and everything up to Series 10 of the show. I could definitely do without the Chibnall era, because my honest opinion is he wasn’t good for the show overall. But that’s okay. Other people have different opinions. Other people are represented more in different eras and therefore gain more from the show than me in that time. And it’s fine for them to enjoy it and take from it what they will.

Since I’m talking about representation it seems only right that I mention Yasmin Finney a transgender actor playing a transgender character. Some transgender representation I don’t have the slightest aversion or objection to.

Why not? What Am I even talking about? Do I want thanks or approval?

No. I don’t want any of that. I simply, want to make the point that after watching the latest 3 60th anniversary Specials of Doctor Who that I am finally, I think, coming to terms with the fact that the show has changed irreconcilably with how it was in the classic era, or back in 2005. Because the world is better represented. Ans the sooner more and more people, people like me and all of us realise that; that we get over our petty differences; this world that we live in will be a better place.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: My Review

Maybe, I am a person that is easily pleased and hard to please simultaneously. But I spent half of the new Indy film wanting to like the film but not really feeling it. I was all there for “Crystal Skull” which I liked right away. I got there in the end but it felt like I had to do a bit of work to get there.

I’ve been excited about seeing this film for some time. Every time a new Indiana Jones film comes out it feels like event viewing. I was 6 years old when the third one came out. The next one didn’t come out until 2010. And I just think it is these gaps more than anything else that has harmed the newest films.

Because when I look back at “Dial of Destiny” it is very much an Indy by-the-numbers film. It starts off with Indy finding himself in a situation of mortal peril in search of a supernatural or otherwise remarkable artifact. He then goes back to his (Part Time) Professor job before we to get the plot of the movie. Then comes the grandiose set pieces; the impossibly violent and close-call action sequences. He then finds the MacGuffin; has the MacGuffin taken from him. Chaos ensues, and in the end, he wins the day and gets the girl.

This one had everything. And one thing it did do, and I thought it did very well, was not only a “back in time” sequence back to Indy’s past but he was digitally “de-aged” to look more like the Indiana Jones we used to know.

Now, I really liked how this was done. You can tell it’s computer-generated, if you look very hard, but it’s very cleverly done.

Apparently, it was put together from unused war movie footage with Harrison Ford’s younger face and voice presumably also superimposed into a stunt double. But however they did it, it was everything that they needed to do to take us to Munich, 1945.

This was the backdrop of the end of the Second World War. As a Christian, I also liked that he was on the lookout for another artifact of religious significance. The blade that drew Christ’s blood as a trophy prize is naturally interesting Hitler Although I have to say that I did think it was ironic, that Indy got himself caught and almost killed for a fake and that Hitler had not learned his lesson from his failure to take possession of the Ark of the Covenant. But that’s another story. He was dealing with political and wartime defeat.

It all felt like one last hurrah for the “Indy” most of us grew up knowing, and I was very pleased they demoted the time to that era that they did.

And then after all of that, here’s where I started to lose connection with the story. We’ve now jumped ahead a few decades. Indy is obviously older, facing retirement, clearly separated for whatever reason from Marion, and has left that part of his life behind. He is now living in the late 60s in New York apparently barely aware that the Americans have won the space race and put man on the Moon. He awakes to music from the flat next door, bumbling and barely dressed, to what I can only describe were guffaws from the Cinema room that I was in. And I could see why.

Obviously, our Indy is beyond his best years. But for me, it felt like an unedifying spectacle that I thought set the tone for much of what was to come. This is where he is at now: a hero to nobody, alone with only his regrets and alcohol for company. Now, the film goes on to discuss the reasons for this turn in his life but I’ll touch on that a little later

Back in Munich, Indy had a companion with him called Basil Shaw (played by Toby Jones). They raced away with another stolen from the Nazis another prized Artefact from them. 1 half of Archimedes Dial which when put together with the other half can lead to fissures in time. And having had it kept brutally from him, Dr. Voller played by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen wants it back.

It’s up to Helena Shaw, daughter of Basil and Indy’s Goddaughter to Unite the pieces of Archimedes Dial and keep it away from Nazi hands; because though they lost the war there are still believers and it wouldn’t be an Indy movie without the old enemy.

Co Stars like Mads Mikkelsen, Phobe-Waller-Bridge and Toby Jones put in a good turn, but I just found the classic characters felt a little out of their time and showed their age. That might feel better when I come to rewatch it eventually but that’s how I felt on first watch. Voller is played magnificently by Mikkelsen, in a performance so reminiscent of his Le Chiffre role in “Casino Royale” I half expected him take out his inhaler from time to time.

I started to enjoy the film more when the characters moved on to Tangier and the story threads started to come into place. More often than not it felt like any other “Indy” movie.

Essentially what it boiled down to was a good old-fashioned race against time MacGuffin before the bad guys did with all the twists and turns, ups and downs, and character building you’d expect.. Once it got to Tangier things got a bit more enjoyable.

I do want to talk about one or 2 things about the ending. I thought it was just about a fitting way to end things with Indy.

” I need to do this”

“So do I”

It would have been silly for Indy to have stayed in AD214 but I can sort of see why he’d wanted to stay in history, having studied it his whole life. But no, back at home in his own time was always the right way to go.

It was nice to see classic characters, Sallah and Marion back to close the franchise out. I do have a slight bone of contention with the last scene though. The whole “where does it hurt” thing between Indy and Marion, an obvious nod to the scene in “Raiders”. I know why they did it that way, but the problem was I could see it coming from a mile off and I just found myself thinking… “I’ve seen this before“.

I was just glad in the end Marion didn’t point to her lips like Indy did in Raiders. It worked in that film but that is the risk you take when you nod so obviously to work you’ve already done.

In summary, this was not the best Indy film by any means. It’s a slow-burner adventure that I feel people will grow to enjoy more over time. I’m very comfortable giving it a 7 out of 10.

My thoughts on the finale of Star Trek: Picard

“Well, I was going to save this for a surprise some day, but no time like the present…”

Geordi La Forge

Geordi punches a few buttons.

Hanger 12 starts to open. The doors slowly reveal a ghost from the past.

I can feel my jaw drop. My heart starting to race. And if I’d let myself, I might have shed a tear. My past, my memories, and those of the TNG crew are slowly coming back.

Past meets present.  But not only does the camera pan lovingly around the ship like we’re looking at an antique.

They’d only gone and rebuilt Enterprise D. 

And then… no surely we wouldn’t…. but yes. My eyes were not deceiving me. The next thing we knew we saw the lovingly recreated Bridge of the Enterprise as it was as if it was the year 1987.

“Vox” was the ultimate in fan service for fans of The Next Generation (TNG). But that’s okay.  Fan service is fine if it’s expertly pitched. And it really was.

I recently wrote about Star Trek: Nemesis, what was to be the last “TNG” Star Trek Movie. And I stand by the comments I made about that film. I liked it for what it was. The last time we’d see the crew of that Generation as an assemble in the Enterprise E. The Death of Data and the parting of the ways seemed to indicate all of that to me.

And when “Enterprise” the TV show ended I felt like that was a something of a pause on Star Trek as a whole, at least the era as I’d known it.

And then sometime in 2018, I think it was, it was announced that Patrick Stewart would be returning to the role of Jean-Luc Picard to the delight of fans everywhere. I was overjoyed and I remember seeing cheers of joy on the videos of the convention where it was announced.

We were told however that this was not going to be a Star Trek reunion. That resolve lasted for a couple of years (give or take a Covid Break). By that time a veteran of the Star Trek Voyager days was handed the reins as showrunner and the daunting task of giving Star Trek: TNG a fitting closing chapter.

TL-DR…. I feel like he did the job.

Picard has always been a show that kind of “grew up” as the fans of the original show have done. In the age of video streaming and therefore free of censorship on the use of language and violent imagery it has done things I’d seen in no other Star Trek show. I loved TNG because there was none of that. Because it was good intelligent science fiction and it was television suited for everyone. I’m not sure you could say that about Picards Season 1 and 2. But you can, I think for Season 3.

I remember thinking as each episode rolled, “Please get this right”, “please serve the characters,” well. And I believe Terry Matalas hit the spot. I still don’t believe Swearing and heavy violence has a place in Star Trek, but the love that Matalas for TNG is obvious and makes up for so much of any complaints I might have had.

The third and final season is a clever arc that weaves in themes from all of the Prime sagas if you know where to look. The glimpse of Voyager at the Fleet Museum; Kirk’s body; Seven’s continued character development; the after-effects of the Dominion War (DS9), and of course the return of the TNG crew.

There are so many other stories that make the series watchable.

Watch Picard grow to accept the son he never knew he had.

Watch Picard’s friendship with Riker fracture and regrow. “Remove yourself from the Bridge, you just killed us all”

Watch Geordie struggle to go back to his old way of life one more time because now he has a family of his own to care for.

Witness the return of Data in a synthetic but more human, aged body, and how he uses his humanity and all his character development to overcome his evil brother, Lore.

Beverly is a serious player in this series. Watch her have more to do in this series than any of the movies combined.

And Riker and Deanna Troi have an interesting story arc as well as they learn to finally come to terms with the grief over their first child.

But, for me it’s all about “Big D”. I’ll never forget the moment I saw that ship fly one more time. The Trekkie in me was being reborn with each passing episode of Series 3, but “Vox” sealed the deal. If for nothing else, Terry. Thanks for that.

Star Trek: Nemesis – A retrospective

I don’t think I’ve seen this movie more than once it came out in the early 2000’s. Indeed as I sit down to finish this piece, I realise it really must be 2 decades since I watched it. There have been, to the best of my memory 13 Star Trek movies. And this one, barring a few scenes that stuck in my head, feels the newest to me. So I decided to have a look at it this morning.

“Nemesis” is the last movie to feature the “TNG crew” and I do remember it as being somewhat consequential. By the time the movie ends, the crew have gone their separate ways.  It might not have been set in stone that it was the last time any of these characters would appear in the Universe but at the time it felt like the end of an era. No longer would they appear as an assembled team under the same command

So it was a big moment in the Star Trek Universe.  After the cancellation of “Enterprise” there would be no new Star Trek on TV for some time.

So what did I make of it? After a take-or-leave-it beginning, with the crew enjoying a holodeck reception for Deanna Troi and Will Riker’s wedding, I think the movie finds its feet quite well. It wasn’t a fast-paced juggernaut like First Contact where our crew became action heroes, but it felt like it was just an expensive episode of TNG, following in the tiptoes of Insurrection the preceding move. And that’s very much a good thing. The TNG dynamic worked, perhaps with the actors all bringing in their “A game” knowing that this really might be the last time they work together for a Star Trek Production (No-one could have predicted Picard at this point)

Looking back through the lens of 20 years past a few things stood out. First, I had my “Oh my. That’s Alan Dale” moment as a Romulan Praetor. I didn’t recognise 24 and Prison Break actor Jude Ciccolella in his Romulan makeup. And with my Star Trek Picard hat on, I enjoyed the references to The Titan, which was Riker’s first official command. and the inclusion of the song “Blue Skies” reminds me of the opening scene in Picard. And it was a little reminder to me that the Titan for Riker was set in stone from the beginning as was the break up of the crew.

As far as the story goes, I always remembered thoughout the years that the movie got a bit of a kicking in terms of its critical acclaim. It was seen as a weak way for the TNG crew to bow out. Indeed, a quick search tells me it gets a 6.4 out 10 rating on IMDB and a 38% score on Rotten Tomatos. But I think it’s quite a strong story to go out on. You get a scary, and intimidating coup-d’etat in the Romulan Empire and a game of Cat and Mouse between the new regime over an idea that is at the core of what the Federation is supposed to be all about. Peace in the Galaxy. Is it a ruse or could there actually be peace between 2 of the most important races in the Star Trek Universe. What this movie gives us is a tangible hope that when the stakes get so high even the biggest enemies can come together and become friends. It’s a moment that nicely passes the Torch from one era to another. Along the way, the strength and durability of the Sovereign Class Enterprise is tested to its very limit.

What ultimately unites Humanity and Romulans is the crimes of a warring nation stain a race so much that the only reasonable course of action is the hand of friendship.

Data is one of the most loved characters in the history of the franchise. And he has now had 2 goodbyes. In Nemesis, he gives the ultimate sacrifice so that his friend lives instead of him. In Picard, we see him playing out, in theory at least, an old age death with the friend he gave his life for. Both of these were very human deaths and both I think could be argued were the ultimate way to round off his character arc. But I think Nemesis death was better than I remembered it. Both characters, Picard and Data are going to the final confrontation with Shinzon and have no intention of going back to the Enterprise. Picard is the captain going down with the Ship. Right away, Data is the insubordinate officer who can’t bear the idea of this, his emotions and ethical subroutines driving him to be the one who falls in the Scimitar.

Nobody wanted Data to die. Noone really wanted to see the TNG part ways the way they did. But there’s only so long the team could have continued the way they did, or Brent could have continued to play Data and this at the time was probably the best way they could see to close on Data’s story.

So that was it. Nemesis is I think a perfectly good Star Trek Story and one that gets picked up later on in Picard. If Data’s story is something that needed fixing, which is a common debate in Star Trek circles, then it is something that in my opinion is fixed in Picard. But I really do think on review the movie Nemesis and Data’s story stands on its own merit

How did Newcastle United get so good??

At the time of starting to write this piece, Newcastle United stood in 2nd place in the league, albeit with Arsenal and Man City circling with 2 games in hand.

It barely seems real that Newcastle are having the kind of season so far that hasn’t been seen since 2002; in the highest highs of the Sir Bobby Robson era.

Just a year earlier things were still looking very precarious indeed with the club, still under Eddie Howe, 2 months into the new ownership, and still looking for their second league win of the season.

Today we are the team with the most premier league wins in the calendar year. In 2022 Eddie has won us 21 of 35 games, with the team scoring 57 goals and conceding 31.

Let me contrast that with the stats before the 22nd of January 2021, the day of our away fixture with Leeds United.

We were sitting in 19th place on 15 points, having scored only 22 and conceded 45 goals, among the worst defences in the league.

And let me go back again to the record this season after 16 games. In that number of games, we have kept 8 clean sheets. With exceptions, we have tended to concede only 1 goal a game. And people said Eddie Howe could not organise a defence.

So obviously in less than a year things have drastically improved. And I wanted to get to the truth about why this has happened. Because a lot has been written about Newcastle as their place in the league has risen. People have taken notice and they have had their say. It’s great that this has happened and it’s something we may well have to get used to as the club keeps rising. But it does mean that too many people in my opinion have made it all about the money.

Now, this post is not a discussion on the ethics or lack thereof of the Newcastle United takeover. I’ve written a lot about that and I dare say will do so again.

But it’s inescapable that the takeover has been an obvious factor in our resurgence. We now have ambitious owners not just in terms of sporting merit. But this is an ownership and doesn’t want to stifle growth. Just the opposite in fact. They’re not doing it with an open chequebook. But they’re doing it with limitless plans for growth as an institution. And with that commercial growth comes a greater ability to compete with the best clubs in the world.

That will come in time of course, but what it brings in the interim is a united squad, staff and fanbase. This only adds to the chemistry of the team. That’s just one reason we are seeing improved performances across the whole of the squad.

So we have new owners. This apparently means that the players are performing with money as the motivating factor. The club is only improving because they have used money; actual legal tender to spend on players to improve their fortunes.

Well, congratulations Newcastle United. Congratulations on joining the rest of the premier league and spending in the transfer market. They’ve spent money.

The truth is any team can spend money. Most teams will spend within their means. Others will gamble and spend beyond their means. Up to now, Newcastle has done the former. And they have spent well. It’s okay to spend money but you have to get your recruitment right.

Yes, they have spent less than £200 million since the October 2021 takeover. The facts don’t lie. But let’s dig down into a little bit of the detail because this is important. The reason they have been able to spend the bulk of this is that they were left on a solid financial footing (one of the few benefits of the Mike Ashley era). This is how we were able, financially to buy the likes of Trippier, Chris Wood, Bruno Guimaraes and Dan Burn on the window, Botman and Isak in the summer and remain within FFP rules. Because what Mike Ashley didn’t do is grow the club commercially. At all. We’re at the mercy of what the balance sheet says.

That just about deals with most of the incomings. But what on earth has happened to the players that were already here? How have they managed to up their game in the last year?

For the answer to that, we need look no further than Eddie Howe. Oh my goodness me. There have been many times I have stepped back and thought, “how lucky are we to have this man at our club”?

This is a man who is absolutely obsessed with football. He has completely changed our mentality, our ambition, our belief, the way we train and the way we play. He represents us so well in the media. He is affable, and professional, he is grounded and you can see the pride he takes in being our manager.

It has been a joy to see the way he talks about our club and how that transmits to the players and the fans. In contrast to the previous manager, he’s not just here to tick along and hope for the best. He is here to compete and try to make sure we become the best. He has the will, the ability and the resources to slowly but surely help this club achieve anything it wants.

He has a plan from day 1 for each and every player in the squad. Everyone has been given a chance. And you can see that all the players buy into his vision.

Joelinton is the biggest example of this. He was a player bought for over £40m and bought for a role he has proved unsuitable for.

Eddie Howe wasn’t going to give up on him and his marshalling role in the midfield has been a key part in our revival. He’s always been capable of scoring goals, but his powerhouse role in the midfield has enabled him to reinvent himself and grow his confidence. He has not looked back since

Miguel Almiron was one of the most exciting signings in the Rafa Benitez era. He has never once lacked for effort and endeavour. But for the longest time he had trouble adding goals to his game on a regular basis.

He is another player who has improved since How started to manage him and his understanding with Bruno has helped with that. He’s added end product, bags of pace and a fabulous first touch.

So. Gaze your envious eyes at the apparent riches available to the club. I don’t deny that this obvious change in the landscape of the club is a factor. But before you fall for the “it’s all about the money” narrative, I only ask that you look a little deeper at the job Eddie Howe has done in what is still just a short time at the club.

Money isn’t everything. It has to be invested in the right way so far everyone involved has done just that!

Rediscovering Indy 2: Temple of Doom

“If you think I’m going to Delhi with you or any place else after all the trouble you got me into think again, Buster! I’m going home to Missouri where they never feed you Snakes before ripping your heart out and lowering you into a hot pit!”

Willie Scott lays down the law Indy in the closing scene

I mean, she was notoriously loud, mouthy, and annoying throughout the film but it’s hard to deny that on this, she has a point. She had just been through some pretty dark and horrific stuff.

Now at this point, I feel I must add a little content warning. Partly because of the horrific nature of the events I’m about to discuss but because I’m also going to talk about a film that I noticed has been marked out to have outdated attitudes, language, and cultural depictions that may cause offense”. And watching the film as I did last Saturday, it is not hard to see why. Actually, while I’m at it how was this film rated a 12??

“Temple of Doom” is not like any other Indiana Jones film. It doesn’t exactly follow the same formula as the others. It was the first one that I saw and I guess that’s the reason I have more fondness for it than any of the others. It is quite distinctive and I guess the fact it’s a prequel bears that feeling out.

My first memory of the film is seeing the shirtless figure of Harrison Ford as Indy on a small old telly, living where we did in Pity Me, Durham. It must have been the late 80’s or early 90’s. He was standing in the redness of the temple clearly at the time zoned out in the effects of the black sleep he was in. I think that’s where I first heard the name Indiana Jones but of course, I had no real understanding of what was going on. I think we had the film on a recorded VHS which must be why I had so much exposure to it from an early age. It was a film I had no business watching but it did become my first favourite action film.

Shorty! Where’s my Razor!

Indy

There’s a bit of a timeline anomaly going on with this film. It was the first Indy film I saw, the second one made but set before the first film. So I ended up comparing this one to the rest of them; whereas most would probably compare “Temple”, to “Raiders” and the rest.

And I guess if you’re watching it for the first time and you enjoyed what “Raiders” had to offer you’re trying to get a handle on what this film is trying to do. Is it an Indy film or a horror/action film that uses his name and image? It’s a while before we get to what the film is really about.

I guess we’re supposed to find “snake surprise” and chilled Monkey Brains for an Indian banquet funny. But there we find, I think, the outdated depictions I spoke about above.

Last Saturday I was going through all of that in my mind, and then I was suddenly struck with a thought. There was a director’s cut of the movie I had read about but never had before seen. One that in hindsight explains a few questions I had about a particular set piece. I’m referring to the sacrifice scene in the temple. And when I read what I read, I felt like I’d seen all cuts except this one. If I remember rightly the movie cut was released with the Blu-ray DVD set.

It won’t make much sense unless I describe it. So brace yourself.

In this scene, Indy, ShortRound, and Willie have stumbled across a Thuggee (I had to look this spelling up) ceremony in progress. There’s steam coming out from below, there are lit torches, a choir, scary Hindu effigies, and a cage. The Maharaja is revealed fully invested and part of the proceedings. Then, a man is brought out to be sacrificed. He is put into the cage, has his heart ripped out, and lowered into a firepit while still being alive. All this as a living offering to the Hindu God, Kali Ma. Of all the changes from the cut that I had heard about this was what I was most keen to seen to see.

We are going to die

Indy

I watch the scene play out. Bear in mind it’s a Saturday night, no lights on in the room and the sky is darkening. Everything plays out as I always remembered it. Mola Ram puts his hands on the victim’s chest and shows off the separated heart. The trio reacts to what they have seen. And then. The moment I had never been before. I saw for the first time the open wound closing up on its own, by whatever fictional black magic is being used.

This confirmed to me that this was the cut I had always wanted to see. But that was not even the “worst” of it.

Never before had I seen the full cut of the victim, being lowered into the pit quite understandably forgetting to pray to Shiva and screaming in increasing panic as he got too close to the pit. Never before had I seen the full cut of the victim becoming engulfed in flames and his body starting to burn. Never before had I seen the full cut of Mola Ram doing his incantations, the victim’s heart in his hands, surrounded by the flames of the fire the victim had been sent to.

This is not my idea of a swell time!!

Willie

So much more evil and intense than I had seen it before. I was unprepared for it and I was shocked. I believe I had even started shaking. I began to wonder how this was even allowed to be edited. But then, very quickly I realised I should not have been surprised at all. This is after all the same franchise in which we saw Bellock and the Nazi’s faces melted by the wrath of God when they opened the Ark of the Covenant. Or Walter Donavan falling foul or having drunk water from a false Holy Grail.

At any rate, the shocks from the director’s cut, which was shown by Sky Cinema do not stop there. There was more to be seen that I hadn’t ever considered had happened. Short Round got the whip from the Maharaja (which again I was shocked by) during the scene in which Indy is forced to drink the blood of the Kali. It does explain why the young boy ended up looking so tired and defeated in the scene. Indy was whipped more times than I first thought as well.

Now both of those scenes that I’ve described are terrifying situations of course. But when I wasn’t thinking about the horror of it I was thinking about how helpless and cornered Indy actually was.

We walk from here!

Indy

Indy was putting on a brave face by taunting Mola Ram about having a vivid imagination. But I think he knew he was defeated. And as much as he would not have wanted to, he would have to drink from the skull. He would try and resist of course because no sane and lucid person would want to be part of that evil. But he was basically cornered and struggling and in a very grim situation where it seems, there’s no hope of an escape. Spitting out the blood was a token gesture, perhaps merely for Short Rounds’ benefit.

That was Indy in that situation. The man we had seen beat the Nazis to the Ark of the Covenant (yes those events hadn’t happened yet in the timeline) but it’s sad to see him in such a tough spot. Any outs he had, had been taken from him. Any ideas he had about resisting what was happening were quickly proven to be fruitless. There was nothing he could do but fall to the forces of the worst evil I’ve seen in the world of film.

That’s all I really had to say. I have now seen “Temple of Doom” in the way it was meant to be experienced. And I can now see why over the years it has been cut and cut quite a bit to make sure more people can actually see it. But from my point of view, whether it’s for good or bad, it has almost infinitely increased its rewatch value, and if you have the stomach for it, I think it is worth watching.

Fortune and glory