an accent to make you melt

Stone Rose audio book cover.

It is fair to say I’m a bit of a David Tennant fan. It can also be said that I simply adore a scottish accent.  I can listen to such an accent for hours on end. I’ve just spent a most enjoyable afternoon listening to The stone Rose a Doctor Who audio book.

It was released in 2006 so isn’t new, it is just that I’ve only acquired it recently. 

It is written by Jacqueline Rayner and the story is set, well, mostly set in ancient Rome. Of course with the usual and expected dollops of time travel you spend some time in the modern day and and 2375.  The tender moments between Rose and the Doctor warm your heart though the story is one of those you can almost see coming.  The title does that for a start. There were some cringe making moments as you just knew what was coming next and some “appropriated” themes for the sub stories – the midas touch, aladdin and the magic lamp.  At least the GENIE didn’t only grant 3 wishes, but the fact I was waiting for it sort of spoiled it.

Plot issues aside the thing that makes this a must listen to book is the narrator.  David Tennant read the book doing all voices.  It is a most lovely experience. He narrates in his own scottish accent which also adds to the experience. He has the intonation and speech patterns of Rose done perfectly. The accent I love the most is Rose’s mother Jackie’s. He doesn’t make the voices farcical but captures the character of each person in the story brilliantly.  I wish I’d had David to read me bedtime stories as a kid.

journey’s end

**Doctor Who spoiler alert**

I’m still so excited I’m not sure I can put these thoughts in any coherent order just yet so this may jump around a bit.

Firstly thank goodness all those James Nesbitt rumours were WRONG. It would have ruined it for me, so yay for wild speculation which turned out to not be true.

Alas poor Donna, not dead, but dead to the world of the Doctor. So sad for him and sad for Donna too but she won’t know what she’s missing. I think it will be hard on Wilf knowing and not being able to say anything. Good on the Doc telling her stupid mother what’s what.  Maybe she’ll ease up on Donna now.

Doctor Donna – delightfully nutty the Doctor and Donna sort of mashed up and reconstituted as two timelord/human hybrids. the constant babbling and gobbiness of Donna combined with the hyperactive gibberish of the Doctor was amusing though I have to say more than a few minutes might just get annoying.  Oooh, two Doctors, now there’s a twist.  How soppily romantic leaving the human version with Rose in her alternate world. Aww they can grow old and grey together. Once she’s made him a more compassionate less genocidal version of himself that is.  She got herself a bit of a bad boy Doctor to deal with and you just know she’d rather have had the one who’s had his edges softened a little.

I’m so pleased someone finally said it.  The Doctor just isn’t as all peace loving as he’d have you believe. Count the corpses in each episode folks.  He might not have putlled the trigger or detonated the bombs but he has an army of dedicated followers who do the deadly work for him.  How many have the time children killed?

OMG, who knew the tardis was designed for 6 pilots?  Insane! How fab to see it full of all his friends.  The minute they came together you just knew it couldn’t last.  The programme’s not big enough for all those egos in the same show fulltime. It was sad to see the Doc end up alone again but the extras had to be dispatched.  Oh how convenient sending Mickey and Martha off with Jack. Well he was needing extra help after the demise of Owen and Toshiko. I did think it was mean though, not letting Donna’s mother help – honestly – she’s not thst bad is she. Loved the hugs goodbye and particular Donna taking her opportuity for a grope of Jack, positively shoving Sarah Jane out of the way to move in on him. Have to feel sorry for her, she was the only person he didn’t flirt with all episode.

Exterminieren – German speaking Daleks – what a blast.  I love these little details.  Of course the Daleks speak many languages – why wouldn’t they.

So Davros appears to live on, no one wants to be responsible for killing him off. You just know that somehow a Dalek will return eventually and appart from the mind-wiped Donna no one of consequence is killed. A brilliant episode and fine final story from RTD.  The cast is intact and David’s hair will bounce back to entertain us again. Now the speculation over the the next companion can begin.

stolen earth or stolen moment

**Doctor Who spoiler alert**

Can you feel their pain? Finally at last, so close to the big reunion and some random Dalek is there to mess things up.  Well, as David said in DW Confidential, they’ve got to leave something for the second part don’t they.  I did love the ending, the fact that they got a few moments for a gentle caress, a chance to stare at each other.

As for the time children reunion – hmm – it had its moments but it was a little bit naff in places.  The childish jealousy of Rose was annoying.  Honestly, Donna is no threat and nor is Martha, they’ve both matured and want other things. The Doctor’s hearts belong to Rose.  Does she have to be so annoyingly insecure about it all?

Another Ianto and Jack moment – how delicious.  You can never have too much of that.  Ianto’s obvious jealousy that Jack met some soldier in a bar.  Jack’s “strictly professional” response has you thinking “yeah right”.  Must admit, I’m a little disappointed in Jack seemingly giving up so easily, hugging his friends and waiting to die. He just needs to toughen up.

UPDATE Just watched it through again. I’d forgotten the line “It’s like an alien facebook” – I like that. Actually as silly as that whole reunion piece was I guess they needed to get the introductions over and done with without complicated stories.

Oooh and did anyone in the UK try phoning or texting that number? 07700 900461

the girls are back

**Doctor Who spoiler alert**

If you’d told me that I’d enjoy a DW episode with barely any scenes with the Doctor I wouldn’t have believed you.

Last week’s single set episode had an air of money saving about it and this week’s “flashback fiesta” was a bit the same.  Money is being stashed away for the finale and it had better be good is all I can say.

I’d also been thinking that by the time Rose finally returned I’d have got fed up waiting but I hadn’t.  She was like a mini Doctor, adopting his habits and behaviours.

The fortune teller was seriously creepy, more than the bug on Donna’s back. That time beetle – looked like something out of a toy shop. I regretted that they showed us the whole thing to clearly in the end as it was just creepier and more suspenseful seeing only small snippets of it.

Another market scene – did that remind anyone of pompeii? It felt a bit samey. And I kept thinking it was earth.  The opening scene just didn’t register and it wasn’t till Donna was talking about time machines and aliens so freely – I kept thinking why is she saying that to someone on earth – but of course she wasn’t.

Flashback annoyance aside I did like the tie-ins with the spin-off series – the Torchwood reference and the Sarah Jane link. A mention of Ianto and Gwen – so much <3 so much sadness.  And then my mind wanders to Captain Jack…

At the end, Donna’s whole realisation that her life was insignificant compared to the survival of the world – I’m still struggling with that. It just arrived too quickly. It felt like the end of the episode was rushed. Even at the moment she realised she needed to jump felt too rushed. The interval between the realisation and the action was so brief and it is in a parallel world so she won’t take that with her. In her “Rose” world she’s gone from ignorance to mind blowing awareness and self-sacrifice but in the “Doctor” world she’s been on the journey of discovery and ading real world emotion and reality to the Doctor’s world. In my head I can’t reconcile the two Donnas.

So overall I really liked this episode despite the flashbacks and woefully too few shots of that fabulous hair.  This “Turn Left” episode is still messing with my mind. I can’t wait for the finale.