Random thoughts

My attempts at writing a Sherlock Holmes story. Over the years I have enjoyed reading Sherlock Holmes stories and watching the various adaptations in television drama and Film formats.  The publication of the Stephen Fry readings of the Canon renewed my enthusiasm for all things Holmes. The Sherlock Holmes Canon read by Stephen Fry. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Fry's readings and found myself immersed in the world of Holmes for some months as I listened to it in its entirety.  From listening to the Canon, I was inspired to write the synopses of two short stories: one takes place during Holmes's time in Dartmoor during the 'Hounds of the Baskervilles' case and the other was a spin off story concerning what happened next to the student Gilchrist after being discovered as the cheat in the 'The adventures of the three Students' story.  Recently, I've managed to write a first draft of the 'Annals of Gilchrist' and was about to start collating feedbac...

An old review of the return of  Doctor Mysterio written for the 'Journey into the TARDIS' Facebook group. The return of Doctor Mysterio: First broadcast in the UK on the 25th December 2016. Directed by Ed Bazalgette. Written by Steven Moffat Starring Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, Matt Lucas as Nardole, Justin Chatwin as Grant and Charity Wakefield as Lucy. The Christmas special of 2016 was the only episode of Doctor who following the Christmas special of the year before: The husbands of River Song. As usual in a dry year of TV Doctor Who, I immersed myself in the spin offs: Big Finish and the tie -in novels. By late November 2016, my anticipation for a new episode of Doctor Who had reached fever pitch. My mind was full of questions: why Doctor Mysterio-wasn’t that what the show used to be called in Spanish in the sixties? Would this link into the episode or was it an enigmatic title to tease the audience with? How would Matt Lucas’s character Nardole fit in? Would he b...

 The time I defended Timelash in the Ark in Space Facebook page: My Guilty pleasure: ‘Timelash’ Timelash was first broadcast on the 9th March 1985. It was broadcast in two 45-minute episodes. It was written by Glenn McCoy and directed by Pennant Roberts. Timelash, sandwiched between two popular Sixie outings, ‘The two Doctors’ and ‘The Revelation of the Daleks’ has always been considered the poorest of the three bedfellows. Conventional wisdom has it that this tightly budgeted story with its hastily rewritten extra scenes, is at best thought of as something to watch once, at worst something to be embarrassed about: a story bedevilled by cheap sets and hammy acting. These two great albatrosses of criticism seem to circle around this particular story determined to send it to a watery grave. Critics point to the poor special effects of the Timelash itself; the acting choices by Paul Darrow; the filler scenes in the TARDIS and some of the poor creature effects to claim that this is w...

  Found this old review of Flatline featuring Peter Capaldi as the Doctor.  Thought I'd share: Flatline: Series 8 Episode 9. Featuring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor; Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald, Guest starring Jovian Wade as Rigsy and Christopher Fairbanks as Wade. Written by Jamie Mathieson (Being Human BBC version of Dirk Gently and various series 8-10 Doctor Who). Produced by Nikki Wilson (Produced various episodes of Who since 2008). Directed by Douglas Mackinnon (Sherlock, Outlander, Knightfall and several episodes of Doctor Who). First Broadcast: 18th October 2014 (UK). Capaldi, prior to Doctor Who, had been best known as foul mouthed spin Doctor Malcom Tucker, He took over the role of the Doctor in 2013, His eyebrows made a guest appearance in the 50th anniversary episode ‘The Day of the Doctor leading to many comments about attack eyebrows and the significance of this emphasis. Personally, I was relieved to be younger than the actor playing the Doct...

A piece of writing I wrote a while back for fun in response to a prompt in a Writer's Facebook group I belong to: Deepak Patel held the hand of his six-year-old daughter as they crossed the road. It was her birthday and her treat was a Mango Lassi at Saanvi’s Cafe. He didn’t see the car crawling slowly along behind him, he didn’t see the arm appear from the window nor the gun pointed at his head. His daughter screamed as the gunman blasted the contents of the gun at her father. He winced as the impact struck his face. Surprised, he was still breathing, he stuck a finger to his face peeling some of the substance off. He stuck the finger in his mouth. 'Hmm, fresh Cream. Delicious.’ 'Cut! barked a voice,' You’ve been captured on ‘McVie’s Owned: ‘YouTube’s most highly rated channel.’ Congratulations,' smiled the owner of the voice. Deepak Patel laughed partly in relief. His daughter, not fully comprehending, joined in. Breaking the fourth wall, Deepak Patel addressed t...