And the woman who played the Matron also played Bridget Jones' friend Magda in the Bridget Jones Movies.

In terms of hiding places - I get the feeling that in spite of his occasional burblings about how wonderful the human spirit is, or how awful the things humans sometimes do that the Doctor does not really get humanity. If someone had pointed it out to him, he might well have chosen Paris, but since no one did point it out, it simply did not occur to him that Martha would suffer any special disadvantage in England over Paris. The doctor is smarter than humans the way you are smarter than cats and dogs. Just because he keeps pets, does not mean he can always predict the fine points of the species he happens to be fond of; even in areas where he theoretically knows how humans behave, he doesn't always feel it in his guts; he can miss stuff that would be really obvious to a human.

I am looking forward to the second half next week. One thing I hope to find out.

We can take it for granted that the Doctor survives in some form, and defeats the evil family. My question, at the end of the day, is whether there will turn out to have been any gain from hiding and going human. Any strategic or tactical advantage? Or will whatever means the Doctor uses to defeat the bad guys be something that could have been used without going through all this. I hope the writers did think of that.

Oh, and I caught a bit of FG again; normally I'd agree with Matt that non-renewable of Painkiller Jane put it out of our misery. But Flash Gordon makes Painkiller Jane seem like a work of genius by comparison.

Did the Doctor choose the time and the place? I thought that the TARDIS did all of that.

Isn't the Doctor more or less steering the Tardis these days?

Really? I still get the feeling that somethings the TARDIS decides on her own.

Sometimes? sure. But mostly the Tardis goes exactly where the Doctor points her. The end of the world. Multi-times New New York. Canonically the Tardis is a living being. Sometimes the Doctor will give the Tardis her head (or loose parameters). Sometimes the Tardis won't follow orders. But mostly the Tardis goes where the Doctor tells her to go. (I'm assuming the Tardis is female, just cause the Doctor favors female companions. But of course there is no reason the Tardis necessarily has a gender.)

But didn't the Doctor say that the TARDIS creates the history and if Martha was close enough would include her in the periphery? (Or something of the sort.)

Good lord, ita - the Tina Turner hair was...well, I wouldn't have recognised you.

The 80s. I shudder to even contemplate what my hair looked like in 1985. Not good. And there were probably amusing glasses too.

Ick.

I didn't know that Jane was writing for Eureka and BSG! Nice one!

(I have nothing to add to the Who discussion other than envy. Still no sign of Season 3 on the DVD stalls here in Bangkok. Can't be too much longer, though, surely...)

Canonically the Tardis is a living being.

I did not know this. How interesting!

Typo Boy, I think you're right about how the Doctor doesn't always quite "get" humans. That's a good point. Though, really, it would be stranger if he did; he is an alien after all.

And the woman who played the Matron also played Bridget Jones' friend Magda in the Bridget Jones Movies.

Wow, I didn't know that.