ValueSubtracted

I'm glad you enjoyed it - it's a new podcast to me, but I'm assuming they're going to save the Bombers-centric content for their other podcast, which is more Winnipeg-centric.

I'm super jealous that you're going to the big game...unless it's ridiculously cold, in which case...courage.

I'm glad the regular season is here.

I'm less than pumped that the Bombers are on the bye.

The Nova Squadron cadets are practicing a maneuver called the Boothby Supernova, named for the venerable Starfleet Academy groundskeeper, who perished in such a maneuver, as per “In the Flesh”.

To shreds, you say.

It's probably safe to assume that Gugu's character is unique in some way - a human hybrid or somesuch.

I do really like the redesign of the "traditional" Sea Devils. They look great.

Hey, new vanity shield! It's nice.

Radio Times: Doctor Who's Christopher Eccleston said Billie Piper should be the Doctor years ago

Yeah, my brain definitely made a connection that wasn't supported by the story.

I'm terrible at gauging whether an opinion is popular, but I'm chock-full of correct opinions, so here goes.

• The Timeless Child is basically fine, and served its function of injecting some new mystery and story hooks into the Doctor. RTD in particular has used it pretty effectively (read: sparingly), toying with the idea of the Doctor being a Foundling and embracing the Fugitive Doctor.

• The worst thing the show can do is bore me, so I can't get too mad at episodes like "Love and Monsters" and "Kill the Moon", because for all their flaws, they are not boring.

• I have no idea where the fandom eventually landed on Clara Oswald, but after her "recalibration" for "The Day of the Doctor", she was an all-time great companion. Danny Pink was good, too.

• This is broad, but internet culture seems to insist that everything has to be either the best thing ever, or the worst. Most things are actually pretty average - that's why it's called an average.

Now, on to yours, OP...

I LOVED the first series of both 12

"Listen"! "Time Heist"! "Mummy On the Orient Express"! "Flatline"! Great stuff.

and 13

Look, "Demons of the Punjab" is a Hall of Fame-level episode, as far as I'm concerned. "It Takes You Away" deserves recognition for its delightful weirdness. "The Woman Who Fell to Earth", "Rosa", and "The Witchfinders" are all good outings. I'm probably more willing to defend "Kerblam!" than many are.

Sunday was a bit of a spoiler minefield

A lot of it was driven by the BBC, too - normally, I would consider spoilers like that to be fair game to share, because if the production itself doesn't care, why should we? But this offended even my lenient sensibilities.

There were more emotional payoffs here than actually narrative ones

This is one of my favourite things about Doctor Who, really - the show often operates on emotional logic far more than, you know, logic-logic. Of course, that's a dangerous game to play, and there's a higher risk of a story doesn't quite land right with everyone, and...the more I think about it, the more that was probably the case for me with "The Reality War."

It was lovely seeing Anita again

I think it was intentional, but it was interesting that Anita was constantly sidelined by the narrative, kind of ignored by the other characters. A little heartbreaking, and I'm not sure what, exactly, the message is, but it did seem intentional to me. Also, I assume RTD had to write around Steph de Whalley's actual pregnancy?

And finally, a sitdown with Belinda in a new timeline where she’s now (and somehow always was) happily Poppy’s mum and the Doctor can wash his hands of paternity.

My initial reaction was that maybe this had been the case all season, and we had just been seeing the Doctor's altered memories, but...that doesn't really work at all, so never mind. It's a shame, too, because that could have been interesting.

The kid's manifesting - let's check back in 20 years.

I personally liked "Lucky Day", though neither of his Chibnall-era efforts are particuarly inspiring (it's also sometimes very difficult to separate the episodic writer from the showrunner). I'm really not familiar with his other work.

Oh.