The perfect way to relax. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e59guruVL4o

Yesterday finished The Lord of the Rings. Today finished the appendixes to The Return of the King. Quite incredible how much Tolkien put in, down to the Kings of Numenor, the languages, Shire years, and the line of Durin. Some time should read Unfinished Tales, The Children of Hurin and the 12 volumes of the History of Middle-Earth.

Mummy on the Orient Express. Decent. It had an excellent opening. Foretold was good foe and idea. Understand why BBC had to move this to later timeslot. Also liked how rather then dragging out the Mummy killing people the set-up is experiment to discover more on Mummy, which reminded me of Alien. Frank Skinner as Perkins was quite amusing. And I'm sure Foxes singing helped garner interest. Again the Doctor shows his harsh needs of the many nature rather then obsessing over saving people, leading to the usual tension with Clara. I rather like this Anti-Hero quality, the Doctor saying sometimes harsh choices are needed. But some of this episode felt a bit odd as last week Clara was really angry with the Doctor and now seems fine, making this episode feel like it should have been elsewhere in the series. And some of Clara's dialogue with the Doctor at beginning and end awkward. But overall the episode is gripping with the Agatha Christie/Horror Movie style, despite feeling slightly misplaced.

With Sci-Fi and Fantasy Society at Royal Holloway saw Frozen. Now I know what my cousin is singing about. It was quite a good film. Let it go is quite an Ear Worm. And like how Elsa is a Princess (which I meant in a Machiavellian sense) who remains chaste. Felt comparisons to the X-Men. And like that the song Let it Go revels in applicability. However when mentioning Arendelle it kept making me think of Earendil the Mariner Elf. Great film. And a decent twist. Found Oaken and Olaf amusing.

Good article for Bond fans. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/jamesbond/9698081/Fans-notice-24-mistakes-in-new-James-Bond-film-Skyfall.html

Kill the Moon. Well that was certainly quite multi-layered. Throughout this series we have seen more of the darker side of the Doctor. After the light-heartedness of last week we get a quite different story. It feels more adult, with the language and the morally complex story. It is realistic that humanity would choose their survival. The Doctor's actions lead to more strain, with him leaving the humans behind and as usual Capaldi gives a great performance. Spiders decent monster. Courtney puts aside the arrogant nature of last week and we see more character, as she is scared and debating on killing the creature. But scientific oddities, like the idea of the moon being an egg. That is literally a Super Friends plot. And the hatching creature laying another egg seemed a slight cop out. But ending was good. Finally we see Clara realise more the difficulties of travel with the Doctor. And she leaves TARDIS by own will, something that hasn't happened to a main companion for seven years.

Got round to watching The Caretaker. The funny story of the Series. It had some predictable tropes, like a hilarious misunderstanding the Doctor had about Clara's boyfriend. And the awkward moments. Skovox Blitzer felt underused. I suppose this is understandable and better then the use of the Cybermen in Closing Time. I can often find children annoying in these shows but it was amusing seeing Courtney's (wonder if that name reference to Nicholas) reaction to seeing the stars. It was amusing when Danny used the watch of Gyges to get into the TARDIS though. The antagonism between him and the Doctor certainly enables Capaldi the opportunity to do some great acting. He does have great comic timing. The PE Teacher joke did seem a bit wearing at times, as does the Doctor's dislike of soldiers. Still, like the character of Danny. And liked the ending, with the Policeman arriving in the afterlife. I know the title Nethersphere will be important. Not among the best comic episodes but decent.