Forget the Large Hadron Collider: there are scarier things afoot right here in the heart of Suffolk. If you hear news of a black hole yawning open a few dozen miles northeast of Ipswich, it was only me, trying to reheat a baked potato. (Hint: steer clear of the lower-leftmost button, the one that says “Chaos Defrost”.)
Push the button: Not just heat, but TURBO heat
Part of the fun of staying with someone else’s family for Christmas is working out the alien gadgetry. When it transpired that the serving of Christmas dinner was going to coincide precisely with the season finale of Dr Who, I failed utterly in convincing the ancient VCR machine (remember those?) to record. It wasn’t my fault, though: it seems the cat had taken to napping on top of it and crucial cables had been removed to forestall any unwanted electrocutions. But I did just about manage the male-oriented corkscrew, and aced all the female-safe white goods, including the breadmaker. The cooker was a bit of a bother: I loathe halogen burners, and it’s hard enough to get a turkey done to perfection without the oven temperature running about five degrees cooler than advertised.
Still, it wouldn’t be Christmas without a few tears before port and Stilton. I hope you all had a good one, and managed not to set your in-law’s kitchens on fire with the Christmas pudding.
It’s clearly a British microwave (note the ‘Auto Reheat’ button – specifically for Curry and Chinese). How do ‘Meat Joints’ differ from other ‘Meat Items’?
And Jenny, don’t fret: Dr. Who is on i-tunes. How on earth would I watch it otherwise? It’s just a slightly longer wait…
Hope you can keep resisting the urge to press ‘Chaos Defrost’. Not sure I’d be strong enough not to try..
“Turbo reheat” also looks like a tempting button to push. Try that one!
Yes, it seems designed specifically for British males of a certain age.
Personally, I was quite tempted by the ‘micro power’ setting, which is, incidentally, not the same as the straight microwave setting. Micro power…could it be for teeny tiny microportions?
Oh, given the choice between Christmas dinner and Dr Who, I’m afraid we threw tea towels over everything and watched the episode. It was brilliant. I"m going to miss David Tennant when he ‘transforms’ next season.
Oh, splendid. I was afraid you might have put food first.
‘Regenerates’, Jenny. But you knew I’d say that …
Dope. I’m American, I can translate it any way I want.
“It was brilliant.”
No it wasn’t.
SPOILER COMING UP!!! More than one, in fact!
Avert eyes now if you don’t want major plots of Christmas Dr Who or last episode of previous season being spoiled!
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Why didn’t the guy’s memory have to be wiped, like Donna’s, after he absorbed all that time lord knowledge? I though that wasn’t supposed to be compatible with human brains? My pathetic human brain remembers that much of the preceding season. I hate discontinuity.
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End of spoiler.
Well, we don’t know what happened after Christmas dinner…
But Jenny, you act so English.
Well, we don’t know what happened after Christmas dinner
Christmas pud, one hopes.
Christmas pud with a side of mindwipe.
Who are you?
(wait, wrong SF trope…)
Hahahahaha. I hope everyone is still paying attention at home!
oh.. _that_’s what a British micro looks like. I was in awe when I got my first American apartment and the micro was on top of the oven, with lights and fan incooperated. I’d never seen that before. Of course, it meant that I didn’t know how to clean the fan (you know, with all the grease from cooking on the proper stove). I wondered for a while if that was a give away… you knwo, “we use the micro not the actual stove” ;)
oh.. _that_’s what a British micro looks like. I was in awe when I got my first American apartment and the micro was on top of the oven, with lights and fan incooperated. I’d never seen that before. Of course, it meant that I didn’t know how to clean the fan (you know, with all the grease from cooking on the proper stove). I wondered for a while if that was a give away… you knwo, “we use the micro not the actual stove” ;)Good wishes for the rest of the holiday season. I am yet to learn if English has an expression for “the time after Chrismas day but before the Christmas holidays are out”. In Swedish “God Fortsattning”, aka “Merry times until the tree is thrown out after 12 days of Christmas”.
oh.. _that_’s what a British micro looks like. I was in awe when I got my first American apartment and the micro was on top of the oven, with lights and fan incooperated. I’d never seen that before. Of course, it meant that I didn’t know how to clean the fan (you know, with all the grease from cooking on the proper stove). I wondered for a while if that was a give away… you knwo, “we use the micro not the actual stove” ;)Good wishes for the rest of the holiday season. I am yet to learn if English has an expression for “the time after Chrismas day but before the Christmas holidays are out”. In Swedish “God Fortsattning”, aka “Merry times until the tree is thrown out after 12 days of Christmas”.[ignoring the spoilers of Dr Who.]
Did you get to see the Christmas Special of Dr. Who? None of the channels that I have in my little corner in Baltimore showed it… I can’t get it at iTunes. Is their another way?
Ahaha. When you open it, does it say, “Would you like to play a game?”
Christ, on second thought, that’d be the best April Fool ever.
Asa, your comment looks like it’s been through the Tardis. We don’t have an expression for the between Christmas and New Year period, though it would be a great game to make some up.
“Flaccid needle-drop to you, good neighbor!”
Kausik, the Christmas special is what we were talking about. I thought the BBC iPlayer service was not available outside of the UK (though I could be wrong), so I don’t know how else you can see it until it’s syndicated or put on DVD.
The Dr Who 2008 Christmas special is now on YouTube.
I thought Asa probably hit preview several times and reworded her comment, and somehow it all ended up in a jumble. I’ll be nervous now about rewording and previewing my comments too many times after seeing that.
In German, you call the days between Christmas and New Years the ‘days between years’ (‘die Tage zwischen den Jahren’). Somehow, that expression has always made me feel uneasy, like being in a timeless space…
Steffi, that’s a lovely turn of phrase. I might have to start using it. I love the way German always seems to have a way to pinpoint the intangible.
I watched Dr Who, as usual, en famille but didn’t think it was much of a hit. I find Tennant’s wide-eyed wonder a bit wearing at times and miss Catherine Tate, the best side-kick in a long time! Definitely time for regenerfreshment.
Jenny> something was up… .and it wasn’t lumps of coal ;)
Steffi> i didn’t preview, maybe that was my mistake though.
Sorry about the longest repetetive comment. Merry “continuum” :)
Åsa, that makes it even weirder (how on earth was the text saved if you didn’t preview?). It’s funny to see someone’s thoughts developing like that, actually!
More like evolution than intelligent design. ;-)
I know that’s how I write, anyway!
I find Tennant’s wide-eyed wonder a bit wearing at times
Steve, you’re just jealous because you’d love to play the Doctor yourself. Just as we would all like to play his female sidekicks.. :)
I really like David Tennant in the role, and will miss him, but I’m wondering if they’ll ever have a female Doctor with a male companion?
Our microwave looks like this.
This is what Mrs Gee means by ‘your dinner is in the dog’. Just getting reheated, that’s all.
I’d hate to see her in ‘chaos defrost’ mode!
resists making ‘Snow Queen’ comment
damn
SPOILERS HERE.
I “had” to watch the Dr Who xmas special and thought it poor – pretty rubbish actually. I suppose Eva’s question is answered by the fact that the guy did not actually become a Time Lord and absorb all the knowledge, rather he just looked down that timescape telescope thingy – I think to become a Time Lord you have to go all blue and flashy with loud music, don’t you? I dimly recollect this is what happened to Catherine Tate at the end of the last series, before she flipped back to what passed for normality in her character.
I have never much liked David Tennant as I first saw him as Barty Crouch Jr.
However, he redeemed himself somewhat in my eyes as a pretty good Hamlet. Bit too self-aware of his own charm, when playing Dr Who, I suspect. (Bit like the whole series? A bit too aware of its own success?)
By the way, I meant to mention above that Ruth Wilson and her UK women in science and engineering group have had a Facebook campaign going on for a while for a woman Dr Who – you can vote for who you want in the role.
Oh, what an excellent idea. Thanks for the tip-off, Maxine.
I’d love to see Hamlet, but apparently he’s done his back in?
I’d hate to see her in ‘chaos defrost’ mode!
Who? Mrs Gee or the dog? Just asking.
Sorry, I can’t accept that this Tennant life-form is the real Dr Who… Those as old as me will understand that the only true Doctor is Tom Baker – complete with hat, scarf and wild gaze…
I once collided massively (not in a Hadron sense…) with him as I walked around a corner in Shaftesbury Avenue – and rebounded off this immense figure in a tweed overcoat talking on a mobile. I apologised, to be rewarded with a sweeping gesture of forgiveness and a booming call of “Not at all my dear fellow, my fault entirely…”
I also collided with actress Julie Christie once – but that is entirely another story…
@ John – I agree, Tom Baker is the real Dr. Who. Just not the same without the scarf.
Oh I thought Sylvester McCoy did a pretty good job.
Um, not.
FYI, Matt
BrownSmith announced as new Doctor WhoFirst impression: he’s going to have to work hard to live up to it.
He is young ;)
At the very least, those interested heard about this first on NN =)
Smith who will become the eleventh, and youngest, incarnation of the Time Lord was unveiled during a special episode of Doctor Who Confidential on BBC One.
Doctor Who Confidential Don’t know if this BBC link will work outside the UK but it should.
BTW, Richard Grant, no, not THE Richard Grant makes an appearance around 37.10 minutes in.
only true Doctor is Tom Baker – complete with hat, scarf and wild gaze…
A question that there is no doubt on:
The only Doctor’s Patrick Troughton.
Time Lords are of course ageless. I do think the Beeb missed an opportunity to go for a big change. I couldn’t see a black TL as that would look like imitating Obama. Female? Do they have sex(es)? I can’t remember there ever being a female TL in previous episodes – ah wasn’t there a “Time Lady” (Romana?) in the late 70s, or was she just another female companion?
@Brian, you are correct on Romana.