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The Bottom Line: "Great"

The Doctor: "I use my own special technique".
Klieg: "Oh really, Doctor. And may we know what that is?"
The Doctor: "Keeping my eyes open, and my mouth shut".

Yeah, right. If there's one thing about The Doctor that's true that what he might lack in violence is more than made up in his ability to chatter for 27 planets. I'm surprised we haven't encountered an episode where he talks the bad guys into submission but as Second Doctor tales go, I like this one a lot.

Because I haven't seen the previous serial, I'm in the position of having to get use to Victoria becoming a travelling companion with The Doctor and Jamie. Her disbelief about the TARDIS' abilities to fly and travel through time are funny but if she thought she was misfortunate enough to encounter Daleks, then her luck takes a further bad turn with the Cybermen.

The episode is called "The Tomb Of The Cybermen" and an expedition on Telos soon encounter a set of metal with Cybermen drawn on them. The episode in that sense isn't playing subtle but it's the expedition people and the TARDIS crew are drawn together to help each other.

Naturally because The Doctor appeared out of nowhere, the expedition mistrust him but thankfully it's not something that's too dwelled on when they manage to get inside one of the biggest tombs. Perhaps playing to the traditional association with many companions, Victoria isn't exactly rearing to go inside the dangerous tombs.

Logically you can't blame her but it's a bit annoying. Thankfully this serial does give her some good material as well to work with. For instance, The Doctor takes a rather instant mistrust to Kaftan and instructs Victoria to watch her. Kaftan proves her untrustworthiness when she drugs the poor girl.

Of course the attack of a Cybermat and a good scream soon gives Victoria an upper hand of sorts. It also helps that Jim and Hopper are around too. One of the interesting things in this episode was Victoria anxiously trying to counter Hopper's mild sexism at every turn. Not that you can blame because it did lead to some funny moments in the serial.

However one of the best things about the entire story was Victoria's scenes with The Doctor. Disbelief over the TARDIS' abilities is one thing but Victoria getting some insight about The Doctor's age and his family life was another. Its little scenes like this that remind you just how the domestics could come into play.

There's also a good moment where Victoria discusses her family. After all, her father was murdered by Daleks and she clearly hasn't forgotten about that. The Doctor telling that in time she'll put it to the back of her mind does make sense though. Plus there's plenty of actual danger to keep her focus in this episode.

The biggest danger being the treachery of Kaftan and Klieg, who very early in the story had planned to separate The Doctor, Victoria and Jamie. It was even Kaftan who locked everyone down the hatch and Klieg who stupidly enough woke the Cybermen from their very long slumber.

These two aren't exactly the most stunning of villains and their stupidity regarding the Cybermen is extraordinary. If this lot had done their research, they would've realised that the Cybermen couldn't be trusted and also do not take orders. The fact that Cybermats were sent around should've also emphasised that point.

Instead Klieg still tries to reason with them. The first he does this, he nearly ends up being under their control and despite being rescued by The Doctor and company, the treacherous buffoon refuses to see to reason. Some people just can't be told, huh?

For a bit, Klieg does have the advantage of using a Cybergun to get the Cyberleader to obey him but having Kaftan's servant Toberman under their control soon breaks that. Surprisingly while Kaftan is killed in such a violent manner, it takes way too long for Klieg to meet his sticky.

We even have to tolerate a scene where he incessantly goes on about being a supreme ruler and while it does get The Doctor to realise he's unhinged, it's a bit long in the tooth for my liking. At least one of the Cybermen actually does us the courtesy of killing him while Toberman snaps out of it to help the expedition and the TARDIS crew escape.

As Cybermen stories go, this one is suitably chilling with some nice jumpy moments even if the controller does sound a little Disco Stu at times. The ending is surprisingly bleak as well and there's something very pointed about The Doctor not wishing to predict whether or not the Cybermen are actually dead. That's very wise, given that along with the Daleks, this lot are never dead for very long.

Also in "The Tomb Of The Cybermen"

I loved the direct continuity to the last serial because it's not something we always get during this time in the old series.

The Doctor (to Victoria): "Well, if we count in Earth terms I suppose I must be about
400... yes, about 450 years old! Yes. Well. Quite".

Is this first time in the old series that The Doctor has referenced his age? How old would he be in Gallifrey terms?

The Doctor: "You look very nice in that dress, Victoria".
Victoria: "Thank you. You don't think it's a bit, uh-."
The Doctor: "A bit short? Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. Look at Jamie's".
Jamie: "What? Oh, aye!" Kaftan: "We better stick close together".
Victoria: "I'm alright thank you".

Anyone else think that Kaftan looked quite a lot like Barbara because I did for at least the first episode of this story?

Victoria: "I didn't like that very much, Doctor".
The Doctor: "I don't expect you did. Perhaps it'll teach you to be a bit more careful in future".

Cybercontroller (to everyone): "You belong to us. You shall be like us".

This is the only serial featuring Deborah Watling, to exist completely. Maybe one day, the rest of them will be found.

The Doctor: "The power cable generated an electrical field and confused their tiny metal minds. You might almost say they've had a complete 'metal' breakdown".
Jamie: "Oooh!"
The Doctor: "I'm so sorry, Jamie". Victoria: "You probably can't remember your family". The Doctor: "Oh yes, I can, when I want to, and that's the point really. I have to really want to - to bring them back in front of my eyes. The rest of the time they sleep in my mind, and I forget. And so will you. Oh yes, you will. You'll find there's so much else to think about, to remember. Our lives are different to anybody else's. That's the exciting thing! Nobody in the universe can do what we're doing".

This story had the working titles of "The Ice Tombs of Telos" and "The Cybermen Planet". The Doctor: "Jamie, I hope you made those ropes secure". Jamie: "Oh, the king of the beasties himself could nae get out of that one". The Doctor: "Jamie, remind me to give you a lesson in tying knots sometime".

This was released on DVD back in 2002 and features a commentary from Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling.

"The Tomb Of The Cybermen" is a success in bringing back the devious race from Mondas and definitely one of the most enjoyable romps. The ending is different from other serials as well, giving it a bit more bite too.

The Bottom Line: "Good"

Porter (re Anne): "Mr Schilling can't find out, he's violent. He'll totally kill her".
Lynette: "Well then, you've put her in a very difficult position".

While the last thing we needed as an audience was yet another young man/older woman dynamic, I should at least point out that this show is trying to do something a little different this time with the well worn plot.

Okay so that won't make a lot of people care because I'm not even sure I actually care about the plot. Porter is hardly on the levels of interesting that Andrew was at sixteen years of age but clearly the writers like Charlie Carver enough to give Porter a meaty plot while Preston, Parker and Penny are absent.

Revealing his affair with Anne is nicely handled though. You've got Lynette all rearing to leave Tom because she's convinced that he's the one sleeping with the realtor. She even gives Tom a chance to explain himself and when he behaves so nonchalantly, she's fit to kill him.

To be honest this should've been the first major hint to Lynette that Tom wasn't cheating on her. After all, this is the kind of bloke who'd make up lame excuses and perhaps 'blame' Lynette if he ever strayed. He's not the kind of man who'd brag about it so casually.

So bragging about Porter losing his virginity might be stupid but Lynette can at least rest assured that Tom isn't screwing around on her. Of course when she realises that it's Porter who's doing Anne, the look on her face would indicate that she would've preferred if it had been Tom doing the nasty.

The usual amount of arguments take place upon this reveal with Tome thrust in the role of mediator between Lynette and Porter. The basics include Porter being dumb enough to think that Anne and Lynette desperate for him to end their relationship. Then there's some stuff about Anne having an abusive husband to make us feel for her but I'm not sure I do.

I'd never advocate domestic violence but what Anne is doing to Porter is pretty bad even if I do find the character pretty bland. Tom doesn't really do much else to deter Porter's relationship with the realtor so it's Lynette who has to go into Mama Bear mode. It's just a pity that Anne isn't easily deterred.

Now if I were Anne, I would actually be scared of Lynette. The cops would be a Godsend compared to the kind of fury she could bring on you. Plus I did somewhat cheer when Lynette smacked Anne around in the bathroom. It's a nice little reminder that you just don't mess with the woman.

Unfortunately Anne's not only stupid enough not to back off but she also tells Porter that she's pregnant, giving viewers another unwelcome storyline. Most of us tend to prefer the Scavo kids to be seen and not heard as opposed to them dominating proceedings. However I am willing to bet that Anne is possibly lying or if she is actually pregnant, it's her abusive husband that's the father.

Either way there's a nice little where Porter does actually look like he realises that Lynette has his best interests at heart. It's still not enough for him to stop from running away with Anne but chances are, they probably won't get very far either. Most run away attempts on this show tend to fail anyway.

Now if you could positively run away from another person, then creepy Virginia would be a prime candidate. There was something unhinged about her last week and this week she quickly ups the ante by trying to buy her way into the Solis family's affection.

Gabby doesn't exactly make things easy as well by deliberately taking advantage of Virginia's 'kindness' either. While I never liked her material side, it's always been part of Gabby's parcel and so seeing her lapping up the luxury of the lonely woman's house is hardly shocking.

Of course Gabby should realise by now that there's always a price and Virginia is clearly someone who wouldn't give anything away for free. Allowing the Solis's to stay in her mansion is one thing but getting into a bed with Gabby and Carlos to watch a family movie is definitely another.

Naturally such an actions freaks Gabby out but it's only when Virginia gets Juanita and Celia to call her Grandma does Gabby actually do something about it. That being said, Gabby could never directly convey her concerns in a dignified manner so trying to get rid of Virginia at Celia's birthday party is her solution.

This leads to a public spat between the two women and to be honest, both of them come with valid points. Gabby had no problem taking advantage of Virginia's wealth and also had no genuine interest in actually befriending the woman. Virginia also overstepped some serious boundaries but at the end, I will side with Virginia.

The only reason I will side with Gabby is because Virginia goes too far in the end by trying to get Carlos fired from the country club when it's her behaviour that's the more indecent of the bunch. After all she was the one who got off on his magical touch.

Which lead to the other thing – Carlos knew it was a bad idea to socialise with Virginia outside of their massage sessions and yet he still did. I know its Gabby that wears the pants in the marriage but Carlos really should've stuck to his guns at the start. It also didn't help later on when he showed reluctance to disengage from the needy woman either.

And when it comes to neediness, is there a woman any more needy than Susan? The answer is probably no but the Susan we've getting this season is trying to be the antithesis of her former self by trying to think before carrying out her actions. As per usual, this change in her behaviour is supposed to be for the benefit of her love life because apparently being a single parent and a writer aren't interesting enough plots to merit their own storylines.

I like Jackson I really do but it would be nice to see Susan with a career related arc just for a change. Perhaps learning more about Jackson's own artistic streak could spark an interest in her writing that 'adult' book once mentioned in the second season.

As for the Jackson story, Susan wants to take things slow so she decides not to sleep with him until the fourth date. Of course this slightly frustrates Jackson more than the amount of trivia that Susan expects him to know about her but it's nice that the writers don't make Jackson a jerk when trying to convey his desire to get some.

There's also the plus side that not sleeping with Susan means his artistic block is suddenly. Now he can actually paints beautiful pictures and when Susan does decide to put out, he gets more into drawing her than sleeping with her. It's also quite nice how Jackson gives a good insight into Susan as a person which to me means the writers really do want to keep Gale Harold on for as long as they can.

Having Susan paired with Jackson is good and seemingly no-one has a problem with it, so why then is the pairing of Mike and Katherine supposedly deemed a bad thing? I'm not saying that I'm shipping them as a couple but neither of them are doing any harm to anyone so where's the problem?

Bree talks about loyalty to Susan and while I can't see the latter not jumping for joy when she finds out about Mike and Katherine, I have to ask, is it really Susan's place to dictate their love life? As far as I'm concerned the answer to that question is another whopping no. Mike and Katherine won't last as a couple but as plots go, it's far from terrible either.

The discovery of Mike and Katherine as a pairing via a sex tape in the bakery is a good move. After all, Bree and Orson were convinced that it was their after hours hanky panky was the source of former employee Charlie's blackmail. How relieved were they when it turned out not to be them.

I know I objected to Orson working in the business with Bree and Katherine but two episodes in since he joined, I'm sorely tempted to revoke my reluctance for this plot. Bree and Orson actually work well as a team and Katherine doesn't go around acting like Federico from Six Feet Under, grunting and groaning about her position in the business. With any luck we can further dodge that pitfall.

As for Karen and Roberta, these two make for a wonderful team themselves. They're both snarky and they know that Dave is a bad one. It's just that they need to be more devious when calling people like Dr Heller. Even though they nearly got into big trouble, at least they realised that Dave's a Nutjob.

If Dave's little flashes of anger are anything to go by, then we definitely know he's up to no good. Terrorising Karen aside, this is the same man who's now subjected us to a pretty lame garage band led by Tom. I should point out a lame garage band that will now be playing Battle Of The Bands to boot as well. Thanks a lot, Dave.

Also in "What More Do I Need?"

The opening sequence was dedicated to the Scavos with Lynette ready to kill Tom but he obviously lives for another day.

Lynette (to Tom): "You know what? I have to kill you now".

In lieu of Charlie, Orson apparently hired a girl with a strict background to work in the catering business.

Mike: "Just get lives".
Dave: "Whoever she is, just have fun".

Carlos (re Virginia getting into the bed with them): "Did she just?"
Gabby: "Oh yeah".

I wonder how or why Virginia has become estranged with her family. She certainly didn't seem to have a problem sharing that bit of information with Gabby and Carlos.

Orson: "We're quite the team".
Bree: "The best part is we get to see each other all the time".

Carlos: "You had to stay for the lobster".
Gabby: "Hey, you had some melted butter on your bib too".

I'm not sure why the episodes nowadays seem to have Bree in her glasses all the time but it works quite well.

Andrew: "Wow, so carte blanche?"
Orson: "Within reason. We are not condoning arson or violence".
Bree: "Orson, don't crimp the boy's style".

Susan: "Jackson, look at me. I'm tipsy, I'm horny. I'm easier than a five year's old homework".
Jackson: "I'll call you tomorrow".

Isn't it a bit silly of Katherine to 'condemn' kitchen sex when it was her and Mike who were caught on camera?

Roberta: "Yeah, back to the drawing board. Can I Irish that up for you?"
Karen: "It's noon somewhere".

Andrew (to Bree/Orson): "Just so you know, I am never eating anything out of that kitchen ever again".

Edie was hardly in this episode at all, except for one measly scene where she had pastries.

Katherine: "Having sex in the kitchen where food is prepared. What kind of demented slut would do that?"
Bree: "I said let's not dwell on it".

Chronology: Exactly five minutes from where "There's Always A Woman" left off.

"What More Do I Need?" asks some interesting questions about desires so some of the stuff here is pretty relatable – companionship, love, etc but it's not something that the show hasn't done before so I can see why some viewers might not be moved by certain plots.

Probably Meaningless, Maybe Even Pointless, But Definitely Unnecessary.

Hey there.

I'm back from Germany. It was fun, except for the losing bit. But I don't really care about that.

We got back really late yesterday, and I was exhausted, so I overslept this morning. So I missed the lectures at College. But I don't really care about that.

Okay, that was pretty much all I've wanted to tell you. But I can't leave it like this, it looks a bit poor. I could do a quiz to spice it up a little. I really should do one. I'm gonna look for one.

Be right back.

Okay I found one:

Honestly, ...

... are you in love right now? Ummm...no, not really.

... what color are your eyes? Blue-greenish.

... what's on your mind right now? I don't think there's anything, there's just blur. lol

... what are you doing right now? Seriously? You don't know? At all? Not the slightest idea? Your loss...

... what did you do today? Sleeping, annoying a certain someone on tv.com, working, and watching TV.

... have you done something bad today? Define bad. Muwahahaha!!!

... do you watch Disney channel? We don't get Disney Channel here, and even if we did, probably not.

... are you jealous of someone right now? I could say no, but that'd be a lie.

... what makes you happy most of the time? Playing hockey.

... do you bite your nails? Nope.

... what is your mood right now? Christmassy.

... who do you want to see at this very moment? There's someone, but I'm too embarrassed to say. HAHA Only kidding. LOL

... do you have a deep dark secret? If I told you it wouldn't be a secret anymore, would it?

... do you hate someone right now? Well, I don't exactly hate her, it's more of a dislike.

... who/what do you want to hug right now? Penny?

... do your wrists hurt? No, should they?

... are you in denial? No. HAHAHA

... wouldn't you rather be having sex right now? No comment. LOL

... is it easier to talk on Myspace than in person? I don't know. I don't have myspace. But in general, it is a bit easier to say things to a person when you're not standing in front of him/her.

... does anyone like you? How would I know. Nobody ever tells me stuff. LOL

... is it going anywhere with them? With them? Did I miss something?

... did you answer all these questions honestly? If I said yes, you wouldn't know I'd be telling the truth, I could be lying.

.

And because I had so much fun, I have another one: (it rhymes, lol) HAHA

.

Shuffle (Put your music player on shuffle and click 'Next Song' for every question and write it down.)

What does next year have in store for me? Viva Forever. (Nice! LOL)

What does your love life look like? Thank You. (You're welcome?)

What do I say when life gets hard? Who Knew. (Usually I'm not that cool. But I kinda like it. LOL)

What song will I dance to at my wedding? When Susannah Cries. (Now that's what I call cheery!)

What do you want as a career? Runaway Train. HAHAHAHA

Your favorite saying? Bitter Sweet Symphony.

What do you think of your parents? Sail Away. HAHAHA ROFLMAO

Where would you go on a first date? Atlantic City. Definatley not the cheapest place, I could've chosen. LOL

Drug of choice? Oh Mother. This keeps getting better and better, haha!

Describe yourself: Total Eclipse of the Heart. Ooooh....

What is the thing I like doing most? Give me a Reason. Okay, that's just weird. LOL

The song that best describes the president? At Wit's End. So true! LOL

How will I die? Red Blooded Woman. Okay...that's definitely not helping.

The song that will be played at your funeral? Sparkling Diamonds. Interesting choice of music. HAHA

The song you'll put as the subject? Bring me to Life. No comment. LOL

I could do another one, but I don't wanna overwhelm you guys.
Have a nice week!
Anna

Cat, I'm done with Breaking Dawn, btw!

Chicken Sandwich?

HEROES - 3.10 - THE ECLIPSE (PART ONE)

One of the better episodes of the season. So an eclipse gave them powers, and an eclipse took them away. And we all know that when the eclipse goes, they'll get their powers back. It was actually good seeing how everyonehad become dependent on their powers, although the best moment was when Matt was trying to probe Daphne's dad's mind, and he thought something was wrong with him . I'm hoping Claire will die, but we all know she wont. Nathan and Peter stuck in Africa *groan*. Daphne being unable to walk before her powers was incredibly ironic. I'm hoping Hiro gets his memory back, because him as a kid is really annoying now. I'm willing to bet he'll get them back when he gets his powers back. And Mohinder needs to spiderise and hide away already... He's really annoying now. Kind of like a bad smell...

DEXTER - 3.09 - ABOUT LAST NIGHT

Ripper episode!! You really don't think the writers can top themselves from the previous season, but bloody hell they've done it! Miguel lied. About everything. Him giving Dexter the shirt with Freebo's blood, but which was really cow's blood topped it off though. Miguel is such a manipulator and he caught Dexter in the web of lies, and poor Dexter doesn't know how to handle it.The thing is, Dexter's dad was always the good guy, trying to warn Dexter from shaing his secret with Miguel. But phwoar... Miguel lying about practically everything, I think I know how this season is going to end

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Now, that quiz that I stole off Hol ages and ages ago:

Name: RaCh

1. Famous Singer : Cher

2. Four letter word : Cool

3. Street : Coronation Street

4. Color : Cyan

5. Gifts/Presents : Candy

6. Vehicle: Commodore

7. Things in Souvenir Shop : Cute fuzzy stuffed animals!

8. Boy Name : Carl

9. Girl Name : Claire

10. Movie Title : Carrie

11. Drink : Coca Cola

12. Occupation : Childcare worker

13. Celebrity : Casey Affleck

14. Magazine : Cleo

15. U.S. City : California

16. Pro Sports : Cycling

17. Fruit : Cherry

18. Reason For Being Late To Work : Couldn't find the car keys

19. Something You Threw Away : cores – fruit cores!

20. Something You Shout : C'MON! (In Lleyton Hewitt fashion;. Okay, kidding. )

21. Cartoon Character : Cartman

22. Song Title: Clouds over California (DevilDriver)

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I get my uni results on Thursday. I'm freaked out because of the horrible molecular biology exam. I'm not as panicked as I was with Biochemical Metabolism, mainly because I do know that I passed molecular, however I want my score to be at least 63 so I do have a chance of getting a good mark for Honours. my average so far is 69%, which is fantastic because it is above the 65% needed, but the average needed for the project I really want to do is 68%. So, I'm hoping my marks for Immunology and biotech are high enough (at least 70 for immunology and 80 for biotech) to boost my miniscule 69% to something like 75%.

So, I should tell you the three projects I'm interested in. Some of you may remember the first one, about finding an antibiotic for chickens who are susceptible to necrotic enteritis - a bacteria that eats away at the stomachs of chickens, therefore killing them. Its a major problem in the US and Europe as the antibiotic was removed from the feed, but it hasn't been removed from the feed in Australia, so the Australian government has said "develop an antibiotic for this bacteria if the feed antibiotic is removed from the feed. If not, we can sell it off overseas". In this project I'll get to work with chickens.

The second one, and the one I want to do, involves finding a better way to manage one's diabetes. The university is working with new drugs, and it'll be my job to make sure this drug is compatible with cell cultures and animals before trialling humans. So I'll get to work with pancreatic cells and mice in this project. This is the project that needs the 68% average, because this project is part of another school within the uni - the School of Nutrition. They said that because I'm a biotech student, and that because they were looking for a biotech student, that they would send me to biotech conferences in Australia, which is a HUGE leg-up on everyone else because I'll get to present my research and mingle with other super-cool biotech scientists

The third project is working with the malaria parasite. I'll get to work with the parasite itself, and find out which part of it makes it undetectible to the immune system, therefore causing disease. Once that is discovered, the university will then try to create a malaria vaccine. I'm not that intersted in this project, but I'm willing to do it, because of the core molecular biology techniques required in all branches of biotech. This is my fall-back project.

So, keep your fingers crossed for me

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Caption competition:

Dean: "If I squint my eyes a little like this and open my mouth just like this I look like you!"
Sam: "huh?"

By Hol

New caption, from 4.03 - In The Beginning:

Dean and Samuel.

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Picture of the Blog:

Enjoy xx