u/Niall_Fraser_Love

Tajikistan was part of the USSR. Do we know if Moscow used them as translators? Or if they were used more than people from other backgrounds? Or did the Soviets deploy less of them out of fear they might defect? Or were Tajiks treated the same as Russians Ukraianians Khazaks ect?

That is the one advantage the Russians had over Nato in Afghanistan. They had millions of translators on hand. No one ever seems to comment on it.

The last scence of any DW on TV was the last scence of TWBTLAS were Kate pulls a gun on a guy for littering and screams in a really badly done phony way.

If you thought Colin Baker going out to 'carrot juice, carrot juice, carrot jucie' was bad, this is worse.

I think if any episode shows that they had run out of ideas or any sense of believability it was Pie. The whole town rioting and punching everyone over a pie that turns out to be made of plastic. Honestly who didn't see that coming? For this to work you have to assume no one can feel by the weight or the temperature that its plastic.

Also isn't this just a rip off the cake that has a spider in it? Not to mention the Beefy Bake episode had this idea 100 times better.

Now I get SG isn't Shawshank Redemption, but it’s also not Paul Blart Mall Cop. There has to be some realism to it. No one is going to go nuts over a pie unless they are Peter Griffin.

But I think the premise of everyone going mad over a McGuffin that turns out to be worthless could work. If the plot was say, J&V become convinced that a painting in a charity shop is actually worth millions. Since every so often there will be a story in the newspaper about a valuable painting being bought in a charity shop for £50. That way it makes sense for everyone to keep trying to steal it off everyone else.  A game of capture the flag.

Everyone running riot over a painting they think is a Van Gogh or a Jackson Pollock is buyable because who don't want to become a millionaire overnight? It could even be painting they was done by a certain Austrian artist (that would be extra funny, but I can easily see the beeb censoring that tbf).

If we have to turn SG into a mindless screaming cartoon, can it at least be on the level of the Simpsons rather than Family Guy?

This episode has so many contrivances. Like why does Peggy give the pie to Methadone Mick? When in every other episode she is greedy selfish and rude? Because Ford and Hemphill need to run out that clock that's why. Honestly this feels like it’s a plot from something like River City of East Enders you know shows that have like 50 episodes a year.

 

Col Pessian was a genius and hero. By age 30 he spoke 6 languages, he played piano, and was one if not the first Iranians to fly a plane. A man of principle and honour. He hated corruption and stamped it out in when he was leading the Autonomous Government of Khorasan. Oh and when the govment came to get him he fought like a lion and died on his feet. Many tulips grew were he was slian, a true martyr in the real sense of the word.

He didn't hope on a plane and fly away like a big girls blouse, or hide in the dirt like a mole.

A true heir to Sattar Khan. He was only 30 when he died. Col Pessian acheived more in 10 years than most people will ever acheieve in 100. There should be statues of Col Pessian erected everywhere, a true Rostam.

He spoke Persian, Turksih Arabic, French German and English.

For comparison's sake, the Shah of Afghanistan spoke Persian, Pashtun, English, French and Italian. Now that certinaly very impressive but mind French and Italian are in the same language family and Persian and Pashtun also in the same language family. Meanwhile Persian, Turkish, Arabic and French are all in tottally different language fmailies. English is techincally a Germanic language. But German is concidered much harder for an English speaker to learn than Dutch Swedish etc.

As a Whovian, I am so pleased that Keirnan and Hemphill resisted the temptation to dump a bunch of Dr Who jokes in Oot. It would have been so easy for someone to say thing like 'His flat/the Clansman, it looks bigger on the inside' or 'I see a fly. Go and exterminate it' or 'its a mirocwave, Archie it heats food, its not exactly reversing the polarity of the nutron flow'.

No one calls Archie 'Professor' and he don't say 'I am far more than just another pensioner'. Archie never calls anyone 'Ace'. Nor when they meet him dose anyone say something like 'you look like you have seen a Ghostlight', his flat isn't called 'Paradise Towers'.

Or 'I have been trapped in here like Fenric/Fenris/Fenrir'. The latter might have been tolerable, since it doubles as a Norse Mythology joke/refference.

They let Percy Kent-Smith play Archie, not Dr What Inside joke. I always hate it when they bring in a celeb to pay themselves/a character from a different TV show/movie. Rather than a character who works in the show's universe.

The show dose not need returning monsters and or nostalgia to be good. Now I am 100% aganist binning the canon and rebooting it. But the magic thing about DW is that if you don't want to include Time Lords Daleks and Cybermen, you have to just not write them. Its very easy you just don't press D A L E K in that order on your word document and by magic no denisesn of Skaro in the plot.

Now there is precedence for this. See Tom Baker in 7 years had the Daleks twice, the Master thrice, the Cybermen once and the Sontarons twice. So that 8 returning villians in 7 years. And even then two of the Master stories are direct follow ons. So 19% (8/42) had a returning baddie.

By contrast in three years Peter Davison has the Master four times (5 if you count the 5 Doctors), the Cybermen twice (They are the main baddies in T5D), the Daleks once, the Silurians/Sea Devils once, Omega once, the Mara (it appears twice in his era so that's one story as a returning monster). So in 20 stories he had a returing monster in 10. Literally half. 50%

With Colin Baker we had the Daleks, Cybermen, Master, Sontarons and Sil twice (so only his 2nd time counts as a returning monster). So that is 5/11 or 45%

Sylvester McCoy we have the Rani, Master, Daleks and Cybermen. 4/12 or 33.3% had a returning monster.

Christopher Eccelston had Autons once, Daleks twice and Slithene retruned once. So that is 4/10 or 40%.

David Tennant had 37 stories (40 if we count the 14th- and we aren't counting Day of the Dr). We had the Daleks twice (not counting Army of Ghosts/Doomsday), Cybermen thrice, the Master twice, Sontarons , Macra (if they count) so 8/37 or 9/37 or 22% or 24%.

Matt Smith 39 stories 12 of which feature a returning baddie. The Daleks 5 times (Victory, Asylum, Pandorica, Time of the Dr and Day of the Dr) Cybermen twice, Weeping Angels twice, Silurians once, the Siliance in 4 stories so returns thrice. Oh and the Great Intelligence thrice, granted once shared with the Daleks so we''ll call it TWICE. So that is 15/39 or 38%.

Peter Capaldi had 35 stories. Daleks twice (Rusty isn't really a baddie in his swan song), Cybermen twice, Zygons once, Ice Warriors twice, (the Master/Missy is always paired with the Daleks and or Cybermen) and I count the Monks as one story but Rassilon is back as well once. So that is 8/35 or 23%.

Jodie Whiticker had 24 stories. The Daleks thrice (the Hogmany speicals), the Master twice (Spyfall and Power), Cybermen twice (I'd count Haunting as a dif story from Ascension/Timelss) Tim Shaw comes back once and so do the Sea Devils and the Sonatrons and Weeping Angels are back in Flux. So that is 10/24 or 42% (Oh the irony Double C).

Ncuti Gatwa had 18 stories. And he had the Clestial Toymaker, Sutekh, the Midnight Monster and the Rani/Omega all appering once. So that is 4/18 or 22%.

Notice how the the most popular eras of the show tend to have less returning monsters. I think we should limit it to one returning monster/villian a season. Dose anyone think Tom Baker's run was hurt by having the fewest returning monsters? Yes Genesis is amazing, but Revenge of the Cybermen is garbage and The Deadly Assassin is an overatted mess. Hinchcliff and Holmes said they were bored by the old monsters. While the JNT era gose for nostalgia overload. Like we are suposed be like Warriors of the Deep because it has old monsters in it. Other than Earthshock are any of the returning baddies in PD's era a patch on Sharaz Jek?

Now I am not saying never bring back old monsters. But I would say have one per season. I get we kinda have do Daleks and Cybermen fine. But can they have a smaller scale story for a change? Not be in an epsisode with some bomb that will vaporise the universe in one shot? Oh and can they talk to each other? Remmber in the 60s when the Daelks would have conversations? Same with the Cybermen. Also can Cybermen have names again? Like they did in the Tenth Planet. There is no reason for them not to, they can still have titles. Its not a contradiction for the the Cyber-Lieutenant to have a name too. Oh and use one or the other. No more Daleks meet Cybermen plots. Its just cheap.

But other than them please no more legacy villians. No more Master, Omega, Davros, Weeping Angels the Destroyer, Sea Devils/Silurians, Dream Lord, Tim Shaw Slithene or giant spiders. Honestly the only legacy race I want to see back are the Thals. Notice how the Thals have been both heros and villians. There is story with them. I'd not mind the Sontarons back if they were made instersting. Like they could have an old school honour based warrior culture. Like the Samuria or Clingons from Star Trek. Ie depth, not being pound shop funny versions of the Daleks and Cybermen.

Is it too much to ask for a new recuring monster? Why is this seemingly impossible.

Now obviously the Dr and compansions can't die. And Time Lords are shown to be more resilant than humans (to a limited degree not like Superman). Like there a piosons that don't work on Time Lords but do on humans (and vice versa).

But Idiot's Lantern really takes plot armour to the extreme. Like the Wire starts sucking out the Dr, Tommy and the detective's face's off. Then she stops and the Dr and Tommy are fine but the detective is faceless. Why? How dose that work? The wire wasn't doing the detective for longer. And if you want to argue 'time lord' well how dose Tommy keep his face? Other than that he's a kid and the Beeb might censor that kind of thing.

And later the Dr and Mr Magpie are climbing up the radio tower. And the Wire disintigrates him with lighting. And she don't do this to the Doctor because...He's the main character so the script won't let her. There is no reason why she can't. If the answer is she only has enough lightning to kill one person, why dose she waste it on him and not the Dr? Rose loses her face so its not like it don't work on 'the strong willed' or 'the pure of heart' or something like that.

Now it is possible (and remmber this is simply a theory of mine, I have no real proof), that its a censorship issue. Like Mr Magpie was meant to slip and fall off and be killed, but the Beeb censcored it, so RTD and Mark Gatiss, rewrote his death. This is the only vagely loggical explination I can come up with. As to why they did this.

Also do they ever explain why no one throws a brick at the TV? In LOTR Gimley tries to smash the ring with his axe and the axe breaks. Is the a reason why you can't just smash the TV to kill the Wire? The Doctor says he'll tape over the VHS to make sure she is dead. So the TV don't seem to act as a Pandora's Box.

Oh and why is the Detective baffled by colour TV? Movies had been in colour since 39 big budget ones anyway. So the idea of colour tv really wasn't that far fetched in 53. And prototypes have excisted since the 40s and even as early as the 1920s. Is this really more shocking than, a talking TV?

Is there a reason for the Wire to turn colour for 10 seconds for no reason?

While we are on the subject DW did not 'predict' video/zoom/skype calls. Video calls were invented in the 1954 in the Philipines.

Now obviously the Dr and compansions can't die. And Time Lords are shown to be more resilant than humans (to a limited degree not like Superman). Like there a piosons that don't work on Time Lords but do on humans (and vice versa).

But Idiot's Lantern really takes plot armour to the extreme. Like the Wire starts sucking out the Dr, Tommy and the detective's face's off. Then she stops and the Dr and Tommy are fine but the detective is faceless. Why? How dose that work? The wire wasn't doing the detective for longer. And if you want to argue 'time lord' well how dose Tommy keep his face? Other than that he's a kid and the Beeb might censor that kind of thing.

And later the Dr and Mr Magpie are climbing up the radio tower. And the Wire disintigrates him with lighting. And she don't do this to the Doctor because...He's the main character so the script won't let her. There is no reason why she can't. If the answer is she only has enough lightning to kill one person, why dose she waste it on him and not the Dr? Rose loses her face so its not like it don't work on 'the strong willed' or 'the pure of heart' or something like that.

Now it is possible (and remmber this is simply a theory of mine, I have no real proof), that its a censorship issue. Like Mr Magpie was meant to slip and fall off and be killed, but the Beeb censcored it, so RTD and Mark Gatiss, rewrote his death. This is the only vagely loggical explination I can come up with. As to why they did this.

Also do they ever explain why no one throws a brick at the TV? In LOTR Gimley tries to smash the ring with his axe and the axe breaks. Is the a reason why you can't just smash the TV to kill the Wire? The Doctor says he'll tape over the VHS to make sure she is dead. So the TV don't seem to act as a Pandora's Box.

Oh and why is the Detective baffled by colour TV? Movies had been in colour since 39 big budget ones anyway. So the idea of colour tv really wasn't that far fetched in 53. And prototypes have excisted since the 40s and even as early as the 1920s. Is this really more shocking than, a talking TV?

Is there a reason for the Wire to turn colour for 10 seconds for no reason?

While we are on the subject DW did not 'predict' video/zoom/skype calls. Video calls were invented in the 1954 in the Philipines.

Copy and pasted from a post on r/gallifrey itself copied and pasted from a comment posted by one of the MODs of the Doctor Who leak discord server.

"Okay, so this is what I heard a few weeks ago before any announcement was made. It's come from someone who I have known a while now and trust completely, but obviously just take this the way you wish.

• The BBC and Bad Wolf Productions, in consultation with Russell T Davies, decided in January not to proceed with the proposed Christmas special.An initial early draft script was completed; however, it remained at a very early draft stage and was never developed further.
• While the BBC responded positively to the concept, the decision to put the series out to tender, coupled with Russell T Davies' planned departure from the programme, led the BBC to conclude that producing a standalone Christmas special would not represent a viable financial investment. This was despite the story's potential to provide additional closure for several narrative threads established during the Davies era.
• The story would have centred on the Doctor investigating a distress signal originating from a frozen human colony whilst orbiting a dying star.
• Residents of the village/colony had begun experiencing apparitions of deceased loved ones, with many being mysteriously drawn into the surrounding snowfields.
• The production was designed with a relatively modest visual-effects footprint, with the majority of sequences capable of being filmed on existing studio sound stages - majority of the episode would've only required the village set.
• Would have also been some small cute creatures of some kind that also inhabited the village that would have also required vfx/cgi i believe.
• A central plot element involved the colony's leader refusing to acknowledge the growing crisis or take meaningful action to protect the population. Upon the arrival of the Sixteenth Doctor, it would have been revealed that he had previously encountered a young Rose Tyler. The Doctor's regenerated appearance had effectively been chosen to enable her to play a pivotal role in saving the colony.
• The entity responsible for the disturbances would ultimately have been revealed to have been luring the Doctor to the colony all along, primarily by assuming the form of Susan Foreman, as it saw the Doctor as the ultimate power source. Had spent years searching the universe for her, revealing herself as the boss character.
• The star may have also taken the form of other characters/creatures to scare the Doctor (cybermen, daleks, weeping angels etc)
• It would later emerge that the sentient star itself had been absorbing individuals in a desperate attempt to use them as a power source to preserve the colony/planet (similar to the star from Rings of Akhaten). Ultimately, however, the effort proved futile as both the planet and colony were approaching the end of their existence.
• The narrative would have drawn deliberate parallels between the planet's attempts to sustain itself through others and the Doctor's own tendency to fill the emotional void left by Susan's departure.
• In the climax, the star frees the harvested colony and expresses remorse for its inability to truly save its inhabitants and decides to let them go.
• However with this being the xmas special, the Doctor is able to use their energy to restore the star causing her to once again begin the regeneration process. As a thank you, the star which it turns out created the time hotel, allows the Doctor to save Rogue, and also visit the real Susan where she is able to actually say goodbye to her, and finally fulfil the promise of returning.
• Would have been a line of dialogue where the Doctor speculates that Joy interfered with the regeneration to help save her fellow star.
• The story was intended to serve as a significant moment of emotional resolution, allowing the Doctor to let go the final source of past trauma and move forward into a new chapter, tying into the 60th.
• No actual Daleks, no 14, would've have been a rather self contained festive story to wrap this era up"

_________________________________________________________________

Honestly I think it sounds kinda bad. It reads like a gallimaufry og Joy to the World, meets Can you Hear Me meets Twice Upon a Time, meets the Mind Robber meets the Macra Terror. Cards on the table I'm so over the Christmas specials, I'd be happy to have the scrapped in favour of an extra standard episode. Christmas has been done to death in DW, and they are often so mushy.

Other than people being lured outside to their death by apperitions of the ghosts of their dead loved ones. Most of it sounds pretty trite. Its the what 20th edition of 'Just this on-TWENTITH TIME everybody lives-AGAIN'. Its not just me who is sick of this right?

Where is Eric Saward when you need him?

Oh and the characters recongising the Doctor as Rose Tyler, just no. That is the worst kind of fan fic imaginable.

While most say Tom Baker's 7 years was too long, no one says Jon Pertwee's 5 years was too long. I think there is a case to be made for having a doctor stick around for 5 years. Its cool watching each doctor grow and change over time, which you can only really do if they stay for like 4 years.

Plus if we have the same actor for a while it makes regenration feel like an event. Where isn't so much if its every two or three years.

Like if we take 007. I agree Moore was way too old in a View to a Kill, and Connary lost interst in 007 by like his fith film. But no one says Brosnan who had four films in 6 years stayed too long or had to many. I think its best to leave just as audiances are getting bored of you. Plus I feel 5 years lets you make the doctor your own for a generation of kids, while also not staying so long everyone gets bored off you.

I get these days 5 years will probably be like 3 seasons anyway, or 24 episodes. I understand the days of 40 episodes a year like Hartnall had are never coming back ever. And I don't think anyone really wants that. Is there anyone who has listened to everything big finish has pumped out every year?

Also RTD, did make regeneration into a bit of a gymmick. Like the super cheap, the Dr regenerates as a cliffhanger in Stolen Earth. Or the bi-generation, and dose anyone even remmber the canon reason for 15's regeneration? 13 gets zapped by a lasor and that is how 15 comes to be as well. This would be if 8 regenerated by firing squad, or if 5 regnerated after being pushed of a balcony.

And of course we have the new problem of Billie Piper either having to a) be the doctor for a season then regernate or b) do another Time and the Rani. I can't see her staying as the Doctor long term. Also having the Dr turn into Billie Piper is utter fan fic.

Villian team ups are cheap 9/10/ Its just a gymmick, and usually one villian just comes off as weak and useless.

I don't know why the Cybermen keep befalling this fate. Let's list all the Cybermen stories since 2006.

• Rise of the Cybermen alone
• Army of Ghosts the Daleks take over the story
• The Next Doctor alone
• The Pandorica Opens team up
• A Good Man Gose to War (joke apperance)
• Nightmere in Sliver alone
• Closing Time alone
• Dark Water team up with the Master
• World Enough and Time team up with the Master
• The Haunting of Villa Diodati alone
• Ascension of the Cybermen Master team up (again)
• Flux team up with the Sontarons (wow breaking new ground)
• The Power of the Doctor team up with the Master and Daleks

So out of 13 stories 8 more than half have them team up or share the spotlight with so other baddie. That is simply not good enough. Even then in Closing Time Craig is the main focus and I don't know why it isn't an Auton story, or some monster of the week no one cares about.

So we have as low as FOUR Cybermen stories were they are the main focus. Why? I think the reason is because the writers think 'they are boring because they don't shout and rant'. They don't keep pairing the Daleks with the Master and unlike 80s Who Davros has been kept at bay. The Cybermen are much more insterting, than that. Also they are much scarier than the bulk of DW monsters. There is loads of things you could do with them. Like you could have an episode were there is this polluted planet and everyone is dying so they turn to the Cybermen to surivive only for the twist to be that the Cybermen polluted the planet themselves. Since they think they are saving the people from themselves.

If the Tri Wizard Tournament (TWT) is a 'binding contract', how can it be valid if Barty Crouch enters Harry's name without his consent? A contract without consent is not a contract, its slavery. So if Harry did not enter his name then surely he has the right to not take part. Like if I forge your signature on a contract then its void.

But if we ignore that, why can't Harry just refuse to take part? Is there a curse or something bad that happens if you don't? Is the TWT an unbreakable vow?

Now it is possible, when they say Harry 'has' to compete, they mean it in a social way. Like no Wizard or Witch has ever chickened out before. Like how in Sammuria culture you 'had' to defend your honour. But Harry has an excuse, because TRI, as in three. He's the fourth, so surely he has that as an excuse right? You can't argue to adhear to tradition, then break a different tradition.

Trump made a deal with the Taliban, which included freeing 500 members from jail. One of those 500 is Akhoondxadeh who is now the Rahbar of Afghanistan. Trump betrayed Afghanistan and threw its ladies to the wolves. When an Afghan lady asked him about this in a press conferance he said 'I can't understand you accent'.

He has threatened repeatedly to let Putin keep the land he stole in Ukriane and has said not one word aganist Putin trafficking Ukrainian children (yes, you read that correctly).

So how is anyone stupid enough to be surpised that Trump has sold out the Iranian masses the Pasdaran, the second the war lasted longer than a week? Do the people beliving Trump also believe that a Nigerian Prince sent them an email asking to pay his legal fees in echange for a big refund? Or that you can buy a star in the sky? Or that buying a square foot of land in Scotland makes you a Laird? Go to a field and ask a cow if thinks Trump can be trusted, because the cow can tell that Trump's talking what comes out of her brother's bum.

Seem like Iran is getting more and more dependent on Russia. And since Trump is soft on Putin, isn't there a temptation for the Pasdaran to sell out to Russia? They have already sold the Caspian Sea to Putin and Putin lost Assad, who was Putin's (and the Rahbar's) man in the Middle East. Putin needs a new middle eastern client and Iran fits the bill. The two have been moving closer together since the 2010s. And Iran is way bigger than Syria so for Putin its better, not to mention more to steal from.

If the regime is becoming weaker, then why wouldn't it seek support from Daddy Vladdy? Who else would silly themselves with them these days? The Chinese and Indians don't care, Turkey resents them for all the Syrian refuggees in Turkey and Pakistan is too busy with India and Afghanistan to remmber Iran exists.

Like what is to stop Trump making 'the deal of the century' were Putin leaves Ukraine but he gets Iran. Trump would no doubt think that is genius.

Even if Trump pulls out tommrow, what is to stop Putin offering to send 'military advisors' to 'help fix' Iran's weakened military? Putin could easily create another Wagner Group in Iran, just like he has in Belarus and a few African countries. If the IRI survivies I don't see how it can without selling out to Putin.

Is Trump going to invade Belarus? Its not like the current goverment of Venezuala is moving away from Putin is it?

I think there is some merit to this idea. The Cybermen and Daleks go so overexposed it became a classic example of the inverse ratio between the amount of screen time and the amount of quality.

Shoving a Dalek episode in every year meant they ran out of stuff for them to do. And both Daleks and Cybermen became unthreatning. Like comper Parting of the Ways to Victory of the Daleks or Asylum of the Daleks. There is no mence no more because their can't be. In Magcians apprentice they are just background props. The Cybermen just became joke villians with the Dr blowing up the 7th Cyber Fleet in 2 seconds. They are hopless in Closing Time. Nightmere in Sliver tries to make them scary again. But they don't feel like Cybermen and the idea that they can upgrade while being damaged is nonsense. Not to mention the endless the Master hires the Cybermen as his his goons.

Honestly Resolution and Haunting were good because they gave them something to do. Even if we look passed the idea that a Dalek can be cut in three and glued back together like a jigsaw.

Not helped by the fact that the writers will keep giving them new powers just for this episode then recton it in the next one. The Weeping Angles are maybe the worst for this.

Restricting it to once per doctor maybe twice if said doctor sticks around for 5 years. Would force them to write a good episode and stop creative fatiague. 4 met the Daleks and Cybermen 3 times in total in 7 years. Dose anyone think his era suffered for it? Even then Destiny is a coast off Genesis and Revenge is like a 60s hold over script.

So if it were up to me the rules for them should be

1. once per doctor / once every three years. Quality > quantiy

2. no more team episodes with them, Daleks and Cybermen should be the full focus on every episode they are in. Use the Sontarons as henchmen enemies for the Master or some other baddie.

3. Make the Dr and script take them seriously. The Daleks were behind the Time War and the Cybermen killed Adric and cause his frist regeneration. The Dr should take them seriously. I am 100% fine with the Dr goofing around when its monster of the week no cares about. Not Daleks and Cybermen.

4. Have tha Daleks and Cybermen talk to each other. I don't understand why in 60s Who the Daleks talk to each other but later on they bearly talk. Everyone loves the Cyberleader and Luitenent scenes. No reason why they can't.

5. give them proper ranks. One thing I liked about Victort was the class system. There is no reason why Daleks should be a monolith. Having a class system gives them a sense of culture.

6. Give the Cybermen names again. They had them in the Tenth Planet no reason why they can't have names again, you do this and have them have ranks, its not a controdiction.

7. Have them kill a load of people. This shouldn't need to be explained by Daleks should go full Eric Saward on the guest cast. Because that is their goal. Same with the Cybermen.

8. Don't make them too invulnerable. It should be possible to kill and Dalek or Cyberman but difficult. I kinda hate it when they are all killed in one fell swoop, when nothing could kill them before (I'm looking at you Nightmere in Silver). Think how in Earthshock its possible to kill a Cyberman but diffcult. Or the Daleks in Remmberance.

Iran and Burma are suprsingly simmilar. Both have had authoriterian anti western goverments since the 70s and 60s. Both are lead by religious fanatics who have killed many of their own civilians and think they are on the side of God. The Burmse Prime Minster Min Aung Hlaing is if anything more of a zelot than any of the akhoonds. The Burmse's Junta's army the Tatmadaw is their equvilent to the Pasdaran or the SS. There is no normal army in Bumra and the Min Aung Hlaing is supported by monks and thinks his war is the Buddhist equvilent of jihad.

Iran is about 60% Persian give or take Burma is 70% Barmar. Since the Qajar era the Balochs, Azeris, Ahwazis and especially the Kurds have fought insurgencies aganist Tehran. Burma's minorities like the ethnic Chinese, Shans, Chins and Karens have all fought insurgencies for autonomy in Burma since 1948. And the ethnic Barmar have while not liking the junta have sided always disliked the Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) and the Communist Party Army. But after the elected civilian goverment was toppled by Hlaing's coup, the anti-junta Barmars fought back. Their leader Lady Aung San Suu Kyi told them team up with the EAOs and destroy the Tatmadaw. Many Barmar have joined the People's Defence Forces, a freedom fighting group. The result of the anti-Junta Barmar and the EAOs have libered 60% of Burma by working together. 60% of Burmses land has been liberated from the Tatmadaw's tyranny for the frist time since JFK was president of America. Now yes this mostly rural areas. But control the countryside and you control the country and you choke the cities. A village or small town can feed itself a city can't. The Junta is on terminally decline.

Meanwhile the Prince shuns and scorns PJAK, the BLA, MEK and Ahwazi and Azeri EAOs. The result is that the akhoonds control 100% of Iran. They have not lost a single square foot. And the Prince's fanboys cheer him on. Because the Prince seems to want to be the Babrak Karmal of Iran more than anything. For 60 years the Junta told the Barmar you need to support us in killing you or the country will break up, so you need to live under a human rights regime that would make Russia look like Norway.

But the Barmar have said 'sod it' freedom comes first. But the prince's supporters would rather Iran be run by the akhoonds for the next 50 million years, than treat the non Aryans like human beings. Because fundentally they value empire over freedom. Its a simple as that. The Kurds are 10% of Iranians. For comprison's sake Burma's 2nd biggest ethnic group the Karen's are 7%. If the Prince's supporters were serious about freedom they would be begging Trump to arm PJAK to the teeth so they could sweep the Pasdaran into the dustbin of history.

The fact is the Kurds (and Balochs and Ahwazis) have more reasons to hate the akhoonds than the middle class northern Tehranis could ever concive. For compasisons sake, Tigrayan rebels brought down the Derg regime in Ethiopia, and they were only 6% of Ethiopians. So yes 10% is more than enough, throw in Arabs and Balochs and you have 14%.

If the Prince dose indeed only want freedom as he so professes, why isn't he demanding PJAK is armed? So it can fight and destroy the pasdaran? Just as how the Burmse rebels are destroying the Tatmadaw. Could it be because he wants Trump to install him as ruler of Iran? Just as Barbrak Karmal was installed in Afghanistan by Brezchnev? So like the 'Little Tiger' he only wants power for himself? Because actions speak louder than words. Why has Burma's elected leader endorsed Barmar rebels to work with the EOAs but Prince Puffy says he agrees with the akhoonds' (and his fathers's) apartheid?

The difference between him and Aung San Suu Kyi is wider than the gap between Mercuary and Pluto. Kyi don't think that Karens, Shans, Chins and Chinese are racially and religiously inferior beings like Hlaing dose.

During the cold war, the corrupt greedy authoriterian goverments of Latin America said the world needed them to prevent communism. But infact these dicators tunred their countries into communist breeding grounds. Because they stole all the money and treated their own people like dirt. So why wouldn't any of the straving peasants support the communists if they communists say they will take the money the dicators and tycoons stole and share it amung the commoners?

Racism and ethnic chavanism is receipie for balkenisation. Notice how Switerland don't have a Francophone PJAK or an Italian speaking Sarmachar? Because they have these things called human rights. So they have no reason to rise up.

Now I know PJAK don't trust Trump (and lets be real they are right to), but they are only force capable of bringing down the akhoonds. Unless Trump plans to invade and send in 300,000 Aamericans. Which I can't see happening.

As a rule of thumb I hate any fan theory were its 'all the characters are dead/its all a dream'. But with FT, I think it might take place in Purgatory.

Like if we look at Ted, he is super out of place in his own show. He is the only character with any depth, everyone one else is deliberatly written as a caracature. Like none of the rest of the cast could ever function in real life while Ted could. But without Ted none of the show works. So he is the Atlas of Craggy Island. Like you could do an episode of the Simpsons or Family Guy without Homer or Peter. But not without Ted.

Another thing, we know very little about him. We know his brother is a doctor, but other than that we know nothing of his parents (outside of one line implying they made him become a priest), are they even still alive? His childhood and youth we know nothing. He can maybe speak Gealic judging by his bage. But its competely unclear how long he has known the other three or how long he has been on Craggy Island. (None of this is a bad thing mind.)

So I think there is merit to the idea that after stealing the money from the charity he's in purgatory paying for his sins. Ted is not a hero, he's more of an anti-hero. With few exceptions, he never acts for the good of anyone or anything but his ego. He is vain and self seeking, I love it. Pretty much every episode he could get out of his hole by being honest or modest. But Ted has to 'win' so even winning is trying to put out a fire by pouring more petrol on it. But Ted is still a loveable egotist, like Daffy Duck or Oliver Hardy. Honestly with his Christmas speech slagging off everyone else and thinking he's better than everyone else. I'd not be the least bit surpised if he's based off Eric Saward (I doubt it), to be honest.

This also explain why everyone else is written, talks and acts like an NPC in an RPG. Because he's not in the real world he is in purgatory. He's tested to see if he can reist his worst impluses and fails inevitabliy.

Anyone else ever thought this?

The regime says Mojtaba is alive. But refuses to prove it by publishing a video or photo. Like how Daesh would publish pictures and videos of Baghdadi, so would Izzat al Douri. Or after the Valkyrie plot, Hitler went onto German radio to prove he was alive and the coup aganist him shattered.

What Mojtaba reminds me of is Assad's brother Maher. Maher was commander of the 4th Divison the Baath Party equvilent to the Pasdaran. In 2012, the Free Syrian Army detonated a bomb hidden a conferance room of the Syrian National Security Building. This killed the Defence Minster, his deputy who was Assad's brother in law, the Director of the National Security Bureau and Assisstant to the vice president (Baathists love their long titles). The Baath Party admited they were killed. But it was report that Maher lost a leg in the blast. The Baathists denied this.

It would be super easy to disprove, show a pic of Maher in cargo short and sandels, and stick it on the news. But they didn't and no photos of Maher have ever been published. If its not true why not send a picture? Because it probably is. And I suspect that Mojtaba is alive, but too injured and disfigured to be shown. If it was mearly superfical wounds why isn't he on TV? That's what every other dicator dose to disprove that he is still alive.

I like the Simpsons the best. And many say American Dad (AD) is better than Family Guy (FG). I disgree quite strongly. Both shows have little to know rules about what can and can't happen (like in the Simpsons Homer would never cheat on Marge say). I'd say the biggest difference is that the jokes in AD seem to be more vice based (sex drugs etc) while FG's tend to be more sterytype based. But both shows have both. Ironically I think FG dose poltical jokes more than AD, which kinda dropped them. But here is why FG is better. (I've never really watched South Park, but from what I've seen and heard it seems rather portentous and maybe even a little poshlost - if anyone is Russian speaking here, please tell me if I'm using that word correctly.)

Asthetics

To me what FG just looks better. Like the colour scheme is lots of cool colours, easy on the eyes. Unlike the Simpsons which has mostly soft warm colours. American Dad just looks garish. So much yellow blue and sharp reds and its harsher on the eyes. The colours don't balance. Like in Phinease and Ferb is very candy coloured but they fit together. In AD it looks odley sickly. Like Steve's bright red jacket really stands out. I get this is 100% subjective and maybe this only bothers me but it just dose.

Peter V Stan

Peter is better than Stan. Yes in real life Peter would be a worse person, but in TVland Peter is a more fun character. He's so joyful and extroverted and impulsive. While Stan is just a pompous blowhard. Peter's joy is infectous while Stan's joy feels smug and smarey. Peter having the inteligence of a 6 year old means you expect him to do moronic self sabotaging stuff, he has an execuse. Stan isn't really written to be a moron, so when he acts like a big palooka, its because the script needs him to be.

Griffins v Smiths

Lets start with the matrirachs. Lois is better than Francine, as in she is a better character to watch, not a more moral person. Lois, being this self absorbed but utterly lame house wife is funny. Francine is just kinda an airhead, I don't feel like there is much to talk about. She is rarely the main character, she's a pawn in someone else's game. Steve is better than Chris, since Chris is just 'what if Ralph Wiggum hit puberty'. Chris has the inteligence of a three year old and is a purely reactive to character. Ie he cannot initiate anything, only react to stimulous. Also Steven sounds like he's the age he is meant to be.

I guess Haley is a better character than Meg, since Meg's role was to be the butt monkey. But then they binned that so she is now kinda just there. Haley dose have a goal of being the hippie. But Meg has a nicer voice. Haley speaks in a sardonic tone that is so grating. I get it fits the character but its just obnoxious. Now yes I know Lois's voice is annoying to, but its a fun kind of annoying. Like Lois's voice is meant to be an exaggeration of the nagging mother, so its funny and fun to impersonate. While Haley's sounds more 'real' and I don't think that works for a cartoon.

I 100% understand anyone who says they can't stand FG because of Lois, but I find her moaning funny.

Brain is better than Klause, Klaus's entier personality 'Ja mein Fuehrer. Deauschland Uber Alles'. Brain's snootiness and hypocrisy can be funny when it blows up in his face. Stewie is better than Roger I'd say. Roger dose what ever the writers want, so I can't really care or be suprised by anything he dose. While Stewie is more conistant in what he dose.

Supporting Cast

I can't stand the bulk of the supporting cast on AD. Quagmire is funny, Joe is funny, Cleveland is boring, Consuala is funny. I can't stand any of Steve's mates, they are all unberable. Snot is a twerp, Toshi is the Cleveland of AD (unrelated by is Toshi short for Toshiko?), and Barry is a pound shop Chris. Carter is a riot. Jeff is annoying.

Town

Springfield feels like a real place, Quohog much less so. But Langley Falls seems to have no sense of geography what so ever. The town just has no real personality. Like Danvile in Phineas and Ferb has a sense of geography.

Music

I'll give you that the songs in AD are usually better than those in FG.

Many say AD fixed FG, I just don't see that. Unlike the Simpsons both shows have next to no rules. So Peter or Stan could become King of Neptune for an episode and FG just dose it better most times. Also why dose Peter get condemed for bullying Meg (in current episodes Joe has basically taken that role), but Roger cutting off Steve's arm gets a free pass? Double standards much.

I guess I would swap Chris for Steve and I guess I'd not mind Roger being in FG, and maybe I could have Haley replace Meg, if she kept Meg's voice.