Not our name, but our passion
The Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is a tree dwelling squirrel native to the eastern part of the United States and Canada. It is very important in forest regeneration due to its habit of scattering and hoarding of seeds. It is common in parts of Europe and is considered an invasive species there. Alex took these pictures as the marauding culprits scattered and ate birdseed on our deck overlooking the river.
The eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) lives in deciduous wooded areas and urban parks throughout the eastern United States and southern Canada. It prefers areas with rocky outcrops as it is mostly a ground dwelling animal. Alex took these pictures from our living room looking out on the deck as it was eating birdseed that had been scattered by marauding Gray Squirrels.
Doctor Who The Complete History was a series of hardback volumes which came out every two weeks and covered 3-4 stories each. These were in-depth volumes covering the production of each episode from the first in 1963 to the end of the Peter Capaldi era of the show. In addition to the extensive production notes there were also merchandise and publicity updates and actor profiles. The quality of each volume was exceptional overseen by several different editors. The volumes were only available in the UK and Ireland so were difficult to obtain in other locations. I am more of a Watsonian fan but if you are a Doyalist you will greatly appreciate these books. Even so I give the entire series a solid 8 out of 10. I will rate each episode covered below.
Inferno is the last story in the celebrated Season 7 of the show. It is a parallel Earth story which has always been a favorite genre of science fiction for me, one that I feel should be used much more often in the program. It is used to great effect here with alternate versions of The Brigadier and Liz really standing out as well defined characters. The milieu of parallel Earths and this one in particular have been greatly used and expanded on in the extended media but little used in the TV program itself. The fascist Britain depicted here is both believable and frightening with its ultimate demise poignant. 10 out of 10.
Terror of the Autons sees the introduction of Jo Grant as the Doctor’s new assistant and The Master as his arch enemy. Both of these characters are not favorites of mine. I feel that Jo is a great comedown from the intellectual and competent Liz and The Master is very overused. The Autons make a return here and provide some genuinely frightening scenes. 7 out of 10.
The Mind of Evil is a story that many see as the stereotypical Third Doctor story. We have heavy use of the UNIT “family” and sees The Doctor and friends embroiled in a high paced action adventure with The Master’s Machiavellian plot underlining it all. 7 out of 10.
The Claws of Axos sees the Doctor and UNIT dealing with a race of aliens who initially come across as benevolent and offering to help. It turns out of course that they have anything but a philanthropic intent. The character of American UNIT agent Bill Filer comes across as an interesting addition to the main cast and is well played by Paul Grist. This is another standard Third Doctor / UNIT / Master story representative of the era. 7 out of 10.
