mtbc | A very gentle Christmas, with science fiction

We have nobody staying with us at the moment, nor are we visiting, so it is just me and

mst3kmoxie and our children. I am back at work in the New Year. We have taken a simple approach to festive food: while

mst3kmoxie did cook and slice us a duck yesterday and ham today, largely we have had an assortment of foods to hand, savory and sweet, that can be approached in more of a buffet style. The weather has been mild but we did not bother to leave the house at all today: we have just relaxed, spent time together, telephoned close relatives and watched a little television.

Yesterday we saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) which I shall not say much about because of spoilers; suffice it to say that I was underwhelmed but the rest of my family liked it. For me, too greatly it seemed as if things happened for plot or dramatic convenience or simple cuteness rather than because the characters would have done those things or that the situation would plausibly have been that way. For the first half in particular I did not find that events flowed naturally enough for me to become immersed in the tale. I definitely preferred Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) though IMDb voters currently rate them similarly.

Doctor Who's Twice Upon a Time (2017) today did not disappoint. Again, I'll avoid much in the way of spoilers. It felt a tad indulgent for one scene toward the end and I would have liked gur Svefg Qbpgbe gb pbagevohgr zber as I don't think they got enough credit. Still, it continued the show's return to maintaining a reasonable level of quality: not only did it again manage to avoid being dreadful but I hope that it will have pleased the fans as Peter Capaldi deserves a good send-off.

(In comments please keep any spoilers mild and ROT-13'd.)