Doctor Who is a family show?
Doctor Who
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Doctor Who is a family show?
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Doctor Who is a family show?
In Europe anyway. Kiddies hiding behind couches is tradition, it seems.
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@RobbyBevard:
In Europe anyway. Kiddies hiding behind couches is tradition, it seems.
Is mentally scarring them also a tradition?
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Doctor Who is a family show?
Started as an educational show. The Doctor wasn't meant to be the hero, Ian and Barbara were and Susan was meant to represent the children watching. The Doctor was an antagonist of sorts that kept getting them into trouble, kind of like Dr. Smith in Lost in Space. These plans were thrown out the window the second the Daleks were introduced though.
But even with the educational aspect gone, Doctor Who was intended as a show for families, but with a gratuitously high body count. Even today it's considered a family show. Steven Moffat has said that he writes episodes with his kids in mind. looks at the Weeping Angels and Silence That's… healthy. -
Doctor Who has been implanted into my brain for almost a year. If One Piece is my anime/manga obsession, then Doctor Who is my Sci fi obsession if not my British TV in general obsession. From the old right up to the new, I absolutely love it.
Also in response to some of you guys above, I like how Doctor Who can be loved by both children and adults as you can take it from different views. Kids need a little bit of scaring in my opinion, it just works better than many kids shows which are just full of fluff or just pure retardation.
Point is, I love this show and always will. I cannot wait for Series 7, until then I shall check out more classics and Big Finish audio dramas. Okay rant over XD
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The most enjoyable fiction is aimed at kids (but it never patronizes them).
One Piece, Doctor Who, Pixar films, Harry Potter novels, Bone, Ghibli films, Dr Suess books, Animaniacs etc and so on.
Quality transcends demographic. The My Little Pony (FiM) craze can probably be attributed to this as well.
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So, christ. Nearly run out of Big Finish to listen to. Couple of seasons of the Companion Chronicles, the Fifth Doctor monthly releases, the First and Fifth Doctor Lost stories and a couple of the specials and bam. Done. I would actually say that the Leela Trilogy, Oliver Harper Trilogy, Sara Kingdom Trilogy, Tales from the Vault and Peri and the Piscon Paradox are worth listening to for any and every classic Who fan. The Catalyst, The Time Vampire, Home Truths and the final episode of Peri and the Piscon Paradox are some of the most emotionally stirring stuff I've heard in Doctor Who full stop. Balls to anyone who dare call anything to do with Rose or Donna remotely emotional again after hearing that.
Slowing down and going through some TV soundtrack recons at the moment. Finally got through The Daleks Master Plan. Fucking hell, for a 5 hour long story, the pace really didn't slow at all. Action bloody packed to the brim. Loved it to bits… (although I'm really really not bothered that The Feast of Steven has been lost forever since it was shockingly bad). Also went through The Power of the Daleks. Only managed the first two or so episodes before giving up in the past but god does it get good in it's second half. Funny that Victory of the Daleks is almost a straight up remake. Got a lot more respect for Victory and the ideas it had since hearing Power.
Missed this stuff in here about people being surprised at Who being called a family show though. Of course it is! It's all pretty bright and hopeful tonally. Kids need monsters like the Daleks, the Gasmask Zombies, the Weeping Angels and the Silence for a good scare! Fuck, I wish I had Who when I was much younger.
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Missed this stuff in here about people being surprised at Who being called a family show though. Of course it is! It's all pretty bright and hopeful tonally. Kids need monsters like the Daleks, the Gasmask Zombies, the Weeping Angels and the Silence for a good scare! Fuck, I wish I had Who when I was much younger.
It also has people getting vaporized, electrocuted, assimilated, and meeting all other forms of gruesome death. Hell, it's even got a few implied child deaths.
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I watched Dr. Who as a kid. The little scares are fine. And as a kid, the terrible effects don't bother you at all.
Its crazy, the modern show is like, so much better looking by the Mofatt era.
Pertwee is still my favorite doctor, mostly due to an entire childhood of him being it, but Smith is very very close to taking it.
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Come to think of it, I guess I did watch Men in Black when I was about 9 or 10 and that had some creepy stuff in it. But any younger than that might be pushing it for me.
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The only Who that really ever comes to not being family viewing is some of the Hinchcliffe stuff - like Seeds of Doom for example, but I still feel it stays comfortably on the right side.
In some rather sad news, Phillip Madoc passed away today.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-17255287
Will always remember him in his absolutely brilliant role as the "War Lord" in War Games. Solon in Morbius was pretty great too.
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So, I'm finally watching the firest four seasons of the new series in their entirety on Netflix. (I just sort of caught random episodes before… and the Mofatt ones which I tracked down.)
Am I the only one that finds Rose INCREDIBLY annoying and can't wait for her to leave? That the show goes back to visit her equally annoying mother and boyfriend every other episode doesn't help.
They're no Amy and Rory, to be sure.
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@RobbyBevard:
So, I'm finally watching the firest four seasons of the new series in their entirety on Netflix. (I just sort of caught random episodes before… and the Mofatt ones which I tracked down.)
Am I the only one that finds Rose INCREDIBLY annoying and can't wait for her to leave? That the show goes back to visit her equally annoying mother and boyfriend every other episode doesn't help.
They're no Amy and Rory, to be sure.
You see the truth. Good.
Fuck. Rose. Tyler. She's a massive unlikeable bitch of a person. It gets much worse in Season 28/Series 2 when Sarah Jane Smith comes back for an episode.
Hell, she shows signs in the first Series. She disappears for a year, makes her mother worry sick, turns the town on her boyfriend, and she NEVER APOLOGIZES! Screw you!You know, River Song is often criticized of being Moffat's pet. While she does show signs of that, I can take a litlte satisfaction in knowing River dies (well, half-dies but still…) and River is actually fun to watch (probably because Alex Kingston can really act). Rose? She gets the undeserved big happy ending treatment. Fuuuuck that!
I agree, Amy & Rory are much better companions. I will miss them when they're gone.
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I rather like River, there was just a liiittle too much of her in the last season. Since pretty much the entire season was about filling in her back history.
I also think its a real shame all her regenerations have been accounted for now, since she could have been a recurring character for years and years with different actresses, same as the Master. (And the first time we ever meet a previous "evil" form, it would be a surprise until the reveal. The way it was handled with Mels… only more long term.) And her "earlier" appearances would be all, evil and stuff. lot of pathos and potential there. But that was just sort of all done in one episode, which felt like a waste.
So yeah. Moffatt was just too eager to tell that entire story, is the only problem. I don't doubt we're going to get a few more appearances yet, but she might be fully done in just another season or so (for the 50th I guess.)
Sure she's just a little bit Mary Sue... Any other series that would be a problem, but here... you have to be to keep up with the Doctor! And the actress can actually, you know, act. Truth be told, she's responsible for my coming back to the series. I'd written the new show off after catching two or three episodes of the first season, and then... four years later.. randomly caught the sci-fi channel airing Silence int he Library. And was hooked on that episode. (And of course had to tune in next week for part two!) Then heard some internet buzz about the writer in particular being responsible, and got psyched for season 5 when that writer was going to become showrunner...
Anyway. Rose is incredibly annoying. i want to get through season 2 as fast as possible. And not in the good way. (Though I already know I like Tennant just fine.)
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Robby, the sooner you get through season 2, the sooner you get to Martha, who I personally feel is worse than Rose. A lot worse.
To be fair, the only companion from The first 4 seasons I actually liked is Donna.
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@Nex:
Robby, the sooner you get through season 2, the sooner you get to Martha, who I personally feel is worse than Rose. A lot worse.
So the first four seasons are mostly just suffering and I was better off not seeing them for the most part?
Ah well. I'm working through the old show at the same time. Got through Pertwee finally, onto Baker now.
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I somewhat liked Rose. At least when she was with the ninth. Matha is awful. Much worse than Rose. Donna is a pimp.
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The only Martha I've seen is in Blink, so… only like 30 seconds of exposure.
Does she also bring her own annoying sidecast with her?
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She does. They arent as prevalent as Rose's but they still suck….worse even.
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The only companion Davies got right is Donna. Hell, I might like her more than Amy, but definitely not more than Rory. Even her family is likeable. I for one love Wilfred almost as much as I love Donna. Her mom is kind of meh, but in the end I think she turns out alright.
Also, Robby, the first four seasons aren't all bad. I found season 4 to be all around enjoyable and easily the best of Davies' era.
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I can understand not liking Rose. Martha I thought was fine myself. Mickey was good too. The problem I found with Martha was that every two minutes we had Rose shoved down our throat and a signpost pretty much stuck on her head saying 'THIS IS NOT ROSE' which I found to be pretty damn annoying. Some of Martha's episodes were pretty good tho. (Although some also terrible)
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Freema can't act. And Martha's constant fawning over Ten grew tiresome the moment it started. Her "girl unnoticed" thing was just a bummer and she wasn't a strong enough character or actor to sympathize with. Truth is, for the most part I liked Rose when she was apart of the cast. It's when she left that I started disliking her character. Basically season (series?) 3 is all about her being gone and the Doctor getting over it and season 4 is all about her coming back. This wore really thin with me.
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I like Rose and I like Mickey. She was fun and sweet and adorable and I liked how Mickey always tried hard though he annoyed me when he acted like a bitch. Hated Martha, boring as hell, at least Rose brought that foxy spunk to her character. Martha is a big bleh. The best companion by far is Wilfred though.
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@RobbyBevard:
So the first four seasons are mostly just suffering and I was better off not seeing them for the most part?
Ah well. I'm working through the old show at the same time. Got through Pertwee finally, onto Baker now.
Maybe you could give advice on where/how you watch the series, especialy the old one, to people with geographical disadvantages who still want to get into the show ?
For starters, a good way to find older episodes, be they legitimate or otherwise.
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If I may add my two cents, I really don't get all the Martha hate. I thought she was an adequate companion. She's no Donna or Amy, but at least she wasn't the bitchy fanfic character that Rose was.
Anyway, Robby, I'd say give series 3 a go, but if you find yourself not liking Martha either you may just want to skip to series 4, which IMO is the best of the RTD series. You've already seen Blink which is the best episode of that series anyway.
As for me, I'm still making my way throught Pertwee and have a bit of a ways to go till Baker. Watching Mind of Evil now (Roger Delgado is da bomb!).
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@No:
Maybe you could give advice on where/how you watch the series, especialy the old one, to people with geographical disadvantages who still want to get into the show ?
For starters, a good way to find older episodes, be they legitimate or otherwise.
Netflix has the entire current series, and a handful of the old series. Mostly I've just been hunting around online. (A lot of it I saw in childhood on PBS, but… the memories have faded so much it doesn't really count except as vauge nostalgia.)
http://www.dailymotion.com/playlists/user/tardismedia/10 has nearly everything from the old show from Pertwee on up. It has constant ads however, and depending on the day, that can make or break the experience. A minute long ad every 5 minutes is awful, but a short 5 second ad is pretty easy to deal with.
Other streaming and torrent sites probably have it too, but thats where I've been going since it keeps me in order.
As for me, I'm still making my way throught Pertwee and have a bit of a ways to go till Baker. Watching Mind of Evil now (Roger Delgado is da bomb!).
Delgado was great, but I got tired eventually of him showing up practically every episode. Theres like six in a row that are all him, and then he's back again just a couple episodes later. He's not there as much in the back half of Pertwee's run, but… it was just him for a long while.
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@RobbyBevard:
Delgado was great, but I got tired eventually of him showing up practically every episode. Theres like six in a row that are all him, and then he's back again just a couple episodes later.
Well, the reason for that is the Master was created to serve as the Professor Moriarty to the Doctor's Sherlock Holmes. There were plans to kill him off in the planned Third Doctor send-off "The Final Game" but Delgado's real life death scrapped it and the character was retired for a few years.
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@RobbyBevard:
Netflix has the entire current series, and a handful of the old series. Mostly I've just been hunting around online. (A lot of it I saw in childhood on PBS, but… the memories have faded so much it doesn't really count except as vauge nostalgia.)
Is Netflix only a US thing ?
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@RobbyBevard:
Ah well. I'm working through the old show at the same time. Got through Pertwee finally, onto Baker now.
At least you shouldn't have much of a problem there then. A goodly amount of decent companions in that era. Baker's second & third companions in particular were great foils for him.
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At least you shouldn't have much of a problem there then. A goodly amount of decent companions in that era. Baker's second & third companions in particular were great foils for him.
Yeah, i don't have trouble with most of the old companions. Baker I remember more clearly from my childhood, and have seen a chunk of episodes more recently. Sara Jane, Leela, Romana I and II, K-9… yeah, some goodies in there.
@No:
Is Netflix only a US thing ?
Uhm, maybe? There's probably an overseas equivilent.
You should be able to find everything online with a little hunting, regardless.
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Ah, didn't want to spoil too much but I see it was unnecessary. SJS I thought worked much better with pertwee then with Baker, but Leela, Romana I and K9 were pretty much perfect to bounce off his personality. I just started rewatching "key to time" myself.
This for me was the best ever period of Who(hinchcliffe to williams).
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@RobbyBevard:
Delgado was great, but I got tired eventually of him showing up practically every episode. Theres like six in a row that are all him, and then he's back again just a couple episodes later. He's not there as much in the back half of Pertwee's run, but… it was just him for a long while.
Yeah, I've heard he sticks around for a while, but I'm only on the second serial to feature him. Hopefully his stream of episodes won't prove to be too overbearing for me.
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I think in one of the documentaries Letts & Dicks pretty much admit they messed up with the frequency of Delgado.
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@RobbyBevard:
You should be able to find everything online with a little hunting, regardless.
I only could find Genesis on a russian video host that streams extreeeeemely slooooowly.
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dailymotion had everything last time I looked. Had to use it for face of evil since it didn't come out on dvd until this month.
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@No:
I only could find Genesis on a russian video host that streams extreeeeemely slooooowly.
Yeah, I just checked daily motion for that exact serial actually, and they've got it.
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Yeah, I just checked daily motion for that exact serial actually, and they've got it.
I meant chinese video host, btw, but whatever. Hmm, I thought I checked Daylimotion for that one. How often do videos get taken down over there ?
Also, not exactly wanting to delve into big stuff yet, could anyone recommend some good (and or awful) shorter stories ?
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Troughton (Haven't watched much of him, and only one of Hartnell's)
Tomb of the CybermenThe Pertwee episodes I enjoyed the best…
Spearhead froM Space (the first Pertwee ep, sets up the status quo)
Doctor Who and the Silurians
Curse of Peladon
Inferno (tho that one is really long)
The Three Doctors
The Monster of Peladon
Planet of the SpidersAnd depending on if you like Daleks... any episode with Daleks in the title is going to have them, tho the quality varies wildly. They've had something like 40 or 50 stories... basically at least one appearance for every season the show has ever aired... and two or three for some.
Tom Baker eps (from what I know)
The Face of Evil
Talons of Weng Chiang
Key to Time saga (6 stories. Quality varies, but its neat for being a larger story if nothing else.)
Genesis of the Daleks (even if you're not a Dalek fan, that one is essential)
City of Death (funnier than it sounds)Davidson
The Five Doctors
Caves of Androzani (His last episode, one of the franchises' very best)Baker did a ton of episodes, so I know there will be more, but those are the ones I know of from recent watching or sheer reputation. After that I'm way less familiar with them... and doctors 6 and 7 only had about 10 stories each. 8 only had the one movie.
And then its the current series, where apparently the consensus is largely the Mofatt written episodes are the worthwhile ones and a few others.
If you want an awful episode... Twin Dilemma is pretty famous for being terrible... especially since it immediately follows one of the best episodes. The Happiness Patrol is pretty bad too, if for Candyman if nothing else.
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Hartnell
-The Daleks
-The Romans
-The Aztecs
-The Time MeddlerTroughton
-The Tomb of the Cybermen
War games is brilliant but is a ten part serial.Pertwee
-Spearhead from Space
-Day of the DaleksTom Baker
-Genesis of the Daleks
-Planet of Evil
-Pyramids of Mars
-The Seeds of Doom
-The Face of Evil
-The Robots of Death
-The Talons of Weng-Chiang
-Horror of Fang Rock
-The Ribos OperationAlmost anything after that I haven't seen for 20 years(I'm at The Stones of Blood in my rewatch). For McCoy, Remembrance of the Daleks & Curse of Fenric were great.
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Hartnell
-An Unearthly Child (just for the sake of seeing the very first serial)
-Edge of Destruction (you said short and maybe awful. This serial is only two episodes long and is notable for Hartnell flubbing his lines. Yes, they actually put it in the final cut).
-The Romans
-The Time MeddlerTroughton
-Tomb of the Cybermen
Pertwee
-Spearhead from Space
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@RobbyBevard:
Troughton (Haven't watched much of him, and only one of Hartnell's)
Tomb of the CybermenI actualy looked into that one, but had to stop after a bit because it did seem to be a bit drawn out. Yes I know why, it was a weekly show.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
Hartnell
-An Unearthly Child (just for the sake of seeing the very first serial)
Seen the very first episode, actualy, considering watching the others too.
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No love for 6th or 7th Doctors? Guys I am disappoint ;__;
Anyway as for more Hartnell, you should check out the ones I've seen so far (not sure if you've already said these):
the Daleks
Keys of Marinus
Aztecs
Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Web Planet
The Time Meddler
The War MachinesAs for Troughton too:
Power of the Daleks
The Highlanders
The Moonbase
Evil of the Daleks
The Tomb of the Cybermen
The Ice Warriors
The Web of Fear
Fury from the Deep
Wheel in Space
The Mind Robber
The Invasion
The Seeds of Death
The War GamesI could keep going with Pertwee onwards but this list is quite long anyway :P
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No love for 6th or 7th Doctors? Guys I am disappoint ;__;
Most of us haven't seen those in 20 years, and our re-watches are going in order.
And there's a lot of Baker episodes.
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@RobbyBevard:
Most of us haven't seen those in 20 years, and our re-watches are going in order.
And there's a lot of Baker episodes.
Oh right okay. I've been watching DW for almost a year now so I managed to catch them fairly recently.
Well if anyone wants some good 6th I can recommend:
Attack of the Cybermen
Vengeance on Varos
The Two Doctors
Revelation of the Daleks
and of course the Trial of a Timelord season (that one is a love/hate season but I like it myself)Also for the 7th:
Delta and the Bannermen
Dragonfire
Remembrance of the Daleks
Silver Nemesis
Greatest Show in the Galaxy
Battlefield
Ghost Light
Curse of Fenric
and Survival. The very last story of the classic series :)I realise the rewatches are going in order, but I just like to gush about DW that I had to recommend.
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Isn't that pretty much ALL the 7th episodes? He only had like a dozen stories.
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@RobbyBevard:
Isn't that pretty much ALL the 7th episodes? He only had like a dozen stories.
I missed out 3 of them because they're considered the worst in his era. I like them personally, but I have weird taste by finding good even in the worst serials :P
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I've been keeping track.
Patrick Troughton
~ The Mind Robbers
~ The Tomb of the Cybermen
~ The KrotonsJohn Pertwee
~ Carnival of Monsters
~ Spearhead from Space
~ The Green DeathTom Baker
~ Horror of Fang Rock
~ The Pirate Planet
~ City of Death
~ The Ark in Space
~ The Robos Operation
~ Talons of Weng Chian
~ Genesis of the Daleks
~ Pyramids of Mars
~ The Androids of Tara
~ The Deadly Assasin
~The Power of Kroll
~The Brain of MorbiusPeter Davison
~The Visitation
Colin Baker
~ Vengeance of Varos
~ Revelation of the DaleksSylvester McCoy
~ Curse of the Fenric
~ Remembrance of the Daleks
~ Ghost LightAnd I have seen everything from Doctors 8-11. I really want to see more Troughton, he might be my favorite classic Doctor. Real shame BBC destroyed a good chunk of his run.
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I really want to see more Troughton, he might be my favorite classic Doctor. Real shame BBC destroyed a good chunk of his run.
So true. So very true. I'm tempted to pick up the soundtracks to the missing episodes, it may put my plans to buy more of the Big Finish audios on hold but I think it'll be worth it. Its the closest we'll get unless some of these miraculously get found.
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I don't know if I posted this here…. don't remember or see doing so... but I have finally watched EVERY SINGLE episode of Doctor Who.
I really like Hartnell, Troughton and Smith. Those are probably my top 3.
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…I commend you sir.