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I really didn't like Missy at all in the previous series but she was much better in this one. Same goes for John Simm.

Well it doesn't matter about his/her private parts.   Turning the Doctor female will turn the show into a complete fucking joke full stop.

Based on what...women being inferior to men?

Based on the fact that the Doctor's always been a man and that I don't want to see a female Doctor and probably the same with many other people too.

Right you don't want to see a female Doctor, & a lot of other people probably don't to. But you still haven't answered the question of how, in real terms, it will turn the show into a joke?

Did Missy turn the show into a joke? The Master has always been a man.

Times change, get with it daddio! Stop being an L7!

Yes I do think Missys turned the show into a joke.   Not only is this gender change Timelord stupid and pointless but she was like Mary Poppins on speed.

Or...like Norman Wisdom on acid http://youtu.be/tF2fN4MmMAY

Nothing says "anti-establishment" more than being Lord President of Gallifrey. Twice.

Not in the Vicky McClure punk persona mate!

My pick for a female Doctor would be Vicky McClure because she's fucking brilliant in everything.

I've always hankered after a punk Doctor (the Doctor should be anti-establishment and nothing says that more than a safety pin through the nose and a home made t-shirt). She's already pulled off Skinhead and could easily do punk.

How about the Amazonian warrior women in the first battle scene of the recent blockbuster movie 'Wonder Woman'?

Soldiers involved in violence during a war. Shocking. 

I wouldn't worry about it being bad form - it's not really that big a deal is it? And I'm almost certain it's not illegal.

As for the performance - they're well out of time as much as anything. If they want other people to enjoy their work it may be worth getting a tough professional in to tighten them up a bit and cull the no-hopers.

Sounds a bit cruel I know - if they're just doing this for their own amusement let them get on with it.

55 years of production and only, what, 3 or 4 openly LGBT+ characters? Asking for more isn't filling a quota with those numbers.

But times change and I think it's fair to assume that the show will continue on its current trajectory of increased diversity quite naturally.

Honestly, as a flaming Bi AF dude it really isn't a political matter, its no more so than heterosexual relations. What it is is something that transendes politics and media and culture as just pure love between folk. Politics as far as the movement is concerned is more constructed notions like marriage, addoption and the right NOT to be fucking harrased in the street daily. THAT is political.

So yes, back to it. Bill was great theoughout, more gay characters please.

I wouldn't like to see a situation where characters are created on a 'quota' basis. Calling for more 'gay characters' seems like a mistake to me. Let's just call for more great characters, great writers and great show runners and hope that whatever they come up with finds an appreciative audience.
We should have faith that the programme makers will explore diversity in their characters as a facility of the drama, not just to appease some perceived need for a certain number of boxes ticked according to X,Y or Z 'minority'.

Something I find quite interesting is that 30 years ago there may well have been claims that a black or mixed race companion was somehow pushing a certain agenda. Thankfully we seem to be over that.   

Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. Maybe water-lady just thought all that stuff was character building.

I really enjoyed that. It had its faults but overall it was loads of fun. Really looking forward to the Xmas special now!

A childhood favourite:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k80uOImviFc

The best Easter egg I ever got was a Paddington one. It had jelly marmalade sandwiches inside.

As one of the organisers of a gaming festival in Norwich I think you'd be surprised at how popular our retro area is.
We choose the games quite carefully (more arcadey stuff as that's the nature of the event) and people are always queuing. This year we could hardly get people off Crash Bandicoot, Snes Mario Kart (this and Street Fighter 2 seem to be the most popular of our selection) and Sonic 2.
We also have a couple of multi-game cabinets with a good selection of old arcade games on them.
Younger kids seem to really connect with games which have simpler controls. The appeal of Pacman as a game for mums to play with younger children can't be underestimated - it's so easy to explain and to understand the objective and controls of the game.
This year we also had a guy running a retro home computer area. He had kids queuing up to play Snapper on the BBC Micro (and competing for high scores)! 
I realise there's an element of novelty in all of this but in the right context these games can still entertain.

I suppose it partly comes down to what you're used to and what you expect. If you pick up Ghouls n Ghosts ad expect it to be a similar experience to some modern 3D game you're going to be disappointed.
That's no reflection on the game itself though, it's just that the player hasn't got what they expected.
The comparison with films is interesting. I used to enjoy watching old films when I was a kid - particularly old black and white B movies or anything with stop motion monsters. Most of my friends thought they were crap though - old and boring compared to modern films. Fair enough I suppose, but I always thought they were missing out.
People often comment that retro games can't compete because they're short and unsophisticated. I find it hard to understand that criticism. You have to appreciate the old style games on their own terms. If I play a Speccy game, I'll probably play through for 20 or 30 mins before switching to another game. But that's fine, that's how I always played those games (probably informed by my time in arcades going from game to game with a credit or two in each). I don't know why that short burst of fun is somehow less legitimate than a 2 hour session on Skyrim.

Cube and Wii Mario Karts are the worst ones!

I think retro games on the whole are a very different experience to modern games with, for the most part, a very different focus. There's much more emphasis on arcade fun, repetition and pattern learning and far less emphasis on narrative and world building. RPGs are the exceptions (but I never really played them).