Chez VampireBat

A generous run of points and within reach of the top 20, thanks all :o Night Tapes would be a fantastic winner if it holds, and I can claim to have sent them before it was cool x (if keeping with the general theme of this year's winners already having a top 10 hit )

Slowly trickling my way to the top 30, we love to see it x (with special thanks to Skall for the lone double figure points so far!)

Seems like I might be in for quite a middling night, but thanks for the votes so far. I was pleasantly surprised to even qualify so a decent position would be a bonus. So here for a Rontvia/Nelionoir battle for the top 2, would far prefer it to the other contenders mentioned.

30; Alan Walker (feat. Iselin) - Faded 29; Porter Robinson & Madeon – Shelter 28; Weeknd (feat. Daft Punk) - I Feel It Coming 27; Christine And The Queens - Tilted / Christine 26; Glass Animals - Life Itself 25; xx – On Hold 24; Chainsmokers (feat. ROZES) - Roses 23; Christine And The Queens - Saint Claude 22; Rihanna - Love On The Brain 21; Clean Bandit (feat. Anne-Marie & Sean Paul) - Rockabye 19; Weeknd (feat. Daft Punk) - Starboy 18; Paradis - Toi Et Moi 17; Javiera Mena - Otra Era 16; Elle King - Ex's And Oh's 15; Blossoms - Charlemagne 14; Jorja Smith – Blue Lights 13; Bruno Mars - 24k Magic 12; Mitski - Your Best American Girl 11; Ariana Grande - Into You 10; 1975 - The Sound 09; Danny L Harle (feat. Carly Rae Jepsen) - Supernatural 08; Sia - Cheap Thrills 07; Major Lazer (feat. Nyla & Fuse ODG) - Light It Up 06; Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop The Feeling 05; Rihanna - Kiss It Better 04; Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza (Seeb Remix) 03; Röyksopp (feat. Susanne Sundfør) - Never Ever 02; Lemon Demon - Touch-Tone Telephone 01; CHVRCHES (feat. Hayley Williams) - Bury It

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS - More Season 7 filler ayyy, not much I can recall about this, certainly wasn't as interesting as an episode focusing on TARDIS lore should've been. The Witchfinders - One of the better episodes this season just because with a female doctor, this is something that you can explore very well, and while the execution wasn't perfect (could've been great with a different showrunner) in the ending, it was still quite enjoyable. Alan Cumming is particularly amusing in his role. Twice Upon a Time - This wasn't quite as strong as the precending two parter, and had the usual Moffat problem of the finales being quite overstuffed in the climax, and while David Bradley as the first Doctor is a masterstroke of casting, a bit too much is played on the sexist part (was One even particularly sexist? I've not seen enough of the original series to comment but I gathered that was more Three's thing x) The Next Doctor - I don't remember much about this one apart from the tease (which was a bit pointless as it was obvious Tennant wasn't leaving just yet) I did prefer it to Planet of the Dead and David Morrisey is always good, but Kaiju Cybermen is just really silly and there was only one of those 2009 specials that was truly something. A Town Called Mercy - A bit of a mixed one, I think the Wild West element, while fun, is a little throwaway. I do however think it does handle a harsh. merciless Doctor much better than the predecessor (Dinosaurs on a Spaceship) did, full credit to the cast but not the most memorable episode. It Takes You Away - Again, a mixed bag, though I do think I've grown to appreciate it a bit more as a more mature episode that actually attempted some character growth on Graham's part. The frog on the chair is classic Doctor Who, just a shame there's the usual Chibnall problems of too much going on. I think Moffat could've shown the Solitract and garnered emotion out of it really well, as it is, it's very rushed and misses it's potential. The Power of Three - Interesting, I didn't know that about that actor on set, I do recall that ending being a letdown though so that figures. I did actually quite enjoy the first half of this episode, it was fairly funny (Birdie Song cube is naturally my favourite gag) and the cast did well, which I do think was needed given the gut punch that was next up...

I definitely do not feel as widely voted for as those results suggest x

I was in Central London for a orchestral show today and the atmosphere was disturbing (I wasn't anywhere near the main sites for the protest, but did see the odd person with a flag around, remarkably low considering) seeing all the police officers around and roads closed. You only have to look at the list of guests - Katie Hopkins, Steve Bannon and Elon Musk via telecom - to look that there's no uniting going on here despite the name, ironically, it's clearly trying to make us more like America. As many as 100,000 showing support for a racist criminal is incredibly disheartening.

I would rank Without Me and Dirrty a fair bit higher, the former has become quite iconic and the latter I think was a real breakthrough moment from the Disney-esque sound that she had going before. Dilemma is very of its time, but I have such fond childhood memories of it that I can't hate it and I still find it a charming listen.

That 2023 quote and the fact he was answering a question on gun violence too just makes that pure karma on the universe's part. It's hard for me to mourn such a toxic bigot with such dangerously far-reaching influence to spread his bile, I'm sorry for his family but he's no loss to the world. I'm more worried about the fallout that will follow though - he'll be seen as a martyr and his influence will continue, the misinformation will be absolutely rife and things could get really nasty (not that they weren't already mind x).

Well I think that last half went quite well, Bronzil and Kathaldazia were essentials (didn't think they were likely to DNQ, but got scared for a second) and I'm really pleased for Flynnonda finally getting in too as that's got a great build to it and really stood out. Not quite getting a full house of my votes though as Macromia got 6 from me, a shame, I've been wanting to get more familiar with Marika Hackman and this was a really great, moody piece.

Oh that what was what I needed, thanks all <3 So pleased to qualify with one of my favourite songs of the year, I held off sending it for some time as I thought it'd be too subtle. Lovely to be through with a favourite I already know too *. Still a fair few favourites yet to be announced for SF1, I'll just be hoping this will be a stacked end to the final x

Scared for me and a few of my favourites :x

Oh I absolutely approve of this x

30; CHVRCHES - Leave a Trace 29; Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Ballad of the Mighty I 28; Tame Impala - Let It Happen 27; Taylor Swift - Out Of The Woods 26; Coldplay - Adventure of a Lifetime 25; Danny L Harle - Broken Flowers 24; Calvin Harris (feat. HAIM) - Pray To God 23; Florence & The Machine - What Kind of Man 22; Weeknd - The Hills 21; Taylor Swift - Style 20; Calvin Harris & Disciples - How Deep Is Your Love 19; CHVRCHES - Clearest Blue 18; Hozier - Take Me To Church 17; Years & Years - King 16; Walk The Moon - Shut Up And Dance 15; Major Lazer (feat. DJ Snake & MØ) - Lean On 14; Little Mix - Love Me Like You 13; David Bowie - Blackstar 12; 99 Souls (feat. Destiny's Child & Brandy) - The Girl Is Mine 11; Carly Rae Jepsen - Run Away With Me 10; Grimes - Kill V. Maim 09; Kendrick Lamar - Alright 08; Ariana Grande - One Last Time 07; Sigala – Easy Love 06; Mumford & Sons - Believe 05; Disturbed - Sound of Silence 04; Mark Ronson (feat. Bruno Mars) - Uptown Funk 03; Avicii (feat. Nick Furlong) - The Nights 02; David Zowie - House Every Weekend 01; Justin Bieber - Sorry

Just a slight decade split in quality there x Steve Brookstein easily first

Cool is one of Gwen's best songs, glad it's heading for a rightful win x

2015 99 Souls (feat. Destiny's Child & Brandy) - The Girl Is Mine CHVRCHES - Leave a Trace Florence & The Machine - What Kind of Man Will do the rest tomorrow x

It was a foraging session that was advertised on their YouTube channel where they played a few of their new songs as well, I hadn't seen a musician do that before so why not! They were really lovely, Iiris in particular is a very ethereal personality which kinda matches their music, didn't quite get round to mentioning BJSC to them but I'm sure they would've appreciated it x

Oops sorry I missed this, I finished 18th/24 in this last time so I suppose 13th/21 is a minor improvement x Pleased I at least got a few big scores, many thanks for voting for this scandi beauty (that's not really pop or Schlager at all but ssshhhh xx) Congrats Rich! Was a very enjoyable retro song and most of my votes did pretty well there so all good, thanks for hosting (and keeping the spin-off forum alive), Noche! Done! Anymore that need adding (now I've worked out how to do these)?

Closing Time - James Corden in anything devalues it so can't say I've revisited it much x (I don't recall much else about it, just another waste of the Cybermen) The Ghost Monument - This was where Chibnall's weaknesses really started to show, a lot of issues here persisted throughout the series. The Doctor scolding Ryan about using a gun (with bland acting as per) when she would go on to detonate them was a choice indeed x The Church of Ruby Road - This was honestly a pretty decent first outing for Fifteen, the goblins were a bit of a silly villain and the song is just an absolute mistake but it's not as juvenile as Space Babies and there was some really good tension when Ruby disappeared. The Doctor allowing the villain to be impaled though felt very out of character and jarred with the tone. The Name of the Doctor - Oh, that's rather low! True it's heavy on ideas and exposition, but it was still emotional and thrilling, and was a great set-up for the anniversary specials that followed. The Great Intelligence weren't quite as effective as they first appeared, but they had a great design and concept. Once, Upon Time - An interesting experiment, but didn't quite work as a whole. It didn't really serve as any substantial development to any of the characters, just flashbacks that didn't advance the plot and added a whole lot of confusion. Just one of many examples in the series of too much thrown at the wall and not all of it sticking. Kill The Moon - Certainly an interesting one that I have mixed feelings about. I thought the main plot wasn't particularly engaging and would have been a bit filler-y, the moon being an egg is the show jumping the shark if ever I've seen one, but the Doctor doing possibly one of the cruelest things he's done and Clara's completely scathing reaction was so striking. As said, I really loved the arc of someone so trusting and sensitive struggling to adapt to someone completely the opposite and I think Capaldi was the perfect person to portray this and I think that added a real sense of gravitas to what was otherwise a pretty average episode. Night Terrors - Definitely a bit better than a lot of child horror episodes, but it's still just ultimately filler like a lot of these episodes are. I did really like the doll's design, quite creepy. The Unquiet Dead - Oh I think this is too low, admittedly S1 is almost all killer no filler so it's not amongst the best of that year, but I wouldn't rank it the lowest by any means (especially when both Slitheen episodes are still to come?!), I love the historical episodes and this added a deeper sense of morality between the conflict between humans and ghosts, and I like the slower moments too as it makes us care about the characters a bit more. The Return of Doctor Mysterio - Not sure I needed Doctor Who's take on a superhero story (bloody MCU interfering in everything at the time x), but it was OK for what it was, not one I revisit though. The Long Game - I think this is a more worthy of being low in S1, it's filler but goes to show how good that season was. The ethics of journalism subplot is interesting, but the sci-fi concept just feels very dated nowadays. Simon Pegg is underutilised and the villain is not the most remarkable, the dumping of the utterly useless Adam was wonderful though, the rare moment of a show knowing how pointless he was. Tooth and Claw - I think this is still a solid episode even if it doesn't measure up to the very best of S2, the early seasons did historical episodes really well and the sense of suspense and dread before we see the werewolf is really great. The Queen Victoria running gags got a bit overused though. The Idiot's Lantern - There was an interesting exploration of domestic abuse here which is commendable for a show that has a young audience. Otherwise, it's definitely towards the lower end of the season, the threat was ruined a but by the poorly executed conclusion. The Vampires of Venice - I guess we needed an episode like this after Flesh and Stone, but it's very forgettable and there's not much about it that invites a rewatch,

Hype to Night Tapes indeed (always love a Terra recycle, although guessing they'll do even better x), their material has been really good this era, not as good as helix but still great. they are also the only BJSC act of mine I've met in person I'm admittedly not sure of my chances this time, due to the quick contest turnover I just sent a song I've been really liking recently, but I'm hoping the vibes can click with others like it did with me (and maybe make up for Lava La Rue's other two DNQs which I forgot completely sorry x)

Yeah, looking back, I think Space Babies was their first real muck up. I imagine that would've put a lot of people off instantly and especially with only eight episodes. There was so many other ways they could've given new viewers a flavour of Doctor Who that was more fun/monster of the week, hell a Dalek episode would’ve been perfect given they were going for a soft reboot.

The Girl Who Died - Similar thoughts to it's successor earlier, unmemorable two parter that just seemed like an excuse to show they have Maisie Williams. The Eaters of Light - You'd think with Romans and whatnot I'd remember this, but it's not coming to mind, I recall the threat/conclusion being underwhelming as is often the case with these filler episodes. Survivors of the Flux - Oh boy, Flux was a mess (impressive for the pandemic though I do agree), but I did think it had great parts to it, this though is a lesson on how to completely kill tension built in the last episode. The companions are still such blank slates and the adventures were so unengaging and convoluted and it was sadly where the story started to fall apart with how quickly we were on a path to the finale. The Curse of the Black Spot - Fun idea having the Doctor on Pirate ships and all, but a bit throwaway in execution. Empress of Mars - I'm sorry, I'm sounding like a broken record but this is just yet more filler I don't remember, I don't think the Ice Warriors have been well utilised in the new series. Can You Hear Me? - This was one of Chibnall's better episodes, and I really appreciated the, um, attempt at character development, it didn't fully work as none of these characters come back and some plotlines were unresolved but it was better than we had so far. There were some nice art styles in this episode, but it suffered from an unmemorable villain and poor conclusion. I do agree that the Doctor's line to Graham was really badly done and tone deaf, this iteration was clearly more peppy than the one before and while it's not out of character to be awkward, there's a way to do it more subtly than...that lol 42 - I did enjoy the timed concept, but a lot of liberties were taken! I've got some good nostalgia for it as I have all of Eleven's era, but it's definitely a filler episode. Space Babies - Tbh I'm not sure how to judge the RTD2/Fifteen era right now, I'm still a bit angry as to the uncertainty and how they left off, but we'll get to that as we go...I hated this on first watch as, well, it's babies in space with a monster made of snot. Looking back, it's harmless and just not really what I look for in the show, but compared to other more silly episodes to open eras like Partners in Crime and Smith and Jones, it's just really lacking that drama to balance out the silliness.

ooh the Japanese Breakfast song has a fab chorus indeed, great pick <3 Quite a few other artists I know, but not the songs x

Your second paragraph is complete misinformed nonsense which is quite dangerous to spread. Asylum seekers DO NOT all get free money automatically, only the most destitute while their asylum is processed, and they get about £50 a week to cover food. clothing, toiletries etc. (£10 a week if your meals are provided), slightly more is given to families and pregnant women. There must also be clear evidence that you need this, god knows where you think they're getting a free phone or driving lessons from, I assume a Facebook post. You can read a bit more here for some actual facts: https://nrpfnetwork.org.uk/information-and-resources/rights-and-entitlements/support-options-for-people-with-nrpf/home-office-support, https://www.gov.uk/asylum-support Legally, asylum seekers have to be housed while their claims are processed. They are put in basic hotels which they don't get a choice with, where else would you put them in line with our basic obligation to cover Human Rights? In cages? I think going back to school and learning media literacy wouldn't be the worst thing, as all this post shows is you're far too prone to accept tabloid/social media misinformation.