Also Good Fucking Bye - Matt Skiba's written some real "fuck you" bangers in his time.

And hey, since Christmas is approaching us like an empty-bellied Doomsday Machine, I'd be remiss in my duties were I not to point out that my first book was released this year, and it would *definitely* make for what could only be described as "a present".

www.idfc.co.uk/category/all...

I once tried to fashion a lockpick from a paper clip to get into my parents house. Chipped my tooth in the process. Then realised the door was unlocked; I'd just been turning the handle the wrong way.

*Especially* since the only two alternative options were "full recast", which would *also* have led to people bitching, and "just don't do a Season 5", which anyone is able to achieve for themselves by the simple expedient of just not watching the fucking show.

But drawing the line at "this actor got too old" is extremely clearly a personal thing, not a fault of the text.

There are limits, obviously - casting Brian Blessed as Lil Orphan Annie is unlikely to be a wise choice. Casting minority actors is also important (though not really specifically for reasons of verisimilitude).

A huge amount of what a lot of people mean when they say "realism" just translates into "I want to be able to forget what I'm watching is fictional", and it's the most stunning implausible and stupid criteria imaginable.

(Oh, also; tomorrow we cover "Children Of The Comet", which also took sodding forever to write up, and is also one I think is some way off the beaten path. It helps that it's so tied up with one of my Dad's favourite phrases, of course.)

(That said, while my longest-gestated essays aren't necessarily my best, they *are* the ones I feel most like no-one else is likely to have quite the same take. So there's that. I guess we'll see come May.)

I have a huge amount of respect for Sultana, and at least some for Corbyn (though quite a lot less since, as far as I can tell, he started prioritising unity over trans rights), but the movement doesn't need any two people calling all the shots. Not seeing that is your problem, not Your Party's.