![]() Later we have this referred to as “The game of the 21st century. The episode posits that the Toymaker’s puppet, provided for appearance on the first instance of television, offered a signal in the form of a laugh, a giggle, that is now causing this effect. ![]() It might just be human nature at work, and Kate Stewart asks how they can possibly “fight the human race”, but the worldwide phenomenon indicates something more is going on. To make a long story short, where the previous episode left off, with chaos breaking out in our time, was due to everyone suddenly being sure they were right and refusing to be told otherwise. When he utters the line “May God go with us” it seems a somber choice of phrase for the occasion, but it proves to be utterly appropriate both in hinting at the prominence of religious themes in the episode and in portending what will follow. The story features Scottish inventor John Logie Baird who first demonstrates television technology using a puppet. Doctor Who began as a show to introduce children to history, and this episode continues that legacy, but with a typical Doctor Who twist. This episode talks about gods and even God more than other episodes, and that’s saying a lot. There’s a need for an exploration of how the Doctor first met the Toymaker. I revisited that classic episode in preparation for watching this one and it seems that there’s probably still more to explore in terms of the Doctor’s connection with the Toymaker. Stern Venom Pinball Machine Limited Edition, from $6,999, sternpinball.Neil Patrick Harris does a good job, I think, of bringing the character of the Toymaker back. Choosing your “venomized” host at the outset (such as Hulk or Captain America) not only changes the gameplay but, in the case of the premium and limited-edition versions, also the physical playfield, with ramps and pathways performing an astonishing switcheroo. Its three new Marvel-branded Venom machines are its most advanced yet, and represent the ultimate battle between flippers and gravity. While VR headsets like Meta Quest and Vive Pro are designed to bring physicality to video games, Stern has done it the other way around by incorporating elements of video games into pinball, such as levelling up potential, XP points and the ability to save game progress. Pinball wizardry Stern Venom Pinball Machine Limited Edition, from $6,999, ![]() My lack of patience and slight hamfistedness led to occasional frustration when building some of the circuits, but I guess that’s one of the reasons I’m not an electronics engineer. As someone woefully ignorant of how electronics work, I found the puzzles fascinating and the steampunk aesthetic delightful. Spintronics brings a similar approach to electronic circuits: beautifully constructed, highly tactile mechanical parts interlock to teach the basics of capacitors, resistors, transistors and so on. Minnesota-based toy manufacturer Upper Story scored a hit with its first game, Turing Tumble, which taught the basics of computer programming using marbles and mechanical parts and won a Parents’ Choice Gold Award in the US. Says a company spokesperson: “We wanted to turn science fiction into science reality.” One of those, Ryo Yoshida, took his obsession to extremes by founding a company, Tsubame, dedicated to making a Gundam-inspired robot suit weighing 3.5 tonnes and standing 4.5m tall. Gundam would go on to become a cultural icon, with multiple films, novels and video games to its name and a legion of obsessive fans. Gundam wasn’t a huge success initially, but it spawned a craze in Japan and south-east Asia for model kits called Gunpla based on the machinery from the series. For reasons too convoluted to go into here, it ends up being piloted by a 15-year-old boy, Amuro Ray, who spends subsequent episodes blasting Zeon forces to smithereens with Vulcan Guns and Hyper Mega Bazookas. In response, engineers on Earth develop Gundam, their own supercharged version. A space colony of humans calling itself the Principality of Zeon decides to wage war on Earth using a fleet of giant robot suits piloted from within. If you’ve never watched an episode of the 1979 Japanese anime series Mobile Suit Gundam, don’t worry, because I have and I can fill you in. Transformer your life Inside the cockpit of the Tsubame Archax Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
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