Countdown to Doctor Who

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Countdown

31
Days:1
Hour:25
Min:25
Sec

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary is on  Saturday, 23 November 2013

April Fool's 2 years, 8 months, and 12 days later....

There are times when you realize that you want something too much.  It makes you vulnerable and gives others the opportunity to use that against you.  Today, I was duped by a more than two year old April Fool's joke by the BBC.  (This is the problem with the Internet, things don't die here.)

It involved the possibility of recovering lost episodes of Doctor Who from the 60's using bounce back radio waves.  All my Doctor Who fans will know exactly how elated I was at the mere mention of this.  So excited was I that I immediately shared on Facebook and e-mailed to my fellow Whovians.  Then I notice the date and, instead of feeling incredibly stupid, feel an incredible sense of loss.  I really, really wanted this to be true.

Typing it now, I realize how silly the entire concept is  I mean radio waves degrade over time and space.  That's why I have to change from NPR Baltimore to DC when I get to work.  It's the sharing with a somewhat cool guy who will hold this against me that makes me feel stupid.  Always, always check your sources!  Then, check the dates on those sources and finally, do a Google Search.  Odds are, someone else fell for it before you did and may have written about it in hopes of saving you the same fate.  And always remember: If it's too good to be true, it usually is.

NaNo Ideas

I saw a commercial last night that really made me think about NaNo.  It was the new Playstation 3 "Michael" Commercial for their Long Live Play advertising campaign.  In the commercial, soldiers from Call of Duty make a hasty escape to a medieval looking tavern filled with other characters from Playstation 3 games.  Each of them describes a situation when they felt they were down and out and Michael stepped into "help" them out.  At the end, they salute "Michael" and the camera pans out to show several other gamers photos on the walls of this place. 

It really made me think of Jasper Fforde and his novels where literary characters can interact with each other in the BookWorld.  Here are several game characters hanging out in a bar saluting their player that controls them through the different levels of their respective games.  It has the same reverence that one would attribute to a deity or to the reader in Fforde's novels.  (Though, in Fforde's novels it's the author that controls the actions of the characters and the readers are merely the audience to the production.  But a reader could influence the way a character appears, as noted in the most recent novel that Harry Potter will forever look like Daniel Radcliffe because that's how the readers imagine him.)



from sharenator.com

 Cleolinda jones has a similar congregation in her Secret Life of Dolls and I sincerely wish I had that level of creativity.  I know I've written on this theme in previous NaNo's but it is incredibly seductive to this literary fangirl.  Who wouldn't want to put his or her favorite characters in a room together and see what happens?  Think about Murder by Death or certain commercials for television line-ups.   Even the recent season finale of Doctor Who with the whole history of time happening at once was a similar idea.  (Winston Churchill as Caesar and Charles Dickens writing Christmas specials for TV!!)

Doctor Who: Let's Kill Hitler

Doctor Who returned last night after a mid-season break.  I was concerned about how this returning episode would pick up after the events in "A Good Man Goes to War."

With a title like, "Let's Kill Hitler," I was intrigued but also concerned that we would have a one-off episode before getting back to the River Song/Pond Family story arc.  Thankfully, the title was a red herring and Hitler was locked in a broom cupboard for almost the entirety of the episode.

First, let's talk about the Teselecta.  Clearly Mels is not the only human being to consider using time travel to go back and "Kill Hitler."  The tiny humans, I'm guessing they're humans anyway, inside the Teselecta are already on their way to do the very same deed.  Honestly though, who hasn't thought of using time travel to go back and prevent some of the horrible things we learn about in history. The Justice Department humans, in the Teselecta, assume the form of a Wehrmact officer, in what has to be one of the coolest effects I've seen used for a robot that can change its shape at will, and head off to Hitler's office.  

What interests me about the Justice Department though is that they make a point of finding the "criminal" at the end of his or her timeline.  They aren't going back in time to stop what that individual may or may not have done.  I don't know if it has something to do with changing "fixed points" in history or what.  But I thought it was odd that they have the ability to go back in time and covertly kill an important historical figure yet we don't really talk about preventing the crimes in the first place.  Of course, I suppose it then goes into the ideas presented in "The Minority Report" where they question punishing someone for a crime they could potentially commit.

This brings me back to the Doctor and River.  The Justice Department decides to abandon their Hitler mission, they were too early, and go after Melody Pond instead.  Apparently she was a much bigger fish.  They go after her because ***spoiler alert***she kills the Doctor, as seen in the season opener.  Which makes me wonder, why did River stop Amy and Rory (in the opener) if she knew perfectly well what was going to happen?  Then she encouraged Amy and Rory to hide the news of his death from their current doctor when he showed up.  What does it mean?

I also found it quite disturbing that Mels ***spoiler alert*** is pre-regeneration River Song.  Well not the part where she is going to be River Song, but the part where she was a childhood friend of her parents.  Wikipedia tells me that this is an ontological paradox.  Meaning that by Mels being friends with her parents, she encourages their relationship (thus ensuring that she is born) and then provides a namesake for herself.  Kind of disturbing is thinking about when Melody received her combat/seduction training if she "grows up" with her parents.  Was she already an adult in a child's body?  Where was she living while they were all "growing up?"  Was she living with her Silence Captors and getting mixed messages about the Doctor?  Also disturbing is the way the Doctor dismisses finding baby Melody; telling them that they have too much fore-knowledge.  a) I know that Amy is not going to give up trying to find her baby and b)is the doctor that foolish to think that she would.
What I do love is the way that Alex Kingston plays this newly regenerated Melody Pond/River Song.  Like the Doctors before her, she is amazed by the outcome, checks out her new teeth, etc.  What I thought was funny at the time, but realize is kind of biased now, is that Mels tell them to shush because she's "concentrating on a dress size."  The Doctor is never concerned about his waist size, why is she?  Is this an indication of her age? Or because she's female and therefore more superficial?  To be fair, I would probably do the same thing if I could regenerate into someone new.  But if all you have to do is concentrate during the regeneration process, why is the Doctor never ginger as he always laments not being?  Or is it not a gurantee just a preference?

I felt like some things were thrown in to justify previous things in the series.  i.e. Melody saying that she would slowly try and age younger to throw people off - is this to explain why the actress is getting older even though her first appearce was the character's last timeline-wise.  Or having Melody ***spoiler alert*** give her remaining regenerations to save the Doctor.  I felt like this was to explain why we saw the character die in her first appearance.  But that was explained in the same episode when she knocked the Doctor unconscious and took his place, so why bring it up now?

I have so many questions and I sincerely hope we get them wrapped up before the series ends.  I love the Ponds and River, but I am ready to move on from this arc.














http://fuckyeahgallifrey.tumblr.com/post/9601264737/martinusmiraculorum-show-me-river-song

Doctor Who: A Good Man Goes to War

First of all, I want to say that I thought it was peculiar that the Doctor's new companion was named Amy Pond, back in 2010 when Moffat took over, since he'd also written a character named River Song during Davies' reign.  ***SPOILER ALERT***  Now I wonder if Moffat didn't have this in mind all along.  I know that the character was intended to be recurring, but could he possibly have had this in mind.  It also makes me realize that Amy is not quite so important.  I mean she is and she isn't.  She has a special bond with the Doctor and a non-romantic one, à la Donna Noble, but knowing that ***SPOILER River is Amy's Daughter *** makes me wonder if Amy exists because of River.And I just thought about how clever that was, to have River returning from a birthday celebration with the Doctor at some point in their future around the very same time that Melody was born. 

I really don't know what to think of all of the reveals in this episode.  It had the gathering of allies much like a finale, but it's a mid-season finale until September (GAHH).  I don't know if I can wait quite that long to figure out what the heck is going on.  I have ideas, but that big picture is really fuzzy right now.  I know if will be brilliant when all is said and done, but it has left me unsatisfied for now.

Doctor Who - The Almost People

I have to say that I was surprised at the ending to this episode.  ***SPOILERS***It should have been painfully obvious, that the doctor and his ganger switched shoes to trick Amy.  And somehow I should have guessed that the eyepatch lady was part of this Flesh business.  But I figured it was a stand alone episode like the two before it and didn't pay it any attention.  Will write more upon second viewing.

Doctor Who - The Rebel Flesh

Thankfully, all those predictions about the rapture were all for naught and I was able to catch the new episode of Doctor Who last night.  Though I was extremely disappointed that it was a part one of a two part episode that will not be concluded until June 4th.  Something about Memorial Day Weekend and American Audiences not watching TV.  Given the nature of this episode, having to wait two weeks for the conclusion is just cruel.

My first thoughts:  1)We've had Pirates cursed with a Black Spot and now Avatars who just want the Government to leave them alone - is this a tour of blockbuster films à la Doctor Who? 2) Isn't this how we got the Martha Clone in that Season 4 episode?

There is the question of what makes someone, or something in this case, alive.  We had a little bit of that in the last episode when the TARDIS is looking for a word that is "so big and so sad."  But this is an entirely different level.  These Doppelgangers, or "gangers" for short, are exact copies of their human counterparts.  They have the same exact memories and feel that they are, in fact, that person.  I really liked the scene where the one character was talking about his son and the Ganger described what it felt like the day the boy was born.  It raises complicated questions about how the Gangers will live out their lives if they survive.  We had some discussion of this in "The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky" episode when the Martha Clone is dying.  She says she remembers all the same things that Martha does and is sad for all the things she won't get to achieve.

Final Thoughts:  If there is a successful clone of the Doctor, will he still be the last of the Timelords?  I mean apart from Jenny and whomever that little girl was at the end of the two part season opener.

The Doctor's Wife (Episode #4)

I was finally able to catch up on the latest episode of Doctor Who and all I can say is, "wow!"

***Please do not read past this point if you want to avoid Spoilers***
To start, a couple of recaps and reviews from the web:

the Two Cents Corp - Doctor's Wife Review
Filmthrasher - Doctor's Wife Review
Mark Watches - Doctor's Wife Review

I will refrain from giving a recap, as you can click on a link above if that is needed, but I have to talk about how much I loved this episode.  Idris, or rather the TARDIS, was amazing!  I don't know what made Neil Gaiman think of that particular twist, but it was brilliant.  Using a character, the TARDIS, with whom we are already so familiar but take for granted was just a breath of fresh air for me.  Honestly, the speech at the end was as emotionally charged for me as the ending of season 2 when the Doctor has to say good bye to Rose.

I'll admit the title was a bit misleading, but I think that was the intention.  Kind of like the Doctor's Daughter in Season 4, she's not really his wife.  But I really wish Idris had made it past this episode.  I would love to see more of her and her interaction with the Doctor.  I should have expected something like this from Gaiman, though.  He is always taking things we take for granted and making them magical or more than they seem.

A Pirate Episode for Doctor Who

I can't even begin to tell you how disappointed I was with this episode.

Mark Watches - Curse of the Black Spot Review

I understand that after the drama of the season opener we needed something to cleanse our television pallet.  And this episode does succeed in doing just that.  But I didn't leave feeling terribly impressed with it and I wonder how many times they can kill Rory before I hate them.  It's like on Buffy, they would constantly put Willow in dangerous situations in the first few seasons and if she cried it was like fan gold.  Putting Rory in danger does manipulate the emotions of the audience, but I am starting to get tired of it.

The Silence and The Gentlemen

I have been very excited for the new series, aka season, of Doctor Who to start and I missed the first two episodes due to my trip to Ireland.  Of course, I was able to watch the episodes on TV there as well, but there was so much to do that one hates to rush back for something that can be seen back home.  I have officially caught up with the series and can't wait for the next episode on Saturday.  I do have to say that I am very glad I didn't have to wait an entire week to watch the second part of the season opener.  "The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon" are probably two of the best episodes we've seen from Steven Moffat and quite ballsy, too, I might add.  I won't spoil anything for those that haven't seen it and plan to at some point, but I do have to discuss the villain.  So if you don't want to have anything spoiled, please cease reading now.

Okay, now that I have your attention, I have to say that there was something very familiar about these creatures.  And no, it's not because I've seen them before and have forgotten them while I was looking away.  These villains are quite unsettling as one forgets all about them as soon as they are out of sight.  We are treated with scenes where River Song panics at the sight of a dozen of them hiding in a sewer only to return to her friends and announce that there wasn't anything there and she's going back to further investigate.  The most horrifying to the viewer is the scene where Amy Pond comes across one in the ladies room.  While she's stuck staring at the creature an innocent women comes out of a stall and shrieks at the sight of it.  The innocent then promptly forgets it's even standing there when she turns her head to respond to Amy's warning to back away from the creature and then repeats the same initial reaction three times before it kills her.  How does one defend themselves from a villain one can't even remember?

But back to my point about these villains being eerily familiar somehow.  Do you remember, haha, the Gentlemen from Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Season 4 episode, "Hush?"  I thought you might.  One of the creepiest villains in the Buffyverse and one of the scariest episodes because of the silence.  Visually, they are slightly different but have a lot in common; notice the suits and pale flesh.  There is, of course, a lack of creepy smile on the Doctor Who villain as they don't really have a mouth.  The Silence don't float, they seem to just appear in the corner of your eye.   The Gentlemen don't talk at all.  Both, however, play on our basic human fears.

The Gentlemen take away your voice and then kill you when you can't scream for help.  The vulnerability in that is what shakes the audience down to its core.  The Silence can influence you to do whatever they want and you won't even remember why you are doing it.  It's a sort of mind control through subconscious suggestion and they've apparently been on earth for a number of years; shaping and changing the destiny of the human race for who knows how long.   The Doctor clearly says that human beings decided to go to the moon because the Silence, "needed a space suit."  We just haven't learned the why yet.  As a writer, it's a brilliant plot device as it's possible we've seen them in previous adventures but can't remember them.

I will have to visit this again once the new season is over and I know how the Silence end.  Then I can fully compare them to the Gentlemen and see what is what. 

**Side Note: I also have drafts of entries for the days I was on vacation that I need to finish up and post.  Otherwise, I will have a huge gap in my year and my Buffy entries.**

Elisabeth Sladen 1948-2011



from http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/bulletin_110419_01/Elisabeth_Sladen

  I was very sad to see this article on my Google Reader today: Doctor Who/Sarah Jane Smith Adventures Star dies at 63.  I realize that I didn't watch the show when she was on Doctor Who as a regular, but it still feels like something will be missing from the Whoniverse.  I was first introduced to the character of Sarah Jane Smith in the episode, "School Reunion," which reunited the Doctor and Sarah Jane after 23 years apart.  She was so energetic and fun in that episode that I decided to tune in for the spin-off, the Sarah Jane Smith Adventures, even though it's specifically a kids' show.  The BBC has an excellent article up about her.

But I have to think that even though Elisabeth Sladen will no longer be able to film new episodes a part of her will live on.  They will use her likeness in video games, comic books, and action figures.  It's kind of like when the Doctor saved River Song in the conclusion episode, "Forest of the Dead."  She's been saved in the neural relay and will live on in the fandom forever.

Doctor Who Locations

I have discovered a most excellent web site dedicated to the filming locations for Doctor Who.  I hadn't really allowed myself the opportunity to research Cardiff, or any of Wales for that matter, out of a disbelief that I was really going and a certain amount of respect for my sister.  (She is not happy that I will be going there without her and while I understand that I can't pass up this opportunity.)  But finding this website has really allowed me to create a small list of places I want to see and pictures I just have to take.

So far this includes:

"Turn Left"

Conway Pub, 58 Conway Road, Pontcanna, Cardiff, CF11 9NW, Wales

"Silence in the Library"

Central Library, Alexandra Rd., Swansea SA1 5DX

"Blink"

Alexandra Gardens, Cathays Park, Cardiff (Welsh National War Memorial)

Fields House, 18 Fields Park Avenue, Allt-Yr-Yn, Newport, NP20 5BE

"Blink"/"Boomtown"

Glamorgan Building (Cardiff University), King Edward VII Ave., Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3WT

"Father's Day"

The Parish Of St. Paul's, Paget St., Grangetown, Cardiff

Fun with Legos

Last night, my friend M invited me over to watch episodes of Dexter and drink a little scotch.  When I got there, the legos his nieces and nephews had played with during the day were still out and I couldn't help but build this.  I wanted it to have an actual door that opened and shut, but alas the pieces were not available and I had to make it a solid cube.  My friend, sadly, did not know what it was and thought it was simply some kind of building.

My biggest regret is that I don't carry my Dalek Sec around with me so that I could have photographed him with my wonderful creation.  Okay, maybe that is a little bit obsessive, but it would have been damn adorable on Facebook today.