Doctor Who Meme
June 23, 2008 at 7:28 pm | In Doctor Who | Leave a CommentAs we get ready for the season finale of series four, I found this meme about all things Doctor Who. I think it was around this time over twenty years ago that I watched my first episode of the show. So this meme seems appropriate. Plus, it saves me having to write an actual meaningful post…
1. When did you start watching?
It’s been over 20 years since I started watching Doctor Who. In fact, it may be pretty close to the anniversary of my discovery of the show on a local (at the time) PBS station, KTEH in San Jose, California
1a. Why?
My dad asked if I’d seen this show called Doctor Who before and changed over to it.
2. What was your first serial/episode?
TimeFlight, Part One
3. Which serials/episodes have you seen?
All of them.
3a. Favourite?
“Curse of Fenric.” Simply put, it’s magnificent, brilliant and marvellous.
4. Are your friends/family interested in the show?
I do have friends who enjoy the show, some who wonder why I watch and others who tolerate my obsessive love of the show. My dad occasionally watches the episodes of the new series and my sister lives is constant fear I will turn my niece and nephew into Dr Who fans.
5. Which Doctor is your favourite?
Sylvester McCoy
6. Which Doctor is your least favourite?
Like them all
7. Which TV companion is your favourite?
Ace
8. Which TV companion is your least favourite?
Adric
9. Do you listen to the Big Finish audios?
Occasonially.
9a. If so, which is your favourite?
Chimes of Midnight
9b. Also: which Big Finish companion is your favourite? Don’t have one
10. Have you listened to any non-Big Finish audios?
If you mean the BBC releases of old Target novels on CD, yes. I’ve also listened to the narrated audios of the lost stories.
10a. If so, which is your favourite?
Evil of the Daleks
11. Have you read any of the novels or short stories?
Had a huge collection of the novelizations back in the day, yes. Faithfully read all the New Adventures and most of the Missing Adventures. Have been far more selective in the BBC range.
11a. Have you written any of the novels or short stories?
Nope
11b. Which is your favourite?
Target novel: Remembrance of the Daleks.
12. Have you read any of the comics?
Yes
12a. You guessed it – which is your favourite?
Don’t really have one
13. Do you watch any of the spinoffs (e.g. Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures)?
Of course…I’ve even seen the spin-off pilot K-9 and Company back in the day. ::shudders:::
13a. Which is your favourite?
Honestly, I’d go with Sarah Jane Adventures because it’s the most in keeping with what classic Who is.
14. Is there any particular episode/book/audio/comic you desperately want to watch/listen to/read?
Not really, no.
Fandom
1. Do you write fanfic for Doctor Who?
I used to make up Doctor Who stories in my head when I was younger…does that count?
1a. If so, post a snippet of a work-in-progress (or several)!
2. Do you create Doctor Who icons?
No
2a. Let’s see a sample!
No.
3. Recommend a fanfic/icon/fanvid/fancomic/fancreation!
Can’t really.
4. Have you been to any Doctor Who conventions?
Yes. Went to the Who-mobile back in the day. For those of you who don’t recall what this is, it was a tractor trailer that had Who props in the back and you walked through, viewing them. It stopped at my local PBS station and McCoy was there just after he got the r
5. Have you ever dressed up as a Doctor Who character?
For Halloween, yes. My mom made me a Tom Baker-like scarf one year. I’ve still got it.
6. Do you own any Doctor Who merchandise?
Every available bit of footage on DVD or VHS. A couple of novels from the NA line I’ve kept.
7. Are you a fan of Russell T Davies?
In that he brought the series back, yes. As for his writing, not so much. He just can’t do epic.
7a. Steven Moffat?
I believe the word you’re looking for to describe me is fan-boy.
7b. Paul Cornell?
Yes, but more for his work on the NAs and the MAs.
8. What say you to Season 6b?
Ummmmmmmmm……yeah.
9. The UNIT dating controversy?
This is a subject that only the most obsessive Who fans debate..and yes, I have debated it. (And for those of you who don’t know the show, this refers to the time frame the UNIT stories took place, not whether or not members of UNIT were dating…though that can be debated as well)
10. The Blinovitch Limitation effect?
Ahhhhhhhh, technobabble.
11. Multi-Doctor episodes?
If they’re done right, it could be fun. Robert Holmes’ outline for the Five Doctors was better than any multi-Doctor story we ever got on-screen…
12. What’s your favourite Doctor Who technobabble?
“Reverse the polarity of the nuetron flow..?”
13. Have you watched other TV shows exclusively because of the presence of Doctor Who actors?
Some yes
14. Have you met any of the actors?
Sylvester McCoy
14a. Travelled to any filming locations?
No, but someday I will take a tour of the Rock Quarries of Dr Who.
15. What do you think of The Curse of Fatal Death?
It was hysterically funny.
16. Do you have any fannish opinions that you think are fairly unpopular?
I don’t care for RTD, I’m sick of Rose and I think McCoy was a great Doctor. Oh and I don’t care that much for Torchwood.
17. What’s your favourite pairing?
The 7th Doctor and Ace
18. What pairing(s) won’t you touch with a really long pole?
The Doctor and Adric
A day I never thought I’d see
June 15, 2008 at 11:43 am | In Doctor Who | Leave a CommentA New York Times‘ piece on Doctor Who.…
Here’s a sample.
It is hard to overstate “Doctor Who’s” significance for Britons of a certain age. First broadcast in 1963, when many households here were just getting used to that novel new device, the television set, it was a triumph of family viewing, a science fiction show that (unlike, say, “Star Trek,” with its particular audience) parents and children stayed home to watch together.
The show followed the adventures of a time-traveling character whose spaceship was cunningly disguised as an old-fashioned telephone booth and who saved the universe by means of immortality, brilliance, a mordant sense of humor and an array of useful enemy-thwarting devices. It remained on the air in one form or another until 1989, the potential awkwardness of having a succession of different actors in the title role explained airily away by the Doctor’s ability to morph into a different body every few years.
The new “Doctor Who” is broadcast during Britain’s family friendliest hour — just after dinner on Saturday nights — and it too has morphed into something else altogether, science fiction that is playful, sophisticated, emotionally resonant and peppered with lightning-quick allusions to literary works, to classic “Doctor Who” episodes from long ago, and to historical events and people. But Mr. Davies presses his grown-up themes with a whisper and a laugh, not a shout. No one actually has sex on screen in “Doctor Who.” And when Captain Jack makes an appearance (only rarely, since he now has his own show), his sexuality is an issue only in that his constant, equal-opportunity flirting tends to annoy his colleagues, busy as they are fighting intergalactic evil.
For those of you who still dismiss the show, I suggest you give the article a read and realize you’re missing out….
Doctor Who has a new producer
May 21, 2008 at 12:58 pm | In Doctor Who, tv shows | Leave a CommentThe big news in the Doctor Who world is that producer Russell T. Davies will step down as producer at the end of next year. (I hesitate to call it a season since we’re only getting four specials next year to accomodate the schedule of the actor in the lead role…or so we’re lead to believe). Stepping up to the role of producer is Steven Moffatt, who has consistently turned out the best stories of the new run of Doctor Who. He’s won two Hugos for his work on the show and will pick up a third later this year for last year’s brilliant episode, “Blink.”
This change in executive producer will be a good thing. Doctor Who is a show that is built around change and I think having new leadership for the program will sustain the series. Changes happened in the show consistently during the original series run and it kept chugging along for twenty-six seasons. There may be some fans to the new show who are in a bit of a panic over the change in producer, but all I can say is–don’t sweat it. It’s happened before and each time, it seems to bring in a fresh sense of energy and creativity to the show. Plus, it’s Moffatt, who has shown he just gets what it is that makes Doctor Who, well, Doctor Who.
The news has really got me intrigued to see what will happen to the show and looking forward to series five in 2010. Of course, now the speculation will be whether or not David Tennant is leaving the role. The way the stories are playing out this year and certain hints that have been dropped, I’d say it’s looking likely this will be his last full season in the role. That said, I’m not sure the BBC would want to have its biggest hit experience a huge change in front of the camera and behind it, changing lead actor and executive producer at the same time. I either expect Tennant to leave during the specials next year or mid-way through season five.
It’s a great time to be a Doctor Who fan…even if all the new fans who can’t get past that fact that Rose was just a companion and it’s OK that she’s gone annoy me.
TV Round-Up: Doctor Who
April 7, 2008 at 12:59 am | In Doctor Who | Leave a CommentJust like last season, I’m posting my reviews to the Slice of SciFi web site for each episode of series four of Doctor Who. So, if you’re dying to know what I thought about the return of the good Doctor with “Partners in Crime” surf on over to the Slice web-site.
And if you agree or disagree, let me know…
Doctor Who: Time Crash
November 20, 2007 at 12:48 am | In Doctor Who | Leave a CommentThis year’s Children in Need special brings together two Doctors for eight minutes of nostalgia and fun. Written by the new series’ best writer, Stephen Moffatt, it strikes the right balance. And it better explains how the Titanic can crash into the TARDIS….
TV Round-Up
May 2, 2007 at 2:19 pm | In 24, Doctor Who, The Shield, Veronica Mars, tv shows | Leave a Comment24: Day Six, 1 – 2 a.m.
The best part of this week’s 24 is the surprise return of Secretary Heller. Heller comes in, sees Audrey and then tells Jack to keep clear of his daughter since Jack is, as he puts it, cursed.
Nice scene. William DeVane did a nice job, though I wonder how long Jack will respect Heller’s wishes to stay far away from Audrey. Seems as if Jack is the only one who can reach Audrey to get any information on Chang’s potential whereabouts.
Other than that, not a lot really exciting going on this week. Turns out Lisa Miller is not just fooling around with the vice-president but a powerful lobbyist who just happens to be working for the Russians. I guess it’s supposed to be a twist on the cute female spy sleeping with someone high up who is male, but honestly it wasn’t all that interesting. I kind of felt sorry for her in that the whole encounter with Daniel Jackson (guy from Stargate) lasted approximately two minutes.
The good thing is this plotline is not strung out. We quickly find out Lisa is the leak and how it’s done. Daniels has to fess up to Tom Lennox that he’s also sleeping with Lisa, which now puts the embarrassing things you can hold over the other person’s head at 2 for Tom and none for Daniels. Were it not four hours from the end, I’d look to see Tom use this somehow as leverage over the VP. Oh wait, I just thought of it–this is how Karen and Tom will get Bill back in charge of CTU. Man, I should be writing for this show…
Speaking of CTU, Nadia is not doing a very good job of leadership. Apparently her leadership style is doormat–as in letting everyone else walk all over you. Unless you’re Morris and then she goes into total uber-pyscho mode and tells him he’s not transferring because she said so…nyah, nyah, nyah. Poor Morris…he’s had a rough day. Made even rougher when he decides that Chloe went too far in chiding him about giving the ability to arm nukes to terrorists.
Man, relationships at CTU just do not EVER work out, do they? You’d think they’d keep footage of all these bad break-ups to show to people who go out on a date…just to maybe save them some heartache in the long run.
Again, it’s another week where we have a lot of focus everywhere but Jack. Doyle allows Jack to overpower him so Jack can take Audrey and find out info. And Doyle also helps Nadia realize she has to stand up for herself and assert some leadership or else no one will take her seriously. And then she does and we get an after-school special like moment when Doyle gives her the verbal high five. Man, you have to think Milo is going to be annoyed at Doyle making a move on Nadia like that.
There must be something in the water at CTU that just heightens the sexual tension between co-workers. I think they’re on the same water supply system that used to run into the FBI basement. (X-Files reference!)
And I haven’t even got to the fact that Russia is able to mobilize for an attack in under ten minutes and that the component is damaged. I have no idea where any of this will all lead in the final four hours of the day, but I can only hope it manages to do something interesting. Or maybe have Jack be the focal point of an episode. Or both. Yeah, that’d be kind of fun.
TV Thoughtsposted on other sites:
Doctor Who: Daleks in Manhatten (Part 1 of 2)
Doctor Who: Evolution of the Daleks (Part 2 of 2)
The Shield: Haunts
Veronica Mars: Un-American Grafiti
Thought on "The Shakespeare Code"
April 9, 2007 at 11:50 pm | In Doctor Who, tv shows | Leave a CommentThis week’s episode of Doctor Who was a great hybrid of the historical adventure and sci-fi plotline that Doctor Who does so well.
Longer, more detailed thoughts are at the Slice of SciFi web site.
Doctor Who is back
April 2, 2007 at 8:07 pm | In Doctor Who, tv shows | Leave a CommentI know you’re all wondering how I enjoyed the first official episode of series three (season 29) of Doctor Who.
Wonder no longer….my review is posted over at Slice of SciFi.
Please, dear heavens no!
January 29, 2007 at 5:41 pm | In Doctor Who, tv shows | 1 CommentThere’s a rumor going around that Russell T. Davies, the producer of the new Doctor Who, wants Britney Spears to make a guest appearance on the show.
That sound you just heard was my head exploding….
Please, dear merciful heavens, let this only be a really, really bad rumor…
TV Round-Up: Doctor Who
December 30, 2006 at 7:03 pm | In Doctor Who, tv shows | Leave a CommentThe Runaway Bride
Can it be that new episodes of Doctor Who are becoming the norm and the expected for me? I have to admit, I fear this could be true since I found it difficult to muster up the same level of enthusiasm for the Christmas special episode of Doctor Who this year. Of course, a large part of the enthusiasm for last year’s story was the fact that it was our first sustained look at David Tennant at Doctor.
This year, it was a bit more subdued and looked at what life would be like on the show after Rose.
Having been a Who fan for years now and seen companions come and go, I have to admit the question of what is life like after Rose wasn’t quite as edge-of-your-seat as what is the new Doctor like. But I can see how the target audience for the new series would find it hard to know what life is going to be like for the Doctor after the departure of his companion.
Which brings us to “The Runaway Bride.”
One thing I have to keep reminding myself about these Christmas specials is they are, first and foremost, supposed to be fun. They’re intended to be viewed by the family audience after the big day of opening presents and consuming Christmas dinner. It’s supposed to have something for everyone and they’re not really intended for the hardest of the hard core Who fans like myself. They’re supposed to be light and fun.
And in that “The Runaway Bride” succeeds, for the most part. I will say that the overall story is better paced than last year’s “Christmas Invasion” (which had a long 45 minutes of waiting around for the Doctor to be fully recovered from his regeneration) but I’m not sure that, overall, it’s a better story. Certainly if I lived in the UK of the Doctor Who world, I’d be a bit worried that every Christmas an alien invasion seems to occur.
As I said, the story is fairly straightforward. The Doctor meets Donna, a woman who was walking down the aisle when she suddenly started to glow and turned into a stream of particles. She was drawn to the TARDIS becuase the TARDIS has similar particles in its heart and now the Doctor has to figure out how these particles got into Donna since they’ve not been seen around the universe for a couple of million years. Turns out her fiancee is giving them to her in her coffee each day and that he works for an emperess spider-woman who wants to revive her race, who just happen to reside at the center of the Earth. The Doctor must, of course, put a stop to this and does.
The story also deals with the Doctor’s depression about Rose leaving and his need for a companion to temper his alien half. Last year we saw the darker side of the 10th Doctor on sevreal occasions and it’s on full display here. The Doctor’s warning to the spider-queen is effective and Tennant does a good job of playing to his strengths in the role. He’s at his best when the Doctor is quietly threatening and you can see his scarcely under the surface anger. He’s less convincing when he’s trying to be over the top and almost Tom Baker-like silly in the role, which he does a few times here.
The other half of the team is the one-time companion, Donna, played by Catherine Tate. From what I’ve heard she’s a fairly big star in the UK, who is apparently very polarizing. You either love her or you hate her. I have a feeling the script is playing very much on the type of character Tate plays on another show or shows since we have constant references to Donna’s being a bit out of it and self-absorbed. I can only assume these are in-jokes I missed since I don’t know the context. Tate does fairly well in the role, though it’s a bit limited. She’s no where near as rich as Rose, but Donna isn’t mean to be. She does fulfill the companion role of screaming a lot, having the plot explained to her and getting into danger rather well. But I will say I’m glad they resisted the tempation to make Donna a regular companion. Once was quite enough, thank you.
In many ways, this story is a coda to last season. Having done that, I expect the pallet is clean for the new season, which from the long preview looks to be interesting. I will admit this year there’s not a single “event” I’m looking forward to like we had last year with the return of K-9 and Sarah Jane Smith, but it does appear we’re getting yet another appearance by an old enemy this year and a trip to meet Shakespeare. And a new companion, who I assume we’ll meet in the first official story of series three in a few months.
Until then, I intend to enjoy “The Runaway Bride” for what it is–a fairly straightforward, fun, light-hearted Chrismtas adventure designed to set the table for the next series.
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
