The Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery was released today. I've just bought it, and have read the first chapter. It's quite short (I'm already nearly 20% finished, after only five minutes of reading), and doesn't seem to be the same book Amy reads in TATM. Nevertheless, it's very entertaining. I'm very much enjoying reading a book from River's perspective. It's incredibly flirtatious, and is certainly not a children's book. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's for adults, but it's definitely more suitable for a slightly older audience (River talks repeatedly about bits pointing the right way and about making sure that certain things are buttoned and that others are unbuttoned. :P)
I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes. I hope we do get the chance to read Melody Malone, and it may be likely, due to this being the first in a series. I'd definitely recommend the book, since it makes clear why River's in New York and interested in Angels (well, not really "why" she is, but it does flesh out her life in New York, so that her appearance in TATM doesn't seem so arbitrary). Besides, it only cost me €2.49, which is approximately Ł2.
Oh, I thought it was going to have a main storyline (the whole movie thing from the synopsis) and a minor storyline (what we saw in the episode). I wonder if this means that the book we saw in the episode will a sequel to this one?
I don't wanna dwell on TATM (because major sad) but I feel proud to say that I've just watched The Runaway Bride, which means I've now seen every episode of New Who to date! I'm considering buying series 1-6 on DVD . . . and Torchwood and SJA . . . I mean I haven't seen series 1-3 of TW or watched a whole season of SJA (I've seen the occasional episode) but I want to see them. It would cost me what, $300-ish, but I've been saving for something for ages, so I could definitely afford it. I'm also thinking though of just renting TW and SJA so I can watch all of it, and then I'd buy the box set if I felt it was something I could re watch a lot. I definitely think buying DW on DVD is a great investment though: it's one of those shows that I never get tired of watch. Plus one of those shows that's great for marathons (you can fit a series into twelve hours!). Can I have an opinion on buying the DW and (possibly) the TW and SJA boxsets?
I don't wanna dwell on TATM (because major sad) but I feel proud to say that I've just watched The Runaway Bride, which means I've now seen every episode of New Who to date! I'm considering buying series 1-6 on DVD . . . and Torchwood and SJA . . . I mean I haven't seen series 1-3 of TW or watched a whole season of SJA (I've seen the occasional episode) but I want to see them. It would cost me what, $300-ish, but I've been saving for something for ages, so I could definitely afford it. I'm also thinking though of just renting TW and SJA so I can watch all of it, and then I'd buy the box set if I felt it was something I could re watch a lot. I definitely think buying DW on DVD is a great investment though: it's one of those shows that I never get tired of watch. Plus one of those shows that's great for marathons (you can fit a series into twelve hours!). Can I have an opinion on buying the DW and (possibly) the TW and SJA boxsets?
You should really get the Who boxsets, so that you can watch the episodes whenever you like. I never get tired of watching Who, so it's great to own the episodes on DVD/Blu-ray (coincidentally, I watched The Shakespeare Code last night). As for TW and SJA, it could be a slightly more difficult decision. I would recommend watching the first three series of Torchwood. Children of Earth (the third series) is phenomenal, while the first two series have their moments. The episodes are wonderfully character-based. Plus, the references to Doctor Who are great (you even get Martha appearing for three episodes).
While I love SJA, I'd rank it much lower on the list of boxsets to buy. There are definitely two or three episodes you should check out, if you haven't seen them. Saying that, Elisabeth Sladen is just magical, and Clyde and Rani's relationship is exciting to watch. It's really something you should watch, but I wouldn't place as much importance on it. In short, go for Doctor Who, and Torchwood if you've got money to spare. If you've got plenty to spare, then get SJA as well. :P I've got them all except SJA Series 5. I should buy it sometime, if only for The Curse of Clyde Langer.
Wow, Melody Malone has so much innuendo. I'd also like to share this hilarious excerpt.
"Finally the cab drew up at the kerb with a jerk. The jerk stayed behind the steering wheel as I eased myself out."
marioguy: In the first post it says that the joining form requires three or four lines of reasons why you like Doctor Who before I let you join, to make sure every member of this club is capable of decently meaty posts. I know this might be annoying as you clearly are capable of that judging from what you linked to, but could you do it anyway for the sake of procedure, please, so I'm not making exceptions for anyone? ^^;
To add an alternate opinion to the boxset question: although I don't have any boxsets for either so I can't say anything about any potential DVD-only content, personally I prefer The Sarah Jane Adventures to Torchwood; I've rewatched SJA episodes significantly more times than TW episodes. This is largely down to my personal tastes in that I much prefer a more idealistic tone to a more cynical one. Both shows are essentially about a group of mostly-ordinary people who fight aliens on Earth, but SJA focuses a lot on the adventure and wonder and excitement of it while Torchwood tends to show more how the alien-fighting screws up the main characters' lives. That's not to say SJA doesn't have its occasional heartbreaking episodes, but it's always heartbreaking in a sort of... beautiful way, whereas Torchwood is usually rather cruel about it.
Basically what I'm trying to say here is that if you have enough money for one but not both of SJA or Torchwood, think about which one you'd probably prefer. Both have some amazing episodes and some not-so-great episodes, but overall you're likely to personally enjoy one more than the other depending on your taste in fiction.
...although it must be pointed out that two Sarah Jane episodes feature guest appearances from the Doctor (Tenth in series 3, Eleventh in series 4), and that definitely has to go down as an objective point towards SJA. I mean, it's the Doctor. =D
Also, yes, definitely get Doctor Who boxsets. Aside from being able to watch the episodes whenever you like, there's various extra stuff - some of the commentaries with cast and crew can be very entertaining, and the DVD-only scenes, if you haven't already come across them elsewhere, are definitely worth seeing if you like the characters.
Originally Posted by The Eleventh
Wow, Melody Malone has so much innuendo. I'd also like to share this hilarious excerpt.
"Finally the cab drew up at the kerb with a jerk. The jerk stayed behind the steering wheel as I eased myself out."
Pfft. Oh, River. I am going to have to check this book out sometime, even if it's not the same one from the episode.
(Speaking of books, I think I may have gained a new habit of peeking at the chapter titles of any new books I get before beginning to read the actual story. Not sure if this is a good thing or if I'll end up regretting it one day.)
-elyvorg/Amelia
.: Evolution is a battle .:. Something has to lose :. LOST EVOLUTION Chapter 32: Direction is finally posted!
Foregone Conclusion
Spinoff/prequel/backstory/thingy to Lost Evolution, written for NaNoWriMo 2010
Why do you like Doctor Who?
I love the concept of travelling in time and space, and in Doctor Who we get to explore that more then in any other TV program ever. We don't just get new worlds & terrifying enemies, we get our own at all different times in our history (often with a keen eye to get thins mostly right) and in times that are yet to come (and yet are brought to life so well it's hard to accept that's only a possible future).
We get species that are intensely interesting, and so come to defy death and even change our own reality (the Daleks being the prime example) and yet they seem to reflect sides of ourselves (some we try not to accept we have but need to know exist so we're forewarned).
It has a mythos more complex and interesting then almost anything I've ever come across, it even challenges true history in terms of interest.
Who's your favourite Doctor?
The Eleventh .
A truly fantastic character study of the Doctor that kinda merged the strengths and weaknesses of the Ninth and Tenth, and far more entertaining in his own ways I think.
Who's your favourite character?
Amy Pond
She just totally took over the companion slot and made it her own in fresh and heartfelt ways beyond anything I've seen before
I'll also add two villains to that: The Master and The Dream Lord
Both were fantastic villains and characters, and I really really hope each will be back.
Since I've gotten back to college, I've started watching Torchwood again. My friend and I have this tradition of watching Doctor Who together, because I was such a huge fan last year and he started watching and I wanted to watch them all again. After we ran out of Doctor Who we began watching Torchwood, and Sara Jane Adventures is next if we ever finish.
So two nights ago we watched "Meat." It was so great. Our first episode of the year was "To the Last Man," which wasn't really quintessentially Torchwood; it was just kind of cliched. But "Meat" got us back into the swing of things.
Spoiler:- Meat:
As in, yelling at the computer screen,
"Why is this happening???"
"What is that???"
"AAAHHHH"
"Just talk to each other!"
"Ugh, Rhys, why??? Why you so stupid?"
"Ah, I see what you did there, Jack--He came out and said it AHAHAHA"
"Mmmm, sexytime."
"OMG Ianto, why are you so--Ok, that was pretty cool. Maybe we don't hate you as much, Ianto."
"Ahahaha that's such bad CGI. Get it, CG-eye? Haha."
All of this Torchwood-watching reminds me that I need to get back to Classic Who. But I have so much homework! What's that? If I do my homework, I'll have time to watch Doctor Who? ...Yeah, I guess you're right, logical side of my brain.
Cheers,
Toshiko Sato
Last edited by Thecatteam; 9th October 2012 at 6:35 PM.
Pokemon White friend code: 0648 2224 4895
Pokemon White 2 friend code: 1550 3078 1849
"One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties.
Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.
Goodbye Susan. Goodbye my dear."
-The First Doctor
marioguy: In the first post it says that the joining form requires three or four lines of reasons why you like Doctor Who before I let you join, to make sure every member of this club is capable of decently meaty posts. I know this might be annoying as you clearly are capable of that judging from what you linked to, but could you do it anyway for the sake of procedure, please, so I'm not making exceptions for anyone? ^^;
Okay then. When I first saw Blink, I thought for a very long time about how intricate the stable time loops and bootstrap paradoxes were. The DVD scene especially blew my mind. I just had to watch more of this show. It was finals week then, but as soon as summer started I plowed through episode from 2005 until I was all caught up. It took me a few week. The episodes were a mixed bag, but they were overall good. It's amazing how 9, 10, and 11 are different characters in their own regard but are still the same awesome Doctor.
Spoilers for the Angels take Manhattan:
Spoiler:
After further thinking about it, maybe the way the episode was written wasn't actually that bad. The Doctor could easily fix all of this by going back in time at some point slightly after 1938 at a place a bit away from New York and just commute to NY to pick up the Ponds. I don't think this detail slipped Moffat's mind. Perhaps he intentionally did it this way to give himself a way to write the Ponds back whenever he wanted to.
Think of it this way: The loss of Amy and Rory made the Doctor do things that he would have never done, and thus is an important change in his life. Some time later the Doctor could use my plan to pick up the Ponds for another adventure (maybe the 50th anniversary), and it would be after Amy published the book so it wouldn't completely ruin her emotional foreword. Then the Doctor would just make a fake grave stone to fool his younger self into thinking that Rory and Amy are gone for good.
Last edited by marioguy; 10th October 2012 at 7:22 AM.
We can all agree that the second generation was either Pokémon's Golden Age or its Silver Age.
Black and White gave me a theory that the Pokémon world and the Mother world are one in the same.
Night_Walker: Welcome back! Your contributions were always pretty awesome. I hope you'll get the chance to join in lots of our discussions in future.
You're not the only one who kind of hopes the Dream Lord will return sometime; I found him really fascinating in Amy's Choice. That said, though, I've been okay with the fact that he hasn't done so for two series and perhaps never actually will, because I've learned that you don't need to have the Dream Lord around to get a really strong sense of how much the Doctor hates himself. His self-loathing has been explored a whole bunch recently - particularly in series 6 part 2, and also A Town Called Mercy - and I've been quite satisfied with that, Dream Lord or no Dream Lord.
marioguy: Thank you, and welcome. Sorry for being all naggy about it.
Originally Posted by marioguy
Spoilers for the Angels take Manhattan:
Spoiler:
After further thinking about it, maybe the way the episode was written wasn't actually that bad. The Doctor could easily fix all of this by going back in time at some point slightly after 1938 at a place a bit away from New York and just commute to NY to pick up the Ponds. I don't think this detail slipped Moffat's mind. Perhaps he intentionally did it this way to give himself a way to write the Ponds back whenever he wanted to.
Think of it this way: The loss of Amy and Rory made the Doctor do things that he would have never done, and thus is an important change in his life. Some time later the Doctor could use my plan to pick up the Ponds for another adventure (maybe the 50th anniversary), and it would be after Amy published the book so it wouldn't completely ruin her emotional foreword. Then the Doctor would just make a fake grave stone to fool his younger self into thinking that Rory and Amy are gone for good.
But if it were possible, why would the Doctor wait until sometime later to pick the Ponds back up? The loss of Amy and Rory is a massive change in the Doctor's life that he really doesn't want to accept - if he was aware of any way of getting her back, then he'd have already done so, because he just can't let her go. Therefore, in-universe, it has to be the case that he really can never see her again, whatever the reasons are. (I mentioned in an earlier post how I think it might have something to do with the chapter title of "Amelia's Last Farewell"; once he'd seen that, it was set in stone that he'd lose her forever. Averting that would cause a paradox, which New York can no longer withstand.)
From an out-of-universe perspective, sure, perhaps it would have been possible to write the episode so that the Doctor tricked out time and didn't lose Amy and Rory. But that's not what this episode was about; it was about the Doctor losing Amy and Rory for good. And given that, writing Amy and Rory back in would just spoil the impact of their ending storyline. I know Steven Moffat can be a massive liar sometimes, but I really don't think he'd have lied about this, because it would totally compromise the story this episode told. He only lies if it'll help him tell his stories better. (I for one definitely enjoyed series 6 even more because I genuinely believed him when he said the Doctor really was dead.)
That and I got the impression from Amy's afterword that she wrote it when she was quite old. She did say that she and Rory lived well and were very happy, and it doesn't seem like she'd have put it that way if they hadn't already lived out most of their life. Also... there's something else canonical that's just appeared that makes it clear what a long and happy life Amy and Rory led in New York.
Ever wonder about Brian, and whether he ever found out what happened to his son and daughter-in-law? Well, Chris Chibnall wrote a scene addressing that, which sadly was never filmed but has now been made available in storyboard form with Arthur Darvill voicing part of it. It is lovely; anyone who cares about Rory, Amy and/or Brian should definitely see it.
Spoiler:- P.S.:
Like so many things towards the end of this half-series, this was heartbreaking in a beautiful way. It highlights just how sad it is that Brian will never see Rory and Amy again, but it's so sweet that Rory left him a message just like Amy left one for the Doctor. Up until now, I'd tried to reassure myself that Brian wouldn't have spent the rest of his life wondering and worrying by imagining that either the Doctor or River visited to tell him what happened - somehow it had failed to occur to me that it could have actually been Rory himself who let him know via the slow path. And the contents of the letter are just so touching and lovely. If this is the last we'll ever hear from Rory, then it's fittingly as adorable as he's always been. For all the bickering and Brian seeming to prefer Amy over him, Rory and his father really did love each other so much.
Not only that - Amy and Rory finally adopted! Awww. There was always that lingering question, after Asylum brought up Amy being infertile and Rory really wanting kids, of whether or not they ever thought to just adopt instead. Given that they never did while they were still in the present, I always assumed that they'd talked it over and decided that ultimately they didn't need to adopt a child because they were happy enough as they were. However, since they did adopt in the end, it's probably actually the case that they always kind of wanted to. The only reason they didn't do so before they got stuck in New York, then, must have been the Doctor's presence in their life, since being unexpectedly whisked off on adventures every few months is not exactly stable circumstances in which to bring up a child. Amy and Rory could of course have asked the Doctor to stop visiting because they wanted a kid; he absolutely would have understood and backed off. The fact that they didn't ever do that just goes to show how much the Doctor means to them - having him in their life was even more important to them than getting to be parents! The two of them eventually choosing their Doctor-life over their real life in The Power of Three seems even more like it was always going to happen that way now that we know they'd essentially already chosen the Doctor over a normal life when they decided, if perhaps only subconsciously, to put off having kids for his sake. It was only once they found themselves stuck in New York, knowing they'd definitely never see the Doctor again and with the rest of their now-uninterrupted lives ahead of them, that they must have figured why not bring up a child after all.
So in the end, even though it's really sad that Brian is never going to see his son and daughter-in-law again, at least he isn't alone and he has someone he can talk to about them and share memories with. I'm sure Anthony is a lovely guy. His parents were awesome people, after all - and he must have been told such wonderful, exciting stories when he was a kid. :3 This also makes Amy spending the last five years of her life as a widow much less painful, because at least she still had her son.
It's a shame that the scene wasn't properly filmed, but it's still incredibly moving just in storyboard-and-voiceover form. I'd thought series 7 part 1 had already wrung all the tears it could from me. Not so.
-elyvorg/Amelia
.: Evolution is a battle .:. Something has to lose :. LOST EVOLUTION Chapter 32: Direction is finally posted!
Foregone Conclusion
Spinoff/prequel/backstory/thingy to Lost Evolution, written for NaNoWriMo 2010
Indeed, P.S. is so poignant. I didn't post about it yesterday because I was too busy playing Black 2. Oops.
Spoiler:- P.S.:
It's annoying that we didn't get to see more of Brian, since even this never-filmed scene displays how valuable a character he was/could have been.
I had imagined Amy and Rory settling down and adopting before this scene was released, so it feels really satisfying to see confirmation of that. I hope Anthony met River at some stage. Or even the Doctor. I still don't understand why Amy and Rory are trapped in New York, though. Can't they just travel out of the city? The Angels are gone. Speaking of the Angels, I wonder to what time period the Ponds were sent. Since Anthony's in his sixties some time between 2015-2020 (The Power of Three's time period is extremely difficult to pinpoint), it's possible that they were sent to the 1960s at the latest. Gah, the dating of Amy and Rory's life has been thrown completely off due to Series 7 (there's no way to tell how long they've been travelling for between stories, etc.). But that has nothing to do with P.S.. xD
I like to think that Rory kept amending the letter during his life. It must have been difficult to have it around, knowing that his dad would eventually read it in the future and learn that he's never going to see his son again. That's really sad. I wonder if Amy did the same with her parents.
-The Eleventh/Rory Williams
Last edited by The Eleventh; 13th October 2012 at 3:02 PM.
I’ve finished Empire of Glass a few days ago, so:
~Spoiler Free Review Time~
[u]Doctor Who: The Empire of Glass[u/] (Virgin Missing Adventures, Andy Lane 1995)
(As downloaded from ManyBooks.net)
Overall I enjoyed this, there was an interesting plot, plenty of action, and appearances by several historical figures (though I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the depictions, and some reviewers felt this was overdone… but then, some of them also said you needed to be really familiar with the 1st Doctor to enjoy this book, and I didn’t find that to be the case) and lots of aliens! Also we get to experience the story from several different points of view. However that doesn’t mean it was perfect. There were an increasing number of inconsistencies in the second half, as though the author had rewritten the ending a couple times. And I was somewhat annoyed with something the doctor points out, as he realizes it without first showing any sort of thought process.
There’s artist and author interviews after the story. I only skimmed the first part of these, but the author’s appears to give quite a bit of ‘what I chose to do and why’.
And you can’t argue with the price of the e-book version… I’m not sure how this book came to be offered free as it’s more recent, but I’m glad it was.
Indeed, P.S. is so poignant. I didn't post about it yesterday because I was too busy playing Black 2. Oops.
Spoiler:- P.S.:
It's annoying that we didn't get to see more of Brian, since even this never-filmed scene displays how valuable a character he was/could have been.
I had imagined Amy and Rory settling down and adopting before this scene was released, so it feels really satisfying to see confirmation of that. I hope Anthony met River at some stage. Or even the Doctor. I still don't understand why Amy and Rory are trapped in New York, though. Can't they just travel out of the city? The Angels are gone. Speaking of the Angels, I wonder to what time period the Ponds were sent. Since Anthony's in his sixties some time between 2015-2020 (The Power of Three's time period is extremely difficult to pinpoint), it's possible that they were sent to the 1960s at the latest. Gah, the dating of Amy and Rory's life has been thrown completely off due to Series 7 (there's no way to tell how long they've been travelling for between stories, etc.). But that has nothing to do with P.S.. xD
I like to think that Rory kept amending the letter during his life. It must have been difficult to have it around, knowing that his dad would eventually read it in the future and learn that he's never going to see his son again. That's really sad. I wonder if Amy did the same with her parents.
-The Eleventh/Rory Williams
Spoiler:- P.S.:
Rory says that they adopted Anthony in 1946, which means that Anthony cannot possibly be in his mid-sixties. Chris Chibnall just messed up in his math. I don't know how Rory could have known that his son would live long enough to deliver the letter.
We can all agree that the second generation was either Pokémon's Golden Age or its Silver Age.
Black and White gave me a theory that the Pokémon world and the Mother world are one in the same.
So, to perhaps spark some discussion, remember this post? Well...
Spoiler:- Series 7 Part 2 episode title:
Apparently, we'll be having an episode called Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS. I can see that being a working title, though. This is certainly very exciting. I believe it's the tenth episode of Series 7, making it the fifth in next year's run. I'm looking forward to the reasoning behind the adventure in the TARDIS. I wonder if there'll be an incursion in the TARDIS, which would be very interesting. I kind of hope it's not just that the Doctor needs a material or substance found deep within the TARDIS. I'd also like to see some references to past stories, as there's a lot of potential for that.
Speaking of the TARDIS, did anyone else notice the new addition to the console room in The Angels Take Manhattan? You know, that window-thing that was present in the Doctor Who Experience's TARDIS console room earlier this year. Was it in the other S7P1 episodes? I didn't notice it, anyway. It seems like a rather strange update.
DWM's revealed the inclusion of certain characters in the Christmas Special.
Spoiler:- Christmas!; not very spoiler-y:
Vastra, Jenny and Strax appear in this episode. I'm so excited for it now (and it's only nine Tuesdays away!). Vastra and Jenny are magnificent. I'm surprised they're appearing so early in the series; I hope they have another starring role later on. Since Strax is appearing, we'll be encountering a pre-AGMGTW Vastra and Jenny.
Gah, so much fiftieth anniversary merchandise is being announced. I don't have enough funds to cope. D:
Originally Posted by marioguy
Spoiler:- P.S.:
Rory says that they adopted Anthony in 1946, which means that Anthony cannot possibly be in his mid-sixties. Chris Chibnall just messed up in his math. I don't know how Rory could have known that his son would live long enough to deliver the letter.
Hey, I'm finally getting round to watching the classic episodes!
I joined the Doctor Who Society at my uni, so I get to watch a classic episode a week. Now I don't have to be a philistine any longer.
I saw the 3rd doc's first episode last week, and I get to see the very first episode this week. The SFX is a bit pants.
Sprites will never truly die.
(Do not even dare do anything with this without my permission.)
Hey, I'm finally getting round to watching the classic episodes!
I joined the Doctor Who Society at my uni, so I get to watch a classic episode a week. Now I don't have to be a philistine any longer.
I saw the 3rd doc's first episode last week, and I get to see the very first episode this week. The SFX is a bit pants.
You have a club for Doctor Who? How lucky you are.
I've only seen a select few Classic episodes; An Unearthly Child (the first episode, though I've seen some of "The Cave of Skulls"), The Tomb of the Cybermen, The Time Warrior, half of The Talons of Weng-Chiang and the TV movie. I really want to get into it more, especially with the fiftieth being next year. The stories are pretty enjoyable, though I must say that it's hard to adjust to the slower pacing after experiencing the new series. I definitely want to watch Sarah Jane's episodes (as you can tell, I've already seen her debut).
I like to think that Rory kept amending the letter during his life. It must have been difficult to have it around, knowing that his dad would eventually read it in the future and learn that he's never going to see his son again. That's really sad. I wonder if Amy did the same with her parents.
Aww, it really must have been hard for Rory to keep that letter around and constantly amend it, you're right. D: I imagine Amy must have done something similar with her afterword for the Doctor, now that I think about it. As for Amy's parents... hm. I'm sure she'd have wanted to let them know what had happened to her and everything, especially since she remembers a life without them and it's only thanks to the Doctor that she even has them at all. But the problem is - how much did Amy's parents ever know about the Doctor? They met him at her wedding where he appeared in a blue box and introduced himself as her imaginary friend, sure, but did they ever know exactly where and more importantly when their daughter was disappearing off to in that blue box with him? If not, things might have been kind of awkward for Amy to explain.
On a similar note, something I'd occasionally wondered: shouldn't Brian and the Doctor have already known of each other before they met in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, since Brian would also have been at Amy and Rory's wedding? The Doctor didn't know Brian's face - he thought he was an intruder at first, on the spaceship, before Rory pointed out that it was his dad. This could just be put down to the fact that the Doctor didn't ever really bump into Brian at the wedding, but that can't be right, because he danced with everyone at the wedding (the women were all brilliant; the men were a bit shy). Buuut I'm probably not meant to think this hard about this since Brian simply hadn't been thought up as a character when The Big Bang was filmed; the in-universe explanation would probably be something like Brian was ill and couldn't make it to his son's wedding (which I believe is the excuse used for why Wilf similarly wasn't at Donna's [first] wedding). Blah.
Originally Posted by The Eleventh
So, to perhaps spark some discussion, remember this post? Well...
Spoiler:- Series 7 Part 2 episode title:
Apparently, we'll be having an episode called Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS. I can see that being a working title, though. This is certainly very exciting. I believe it's the tenth episode of Series 7, making it the fifth in next year's run. I'm looking forward to the reasoning behind the adventure in the TARDIS. I wonder if there'll be an incursion in the TARDIS, which would be very interesting. I kind of hope it's not just that the Doctor needs a material or substance found deep within the TARDIS. I'd also like to see some references to past stories, as there's a lot of potential for that.
Ooh. That sounds rather cool. It's pretty much what I was expecting from the implications of what Matt and Caro said at that panel, but still, yay for semi-confirmation.
DWM's revealed the inclusion of certain characters in the Christmas Special.
Spoiler:- Christmas!; not very spoiler-y:
Vastra, Jenny and Strax appear in this episode. I'm so excited for it now (and it's only nine Tuesdays away!). Vastra and Jenny are magnificent. I'm surprised they're appearing so early in the series; I hope they have another starring role later on. Since Strax is appearing, we'll be encountering a pre-AGMGTW Vastra and Jenny.
Spoiler:- Ramblings on those Christmas characters:
Strax too? Unless they found some way to bring him back to life (Sontarans do have clone technology, so maybe?), that would indeed mean this is pre-AGMGTW from their perspective. Huh. I always sort of imagined that the only times Strax met the Doctor were on Demons Run and whenever it was that the Doctor forced him to start being a nurse. (Because you know it was totally the Doctor who did that. (Series 6's The Brilliant Book has an interesting take on how that happened, told in an extended version of Humpty Dumpty.)) Also, what would Strax even be doing with Vastra and Jenny pre-AGMGTW? They had nothing to do with each other until they both came to Demons Run.
Either way, Strax aside, I'm really interested to see Vastra and Jenny in this Christmas episode - Vastra in particular, because she seemed to know the Doctor really well in AGMGTW. Right now, the Doctor's just going to be a lonely, heartbroken mess, so it'll be good for him to have someone who knows him well, such as River, or indeed Vastra, who can help him move on.
(Why can't it be Christmas right now? :<)
Look what I found on Youtube the other day: a prequel to Asylum of the Daleks. It's nothing to do with Pond Life; it shows the "message" that the Doctor was sent by Darla von Karlsen, the one that summoned him to Skaro at the beginning of the episode. And yes, it's entirely genuine and canonical - it seems the reason I had no idea that it even existed until recently was that it was only shown in the US. And that makes me sad. I really, really rather like it (apparently there can never be a prequel featuring the Doctor that I don't love to bits for one reason or another), and I would have liked to have seen it before Asylum, like it was meant to be seen, not when I happen to dig it up sometime after the half-series is over. Genuine instalments of canon like this should not be kept from people on the basis of where they happen to live. :<
Anyway, grumpiness aside, allow me to ramble unnecessarily about it, since I definitely would have done if I'd seen it at the appropriate time, so I don't see why I shouldn't do so now.
Spoiler:- Prequel to Asylum of the Daleks:
I really like the sense we get here of the state the Doctor was in between Pond Life and the beginning of Asylum of the Daleks; it's something we got a little glimpse of in the opening scene of Asylum, but there's even more of one here. This is before he was given the idea to erase himself from the universe's history, remember, so even though he's tried to fake his death, it hasn't really worked and he still has that huge godlike reputation, and he seems to really hate himself for that. I particularly like that the messenger was a Headless Monk, which must have reminded the Doctor of Demons Run and everything he learned there about how much his reputation has screwed things up. I wonder if the Daleks - since it was them who sent the message, after all - knew about the significance Headless Monks had for the Doctor and chose one here just to be cruel?
Then there's that dream-message technology - that has an awful lot of unexplored potential, especially considering that it was actually the Daleks sending the Doctor that message. The ways they used it in this instance were fairly benign, true, but to have the ability to trap someone in a dream reality that you have full control over, that the dreamer doesn't even realise is a dream unless it's made obvious and that they can't escape by themselves even if they're aware it's a dream - if you hated someone's guts enough, with a little creative application you could use that to screw with their mind in horribly cruel ways. And this message reached the Doctor even though he was in the TARDIS, where you'd think he'd be completely safe. So apparently the Daleks were always potentially capable of seriously ****ing with the Doctor's mind whenever they felt like it. D: I guess it's a good thing, then, they were also always completely terrified of him and therefore didn't dare try; the only reason they used the technology here was because they wanted his help, and so they were relatively polite about it. By Dalek standards. It was still pretty creepy.
And, considering how creepy that message was, it was kind of obviously some sort of trap, so what made the Doctor even decide to go to Skaro like it asked? Added to which, during the rest of the scene he kept trying to brush the messenger off and avoid the sort of universal responsibility that he hates that he still has, and Skaro itself obviously has a whole host of painful memories for him (I love that he refused to even say its name - and that the Daleks psychically forced him to do so anyway seemingly just for the hell of it). I've seen someone else interpret it that he knew it was a trap and went anyway because he was so disillusioned and self-loathing that he didn't really care if he got himself killed. While I don't disagree about the self-loathing - it's really never good for the Doctor to decide his friends are better off without him and spend ages on his own - I still don't think he knew it was a trap, because his reaction when he figured that out on Skaro did seem like he'd genuinely only just realised it. So I guess it has to be that he didn't care enough to notice how it was obviously a trap and therefore believed this woman's daughter really was in danger. And despite everything, it seems the Doctor couldn't just let that be. Even when he's at his lowest, the Doctor never stops wanting to help people. Aww.
(Spoilered not for spoilers exactly but just for the likelihood of no-one else being interested in my rambles about the Daleks' twistedness and the Doctor's self-loathing.)
I'm really going to have to watch Asylum of the Daleks again sometime.
-elyvorg/Amelia
.: Evolution is a battle .:. Something has to lose :. LOST EVOLUTION Chapter 32: Direction is finally posted!
Foregone Conclusion
Spinoff/prequel/backstory/thingy to Lost Evolution, written for NaNoWriMo 2010
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it has been announced that Doctor Who will partake in this year's Children in Need telethon. I was thinking about this a few days ago, coincidentally. We'll be treated to a prequel and a trailer of the Christmas Special. I'm very excited about this. I can't wait to see what the Doctor's state of mind is after the loss of the Ponds. It'll be interesting to see how it leads into the episode, as well. Here's the relevant quote from the BBC press release:
"Doctor Who, featuring Matt Smith, will also bring viewers an extra special 'prequel' to its Christmas special, with a bespoke storyline made for Children in Need, and an exclusive preview trailer of the Christmas special including the first glimpse of the Doctor with his new companion."
CiN airs on 16th November, which is only three weeks away.
Well, I just posted the prologue to a crossover I've been working on for a while over on the Fan Fiction forum. It's a lovely little tale about the Doctor, Amy, and Rory visiting the bottom of the ocean and running into... complications. Like, an underwater city complications as the three accidentaly land in the city of Rapture. It's titled "A Modern Atlantis." Be warned: it's going to get fairly dark, but no knowledge of Bioshock is required to understand the plot as I'll explain all the basics like it was any old Doctor Who mysterious setting.
I'm sorry, were you expecting some kind of epic signature here?
Current works: A Modern Atlantis- Bioshock/Doctor Who crossover (FINALLY WRITING CHAPTER 3! Will post soon!)
-When a perfectly mundane trip to the ocean floor causes the Doctor and his companions to discover an underwater city, they find a utopia that is anything but. (Rated PG-14 for language and violence)
So, there hasn't been much to discuss as of late, though that will most definitely change over the coming weeks. Something of note has been announced, though, and that is that the Cybermen will be featured in Neil Gaiman's episode.
Sure, this isn't particularly mind-blowing, but it is exciting. For me, at least. The Cybermen have always intrigued me. I find them to be very scary indeed, for they can dehumanise someone completely so rapidly. It'll be fun to see what Gaiman does with them. His episode is seventh in the 2013 run, I think (so second-to-last).
On a lighter note, Colin Baker will be appearing on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! this year. I've been watching the show for the past few years, so all the more reason to tune in again when it returns this Sunday. Hopefully, he'll get far. :P
I hope to get around to reading your fanfic sometime, Loki. Maybe at the weekend. Which of the two do you think will feature more prominently; Doctor Who or Bioshock? I know next to nothing about the latter, I'm afraid, although you say that doesn't matter, which is great.
I'm rewatching Children of Earth again at the moment. I viewed "Day One" last night. The series is truly magnificent. I adore it so much. It's just... completely perfect. I hate to admit it, but it's far better than a lot of Doctor Who stories. Hopefully Torchwood can return to this standard once again, if it does return. I liked Miracle Day, but it pales in most aspects when compared to CoE. I shall be watching "Day Two" shortly. There's so, so much I'm looking forward to. I can't praise it enough. xD
Why do you like Doctor Who?
First off i don't just like Doctor Who, I love it!!!! I love the great variety of monsters. (My favourite monsters are the Cybermen!) Every episode is different to the last, so you can never get bored. I also love how complex and interesting the storylines are. Nothing on tv is like Dr. Who. My final reason i just love the random, slightly confusing things the doctor says and does.
Who's your favourite Doctor?
Tough question. I like the tenth but i really like the eleventh. He really fits the role of a madman in a box. He can be amazing and smart, but he is also quite dark and sometimes angry. He might be 1100+ (i think) ,but he can be quite childish. That's coll though. He's cool and i love his fashion sense. to quote 'bowties are cool'
Desired character title?
I wanted k-9 but it's taken sooo... in honour of the cybermen i would like the title Cyber-Leader. The cybermen are awesome and what better title could there be than one of their leader. They might not be the scariest, or the strongest, but i think they are amazing. They've come along way since their first appearance in 'The invasion' all those years ago.
^United we stand, against all the evil that dares rise up! Join the fight at The Sinjoh Connection, now!^
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Originally Posted by kjt
