Sunday, June 10, 2012

Doctor Who Watchathon: Season 2x4 "School Reunion"


As an effort to justify our somewhat obsessive T.V watching Meghan (Of Coffee and Wizards and @MegTao on Twitter) and myself have decided to undertake a Doctor Who Watch-a-long. We'll be starting with the beginning of the 2005 relaunch and will be posting about one episode every Wednesday and Friday, on our respective blogs. We hope you'll join in – whether as a re-watch or to discover the Doctor for the first time!

*just a heads up each post may contain spoilers for that episode and then ones before it*


This is the last Doctor Who Watch a Thon Post I will be posting on Bibliophile's Guide. From now on the posts will be found on Hooked on Books. One blog is much more easy to keep up with than two! Now onto the episode!

Episode Summary
 Mickey Smith alerts the Doctor and Rose Tyler to a comprehensive school where strange things are happening, such as UFO sightings. At the school, the Doctor encounters his former companion Sarah Jane Smith and the robotic dog, K-9 Mark III, he sent her, who likewise were interested by the current events. Together, they discover the force behind the events, a race known as the Krillitanes, and work to prevent them gaining control of the universe.


Thoughts on the Episode


IT"S UTHER PENDRAGON!!!!


Back when I was just a casual, every now and then Doctor Who watcher (instead of the crazy fangirl I am now) I was an avid Merlin watcher. I'm talking 3-4 episodes a day. So anyway, it should be no surprise that I was instantly in love with this episode when he arrived on screen.

Buy anyways, onto the episode itself. 

The Doctor and Rose are back in present day England (surprise surprise) at the request of Mickey. He's noticed something weird and asked them to come back and investigate. Now they're undercover in a local highschool. David Tennant as a teacher (god he's sexy in those glasses) and Rose as a cafeteria lady (Jamie Oliver would have a field day in this place!). Strange crazy things begin to happen - like Uther eating somebody! - and then Sarah Jane shows up!

I loved the return of Sarah Jane and K-9. Not only because K-9 is the coolest robot dog ever, but because this definitely mixes things up between the Doctor and Rose. Rose is forced to confront the fact that the Doctor will live forever (and she won't) and that she's not his first companion. I think these revelations bring their relationship to an interesting place - but once again I wish that Rose would stop stringing Mickey along. If he doesn't have a chance with you tell him! It's just mean otherwise. 

There are some dark and human moments for the Doctor in this episode - particularly when Uther (sorry I can't refer to him as anything else) asks to join forces so they can bring back the Time Lords. You can't blame him for being tempted - it has to be lonely being the last of your people.

But all seriousness aside I loved to see the interactions between the various characters in this episode. There's a lot of great relationships and they all experience their ups and downs but for the most part I think all their relationships are built on love and that makes me happy (sorry for the sappiness).


Favourite Moment


When K-9 volunteers to sacrifice himself and save the day. Best dog ever. I definitely teared up during that part - and cheered wildly when he was ok!



Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Doctor Who Watch a Thon Season 2 Episode 3 "Tooth and Claw"


As an effort to justify our somewhat obsessive T.V watching Meghan (Of Coffee and Wizards and @MegTao on Twitter) and myself have decided to undertake a Doctor Who Watch-a-long. We'll be starting with the beginning of the 2005 relaunch and will be posting about one episode every Wednesday and Friday, on our respective blogs. We hope you'll join in – whether as a re-watch or to discover the Doctor for the first time!

*just a heads up each post may contain spoilers for that episode and then ones before it*


Episode Summary
Written by: Russel T Davies
Directed by: Euros Lyn
The Doctor attempts to take Rose to Sheffield in 1979 to see Ian Dury in concert, but ends up in the Scottish moors in 1879. They encounter a carriage carrying Queen Victoria, who has been forced to travel by roads to Balmoral Castle as a fallen tree has blocked the train line to Aberdeen, feared to be a potential assassination attempt. The Doctor poses as Dr. James McCrimmon using his psychic paper, and the Queen invites him and Rose to join her as she travels to the Torchwood Estate, a favourite of her late consort Prince Albert, to spend the night. The royal party is unaware that the Torchwood Estate has been captured by a group of monks from a monastery in St. Catherine's Glen led by Father Angelo, forcing its owner, Sir Robert MacLeish, to play into their ruse as they take the place of the house's servants and guards. The monks, having arranged for the fallen tree to force the Queen to the estate, have brought a man infected with a form of lycanthropy, hoping to pass its nature to the Queen and create a new "Empire of the Wolf".

Thoughts on the Episode
The beginning of this episode - when the monks invade Torchwood is like Merlin meets The Last Airbender. I love it! I was instantly paying attention. Although come to think of it those monks were freaky. Between this episode and Fringe I'm developing an irrational fear of bald men.

Queen Victoria is a significant character in this episode. There are a lot of references to her late husband, and other royal matters - which made me realize how little I know about British history. You think I would be better informed since we have a whole holiday dedicated to Queen Victoria but turns out I'm more than a little clueless. That being said when Queen Victoria pulled that gun out of her purse she became my favourite royal


Much of the episode seemed way over the top to me and I just couldn't get into like I do other Doctor Who episodes.  It was still fun and entertaining but there were a lot of quickly given explanations that I didn't quite catch and I think I need to rewatch it a couple times to really understand everything that was going on.

 However, despite the drawbacks "Tooth and Claw" is still amazing because of one moment in the library. The owner of Torchwood protests the Doctor's new plan by stating that they have no weapons. Then the Doctor whips out this line: "You want weapons? We're in a library! Books!" and then he puts on the glasses and they read. Amazing! This is truly the man for me.

SWOON!

Favourite Moment
At the beginning when The Doctor and Rose first emerge from the Tardis they are stopped by the Queen's men as she's traveling through Scotland. Upon hearing that they're no longer in England the Doctor quickly adapts his accent.

I love that this is David Tennant's real voice. I'm not usually one for Scottish accents but on him  <3

I also love when Rose finally gets the Queen to say "I am not amused"


Friday, June 1, 2012

Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 2 "New Earth"



As an effort to justify our somewhat obsessive T.V watching Meghan (Of Coffee and Wizards and @MegTao on Twitter) and myself have decided to undertake a Doctor Who Watch-a-long. We'll be starting with the beginning of the 2005 relaunch and will be posting about one episode every Wednesday and Friday, on our respective blogs. We hope you'll join in – whether as a re-watch or to discover the Doctor for the first time!

*just a heads up each post may contain spoilers for that episode and then ones before it*



Episode Summary

Written by: Russel T Davies
Directed by: James Hawes
The Doctor uses the TARDIS to take Rose to the farthest point he's ever taken her, to the year five billion and twenty-three in the M87 galaxy. Humanity, after the destruction of the Earth, settled onto a very Earth-like world, called "New Earth", and Rose admires its beauty. The Doctor is summoned to "Ward 26" in a hospital in New New York through his psychic paper, and while he travels to the Ward, gets separated from Rose. In the Ward, the Doctor meets several humanoid feline nuns of the Sisters of Plenitude who are overseeing the patients, all who have incurable maladies but are somehow being cured by the Sisters.

Thoughts on the Episode
Rose and the Doctor have travelled all the way to "New Earth". I have mixed feelings about the so called New Earth right off the start. First I thought it was kind of morbid, like stuffing your dead dog. Then I thought it was inspiring the way humanity rallied together and put aside  to create a New Earth. And then the pessimism kicked in and I figured future humanity would probably mess this one up too. What can I say? I'm complex.

Anyway once they're on the planet they make their way to a hospital run by cat nuns. Yes cat nuns. These cat nuns decided the Hippocratic oath was not going to be a part of New Earth and infected an entire warehouse of people with EVERY DISEASE. And I don't mean one person for each disease. I mean each person has ALL THE DISEASES! All of this just reaffirmed my belief that cats are not to be trusted.



This episode also see's the return of Cassandra (The Last Human from Season 1). Her return and subsequent taking over the bodies of Rose and the Doctor adds some fantastic humour to this episode. Like her attempt to speak with a Cockney accent. , or David Tennant pretending to be a woman living in a man's body. David Tennant you are foxy - even when your mind has been taken over by an evil crazy lady.


All craziness aside this is a good episode. It asks some good ethical questions. Like when does medical research serve the greatest good and when is it harmful? And how long should life last? And is it any wonder the Doctor has a god complex when he created an entire sub species of humans?

And the most important question of all - why can't I pull a Cassandra and put myself in this situation



Favourite Moment
It's a toss up between when the cat nuns realize they're caught and they whip out the line "who needs arms when we have claws!" and when the Doctor straps the antibiotics for every disease (?) to his chest and slides down the elevator shaft.

The Doctor is my superhero.


Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Doctor Who Watch A Thon Season 2x1 “The Christmas Invasion”

As an effort to justify our somewhat obsessive T.V watching Meghan (Of Coffee and Wizards and @MegTao on Twitter) and myself have decided to undertake a Doctor Who Watch-a-long. We'll be starting with the beginning of the 2005 relaunch and will be posting about one episode every Wednesday and Friday, on our respective blogs. We hope you'll join in – whether as a re-watch or to discover the Doctor for the first time!

*just a heads up each post may contain spoilers for that episode and then ones before it*

Episode Summary
Written by: Russel T Davies Directed by: James Hawes
The newly regenerated Doctor travels to present day London and Rose is happy to be home. Her mother is happy to see her, her protestation to the contrary. The Doctor isn't well however suffering from what he describes as a surplus of energy. While he is in a coma-like state, the people of the Earth are threatened by the Sycorax who threaten to destroy one-third of the planet's population if they don't surrender. The Prime Minister, in the apparent absence of the Doctor, asks for assistance from Torchwood but it's slow in coming and the end is fast approaching.

Thoughts on the Episode
This episode has a very special place in my heart. It is the very first episode of Doctor Who I ever experienced. Back before I knew who Rose was, or how much David Tennant would rock my sock. Back before Tardis, Dalek and Sonic Screwdriver were a part of my regular vocabulary.

Beyond that, what this episode really comes down to for me is getting to know the new Doctor. He’s still the Doctor and there’s a lot of affirming that he hasn’t changed that much. He’s still very loud, very vocal and very honest  blunt. All characteristics that I love about him. But David Tennant brings some new qualities to the Doctor. Meg mentioned this in her post as well, but he’s very human. He can get way more emotional. Which I think can be a good thing, but it can also be a little too much sometimes. His decision to destroy Harriet’s career was pretty extreme but I understood where it was coming from.  

Also can we just take a moment to enjoy how nice to look at he is…


*Sigh* I will never get tired of looking at that face.

I swear I’m the only person that likes Mickey. Ok maybe like is a strong word, but I care about his character. And I was incredibly pleased with his actions in this episode. He’s a lot braver/smarter than Rose gives him credit for. So let’s all just give Mickey a pat on the back – because he never gets one! 

Anyway - new doctor, new season. I am very excited for the episodes ahead!


Favourite Moment
Obviously it would have to be the spinning Christmas tree.  This tree is spinning so fast it goes through walls. As I mentioned this was my very first Doctor Who episode so at the sight of this killer Christmas tree I may have burst out laughing – and my love of this brilliant show was formed.



Sunday, May 27, 2012

Doctor Who Watch a Thon Season 1 Episode 13 "The Parting of Ways"


As an effort to justify our somewhat obsessive T.V watching Meghan (Of Coffee and Wizards and @MegTao on Twitter) and myself have decided to undertake a Doctor Who Watch-a-long. We'll be starting with the beginning of the 2005 relaunch and will be posting about one episode each Friday, on our respective blogs. We hope you'll join in – whether as a re-watch or to discover the Doctor for the first time!
*just a heads up each post may contain spoilers for that episode and then ones before it*

Episode Summary

Written by: Russel T Davies
Directed by: Joe Ahearne
 
As the Dalek fleet approaches Earth, the Doctor and Jack land the TARDIS on the Dalek othership to rescue Rose Tyler, using the tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator to protect themselves from the Dalek weapons. The Dalek Emperor, who describes himself as a god, explains that he managed to survive the Time War in a crippled ship, and rebuilt the race by harvesting genetic materials from the humans such as those delivered from the Game Station. The Doctor observes that the Daleks have gained human traits and emotion by this process and have, because of their creed and resulting self-hate, become deadlier than ever. After bringing Rose aboard, the Doctor returns the TARDIS to the Game Station and works with Jack and the remaining humans aboard to prepare for the Dalek attack.

Thoughts on the Episode
I have so much love for this episode. I'm going to have to break it down into points.

1) Giant Emperor Dalek. Say what you will about this evil giant Dalek but part of me thinks he's totally awesome. He is a survivor. All his people died so what did he do? Got some new people! I can't say I approve of his methods but at least he didn't give up. Also his creation of a new race of Daleks brings to light some interesting questions about god, religion and beliefs. As a former Religious Studies major I was in philosophical heaven! (pun intended)


2) Jack being a hero. When we first met Jack he was an intergalactic cowboy. He had his own charm and charisma. He was amazing all on his own. But the last few episodes he's totally been living in the Doctor's shadow (to be fair it is the Doctor's show - but still). This episode however he really takes charge and is a hero in his own right. I was so proud.

And then they leave him there. But we'll talk about that later...


3) Rose saving the day (or refusing to be a bystander) When Rose got sent back to her own time and gave that speech about standing by and doing nothing while the world ends, I wanted to cheer. I love when Doctor Who touches on some more serious issues and this episode does it twice! Once with the Daleks and religion and now with Rose and the idea of standing by and doing nothing. This is where my love of Rose becomes set in stone. She goes back to the Doctor knowing full well she could die - but she goes none the less. If that's not bravery I don't know what is.

4) They finally kiss! After a whole season of sexual tension filled hand holding it was about time! "I think you need a Doctor" *fans self*


5) Mr. David Tennant I may have sushed everyone in the room when he started to transform. David Tennant is not only a talented and gorgeous man, but he is by far my favourite Doctor. I look forward to posting about him :)


Favourite Moment
All the moments! This episode is amazing. It's exciting, everyone is a hero, at times it actually breaks my heart.
I FEEL ALL OF THE FEELINGS!!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Doctor Who Watch a Thon: Season 1 Episode 12 "Bad Wolf"

As an effort to justify our somewhat obsessive T.V watching Meghan (Of Coffee and Wizardsand @MegTao on Twitter) and myself have decided to undertake a Doctor Who Watch-a-long. We'll be starting with the beginning of the 2005 relaunch and will be posting about one episode each Friday, on our respective blogs. We hope you'll join in – whether as a re-watch or to discover the Doctor for the first time!
*just a heads up each post may contain spoilers for that episode and then ones before it*


Episode Summary
Written by: Russel T Davies
Director: Joe Ahearne
The three TARDIS travellers find themselves separated, waking up with temporary amnesia in various reality television and game shows. The Doctor finds himself in a Big Brother house, Rose on the set of The Weakest Link hosted by the "Anne Droid", and Jack facing the female androids Trine-e and Zu-Zana who offer to give him a brand new image, à la What Not to Wear. All three find out that the shows are more fatal than their twenty-first century counterparts. On The Weakest Link and Big Brother, losing contestants are seemingly disintegrated, while on What Not to Wear, participants undergo major cosmetic surgery. Jack and the Doctor escape from their shows, the Doctor bringing along a contestant called Lynda, and discover they are on the former Satellite Five, which the Doctor previously visited in "The Long Game", now under the control of the Badwolf Corporation.  

Thoughts on the Episode
There is some bizarre stuff going on in this episode. All three characters, find themselves on some crazy adaptations of famous reality TV shows. I felt very thrown into this episode, as it immediately starts with the Doctor being thrown into the Big Brother house, but once I figured out what was going on it was a lot of fun.

Captain Jack as always is a joy to watch. Transported into What Not to Wear, he's in his element. Showing off in the different outfits they dress him in, pulling a gun out at the last minute (from where? Well that's better left to the imagination). Things are quite serious/dire for the Doctor and Rose, so it's nice to have Jack provide some comic relief and lower the tension of the episode. 

Was I the only one shocked by the return of the Daleks the first time they saw this? How did they survive? How did so many of them survive. Their voices are so creepy, they always give me the shivers. It's quite the elaborate plan they've orchestrated here, having the entire Earth be potential game show contestants, where losing means death. It also blows my mind how this has been hinted at so many times. I caught a few of the Bad Wolf references throughout the season but no where near all of them.

I'm super excited for next week to see how this all works out and what the Doctor intends to do to save Rose. Are they all going to make it? AHHH maddness!!

Favourite Moment
All the fabulous one liners throughout this episode. Especially when they're playing the games. Two of my favourites are:
" She was the weakest link - she got disintegrated."
"You have 10 second to say your farwells and then we're gonna get you!"

I know it makes me a little dark, but I actually laughed out loud at some of these lines. Those Daleks have a sense of humour ;)

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Sailor Moon Photo Challenge (1)

It all started one night over some Bellinis...

My friend Angel (Of Mermaid Visions) and I share a love of Sailor Moon. In order to spread that love she dared me to take (and post) 25 photosin the Sailor Moon pose. And thus the Sailor Moon photo challenge was born.



My Goal: 25 photos, 25 locations, 6 months.

After being a total slacker for the first month, I realized I better get my butt in gear and take some photos. Fortunately this was right around the time I attended the Toronto Comic Art Festival, which was full of photo taking opportunities.

I took two pictures (thanks to Michele from Just a Lil Lost for being my awesome photographer), but I'm only counting it as one because they were in the same location.

In front of a crazy awesome 3-D comic rectangle

With this awesome pencil - who also look's like he/she is doing the pose!

1 down! 24 to go!

If you have any suggestions for locations for me, feel free to leave them in the comments!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Doctor Who Watch A Thon Season 1 Episode 11 "Boom Town"

As an effort to justify our somewhat obsessive T.V watching Meghan (Of Coffee and Wizards and @MegTao on Twitter) and myself have decided to undertake a Doctor Who Watch-a-long. We'll be starting with the beginning of the 2005 relaunch and will be posting about one episode each Friday, on our respective blogs. We hope you'll join in – whether as a re-watch or to discover the Doctor for the first time!
*just a heads up each post may contain spoilers for that episode and then ones before it*


Epsiode Summary

Written by: Russel T Davies
Directed by: Joe Ahearne
The Doctor has landed the TARDIS in Cardiff, using the energy of the Rift to recharge the time machine. He, Rose, and Jack, along with Rose's boyfriend, Mickey who has met them there, spend the afternoon relaxing, until the Doctor recognises the photo of Margaret Blaine, a Slitheen in her human suit, who has become the new mayor of Cardiff. The four track and capture Margaret, suspecting her of nefarious deeds after escaping the destruction of the other Slitheen ("Aliens of London"/"World War Three"). The Doctor observes her scale model plans for a new nuclear power plant, but identifies it is purposely flawed to cause a meltdown that would open the Rift and destroy the Earth. He also discovers the model contains a functioning tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator that Margaret would have used to flee the Earth. The Doctor decides to take Margaret back to her home planet Raxacoricofallapatorius, but Margaret laments that she is considered a criminal there and will be executed


Thoughts on the Episode
First off - Sorry about last week and my lack of post on "The Doctor Dances". I hadn't forgotten to write about it and then I did write about it and blogger ate the post. So just as a quick summary - love this episode. Everything that's great about "The Empty Child" is echoed here and then some. It's frightening, there's more Captain Jack and you get to see some real sentiment from the Doctor in his interactions with Rose. A+

Poor Mickey
Now onto this week's episode - "Boom Town". This episode brings us the return of our friends (or at least one), the Slitheen. Margaret Blaine escaped the explosion at the end of "World War Three" and has become mayor of Cardiff. Still up to her old tricks however she has concocted a scheme that will destroy the Earth. I found the"science" of this plan a little hard to follow. It doesn't really matter, but it's one of those things I'll turn over and over in my mind, as I try to figure it out.

I loved the continued presence of Captain Jack. He adds an interesting dynamic to the Rose-Doctor relationship, mixing it up so there's not as much strange sexual tension between. Instead they've graduated into a mutual polygamous union and it works for them. I have affectionately begun calling them "Team Tardis". We also see the return of Rose's boyfriend (if we can call him that?) Mickey. A lot of my posts ask about Mickey - every time Rose meets a new guy I wonder about him. As goofy as he is, watching him get his heart broken makes my heart break. He really cares about Rose and, though I love her, it bugs me the way she forgets about him when she's out travelling.

There are some really serious questions put forth in this episode, which is always a plus for me. After they capture Margaret, there's a lot of arguments about who gets to decide who lives and dies, and when mercy should be shown. It's heady stuff but important nonetheless. I like that you get to see some of the Doctor's inner turmoil - as he starts out firmly believing that Margaret deserves what she's going to get, to questioning whether he's making the right choice, to essentially giving her a second chance.

Favourite Moment
I love the scene where the Doctor takes Margaret for her last meal. The dialogue between the two of them is great. She pleads for her life, they talk about morality but there's plenty of funny moments thrown in too. Like when she attempts to breathe poison on him and he gets her with the breath freshener.


Love it.

Monday, April 30, 2012

What to watch

So after 2 months I have finally watched Seasons 1-4 of Merlin. I have absolutely loved the entire journey that has been this show so far but now I have to wait until the fall for more episodes. In the meantime I have a whole list of shows I want to watch and I need you to help me decide what to watch next. Here are the options:
- Stargate
- Downton Abbey
- Dollhouse
- Battlestar Galatica

 Let the voting commence!

*update: Right now the voting is tied between Stargate and Downton Abbey. Such completely different shows! I'm excited to watch either one. I'll keep the voting open for one more day.

Update: So between this blog and Twitter it seems like my next show will be Stargate. Although there are A LOT of seasons of it and there was a strong showing for Downton Abbey so I may watch them simultaneously. 

Friday, April 27, 2012

Doctor Who Watch A Thon Season 1 Episode 9 "The Empty Child"

As an effort to justify our somewhat obsessive T.V watching Meghan (Of Coffee and Wizards and @MegTao on Twitter) and myself have decided to undertake a Doctor Who Watch-a-long. We'll be starting with the beginning of the 2005 relaunch and will be posting about one episode each Friday, on our respective blogs. We hope you'll join in – whether as a re-watch or to discover the Doctor for the first time!
*just a heads up each post may contain spoilers for that episode and then ones before it*

Episode Summary

Directed by: James Hawes
Written by: Steven Moffat
Rose and the Doctor find themselves in 1941 London when the TARDIS receives an emergency signal from another time-traveling vehicle. While the Doctor tries to determine where the object may have landed, Rose goes off in search of a child she can hear calling for help. When she gets herself into a precarious situation, she's rescued by the rather handsome RAF Captain Jack Harkness, who owns a time machine of his own. The Doctor meanwhile meets Nancy who has an interesting way of arranging meals for homeless children. They are also being chased by the child Rose heard calling. The Doctor determines that human DNA is being rewritten but it's not obvious why or by who.

Thoughts on the Episode

Love love love this episode. And for so many reasons too.

First of all The Empty Child is a down right creepy episode. The little masked boy wandering around calling "Mommy" is pretty much one of the most terrifying things ever. It gives me shivers and makes me not want to be alone in my apartment at night.Seriously how can this not freak you out?


However the creepiness factor isn't the only reason I love this episode. We also get the first appearance of Captain Jack, who make me swoon pretty much everytime he speaks. You gotta love a guy with a little bit of swagger. Don't get me wrong, I love the chemistry/relationship between Rose and the Doctor but there's just something epic and romantic about her and Jack.

In addition to Jack we also get introduced to some supporting characters, who really make this episode in my opinion. I often find the secondary characters get overshadowed and are frequently underdeveloped but not so here. Nancy is incredibly strong and brave. A total fighter that helps hungry children, even though she doesn't have to. Plus that creepy little boy in the gas mask is her brother, making her bravery even more profound.And then there's Giaus! Or at least the same actor who plays Giaus from the BBC's Merlin. And he's still a doctor! Like Nancy he's brave when he doesn't have to be and I really admire them both.

Overall this is an episode to love for many reasons, it's got great characters, it's creepy, the plot is intriguing, and it's well filmed. There are some interesting camera angles in this episode that kind of remind me of the X Files and similar shows and despite fake backgrounds, I still thought this episode was very visually pleasing.

Favourite Moment

What did you think of "The Empty Child"? And are you as in love with Jack as I am?

Friday, April 20, 2012

Doctor Who Watch A Thon Season 1 Episode 8 "Father's Day"


As an effort to justify our somewhat obsessive T.V watching Meghan (Of Coffee and Wizards and @MegTao on Twitter) and myself have decided to undertake a Doctor Who Watch-a-long. We'll be starting with the beginning of the 2005 relaunch and will be posting about one episode each Friday, on our respective blogs. We hope you'll join in – whether as a re-watch or to discover the Doctor for the first time!

*just a heads up each post may contain spoilers for that episode and then ones before it*



Episode Summary

Written by: Paul Cornell
Directed by: Joe Ahearne

In the TARDIS, The Doctor agrees to take Rose to the day her father died so that she can be there when it happens. They witness the accident but Rose is unable to move when The Doctor tells her to go and be with her dying father. After Rose recovers, she asks The Doctor if she can try again. The Doctor allows it, but warns Rose to not run until their former selves have left to prevent a paradox. As the accident is about to happen, Rose runs out and pushes Pete aside, saving his life, but her former self and The Doctor vanish. The Doctor angrily warns Rose about the damage to the timeline but Rose dismisses it, believing Pete to just be an average person. While Rose goes with Pete to the wedding, The Doctor storms back to the TARDIS, only to find that it is now an empty shell, and thus realizes something is very wrong. Elsewhere, strange flying beasts appear and begin consuming people.

My Thoughts on the Episode
Ahh this episode fills me with near irrational rage. 

Rose wants to go see her father because he died when she was a baby and she never knew him. She specifically wants to go to the moment that he dies, so that he won't be alone. Don't get me wrong I totally understand why she wants to do this but do neither her or the Doctor she how highly problematic this is? Not only could she potentially mess with the fabric of time (because who wouldn't when presented with the chance to save their parent's life) but wouldn't it also be incredibly traumatizing to watch your father die not once but twice?

And then when she does exactly what any sane person would do, the Doctor gets all pissed off,  but honestly he has no one to blame but himself. You've lived for 900 years! How did you not see this coming!

Then they have quite the lover's spat. Including such classic lines as “For once you're not the most important man in my life!” You tell him girlfriend! Although this is followed by “Why does everyone think we're a couple?” Well perhaps it's because you act like one? Just kiss already you crazy kids!

Oh and then despite being specifically warned not to touch baby Rose, she takes the baby when it's handed to her. Rose, this episode is not the best example of your strong reasoning skills. I still adore you but I'm just a little disappointed. 

So this really became more of a rant about this episode than anything else. Sorry about that! To make up for it I'd love to hear what you liked about this episode!

Favourite Moment
When Rose and her Father are in the car after she saves his life, the radio is playing "Never Gonna Give You Up". We've been Doctor Who Rick Rolled!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Doctor Who Watch A Thon Season 1 Episode 7 "The Long Game"


As an effort to justify our somewhat obsessive T.V watching Meghan (Of Coffee and Wizards and @MegTao on Twitter) and myself have decided to undertake a Doctor Who Watch-a-long. We'll be starting with the beginning of the 2005 relaunch and will be posting about one episode each Friday, on our respective blogs. We hope you'll join in – whether as a re-watch or to discover the Doctor for the first time!

*just a heads up each post may contain spoilers for that episode and then ones before it*


Episode Summary
Written by: Russel T Davies
Directed by: Brian Grant
The Doctor and Rose bring Adam in his first trip aboard the TARDIS into the future, arriving aboard Satellite 5, a space station orbiting Earth in the year 200,000. Rose escorts the bewildered Adam around the station, while the Doctor becomes curious as to the station's purpose. The Doctor meets with Cathica, a reporter, and discovers the station is a giant broadcast tower transmitting news across the globe, using special "ports" installed on the foreheads of the reporters to facilitate information transfer. The Doctor believes there is a malevolent purpose to the station that is holding back human development. The Doctor learns from Cathica that a select few are invited to "Floor 500", believed to be the highest promotion they can get, but they never return to the lower floors of the station.

My Thoughts on the Episode

I cannot talk about my thoughts on this episode before stating this: There are going to be 96 BILLION people?! As in 90 BILLION more than we have now? I'm a small town girl and I can't take that many people. I'm moving to Pluto and then I'm going to sit back and laugh at all you poor suckers.



Ok now that I've got that out of my system, let's move on to the episode itself. We've travelled along with the Doctor, Rose and now Adam to the year 200,000 but something is not quite right. For one thing people are drinking beef flavoured slushies. For another thing there is one space station that produces all of the news. Don't we have laws that prevent this type of monopoly? What happened to them? We're also told that "Once you go to floor 500 you never come back" and no one seems to think this is strange either. So in addition to monopoly laws we've also thrown transparency out the window. I can only agree with the Doctor when he says our race has been set back. 

Now let's talk about Adam. Adorable though he is, I continually wanted to shake this supposed genius. Oh Rose why do you pick the dorkiest guys? First Mickey, now Adam (also what about Mickey? Is he not your boyfriend in the future?). I'm not really complaining though because now that Adam's gone, Rose and the Doctor can get back to their compulsive sexual tension filled hand holding. 

There are some pretty strong political statements here, which really made me wonder what was going on in Britain in 2005. The Editor also posed the question “Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's a slave.” The Doctor was quick to say no and I totally agree that what they're doing in wrong. But is it really slavery? Or just an empire? And in that way its kind of history repeating itself (you know with the British empire and all). These questions demonstrate one of favourite things about Doctor Who - it's ability to be down right silly and hilarious while making you think of deeper political/philosophical implications.

Favourite Moment
Adam has brain surgery to have a computer chip installed in his head. As a special promotion they add on this extra feature to his throat that freezes his vomit. Apparently this is more convenient? It just made me burst out laughing for an inappropriate length of time.  But then when I was done laughing and really thought about it, I made this face


It's ok Adam. I don't understand either. 

What did you think of Adam and "The Long Game"? Thumbs up or down? And I have to know, would you opt for the frozen vomit promotion? 

Friday, March 30, 2012

Doctor Who Watch-A-Thon Season 1 Episode 5



As an effort to justify our somewhat obsessive T.V watching Meghan (Of Coffee and Wizards and @MegTao on Twitter) and myself have decided to undertake a Doctor Who Watch-a-long. We'll be starting with the beginning of the 2005 relaunch and will be posting about one episode each Friday, on our respective blogs. We hope you'll join in – whether as a re-watch or to discover the Doctor for the first time!

*just a heads up each post may contain spoilers for that episode and then ones before it*



Written by: Russell T Davies
Directed by: Keith Boak
Episode Summary
Now locked in the reinforced Cabinet Room, the Doctor and Rose finally learn of the Slitheen's intentions. Having locked themselves in however, how they will manage to stop them becomes a major issue. While trying to keep the aliens at bay, the Doctor works against the clock to destroy them the only way he knows how - to blow up 10 Downing Street. To so however, Rose's boyfriend Mickey will have to hack into a submarine's computer and launch a missile.


Thoughts on the episode

 Picking up right after the previous episode, Aliens of London, World War Three ensures that viewers are going to be in for a crazy action packed ride. This couldn;t make me happier. I loved the action heavy episodes.

Now that the aliens have revealed themselves to the Doctor and he has escaped from their electrocution plan, the pressure is really on for them to catch him before he ruins everything. Simultaneously, they're trying to tie up loose ends by destroying Rose, Harriet, Mickey and Jackie. Needless to say there is a lot of running around. My roommate pointed out to me that when it's just the Slitheen in a scene they run amazingly fast but when there is ascene with other actors they slow down. He may think this is because of special effects/computer generation but I think it's because they don't want to reveal how truly fast they are just yet ;) I also want to mention that this is one creepy episode - almost entirely because of the alien voices. They give me the shivers. Even my puppy stopped what he was doing and stared at the TV screen.
We get to see a lot more Harriet Jones (MP Flydale North) in this episode and I've got to say she is one fab lady. The way she was going to sacrifice herself so that Rose had a chance to get away and how she was even willing to let people have a drink before her. If I was facing a similar crisis I would not turn down a drink if it was offered to me. But she keeps her wits about her and because of that we're told she is to become the architect of Britain's Golden Age. Can anyone say Girl Power?

Science: A Lifesaving Tool Against Crazy Aliens
As a final note, this episode is an excellent argument for why you should pay attention in high school science. When the Doctor realizes the aliens aren't just any aliens, but in fact Slitheen, he informs us that they are calcium based creatures. This means they can be destroyed by acidic things and since Mickey and Jackie just happen to be in his kitchen, this means anything vinegary. Pickled eggs, pickled beets, pickled anything! Jackie dumps it all into a large measuring cup and throws it at the Slitheen causing it to explode and save the two from immediate danger.


Favourite Moment
When the Slitheen are waiting for the call from the UN to release the nuclear weapons codes, the acting prime minister stands up and exclaims:

"Victory! Must be naked!"

Of course you must. Everyone wants to be naked at their victorious moments.

Do you have any alien fighting tips and tricks? And what did you think of "World War Three"?

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Hunger Games Movie

This past weekend I (and many many others) made my way to the movie theatre to check out the long awaited film adaptation of the Hunger Games.

STOP! Before you read any further be warned this post WILL contain SPOILERS for The Hunger Games. So if you haven't read the books or seen the movie, go do so before you read on.




I was unbelievably excited for this movie before it came out. I teared up whenever I saw the trailer. I had a compulsive urge to run into a room whenever I heard the Hunger Games mentioned and bellow - yes bellow - HUUNNGGEERR GAAAMMES. It was terribly annoying for all those that had to put up with me. But I couldn't help it. I. Was. Excited.

Now having seen the movie it feels like a huge weight of expectation has been lifted off my shoulders and I can, honestly 100% say that I really liked the movie. I didn't love it. But I really enjoyed it.

The first thing I want to say, before I get into the nitty gritty details of my opinions, is that I loved all the actors. Everyone was incredibly talented and even people I had my doubts about (*cough* Woody Harrelson) were fantastic. Also the settings - both the Capitol and the Arena were gorgeous. So much to look at and take in.

The majority of issues I have with the movie, are simply things that weren't included. The rationale part of me knows that they can't include everything and that it can still be enjoyable and entertaining without them but the crazy fangirl in me gets a little stompy when she see's they're not there. For instance the way they changed how Katniss acquired the Mockingjay pin and the fact that Peeta's father doesn't bring her cookies after the reaping. I think these moments send an important message about the people throwing their hope/faith behind her.

I also didn't think it was very clear why the people of District 11 were revolting. In the film version it looks like they're simply revolting because Rue dies. And not that her death isn't significant, but if the death of one of their children was enough to provoke a rebellion why hadn't there been one in the 73 years preceding this Hunger Games or why wasn't there any revolts in other districts? I think it was a mistake not to include Rue telling Katniss about how poor they were and how, even though they grew a lot of the food, they didn't have much of it themselves.

And am I crazy but did the time in the arena fly by? It was like BAMN you're in the arena. Run Run Run. Major plot points and then next thing you know - berry scene. I blame it on the sheer amount of background they had to give at the beginning. I think Catching Fire is going to be a lot better because so much of the background will be out of the way.

And as a final thought I am EXTREMELY disappointed with all the people who were upset that Rue, Thresh and Cinna were black. You people don't deserve the Hunger Games.

So what did you think of the Hunger Games? Was it everything you had hoped for? Was there anything you would've liked to see but was left out?