Doctor Who Christmas Special

SPOILERS

Okay so it’s been a few days – we’ve all had a chance to digest and muse over Moffet’s latest offering of Doctor Who.  For my part I was tragically disappointed – the idea was sound, exciting even – the Doctor taking on the role of the spirit/spirits in an attempt to melt the heart of an old miser –all in order to save Amy and Rory who are trapped aboard an imperilled cruise liner.  

The Victorian Literature geek in me rather enjoyed some of the nods to Dicken’s classic, like references to the frozen people as the ‘Surplus population’ –echoeing Scrooge’s well quoted line ‘If they would rather die, then they had better do it and decrease the surplus population.’ The Doctor spends 8 Christmas Eve’s with the young scrooge as he grows –but of course he does it all in one night (spirits can do that you know, course they can, course they can), along with the rather hamfisted wrenching in of Katherine Jenkins into the plot with some ill conceived bit about fish reacting to the harmonics of her singing.  It seemed like a poor attempt to throw a pretty girl, that wasn’t Karen Gillan, into the plot as a love interest.

Unfortunatly none of this made for a satisfying episode of Doctor Who, it felt like it was written for people that enjoy Christmas specials of any show rather than for anyone with a particular interest in the show! More than that it felt very rushed! Normally A DW Christmas special is a two parter -one half Christmas day or eve and the other part on new years day/eve. Moffet should have made a single episode out of the beginning, up until the point where after he has done christmas past he still refuses to turn off the clouds ending on the lines - 'I've changed Doctor!' - 'Yes but not nearly enough' and Amy and Rory still stuck on the ship. Then taken more time to have Amy as ghost of christmas present and then the child as future.  As it was it felt like we rushing through the story for the sake of an episode! A missed opportunity here Mr Moffet – I was looking forward to some of your quantum puzzlry which has been a defining feature of his better episodes.  

 

I will refrain from dwelling on the detailed plot holes that were present in the episode, the most glaring being the older Kazran being able to embrace his younger self, an action that left Rose/Doc 9 battling against reapers.  BUT I will say that I have had several nightmares since about face spiders –the mental image of the creepy spider doll from Toy Story (shudder)

Now as anyone that knows me can attest I am an ardent support of Moffet, I was excited that he was taking over the reigns from Russel T Davis because he was responsible for some of my all time favourite episodes – The Empty Child/The Doctor Dance, The Girl in the Fire Place, Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead before he took over – I wanted him to do well.  Largely because I had been so vocal about how awesome I thought he was going to be.  I’ve had to defend him all of last season thanks to a few ‘dodgy’ episodes and now even I have to admit my faith is wavering.  I hope that taking on the main seat hasn’t diluted his ability to write or that trying to spread his time between Doctor Who and Sherlock he will end up as the proverbial butter over too much bread. 

However! The trailer of next season looks AMAZING! The hints about what we are to expect that the BBC, Moffat and the cast have all dropped have me on the edge of my seat, if they deliver what they have promised it should make a season that more than makes up for some of the failings of last year.  For a start the season will be longer broken into a run of 11 episodes, before a mid season break over the summer and finishing with a 13 episodes the other side of September in the run up to another Christmas special.   This marks the first big change in the Who Franchise, the switch over to the US season format will make it’s scheduling on BBC America etc much easier.  My concern with this is that the show will become too Americanised, remakes, rehashings etc of UK shows for the US market have not been successful up to now, The Office was unrecognisable after it moved, and the thought of Shamless (due to be released next month) and Being Human (in production) make me cringe.  

But we are told that we will find out Amy’s ‘big secret’ and her true relationship with the Doctor, as well as more about the force that tried to destroy the TARDIS last year.  On the whole the entire season looks significantly darker than last (yeah!) .  While the Doctor is continueing his love affair with bowties and hats (a pot of coffee, twelve jammi dodgers and a fez) it looks like  Musketeers(?), Nazi’s and the Men in Black will all be making an appearance in the next season –as well as several hints that another Time Lord and/or another TARDIS will feature.  

Well enough from me! For those that havnt seen it – the trailer for Doctor Who 2011 – oh! And Happy Christmas! 

COMPETITION!

A Competition was held in connection with Time, Space and Chips to create a fan video or graphic for the Doctor Who Universe - the winners would receive their choice of some Doctor Who signed memorabilia. 

I am delighted to announce that the winners have been chosen and will be displayed on DANTE'S INFERNALS.com as Infernal Award Winners! Congrats again guys and thanks for taking part! 

Doctor Who: Two and a Half Doctors

First Prize went to Wolfe for the epic video 'Two and a Half Doctors' 

First Prize was a sign photo of 9th Doctor Christopher Eccelston

Come Along Pond

Second Prize went to Megs for the spiffy video 'Come Along Pond' 

Second Prize was a sign photo of 11th Doctor Matt Smith

THOR

At the end of Iron Man 2 we got a delicious teaser of Marvel Studio’s next offering, due out in 2011.  Those of us that had waited for the final scene, either because we predicted one at the end of Iron Man 2 as there had been one in Iron Man 1 were not disappointed.  We were shown Agent Coulson driving out into the New Mexico dessert, where a crater is swarming with presumably S.H.I.E.L.D agents, at the centre of which is the hammer of Thor.  Almost everyone in the cinema shrieked, ooh-ed, or otherwise displayed their excitement and shock. 

The blurb states that:

The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

                                                -Marvel.com

 Based on the 1962 comic ‘The Mighty Thor’ originally plotted by Stan Lee, scripted  by Larry Leiber and pencilled by Jack Kirby.  The character had several ongoing and limited series in his own right and then appeared in the Avenger’s series, along side Tony Stark in the original Avengers Line up.  I have to admit I expect quiet a lot from Thor, especially after how amazing Iron Man 1 and 2.  It will be interesting to see how they interpret the various powers and elements of the character. In particular the magical elements of the character such as the golden apples of Idunn, his belt of strength and the hammer Mjolnir which in the comics are powered by ‘magic.’  From what I have seen in the trailers it would seem they are going to pass it off as technology rather than sorcery but the characters magical background wouldn’t seem to match with the real world elements of the connected Marvel Movies like Iron Man and the earlier X-men movies, which rejected the magical elements often found in the comic books.  

            Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, stars as the titular Thor – his first major role although with several movies due out next year.  The seasoned Anthony Hopkin’s is due to make an outing as Odin which, given his general aura of awesome should be a treat assuming that Miller and Stentz’s screenplay gives him something to work with.  Clark Greg seems to have fallen on his feet, what was a bit relatively small bit part in Iron Man has escalated to appearances across 5 announced movies (Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, The Avengers, Nick Fury).  In order to get through the movie though I will have to overlook the presence of Natalie Portman, okay so her ability to act has improved immensely since Star Wars, but I still find her totally wooden and a bit alienating.  Slated to play Jane Foster, who appears in the comic as a nurse with whom Thor/Donald Blake has a relationship before she marries another man, the character has be changed from a nurse to an astrophysicist (?)  and will no doubt provide a romantic subplot for the film.  

I REALLY hope they don’t make the mistake of making the entire plot Thor’s love/affection/lust for Foster.  If Iron Man displayed one vital element of the successful comic-film cross over it was that the romance plot should be sub and not form the catalyst for the drama!  I was also a little concerned by the creatures at 1:05-1:08 of the trailer looked to an awful lot like cybermen but maybe all that Doctor Who watching has infected my brain slightly. 

It’s odd to say that as a Northern Irish person I feel ‘responsible’ for the outcome of this movie as a fellow country man of director Kenneth Brannagh.  Brannagh’s background in Shakespeare and vaguely historical projects hopefully means that he is adept at making the old world Viking imagery work against the modern backdrop.  

Either way! Here is hoping! I can assure you that the moment it comes out I shall be there with bells on! Not literally since the jingling would disturb the movie BUT Ill be there with 3D glasses on at any rate!

The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword

After 9 years of doing it I am finally able to admit what I am, to put my hand up and say it loud and proud, I am an Rp-er.  PHEW! I’ve come close a few times to admitting it, always in the most oblique terms, convinced that I would be shunned by all that knew me – even my beloved die-hard fencing geeks.  That is, until recently when I learned that a very good friend, someone with an important job and some one who the next generation look too for guidance, actually spends one night a week with a 20 sided dice and a D&D strategy book.  I am still somewhat reeling from the revelation that he spent 8 weeks sitting in his fencing kit (850newton Kevlar) while they LRPD the zombie apocalypse so I am confident that my RP forays will be accepted with relatively open arms (After a few giggles)

            For those that don’t know RP is role-playing, now I am not a dungeons and dragon girl or anything of that sort, my poison is the forum RP, which I suppose could be argued is the love child of RP and fan fiction.  Players either create originals characters (OC) or take up canon characters. 

            Every site has their own way of running thins, from the basic no application, no word limit affairs, to a lengthy application process and advanced posting of (600/800/1,000) word posts, Boards are generally found hosted on proboards, invisionfree; zetaboards had a minor swell in early 2000 but seem to have vanished again, at least from all useful advertising sites.  Choosing were to plat can be as difficult as deciding what genre to pitch for.   Finding the perfect RP can be a difficult business so here’s Dante’s guide to finding the perfect RP!

What To Look For:

-          1 Admin per 50 members/characters – but if the site is small or just starting 2 admins is a good number! Ideally they would be in different time zones, or offset a little so that while one is asleep others can be online, it really makes a difference.  It means that admins are easy to get a hold off and you aren’t left waiting for DAYS for applications to be reviewed or questions to be answered. 

-          Active Admins! You can have all the admins in the world but if they aren’t active and aren’t advertising the site then you will spend a lifetime waiting to be accepted and by that stage the site will be dead from inactivity. 

-          Active Players: Obviously a half decent number of people to play with is vital.  If there are only 5 players on a site which is more than a few months old you should be aware of what even if they have 5 characters each you will very quickly get bored of the same thing over and over again, and with all the will in the world you will run out of plots!  Variety is the spice of life and it’s the spice of online life as well!

-          Sensible Rules: Some admins want to be treated as gods and while every site needs some rules to stop power playing and god modding, some are overly prescriptive and meant to control how others play their characters.   The ideal rules are a mix of common sense, fair play, and balance, to allow all members to start on an even footing and avoid Mary-Sue mega characters. 

-          Players Community: Is there plenty of OC chat, is it fun to simply hang out in the chatbox/chatroom and have a natter with other members?  Its important to be able to vibe with other players outside the realm of characters, if you can spark of each other socially you will get the best out of each other creatively. 

What to Avoid:

-          Dozens of Admins: A site that has more admins than players when it is fledgling with 6 or more admins (I’ve seen 10+ on some sites)

-          Cliques! It sucks in real life to be constantly trying to elbow your way into a clique, why hassle with it in online life!  If everyone posts with the same people and isn’t really keen on posting with other/new players then avoid it like the plague! Who needs the agro!

-          Activity: Depending on what you are looking for make sure that the site meets your activity needs! No one needs the drama/pressure of HAVING to post multiple times everyday in order to pander to the rules.  If you only have a little time to spend rp-ing make sure you are on a site that only needs to be posted in every few days. 

-          Prescriptive character rules: Like I’ve mentioned variety is the spice of life! Its boring being on a site where every character has the same traits, the same look, the same tragedy riddled back story! It is understandable in real life sites that they require a real face, but sites which require that every face be a scene kid, or a Disney face, or something of that sort doesn’t give the player a chance to make the character their own.  This leads me on neatly to my next point. 

-          Mary-Sue’s! NO-ONE should be permitted to have a mary sue character! For those that don’t know have a look at the Mary Sue HERE.  By no one it should include the admin staff, sometimes it’s not okay for members to have them, but admins have these mega characters capable to steam rolling everyone else –any site with a preponderance of marysues/garystews should be avoided with passion!

For the past two years I have been an active and avid member on two forums-having become rather picky in my old age, but I thought I'd link them so you know what sites I think fulfil the requirements I set out.

 ::  

Doctor Who Live

My most recent geek based adventure was the Doctor Who Live show 'The Monsters Are Coming.'  Going to the Matinee performance was probably not the best decision for a group of college students (and a few lecturers) but at the time of booking the tickets we didnt really think about it.  The audience was mostly kids all keen to see the doctor vanquish his major enemies, more than one of which was dressed up as Daleks, cubermen and varing shades of Doctor (Even one hyper cute combo of a dad dressed as Tom Bakers Doctor and a little kid dressed as Matt Smiths - we debated which one of them suggested dressing up.)


I think some of the younger children might have left the show a little disapointed.  It probably wasnt really the show to go to if you arnt into the music of the show, essentially being a cross between a panto  and a BBC proms style affair - they played the music of the series, with videos on the big screen.  


There was the general plot of Vorgenson (son of Vorg -the Lurman showman from the Carnival of Monster) who creats a 'zoo' of all the doctors enemies because he was the docs biggest fan and wants the zoo as an homage to his hero.  Kidnapping Churchhill from wartime London, he hopes to get the doc to visit.  Vorgenson has a problem with the minimiser and disappears from the stage at which point the doctor appears on screen and tells the audience he has the TARDIS homing in on our location and  will be there shortly. Of course the various monster start breaking out of the zoo and attacking the audience, after a few attacks and the cyberdising of a few members, the 'police' come to investigate the disturbance, at which point several Angels appear on stage.  Of course there is a chorus of gasps and shrieks from the audience and everyone starts staring at the statues (getting into the spirit of it of course, nothing to do with the fact we are a bit freaked out).  There is an impression lighting trick that forces us to blink and duely the angels have moved!   A fairly adorable child in the row behind us (complete with bow tie, suspenders, screwdriver and fez) immediatly instructs his parents on Angel survival, quotin verbatim the Doctor's DVD message to Sally and attempting to scan the nearest angel over his dad's head with his screwdriver.  Of course the police dont have the benefit of the boy-Doctor's advice and are taken by the angels one by one as the Angels turn out the lights periodically in order to move.  


I am going to admit I was pretty freaked out! Not being a fan of the pitch dark at the best of times, I can freely admit that being within 10 feet of those aweful statues was pretty scary, since I happen to find Blink one the more sinister Doctor Who Episodes of the most recent series.  


After the angels have been dispatched back into the minimiser, the Doctor is summoned and imprisoned himself within the machine, at which point we are treated to Amy's theme and a montage of the girl who waited, who we are told is on her honeymoon with 'Mr Pond.'  It transpires that it was all orchestrated by the daleks to trap the doctor but with a little help from the sonic the doctor frees the cybermen from the minimiser and they battle, destroying one another, there was even a flying Dalek -which I have to admit was pretty nifty, before the TARDIS appears and takes out the last Dalek and sending all the monster back to their home worlds. 


The show ended as a Doctor Who show should, with the Time Lord Triumphant.  It was a pricey enough (about £40 each for 11th row, and just over £50 for rows 1-10) but I felt it was worth it due in large part to the fact that Ben Foster was conducting, who I must admit is one of my favourite conductors (yes I have a favourite conductor! Yes I listen to BBC Radio 4! Dont judge me!), so I would have spend £40 to see him conduct, the fact that he was conducting Murray Gold's amazing Doctor Who score was just a wonderful bonus!


There were scores of merchandise items available and unlike similer events I thought it was actually rather reasonable - there were some pretty cool T-shirts for about £15 and a budget cyberman mask for £3.  I got the last programme in Belfast (fist pump) for £10, and a buddy bought the backpack for £15.  


I don't know if the BBC plans to repeat  the tour next year, I know some of the reviews were not exactly sparkling but the ones I read seemed to have been written by people who didnt really seem to understand the show, or who hadnt seen the format of the proms and as such were disapointed by the set up.  I was certainly impressed,  the atmosphere at the show was electric, and the crowd on the final nights show would seemed to have enjoyed it immensly, so for the sake of those who havnt already seen it (and those of us who would rather like to see it again) I really hope this is the beginning of more new live outings for the Doctor in the future (or his past -wibbly wobbly timey wimey!)


Ood: Who were Vorgensons assisstants and tried to bribe the doc with quiche (?)
Vorgenson: Oh Come on Doctor stay! Pretty Please! 
Ood Sigma: Would the Doctor Like a Quiche?
Doctor: NO! ...What sort of Quiche....NO! 
Scarecrows: From family of blood
Satunyne: Vampires of venice, who were defeated with the help of some artificial sunlight
Weeping Angels: SCARY!
Judoon: Who catalogued several members of the audience and black marked arms like in Smith and Jones
living plastique: They batteled the scarecrows.
Clockwork robots: Who told us we were complete and then threatened to decapitate several people for parts.
Silurian: Who tried to take over the stadium to reclaim the surface
Winders/smilers: Who were defeated with the help of Liz 10
cybermen: Cyberdised 3 audience members
Daleks: Who threatened the kids in the front row who were waving, and making jokes that the belfast accent already sounded vaguely dalek which it does sometimes

It's All Geek To Me

To geek or not to geek that is the question! It is rarely acceptable to be a geek in a Catholic Secondary school, (High school for those of you who don't speak UK) its one of those thing's that frowned upon like getting pregnant or bringing a gun to school.  As such, like any normal teen I hid my tenancies to prevent myself from being made fun of, adopting a vaguely hippy, vegetarian, Indy music listening persona in school as a form of defence, while sneaking home to read Star Wars EU novels, watching Buffy and make covert trips to Forbidden planet to  buy something for a brother who had no discernible interest in science fiction but who still regularly received Christmas and birthday gifts that I could appropriate.

It all changed of course, as these thing soften do, when I went to college.  In university of course it is acceptable to be a geek and to quickly find a large group of people who are willing to dedicate excessive amounts of time to discussing the respective virtues of Kirk over Picard (as if), Marvel over DC or why Sylvester McCoy is the superior Doctor - in essence people you wouldn't mind handing together with during the zombie apocalypse because you know they are prepared.

In my case there was the fencers, now I don't know how other fencing clubs work but my fencers were people who wanted to learn how to be pirates/musketeers/gladiators or beat Count Dooku in a lightsabre fight (should the occasion ever arise.)  All kindred spirits who quickly proved that I was no where near as hardcore a geek as I thought I was, a fact they were more than happy to rectify, and I was more than happy to let them.

So I'm not really sure why I am not really sure why I'm starting this blog, it could be that after 6 years of cheesy garlic bread geek outs I need to get some international geek perspective on the ponderings or that my OCD tendencies have finally gotten the better of me, and this is a new phase in my obsessive note taking!

Either way - here goes! A blog dedicated to geeks and all things geekish