"Midnight"
Series: 4
Doctor: David Tennant
Companion: Donna Noble (Catherine Tate)
Writer: Russell T Davies
Friday, November 22, 2013
Thursday, November 21, 2013
New Who Countdown: Number 3
"Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead"
Series: 4
Doctor: David Tennant
Companions: Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), River Song (Alex Kingston)
Writer: Steven Moffat
I said it earlier in the week, but series four was an all-around strong season. There may even be a series four episode left on my countdown (as River Song would say, "Spoilers."). "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead" is so high on my list for a number of reasons.
1. River Song's debut on the series. She is very charismatic and even a little heartbreaking as a woman from the Doctor's future. I am sure Steven Moffat had some sort of idea how important she would become to the Eleventh Doctor, but her importance should not be discounted in the only episodes she appears with David Tennant. They work wonderfully as a team and when the clasp hands and run, it just feels right. However, her realization that the Doctor knew the entire time he was to be with her in the future, how she was going to die, was astonishingly sad and, in some ways, it cheapens the relationship that they have later on in the run. Her voice over epilogue is fantastic.
2. Vashta Nerada - a horrifying new enemy that you cannot possibly beat. You can only try to outrun them.
3.
Series: 4
Doctor: David Tennant
Companions: Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), River Song (Alex Kingston)
Writer: Steven Moffat
I said it earlier in the week, but series four was an all-around strong season. There may even be a series four episode left on my countdown (as River Song would say, "Spoilers."). "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead" is so high on my list for a number of reasons.
1. River Song's debut on the series. She is very charismatic and even a little heartbreaking as a woman from the Doctor's future. I am sure Steven Moffat had some sort of idea how important she would become to the Eleventh Doctor, but her importance should not be discounted in the only episodes she appears with David Tennant. They work wonderfully as a team and when the clasp hands and run, it just feels right. However, her realization that the Doctor knew the entire time he was to be with her in the future, how she was going to die, was astonishingly sad and, in some ways, it cheapens the relationship that they have later on in the run. Her voice over epilogue is fantastic.
2. Vashta Nerada - a horrifying new enemy that you cannot possibly beat. You can only try to outrun them.
3.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
New Who Countdown: Number 1
"The Impossible Astronaut"/"Day of the Moon"
Series: 6
Doctor: Matt Smith
Companions: The Ponds (Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill), River Song (Alex Kingston), Canton Everett Delaware III (Mark Sheppard)
Writer: Steven Moffat
Series: 6
Doctor: Matt Smith
Companions: The Ponds (Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill), River Song (Alex Kingston), Canton Everett Delaware III (Mark Sheppard)
Writer: Steven Moffat
New Who Countdown: Number 4
"The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances"
I honestly don't really know what to write about the episode. It's hard to put my finger on exactly why it is so good. It could be the writing, it could be the comic relief from Captain Jack, it may be the excellent guest stars (Florence Hoath as Nancy and Richard Wilson as Dr Constantine), or possibly the horror of this unnamed child.
Favorite quote from the story is, "It's mauve and dangerous."
Series: 1
Doctor: Christopher Eccleston
Companions: Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman)
Writer: Steven Moffat
Sadly, this is the only one of the ninth doctor stories to make my top ten. I do really adore Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, however, the writing and production is just not on par with later Tennant and Smith episodes. Steven Moffat's first episodes writing for the Doctor Who reboot has it all: a creepy horror undertone, a love triangle, a mystery, tenderness, and, as the Doctor proclaims at the end, "Everybody lives!"
Captain Jack Harkness makes his debut in this two parter as well. Jack is a 51st Century man living in World War II London, and he rescues Rose Tyler from an air raid while the Doctor is off investigating bizarre phone calls and radio signals.
This two parter is wonderful. We finally see the Doctor growing close to Rose and even getting a little jealous at the attention given to her by Captain Jack. This is when the relationship and those pesky little flutters of love really start to blossom. The episode title "The Empty Child" refers to the child that haunts London streets permanently wearing a gas mask and crying out for his "mummy". And "The Doctor Dances" is not only a reference to Rose's persistent calls to the Doctor to dance, but also about the gleeful nature of the Doctor because everybody lives.
This two parter is wonderful. We finally see the Doctor growing close to Rose and even getting a little jealous at the attention given to her by Captain Jack. This is when the relationship and those pesky little flutters of love really start to blossom. The episode title "The Empty Child" refers to the child that haunts London streets permanently wearing a gas mask and crying out for his "mummy". And "The Doctor Dances" is not only a reference to Rose's persistent calls to the Doctor to dance, but also about the gleeful nature of the Doctor because everybody lives.
I honestly don't really know what to write about the episode. It's hard to put my finger on exactly why it is so good. It could be the writing, it could be the comic relief from Captain Jack, it may be the excellent guest stars (Florence Hoath as Nancy and Richard Wilson as Dr Constantine), or possibly the horror of this unnamed child.
Favorite quote from the story is, "It's mauve and dangerous."
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
New Who Countdown: Number 5
"Human Nature"/"Family of Blood"
Series: 3
Doctor: David Tennant
Companion: Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman)
Writer: Paul Cornell
Martha and the Doctor are in dire trouble as a ruthless, formless alien family (the aptly named Family of Blood) with their army of scarecrows comes to terrorize a boys military school where the Doctor, believing he is human and forgetting all about his Time Lordiness, has escaped to. Not only do the episodes beg the question, "What happens to the world if the Doctor forgets who he is, even if intentional?" but it also goes further than many Doctor Who episodes by acknowledging race, gender, and class differences.
This story shows Martha at her most tolerable. When she's not pining for the Doctor, she is very clever, resilient, resourceful, and brave, and as the glue holding the Doctor together in this story, she finally gets the writing and character she deserves. She has a mostly okay personality in series three, but these are the episodes when she shines - it's up to her, not the Doctor, to save the day. While the Doctor is away, and John Smith is at play, Martha becomes the heroine we always knew she could be after seeing her first kick butt in "Smith & Jones". Unlike Rose, who we all loved for her heart, naivety, and youth, Martha is a match in wit for anyone, even the Doctor.
The guest stars in this two parter are fantastic as well. We know two of them as Game of Thrones actors now (Harry Lloyd and Thomas Sangster), but this is before, and they are both still wonderful. And Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson) who made us hate her and love her as the nurse at the school whom John Smith falls in love with.
But the real gem of this two parter is David Tennant. It is admittedly hard for a Whovian as myself to watch the Doctor be anything but his regular amazing self, but David Tennant plays the part of John Smith with so much humility, curiosity, wonder, and sadness that it actually persuaded me that he could be amazing in anything, as anyone. (I was mistaken later in life, and came to the realization that much of it depends on a good script, but that's not the point.) Because of his brilliance (and, of course, the writing of Paul Cornell), one of David Tennant's best moments in Doctor Who comes not as the Time Lord Doctor, but as a simple human high school history teacher.
Series: 3
Doctor: David Tennant
Companion: Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman)
Writer: Paul Cornell
Martha and the Doctor are in dire trouble as a ruthless, formless alien family (the aptly named Family of Blood) with their army of scarecrows comes to terrorize a boys military school where the Doctor, believing he is human and forgetting all about his Time Lordiness, has escaped to. Not only do the episodes beg the question, "What happens to the world if the Doctor forgets who he is, even if intentional?" but it also goes further than many Doctor Who episodes by acknowledging race, gender, and class differences.
This story shows Martha at her most tolerable. When she's not pining for the Doctor, she is very clever, resilient, resourceful, and brave, and as the glue holding the Doctor together in this story, she finally gets the writing and character she deserves. She has a mostly okay personality in series three, but these are the episodes when she shines - it's up to her, not the Doctor, to save the day. While the Doctor is away, and John Smith is at play, Martha becomes the heroine we always knew she could be after seeing her first kick butt in "Smith & Jones". Unlike Rose, who we all loved for her heart, naivety, and youth, Martha is a match in wit for anyone, even the Doctor.
The guest stars in this two parter are fantastic as well. We know two of them as Game of Thrones actors now (Harry Lloyd and Thomas Sangster), but this is before, and they are both still wonderful. And Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson) who made us hate her and love her as the nurse at the school whom John Smith falls in love with.
But the real gem of this two parter is David Tennant. It is admittedly hard for a Whovian as myself to watch the Doctor be anything but his regular amazing self, but David Tennant plays the part of John Smith with so much humility, curiosity, wonder, and sadness that it actually persuaded me that he could be amazing in anything, as anyone. (I was mistaken later in life, and came to the realization that much of it depends on a good script, but that's not the point.) Because of his brilliance (and, of course, the writing of Paul Cornell), one of David Tennant's best moments in Doctor Who comes not as the Time Lord Doctor, but as a simple human high school history teacher.
Monday, November 18, 2013
New Who Countdown: Number 6
"Vincent & the Doctor"
The episode doesn't quite follow many of the conventional trademarks of a regular Doctor Who
episode, but it is fantastically written and wonderfully acted. Tony Curran is brilliant as Vincent Van Gogh in his sadness and mania and genius. The episode is tender and horribly upsetting as Amy hopes to change the future by teaching Vincent Van Gogh to be happy in his own life, but it shows that not even the Doctor can change human nature.
Series: 5
Doctor: Matt Smith
Companion: Amy Pond (Karen Gillan)
Writer: Richard Curtis
The sole episode written by romantic comedy genius Richard Curtis is superb in its humanity. The Doctor and Amy visit the Musee D'Orsay to see the wondrous works of Vincent Van Gogh and discover an alien monster depicted in one of his artworks. So, the Doctor and Amy go on an adventure with one of the greatest modern painters to discover why this monster is visible to Van Gogh. What follows is a very Doctor Who look at the life and art of an extraordinary man tormented by his gift and by his own demons.
The episode doesn't quite follow many of the conventional trademarks of a regular Doctor Who episode, but it is fantastically written and wonderfully acted. Tony Curran is brilliant as Vincent Van Gogh in his sadness and mania and genius. The episode is tender and horribly upsetting as Amy hopes to change the future by teaching Vincent Van Gogh to be happy in his own life, but it shows that not even the Doctor can change human nature.
I would say that there is no more upsetting an episode than "Vincent & The Doctor". No matter how many times I watch it, I still break in to sobs. It is very rarely that I feel moved enough by the dialogue of even Doctor Who to cry and feel genuine sadness, but this is one of those moments that just breaks your heart. And it does it multiple times. Bill Nighy as the museum curator giving a speech about just why Vincent Van Gogh makes us feel the way we do through his art.
The Doctor in his infinite wisdom delivers one of his greatest nuggets (courtesy of Richard Curtis).
The Doctor in his infinite wisdom delivers one of his greatest nuggets (courtesy of Richard Curtis).
- The Doctor: The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa the bad things don’t always spoil the good things and make them unimportant. And we definitely added to his pile of good things.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
New Who Countdown: Number 7
"A Good Man Goes to War"
Seies: 6
Doctor: Matt Smith
Companion: The Ponds, River Song
Writer: Steven Moffat
The episode starts with series of wonderful shots as the Doctor calls in all his favors from across the universe to save Amy and Melody. Silurians, Cybermen, Strax (the Sontaran nurse), Dorium Maldovar, and the Judoon are all present to run Madame Kovarian and the Anglican Clerics, along with the Headless Monks out of Demons Run. Yes, I realized that it sounds like I'm writing gibberish, and my spell check is about to throw a hissy fit, but these are all fantastic beings, people, and religious orders are show up in "A Good Man Goes to War". I love when the cast of characters is a mishmash because it demonstrates just how ridiculous the world of Doctor Who can be.
Matt Smith is fantastic in this episode. Matt Smith as the Doctor shows more bravado and anger in "A Good Man Goes to War" than he had in any of the previous episodes, and we really get to see the many flaws of the Doctor. This is a true turning point for Amy, Rory, and the Doctor as their friendship is put to the test. As River says near the beginning of the episode, "This is the Battle of Demon's Run. The Doctor's darkest hour. He'll rise higher than ever before and then fall so much further." Matt Smith's performance is powerful. There's such a range of emotions - vengefulness, willfulness, tenderness, love, hate, and quite a bit of hubris. One of my favorite quotes from the entire Matt Smith run as the Doctor is here:
Madame Kovorian: The anger of a good man is not a problem. Good men have too many rules.
The Doctor, menacingly: Good men don't need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many.
This is where we finally understand River Song's motivations and backstory, and perhaps, why she's imprisoned. And also why she's so damed complicated. Alex Kingston as River Song is possibly my favorite character. She's witty, she's smart, she's badass, and she's so, so human. (See "The Angels Take Manhattan" for a few more of River's best moments.) And at Demon's Run, it's all about her. Even if she doesn't turn up until the very end.
Of course, River Song's poem is fantastic.
Demons run when a good man goes to war. Night will fall and drown the sun, When a good man goes to war. Friendship dies and true love lies, Night will fall and the dark will rise, When a good man goes to war. Demons run, but count the cost. The battle's won but the child is lost.
Seies: 6
Doctor: Matt Smith
Companion: The Ponds, River Song
Writer: Steven Moffat
The episode starts with series of wonderful shots as the Doctor calls in all his favors from across the universe to save Amy and Melody. Silurians, Cybermen, Strax (the Sontaran nurse), Dorium Maldovar, and the Judoon are all present to run Madame Kovarian and the Anglican Clerics, along with the Headless Monks out of Demons Run. Yes, I realized that it sounds like I'm writing gibberish, and my spell check is about to throw a hissy fit, but these are all fantastic beings, people, and religious orders are show up in "A Good Man Goes to War". I love when the cast of characters is a mishmash because it demonstrates just how ridiculous the world of Doctor Who can be.
Matt Smith is fantastic in this episode. Matt Smith as the Doctor shows more bravado and anger in "A Good Man Goes to War" than he had in any of the previous episodes, and we really get to see the many flaws of the Doctor. This is a true turning point for Amy, Rory, and the Doctor as their friendship is put to the test. As River says near the beginning of the episode, "This is the Battle of Demon's Run. The Doctor's darkest hour. He'll rise higher than ever before and then fall so much further." Matt Smith's performance is powerful. There's such a range of emotions - vengefulness, willfulness, tenderness, love, hate, and quite a bit of hubris. One of my favorite quotes from the entire Matt Smith run as the Doctor is here:
Madame Kovorian: The anger of a good man is not a problem. Good men have too many rules.
The Doctor, menacingly: Good men don't need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many.
This is where we finally understand River Song's motivations and backstory, and perhaps, why she's imprisoned. And also why she's so damed complicated. Alex Kingston as River Song is possibly my favorite character. She's witty, she's smart, she's badass, and she's so, so human. (See "The Angels Take Manhattan" for a few more of River's best moments.) And at Demon's Run, it's all about her. Even if she doesn't turn up until the very end.
Of course, River Song's poem is fantastic.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
New Who Countdown: Number 8
Pretty big spoilers abound, you have been warned.
"The End of Time"
Series: Specials (between Season 4 and Season 5)
Doctor: David Tennant
Companion: Wilfred Mott
Writer: Russell T Davies
In Tennant's last episode as the Doctor (until, of course, "Day of the Doctor"), he is heartbreaking. Knowing a prophecy that you are going to die and the omen that precedes it can be a hell of a shadow to live under. A quick list of things I love about this episode:
-Bernard Cribbin's performance as Wilfred Mott (Donna's grandfather) is fantastic. He is a perfect companion to the Doctor at his (kind-of) end. He is wise, yet full of hope and spectacularly joyful.
-New aliens: Vinvocci!
-Time Lords! The sexiest of the Time Lords -- Timothy Dalton as Lord President Rassilon, and the return of the Master as conniving as ever.
-And, of course, the cameos by so many of the pertinent characters and the no less important guest stars
"The End of Time" is long and filled with some fluff that may not be so important in the long run, but I feel like the brevity is just right. Fans were losing the Doctor that had really regenerated the series (pun absolutely intended) and made it so accessible - not only to sci-fi nerds and Brits, but to anyone who just needs an altruistic hero. And David Tennant is perfect. He is scared because he understands and knows what's coming, but he faces the end bravely, until throws a mini temper tantrum, but it's short lived and he knows that life will go on, just in a different form.
Doctor Who: The 10th Doctor Saves Wilfred - "I... by Cremacious
"The End of Time"
Series: Specials (between Season 4 and Season 5)
Doctor: David Tennant
Companion: Wilfred Mott
Writer: Russell T Davies
In Tennant's last episode as the Doctor (until, of course, "Day of the Doctor"), he is heartbreaking. Knowing a prophecy that you are going to die and the omen that precedes it can be a hell of a shadow to live under. A quick list of things I love about this episode:
-Bernard Cribbin's performance as Wilfred Mott (Donna's grandfather) is fantastic. He is a perfect companion to the Doctor at his (kind-of) end. He is wise, yet full of hope and spectacularly joyful.
-New aliens: Vinvocci!
-Time Lords! The sexiest of the Time Lords -- Timothy Dalton as Lord President Rassilon, and the return of the Master as conniving as ever.
-And, of course, the cameos by so many of the pertinent characters and the no less important guest stars
"The End of Time" is long and filled with some fluff that may not be so important in the long run, but I feel like the brevity is just right. Fans were losing the Doctor that had really regenerated the series (pun absolutely intended) and made it so accessible - not only to sci-fi nerds and Brits, but to anyone who just needs an altruistic hero. And David Tennant is perfect. He is scared because he understands and knows what's coming, but he faces the end bravely, until throws a mini temper tantrum, but it's short lived and he knows that life will go on, just in a different form.
Doctor Who: The 10th Doctor Saves Wilfred - "I... by Cremacious
Friday, November 15, 2013
New Who Countdown: Number 9
"Turn Left"
Series: 4
Doctor: David Tennant
Companion: Donna Noble (Catherine Tate)
Writer: Russell T Davies
David Tennant has very little screen time in the penultimate episode leading up to the final two-parter with Donna. I suppose this episode would be considered a "Doctor-lite" episode, but Catherine Tate shows just why Donna Noble is so fantastic as a companion to the Doctor and as a stand alone character of her own. It demonstrates how much she's grown while remaining true to herself. Plus, I love all the throwbacks to the previous episodes in seasons three and four. Billie Piper's veneers aside, "Turn Left" is a gem from an all-around great season of Doctor Who.
The rather simplistic idea that our lives are governed by the smallest of choices really makes Donna come into her own and leads into the final episodes and the meaning behind the Ood referring to Donna and the Doctor as "Doctor Donna". Have you ever had a decision to make that could have completely changed the way your life turned out? And then think how that one choice impacted the lives of others? I can, and it's truly traumatizing to think of what would have happened if I had not stopped to talk to the recruiters from American University at the attendance-mandatory college fair and instead passed them by like I had passed by so many of the other schools that day. "Turn Left" dramatizes how Donna's simple decision had a ripple effect the universe over, and hints at just why she's so important.
Series: 4
Doctor: David Tennant
Companion: Donna Noble (Catherine Tate)
Writer: Russell T Davies
David Tennant has very little screen time in the penultimate episode leading up to the final two-parter with Donna. I suppose this episode would be considered a "Doctor-lite" episode, but Catherine Tate shows just why Donna Noble is so fantastic as a companion to the Doctor and as a stand alone character of her own. It demonstrates how much she's grown while remaining true to herself. Plus, I love all the throwbacks to the previous episodes in seasons three and four. Billie Piper's veneers aside, "Turn Left" is a gem from an all-around great season of Doctor Who.
The rather simplistic idea that our lives are governed by the smallest of choices really makes Donna come into her own and leads into the final episodes and the meaning behind the Ood referring to Donna and the Doctor as "Doctor Donna". Have you ever had a decision to make that could have completely changed the way your life turned out? And then think how that one choice impacted the lives of others? I can, and it's truly traumatizing to think of what would have happened if I had not stopped to talk to the recruiters from American University at the attendance-mandatory college fair and instead passed them by like I had passed by so many of the other schools that day. "Turn Left" dramatizes how Donna's simple decision had a ripple effect the universe over, and hints at just why she's so important.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
New Who Countdown: Number 10
"The Rings of Akhaten"
Series: Seven
The Doctor: Matt Smith
Companion: Clara Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman)
Writer: Neil Cross
As "The Rings of Akhaten" is from the second half of the seventh season, this is the newest episode on my list. I think this episode is fantastical in the setting even though it was filmed entirely in a studio. It has many things that make it silly: many different alien life forms, a vampiric demi-god, old religions, terrible green screen shots, but it's the heart behind it that makes this episode wonderful even if the writers are trying to shove it down your throat. Clara's origin story and the Doctor's speech to Akhaten are moments that in any other TV show you would groan from the smell of the cheese, but it's these kind of moments that make the Doctor and his friends so wonderful.
As I've noted in a previous post, I love the music in this episode. It's so very important, and it gives the perfect backdrop to the Doctor's speech, "...I saw the birth of the universe and I watched as time ran out, moment by moment until nothing remained. No time, no space, just me. I walked in universes where the laws of physics were devised by the mind of a mad man. I watched universes freeze and creations burn, I have seen things you wouldn't believe, I have lost things you will never understand..." The Doctor realizes that even all his history and experiences do not amount to the potential of the days not yet lived or the time taken from someone by death.
Series: Seven
The Doctor: Matt Smith
Companion: Clara Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman)
Writer: Neil Cross
As "The Rings of Akhaten" is from the second half of the seventh season, this is the newest episode on my list. I think this episode is fantastical in the setting even though it was filmed entirely in a studio. It has many things that make it silly: many different alien life forms, a vampiric demi-god, old religions, terrible green screen shots, but it's the heart behind it that makes this episode wonderful even if the writers are trying to shove it down your throat. Clara's origin story and the Doctor's speech to Akhaten are moments that in any other TV show you would groan from the smell of the cheese, but it's these kind of moments that make the Doctor and his friends so wonderful.
As I've noted in a previous post, I love the music in this episode. It's so very important, and it gives the perfect backdrop to the Doctor's speech, "...I saw the birth of the universe and I watched as time ran out, moment by moment until nothing remained. No time, no space, just me. I walked in universes where the laws of physics were devised by the mind of a mad man. I watched universes freeze and creations burn, I have seen things you wouldn't believe, I have lost things you will never understand..." The Doctor realizes that even all his history and experiences do not amount to the potential of the days not yet lived or the time taken from someone by death.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
New Who Countdown: Number 11
This whole post is a spoiler, but read on anyway, you pansies.
"The Angels Take Manhattan"
Series: 7
Doctor: Matt Smith
Companions: The Ponds, River Song (Arthur Darvill, Karen Gillan and Alex Kingston)
Writer: Steven Moffat
In the final episode with Amy and Rory, the Doctor comes face to face with one of his worst nightmares: having to say goodbye. They try so hard to save Rory, and in failing, the Doctor not only loses Rory, but also Amy to the horrifying Weeping Angels.
With Alex Kingston doing her best Film Noir, she is a delight to be sure, and a welcome relief from the heaviness and impeding doom that the whole episode carries. It's weighty, it's dark, it's sweet, but most of all, it's just sad. I don't like to rate my favorite companions of the Doctor because I love them all for different reasons (yes, even Martha), but Rory and Amy are truly unique in the longevity, brevity, and loveliness.
The Angels Take Manhattan is a love letter to all companions past and reason in itself of why the Doctor takes his friendships very seriously.
To quote River Song, "He doesn't like endings."
"The Angels Take Manhattan"
Series: 7
Doctor: Matt Smith
Companions: The Ponds, River Song (Arthur Darvill, Karen Gillan and Alex Kingston)
Writer: Steven Moffat
In the final episode with Amy and Rory, the Doctor comes face to face with one of his worst nightmares: having to say goodbye. They try so hard to save Rory, and in failing, the Doctor not only loses Rory, but also Amy to the horrifying Weeping Angels.
With Alex Kingston doing her best Film Noir, she is a delight to be sure, and a welcome relief from the heaviness and impeding doom that the whole episode carries. It's weighty, it's dark, it's sweet, but most of all, it's just sad. I don't like to rate my favorite companions of the Doctor because I love them all for different reasons (yes, even Martha), but Rory and Amy are truly unique in the longevity, brevity, and loveliness.
The Angels Take Manhattan is a love letter to all companions past and reason in itself of why the Doctor takes his friendships very seriously.
To quote River Song, "He doesn't like endings."
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Best of Doctor Who: 11 Episodes
In the next eleven days leading up to the 50th Anniversary Special - The Day of the Doctor - I will be posting about my favorite episodes of Doctor Who. In the interest of fairness and full disclosure, I'm only picking "New Who" episodes because I have not yet adequately covered all the (available) episodes of "Classic Who". Eleven episodes for the eleven doctors even though I'm only covering three doctors.
The word "episodes" is used loosely in the Doctor Who world (Whoniverse, as it were). Stories, I believe, is the proper term. Of course, there are entire season arcs, but on my list, there are multiple episode stories, e.g. "The Hungry Earth" and "Cold Blood" or "The Rebel Flesh" and "The Almost People".
I realize that some other fan favorites and amazing episodes will be left off of my countdown, but this is completely subjective. Everyone has their favorites and this was no easy task to whittle them down. I have a list of thirty-some episodes that I just adore beyond others, so narrowing that list and then ranking them was extremely difficult to do.
Following there is a list of stories that just did not quite make the cut. You may see some episodes you expected to make that top eleven, but they didn't quite make it. It was like choosing between Milky Way and Three Musketeers bars. Three Musketeers is amazingly delicious with all that delectable mousse, but Milky Way bars have caramel that make them just that much better. So here are my Milky Ways in the Doctor Who Reboot, and my favorite thing about the episodes:
Season One
--The Long Game - Simon Pegg's turn as the Editor in Chief
Season Two
--The Christmas Invasion - a wonderful reference to Arthur Dent
--Tooth & Claw - Banter between the Doctor & Rose - "I am not amused"
--The Girl in the Fireplace - A wonderful, sad tale of Madame de Pompadour
--The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit - The Doctor's speech to 'satan'
--Love & Monsters - profuse use of ELO's "Mr Blue Sky" and Shirley Henderson's guest starring role
Season Three
--Smith & Jones - the immediate chemistry between Freema Ageyman and David Tennant
--Gridlock - The Doctor finally facing a few of his demons and his tumultuous past at the end of the episode prompted by Martha's willfulness
--42 - the race against time and the title pays kudos to Douglas Adams
--Blink - Doctor-lite, but Carey Mulligan is flawless as Sally Sparrow surviving against a new terrifying enemy - the Weeping Angels
--Utopia/The Sound of Drums/The Last of the Time Lords
Season Four
--Partners in Crime - It's just so funny, and the adipose are darling
--Planet of the Ood - Questions of enslavement and showing empathy for other species
--The Unicorn & The Wasp - A murder mystery so good it could be from Agatha Christie... oh wait...
Specials
--Waters of Mars - Heartbreaking ending showing that even if you change the past, you run the risk of ruining the future
Season Five
--The Eleventh Hour - Matt Smith's debut as a new doctor and a new catchphrase, "Silence will fall"
--Amy's Choice - Whimsical, yet dire and completely outlandish, but Toby Jones is fantastic. "Ask me what happens when you die in reality," says the Dream Lord. Rory asks sheepily, "What happens?" The snarky Dream Lord replies, "You die, stupid. That's why it's called reality."
--The Lodger - The Doctor tries his turn at a normal human life while investigating curious goings on and making a new friend.
Season Six
--The Doctor's Wife - Neil Gaiman tries his hand at writing for Doctor Who with wonderful results
--The God Complex - This episode is like a creepy horror story
--Closing Time - Craig returns with his son Stormageddon
--The Wedding of River Song - Everything about this episode. Everything. It's wonderful and beautiful and amazing
Season Seven
--Hide - Multifacted love story
--Nightmare in Silver - Cybermen! Warwick Davis! But mostly Warwick Davis. Another gem from Neil Gaiman
The word "episodes" is used loosely in the Doctor Who world (Whoniverse, as it were). Stories, I believe, is the proper term. Of course, there are entire season arcs, but on my list, there are multiple episode stories, e.g. "The Hungry Earth" and "Cold Blood" or "The Rebel Flesh" and "The Almost People".
I realize that some other fan favorites and amazing episodes will be left off of my countdown, but this is completely subjective. Everyone has their favorites and this was no easy task to whittle them down. I have a list of thirty-some episodes that I just adore beyond others, so narrowing that list and then ranking them was extremely difficult to do.
Following there is a list of stories that just did not quite make the cut. You may see some episodes you expected to make that top eleven, but they didn't quite make it. It was like choosing between Milky Way and Three Musketeers bars. Three Musketeers is amazingly delicious with all that delectable mousse, but Milky Way bars have caramel that make them just that much better. So here are my Milky Ways in the Doctor Who Reboot, and my favorite thing about the episodes:
Season One
--The Long Game - Simon Pegg's turn as the Editor in Chief
Season Two
--The Christmas Invasion - a wonderful reference to Arthur Dent
--Tooth & Claw - Banter between the Doctor & Rose - "I am not amused"
--The Girl in the Fireplace - A wonderful, sad tale of Madame de Pompadour
--The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit - The Doctor's speech to 'satan'
--Love & Monsters - profuse use of ELO's "Mr Blue Sky" and Shirley Henderson's guest starring role
Season Three
--Smith & Jones - the immediate chemistry between Freema Ageyman and David Tennant
--Gridlock - The Doctor finally facing a few of his demons and his tumultuous past at the end of the episode prompted by Martha's willfulness
--42 - the race against time and the title pays kudos to Douglas Adams
--Blink - Doctor-lite, but Carey Mulligan is flawless as Sally Sparrow surviving against a new terrifying enemy - the Weeping Angels
--Utopia/The Sound of Drums/The Last of the Time Lords
Season Four
--Partners in Crime - It's just so funny, and the adipose are darling
--Planet of the Ood - Questions of enslavement and showing empathy for other species
--The Unicorn & The Wasp - A murder mystery so good it could be from Agatha Christie... oh wait...
Specials
--Waters of Mars - Heartbreaking ending showing that even if you change the past, you run the risk of ruining the future
Season Five
--The Eleventh Hour - Matt Smith's debut as a new doctor and a new catchphrase, "Silence will fall"
--Amy's Choice - Whimsical, yet dire and completely outlandish, but Toby Jones is fantastic. "Ask me what happens when you die in reality," says the Dream Lord. Rory asks sheepily, "What happens?" The snarky Dream Lord replies, "You die, stupid. That's why it's called reality."
--The Lodger - The Doctor tries his turn at a normal human life while investigating curious goings on and making a new friend.
Season Six
--The Doctor's Wife - Neil Gaiman tries his hand at writing for Doctor Who with wonderful results
--The God Complex - This episode is like a creepy horror story
--Closing Time - Craig returns with his son Stormageddon
--The Wedding of River Song - Everything about this episode. Everything. It's wonderful and beautiful and amazing
Season Seven
--Hide - Multifacted love story
--Nightmare in Silver - Cybermen! Warwick Davis! But mostly Warwick Davis. Another gem from Neil Gaiman
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Tunesdays with Tonnie -- Crime & Punishment
A little late on a Tuesday, I know, but I didn't have time to write it ahead of time this week. My nods for this week are courtesy of some newer television shows. And while it is difficult to justify Orange is the New Black as a true television show, it gets my nomination anyway. My justification is that if Netflix or Hulu originals can get Emmy nods, then I can include them on here. Original music award for this week goes to Orange is the New Black. Song re-use goes to Luther.
"You've Got Time" was written specifically for Orange is the New Black at the request of creator, Jenji Kohan (Weeds), by Regina Spektor. Obviously I recommend a viewing of the show if you haven't already. I think the song compliments the show magnificently, and it shows the faces of prison life. Really, the song, Regina's voice, the lyrics and the images are perfect for Orange is the New Black.
Judge for yourself.
Re-use:
Generally, I really do not like 'music video' outros to shows. I'm not sure if I've written that before, but it cannot be stressed enough. As much as I loved Alias, every freakin' episode had a four minute clip at the end with some sappy song playing over Sydney crying and/or coming home to an empty house and/or seeing other people together and happy in groups while she's all alone, etc. Alias is not the only show to do this, but it's the one that has annoyed me the most. (Ugly Betty comes in a close second.) They are often excruciatingly long and they do nothing for the plot or characters. It's like the writers ran out of dialogue or meaningful material and said, "Let's have a montage of everyone on the show sitting alone in their respective apartments or walking down an empty street to show how disconnected they all are. However, Luther nails these outros on the head nearly every time. Sometimes the song choices are inappropriate and that's what makes them so fabulous. My favorite was season one, episode four. And I can't track down a video for my second pick, but if you have Netflix or HuluPlus take a look at the last two minutes or so. Beck's "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime."
"You've Got Time" was written specifically for Orange is the New Black at the request of creator, Jenji Kohan (Weeds), by Regina Spektor. Obviously I recommend a viewing of the show if you haven't already. I think the song compliments the show magnificently, and it shows the faces of prison life. Really, the song, Regina's voice, the lyrics and the images are perfect for Orange is the New Black.
Judge for yourself.
Re-use:
Generally, I really do not like 'music video' outros to shows. I'm not sure if I've written that before, but it cannot be stressed enough. As much as I loved Alias, every freakin' episode had a four minute clip at the end with some sappy song playing over Sydney crying and/or coming home to an empty house and/or seeing other people together and happy in groups while she's all alone, etc. Alias is not the only show to do this, but it's the one that has annoyed me the most. (Ugly Betty comes in a close second.) They are often excruciatingly long and they do nothing for the plot or characters. It's like the writers ran out of dialogue or meaningful material and said, "Let's have a montage of everyone on the show sitting alone in their respective apartments or walking down an empty street to show how disconnected they all are. However, Luther nails these outros on the head nearly every time. Sometimes the song choices are inappropriate and that's what makes them so fabulous. My favorite was season one, episode four. And I can't track down a video for my second pick, but if you have Netflix or HuluPlus take a look at the last two minutes or so. Beck's "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime."
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Ricky's Ckorner - Trivial nonsense
While this clip from Cheers is a classic, Ricky likes the part where Cliff comes to a perfectly logical conclusion: these people have never been in our kitchen either. Ricky doesn't understand why Cliff was wrong. The sound quality isn't great, but Ricky finds it funny nonetheless. Ricky's favorite 30-ish seconds runs from 3:36 to 4:10.
The 26 Most Important Television Programs of My Life
October the Third is my birthday. And today I will be 26 years old. In memoriam to my younger years, I am going to do what I do best -- make a list. Initially, I was going to make a list of THE BEST TV SHOWS EVER! But that's daunting and superbly unrealistic as there are so many shows that I have yet to see.
Here is a list of the most important television programs of my life. These may not be the best television shows. Heck, I'm sure some of them are pretty terrible, but these are the shows that have impacted my life or major life events have circled around. Some have to do with the precious time my family and I have spent together watching these characters grow (or not grow, in one case). Or it could be that one particular episode of that one particular show that resonated with me so deeply that I watched it over and over and over again. Or it could just be those special moments, when trying to make new friends, you bond over the ridiculous lives of four New Yorkers just trying to make sense of their sex lives and friendship (and, no, it's not Girls).
After starting this post I realize how daunting it is describing 26 television shows, so I'm probably going to give up halfway through and just write titles for some of them. Parts of life are meant to be a mystery, afterall
26. Game of Thrones - Nerdy literature can be made into hypersexualized amazing television!
25. Pretty Little Liars - I admit that this once guilty pleasure morphed into an all out obsession. I am not proud of the fact that I was coerced into watching this by three college friends, and I am less proud of the fact that we have done readings via gchat of lengthy Television Without Pity recaps. (I play Hannah, among other characters.) This melodramatic teen drama brings us together across space and time.
24. Full House - I always thought this is what San Francisco life would be like. I'm sure it's not like this. All the time.
23. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - This is my least favorite of the Law & Order franchise shows which is sacrilege to the faithful of the show. The constant marathoning of this show during those very awkward first weeks of college with complete strangers morphed into a wonderful inside joke. Certain networks run SVU on what seems to be a loop. These people put up with me and, I think, kinda liked me despite writing cryptic "No more TBS, thanks, the TV" in window markers on the television. Thanks to my first college roommates, they introduced me to the idea of curling up in bed for hours and watching television without blinking.
22. Seinfeld
21. Sabrina the Teenage Witch - Melissa Joan Hart was the coolest when you were an eleven year old girl at a slumber party on a Friday night. And that animatronic cat was the bees knees. TGIF was part of being cool in elementary and middle school, and I finally felt like I could keep up because I didn't have to have cable to watch these shows.
20. New Girl - I hesitate to put this show on my list because, while I love it now, it's hard to say that I will want to watch it over and over and over again like I can do with other sitcoms on this list (#9 and #2 in particular). The characters are right on the cusp of too wacky and completely unrelatable, but the acting is great, I can't help, but empathize with all of them.
19. Barney - Obviously the best television show for toddlers. Dinosaurs are really amazing and loving. My little niece, B., knows what I'm talking about. After I got home from my half day of Kindergarten, I would run up our driveway, my mom would have lunch for ready for me so I could sit and watch Barney and eat my lunch.
18. Downton Abbey
17. Firefly - Changed my view of science fiction in television. And, I think, finally made me understand what a Space Cowboy is supposed to be.
16. Saturday Night Live
15. South Park - I spent about seven months of my bed time viewing on getting through the entirety of South Park. I had never seen an episode of it before started at the very beginning. Zeus-willing the creators/producer/whoever involved with the show in distribution capacities allows all the episodes to be available at any time (except for the very select few) at Southparkstudios.com. I knew enough about the show to be able to get by culturally, but it wasn't until a very bleak autumn night in Washington, DC, where a friend of mine may have just saved my life by inviting me in for a few beers and to watch a mindless movie -- South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut. I doubt he realizes how important his attempt at a friendly, calm night really was. It got me to start watching South Park and to take myself a lot less seriously.
14. Late Night with Conan O'Brien - My own personal comedy taste and stylings came from watching Conan as a teenager. Before it was Team Coco, and before Jay Leno was a massive prick, there was just awkward Conan and the masturbating bear. Thanks Conan. I dyed my hair reddish-orange for you.
13. Recess - This was, hands down, the best cartoon of my childhood. My friends and I would pretend to be the characters from Recess during recess in fourth and fifth grade -- I was TJ, of course. We lived in terror of the kindergartners and we had a King Bob. The greatest thing for millennials of a certain age is that it seems like Recess is as universal as Sesame Street or The Rugrats. My friends and I dressed up as the Ashleys our senior year of high school (2005) and we used to debate the "hottest" cartoon character and at least three of us picked characters from Recess. Plus, there were good life lessons in the show, right?
12. Alias - Our first family dog died during an episode of Alias. But that's neither here nor there. I loved Sidney Bristow and her aloof father and her amazing best friend, Will. She was the toughest, coolest chick, and it seemed like every week the plot of the show would turn in on itself. It was the second, super-serial show that I actually found myself enthralled with, and it was guaranteed to score me at least a five minute conversation every week (in the eighth grade) with the cutest kid in homeroom.
11. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Like South Park, It's Always Sunny provided another bonding opportunity with some really awkward almost-adults in college. Heck, we had an It's Always Sunny themed Valentine's Day party and bought the only male in our household a Greenman suit for his 21st birthday. Two of us also attempted to wrestle him to the ground over a phone (which, if memory serves me, had a slightly embarrassing/harassing text message on it), but failed due to the slippery nature of the suit. Some of the only times all four of us would tolerate each other in a group over those seven or so months we lived together was while we watched It's Always Sunny... And they were some great times.
Top Ten after the jump.
Here is a list of the most important television programs of my life. These may not be the best television shows. Heck, I'm sure some of them are pretty terrible, but these are the shows that have impacted my life or major life events have circled around. Some have to do with the precious time my family and I have spent together watching these characters grow (or not grow, in one case). Or it could be that one particular episode of that one particular show that resonated with me so deeply that I watched it over and over and over again. Or it could just be those special moments, when trying to make new friends, you bond over the ridiculous lives of four New Yorkers just trying to make sense of their sex lives and friendship (and, no, it's not Girls).
After starting this post I realize how daunting it is describing 26 television shows, so I'm probably going to give up halfway through and just write titles for some of them. Parts of life are meant to be a mystery, afterall
26. Game of Thrones - Nerdy literature can be made into hypersexualized amazing television!
25. Pretty Little Liars - I admit that this once guilty pleasure morphed into an all out obsession. I am not proud of the fact that I was coerced into watching this by three college friends, and I am less proud of the fact that we have done readings via gchat of lengthy Television Without Pity recaps. (I play Hannah, among other characters.) This melodramatic teen drama brings us together across space and time.
24. Full House - I always thought this is what San Francisco life would be like. I'm sure it's not like this. All the time.
23. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - This is my least favorite of the Law & Order franchise shows which is sacrilege to the faithful of the show. The constant marathoning of this show during those very awkward first weeks of college with complete strangers morphed into a wonderful inside joke. Certain networks run SVU on what seems to be a loop. These people put up with me and, I think, kinda liked me despite writing cryptic "No more TBS, thanks, the TV" in window markers on the television. Thanks to my first college roommates, they introduced me to the idea of curling up in bed for hours and watching television without blinking.
22. Seinfeld
21. Sabrina the Teenage Witch - Melissa Joan Hart was the coolest when you were an eleven year old girl at a slumber party on a Friday night. And that animatronic cat was the bees knees. TGIF was part of being cool in elementary and middle school, and I finally felt like I could keep up because I didn't have to have cable to watch these shows.
20. New Girl - I hesitate to put this show on my list because, while I love it now, it's hard to say that I will want to watch it over and over and over again like I can do with other sitcoms on this list (#9 and #2 in particular). The characters are right on the cusp of too wacky and completely unrelatable, but the acting is great, I can't help, but empathize with all of them.
19. Barney - Obviously the best television show for toddlers. Dinosaurs are really amazing and loving. My little niece, B., knows what I'm talking about. After I got home from my half day of Kindergarten, I would run up our driveway, my mom would have lunch for ready for me so I could sit and watch Barney and eat my lunch.
18. Downton Abbey
17. Firefly - Changed my view of science fiction in television. And, I think, finally made me understand what a Space Cowboy is supposed to be.
16. Saturday Night Live
15. South Park - I spent about seven months of my bed time viewing on getting through the entirety of South Park. I had never seen an episode of it before started at the very beginning. Zeus-willing the creators/producer/whoever involved with the show in distribution capacities allows all the episodes to be available at any time (except for the very select few) at Southparkstudios.com. I knew enough about the show to be able to get by culturally, but it wasn't until a very bleak autumn night in Washington, DC, where a friend of mine may have just saved my life by inviting me in for a few beers and to watch a mindless movie -- South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut. I doubt he realizes how important his attempt at a friendly, calm night really was. It got me to start watching South Park and to take myself a lot less seriously.
14. Late Night with Conan O'Brien - My own personal comedy taste and stylings came from watching Conan as a teenager. Before it was Team Coco, and before Jay Leno was a massive prick, there was just awkward Conan and the masturbating bear. Thanks Conan. I dyed my hair reddish-orange for you.
13. Recess - This was, hands down, the best cartoon of my childhood. My friends and I would pretend to be the characters from Recess during recess in fourth and fifth grade -- I was TJ, of course. We lived in terror of the kindergartners and we had a King Bob. The greatest thing for millennials of a certain age is that it seems like Recess is as universal as Sesame Street or The Rugrats. My friends and I dressed up as the Ashleys our senior year of high school (2005) and we used to debate the "hottest" cartoon character and at least three of us picked characters from Recess. Plus, there were good life lessons in the show, right?
12. Alias - Our first family dog died during an episode of Alias. But that's neither here nor there. I loved Sidney Bristow and her aloof father and her amazing best friend, Will. She was the toughest, coolest chick, and it seemed like every week the plot of the show would turn in on itself. It was the second, super-serial show that I actually found myself enthralled with, and it was guaranteed to score me at least a five minute conversation every week (in the eighth grade) with the cutest kid in homeroom.
11. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Like South Park, It's Always Sunny provided another bonding opportunity with some really awkward almost-adults in college. Heck, we had an It's Always Sunny themed Valentine's Day party and bought the only male in our household a Greenman suit for his 21st birthday. Two of us also attempted to wrestle him to the ground over a phone (which, if memory serves me, had a slightly embarrassing/harassing text message on it), but failed due to the slippery nature of the suit. Some of the only times all four of us would tolerate each other in a group over those seven or so months we lived together was while we watched It's Always Sunny... And they were some great times.
Top Ten after the jump.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Tunesdays With Tonnie: Space
It's Tuesday again, so that must mean that we made it to the second edition of Tunesdays with Tonnie. It's still clever.
This week's entries come from two very different series: Firefly and Spaced
Firefly's soundtrack is remarkable, thanks to Greg Edmonson. It blends folky elements like fiddle and acoustic guitar with ethereal sustained strings and low rumbling percussion. Firefly has been described as a Space Western which simplifies things, but isn't entirely inaccurate. The subtlety of this scene is gorgeous. River Tam's voice echoing over a PA system, somber shots of the other crew members, and the understated music slowly building into a quiet roar. This is the best episode of the series - "Objects in Space". (Again, I couldn't find the part of the show I wanted in clip form, but here's the whole episode...) 37:28 to 39:00 marks. Spoilers abound, so only click if you'd like.
Re-Use - "The Staunton Lick" by Lemon Jelly
While I admit I had never heard of the song before the use in this particular television show, I wanted to share it regardless. The carefree sound of the guitar, the upbeat bass rift and the silent comedic stylings of the cast of Spaced. Now, if you haven't watched Spaced yet, I highly recommend it. And I admit not everyone could possibly like the ridiculous, sometimes absurdist adventures of two twenty-somethings who barely know each other. Throw in their obnoxiously bizarre best friends and the other interesting tenants of the house they live in, and it becomes even stranger and more magical. I apologize if this spoils anything for anyone considering watching the series... it may or may not. To err on the safe side, if you do not like spoilers of any kind, don't watch, but if you are not good at putting two-and-two together or don't care, watch away!
This week's entries come from two very different series: Firefly and Spaced
Firefly's soundtrack is remarkable, thanks to Greg Edmonson. It blends folky elements like fiddle and acoustic guitar with ethereal sustained strings and low rumbling percussion. Firefly has been described as a Space Western which simplifies things, but isn't entirely inaccurate. The subtlety of this scene is gorgeous. River Tam's voice echoing over a PA system, somber shots of the other crew members, and the understated music slowly building into a quiet roar. This is the best episode of the series - "Objects in Space". (Again, I couldn't find the part of the show I wanted in clip form, but here's the whole episode...) 37:28 to 39:00 marks. Spoilers abound, so only click if you'd like.
Re-Use - "The Staunton Lick" by Lemon Jelly
While I admit I had never heard of the song before the use in this particular television show, I wanted to share it regardless. The carefree sound of the guitar, the upbeat bass rift and the silent comedic stylings of the cast of Spaced. Now, if you haven't watched Spaced yet, I highly recommend it. And I admit not everyone could possibly like the ridiculous, sometimes absurdist adventures of two twenty-somethings who barely know each other. Throw in their obnoxiously bizarre best friends and the other interesting tenants of the house they live in, and it becomes even stranger and more magical. I apologize if this spoils anything for anyone considering watching the series... it may or may not. To err on the safe side, if you do not like spoilers of any kind, don't watch, but if you are not good at putting two-and-two together or don't care, watch away!
Saturday, September 28, 2013
9/22 to 9/28 Watchlist
I enjoy making lists and un-detailed chronicles. This week's complete watchlist. Not necessarily my recommendations, but merely a list of the television I have watched in the last seven days.
Luther
Series One, Episodes 4-6
Series Two, Episodes 1-4
Doctor Who, reboot
Series Two, Episodes:
-Tooth and Claw
-School Reunion
-The Girl in the Fireplace
-The Impossible Planet
-The Satan Pit
-Love & Monsters
-Fear Her
-Army of Ghosts
-Doomsday
Series Seven, Episodes:
-The Bells of Saint Johns
-The Rings of Akhaten
-Cold War
Top Gear UK
Series Two, Episodes 6-13
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Lost count -- probably close to twenty episodes post series 18
Outcasts
Episodes 1 & 2
Whitechapel
Episode 1
New Girl, season 3, episode 2 "Nerd"
The Mindy Project, season 2, episode 2 "The Other Dr. L"
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., pilot
Saturday Night Live, season premier, Tina Fey w/ musical guests Arcade Fire
Luther
Series One, Episodes 4-6
Series Two, Episodes 1-4
Doctor Who, reboot
Series Two, Episodes:
-Tooth and Claw
-School Reunion
-The Girl in the Fireplace
-The Impossible Planet
-The Satan Pit
-Love & Monsters
-Fear Her
-Army of Ghosts
-Doomsday
Series Seven, Episodes:
-The Bells of Saint Johns
-The Rings of Akhaten
-Cold War
Top Gear UK
Series Two, Episodes 6-13
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Lost count -- probably close to twenty episodes post series 18
Outcasts
Episodes 1 & 2
Whitechapel
Episode 1
New Girl, season 3, episode 2 "Nerd"
The Mindy Project, season 2, episode 2 "The Other Dr. L"
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., pilot
Saturday Night Live, season premier, Tina Fey w/ musical guests Arcade Fire
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Ricky's Ckorner
This week Ricky has been watching a lot of QI. I can tell because he is being more snarky and pretentious than usual. When I asked him if he wanted to go outside to catch toads, he ranted about how everyone thinks that there is this huge difference between frogs and toads, when in reality they follow much of the same logic as geometry.
Or horticulture.
Thanks for joining us for another installment of Ricky's Ckorner! The best 30 odd seconds of television Ricky has seen all week.
All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares.
Or horticulture.
All carnations are dianthus, but not all dianthus are carnations.
In one of Ricky's less domineering moments this week, he shared with me his favorite video of Alan Davies being adorable and sharing some 3rd grader jokes and Stephen Fry not being able to handle the adolescent behavior. In fact, he calls Alan a very mean name too. And Mr Fry does not like Alan getting more laughs than him. Ricky likes Alan Davies because he has a youthful air about him. Ricky's select 30-or-so seconds run from :24 to :59, but I recommend just watching the whole thing. It's one minute and forty-five seconds long.
The clip is from QI Series B, Episode 8 "Bees"with Jo Brand, Rich Hall, and Fred MacAulay.
Thanks for joining us for another installment of Ricky's Ckorner! The best 30 odd seconds of television Ricky has seen all week.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Tunesdays with Tonnie
I am aware this is not a very original title, but it's descriptive enough. I do not need to go on a multi-paragraph diatribe about why music is important to a television show. It can make or break the mood, turn something from heartwarming into gutting. Music does more to convey emotion than even the most skilled actors. I know when I hear a variation of "I am the Doctor" that something is going to be discovered/realized/actualized and I get excited because something amazing is going to happen.
In my, hopefully, weekly Tuesday post, I'm going to share some of my favorite use of music in television in two categories: Original Score and Re-use, or re-appropriation, or whatever you'd like to call it. I'm going to call it re-use.
Music picks after the cut!
Never Mind
My television viewing often gets out of hand.
This past Saturday was a great example of how I found myself watching television for hours on end after promising myself, "I'll turn it off after one more." I had not planned upon starting an epic journey of my second British panel show, Never Mind the Buzzcocks. To date, I have probably watched approximately 15-20 episodes so that is at least 7.5 to 10 hours since Saturday. Saturday at 10am, I found myself completely resolved to have a productive day. As I watched the sun arc high into the sky and start to sink behind the blinds of my bedroom, I realized I had lost an entire day to ridiculous pop culture nonsense. I'm not quite sure why I find British panel quiz shows so entirely entertaining and informative.
Maybe it's because of moments like this...
Television has the ability to make me forget that I have responsibilities and commitments.
Maybe I just need Phill Jupitus stand in my apartment and yell "TURN IT OFF!" at random intervals.
This past Saturday was a great example of how I found myself watching television for hours on end after promising myself, "I'll turn it off after one more." I had not planned upon starting an epic journey of my second British panel show, Never Mind the Buzzcocks. To date, I have probably watched approximately 15-20 episodes so that is at least 7.5 to 10 hours since Saturday. Saturday at 10am, I found myself completely resolved to have a productive day. As I watched the sun arc high into the sky and start to sink behind the blinds of my bedroom, I realized I had lost an entire day to ridiculous pop culture nonsense. I'm not quite sure why I find British panel quiz shows so entirely entertaining and informative.
Maybe it's because of moments like this...
Television has the ability to make me forget that I have responsibilities and commitments.
Maybe I just need Phill Jupitus stand in my apartment and yell "TURN IT OFF!" at random intervals.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Ricky's Ckorner
Ricky's attention span doesn't usually last for more than 15 seconds unless he's staring at our roommate trying to make him feel uncomfortable. Each week, probably on Thursdays, Ricky and I are going to present 30 seconds of nearly perfect television. Whether it's well acted, or suspenseful, or just funny. I'm really bad at editing video so I'll probably just post a video and then list the time markers until I get better at this nonsense.
The first installment of Ricky's Ckorner is a wonderful moment from 30 Rock's series finale. (This is because I couldn't find a clip of the New Girl episode I wanted to show, so once I figure that out, hopefully I'll have it up in a couple of weeks...) Ricky thinks this is 30 seconds of perfect TV because it's sweet and cerebral. (It's actually only 27 seconds, but I'll let Ricky have a victory.)
And these are only the moments Liz and Jack can give us.
The first installment of Ricky's Ckorner is a wonderful moment from 30 Rock's series finale. (This is because I couldn't find a clip of the New Girl episode I wanted to show, so once I figure that out, hopefully I'll have it up in a couple of weeks...) Ricky thinks this is 30 seconds of perfect TV because it's sweet and cerebral. (It's actually only 27 seconds, but I'll let Ricky have a victory.)
And these are only the moments Liz and Jack can give us.
BBC coming to HuluPlus
In ways that only Netflix can dream of. You better believe I took my Hulu+ Subscription off of it's three month hold nearly a month early.
Read all about it here.
Read all about it here.
To My Dearest Town of Broadchurch
My love letter is after the jump. Spoilers are hidden as best as I could contain them.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Quick Note of Thanks
a great big round of applause to my comrade Liz Cameron (Cirqueduliz) for making a wonderful image header for me. She is infinitely better at the internet than I am. Infinitely, I say.
Profiling
I do not fancy myself as having impeccable taste, but the tastes are my own. What I choose to view may not be particularly refined, and I tend to moderately enjoy most things I watch. So if there's a show that is widely known in critics circles to be "I'd-rather-stab-my-eye-repeatedly-with-a-white-hot-spork," I am probably going to say, to say, "Meh, it wasn't my jam per se, but I'm more of a trippple berrry lover and this was straight up choke-cherry." It boils down to taste. So, if I don't rip on a show that you hate because it's "tasteless and crude," my feelings are generally more lukewarm than lobster-boiling-hot or snow-queen-heart-cold.
That's not to say I don't have strong opinions, but I am generally more likely to love something than to hate it. Honestly, my life is pretty pitiful and depressing, so if a TV show makes me feel something it has done its job.
During the summer and during network lulls, I tend to marathon TV via DVD, HuluPlus, or Netflix, but once the fall premiers start up, I'm going to watch week by week like most people, but probably a day or two behind.
The types of shows that I tend to watch:
-I general, I really enjoy a lot of sitcoms -- animated and live action. They're short, funny (I won't watch them if I don't laugh), and generally have great character development. I like the heartfelt sitcoms as well as the raunchy -- double points if they are both.
-I tend not to get caught up in very many hour long (42 minute) dramas because I cannot be bothered to watch TV shows sequentially when they first air. If I do watch these types of shows week to week, it's because of something very special (an actor/actress that I adore, or some amazing plot device). Most of the time I will binge watch dramas though.
-Seriocomedies, I tend to like more than straight up drama. And if you can add mythological elements, or space travel, I will be all over that like Ricky on Meow Mix. (He likes the cheapest food you can possibly buy.) Science-fiction and fantasy dramedy's are my trippple-berrry jam.
-Very select police procedurals. Generally, the only ones that catch my eye is if they have some sort of unique element to them. Specific examples after jump.
Read on to the truly boring part, where I list the television shows currently in production that I try to stay up to date on...
That's not to say I don't have strong opinions, but I am generally more likely to love something than to hate it. Honestly, my life is pretty pitiful and depressing, so if a TV show makes me feel something it has done its job.
During the summer and during network lulls, I tend to marathon TV via DVD, HuluPlus, or Netflix, but once the fall premiers start up, I'm going to watch week by week like most people, but probably a day or two behind.
The types of shows that I tend to watch:
-I general, I really enjoy a lot of sitcoms -- animated and live action. They're short, funny (I won't watch them if I don't laugh), and generally have great character development. I like the heartfelt sitcoms as well as the raunchy -- double points if they are both.
-I tend not to get caught up in very many hour long (42 minute) dramas because I cannot be bothered to watch TV shows sequentially when they first air. If I do watch these types of shows week to week, it's because of something very special (an actor/actress that I adore, or some amazing plot device). Most of the time I will binge watch dramas though.
-Seriocomedies, I tend to like more than straight up drama. And if you can add mythological elements, or space travel, I will be all over that like Ricky on Meow Mix. (He likes the cheapest food you can possibly buy.) Science-fiction and fantasy dramedy's are my trippple-berrry jam.
-Very select police procedurals. Generally, the only ones that catch my eye is if they have some sort of unique element to them. Specific examples after jump.
Read on to the truly boring part, where I list the television shows currently in production that I try to stay up to date on...
Spoilers and other random rules
I'm not the kind of individual who hates spoilers. At the most, I find them rather blase and I actually seek them out most of the time. This attitude stems from the fact that I really hate surprises. For example I screamed and threw a temper tantrum at the season 3 finale of Robin Hood. I hadn't bothered to read any synopses and was blindsided. This being taken in to account, however, I realize that many people do like to be kept in the dark about plot advancements. Bearing this in mind as well, what I see as a spoiler, you may not, so I apologize in advance if my judgement is off. Once I remember some of the html I once knew, I'll probably just change the font color of the spoilers where you will have to highlight over them if you want to read them. UPDATE: LOOK! I DID IT.
SPOILER ALERT:
SPOILER ALERT:
"I couldn't believe that Moriarty was plotting against Sherlock throughout the entire run of episodes," is not a spoiler. But "Don't worry, Sherlock is not really dead," absolutely is because it ruins the suspense and build up of the episode.
Other rules, not much -- just be respectful.
Fair warning and I apologize for any confusion it may cause, I may use some Britishisms when writing... Season versus Series and Series versus Run.
Next up is a quick taste profile and then on to the Saurus's views on television.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
A Hobby
These are the days of my life.
Ricky thinks that I need a hobby. I'm sure he doesn't really mind sitting on the couch with me as I binge on whatever the next TV show is that catches my fancy. He is not of the opinion that watching television during my waking hours constitutes a healthy, productive hobby. While I am not awake, the dreams I have tell amazing stories that should be on TV.
One of the possible blessings in my life is that I do not actually have television, per se, but the internet and access to a DVD player. That being said, I do not merely sit down on a Tuesday night and watch my favorite show when it airs at 8pm. I watch it online after it airs. The relationship I have with my xbox is tumultuous. An xbox with Crackle, HuluPlus, Netflix and YouTube that constantly begs to be updated and fed 'points'. Betty teaching Daniel another heartwarming life lesson about why you should be a good person even though your sister faked her own death and your mother was turned crazy by some cheap perfume so she had to kill your father's mistress.
I also have a tablet of sorts for when the day is too beautiful to spend my time inside, so I spend my day on an adventure with Merlin. He's always getting into trouble, that one.
And when I'm on the go, I grab my trusty smartphone and its wonderful 4G LTE to stream whatever it is I want to (read: HAVE TO) see. NOW. Preferably Jeremy Clarkson burning through another set of tires. Nearly every night, I fall asleep to the dulcet tones of Stephen Fry making fun of the limits of Alan Davies's knowledge.
Ricky got bored this evening as I finished watching Broadchurch and started chasing his tail, so if he can figure out something to do with his time while not watching TV, I guess I can too. I can write about it.
Ricky thinks that I need a hobby. I'm sure he doesn't really mind sitting on the couch with me as I binge on whatever the next TV show is that catches my fancy. He is not of the opinion that watching television during my waking hours constitutes a healthy, productive hobby. While I am not awake, the dreams I have tell amazing stories that should be on TV.
 |
| Ricky. Being super judgmental. |
I also have a tablet of sorts for when the day is too beautiful to spend my time inside, so I spend my day on an adventure with Merlin. He's always getting into trouble, that one.
And when I'm on the go, I grab my trusty smartphone and its wonderful 4G LTE to stream whatever it is I want to (read: HAVE TO) see. NOW. Preferably Jeremy Clarkson burning through another set of tires. Nearly every night, I fall asleep to the dulcet tones of Stephen Fry making fun of the limits of Alan Davies's knowledge.
Ricky got bored this evening as I finished watching Broadchurch and started chasing his tail, so if he can figure out something to do with his time while not watching TV, I guess I can too. I can write about it.
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