Menu Close

Month: May 2014

Confession #60: I Wish the Doctor Would Challenge Us More

2 Comments

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if the Doctor was more often forced by circumstances to stay and face the consequences of his interference in events. Margaret the Slitheen called Nine on that in Boom Town, when the TARDIS needed more time to refuel, requiring the crew to keep her with them until she could be returned to Raxacoricofallapatorius. She made some good points (though her arguments were inherently flawed), and her very presence made the others acutely uncomfortable.

One of the things that I love about Doctor Who, perhaps most particularly the pre-Hiatus era (which did this more often), is that it can make us think about how our own society is messed up by showing us an analogous situation in some completely alien (often literally so) culture and demonstrating how horrible it would be to suffer certain indignities.

Because I am a coward, I won’t go any further and draw any specific analogies to the way American or British society treat certain of its members. Anyone who cares to can certainly draw their own parallels (and if you find that you can’t, then perhaps you need to start listening more than you talk when such topics come up).

Read more →

CONsole Room 2014 Recap

This past weekend, for the first time in over twenty years, a dedicated Doctor Who con was held in the Twin Cities (that’s Minneapolis/St Paul, for those unfamiliar with the moniker). I was thrilled to have a con right here in my own town, and I have to say the organizers acquitted themselves well. While it was a very different experience—both on the con floor and off—than I’ve had at Gally, I had a great time, and look forward to next year.

So what was it like? Glad you asked!

Thursday
Since I didn’t have to contend with the expense of airfare or lodging, I felt justified in springing for one of the “extras” available: the Pre-Con Mixer on Thursday night. Not having done any events like it before, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, other than the advertised details: there would be hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar, and the two guests of honor (Deborah “Victoria” Watling and Sophie “Ace” Aldred) were scheduled to attend.

I have to say, the event was a greater success for me personally than I could possibly have imagined. Although awkward at first—none of my friends were attending the con, let alone the mixer—I found my groove eventually. I chatted with someone I’d seen on Twitter, and before long, Deborah Watling herself had moved to our table. We talked about her recovered episodes and what we liked best about them before she moved on to other attendees.

In fact, that transition led directly to my making some new friends. As I stood uncomfortably alone at the table while conversations swirled around me, the eye of a verbal storm, I couldn’t help but notice that one of the two women Deborah was engaged with had a brilliant fandom mashup tattoo. When they parted ways, I felt compelled to follow these other fans, tapping one on the shoulder.

Read more →

Launching a New Chapter

Review of Storm Warning (#16)
Big Finish Release Date: January 2001
Doctor/Companion: Eight, Charlotte “Charley” Pollard
Stars: Paul McGann, India Fisher
Preceding Story: The Mutant Phase (Five, Nyssa)
Succeeding Story: Sword of Orion (Eight, Charley)

Welcome to my new series of reviews! As of today, I’m officially adding Big Finish audio adventures to my repertoire. Bowing to the will of reader poll voters and using the advice of friend and podcaster Paul Greaves, I’m starting with Eighth Doctor Paul McGann’s first foray into audio.

I’ve heard Paul say, when asked, that he started fresh with his characterization of the Doctor when he began audio work. He’d not really had a chance to develop Eight much in The Movie, so it makes sense he’d jump at the chance to explore the character further. Every once in a while, I could hear a tinge of the Doctor of the TVM here, but for the most part, I have to concur that Eight is a “new man” on audio, and it’s a man I quite adore.

You may remember from my previous post about Big Finish that I’ve heard a few adventures before (most of the four series of Eighth Doctor Adventures, Dark Eyes (the first set; the second still awaits its turn in the earphones), and two or three individual stories with other Doctors). I’d also managed to get my paws on Storm Warning before—though it’s been a couple of years—so as I listened this time, I mostly knew what was coming.

Read more →

Confession #59: I’m Sick of the Omnirumour

Part of the mythos of our show is the sad fact that many of the early episodes from the first two Doctors are no longer in the BBC archives. Pretty much ever since the advent of home video, fans have hoped that some—or preferably all—of those would some day be recovered. We’ve had our share of happy surprises, most recently when The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear were returned last year.

There are nearly a hundred still absent, though, and someone somewhere always brings up the idea that more are out there, just waiting to be revealed to the public. It’s the Omnirumo(u)r—the rumor that will not die—and it has many forms. One particular collector is hoarding [“The Smugglers” / “Marco Polo” / all remaining missing episodes] (strike as relevant). The aforementioned episode(s) have been found in some backwater of Africa / Asia / wherever. And so on.

Of course the BBC’s tendency to deny things that later turn out to have been fuzzy versions of truth keep fans frothing. “The BBC’s just being coy!” “They’re covering their behinds!” “If Doctor Who Magazine (DWM) denied it, it’s just that they don’t know better!” And I really think the BBC buys fully into the old saw about there being no such thing as bad publicity.

Read more →