hmpf

I'm doing it all again. Reading fanfiction through entire sleepless nights (including some really cracky and/or icky ones, out of sheer despair); beginning to look for vids (very slowly and tentatively, because I still haven't quite figured out how to do this nowadays; also, I don't actually have a lot of spare time)... delurking on forums, or their modern-day equivalent, reddit. - Today I was misidentified there as the BBC marketing department, for suggesting people worrying about Capaldi leaving the show should probably buy the DVDs/blurays now, to send a signal to the BBC. Also, a few days ago one of my posts spawned a Radio Times article, lol.

I'd probably be writing fic, too, if I didn't have so many other unfinished fics and also, if DW canon weren't so intimidatingly vast.

I think I need a new icon, don't I? Hm.

I have such strong cravings for specific fic scenarios. There's oodles of DW fic, of course, but what I want is so specific I haven't been able to find anything like it among that cornucopia yet... I also still absolutely crave Laundry fic (a mini fandom with a total of 15 stories on AO3, on last count *sigh*)... And I still kind of want a sequel to my favourite LoM fic from back in the day.

This is all very frustrating.

Should perhaps clarify: the source of my recent resurge of interest in Doctor Who is (mostly) this guy.

Plus the fact that ep 9x11, Heaven Sent, is one of the best hours of television I've seen in my life.

Hello. Anyone still around?

Since December I've developed a mild Doctor Who obsession. (Not for the first time; it's like a sort of fandom malaria that only flares up every four years. This is the third flare-up since 2005.) I want vids and fic, urgently, but as usual the fandom isn't really in tune with what I want and isn't writing any of the stuff I want. And as for vids, I'm not sure how to look for them anymore these days. Woe.

Here's a tumblr sideblog I made about Peter Capaldi. (Not that much happening there, as you can see. This is a minor obsession, and also, I've been working like crazy for the last five weeks or so, which doesn't leave me with much fandom time.)

I've also been posting a bit on reddit, when I got a bit too desperate for fannish conversation, lol. Also, I just miss forums as a format for conversation.

The other major internet place where I still do anything on a regular basis is goodreads, in case you're curious about what I'm reading. (Damn, I need to catch up on my reviews there.) I'm curious about what *you* are reading!

In theory I'm also on twitter, but I find it difficult to check that regularly.

in which the companion had to put together an interdimensional IKEA shelf (while being threatened by robots) and the Doctor was being impersonated by a conman travelling in a toilet. o.O

Current Mood: amused

I've been listening to Doctor Who audioplays at work, and aside from the occasional bit of extreme crackiness (Frobisher - a companion who's a giant shapeshifting penguin), and the occasional bit of uncalled-for Radiohead dissing, and the fact that the Daleks make my ears bleed, I'm quite impressed.

I've been watching the last season of Ten and I'm also in the middle of the third season of Four, and here's some random stuff I've scribbled down on a scrap of paper:

Timelord writing. Nice. Especially the letter that looks like a little mouse, complete with tail and teensy round ears. (The Deadly Assassin)

The Doctor - in Gallifreyan formal garb, no less! - doing small talk with an old classmate: kind of brilliant. (The Deadly Assassin)

I don't know why, but the copy of Ten is sexier than Ten himself, whom I don't find particularly sexy. Oh, wait. I do know why: he's wearing a t-shirt. (Journey's End)

The Doctor wouldn't say no to a salami sandwich... best moment in The Masque of Mandragora, bar none.

In terms of looks, the Fourth Doctor's secondary control room is the direct ancestor of the latest two versions of the Tardis control room, I think.

I am so grateful for the Tardis Index Files wiki.

Planet of Hats.

Oh David Tennant.
Oh Russel T Davies.
Why so uneven?

N/T

I think I've found a workable arrangement of episodes to get a new viewer (with some patience and some geek cred) into 11th Doc Who, while allowing them to catch all or most of the most important thematic and emotional resonances. Essentially, this means treating eps from earlier series like flashbacks (with the fifth series as the present from which to flash back):

Preface/Introduction:

Human Nature
The Family of Blood
(These first two are decidedly optional, and may not be advised for every new viewer. The Eleventh Hour will be a bit jarring after them, so, depending on the viewer, you may want to watch them as part of the encore instead. On the other hand, viewers who may need convincing that DW "can be serious, too", may benefit from putting these eps at or near the beginning. In my particular case, the potential new viewer is a history nut and a romantic who loves angsty drama, so I think these eps might work to lure her in. - You may also substitute or add The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances.)

Main series:

The Eleventh Hour
The Beast Below
Dalek (9th Doctor)
Victory of the Daleks
The Empty Child (9th Doctor; may be added to intro section)
The Doctor Dances (9th Doctor; may be added to intro section)
Silence in the Library (10th Doctor)
Forest of the Dead (10th Doctor)
Blink (10th Doctor)
Time of the Angels
Flesh and Stone
The End of the World (9th Doctor; optional)
The Vampires of Venice
Amy's Choice
The Hungry Earth
Cold Blood
Vincent and the Doctor
The Lodger
The Pandorica Opens
The Big Bang

And, for an encore:

The Girl in the Fireplace (10th Doctor)
A Christmas Carol
The Runaway Bride (10th Doctor; adding this here not because it's particularly awesome in itself, but because I really like Donna, especially in this)

will not do for you:

Help you to wake up gently.

What waking up and immediately putting on a DW audio book and going back to bed *will* do for you:

Make you have the most extraordinary Doctor-filled dreams (when you should be up and working). In my case, the scenario was partly lifted from Christopher Priest's Inverted World, which (sort of) is about a world distorted by a gravity anomaly. Mixing that with the Doctor made for a very wild ride...

Two faces just made for joy.

Discuss.

(Matt Smith has comic-book eyes when he smiles/grins.)

Order in which I've watched Doctor Who, so far:

1. series of the 4th Doctor: in 2003 or 2004
9th Doctor: at time of first airing, 2005
3rd Doctor (all five series): early to mid 2010 (with some 1st and 2nd Doctor interspersed)
3. series of the 10th Doctor: some five or so eps watched in mid to late 2010
11th Doctor: just before Christmas 2010
1. & 2. series of the 10th Doctor: January 2011 (except for some eps watched in 2006)
2. series of the 4th Doctor: just started

I'm not exactly great at doing this chronologically... but then, the Doctor isn't good at doing things chronologically, either.

ETA: Added some stuff I'd forgotten first time around.

I'd forgotten how bad the special effects and attempts as suspense in classic Who could be. Oh. Oh my.

Shot of Doctor runnning

Close-up of very fake-looking monster's head, moving veeeeeery slowly

Shot of Doctor running

Repeat of same shot of monster head

Shot of Doctor running

Repeat of same shot of monster head

Doctor falling, staring in terror

Repeat of same shot of monster head

Shot of Doctor running again

(Rinse and repeat for about five minutes)

:D

(I've decided to put a series of Fourth Doctor before the next series of Ten. A), because there are still six years of Four to watch, and B), because twenty minute eps are more compatible with my schedule at the moment. And, possibly, C), because I need a while to get over my disgust with Last of the Time Lords. *g* I've just started my second series of Four; his first I watched... six or seven years ago. That was actually my first experience with Doctor Who, ever.)

I have no time for this now, really, but just for bookmarking purposes: anybody know of any good crossovers in which Methos meets the Doctor? (I was planning to write one myself, at one time, titled "The Doctor and Doctor Adams", but never really got around to developing anything approaching a plot for that...)

ETA:

Extra points if it's the Ninth Doctor!

Or one of the classic Doctors.

(Also, any kind of spectacular Ninth Doctor fic would be welcome. I kind of miss him, still.)

than the Star Wars extended universe would be Highlander, I just realised. Loads of potential in the basic concept; some stellar moments, a *lot* of meh, and some absolutely atrocious moments, but you kind of have to slog through the bad stuff to catch the good stuff.

Speaking of Highlander, I think the RTD Doctor is going through his Methos-as-a-Horseman phase. Less overtly barbarian, but just as much about power tripping. And at roughly the same age as Methos was when he became a Horseman, too! (Based on Cassandra's age, and the assumption that Methos was probably nearer the end of his time as a Horseman than near the beginning when he 'met' her, I've always assumed he started his Horseman phase at roundabout age 1000, and stopped around age 2000. The Doctor's a bit younger than 1000, but not by much.

BTW, the Doctor seems to have been around 900 years of age a long time, by our standards, doesn't he? I mean, considering he's gone through nearly all the regenerations available to a Timelord since the beginning of the show, shouldn't he be much older by now? Or are we to assume he's actually using up the lion's share of his regenerations in just, what, a hundred years or so? (How long has he been giving his age as around 900 anyway? ETA: Just looked it up. It seems he's been around 900 since he was the Sixth Doctor. So, he's basically regenerated five or six times in the last decade or two(?) of his life. That's rather alarming... ETA2: Reading on, I encountered the "he simply has no clue" theory. Which makes a lot of sense. *g*)

Okay. These eps make me nervous, which is why, I guess, I'm actually posting about them here.

I'm about seven minutes into LotTL now and I thought I should maybe say something positive here for a change, so: I love the glimpses of commando!Martha. :-)

ETA:

Okay, 13 and a half minutes in now. So, physically being 900 years old makes you grow all tiny. Right.

ETA:

17 minutes. *groan*

I don't know what they were aiming for with tiny!Doctor, but it sure failed.

ETA:

1.) Every time they show the Doctor I just have to laugh. Not in a good way, though. More in a, "what were they thinking?!" way.

2.) It's kind of sad, because there are things here that could be interesting. The Master, saving and destroying humanity at the same time - that *is* potentially quite interesting.

ETA:

Arrgh. Nearly all the dialogue here is painful. And... "Hide her!" - *throws jacket over Martha* - Yeah, that will work. *snerk*

ETA:

Minute 32. Gah. And no, the chorus doesn't help.

ETA:

God, it's getting even *more* ridiculous!

ETA:

Floaty glowy Doctor! Floaty glowy bowlegged Doctor, even. What is he doing, riding an invisible horse?

ETA:

Dialogue and failing pathos continue to be painful. Would I had the Doctor's power to forgive; maybe then I could forgive RTD for this scene.

ETA:

The Doctor wanting to "keep" the Master (reversing the Master's pet metaphor): another one of those bits of interestingness hidden in this disaster. The idea of the Doctor finding a new purpose in life in "caring for" the Master boggles the mind. In an interesting way.

ETA:

Okay, decent death scene with some interesting bits. But could you please hold back on the triumphant score for the Star Wars funeral? Because, really. Not the right mood, right now. Of course, the whole ep is slathered in over-the-top mood-cue music.

ETA:

It's kind of terrible, laughing about Jack becoming the Face of Boe. Shame on you, Doctor & Martha. In fact, the whole scene leading up to that was wrong, too. Too much levity, of the wrong kind.

ETA:

For that matter, do the last humans just remain trapped at the end of the universe, forever? That's kind of horrible, too. Not that this incarnation of the Doctor isn't prone to doing horrible things...

ETA:

Okay, done now. Whew. Back to work now.

one of the biggest things wrong about The Sound of Drums is actually John Simm.

Not that the rest of it is good, either. It's an ep that sort of oscillates between "meh" and "arrgh." But, really, Simm's Master is so unbearable I had to take breaks from watching the ep. And now I think I'll rather watch the 11th Doc Christmas Special first, before advancing to the next ep tomorrow.

Granted, some of the wrongness (a lot, I'd guess) is probably due to writing and direction. But surely, he could have turned down the zaniness a *little* bit? Maybe?

Then again, that would probably not have saved much.

How could this train wreck have followed so shortly after Human Nature, Family of Blood, and Blink, three of *the* very best New Who eps?

Are there any sf shows (beside Farscape and Doctor Who, that is) that actually excel at evoking a sense of wonder? Because for all of Who's defects, that *is* something it does very well indeed. And so did Farscape, though the wonder was tinged a darker shade there fairly consistently (instead of just occasionally, as it is in Who).

It happens to be one of the main reasons why I like sf. It's sad it's so rare in the tv incarnations of the genre.

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Entries tagged with doctor who

Fandom revival (... regeneration?)

Fan fiction cravings

(no subject)

(no subject)

I just listened to a Doctor Who audioplay...

One more science fictiony update

Actually, more assorted DW related remarks

Gallifrey:

Oh Doctor Who.

I so want Jenny to be Susan's mom.

How to turn New Who into The 11th Doctor Show

What waking up for a moment and putting on a DW audio book and going back to bed...

Matt Smith; Karen Gillan:

Just for fun:

Ahahahahahaaaahaahaaaaa!

Fic recs?

An even better analogy for Doctor Who...

Braving Last of the Time Lords now

Never thought I'd say this, but...

Sense of wonder