Eleventh Hour

Rate an episode game time! Score starts at zero, I award points for things I like, take away points for things I dislike. And yes, it is generally pointless and alienating-ly opinionated... Anyways, allons-y?

-1 for a hook that was cheesy, contrived, and altogether too reliant on CGI
+1 for the new green-red-blue color pallet as opposed to the old orangey-blue one
+1 for the stoic mini-Amelia who is a brilliant actress and could have been a companion in her own right.
-1 for the music which is always distracting on this show. Why did they keep Murray Gold on?
-1 for the distracting continuity blips in the food sequence
+1 for some interesting camera angle and cut choices in the food sequence
-1 for fish fingers and custard. Oh my god I can't think about it eewwwewww. Props to Matt Smith if they weren't substituted though...
-1 "We've got some cowboys in here" Tennent's line!
+1 for Smith's physicality, I love his swerv-iness and controlledly maniac gesticulations
-1 for god-awful CGI, but I love the bad effects really, it's what makes it Doctor Who
-1 "Geronimo!" Please please don't say that ever again. Please?
+1 "Do I just have a face that nobody listens to?! Again..."
-1 for the underwhelming monster threat.
-1 for Amy's ever present fish eyes.
+1 for the new, very singable background music: Duhn da! Da da da da da!
+1 The raggedy Doctor idea, could make way for some interesting character development later down the line.
+1 "I'm the Doctor! I'm worse than everybody's aunt!"
-1 for the throwaway character/fix that was Jeff and his laptop.
-1 for the duckpond exchange. Was that just to make him out as quirky? Confused me.
+1 for the Doctor's first plan being so neatly foiled. Unexpected and pleasantly different.
+1 "Who da man?"...*silence*
+1 "Hello, I'm the Doctor. Basically...run."
+1 "I am definitely a mad man with a box."

So that comes to a score of 1. Not too bad.

I think I've decided what I like so much about Smith's Doctor. He knows himself very well and innocently thinks he knows the world just as well, so he is simultaneously beyond mature and yet also at times only a child. He can whimsy with the best of them, never seeming to take things too seriously (like ten did) so when things do affect him it rings truer. As he says, he's a madman, but a madman who knows precisely what he's doing, which makes him all the more powerful.

NuWhoRevu

Probably some spoilers in here. This review is on the British schedule.

Its been sooo long since this site was updated. But I'm bored, APs are over, and I love writing reviews so here I am! Two years later. (I totally forgot this whole thing existed until I was cleaning up my bookmarks)

So Matt Smith, can we agree he's brilliant? I love his bow tie and his spins, his subtler angst and crooked smile, even his oddly rectangular head is charming. As his darker side so concisely put it his "tawdry quirks" have completely won me over. Although he certainly bears some similarities to Tennant's doctor, his performance feels like everything Tennant wanted to do, but realer, solider, less, well, less Russell T Davies-ized shall we say. I still love DT though, I just think Matt Smith pinned down the essence of the Doctor more precisely. He reminds me of Troughten, which is good because the 2nd doctor is among my favorites.

The writing this season though is a different matter. What with Steven Moffat's legacy, I just assumed he would be a brilliant leader of the show. But I, and I can't believe I'm saying this, I think Russell T Davies might have been a better script editor. Don't get me wrong, Moffat is most certainly the better writer of the two: his characters are multi-faceted and quirky, his writing is a balance of thrills, character development, and laughs, and not to mention relatively angst-less. However, he seems just as apt to throw in naff ideas as RTD was, and is not as adept at building a convincing story arch. RTD, whilst at times ridiculous, knew how to build tension over the series. The finales never payed off because he overreached himself, but up to that point they were good. Stephen Moffat, on the other hand, is skilled at the small picture. He delves into moments in human relationships, he explores thought processes and knows that what we fear isn't a giant, green, gas expelling alien but rather the monster under our bed, the shadow in the corner of our eye. Unfortunately, his focus on the small leads us to lose investment in the big. The crack in the universe is clumsily shoved in, as are references to silence, etc. Besides the clunky series plot arc, the pacing has been off all season. I suspect RTD might have been the better of the two at editing, if not from an ideas standpoint then at least from a timing perspective. Everything this season has been a bit rushed, skipping over the poignant moments to the next giggle or explosion. I think Steven Moffat does have all these skills, he's just too scared to rely solely on his artistic intuitions in fear that he'd lose the Doctor Who RTD built up, and with it the audience. I've seen other products of Moffat's; Jekyll was one of the most skillfully presented shows on television so I'm convinced he can get pacing down, he just wants to preserve RTD's Doctor Who too much and the show is suffering in consequence. Nobody would miss the bring-back-old-friends finales, a few fewer explosions never hurt anybody. I say more character development and subtler scares. Steven Moffat- please ignore the sillier inclinations that this show seems to incite and instead match the quality of writing with Matt Smith's quality of acting. I know it can be done, and if it means relying less on the good ol' Mill, I'm all for it.

If you ignore the rushedness of this season, however, it's shaping up to be, on the whole, rather good I think. Mini review lists ftw! Maybe I'll come back and do more in depth later, but for now I'll rate each out of ten and give a one-ish sentence review.

1. 11th hr: A fun romp, but a bit too expository and lacking any real threat. 8
2. Beast Below: Visually lovely, Amy was good, Smilers a bit pointless though. 7
3. V of Daleks: A rushed mess of assorted ideas that are good individually but not together. 5
4. T of Angels: One genuinely frightening scene, the rest was ok (gah, Riversong). 7
5. Flesh n' Stone: Yay! Real pacing in this one finally! And scary! 9
6. Vamps of Ven: Love Rory, not so much space-fish. 7
7. Amy's Choice: Didn't love this one on viewing, but the more I think about it the more I like it. Fantastic ideas, sub-par execution. 7.5

To me this season so far is about 7ish, which is to say solid, but not overwhelmingly fantastic. Overall dece(nt).

DWM 398 Covers

DWM 398 has four collector's covers available, and if all four are purchased, they make a pretty collage. But for those of you who don't want to spend $32, or who don't even buy the magazine, for that matter, the pretty collage is available right here.

Speicals 2009

For some stupid reason, they're considering Christmas 2008 and Christmas 2009 two of the four specials for 2009's series. But, on a happier note, Julie Gardner has announced that one of the remaining two specials will be airing on Easter 2009, and the other special presumably at the midpoint between Easter and Christmas. And then we're on for another full series in 2010, with the Moff as the head showrunner. I can't wait!

Also, RTD has confirmed that he will be making a clean break from the show. He doesn't want to be "a ghost haunting the corriders," writing episodes but not helping out in another way. So, say goodbye Slitheen, and hello hiding behind the couch! (Except for Midnight. That was awesome.)

In a recent Sunday New York Times, a feature article was written on RTD. The link is here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/arts/television/15lyal.html

In the same New York Times, there was an article on Billie Piper's The Secret Diary of a Call Girl, for those of you interested.

It's Over!

Sadly enough, this series of Doctor Who is over, and we, unfortunately, don't have a TARDIS to go back in time. If you know where I could get one, please tell me ASAP. Besides that, the finale was very good. A bit too choppy, with too many storylines going on at once, but I loved Rose's happy ending and cried miserably at Donna's loss of mind. Here's what I submitted to Doctor Who Magazine on the matter: That was the most moving finale ever. It's like Donna never existed now. Whenever I re-watch one of her episodes, I'll know in the back of my mind that she will never remember any of the wonderful things she does with the Doctor. Now she's just an ordinary person, and seeing her as harsh as she was at the start of "The Runaway Bride" made the ending even sadder. Well done, Russell.

I couldn't put it better myself. (Wait, I did!) Okay, that was bad. Just, just comment. Thanks!

Midnight and Turn Left

Wow! Midnight was fantastic! Possibly the best acting I've ever seen from David Tennant, as he was completely helpless with no companion (or Donna) to stand up for him. It's exactly like Lord of the Flies, except a bit too quick. The monster, although there was the copycat voice, was really the humans, and this episode is a great look at human nature. The characters were a bit two-dimensional, and they switched sides way too quickly, but the fact that no monster scares us the most of all is just amazing. 10/10

This episode made me so happy. Sorry, the episode itself made me sad, but the whole idea that Rose is back and able to flit between universes at will makes me happy. It's amazing to see what would happen if Donna hadn't met the Doctor, hadn't gotten the job at HC Clements, hadn't turned left... time is so delicate, it's amazing it doesn't get broken far more often. One question, though... Pompeii? If Pompeii never happened... The Chinese-style market was awesome, too. I can't wait for next week! All of RTD's creations piled into one. They're even bringing in Ianto!

Kasterborous Chronicle

The June 10 issue of the Kasterborous Chronicle is now online at www.oddood.com.

Issue Eight is out on Monday, June 23, 2008, focusing on "The Unicorn and the Wasp" and "Silence in the Library." Submissions for the next issue:

• Episode Reviews: The Unicorn and the Wasp and Silence in the Library (250-300 words)
  
• Thoughts and Comments on Series Four so far, and anything else you would like to comment on.
• Ideas and submissions for non-regular features (200-250 words)
• Caption Competition
• Time Trouble (200-250 words)
  

You can send in your stuff as well! If you would like to send in a related story or episode review, e-mail us at submissions@oddood.com

Forest of the Dead

Wow. That's about all I can say. Wow.

They were all saved to the hard drive! I love it! Moffat does it again!

River's death scene was one of the bestof the season so far, a close second behind Jenny's gun shot wound and Hath Peck's sacrifice. Moffat does yet another time loop, with the Doctor always knowing River's fate during his times with her.

Anita's gaining and losing of shadows, besides being a giving away factor, made the episode all the creepier, as anyone in a spacesuit could potentially be a Vashta Nerada.

Donna's continuous forgetting and remembering by the aid of Doctor Moon was interesting, as it leaves the audience confused. Having real things in the Library turn into programs and files in the computer that is the Library was just a really clever idea.

The most ironic piece of the episode was clearly when Donna promised Lee that she would find him in the Library, but she is unable to fulfill her promise, and he is teleported away before he can alert her of his presence, and all because of his stutter. Donna believes that she had made him up, like her children, in the computer that is CAL, but he was real, and will never see her again.

A fabulous episode overall!

Silence in the Library

Personally, I thought that the episode was BRILLIANT! Moffat has done it again!

Having shadows that melt the flesh, and how there's nothing you can do to stop them? Fantastic!

The little girl is a security camera, and her world is fake, and her nightmares are real!

River Song! How does she know the Doctor? Does Donna die? She looked sad when Donna's name was mentioned, like she dies in some really heroic way.

I'm so scared. I keep checking to make sure that there aren't extra shadows, or shadows that shouldn't be there. Do YOU have two shadows? 10/10. Roll on next week!

Mid Series Trailer

Because of the Eurovision Song Contest, Doctor Who is being pushed back a week. While it's sad that we don't have a new episode today, it's very good in that there is a new trailer for the rest of the series! It's available on the little YouTube viewing window to the left on this blog. Enjoy! It looks very exciting.

The Unicorn and the Wasp

Wow. All I can say is wow. That episode was fantastic! The cheesy flashbacks, the whole mystery bit, the Agatha Christie references, and of course, Fenella Woolgar's fabulous performance as the famous mystery author. The only bad bit was the wasp. It seemed as if it was only added in so that the episode had an alien. The Ginger Beer scene had me laughing for hours, and the whole episode was just really well done. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of a real Unicorn, however. Bring on "Silence in the Library" and the rest of Series Four!

Series Four

In case anyone still checks this ever at all, and still cares, Doctor Who is back on our screens and better than ever (in my opinion, at least.) Donna is an equal to the Doctor, and although she still looks up to him, he can't boss her around, and she hasn't fallen in love with him, and apparently won't (yet).

Next episode: The Unicorn and the Wasp

The Doctor and Donna meet Agatha Christie in a murder mystery/comedy. With Unicorns and Wasps, duh. We all know what the wasp is, but does anyone feel like discussing the Unicorn?

Confirmed Episode Titles:

• Partners in Crime
• The Fires of Pompeii
• Planet of the Ood
• The Sontaran Stratagem
• The Poison Sky
• The Doctor's Daughter
• The Unicorn and the Wasp
• Silence in the Library
• Forest of the Dead
• Midnight
• Turn Left
• TBA (Apparently it gives too much away!)
• Journey's End (Got a Torchwood ring to it, hasn't it?)

I'm happy to discuss all of these episodes before, during, and after airing.

omg

This is so bad- I'm combusting!!! Annie: you need to be on the same Torchwood watching schedule as me because now I'm two weeks ahead of you and I'm 'sploding!!! Seriously; last couple episodes were really spazzy. I mean that in a plot sort of way, not that they were bad. Although Dead Man Walking did have some annoying continuity stuff going on.
I liked Adam (not the character, the episode) but the flashbacks were so cheesy. I have to admit I laughed through them all. That or yelled at Adam (HATRED!!! KICK HIM!!!) but I sounded not very threatening as I was sick and losing my voice.
So, saturday night for the first time I watched Torchwood alone. I don't know if you do that every time but I didn't enjoy it particularly. So scary!! I need someone to cling too. It probably didn't help that it was around midnight either.
But have you watched Reset yet? Because....omg.
So. I'm going to make a mini review list cause I'm really really bored.
KKBB: good first episode
Sleeper: Ianto. 'nuff said.
To the Last Man: Cute but boring
Meat: Rhys's time to shine :)
Adam: Interesting....especially Jack's past. (And extra points for the cute and awkward Owen)
Reset: OMG!!! WHAAAAT?????
Dead Man Walking: eh...ok....but kind of sloppy writing.
A Day In The Death (at least I think that's what it was called): cheesy, they tried to make it heartwarming but kinda failed.
That was difficult without giving spoilers.

Adam

I liked how they made Gwen completely forget who Rhys was. That was funny, when she was yelling at Jack about this stranger in her house who claims to be her boyfriend, and Jack says that he is her boyfriend. It was also good when Gwen comes in and wonders who Adam is, and everyone else has no idea what she is talking about. Adam was creepy, especially with that end bit with Ianto. I liked the previews of the Boeshane (sp?) Peninsula, and now we know who Gray is, after John Hart's little hint in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. It was and odd episode, it was okay, but at least the team was smart for once and actually figured it out instead of doing something stupid or being stupid. Can't wait 'till next weekend!

Darn! I'm in Southern CA, where they might not have Torchwood. Oh well, I'll be back on Sunday.

Reset

Oh My God. I just watched Reset. Oh My God. I'm really actually in shock. This is terrible! I can't actually say anything because of spoilers, but I guess I can say this one thing (cause it's even in the preview for the episode) Martha's back! And she's actually a lot better in tw. I think she was written better. Anyway, see this episode and you'll understand why I am so unhappy!!!!!!!! I bet it was RTD's fault. Stupid RTD.

Meat

Spoiler Alert!

Ok, interesting episode. They did the love triangle very poorly, and the meat part? I think they should have sent it back into the rift instead of killing it. The Rhys and Gwen action was okay, and I liked how Gwen decided that she would rather leave Torchwood than take away Rhys's memories, because she had seen how his view of the world had changed. It wasn't bad, just not the best ever. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is my favorite so far.

To The Last Man

Yeah, I know it was weeks ago. Actually, I have no idea, is tw even shown in the US yet? Whatever, you can find it online. Anyway, the point is, To the Last Man had a great premise right? But it was messed up with weak plot twist and stupid relationship archs (seriously? What's up with Owen!!!!). Well, anyway, the writing was terrible. It was written by Helen Raynor. What else did she write? Daleks in Manhattan etc. remember them? THE WORST EPISODES OF SERIES 3? Why did they let her write another episode? She's even worse than RTD. The episode felt nothing like tw. There were no huge bangs, no tension, no aliens, no gadgets, no complicated technobabble. The whole episode was a waste of time. On the bright side, this season as a whole is waaay better than season 1 and Ianto is absolutely my new favorite character :)

Cool Blog!

I wish it had a really easy to remember URL like:

http://allonsyalonso.com

:-)

Torchwood

Has anyone seen the new season of Torchwood yet? I'll make this post spoiler free in case you haven't. The point is though, if you haven't seen it yet, you should, because this season looks a lot better than last season (excepting the episode Captain Jack Harkness which is unbeatable). So far the first two episodes have had some heartfelt moments (really digging in to what it means to be human), some great character development, and also some truly hilarious moments. That's not to say that the blood and smut hasn't completely disappeared but somehow what they do put in doesn't seem unnecessarily blood and gutsy like last season- it fits in and adds to the story. All I can say is that it's a fine substitute until Doctor Who comes round in spring. You should watch Sleepers just for the purpose of Ianto if nothing else. I love him in this series!!

Testing

I am testing to see how this email to blog thing works. Bear with me. ;)

Okay, if this picture works, it is a very funny comic.

~Annie, Gallifreyan

"What's wrong with a van? I once saved the universe with a big yellow truck." Mickey Smith, The Age of Steel