Etc.

[icepixie]

I had a longish, half-finished post on why Rusty's Sue issues and "OMG Rose/Doctor Is The Most Specialist Of All Relationships Ever!!11!!!" thing has irritated me more and more this season, particularly as I get deeper into Old Skool stuff, but decided that a.) it's been done before (often by nostalgia_lj), and b.) it would probably piss off at least half the Who fans on my flist, so screw it. Plus, I'm lazy and don't want to finish trying to explain thoughts I'm finding it very difficult to put into words. Basically, IMO there is OTP and there is OTPForNow when dealing with the Doctor, and the latter is the best I can do. Also, more blah-di-blah on why Rose and Ten don't work as well together as Rose and Nine did, because she puts up with more from Ten than she did with Nine, and this robs the relationship of much of its interesting dynamic.

In conclusion, all problems would go away with judicious application of bugs made out of spray-painted bubblewrap. (Why yes, I did watch "Ark in Space" last week. Green spray-painted bubblewrap is the Bestest Villain Ever.)

*

So I watched "School Reunion" again a couple days ago. Can I just say that I'm glad I hadn't watched any SJS episodes before seeing this for the first time with other people? 'Cause I wouldn't have come out of that screening with any dignity left intact, I can tell you that. *sniffle* Not to mention K-9! I get the impression most people hate him, but I kind of love that little dog. And I was very sad indeed when Mark III sacrificed himself to the burning fires of french fry goo. And I was crying like a little girl at the end, with Sarah and her brand-new robot dog. Awww, Sarah!

Scenes in this episode made me think that Ten would actually work better with a group of companions--two or three, anyway. He's good at the coordinating stuff he does in this episode with Mickey, Sarah, and Rose. He's a bit of an army commander (or Stargate team leader), actually, giving assignments and having his underlings team gang companions do individual jobs like a well-oiled machine. Also, it might not be a bad idea to spread the fact that DT can have UST with a shoe hyperactive puppy energy around a bit.

*

Wishlist for S3

1.) No returning to early 21st-century Earth until at least the second half of the season. At least. Preferably NOT AT ALL.
2.) Martha should be a historical companion! Who's with me? Yeah, yeah?
3.) ROMANA III. Yes, yes, A THOUSAND TIMES YES.
3a.) Martha is Romana III?
4.) Martha gets to blow shit up, like Ace, or is a scientist-type person, or has some other fun and useful skill that is all her own. Not that Rose didn't have her good and interesting qualities--compassion, bravery, etc.--but I think maybe last season she wasn't often written into situations where she could make use of them, and thus came off feeling a bit superfluous at times? Like, "Fear Her" required compassion to make the resolution work, whereas, say, "The Idiot's Lantern" didn't, and so she got sucked into the telly. Yeah.
5.) More of the TARDIS, please.
6.) More than just one or two frustrating hints a season about the bloody Time War, FCOL!

*

Following on from numbers 3 and 3a, I watched part of "Shada" the other day.

Oh, such fun. I've only seen the first two episodes, but oh, the love. PUNTING! Hee. Also, I love that silly old professor. Felt very bad when he died. :( And I kind of want Romana's hat, except I think if I had it I'd hang it on a wall rather than wear it, because it goes just about an inch over the line between "fashion accessory" and "home decor."

Someone over at otp_probably has posted video clips of various Romana episodes, and they're much fun. I fully believe that Four and Romana are involved in, like, the Time Lord equivalent of a common law marriage. There's one scene in...hmmm...maybe "Creature from the Pit"? I forget. Anyway, Romana drags a box of junk into the console room, and is going through it asking the Doctor what all this junk is, and why he hasn't cleaned out the storage areas in the last few centuries, and it's totally the stereotypical neatnik girlfriend moving in and trying to create space for her stuff and make her boyfriend Not A Slob. Then in "Shada," when Professor Chronitis runs out of milk for tea, she's all, "We've got plenty," and is a bit proud of (her and) the Doctor's TARDIS, sort of like one might be of one's house, and it's really quite a couple-y little moment, particularly since the Doctor isn't even there.

Also, the regeneration scene from "Destiny of the Daleks" is so funny I can't even put it into words.

Romana is hilarious and deadpan and knowledgeable and totally awesome. I need Romana II icons, stat.

*

I started reading Bridget Jones today, after about six years of avoiding it. Mostly that was because of my Austen H8 and my general "eh" reaction to the movie, but also because I have pretty much no interest in the Trials of Finding Love After Thirty or whatever it's been billed as. Obviously, I shall eat something laced with crow tonight, because it's pretty funny. Not the best book I've ever read, but entertaining all the same. The Lit!Snob part of my brain is little eyerolly at the fact that every character, with the possible exception of Bridget and, perhaps later, Mark Darcy, is a blatant caricature, but the more easily amused half is busy saying, "It's a farce; get over yourself."

Plus, it does have lines like: "It struck me as pretty ridiculous to be called Mr. Darcy and to stand on your own looking snooty at a party." Although Fielding then immediately takes it a hair too far with, "It's like being called Heathcliff and insisting on spending the entire evening in the garden, shouting 'Cathy' and and banging your head against a tree." Ah, well.

Also, there is brief mocking of postmodernism, which is grand.

I'm wondering who exactly decided that Renee Zellweger fit this role, though, 'cause I'm not picturing her in it at all. I'm not sure who would fit, but it's not her.

(Related to none of the above: in what world is 124 pounds even remotely overweight? Is she really short or something?)

Comments

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

the fact that DT can have UST with a shoe

BWAH! So true! He's turning into Jack!


Ah, the Bridget Jones love. Ha, told ya! No, it's not serious literature, but it's hilarious. And, underneath the farce, it rings true. If I were to actually meet Bridget, I'd probably need to punch her in the face, but on paper, I love her to death. Although, yeah, the weight issue is INSANE. I'm hoping she's 4'11" or something.

[elflore.livejournal.com]

Rusty Sue: I know we've gone our rounds...but can I just say I still think, even with all the OMG!angst of Doomsday, it reads beautifully as OTPForNow. That's still how I see the relationship, and it tears me up anyway...

School Reunion: Not only made me blubber, it's STILL making me blubber as I watch some great vids using copious clippage from it. :?P And K-9 is generally beloved in most of the fandom I've encountered, actually. There are corners which think he might've been overused or whatever, but naw, generally we all love him. He's a robot AND a dog! What's not to love?

Wishlist: While I'd love to see less of 21st century Earth, I understand the practical reasoning. Who might have a bigger budget than ever, but it's still fairly small compared to American shows. One of the main reasons the Beeb claimed they were waiting so long to bring back Who was they didn't think they could make it look as good as American SciFi. When they were first bringing RTD in, some of his early pitches involved the Doctor being stranded on Earth again (a la the Third) to save the budget. Then, wisely, he said "screw that, ALL OF TIME AND SPACE is the joy of Who!". But if we still get a lot of Earth stories to save the money a bit...I can live with that. As for making Martha historical or even futuristic...I'm with you, and yet I'm not gonna hold it against her if she doesn't turn out to be. If RTD is one of those producers who feels the audience should have an easily identifiable companion, I may not always agree but I can respect it. And then later they can bring in someone historical. Like you said, Ten rocks with a crew. And the pattern so far each season has mixed up solo and multiple companions...series one had Adam and the Captain Jack eps, series two had Mickey. And we already know Jack's coming back for some eps in series three...

The Time War: As a lifelong Whovian, I figure mysterious hints are the Doctor's stock in trade. Most of us don't really ever *want* to have all the backstory actually spelled out for us. That way lies Lungbarrow! Personally? I think the greatest thing they could do would be to turn to Big Finish and say, "Go ahead: do an 8th Doctor-fights-the-Time War series. We won't necessarily say it's official, but we won't say it's not..." (Also...FCOL?)

Romana III: I have mixed feelings there...I'd love to see a Romana, definitely...but I've fallen in love with Lalla Ward all over again on audio, so I'd almost rather she just come back and be the Romana That Never Dies. *snerk*

Shada: So lovely, yes. I actually named a cat Chronotis...one of our best cats ever, I miss him. And did you know Douglas Adams turned around and halfway adapted it into the novel "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency"? (Great book--but then, I love all Adams!)

[alto2.livejournal.com]

did you know Douglas Adams turned around and halfway adapted it into the novel "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency"?

You know, I've never seen any parts of the original "Shada," but I'd read about it in books like Doctor Who: A Celebration, and when I read Dirk Gently's it really threw me for a loop. I went back and looked up the "Shada" descriptions and was all mixed up about how he took parts of it but added new stuff (probably especially so since I only had a vague grasp of it in the first place).

(Now that I bought the "Shada" CD last week, I really have no excuse--must catch up on this one!)

[alto2.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I hadn't watched any SJS episodes before seeing this for the first time with other people? 'Cause I wouldn't have come out of that screening with any dignity left intact,

Now you know why it's still my favorite episode from this year (well, I need to watch GiTF again, but I really doubt it's gonna trump SJS and K-9). It's the last one I felt really came together well, using everyone to their best abilities, and was just *fun* at the same time.

I love K-9, btw, and always have, though he can be a bit of a drag from time to time. Mostly, though, he's fun.

I'm with you on your wish list--and I have to say, the Earth thing is just a cop-out, IMO. It's not like going to another planet necessarily has to require 45 straight minutes of intense CGI. All you need are one or two establishing exterior shots and everything else can be inside, which makes it a whole lot less expensive. Obviously, that varies to some extent depending on the plot, but still... Earth can't be that much cheaper.

I think I have more to say, but I'm insanely tired, so...not right now. Especially not if coherency is among the desiderata!

[icepixie]

BWAH! So true! He's turning into Jack!

Meep.

Ha, told ya!

:P

No, it's not serious literature

And yet, part of my brain is nattering on about representations of class and gender and oh my god I can't read a book for pleasure anymore WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME, KENYON ENGLIHS DEPARTMENT???

And, underneath the farce, it rings true.

I'll, uh, take your word for it, having no experience in basically anything written about in this book.

If I were to actually meet Bridget, I'd probably need to punch her in the face, but on paper, I love her to death.

Oh, if I met that girl in real life, I would have to take a machete to her head. Was kind of wanting to do that by the end of the book, but then the whole thing with Julio and her mom happened and she looked halfway sane in comparison, so. Still, Mark Darcy could do so much better.

Although, yeah, the weight issue is INSANE. I'm hoping she's 4'11" or something.

And perhaps with hollow bones.

[icepixie]

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME, KENYON ENGLIHS DEPARTMENT???

Aside from not taught me to spell, that is?

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

and oh my god I can't read a book for pleasure anymore WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME, KENYON ENGLIHS DEPARTMENT???

Yeah, today I was so examining religious subtext in Doctor Who and I was all I JUST WANT TO WATCH TV, DANG IT!

(And, apparently, the Kenyon Englihs Department has done nothing for your spelling skills in times of incoherent rage. : D )

I'll, uh, take your word for it, having no experience in basically anything written about in this book.

...there is that. But Bridget reminds me of So. Many. Girls I know, and even of the stupider parts of myself. Hm. May need to go reread....

Still, Mark Darcy could do so much better.

Well, yeah, that was kinda the point of P&P, too: but he luuuuurrrrves her, y'know?

[icepixie]

Doomsday: I suppose it could be read differently, but Rusty's "it takes an entire universe to split them up, mwa ha ha!" does not really equal "OTPForNow" to me. However, this is producer!wank, and not based entirely on what goes on within the episode, so it gets some points. Still. General atmosphere of irk, which is mostly what I had planned to rant about anyway.

SR: Was my favorite episode of the season before I got into Old Who, but now has gone up even further in my estimation. Does everyone not hate K-9? Huh. For some reason, I got the impression that no one liked him. Maybe I'm thinking of the actors? (I know someone--Mary Tamm?--complained about always having to bend down to be in the shot with him, and most of them seemed to think he was a bit useless quite a lot of the time.)

Alien planets: Oh, for God's sake, RTD: GO TO A QUARRY. IT WILL NOT KILL YOU. If the BBC suits complain, then go to a planet that looks exactly like 21st century Earth and is populated by beings who look like humans, but have a totally different society. Heck, that's the path to really good SF anyway, not what the people or places look like, so go for it! Or like alto2 says below, go to an alien planet and only go outdoors for the establishing shots; everything else can take place indoors. The set can't be much more expensive than the Torchwood set for the past two eps, or everything in "The End of the World," for example.

Historical companion: I have heard people say that RTD is of the school of "Must make the companion 'relateable' by making him/her from the viewer's time period," but have not actually read this view myself. I think that view's so much hogwash myself, but I'm not a PTB, alas. I'm glad Jack's coming back, although I really don't get the excessive excitement some people are displaying over it.

Time War: ...I would probably totally love Lungbarrow if I ever read it, actually, although I seriously doubt the Doctor is asexual, obviously (dunno if this is contradicted directly in the book). I love learning nitpicky details of off-the-wall made-up events or societies or whatever. More hints than we've got the past couple seasons, at least?

FCOL = For Crying Out Loud

I did know about the Adams novel. I may even read it one day. *g*

[icepixie]

Now you know why it's still my favorite episode from this year

Was still mine, too, even before I started with the Old Who. Such a good ep.

the Earth thing is just a cop-out, IMO.

ITA (I Thoroughly Agree)

Get some sleep! :)

[icepixie]

Yeah, today I was so examining religious subtext in Doctor Who and I was all I JUST WANT TO WATCH TV, DANG IT!

Heh. This is a franchise that, in the TV movie with the Eighth Doctor, had him regenerate from the Seventh Doctor (in a morgue, but never mind) and then, in his weakened state, fall to his knees on the floor, naked but for a white morgue sheet around him, barechested, spreading his arms and looking a bit pained while lightning flashed dramatically over his face.

Don't even go there with trying to analyze religious subtext in this show. *g*

(And, apparently, the Kenyon Englihs Department has done nothing for your spelling skills in times of incoherent rage. : D )

Yeah. yeah, I comment-amended myself. ;)

...there is that. But Bridget reminds me of So. Many. Girls I know, and even of the stupider parts of myself. Hm. May need to go reread....

Bridget...doesn't remind me of anyone I know well, at least, although I suppose she has superficial similarities with a few girls I sort of knew in high school, maybe. She does remind me inordinately of Sally's group of girlfriends in When Harry Met Sally. It's a bit like a British Nora Ephron movie, really. (You hate me now, right?)

Well, yeah, that was kinda the point of P&P, too: but he luuuuurrrrves her, y'know?

Well, there it was socially. Here it's...she's irritating on a personal level, too. Bah.

[icepixie]

Here's a photo of Jesus the Eighth Doctor in that particular pose.

[elrandir.livejournal.com]

OTPForNow: My definition of OTPForNow includes 'until Rose/Charley/Grace whoever dies of old age', so the needing a universe to break it up sooner...I can deal. :?P

K-9: Thinking of the actors would make sense. And the crew maybe...keeping him working and rolling over locations, and writing him new things to do was a bit tricky. But the fans adore him, I think.

Alien planets: I'm not arguing with you and your quarries (even if quarries tend to look like quarries. *snerk*) But as long as they give me good stories, I'm cool. And this season we got more non-20th-century-Earth than not. And the titular Impossible Planet was awesome, worth a season's worth of planets alone!

Jack: I enjoyed Jack a lot in season one...and the things John Barrowman's been saying in interviews about his return are very cool. (Did you see that bit on Outpost Gallifrey?)

Lungbarrow: I just can't accept the Looms as the Doctor's past, nor do I think the whole hokey Other thing is his backstory, or that Susan is anything but his granddaughter. So...yeah, no thanks. As much as I love some of the writer's other work.

Time War: I'm happy with the pacing of hints so far...enough to make my brain tick nicely. It's also gorgeously open-ended fanfic fodder! Which, especially for the kids in the audience, is almost cooler than a big miniseries full of explanations to me...

PS: I happened to sign in under my writing journal, but hey, gave me a chance to show off my latest icon. I am an icon making fool. *g*

[elflore.livejournal.com]

Shada's great, in either version. The video of the original has Tom at his barmiest narrating...and if you've ever seen a Britcom called "Waiting For God", you'll be greatly amused to see Harvey the Idiot Baines as a likeable young pseudo-companion. And the new one has Manuel from Fawlty Towers, and Oliver Wood from the Potter films in the Harvey the Idiot Baines role. *g*

[astropoet.livejournal.com]

The bestyou can do with shipping with the Doctor is have OTP and a particular incarnation of the Doctor, so Nine/Rose was OTP, but Ten/Rose wasn't.

I think a lot of the new fans were caught out by that.

[alto2.livejournal.com]

OK, the Barmy-Tom-Narrating has me thinking of the episode of Little Britain I watched on the plane a few days ago, and OMG, the Idiot Baines! I've been a fan od WfG forEVer (at least a good ten years now, since whenever I discovered it) and am quite certain I'll end up on the near side of Diana Trent-ness when I get old.

So I guess that means I'm gonna have to hunt up the old video as well...sheesh!

[alto2.livejournal.com]

Sticking my nose in here where it quite possibly doesn't belong...

the fans adore him, I think.

Some do. Some don't. I was surprised how much bile was directed at a silly tin dog over on OG after SR aired.

this season we got more non-20th-century-Earth than not.

We did? New Earth, which IMO really doesn't count (because it's still effectively Earth), T&C, GiTF, I don't count the Cyber-eps for the same reason as New Earth (and crikey, there we even get Pete and Jackie), and TIP/TSP. Even if I did count the three eps I discounted, that's still 7 out of 13, which means we were stuck on modern Earth for almost half the series.

Really, I wouldn't count T&C or GiTF, either, because I don't care what time period it is, I want off of Earth, full stop. Enough already, there are other planets out there that Daleks and Cybermen and whoever else they can dream up would love to conquer or otherwise terrorize. And I know I was not the only person watching whichever ep of the finale and screaming during the "how long are you gonna stick around" scene that they were finally on another damn planet and we didn't get to see it. Gah. Show some originality, folks!

I've never read Lungbarrow, but having heard about the Looms, I think they're bollocks, too. That was a huge "WTF?" moment for me when I heard about it. ;)

[alto2.livejournal.com]

Hee! Just woke up, now gotta start feeling like I'm actually awake (and stop avoiding the family!) :)

[elflore.livejournal.com]

Naw, I don't mind more noises for a good discussion--especially about Who. *g*

K-9: Yeah...I do tend to run in more accepting Whovian circles. Except when it comes to the books--most of my friends didn't care for the New Adventures take on the 7th Doctor, Ace, or the Loom/Other business. :?P

Earth or not: New Earth I thought was great...whatever they called it, we had an awesome looking city with flying cars and everything and some really cool aliens. I don't think we're gonna get much more 'alien' than that on the budget they're working from most of the time. Which is also why I didn't complain about that planet we glimpsed in the finale...the glimpse was gorgeous, but my guess is it would take too much out of their budget to really do such a planet justice through the whole epi. And I meant to say non-21st century Earth, so I counted Idiot's Lantern as a new setting as well...me, I love the time travel as much or more as the space travel. I can see a quarry/studio set a week on Trek, or any of a number of other shows, which is all good. But I love me some history.

Also, I don't think a story needs a new planet or even time to be original...I loved 'Fear Her', for instance. Neat alien menace concept, some cool psychology, plus the simple thought..."hey, can't wait for the Olympics to hit London? Why not hop ahead?" That's one of the things I love about RTD's series...even more instances of people using a time machine the way I think we really would if we could. Popping off to see a classic concert, popping back home to visit your family before shooting off someplace else...

[icepixie]

Cute icon! :)

OTPForNow: I can read it as Whoever/Doctor until the companion dies as well (and you know I do with Charley!), but what "it takes a universe to split them apart" implies to me is, "it doesn't take that much effort to separate him and the others, ergo Rose Is Specialer."

Quarries: I've decided that the TARDIS has some kind of quarry homing device in it. When it doubt on where to land on an alien planet, always go for the quarry. *g*

Jack: Haven't seen anything about his return anywhere.

Lungbarrow: Looms seem highly suspicious to me as well, but in theory they're really quite awesome. Like, they'd be nifty if they occured in some other SF universe, where they aren't connected with the landmines of a possibly-asexual, possibly-half-human Doctor. Also, I'm highly intrigued by what I've heard of Gallifrey's socio-political structure...I really need to see The Deadly Assassin sometime. Anyway, I really like nitpicky bits about other worlds, like I said.

[icepixie]

I would also count Idiot's Lantern and Fear Her as "away from the present," although the last one just barely. I like me a good historical. I honestly just wanted to get away from Jackie a lot of the time. But yes, "time" and "space" seem a bit limited in this version. I just want more next year, even if it doesn't look absolutely perfect.

[icepixie]

The bestyou can do with shipping with the Doctor is have OTP and a particular incarnation of the Doctor, so Nine/Rose was OTP, but Ten/Rose wasn't.

I tend to look at it that way as well, especially for the companions who were either created for or clicked extremely well with one incarnation of the Doctor. Although I liked Ten/Rose (at least at the beginning of the season), so she is a bit of an exception to my general theory. Still, she did work better with Nine.

[elflore.livejournal.com]

We already knowing we're getting Shakespeare next season...so I'm feeling optimistic. *g*

[alto2.livejournal.com]

I do tend to run in more accepting Whovian circles.

I'd always taken all Who-dom at face value when I was originally watching in high school. I'm not sure if the discovery of internet fandom has really been good for me in that regard--not that I want to be a blind viewer, or anything, but digging too deep can make you too critical, which can take a lot of the fun out of it (which is why I stopped posting my own thoughts on Series 2 in my journal--it stopped being fun, which seemed counterproductive).

I do remember a Tom Baker blooper reel, one of which included the Doctor asking K-9 if he knew the answer to some question. K-9 said no, and Tom burst out with something like "Dammit, K-9, you never know the fucking answer when it's important!" After I got over the initial shock, I was quite amused. I could imagine working with a character like K-9 would have been trying at times.

New Earth was fun, I can't deny. I was just disappointed that it couldn't have been New Mars or New Venus or something. It's not so much that I think an individual story is unoriginal if it's set on Earth, it's that this fabulous machine is supposed to move through space as well as time, and we almost never ever see the space part. Even on the shoestring budget of the classic series, we were frequently on space stations, ships, other planets, whatever. I just don't think the budget should be THAT much of an issue in making that work--we don't need fancy aliens or sets. I think of something like "The Sunmakers," where there was one visibly non-human character and the only "alien" set you needed was two suns in the sky, or "Kinda"/"Snakedance" where you were on another planet but it mostly looked like earth, and so did the natives, and you had some funky dream sequences, but otherwise, didn't really need special effects at all. Certainly not anything on the scale of, say, "Tooth and Claw," which really had quite a bit of CGI even though we never left Earth.

I know modern audiences have modern expectations re: effects, but I guess my point is that the effects aren't the important part of the story--a good story may not even need them at all. I just feel like we're largely trapped on Earth, and have been itching to go somewhere else, where you'd have a different culture if not radically different creatures, and stretch the imagination through space as well as time. Earth just starts to feel old after a while when it's not balanced out with trips elsewhere. I mean, wouldn't you want to take a few trips to see what's outside the solar system when you weren't popping back to see ABBA at Wembley in 1979? :)

[elflore.livejournal.com]

Fandom: Yeah, I've mostly steered clear. I've got a few Whovian friends that I either found through some roleplaying I did online back in the day or through other fandoms, and occasionally I lurk on the Outpost Gallifrey forum, but that's about it. I poked around the infamous Rec.Art.Dr.Who for a while back in the day...and wow is Who fandom divisive. My first real fandom experience had been with the Scapers (Farscape fans), who really are the big family every fandom wants to think it is. Who...it's a bit more like armed camps. There are a lot of beautiful people, but also a number of very loud grumpy folks clinging to their One True Doctor and spending too much time deriding all the others. Ah well...

K-9 Blooper: Heheheh

New Earth: I could be remembering wrong, but I thought the New Earth was in a distant solar system from the original? Which to me is still totally alien. Well, maybe not totally...I can see how a New Mars or whatever would be different, not based on the Earth template. I still loved that city, though...and found the idea of a city called New New New New etc. York disproportionately hilarious--because I'm still 12, especially when watching Doctor Who. *g*

Alien worlds: Yeah, I definitely see your points. The flipside...the jungle in Kinda was a studio set, and Who studio jungles got to be sort of infamous. I rarely mind them, but I can respect the new crew wanting to avoid them. Then again...I also get the feeling sometimes that like the crew in the 3rd Doctor's era, they're big fans of the "Yeti in the loo" theorem...the idea that the monsters are scarier in your own backyard, in your own world. While I don't always agree and love my alien worlds, I do think we've gotten some wonderfully creepy moments out of it in the past year: the sleepwalkers in Christmas Invasion, the Cybermen in the living room, etc.

I'd also say, as much as I love a good alien culture, it's not what Who tends to focus on...which is usually more with the monsters and macguffins and humans in trouble, whether at home or out in the galaxy. Which doesn't mean it can't do an awesome alien culture...just not where they tend to put their focus, unlike Trek or even Stargate.

Actually, too, a good alien culture doesn't need to be on an alien world...I found the aliens in 'Fear Her' rather imaginative and cool.

Of course, I totally WOULD be going out to see some crazy alien cultures when not popping back for concerts totally not including ABBA. *snerk* I'd love to see some of the places the 7th Doctor describes in the last speech in 'Survival'...

Hope I'm not getting annoying with all my glass-three-quarters-full-at-the-very-least! fanboyism. :?P

[icepixie]

That really should be awesome. :)

[icepixie]

I do remember a Tom Baker blooper reel...

I saw that a few weeks ago, and it cracked me up. So funny. Mary Tamm was kind of collapsing with giggles in the background, if I remember correctly.

I did enjoy the non-smug parts of T&C, but, y'know, Victorians. Yay. (Also, I'm watching Upstairs/Downstairs DVDs at the moment, and hee! Pauline Collins!) I do know what you mean about feeling tied to Earth, though. It feels a bit like being condescended to--particularly as we hear about places like Women Wept, but don't get to see them--which is irritating.

[icepixie]

My first real fandom experience had been with the Scapers (Farscape fans), who really are the big family every fandom wants to think it is.

Same here. Sometimes, now that I've been exposed to other fandoms, I wonder if that was just because we shippers cocooned ourselves amongst each other, and also that ScaperCon, particularly the first three years, attracted a certain type of fan, while the more traditional "non-family" types hung out at Creation or whatever. But yeah, Scapers are the best fandom to be a part of. Bar none.

Who...it's a bit more like armed camps.

I have been witness to the Sam/Jack and Jack/Daniel Wars, not to mention the Save Daniel Jackson campaign, and I have never seen a fandom as bitter and batshit insane as certain segments of Who fandom. That is saying something.

New New^14 York was incredibly pretty. Also, even if the science was nonexistant, it had alien cat!nuns, and a futuristic sci-fi premise, and basically satisfied what I'd like to see as far as getting off Earth/out of the 21st century.

[elflore.livejournal.com]

Scapers: The shippers are the best, but I still think Scapers in general are a great bunch. The rest of the Scapercon crew all rocked...I was there every year, and I love all those people. And yeah, that con attracted the family especially...but my experiences with the SciFi.com bboards and chat room were also grand. :?)

Who fandom: To be fair, Who's been around for more than 40 years, and had a highly diverse cast. It's changed so much over the years, it makes some sense that there would be fans who only enjoyed certain flavors. Still sad how belligerent some of them get over it, of course. I think, too, that the cancellation further fragmented the fandom...when your show's in danger or awaiting resurrection, everybody has different ideas how to save it, and that can drive people apart. There were even some cracks in Scaperdom after FS was cancelled...thankfully it didn't take anywhere near so long to come back, and in high style.

[alto2.livejournal.com]

Outpost Gallifrey is just...well, it's a great place to find things like books or the Big Finish discs for a more reasonable price (if you're in the US), but otherwise? Ridiculous. I sometimes will pop in and read some posts, but unless I am starting a new thread with a question about something (like which books folks recommend, for instance), I don't post there.

I forgot about rec.arts.drwho! Discovered it in college, though my memories of it are foggy. I don't think it struck me as ridiculous at the time, but then, I also don't think I knew any better!

You are right about New Earth being far away from Old Earth. I just...why must everything be Earth all the time? I'm starting to think that the Doctor was exiled again somehow, by the Time Lords, after blowing up Gallifrey (maybe their collective consciousness reached back and blew up the TARDIS space travel circuit? ;) ). It just starts to stretch belief, when you realize we've almost never left the same bloody planet. Maybe Kinda was a bad example, but I still think it's possible to do a good episoe set somewhere else without even needing a whole lot of CGI, necessarily. It does seem like there's a lack of imagination in that particular part of story development for the new series, and I really think that's a shame. Sure, monsters are scarier in your own backyard, but surely any planet would land in the Guinness Book of Improbable Galactic Records if this many aliens tried to conquer it. And let's not forget that Shakespeare set most of his more critical plays in other countries so as not to land in trouble at home--alien worlds offer a great opportunity for social commentary in a way that's tough to do at home.

And you're not annoying--I hope I'm not, either! I do think the glass is half-full, just because there's so much potential on this show. I just think it's a shame that so little of it has been tapped so far.

[alto2.livejournal.com]

It's been a while since I've watched that reel, but you could be right about Mary Tamm :)

I do know what you mean about feeling tied to Earth, though. It feels a bit like being condescended to--particularly as we hear about places like Women Wept, but don't get to see them--which is irritating.

Exactly. That's really what bothered me most about that moment during the finale--for two seconds, we saw it, but then whoosh, we're right back on Earth. Gah!

[elflore.livejournal.com]

Outpost Gallifrey: Yeah, I love the site for news, but I don't delve too deeply into the forums. Occasionally I'll start a post, or see what people are saying about a certain audio or epi. Now and then I'll find a real gem of a post there, though...like one I found after Doomsday with a great defense of Rose's decision to (try and) remain with the Doctor.

Earth: Well...there *is* the incredibly sacreligious explanation that the Doctor is half-human. I was one of the Few, the Weird, the Fans Who Saw the TV Movie and Didn't Mind That. *snerk* It DOES make for the simplest explanation of why the Doctor keeps going back to Earth...and even more so now, when his 'other' home world is gone. There's also been a lot of speculation that Earth is some kind of time-space nexus point, key in the big universal picture somehow. On the whole...yeah, I would like to see them stretch themselves even more, to trust that they can make an alien planet work, but as long as they're telling great Who stories I'm not gonna worry about it too much.

Shakespeare: Interesting point, but to be fair, I don't think RTD has shied away from social commentary at all--especially in the modern Earth based stories, actually. AoL/WW3 and CI were loaded with it. Perhaps Shakespeare should've done a few England-with-aliens stories. *g*

Annoying: Not at all...I always enjoy a good Who debate! :?)