The Whovian Review: "Time Heist" and "The Caretaker"

Hey everyone!

So, if you are wondering why there hasn't been a Whovian Review on late Doctor Who episodes, the truth is that I wrote a very long and I'm sure well articulated review on Time Heist and The Caretaker and Blogger didn't save any of my progress!  When I went to edit it up, nothing was there!  Since I don't want to spend another four hours typing up the same review, I'm going to give you my abbreviated (and spoiler-free!) thoughts on the episodes and some other little thoughts as well!  I hope none of y'all had your hopes up here.  I did.  sigh...

Time Heist

"Time Heist" exceeded any of the expectations I had for it.  The story is tight, fun, invigorating, and complex enough to make Joss Whedon jealous.  Clara has to take to the back burner a little to make room for all the new supporting characters, and, while the new characters are diverse and interesting, the shear amount of them makes for a lot of forced characterization.  Peter Capaldi is ever improving and his dark Doctor gets plenty of chances to shine with all its eyebrowed glory.  The story has a lot of predictable twists and turns before ending on a nice and safe conclusion that left me wanting something a little more from the excellent premise the episode started with.

7.5/10

The Caretaker

"The Caretaker" feels like a giant stepping stone that the series is trying to take to connect two separate parts of the season together.  Peter Capaldi can still do no wrong and this episode is an acting tour de force of a rollercoaster of emotions.  However, the episode also highlights to the viewers how shallow the relationship between Clara and Danny has been and leaves them in a strange place concerning Clara's choice between Danny and the Doctor.  A lot of questions are asked and not a whole lot of answers have been given, but "The Caretaker" opens many of the doors that I'm very excited to see where exactly they go.

7/10

Since "The Caretaker" marks the halfway point of the eighth season,  I'd thought I'd give y'all a little ranking of each episode and how it compares to the rest.  Feel free to give your own opinion too!

1. Listen

2. Time Heist

3. Deep Breath

4. The Caretaker

5. Robot of Sherwood

6. Into the Dalek

Alright, that's all I got for today.  Sorry once again for the lack of an in depth review if any of you were looking forward to that.  I just don't have the heart to type out the same review twice guys.  Be on the look out for more reviews soon though!  There are still two more episodes that I haven't seen yet and they are calling my name!

As always, thanks for reading everyone!

The Whovian Review: "Robot of Sherwood" and "Listen"

Hey everyone!

Well, it took a bit of time to get my thoughts in order after the game-changer that was "Listen," but I'm back to share some more impressions and feelings about the latest Doctor Who episodes!  As always, spoiler alert is in effect, and, due to some polarizing reviews I have read online in the last few days, I feel obligated to remind everyone that my opinion really means nothing in the long run.  But I grateful that you are reading them anyways!

So, let's get to it!

"Robot of Sherwood"

The Doctor is a hero.  After over fifty years of running around and saving people at every corner of the universe, I fail to find a more fitting title for our renegade Time Lord.  His iconic image, blue box and sonic screwdriver included, has lasted and will continue to last the test of time.  It's not surprising that the tales of the Doctor have drawn comparisons to those of other heroes of legend, such as Sir Robin of Loxley himself.  Now, thanks to Mark Gatiss and the good people at Doctor Who, we have a brief glimpse of what an encounter between these two iconic heroes may have looked like.  You know, if either of them had actually existed.

Capaldi is a funny man and his well-acted performance in "Robot of Sherwood" really lets him show some depth through his humorous side.  He remains above most of the cornier moments in the episode and even elevated some of the more goofier moments into something more memorable.  In short, any man that brings a spoon to a sword fight is fine by me.  That being said, I found the characterization of the Doctor in this episode to be a little strange, being more grumpy and argumentative than the sly and brooding Doctor from earlier episodes.  Jealousy is the main motivational force for the Doctor in this episode, and, while it does an ample job moving the story from place to place, makes the Doctor come off as a petty boyfriend.  His robot theory, while entertaining, is pretty unfulfilling and ultimately pointless.

All hail the return of the Impossible Girl who fills this episode with loads of charm and absolutely no character development.  Clara's sudden fangirl obsession with Robin Hood is a little convenient as a story motivator but, as an English teacher, I guess a love of a classic literary hero is justified.  As always, Clara makes a great believer to the Doctor's doubter, even though their conflict came across as more of a lovers' spat than a moral dilemma.  Her encounter with the Sheriff of Nottingham felt hollow and silly next to the tense and emotional encounter with the Half-Face droid in Deep Breath.  Still, a lack of character substance doesn't prevent Jenna Coleman's natural warmth and excitement from shining through and making the episode a fun time.

In a world full of reinvention and reboots, it was refreshing to see Tom Riley's take on Robin Hood remaining loyal to the attributes that made the Prince of Thieves such an entertaining hero to begin with.  Riley's leading man charm and swagger outdo most of the corny and cliche character moments that Gatiss throws at him.  However, like the Doctor, the characterization of Robin was odd at parts.  First of all, he seemed way too alright with all the extraterrestrial things going on around him, being seemingly unfazed by laser-faced robots and flying castles.  He also spends too much time grandstanding with the Doctor and too little time doing any of the actually stealing from the rich and giving the needy.  However, the wonderfully vulnerable moment at the end of the episode makes the trip to Sherwood Forest worth the wait.

The theme of heroism is constantly running through nearly every season of Doctor Who.  However, Robot of Sherwood doesn't really add anything new to the mix other than giving the Doctor a good reminder of what he means to those around him.  Robin's theory about heroism was a poignant moment but seemed a little hollow since his legend turned out to be much like what actually happened anyways.  The Doctor's doubts about Robin mirrors the doubts about himself that have been creeping up since his regeneration.  However, I wish they would've gone deeper into the introspection to balance out the humor.  Maybe future foils for the Doctor will lead to some more profound self-discovery.

Overall, I was disappointed with the storyline of the episode, which turned out to be filled with standard Robin Hood elements and a predictable Doctor Who twist.  Familiarity works well with the characters but not so much with the storyline, which felt stale and tired throughout the episode.  Most of humor in the episode was based on the ridiculousness of the situation rather than anything actually clever, leaving the audience with a few WTF moments (ummm, Marian at the end?  What in the world as that?).  I really wished they would've used the Doctor Who elements of the episode to explain some of the more outlandish parts of the Robin Hood legend instead of piling on.

Robot of Sherwood marks the next step in the "Robots Seeking Paradise" storyline and the little forward motion it makes in that endeavor really makes this episode feeling like a missed opportunity.  There was nothing really subtle about this episode and it suffers because of it.  While the near human-like qualities of the droids from Deep Breath gave an emotional pull to their attempts to get to Paradise, the emotionless Robot Knights make the goal seem more or less like programming.  Plus, the lack of Missy sucks out all the storyline's mystery and intrigue.  However, since these Knight Robots are more advanced and further in the past than the other droid, does this mean that Paradise is actually in the past?  Food for thought.

Mark Gatiss has always had a back and forth history with Doctor Who fans and I think the writing in this episode is a step in the wrong direction for him.  I mean, he clearly has a lot of history writing new and exciting stories for famous figures of fiction but can't seem to deliver on Doctor Who.  He took a fairly easy and uncomplicated path in the writing, which filled the episode with strange coincidences and ridiculous cases of deus ex machina (that freakin' golden arrow was shameful, just shameful).  I wish a sort of Sherlock reimagining would've taken place since that seems to be Gatiss' wheelhouse.  All that being said, the writing does capture a fun and warm "Robin Hood" atmosphere with the dedication that can only come from an endearing admiration for the Prince of Thieves.

Summary: "Robot of Sherwood" is plagued by a cliched story and odd choices in characterization that does very little with classic story material.  However, warm, entertaining, and actually fun performances by the cast and guest stars make this journey to Sherwood Forest worth making a return trip.

6.5/10

"Listen"

We owe a lot to fear.  It fuels us, entertains us, motivates us, and, often times, defines us.  It is fear or the lack of certain fears that separates us from the person next to us and makes us better equipped for the unique set of challenges that lay before us in our individual lives.  Doctor Who, as a show, has a lot owed to fear as well.  It went from a show of cheesy effects and plastic monsters to a show of interplanetary disasters and personal terror in the matter of a few seasons.  It seems like there are precious few things that Moffat and company will not try to scare us with.  However, with "Listen," we fans of Doctor Who might have to, once more, change how we look at being scared.

Flipping expertly from foreground to background character with amazing ease, Peter Capaldi shows us once again why he deserves to wield the sonic screwdriver.  That great opening monologue perfectly sets the tone and opens the door to imagining what exactly the Doctor does when he is alone.  I honestly think this is the first episode that relies solely on Capaldi's strength as an actor rather than the strength of the character itself.  Capaldi's portrayal of a flawed Doctor reminds us all that the Doctor is always better when he is human rather than alien.  Plus, we get to see a sneak preview of the Doctor's chemistry with Danny which makes me excited for the future.

As quickly as it returned, the Impossible Girl is gone once more!  "Listen" presents such an interesting twist on the Doctor/Clara relationship, having Clara playing the doubter to the Doctor's believer.  Her belief in the fear the Doctor feels and her belief in a hope that transcends fear is played in such perfect balance and cements the fact that Clara was always destined to be a perfect companion for Capaldi's Doctor.  We got to see more of Clara's imperfect life with her date with Danny serving as anchor for the time travel storyline.  It was a great place to see how her trips with the Doctor affect her while he is away.  We also got another subtle hint at the possibility of Clara's approaching death but that might just be my fanboy mind translating Moffat clues unnecessarily.

The more of a presence that Danny makes on the show, the more I want something concrete about him to hold onto.  While he is still very likeable and holds exciting potential, there is something unrealistic about him and the episode's story doesn't help ground him at all.  Everything that motivates his actions is being kept in the dark which makes him a hard character to peg.  His relationship with Clara is being moved very quickly too, assuming that Moffat's less than subtle hints about the couple's future isn't going to end up with him pulling the rug out from under us.  I can see that his role in the show is meant to ground Clara to a life on Earth, but, so far, Danny doesn't give the Doctor much competition.

While the theme of fear is not super original for Doctor Who standards, "Listen" is clearly an excellent look at the fear that drives our tortured Time Lord.  The theme matches both the Doctor's and Clara's character arcs perfectly, with the Doctor digging deep into who he is as a person and Clara dealing with a change in worldly perspective.  When you get down to it, fear is the thing that separates the Doctor from many other heroes.  His knowledge of what he has done and what dangers the universe holds make him a fairly flawed man and it is these flaws (i.e. his fears) that make him the hero that he is.  Despite having no tangible thing to fear, "Listen" is a scary episode in its own right, with that scene under the bed being a devilishly good jump scare.

Retconning traditional Doctor Who lore seems to be Moffat's new game and, while some of aspects of this episode were puzzling and unexplained, the changes to the Doctor's timeline felt less hokey this time.  I was really great to see the connections reaching back to the Day of the Doctor and the Sound of Drums storyline from the Tenth Doctor era.  Granted, this may be the most polarizing part of the entire episode and I can understand why many will not like this retcon.  First of all, the episode is so vague on the TARDIS DNA matrix thingy and its limits that Clara just landing in the barn on Gallifrey seems pretty convenient.  Still, it lead to a great character moment nevertheless so I'm willing to let this bit of Moffat bull slide.

Moffat probably knows that he is the most polarizing element in modern Doctor Who history, but it seems that he is actually listening to what people have to say about him.  "Listen" takes Moffat's typical MO and completely turns it on his head.  The focus on fear instead of what causes it feels like a much needed breath of fresh air to the show's formula.  The monster, or lack thereof, is demonstrated through dialogued instead on jumpy visuals.  This is Moffat taking a big risk on a potentially disastrous premise and it payed out in spades.  Granted, the jumps in time don't make for a very fluid story, but everything about "Listen" makes me excited for Moffat episodes once more.

 I've noted before how awesome the cinematography has been this season, and I will say it again: the cinematography has been noticeable different from previous seasons.  Every episode has had a very nice atmospheric shot that sets the tone for the episode.  The play of color and tones in "Listen" especially is interesting and dynamic, from the muted tones of Rupert's childrens' home to the deep blues of the Doctor's childhood barn.  It makes practically any still shot from the episode so gosh darn beautiful to look at.  It's just another thing to look forward to episode to episode.

Summary:  A few timey wimey quabbles can't keep "Listen" from breaking through all expectations for Steven Moffat's next offering in Season Eight of Doctor Who.  A refreshing and personal look at what make the Doctor tick at his very core and the exploration of how Clara fits in the web of the Doctor's life will make this episode one to remember for a long time.

9.0/10

Well, there you go folks!  I hope that was worth a little bit of a wait.  I was just really excited by Doctor Who's offerings this week so I couldn't quite properly process my thoughts.  Anyways, expect an equally well-timed blog about the next two episodes in a couple weeks.

As always, thanks for reading everyone!

The Whovian Review: "Deep Breath" and "Into the Dalek"

Hey everyone!

So, honesty time.  I know it's been a while since I've written anything for this blog and I'm sure that really disappointments me more than anyone else.  I do fancy myself as a writer in some sort of self-definition, and you can imagine how frustrating the lack of motivation to write can be to someone like me.  I guess writing as a whole is one part waiting for the moment of inspiration and the other part forcing the words onto the page whether you want to or not.  So, here I am, squeaking out a few thoughts of the newest Doctor Who episodes for you!  And, for honesty's sake, I should probably say that it might be a little more than a few thoughts.

EDIT:  OK, future me here, coming back to warn all of y'all that I get to be extremely long-winded in this blog post (as if the length wasn't enough to cue you in).  For your convenience, I have written a summary paragraph at the end of the reviews of each episode if you just want to tl;dr the long paragraphs of me being pretentious and ranting my head off.  But, if you are into that, there is a whole lot to read anyways!

Obligatory spoiler alert is obligatory, of course.  I'm assuming the people that actually read this blog will have seen these episodes anyways, but, just in case, I'll mention that I will be going into detail on elements of the first two episodes of the eighth season of Doctor Who.  So, if you haven't seen either of these episodes, don't read on.  We cool now?  Good.

"Deep Breath"

Regeneration is a tricky thing.  I, of course, have no personal experience with it myself, but change and transition in general never go quite as smoothly as anyone imagines.  The transition from one era of Doctor Who to another was a long time coming for lots of the fans of the show.  I certainly felt Matt Smith's exit coming long before it was announced.  At the beginning of the Season 7, there was a pronounced shift from the previous seasons of Smith's tenure in the TARDIS.  The quirky and drawn-out adventures to the small corners of the universe had suddenly become epics of summer blockbuster proportions.  With dinosaurs!  Cowboys!  Haunted houses!  Whether or not this was Moffat's unconscious effort to transition fans of the show to a new formula that would come to define the upcoming Capaldi era is yet to be seen.  However, after seeing the Season 8 premiere, that does seem to be the trend.

The image of a giant dinosaur stalking its way through the Thames in Victorian London does seem to ripped right out of a movie trailer.  Seeing how briefly the dinosaur is used in the episode, our dinosaur friend seemed to serve hardly any other role than a flashy use of special effects.  Kind of a waste, I guess, especially since the writing staff seemed to have used the dinosaur to completely ignore the cliffhanger from the end of The Time of the Doctor.  How exactly did the Doctor and Clara go from crashing in the TARDIS after leaving the village of Christmas to prehistoric times in order to be eaten by a T-Rex?  Will we ever know?  I guess not.  This, on top of a babbling and disoriented Doctor, made for a very awkward opening to a season premiere.  By the time I had a grasp on the Doctor's hilariously confused post regeneration phase, the poor dinosaur was being burned alive.  In a river.  Hmmm.... it set the river on fire too.  I guess it was alien fire?  Nevermind.  Did I care about the dinosaur's death?  Was I sad?  No, of course not.  It was a cheap attempt emotion manipulation that could've been handled a lot better.  Instead, it felt tacked-on and only served to pad an already filled-to-the-brim episode.

The dinosaur aside, Moffat decided to focus on some strange things in Deep Breath.  The relationship between Vastra and Jenny being one of the more puzzling ones.  On one hand, I'm very happy that the Paternoster Gang is getting a little more room to breathe as characters.  I honestly think that, with the right writers, Vastra, Jenny, and Strax could have their own show about their alien antics in Victorian London.  However, seeing Moffat's choices in Deep Breath, I'm not so sure about the prospects of a spin-off.  First of all, there was way too much attention paid towards Vastra and Jenny's lesbian/inner-species relationship.  The cute nods and gestures towards the nature of their relationship in previous episodes were successfully funny because of their subtlety.  It felt like an inside joke that the audience could be a part of as well.  Throw that out the window and what you have is an overly preachy and often tacky set of gags that gets criticism from film review boards and lesbian communities alike.  This is not to say that the banter between Vastra and Jenny was not enjoyable and witty at moments, especially when Clara is also thrown into the mix.  However, it pulled the focus from the fact that we had a new Doctor around and no one wanted to see Jenny pose in Vastra's sun room when we could see Capaldi scream at some bum about his new face.  I had a similar reaction to Strax as well.  I, for one, really do like Strax and his humor a lot.  His "melt him in acid" line was probably that time I laughed loudest during the episode.  However, Strax, like many Doctor Who gags, is best served in small doses.  By the time Strax was giving Clara a physical, I was already tired of his signature comedic antics.  Not to mention the fact that the Paternoster Gang served absolutely zero purpose in the second half of the episode, especially the extremely laughable fight scene in the basement of the spaceship/restaurant.  Such a fall from characters that were so engaging and scene-stealing in A Good Man Goes to War.

Despite all of this, I do readily recognize that Vastra, Jenny, and Strax were essentials for the story that Moffat wanted to tell.  In an episode all about Clara's (and the audience's) reaction to the new outward appearance of the Doctor, Vastra is a perfect parallel for a lesson on judging books by their covers.  And, may I say, that aspect as played expertly.  The conversation Vastra has with Clara about her veil was spot on, never feeling too direct or obvious.  I feel that Moffat tries to fit Vastra into this "zen master Yoda" box too often, and, while he doesn't avoid the cliche completely, Vastra's ability to help Clara to see through her prejudices was one of the highlights of the episode.

I was also very impressed by Ms. Clara Oswald herself throughout Deep Breath.  Clara, during her run with Matt Smith, always seemed be to portrayed as a little too perfect.  One of the running complaints about Smith's era is that companions never seemed normal.  Amy was the Girl Who Waited, Rory was the Centurion, Clara was the Impossible Girl, and River, well, River was River and let's just leave it at that.  The Clara that walked out of the TARDIS with the new Doctor was no longer the Impossible Girl we knew.  She was flustered, she was petty, and she was pissed.  It was really refreshing to see.  We get to see new dimensions of Clara, like the fact that she is a control freak.  Her attempts to bring her world back under her control seemed very reminiscent of the ways that Doctor Who fans have responded to the changes that Moffat had made to the show.  No doubt intentionally so.  Clara's coming to grips with the new Doctor mirror the audience's same struggles, ending with a fantastic and timely cameo by Matt Smith to put most of the tension and doubts to rest.  I also like the fact that we got to see a flashback to Clara's time as a teacher at Coal Hill.  I know her job at the school is going to be an important role in the rest of series so it nice to see a nod towards it in the premiere.  I know several people that felt that flashback was awkward and out of place and I can see where they are coming from.  The flashback did take me out of the moment a little, especially since a poorly timed commercial break was placed right after it.  However, I think it also shows a lot about what I like about this new Clara.  Through the flashback to her first time in a Coal Hill classroom, we can see Clara pulling from her past experience away from the Doctor in order to help her in extraterrestrial circumstances.  One could say that all we are as humans is a collection of the experiences we've had, the people we've met, and the choices we've made.  To say that the Doctor chose Clara for who she is is to say that he chose her because of the unique set of experiences she has had and her ability to gleam the importance of those experiences.  Clara is now important to the Doctor not because she is the Impossible Girl that died twice, but because of who she is as a person, her ability to survive, and her strength of will.  I don't know about you, but I found that extremely cool.

Now, how about the Doctor himself.  I said before I found the introduction to the Twelfth Doctor to be a little rushed and confusing, but I by no means meant to imply that Peter Capaldi's was anything but intriguing, exciting, and completely scene-stealing.  He has yet, in my opinion, to completely distinct himself from his predecessors, not that this necessarily Capaldi's fault.  The writing has kind of giving him a combination persona, full of bits of Eccelston's intensity, Tennant's charm, and Smith's child-like wonder, which is fine by me.  I understand the necessity of having a familiar feeling character to ease us viewers into Capaldi's new style.  Fortunately, Capaldi's style is a marvel to behold.  He shows us a killer combination of tremendous depth, incredible potential, and a nice chemistry with Jenna Coleman.  Capaldi already feels at home as the Doctor, exuding a kind of confidence in the role that, like David Tennant, comes of being a long-time fan of the Doctor.  Deep Breath, while unfocused at parts, is completely geared towards showing off Capaldi and the role he has as the new Doctor.  Many of the questions I have had concerning the Twelfth Doctor have been mentioned or addressed in Deep Breath, giving me hope that they will be answered.  Why did the Doctor take up a face he had already seen before?  Why did the Doctor become older?  What about Gallifrey?  I have no doubt that, with Capaldi's expertise and experience at hand, Doctor Who can be molded into a show that is worth beholding.

Summary:  As a whole, "Deep Breath" is little more than the casing for Moffat's Peter Capaldi showcase.  The story is presented as a load of "Doctor Who-y" bits strung together with little thought to flow and cohesion.  However, the entire episode has an intriguing, dark premise and does not fail to provide opportunities for its characters to shine.  "Deep Breath" is not perfect, nor is it the next Moffat masterpiece.  However, anchored by Jenna Coleman's charm and Peter Capaldi's impressive debut, "Deep Breath" is an entertaining and memorable round with our favorite characters that overcomes some of its flaw to excite us with the possibilities Capaldi's trip in the TARDIS will hold.

7.5/10

OK, round two!

"Into the Dalek"

What impresses me most about Doctor Who as a piece of storytelling is its abilities to go anywhere and do anything and get away with it completely.  There really is no impossible with the Doctor.  Whether its some alien goings-on or some wibbly-wobbly timey-whimey witchcraft, everything is explainable within the Doctor Who universe.  This opens the door to some amazing possibilities, and, as a writer, this kind of concept can literally make my mouth drool.  That being said, the moment I heard about the plot of "Into the Dalek," I could feel a tense feeling of worry being mixed in with my excitement.  And, after watching the episode itself, I think I know why.  The concept of being shrunk down into a Dalek was a practical inevitability for Doctor Who.  I'm sure the writers have had the idea sitting on the back burner from some time now.  It just seems like the next logical step for a villain that has been done so many times.  Unfortunately, I feel that this is exactly why "Into the Dalek" does not live up to the potential the premise has.

OK.  So, before I being to take a big fanboy crap all over this episode, let me detail the things that I thought were really great about this episode.  Firstly, Danny.  I like Danny and what he means for the rest of Season 8 going forward.  Sure, we got a fairly brief introduction in this episode and, sure, it wasn't the best characterization either.  We know that he was a soldier.  OK, cool.  The Doctor has fraternized with military figures before with UNIT.  But why is Danny a teacher now and why is a hardened former solider tearing up in front of a classroom of his students?  I don't really know, but this mystery, combined with a fine performance by Samuel Anderson, makes a compelling character in my book.  Moreover, think about what a new male presence not only in Clara's life but also on the TARDIS will mean for the show.  I think Whovians everywhere can agree that Matt Smith's career as the Doctor really took off when the wry personality of Rory was added to the Doctor-Amy dynamic.  So far, the Twelfth Doctor and Clara have been portrayed as equals in an intellectual and emotional sense, similar to the Eleventh Doctor and Amy in the early bits of Season 5.  I feel like the inclusion of Danny with be equally as welcomed as Rory's and offer up a different dimension to the Doctor that we didn't know we wanted.  Plus, Clara needs a man, you know?  I mean, sure, there first meeting can basically be summed up as "hey, we are both kinda awkward and extremely attractive, we should date," but, as a little side plot to the main storyline, I was very satisfied and am very excited to see the moment Danny boards the TARDIS for the first time.

Alright, now, for starters, let me be clear.  I'm about to get real picky and maybe a little heavy-handed with my wording when talking about this episode.  This is just the fanboy in me getting a little angry and rattling the cage.  You all know how people can get on the internet.  These are my off-the-cuff first impressions of "Into the Dalek" and, if history is any example of the future, I could completely change my mind about this episode after watching it later on.  I'm still waiting for this to happen with "Victory of the Daleks."  I don't know.  Maybe I just don't like Dalek episodes.  Anyways, the disclaimer is over.  I just want to cover my bases in case I write something I regret later.  Cool?

"Into the Dalek," in my refined opinion as a two year veteran of being a Whovian, is a complete and utter cock-tease.  As I mentioned before, my excitement for the episode was crippled a little by some nagging doubts, and, in the end, I was still disappointed.  My initial fears revolved mostly around the fact that the inside of a Dalek could not be recreated properly on a weekly Doctor Who budget.  But, for what is was, I feel that a satisfactory job was done in this regard.  The use of color and lighting was especially nice and something I look forward to in future episodes.  However, some of the other fears I had going into the episode were surprisingly deadly in their accuracy.  I had the feeling that "Into the Dalek" would fall prey to the same mistakes made in "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" a season before.  The concept of going inside of a Dalek is just so open and so full of possibilities of what to explore that the writers simply stuck to a simple linear storyline to avoid any complicated pratfalls.  And, while this sort of storytelling does make an episode simple and easy to follow, it also makes the episode wicked boring.  An example of what I mean here: the moment the Doctor, Clara, and the team go through the Dalek eye stem and into the body of the beast, they pop up right next to the faulty memory altering device that is so crucial to the plot later on in the episode.  I mean, it is like three steps away and its the only thing that is a different color in the "hallway."  It really doesn't get much simpler in pointing out that the device is going to be important later.  This sort of simplification makes it easier for a viewer to follow the linear progression of the narrative but becomes super repetitive and downright insulting to the viewer's intelligence after an entire episode full of this "point-and-click" progression.  Oh, so these antibodies come around when one of the soldiers shoot one of the extremely useful harpoon guns?  Gee, do you think that will come into play later when the Doctor and Clara get into a tight spot and more dramatic tension is needed?  I mean, I could've written this episode, and that's saying something.  Just because I like screenwriting doesn't mean my scripts are particularly ready to go to screen.  I don't deserve a worldwide audience and neither does this episode.  Yeah, I'm real salty right now.  Deal with it.

Another thing that bugs me is how the writers, when given such a unique premise, took so much inspiration from previous Doctor Who episodes.  I mean, the "antibodies" were ripped straight from the Teselecta in "Let's Kill Hitler."  The comparison was so obvious that I thought for a second that Clara was referencing the Season 6 episode when she saw the antibodies until I remembered that she wasn't even in the show yet.  It was clear that "the most dangerous place in the universe" was going to have some sort of defense system, but to literally call them antibodies and have them hover around and shoot lasers at intruders, I mean, really?  There was nothing else we could do?  To make matters worse, the Dalek antibodies are cheap knocks to boot.  At least with the Teselecta antibodies, there was some system with the red and green lighted wristbands to know whether or not someone was safe around them.  I still haven't been able to figure out how the Dalek antibodies knew which of the crew had fired the harpoon gun that hurt the Dalek in the first place.  If they had been able to determine that, why didn't they zap the rest of the soldiers for having harpoon guns too?  Or the Doctor for having a sonic screwdriver?  Or Clara for having long fingernails?  This sort of convenience is excusable in cases when the suspension of disbelief is secure, but, in this case, it serves as nothing more than a cheap excuse to trick us into feeling emotional when the other female soldier as to sacrifice herself for the Doctor, Clara, and Blue.  It is extremely manipulative thing to do and downright lazy in my mind.  

And all this on top of the fact that "Into the Dalek" practically begs us to compare it to Season 1's "Dalek," with the reveal of the Dalek in the cold open and the musing about the Doctor being a "good Dalek."  Let's take a moment to compare the two of these real quick.  I can distinctly remember the fear I instantly felt when the Dalek was revealed and the Ninth Doctor reacted to it so harshly.  I had no idea what a Dalek was at the time or its long history throughout Whovian lore.  Even so, this single Dalek put more fear into me than any army of Daleks have done in follow episodes.  And "Into the Dalek" is no exception to this.  There was not a single point during the entire episode that I felt that the Doctor or Clara were in any real danger, despite being in the "most dangerous place in the universe,"  In fact, for most of the exploration of the Dalek, Clara just seems happy-go-lucky and the Doctor smug about being about able to lead the expedition through the Dalek so efficiently.  How does the Doctor know so much about the inner workings of a Dalek anyhow?  And, if the Doctor knows, how do the soldiers that have been studying the Dalek know so little about its innards?  Could they not detect the radiation and deduced the problem without the Doctor?  And, if the Doctor knows so much about the Dalek memory altering device that makes the Daleks so evil, shouldn't he know that repairing the radiation leak would reset everything to normal?  I mean, I saw that "twist" coming a mile away and I'm just sitting here eating Mike and Ike's.  

Normally, I'm not so ticked off by plot holes in Doctor Who episode, especially since they are unavoidable in most cases.  But, when the entire premise of the episode is founded upon missing and incomplete information, I really can't stand for plot holes.  I mean, who are these soldiers that the Doctor is teaming up with?  We know that they are fighting the Daleks so we should consider them good guys.  But they were extremely willing to kill the Doctor without blinking an eye and then, for some reason, allowed him to get back into his TARDIS and go and fetch Clara, without fearing he would just fly away forever.  Obviously the Doctor would never do that, but the commander of the soldiers seemed far from convinced before the Doctor showed up at Coal Hill. There was also talk about the Doctor being a "duplicate" or a Dalek spy.  They clearly suspected the Doctor and had little trust in him throughout the entire episode.  For his part, the Doctor did little to gain their trust other than save Blue and offer to explore the Dalek.  In the broad scheme of things, the Doctor got most of the soldiers killed by inciting a Dalek fleet and revealing the soldiers' location to them through Rusty.  But, I guess everything worked out in the end, so all is forgiven.  I get that this is television and that we need resolution, but the resolution just feels so cheap when it isn't earned.  I mean, do we even know what the Daleks are doing fighting these soldiers anyways?  I feel somehow that the Daleks, being the big bad of the entire Doctor Who universe, would have better things to do after being blasted out of the sky by the Eleventh Doctor in the "Time of the Doctor" than wage a war of attrition with these seeming alligenceless group of soldiers.  Gosh, am I thinking too much into this?  Does it bother anyone else that such basic contextual information is just completely left out for no decernable reason?  Maybe I just really don't like Dalek episodes...

Well, I guess that this is a good time to remind you that I don't think that everything in this episode was crap.  Peter Capaldi is as brimming and exuberant as ever as the Twelfth Doctor and I really did appreciate the fact that the writers are letting the Doctor get really dark.  That kicker at the end with Rusty seeing all the hatred inside the Doctor, while well-tread territory in Tennant's and Smith's tenures, was played beautifully by Capaldi.  It was an absolute joy to see the Doctor have a sort of unpredictability, especially since the story was so vanilla.  The relationship between Clara and the Doctor is as fresh as ever with Clara serving this time as the Doctor's conscious, leading him away from his hateful tendencies in a similar way that Donna worked with the Tenth Doctor in Season 4.  Clara's confidence was a much needed light in the bleak landscape of "Into the Dalek" and I feel much better about Clara's role as a companion than in the previous season.  I just can't wait to see more of her and the Doctor next weekend.

Summary:  While we can relish in Capaldi's dark interpretation of the Doctor, "Into the Dalek" fails to make the Daleks something to be feared once more in the Doctor Who universe.  Instead, the episode is filled with a truck load of lazy writing and unjustified emotion manipulation that not even the fantastic chemistry between Capaldi and Coleman can completely save.  I fear that the introduction of Danny Pink may be forever buried beneath this forgettable mass of an episode.

4.5/10

Welp, that all went on much longer than I had planned, so congrats to anyone who read that whole thing without wanting to punch me in the face.  If you somehow found something enjoyable in all of that, you are in luck because I plan on writing a Whovian Review on every episode this season.  Despite my opinions on the first two episodes, I'm thoroughly enjoying Peter Capaldi's first season as the Doctor and am looking forward to what lies ahead.  And, as an unrelated side note, I will be writing more Cowboy Bebop blogs as soon as I get back to watching episodes.  Whenever that is, ha ha ha... mumble, mumble....

As always, thanks for reading everyone! 

Cowboy Bebop: This Time With Feeling (Review of Episodes 6-10)

Hey everyone!

I'm back with some more things to say about Cowboy Bebop!  I'm five episodes deeper into the show and I can definitely say that Cowboy Bebop just keeps getting better!

But, before I dive in, I want to talk about something interesting that has come up in my conversations with other people since starting this show.  There are some interesting stigmas surrounding both the genre of anime animated television shows and the influence that Eastern culture has had on Western culture and vice versa.  I have told many people how much I have been enjoying Cowboy Bebop and their reactions have been of a varying degree.  All of the following are 100% barely paraphrases responses I have heard from people I know concerning Cowboy Bebop:

"It sounds cool, but... Anime?"

"Cowboy Bebop is a decent show but it is too Americanized to be a true anime."

"Why aren't you watching Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones or something American?"

"I just can't get into that Japanese stuff, but if they make an American remake I'd watch it."

"Wait?  The main character is a guy?  Isn't anime all naked girls and stuff?"

I guess I never realized the walls that stood in between Western and Eastern culture that would make people so hesitant to take a chance on anime.  I really have no reason to judge because it wasn't until recently I was able to drop my proclivities and give anime a chance, and I have found the entire genre to be something that everyone should at least look into.  I think that most people make the mistake in thinking that anime itself is a single and particular type of genre when, in reality, it is just a specific art style, like CG or rotoscoping.  Anime televisions and movies are composed of a diverse amount genres, just like their American counterparts.  Sure, most of them consist of a lot of similar elements, such as sci-fi themes, scantily clad women, and overly dramatic plot lines.  But thinking that these elements define the anime genre as a whole is like saying that all American shows consist of explosions and gory murder.  Just because the most popular shows in America share similar elements doesn't mean they all are the same.  The same goes on across the Pacific.  Cowboy Bebop for example, does not have an overly-accentuated sexuality nor does it feel particularly foreign in any way.  By having its setting in the future and far removed from the planet of Earth, the show removes a lot of the traditionally Japanese elements in favor of more universal themes and emotions.  This is the same reason that Firefly had the appeal that it did and still does.

That being said, Cowboy Bebop is a Japanese show and it is very much grounded in Eastern culture.  The anime art style is much different than most American animation styles, focusing more of ambience and atmosphere than fluid motion and synchronicity.  The structure of the show (the premise, the characters, the themes, the plotlines, etc.) are all based on Eastern conventions and archetypes.  The shows has an emphasis on the more "mystic" elements of life such as luck, fate, and the future.  There is literally a scene in the second episode where the antagonist consults a random old man on the side of the road who claims to be able to tell him his future.  In the middle of a chase scene.  Because, you know, everyone does that.  Especially hardened criminals being chased by bounty hunters.  Right?  All of these element, as well as things like overly stereotyped Western characters, can be offputting to American viewers.

However, none of this should keep you, dear reader, from at least trying to watch Cowboy Bebop.  Both films and television shows in America have been embracing Eastern culture for years.  Take Quentin Tarantino for example.  Beyond the Kill Bill franchise, which is basically a love letter to samurai and kung-fu movies, Tarantino's signature non-linear storytelling, satirical snark, and sudden explosive gore are all traditional traits of Eastern cinema that have been slowly incorporated into American film and television.  It's pretty much everywhere now, from the twisting and unpredictable nature of Christopher Nolan's films to the beautifully atmospheric bent to films like the Life of Pi and Skyfall.  In reality, no one should really have a problem swallowing any adverse elements that Cowboy Bebop has to present.  The time of Karate Kid is over, ladies and gents, and incorporating Eastern elements in American entertainment is no longer a novelty.  And the same goes our friends in Japan too.  Animes and Eastern movies are getting progressively more American as well, with a higher attention to the details of action sequences and implementation of the "True American Hero" stereotype character.  Cowboy Bebop, and its American counterpart Firefly, are arguably the very definition of a combination of the East and the West into one fantastic package.  So, what I guess I'm trying to say is...  Check it out y'all!

Ok, stepping down from the soapbox because it's time to talk about the show!  And because I suck at transitions...  Ok, three, two, one, let's jam!

Ok, we all psyched now?

Overall, I think the last five episodes that I have watched really have bumped up the quality of Cowboy Bebop and have expanded the premise and the characters in all the right ways.  Let's hit these one by one.

"Sympathy for the Devil" strikes me as a clear example of the biggest gripe I have against Cowboy Bebop in general, which would be the miniscule length of the episodes.  The plot of this episode, involving an immortal crime boss and a magic bullet, is very interesting and has a lot of potential.  However, the story is strangled by the half hour limit and forces itself to rush to an unsatisfying conclusion.  Just when it was getting super interesting too.  Sigh.  However, the artwork, as usual, is a marvel, especially an impressive looking explosion towards the end of the episode.  And, while we do get to see the crew of the Bebop work sort of like a dysfunctional team, the lack of character development makes this episode feel like an empty waste of potential.

"Heavy Metal Queen" actually surprised me in some very good ways.  I find it very impressive that the writers of Cowboy Bebop took a chance in focusing an episode on a non-recurring character and even more impressive that the results were so fantastic.  V.T., a space truck driver and titular "heavy metal queen," is a deeply engaging and provocative character with her anti-bounty hunter stance playing delightfully off of Spike's off-the-cuff attitude.  It kinda makes me wish V.T. was a crew member on the Bebop instead of Faye.  I really haven't quite warmed up to her yet, but I still have a lot of Cowboy Bebop to do so.  The translation of trucker culture to the sci-fi setting was also an episode highlight, striking a perfect balance between homage and innovation.  The plot of the story, involving a scrawny bounty with a ship full of explosives, was merely a vehicle to get V.T. involved in the proceedings, but we do get to see the Bebop crew working as a semi-cohesive unit, which was nice.

"Waltz for Venus" is an interesting example in expanding the world of Cowboy Bebop.  Taking place in the future when other planets in our solar system are populated by humans, the show makes passing references to the unique cultures of these planets, but this episode is one of the first times that the culture of another planet plays an important role in the plot.  I'll try not to spoil too much but Venus' atmosphere of peace and tranquility counteracts the manic and crazed action of the episode.  The plot, revolving around a gangster and his blind sister, is actually quite humorous, with Spike playing sensi for the young gangster and teaching the art of fighting.  However, I was slightly soured by the tragic turn the episode takes at the end not only because the episode length does not justify such a twist but also because it feels like we were tricked into liking a character for no good reason.  It was more depressing than cathartic.  Still, the background art was super and served as a nice backdrop for the action.

"Jamming with Edward" might be my favorite episode of Cowboy Bebop so far.  It introduces both the final member of the Bebop in the eccentric and childlike hacker Ed and also gives a little backstory of what happened to Earth in this version of the future.  Earth, while still being fairly technologically advanced, has become sort of a backwater planet and more like the dusty frontiers that we would imagine being part of the westerns that inspired Cowboy Bebop in the first place.  What is even more interesting is that the episode has a little commentary on the materialism and violence of our culture as, in the Cowboy Bebop future, all the population of Earth has been forced to live underground due to global wars and excessive use of satellites.  The introduction of Ed feels completely natural and much of the episode is dedicated to showing and expanding her character, which is more than they have ever given Faye.  Ed is clearly supposed to be the "super cute" element of the show due to her youth and quirky personality and the cuteness can get to be a little jarring at points.  However, Ed's intelligence and childlike wonder give a great balance to the cynical and sometimes melodramatic attitudes of the rest of the Bebop crew.  The episode manages to pull off two parallel storylines, one involving the Bebop crew trying to find a criminal guilty of graffiti on a planetary level and the other involving Ed discovering the identity of the criminal.  The technique is impressive for the short episode length and makes the episode all the more enjoyable.  The quality of the artwork is also at an all time high with an intriguing cyberpunk bent when describing how Ed sees life and a breathtaking spaceship flying sequence to boot.

"Ganymede Elegy" brings the long awaited Jet-centered episode with fantastic result.  On top of revealing much about Jet's past as a cop on the planet Ganymede, this episode is also noteworthy for how refreshing of a take it is on the typical "Casablanca" formula.  The story starts out with Jet reconnecting with a long lost love and finding out that she is in trouble, but the writers let the story reveal more about Jet's loyalty to Spike and about the man that he is rather than having it suck him up in a stereotypical lost lover role.  I honestly have much more respect for Jet after seeing this.  Like in the way that I have respect for other actually people in reality.  The episode makes that much of an impact, especially in that unflinchingly tense ending scene.  This is another episode that shows that Cowboy Bebop can work wonders within its half hour time limit.  It almost reminds me of Community in the way it manages to cover so much surface in so little time.  I have a feeling that this is Cowboy Bebop finally reaching its long awaited potential and that it will only get better from here.

So that all for now guys!  As usual, thanks for reading and stay tuned for more Cowboy Bebop!

See you space cowboy...

Cowboy Bebop: In All the Familiar Ways (Review of Episodes 1-5)

Hey everyone!

Yeah, it's Cowboy Bebop!

So, first of all, a shout out to my buddy Jared McClenahan for the full-hearted recommendation of this show and the genre of anime in general.  It has been something that I have been attempting to get into over that past half year or so, and his recommendation of Cowboy Bebop has me headlong in the deep end of the anime pool.  So thanks man!  This is all your fault!

Now, for those of you not familiar with the premise of Cowboy Bebop, let me enlighten you.  Before watching, most of the things I had heard about the show drew parallels to Joss Whedon's Firefly, which is a heavy check in the plus column in my mind.  After seeing the first five episodes, I can say that the comparison is justified in many awesome, awesome ways.  Cowboy Bebop, like Firefly, is a space western, a story set in a time when space travel is commonplace but contains motifs of the western genre of fiction.  Both show also feature a diverse cast that serve as the oddball crew to a spaceship travelling from place to place across the universe.  Like the crew in Firefly, the crew of Cowboy Bebop are motivated by more than one thing in their trek across space and every character has personal motivations that clash with their fellow shipmates.  However, both Firefly and Cowboy Bebop are productions of their sectors of the world.  Firefly is heavily influenced by the tradition American telling of the Wild West and the concepts of independence and freedom.  Cowboy Bebop paints a much less deeply romantic view of the "travelling through space because I have no home" concept, making its heroes much less heroes of fortune than heroes seeking fortune.  If that makes any sense.  I will just keep writing and hopefully I will circle around and finish that thought later.

Now, the main character of Cowboy Bebop is Spike Spiegel, a stylish bounty hunter that travels around in his ship the Bebop with his crewmate Jet Black.  Spike flaunts a Han Solo level of confidence in the face of almost certain death which makes him an unpredictable and engaging character to watch.  His pretty boy looks hide a cunning mind and a trigger finger that is not afraid to fire with deadly accuracy.  He also hides a past that is, as of the fifth episode, just now starting to crack the surface.  Much like Firefly's Mal, Spike is clearly meant to be a larger than life character that maintains the role of anti hero despite having many flaws in his personality (his inability to trust and his cynical overconfidence being chief among these).  However, unlike Firefly, Spike is only character so far that Cowboy Bebop has taken time to expand upon.  

Jet is an entertaining sort of buddy character for Spike, reminiscent of the Fantastic Four's The Thing or Firefly's Jayne without the arrogance.  But Jet's character, as of the fifth episode, is basically left at that.  He's the straight man for all the humorous shenanigans that Spike gets himself into and also serves as a guiding light for Spike, keeping him on track and focused on the job at hand.  I'm hoping for, and full-heartedly expecting, a few Jet-centric episodes in the future that will expand more on his character, his relationship with Spike, and the story of his past, as it is clear that he has no idea about Spike's past at all.

Two other members of the Bebop crew are introduced in the first five episodes of the show and both are odd and interesting characters for a space western series.  First is Ein, a corgi and so-called "data dog" that is brought on board the Bebop after Spike tracks down a man that stole him from a group of scientists.  The exact nature of Ein's role as a "data-dog" is not clearly defined but he seems to have an incredible amount of intelligence for a dog, shown being able to drive a car and understand human speech.  As of yet, Ein, after is debut episode, has remained on the Bebop and has appeared in a precious few scenes.  However, he has a lot of potential to be a mascot of sorts for the Bebop crew as well a mystery that can be cracked over the course of the show.

The other member of the Bebop crew that is introduced is Faye Valentine, who on the surface appears to be the typical Japanese anime eye candy (you know, with the BOOBS).  However, her character does have a few more layers than that.  Faye is equal parts rival to Spike, outsmarting him and outplaying him on several occasions, and love interest for Spike, though Spike seems to have been in a previous relationship that has left him scared and unwilling to progress in any relationship at this time.  Faye is a very engaging character as she has a con artist-like like tendency to turn on a dime and talk her way into and out of any situation.  She seems fully motivated by amassing money and keeping herself entertained, but her willingness to put herself in harm's way for Spike seems to reveal some alternative motivations on her part.  I would not be surprised if her relationship with Spike is tested throughout the series and results in a more platonic partnership.

Now the first five episodes as a whole begin sort of procedurally.  Each episode depicts Spike trying to track down a certain person with a bounty on their head and finding himself in a heap-load of trouble along the way.  This is certainly a great way to define Spike as a character and his role in the series as a bounty hunter, but falls a little short in creating a thread for the viewer to connect to the show and continue watching.  As I have mentioned, outside of Spike, many of the characters lack in the development department and waste potential as mere stock side characters.  They are engaging and well-written side characters, but side characters nonetheless.  The translated dialogue also doesn't help in this aspect.  The English dub of Cowboy Bebop is actually very impressive compared to what one would expect from a show of its popularity in Japan.  However, that does not prevent some of the translated dialogue from wandering into the realm of wincingly cliche, especially with side characters such as Jet and Faye.  I know that this is something unavoidable in dubbed animes but, as a man of dialogue myself, this really gets my goat.

However, lots about the shows Japanese origins is actually what makes the show such a unique gem in my eyes.  The animation, for example, is downright fantastic and hypnotic at moments.  The brutality of the opening episode looks almost enchanting and the fluidness of the flight sequences, especially in the third and fourth episodes, made me literally stop the episode and remove my jaw from the floor.  In the same note, the music of Cowboy Bebop is easily the best part of the show.  Here is a little sample:

This is the show's opening theme.  They start every single episode with this fantastic little piece of action/adventure soundtrack heaven before even getting into the main music for each episode!  It just gets me so pumped!  Wooo!  Anyways, each episode contains lots of bits of original music that help tie together the emotions and themes that each episode is trying to get across, may that be Spike's loneliness, Jet's enthusiasm, or Faye's savviness.  This attention to detail in the soundtrack has already made me listen to the entire thing several time over online.  It is definitely worth the time it takes to play attention to the background music as a lot of attention is being placed on its involvement with the main story.

As far as the episodes themselves go, the first and the fifth episode jump out as the best of the bunch of the ones I have seen so far.  The first deals with Spike and Jet's situation as starving bounty hunters and paints a beautiful and gruesome portrait of anger, murder, blood, addiction, and love as the story unfolds.  The ending is a killer, let me tell you.  The fifth episode finally begins to deal with implications of his past as an old mentor of his is murder by an old rival, causing Spike to jump headlong into action, despite Jet's worries about the danger of it all.  The episode really shines with having both Jet and Faye putting it all on the line for Spike as he deals with the return of the ghosts of his past.  The combination of a fantastic soundtrack and some brutal animation techniques makes the fifth episode the most memorable of the bunch.  The second episode is notable for its light-hearted fun and introduction of Ein, while the third and fourth episodes serve as an introduction to Faye and have some incredible sci-fi action set pieces.

Ok, so those are my thoughts on Cowboy Bebop so far.  Sorry it was so long and I am thoroughly impressed by anyone who has gotten this far without giving up.  Hopefully, my next blogs will be shorter as I will be focusing more on the episodes individually and less on the show as a whole, since I now have all the introductory character stuff out of the way.  Already, Cowboy Bebop has my stamp of approval and is recommended to anyone who is a fan of the space western genre and can withstand a little bit of "lost in translation" syndrome with the show's dialogue.

Anyways, thanks for reading everyone!  Be sure to look for part 2 of my Cowboy Bebop review!

Don't Call It a Comeback!

Hey everyone!

So, it's been a while...

Like kinda a long time...

It feels like forever since I've written a blog...

Do all y'all have like super long beards and stuff now?

No?

Anyways, I'm just popping back on this here blog site just to say that I'm going to be posting more things and stuff!  (muffled cheering from studio audience)

It's not going to be everyday and I'm not going to adhere to any kind of schedule right away because Lord knows that was quite an endeavor the first time.  I'm going to spend some time fine tuning the stuff I'm going to be posting on this here blog because I really am grateful for every single person reading this sentence right now.  Not just because you guys have an iota of interest in what I have to say, but also because every single one of you guys that are reading this have inspired my writing in one way or another.  I would feel extremely selfish if I did not give back in one way or another.  So, a blogging I will go again!

So, as usual, I have a lot of ideas about what I would like to post on this blog, but, as I mentioned, I need some time to think about what exactly I want to post.  So, for now, I'm going to be writing a posting a review series of the anime television show Cowboy Bebop!

For every five episodes or so that I watch, I will be posting a little review on my thoughts and opinions on the premise and progression of the show.  I'm already five episodes in and, from what I've heard about the show, Cowboy Bebop is going to be a fun ride!  I will probably be posting the first blog later tonight so, for all y'all that are just dying for something to do, that'll be there for ya.  This will kinda serve as a placeholder as far as content goes until I can figure out a new schedule for the blog.  So stay tuned for more as the weeks go by.

Anyways, all always, thanks for reading guys.  And, uh, have a happy Fourth of July too!

Top Ten: Doctor Who Fan Fictions I Can't Wait to Write

Hey everyone!

So, everyone kinda has an idea in their head of what to think when they hear the words "fan fiction."  In this day and age, fan fiction mostly involves a bunch of teenaged girls living out their not-so-innocent fantasies with their favorite fictional characters on paper.  Seriously, don't go to any fan fiction site on the net if you want to keep your childhood memories unharmed.  I think this is kinda sad really.  Fan fiction gets the bad rap of being smutty trash.  Granted, most of it is and some of it is actually well written smutty trash.  Most people that I tell that I like writing fan fiction always give me a similar look of derision.  Fan fiction is, at its core, just fans of a certain genre or concept taking the preexisting material and putting their own twist on it.  It doesn't have to be smutty, violent, or sexual in anyway.  Ok?  Can we all live with that?

That all being said, I like writing fan fiction.  Like a lot.  I have a collection of story ideas for just about every television show I like, and that definitely includes Doctor Who.  Everyone that has been around me the last few month might know that I have been accumulating over fifty fan fiction ideas for each incarnation of the Doctor.  Today, I've whittled down all my ideas into the top ten fan fictions I can't wait to write.

THE LIST

10. The Gift of the Trees

This is probably my favorite Ninth Doctor story that I have come up with.  It centers around the Ninth Doctor, Rose, and Captain Jack as they travel to the Forest of Cheem, the homeland of both the Tree People and the lion-like Lowen.  They discover that the two species are fighting over a human child named Aublan found in the middle of the forest that demonstrates fantastic supernatural powers.  I'm excited to write this story due to its combination of interesting story elements.  The Doctor and his companions will have to traverse the Forest in order to negotiate peace between the Tree People and Lowen which will give me a lot of opportunity to describe some alien environments.  Plus, it will be fun to describe the battle scenes between the two species and unfold the secrets behind Aublan and his powers.

9. The Ark in Space

The idea for this story came to me when I released that the Time Lords are in fact, to an outsider's perspective, an endangered species.  The Tenth Doctor and Martha get caught between two groups of extraterrestrials: the People of the Interface who want to preserve all endangered alien species on their Ark and the Hallmark Hunter who hunt the endangered for profit.  The Doctor has to team up with Gregory Millhouse, another alien that is the last of his kind who has been hiding out on Earth, in order to rescue Martha, who has been taken captive by the Hunters to draw the Doctor out.  I'm excited to write this story because I think it will be interesting to see how the Doctor will react when confronted with the fact that he is the last of his kind in such a direct way.  Plus, I have some very interesting ideas on how to characterize The People of the Interface and Gregory that will be fun to write.

8. The Last Dance of Captain Flannigan

This story is one of the first I came up with starring the Twelfth Doctor, Clara, and a new companion I created named Benny Ravenwood.  The three end up in Civil War times  and meet an Union Army captain that has gained immortality after dancing with a mysterious woman.  However, the Union encampment soon comes under attack by devilish creature that are seemingly the only thing that can killed Captain Flannigan permanently.  I'm excited to write this story because of the mysterious atmosphere it has and all the historical references I can make to the time period.  Captain Flannigan himself feels like an exciting character to write and I am interested to see how he will play off the Doctor, Clara, and Benny.

7. Fifty-Two

This story is primarily focused on the Eleventh Doctor and River Song as they attempt to help a group of thieves called the Gold Hoppers rob a casino in order to repay a debt owed by River.  Amy and Rory, meanwhile, end up at the same casino as they spend time with their new friends: an alien couple named Ero and Theela Lake.  The story will be filled with a lot of Ocean's Eleven and Mission Impossible style fun which is one of the reasons I'm so excited to write.  It will also give a window into the adventures that River has without the Doctor and what the Ponds do when not running around in the TARDIS.  Mostly though, I like the character ideas I have for the Gold Hoppers and their admiration of the Doctor and River.

6. The Doctor's Tale

This story idea came from Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in that it revolves around a group of travelers resting in bar who tell each other stories of their travels.  Each person discovers, however, that all of their stories involve a different incarnation of the Doctor.  Also, in each of their stories, the Doctor dies in the end.  River appears in the bar and reveals that she lead them all there in order to tell she need all their help to save the Doctor from a permanent death.  I like the concept of a multi-Doctor story a lot and like how this idea keeps all of the incarnations of the Doctor separate.  It will take some serious wibbly wobbly timey wimey nonsense to explain how this story will work, but I truly believe that this part of the fun of writing Doctor Who stories.

5. God From the Machine

I tried to pull out all the stops when coming up with ideas for solo adventures for the Doctors and this Tenth Doctor story turned out to be a fantastic inspiration.  The Doctor has to intercede in a civil war on the behalf of the Shadow Proclamation and is hooked up to a machine that will allow him to see the entire of the war from start to finish from the memories of soldiers.  The Doctor also discovers that the machine also contains the remaining consciousness of the the Face of Boa who helps him.  This story concept I think fits the Tenth Doctor perfectly so I am very excited to see how it works itself out.  Plus, I would really like to give some closure to the Face of Boe storyline.

4. The Baker Street Justice Society

This story just screams fun.  The Victorian Sherlock and Watson team up with a variety of Doctor Who characters to combat an alien invasion force composed of some of the Doctor's most feared foes.  This story offers ample opportunity for some hilarious culture clash and timey wimey accidents.  With the Paternoster Gang, Captain Jack, and Leela as the supporting cast, this story will bridge the gap between many classic and new Doctor Who story elements.  I am really excited to write this story for the Victorian science fiction fun and an opportunity to crossover with Warehouse 13's Helena Wells.  Plus, the Eleventh Doctor in Victorian England going by the named "Lt. Columbo" with never stop being hilarious to me.

3. Two Moons

This is another Twelfth Doctor story which takes place in my own imagined timeline in which the Doctor has been reunited with the Time Lords, although he has a tenuous relationship with them due to his long time away from them.  The Doctor and Clara are commissioned by the Time Lords to find a group of missing Time Lord ambassadors on the planet Manapore.  The Doctor discovers that the position of the two moons above the planet are transmitting the memories of the Master from a nearby Time Lord prison planet where he is being held.  The Doctor begins to experience the Master's memories and slowly begins to be taken over by the Master's personality.  This story makes me excited to put my own spin on the Master's back story and I think the premise is compelling enough to make it on the actual show as a way to reintroduce the Master.  Who knows, maybe I will write the episode myself?

2. Prisoners of Time

This is a multi-Doctor story on steroids.  Each regeneration of the Doctor meets an alternate version of Clara, including ones that seem to be integrated into already established aspects of the Doctor's individual canon.  The Eleventh Doctor notices that Clara is missing from his time and races to rescue her from being permanently scattered across time.  This story is arranged in twelve short segments instead of a fluid story so I will be able to practice writing each of the Doctors' individual personalities and idiosyncrasies in a contained format.  Plus, each situation in which one of the Doctors will meet Clara are unique from the next, ranging from a series of letters to being a piece on a chess board.  I think it will be exciting to see the story unflod since I don't really know the ending yet. 

1. A Stitch in Time

So the Doctor Who fan fiction I am most excited to write is this one about what happened to the alternate version of the Ninth Doctor and Rose that were created in the Father's Day episode of Series One.  Knowing they don't belong in their current dimension, this version of the Doctor and Rose keep to the outer edge of the known universe and become quite jaded space travelers.  It isn't until the build up of the paradox energy caused by his existence transports him into the lives of the Tenth and Eleventh Doctor that this alternate Ninth Doctor is forced to reclaim his role as the last Time Lord.  I am really excited to write this episode because I really want to have an introspective of the Ninth Doctor and his role in Doctor Who lore.  Due to Christopher Eccleston's reluctance be apart of the series anymore, I feel the Ninth Doctor has been secluded from the current Doctor Who fandom.  I would really like to bring him back into relevance.  Somehow.

Thanks for reading!