roaminganon

[roaminganon]

Meanwhile in the Doctor Who fandom

[roaminganon]

When it came to Highlander, Duncan was the head, Tessa and Joe were the heart, and Richie was definitely the soul.  Richie was the audience’s portal into learning about the immortal world, discovering it, learning about it, and learning to understand it.  From seeing it as outsider before he died his first death, then seeing him learn how to fight and come to master it, his journey was ours to watch.  When he was killed off, it really did seem to let all the air out of the series, it became a shell of itself.  I’ll always be grateful to Stan Kirsch for giving us such a great character who made us laugh, who made us cheer, who made many adolescent girls like I was attracted as heck as the years went by.  You will be deeply missed.  T_T

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My heart is broken today.  Richie was the heart and soul of Highlander for me.  Interest in him first drew me to the show.  I read a review of the second season in TV Guide in 1994 and heard how his character became immortal, so I started watching episodes to find where it happened, and got hooked (unfortunately, when it did air, a movie I wanted to see was on and I only caught the last two minutes).  I grew to love Richie, he was so funny and so charming, and Stan was a joy to watch.  When he became fit, he became even better looking.  I loved watching Richie develop, and I was devastated when Archangel came along.  It still pains me to this day to even think of the episode, and now it’s going to be even harder.  There are so many great Richie episodes- Family Tree, Eye for an Eye, Under Color of Authority, Prodigal Son, Line of Fire, Testimony, Leader of the Pack, Double Eagle, The End of Innocence, The Ransom of Richard Redstone- all episodes I really enjoy.  Seeing them again will be so hard.  

Rest in peace, Stan, you are among the angels now.  You and Michel Modo, Werner Stocker, Patricia Gage, and Myles Fergueson will all be missed here on Earth.

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Can I just say how PSYCHED I was by the latest episode?!?!?!!?  Even with all the seriousness, I was absolutely giddy when the episode was over.  I was excited, I was jazzed, I LOVED SO MUCH about the episode!  

Jodie put in a STELLAR performance from beginning to end!  Her submission to the Master quickly turning to getting the better of him, her anger at him during the confrontation on the Eiffel Tower, her devastation at Gallifrey’s destruction, her tender mercies toward Ada and Khan, her continued enthusiasm I’ve come to know and love so much since last year still there.  This was probably her best episode to date!!!!  

The fam was terrific too, with Ryan coming through in a clinch and Graham getting some cool-slash-hilarious fancy moves in the episode.  ^_^  I loved the nods to 10 too, with the Doctor’s instructions on the plane reminding me of Blink (at least they explained how she got the message through) and her speech at the end to the fam reminding me of Voyage of the Damned.  

I liked Ada and Khan a lot too, I loved how they may not have known what to make of what’s going on at first but still came through to help the Doctor.  I’m still a little iffy on the new Master, but the Eiffel Tower scene and the hologram scene were well done.  And dang, that Barton guy was so cold, killing his mother.  >:(

Overall, 10/10.  Loving it!!

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Can I just say how much I LOVED the season premiere of Doctor Who?  ^_^  Even with all the criticism against Chibnall’s era so far, I have LOVED almost all of his episodes, and the newest one was no exception.  A few notes:

-- The Doctor and Graham definitely had the best material in the episode.  I had to stop the video to laugh my head off at Graham’s “Worst Uber EVER” line.  I also liked his reaction when the Master finally convinced him that yes, the Doctor was indeed a man.  I guess even Stephen Fry couldn’t convince him until that point, LOL.  And I am SO glad they finally had someone mistake Graham for the Doctor, I waited all last year for that!  ^_^  Now if we could just finally hear the Doctor’s new alias name, that would be great.

-- Jodie is still fantastic.  <3  I love that she had such a mix of drama, comedy, and horror in the episode to work through, and she did great at each one.  I really felt for her especially when she realized that her old enemy is back.  You could feel the pain.  I also just love when she straightens her bowtie like 11.  ^_^ They also did some really good lighting on her in the scene where she confronts Barton, she looked so pretty.

-- I loved the drama of the car takeover, plus the motorcycle chase and plane chase!  It reminded me a lot of Pertwee’s last serial (just minus the water chase).

-- I’m not sure about the new Master yet, but he may grow on me.  He did a good job at being both nice and evil, I’ll give him that.  I liked when his house/Tardis showed up outside of the plane, LOL.  And the Doctor should have definitely been clued in when he criticized her Tardis instead of delivering the bigger on the inside line, LOL.  Also, yay for bringing back the tissue compressor for the first time in the modern era.

Overall, 9.8 out of 10.  I can’t wait for Sunday.  ^_^

[roaminganon]

I am loving these trailers for season 12, I can’t wait for it to get here!!!!  :)  A few thoughts on the new one:

1. LOVE the nod to 11 with the bowtie grip, and I loved that it’s combined with 13′s scroonch.

2. I’m loving that we’re seeing so much drama in the trailers.  ^_^  I loved season 11 as it was, but I’m glad they’re including stuff that will make more fans happy.

3. Gotta love the Doctor always trying to be hip, from 10′s pop culture references to 11′s social awkwardness to 12′s hoodie, and 13 is using textspeak like “fam” and “kisses” (that cracked me up ^_^ ).

4. Anyone else think it’s more of a trend than a coincidence that both of Jodie’s openers so far use “fall” in the title?  No, I’m not talking about any so-called “fall” in quality, it’s just great to me.  I just mean, if there’s going to be a nod to James Bond, there’s any number of dozens of Bond movie and unused Bond book titles they could have parodied, and they choose one with “fall” in the title.  Hmmm.

[roaminganon]

The trailer for season 12 has me SO HYPED!!!  I can’t wait to see what Jodie and the crew have in store for us this upcoming season.  I’m even more psyched that the next new episode is finally just over a month away.  I love that there appears to be a lot of drama, the bowties are back (PLEASE let her say Matt’s iconic line!), Judoon and Cybermen are back, it looks so great!!  I’m also psyched to hear that Goran Visnic is going to be a guest star this season.  It’s too bad Alex Kingston won’t be guest-starring, it would be a great ER reunion for the two of them.

[roaminganon]

When everyone else is making the lady the Democrats ;)

[roaminganon]

My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Paris tonight with the extensive damage to the historic Notre Dame cathedral.  It was so much a part of the background for 60% of one of my favorite television series of the 1990s, Highlander, which filmed approximately 49 episodes over six seasons (plus one in the spinoff) just downstream of the cathedral.  I hope the structure IS able to be rebuilt like they say.  It would be a tragic loss if it were gone forever.  T_T

[roaminganon]

My most recent comic for The Nib! You can read my other Nib stories here. 

instagram / patreon / portfolio

[roaminganon]

I am so happy that Rosa and Demons of the Punjab have gotten award nominations.  They were two of the best episodes of season 11!  I don’t care what some people think, I love season 11 and Jodie!  ^_^

[roaminganon]

You know what sucks? When Tennant channels past doctors and is very similar to Four, people praise him. When Jodie channels past doctors, she is 'imitating' and 'not a Doctor at all'.

This is the first time I hear about this (Jodie being accused of imitating). I thought people complained that she “doesn’t seem like a Doctor” and is “too human”. Oh wait, no. I remember someone saying she makes faces like Tennant, is that it? (As if other Doctors are not known for their glorious facial expressions.) These people should make up their mind, I guess: is Jodie copying others, or is she not like the Doctor at all? You can’t have it both ways, ffs. 

To be honest, I wouldn’t say Ten channeled Four. Well, in certain aspects, and yes, one could, perhaps, talk about similarities between the two, but that’s all. I think they are compared more because they are the two most iconic Doctors with some of the consistently best episodes that the show ever had. 

With Jodie, she seems to go for an incarnation of the Doctor who truly follows her predecessor advice (”be kind”). Her personality has so, so much sense in the context of what came before. It seems like a deliberate choice and it fits. Yes, I talked earlier about wanting to see her angry and her dark side, and to maybe has this kindness bite her in the ass, but Thirteen works very well in the context of what came before. She is very, very grounded in that sense. Idk what these people are talking about when they complain. 

I mean, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest that a woman is accused of copying, while a man doing the same thing (incorporating bits of previous character’s incarnations) is praised for his performance. I can totally see that, and I can see people doing Olympic-level reaching to justify this bias. 

The point is: Thirteen looks and feels like the Doctor, because she is the Doctor. There are 13 (14?) of incarnations before her, and she takes from them, but is her own person. Just like, you know, every other Doctor. 

[roaminganon]

Two things are guaranteed to get me blubbering if I hear them on the radio:

1. Christmas Shoes

2. Dust in the Wind

It’s been over 25 years, but the Highlander fan in me still gets misty-eyed over that tune.  T_T

[roaminganon]

The romantic in me really wants 13 to have a reunion with her wife in her new body.  After all, River did say that 12 reminded her of her second wife.  I hope River does come back during Jodie’s run!  

[roaminganon]

I’ve seen some people losing their minds online about the news in the New Year’s special that UNIT has been shut down because their finances are being investigated.  Yikes.  They think that an institution of the show that has been around for 50 years is going to evaporate just like that?  I’m betting the Trump wannabe from the arachnids episode is to blame.  UNIT probably threatened to shut him down because of the mutant spiders and he retaliated with the investigation to keep the news from getting out and ruining his Presidential ambitions.  Lord, just because Chibnall’s changed a few things around onscreen and behind the scenes doesn’t mean he’s tossing everything that’s come before in a dumpster fire.  I’m sure UNIT will be around for generations to come.

[roaminganon]

I can’t believe that it’s just two days till the last new episode for a year, but I know I can handle it.  Jodie has been a brilliant Doctor, the cast has been terrific, almost every episode (except the spider one) was great, and I’m looking forward to what the New Year’s special brings.  At least until the next season begins, I’ll have this site and fanfiction to keep me going until she returns.  Also, happy new year, everyone!

[roaminganon]

I can’t believe that the 11th season of Doctor Who is just about over.  It has been an amazing year.  I’ve become so emotionally invested in Graham and Ryan’s evolving relationship, how they and Yaz work as a team together and with the Doctor, and how Jodie has grown into her role over the last nine episodes.  It’s been an amazing ride.  People may still complain over Jodie, but a lot of people have come to appreciate her, and it makes me feel better among the negativity.  So much of this season has been funny, and enjoyable.  While it had its weak points- notably the spider episode- I’ve enjoyed the ride.  I can’t wait for the season finale and the New Years special, but I just wish the season could have been longer.