Doctor Who: The Rings of Akhaten

Doctor Who and The Rings of Akhaten

          In last nights episode of Doctor Who, titled The Rings of Akhaten, The Doctor once again encountered themes of religion, science, and love.  This time, The Doctor and his new and very mysterious companion Clara (she's died twice already, but doesn't seem to remember/be the same person) find themselves on a planet that worships and sings to a god (actually an alien) to keep it asleep.  The real meat of the episode came with Clara's backstory, where we found out the importance of a leaf (it set up the meet-cute between Clara's parents) and that Clara's mother died, but not before promising she would always find Clara.  There is significance in learning Clara had a normal upbringing, considering the mystery surrounding her.  I could feel the theorists heads churning throughout the episode.

         Here is why I love even the less exciting episodes of Doctor Who-the show always gives you something deeper to chew on and encourages you to not only think and question with your mind, but also your heart.  Whatever your believes, Doctor Who forces hard thoughts.  For example, yesterday's episode questions the origin the universe and the commitment of faith.  While I can disagree with some of the theology and theories of the show, I appreciate that it isn't afraid to go into the deep and dangerous depths. That's just it though.  The Doctor's companions always question him, so of course the viewers (who are a sort of companion on The Doctor's adventures) should question him and the show.  I'm grateful Doctor Who respects the intelligence and depth of its fans.  Keep it up Doctor Who, we'll follow along, just be prepared for questions.

Doctor Who: Monks and Motorbikes are Cool

Doctor Who The Bells of Saint John

           Doctor Who fans rejoice.  The Doctor is back, and we have yet another strange thing to be afraid of.  This time, The Doctor battles malicious wi-fi which sucks you into an eternal cloud if you click on it.  Along the way he meets Clara, a modern nanny who wants to travel the world but stays where she is out of love for the family, who lost their mom.  Clara isn't as she seems, as Whovians know.  The Doctor has already met different versions of her, and in both stories Clara dies.  Well, not this time.  Using wit and a smidge of computer hacking skills, the Doctor saves himself a new companion and sets up the second half of the season as a great way to introduce the mystery of who Clara is.  It's refreshing to have a mysterious character other than The Doctor.  Jenna Louise Coleman is more than equipped to play the next companion. I only hope that Matt Smith stays on for a while longer.  Rumors are swirling about a departure next year.  For now though, Whovians rejoice, for monks, bowties, Jenna Louise Coleman and Matt Smith are all cool. Geronimo season 7! Get ready for the next chapter!

Inspector Spacetime

Troy and Abed at the Spacetime Convention

            The return of the beloved (though in danger) Community hasn't been perfect, but last week's Inspector Spacetime changed all that.  Community is all about spinning and referencing geek pop-culture.  Early on, its characters discussed their love of Inspector Spacetime, a celebration/parody of the 50 year old Doctor Who, a British show about a time traveling alien with a perchance for saving humanity.  In the most recent episode, the characters travel to a Inspector Spacetime convention.  The episode plays with the cult-following while highlighting the reason for the relationships of many of the main characters.
           Give Community a chance, especially now that it's in danger of cancellation.  At its worst it is still better and more endearing than most comedies.  At least let Insecptor Spacetime

Doctor Who: Winter is Coming

Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman

             Coming into the new Doctor Who Christmas special, especially knowing that the most recent beloved companions were no longer going to be there (Oh Ponds), I was anxious to see how they were going to pull off bringing in Clara, the new companion played by Jenna-Louise Coleman.  Last season, Coleman played Oswin, a modern girl who tragically and heroically died after realizing she was a Dalek.  How then, would the writers of Doctor Who bring her back from the dead?  While the episode only added to the mystery, it managed to offer some truly  terrifying carnivorous snow.  In no particular order the episode was an above par Christmas story for the following reasons.

1.  Matt Smith, the Doctor, grieved for the Ponds, but ultimately couldn't resist the call to save the world and don a bowtie, because bowties, quite like snow, are cool.

2.  The Doctor pretended to be Sherlock Holmes, which is a wink to fans of the BBC's other brilliant show Sherlock, which is also headed by Doctor Who show runner Steven Moffat.  If we can't have new Sherlock episodes until 2014, at least we get a bone.

3.  Gandalf played the voice of the evil snow.  I kept telling my little brother that the villain's voice sounded like Sir Ian McKellen, and was very happy to verify my guess with IMDb.  I kept wanting the snow to shout, "You shall not pass!"

4.  Multiple times, the phrase, "Winter is coming" was uttered.  I love a good Game of Thrones reference.  At least, I really hope it was intentional.

5.  Did I mention that Gandalf was in the episode? That is pretty much the best surprise of all.

6.  The END!  When Clara revealed that she remembered being Owsin, I screamed.  Clara is full of such energy and stands to bring a new, shiny spark to the show.  Her pluck and brains, and of course the mystery surrounding her make her an ideal companion for the show.  As much as saying goodbye to the Ponds made me weep, it was in the spirit of regeneration.

I am so ready for the new season and all the surprises and energy it will bring.  Doctor Who is truly a wonderful Christmas gift, and this year's special was no exception.

A Very Who Christmas

Doctor Who and his new companion in The Snowman. 

            Ah Christmas.  A time for family, a celebration of the birth of Jesus, a smorgasbord of desserts and traditions, and oh yes, the debut of a Doctor Who Christmas special.  After the departure of Amy and Rory, the Christmas special is set to reintroduce the new companion.  As most whovians know, Oswin (Jenna-Louise Coleman) was already introduced at in The Asylum of the Daleks as a girl turned into a monster.  The question then is, who is she now and how did she survive to be the companion?  Will the Doctor meet her before she becomes a Dalek or after?  Will she be a totally new character who just happens to look like Oswin?  After all, the trailer calls her Clara.  The episode is entitled The Snowman (or Top Hats are cool), and appears to, in the tradition of Doctor Who episodes, make children and adults fear a seemingly innocent thing, in this case snow.  See the trailer here, and look out for it Christmas day. Also, enjoy this gif, I know I did.

Mark Williams: Best Fictional Dad Ever

Mark Willaims: Best Fictional Dad Ever

           I would just like to take a moment to point out how awesome Mark Williams is, or at least, how awesome the characters that he plays are.  Mr. Mark Williams recently appeared on Doctor Who, playing Rory Williams' (aka The Last Centurian, also known as the most awesome person ever) father.  Harry Potter fans, however, know him as the patriarch of everyone's favorite ginger family, the Weasleys.  Playing Mr. Arthur Weasley, he was in fact the father of my number two favorite ginger, second only to my actual mother.  How can anyone not love the father of Ron Weasley?  Because Mark Williams plays the dad of two of my favorite characters, he deserves his own Best Fictional Dad Ever mug, mouse pad, and commorative key chain.  After all, he has time traveled in a TARDIS and used a magic wand.

Doctor Who and the Weepy Weeping Angels

The Ponds

             I wasn't prepared.  I thought I was, but I was so horrendously wrong.  Tonight's Doctor Who Episode, entitled The Angels Take Manhattan sent me into a full out ugly cry.  My fellow Whovian little brother and I hugged, as all Who-lovers should, mourning the bittersweet end to the story of Rory Williams and Amelia Pond.  It is the nature of Doctor Who to reinvent and regenerate.  It's what has made the show last so long.  However, it doesn't make it any easier.  On a one to David Tennant's departure, this was absolutely  a ten.  (If you get that joke, you have excellent taste in British T.V. We should be friends.)

          The episode started out in the shady 1920's, where weeping angels, ancient creatures who send people back in time and feed off of life energy have taken over Manhattan, pose as statues of babies, mothers, and even the Statue of Liberty. If you look away, if you blink, you will be sent back in time. Everyone's favorite time travel The Doctor must try to rescue all of New York and prevent his companions Rory and Amy from dying in the process.  A mysterious book written by the always fabulous River Song guides their journey through flickering rooms and dark tunnels with terrifying moving statues.  The Doctor however, refuses to look at the last page, the spoiler, the end.  He doesn't do well with endings, and so he rips it out.  Stories, at least the best ones however, need an end.

         When a horrible truth is discovered-that Rory will be taken by the angels, dying alone and away from Amy-Amy like always refuses to let that stand.  She and Rory create a time paradox, sacrificing and saving all of New York in the process.  Just when it seems as though everyone will be fine, and no true end will come, an angel takes Rory back in time. His name appears in stone, on a tombstone in the present day.   Amelia Pond, the brave and fierce woman that she is, must say goodbye to The Doctor and River to join Rory, and live out their days together in a time altered world, a world the Doctor can never visit.  The Doctor, her raggedy man who gave her promises of adventure when she was a child and made good on them when Amy grew up, is forced to say goodbye.  Amelia Pond blinks and is gone, her name appearing on a present-day tombstone.

         Amy leaves one last goodbye to her Doctor in the last page of the mysterious book written by River Melody Song.  The man who hates goodbyes and endings, the man who ripped out the last page of the book, must find the page and find a way to say goodbye, just as he always has.  He loves like a human, but he is not one.  He lives on, loved and remembered by the Ponds, just as we will love and remember them.

          Oh, what a beautiful, sad, tragic, happy ending.  I'm beyond thrilled Amy and Rory spent their lives together, and didn't have a truly devastating end like Donna Noble (who forgot everything about her adventures), but I'm having trouble like The Doctor has trouble saying goodbye to the Ponds.  Oh, weeping angels.  Why are you so terrifying and awesome?  All you do is make everyone incredibly weepy?  I'm left sad over The Doctor, River, Rory's Father, all of them losing Rory and Amy.  I know the show will move on and be wonderful in a new and fantastical way, but for now, I'm going to be sad.  After all, to quote another Weeping Angel survivor, "Sad is happy for deep people."  (If you get that reference, you are my favorite person ever.)

Doctor Who, Dinos, and Harry Potter

Mr. Wealey, Doctor Who, and a Dinosaur of course.

              Episode 2 in season 7 of my favorite sci-fi show Doctor Who wasn't my absolute favorite.  Set in a spaceship that turned out to be an ark for dinosaurs, it featured the villain Solomon as a  too simply evil character who wanted to sell the dinosaurs, resorting to genocide to do it. The episode did have its shining moments, particularly when everyone's favorite time traveler spoke to his best friend and traveling buddy the sassy Scot Amy Pond.  The conversation foreshadowed Amy's coming departure from the show, perhaps even hinting to her death.
            All in all the episode was still a Doctor Who episode, so I liked it.  One beach scene in particular in the Doctor ran from pterodactyls was particularly epic and big-budget shouting.  However, after the stellar season opener which finally made me appreciate the usually ridiculous Daleks, the episode was a bit of a let down.  David Bradley (aka Mr. Filch in Harry Potter) played Solomon, and Mark Williams (aka Mr. Weasley in Harry Potter) played Rory's father.  Both characters were underused, though I did enjoy playing spot the Harry Potter star.  Next weeks episode features cowboys and cyborgs, which sounds like a rather fun hybrid.  I just hope we get to have more fun with Amy and Rory Pond before they leave the series for good.  As much as I enjoy the ridiculous stories, like dinosaurs in space, the real heart of the show beats for the relationships between The Doctor and his human friends.

Downton Abbey Plays Dirty

Downton Abbey Season 3

               If you have avoided Downton Abbey thus far, I am equal parts impressed and sad for you.  The brilliant British import about the twisted lives of the wealthy Crawley family and their servants hooked me last year when I marathoned through the first and second season.  Set in the 1910's and 20's, the series capitalizes on escapism drama with a heart.  Fans don't casually watch it.  They LOVE it and make an event of it when it finally makes its way across the pond to America.  Here's my problem.  Season three debuts in Great Britain Sept. 16th.  It doesn't come to America (via PBS) until January 2012.  In the age of the internet, it is sheer stupidity to not air shows in the same time frame.  Downton should take a cue from Doctor Who, a British show which now airs on BBC America on the same approximate day as in England.  I love Downton Abbey, which makes it all the crueler that I know England has it first, and for four months.  I feel the same way about Sherlock, another British import that airs months late in America. As a British television lover, I just think it's dirty.  Check on the new trailer for season three here.  The trailer features music from the choir used on The Social Network trailers.

Doctor Who, Doctor WHAT!!!!!

Doctor Who: The Asylum of the Daleks

               Doctor Who season seven debuted last night with a bang.  If you are a fan of quirky, fun, sad, hip, and intelligent television, you should be watching.  In the episode, entitled The Asylum of the Daleks, The Doctor, an ancient time traveler and the last of his kind, is summoned by his old enemies the Daleks.  Daleks are Doctor Who legends.  Creatures entombed in the robotic equivalent of a pepper shaker, they are all emotional hatred and destruction bent on destroying the human loving Doctor.  However, in the episode, they need The Doctor's help.  The very worst of the Daleks are kept on one planet, and though the Daleks hate to destroy their fellow warmongers, they ask The Doctor for help, sending him and his human companions Rory and Amy to shut down the shields of the Dalek prison so that it can be blown to pieces.
           
           I am a huge Who fan, but Daleks are not usually my favorite.  They shout exterminate a lot, and usually seem as threatening as the dinner table tool they resemble.  However, this episode made them truly ominous, giving them the power to transform humans into Daleks.   I will easily say it was my favorite episode where The Doctor battled them.  Rory and Amy, the beloved couple who have traveled space and time for the past two years with The Doctor added emotional resonance to the episode.  I was shocked when they revealed the two were getting a divorce, only to later reveal Amy was trying to let Rory go because she couldn't have children.  Fans know that mid season, the two will be leaving the show to be replaced by a new companion, but I am certainly glad they resolved their problems by episode's crazy good ending.  Amy and Rory have developed one of the most powerful relationships on television, and it would have been devastating for them to be apart.  (Even more devastating then their potential deaths!!!??)

         Speaking of the new companion, I was left screaming "WHAT!!!" at the television.  Jenna Louise-Coleman wasn't set to come in as the new companion Oswin until the Christmas episode, but Doctor Who never ceases to surprise.  In the episode, Oswin appeared on the Dalek prison, trapped in a ship for a year.  A fast talking genius with rapid fire humor, Oswin helps The Doctor and his friends navigate through Dalek territory.  When the time comes to destroy the planet, Oswin is the one to lower the shields.  However, the episode ends with the biggest shocker of all.  Oswin is revealed to be a fully changed Dalek.  She had crashed on the prison, but she had been turned.  Her whole little spacecraft is a fantasy she tells herself because the reality is to horrible.  (If you've seen Source Code, you know what I'm talking about).  Even though she is a Dalek, Oswin fights the urge to destroy, holding on to her humanity and saving them all.  Before The Doctor leaves, she asks him one thing.  "Remember me."  It was devastating and beautiful television.  Oswin certainly won't be forgotten by fans or The Doctor anytime soon.

      I can't wait to see the conclusion of Amy and Rory's story and to puzzle out how Owsin becomes human again so she can travel with The Doctor.  It was a blazing bolt of an episode.  If you aren't watching, don't worry.  There is a cure.  Watch this, then start at season 5.  The Doctor is in.

The Doctor Arrives

Matt Smith as The Doctor

                   Finally, BBC America has announced the release date of the seventh season of the cult hit Doctor Who, after what felt like a million specials and fake outs. Whovians gather round your T.V.s (or tellies if you are feeling particularly British) on September 1 for the return of everyone's favorite British time traveler.  This season is sure to be huge, with The Doctor's companions Rory and Amy (tragically?) leaving the show.  If the season is anything like the last two, it will be equal parts goofy and epic, with a dash of sad to make it even more fantastic.

Thor's New Villian is...

Christopher Eccleston 

       
        Thor 2 has cast a new villain to join Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in trying to take down the hammer wielding hero.  Christopher Eccleston is a household name to any Doctor Who fan, who knows him as The Doctor in 2005's reboot of the series.  Eccleston will play Malekith the Accursed, a character whose name makes you feel like you have a lisp if you say it out loud.  I can't wait for Conan O'Brian to get a hold of a spoof for it.
           According to Marvel lore, Malekith is the ruler of the dark elves in one of the nine realms.  He teams up with Loki to take over realms with infinite power.  To quote Eccleston from Doctor Who, I'm sure he will be a "fantastic" villain and a great addition to the already great Hiddleston.  Thor: The Dark World is in theaters November 2013.

Doctor WHEN?

         BBC 1 just released their new trailer for Doctor Who, Season 7, the cult-favorite show about an ancient time traveler.  It looks like a huge focus of the season is an almost western space odyssey, though any Doctor Who fan with half an ear on has heard that Karen Gillian and Arthur Darvill are leaving mid-way through the season.
         Doctor Who is all about regeneration, but many still mourn the loss of the beloved married companions Amy and Rory.  Is the trailer just teasing us when it shows The Doctor (Matt Smith) carrying Amy's lifeless body, or is something more deadly at play?  We do know that the Weeping Angels, the deadly creatures who rip out vocal chords, send you back and time, and torture you while they do it will be back.  Other creatures, like dinosaurs and the omnipresent Daleks are back to play as well.  The question is, will Amy and Rory leave the show happy and alive, or will the weeping angels kill them?  Poor brave and all around incredible Rory has died so many times, he deserves an award.
       All and all, it looks like a good season in store, though the emphasis was a little more on the monsters  and a little less on the deeper question: Doctor WHO? WHO is the man behind the crazy adventures? This could just be the result of editing for the trailer though.
        I will certainly be tuning in when it plays this Fall on BBC America.  I just wish they'd announce when it was coming.  What does Autumn mean to these people?  I am just going to pretend it means the absolute first day of Fall.  Watch the trailer here. If you have yet to watch Doctor Who, start on Season 5 on Netflix. It is a new start to a fantastic show.

Doctor Who?

         
       Doctor Who was not a love at first watching for me.  I watched the 2005 season's first few episodes, and was left confused and not overly committed to it.  However, BBC-America played a more recent episode featuring Matt Smith as the Doctor, and I found myself utterly hooked.  It featured Weeping Angels, creatures who were frozen whenever looked on by a living thing, but deadly killers if you even blinked your eyes.  With renewed interest, I set to watching the reboot of 2005 featuring Chris Eccleston as the Doctor, a powerful and ancient timelord who travels through time and space to help the humanity he so desperately wants to be a part of, befriended humans and fighting off creatures along the way.  It is both big and epic and  simple and silly all at once.  

        One of the key features of Doctor Who, and one of the reasons it has been around in England for fifty years, is because of its ability to regenerate.  The Doctor regenerates into different men, always staying fundamentally himself.  This allows for new actors to play him in new and delightful ways.  David Tennant took over in 2006, becoming the much beloved 10th Doctor.  He brought energy and heart to the role, allowing the Doctor to fall in love with his traveling companion and face an ultimate sacrifice with dignity and soul.  When Matt Smith became the 11th Doctor, there was concern he wouldn't live up to Tennant's performance.  However, Smith created a beloved nutty professor of a Doctor whose thoughts, actions, power, and love can't be contained.  Instead, they spill out of him in clumsy abandon.  Steven Moffat, who also runs the BBC's Sherlock, stands at the helm of the show, writing multiple episodes and creating a universe bigger than the Doctor.  
       Children and adults love Doctor Who in Great Britain.  The love has grown in America as well, with thousands flocking to Comic Con to catch a glimpse of Matt Smith and his human companions.  If you are a Doctor Who newbie, I'd recommend starting with Season 5 of the reboot, which is when Matt Smith takes over as the Doctor.  It is rather self-contained and easy to pick up from there.  If you become hooked, go back to Eccleston and Tennant, or even further back.  The Doctor travels through space and time in the Tardis, a spaceship shaped like an old-school police box.  It is, as the show loves to point out, "bigger on the inside."  I'd argue that the show itself is much, much bigger on the inside.
      Check out the trailer for Season 5 here.