They Come Runnin' Just As Fast as They Can

I really should have had something to say about this on Monday when the news hit.  But better late than never.  Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls - the Twelfth Doctor has a costume!

Fangirls - please remember to breathe!

What's more - the Doctor has been spotted out in the wild in his new digs!

(That's all I dare post without getting too spoilery. I was accidentally spoiled on a few things in my Tumblr activity this week, but I can't actually say that I'm sorry about it).

The comparisons to Pertwee have been all over the place, and I admit that was the first thing I thought of when I saw it.  But there's also an element of the Ninth Doctor to the outfit as well - probably with the shoes. Though, I confess, the only people I knew who wore Doc Martens when I was growing up were the super-snotty mean girls, so the association with the whole "rebel rock star" thing is lost on me. But if Twelve can erase those bad memories and give me fun new ones of a "Rebel Time Lord," then I will happily take it. Nevertheless, I think Capaldi looks pretty darn good in the outfit and I am quite pleased with it and I can't wait to fully see him in action! (and I'm anxiously awaiting what the cosplayers do with this one - I expect many pictures from Gally attendees!*)

Beyond Peter Capaldi looking quite dashing in the black suit (with the super-cool red lining, can't forget that!) - this means that filming has officially begun on Series 8! (yes, yes, I know it had started already, but seeing it like this makes it even more real - TARDIS and everything else going on). We're that much closer to new Doctor Who, folks!  Honestly, I thought I'd been burned out from the constant stream of Who-related stuff last year, but it's only the end of January 2014 and I'm actually missing it and I'm ready for some new stuff.  So, yeah - bring on Capaldi! September (or whenever) can't come fast enough!

I guess there's not much else to do except play the song.  You know which one I'm talking about...



*I am sad to report that I am not able to attend Gallifrey One this year. Car trouble and limited funds prevent me from making the trip this year. So, no Gally reports will be coming from this blog :(

Fighting Fire With Fun

So many apologies up front! In my defense, January is always a hellacious month and this year was no different.  But I'm back for more Airbending antics in...

And I feel even worse that I left this so long because when the show originally premiered, the first two episodes were aired as a one-hour special. So, I probably should have reviewed the first two episodes together (heh heh - oops).  But here we are, so let's get started!

From the very first moment of this episode, we see just how grim everything really is. The first episode showed how happy and light-hearted this show could be - but then we get a taste of the dark depths that it can go. Not too dark, mind (this is still early-days for a kids' show) - but this is a world at war. Sokka gets angry that Aang and Katara set off that signal to the Fire Navy - and Gran Gran (Sokka and Katara's grandmother) agrees that Aang needs to go. Katara, to her everlasting credit, nearly packs up and leaves with Aang, but Aang tells her that he doesn't want her to abandon her family just because they might have a chance at finding her a Waterbending teacher.

As the show goes on, I often have cause to wonder why the Southern Water Tribe let Waterbending become nearly extinct in their culture. I can't remember if it's explained later (and I do know that the Fire Nation attack plays a role in it), but it becomes clear just how important the Elements are to these civilizations. Even if most of the people aren't benders, the legends and ceremonies that have formed around the Elements (and especially the Avatars from the past) are so vital to cultural identity and balance in the world. Of course, the Southern Water Tribe is so very small - the men have left to fight in the war, leaving behind women, children, and the elderly to keep things going at home - so it could be that everything is just a matter of survival at this point. And it's really sad - especially considering how hard Katara tries to develop her Waterbending skills, but she desperately needs a teacher. It is suggested at one point that Aang could teach her - but Airbending and Waterbending are both so very different (the creators purposely did that - each Elements' benders techniques are patterned after real-world martial arts moves. They even brought in experts from various disciplines to consult during the animation process, which gives these abilities a much larger scope than "Wave your arms wildly and hope that something happens!" There's a definite feel of this being something that you develop, rather than you're just born with it and it suddenly works).

So, Aang leaves the village with Appa, despite Katara's insistence that finding Aang was a good thing - that the world may be a war, but it doesn't mean that everything has to be terrible and they can have fun and find things to be happy about.  Still, Sokka isn't buying it and Aang takes off.  But he doesn't get too far before seeing a Fire Nation ship coming in hot and fast toward the village. Meanwhile, Sokka, being the oldest boy in the village and a sort-of self-appointed tribal chief while the men are away, prepares the village for potential invasion - which more or less entails him standing on top of the wall around the village by himself (battle-ready, yes, but still by himself).

Battle-ready, yes, but still by himself. Have I mentioned how much I love this guy?

The Fire Nation ship breaks down the wall and the soldiers disembark - Sokka tears after them on a one-man collision course. Zuko basically side-steps Sokka's attack and demands to know where the Avatar is.

Except Sokka still isn't done. It's laughable how out-matched Sokka is against the military might of the Fire Nation. Even just against Prince Zuko - Sokka gets his butt handed to him (though not without landing a blow from his trusty boomerang - yeah, we all learn to love that thing).

Oh, Zuko - your pain is my hilarity (for the first season, at least).

In the course of all this, Aang comes penguin sledding out of freaking nowhere and distracts Zuko. At which point, Zuko drops the bomb that we the viewers kind of figured, but the characters hadn't quite pieced together - Aang is the Avatar!

But Zuko assumed that he'd be looking for an old man who'd had a century to train and perfect his skills. And, if you've ever watched any kind of anime that revolves around training and preparing for battle - whether it's Dragon Ball Z or Pokemon or even Yu-Gi-Oh (which is about a freaking trading card game, you guys), you know how seriously they take their training. It's flat-out hilarious how seriously these characters can be about their chosen skill set. And Avatar is kind of in that same vein. But there is one line that sets Avatar apart from those others, at least in tone. Zuko gives the requisite "I've been training for years for this encounter" schpiel, at the end he says "You're just a child!" And where those other kinds of shows would have seen the younger opponent get all huffy and put-out about being called a child, Aang instead stops, looks at Zuko and says "Well, you're just a teenager."

Friends, Avatar: The Last Airbender may look like an anime, but it definitely NOT an anime. And that deadpan acknowledgement that Aang and Zuko really aren't that far apart in maturity level, no matter what kind of deadly skills they employ in battle. They're both still kids with so much to learn about life and being people - not just about learning to fight with their elements.

So, Aang and Zuko trade blows for a bit and Aang realizes that he's endangering the Water Tribe villagers. He gives himself up on condition that they Fire Nation soldiers leave the people alone, which is another great bit of character about Aang. The Air Nomads were a selfless and peaceful people (their culture is based on Tibetan Buddhist monks) and Aang, as the last remnant of that culture, is no different.

But Katara and Sokka aren't taking this lying down. With the encouragement of Gran Gran - who admits that the reappearance of the Avatar is the first time she's had any hope for the world in a long time - Katara and Sokka set off in search of Aang (with added help from Appa, who got left behind).

Aang isn't doing too bad for himself, though. And we start to get a good idea of everything that Airbenders are capable of - the kid basically takes on the whole crew of Zuko's ship (except for Uncle Iroh, who's taking a nap), all of whom are Firebenders. And he almost escapes, except Zuko corners him.

RiffTrax makes fun of the movie version of this scene - just to show you can't compete with the original.

You know - you've just gotta watch the whole sequence. The animation and the attention to detail is just so stinking good. Like I said before, there's a rhyme and reason to how this all works - the bender techniques are based on real-world disciplines, which add realism and beauty to the animation. And it only gets better. During the course of their fight, Zuko pushes Aang off the side of the ship (just as Katara and Sokka have caught up).

How To Tell When Shit's Going Down in the Avatar-verse

Instead of drowning, Aang's eyes and Airbender tattoos start glowing and he pretty much unleashes a giant typhoon of Waterbending on the Fire Nation ship. Katara and Sokka land Appa and rescue Aang (not before Katara freezes some of the Fire Nation soldiers with her Waterbending). Zuko and Iroh (he's up from his nap by now) try to shoot down Appa, but Aang deflects their attack, which creates an avalanche that traps their ship for the foreseeable future.

You tried, boys. You really tried.

The episode ends with Team Avatar (for that is what I'm calling them from here on out) flying away. Katara gushing endlessly at how amazing Aang's Waterbending is, though he isn't that enthused about the fact that he did it. And you start to get the sense that being the Avatar isn't all its cracked up to be. Aang doesn't want to be the Avatar and he almost hates that he Waterbended (Waterbent? Not sure on that) his way out of there. There are reasons why he's not that excited about being the Avatar (which are explored later and we'll get there), but for now, we just know that he's a very lonely little boy who's just been given the responsibility of saving the world and… you know… he doesn't really like it.

You mean being the last best hope of the entire world isn't TEH GREATEST THING EVAH?

I love that the episode gives Aang the space to express that idea and not just rush off and insist that is OMG GONNA BE THE KOOLEST THANG EVAH! (it's Nickelodeon - that's what they usually do). In fact, the only thing that seems to cheer him up is the idea that Katara wants to go to the Northern Water Tribe to find a Waterbending teacher and that they could learn together. In this instance, at least, Aang doesn't have to be singled out or treated differently. He has a friend to do this with, which is the best thing you could have given this kid right now.

(And Sokka just wants to knock some Firebender heads along the way. Given the way the Fire Nation's treated Team Avatar so far, that's actually okay).

We can't leave without Aang's travel plans for the trip - rather than this being a hardcore strategy for fighting the Fire Nation, Aang wants to stop over at various locations to ride the hopping llamas and ride the giant koi fish and catch wild hog monkeys because... reasons.  Hey, this is the kid who wanted to go penguin sledding the first minute he broke out of an iceberg after 100 years - just go with it and love him for it.

After all - we need a little fun in this world.

***
Next Time -
Episode 1.03 - Stop Making Aang Sad, Guys!!

Previously -
Episode 1.01 - Penguin Sledding for Beginners

Penguin Sledding for Beginners

Hey, look - it's the first blogging project of 2014!

Marvel at my MS Paint skills!

Some years ago when I was in college, I noticed a new animated show on Nickelodeon. Now, I’d had a pretty rocky relationship with a once-favored TV network from my childhood at that point. They’d scrapped worthy shows like Doug, Clarissa Explains It All, and Legends of the Hidden Temple from their lineup in favor of crap like Spongebob Squarepants (it kills me that there is an entire generation of children who do not know life without that obnoxious little bastard). But this Avatar: The Last Airbender seemed pretty promising. It was interesting, at the very least. Sadly, school took up much of my time and the scheduling people at Nick were too braindead to give the show a consistent time slot and I couldn't find time to commit to it. Fast forward some years later when I’m out of grad school (Rejoice!) and have a somewhat regular day-job (Again I say - Reeeeee-jooooooiiiiiice!), I decided to give Avatar another go. Not only did I enjoy it, I mainlined that sucker like there was no tomorrow! I could not wait to get to the next episode (which, it was a good thing it’s on Netflix. At least, I think it’s still on Netflix. I haven’t had a Netflix account for some time). I found compelling stories, engaging characters, beautiful artwork and worldbuilding, and a mythology that so many fantasy novels would give their back covers for! I couldn't believe that a gem like this show had found a home on Nickelodeon, which has become arguably the most crass and idiotic network for children in recent years (given that it’s owned by the same parent company as MTV, I shouldn't be surprised).

Last September, I decided I wanted to watch Avatar from the beginning and review each episode in their turn. But since I was neck-deep in Librarian in the TARDIS, I decided to shelve the project until the new year. Well, New Years has come and gone and work is somewhat scarce (it always happens in January) and the snow just won’t quit (also always happens in January), now is a good time to begin. Yes, I know I am not the first to undertake such an endeavor and I'm certain I won't be the last, but I've read enough similar blogs to know that I think I have something new to bring to Avatar fandom, otherwise I wouldn't even bother trying.  Even if no one else says a word about it and it's just for my own entertainment and edification, at least it's out there.

A few things before I start: every review will be Spoiler-riffic, so if you’ve never seen the show and want to stay unspoiled, I’d advise you watch the episodes before reading my thoughts. Also, if you’re the type to think “Oh, gee - I don’t have the time to commit to three seasons of 20 half-hour episodes each, I’ll just watch the movie,” I would strongly advise you - NOOOOOOOOOOO! Not just because the movie is a slap in the face to the original material and not because fans of the show cringe at the very mention of it, but because it is such a horrible, terrible, awful, craptacular, mess of a movie. I would almost go so far as to say that it makes Batman and Robin look like Shakespeare. Terrorists could use it in their torture chambers, it is that bad. I would rather you give the whole franchise a pass than have to sit through that garbage. But the TV show is fantastic. I promise, if you make the time for it, you will be paid hundreds of times over in entertainment, enjoyment, and even personal enrichment (though I do understand that life gets busy and other things take precedence).

Also - a word to parents. I know that many parents have concerns over what their kids watch and if something is too crude or too violent or too annoying. If you have kids and you’re about ready to shoot that little turd from the pineapple and you’re aching to see your kiddos get hooked on something that wasn't squeezed from the same rectal cavity as Ren and Stimpy, I think Avatar will be a great choice (given the fact that I'm doing this blogging project, that probably comes as not-that-big-of-a-shock). It continually treats its intended audience (kids around ages 8-12) like intelligent people who can handle tough subjects, but without overburdening them with a lot of emotional intensity. It’s also very appealing to adults (Hello! 28-year-old single chick with a life and career here!), which makes it a great family show, or even a show that fans of good storytelling can enjoy. It has made a considerable cultural impact and it continues to be a hit - as evidenced by its sequel series, The Legend of Korra, which I may get to reviewing here at some point. But this is where it all starts -

All right then - let’s begin.

The show’s opening credits are a huge clue that this is not going to be your run-of-the-mill slapstick that you put on to keep the kids from killing each other while you make dinner. There is effort and care put into each frame of animation. Even the rich backstory is told in a way that shows the writers really wanted to tell a quality story in a way that kids and adults could connect to. Granted, the opening monologue in this first episode is a bit different from how things are handled later on, after key characters and plot points are introduced, but in style and tone, you pretty much know what you’re going to get from here on out.

The first characters we are introduced to in the show proper are Katara and Sokka, a sister and brother from the Inuit-inspired Southern Water Tribe out hunting for their village. Their mother has died and their father is off fighting the Fire Nation (the main antagonists in the show). They both seem to lead a pretty ho-hum existence, but we are quickly introduced to the concept of Waterbending (mentioned in the open credits, along with Firebending, Earthbending, and Airbending).  Katara is a Waterbender, meaning she can manipulate water to do what she wants it to do, but her skills are underdeveloped (it's not just "magic water," as Sokka dismisses it). We later learn that there is no one in her tribe to teach her how to properly Waterbend and there’s no way she can leave to find someone to instruct her. So, she’s pretty much left to her own devices.

Sokka is - well, Sokka is amazing. He starts out kind of as the comic relief, which you need in a kids’ show, but as the episode progressed, you see that he takes his duty as a warrior seriously. He’s a young kid (I don’t remember if it’s ever said, but I think he’s about 15), but he’s taken on an enormous responsibility to keep his sister and his tribe safe, a sense of responsibility that he tries to pass on to the younger generation (with rather amusing results). I admit, I didn't quite appreciate his unique blend of humor and seriousness at first, kind of thinking he was just a cynical pain in the ass, but over time he quickly became my absolute favorite character (along with another that we’ll meet later this season).

Katara and Sokka bicker as many siblings do, but this particular little tiff results in Katara Waterbending a gigantic iceberg out of the ocean.  They see a person with glowing eyes in the iceberg, which prompts Katara to break the iceberg open (as you do). When the ice breaks, a bright light shoots out into the sky, signaling to everyone around that Something Big is happening. A young boy falls out of the remains of the iceberg, accompanied by Appa, his Sky Bison that looks like it fell out of a Studio Ghibli production (which is NOT a criticism, believe me!).

So, big glowing light, strange boy surviving in an iceberg for x-number of years - you think this is pretty important?  Well, not as important as this boy's first words after being broken out of the ice -

“Will you go penguin sledding with me?”

Everyone, meet Aang. The eponymous last Airbender (and he doesn't tell you he's an Airbender, he sneezes and flies ten feet in the air - that's how you know). Also, the Avatar (though he pretends that he doesn't know what happened to the Avatar, but the show kind of makes it obvious that he's it). A 12-year-old (plus-or-minus a hundred years) kid who just wants to go penguin sledding and asks the first person he sees to go with him. My friends, you just witnessed the creation of one of the best animated characters in recent memory. I mean, it’s no spoiler to say that this boy has the weight of the world on his shoulders - whether or not he knows it at this point (here's a spoiler: he does). But he’s still a lovable, carefree, funny little kid with a great sense of humor and you just can’t help but adore him. Of course you see the gravity of his responsibilities and you realize that he’s often thought about the weight he must carry and that is a huge part of his character - but for now...

ZOMG - PENGUIN SLEDDING!!!

(Sorry - I can’t get over it).

Okay - so the Avatar is a pretty big deal (even bigger than that stupid Dances With Smurf-Gully movie that James Cameron plastered all over our faces whenever that was). In this world, the Avatar is the one person that can master all four Elements and must use these powers to restore/keep balance in the world. A hundred years previous to the beginning of this episode, the Avatar had completely disappeared and no one knew where he had gone. Ever since that time, the world has been engulfed in war - even the oldest inhabitants of this world do not remember a time when there was no conflict or fear from invasion. So, discovering an Airbender who may or may not know what happened to the Avatar is pretty damn huge!

Hot on the trail (sorry, bad pun) of the Avatar is the prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko. From the word "go!" you can tell Zuko has piles and piles of backstory.  He's not just some spoiled brat prince who gets to be the teenage antagonist of the show - though he kind of starts out that way.  His main mission (at least for now) is to find the Avatar for the glory of the Fire Nation.  There's more to it than that, but that's the basics of it and all you need to know for these first few episodes. Right behind Zuko is another favorite character, Uncle Iroh.  Iroh and Zuko's first scene together paints a beautiful picture of their relationship - they clearly have an interest in seeing the Fire Nation succeed at ruling the world, but have very different methods of achieving that goal. Zuko yells and barks orders at the world, Iroh wants to serve the world calming jasmine tea (you'll quickly find that Iroh loves his tea). With Iroh, at least, we get a sympathetic character from the Fire Nation and you start to get the idea that not all the Fire Nation people are so bad - though most of them are at this point.

Like many season openers in the Avatar-verse, "The Boy in the Iceberg" is actually the first of a two-part premiere.  After setting up the sweet, curious boy that makes friends with everybody, Aang and Katara go exploring other parts of the Water Tribe land and they find an abandoned Fire Nation ship.  Aang convinces Katara to go with him to explore, though Katara is reticent about it, seeing as it was an attack from the Fire Nation that killed her mother.  Aang hasn't quite got the hang of the idea that the world is at war, since he'd never heard of any war before he left home (quite a feat, seeing as the war has been going on for a hundred years and Aang is only 12).  Katara, using actual logic to solve a question that most live-action shows for grown-ups would take entire half-seasons to dink around with and then give a half-assed answer to (I'm looking at you, Once Upon a Time!), deduces that Aang must have been trapped in the iceberg for over 100 years. Understandably, Aang is shocked by this revelation, though Katara reassures him that they'll figure out what to do.

Except that has to wait.  Because moments later, they accidentally set off an old flare from the Fire Nation ship that, unbeknownst to Our Heroes, Prince Zuko sees in the distance.  Zuko sets a course for the Water Tribe village and we have ourselves a cliffhanger!

This first episode, while keeping things bright and light-hearted, serves as a beautiful introduction to a more complex world that the viewer is about to experience.  There is so much that I want to say about this show, but I'll save it for later reviews when it comes up.  Suffice it to say that I have never been more impressed by a show meant for kids than I have with Avatar.  And I hope that my reviews and analysis in the days and weeks to come will help others understand what is so remarkable about this story. Stay tuned!

***
Next Time -
Episode 1.02 - In which Stuff Gets Real from here on out (and never, ever stops).

You Can Blame Tumblr For This

Doing some late night Tumblr browsing and this classic little earworm came up on my dash. Naturally, it is now stuck in my head, so I'm sharing the insanity with you all - 

And if that wasn't enough, YouTube suggests this one as a related video (as if the internet couldn't get more perfect) -

The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

I just came from seeing Frozen and I really liked it - though I wished there could have been more from Elsa’s POV (beyond the fantastic song “Let It Go.” And I know this was more Anna’s story, but Elsa just fascinates me. Besides - she’s the eponymous Snow Queen, so why not?) So, here’s a short little fanfic that I just barely whipped up that takes place in the years before Elsa’s coronation (it’s pretty rough, but enjoy anyway) -

Elsa sat on the edge of her bed reading. She’d promised her parents to keep up with her studies. Ice powers or not, she would be queen someday and she had to know how to rule.

Her sister, Anna, sat outside her bedroom door again, always asking for Elsa to come out and play. But Elsa would never, could never do that again. Not after the accident. The accident that Anna didn't remember.

There were days when Elsa wanted to come out. To play with her sister, building snowmen and ice skate in the middle of summer. Just like they used to - turn the whole ballroom into a giant skating rink. But the streak of white in her sisters hair constantly reminded Elsa why that was a bad idea.

So, she read. And painted. And did needlework. And learned the names of nobles from neighboring kingdoms. It soothed her, kept her mind off other, darker thoughts. Over the years, she’d learned to take comfort in the quiet chill of her room. It’s what got her through her parents’ deaths. Certainly, people wanted to pay their respects and express how sorry they were - but the mere presence of people… people she could hurt or worse - people who could find out her secret and ruin everything with it.

She couldn't allow anyone to get too close. Not ever her sister - especially not her sister.

The clock chimed and Elsa set her history book aside. Time for something more entertaining. A fairy tale by some new author. A tale about a mermaid who had to kill the one she loved, but instead sacrificed her own life so he could be happy. Elsa tended to enjoy this one more than other fairy tales - the ones about “Happily Ever After.” She’d never have one of those. She couldn't. Anna would, though. Sweet, bubbly Anna would have suitors falling over themselves to court her, if Elsa ever got up the courage to open the gates to Arendelle. Maybe when she was finally queen, Elsa would open up the kingdom and let her sister have a chance at a happy ending. It was the least she could ever do for her.

A chill shivered through Elsa’s hand. She clenched her grip against the book she was reading and willed the sensation to go away. "Control, control," she muttered to herself. She could never, ever lose control - not for a second. She was a good girl - she kept herself in control. The chills would return, certainly. She was used to it by now. She would keep her sister and her kingdom safe from herself.

She would never let it go.

Happy Who Year!

Found this while I was waiting for Sherlock to air yesterday. Babelcolour updated his "Every Doctor Who Story" video to reflect the 50th Anniversary (and even expanded the In-Character Spinoff portion!) As awesome as the original is, this is even better! Enjoy!



(By the way - after watching "The Empty Hearse," I think I'm a fully-fledged Sherlock fangirl! Go me!)

2013 In Review - The Year of the Fangirl

2013 - The year for some really great memories. And here's hoping 2014 will only add to the pile of good things.

I guess it’s that magical time of year when we look back on the calendar year and (as long as nothing massive happens in the next three days) consider all the huge events that occurred.  I usually don’t do this because, well, it’s just a cheap way to make content.  The news media does it all the time as long as there’s (hopefully) no great natural disaster in a third-world country to do their fake hand-wringing about (come on - is there anything more insincere than a TV news anchor?)  Besides, there’s usually not much that I really want to discuss or even dig up from my past because it’s just too rage-inducing.  Plus, I never feel very connected to national or world events because I have such a low opinion of humanity in general and I know they’re all going to be idiots no matter what I do or say, so better to let them get on with the business of being idiots and maybe they’ll make enough rope to hang themselves with and I won’t have to do a damn thing about it (just because you may see feral dogs ripping each other’s throats out in public doesn’t mean you have to get in the middle of it to try and stop them. Words of wisdom, right there).

But you know, 2013 was one of my better years in recent memory - mostly because I decreed it to be the Year of the Fangirl and here’s the tweet to prove it:

HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'ALL!! #YearOfTheFangirl #HappyNewYear
— Chrissy (@wildcat_media) January 1, 2013

Meaning that I was going to indulge in fannish delights and let the world sort itself out (or blow itself up - whatever it decided it wanted to do).  I guess since 2012 was such a colossal disappointment, I was tired of having high expectations for the year and I was envious of the people who didn’t seem to care that things were going to hell - so I decided to be one of those people.  The result: The Most Fun I’ve Had In a Good Long While.

(People talk about how pessimism is so damaging and terrible, but I think it was the best thing I ever did!  What’s the phrase? Now that I’ve given up hope, I feel much better).

Giving Reality the finger, one fanfic and Tumblr reblog at a time.

Anyway, I didn't start this to talk about how horrible the world is and how much faith I've lost in humanity.  I started this to talk about how ignoring all that shit helped me find the good things in life and enjoy them more fully.  So, here is the myriad of ways 2013 - The Year of the Fangirl - was the best year in recent memory -

- I started out as part of the Yule Ball committee, in which the library system I work for hosted a Harry Potter Yule Ball for teens.  It was basically a Prom for the literary minded and I found myself wishing there had been such things for me when I was a teenager (and I have no idea how this happened, but I have no pictures of it, sorry about that). In fact, that kind of dovetails into something else cool that happened this year - ToshoCON. Admittedly, I was more involved in ToshoCON than Yule Ball, but it all served the same purpose to show me how my hobbies and my day job combine to be something really spectacular and just a lot of fun.  I’m in my element with fellow geeks (even if they are younger than me - hey, they help me keep my priorities straight) and we’re just having a fun old time. So, yay library life!

- Speaking of conventions - this year I went to not one, but TWO conventions! The first I’d had planned for nearly a year previous and that was Gallifrey One in Los Angeles.  Meeting best friends I didn’t even know I had along with meeting stars of my favorite TV show - what could be more fun? (maybe going two years in a row would do it - fingers crossed!)

Oh, I know! Having the announcement a month later that Salt Lake City would be getting its very own Comic Con!  And after all the success and fun of that initial con - it turned into two! Recently, they announced that Salt Lake Comic Con would be expanding into two annual events, FanXperience in April and the regular Comic Con in the fall.  After being kind of an anomaly in this little niche culture we have in Utah, it’s nice to be recognized and appreciated for the growing demographic we are (and telling the scrapbooker, the outdoor retailer, and bridal conventions to suck it doesn't feel too bad either).

- Movies and books are always a hot topic in my life and 2013 was no exception.  A Memory of Light closed out “The Wheel of Time” in spectacular fashion. I took on the Goodreads Challenge to read (and review on Goodreads) 100 books by the end of the year (which I accomplished in October - clearly, I need to set a higher mark for myself) and I found some lovely little reads (and some not-so-lovely, but that’s part of the fun).  But another book I discovered this year was Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (quite appropriate, don’t you think?)  And it’s all about fandom and being in a fandom and finding your way through real life while hanging onto fandom.  It’s perfect!

On the movie front - Marvel had some stellar entries with Iron Man 3 (shut up, it was good) and Thor: The Dark World. And count me as someone who actually enjoyed Star Trek Into Darkness (I guess I don’t have all the fanboy history to get all up-in-arms about whatever the problems were) and I did enjoy Man of Steel as well. Ender’s Game and Catching Fire were great too.

- Okay, so the BIG event of 2013 (and one that I spent extensive time talking about - not just here, but on Tumblr, Twitter, and on Traveling the Vortex through feedback) was the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who.  Between episode reviews/recaps and Librarian in the TARDIS and general geeking out over all things Who - I think that was a huge part of why 2013 was so great.  And the future of Doctor Who seems to be secure for the foreseeable future, so there will be plenty of wonderful delights to take part in soon - but the look back to the past this year was more fun than I can express.  Honestly, The Year of the Fangirl would not have been such a personal success without Doctor Who and for that I am extremely grateful.

So now, 2014.  I haven’t had a great track record with even-numbered years lately, but I’m ready.  The fangirling won’t stop and neither will the snark. So if you're expecting any of this to taper off... sorry - not happening!

And One Greeted Death Like a Old Friend

Below "The Tale of the Three Brothers," there are spoilers for "The Time of the Doctor" -



That was one hell of a regeneration!  But first - there was a story.

There are huge chunks of the Eleventh Doctor's tenure that we don't have accounted for, precisely.  Space between "The Wedding of River Song" and "Asylum of the Daleks" - plus all that time in Series 7 with the Doctor dropping off Amy and Rory and Clara and having adventures on his own.  I expect that Big Finish will have plenty of fun with those empty spaces when the time comes.  I only mention this because - it's almost fitting that we got something similar with "The Time of the Doctor."

I really loved this story.  We were introduced to the concept of Trenzalore back in "The Name of the Doctor," and it's right that Eleven gets to close that storyline out.  Give Twelve a fresh slate to work with and get down to business without having to clean up what was left behind.  But what I enjoyed the most about this is that it was treated like the Time War. Alluded to, mentioned, glimpsed at - but never shown explicitly. Ultimately, this story is about saying goodbye to the Eleventh Doctor - but not in an overpowering and intense way.  The flashbacks and small nods to the past are so perfectly placed within the story, just as fleeting reminders of what's come before.  As with the nods in this 50th Anniversary year, they are simply there to pay tribute and don't take over the actual story that's going on. Those little "kisses" (if you like) were just so perfect and wonderful.

We see the Doctor age and get old - spending centuries defending the town of Christmas. Probably the first time since his first incarnation that the Doctor actually got old and died. Clara pops back in and out (like the TARDIS has gotten used to this whole "Okay, Wednesday is Clara Day, so let's go get her!" Okay, maybe not really like that, but you get my drift).  The Doctor is ready to make his last stand and his last stand is supposed to be on Trenzalore.

But if we learned anything from "The Day of the Doctor" - indeed, if we learned anything from the Eleventh Doctor - it's that time can be rewritten and nothing is set in stone.  Not even the Doctor's gravesite.

This is Matt Smith's moment and all praise and gushing goes to him. So often, the Eleventh Doctor is described as an old man in a young man's body. Well, this time we saw the old man come out for a short time. Matt is going to go far in his acting career, absolutely zero doubt in anyone's mind (well, there better be zero doubt. If you have doubts, I'm coming after you with a stick!) No matter how he looked, he was still the Doctor (even with his head shaved - that was a clever little lampshade-hanging moment). Clara knew it and I knew it and everybody knew it.

And the regeneration - you know, I listened to today's Verity! Extra and something that got brought up was how much kids in particular have latched onto the Eleventh Doctor. When Ten regenerated, I was a sobbing mess - mostly because he was a sobbing mess (kind of).  But Eleven - Eleven was ready to go. And because he was ready to go, his fans (and I'm thinking of kids in particular) can be ready to let him go.  Yes, it's sad - yes, I shed a few tears (just like Clara did). But Eleven's time is up. He's lived a good long life (even if we'll have to wait to see... well, hear it) and he's happy.  His life wasn't a live-fast-die-young sort of thing that's happened so many times in the past. He had so many laughs and joys and heartbreaks and he's done. Even when he thinks he's used up all his regenerations... nope, Gallifrey peeks out through the cracks and says (in essence) - okay, here's some more golden-sparkly-stuff - go do your thing!

 But then - WHAM! And there's Twelve! No prolonged shower of gold sparks, no bonfire, no screaming - just... there he is prattling about the color of his kidneys and how do you fly this thing?

(And poor Clara is there thinking "Oh shit - now what?")

Other things -

- Wow. Gallifrey came back sooner than we expected!  Even before we knew it had come back.  That's what the cracks in Series 5 were about (wonder how much of this is Steven Moffat thinking it out in advance or if he just thinks of cool things at first and then figures out how to use it in later stories).

- On that note - all the explanations for all the strange things throughout Matt's era were there. Explained and gone and done with. And oddly - I'm okay with that.

- Clara Oswald is an English teacher at Coal Hill School. There is nothing I don't love about this.

- The Cyberman's head is named "Handles." And the thing kind of reminded me of K-9. Why does Eleven keep making friends with things he should be scared of? (Because he's the Doctor - that's why).

- The Doctor just happens to have the Seal of Rassilon from "The Five Doctors" in his pocket.  Because of course he does.

- I had a tough time settling on a title for this blog post. But I remembered the line from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows about greeting death like an old friend.  And just now, I was looking through my notes and I said something about the Sontarans having an invisibility cloak on their ship - so there's some serendipity for you.

- "Ten had vanity issues." You know, when I heard that Moffat was counting that as a regeneration, I wondered how he was going to explain that so it didn't sound half-assed. But that line made it all okay.

- The Oswald Family Christmas. Most. Awkward. Christmas. Ever. But I liked the poem in the cracker that Clara read to the Doctor later.

- The clock struck twelve when the Doctor's regeneration blasted all the Daleks. Yeah, yeah - someone's gonna bitch about the nuclear regeneration energy. But the way I look at it - the Time Lords sent it direct, they might have built in the explodey-ness of it all - I'm okay with it.

- He takes off the bow tie and drops it to the floor right before he regenerates. The Feels.

- Though I am glad that he got his young face back before he regenerated. I just wanted to see his face as I knew him best before he had to leave.

It still hasn't quite settled in that Matt's actually gone and Peter Capaldi is actually the Doctor now. I have about eight months to get my head wrapped around that fact. I might even rewatch "The Time of the Doctor" later and still not accept it. Then again, I might watch it later and burst into big, fat, messy tears. I never quite know. I did watch BBC America's "Farewell to Matt Smith" before "The Time of the Doctor" (it's really nice being home for Christmas with my parents' satellite TV) and I was getting all choked up during that. I've said it over and over again (especially on Tumblr) that I'm just not ready for Matt to leave. But I am grateful to him for his part in making Doctor Who a huge success. Not just a commercial success (though that is extremely important) - but a success with individual people. And when I say "individual people," I mean "me." Sure, I started with Eccleston and went onto Tennant and then to Matt Smith when I first started watching Doctor Who - mainlining and all that. I started watching around the time that Series 5 was finishing up it's premiere run. Eleven was still very new to everyone and I wasn't sure he'd unseat Tennant as my favorite (and then I latched onto Davison and we all know how that turned out). But I will say this - if Matt had not been as good and wonderful as he was, I don't know that I would have continued watching the show. Doctor Who would have been just another show that I once watched on DVD because I was bored, but I never followed in real time (I do that a lot).  But between the stories and the characters and Matt's performance as the Doctor, I kept coming back. And Matt kept impressing me and making me fall in love with his Doctor. The same Doctor who has kept me going through some very dark times, even since that initial impression. Words will never adequately express what this show means to me, and that is due in a very large part to how Matt played the role. I may never meet Matt in real life, but I would like to just tell him how thankful I am for what he's done and wish him nothing but the best in future.

Thank you, Raggedy Man. For landing in a little girl's backyard - for not standing back and watching her cry - for making her laugh - for being her friend - for taking her hand and yelling "Run!" - for taking her through all your incarnations and feeding her love of stories and adventure and fairy tales. Because of you, she's going to be just fine. Through all of time and space - things will be okay. And it's all down to you.

You just watch us run.

Christmas is Coming!

Okay, we'll just say I took December off (hey, 2013 was a busy year and I needed a break!)  But I didn't want Christmas to go unnoticed, so have some Muppet shenanigans for this lovely holiday week -



I will be back later this week with thoughts (and tears) on "The Time of the Doctor," so fret not on that score - and here I realize I never posted the trailer (ugh - December. Blah), so have it now -



Okay FINE! There's this thing too -



I'M NOT READY, DAMMIT! *sobs*

Anyway - I do have some things in store for the new year, Who-related and otherwise, so keep watching this space. In the meantime, have a safe and happy Christmas!

(please don't go matt...)

Meeting Your Heroes

Title: Assisted: An Autobiography
Author: John Stockton with Kerry L. Pickett
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Publication Date: October 2013

Synopsis (from Goodreads) -
John Stockton's autobiography, Assisted, pulls back the curtain on his very personal life to show fans a thoughtful recounting of the people, places, and events that have connected with John along his path of extraordinary success. This book clearly illustrates the importance of his family, his faith, and his unparalleled competitive spirit.

My Review:

Well, I wasn't alive for the Kennedy Assassination and 9/11 was still some years away - so here's my ultimate "Where Were You?" moment in history (fast forward to 5:14) -



May 29, 1997 - It’s late. My sister, Emily, and my brother, Mark, and I are all in our pajamas ready for bed. But none of us are sleepy. Mom’s gone to my Grandma Johnson’s to deliver her birthday gift (it’s Grandma’s birthday). My two youngest sisters are... somewhere (at ages 3-and-a-half and 2, they were probably in bed asleep. Or maybe Alison was there jumping on my parents’ bed with us and little Shalayne was probably with my mom. Hey, some details just aren't that important). Dad was watching us, but he was on edge just like us kids.

2.8 seconds. That’s all that’s left in the game. The Houston Rockets had scored to tie the game at 100 points apiece and the Jazz had possession of the ball and the lead in the playoff series (barely - damn Eddie Johnson). A quick timeout and the TV switched to commercial. My twelve-year-old brain mentally calculated “We’re either going to score or the game’s going into overtime. We have a good chance of winning either way. We’re either going to score or go into overtime.”

Of course, this “we” business didn’t really mean much in the long run. But they were my Jazz from the word go. And even at my tender years, I felt part of the moment. Everyone in Utah did (well, except for those boring old hipster douchebags who thought that cheering for the hometown team was too far beneath them and opted instead to cheer for scum like the Los Angeles Lakers. Whom the Jazz had dispatched from the playoffs weeks earlier, I might point out).

The game came back on and we scurried back to my parents’ room and onto the bed, eyeballs glued to the TV screen. The announcers said... something, I don’t remember what. All I saw was a line of purple uniforms waiting to inbound the ball and another line of white uniforms trying to disrupt it in any way they could. The ref handed the ball to Bryon Russell, who passed it in, starting the clock. Everything happened so fast - the clock ticked down, John Stockton got the ball at the three-point line, that one dopey announcer said “Uh-oh,” Stockton launched the ball over Charles Barkley, the ball went in, the clock ran out...

And our house went ballistic!

The kids jumped off the bed and ran around the house. Dad ran after us, high-fiving and cheering. Our celebrations mirrored those taking place on the court in Houston. With that one three-point shot - a shot I had seen John Stockton make hundreds of times on TV and I could only dream of ever making - my fandom life tipped over into a brand new watershed, though I didn’t know it at the time.

The Utah Jazz - scrappy, basic, clean-cut, fundamental little team that they were - were headed to the NBA Finals. And we fans were ecstatic!

***
To say I've been a fan of the Jazz my entire life - well, that begins to paint the picture, I guess. My earliest childhood memories are sitting on my grandmother’s lap with a big bowl of popcorn watching Jazz games on my grandpa’s big screen TV with the sound muted and the voice of the Jazz, Hot Rod Hundley, giving the much-higher quality play-by-play from the radio (when I was little, we had three-and-a-half channels and none of them carried the Jazz games, so we went to my grandparents’ house to watch. It was quality family-bonding time before the family all went batshit crazy. Well... before I realized how batshit crazy they were). As I got older, my Jazz fandom only increased - from playing in Junior Jazz (the little league basketball program the Jazz organization sponsors) to saving newspaper clippings of important games to devouring the monthly HomeCourt magazine. Even learning how to draw the Jazz logo so I could decorate my notebooks at school (in purple and teal, of course - none of this crappy powder blue nonsense). And from the word “go,” I had two basketball heroes - Karl Malone and John Stockton. The best basketball players ever to pick up ball and no one could ever convince me otherwise (I even traded an $80 Michael Jordan trading card so I could have a special Stockton-to-Malone print that wasn't worth near as much - an incident the boys at school never let me live down, but I didn't care. Michael Jordan had enough people fawning over him - he didn't need my adoration).

So, when John Stockton’s autobiography was announced earlier this year, I was ecstatic! Here was a guy who I admired for his basketball abilities - but also for his integrity and honor off the court. When I’d watch post-game interviews, he always struck me as a good person, someone who didn't get off on showboating or fame or celebrity - which, being from a down-to-earth rural background in a down-to-earth rural state was so much more appealing than all that flashy crap from LA and Chicago. Plus, Stockton was a quiet leader - something I identified with even as a kid. He didn't have to be the center of attention to make an impact on his teammates and community - he just showed up, did the job, set a good example and that was that.

Don’t think that didn't make an impression on a farm girl from Middle-of-Nowhere, Utah.

However, as I read Assisted, I found more and more that I really didn't know a whole lot about my hero. I did appreciate the insights into John’s childhood and how he came to play basketball. A lot of what he describes is in the vein of “And one thing led to another and suddenly, I’m in the NBA” (okay, okay - there was more to it than that). But, I guess is just how life goes for most people (though, without the part about playing professional basketball. Mostly). The whole thing reads the way I remember Stockton’s post-game interviews on TV - down-to-earth, no-nonsense, tell it like it is. He’s here to play ball and all that extra stuff doesn't matter - even though the media seems to think it does. And it’s just the perfect glimpse into the life of a guy who I've never met, but who made such an impression on my life that’s really difficult to put into words. I mean, I cried when he retired, but I knew that it had to happen eventually. Just didn't think it would be the same month I graduated from high school (oh, how life bookends itself sometimes). And watching Jazz games just isn't quite the same without the Old Guard anchoring the team (oh here, listen to me waffling on like an old lady, pining for the good ol' days of my youth).

This isn't so much a review as a reflection of my memories of watching the Jazz as I was growing up. I’m still a fan of the Jazz, but life has taken me elsewhere - far from that scrappy little twelve-year-old who tried to mimic Karl Malone’s footwork in the driveway, in hopes of someday playing in the WNBA (Ha! I barely made the JV squad my senior year of high school. I had much more confidence in my abilities than were actually there. The regrets and failed opportunities of my life could fill several volumes).

MY POINT IS - that this was a fun little read that let me revisit some of my own happy memories of cheering for the Jazz in those wonderful days of the playoffs and winning seasons, but also to gain insight into a remarkable man who happened to be one of the greatest basketball players ever. Someone who didn't care who got the credit, who embodied the spirit of competition, and who was just a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

Back to that night in '97 - Mom stayed at Grandma’s house to watch the end of the game. When the game was over and everyone’s excitement had ebbed to the point that normal conversation could be had, Grandma turned to Mom and asked “Now, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Mom handed Grandma the wrapped birthday gift. “Happy Birthday, Mary. Though, I think John Stockton gave you the better birthday present.” (Grandma agreed - though that was just Grandma's way).

***
With the modern-day emphasis on glitz and glamour and fame in pro sports, I don’t think there will ever be another player like John Stockton to make it to the big leagues. On one level, that makes me sad, since I learned so much from watching him (and the rest of the team, let’s be honest) play and there are probably tons of kids out there who could do with some positive role models. On another level, it makes the time that he was playing that much more special. Magic Johnson gives way to Michael Jordan gives way to LeBron James gives way to... who the heck knows? (Jabari Parker, perhaps?) But there’s only ever going to be one John Stockton in the history of hoops. And maybe that is as it should be.

There Are No Words Witty Enough to Headline This

After that wild and crazy weekend, I needed a few days to let the adrenaline rush go and calm myself.  But I would be sorely remiss if I never said a word about "The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot" written and directed by My Doctor, Peter Davison (for all his self-deprecation in this, he really is the best ever Doctor and no one can convince me otherwise).  Just... watch -

(And because there's something in the HTML code that hates me, the damn thing won't embed. Seesh - would it kill the BBC to put this on YouTube or something? Oh well - here's a direct link to the page)

You know, I'd been run ragged by Saturday night. Running the emotional gamut - even before "The Day of the Doctor" aired, I was bouncing around the house in preparation of watching the episode.  Then actually watching the episode and writing up my thoughts about it and then squeeing over it for four hours with my friends Rachel and Brittany over on Google Hangouts - I was drained (and that's not even counting the emotionally harrowing experience of An Adventure in Space and Time). But I appreciated having this little palate cleanser of humor that was still Doctor Who-related.  I can't think of a more perfect little treat to cap off the most remarkable day in Doctor Who history and fandom.

Now, I'm off today on adventures in family and turkey (and I'm probably in for some teasing this week from the relations - at least, the ones who follow me on Facebook and have likely seen all my fangirl flailing there over the past week.  Eh... I deal with it).  So, everyone celebrating have a happy Thanksgiving break and I hope you're all recovering nicely.  I do still have plans for next year. There will finally be a break in my Doctor Who flailing and I'll be able to get some new things in my notebook - some children's and YA book reviews as well as movie and TV discussion as it comes along.  But all the Doctor Who 50th stuff has been so much fun and I'll find reasons to do more over time, I'm sure.  Until then - yeah... that's about it.

Oh. My. Gallifrey.

Everybody's seen "The Day of the Doctor," right? I don't need to worry about spoiling anyone?



Still shaking, still crying (though not as much as I was about a half hour ago).

Where do I even begin?  How can I even begin? The opening title sequence! Foreman's Scrapyard! Clara's a teacher at Coal Hill School! (with one I. Chesterton as Head of the School Governors!!!) Kate Stewart and UNIT! The girl with the Tom Baker scarf! Mentions of "The Three Doctors!" Companion pictures! Zygons! TARDIS interiors! (with commentary on the roundels and how none of the Doctors know why they're there!) And The Thing that happens at the end! (actually, several things) EVERYTHING! I LOVE EVERYTHING IN THIS STORY!

This special is so vastly different to any previous anniversary specials or multi-Doctor stories Doctor Who has done before.  It's not the fan-wanky goodness of "The Five Doctors" (though heaven knows I dearly, dearly love that one) - there is an actual story to tell. There's history to be made. We're not here to rest on our laurels and think that the future will take care of itself. But there are little nods to the past, appropriately and lovingly done.

There are actually two plots going on here.  The A-plot with the War Doctor on Gallifrey with The Moment (that takes the form of Bad Wolf - and not Rose Tyler. I sort of figured that was going to happen).  And then, the B-plot with the Zygons and Queen Elizabeth I woven inbetween.  Smack dab in the middle of this, is the Eleventh and Tenth Doctors meeting up and crossing timelines. Of course, we get the interplay with the three Doctors in the cell beneath the Tower of London.  They'd already gotten all the fun little digs at each other out of the way - Sandshoes, Chin Boy, that kind of stuff.  And then - The Story.

Steven Moffat has used the whole "timey-wimey" thing quite well to this point, so it follows that it would come into play in this multi-Doctor story in a huge way.  The War Doctor - before he does The Thing that makes him Not-The-Doctor - gets to see the future.  And the other Doctors get to see the past.  The story's really about making things right what went wrong and learning from your mistakes.  It's sort of like Back to the Future - Marty changed his past, but he still remembers what came before to get him to that point (and yes, hard sci-fi fans - I don't know how it works. But let's just pretend for a minute that you aren't a bunch of pedantic hardasses and let's have some fun with this).  The post-Time War Doctor has been emotional and angsty to this point and no one's going to take that from him.  He wouldn't be the Doctor we know and love if he did that.

But avoiding the Moment isn't about the Doctor.  It's about the people he's going to save. It's about putting aside his regrets and doing what he's spent 400 years thinking about how he could have fixed it and What Went Wrong and reclaiming his title and being the man that he's always been - the one we've loved for so many years and so many regenerations.  It's about second chances.  For once - the Doctor gets to save himself.

And, boy, did I squee when ALL THE DOCTORS appeared!  And I heard them!  I saw them! First Doctor! Second! Third! Fourth! Fifth (I distinctly heard Peter Davison's voice!) Sixth! Seventh! Eighth! Ninth! (yup - he was in there too - probably reused audio, but I don't care!) Tenth and Eleventh, of course. And...

ASAFLKJSDLKFJOIWGNO WHAT???? PETER FREAKING CAPALDI???

(I think I might have died at this point. And then I regenerated. My second incarnation is typing this up).

So, the day is saved - and so are millions of Gallifreyans.  Gallifrey is out there, somewhere in a hidden pocket of the universe.  And that's the next step - go back to Gallifrey and see what New Who can do with that.  After 50 years - the Doctor is finally going back.  But not before the Doctor meets a certain curator... whose appearance is going to be discussed and dissected ad nauseum in the coming days and weeks.

Only because I know what this means to the fandom and I'm part of the fandom - yeah, I was hands-in-my-face bawling at this point.  Tom Baker came to the party.  The Doctor no one can ever really be sure of, but everyone still loves.  I know, I know - Tom Baker isn't my absolute favorite Doctor... but it was a special moment and I'm glad he came in for this cameo.

In "An Unearthly Child," the Doctor says that he and his granddaughter are cut off from their own world, but that they will get back one day.  Well, Susan is somewhere else but the Doctor remains.  He has remained for fifty years in our timeline.  He just saved his home world after having destroyed it.  But for once (and it wouldn't surprise me if this was mixed in the Christmas Special with all that Trenzalore stuff) - he has a purpose and a target.  He's going home.  Of course, we know that it's quite never that simple with the Doctor.  You step out to take a look around, and you inevitably find yourself captured before you can explain anything.  Honestly, the future of Doctor Who is secure (at least, from where I'm standing).

But we always love nostalgia and the past because we know that it's still there.  So, the Eleventh Doctor walking out of the TARDIS to stand among his past regenerations (including the War Doctor - oh, that made me happy!) was right and proper and good.  Made even better (probably because I've still got An Adventure in Space and Time feels running through my system) by the fact that the First Doctor stands in the middle of the circle and the first, the original, the one who started it all.  And then the credits put all the Doctors' actors names under "The Doctor" - by that point, sobbing and laughing and tears were pouring down my face and everything was beautiful and nothing hurt and EVERYBODY LIVES!

This entire special was a delicate balance between fanwank and moving the Doctor's story forward. And they hit just the precise balance with "The Day of the Doctor."  Doctor Who isn't going away - not anytime soon.  We now have a whole new direction to go and new places to explore.

No Regrets or Anxieties - Plenty of (Happy) Tears, Though

Spoilers for An Adventure in Space and Time below the video (this song popped into my head for about the last ten minutes of the movie, so I'm including it in my reaction/review post) -



Mark Gatiss, I hate your stinking guts. I still love you, but right now - you suck! (she said through a curtain of tears)

Doctor Who runs the gamut of emotions. One minute, you're laughing with absolute delight. The next, you're sobbing your eyes out. So, why would a docudrama about the origins of the show be any different? I ask myself these things after I have spent the better part of twenty minutes trying to compose myself well enough to write anything at all about this movie. At least, something that didn't consist of Tumblr-speak about FEELS and DONE! and WHHHYYYYYYYY?????

If tomorrow's "The Day of the Doctor" is about moving on into the future, An Adventure in Space and Time was the tribute to the past.

When I was in high school, I had an English teacher who told us on the first day of class that history tells us what happened, but literature tells us how people felt when history was happening. So, I guess I should have remembered that going into this film. It's one thing to know that William Hartnell was the First Doctor and he played the part from 1963 to 1966 and he only quit because of ill health and then Patrick Troughton came in as his successor and the show has been about constant change ever since. But - seeing the people involved in those decisions - seeing how this show went from being regarded within the BBC as a silly little kids' show and even treated as a joke to becoming a national hit in Britain - and then seeing the people involved in the creation of the show moving on and having to understand why the changes are made… I'm never going to be able to watch "Dalek Invasion of Earth" without bawling. And forget "The Tenth Planet" (which I've never seen, but it's not going to be fun). I just… can't do it right now.

It's kind of stupid, really. That I would have this reaction, I mean. My hell, I know how this story ends. I know how things happened. Goodness knows I've listened to enough interviews and DVD commentaries and things to know the facts. But a dry laundry list of facts doesn't begin to tell the entire story. Something that the Doctor and his companions learn oh so well in every adventure in the TARDIS. You may "know" your version of events, but you haven't got a clue what's it really like. Not until you find yourself mistaken for an Aztec god and people worship you, but it also means that you have a shedload of responsibility that means life and death for these same strangers.

But damn - that ending!

That's what sent me over the edge. The tears were bubbling under the surface up to that point ("I don't want to go" - what the hell are you people DOING to me????) But then, William Hartnell looks over the console - and damn if it isn't Matt Smith staring back at him, not saying a word, looking apprehensive but excited about following in something that has become such a wonderful tradition. At first, I wasn't sure if Matt is supposed to be in character as the Doctor or if it's just Matt in costume. Either way, I guess it doesn't really matter. What matters is that it's reassurance to an old man who thought he was being put aside and the world was moving on without him - that the world never really moves on. They never forget and they never let go.

Over the past year, I've grown to appreciate and love the Hartnell-era of Doctor Who. There's so much greatness bubbling under the surface, just waiting to be discovered by anyone willing to give it a chance and not dismiss it over the black-and-white or the limitations of 1960s TV. Over this past week in particular, I took some time to review each episode in "An Unearthly Child" and go in depth - more in depth than some fannish overviews and power ranking lists do (I hate those lists. I truly, truly do - Eff you, io9!) So many times, the Hartnell stories are just glossed over as "Oh yeah, that's what they did before they really knew how to make Doctor Who - it didn't really get started until Patrick Troughton or Jon Pertwee or Tom Baker took over. William Hartnell was just this grumpy old man who was there until REAL and PROPER Doctor Who showed up."

Pardon my French, but that is complete and utter bullshit.

If anything, this exercise of mine - doing my little Unearthly Revisited series - has taught me that everything was already there. The seeds of amazing storytelling were planted by William Hartnell and Verity Lambert and Sydney Newman and Waris Hussein and William Russell and Jacqueline Hill and Carole Ann Ford from the get-go. Everything that has come out of Doctor Who since then has built up from these templates and foundations. Gallifrey, Time Lords, regeneration, companions, backstory, the Time War - everything can trace it's roots to "An Unearthly Child."

Even the Daleks - even the idea of a space monster that's more than simply looking scary and blowing crap up - it would not have worked without a sense of purpose and place for those deranged pepper pots to occupy within the bigger story. In fact, I adore the scene where Verity has to convince Sydney that the Dalek story is worth doing - and not for the monsters, but for what they represent and the moral challenge they present to Team TARDIS and, by extension, what people are going to get out of seeing a show like that. Because that's what Doctor Who is. And I wanted to jump up and shout for joy when Sydney gave the okay to use them (I limited myself to a celebratory punch-in-the-air because, dammit, it's the freaking DALEKS!)

Just - holy crap - so much good and so much to love. And so much love and respect in this film. David Bradley totally got Hartnell and Jessica Raine was the perfect Verity Lambert (there better be some shiny awards coming their way for this). I admired Verity from what I knew of her before, but this totally sent my love for that woman into the stratosphere and I am so very sad that she's passed on and there's never going to be any chance to meet her and tell her how wonderful I think she is.

Other Things I Liked -

- Something occurred to me (and it's probably just Mark Gatiss being a fan and giving fellow fans these little nods) - that several missing stories were alluded to in An Adventure in Space and Time - "Marco Polo" is the obvious one (seeing as it's completely missing, but there are some beautiful behind-the scenes color photos from the filming of that story). But also - they might have also included allusions to the two episodes of "The Reign of Terror" that are currently missing. Going by the costumes and the fact that William Russell was actually there for that filming day (he'd been on holiday for episodes 2 and 3) - it could very well be from the filming of the-now-missing episodes 4 and 5 (yes, yes, I know there were some artistic liberties taken with timing and stuff - just let me have this!) Plus, the opening and ending of the film is from the filming of "The Tenth Planet" episode 4 (which is mostly missing) - regeneration and all that.  So, if it was a conscious nod to those missing episodes, I loved it! (even if it wasn't - I'm going to pretend that it was).

- I loved the montage of the behind the scenes development of the show intercut with Verity telling Bill over lunch about how this show was going to have all the latest technology and best facilities. It was a good way to show how low-tech and ropey everything was back in the day (the best part was (presumably) Delia Derbyshire talking about how they created the TARDIS sound with a door key and piano strings). There are so many smaller stories within the bigger picture and the montage was a brilliant way to pay tribute to as many of these lovely little anecdotes as possible.

- Oh my poor, poor heart - the scene where Hartnell had to start the central TARDIS column moving up and down because he was the only one left who knew how it worked. And then the last time he ever did it (right before the Matt Smith cameo) - I was a sobbing mess by then ("I don't want to go" - DAMMIT GATISS!)

I can't say enough good about this. It's more than just presenting a bunch of facts about these events and people - it really cut to the heart of what Doctor Who has meant to so many people over the years. Not just to the fans (though those kids who followed Hartnell around in the park and asked for his autograph - oh my gosh, how can you stand it??) - but to the people involved in bringing it to life. For Verity, it was a chance to prove herself as a young, ambitious TV producer. For Bill, it was a chance to prove that he could still do something he loved and be relevant and have success.  And his interactions with his young granddaughter - just beautiful.  Beautifully done and beautifully paced.  The whole film was everything I'd hoped it would be and more.

This was a fitting tribute to something that started in such a humble way, but has grown to fill the world and to fill our hearts. No, not everyone gets it. For example, just yesterday I got a phone call from my dad and he said "I don't know what it is you're busy with - it's just a show." And that's okay. I don't expect everyone to have that same level of love for it. It makes it more special that way. But it's good to know that others get it too, you know? I want to give Mark Gatiss a big hug for this (after I finish cussing him out for making me cry like that).

I'm not really sure how to end this post.  Because I don't want it to end.  I guess all I can say is thank you.  Thank you to Verity Lambert and Sydney Newman and William Hartnell and everyone else involved in getting Doctor Who started.  This show - which I knew nothing about four years ago - has left an indelible mark on my life.  The Doctors, the companions, the stories, the people behind the scenes, even my fellow fans - I feel like they're my family.  I can't say how much Doctor Who has come to mean to me.  It's been right there in my happiest moments and in some of my darkest.  I'll never be able to express my gratitude or repay what's been done - but I am grateful for it.

No, there are no regrets or anxieties (still plenty of happy tears). Just me going forward in all my beliefs. And Doctor - you'll never be mistaken in yours.