I suppose it’s a good thing that Gallifrey One is coming up soon (only about five more weeks!), because I really need something to recharge my fandom battery. I’ve reached my quasi-annual burnout.
Do other fans get this? Is it just fatigue from trying to wrap my brain around Moffat’s tortured plot devices, a general malaise borne of the recent frigid weather, or is it because I blog?
I’ve often wondered about the effects of blogging on my enjoyment of the show. My self-imposed requirement of posting no less than once a week (which I’ve kept for three years running, as of this week) has occasionally led to feelings about Our Show more akin to obligation than to enjoyment, and it usually happens here in these bleak weeks between a Christmas special and Gally. I rely heavily on the excitement of the con and sharing the bits we all love with other fans to get me going again. I’m in desperate need of it this year.
Maybe this is the natural lull in the series cycle. We’ve had the hype not only of a series finale or even just a Christmas special but of a regeneration (and a particularly ostentatious full-cycle-of-regenerations one, at that); it’s only natural there would be a sense of let-down after that. And since heaven only knows exactly how long it will be until we see our first taste of Series Eight (though reports are that Capaldi started his time filming this week), there’s nothing in the foreseeable future on which to pin hopes (or fears).
Of course, it’s always possible that my ennui is just the product of brain freeze. Our unusually cold weather (that is, we in Minnesota usually get a deep freeze the week of 20 January rather than mid-December and early January, like this year) has added to my desire to sit around and do nothing in particular in multiple ways. First, there’s the general “it’s f***ing cold out; you can’t make me get out from under these covers!” problem with reduced mobility. Then there’s the fact that projected wind chills of -45°F to -50°F (-43°C to -46°C) kept my kids home from school two extra days. While sitting around playing video games all day might be great fun, it’s not exactly conducive to blogging.
So here I sit, trying to think of something about the show that excites me enough to share, and all I can think is, “thank goodness Gally is almost here!” After all, how can I possibly remain aloof in midst of the swirl of friends, guests, and general awesomeness? Besides, LA is about 70 Fahrenheit degrees (~40 Celsius degrees) warmer than here.
burning
I surely ‘get it’. For me, it’s because most every episode tries to be the biggest thing ever, emotionally draining and mentally straining (to comprehend Moff’s wild ride). It can’t be sustained. I get so much more sustainable enjoyment from going back to earlier doctors and enjoying self-contained episodes starring creatures made from bubble wrap and rubber bits.
rubber monsters
I’m so burnt out that even going back to wobbly sets and rubber monsters doesn’t appeal right now. Here’s hoping I get my second (umpteenth) wind soon…
I get it
I totally get it, and not just at this time of the year. January is usually depression month for me, followed by February and March. Although it doesn’t get quite as cold where I am (in CT and upstate NY, where I visit my relatives), it does get cold. You can’t coax me out from under a blanket! Ever since I had a stint in the hospital, I seem to be cold all the time. I used to be so much tougher.
I’m not a gamer like you, so it’s books for me, movies/t.v., organizing, and some cross-stitch, which I recently took up and seem to like. And Dr Who, but I do have to let it go at times. Especially when you consider the wealth of information on the Internet. It’s insane. I can’t keep up with it, let alone “Doctor Who Magazine.’ I’m never, ever, caught up with that publication. It’s a good read, but I’m never caught up. I have to step away, even from Classic Who. I can’t imagine blogging as often as you do. I suppose you should give yourself a break, or maybe post biweekly? We would understand!
It’s just so daunting, everything out there! Some of my interests are the last royal family of Russia, the Romanovs, the lost Franklin NW Passage Expedition of 1845, Antarctic explorers, Mallory dying on Everest in 1924, obscure historical topics no one has every heard about, etc… my point is that before the Internet, I read everything I could get my hands on about these things. I’m grateful for the Internet for the wealth of information that has opened up so much about these subjects. But like Who, it becomes mind boggling, and in the past, I’ve had to realize I can’t read it all, I can’t possibly take it all in. There’s just too much, and there’s a lot more in life I have to spend my time doing. That includes learning about new things – and – still reading books, not just computer screens! Not focusing on just one topic that can be all consuming….this got a bit away from Who, but you can see why it did.
Life is short. Do what you enjoy, have fun at the convention, and for the month of January (I know I’m late in telling you this) take your break. 🙂
Thanks
Ah, you’re very kind. 🙂 This isn’t the only thing I do, but it’s a matter of pride (and continuing to build an audience, I hope) that I keep with my rigorous schedule.
My “day job” (though it doesn’t pay) these days is writing my novel, which is a bit of a different direction than Who. That means I spend an awful lot of time arranging and rearranging words, so that blogging is less of an escape.
But I’ll pull through. 😉