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Revolutionary Television

Review of The Reign of Terror (#8)
DVD Release Date: 12 Feb 13
Original Air Date: 08 Aug – 12 Sep 1964
Doctor/Companion: One, Susan, Ian, Barbara
Stars: William Hartnell, Carole Ann Ford, William Russell, Jacqueline Hill
Preceding Story: The Sensorites (One, Susan, Ian, Barbara)
Succeeding Story: Planet of Giants (One, Susan, Ian, Barbara)

One thing I love about the very earliest Who is that it’s so clearly taking its self-defined role as educational television to heart. When we first meet the Daleks, we learn about magnetism as the Doctor breaks the group out of a cell, and there were several instances, like in The Aztecs, where we learn a bit about historical events and cultures. In fact, it’s not till some time later that the supernatural twists to the historical tales get added.

So when I sat down to watch The Reign of Terror, I kind of knew I was in for another of those “pure historicals,” in which all the events swirling around our heroes are ones that actually occurred in our own past. I have to admit I wasn’t quite prepared for how heavy-handed it would be. My jaw may actually have dropped when Robespierre straight out stated, “If this plot is successful, tomorrow, the 27th of July, 1794, will be a date for history!”

Aside from such blatant attempts at pedagogy, though, there’s actually quite an elaborate bit of intrigue at the heart of the story. Though elements like a burning house and “Madame Guillotine” make the story a little dark at times, the spies, imprisonment, and threats of betrayal at every turn keep the audience on its toes, even if the TARDIS crew is not always quite as careful at they perhaps should be.

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24 Hours of Gallifrey One: Day Three

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The wifi at Gally gets painfully slow – to the point where you can’t get any sort of real connection for long stretches of time, especially if you want to be going to panels instead of hanging in the lobby waiting (im)patiently for connectivity.

Hopefully yesterday’s post not going up till today now makes sense.

Actually, there was another, even more compelling reason that post didn’t get finished until today. Sunday morning I was fortunate enough to have a ticket to the Guest Brunch Banquet, which was capped at 56 members (attendees). Eight tables are set up. Seven members sit at each, and the final place at any given table is left for one of the convention guests. Every twelve minutes, the guests do a somewhat more organized version of musical chairs, and switch to another table, so that all the members (in theory) get to spend a few minutes in actual, honest-to-god conversation with each of the guests.

Last year being my first, I didn’t really know anything about the brunch, and if memory serves, it had sold out during the previous year’s con anyway. But I am super glad I managed to get in on this one; it was wonderful. Our table started with Michael Jayston, which made my little heart go pitter-pat. I’ve always thought the Valeyard was a super awesome foil (and everyone here seemed to consider him a Doctor; Jayston complained that the BBC are the only ones who don’t seem to know it). Jayston was followed by Philip Hinchcliffe (producer from The Ark in Space to The Talons of Weng-Chiang, 1975-77), Dick Mills (sound engineer from 1972-1989), Deborah Watling (Second Doctor Companion Victoria), Mark Strickson (Fifth Doctor Companion Turlough), and Frazer Hines (Second Doctor Companion Jamie; the longest-running Companion on-screen, and at Gally). Peter Purves (First Doctor Companion Steven) didn’t quite make it to our table before time ran out, but I did chat with him a bit at his signing table later. I simply can’t say enough good things about all the guests. To a one, they’ve been fabulous in person to me as a fan.

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24 Hours of Gallifrey One: Day Two

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It was all about the cosplay on Saturday.

There was a group of us that had been planning for months to do a group cosplay (that is, we’d all dress up in related costumes) we’d dubbed “the TARDISpod.” Originally, we were all supposed to be a TARDIS representing a different decade. Since we love seeing other people’s TARDIS costumes, we also spent much of Friday telling others to come to our designated photo op on Saturday morning next to the second TARDIS (that is, the one not on stage). As a result, there were probably a couple dozen TARDISes (including a male TARDIS bathrobe). It was brilliant.

Despite the fact that there were several panels I wanted to see throughout the day, the only ones I managed were “Tooth and Claw,” about carving your own niche in fandom, whether it be podcasting, filmmaking, blogging, costuming, or whatever; and my own “Invasion of the Dinosaurs” panel. I was pleased at how well-received our panel about the differences between pre- and post-Hiatus Who seemed to be. I hope to see some reviews of it elsewhere online (if I do, I’ll post links). The basic take-away from the whole thing, as one of my fellow panelists put it: There is no wrong way to watch (or love) Doctor Who.

Later we managed to get eight of our TARDISes (or, as the man himself declared the correct plural: TARDII) together for a photo with Sylvester McCoy. He was a wonderful gentleman, and was quite gracious about us fangirling all over him (though we did try to keep it down to a dull roar).

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24 Hours of Gallifrey One: Day One

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This year is already a bit different than last. It’s less about the guests and more about the friends.

On the official Day One (that’s Friday), programming doesn’t actually start until noon, unless you’re a first-timer going to the “Gallifrey 101” panel or a brand new panelist at the “Panelist Primer” one. Being on Central time still, though, I was up and dressed in my costume for the day (my femme Third Doctor) quite early. Most of my morning was thus spent meeting up with new-in-real-life/year-long-online friends, wandering the con, and getting photos with other cosplayers. I loved, for instance, getting pictures with a Brigadier cosplayer and another with a Sarah Jane Smith from The Time Warrior, while she was infiltrating the kitchens.

Among the wonderfully strange things about Gally is that the “talent” mingles with the fans. I sat at a table in the lobby drinking my coffee directly across from writer Richard Dinnick, who was himself between Ian McNeice (who played Churchill) and comedian Charlie Ross. It was beautifully surreal.

I’d wanted to go to the Radio Free Skaro podcast, but somehow that fell by the wayside. Instead, my first actual programming ended up being the Who Crack Video Track, run by ladies I know through The Corsair’s Closet podcast. Although they had some technical difficulties getting things started, the videos were well worth it.

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It’s Gally Time!

Today I’m off to Los Angeles for my second Gallifrey One convention.

I remember last year seeing all the activity on the relevant Twitter hashtag (which is now #Gally1), with people invariably expressing their keen anticipation. I didn’t quite get it. I mean, I was excited, too, but as a n00b, I really didn’t quite know what to expect, and a great deal of my anticipation was mixed with plain ol’ nerves. I only knew one person. Was I going to be sad and alone most of the weekend? What would the panels be like? Would I actually have any fun?

Well, this time I’m right there with everyone else who’s returning, and doing my part to ease the minds of first-time attendees. It’s an incredibly friendly venue, and now I have scads of new never-met-in-person-before friends with whom to share the experience. And tonight: LobbyCon!

Bring. It. On.

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Nu-View #12: New Monsters on the Block

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Aliens of London and World War Three
(Series One, Eps. 4-5; 2005)
Viewed 05 Feb 2013

Doctor/Companion: Nine, Rose Tyler
Stars: Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper
Preceding Story: The Unquiet Dead (Nine, Rose)
Succeeding Story: Dalek (Nine, Rose)

Looking back, it’s amazing I ever became a fan at all. In all honesty, I very nearly didn’t make it past these two episodes.


Source – bbc.co.uk – © 2005 BBC

I watched the first five over a period of a week or two with the friend who introduced me to Who, and then it all kind of fell by the wayside. I don’t think we came back to it again for a year or more. When we did, I was reluctant. The stuff I’d seen was OK – pretty good, even – but with Slitheen as my last impression, I was, shall we say, less than keen on continuing (perhaps understandably).

I was willing to give it another shot, though – and obviously, I’m extremely glad that I did! But as I look back, these are among my least favorite episodes of this series. I think that’s partly because the Slitheen got so overused after this, both in Who and especially in The Sarah Jane Adventures, but just something about these introductory episodes has put me off.

Imagine my surprise when, upon watching them again with the Ladies, they didn’t suck as hard as I’d remembered.

The Doctor returns Rose home, a mere twelve hours after she’d left (yay, time travel!) only to discover it had actually been twelve months (“details,” scoffed jE). All of the mother/daughter stuff between Jackie and Rose is well done here, from the snarking and frustration with each other to the honest concern and regret for having caused it. RTD may have brought families a bit too much into the mix for my taste, but there’s some good storytelling around it in these episodes.

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New Stuff!

Just in time for Gally, the Neowhovian is pleased to announce the release of two new products!

The 2012 edition of The Neowhovian Experience is now available at CreateSpace or Amazon. This year the exclusive found-only-in-the-book content is a Quick-Start Guide of recommended stories to watch if you want to start getting to know the pre-Hiatus Doctors.

If you’re going to Gallifrey One 2013, you can find me there. I’ll have a few copies on hand to sell at a discount. I’ll even autograph them for free!

[Update: You can also get a free digital autograph from Authorgraph!]

The other item is a new set of products in the Neowhovian CafePress Shop. Available on T-shirts (white print on dark) or mugs (black on white), this design is being made available for the first time today. Again, if you’re at Gally, look for me at LobbyCon Thursday night in this shirt!

Thanks as always for reading, and for your support of the blog in general. I appreciate all of you!

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The Start of Something Wonderful

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Review of The Doctors Revisited – First Doctor

In honor of Doctor Who‘s fiftieth anniversary this year (23 November, to be exact), BBC America has committed to running eleven half-hour (including commercials) specials, each one summarizing the era of a different Doctor. There will be one each month, finishing on or near the actual anniversary of first transmission.


Source – bbc.co.uk – © 2012 BBC

This first month, obviously, we begin with William Hartnell as the First Doctor. Alternating clips of his episodes and interviews with production team members and actors from now and then – including Steven Moffat (current showrunner), Caro Skinner (current producer), Neil Gaiman (writer), David Tennant (Tenth Doctor), John Barrowman (Capt. Jack Harkness), William Russell (Ian Chesterton), and Peter Purves (Steven Taylor) – gives a broad overview of the show’s impact both then and now.

Fans already familiar with Hartnell and his stories will find little-to-nothing new or particularly insightful here. Primarily, this special (and presumably the rest in the series) is aimed at neowhovians – those really only familiar with Doctor Who in its modern incarnation. Much is made of how different Hartnell’s One is from the Doctor we have come to know and love now, almost to the point of un-recognizability. But he set the stage for everything that has come since.

The are three main segments (“Who’s Who,” “TARDIS Team,” and “Famous Foes”), the first of which explores how Hartnell’s Doctor brought a sense of gravitas and mystery to the table, and how this fledgeling show had to establish the rules of time travel, the way time mustn’t be meddled with lightly.

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Confession #35: I’m Not a Fan of the Cybermen

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When the question of favorite Who monsters comes up, the recurring classics are always high on the aggregate list of fan faves. And when you add the term “iconic,” Daleks and Cybermen pretty much always top the list. I’ve already ranted a bit about how overused the Daleks are, so now it’s time to pass judgement on the Cybermen.

Here’s the deal. As I understand it, the Cybermen were originally designed to be a creepy near-human-but-not-human foe (remember the Uncanny Valley?), made the more so by the idea that they might also try to convert you and make you into a “thing,” too; classic body horror. By the time the show was into what was arguably its heyday in the (’70s and) ’80s, though, the Cybermen sort of turned into plain ol’ robotic baddies.

Granted, I’m not overly familiar with the particular stories in which they appeared with those “middle” Doctors, so perhaps I’m missing something, but it seems to me they lost most of their menace somewhere along the way. Aside from having certain physical advantages associated with their non-biological aspects, their main characteristic seems to be “lack of emotion” (which doesn’t always come across during this period, either). How is that threatening?

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Confession #34: I Have Mixed Feelings About a Female Doctor

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For decades now, off and on, it’s been suggested that someday the Doctor might – or should – regenerate into a woman. In at least one instance, though it was in the context of a definitely non-canonical comedy sketch, he did (and yes, Joanna Lumley would’ve kicked ass as the Doctor). The Doctor himself even confirmed in The Doctor’s Wife that Time Lords can regenerate with a different gender when telling Amy & Rory about the Corsair.

So where do I come out on the question? As usual, I’m conflicted. On the one hand, as a woman myself, I’d love to see more female role models in starring roles in the shows I love, and the Doctor is kind of the ultimate hero figure. More than kind of, if we restrict the whole discussion to Doctor Who itself. However, there are plenty of reasons I wouldn’t want Twelve to be female.

To begin, I’m not sure I trust Moffat to write a female Doctor. Although I’ve enjoyed many of the women he’s introduced into the show, they’ve all also got some fatal flaws predicated on the fact that they are, in fact, female. River Song seems strong until she gets around the Doctor; then she’s as much a moony, lovesick underling as anything. Everything she does is for the Doctor, or because she loves the Doctor, or because the Doctor told her to/would do it that way. For her part, Amy never got beyond that little girl crush on/awe of the Doctor, even after years in his company as an adult (and a married one, at that).

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