The picture above is courtesy of my Evil Twin. Doesn’t he look good in a fez? Fezes are cool.

…And now I will attempt to clear out some of the tabs I have open in my browser.

* For those of you who haven’t heard: RTD won a Hugo! “Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Who: “The Waters of Mars” Written by Russell T Davies & Phil Ford; Directed by Graeme Harper (BBC Wales)” (find the other winners here.) I’m thinking it’s his turn. What about you all?

* Check out this TARDIS made of LEGOs. Reportedly, it lights up and everything. Well…not everything. It does not yet travel in time…nor does it seems to be larger on the inside. Give the guy time. I’m sure he’ll figure it out.

* Want to know more about Torchwood’s new season? Check out this article. Apparently, “…the more you learn about Torchwood, the less you know.” Interesting.

* Have you ever pondered what you’d have in your dream TARDIS? These folks have. I’d just take one like The Doctor’s. I’ll be in the wardrobe room if anyone needs me.

Faced with yet another void of Doctor Who related material till December, I figured now would be a good time to discuss the new K-9 series. Unlike Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, K-9 is not produced by the BBC, but instead filmed in Australia, for Disney XD and Network Ten.

Whether this series is considered part of the Doctor Who canon is a complex question. K-9 was co-created by Bob Baker and the BBC. Therefore, Mr. Baker had the right to use the character of K-9 while the BBC controlled the image of K-9. Ultimately the BBC declined to be involved in the series fearing that with so many other spin-offs, this may be an extension too far. So where does this leave us? To find out, join me behind the spoiler bar.

With the BBC not participating, the production has an extremely limited access to The Doctor Who Universe. The original K-9 appears in the opening episode. The producers have said this K-9 is the K-9 Mark I that was last seen with Leela. I found this to be a extreemely cool idea, as it then sets this show apart from SJA and New Who in so much as there is no need to fit this robot dog into the history of the other shows. Just do not ask me how K-9 escaped Gallifrey. From what I have seen of the show, this series does not even attempt to address The Time War.

The only other references to Doctor Who are: the first few notes of the theme tune (played while K-9 is being repaired in the first episode) and some pictures of classic series aliens in the episode The Curse of Anubis. Putting this all together, I would say this show is as much cannon as anything else, or at least could be. if the BBC brought it within the fold for a series 2, they could easily incorporate the show.

I have not seen the entire series, but so far, the setting, the sets, and the casting have worked for me (Once I got past the obvious Harry Potter inspired casting decisions). Placing the show in London of 2050 was a good idea. It may take a moment to get use to but the good thing about it is it tells the viewer all bets are off. We have no idea how the world became the way it is so some of the fun is learning the mythology of the new world. The stories are on par with first season SJA so far. Some episodes are better than ofters. I think SJA wins out because of Sarah and the history she brings, which this show really cannot duplicate.

The new K-9 or should this be The 2nd K-9? also worked for me. I was not originally a fan of the redesign, but in a weird way it makes sence that K-9 Mark I may have been given a regeneration ability upgrade sometime during his stay on Gallifrey, and if his 2nd incarnation is a bit odd well it happens to the best of them, just ask The Doctor. I am sure everyone remembers how odd The 6th Doctor’s clothes were.

Okay so what did not work? Well I am not a big fan of some children’s television conventions. I could do without the bodily function humor that shows up from time to time, and the adults are always inattentive at the right moment or absent minded at just the right moment to pad the plot for another 15 minutes. I guess stuff like that sticks out more when you realize the story was doing just fine without it, or the kids would get in enough trouble without having the adults be inconsistent. But with that basic complaint aside, I am not sure K-9 is a strong enough character to have his own show. This could easily been Torchwood 2050 than anything else. K-9 is more a mobile sonic screwdriver with a low capacity battery (two shots and he has to power down or else the problems would be solved too soon). Sure Sidekicks can become heroes in their own right, but I am not convinced K-9 has made that transition even after this regeneration.

Has anyone else seen this show? What do you think?

Question: How the heck would folks navigate out there?

Ah, The Girl in the Fireplace. Well, firstly let me say that I want all of Reinette’s costumes (even though I would have no place to wear them to) and the baddie’s mask for my wall. Fabulous music, too. I like this episode a great deal on the one hand, but I have difficulty making it agree with the rest of the season on the other. Sigh. Oh, well.

Episode: The Girl in the Fireplace by Steven Moffat
Rating (1 to 5): *argues with herself* 4.3
Baddie: Clockwork Robots
Rose is trapped: In the future on a space ship with Mickey and the TARDIS.
The Doctor is trapped: In the past in France with Madame de Pompadour.
The Doctor enjoys: The Clockwork robots. Madame de Pompadour.
The Doctor dislikes: Having to damage the Clockwork Robots.
The Doctor apologizes to: Madame de Pompadour for the torn tapestries, etc.
Doctor-y Strangeness: Seemingly drunken singing.
Scary Stuff: The clockwork robots when they aren’t wearing their masks and therefore have no faces. Being trapped with no way home.
Torchwood? Not this time.
Does someone local help out? Madame de Pompadour
What we learn: The TARDIS even translates French. The sonic screwdriver can light candles. The Doctor can look into someone’s mind. Monsters have nightmares about The Doctor. Rule #1 is: Don’t wander off. The Doctor was a lonely little boy. The Doctor’s name is more than just a secret. The Doctor is a bit vague about money.
My Favorite Bits: The spaceship is designed like a key. The Doctor qualifying his “nothing dangerous” statement. “Dear me, had some cowboys in here.” “-Must be a spatio-temporal hyperlink. -What’s that? -No idea. Just made it up. Didn’t wanna say magic door.” “Oh, you never want to listen to reason.” There is a horse on the spaceship. “France. Different planet.” ” -No, you’re not keeping the horse! -I let you keep Mickey! Now go!” Bananas are good. The Doctor’s Drunken singing. The Doctor is worth the monsters. “Yeah? Well, I’m the Lord of Time.” The perfect reveal of the name of the ship.

Observations and musings:

Rose and Madame de Pompadour agree that The Doctor is worth the monsters. I’m thinking that this is a bit of a difficult episode for her. She and Mme de Pompadour understand each other, and they both seem to love The Doctor. Mickey has to go and point out that The Doctor called Cleopatra “Cleo.” And yet, Rose is worried about Reinette and urges him to do something to save her. If you think about it, Rose sent The Doctor to save Reinette, and Reinette sent The Doctor back to Rose afterwards. Or, rather, they were both willing to let him choose his path. (Yes, I have had *endless* discussions about this episode with my husband. We can never quite agree.)

In this episode, The Doctor basically falls for Madame de Pompadour. And she for him. It would seem that he was a fan of hers even before she snogged him. She got to him in much the same way that Jabe did in “The End of the World.” Good thing that in the absence of a truck, he had a horse to get through that window and save her neck. He traps Rose and Mickey in the future and himself in the past. It’s only luck and Reinette’s foresightedness that saves him and his crew. And yet he still lost Reinette in the end. And he never mentions her again. And in the next episode we’re back to normal. Sigh. You know? The Doctor really needs to think things through a bit more.

Murray Gold really outdid himself with the music on this one. I loved it. Mickey gets a spaceship on his first go. Good thing that Rose has softened her stance about having him with them. She even shows him the ropes. For example: go looking for the scary thing even though The Doctor said not to. Oh, BTW Sophia Myles (who plays Reinette) was David Tennant’s girlfriend for a couple of years there. Just a point of information. I just wish that this episode tracked with the rest of the season a bit better. Oh, well.

Image Source: BBC Doctor Who Site

According to this news report Steven Moffat will split the next story arc over two sereies. The above link contains a lot of news about several different shows, here is the relevant part.

“Looking at the next series I thought what this show needs is a big event in the middle.

“I kept referring to a mid-season finale. So we are going to make it two series—seven episodes at Easter building to an earth-shattering climax, a cliffhanger we could never normally do because it would be too long before it came back. An enormous game-changing cliffhanger that will change everything.

“The wrong expression would be to say we are splitting it in two. We are making it two separate series.”

So what do you think it will be?

Now I can hear you saying “But Dr. Geek, that movie will never be made” and you may be right, but assuming MGM and the other parties figure out their issues, there might be some truth to this rummor. I beleive at one point Mr. McCoy was up for the part of Bilbo back during the LOTR movies so it is not impossible that they might offer him the minor part of the Brown Wizard in The Hobbit films.

I wonder how much of the 7th Doctor would be recognizeable in the performance. After all The Doctor turned out to be Merlin

* Remember how Neil Gaiman is writing an episode of Doctor Who Season 6? Well, Matt Smith has read it…and he says, “Oh, lord!” Um…is it season 6 yet? If you would like to see a bit of the script that hasn’t made it to the final draft, look here.

* I’m sort of sad that I didn’t have a Doctor Who-themed wedding like these folks did. (If you’re curious, my wedding had a bit of LOTR to it, with a dash of Babylon 5.)

* So…ever hear about the infamous naked pictures Katy Manning (Third Doctor Companion Jo Grant) took with a Dalek? (If you ask here about them she says, “It was the 70s, darling.”) Well…it’s NSFW, but you can see one here.

* It seems that Starz has released a bit more information about Torchwood: The New World. Check it out here. I’ll admit to being curious…

* Go Daleks! They’ve been voted the greatest Sci-fi monsters of all time. (Have any of the other monsters gone missing recently? Perhaps they’ve been exterminated.)

* Look for the Doctor Who-related dates on this Sci-fi timeline. Or…just browse the thing and look for your most obscure fandom.

and finally…a bit of fun at this years’ Proms.

So, now we’re up to the excellent School Reunion. So much has happened since this episode. Sarah Jane even has her own show. Join me for a look into the past. Did you love this episode as much as I did?

Episode: School Reunion by Russell T. Davies
Rating (1 to 5): 4.5
Baddie: Krillitanes
Rose is trapped: Well, The School is locked down while she’s inside.
The Doctor is trapped: Well, The School is locked down while he’s inside.
The Doctor enjoys: Seeing Sarah Jane. Kenny hitting the fire alarm to fight the bats.
The Doctor dislikes:The Word Correctamundo. Saying “Team,” “gang,” or “Comrades.” Krillitanes trying to crack the Skasis Paradigm.
The Doctor apologizes to: Kenny, about the Krillitanes being his teachers.
Doctor-y Strangeness: His conversation with the Mr. Finch. His temptation by Mr. Finch. His conversation with Rose outside the chip shop.
Scary Stuff: The Krillitanes.
Torchwood? On the classified files Mickey is trying to access.
Does someone local help out? Mickey and Kenny. Sarah Jane and K-9, too, if they count as local.
What we learn: The Doctor can teach Physics. K-9 was cutting edge in the year 5000. Aberdeen is not next to Croyden. The Doctor is no Dinner Lady. Krillitanes are a composite race. The Sonic Screwdriver can open anything except a dead lock seal. Cracking the Skasis Paradigm makes Time and Space and Matter your playthings. A great way to combat Big Bat People is with a fire alarm.
My Favorite Bits: The Doctor: Physics Teacher. Correctamundo. Happy slappy hoodies… Dinner-lady screams, “she does that.” Sarah Jane! The Conversation between The Doctor and Sarah Jane. “The World is very strange.” Sarah Jane’s TARDIS reveal, then Doctor reveal. “Okay. Now I can.” “Ah, mate. The Mrs. and the Ex. Welcome to every man’s worst nightmare.” K-9! “Though I have prepares a little ‘I was right’ dance.” “…and add another suitcase full of bad.” “Oh my God. I’m the tin dog.” “If I don’t like it, then it will stop.” “I’m so old now. I used to have so much mercy. You get one warning. That was it.” Sarah Jane and Rose laughing at The Doctor. The Doctor being tempted by Mr. Finch. “-Are they my teachers? -Yeah. Sorry.” New K-9!

Observations and musings:

Poor Rose. Stuck as a dinner lady. And then to be faced with one of The Doctor’s former companions, of whom he is obviously fond, and yet he never talks about. What must the future seem like to her then? Such a rude awakening. At least he says that he will never leave her behind. He doesn’t say why he is so specific about it, though. I love the Rose and Sarah Jane bonding session. The Doctor’s response to their helpless laughter is just perfect. Rose just needs to remember that some things are worth getting your heart broken for. Too bad Sarah Jane isn’t coming with them, but at least she has her own show, now.

I wish that The Doctor had been my physics teacher. Can you imagine the job interview? Oh, and the look on his face when he first sees Sarah Jane. All stunned and pleased. But then he is forced to look at some things that he would rather not think about. Why didn’t he come back for Sarah Jane? Will he ever leave Rose in the same way? Well, he barely manages to avoid telling Rose how difficult it is watching someone you love grow old and die. I’m thinking that The Doctor hates introspection. His confrontation with Mr. Finch is just perfect. We have The Doctor with the same form of arrogance that he displayed in New Earth, with just a dash of Oncoming Storm. “I’m so old now. I used to have so much mercy. You get one warning. That was it.” Oh, and he almost gives in to Mr. Finch. Thank heavens for Sarah Jane just then.

Isn’t Anthony Head perfect? He plays such a wonderful baddie. He also does all of the narration for the Doctor Who: Confidentials this season, by the way. I like this episode. It has so many layers! Sarah Jane!!! (oh, and K-9!!!) I loved the whole: “I can’t believe it’s you.” *scream in the distance* “Okay. Now I can.” Nice little Old School nod, there. Mickey gets to help save the day! With a little help from K-9. “We are in a car.” Speaking of cars, Sarah Jane’s car gets a bit smashed up going through the front of that school. Oops. Next review is: Girl in the Fireplace. See you then!

Russell T. Davies

I came across this mug. Okay so it is not as interactive as the old PBS incentive mugs that use to have the TARDIS “disapear” whenever hot beverages were used, but you have to give them credit for creating such a detailed replica of the 11th Doctor’s TARDIS.

Finally it appears The Doctor has decided to go to grad school here in the US. His TARDIS was seen at MIT. Check out this article.

So…have you ever wondered about the origins of our beloved show? Well, you can read all about it. The BBC Archives have released documents from the conceptual beginning of the show. Did you know that The Doctor’s granddaughter Susan was originally a human girl named Biddy? The BBC Science Fiction Report at the time noted that “Inherently, SF ideas are short-winded. The interest invariably lies in the activating idea and not in character drama.” …I expect that they’ve learned differently by now. The Follow Up Report was adamant that they not end up with “Bug-Eyed Monsters” and that the central characters should never be tin-robots.

Check it out for yourself. You’re sure to find something that amuses you. They even offer some photographs to browse through.