Tag: doctor who

the geek life

The Five Stages of Grief…for the 11th Doctor

Joanna V.

Capaldi Doctor Who Listen

Listen, here we are, four episodes into a new season of Doctor Who. Peter Capaldi is here to stay, and I have to say, I’m thrilled.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved Matt Smith’s Doctor, but I like the grumpiness and the alien-like qualities of the Doctor, and how much it hearkens back to the older shows. The beauty of a show like Doctor Who is that it has such a rich history and so many things to draw from to include in the stories, and yet can always bring something new.

The staple, of course, is that every so often the Doctor changes. Everything about him changes, from his face to his personality to his teeth, and all that’s left is his memory. This is traumatic for his companions, and it can be for the audience, too. Especially if you’re (to use the BBC’s phrase) fairly new to Who, it can be jolting to go from the actor and persona you fell in love with, established a relationship with over (especially in Tennant and Smith’s era) some emotional story arcs, to suddenly be handed Capaldi’s Doctor with a “Here you go, good luck now!”

But this is by no means new to fans of the show. Even those who have been around the TARDIS a time or two can go through difficulty accepting a new Doctor, not unlike the classic 5 Stages of Grief. So let’s work our way through this new rendition of the Doctor together, shall we?

Stage One: Denial
This stage is when you don’t want to believe the Thing That’s Happening is true. You find out that there’s going to be a new Doctor.
“Matt Smith is leaving? Don’t be ridiculous! I refuse to accept this! It’s just another rumor, or another instance of Moffat trolling* everyone. That’s it. It’s just Moffat again.”

Moffat Trolling

Stage Two: Anger
At this point, you suddenly find yourself irrationally angry that you’re getting a new** Doctor. The anger might be directed at Steven Moffat.
“NO. You CANNOT take away Eleven. You have RUINED this show! NO ONE ELSE WILL EVER BE THE DOCTOR AGAIN.”
Or you might be angry with Matt Smith.
“How DARE you leave us and go pursue your CAREER?”
Or you might be angry at other fans. I don’t know how your mind works. But you’re probably going to be angry.

Matt Smith Doctor shrugs

Stage Three: Bargaining
At this point, you’re trying to change the inevitable outcome. You want to make things go back to the way they were, or at least to some facsimile of how you perceived them to be. Bargaining may be with the person leaving.
“But Matt, if you stay we’ll be even more rabid fans of yours! We’ll cosplay with things other than your fez!”
Or the bargaining might take other forms. Sometimes it can involve roping other people into the equation in the hopes the person will listen to them.
“Jenna, can’t you make him stay? Just talk to him!”

Jenna Coleman Clara Doctor Who

Stage Four: Depression
By now, the loss of Your Doctor is making you feel very down in the dumps. You’re convinced the show just won’t be the same*** without Your Doctor, and that you’ll never love another Doctor as much as you did this one. Your Doctor was the Best Doctor There Ever Was and no one could replace him.

David Tennant Doctor Who crying

Stage Five: Acceptance
When you finally come to terms with the fact that there’s a new**** Doctor, you’ve reached acceptance. This usually happens some time in the first several episodes. For some, it happened when he dueled Robin Hood using only a spoon in “Robot of Sherwood.” For many of the fans, it seemed to happen with the most recent episode, “Listen.” (Some people got behind Capaldi much earlier, of course. We’ll come back to them.) Maybe some are still waiting for their “Oh, this IS the Doctor!” moment. But it’s coming.

Not every fan likes every regeneration of the Doctor the same. People have their affinities, and for many it’s the first Doctor they ever watched that is “Their” Doctor. For me, I might just be falling hard for Capaldi. I’ve been excited about the change since they announced who the next actor would be. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Matt Smith and his silliness and affinity for children, but I like that with Capaldi we can go a little darker, a little more serious, and a little more alien. He seems a lot more like some of the classic regenerations (a lot of people reference Pertwee’s Doctor, but I see a lot of Baker in him, too) and it’s a very nice change of pace.

Matt Smith everything ends sometime

The main thing to take away from this is that this cycle happens every single time there’s a “new” Doctor. The first time it happened the show runners weren’t sure it would work, but for some reason it did. And it continues to work. That’s the essence of the show, and what keeps it on the air. Change brings a fresh start, and brings new fans and new stories and new monsters and the whole deal. It’s not bad. It’s the lifeblood of the show, and what keeps it from getting stale all these years later.

And y’know what? I’d bet that I can pinpoint the moment when the last main holdout decided this guy was all right. Here you go.

Doctor Who Capaldi once upon a time dad skillsDoctor Who Capaldi the end dad skillsDoctor Who Clara looks upDoctor Who Capaldi dad skills

—————————————————

*Steven Moffat is notorious for teasing hints as well as outright lies about the shows he runs, to the general frustration of the fan bases.
**To be clear, it’s always the same Doctor. He is the Doctor, just with a new face. Same guy. So Capaldi isn’t really the “Twelfth” Doctor, he’s just THE Doctor.
***It won’t be the same, but that’s the beauty of the thing, and rather the point, after all.
****Do we really have to go over this again? SAME DOCTOR. Just a new actor playing the SAME GUY. You don’t have to pick just one, they’re all the SAME TIME LORD.

the geek life

Capaldi’s got clothes! Thoughts on the Twelfth Doctor’s costume

Joanna V.

twelfth doctor costume

Last week the BBC released its first images of Peter Capaldi in his official costume as the Twelfth (Thirteenth if we count the War Doctor) iteration of our favorite Time Lord, the Doctor, and oh what a costume it is!

My basic reaction? Love!

His coat and vest is similar to the last rendition of Matt Smith‘s costume, which is a nice homage to Eleven, but gone are the bowtie and fez. Well, that really remains to be seen I suppose, but I really doubt Capaldi’s Doctor will have as much childlike pleasure in wearing different hats as Smith’s did.

In fact, here’s the direct quote from Capaldi about the new look:

He’s woven the future from the cloth of the past. Simple, stark, and back to basics. No frills, no scarf, no messing, just 100 per cent Rebel Time Lord.

I couldn’t agree more. To me this costume choice harkens back to the Third Doctor, played by Jon Pertwee. During that time, the Doctor’s costume was almost like a dandy magician’s, with a cape that sometimes appeared along with the various velvet dinner suits he wore, including his iconic first costume that featured a very familiar looking red lining.

third doctor costume
You can see how the new is reminiscent of the old, and I wonder if Capaldi’s Doctor will be likewise a slight nod in that direction. The Third Doctor was the one banished to Earth for breaking Time Lord law, after all, and with Gallifrey sort-of-back, kind of a little bit, and with the amount of rule breaking the Doctor has done in the last several hundred years, he might be heading back into the full on rebellion mode again. This is also interesting because Matt Smith has said that he patterned his own Doctor after the Second, portrayed by Patrick Troughtan. Could there be similarities?

Regardless of any connections, real or implied, I’m excited to see what direction the show goes as it enters its eight season since the 2005 reboot. I’m ready for an older Doctor, and I think it will be interesting to see who he is after everything he’s been through, losing his home and then finding it again. I’m also still holding out hope for improved writing for Clara (seen below, with Capaldi wearing Smith’s last costume), who has so much potential but, in my opinion, not well utilized at all. But this isn’t about that. This is about costume. And I love the new look for the Doctor. Bring it on!

twelfth doctor, clara

the geek life

Clara Oswald: looking back at “The Bells of St John” and some Wild Speculation about The Time of the Doctor

Joanna V.

Tonight I am revisiting the Clara Oswald episodes from this past season of Doctor Who. While watching “The Bells of St John,” I noticed something interesting, a very specific detail that got my mind rambling off (as it does) on all sorts of little theories. I’m going to ramble about them now and see if I get anywhere. Coming with me? Geronimo!

“I don’t know where I am.”

The episode begins with a warning: people are being uploaded into a giant computer database and they all say this same phrase. They don’t know where they are because they have ceased to exist in the physical space.

Clara, of course, gets uploaded twice; the first time the Doctor interrupts but not before she’s received her “computer package” which makes her as smart at computers as the giant database, or so it seems. The second time, she’s “fully integrated” and the Doctor must get everyone in the database downloaded to get her back. Each time she keeps on repeating “I don’t know where I am,” just like all the others.

Clara really is one for the repeated phrase. We know, thanks to “The Name of the Doctor,” that her catchphrase is from the moment she jumps into the Doctor’s time stream. “Run, you clever boy, and remember” is repeated each time she’s about to die in the other episodes. What’s really interesting is that at the very beginning and at the very end of “Name,” she repeats another phrase: “I don’t know where I am.”

She says this as she’s falling through the Doctor’s time stream, living through his entire history and stopping the Great Intelligence from killing him at every point in time. She was born to save the Doctor and she saves the Doctor again and again by being born. The episode implies that she sends the leaf that causes her parents to meet and have her…

…which means that Clara is essentially a time loop. This is where we get into Wild Speculation with a dash of Theorizing and Guesswork for good measure.

If Clara sent the leaf that caused one of her selves to be born, and we think it is the “original” Clara (Clara Prime), then she creates herself. That’s a bit confusing and a bit too Bad Wolf for my liking. But, if the Clara that sends the leaf is a version created when she jumped into the Doctor’s time stream, then where does Clara Prime actually originate? Is the Doctor traveling with Clara Prime, or is he traveling with a “Saving the Doctor” Clara? Or is it a combination?

It bothered me in the 50th special, “Day of the Doctor,” that even though the season ended with Clara and the Doctor both inside his mind, that there was no explanation for how they got back out of his mind. He asks her to trust him, to let him save her, and they see the War Doctor… and then she’s in a school?

No. We’ve missed something.

So, then, is it possible that the entire 50th anniversary episode takes place in the Doctor’s mind? It would be tricky with all the other Doctors there, but, if versions of Clara are throughout the Doctor’s timeline, then couldn’t there also be versions of the Doctor scattered around, too? And I hope this doesn’t get too Timey Wimey, but couldn’t that also account for why the War Doctor was able to reach two future Doctors are once, and not just, say, Ten?

And what about that computer database? It is, of course, the Great Intelligence, but is it the original Great Intelligence, or is It one of Its own versions that also went into the Doctor’s time stream? Are the players in “Bells of St John” their Prime selves, or just copies?

It’s…complicated.

I’m hoping that the Christmas special “Time of the Doctor” will reveal how they got out of his mind, or at least give a hint to it. I know sometimes there are coincidences, but repetition of key phrases? That’s very Moffat, isn’t it Sweetie?

“I don’t know where I am.” And we don’t know where the Doctor and Clara are, either.

—

Note: On a second watching of “Bells of St John” and other episodes, I have to say that I still think Clara’s character isn’t written well, but with my newly found affection for her thanks to the 50th special, I’m enjoying her a lot more in these. I hope the writers continue to give her more depth, because I like her attitude and independence. She’s the first modern companion who isn’t either A) interested in the Doctor or B) has or is looking for another love interest (remember, even Donna was constantly dealing with weddings and marriage). I like that she’s perfectly content to just wheel around the universe with him, having a laugh. She’s got a lot of potential.

the geek life

Thoughts on the Twelfth Doctor

Joanna V.

I kept the title basic enough, but you should know this post has SPOILERS, sweetie.

So. Peter Capaldi is going to be the new Doctor.

I think most of the world collectively said, “Who??” when they made the announcement, but he looked really familiar and it didn’t take me long to find out why. Peter Capaldi has been all over our TV and movie screens for years, it’s just that he’s usually a character actor. We see him all the time.

The reason I recognized him was from his role in The Hour, which is a BBC drama I love. He came on for the second series (it’s a mini series with six episodes per run) and was fantastic, fit right in with the rest of the cast. He’s known for other things, too, but I think the most entertaining is one of his most recent billings: as “W.H.O. Doctor” in World War Z.

Anyway, that’s enough of the summary, you can get more of that elsewhere. Here are my two cents about it.

I like the casting choice. The Doctor has been getting younger looking lately, and I think it’s about time we had an older actor in the role. It’ll be interesting to see him not as the “heartthrob” any more, but as the over 1000 year old guy he is. And I’m really hoping that with a new Doctor that the writers will maybe fix Clara’s character up a bit, too. It’s been known to happen, where the characters get a bit, well, edited between seasons. It even happened with the Seventh Doctor (and I liked him a LOT in his second season).

All of that being said, I know there are people very upset about Matt Smith’s departure from the show. My friends’ six year old daughter bawled her eyes out about it, channeling fan-girls everywhere, I suspect. The thing is, the actors who play the Doctor always change. That’s the point, if you will. And I’m interested to see where the show is going next.

I also can’t help but remember the heartbreak over David Tennant’s departure, and how people said they just couldn’t see Matt Smith as the Doctor because he wasn’t David Tennant. Well, we (almost) all grew to love Matt Smith’s Doctor, and I’m sure we’ll love the new one, too. The Whovians are all in this together, and I think it’s going to be exciting.

the geek life

Wisdom from The Doctor

Joanna V.

Impossible Astronaut Day was the 23rd. I kept finding these weird marks on my arm, but the only thing I heard was silence…

Impossible astronaut day

Here are eleven things I have learned from The Doctor:

The least important things sometimes, my dear boy, lead to the greatest discoveries.
1st Doctor

Logic, my dear Zoe, merely enables one to be wrong with authority.
2nd Doctor

A straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but it is by no means the most interesting.
3rd Doctor

There’s no point in being grown up if you can’t act a little childish sometimes.
4th Doctor

You may disguise your features but you can never disguise your intent.
5th Doctor

What’s the use of a good quotation if you can’t change it?
6th Doctor

Anybody remotely interesting is mad in some way.
7th Doctor

I love humans. Always seeing patterns in things that aren’t there.
8th Doctor

The past is another country. 1987’s just the Isle of Wight.
9th Doctor

Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It’s not the time that matters, it’s the person.
10th Doctor

My experience is that there is, you know, surprisingly, always hope.
11th Doctor

conservation ftw

Thoughts on Chimpanzee (the movie, not the animal)

Joanna V.

As this weekend was Earth Day, it was also the opening weekend for the new Disneynature movie, Chimpanzee. And as I have every year, I went with a group from the zoo to go see it.

It’s always interesting to go see an animal movie w/ zoo people because we see things with that perspective. So the comments afterward were along the lines of this:

“At least they didn’t personify the chimps quite as much as in the lion one last year.”
“Why does there have to be an ‘invading force’ and all that, why not just say the other group needs more food to support itself?”
“Why are all of the ‘bad guys’ in these Disney movies named things like Scar? Or Fang?” (My contribution? “I like the name Roscoe…”)
“I wonder how much they edited it in the studio for _______ scene…”

You get the idea.

The footage was beautiful, though. I especially liked the parts where they filmed rain in slow motion as it poured down on mushrooms and leaves, and a part where they showed phosphorescent fungi. This is what I really like about these type of movies– the high definition, gorgeous footage of the wildlife and of places I’ll probably never see in my lifetime.

So yeah. I liked it overall.

Last thing for tonight and then I’m going to bed (I’ve been up since 4:30, which is a whole other matter). A friend sent me this:

..___
/…….>—(
=-=—=
=-=—=
|.|.|.|.|.>—-C
|●…●…●\
|●…●….●\
|●….●….●\
————————

joanna irl

Sojourn

Joanna V.

sojourn (n.) a brief period of residence; (v.) to live somewhere temporarily

I spent November outside of Hawaii. I meant to blog about it as soon as I got back, but life can be a whirlwind (plus I’m still enjoying as much of my on-vacation-laid-back attitude as much as possible) and I haven’t gotten to it yet. Today I find myself with some unexpected time, though, so I’m going to take a little time to tell you about it.

Mostly you can see what all I did (which consisted of getting good nights’ sleep, not stressing about my house being dusty, and visiting some old haunts) at my photo blog. I still haven’t gotten to captions, but will manage it eventually I’m sure. In the meantime, I’m going to show you some things I did using nothing but the photos I snapped with the camera on my phone.

These are mostly the things I sent to J so he could “participate” in what I was doing and are in no way comprehensive. Mostly they’re just funny. Hope you enjoy! (Warning: LOTS of photos, though I did make them smallish, at least…)

Continue reading “Sojourn” →