The sound of [The] Silence

Magnet #1156 - Doctor Who Series 6

Happy Whoday, ya'll!

What? Need I say more?

9pm tonight. BBC-America.

Go. Watch. It.

3 Octopuses & An Otter World Tour - #makeithappen

Magnet #999 - Fezzes are cool

(I promise. This is the last Doctor Who magnet, at least until the Christmas Special.)

Here's the thing. I love the BBC. I even love BBC-America (even though I haven't a clue what's going on with their programing right now).

And lord knows, I love me some Doctor Who.

But, I've been puzzled over why the big U.S. push. Why now? Why not when David Tennant was being hailed one of Britain's national treasures?

There's a part of me that thinks that the BBC underestimated the American Doctor Who audiences until they brought David Tennant and John Barrowman together at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. And by then, it was too late to do anything more with DT.

I figure, post-SDCC, they all got together in a big room and said, dudes, there's a new team in place, we have a little money in the budget because we have new talent, so let's go raise that U.S. awareness even more, shall we?

Which is how we ended up with a huge push for Series 5 with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan - I'm talking actual advertising dollars, including outdoor advertising all over the place (at least here in NYC), they closed the gap between UK/U.S. airings, and they did a whole PA tour around the U.S.

The only gap in this media blitz plan is why the lull at both SD/NY Comic-Cons this year. Would have thought they'd have made it over, or fielded a panel or two. Perhaps they were saving up for the big U.S. shoot, just around the release of the DVDs?

Brilliant plan, I suppose. Because the shoot and the DVDs give young Matt Smith something to talk about - in his big profile piece in USA Today, his podcast with (the suddenly oh so cute, when the hell did that happen?) @nerdist, and now a whole Doctor Who-themed Craig Ferguson show today.

I wish I had the link for the whole show, but it just aired like an hour ago, so I don't have it, but I'm sure someone will upload it asap. It was freakin' awesome. From Craig's (real or fake, who knows) outrage at not getting Doctor Who themesong legal clearances, to the sonics to the male/female Dalek, to Chris Hardwick's audition for Twelve, to Matt Smith's stay at the Playboy penthouse and meeting a girl in Vegas, and his incredibly cute socks, and his secret ability to play the harmonica for the Three Octopuses & An Otter band. Great episode.

Truth be told, I'm well aware that it just seems like we're getting bombarded here, but it's totally nothing like the ubiquitous PR blitz on the cover of every magazine, every talk show, reality show, quiz show in the UK.

Not that I'm not complaining, folks. Really, it's more like professional awe for all the hits that the PR team's managed to get for the show and for Matt Smith. Way to go, BBC kids! (I kinda just mourn for all the might have been's with my boy David Tennant, had he had the same sort of media support. Sigh. What? Ya'll know, David's my Doctor.)

Anyway. Yes. I'm spending way too much time on Cafepress. Why do you ask?

Besides, fezzes are cool.

eta:
Heh. I just realized, it prolly should be octopi. Still. Cute. And I would totally go see them, if it meant Craig, Matt and Chris on stage together dancing.

eta2:
And so, my friends, behold, the lovely Matt Smith/Craig Ferguson interview.

Bow ties are cool

Magnet #991 - Bow Ties Are Cool

I grew up at an ad agency where my C-suite made bow ties cool. I miss those guys. And, really, guys who know how to rock the bow tie.

Luckily, I've got Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor to fill in the gap, and it was probably this running line that won me over.

I've been saving this Cafe Press magnet for a couple of weeks, because Doctor Who Series 5 (or 31-ish, if you're really counting) comes out on DVD today. I'm excited, Best Buy's already told me it's waiting for me, so in about 12 hours, I'll have it in my hot little hands. (I'm actually more excited that the BBC DVD boxset prices were inexplicably a little more affordable for this season, but with a $20 BB certificate? Score!)

Won't lie, David Tennant will always be my doctor, no matter who the "girl who screams a bit" is by his side. And, I was a little nervous (and possibly psychic, with that Van Gogh magnet) about the new guy. But, after Matt Smith's first episode, I was kinda sold - his madcap Doctor was a little scary, but his performances with both Amelia and Amy Pond were just terrific. Plus, love her or hate her, Amy's a pretty great companion for this iteration of the Doctor.

Of course, (shout-out to @goddesspharo...and her glorious picspams) it helps that Karen Gillan's hair is just about the prettiest on television. (What? A shallow hair comment shouldn't come as a surprise from the girl who wanted to be a blonde Farrah Fawcett when she was five.)

Seriously, I do enjoy a good Eleven and Amy Pond story. And, between Van Gogh and the Weeping Angels two-parter, with a dash of River Song and even some James Corden, we had some really good episodes this season. Which is great, because those balanced out my two non-faves, Vampires in Venice (because ya'll know besides Vampire Diaries and of course, old-school WB, I hate vampires) and Victory of the Daleks (because ya'll know I hate Daleks - Oh. The. Horror.).

I'll also miss my ever-charming David Tennant Video Diaries, for sure, but maybe Matt's will make up for them? Maybe?

Anyway, if you haven't checked out the Doctor in any of his iterations, I don't know who you are, try the BBC official site...but for a much more fun dive into the Doctor's universe, drop by Blogtor Who, always ready with a good review, a laugh, and a fun time. /that's what she said!

Over the rainbow

Magnet #786 - No Place Like Home

As I was shopping for wrapping paper (I ask again, why, oh why, can't gift-wrapping be my job?), I found this perfect magnet for what's bound to be my next mini-obsession, Over the Rainbow.

Ya'll know that I hate reality television. Like a lot. I have too much scripted television on my regular schedule to get involved with reality. But every so often, there's a show the happens to catch my full and rapt attention.

Last year I got sucked into the Andrew Lloyd Webber's other two reality performance shows - BBC's Any Dream Will Do and How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? where ALW allowed the British public to cast Joseph from Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Maria from Sound of Music for his West End productions.

I don't know who was the sillier - BBC-A for airing the competition almost a year after they aired in the UK, for shows that never made it back over to Broadway (darn it) or me for sitting through the edited US versions of them, knowing that Lee and Connie won. The answer's probably both, I'm sure.

BBC-A didn't even bother to air the Oliver! series here, and I didn't both to look it up. Mainly because, hello, it's Oliver...the boy's too young, and I didn't really know the songs, and I didn't really care because, hello, it's Oliver!

But, now, this weekend, I've powered through the first four episodes of Over the Rainbow, where Andrew's trying to cast the role of Dorothy in the new production of Wizard of Oz. I dunno what it is about these series, but I love watching.

While I'll miss Barrowman and Denise Van Outen, there's a new panel in place: John Partridge - who I don't really know from Adam, but he's pretty. And really, why is Charlotte Church still 12 years old in my head?

I'm agreeing with the panel so far - for whatever reason, this crop of girls seem to be so good! Before, I could see most of their little flaws and let's face it, their craziness, but this time around all the girls are terrific...and with just a hint of the crazy that will likely come into play down the line.

And no, BBC-A's not airing them - I'm full on watching by alternative methods. From what I can tell, I'm still two episodes behind. I know this because I totally spoiled myself by visiting @bbcdorothy's Twitter page.

I won't be able to follow @bbcdorothy til I catch up. But I have to say, it's marvelous not knowing who is going to win, week after week, not knowing the ending of the show before it's begun.

As for voting, I have my favorites, but I can't vote from here - and I gotta be honest, I've never even dialed for American Idol or Dancing with the Stars here, so I likely wouldn't have voted anyway.

So, goooo UK, vote for the one I want to win!

Regeneration

Magnet #785 - Rana

Ya'll, I have found a new magnet series to start collecting. How gorgeous is this frog? Love it.

I picked up this magnet last month in the new Tampa Museum of Art, and what I should have done was pick them all up, to add to my collection! I already have the beautiful bull that my friend picked up for me in Barcelona.

But, what I didn't know back then, I know now - they're from a design firm based in Barcelona, called Barcino. They have so many gorgeous designs, I can't wait to discover more around town.

And, what I thought about the bull last year was correct! According to the Barcino folks, these magnets were created in the Spanish mosaic practice called "trencadis" that Antonio Gaudi made so popular on his buildings. They're hand-painted, which makes them all unique.

But, we all know the reason I picked the frog for today. Wait. Don't we?

It's because after a full-day BBC-A marathon of David Tennant Doctor Who episodes, the US will be broadcasting the first Matt Smith episode, "The Eleventh Hour," tonight. Likely, if I get back from shopping in time, I'll have seen the third one airing in the UK, all before the first airs here. So bizarre. And kinda wrong.

Anyway, so did ya'll know the frog - and apparently several cold-blooded animals - can regenerate limbs when it's young, and can even "die" and come back? No, really. I mean, I kinda knew, but I just sat through this video with one eye shut, in case something gross happened. There were no brilliant flashes of light, but the frog just hopped to, after being dead. Which is just kinda icky.

But, it's neat how the Doctor can do much of the same. I had no idea that Time Lords are frogs. Still, I suppose there's something to be said for the genius of Doctor Who - being able to span the years since the day after Kennedy was shot in 1963 to now, with almost a dozen men playing one character, and goodness knows how many people playing the Doctor's faithful companion.

As I was watching tonight's episode a couple of weeks ago, it amazed me to think that the BBC can just throw in a new guy and a new chick, and have an entire audience not only buy into the concept of same character different guy, but to enjoy the regenerations and the new takes on the Doctor.

Amazing.

Kinda like that frog in the video.

Very cool.

Kinda like this frog right here.

Doctor Who?

Magnet #769 - Doctor Who, Ten to Eleven

Lest ya'll think I've thrown David over for Matt, here's a magnet that better explains where I stand on the whole regeneration issue.

Having seen the one Eleven episode and a few interviews with the guy, I find myself willing to accept the newbie. But unwilling to leave David behind.

Anyway. There.

A Doctor Who magnet and another magnetpost with absolutely no real content whatsoever.

What? I'm still trying to get caught up to my real-time magnet count, and willing to sacrifice my handmade magnets of cuteboys to do so. I do this, rather than spoil anyone for how good the first Matt Smith episode is for those crazies in the US audience not willing to use alternative means to watch that episode ahead of time. And besides, @BlogtorWho has way funner review of the episode than I could have written.

Off with their heads!

Magnet #674 - Tower of London

Love visiting the Tower of London, if only for the years and years and years of history cropped up within these pile of stones - the thing was begun in 1066 by William the Conqueror, after all.

Plus, no matter how many times you visit, you don't run out of things to do, tours to take, things to see and history to learn. Which is probably why I love it so.

What I don't love, and why I picked this magnet for today, is because we just finished watching the Brit show Gavin & Stacey's Christmas Special, and are sorely, sorely disappointed by their own brand of revisionist history.

Lock up those editors for BBC-A, because honestly, they've edited yet another BBC show beyond recognition.

Argh. I get that they need to edit for time or content or music rights, but man, sometimes, the Brit shows aren't worth watching, when half the good bits are on some digital clipboard somewhere across the waters.

Sigh. They really can't be angry when people turn to alternative resources when 1) BBC-A airs the shows on a delay (which they were starting to get better about), but 2) When they do finally decide to air the show (like this Christmas special I'm talking about is actually from 2008), they have to edit (and bleep) the hell out of it.

Mind you, I would bet that in addition to saving almost two minutes in time, they probably also didn't have the rights to Band-Aid's Do They Know it's Christmas? Such a shame, because this scene with Smithy and Gavin? Is the best scene in the entire episode!

And, if you haven't seen Gavin & Stacey - get thee to the (unedited) boxed sets - asap. Such a great show!

What's the Korean word for Ten?

Magnet #665 - Korea

My friend brought this back for me from his Asia world tour - so cute! From what I've found, this couple is wearing the traditional dress of Korea - Han-guk pokshik (Korean attire).

And the other best thing about this magnet? It's a bottle-opener on the flip side. How funny.

I find it especially funny because I used to have this Korean client who we used to entertain a lot - in NY, in Jersey, in Vegas.

Yeah, that last one? Let's keep that in Vegas, man. Let's just blame the around-the-world vodka flight of shots. Good times.

Anyway, I just picked this magnet today, because there's a David Tennant video posted on BBC-America, where he talks about how big Doctor Who is in Korea. S'truth - the Seoul International Drama Awards 2009 named DW the Most Popular Foreign Drama of the Year.

Apparently, there's a lotta love comin' outta there for Ten. Heh.

Bigger on the inside

Magnet #632 - The Doctor's TARDIS

Yeah, that doesn't ever sound dirrty at all. But, Time And Relative Dimensions In Space, that's what the TARDIS is. Everyone just knows it as the little blue wooden box that that's impossibly bigger on the inside than the outside.

What? I had to use it for today - Doctor Who was a trending topic for at least a few hours today, given that it was the UK premiere of the third to the last David Tennant specials.

And, no, no matter how much disdain and disapproval I get for watching it through "alternative resources," I couldn't resist watching The Waters of Mars online. Twice. About to be three, once the commentaries go up. And probably a few more times after that.

Sorry - but it's not like I'm spoiling the US market with what's happened. And, it's not like I haven't spent a trillion dollars on Doctor Who stuff. I'm totally buying the DVDs, and of course, I'll be buying the DT/Ten DW Specials box set when it becomes available next year.

So you know what, BBC and BBC-A? You guys continue to stagger your DW airings all you want. Still gonna watch it on both premiere dates, it'll just feel like a little time traveling of my own, is all.

A place like that

Magnet #565 - Boone Hall Plantation

One of the oddest things being Asian and growing up in the South is sitting through US History studying the Civil War period. My ancestors came through LAX, so our people had nothing to do with either side. But it was always interesting to me how a war that happened almost 150 years ago still sparks lively and usually pointed conversation.

But, book learning and lively discussion can only teach so much, leaving television - particularly historically-based, million-dollar miniseries featuring fictional dynasties from the North and the South, starring (you guessed it) not one, but several cute boys (Patrick Swazye, Parker Stevenson and James Read, all in uniform, natch) - to fill in the blanks.

Which is what John Jakes' North and South did. Yes, that North and South. (As opposed to the Richard Armitage BBC version.)

It's one of the best memories growing up - my family all sitting around the tv gathered to watch this miniseries. Yep. Even my dad! And for every 2-hour installment (and man, were there a lot of them), we'd sit learning more about American history than I did sitting in the classroom - decisive battles, West Point, secession, the slavery/abolitionist debate, major turning points.

But more, it taught us about American cultural history - how people sometimes picnic'd on the battlefield sidelines, how the War affected friends and family, soldier life, plantation life, the pretty dresses that women wore, and how dashing soldiers looked on horseback. Ok, ok. That last one's a stretch.

But above all that, two things I loved best about North and South were:

1) The music. The grand and sweeping opening theme song is one of the most memorable of the old-school miniseries. It gets into your head - and I remember humming it incessantly, and trying to sound it out on the piano all the time.

2) Mont Royal, the Southern plantation owned by the Mains. I freakin' loved Mont Royal, and loved the idea of having that long boulevard of oaks approaching the grand house with grand columns and a giant front porch, and acres of land surrounding the house.

Mont Royal was actually staged at and based on Boone Hall Plantation, where I picked up this magnet. It was the main highlight on a roadtrip from Charleston to Myrtle Beach. How could we not stop?

You think television gives you a good idea of what it was like? This living history museum and working plantation rounds out the experience with costumed tour guides giving house and grounds tours.

Soooo interesting - I mean, setting aside the fact that it has a somewhat checkered past as a plantation. It can't help that it saw some of the worst days in American history during Civil War. By the same token, it must have seen some of the best our history, too, given that the rows of oak trees were actually planted in 1743, before the American Revolution. Very cool to see firsthand!

It's funny that this N&S fansite actually says: "It is places like Mont Royal which [sic] make you say 'I want to live at a place like that.'"

My parents apparently took this series and Mont Royal to heart. The house they eventually built?

A pretty good match for Mont Royal.

The absent king

Magnet #559 - Richard I The Lionheart (r.1189-1199)

I had a different magnet in mind today, but once I found out that today in 1189, Richard the Lionheart was crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey, I knew it had to be this one.

Before tonight, all I really knew was that Richard I didn't really bear resemblance to Sean Connery or Anthony Hopkins. Well, that, and that he's the son of Katharine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole, and the (quasi-related, but not really - the very definition of quasi, I guess) brother of Timothy Dalton. (A Lion in Winter, so good! Definitely check it out!) Or he's brother of Toby Stephens, depending on your taste in film or tv.

Anyway, here's some stuff I learned just now:

• He didn't speak English. Apparently, born in country, but spent most of his young life in France.
  
• Out of his 10 years as monarch, he spent only six months in England. That's why some folks call him "the absent king."
• Because he was a great military leader, he was supposedly called Lionheart (Cœur de Lion) before he ascended to the throne. And, more people supposedly know him as the Richard the Lionheart, rather than as Richard I.
• He fought with the Knights Templar by his side.
  
• On the way home from the Third Crusade (that he drummed up money for by starting a Saracen tax), he totally was kingnapped! The Duke of Austria (who was then joined by the Emperor of Germany) held him for ransom...for like more money than England and Normandy could raise to get him back! (And because I think it's supercute - here's Pudsey being ransomed by Guy of Gisborne.)
  
• He supposedly winked at the crossbowman who had him in his sights, just before getting hit.
• He was forgiving. He forgave his brother, John, who all but usurped the throne while Rick was off saving the Christian world. He even forgave the crossbowman for killing him.
  
• No one knows how tall he was - apparently, because his remains have been lost for generations.
• Annnnd, I'm failing to understand this one - his body parts were buried all over hill and dale - his brain in Poitou, his heart in Rouen and the rest of his body, they buried at his father's feet in Anjou.
  

Eh, not bad for a quick, beat the clock magnetpost, huh.

For further - and most fascinating - reading:
BBC's Did Robin Hood Ever Meet King Richard?
Wiki's Richard I profile
Stephen Dafoe's Knights Templar History
Britannia's Richard I profile

Coat of many colors

Magnet #537 - Elderly Couple, Uzbekistan, purchased by my sister Julie

Save the World Sister keeps bugging me to start giving people magnet bylines for magnets that are given to me. As much as I appreciate every single magnet ya'll have given me, I'm not going to start doing that.

The second I do, I have to go back through the last 535 magnets and figuring out from whence they came. What if I make a mistake? What if you're offended? No, I can't always give credit where credit is due - just know that I'm much appreciative if you've given me a magnet or 30. I love them all.

That said, Save the World Sister is the one who brought me this magnet from the far reaches of Uzbekistan, having spent time there with the Peace Corps. Thank you. Julie. Who purchased this magnet. Magnet #537. From Uzbekistan. Hee.

I'm picking this one for today because it totally reminds of the only two reality shows that I've totally gotten sucked into - BBC's Any Dream Will Do and How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? where they allowed the British public to cast Joseph from Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Maria from Sound of Music for the West End productions.

I couldn't help it. I know they both aired more than a couple of years ago in the UK, but just now got to us here in the States this year. I know they both had winners that I totally Googled, so that I was completely and totally spoiled for the endings. I know it was superduper cheesy and I got way too involved in the shows and the contestants. I know that my search engines have begun saving the phrase, "josephs/marias, what are they doing now?"

But, dudes. C'mon. It was Andrew Lloyd Webber. It was John Barrowman. It was Graham Norton. And there were pretty boys! Singing! With accents! Hells, yeah I was there. Every Sunday night. No lie. Even when the pretty boys from Joseph turned into the pretty girls from Maria. Odd how you get attached to your favorites, though. (And scary, too. Now I see how ya'll American Idol folks get sucked in.)

Oh, I know it's silly - but in high school, I had a thing for Andrew Lloyd Webber's music. Ok, really, it was a thing for my hot band director, who had a thing for Andrew Lloyd Webber's music, but still, I'm very grateful he introduced me to ALW's work. So of course I loved watching their musical performances from all of ALW's shows (Loved it all, except for when they made the silly Marias fight - that was downright degrading and seriously ticked me off).

I am still mad that BBC-A took so long in airing the two shows - I mean, two years? If they'd aired Joseph last year, I would have totally bought a ticket during my December Is there a Doctor in the House trip! Then I wouldn't have been so sad to miss out on David Tennant's Hamlet! I could have seen my beloved Lee Mead's Joseph, instead of anxiously waiting for him to get a Broadway role this season. And I totally would have gone to see Connie Fisher's Maria!

Oh, silly BBC-A. Don't even get me started about how annoyed I am that everyone's oh-so-excited that they picked up Doctor Who Series 5 to air closer to their UK transmission dates, and are even committing to airing them unedited. Right. That should have been by rote, ya'll. Hmph. I refuse to thank Garth Ancier for a decision that should have been made as a matter of course. (Of course, I refuse to forgive Garth Ancier for not hiring me in the first place. No, he didn't close any doors for me [see what I did there?], he should have just known I wanted to work for him.)

Moooooving along...so why this magnet for realz? C'mon. Lookit at the old guy's coat! It's totally a coat of many colors, there's yellow and green and purple and...

What?

Wish I were there, too. Hmph.

Magnet #517 - Comixology

Picked this one up earlier this year at NY ComicCon.

I'm using it today because I'm desperately wishing I'd had the foresight to get myself to SD ComicCon. Seriously.

Apparently, my friends think this, too, as within the space of an hour, I had at least three people tell me that next year we're soooooooooooooo going to ComicCon.

Personally, I do think we missed the boat. I'm convinced that they're gonna announce a Doctor Who/David Tennant movie (which totally will be getting a separate magnetpost, of course). Or - and this would be horrible - they're gonna announce that David Tennant's gonna be Bilbo Baggins.

Folks. This cannot happen.

Anyway, so everyone's all wanting to head to SD next year. Me, I'm sort of on the fence, because hello, crazy, crazy crowds, lonnnnnng lines, and very cramped quarters. Eeeeep.

Still. Jealous. Everyone's at the con and tweeting pics and lines and booths. Bah. So, maybe I'll think about it.

Anyway, in keeping with BBC-A week (apparently), I'm sure ya'll heard, Torchwood's on this week. (Insert snerk wordicon here.)

I'm excited, because it feels like TW's picked up a few new viewers these last three days. They're champing at the bit to watch Series 1 and 2 now.

It's awesome that people are engaged and enjoying this five-parter. But honestly, I'm just hoping that they're still talking to me after Day 4.

If there be dragons...

Magnet #513a & 513b - Dragon Magnerine

Yep, another magnerine, this one from the Met. My reason for this one today is kinda two-fold. (Ha. See what I did there?)

I have this little guy sitting in my cube, the companion to the other dragon sitting in the opposite side of my cube. That's the one who, with the little pearl in his claw, is my feng shui symbol, my little protector, and bringer of wealth, power and abundance of opportunities. Of course, I've been waiting for him to do his job, but he works here and there, I suppose. I mean, I haven't fallen out the window or anything, so far.

But, this magnet in my Photobucket was a gentle reminder that Merlin's coming on tonight on NBC. Yes, yes, of course, I'm still watching. I mean, really, are you surprised?

It's not the best show ever, but it's passable as summer entertainment goes.

I just can't figure out why NBC bought this BBC show, when it should have totally been BBC-A, as a companion piece to Robin Hood, or Doctor Who, or at the very least, they should have shared the rights with Siffy, because hello, of all the supernaturalness of it all. Heck, it even fits better on The CW with the youngness of their cast.

As far as Camelot and King Arthur retellings go, it's actually not bad. I do enjoy seeing Arthur as basically an egotistic frat guy (hopefully with a redeeming heart of gold in the end), and pre-evil Morgana being friends with the rather timid but brave Guenevere. But, I really love seeing Merlin as the unassuming, kind-hearted geek, getting tromped on by Arthur, sometimes his friend, sometimes his servant, but always both.

No, my problem is really the fact that nothing of import actually happens on the show - the story lines are fairly the same: King Uther Pendragon (love seeing Tony Head on my tv again every week) desperately fighting against the Magic of the Week in his kingdom every week - even though he's banned magix of every kind, somehow, a new one pops up every week. And while Arthur tries to save them all, it's Merlin and his mentor Gaius secretly using magic to get the job done.

Still, I love seeing the cute boys (hello, young Lancelot!), and their period dress, and hearing the anachronisms of their speech, and making fun of all the hoyay between the boys, the girls, and basically everyone walking on two legs.

My favorite, though, is this guy:

The captive magic dragon, the last of his kind, the one that everyone goes to visit in the depths of the castle.

He's a see-all, be-all, know-all giant, flying dragon, whom you know could escape at any time (what with him being a giant, flying dragon and all), but for some reason, he doesn't.

Rather, he hangs out in his little caverns, flying here and about, doling out his rather slashy Arthur/Merlin intertwined fates advice, week after week.

Eh, like I said, it's summer, it's somewhat entertaining, so of course, I'm watching.

Well, I dunno what Keira has to do with it, but ewww*

Magnet #494 - James Bond's Aston Martin DB5

Another one of my Union Square magnets - this one I had in mind for if I ever finally watched the latest Bond flick, or for one of my favorite shows Top Gear.

Yeah, let's go with Top Gear, only the best show ever. If you haven't seen it - go find BBC-A, and track it down. Better still, find it on YouTube.

The beauty of this show is that everyone can watch it. Now, hang on, bear with me. Really! Everyone really can.

I'm totally not a gearhead, but find myself fascinated with the car footage. It's amazing. When you watch, you can see why guys love cars, the sleek lines, the sheen, the revving of the engines. They're just gorgeous machines.

But there's also the coolness of the guests - seriously, where else would you find Helen Mirren saying that she sets her alarm early so she and her hub can have some alone time. The first I ever saw of the show were the three hysterically funny Doctor Who interviews (Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper and of course, David Tennant), and I was instantly drawn to the lap time competition.

I love watching folks race around the course, cursing all the way through it, and then finding out where they landed on the board. (I have to admit, it makes me all giggly, too, when they slap the magnetic strip across the board. Hah. I also admit that I'd totally be all over racing that damn course, too.)

You also have to love all three presenters - Jeremy Clarkson, James May and (no, he doesn't really look like David Tennant), Richard Hammond. Whether or not they're RL chums, they certain get on well on camera, and they make you want to hang out with them.

Or rather, they make you want to compete with them, in one of their wacky races. Remember the Wacky Races cartoons? Just like that. Whether it's across the deserts of Africa, the traffic of London, the country of Vietnam or the superscary backwoods of the US, you just want to go along for the ride.

And, luckily, we get to.

* Random almost-related-to-my-magnet quote from Jeremy:

I’m sorry, but having an Aston Martin DB9 on the drive and not driving it is a bit like having Keira Knightley in your bed and sleeping on the couch.

- Jeremy Clarkson

A far off place

Magnet #415 - Dubai Creek View

This is the other Dubai magnet my colleague brought back for me. Have I told ya'll that I love you guys for thinking of me on your travels? Very sweet. Thank you.

So, from what I've gathered from about a zillion radio interviews, this magnet might be the Dubai that the Doctor Who folks didn't get to see, during their rather cursed, three-day shoot in Dubai.

Last night, the BBC transmitted Planet of the Dead, the fourth to last of David Tennant's run as the Doctor. Sniff. But, with all their trials and tribulations, it was worth it the trouble - the Dubai landscape looked amazing, with the sweeping sandy vistas all over the place.

I won't bother giving you any reviews - Stuff on TV's done an excellent job of that. Spoilers be there, so go, only if you want to know.

I didn't spoil myself - I didn't have to. How much do I love that within two hours of the show airing across the British airwaves, I'd already started watching, and within another two hours, I watched it, and rewatched with the Julie Gardner, James Strong and David Tennant commentary. Ah, the magic of the interwebs.

And, no, I won't get into the ethics of downloading/uploading - I'll own the DVD at some point, I traveled to London and Cardiff, spent my money at the Millennium Center for their tour and did the Doctor Who Exhibition, gave my money to the RSC, and to the BBC for their tour, and of course, bought a ton of ancillary products I didn't need. So, yeah, I watched it online. Serves you right for a) not cracking down and b) for not hammering out a deal with BBC-A to air it over Easter - we have the same Easter here, thank you very much, Auntie Beeb.

But, I digress.

Overall, PotD was a very good episode, and I was happy to see the Doctor in action again. Honestly, though, for most of the show and for every sand dune they walked over, I was half expecting the Doctor and Lady Christina to come upon a very young Reese Witherspoon and Ethan Randall (Embry), and their tongue-clucking friend, lying in the sand.

Emotional Discourse

Magnet #317 - Funny Faces

Into each generation, a Slayer Doctor is born.

The Beeb gave us notice, and surprised the heck out of us with the identity of Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith. And, despite people vouching for him left and right (No, I haven't yet watched the two Billie Piper telefilms he was in), all I know is that he's a bit of a finger waggler.

Ah. But will he make funny faces and have funny hair?

You can check out more serious reactions to the new kid on the block here on Televisionary and Stuff on TV.

I'm still gathering my thoughts, and I'm thinking the jury's out until I actually see his work. We may have our answer, but for me, it's only posed more questions.

First and foremost, am I a Doctor Who fan, or just a David Tennant fan. Mind you, I really did enjoy Chris Eccleston's Nine, and after Parting of the Ways, I was completely convinced that this David Tennant guy wouldn't be able to be the Doctor. So maybe I'm a (new series) DW fan.

Second, is the world ready for a Gen Y Doctor. Will they dress him in ratty jeans and turtlenecks or trendy pullovers? Will he an Abercrombie & Fitch Doctor? To be fair, for the most part that seems to be David Tennant in real life, dressing out of his demo with the number of hoodies and graphic Ts he sports.

Third, are we gonna get a young companion as well? Will we have a Michelle from Skins? Or, someone older? But, as my sister says, we can't have him traveling through all of time and space with a cougar. Or could we?

I will say that I've been loving the worldwide reactions. Articles and blogposts of varying degrees of delight and sheer terror. My favorite thus far...a commenter from the Den of Geek article: "A frakkin EMO?!"

Oh, it won't be so bad. Cautiously optimistic isn't on this magnet, but I'm actually quite looking forward to what Eleven brings to the screen. Just from what little I've now seen on the DWC, I would have to agree that there's something pretty self-possessed about this guy.

Finally, I have to hand it to the BBC Publicity Team. Doctor Who seems to be an easy product to sell, but those PR folks sure know how to generate media impressions and overall buzz, the likes and mileage of which I've never seen. And I'm Stateside, just getting the overflow of that PR.

Wow. All this fuss over a guy we won't see for almost a year.

Once again, well played BBC, well played.

eta:
I'll bet that Matt Smith's Starmeter chart on imdb has just gone through the roof. I can't wait to see the update on his ranking after this week. His rank on Dec 30 was 24,418. Bet money this week, he'll at least be in the top 5,000. Oooh. Hello, rising star.

The readiness is all

Magnet #301 - BBC

So, yesterday, we did the BBC Tour, where I’ve pictures with a TARDIS (yay!) and a Dalek (boo!) and I bought tons of swag (yay, again!).

I also learned a ton. Or rather, a tonne:

Apparently, the BBC World News that we get in the States on BBC-A or on PBS has never been seen by the folks on UK soil. It's not permitted to transmit here, which makes me wonder all sorts of conspiracy theories. What are they showing us, that they can't show their people here at home? Hmmmm.

When asked why in the heck Auntie Beeb schedules their programming in such odd increments and times – like 39 minutes at 7:28 or 58 minutes at like 6:40, or whatever – there was no standard answer aside from “Who says that on the hour/half-hour programming has to be the standard? Why does that make it right? C’mon, we’re a kooky little island, haven’t you learned that by now?”

The BBC hires real-live certified meteorologists (which means my Dave Price, the Early Show weatherman who “only synthesizes the weather for us” couldn’t get a job there) who aren’t on state wages (whoa, does that mean David Tennant’s a civil servant?), but who get a clothing allowance (which explains the weathergirl in the silly capris with kitten heels I saw yesterday morning – who knows what the weather report was, it was freezing, and the weathergirl was in capris! Capris!). Also, there was a look of sheer bewilderment from our guide when asked if they have a dedicated weather channel, followed by a slightly disdainful, “Uh, no? Because we don’t like our weather as much?”

Oh. Ohhhhh. Maybe you’re looking to know how Edward Bennett’s Hamlet was. Well, during the fairly entertaining Q&A session afterward with some of the cast (including a very energized, but slightly frustrated Patrick Stewart), Edward Bennett said, “Look, you’re either ready to play Hamlet, or you’re not.” And, as my post title says, the readiness is all. Yeah, he was ready.

I agree with many critics that you can see where the production was slightly tailored to David Tennant, and you could almost see how Tennant would have interpreted certain lines and gestures. But, Edward was fabulous, if a little understated. Patrick Stewart was amazing. The rest of the cast were pretty darn great, too.

The whole production, with its Spartan, but well-executed against sets was fabulous. I can see why David would be devastated at having to drop out of the show. There’s a tiny part of me that’s glad he did, though. I hate seeing physical altercations, and this production (I imagine with all of them, actually), has several pivotal ones. But it’s the two superintense scenes with Hamlet, where he pretty much assaults Ophelia, and later, Gertrude, that were disturbing for me. I don’t think I would have liked to see David be so ruthless and borderline misogynistic.

Oh! But dudes – Patrick Stewart would like to add “coughing” to the list of things you turn off at shows, along with cell phones, etc. I dunno how you do that, but it seriously screws up a play when people are coughing throughout the whole thing. He was livid, and almost distraught, at how bad last night was – and I quote: “it almost made me want to give up.”

So, if you have a cold, don’t go see a show. Or you darn well better bring some Halls (other cough drops are available).

Happy 45th, Doctor Who!

Magnet #275 - Doctor Who

Today marks the 45th anniversary of Doctor Who, which, according to the fabulously neat BBC archives, aired this day in 1963 on BBC TV.

I've mentioned DW quite a few times here, because I'm a bit of a fan. And though it loses me geek credits, I'll freely admit I'm pretty much a johnny-come-lately, watching only in its new incarnation, and unabashedly calling David Tennant my Doctor.

But, in all seriousness, you really have to respect any show (and a proper sci-fi show at that) that can capture a nation's heart for 45 years. I can't think of an American counterpart to this show, one that pretty much every adult can remember watching at some point over the decades, a show that's transcended generations and genres, and formed a whole culture of hiding behind sofas and Dalek and TARDIS references all over the place.

We just don't have anything of that ilk here, so thanks for sharing, UK!

Whewwww-whewwww, Whewwww-whewwww

Magnet #258 - Knight Rider

I watch Knight Rider.

There. I said it.

Hell, I even have a magnet for it. This magnet was part of a series of buttons that NBC Uni put out earlier this year, to help push their shows for Emmy *snerk* consideration.

I remember watching the original, but to my friends' consternation, not well enough to remember KARR...or Goliath, for that matter.

I'm not gonna lie. Knight Rider's not the best show on the air right now - I'm convinced it's still on only because NBC can't afford to dump anything right now. I also full-on admit (again) that I'm watching it, simply because there's a hot boy and a hot car. And, I suppose I should also admit that my head bops when I hear the souped-up version of the original opening theme.

The hot boy is played by Justin Bruening, who used to be on the soap All My Children, where oddly, his character Jamie is the son of Tad, played by Michael E. Knight, who in real life used to be married to Catherine Hickland, who used to be married to David Hasselhoff who played the original Michael Knight on Knight Rider. How's that for weird degrees of separation?

The new KITT is a product-placed Ford Mustang which morphs into a couple of other Ford vehicles as necessary, which is silly, but I actually kinda like the effects when he goes into his attack mode. Though, I could do without the Val Kilmer as the voice of KITT. Sorry, Val.

The writer/producers are the same guys who worked on Las Vegas, which I also watched (again, for the hot boys, who just happened to have hot cars). So automatically, we're guaranteed gratuitous T&A, silly, almost nonexistent plots, cheesy writing and acting, and sometimes superslick (and sometimes not) special effects, graphics, and camera work.

I don't care. I'm watching, and I like it. Because every so often, the show surprises me. Last night was one of those nights.

It was their Halloween episode, and they had dressed up a couple of the secondary characters in costume and the running gag of the first ten minutes of the show, was that the guy was dressed as Captain Jack Harkness. He sashayed around, expecting people to know who he was. And thus ensued at least three different interchanges discussing Captain Jack Harkness, the "time-traveling bisexual" ("or omnisexual, if you prefer") guy from Torchwood and Doctor Who.

I gotta admit, the kid really did resemble Jack - all he was missing was the hat.

While it totally tickled my funny bone and my BritShow fangurl sensibilities, I spent the next several minutes on pause, while my sister and I discussed if a BBC show reference to DW/TW was completely accessible on such a mainstream U.S. show. (We watch a ton of BBC shows, and the U.S. references are always apparent in them, so it's odd to see the reverse here.)

Our guess is that the showrunners have enough charismatic geek (/TM Rovan) credibility to be sending out a rather well-done shout-out to the DW/TW universe, and the audience has just enough charismatic geek credibility to get it. And those that don't, are hopefully curious enough to check out both shows on BBC-A.*

Loved it. Well played, boys.

*Commercial: If you don't know, the fourth season of Doctor Who starts on BBC-A this weekend. Yes, you've already watched it on SciFi. Yes, you already know what happens at the end. Who cares? Watch it.