Forest of the Dead
Regarding last night's Doctor Who, I'm simply going to invoke the Bad Astronomer:
Steven Moffat is made of awesome.
That is all.
Episodes like that are the reason I watch TV. Spoilers follow.
Steven Moffat taking over Doctor Who
Russell T. Davies, the executive producer of Doctor Who, is stepping down at the end of this series. Steven Moffat, my favourite TV writer after Aaron Sorkin, will take over.
He's a brave guy. And brilliant. His four DW episodes have been, in my opinion, stunning, and Blink was a nigh-on perfect piece of television. So good, in fact, that I can't imagine an entire series keeping it up - it's not that I doubt the guy's ability, it's that most episodes of everything are worse than Blink. Which is why he's brave, because the loudest of the Doctor Who online fans are savage to the point of insanity, and they'll turn on you in an instant.
Spend more than a few minutes investigating Doctor Who online and you'll find many people trying to make scriptwriters cry. You know, in the name of criticism. They're fans who deserve high quality entertainment, and will throw around the strongest of adjectives if you don't meet their standards. Honestly, you'd think the world was at stake: throwaway lines are 'unforgivable', scripts are turgid or (horror of horrors) sentimental and writers have agendas and are worthless. I read these people for a while, before realising they don't, in point of fact, know shit. But they're loud and, when eloquent, very good at inducing deference.
Some can enter the fray with a wry smile and a kevlar sensibility, but I lack the self-confidence to be a part of an online community with critical bully-boys at its centre - it wears me down, and I start to doubt myself. I don't bother any more; I simply watch and enjoy. I'm sure Mr Moffat doesn't have this problem, and is more than capable of dealing with rabid 'fans', but he'll inevitably come in for a large amount of abuse, and that's nobody's idea of a good time.
Doctor Who is taking a break next year, so Steven Moffat's series won't begin until 2010. I'm looking forward to it already.
The Horn
Tidying, cleaning, more tidying, photo processing...At some point I should get back to earning money, I suppose. In lieu of anything exciting, a photograph of what I assume is a doggingmobile, and a completely bizarre chocolate set:
And speaking of speeding, this is the funniest thing ever. I hope it catches on.
I'm now off to catch up with Doctor Who. I saw the Family of Blood and Blink episodes while we were away. Fantastic stuff. Particularly the latter - Steven Moffat rocks. Skuds informs me Mr Moffat is the writer of Jekyll, which I happily recorded on a whim. I'll catch that soon, but it's Utopia tonight, then Drum Thingy asap, hopefully before I accidentally come across the entire plot.
The Girl in the Fireplace
I've only just watched last week's Doctor Who - The Girl in the Fireplace. Wow. Steven Moffat's episodes last series impressed me greatly, and again I think he really captured something. Break for spoilers...
The Doctor Dances
Just watched the conclusion to last week's Doctor Who, and thought it was superb. The excellent Russell T. Davies is the main writer on the series, but if Steven Moffat's name doesn't appear again on the credits I'll be very surprised. His double episode managed the rare feat of having a completely self-contained, coherent and surprising plot. There were no ghosts in the machine or unlikely coincidences. Every problem's resolution was foreshadowed (there's a technical term for this, but I'm damned if I can think of it just now) such that it made sense, but was subtle enough that you didn't figure it out in advance. It was also dramatic without being silly or over-the-top, as well as rather touching. The dialogue was wonderful, too:
"Back to your room!" says the Doctor, which temporarily disperses the attacking aliens (which sounds silly, but made perfect sense in the context of the story)
"I'm so glad that worked, those would have been terrible last words."
If I ever write something that succeeds in all areas as well as this episode, I'll be very proud.
Hello!
Hey, thanks for coming! I'm Andrew, and this is where my headthinks come to breed. They often meander around humanism and photography, but they're flighty and you can't trust them, so anything is possible.
Do feel free to email me - I get lonely:
Your hair looks swish, by the way - have you done something new?
Recent Comments
- vicky: going up this weekend having done all the welsh peaks except 4 snowdon, cant wait
on Climbing Snowdon. - vicky: what, how can u live in the 21 c and say that, probably a sexist thing
on Climbing Snowdon. - vicky: da iawn laura, cant believe what im hearing, all this fuss, anyway love the site, and i agree, normal people who swear and curse clomb mountains cos we live in the...
on Climbing Snowdon. - Andrew: Did a few quick test shots to check the light levels, then balanced the camera on the arm of a bench, set it for a 20s exposure and hoped for the best
on ISS. - lynsey: Wow, how did you take that photograph?
on ISS.
