Category Archives: Fandom

Doctor Who and the POA

I’m now starting to feel that the new Doctor Who series has disturbing parallels to the Alfonso Cuarón era of the Harry Potter movies.

When Cuarón helmed the third movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, fans rejoiced. Most fans rejoiced. I did not. The tone of the entire series darkened, most strikingly, visually. Figurative darkening was a necessity, as the source material was becoming more dangerous and entangled, but visually, the movie felt as if it had been shot through fog and the world seemed dim as a result. The sets showed the darkness, too. Everything began to look dilapidated and uninviting, even Hogwarts, which had seemed magical and bright in the previous films. This hazy, dark look continued throughout the films and was the primary reason I stopped watching them.

Steven Moffat, similarly genius in his storytelling, appears to be doing the same to Doctor Who. His Series 3 episode “Blink” is universally considered one of the best episodes of the modern era. As a standalone ep, I agree, it’s striking in its difference. As the tone of a series, it’s depressing and dull. I allowed the thought that Series 5 was a bit less colorful because of the transition to our Eleventh Doctor. I, like all of fandom, was feeling him out along with the new sassy companion. I was pleased. As this season began, we were hit with too many cliches and teases in the first two episodes. Following the convoluted story of the opener, we were treated with two dark, dank episodes that did little to harken back to the glory days of FUN Doctor Who, and I fear we will not return.

My fear is that I am alone in my distaste for the new style. I was completely isolated in the HP fandom as someone who preferred that a children’s story (and regardless of what is said, Harry Potter is a children’s story) remain a bit fantastic and bright. The response to last night’s cheerless episode “The Doctor’s Wife” written by Neil Gaiman has been exceedingly positive. Having several scenes of suffering and misery seems to appease fandom, and on that count we differ. I accept and appreciate darkness in the right fandom (BSG, GoT) but this is still, at heart, a show for younger fans with a fifty year tradition that should be respected.

The Day We Became Confused

The Fringe finale was confusing. “A major character will die!” “Peter meets his destiny!” “The Doomsday machine completes its purpose!” While all of those spoilers were true, I almost feel like the finale wasn’t a conclusion to the Season 3 arc, rather than a stand alone episode. We had no Lincoln Lee, no mention of Henry (Nugget; who may or may not exist now), no Sam Weiss, no Mr. X, no mention of William Bell, etc. A throwaway line by Peter as to who the First People were did not satisfy me at all, and if anything, soured the whole mythology of the First People.

Did I like the episode despite all of this? Yes. I’m a bit confused, though. Are we now to believe that the timeline of the show has been a flashback and it’s actually 2026 now? I almost hope that is the case, as I don’t want to see a ton of time travel on Fringe. I would guess, however, that we will not go forward again and will be in the 2011 current day for Season 4. Now that the teams from the two universes have been brought together, I’m not sure how everyone will get home.

I’m also no less confused by The Observers. I get the last scene, I really do, but what a messy way to achieve their means. There had to be a less complicated way to bridge the universes if the need was so great. OK, maybe I don’t fully get it; did they create Peter? Was he a Starbuckian avatar? I’ve read speculation close to that, and I guess it makes the most sense to me. Young Peter died in both universes, but Walter/Walternate still became entangled in the quantum entanglements that resulted from their work, leading to the same moment of decision in “The Day We Died.”

All I really know is that Fringe Season 4 needs to get here soon.

Spring Is Dying

Last year, I couldn’t give enough praise to Doctor Who. This year, I need a little help.

What’s wrong? I don’t know. There are a few things I’ve already identified, such as Dead!NotDead Doctor, the River Song mystery which has gone on far too long, baby mama drama, lack of fun, etc. However, I think the biggest problem I have right now is that I can’t even name the baddies (is it Silence or Silents?!?) and I can’t understand a damn thing they say. How can I be sucked into the drama if I CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY’RE SAYING?!? Give me back my Doctor Who, please!

Winter Is Coming

Like most of fandom, it seems, I’ve been looking forward to the HBO presentation of A Game of Thrones. My anticipation was due to somewhat transparent reasons; Sean Bean and Jason Momoa. It’s a safe bet to say that I will watch Sean in anything. ANYTHING. The fact that this is a really good story only makes it better. I had planned to read the book series in which the show is based, A Song of Ice and Fire, after the first season aired, but Ben pretty much convinced me to jump right in. I jumped in, and didn’t come up for air until I had finished the first four (and only released as of this date) novels.

What do I make of them? Well, they’re good. They’re well written and the style is actually easy to follow. It’s clearly a fantasy series, though it’s not really fantastical. Some of the twists, particularly in the first and third books blew my mind. I’m still waiting for a twist (which will never come) for events in the first book, and that third one actually knocked me off the sofa. I’ll give Martin one thing, he’s not afraid to jack up a character. HA!

I do have to admit, however, that it’s my literary mind that enjoys the series rather than my fangirl mind. There is no OTP here, unless you count Cersei and Jaime, but do you really want to do that?!? There are no heroes, either. While there is no shortage of villains, there is no character that can been seen as the one you want to cheer for. I can’t say too much without spoiling people, and with this series, it would be a travesty to not experience the bombshells just as I did, so I’ll have to wait for you guys to catch up so we can compare and contrast our amusements. So GO READ!