Sunday, June 3, 2007

Explainations & Blink trailer
Since some (unsurprisingly) don't know what I've been talking about lately, here's a little primer for all of you...

Doctor Who is a British sci-fi TV series, and is also the single longest-running scifi series in TV history (1963-1989 in the original run, plus numerous books, audio plays, comic strips, etc.) It revolves around a man known only as The Doctor, who looks human but is really part of a race called the Time Lords. He travels around in time and space in his ship called the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space), which is vastly larger on the inside than it's ouward appearance suggests, as it is diguised as a Police Box (before the advent of personal radios, police in England could communicate with the station and others through these phone booths).

The series originally ran for 26 seasons, because several different actors have played the Doctor. When the original star, William Hartnell, chose to leave, the writers came up with the idea that he could 'regenerate' into a completely new body. The series was cancelled in 1989, with the Seventh Doctor being the last seen on-screen. It was continued in various formats, mainly a series of books, and an attempt was made in 1996 to revive it with a TV movie that aired here in America on FOX, starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor. Ratings were not good enough though to warrant a new series.

In recent years the BBC had shown renewed interest in bringing the show back, as did writer/producer Russel T Davies. The broadcasters gave Davies the greenlight to do a new revival of the series. The first season of this premiered in 2005, with Christopher Eccleston playing the Ninth Doctor. Amid fears of typcasting, Eccleston left after only one season, being replaced with David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor.

Now, specifically the last two episodes that were shown, the 2-part story "Human Nature/The Family Of Blood" was adapted by writer Paul Cornell from his 1995 Doctor Who novel "Human Nature". This is what I've been talking about in my last couple of posts.

Hope that clears everything up for you all =)

And here is the trailer for next time, the episode "Blink"...


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The Family Of Blood
And the story ends in epic fashion, as usual. A pretty good adaptation of the original novel overall. And I enjoyed how the Doctor dealt with each of the villains at the end: merciful, but still very dark and rather disturbing. They wanted to live forever, and now they will...

And next week looks to be really, really good. An abadoned house with statues that can come to life and turn you to stone if you turn your back or blink... They've been plugging "Blink" as the scariest episode yet, and it may very well live up to that hype. I sincerely hope it does.

Just one fly in the ointment tonight: WHY THE HECK IS ADULT SWIM PLAYING A FUTURAMA MARATHON INSTEAD OF BLEACH?? ><

*deep breathing*

Things better be on track again next Saturday.

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Saturday, May 26, 2007

Doctor Who - Human Nature
The - Best - Episode - Yet!

It's hard to go into why this episode was so amazing. I think part of it had to do with the fact that it was adapted by Paul Cornell from his novel of the same name, which was once voted "Best Doctor Who book of all time" in DW Magazine.

There has never been a story like this before in the whole history of the series, and I'm going to be twitching all week in anticipation of Part 2. I may go into more detail about it when the whole story is done.

I was also amused by my mention in the podcast today =P Lesson learned: always read news articles meticulously before commenting.

Or is that: don't drink before commenting on news articles? Better eighty-six the hooch...
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Friday, May 25, 2007

I'm very tired, so I'll give the short version of today:

Consulted with cardiologist, discussed the issue, it's history, all the symptoms etc. Doctor gives go-ahead for us to persue getting a CT scan done.

So with any luck, soon we'll know exactly what the problem is and what can be done about it.
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Thursday, May 24, 2007

Well, in the midst of all my medical issues, my cardiologist wants to see me tomorrow so she can check things out for herself before we do anything else.

Problem is, the Shands Hospital clinic, where I usually go for my twice-yearly checkup, is a 3 hour drive from home. And we're leaving at 7 AM. Oh boy will I be in a good mood tomorrow! *extreme sarcasm alert*

It's aggrivating enough to go there for my scheduled visits. Being told that we're taking a spur-of-the-moment trip isn't making me feel any better. It will only pay off if we get some positive diagnosis for my situation, rather than the shoulder shrugging they've given every other time.

EDIT:
Hm, might as well stop being cryptic about what's wrong with me, though what I have to say would probably freak everyone out.

Some time ago I developed a chronic cough, and my throat has been irritated for more than a year. There were even times I'd cough up a little blood, but now when that happens it's much more serious and scary.

We thought when I was diagnosed with LPR (a form of acid reflux that affects the throat) that that was the answer, and acid medication would help, but it hasn't, and a new doctor told me that the bleeding is not a symptom of LPR. So now we're back to square one.

My dad, though, thinks I may have some sort of wound in my traechia that isn't healing.

Whatever this is we need to figure it out and sort it out soon, because it has put my entire life on hold o_O

So that's the whole sordid tale. If the doc figures anything out during our trip tomorrow, I'll come back with an update.
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Saturday, May 19, 2007

Doctor Who -
I'm starting this mid-season, I realize, but now that I know I have a couple of friends here who hail from England, I won't be just talking to myself. Once the show starts to air over here, I'll go back and post my thoughts on the first six episodes
_________________________

Overall, I enjoyed this episode, although I tend to enjoy most of them. As a fan who grew up watching the classic series, my standards aren't all that high =P

That being said, I'll mention the elements I thought made "42" a success:
- All events being in real-time, with the 42 minutes of the episode being the exact amount of time they had to avert disaster.
- Martha is continually proving to be a much more likable character than Rose. I like how she took charge, taking over the lead role after the Doctor had been infected by the solar-being.
- David Tennant has really settled into his role after a bit of shaky start in season 2, and every time they throw in a line for the Doctor like "What about that Dunkirk spirit?", I jump for joy. I know many fans were upset about all of the Doctor's references being current pop-culture, so when he throws in something much older it brings him closer to the roots of the character.

Martha's mom, however, continues to anger me. I'm hoping she feels really, really, really terrible in the finale when she realizes she's been helping the villain.

And OMG... I have been dying for them to reach "Human Nature/The Family of Blood" ever since I heard about them long before the season began. The original novel they're based on was one of the best of the New Adventures range, and Paul Cornell has always been one of my favorite Who authors. Can't wait to see what they've done with this adaptation. I can promise this will be Doctor Who as we have never seen it before...
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Friday, May 18, 2007

This is turning into one of those days where I feel like the walking-dead o_O And believe me, I've had more than my fair share of days like this.

I barely got any sleep last night and I feel like I'm coming down with something. Of course the lack of sleep over the past few weeks (yes, weeks) probably has something to do with it.

Not to mention I'm unhappy for a friend who just had a long-time relationship end and now she has to move out and find a new place. If I had any more energy I'd go and slap her now-ex-boyfriend around... um, if I was also 6 inches taller and wasn't built like a twig.

Think I may go take some tylinol and zone out on anime in the recliner until I get some sleep.

(zzzzzz..........)
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Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Life... is... dull.

I'm trying to get something of a medical situation sorted out, it's left me feeling half-crappy for a long time, and I want to get it taken care of before going out to get a job. What if I were to apply and get in someplace, but then have to take off a significant amount of time because of this? That wouldn't be good at all. But I desperately need to get out and start having a life, and that includes working.

I won't say what's wrong here, if any of the usual visitors wish to know, I'll PM you.

Just shy of 4 days until Doctor Who finally returns. I've been twitchy (sometimes manically so) ever since the hiatus was announced. At least the BBC update the official site today. New pics and desktop, woohoo!

About the only thing new continues to be music. Anime pushed that aside for awhile, so I've been trying to catch back up, both on older albums I still don't have a newer stuff.

Threshold has reprinted limited quantities of their 2001 "Concert In Paris" fanclub CD, so I got that the instant I saw it.

Went out to Best Buy today and grabbed a few Porcupine Tree albums (another Floyd-influenced band).

So for now, it's continuing to hang around home, listening to music and catching up on anime.

I reiterate: I need a life o_O
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Saturday, May 5, 2007

It's been a busy week on the internet, lots of moderating to do over on the AP forums, which usually happens when new people register. There's always one or two that don't quite know how to behave themselves.

No Doctor Who for two weeks now. Damn Eurovision Song Conest, who the hell decided that would make good television? I'll be a basketcase by the 19th. I know it sounds rather geeky and lame, but when a lot of who you are and your imagination sprouted from your love for a magnificent show you've been watching from the age of 4... you'd be crying at a 2 week hiatus as well.

Guess I'll just deaden the pain with a DVD marathon next Saturday.

And now it seems that the next Bleach (on Adult Swim) is going to be completely pointless.

There's my entire Saturday, shot down in flames. And yes, I have that little of a life, for now =P
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Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Today, another chapter in the history of the greatest Rock band ever was released. Nope, I'm not talking about the Beatles or the Stones or Aerosmith. I'm talking about...

Rush

Their new album "Snakes & Arrows" hit stores today, and I have my copy *fan swoon*

Also stopped prevaracating and bought "The Dark Third" by Pure Reason Revolution. If you're a fan of Pink Floyd, you should seriously give PRR a listen.

And finally, with the purchase of FMP: The 2nd Raid (Vol. 4), I have the entire FMP collection. My new self-challenge is to watch the whole thing in one go (FMP, Fumoffu, & 2nd Raid). Wish me luck and hope I don't lose my sanity.
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