Last week I mentioned that, in the United States, BBC America attached a prologue/voice-over to Doctor Who, with Amy introducing the series and its premise. It turns out that Canada and Australia also had the Amy voice-over. Maybe it’s an international thing. I kinda hope it goes on the DVD sets, if only as anContinue reading “On Doctor Who Intros”
Monthly Archives: April 2011
On Writers and the Beer Diet
Writers should never be left to their own devices. This morning, I saw an article at Slate that asked the important question of our times — How Long Can You Survive on Beer Alone? As it happens, one can live for about two months on a diet consisting only of beer and water, at whichContinue reading “On Writers and the Beer Diet”
On the Architecture I Appreciate
Yesterday evening, I discovered a BBC program I’d not heard of — In Our Time, hosted by Melvyn Bragg. It’s a history program, and the host, Bragg, talks with a few experts about a given subject for forty minutes. I went and pulled a few episodes off the podcast feed, especially when I saw thatContinue reading “On the Architecture I Appreciate”
On Elbow’s “Open Arms” Single
Elbow’s new single, “Open Arms,” came out today, and as I did two months ago for “Neat Little Rows” I performed a little jiggery-pokery with Amazon UK and proxy servers to make the download happen. In a way, I really only needed the single for the B-side, “Buffalo Ghosts.” Last week, I acquired an “OpenContinue reading “On Elbow’s “Open Arms” Single”
On Dramatic Structure and “The Impossible Astronaut”
Has Steven Moffat become Brannon Braga? Or, more to the point, has Moffat always written like Brannon Braga, only we’ve never, ever noticed?
On Old-Time Video Games
In 1982, my grandfather gave my family an Atari 2600, along with a half-dozen games (like Pac-Man, Combat, and a few others). It was my first video game system. It’s still around, in the attic of my sister’s house, along with a bunch of games, some of which work, some of which don’t. About theContinue reading “On Old-Time Video Games”
More Thoughts on Lis Sladen
A few years ago — summer of 2007 — I wanted to write a novel that starred Sarah Jane Smith. The story I envisioned was not the kind of Doctor Who novel that BBC Books had published (at that point) in about two years. “Wouldn’t it be interesting,” thought I to myself, “to take threeContinue reading “More Thoughts on Lis Sladen”
On Lis Sladen
When I was twelve, Sarah Jane Smith was my first Doctor Who companion and the actress, Lis Sladen, was my first crush, and even though I never met her, she set the impossible standard for my romantic life. Lis Sladen passed away, earlier today, after a bout with cancer, aged 63. Tonight I’ll remember her,Continue reading “On Lis Sladen”
On the 30 Day Song Challenge
At work, some of my colleagues have done this, the Facebook 30 Day Song Challenge. Basically, it’s a list of 30 topics, one per day, and a person taking the challenge is supposed to post a song that answers the day’s question. One coworker suggested that I should do it, so I grabbed the listContinue reading “On the 30 Day Song Challenge”
On Doctor Who Season Opener Speculations
On Friday, the BBC released another trailer for the sixth season of Doctor Who, this one specifically for the season opener, “The Impossible Astronaut.” That emotive piece of background music, by the way, is “Tristan” by Two Steps from Hell. Another quick observation before I do a speculation/spoiler jump. I am not sold on StuartContinue reading “On Doctor Who Season Opener Speculations”