Doctor Who: Adventures in Lockdown

Think back to the Scholastic Book Fair. Eight years old. A ten dollar bill your mom gave you before you left for school that morning. A gymnasium full of folding tables covered with stacks of books. The smell of paper and ink from the just unboxed books. A feeling of excitement stirring in the breast.Continue reading “Doctor Who: Adventures in Lockdown”

The Problem of Susan

A few weeks ago, Dark Horse Comics published an adaptation by P. Craig Russell of Neil Gaiman’s Narnia short story, “The Problem of Susan.” While I’ve read Gaiman’s short story a half dozen times over the years, between work and life and the flu I didn’t have the opportunity to give the graphic novel aContinue reading “The Problem of Susan”

Link Round-Up: December 16

Some links for today. We’ll start with Star Wars and go from there. The Best-Case Scenario: ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ – There’s a new Star Wars film out this week. It’s a total surprise; I haven’t seen ads or merchandise for it anywhere. Reviews are starting to trickle in, albeit ones light on details.Continue reading “Link Round-Up: December 16”

On the Flesh and TARDIS Avatars

Yesterday, I found myself pondering “The Doctor’s Wife.” Two weeks ago, “The Doctor’s Wife,” a Doctor Who story written by Neil Gaiman, aired on BBC 1, BBC America, and Space. In the episode, a villainous asteroid ripped the consciousness of the TARDIS from the Doctor’s ship and shoved the consciousness into a body belonging toContinue reading “On the Flesh and TARDIS Avatars”

On “The Doctor’s Wife” and Commercial Breaks

Doctor Who clearly isn’t meant to be watched with commercial breaks. Last night was “The Doctor’s Wife,” the highly-anticipated episode of Doctor Who by Neil Gaiman. I knew of people at work who, despite never having watched Doctor Who, intended to watch last night’s episode solely because of the Neil Gaiman factor. I wasn’t thatContinue reading “On “The Doctor’s Wife” and Commercial Breaks”

On Things I’ve Been Reading

“The Professor, the Queen, and the Bookshop” Doctor Who Magazine #429 Panini UK Written by Jonathan Morris Art by Rob Davis One winter’s day, during the height of the Blitz, two young children — Amelia and Rory — run through London’s streets, en route to a nearby train station to meet Amelia’s aunt. Amelia spiesContinue reading “On Things I’ve Been Reading”

On Winter Reading

I have never read The Sandman. It's a curious lapse in my comic book reading. I generally like Neil Gaiman's other comics work (though I was cold on 1602). The idea of a Lord of Dreams is compelling. I love Wesley Dodds, the superhero Sandman of the 1930s (and I religiously read Sandman Mystery Theatre),Continue reading “On Winter Reading”

On Speculations About Doctor Who’s Game-Changer

As I wrote about a few days ago, the upcoming episodes of Doctor Who will be split into two seasons — season six (7 episodes) at Easter, season seven (6 episodes) in the autumn. Showrunner Steven Moffat is quoted in The Guardian as saying that the sixth season (that being spring) will end with “anContinue reading “On Speculations About Doctor Who’s Game-Changer”

On Neil Gaiman’s New Gig

Neil Gaiman, long-rumored as penning an episode of Doctor Who, has confirmed at the SFX Weekender Convention that he will, in fact, be writing an episode of Doctor Who. Gaiman announced this first through his Twitter feed, and then spoke at length with SFX magazine: As anyone who’s read my blog knows, I’m a bigContinue reading “On Neil Gaiman’s New Gig”

On Revisiting the Wardrobe

Recently I acquired Disney’s extended cut DVD of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was released last Christmas and left on the market for about six weeks, whereupon it was pulled. Like The Lord of the Rings extended editions, this was a four-disc affair, released both as a regular four-disc edition and asContinue reading “On Revisiting the Wardrobe”