Lynne M. Thomas's Blog, page 28

ICYMI: New Verity! Episode 70: Intellectual Squee-Quals

That’s right. We’re pretty excited about this week’s companion topic. Join Deb, Erika, Lynne, and Tansy as we talk about the most educated companions–the academics, the doctors, the scientists, and more. What is it about them that makes them appealing? Is there anything that can be off-putting to audiences? Does Romana count? The answer to that last one is debated hotly (but laughingly)!

What do you think of the brainier companions? Do you see yourself in them? Or do you seem them being too full of their own capabilities? Let us know in the comments!

^E

Also covered:

Erika

sends a huge thank-you to Roam Mobility!
listens to Big Finish audios: The Apocalypse Element and Neverland!


Lynne

wants a 10th Doctor Funko Pop Vinyl!
covets the BBC full-cast audio of Mansfield Park (starring David Tennant)!


Tansy

gives a warm shout-out to Liz Barr’s  Companion Piece essay defending Mel!
wrote a story for  Liberating Earth (Faction Paradox) !


Deb has warm-fuzzies about all the great, creative, non-Doctor Who stuff she and her Doctor Who-loving friends are doing:

Deb is on Pit Stop! The Amazing Race Podcast !
Erika is on The Audio Guide to Babylon 5 !
Lynne is co-editing/publishing Uncanny Magazine !
Tansy is writing  Musketeer Space , a serial, gender-swapped, space-opera retelling of The Three Musketeers!
Kat is writing a fantastic blog about fandom, self-discovery, and much more!
Liz co-edited and wrote for  Companion Piece: Women Celebrate the Humans, Aliens and Tin Dogs of Doctor Who !

Bonus links:

Galactic Suburbia is five years old!

Wendy the Weeping-Angel Barbie!

Erasing Sherlock (book by Kelly Hale)

Giles

Bernice Summerfield

Love and War (novel by Paul Cornell)

The Marian Conspiracy (Big Finish audio)

Peel and Steed

Mulder and Scully

Leverage

Download or listen now (runtime 1:27:24) Audio Player

New Verity! Extra! — Regeneration Critics

It’s Extra!-time again. Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Tansy as we get a little silly (and tangential…surprise, surprise) while talking about regenerations. What makes a “worthy” regeneration for the Doctor? Which ones make us uncomfortable? What would we like to see in the future? (Besides a better Skype connection…grr.) What would we like to see from the past? All this plus lots of giggles!

What are your thoughts on regeneration? Let us know in the comments!

^E

Associated links:

Dumb Ways to Die

Love and War (novel by Paul Cornell)

Download or listen now (runtime 44:11)  Audio Player

New Verity! Episode 69: Ace is Ace!

This week we focus on one companion–the winner of our Verity! companions poll! Join Deb, Erika, Liz, and Lynne, as we talk about Ace! Our personal feelings about Ace as a companion are mixed, but we all agree (mostly) on her importance as a companion. It’s pretty easy to draw a line between Ace and Rose, and we do just that! We also chat a lot about Ace: as compared to other women on screen at the time, as a character to identify with (or not), and as a tuxedo-wearer.

What are your feelings about Ace? Do you love her attitude? Or does she put you off as a viewer? Or something in between? Let us know in the comments!

^E

Also covered:

Liz is happy about all kinds of Gally-related goodness:

listening to Doctor Who The Writers’ Room!
reading  Who’s 50 !
buying glittery Dapol Daleks!
learning Missy is returning to Doctor Who!
seeing/signing  Companion Piece in the wild!


Erika is happy about Gally stuff and more:

Frazer Hines tweeting that she did a great interview–with emoji!
signing four copies of  Companion Piece , including one for a  Doctor Who writer!
appearing in another Doctor Who essay anthology (available for preorder now):  Outside In 2 !


Lynne is thrilled Paul Cornell will be writing for Titan’s DW comics!
Deb

adores a Doctor/Master fanvid set to Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space”!
listens to the awesome Gallifrey Public Radio podcast!
coos over the upcoming Doctor Who Funko Pop Vinyls!

Bonus links:

The Web of Queer podcast

Two Girls, a Guy and a TARDIS podcast

Paul Booth (who was recently interviewed on Radio Free Skaro)

Human Nature (the novel by Paul Cornell)

The Doctor Who Book Club Podcast on Damaged Goods

Download or listen now (runtime 1:08:11) Audio Player

Remember when I got to interview Scott McCloud?

Now you can watch it for yourself!

Thanks to the Chicago Humanities Festival for giving me this opportunity! I’m super-proud of how it went.

New Verity! Episode 67: The First Ladies of Doctor Who

Ok, it’s finally time to talk about “proper” companions (whatever that means). Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Liz as we talk about the companions that started (and re-started) it all. We’re focusing on Susan, Grace, and Rose–the ladies who ushered in each “era” of Doctor Who. We find more parallels than you might expect (certainly more than some of us expected!).

What do you think of these “first” companions? Let us know in the comments!

^E

Also covered:

Kat

can’t wait to see the Torchwood guests at Gallifrey One!
loves this beautiful painting: Tardis in the Woods!


Liz

has a new book coming out: Companion Piece (which Deb may have cribbed this ep’s topic from)!
created an Awesome Doctor Who-ish Pinterest board!


Erika guest-hosted Episode 019 of Reality Bomb!
Deb

looks forward to doing another live Verity! recording at Gallifrey One!
thinks (Re)Generation Who looks like it’ll be a great time!
ogles the 9th Doctor comic covers Titan Comics just released!

Download or listen now (runtime 1:19:39) Audio Player

New Verity! Episode 66: Companions who never were

Our year of companions kicks off in delightful style! Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Tansy as we discuss those Doctor Whocharacters who were almost companions–those who were slated to become TARDIS travelers but never did, as well as those who we wish had stuck around. Deb accidentally invents a new word*. Kat is thoroughly predictable. Erika unabashedly cheats. And Tansy has a list!

Which guest stars do you wish had become full-time companions? Let us know in the comments!

*comfanion, noun; a Doctor Who character not generally considered a companion of the Doctor, but whom a viewer loves so much, they think should have been. The viewer may even argue against popular opinion, claiming their favorite *is* a companion. (Examples: “Bret Vyon is my favorite companion.” “He was only in one story! He’s a comfanion, at best.” — “Sally Sparrow is my favorite comfanion. I wish the Doctor would’ve invited her onto the TARDIS.”)

^E

Also covered:

Erika enjoys Paul Cornell’s 11th Blog of Christmas!
Kat receives a teeny tiny sonic screwdriver book! (book not sold separately)
Tansy is an emotional wreck after reaching the end of Hex’s Big Finish run.
Deb

Looks forward to new Big Finish audios featuring Bernice Summerfield and Sutekh!
Enjoys Matthew Stott’s interview with unofficial fifth-Verity Una McCormack!

Bonus links:

Chicks Unravel Time: Women Journey Through Every Season of Doctor Who

Vote in our 2015 companion poll!

Download or listen now (runtime 1:16:10) Audio Player

Scott McCloud at the Chicago Humanities Festival!

So, I’ve been asked to interview Scott McCloud at the Chicago Humanities Festival.

I’m one of the many, many people who first learned about comics from Understanding Comics. I could not be more excited.

You should come. There will be Q&A. And a book signing of his new comic, The Sculptor! 

2014 in review and awards eligibility

It’s that time of year again! I’m busy writing my annual report at work, so it’s a good time to write down What I Did in SF/F in 2014, too.

For Michael and I, the biggest accomplishment this year was all of us surviving Caitlin’s spinal surgery. Period.

That said, here are the things I made in 2014 that are eligible for awards. If you liked them, I appreciate your consideration.

In 2014, Michael and I launched a new short fiction market, and I participated in a podcast. Both of these activities are eligible for Hugo Awards (but not Nebula Awards), so I’ve listed the relevant categories. The short stories listed below are also eligible for Nebula Awards, and you can find a copy of them in the area of the SFWA Forums dedicated to that purpose if you are so inclined.

1. Uncanny Magazine! Issue One launched in November 2014 after a successful Kickstarter in August (THANK YOU), which means that the stories in it are eligible for 2014 ballots, although the magazine itself doesn’t meet any eligibility requirements for nominations that I know of until we complete some additional issues.

2014 Short fiction!

If You Were a Tiger, I’d Have to Wear White by Maria Dahvana Headley
The Boy Who Grew Up by Christopher Barzak
Presence by Ken Liu
Migration by Kat Howard
Late Nights at the Cape and Cane by Max Gladstone
Celia and the Conservation of Entropy by Amelia Beamer

We also publish poetry that is eligible for the Rhysling Awards, and nonfiction that may be eligible for Best Fan Writer.

Thanks to my previous work and Uncanny Issue One,  I also once again meet eligibility requirements for the Best Editor, Short Form category of the Hugo Awards.

I also did some podcasting this year! The Verity! Podcast (which was also nominated for Best Fancast) had an awesome year, and I encourage you to check it out if you are so inclined.

I’m doing a bunch of reading right now, and I will be posting some of the things I’m looking at for my own ballot, too. But that’s another blog post…

New Verity! Extra! And A POLL

Hey!

There’s a new Verity! Extra! available for your listening pleasure, where we introduce this year’s theme.

Go have a listen, hear about our wacky plans, and then GO VOTE IN OUR POLL.

*ahem* here are some hints from me:

#teamBen

#teamPolly

#teamZoe

#teamAce

#teamRiver

#teamRory

 

Doctor Who Nativity: for posterity

So, Mary Robinette Kowal dared Michael on Twitter to do a Doctor Who nativity with our action figures.

 

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED:

 

Someone else asked where the Daleks and Cybermen were. This was the response:

You’re welcome.

(Yes, the Season 18 scarf was the one I knitted while working on Chicks Dig Time Lords.)

Happy holidays.