Allison M. Dickson's Blog, page 10

Rosemary Pipes Answers 5 Quintessential Questions

It's time again where I pose my five very special questions to a member of the independent art community. This week, I bring you not a writer, not a musician, not a painter or a sculptor. I bring you a . . . NINJA!







And a VAMPIRE!





You vant to buy her now

And a ZOMBIE HAT!





Go buy this thing NOW.



Introducing my dear friend Rosemary Pipes of






I'm like Linus from Charlie Brown about this hat. Sometimes I feel like it's the only thing holding my sanity inside my skull. If I should ever lose it, I will likely die. I should probably ask her to make me a backup just in case.



Anyway, here is Rose with her 5 Quintessential Answers.



1. You found a surprise ten dollar bill in the dryer. How do you celebrate this magnificent windfall?

Booze. No… Well. Booze.




No. That’s a little boring. I’m trading that glorious piece of paper in for nickels, going to a strip club, and making it hail.



2. You wake up and realize the apocalypse has just happened. What do you have for breakfast?

My usual breakfast is a pot of coffee. I’m not certain that the apocalypse would change that. Unless, of course, it has rendered my coffeemaker useless. In which case, the apocalypse would just be getting started.



3. It's 3am and you hear a knock at the door. When you open it, you see a penguin standing there. He's wearing a bandolero, a cowboy hat, and a fake mustache. He seems to know you. Why is he there?

This fuggin’ guy again. It’s really difficult to get a restraining order on a penguin, let alone a penguin that nobody else believes exists.



Anyway, just like the last seven times he’s showed up, he’s probably trying to warn me about this nonsense upcoming apocalypse… Something about a coffeemaker and a dropped stitch. I don’t know. I try not to pay too much attention. I mean, how do you take a penguin seriously when he’s wearing a fake mustache?



4. Which super villain are you most like?

I really can’t think of a super villain that I’m like. I can think of a lot of them that I really like. Which is kind of weird to consider. Thinking that I like an evil being that wants to destroy the world or take it over or something else sinister and insane. Anyway...



Would you consider Maleficent a super villain? I suppose not. She’s just a fairy tale villain, but she turns into a dragon and I think that’s pretty bad ass. And I tend to think that I’m a bad ass, even if I can’t turn into a dragon and I don’t actually know any mixed martial arts.



5. Someone offers you a million dollars to write the greatest slash fiction story of all time. Give me your elevator pitch.

I’m no author or story teller, so this a tough question.




An exhausted, lonely woman knits to distract herself from her problems and the rest of the world. She chooses to knit a giant afghan in a very easy but mundane stitch pattern. The afghan is so large and it takes her so long to make it that the 4x2 ribbing stitches slowly drive her insane. She drops a stitch, doesn’t know it, and in the end the whole damn thing unravels. Months of her life fall into a tangled heap on the floor of her apartment. This is the moment where she just can’t hold it together anymore and she completely loses her shit. From here she takes her knitting needles and goes on a killing spree that will one day be a disturbing biography about her on the History Channel.





*********

I'm still cracking up over "making it hail" with nickels at a strip club. And Rose? Don't knit anymore afghans with 4x2 ribbing stiches. Thank you for stopping by!




Now everyone, go to Slightly Mad Hatter on Etsy and empty your pocketbooks! Or contact her for a personal commission. Her work is beautiful and durable. You may also find her at these other fine Internet establishments.



Crocheting Tiger, Knitting Dragon Blog: http://crochetingtigerknittingdragon.wordpress.com/

Twitter: Ninjadorable: https://twitter.com/ninjadorable

Instagram: Ninjadorable: http://instagram.com/ninjadorable

James Glass Answers 5 Quintessential Questions

Welcome back for another great installment of 5 Quintessential Questions, where I pose my specially designed silly queries to some of our favorite independent artists. Up this week is James Glass, author of the Metatron Mysteries! The second volume in the series, THE DISPOSSESSED, just released from Sekhmet Press, and Mr. Glass was kind enough to stop by and grace us with his arcane presence.






See? Arcane.





You found a surprise ten dollar bill in the dryer. How do you celebrate this
magnificent windfall?





By
eating dinner.




You wake up and realize the apocalypse has just happened. What do you have for
breakfast?




Coffee
and a box of donuts, because it’s the apocalypse and my physical appearance is
no longer an issue.




It's 3am and you hear a knock at the door. When you open it, you see a penguin
standing here. He's wearing a bandolero, a cowboy hat, and a fake mustache. He
seems to know you. Why is he there?




Because
Xircon got drunk with it and they took the train to my house to irk me.




Which super villain are you most like?




Lex
Luthor




Someone offers you a million dollars to write the greatest slash fiction story
of all time. Give me your elevator pitch.




After
looking up the definition of ‘slash fiction’, my pitch would be as follows:

The
story is an erotic look into the mechanics of love between man and machine:
Geordie LaForge and Data. It will be titled ‘Fully Functional’.




Thanks for stopping by Mr. Glass! I will be sure to check out 'Fully Functional' once it's up for sale! It will be, right?




BIO:

James Glass enjoys his privacy, but frequently finds that he
plays an unwilling host to Xircon. When not visiting red light districts of red
light cities, he can frequently be found contemplating life in the seediest of
libraries.




Find James Glass on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JamesRGlassII




Find James at Sekhmet Press: http://sekhmetpress.wordpress.com/the-authors/james-glasssuzi-m/









THE DISPOSSESSED by James Glass

Book 2 of The Metatron Mysteries




Playing host to the voice of God can be a strain, and as
John Smith is discovering, the source of many hangovers. Add to that a missing
demon, and it's one hell of a week.

The Doctor Who Project: Ranking Series Two

Welcome back, Whovians! I thought I loved Fridays before, but I'm really loving them lately since starting this little project. First of all, if you're new here, thank you for joining us for this special recurring event where my friends Jaime, Justin, and I rank all seven seasons of the Doctor Who reboot. If you're new here and want to do some catching up, jump over to our compendium where you will find links to all the previous entries.





As before, we will give each episode a rank of 1-10 "Sonics." Then I will average our ranks together for a single score, do best to worst, and then average everything together again at the very end for an overall series ranking.





This week we're moving on from the single season adventure of the Ninth Doctor, Chris Eccleston and jumping into a more perennial favorite, David Tennant. He of the sideburns, and the eyebrow, and the hair, and the Converse, and the pinstripe suit, and the . . . the . . . 





Sigh... Adorableness

ANYWAY, Tennant's giddy charm with its punkish undertones and sad clown persona really brought the modern Doctor into iconic mode and has cemented him as one of the most popular Doctors of all time. We also had three seasons with Tennant, so becoming attached to him was a bit of an inevitability. But we're going to take this one season at a time and get attached all over again. Let's get started!





Special Episode: The Christmas Invasion






It's Christmas Eve, but this is to be a far from silent night - the cruel Sycorax have come to Earth to enslave mankind and, as ever, only The Doctor can stop them. Unfortunately, he's lying in a coma in Jackie's home. (IMDB)



Justin: One of the interesting things about regenerations is the actor who takes over has to act--a bit--like the previous Doctor, and then become his own person as the episode goes on. Tennant does this rather well in the first few minutes and then most of the episode unconscious. When we finally get to him gaining his tenth personality it's almost the end of the episode. The end--and Who (for me) does this well--delivers on a lackluster episode. We see the Doctor's wardrobe, and to show this is a different kind of Doctor, Ten sits down for dinner with Rose & family. It was also nice to see the return of Harriet Jones: Prime Minister (yes, we know who she was) take a slight turn in character from her earlier appearance. 6 Sonics



Jaime: This was a good introduction to the tenth Doctor, though the first half of the episode he was unconscious. Jackie, Mickey, and Harriet Jones all make an appearance. The scenes on the Sycorax ship are funny and I loved seeing Rose try to save everyone with "The Shadow Proclamation." The ending fight scene gives the viewer an idea of what kind of Doctor Ten is going to be. I thoroughly enjoy his choice of wardrobe. And the severed hand will prove to be vital later in the series. 6 Sonics



Allison: I was really looking forward to seeing Tennant in action for the first time, so imagine to my surprise when he spends 3/4 of the episode in bed. This is the dawning of the era of Who where we see several episodes in which he is not the central character of the story, and one of those stories winds up being one of the most popular of all time. This time, however, it doesn't quite come together. Still, when compared to the first episode of the first season, it's far better. All of the characters are better developed, and the alien threat is far more entertaining. And really, it was all worth it when we got to see Ten walk in wearing that suit. Yeah, I'm superficial like that. 6 Sonics






Average Sonics:





x 6





Episode 1: New Earth







As Rose Tyler embarks upon her first big TARDIS adventure with the newly-regenerated Doctor, they discover a sinister hospital run by strange cat people and run in to two old acquaintances, The Face of Boe and Cassandra. (IMDB)



Justin: Shocker alert: I liked this episode. A sequel to The End of the World that delivers on introducing the newest Doctor to old faces (and I mean that literally when it comes to Cassandra and the Face of Boe). Plus, there are cat people. Cat people!!! Oh, and another favorite storytelling device: mind jumping. Too many cool things about this episode. 8 Sonics



Jaime: Really liked this one. The future episodes always seem to be my favorite. You also start to see how Rose and Ten's relationship is going to develop. Lady Cassandra is back and the passionate kiss she shares with ten (while in Rose's body) is too funny. Also get to see the Face of Boe again. I really enjoyed all the mind jumping in this episode. 7 sonics



Allison: This episode really demonstrates how far Who has come in quality since its first season. The special effects and imagination here are both next-level as the Doctor takes Rose to the future post-The End of the World (Series 1). Also, the chemistry between the Doctor and his companion has never been better. We get a sense that she's more comfortable with him in this particular skin, and as such we love them both together. The best part of the whole thing, though, was the mind jumping, as it showed both Billie Piper and David Tennant having a lot of fun. 8 Sonics



Average Sonics:





x 7.7





Episode 2: Tooth and Claw





The Doctor and Rose are transported to 19th Century Scotland, where they meet Queen Victoria, and try to protect her from a ravenous werewolf and a band of assassinating warrior-monks. (IMDB)




Justin: So the Doctor and Rose are supposed to go to a rock concert but end up in the 19th century. It's at this point that I start pondering the TARDIS might not be messing up but in fact selecting key areas in time that the Doctor needs to help with. Why is it doing this? I'm not sure, but it's a feeling I had. The secret ninja monks were boring, but I dig werewolf stories and that helped this episode out...but not much. 4 Sonics



Jaime: Except for some of the banter between Rose and Ten, this episode was totally forgettable to me. Personally, I'm just not a fan of werewolf stories. But again, the TARDIS takes the Doctor somewhere other than his intended destination. I think the TARDIS has her own plans. 3 Sonics



Allison: I tend to call these kinds of Who episodes "meh-pisodes." Aside from some decent Doctor banter, they're generally forgettable and just this side of boring, which is a bit unfortunate in this case, because there seem to be some cannon events happening here. We see the origins of Torchwood, for one thing, and the whole interaction with Queen Victoria becomes somewhat important down the line too, but because it was wrapped in a story that was not terribly entertaining (like Jaime, I just really don't care for werewolves), I felt a little disconnected at certain key moments throughout the Tennant run. 3 Sonics



Average Sonics:





x 3.3







Episode 3: School Reunion





The Krillitanes - aliens with a mix-and-match physiology - are trying to crack the 'God-Maker', a paradigm to give them ultimate power. They are using children as a computer, and only the Doctor and Rose, re-united with Sarah Jane Smith and K9 can prevent them from becoming masters of time and space. (IMDB)



Justin: I'm guessing I'm a villain snob, because the Krillitanes didn't interest me--even though Mr. Finch (played by Buffy alum Anthony Head) did a decent job. The show's key strength rested on the return of former companion Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen returning to a role she left a couple decades prior.) and Rose's realization that she will one day be left behind. One more thing to mention: Mickey continued to grow on me as a character (I think I felt whatever animosity the Ninth Doctor had towards him) and I was happy to see him join the crew. 7 Sonics



Jaime: This is a good one. Former companion Sarah Jane Smith makes an appearance along with K-9. The rivalry between Rose and Sarah Jane is highly entertaining, not to mention poor Mickey. What really does it for me is Rose's realization that she will one day be left behind and never mentioned by the Doctor. Here's a quote from the Doctor to leave you with, "You can spend the rest of your life with me. But I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on, alone. That's the curse of the Timelords." This is pretty much the epitome of who the tenth Doctor is. 8 Sonics



Allison: Has there been an episode of the reboot, leading up to this one, that better deals with the Doctor's ultimate loneliness and alien-ness as a Time Lord? No, I don't think so (though there will be more episodes later on that will do so to even greater effect). The return of Sarah Jane Smith was pivotal in pointing out the ephemeral and changeable nature of the Doctor's companions, and how as much as we love seeing Rose and Ten together, we shouldn't get too comfortable. The backdrop of this episode, the school filled with children being turned into computers, was properly creepy as well. But K-9 just annoys me. Sorry.


7 Sonics





Average Sonics:






x 7.3







Episode 4: The Girl in the Fireplace





The Doctor, Mickey and Rose land on a spaceship in the 51st century only to find 18th century Versailles on board, the time of Madame De Pompadour! To find out what's going on the Doctor must enter Versailles and save Madame De Popmpadour but it turns into an emotional roller coaster for the Doctor. (IMDB)



Justin: Thinking back this could easily have been an Eleventh Doctor episode, but either way it was quality work. You get both future and the past all in one, watch the focal character Reinette go from being a little girl to becoming a woman, and the chemistry between the Doctor and older Reinette (played by Sophia Myles--then girlfriend of Tennant) can be felt through whatever portal you chose to view this episode on. 7 Sonics



Jaime: One of my favorites! Mickey is now part of the crew, which proves for some great dialogue. But Lady Reinette (aka Madame Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV) steals this one. The Doctor pops in and out of her life at random intervals and it proves to be heartbreaking in the end. The chemistry between these two practically seeps out of the TV. And this episode's villains, the clockwork creatures, are very creepy. An overall outstanding episode. 10 Sonics



Allison: Oh Steven Moffat, the feels you make me have! I agree with Justin that this is a lot like what we see in the Matt Smith era. I guess we can call it a taste of the time-bending love stories yet to come. This is one of my favorite episodes of Doctor Who (it made my Top 10), and the reason is that it exemplifies everything I love about this show. While I enjoy the future episodes quite a bit, I get particularly excited to see the Doctor step into the past and become a part of established history. In this case, the use of time was done to heartbreaking effect, as we see the Doctor pop in and out of Madame Pompadour's life at various intervals. She's on the slow path, he's on the fast one. But I also loved the clockwork androids and the gorgeous costumes. New emotional depths of the Doctor were also plumbed here. Honestly, I can't say enough about this episode. 10 Sonics



Average Sonics:







x 9







Episode 5 & 6: The Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel





Upon landing on an alternate version of the Earth, The Doctor, Rose and Mickey learn that Peter Tyler is apparently alive and well. Lurking in the shadows are creatures made to destroy - one of The Doctor's greatest fears have come true...the Cybermen are reborn. Lumic's army of Cybermen is on the rise, and with more and more people being converted by the hour, time is of the essence. The gang are reduced to fugitives as they roam the streets of parallel London trying to rid the earth of Cybermen. (IMDB)



Justin: I was a huge fan of the show Sliders because alternate dimensions is another thing I love about science fiction. Doctor Who gives us two great (and at times, sad) episodes about what could have been for this current crew. I think it's brilliant that Mickey is Ricky on this world, sad that Rose has to see her "dad" again, and even worse of what becomes of this world. I want to note the possible coincidence that two classic Who villains were brought back in the sixth episode of the first two seasons. 8 Sonics



Jaime: I am just not a fan of the Cybermen. I don't find them at all intimidating. What I did like about this episode was the alternate universe where Rose's dad is alive and Mickey is actually Rickey. Alternate/parallel universes are a very interesting aspect of science fiction and I think these two episodes did a decent job with the idea. But due to the Cybermen, it's not stellar. 6 Sonics



Allison: I agree with aspects of both Jaime and Justin's reviews here. I love the alternate dimensions and the whole dynamic between different versions of the same characters. Found it particularly amusing that in the alternate dimension, Rose is a dog. It's just unfortunate that things take a hit with the villain, because I hate the Cybermen. In fact, I don't think they become interesting until waaaaay down the line when Neil Gaiman gets hold of them in Nightmare in Silver, but we'll save that for another blog. Still, it's the human factor that wins me over here in spite of the marching tin cans. 7 Sonics





Average Sonics:





x 7








Episode 7: The Idiot's Lantern





In 1950s London, the police are hunting down strange, mute creatures. The people of Britain gather around their new-fangled "tele-vision" sets to celebrate the new Queen's coronation - but is something affecting the signal? (IMDB)



Justin: This episode both sucked faces off of people and also did the same to my time. They can't all be winners. Redeeming quality: the interrogation. 2 Sonics




Jaime: Another forgettable episode but when I go back and read the synopsis, I remember liking it. Just nothing about it stands out except for Tennant's horrible Elvis impression in the beginning. 5 Sonics




Allison: I fell asleep during this episode. Tried to watch it again. Fell asleep. AGAIN. This is a major rare miss for Mark Gatiss, whose shows are generally enjoyable for me. It is to Who what The Hounds of Baskerville (also penned by Gatiss) is for Sherlock: yaaawwwwwwn. "Meh-pisode" seems an understatement. 1 Sonic




Average Sonics:






x 2.7







Episodes 8 & 9: The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit





The TARDIS lands on an alien planet shrouded in a darkness that even the Doctor can't figure out. And what is lurking at the bottom of The Satan Pit? As Rose battles the murderous Ood, the Doctor finds his every belief being challenged to the core, as the Pit beckons. With the planet threatening to fall into the black hole, the Doctor must make the ultimate sacrifice.



Justin: Ohhhhh, the introduction of the Ood. I love those guys, gals, errr whatever. Plus, a language that the TARDIS can't translate (something that doesn't jive with an Eleventh Doctor episode--more on that later). All this and Beelzebub thrown in for not so good measure. These are two super creepy episodes. 6(66) Sonics




Jaime: LOVE these episodes. Love the chemistry between Rose and Ten. And the Ood. What a great...species. And the ending is excellent. Rose thinking she has lost the Doctor and then the joyous reunion. Sigh. I love these two. And the supporting cast is also a great addition. 9 Sonics



Allison: A great setup. A planet that seems to be existing on the verge of a black hole. A crew of workers beseiged by a demonic presence. A TARDIS gone missing. A pit that was perhaps excavated a bit too deep, hearkening a bit to the Balrog in Lord of the Rings. Then we have the lovable/creepy Ood, who are one of my favorite Doctor Who races. Yeah, I really dug this pair of episodes. There was genuine tension and creep factor, and we see a true deepening of the regard Rose and the Doctor have for one another. 8 Sonics





Average Sonics:






x 7.7







Episode 10: Love & Monsters





A run in with the Doctor at a young age leads Elton to a group who's studying him, they become friends and have a laugh until Victor Kennedy arrives. Suddenly everything becomes more serious then people start disappearing from the group. Can the Doctor save Elton and explain his past before he's absorbed by the Absorbaloff.



Justin: This is my favorite Doctor Who episode and it doesn't really focus on our Tenth Time Lord or his companion. Instead, this episode--in my humble opinion--is about us, the Whovians. People that come together because of the good Doctor and find out they have more in common than one single thing. It's about friendship, love (& monsters), belief in yourself, and most importantly...the Electric Light Orchestra. It also features a bad guy created by a young kid (wouldn't that have been cool if it was your design?), ties in several past Who episodes, and finally makes me like Jackie more than I ever thought was possible. 10 Sonics



Jaime: Eh. Not a fan of this episode in the least. It was just weird and not enjoyable for me. Sorry, Justin. 2 Sonics




Allison: The review I've most/least been looking forward to writing, because I know it's Justin's favorite while I've felt for quite some time it is really my least favorite, and that is despite the fact that I did like Jackie's turn in it, and I thought the overall format of the episode was compelling (again, I like the "Who-lite" idea, but it works better in some cases than others). Things just start to go off the rails when the alien creature is introduced. Yes, it was created by a nine-year-old kid, but it also feels like it was. Then again, since this is a Russell T. Davies episode, it's hard to tell the difference. Still, the episode has some redeemable qualities and it might have received 5 or maybe even 6 Sonics from me up until the very end. That paving stone with Ursula's face in it...the allusion that they have "a bit of a love life." No. No. No. NO. This episode exemplifies why I will never quite respect Davies. His brand of juvenile toilet humor just rubs me the wrong way. Take out the last five minutes of this episode, and I'd have a completely different opinion of it. Make a beautiful cake of togetherness and friendship, but frost it with shit. What does it taste like? Shit. 1 Sonic





Average Sonics:






x 4.3







Episode 11: Fear Her





The Doctor and Rose travel to London in 2012 to see the Olympics - only to find that children are mysteriously disappearing before peoples very eyes. The answer seems to lie with a young girl named Chloe and her strange drawings - but is there something more sinister behind the disappearances?



Justin: This reminded me of The Idiot's Lantern, and in a way where I appreciated that episode more. 

1 Sonic



Jaime: I liked this one. Again, it's the relationship and banter between Rose and Ten that really got me in this one. Also, creepy kids are always a bonus. 7 Sonics



Allison: I enjoyed the premise of this episode, where a kid can trap people inside her drawings. It built some good mystery and kept me interested. The thing with her father was also good. I ultimately thought the idea of a lonely alien that became hostile without its family was also pretty neat and original, though I can't say I genuinely loved this episode as a whole. 6 Sonics





Average Sonics:





x 4.6







Episodes 12 & 13: Army of Ghosts/Doomsday





As the ghosts of loved ones appear, the whole world celebrates. But as the Doctor investigates he believes that there is a more sinister motive behind their appearence. And deep within the Torchwood tower, a mysterious sphere containing the greatest enemies of the Doctor is opened.



Justin: There are so many interesting things happening in these episodes. I had no idea who the "ghosts" were, and was even more shocked by the Daleks showing up again. Doomsday (or at least a part of it) was the first I had watched of Doctor Who, and it made zero sense. I couldn't figure out how a show could do so well when they couldn't afford better sci-fi glasses for the Doctor (3D glasses were horrible when I wore them as a kid.). So when I finally got to and finagled these two episodes I was quite pleased (and informed) with the turn out. I couldn't imagine who would replace Rose. I had an idea from seeing the DVD covers (which I will touch on in Season Three), but I was ok with saying goodbye to the Tylers & Mickey. 8 Sonics



Jaime: The opening is enough to draw you in. Rose: "This is the story of how I died." Aw, the feels! Ghosts, Daleks, Cybermen, a bad ass Mickey, and the departure of Rose. Whoa. A lot to deal with here. But this episode manages to have some humor in it before the massive amounts of tears are shed. Rose's departure was very tough and I had no idea how I would feel about a new companion. The ending? So moving. "I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye." Damn. Ten can kick you in the feels every time. Amazing pair of episodes. 10 Sonics



Allison: My daughter prepared me a bit for these episodes and yet they still hit me over the head like a hammer. I realize there is a great manipulation going on here behind the scenes. We've seen the Doctor and Rose interact cutely together through this whole season, and when the time finally comes for her to go, it's crushing. Though if I go back and think about it, I can't really articulate WHY it's so crushing or why was Rose so much more special to him than any of the others. Maybe it was because she was his first companion after the Time War? Maybe it was because the plot says we have to make the Doctor fall in love and therefore he falls in love. I don't know, and I don't really care, because my daughter and I sobbed our stupid hearts out at the end of Doomsday, and that's all that really matters. Love is really only what you feel in spite of all logic. Finally, there were excellent turns for Jackie and Mickey and all involved. Loved the big sphere, the "ghosts" and the bittersweet ending of the Tylers back together again. One great thing I love about Doctor Who, though, is they don't let you cry for long. Always end on a laugh. Maybe it's an English thing--show some damn dignity and stop being such a sop. The appearance of Donna in the TARDIS at the very end was one of those "laugh while crying" moments this show manages to pull off so well. 9 Sonics





Average Sonics:




x 9







Episodes Ranked Best to Worst


1. Army of Ghosts/Doomsday


2. The Girl in the Fireplace

3. New Earth

4. The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit

5. School Reunion

6. The Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel

7. The Christmas Invasion

8. Fear Her

9. Love & Monsters

10. Tooth and Claw

11. The Idiot's Lantern





Overall Sonic Average for the Season









x 6.2







To sum up, Series 2 had a lot of peaks and valleys and there was a little polarity within our own ranks, which I think keeps things from getting too boring. While the greatest episodes of this season in many ways outshone most of what we saw out of Series 1, there were enough rotten eggs in the bunch to stink up the overall average in comparison to the previous series. Speaking only for myself here, I believe the show as a whole achieves a lot more stability after this. I am very much looking forward to next week, when we review Series 3! A lot of my favorite episodes are in that one. Let us know what you think, because as you can see, we didn't all agree here. What's your opinion of Love & Monsters? Was The Idiot's Lantern really that bad, or are we just a bunch of meanies? Sound off in the comments!


--Allison, Jaime, & Justin

Flash in the Pan: A Poem

The last two days have been a whirlwind I won't soon forget. As a result of a highly successful promotion on BookBub, my novel STRINGS managed to reach the top 500 in the Kindle store (it peaked around #331, not that I'm counting, and #6 in horror -- sharing the Top 10 with The Shining and Doctor Sleep -- and #6 crime thrillers, my first time ever ranking in that particular category), and I managed peak at #12 for horror authors (one of only two women--V.C. Andrews was around #16, I believe--in the Top 20). We also sold several hundred copies of the book. Figures are still coming in, but let's just say that in 24 hours, we moved more books than I sold of all my titles last year and probably the year before, combined.










Of course, the magical fairy dust eventually wears off with these things. As of right now, the rank is slowly coming back down to earth (#534 and falling, oh the humanity). It's a slow moving roller-coaster, but it is a roller-coaster nonetheless. Gravity is a certainty for all but a very special few. I decided to write a poem to reflect this particular. As usual, I must warn you all that I am not a poet. I write stories for a reason, so don't judge me, bro.




Flash in the Pan





I dined with the immortals

A rare and dangerous feast

They told me secrets of their years

During courses that never ceased




Aperitif of stars and galaxies

Entrees of mountains and flame

The wine was an ocean tide

A digestif of pure acclaim




I sampled every course

My stomach fit to burst

Then they laughed and cast me from their table

"Silly girl, you're not the first"




One meal only, that's the deal

Few are meant to stay

Remember how it tasted, the world upon your tongue

A most ephemeral array





Humbled, I long for it now

The taste of a thousand ages

I'm left to savor God on my lips

And hunger for gilded pages

Maurice Jovan Billington Answers 5 Quintessential Questions

Hello again and welcome back to 5 Quintessential Questions, my recurring blog series where I pose five specially designed creative queries to members of the indie art community. Today I'd like to welcome Maurice Jovan Billington, an author, comedian, screenwriter, filmmaker, poet, and all around NOT GOOD LOOKING AT ALL GUY.



See?





Yeah, totally not good looking.



Nope, sorry. Try again.



Yeah... I'm not buying it.



. . .

I'm sorry. Where were we?



Oh yeah! Questions! 5 Quintessential Questions. And here we go . . .



Allison: You found a surprise ten dollar bill in the dryer. How do you celebrate this magnificent windfall?

I steal another ten from my girlfriend's purse in an effort to teach her to go through the clothes better before doing the laundry, buy a pack of American Spirits because if I get cancer it will be toxins free, a lottery ticket, (why break the streak) and a Jack Daniels over ice at the bar while I brag to others about finding a hundred bucks thus expanding the legend.



Allison: You wake up and realize the apocalypse has just happened. What do you have for breakfast?


Breakfast becomes useless to me at that point. I go straight to lunch. Mexican.




Allison: It's 3am and you hear a knock at the door. When you open it, you see a penguin standing here. He's wearing a bandolero, a cowboy hat, and a fake mustache. He seems to know you. Why is he there?

That hooker I punched in Fresno.



Allison: Which super villain are you most like?

Lex Luthor for his sense of joie de vivre.



Allison: Someone offers you a million dollars to write the greatest slash fiction story of all time. Give me your elevator pitch.

Darkness from the fantasy epic Legend falls in love with a deceased Juliet, brings her back to life into another doomed romance because she won't love him unless he stops killing and he must kill in order for her to remain alive. It's called "F*cked By Love."




Allison: Quite honestly, the best pitch I've heard in a long time. Please write this. Please?




And now for more on Maurice:





But this beautiful book!


I am a screenwriter and poet. "A Portion Of The Eternal" is my debut novel and the first in a planned trilogy (The Eternal Series). The second book will be "The Eternity Of Ghosts" and the third and final shall be "That Which Remains Eternally." I will begin the second after I pen a biography for Lynne Austin The Original Hooters' girl entitled, "Face Of A Franchise." I am currently writing the screenplay to "Benediction" which I then intend to film independently. It is the story of God falling in love then all Hell breaking loose.

LIKE the book on Facebook



Friend Maurice on Facebook






Reservoirradio.com (Listen to Maurice here)

A Very Important Message Re: Facebook

Facebook recently celebrated its 10th birthday and as part of the festivities, they gave everybody a "Look Back" movie of their time spent on the social network, which was basically a slideshow of pictures and status updates they've shared since they joined, set to heartwarming music.





It was supposed to drum up feelings of nostalgia. "Look at all these awesome moments in my life!" And for many, they have been awesome moments. Babies have been born, weddings have been had...in my case, publishing contracts have been signed and my kids have grown more and more awesome. The Look Back movie is supposed to remind people why they love Facebook, why they keep coming back, why it's such an important and vital service. We share so much of ourselves, and many friendships have been forged through laughter, sadness, and triumph.




Except, once that momentary mistiness cleared for me, I didn't feel that way. I felt the same tired emptiness I've felt about Facebook for a long time. Oh yes, indeed, I know some very wonderful people there and have made some great friends since I joined in 2008. REAL friends, lifelong friends. I don't buy into that whole "internet people are fake people" bullshit. I can't. I met my husband online, for crying out loud. Nearly every day since then has been filled with thousands upon thousands of interactions, the overwhelming majority of them positive ones. There have also been bad days, moments when you realize that someone is not who you thought they were, when it feels more like noise than harmony. That's life on or offline, but Facebook amplifies those feelings and it can overwhelm and eventually start to eat the very life you're supposed to be sharing.




People have asked me, since I deactivated my account a little over 24 hours ago, what happened. And the thing is, nothing in particular happened. I'd just finally had enough. It was the same feeling I had when I knew it was time to quit smoking. When every drag tasted like a mule's taint and it was making me feel worse than better. Or when I have decided not to go for another round at a buffet, because I'm already starting to regret how much I've stuffed myself. Or when I have cut myself off at a bar because one more swig of booze will almost certainly depress the puke button.




I was just tired. And the thing is, if I hadn't deactivated, I would have just kept logging on despite my misery, because there was (and still is) a little bug in my head that will not let up. Wake up in the morning, check your Facebook. Stuck in a waiting room, check your Facebook. Waiting for food at a restaurant, check your Facebook. Eating, check your Facebook. Waiting in line at the grocery store, check your Facebook. Take a picture of something cool, share it on Facebook. Writing more than three sentences in your book, tell people about it on Facebook and then check your Facebook.




And BOOM, that last one is hitting at the very heart of why I finally had to step away. Because while fatigue with the overall nature of social networking can wax and wane over time, what hasn't improved and in fact has only gotten worse over the last few years, is my productivity level, and now it's really starting to have an effect on my mental well-being. Working from home, I already face an uphill battle in the discipline department. What is not acceptable is when I work from home and don't have much to show for it. So many goals and projects I had planned to finish by the end of last year didn't get finished. And they're still not even close. Short stories I still haven't written and released, novels started and abandoned as I scrabbled madly to find a project that could hold my attention longer than Facebook.




I finally realized there is no such project. Therefore, Facebook had to go.




I plan on this being a hiatus. It takes around 21 days to make or break a habit. I want to be gone a month. And in that month, I want to finish the first draft of a novel. I want Facebook to feel like something that isn't a compulsion, that I don't have to be on every single day or share every single moment. I want my writing to feel like the compulsion again. In my first day away from the shiny allure of the News Feed, I managed to accomplish far more writing in a couple hours than what I'd been squeaking out over the course of an entire day for the last year or so (with the exception of NaNoWriMo).




So I'm going with that. In the meantime, I have my husband and my friend Jaime Hobbes administering my author page over there. And if anything vital is happening that I must share with the world, you may hear about it from one of them, or you may find it on Twitter or here on this blog. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to my little reboot.




See you all on the flipside. 

The Doctor Who Project: Ranking Series One

Welcome back, Whovians! If you're just joining us, my friends Justin Wasson, Jaime Hobbes, and I will be spending the next several weeks talking Who. Last week, we each chose our top ten favorite episodes (limiting our choices to the reboot). Now we're going to break down each season. We will give our individual thoughts on each episode (using synopses from IMDB), and then give our own personal ranking on a scale of 1-10 "Sonics". As an added bonus, I will then average our Sonics together to give an overall rank and then arrange the season from best to worst at the end. Should be fun! Let's get started!







In 2005, BBC revived Doctor Who and a whole new generation of fandom was born. Taking helm of the TARDIS was veteran actor Chris Eccleston, who gave the role a fiery zeal. It was Eccleston's powerful portrayal of a character I had previously considered a bit too cheesy for my taste that drew me in and made me the fan I am now. I only wish he'd made maybe one more season before stepping down.



Episode 1: Rose





Rose Tyler is just an ordinary shop worker living an ordinary life in 21st century Britain. But that life is turned upside down when a strange man calling himself The Doctor drags her into an alien invasion attempt! (IMDB)



Justin: I didn't know what to expect from this episode, and by the end I wasn't sure I would care for the show. Rose teams up with the Ninth Doctor to fight the Autons (who first appeared in the 1970 Spearhead from Space episode with Jon Pertwee aka the Third Doctor). The effects were so so, and I didn't care for Rose's supporting cast: her mom Jackie Tyler (Camille Corduri) and her boyfriend Mickey Smith (Noel Clark). In fact, I kept hoping they would be killed off. Even the inside of the TARDIS was blech to me, as it seemed too much like the inner part of an ear. I did enjoy the Doctor's jovial yet rugged attitude, plus his explanation that he can feel the Earth moving through space. In the end the show left me wanting more for the same reason that piqued Rose's interest: Time Travel. 5 Sonics



Jaime: Okay, let's see what this show is all about. Cheesy special effects, thick British accents, is that a mannequin arm? What the hell? Well...that was interesting. The charm of Christopher Eccleston in this episode is the only thing that made me watch the next one. "By the way, did I also mention it travels in time?"

5 sonics



Allison: I have to say, I'm with my compatriots here all the way. This episode suffered mightily from Weak Pilot Syndrome. The mannequin thing was only marginally interesting, Rose's mom was a jerk, and the special effects were ridiculously lame. I tell people every time they start with this episode to just stick with it, though, because it really DOES get better from here. The major saving grace for the episode is Eccleston and his chemistry with Rose. 5 Sonics



Average Sonics: 


 x 5








Episode 2: The End of the World







Rose goes off on her first adventure with the Doctor who takes her 5 billion years into the future to view a cataclysmic event: the destruction of the Earth. (IMDB)



Justin: Now this is what I wanted. The future (or really just time travel). Outer space. Aliens. Mystery. Incorrect references to things from the past (or our present). I was excited to watch more episodes after this, and that's what I think the episode Rose should have done for me. 7 Sonics



Jaime:  Time travel! Aliens! Time travel is what interested me most about Doctor Who when I first began watching the show. And to see the destruction of earth? I kind of had the same feelings as Rose, why would people gather and celebrate to watch that? I thought the aliens in this episode were interesting, but overall the episode was a little cheesy. The saving grace was seeing the Doctor and Rose's relationship develop a little more. And we learn more about the Doctor.  6 Sonics



Allison: One of my favorite parts of studying astronomy is the event of our dying sun becoming a red giant and expanding beyond our orbit, absorbing the earth. This is the first time I'd seen a sci-fi show venture so far into the future, and I immediately admired the writers' ambition to speculate with pure abandon. I suppose that's what has kept me such a fan. Additionally, I enjoyed the whole "spectator of the end of the world from a distance" thing, and it had a very Douglas Adams/Hitchhiker's Guide feel to it. A major improvement on the pilot episode.

7 Sonics. 



Average Sonics


x 6.7








Episode 3: The Unquiet Dead





The Doctor has great expectations for his latest adventure when he and Rose join forces with Charles Dickens to investigate a mysterious plague of zombies. (IMDB)





Justin: A good episode to play against the previous. For the most part I felt this was a boring episode, but I enjoyed the ending. The banter between the Doctor and Dickens (Simon Callow--who has played the part of the writer several times) was funny. The episode also accomplished a goal it might not have set out to attain: making me research the real life of Charles Dickens. 4 Sonics




Jaime: I liked seeing the TARDIS travel to the past. And I found it amusing that the Doctor was shooting for one time period and missed. Sometimes I wonder if he can even control the TARDIS. This was a good episode, but it doesn't stand out for me. I think the idea of zombies in 19th century London is a little hokey. But I did like the addition of Charles Dickens. 4 Sonics




Allison: Jaime and Justin seem thick as thieves here, but I'm going to have to be the odd one out and say I really dug this episode, and it's one of the standouts from the Eccleston run thanks to the writing of Mark Gatiss, who seems to have an affinity for writing in this time period (as we'll see over the course of the seasons). I love the portrayal of Dickens and the setup of the reanimated corpses. The special effects also take a huge step up in this episode. 6 Sonics




Average Sonics:

x 4.6












Episode 4-5: Aliens of London/World War Three





The Doctor returns Rose to her own time - well, sort of - but her family reunion is ruined when a spaceship crashes in the middle of London. What is the origin of the spaceship, and where has the Prime Minister gone in this time of crisis? (IMDB)



Justin: I love that the Doctor can't go to the right time in a time machine (something I'll touch on with season two), and returns the declared missing Rose back to her home. Jackie and Mickey (or is that Ricky) continue to receive my death wish. The Slitheen are pretty generic villains--except they eat too many beans, but the introduction of Harriet Jones (played terrifically by "Shaun's mum" Penelope Wilton) was welcome.

5 Sonics





Jaime: I am a fan of Jackie and Mickey. I like the idea of the Doctor being a part of Rose's entire life, including her family. And once again, the Doctor can't control the TARDIS and brings Rose home 12 months after she left instead of 12 hours. This episode introduces the Slitheen, an interesting alien family that wears the skins of humans. In this case, the acting Prime Minister. What I liked—aliens in London! Rose's independence and bravery. I also liked seeing the Doctor accept Mickey, and protect Mickey. Harriet Jones was a great character in this episode. What I didn't like—the bathroom humor was funny, the first time. Then it was overplayed. Flatulence can only be amusing for so long to someone over the age of ten. 6 Sonics




Allison: Ah, the Slitheen (a.k.a. Farting Pig Aliens). They are perhaps my least favorite race in the Whoniverse. Unfortuantely, the Russel T. Davies era is rife with pig aliens as we'll see throughout the series. I am not amuse. Luckily, the main and supporting characters come to the rescue here, keeping an already not very interesting plot from falling completely flat. But like my friends, I love the character of Harriet Jones and the fact that the Doctor has trouble controlling the time in which his TARDIS lands. We also get a lot more development from Rose and her family. I'm starting to become attached to these folks, even if the stories they're put in aren't always the greatest. 5 Sonics




Average Sonics

x 5.3












Episode 6: Dalek





The Doctor and Rose travel to the year 2012 and land in a museum of extra-terrestrial objects accumulated by the very wealthy Henry van Statten. He's particularly proud of one device he's acquired but has not yet been able to make functional, and to the Doctor's horror, it turns out to a very old and very dangerous enemy from the past. (IMDB)



Justin: I love when we pass "the future", Twenty-twelve has come and gone, and I think our real future was cooler. A great (re)introduction to the scary Who villain the Dalek was creepy, and this episode helped "Exterminate" any bad feelings I still had about the show. 6 Sonics



Jaime: This is actually one of my favorite episodes and just barely missed being in my top ten. I didn't know it at the time, but the Daleks are a long standing enemy of the Doctor. I liked the idea of an underground alien museum. Seems all too likely. This episode also shows the Doctor's anger and Rose's effect on him. He wants to kill the Dalek, but Rose shows true compassion, even for an alien. This was an exciting episode. And at the end, we have a new passenger on the TARDIS. 10 Sonics



Allison: I'm with Jaime on this. "Dalek" nearly made my top ten. It is the first episode that truly demonstrated the Doctor as a dark character, a man of war and secrets, someone harboring a deep well of shame, anger, and sadness which we can only begin to guess about this early in the game. The most pivotal moment is when the Doctor's greatest enemy tells him he would make a great Dalek, and you realize it's sort of true. That's the power of Eccleston's acting prowess and I love the gravity he added to this role. I also appreciate that the otherwise slow and lumbering trashcans actually managed to be frightening. 10 Sonics





Average Sonics:

x 8.7















Episode 7: The Long Game





The Doctor and Rose arrive in the year 200,000 to see The Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. But something has gone wrong - someone is holding back the development of mankind. Who could have done this? And why? (IMDB)





Justin: I was again excited about a trip to future, and eager to see more of what I thought was a new companion to the Doctor: Adam Mitchell (Bruno Langley). Instead I'm treated to something very sinister, and found myself loathing the frosty Editor (Simon Pegg). Overall an ok episode, and an ending that was right up there with the Ninth Doctor's wit. 5 Sonics





Jaime: I enjoyed the idea of a space station beaming information across the galaxy. And, hello, Simon Pegg! What a great guest star in what I thought was an exciting and well-written episode. Also, a little foreshadowing to a later episode in the season. 7 Sonics




Allison: I love the weird and wacky Orwellian feel of this episode, with the brain implants that help reporters beam out information and a great unseen "Oz" type character controlling things behind the scenes. And when we do finally get a glimpse of the "man" behind the curtain, it's a little horrifying. Simon Pegg is always a welcome addition, and as the episode's title suggests, we're also beginning to get a feeling of a major story arc here. 7 Sonics




Average Sonics:

x 6.3












Episode 8: Father's Day





Rose asks the Doctor to take her back to the day her father died. What was intended to be a case of mere observation winds up being a deadly wish fulfillment when Rose decides to prevent her father's death.





Justin: Two things I enjoy: Paradoxes and not watching something from your past that you haven't seen in a long time. This episode covers both of them quite well. The reapers could have been anything silly, but--in my opinion--what made this episode great was the heart it had. It was about missing someone, discovery of your ideas vs reality, and just cool time travel paradox jibber jabber. I get sad when I think about the subject matter. 8 Sonics



Jaime: Aw, now this is the kind of time travel stuff I really dig. Rose insists on the Doctor taking her to see her father, who died when she was only a baby. Not only do they do that, but Rose saves him from his death creating a paradox. The whole concept of this episode is the kind of science fiction I enjoy. A person seeing their parents younger, and not always in a good light. I was happy Rose was able to meet her dad and be with him in his final moments. Needless to say, I cried. 8 Sonics



Allison: My first Doctor Who tears were shed in this episode, and they certainly wouldn't be my last. I love when time travel deals with the bad results of our good intentions. To save the people we love from an untimely death is a chance almost all of us would take, but what happens when we alter that timeline? I also loved seeing Rose come to terms with the stories she'd heard her whole life about her dad, and the reality. This episode deals beautifully with grief and letting go. 9 Sonics






Average Sonics:

x 8.3










Episode 9 & 10: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances





Rose and the Doctor find themselves in 1941 London when the TARDIS receives an emergency signal from another time-traveling vehicle. While the Doctor tries to determine where the object may have landed, Rose goes off in search of a child she can hear calling for help. When she gets herself into a precarious situation, she's rescued by the rather handsome RAF Captain Jack Harkness, who owns a time machine of his own. (IMDB)





Justin: These are wonderful episodes. Why? Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), Star Trek references, creepy gas mask kid, repetition of an eery phrase, and the Doctor's line "It's sonic, totally sonic. I am sonicked *up*!" in response to Jack's questioning of the usefulness of a screwdriver in a fight. 9 Sonics




Jaime: This one is in my top ten. It was just that great of an episode(s). And it was the first Doctor Who episode I found to be a little creepy. "Are you my mummy?" I mean, come on. That kid was scary. I loved the setting, the great lines, and of course the introduction of Captain Jack. But what makes this my favorite, is that everybody lives. The joy of the Doctor when he shouts this to Rose just makes you grin with him. For such a dark, spooky story to end with The Doctor, Rose, and Captain Jack dancing, well that is the joy of Doctor Who. 10 Sonics




Allison: This is the first episode written by current showrunner Steven Moffat, and as I have come to expect, things always seem to take on a whole new dimension, intelligence, and quality when he's at the helm. This episode is stunning, and I don't mean specifically John Barrowman's good looks and charm. The setting, the creep factor, the dialog, the pitch perfect ending all add up to one of the greatest Who episodes ever made. Brilliant historical fiction with a dark twist but enough joy at its core to keep me smiling. This is what Doctor Who is all about for me. 10 Sonics




Average Sonics:

x 9.6













Episode 11: Boomtown





Stopping off in present-day Cardiff to recharge the TARDIS, The Doctor, Rose and Jack encounter an old foe in the midst of hatching a scheme that could destroy the entire planet. (IMDB)





Justin: Not mentioned in the above summary is the return of the Slitheen, but instead of being generic, this Slitheen (Annette Badland) comes off human. If she wasn't so dag nasty evil I would have cared more about her. The "date" her and the Doctor go on is funny as get out, this is juxtaposed by the date Rose has with (maybe he'll die this time) Mickey. 5 Sonics



Jaime: Eh, just didn't overall enjoy this episode. I liked the banter between the Doctor and Margaret Blaine over dinner, and her failed attempts to kill him. Nothing about this one stood out for me. Though a part of me was glad to see Rose and Mickey kind of call it quits. And at this point, part of me is wondering why the aliens are so obsessed with London. 4 Sonics



Allison: Gotta go with my pals on this one and give "Boomtown" an overall meh. Then again, how do you follow up the gorgeous brilliance of the previous two episodes? I will say that I did like that dinner scene quite a bit, though. Also, the whole Bad Wolf thing is coming to the fore. What does it all mean?! Stay tuned for a better episode. 4 Sonics




Average Sonics:



x 4.3








Episode 12 & 13: Bad Wolf/The Parting of Ways







Jack, The Doctor and Rose have been kidnapped and forced to play terrible and deadly games. But what happens to the bodies of the murdered contestants? And what sinister plot do the games hide? In part two, the Dalek fleet is poised to destroy the Earth and only The Doctor, Rose, Jack, and a band of television producers can stop them. (IMDB)





Justin: This first half is nothing spectacular. Humor here and there, but mostly setting the stage for the second half. This is where it gets really good. Intense action, death, rebirth, and an answer to the Bad Wolf plot that has been weaving through the first season. I was sad to see Chris leave as the Doctor, but was very welcome to having David Tennant take over as the Tenth. Oh, and I even warmed up to Jackie and Mickey. Crazy. 8 Sonics



Jaime: So much going on in these two episodes. Once again, we find ourselves on Satellite 5. The opening is brilliant. I loved the game show elements. What was good about this episode was the story. It was so well written and the pace was perfect. I was heartbroken for Rose when the Doctor sent her back to London alone. But this is when we see that she has come full circle. She takes the heart of the TARDIS into herself to save everyone, including Jack who had been killed by Daleks. We also see why the Doctor is feared by the Daleks. The Oncoming Storm? That is bloody genius. And we see a softer side of him, too. But in order to save Rose, the Doctor is forced to regenerate. No one forgets their first regeneration. I wasn't sure what to expect . . . And then there was Ten. 9 Sonics



Allison: Loved being back on Satellite 5 and seeing the seeds planted throughout the season beginning to sprout. The game show element was inventive and I liked the general suspense and humor it created. It was also great seeing the Doctor's softer side as well as a major improvement in the likability of Jackie and Mickey. A couple things that niggled at me a bit. First was the whole Bad Wolf thing. I get that it was a message spread throughout time, but the whole thing had weak legs to me and never seemed to quite unify itself with the overall mythos. Maybe that's because it was never entirely clear why that choice of wording was used and what it was supposed to symbolize. It's like the writers were like, "Hey, let's just draw a random phrase out of a hat." Two, the Doctor's regeneration felt very rushed, and I wasn't a big fan of his final lines and their somewhat sardonic delivery. It was almost as if Eccleston had bloody well had enough of being the Doctor and just wanted it over with. And maybe that was the case, but it robbed me of the emotional heft I was expecting from his farewell. Still, the moment when he says Rose needed a Doctor, I was like "Me too me too!" Overall, I was happy to see Tennant's face. 7 Sonics




Average Sonics:


x 8










Episodes Ranked Best to Worst:




1. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances

2. Dalek

3. Father's Day

4. Bad Wolf/The Parting of Ways

5. End of the World

6. The Long Game

7. Aliens of London/World War Three

8. Rose

9. The Unquiet Dead

10. Boomtown




Overall Sonic Average for the Season:




x 6.7











Well that does it for the first season! We'd love to hear your feedback on our rankings and wonder what your favorite and least favorite episodes of the Chris Eccleston run are. Drop us a comment and stay tuned as we delve deep into David Tennant's debut next week!

DeAnna Knippling Answers 5 Quintessential Questions

Welcome to 5 Quintessential Questions, a recurring interview series where I pose five specially designed questions to our favorite members of the indie art community. This time we sit down with DeAnna Knippling, writer extraordinaire and owner of Wonderland Press!








Allison: You found a surprise ten dollar bill in the dryer. How do you celebrate this magnificient windfall?



I track down my daughter and ask if it's hers. Look, her heartbreak is going to be greater than my pleasure. And it's hers. I know it is. It's always hers.

Then I go out and treat myself to a sushi lunch because I have so much goddamned integrity, okay?



Allison: You wake up and realize the apocalypse has just happened. What do you have for breakfast?




A bowl of Jelly Bellies. Unless the apocalypse happens after I eat the rest of this batch. I bought a Costco bucket o'jelly beans for part of a Christmas present but didn't use them all up. I told myself I was going to split them up into those little plastic containers that you get in quarter machines, and put them in our quarter machine (we have one), so I could at least pretend to regulate how many I ate at one go. The idea is that if you have a bad day, you stick a couple of quarters in the quarter machine, and out pops a treat. Just something small and unncessary. But I keep putting this off. Yesterday I almost did it. But the Christmas tree was sitting in front of the quarter machine, so of course I had to take that down and put it in boxes first. This morning for breakfast, I ate a couple of handfuls of jelly bellys. Maybe it's like Jimmy Buffet says and it's always the apocalypse somewhere.




Allison: It's 3am and you hear a knock at the door. When you open it, you see a penguin standing here. He's wearing a bandolero, a cowboy hat, and a fake mustache. He seems to know you. Why is he there?



I close the door and get a handful of jelly bellys.

The last time I saw him, he almost had me convinced he was a Mexican jumping penguin named Manuel. He left a stash in my crawlspace a couple of years ago. Well, I finally got my ass in gear and got under the house to change the air filter. We've lived in this house for five years now, and never changed the furnace filter. But anyway I found his stash. Normally I tell people it was weed (I live in Colorado), but what the hell. He left his Christmas present for his mom there. It was wrapped and everything. I'm not normally the kind of person who goes unwrapping things (the one time I found out what my present was early it was horrible...the present was lame AND I had to pretend to like it without even the benefit of it being a surprise), but I know his mom, and he's been talking about doing something nasty to her for years, so I did. Imagine my surprise when I found out it was a kitten. Dead. I mean, he's not the smartest penguin. But it was a sweet thought.

When I feel up to it, I let him in--tell him to be quiet--and make him some tea while I buck myself up to tell him about the cat.

I hope he didn't mean to give her a dead cat.



Allison: Which super villain are you most like?



Freddy Kreuger. I am often overenthusastic about enlightening people via dreamlike states.



Allison: Someone offers you a million dollars to write the greatest slash fiction story of all time. Give me your elevator pitch.



It's a blizzard, and there's a convention in town: INVESTIGATORS OF THE STRANGE AND UNUSUAL. There for signings are Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sam & Dean, Sherlock & Watson, House, Castle, Scully & Mulder, John Constantine, and more. The lights go out and a demonic voice growls, "Prepare for Death..." Then a voice says, "Death? Does someone need a...doctor?" 


Things quickly get out of hand when Our Heroes ascertain that the only way to defeat this demon is by summoning the Spirit of Love, who is currently unavailable due to a fight with Being Beyond Our Ken, so they settle for the Spirit of Sex.

The world could have ended if they hadn't, you know.






Allison: I think I just had an extreme nerdgasm from that pitch. You'll have to excuse me while I clean up for a second. Thank you for joining us, DeAnna!




BIO:
DeAnna Knippling writes fictions for obscure predilictions. You can find her at www.WonderlandPress.com, where she blogs about writing and other curious madnesses. Currently she's publishing an ongoing series about Alice Liddell (the "real" Alice in Wonderland) and Charles Dodgson, her gentleman zombie. There's tea and brains and you can find more information Alice's Adventures in Underland here.

The Doctor Who Project: Our Top 10 Episodes

Hello fellow Whovians! I've been looking forward to doing this blog for a long time and finally the time is here. If you want to read more about the genesis of this project, pop on over to the introductory post. But in short, over the next several weeks, my friends Jaime Hobbes and Justin Wasson will be joining me as we dissect one of our favorite shows ever, Doctor Who. But before we get to picking apart each season and discussing our likes and dislikes, we thought we'd each list our favorite episodes, and we welcome you to do the same in the comments below. Feel free to let us know your favorites or why you agree or disagree with our choices.


As the weeks go on, we will elaborate on each season and discuss why we liked these particular episodes as much as we did, but for now we're just going to list the episodes. I will also link each one the first time it appears (not going to link duplicate choices between the three lists). One other thing, we're treating two part episodes as a single entity..



Allison's note: As the main writer of the Doctor Who Project, I have not looked at my colleagues' lists or reviews ahead of constructing my own, so it's been a real treat learning the episodes we mutually love and the ones we disagree on. In fact, the three of us will not be seeing each other's answers until the blogs are posted.



Now, let's hear from Jaime!



I had never heard of Doctor Who until I went to a ComicCon about four years ago. No one explained it very well, and it didn't spark my interest for another three years. I have my father to thank for my love of Doctor Who. He insisted I watch it and intrigued me with one of my favorite ideas, time travel. It only took a couple of episodes and I was hooked. Needless to say, the Doctor has brought much joy to my life the past year and a half. He is funny, brave, charming, intense, and rather eccentric. No matter which incarnation one speaks of, the essence of the man is always the same.



Here are Jaime's favorite ten episodes:



1. Blink

2. The Doctor's Wife

3. Army of Ghosts/Doomsday

4. The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang

5. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances

6. The Girl in the Fireplace

7. Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead

8. Turn Left

9. Vincent and the Doctor

10.



Now let's bring it over to Justin!







I never cared for Doctor Who. It was a weird show about a guy with a scarf and he travelled through space. That's all I knew, and that's all I wanted to know. A few years ago I saw how well Doctor Who art was selling and figured I could take advantage of this by drawing all the Doctors (and I had no idea why there were so many) on one page. Then--a little--over a year ago I saw parts of episodes (David Tennant), and even though I had no idea what was going on...I was intrigued. It wasn't until getting Netflix a few months later that I decided to give the Doctor a try.



Are there better episodes than some that I have in my top ten? Yes, but is just like these more. You can read my explanations of what I enjoyed about the episodes in the season review section.



Here are Justin's ten favorite episodes, in countdown format (cue dramatic music):



10. Asylum of the Daleks

9. Vincent and the Doctor

8. 42

7. Gridlock

6. Father's Day

5. Let's Kill Hitler

4. The Day of the Doctor (I'm inclined to include the Night of the Doctor short with this)

3. Blink

2. Turn Left

1. Love & Monsters





Already I'm starting to notice a lot of similarities and contrast. There are episodes on my Top 10 that don't appear on either Jaime's or Justin's lists, but I also happen to be including episodes on Justin's list that aren't on Jaime's and vice versa (or whatever...that was a confusing sentence). At any rate, with so many episodes, I think there is a lot to love, and it's really neat to see which episodes resonate with people different. What's equally interesting is that some of us may have favorite Doctors and companions, but that is not necessarily reflected in our choices of favorite episodes. Sometimes we wish our favorite characters had better episodes, I think.



With that being said, here is my Top 10 list:



1. Blink

2. The Doctor's Wife

3. The Girl in the Fireplace

4. The Waters of Mars

5. Father's Day

6. Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead

7. A Good Man Goes to War

8. Vincent and the Doctor

9. The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon

10. Human Nature/The Family of Blood




Do you share some favorites on these lists? Which ones do you think we left out? Personally, picking just ten favorite episodes was extremely hard for me. While there are a lot of episodes I didn't love, there were even more that I did and there were SEVERAL that did make it but that were just barely edged out by others. I could almost put together an honorable mentions lists, but that would get long too. Needless to say, if you feel like we completely missed the ball by not including a particular episode, chances are at least one of us feels the same way.




Next week, we will delve into examination of the series one.



Until then, how about that number twelve?

Coming Soon: The Doctor Who Project

Something special happened to me in 2013. I . . . became a Whovian.



I blame my daughter, who fell in love with it before I did. Or, rather, I thank her, because finally opening my world to Doctor Who was one of the best things I've done for my spirit in a long time. That mad man in a blue box made me feel much the same way I did when I finally started the Harry Potter books, and I didn't expelliarmus myself from those things until I finished The Deathly Hallows in a puddle of nerd tears.





Doctor Who and Harry Potter, apart from being British, don't have a whole lot in common, but they filled me with a giddy sense of whimsy that was capable of making me both laugh and cry, often at the same time. And it also helped me join discussions that had been happening around me for ages that I couldn't previously comprehend. Now, at least with the rebooted series, I feel like I can talk about it. And to that end, I have teamed up with two great friends and fellow Whovians, Justin Wasson and Jaime Hobbes, for what will be a weeks-long event where we rate every episode of the show (reboot, not classic) as well as giving you our Top 10 Favorites! We figure this is a great way to get ourselves and you the readers through the winter doldrums. By the time we get through season 7, we will be looking at springtime weather and it will only be a few short months before the premier of Peter Capaldi as the Doctor number twelve (or whatever number he is...I'm not going there).



But first, a little bit about my fellow reviewers!





Justin Wasson is an acclaimed artist and visual storyteller. You probably also know his name if you've read my blogs about the awesome illustrator of the COLT COLTRANE cover. We will be sitting at a table together for the first time this April at the Gem City Comic Con, where I will be hocking signed print copies of the book and a brand new poster.







Jaime Hobbes is one of the brains behind the curtain at Hobbes End Publishing. She's also a voracious reader, book reviewer, and all around hawt geek. I look forward to meeting her in person someday for a Hobbes End event, though I've been told that I should probably bring bail money.





Now, three people trying to rate a show can get a little challenging. You have probably seen those giant lists around the internet, where people rank all 100+ episodes from worst to best. Instead of that, we thought we'd take a different approach and go season by season, give our own personal ranking on each episode on a scale of 1-10 "Sonics." There will be one season ranked per week, giving people plenty of time for reading and discussion.



We figure that with a discussion format, you would be able to enjoy some similarities and contrasts in our tastes (for instance, I believe one of the episodes on Justin's Top 10 will be one of my least favorites). We also hope it will make those of you out there who love the show as much as we do speak up and give us your take.



Finally, there will also be a lot of this:







So if you have not watched all of the episodes starting with Chris Eccleston and going up through the regeneration episode with Matt Smith, consider yourself warned.



Be tuned in here on January 31st as we start with our Top 10 favorite episodes of all time. We're incredibly excited to declare allons-y on this fantastic venture and Geronimo!