Allison M. Dickson's Blog, page 9

5 Quintessential Questions: WRAPPED IN WHITE Edition ~ Patrick C. Greene

Over the next several days, I will be posting an interview from each author from WRAPPED IN WHITE, the brilliant new ghost story anthology from Sekhmet Press, LLC. These are the same wonderful people behind the vampire collection, WRAPPED IN RED. WHITE book also features my story, "Daddy's Glasses," and you can pick up a copy from all available ebook retailers (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords, etc) as well as in paperback through Amazon.







Kicking off the event is one Patrick C. Greene. He's been here before, pimping his awesome book PROGENY, and now he's back to share a little more of himself. It won't be long before he's back here again to talk about his new upcoming novel, THE CRIMSON CALLING, which is releasing from Hobbes End Publishing later this year. Now let's get him up in the hot seat, shall we?



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

Why, I’d invest in a copy of PROGENY, as a first edition is bound to increase in value by several thousand times.



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

Apocalypse? Perfect excuse for cannibalism.



3. 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?

He has a fresh batch of psychedelic ‘shrooms he wants to share. Parodoxically, he was actually manifested from the last batch.



4. Which super villain are you most like? Brak from Space Ghost leaps to mind, but I’m going to go with Carnage from Spider-man, just ‘cause of that one time on the animated series when he set in motion a plan to destroy not just the world, but all of existence. You have to take your hat off to that kind of commitment.



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

Okay. A Mexican midget wrestler and a transgender toucan trainer, armed with only a crusty gold doubloon and a packet of mustard, board a bus bound for Telluride…wait a minute…are you just trawling for ideas?





 **********
Me? Trawling? Ideas? Why, I take grave offense to such an accusation, sir! I challenge thee to a DUEL! Of course, now that I look at your bulging biceps, I totally take that  back.




Do take a gander at Patrick's wares, won't you? And again, make sure to grab your copy of WRAPPED IN WHITE!




Patrick on Facebook

Patrick on Twitter

Patrick on Wordpress

Patrick on Amazon

A New AMD Short Story? Check out WRAPPED IN WHITE!

Last year, Sekhmet Press, LLC released a vampire anthology entitled WRAPPED IN RED: THIRTEEN TALES OF VAMPIRIC HORROR, but because I don't really delve too much into vampire lore, I didn't submit anything. But when she invited me to contribute a story to the next book in the Wrapped series, WRAPPED IN WHITE: THIRTEEN TALES OF SPECTRES, GHOSTS, AND SPIRITS, I jumped at the opportunity. I'm all about ghosts, whether literal or figurative. They permeate nearly everything I write.



I didn't know at first what story I wanted to tell. My original idea was to resurrect something I'd started awhile back about some kids who break into an abandoned airport and board a haunted jet. My 20/20 hindsight tells me that in light of recent events regarding a certain disappeared airliner, it was a very good thing that I decided to scrap that idea for something completely original. And that story wound up being "Daddy's Glasses," a tale about a horrible family secret that passes itself on through a pair of broken glasses. I wanted to explore the physicality of secrets and the real damage they can do to a person's life and spirit. I hope people like it.




But my work isn't the only thing worth checking out in this. There are twelve other authors here with something great to offer. We have the great Patrick C. Greene of Progeny fame, Michael Matula who wrote the incredible Try Not to Burn, James Glass of the fantastic Metatron Mysteries. But there are also some relative newcomers to the scene, and their talent sears itself into the brain. Solomon Archer's story "Inseparable" will fray your sanity. "Ain't They Bright" by Cecilia Dockins shows such a command of language and craft, I can't believe she's not on a bestseller list somewhere.




And that's only the beginning. If you're a fan of ghosts and the macabre, do check out this collection, won't you? Also, over the next several days I will be featuring my 5 Quintessential Questions interviews with each of the book's contributors, so you'll get to know these authors and their works a bit better, as well as learn what each of them would do if a mustachioed penguin showed up on their doorstep. 




In May, Sekhmet Press will be taking submissions for the third book in the WRAPPED series, WRAPPED IN BLACK: THIRTEEN TALES OF WITCHES AND THE OCCULT. I might have to try my hand at that one as well.




Buy Wrapped in White at the Following Retailers:

Amazon Paperback

Kindle

Nook

iTunes Bookstore

Smashwords

The Doctor Who Project: Ranking Series 6

It's so hard to believe that we've nearly reached the end of this ride. Next week's episode will be the conclusion of our fun little Doctor Who Project. Cue the sads. But not for too long, because there is just too much fun to be had in the episodes between now and then. At the end of next week's rankings, I'm going to have a whole slew of fun metrics for your perusal. Whole seasons ranked best to worst, a Top 10 episodes of all time, and I'll also have some polls for you to vote in. In the meantime, if you're new here, get caught up by reading our compendium! Now let's get started. Series 6 brings us a lot of great surprises, not the least of which is this:



Stetsons are cool now.

And there is also this:





Can't believe I remembered these guys...

But let's see how it all worked out after the wedding of the Ponds, shall we?



Special Episode: A Christmas Carol





Newly wedded companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) are trapped on a crashing space liner which has been caught in a strange cloud belt. They call the Doctor (Matt Smith), who lands on the planet below and meets the miserly Kazran Sardick (Michael Gambon), a man who can control the cloud layer but refuses to help. Inspired byCharles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, the Doctor attempts to use time travel to alter Kazran's past and make him kinder so he will save the spaceship. (Wikipedia)





Justin: I'm not sure why, but Netflix didn't have this as a download, and unlike Planet of the Dead, I had no idea this existed until after Time of the Doctor. So I enjoyed it for a few reasons: it was a bonus Eleventh Doctor episode, and I've always enjoyed Christmas Carol stories. It was interesting to me that the Doctor unintentionally led Karzan into becoming a grumpy old man. I thoroughly enjoy the work of Michael Gambon (who plays the older Karzan--and in my opinion, a better Dumbledore) so seeing him play against the good Doctor was very nice. All in all, a better Christmas episode than most. 8 Sonics




Jaime: I liked the setting of this episode, and Michael Gambon was a wonderful guest star. The flying fish were a little odd, however. The idea of cryogenics has always been fascinating to me, and I enjoyed the numerous Christmas Eves with The Doctor, Kazran, and Abigail. There were also some humorous moments between the Doctor and young Kazran. Overall a decent, entertaining Christmas episode. 7 Sonics




Allison: This one had a lot of hallmarks I love about Doctor Who. An original setting giving a modern twist on an old classic, excellent use of time travel as a storytelling device, and a lot of heart. Christmas specials on this show really run the gamut of being either dreadfully boring or downright corny. This one managed to avoid both of these traps. Gambon proves himself a treasure. I've seen this special twice, and I'll happily make it a Christmastime tradition. 8 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 7.7







Episode 1 & 2: The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon





Amy Pond, Rory and River Song are summoned to Utah, USA, by the Eleventh Doctor, who is killed by a mysterious figure in a space suit. The dead Doctor is revealed to be an older self, after his younger version returns. They try to understand what the future Doctor said and are sent to Washington D.C. The team deals with the Silence, a race of aliens with the ability to make people forget their encounter with them when they look away. (Wikipedia)





Justin: This season really solidified why I liked Matt Smith as the Doctor. The first episode was able to show Matt's ability to be old, but still have a somewhat boyish look. River Song was becoming even more prominent in this world, and Amy and Rory felt essential to being with the Doctor and not just throwaway companions. Plus, you had the ultimate villain in these two episodes. No, not the Silence.  Richard Nixon. 8 Sonics




Jaime: And here we go. These episodes start off one of the best story arcs in Who history, in my opinion. Also one of the most confusing, but it all ties together eventually. And Canton Delaware III is a brilliant addition. River Song plays a prominent role in these episodes (even more so than the viewer is aware of). I loved the scene in the diner when River and the Doctor are comparing time lines. The blue envelopes, the 200 years older Doctor, the Silence, Amy’s pregnancy, a possible Time Lord. Wow. A lot of good stuff here. The Silence is possibly my favorite Who villain. The idea that you see them and then don’t remember is terrifying. Great two-parter! 9 Sonics




Allison: This pair of episodes made my Top 10 for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the iconic imagery. The astronaut coming out of that Utah lake, the introduction of the Silence and their chilling ability to make people forget about them the second they look away, the TARDIS appearing in the Oval Office. Add in the stellar acting, the strange time-bending, and the whole mystery of the older Doctor, and this is a fantastic starting off point for the season. Certainly the strongest one we've had to date. Also the appearance of William Morgan Sheppard as Canton Delaware III is the icing on the cake. I absolutely love that man, and I would love it if his character made another appearance on the show. 10 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 9







Episode 3: The Curse of the Black Spot





On board a 17th century pirate ship sailing the ocean waves, a crew under the command of one Captain Avery are being picked off one by one by a ghostly apparition. (IMDB)




Justin: I'm sure this seemed like an amazing idea to someone. Who vs Pirates vs Siren/Alien-thing. Overall a shiver me timbers kind of episode, but they can't all be Season Six worthy. 3 Sonics




Jaime: Pirates. A Siren. Rory almost dies, again. Could have been good, but just doesn’t stack up in comparison to both the previous episode and the following episode. 3 Sonics




Allison: I'm with my friends here. This episode pretty much sucked. It started with some promise. The siren creature was scary, and there was a hint of some interesting character development with the lead pirate, but it just all fell flat when the whole mystery was explained. An alien nurse? No, sorry. 3 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 3







Episode 4: The Doctor's Wife





The Doctor and his companions receive a distress call from a living Time Lord, though all other members of the Doctor's race were thought to beextinct. However, they discover that the call was bait to lure the Doctor to an asteroid outside the universe, where previously the energy of Time Lords' TARDISes have been consumed by an entity called the House (voice of Michael Sheen). The matrix of the Doctor's TARDIS is removed and placed in the body of a woman named Idris (Suranne Jones), who proceeds to help them escape. (Wikipedia)





Justin: Way back in the second episode of season two I wondered why the TARDIS was messing up when it came to traveling to a destination. This episode answers that query of mine, and does so in a beautiful way. It was also written by the very talented Neil Gaiman, a man I know from his years writing comic books. This was an amazing episode, and not just because it had an Ood cameo. I wish there were more like this. 9 Sonics




Jaime: Another from my top ten. I simply adore this episode. The soul of the TARDIS brought to life. It is so beautifully written by Neil Gaiman and wonderfully acted by all. The dialogue alone is reason to love this episode. The TARDIS tells the Doctor she “wanted to see the world, so I stole a Time Lord and ran away.” As one would think, the Doctor and the TARDIS have great chemistry. This episode also is pretty suspenseful, as the Doctor originally thinks he may have found a surviving Time Lord. 10 Sonics




Allison: It is impossible to count all the ways in which I love this episode. I have an abiding love for the concept of objects personified, and Neil Gaiman takes this idea and runs with it when he breathes the soul of the TARDIS into a woman. The result is a heartfelt story between a man and his truest companion. Though not to be discounted is the weird junkyard planet setting and the terrifying sequence of events that happen to Amy and Rory, who are trapped in the labyrinthine quarters of the actual TARDIS hallways after its been possessed by the planet's strange inhabitant. All in all, a harrowing and tender episode that more than earned its spot on my Top 10. Can Neil Gaiman write all the episodes? I'll be asking this again in series 7 as well. 10 Sonics




Average Sonics






9.7







Episode 5: The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People





The TARDIS is hit by a solar storm, sending the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companions to a monastery on an island on Earth in the 22nd century, which has been converted into a factory to pump acid off the island. To prevent death from the acid, the workers have utilized a "programmable matter" called the Flesh, which creates a doppelganger controlled by the worker. As the solar storm hits, the Gangers become independent, and the Doctor, Amy and Rory must work to prevent the two groups from breaking into a war. (Wikipedia)





Justin: Bad effects + cheesy mystery x the question of one's identity = this two-parter. I was bored and intrigued all at once. I couldn't wait for these episodes to end, but then they pulled such an amazing ending out that I appreciated the build up. I think Matt Smith did a great job of playing Doctor Who & Doctor Two (something he would sorta do again in season seven), but that was about it when it came to the acting. 5 Sonics




Jaime: While I liked the idea of the Gangers, this two-parter was not so fabulous. Looking back, I remember just not being drawn in to the episode. It never really caught my attention. Well, the two Doctors thing was kind of cool. And the reveal at the end is the only reason this episode didn’t get a lower rating. 5 Sonics




Allison: I actually liked this pair of episodes more than my friends did. While it got a bit laggy, I liked the concepts it raised about autonomy among clones, and I liked the creepy X-Files vibe the whole show had (and seems to almost always have while under the helm of Moffat). Matt Smith's turn was particularly good as he played two different versions of himself. And then there was that ending. Not a single ERMAHGERD was spared in this household. 7 Sonics




Average Sonics






5.7







Episode 7: A Good Man Goes to War







A member of the Doctor's team has been abducted and he will call in every favor and maybe even go to war to get him/her back. 





Justin: This felt like another Doctor Who movie to me, and that's a good thing. I mentioned in the past that I didn't care for the Sontarans or the Silurians, but that changed with this episode with the formation of the Paternoster Gang (Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax). Then there's the return of River Song and her big reveal. It's a top notch show. 9 Sonics




Jaime: This is a good one—fast paced, suspenseful, lots of action, and great dialogue. We have the return of a likeable Silurian, Madame Vastra, and her sidekick, Jenny, plus Strax. These three provide a lot of humor. And headless monks. And heartbreak. And the big reveal. I can only wonder what it would have been like to watch this episode not knowing River Song is Amy and Rory’s daughter. The giddiness of the Doctor when he learns that is priceless. 8 Sonics




Allison: Another one of my Top 10! Season 6 really has it going on for me. I loved everything about this episode. Particularly loved Rory in full Centurion mode as he fights to rescue his wife and daughter from the clutches of the baddies. The best part is my favorite recent addition to the show, Strax, Jenny, and Madame Vastra. There were some particularly great lines in this episode as well, my favorite being the "Captain Runaway" speech. 10 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 9







Episode 8: Let's Kill Hitler






The Doctor comes face to face with the greatest war criminal in the Universe. And Hitler. Old friendships are tested to their limits as the Doctor suffers the ultimate betrayal and learns a harsh lesson in the cruelest warfare of all. (IMDB)




Justin: This is a great episode. The idea of killing Hitler is always a good one (fixed point schmixed point), and the fact that they not only fail at this, but instead save der führer is hysterical. The "littler on the inside" people are okay, but better used later on in the season. My favorite part is River meeting the Doctor for her first time. Again, a fast and fun episode that shows how sci-fi can be sci-fun. 8 Sonics




Jaime: Loved this episode. Humor, timey-wimey craziness, and River Song is magnificent. Here’s some time travel madness for you—Amy and Rory name their daughter Melody after their childhood friend Mels. Wait, Melody is Mels, who then regenerates to become River Song. Wrap your head around that. This episode also introduces the Teselecta, who have a very important role to play later on. We finally learn who taught River to pilot the TARDIS…the TARDIS. All this set in 1930s Berlin. And to see River’s beloved blue diary given to her by the Doctor. Classic. 9 Sonics




Allison: I loved the paradoxical play with time here, and it is obvious from the beginning that Moffat was having a blast writing this episode. We learn that Melody Pond/River Song was raised to be a murdering psychopath with the express purpose of killing the Doctor, which has kind of a Terminator-esque vibe to it. We also learn that Melody/River has regenerative powers, as her previous incarnation was actually a friend of Amy's and Rory's and was expressly behind their hooking up in the first place. Matt Smith is magnificent in this episode, though, as we see him dealing with some pretty heady and difficult stuff in a very entertaining and optimistic way. However, I seem to remember feeling not entirely satisfied with the overly quick resolution to what is ultimately the beginning of the Doctor's and River's relationship, as well as the realization that Amy and Rory's child was stolen from them, as was any opportunity to raise her. I think this is one of those episodes I would have liked seen stretched out to two in order to enhance the drama of such complex topics. 8 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 8.3







Episode 9: Night Terrors






A young boy living in a tower block on a council estate sends out, unknowingly, a psychic distress call transmitted to the Doctor's 'psychic paper'. When the doctor and his associates eventually find the correct flat in the tower block, they are inadvertently sent by the boy into a doll house, where they are terrorized by life-size peg dolls, and are threatened with becoming peg dolls themselves. (IMDB)




Justin: I didn't think too highly of this episode. Finding it to be a bit dull (or "doll") and too dark for my tastes. It might be because of the fun that was the previous episode. Either way... 2 Sonics




Jaime: A little scary, a little strange. A little forgettable. 3 Sonics




Allison: I'll agree it was a little forgettable, but I'm a sucker for creepy doll stories and creepy doll houses. And creepy little kids. 5 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 3.3







Episode 10: The Girl Who Waited





The Doctor takes Amy and Rory to the planet Apalapucia for a holiday, but they find that the planet is on quarantine as the two-hearted natives are susceptible to a deadly plague. Amy accidentally gets separated from the Doctor and Rory but when they try to rescue her they arrive 36 years later in her timeline. (Wikipedia)





Justin: This reminded of Jumanji or maybe it's just your basic story of leaving home and retuning years later only to discover you've changed as a person and everyone else stayed the same. I really felt for Amy in this episode. Wondered what life alone must have been like. Eventually having to give up hope on ever seeing the people you once cared about. I might be looking into this too much. 7 Sonics




Jaime: I both liked and disliked this episode. Old Amy was so incredibly sad. The idea of spending all that time, alone, waiting for your loved ones to come rescue you is just heartbreaking. Very well acted by the entire cast, but left me feeling gloomy. 6 Sonics




Allison: I'll just jump to it, because I've been waiting many weeks to write this: I absolutely HATED this episode. I hated everything about it (except maybe the special effects). Hated. And not in the way I hated Love & Monsters, which was ultimately just silly and tedious fluff. I hated this episode because it offended me as a storyteller. It explicitly bent characters we've come to know and love in such unrealistic directions all in service of a plot complication. Things are going too well for the Doctor and our two companions, so they need to artificially create conflict between them. But doing it this way was completely cruel and unnecessary. Let's face it: Amy NEVER would have put such a selfish and unrealistic choice on her husband to take both her young self and her old self with him on the TARDIS. I don't care how long she's been left alone to fend for herself. Amy, who has up until this point been one of the most self-sacrificing characters on the show, who loves her husband more than anyone and would lay her life down for him, now wants to be saved while KNOWING what a horrible strain it would put on things? No, I'll never buy it. You can't make me buy it. This episode nearly made me hate Amy until I realized that it was the writer who deserved my wrath. Way to suck all the heroism and likability out of a character and turn her into the classic naggy Ophelia, Tom MacRae. You're dead to me. I'd like to pretend this episode never happened. 1 Sonic




Average Sonics






x 4.7 (too many)







Episode 11: The God Complex






The Doctor, Amy and Rory become trapped in a hotel of horrors unable to escape and unable to find the tardis. The Doctor must save as many people as he can taking many twists and seeing his own worst fear. (IMDB)




Justin: To get this out of the way: Doctor Who meets the Shining.  Ok, now to what I thought was interesting. The Doctor slipped. It might have come off as a joke, but to me there was a big reveal. The good Doctor has had many companions in the past. All of them give him something he needs, and eventually he says goodbye and finds someone new. Upon his arrival at the "All work and no play" hotel the Doctor meets Rita (Amara Karan) & friends. Rita amazes the Doctor with her ability to tell that the Doctor & his companions were equally surprised to see them. The Doctor "jokingly" fires Amy and tells Rita to call him. Yes, it was humorous, but I think that's a very big tell on his part. 6 Sonics




Jaime: I loved the setting of this episode. It had great pacing and the dynamic between all the supporting characters was excellent. And the idea of a hotel room revealing your biggest fear is pretty frightening. The Minotaur was not all that scary, but the overall feel of this episode was. We would have awhile to wait to find out what the Doctor saw when he entered one of the rooms. 7 Sonics




Allison: I really loved the concept of a creature that feeds on faith. This episode said a lot of interesting things about blind trust, and I think it was a far more organic way of putting the brakes on the companionship of Amy and Rory with the Doctor than the previous episode (that I'd like to still pretend never happened). This is the second-best of the Toby Whithouse-penned Who episodes. His previous efforts were School Reunion (best) and Vampires of Venice (meh), and A Town Called Mercy, which we'll be reviewing next week. 7 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 6.7








Episode 12: Closing Time






After traveling for 200 years and leaving messages for Amy Pond across time and space, the Doctor realizes his time is up, its time to settle down and accept his future at Lake Silencio. . . . . .But not before one last goodbye. The Doctor travels to England and visits Craig and Sophie, who are now happily married and struggling with parenthood. Not everything is well, as the Doctor soon finds himself miraculously working at a shop and battling Cybermen. (IMDB)




Justin: I wonder what the Doctor did in those 200 years. Did he get a new companion, travel through space and time, or maybe just binge on Netflix? Either way, Smith did a great job at returning to the older Doctor. Not a bad sequel to the Lodger episode, and it ended up being a great prequel to the Impossible Astronaut. I didn't care for Cybermen-lite, and I know it was a funny episode, but why not another villain?  It's also quite possible this is a prelude to Nightmare in Silver with Stormageddon being Ha-Ha. 6 Sonics




Jaime: Craig is back. Such a great character. And now we have his son, Stormageddon. Or Alfie, if you prefer. We also see the familiar TARDIS blue envelopes from way back at the beginning of the season. And the Stetson the Doctor wore in The Impossible Astronaut. And we also know a little about those missing 200 years. What do you think the Doctor did during that time? The only negative of this episode is the Cybermen. Sigh. I really don’t like those guys. 7 Sonics




Allison: This is actually when I start to enjoy the Cybermen a bit. They're evolving and it's making me sit up and pay attention. I loved this episode, namely due to the return of Craig. And I just loved the whole dynamic with the baby (Stormageddon!) and the Doctor's interaction with him. Other questions are answered in this episode, as pointed out above, and I thought it was a heartfelt episode as a whole. I think it's pretty clear what the Doctor got up to in those 200 years. Only we'd have to read all those pages in River's diary to find out for sure. ;) 7 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 6.7








Episode 13: The Wedding of River Song






It's April 22, 2011 the day the Doctor is supposed to die but time seems to be stuck at 5:02 p.m. London streets are clogged not only with automobiles but also Roman chariots; pterodactyls fly in the sky. The Holy Roman Emperor, Winston Churchill, calls on a prisoner to explain what is happening. In fact, all time seems to be occurring all at once. The Doctor determines that a fixed point in time has been altered or prevented from occurring. That fixed point is his own death at Lake Silencio where history records that River Song killed him.




Justin: It all comes together in a fantastic conclusion to this season. What I enjoyed so much about this season, and the prior, is that it was hard to distinguish the individual episode ls from one gigantic arc. I even remembered this being two episodes. You throw in an alternate universe and you're set. This episode even tied into the Ninth Doctor. Fantastic. When you finish this episode and start thinking about the Tenth meeting River for the first time it adds layers and layers to the story.  There are pay offs galore in this forty-five minutes of episode that's crammed into sixty seconds of stuck time. 8 Sonics




Jaime: This episode is so well done. It ties together (almost) all the loose ends from the season. We see who it was that killed the Doctor at Lake Silencio. We also get a parallel universe where Winston Churchill is the Holy Roman Emperor and time is collapsing. And it is all topped off with the wedding of River and the Doctor. At this point, River has become one of the most fascinating characters of Doctor Who. And this one ends with what I can only call prophesy: “On the fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the Eleventh, when no living creature can speak falsely or fail to answer, a question will be asked—one that must never be answered. And Silence must fall when the question is asked.” Excellent end to an excellent season. 9 Sonics




Allison: I've seen this episode twice. The first time, I truly was lost trying to put it all together in my head. So many loose ends are tied up and sometimes the act of tying them generates even more questions. A second viewing put my mind at ease. I love how it all came together. It amazes me the dichotomies of some of these characters. Matt Smith and Alex Kingston have amazing chemistry, yet they do not look like a couple. But you believe they're a couple anyway, because of the soul they both exude. I love that dynamic. I also love how this whole season had a very strong arc, something that is sorely lacking in series 7, but we'll save that for next week. Overall, this remains the strongest season for me, and Smith really came into his own. 9 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 8.7







Episodes Ranked Best to Worst




1. The Doctor's Wife

2. The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon

3. A Good Man Goes to War

4. The Wedding of River Song

5. Let's Kill Hitler

6. A Christmas Carol

7. The God Complex

8. Closing Time

9. The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People

10. The Girl Who Waited

11. Night Terrors

12. The Curse of the Black Spot




Overall Sonic Average for the Season






x 6.9







The overall average here is frustrating, because this is easily our most consistently high ranking season thus far, but because it has two more episodes than our current highest ranker (series 3), it brought our overall average down. If that stupid Girl Who Waited episode had never happened, we'd be sitting pretty right now. Nevertheless, we'd love to know what you think of the numbers. Did you hate The Girl Who Waited as much as I did? What were your favorites? Stay tuned as we delve into some great episodes next week! The 50th Anniversary and of course the regeneration! 




Allison, Justin, and Jaime

The Doctor Who Project: Ranking Series 5

Greetings, Whovians, and welcome to the new era! What era is that, do you ask? Well if you've followed the show this far, then you would know we reviewed the regeneration of David Tennant last week, and he turned into this fellow:







Who eventually turned into this fellow:







Although I've glimpsed upon a lot of Doctor Who episodes over the years, I still consider Matt Smith my first Doctor, because he's the one who finally managed to get me to sit up and pay attention. My favorite thing about him is that he has this youthful face, but you can see an old and dark soul lurking inside him (and this becomes more profound as the show goes on). He also feels the most alien of the rebooted Doctors thus far, and I'm pretty sure Peter Capaldi is only going to strengthen that feeling. But enough pontificating on the wonder of all that is Matt Smith. Let's get down to the episodes! And if you want to read up on all the exploits of Jaime, Justin, and I starting way back at Chris Eccleston and our top ten favorites, visit our compendium !



Episode 1: The Eleventh Hour





With his TARDIS in ruins, the newly-regenerated Doctor with the help of Amy Pond must save the world in less than twenty minutes from galactic policemen known as the Atraxi. (IMDB)



Justin: Matt Smith takes control of the Doctor in his eleventh incarnation. My first instincts were not favorable towards him. I was so used to David's face that this boy who couldn't shave could hardly save the world/universal/time continuum. I would forge on. Have faith in the show. Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) was lovely, but I could do without that annoying nurse guy Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill). The crack in the wall brought some interesting questions. The Atraxi aka giant eyeball thing wasn't a great villain, but did a good job of not upstaging the newest Doctor. The best part was our Time Lord going from being "raggedy" to becoming "cool" while we see all the Doctors flash on screen. 6 Sonics



Jaime: I thought this was a great welcome to the new Doctor. I could already tell Eleven was going to be as brilliant as Ten, but with a little added insanity. The scenes with him and young Amelia in the kitchen are hilarious. I didn't know how to feel about a new Doctor and a new companion all at one time. It was a little bit of a growing period for me. But Amy Pond has that independent spirit that all companions need. The story itself was only okay, though the comatose patients were a bit creepy. And the crack in the wall definitely opened up some questions. New Doctor, new companion, new showrunner, new TARDIS. Whoa, a lot to take in. 6 Sonics



Allison: Since I actually started lapping up Doctor Who toward the end of the very season we're currently reviewing, the switch from Tennant to Smith wasn't QUITE as jarring as it was for Justin and Jaime (or my daughter, though by her account she fell in love with Smith from the get-go). But it's very hard to deny the obvious shift in tone from the previous two Doctors and I think if I were in their shoes I would have struggled more. This incarnation doesn't seem to carry any memory at all of his previous two lives, and I think that's what makes it the most difficult. New showrunner has changed everything, such that it almost feels like a new show altogether. Even so, I really enjoyed this episode, from the funny antics in the kitchen with young Amelia Pond to the events later after the little girl grows up into the fiery Amy we come to know and love. Yeah, Rory is a little bit of a whiny twit and the eyeball alien is a little meh, but I think it's a fine jumping off point for a new Doctor. And I love that bowtie and swagger. 7 Sonics



Average Sonics





x 6.3





Episode 2: The Beast Below





The Doctor takes Amy to the future inside Starship UK, which contains in addition to British explorers, an intimidating race known as the Smilers. (IMDB)



Justin: Remember I said it's either the past or future for a companion's first trip (Rose: future, Martha & Donna: past), and we go with my favorite option. It's not a terrible episode, but I still wasn't sure about this new Doctor and/or companion. I did enjoy the philosophical idea behind the show, but that was about it. 4 Sonics



Jaime: Forgettable. I had to go back and read about this one. Though I kind of remember it, the only thing I remember liking about it was Liz 10. For those reasons, it's not getting many sonics from me. 2 Sonics



Allison: This episode had elements I liked. The setting had a real Dark City kind of feel to it, and some of the side characters were neat (Liz 10). Also, the visual of Amy floating outside the TARDIS in space was neat, and again, I just kind of dig the attitude of this Doctor. But despite the interesting themes and the great production design, the pacing of this episode failed, and by the end I was already kind of disinterested and ready for it to be over. 4 Sonics



Average Sonics





x 3.3





Episode 3: Victory of the Daleks





The TARDIS takes The Doctor and Amy to war-torn Britain in the middle of World War Two. Not only do they meet Winston Churchill himself, but the Doctor comes face to face once again with his greatest enemy of all. (IMDB)



Justin: This--to me--seemed to be a fun episode. There were the ever so serious Daleks, but it had an enjoyable vibe to it. The fact the Doctor's ego makes everything go south was also interesting, and you up with the Skittles version of the bad guys. Trivia time: Ian McNeice who portrays Churchill starred in a movie called Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger! in which he was the dad to two David Tennant characters. 5 Sonics



Jaime: The Daleks and Winston Churchill. Good premise, but overall not a great episode. You do get to see some of the Doctor's old anger return, and Amy proves to be an asset to have around. Felt like filler to me. More questions about the crack in the wall, though... 4 Sonics



Allison: This is one of the better of the Mark Gatiss-penned episodes up to this point of the show as a whole, but it still is far from perfect. I know the big technicolor Daleks really pissed off a lot of the purist fans, but when it comes to Daleks, I'm colorblind. The problem with this episode was there was just too much of it crammed into a single episode, and it kind of numbed my brain a bit. Still, it does push my love button for the mix of WWII with future/alien tech, and the performances both on the part of Ian McNeice and Bill Paterson were great. I also really enjoy the wartime propaganda artwork. Made into a two-parter, this really could have been something great. As such, 6 Sonics



Average Sonics






x 5 







Episode 4 & 5: The Time of the Angels/Flesh and Stone







The Doctor and Amy emerge from the TARDIS to find the wreck of the Byzantium spaceship. Down below the Weeping Angels are stirring, but the Doctor has someone else to contend with; none other than the mysterious Professor River Song. The Doctor, Amy, Dr. Song and the remaining soldiers manage to escape from the crashed ship and into the forest. The Angels attempt to create a rift in time and space much as the Doctor had found in Amy's room when they first met. Amy meanwhile is counting down from 10 minutes and the Doctor has determined that an Angel has taken over her mind. (IMDB)





Justin: Back in my review of The Impossible Planet (2.8) I mention that the translator the TARDIS provides doesn't jive with a later episode. The TARDIS lets the travelers understand any language by making said person believe it's in their native tongue. In 2.8 the TARDIS could not translate the language because it was so old. Completely understandable. However, in this episode the Doctor and Amy arrive in a museum and find a message from River Song, but Amy can't read it even though it's written in Gallifreyan. Shouldn't the TARDIS have translated it for her? Back to the show. The return of the Weeping Angels (in a more action packed way), the return of River, and even more crack in the wall business. A pretty solid set of episodes that were weighed down by my own neurosis. 4 Sonics




Jaime: This was a great two parter. The Weeping Angels and River Song. The first half had the creepy Weeping Angel vibe to it, and the second half had a pace that kept me at the edge of my seat. I don't think I will ever understand the Doctor and River's timeline, but their chemistry is wonderful. I always get excited for a River episode. And this was a good one. One thing I didn't understand was that now the Angels kill you. What happened to them just sending you back to the past? I feel like I missed something there. And please oh please don't let another companion fall for the Doctor. 7 Sonics




Allison: Before I get started with my review, I'd like to answer Justin's possible neurosis, because I've looked into this. The possible reason the TARDIS doesn't translate Gallifreyen is because it was designed by Timelords without companions in mind, and they wouldn't need their translator protocol to translate their native language. There is also some speculation that it was a protective mechanism the Timelords put in place to keep their scripts from being translated by anyone but other Timelords. This has actually been hinted at in some Classic Doctor episodes, though honestly, the translation circuit has a very spotty history on the show overall. As for this pair of episodes, I thought they were pretty awesome, and I particularly loved the beginning re-introduction to River Song, and the chilling visions of the Weeping Angel on the video footage. To answer Jaime's question about why the Angels were breaking necks in this episode (because I've also looked into this previously), it's because when they have a sufficient energy supply, they no longer have to feed off the quantum energy of sending their victims back in time. In this case, the energy was coming from the Starliner that was crashed in their cave, so the stone freaks were just snapping necks for kicks. Another creepy addition to the Angels that I liked this time was their ability to kill someone and then speak through them. The whole Cleric Bob thing was really chilling. I also like the further explanation of the crack in the wall that's been with us since the beginning of this season. And pay attention, because a part of Flesh and Bone is going to come back to visit us later on here (Timey-Wimey Alert!). 8 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 6.3







Episode 6: The Vampires of Venice







The Doctor and Amy cross swords in more ways than one with a horde of blood-sucking vampires in 16th century Venice. (IMDB)





Justin: I'm not sure why the summary above left Rory out, but he is a bit of a major player in this. It seemed a testing ground for how people would feel with him being a fellow companion. I recall liking him more than Mickey, but not by much. I'm bothered by the idea that monsters can't just be monsters. Werewolves, witches, and now vampires are all something else, something alien. Aliens are aliens. Why can't we just have some monsters? My favorite part: the Doctor producing his library card, and it having the First Doctor pictured. 4 Sonics 




Jaime: This episode was decent. Nothing really jumped out at me. I feel like it was a kind of get to know Rory episode. See how the three traveled together. I think Rory is very insightful when it comes to the Doctor and the three have a pretty good chemistry going. Though Venice was a beautiful backdrop for this story, and I'm a sucker for a good vampire story, the villains in this one just didn't do it for me. But the ending intrigued me. 5 Sonics




Allison: Alien Fish Vampires are only a shade or two above Farting Pig Aliens. Luckily, we don't see them pop up in anymore episodes. This whole thing was a bit of a forgettable mess for me, though I did like certain touches (good pick up, Justin, on the library card). It was nice to see them adding Rory into the mix, and I found him a lot less douchey than in his debut. 3 Sonics




Average Sonics









x 4







Episode 7: Amy's Choice






Five years after finally leaving the TARDIS Amy and Rory now married, live in the quiet little village of Leadworth.  But everything is not what it would seem. (IMDB)




Justin: Toby Jones as the Dream Lord. I like Toby in all his roles, even the ones I wasn't aware he was in (Dobby in the Harry Potter films), and seeing him in the Whoniverse was a big plus. Then you tie it into the "Life is but a dream" concept and you have quite the episode. I'm glad Amy chose Rory. I didn't want another Rose or batting eyes Martha, and the big brother/kid sister love was just fine with me. Oh, and Rory's ponytail was "hair-sterical". 7 Sonics




Jaime: I really dig this episode. It's kind of an alternate reality type of premise, and the Dream Lord is kind of terrifying. I felt the purpose of this episode was to lock down Amy and Rory as a couple, to drive out any lingering questions about another Doctor/companion romance. And thank you for that. I for one did not want to see that again. Also, the chemistry Amy and Rory has it was makes them such likable additions to the show. This is the episode when I finally accepted the new Doctor and his new companion(s). For that reason alone, it ranks high for me. 8 Sonics




Allison: Brilliantly constructed episode, with the Dream Lord making it impossible for the Doctor and his companions to be absolutely certain whether they're awake or dreaming, and then adding a major consequence to that decision should they choose a reality. This is the first time I really understand Amy's deep-running love for Rory, which makes me appreciate her fiery and irreverent humor even more. And yeah, Rory's hair. And Amy's pregnant belly ("You've swallowed a planet!" ~ The Doctor) were all great additions. Seven episodes in and I think we've finally achieved some excellence. 8 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 7.7







Episode 8 & 9: The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood






Intent on bringing them to Rio, the Doctor accidentally arrives at the site of a big drilling project, where he soon discovers the workers have disturbed an ancient reptilian race that has lived deep underground for thousands upon thousands of years, and who are determined to protect themselves against the 'apes' who live on the surface. (IMDB w/ some edits by Allison because the IMDB writer in this case was drunk)




Justin: These episodes reminded me of the Sontaran episodes from season four: a reintroduction to old Doctor Who villains that I just didn't care for, but--unknowingly at the time--would enjoy seeing later on. In another vernacular: snooze. 4 Sonics




Jaime: This was a weak two-parter in my opinion. The setting is a little creepy, and there is some great dialogue. But the rest is just blah. That is really the only word I can think of to describe my feelings for this one. Was it just me or did the Doctor not seem very concerned when Amy disappeared? And the lizard-people were just a little hard to swallow. But everyone lives, and that's a good thing. 4 Sonics




Allison: I found I liked this more than my friends, but only just. The Silurians are like a conspiracy theorist's wet dream sprung to life. Ermahgerd! Lerzerd Perple! I just found them to require a rather difficult yoga position for my disbelief (but that is some very impressive makeup!). As such, I never could quite get fully into the episode. When the lizard people return a good bit down the line in the show, I enjoy them quite a bit, but that's for another day. The ending of Cold Blood is a heartbreaker, though. Rory, we hardly knew ye. Or did we? 5 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 4.3







Episode 10: Vincent and the Doctor







Visiting a museum, the Doctor and Amy are especially excited with the gallery for Vincent van Gogh. Many of van Gogh pieces are displayed, including "The Church at Auvers (1890)". However there is something irregular discovered on the painting - a small alien image within a window pane. The Doctor quickly takes Amy back to 1890 where they locate the troubled artist that upsets the locals, cannot pay his bills, and is able to see an invisible monster that no one else is able to see. (IMDB)





Justin: This is a good example of how much heart a show like Doctor Who can have. Tony Curran does an exceptional job at portraying the troubled artist Van Gogh that you just want to shout through the screen that things will be better. It's not all darkness gloom & doom, and his name will be known for all time. The "monster/alien" was meh, but the point of the show was to focus on Vincent. Plus, anything with Bill Nighy is amazing. 8 Sonics




Jaime: This is in my top ten. It is just a beautiful episode. Everything about it jumps at the viewer. Well written, well acted, and so emotional. This story isn't about defeating a monster, this story is about Van Gogh. And it is so masterfully done. The ending. Oh, the ending. Very well done. This is a sign of the direction the show is going, I think. 10 Sonics




Allison: Something about this episode is like a giant, heavy thumb permanently mashed on my cry button. I wept the first time I saw this it (this also happens to be the first Doctor Who episode I watched all the way through). I cried the second time I watched it. I get misty-eyed when talking about it, and I'm even feeling it a bit now as I'm recalling it for the review. What appeals to one to be an artist but a great sad and lonely part of us that wants to be loved and remembered? The tragedy is that almost nothing will assuage that part of us, even if we could be whisked away to the future and be told that we will indeed be loved and remembered a century or more later. You can't magically "fix" people. But that doesn't mean there can't be moments of good and beauty and importance in an otherwise sad life. This episode marks the first of what will be some wonderful monologues from Matt Smith's Doctor that can be downright inspirational, and you get the sense that it might have saved a few lives, even if only for a bit, and maybe it still is. I can't love this episode enough. It's beautiful and it's sad. It spoke to me and it made me a fan of this show, such that when I reached the end of this season I went right back to the Ninth Doctor and watched it all from the beginning. 10 Sonics




Average Sonics:






x 9.3







Episode 11: The Lodger






No sooner does the TARDIS land on Earth that it leaves again - but without the Doctor who had just stepped outside. The Doctor soon finds himself at the home of Craig Owens, who has been advertising for a lodger. There's clearly something odd in the house with people being lured to the upstairs room, but never reappearing, and the Doctor needs to investigate. (IMDB)




Justin: After the tear jerker of the previous episode (and the upcoming seriousness) the good Doctor needed something light and fluffy. The Lodger was just the right thing for that moment. A down to earth (or as down to earth as you can get with this show) episode filled with humor and love. I wouldn't want every episode to be like this, but I value them when they are. 6 Sonics




Jaime: Craig! Soccer! This was a fun and entertaining episode that I really enjoyed. The Doctor and Craig have some great dialogue moments and this episode really is wonderful. It's nice to have an episode every once in a while without the Doctor's companion. 7 Sonics




Allison: This episode cracks me the hell up. I've seen it twice now and it's still as funny as ever. It's based on a comic strip in Doctor Who Magazine that Steven Moffat loved and asked the creator (Gareth Roberts) to adapt to an episode. The social awkwardness of the Doctor, especially when he's paired up with a typical "mate" type of guy, really brings to the fore Matt's comedic abilities and the odd alien nature of the Doctor. I really enjoyed the little love story lurking at the center of it, and found James Corden to be absolutely adorable. 8 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 7







Episode 12 & 13: The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang







River Song returns to deliver the Doctor a serious warning from his allies: the mythical Pandorica, said to contain the most feared creature in the entire Universe, is opening. The Daleks, Cybermen and others have imprisoned in the Pandorica the most dangerous creature in the universe - the Doctor, who they say will in the future destroy the universe. Moving to 1996, a preteen Amy Pond visits a museum with her Aunt and opens the Pandorica, only to find the adult version of herself inside. Traveling back and forth in time, the Doctor tries to make sense of it all and find River Song, who is also missing. He realizes that there is only one explanation for a starless universe. (IMDB)





Justin: I loved Smallville, but there were a bunch of episodes that were crap. I'm not sure what it was, but they were bad...then the last few minutes would happen and the writers wrote such a great ending that I didn't care about the boring or bad stuff that just happened. This is how I felt about these two episodes. It didn't matter if there were things I didn't care about during the fifth season, because--for me--the ending was so good it made up for it. I would say the second part was better than the first, but that might be mainly due to the fez. They are cool, right? 8 Sonics




Jaime: Another from my top ten. Part of my love for this episode is Rory. Oh Rory, who will do anything for Amy. I completely fell in love with those two in these episodes. I really began to care about them. And almost every villain/monster from the show is here to take down the Doctor. He's pretty incredible in this episode. I think Eleven finally is his own Doctor, though you see pieces of his past incarnations, he is completely come into himself and he is pretty awesome. And River is here. And there's a paradox. And the Doctor has to save the universe. There's a fez. And a mop. And, my personal favorite, time travel, a lot of time travel. 10 Sonics




Allison: Again, love that this Doctor has swagger. He's confident and dark and cocky, and when he stands on top of that Pandorica telling all his worst enemies to bring it, I was silently pumping my nerd fist with joy. Add in all the wonderful aspects already mentioned above, as well as the beautiful speech he leaves young, sleeping Amy as the cracks in the universe are closing, and the wedding at the end where Rory agrees that he's a Pond, and the dancing, and the Moffat trademark of being so timey-wimey it makes your head spin, and this is definitely the pinnacle of series five. I binge-watched this two parter, along with The Lodger and Vincent and the Doctor in the same night. I think I cried a gallon bucket of tears, and through that I was minted as a diehard fan. 10 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 9.3







Episodes Ranked Best to Worst

*Tied episodes are marked by color




1. Vincent and the Doctor

2. The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang

3. Amy's Choice

4. The Lodger

5. The Time of Angels/Flesh and Bone

6. The Eleventh Hour

7.  Victory of the Daleks

8. The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood

9. Vampires of Venice

10. The Beast Below




Overall Sonic Average for the Season






x 6.3







Ouch! This was a weak week, fo sho. In spite of some pops of greatness (the last four episodes of the show really are stupendous), this is our lowest ranking season since David Tennant's premier, which averaged 6.2 Sonics. I think it's mostly par for the course for a new Doctor's debut season as he tries to find his way and the viewers adjust to all the changes, and the showrunners adjust to showrunningness. But our little project is starting to wind its way to a close, with only two more seasons to review after this! Next week brings us The Impossible Astronaut and a whole lot more timey-wimey weirdness (and FEZZES) than you can shake a mop handle at. We look forward to seeing you, and as ever, please leave your comments below and let us know what you think!




Allison, Jaime, and Justin

Reviewing and Ranking the 2013 Best Picture Oscar Nominees

It's been awhile since I've written a blog about movies, but I used to do it somewhat regularly back in the day. I even had my own movie review blog. The problem is when you decide to be a novel writer for a living, it does two things. It eats up the time I might spend to see movies, and it makes a theater budget nearly impossible to maintain (because novel writing hasn't been the most lucrative profession as of yet). I've considered just writing reviews of new releases as they come out on Blu-Ray or Netflix, but there is a third thing that gets in the way of that: laziness.



This year, I've made a concerted effort to see all of the Best Picture nominees for the Oscars, either on screen or at home. The awards ceremony premiers tonight, so there's no time like the present. Similar to how I'm doing things in the Doctor Who Project, I'm going to provide a capsule review for each film and then rank from my favorite to least favorite. The reviews appear in the order I've watched them.



1. Captain Phillips









Telling the true story of Rich Phillips, the merchant marine captain who was kidnapped by Somali pirates, this film had all the classic trademarks of director Paul Greengrass that worked so well for him in United 93: the gracefully unsteady camerawork and the "live documentary" feel, as if we've been embedded with a crew of journalists and we're watching the action unfold right in front of us. This style of narrative is particularly effective in telling "ripped from the headlines" stories, because when you already enter a story knowing how it's going to end, you have to find another way to build suspense. The film style combined with the powerful performances of Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi made me believe I didn't know what was going to happen. As such, I spent a great deal of this movie with my stomach in knots. I also really loved the real authenticity Greengrass strove for when he picked real Somalians to play the pirates, and when he chose to film most of the film at sea. The only thing that drags the film down for me is its length. At 134 minutes, it feels roughly 15 minutes too long. But overall, a very solid and thrilling movie. I've seen it twice now, and it holds up to my original estimation. Grade: B+



2. Philomena







I knew nothing about this film when I sat down to watch it, apart from what I read in a basic synopsis. I only knew it was likely going to be a small, character-driven piece with plenty of British charm, similar to The King's Speech. In many ways, Philomena surpassed all my expectations, making a story about a young Irish girl in the 1950s who had her baby out of wedlock and was forced to live in a convent until the child was sold to an American family, seem like something brand new. Judi Dench's performance is utter perfection as the present-day Philomena, who after years of living in heartbreak over her lost son finally gets a chance to find him in the United States. It's at this point, the movie takes some unexpected turns that make it far from run-of-the-mill. Steve Coogan does a great job of playing the opinionated and disgraced political journalist assisting her--or perhaps leading her--on this journey. What I liked is how Coogan's pragmatic character was cynically referring to Philomena's plight as a "human interest" story, while the movie itself was a human interest story in the best sort of way. And like the best human interest stories, I myself felt less cynical when the credits rolled. Grade: B+



3. Dallas Buyers Club







I love when movies teach me things about culture I previously didn't know. In this case, it was the underground AIDS movement of the 1980s, where patients were fighting against the FDA to procure treatments for the disease that actually worked, as opposed to the new drug AZT, that was succeeding more in making pharmaceutical companies rich than actually helping people. Patients smuggled in vitamin and protein supplements from Mexico, which other studies had shown to be more effective than AZT, and set up shop in communities where AIDS was running particularly high. Members of the club would pay a monthly fee and get all the meds they needed. Dallas Buyers Club concerns itself with the founder of titular franchise, Ron Woodroof, a homophobic sex fiend who finds himself diagnosed with full-blown AIDS, which in 1985 was still largely associated with homosexual men. The thing about DBC is that this sort of story has been told a million times before. A man with limited perspective becomes a social pariah and eventually finds a home among the people he initially rejected and is properly humbled. But it's the performances here that help it rise above its basic formula. Matthew McConaughey lost around 35 pounds to play Woodroof, and you believe every second of this film that he IS this character. Same with Jared Leto as Rayon, an AIDS-infected transvestite who eventually becomes Woodroof's closest friend and business partner. This movie fired up my activist heart and then proceeded to break it. The only drawback was the film felt like it didn't know how to end, but it didn't detract from my overall regard. Grade: A



4. The Wolf of Wall Street







All the things you might have heard to make sure your seat belts are fastened before seeing Scorsese's biopic of fraudulent Wall Street investor Jordan Belfort are true. This movie is three straight hours of some of the most hedonistic, absurd, and disgusting human(?) behavior I've ever seen depicted on a movie screen. Frankly, I was shocked it only received an R rating, and it might not have if it had been made by anyone other than Scorsese. That is not a negative judgment of it, however, because the excesses were kind of the point, and if you're easily offended, you have no business watching this movie. Still, I didn't love it as a whole. Let me start with what I did like. DiCaprio was spot-on brilliant in the lead role. I also loved the editing and the overall crafting of the film, and there is a particular scene where Belfort and his partner overdose on quaaludes that is one for the Hall of Fame. Also, even though the movie is three hours long, it didn't really feel like it. It sucks you in so that you forget the passage of time, and each scene feels relatively fresh. I may have shaved a couple minutes off a few key scenes, but I couldn't think of actual whole scenes the movie would have been better without. The main problem I had with the film is that it's based on the autobiography of a sociopath who hurt a lot of people on his rise to the top of the investor food chain, and as such, in all those three hours, you see nothing at all of the other side of the coin: Belfort's victims. The only fallout you see of this guy's actions is how they affect him and the people around him. While the over-the-top nature of the movie was almost certainly meant to be indictment rather than glorification, the fact of the matter is Jordan Belfort served 22 months in a white collar resort prison and has gone on to still make a lot of money as a motivational speaker. He still owes over $100 million in restitution to his victims, and even though he's turning over his profits from his books and this movie to them, it isn't enough. And it stings me to see such a scumbag receiving the sort of positive attention that comes from having your life story made into a movie by one of the greatest directors of all time, to walk those red carpets, to bask in the sort of adulation that only feeds the toxic egos that gave rise to this whole sordid mess in the first place. Reality has done enough to show me how little retribution regular people get when the super-rich ruin their lives. This movie was like a branded reminder that the good guys truly don't win in the end. If they did, Belfort would still be in prison, there wouldn't have been a book, and this movie, as it is, never would have been made. I realize this is more a review of the background surrounding the  film rather than the film itself, but it's one reason why I had to stop short of really liking it. I wish more than anything WOWS had been about a fictional person. I would have admired it more. Put yourself in the shows of one of the blue collar workers Belfort ruined, and imagine how you'd feel seeing the man who did it getting so much attention. If it weren't so well made, I would have given it a C. As such it falls into the rare category of well-crafted movie I wish nobody had made. Grade: B-



5. 12 Years a Slave







There is absolutely no way to go into this film prepared for the emotional walloping it gives you. I have compared it to Schindler's List in how it lays bare all the ugliness and shame of humanity (in this case, American slavery) and forces us to observe events as if they're at the bottom of a barrel of water, and the director is holding our heads under the surface until we're sure we're going to drown. Director Steve McQueen does this particularly well, drawing out each take about as long as we can possibly stand them, and then holds them a few seconds beyond that so we're on the verge of panicking, begging for him to stop. It's another great demonstration of how the actual filming technique informs the story. Nearly every frame of this movie screams, "LOOK AT THIS. DON'T YOU DARE FORGET THIS." And I will never forget. It's a reminder I think we will always need, in an age where certain politicians are doing their best to rub the impact of slavery out of our textbooks. This is one of the most painful movies I have ever seen, and of the entire crop of Best Picture nominees, the one that has haunted me the longest and most deserves to win. As much as I loved Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club, the acting Oscar should go to Chiwetel Ejiofor. Lupita Nyong'o for Best Supporting Actress for her heartbreaking turn as Patsey would also be wonderful to see. Grade: A+



6. Her







I saw the trailer for this film a good while ago and it intrigued me, but I had my doubts. In fact, I went into seeing it with a lot of reservations. Was it going to be pretentiously weird and aloof like a lot of Spike Jonze films? The thing is, Jonze is typically directing other people's pretentious weirdness. HER marks the first time Jonze has directed his own original screenplay. And original it is. I adored it for so many reasons. First was the unique setting. A near-futuristic LA, where colors pop off the screen and give you something to examine and analyze in the background. Then we have the quirkiness of the plot. If an operating system became sentient enough to seem human, right down to the way it speaks and the way it knows and understands you, how is that any different than being in a long distance or internet-based relationship? Aren't we already sort of heading this way? The science fiction part of this film doesn't really feel all that fictional. In another ten to fifteen years, I can see a lot of people dating a computer generated person. Finally, the performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams (and the voice acting by Scarlet Johannsen) are excellent, and they make you believe all of the oddness this film exudes. I suppose I have a real hankering for weird love stories that have just a touch of sci-fi in them. This one reminded me in some ways of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, though Jonze seems to touch on much broader concepts of humanity and love as a whole. I want to watch it again and again. Grade: A+



7. Gravity







You will not find a more viscerally thrilling movie on this list. The floating camera work, the use of sound, and the ambitious setting all set the stage for an experience that will grab you by your short and curlies and tug until you scream. As a pure ride, it is completely worth seeing. When you watch the shuttle and the Hubble, and the International Space Station be rendered into nothing more than shards and shrapnel by space debris, your heart will hurt. At least if you're as much of a space nerd as I am. This speaks to the total realism of the photography. The movie will also tickle your amygdala as it forces you to consider how very dire the circumstances are for the two man characters, as well as what sort of pandemonium might be unfolding on Earth (though you get no real indication of that). The only problem with Gravity is its characters, and sadly for a film that relies so heavily on them, that's a pretty big problem. Alfonso Cuaron realized he had to bring some humanity to this ambitious equation, and he did, but it feels very tacked on, as do the movie's themes of human perseverance and rebirth. There is also a brief twist in the final third of the film that feels so much like a deus ex machina that I was almost positive someone had slapped me over the head with a spiral sliced ham. I have no problem with the god in the machine popping out to save the day, but it had better be seamless, and this wasn't for me. In some ways, Gravity has the trappings of a Stanley Kubrick film. It wows on all technical levels, but it doesn't quite manage to find its way into the heart. And what it's lacking of Kubrick's sensibilities is his use of sheer trippiness to portray a sort of psychological meltdown within the main character, something I would have loved to see exploited here given the rather extreme circmstances. Gravity, of all the movies I'm reviewing today, is the one that actually felt like it needed to be longer, perhaps in order to better build the emotional arc of the characters. It's hard to pull that off in 90 minutes. I can forgive the many science faux-pas in this movie (every genre movie has them), but not the storytelling shortcomings. Grade: B



8. American Hustle







If there is one thing I learned from watching this movie, it's that David O. Russell is much smarter than me. As a writer, I often insert myself into the vehicle of another storyteller to see how I might have told the same story, or even if I can. But getting into Russell's vehicle is like stepping onto a spaceship. There ain't no way I could drive this thing. There are so many moving parts and a huge slate of characters, all with their own problems and motivations. You have the original con "men" played by Christian Bale and Amy Adams, who are running a loan scheme until they're picked up by an FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) whose ambitions soon start to outreach his grasp as he employs the two of them to help catch the bigger fish, namely politicians accepting bribes on land contracts for casinos in Atlantic City. Add in Bale's unpredictable head case of a wife (Jennifer Lawrence), and things really start to get exciting. The "hustle" on which the film centers feels a bit nebulous because the story routinely shifts points of view and even the timelines, so the whole thing looks different depending whose eyes you're looking through. Essentially, I found American Hustle difficult to follow, and after a point I just stopped trying, because I'm not sure if understanding the intricacies of the con was the point. I instead fell into the characters themselves and how they were growing or changing as a result of the things happening to them, and on that level, American Hustle is aces. It's also aces on acting, dialog, and chiefly the hair. Jesus me, I haven't seen such amazing hair on film since Kingpin. While I actually prefer Russell's previous effort, Silver Linings Playbook, the man is without a doubt a brilliant filmmaker and has cemented himself on my "I'll watch anything he makes" list. Grade: A-



9. Nebraska





This is another one, like Philomena, where I wasn't quite sure what to expect going in, but by the time it was over, I felt filled up in a way that a lot of movies just don't accomplish. I was the odd one out on Alexander Payne's previous film, The Descendants, in that I just wasn't all that impressed by it. Yes, it was good, but it stopped well shy of greatness for me. Nebraska, however, achieves something even more superlative in how it captures the place and the people in it with all their rough edges and rustic textures, similar to something the Coen brothers would do, minus the brooding darkness. Payne fills this film with people we all know. They're timeworn and old, they're overweight, they're scarred. Their lives are small and simple. The black and white photography is stark and gorgeous, capturing a landscape that hasn't changed much at all since that particular film format was the standard, and if it weren't for the newer cars, you might think you were watching something from the 1930s. Bruce Dern plays a man hollowed by all the years he's lived, and he's becoming increasingly befuddled with age, such that he believes he's won a million dollars when he receives a bogus sweepstakes letter in the mail, and that's what the plot generally centers around. He's also an alcoholic and he wasn't much of a father, and it isn't like the movie teaches him to be a better one either. Payne isn't after phony sentiment here. But his son, played by Will Forte, is the one who gradually comes to understand his father more as the movie evolves, and the hope for a better future lies in him. Nebraska is a basic and simple film that uses basic and simple tools to illustrate how most people want the same things out of life. They just want to feel like they have something, like they've done something, and that someone sees them. And some people are just takers. The standout performance for me, however, is the wife and mother character played by June Squibb, and the dynamic she and Bruce Dern create together gives you the sense of a hard life lived, where romance is never considered--and forget about pretensions--but the love, even if unacknowledged by either of them, is the bedrock that holds them up. I really loved this one. Grade: A



Overall, this is a most excellent batch of Best Picture nominees this year, with so many great performances that it has to be very hard to pick a winner. Even the films I liked the least on this list were at least quite good. But here is my personal ranking of favorite to least favorite.



1. 12 Years a Slave

2. Her

3. Dallas Buyers Club

4. Nebraska

5. American Hustle

6. Philomena

7. Captain Phillips

8. Gravity

9. Wolf of Wall Street



Kudos to whomever wins this one! Even with the niggling shortcomings factored in, it's a very deserving crop of nominees.

The Doctor Who Project: Ranking Series 4

Welcome back, Whovians! We hope you had a fantastic week and that you're as excited and sad about this particular installment of DWP as we are. Sad? Yes, sad. If you're a fan of the show, you'll know why, because it is the last week we'll be seeing this face:



I don't want you to go either...*sniff*

But as bummed out as we might be, we must forge on, for as fans of the show we ALSO know, amazing adventures lie ahead and we don't want to miss a second of it. Also, because this season is full of special episodes, this week's installment is going to be a tad longer, so there is no time to waste. If you want to read up on the previous weeks, visit our compendium !



First, let's start with a special mini-episode for Children in Need that preceded the official start of this season called Time Crash. Though Jaime and I didn't include it in our show notes, Justin wrote a review on it that I think deserves inclusion here (though it won't figure into the final average tally at the end). I will first say that I did watch this episode (it's available on YouTube) and thought it was really touching and cute. I don't hold the highest opinion of the Classic Doctors post-Tom Baker, but I love that Peter Davison has a great sense of humor. As a side note, he also directed a really great short film that ties in with the 50th Anniversary Special. It's called The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, and it brings together 5 of the previous Doctors as well as some wonderful star-studded cameos.







Justin: I'm including this mini-episode because I love it. It's pure cheese, but it has heart. The mini takes place at the end of Last of the Time Lords and leads into Voyage of the Damned. Ten meets Five (Peter Davison) and they share a tiny adventure and discover how one Doctor's personality can consciously or subconsciously bleed into another. Something else that's interesting is Davison's real daughter ends up playing Ten's "daughter" in a later episode and is also married to Tennant. A bit of timely wimley Kentucky wucky. 7 Sonics



Special Episode: Voyage of the Damned





The Doctor finds his TARDIS colliding with a spaceship based on the RMS Titanic during a Christmas party. With the help of a waitress named Astrid, the Doctor must take on the race called the Hosts as the lives of the Titanic crew and those on Earth are in danger. (IMDB)



Justin: This is a real ying/yang episode for me. I love the Poseidon Adventure movie (I've seen all the versions) and movies like that. So the fact the good Doctor has found himself in that situation was great for me. However, I was confused on when this took place. It seemed like the ship was from the future based on how people talked about Earth. Then they get to Earth and it's present. I thought maybe it was a time traveling Titanic (try saying that three times fast), but that wasn't it. Even though it would better to explain why it crashed into the TARDIS. I liked all the characters (especially Bannakaffalatta), but the confusion will rate this episode lower than it should be. 4 Sonics



Jaime: This was a decent episode. I liked the addition of Kylie Minogue as the Doctor's "companion." I also liked the Doctor being able to say "Allonsy, Alonso." This episode had a very Poseidon Adventure feel to it, even though they were in a spaceship not an actual cruise ship. I found it funny when the Doctor was in London and Wilfred Mott tells him no one is around because the last two years aliens have been in London. Overall an entertaining episode. 6 Sonics



Allison: I'm actually with Justin here on the ying/yang feel to it, though I didn't even consider the friggen Titanic-sized plot hole of them beaming down into the present from a futuristic looking space-based cruise ship! What made me feel very tepid about this episode was that despite the production values and the electric chemistry between Tennant and Kylie Minogue (he sure loves him some blondes), I just couldn't get past the cheese factor that really picked up toward the end. I know it's the Christmas special, but I hate when the Doctor stars to feel "Jesusy." Or maybe it's more appropriately Cheesusy?

5 Sonics



Average Sonics





x 5





Episode 1: Partners in Crime





With a new weight-loss pill tested in London by Adipose Industries, The Doctor goes to investigate the sinister truth behind the product, only to find out that his old friend Donna Noble is investigating as well. (IMDB)



Justin: Donna has finally arrived as the Doctor's newest companion. I love Donna. She doesn't put up with the Doctor's gruff, and also provides comic relief. This episode had some great humor in it, and I even enjoyed the cute Adipose. I looked forward to this new duo more than I had with the past two companions. 7 Sonics



Jaime: Donna Noble is back! This girl is hilarious and adds so much humor to the Doctor's life. The viewer is also immediately aware that no schoolgirl crush is happening here. Donna wants adventure, she wants to see the stars. In her first adventure with the Doctor, Donna proves her worth and helps save the day. A great introduction to a new companion. 8 Sonics



Allison: Donna is just wonderful. She brings such a change in tone from the previous companions and a blessed relief from the puppy love that has really kind of been hanging over the show since its reboot. Don't get me wrong, I have a soft spot for puppy love, but enough already. Ever since Runaway Bride, Donna has regretted not taking the Doctor up on his offer to travel with him, so when they finally find one another, one of the funniest scenes in the entire show's run happens, and the fun doesn't stop there. The adipose creatures were silly, gross, cute, and creative ideas for aliens. I kind of wish some of my fat would pop out of my body and walk away every night, but I digress. 8 Sonics



Average Sonics





x 7.6





Episode 2: The Fires of Pompeii





(it was foretold...)

The Doctor and Donna visit Pompeii in AD 79, on the eve of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. (IMDB)



Justin: This is another episode where I was doing research prior to watching, thought it would make a cool backdrop for my time travel book, then watched Doctor Who, and had to scrap it. I enjoyed pretty much everything about this episode, and--at the time--had no idea a future Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and future companion (Karen Gillan) were in this. 6 Sonics



Jaime: Hey look, Peter Capaldi! More on him later ;) The Doctor once again arrives where he didn't intend. The explosion of Mount Vesuvius is a fixed point that can't be changed and is actually necessary in saving the planet. Imagine that. What this episode shows is Donna's compassion and the truth that the Doctor should not travel alone. His companion is the one who most often keeps him level-headed. 4 Sonics



Allison: The destruction of Pompeii is one of those stories that would almost have to be told in a story involving a time traveler, and for the most part, I enjoyed what was done here in demonstrating that the Doctor could not avert this disaster. I like stories with impossible scenarios, and the final scenes were heartfelt. Seeing the softer side of Donna was nice as well. I'm not sure if I loved all of the plot elements, though. Particularly the villains. It felt a little like they knew what they wanted to do at the end, but everything else was just back-fill. 5 Sonics



Average Sonics





x 5





Episode 3: Planet of the Ood





Finding themselves on the Ood-Sphere planet in the 42nd century, The Doctor and Donna discover the truth over the Ood's willingness to serve humankind. (IMDB)



Justin: The Ood return for another great story (one which I saw part of on a lunch), and we continue to find out what kind of slaves they are. I can't state how much I enjoy these characters. Wonderfully delivered concepts in this show. 8 Sonics



Jaime: I love the Ood. Such an interesting and beautiful (yes, beautiful) species in the Who universe. This is a well written episode, lots of action with a fast-paced story. There is foreshadowing here when the Ood tell the Doctor his song will soon be ending. 8 Sonics



Allison: I'm with my friends here. The Ood are one of the best things to come out of the Whoniverse, and I have missed them. This episode deals with how they've been exploited by greedy capitalist types, and Donna proves herself yet again that she's more than just bluster. This is also really the first time you start to get a sense that things are nearing an end for this Doctor. The cloister bells of my heart are ringing. Cue sadness. 8 Sonics



Average Sonics:





x 8





Episode 4 & 5: The Sontaran Strategem/The Poison Sky





Psychotic Potato Dwarf

UNIT's newest recruit Martha Jones enlists The Doctor's help to investigate kid genius Luke Rattigan and his ATMOS system that is used in every car on Earth. With planet Earth choking under the poison sky, the Doctor must stop the Sontarans' threat to the planet. (IMDB)



Justin: This isn't my favorite two parter of the series, but it did have plenty of things I enjoyed: the return of Martha (now less googly eyed for the Doctor), reintroducing UNIT and the Sontaran race to the show, and the ongoing plot of Miss Bad Wolf herself; Rose Tyler. On the flip side I didn't care for Luke Rattigan (Ryan Sampson), and wished his demise would have happened at the start. 4 Sonics



Jaime: Interesting concept. Nice to see two past companions. Plus the introduction of the Sontaran. An average episode. I expect more from the two-parters. But Rose and Martha kept this one from being a total stinker. 5 Sonics



Allison: I'm with my friends here. Overall, this 2-parter was not great, and in many ways I just wanted to get through it already and even considered skipping part two. More than disliking the whole poisoned gas in the sat-nav thing, I really hated the final resolution of it. Even though I suspend a lot of disbelief as is for this show, that was just the ultimate bum note. I like the Sontarans, and the companions all being together was pretty cool, but eh. Meh. 4 Sonics



Average Sonics





x 4.3





Episode 6: The Doctor's Daughter





Caught in the middle of a war between the Humans and the Hath in the planet Messaline, the Doctor finds himself once again a father. (IMDB)



Justin: It's interesting doing these reviews because I'm not instantly invested in the show, but instead have time to reflect on the episodes. With that being said, this reminded me of a bad episode of Sliders. That's not to say I didn't like it, but it wasn't great. The trivia--as I talked about in my review of Time Crash--was more interesting to me. I think a big loss for the show (unless it happens with Capaldi) is that Jenny (Georgia Moffett) never returned. 4 Sonics





Jaime: Blah. I feel I should have loved this episode. But I didn't. Say sorry. 3 Sonics




Allison: I wanted to like this episode, but it just had an air of unbelievability for me that even for Who was tough to swallow. And the ending, with her zipping off in the spaceship like some plucky little kid superhero off to save the day, was just groan-worthy, and that's saying a lot for someone who puns as much as I do. I know this show is generally for young viewers, but it ordinarily does a good job of keeping the adults engaged. Not this time. I'm glad Georgia Moffet and David Tennant fell in love and probably decided it was best not to work together again, because I don't care to see another one of these episodes. 3 Sonics.




Average Sonics:






x 3.3







Episode 7: The Unicorn and the Wasp







With a 1920s dinner party turning into a murder mystery, The Doctor and Donna meet Agatha Christie on the eve of her publicized disappearance. (IMDB)





Justin: This is a pretty out there episode, but another--like The Unquiet Dead--that led me to research the real Agatha Christie (played in the show by Fenella Woolgar). Something I enjoyed, and feel that I would do if I time travelled, were the constant references to Christie's work. 4 Sonics




Jaime: I actually love this episode. A mystery with none other than Agatha Christie there to solve it. I love all the references Donna makes and some of the banter between her and the Doctor is priceless. A lot of humor in this one. Which is nice, because so far this season has been kind of a downer. 9 Sonics




Allison: I am really glad I'm not alone in loving this episode as much as I do, because in a lot of the rankings of Doctor Who episodes I've seen online, this one always seems to wind up in the bottom third, and to me that's just a shame. The humor in this episode is spot on, the mystery of the wasp is equally weird and interesting, and I love the look into Agatha Christie's life and the references to her works. My favorite part was when Donna was trying to revive the Doctor in the kitchen. Really shows how comedically tuned the two of them are to one another. 8 Sonics




Average Sonics:






x 7







Episode 8 & 9: Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead






The Doctor and Donna join a group of archaeologists at a 51st century library. What caused the library to become abandoned? What are the Nodes? And what links the library to one little girl? All they have is one warning: count the shadows. (IMDB)

Justin: Spoilers. River Song (performed by the ever amazing Alex Kingston) is an amazing character. Yes, I know that's an opinion, but to me it's a fact. With that being said, I will move on from River and focus on the show. Silence in the Library is a creepy episode, but Forest of the Dead is brilliant. Forest (almost done with episodes I had seen prior to becoming a regular watcher...again, I was very confused) is--to me--an example of life. We blink (no pun intended) and in a matter of seconds time/years pass us by.  There's that feeling that you've missed something or something is a bit off (explored again in the upcoming Turn Left), but you're not sure what.  These two make up for the earlier two-part episode, and being as a brand new character who (pun intended) will change the course of the show. 8 Sonics




Jaime: In my top ten. So much to talk about in this one. River Song!! This opens a door to a long running story. And this is just the beginning. Or the end. Dammit, River's timeline is impossible. Trust Steven Moffat to introduce one of the most interesting and compelling characters in the show's run. And the Vashta Nerada are just plain creepy. Donna's story in this one is just heartbreaking, possibly foreshadowing how her story is going to end. 10 Sonics




Allison: My favorite two-parter of the whole series and also in my top-ten, this pair of shows is utter perfection. You have creepy, you have weird, you have heart-breaking, and just enough sass to keep a smile on your face even when you're hurting. The mystery of River Song and the Doctor is only just beginning, and her character is quite simply one of my very favorite things about this show even though their story has ultimately lead me to abandon a time travel book I'd been working on for a couple years before I saw this episode (because they were too similar). Donna's subplot had me in tears, and I particularly loved the feature where a character's disembodied energy/soul kept talking after they were dead. Gah! Series 4 has finally come alive here. 10 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 9.3







Episode 10: Midnight






As part of a well-deserved holiday, the Doctor takes a bus tour on the planet Midnight. Little does he know that something is knocking on that bus' wall. (IMDB)




Justin: Another creepy episode. One that reminds me of the William Shatner Twilight Zone where he's on the plane (or John Lithgow for the movie fans).  It required your imagination, too. All great things, but nothing better than the repeated speech and then the not-so repeated speech. Eek!!! 7 Sonics




Jaime: Loved the setting. Loved the feel. Pretty much a wonderful follow up to a heavy hitting episode. And Tennant shines in this episode. 8 Sonics




Allison: This one nearly made my Top 10. It was on again, off again, then back on, then finally off. I love this episode because it had the feel of a "bottle" episode. That's the practice in television where, in order to shave some money off the budget, an episode is filmed on a single setting, and the plots are almost always dialog heavy and character-centric. Good examples of this are the "Fly" episode of Breaking Bad or the Chinese restaurant episode of Seinfeld. Here the setting is an airplane on a mysterious planet. One of the passengers has become possessed by an alien that makes her repeat everything people say, and we slowly watch as friendly relationships turn downright ugly as the passengers turn on each other, including the Doctor. The tension in this episode is top-notch, and Tennant is stunning. 9 Sonics




Average Sonics





x 8







Episode 11: Turn Left






What would happen if Donna never met the Doctor? How would Earth handle the Racnoss, the falling Titanic or the Sontarans? Aided by a familiar blonde time traveler, Donna corrects the alternate time line from happening. (IMDB)




Justin: Things I've stated (or believe I've stated before, and if not you get to read them again) that I enjoy about Doctor Who and/or stories in general:  Donna Noble, breaks from the Doctor, alternate time lines, bringing past stories together, and Donna Noble. This had it all. Plus, it was the last of the episodes I watched prior to the show being on. Again, try to imagine my continuing confusion about this show. When I finally watched it in full I was a very happy camper. What would Donna be without the Doctor? That was a question I didn't want answered, and unfortunately would be in a few episodes. 10 Sonics




Jaime: Another one from my top ten. I love the "what if" game, alternate history stories. What if Donna wasn't around to save the Doctor? Whoa. I love seeing Rose. I loved everything about this one. And that bug on Donna's back? Shudder...ultimate creep factor. 10 Sonics




Allison: What an utter heartbreaker this episode is. It packs the emotional punch of a really great two-parter, and I absolutely adore how it put Donna Noble on center stage as she tries to piece together what has happened to the universe in an alternate timeline where she never met the Doctor. Throughout our time with Donna we've witness again and again her refusal to believe she's anything special, that she's "just a temp," but we continue to witness just how special and important she really is. And that continues to build with subsequent episodes. One niggling thing was Billie Piper's lisp. Drove me batty. 10 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 10







Episode 12 & 13: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End







The return of an old enemy leaves Earth along with 26 other planets stolen from their places. As the Doctor and Donna look for the whereabouts of Earth, former companions of the Doctor assemble a resistance against the new Dalek Empire. In the wake of Davros' threat to destroy the existence of the Universe itself, the Doctor's companions unite to stop the Dalek empire. Which one will die by the prophecies and what will the fate be for the Doctor? (IMDB)





Justin: These two episodes were Doctor Who: the Motion Picture. I had no idea the kitchen sink was a companion, because even that was in there. It brings all four seasons together, wraps it up with a nice bow (because those are almost cool), and gets you prepared for the end of ten. Donna is fantastic in this and goes out in a very "Noble" way. 9 Sonics




Jaime: These two episodes are pretty epic. It brings together multiple stories, ties up unanswered questions, and almost everyone who has met the Doctor makes an appearance. This felt a bit trite at times, I mean what was the point of Mickey and Jackie in this one? They were completely unnecessary. I did love seeing Ten and Rose together, and the way that story ends. Donna Noble's ending is the saddest ending of a companion ever. To not even be able to KNOW that you traveled with the Doctor, let alone saved the universe, is not a happy ending. All this in preparation for the departure of David Tennant. 7 Sonics




Allison: The revival of an old foe (Davros) from the Classic series is always really cool to see, as was the return again of Sarah Jane. Even cooler to see all the companions together and so many other characters from previous seasons and episodes. The thing is it just felt so jam packed that it didn't have room to breathe. Donna's departure, however, is probably the most painful departure of a companion (yes, even Rose) I've seen yet. In fact, I would go so far as to call it a cruel slap in the face to someone who brought so much to this show. I would have rather seen her die than to see her lose all her memories of the wonderful things she's done both for and with the Doctor. Also, the final resolution of the Doctor and Rose's relationship subplot felt like fan fiction written by Ten/Rose shippers. I could have done without it. 7 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 7.6










Special Episode: The Next Doctor






The Doctor arrives in London on Christmas Eve in 1851 where he encounters the Cybermen and a man who claims he's a Time Lord called the Doctor. (IMDB)




Justin:  I enjoyed the Doctor of 1851 (portrayed by David Morrissey), and really wanted to believe in who he was, but instead it's a sad tale of a man escaping his past by being someone else. The Cybermen are meh, as is Cyberqueen, but GiantCyberMech was kind of cool. Overall, an ok Christmas special. I would have preferred seeing the next Doctor go on a grander adventure, but I understand his path was one less traveled. 4 Sonics




Jaime: A decent Christmas episode. I thought The Doctor thinking he was seeing a future incarnation of himself was pretty interesting. And David Morrissey as Jackson Lake was a great addition to this episode. But alas, the Cybermen are back and I am still not a fan. The Doctor's loneliness can be felt throughout the entire episode which lends a kind of sad tone to the whole thing. 6 Sonics




Allison: The Doctor is becoming way emo and battleweary and I think we the viewers are as well. This (along with the dreary backstory of the "other" Doctor aka The Governor) puts a damper on what otherwise might have been a funner episode with the Victorian-era Cyberqueen. No, I'm still not a Cybermen fan by this point in the series (that comes a little bit later), but I still overall dug this one. 6 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 5.3







Special Episode: Planet of the Dead






A meeting in a London bus with jewel thief Lady Christina takes a turn for the worst for the Doctor when the bus takes a detour to a desert-like planet, where the deadly Swarm awaits. (IMDB)




Justin: There is one thing I liked about this episode: Lady Christina de Souza (Michelle Ryan). I wish she would have come back. The rest wasn't that great. 2 Sonics




Jaime: I really liked this one. I loved the bus going into another dimension and the supporting cast is fantastic. The appearance of UNIT was interesting, especially Malcolm and his hero worship of the Doctor. Lady Christina is a good sidekick for the Doctor and this premonition from Carmen is chilling: "You be careful, because your song is ending, sir. It is returning, it is returning through the dark. And then Doctor... oh, but then...he will knock four times." 7 Sonics




Allison: I wanted to like this one more. Like my friends here, I enjoyed Lady Christina's character and the Doctor's chemistry with her. Everything else (the space fish?) just had a silliness factor that fell a little flat with me. I did like the supporting characters, though, and it all had just enough humor to keep me from giving it a full thumbs down + raspberry. 5 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 4.6







Special Episode: The Waters of Mars






In a Mars base the inhabitants are being infected by a mysterious water creature which takes over its victims. The Doctor is thrust into the middle of this catastrophe knowing a larger one is waiting around the corner. (IMDB)




Justin: Slightly better than The Planet of the Dead, and for me that's due to it's disaster movie/Alien vibe it was going for. This and the prior two episodes feel disjointed from the show. However, it does have a ending I like when the Doctor realizes he can do what he wants. 3 Sonics




Jaime: This is an emotional episode. While I did like it, there was something about the anger of the Doctor in the end that rubbed me the wrong way. It put a damper on the whole episode. What I did like was the water-infected humans on Mars. A little disturbing, to say the least. 5 Sonics




Allison: I feel I must stand alone on this one, as this episode was in my Top 10. What can I say, I love the scarier Doctor Who episodes. The setting is stellar, but it's the moral dilemmas of the Doctor trying to change history he has no business changing that gives episode real emotional umph. It feels distinctly like he's starting to lose his mind a little bit, and it's understandable, because after everything he has lost up to this point, he really just wants to win something. It's that kind of character development this show normally only hints at that I like to see, and this episode wasn't afraid to go there. To me that's the emotional culmination of everything that has been happening since the show began. The victory the Doctor gets (saving a woman who originally died a hero) is very short-lived and it burns him big time. Dark dark stuff in this episode, and that's before we even get to the Mars colony and the alien "infection" in the water that is turning them into monsters. It's as close to zombies as we've really seen thus far on this show. The Waters of Mars even won a Hugo Award because it's just damn good sci-fi. Also, the cloister bells are really ringing now. The Doctor is in danger. 10 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 6







Special Episode: The End of Time Parts 1 & 2







The Ood have given a warning to The Doctor. The Master is returning yet that is not the biggest threat. A darkness is coming which brings with it The End of Time. (IMDB)





Justin: Wilfred Mott (Bernard Cribbens) gets his chance to shine as the Tenth Doctor's final companion.  The Master is back (and looks all Eminem) and he's nuttier than ever. Then there are the Time Lords, and one of my favorite Bond actors; Timothy Dalton. This is a kick in the pants story, with only one downfall: the Vinvocci. We get to say goodbye to the characters from the past four years, and I still have hope they'll return (more than just in Bad Wolf form) to see Capaldi's Doctor, but it's probably not likely. Then there's the end, a farewell that's so sad you'll find yourself not wanting to go...unless--of course--you yell "Geronimo!" 8 Sonics




Jaime: Wilfred Mott traveling with the Doctor is wonderful. He kind of brings perspective to the Doctor's world, I think. We also have the return of the Master, John Simm, who has amazing energy in these two episodes. We also see The Time Lords, which is a little odd. I felt like both episodes were just build up to one of the saddest departures of a Doctor. I was at the edge of my seat waiting to hear four knocks. And then it's poor Wilf who brings the departure of the Doctor. Oh the tears. And then Ten goes to see all his companions one last time. More tears. Especially when he sees Rose. She was the first face he saw and the last face he saw. I, like Ten, did not want to go. I remember thinking, "I will never like Matt Smith." Thankfully, I was wrong. A wonderful ending to David Tennant's run as the Doctor. And he will always be my favorite. 9 Sonics




Allison: If I was battle weary after the Journey's End two-parter, by the time the these episodes wrap up, I'm feeling like I ate waaaay too much at the Chinese buffet and it's time to go home and die. I'll first discuss what I liked the least about these two episodes. The Timelords. I feel like every time I see them onscreen, I understand why the Doctor stole the Tardis and left, and I hope we never see Gallifrey again. I don't know if this is by design or not (I think it was, especially after watching Day of the Doctor), but I just didn't like the whole plot with them trying to "come back." Donna also seems woefully underused here. She's there one minute, passes out after she almost starts to remember the Doctor, and then we don't see her again until the very end. That whole part felt pointless. Truth be told, I felt this two-parter was so self-indulgent in its inability to just end already that it made me almost a little resentful of the whole thing. There is a tipping point between when something is being sentimental and nostalgic, and when it overstays its welcome, and I feel like this was made the case with End of Time being two parts. What I did love was Wilf, who is one of the greatest characters this show has ever seen. Such a tender old man, and his eyes alone just make me want to hug him and weep tears and snot all over his shoulder. There is a lot of controversy surrounding Tennant's last line "I don't want to go," and while I can understand the detractors a bit, I have to say what it all comes down to is how did it make me feel when it happened. And it was right then, when he said that, that I started to cry. The final lines of Doctors before they regenerate feel more like lines from the actors themselves, and I believed with all my heart that Tennant was very sad to leave, even if he knew it was time. Even though I think Matt Smith is ultimately my favorite Doctor, I love Ten to pieces and he was an utter joy to behold. 7 Sonics




Average Sonics






x 8







Episodes Ranked Best to Worst

*because we had a lot of averages tie this week, I've color coded the ones that all had the same rank.




1. Turn Left

2. Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead

3. Planet of the Ood

4. Midnight

5. The End of Time 1 & 2

6. Partners in Crime

7. Stolen in Earth/Journey's End

8. The Unicorn and the Wasp

9. The Waters of Mars

10. The Next Doctor

11. Voyage of the Damned

12. The Fires of Pompeii

13. Planet of the Dead

14. The Sontaran Strategem/Poison Planet

15. The Doctor's Daughter




Overall Sonic Average for the Season






6.6







Looking at the numbers, it appears that David Tennant's final season ranked only 4/10th higher than his first one. I'd say this has a lot to do with the fact that this season really didn't come alive until Silence in the Library, and it was more than half over by then. While there weren't as many downright stinkers, there were far too many that were forgettable, and a lot of my sentimental attachment to Tennant was tempered by the showrunner's ponderous inability to trim some of the fat. I'm really looking forward to jumping into series 5 next week. I can already taste the fish fingers and custard.




Allison, Justin, and Jaime

Foul Language in Writing. And Cracking the Twitter

There are two separate topics I want to address that are only marginally related, but I thought they should share the same blog space.



First, a little missive about that other ubiquitous social network, Twitter .







Since I've been taking a hiatus from Facebook, I've been tweeting a lot more to fill the gaping gab-hole left in my life. Previously, my average use would equate to maybe 7-10 tweets a week. Now I'm doing at least that much a day. Because if I can't shout things at myself in a crowded room on the off-chance someone might hear me, I can't be happy. Clearly.



Self-deprecating sarcasm aside, I've long felt the service has been a great way to stay in touch with fellow writers and industry types as well as participating in current events in real time. While I've been on the service since 2007, this is maybe the first time I've devoted any significant daily effort to it. Normally, I would pop on a few times a week, see what people were chatting about or if anything major was happening in the media, share a blog or alert the "world" to any sales I might be having on Kindle, and then head back to the Cheers bar of Facebook, where everybody knows my name. As a result, I have not gained much of a Twitter following. Up until the beginning of February, I was sitting right around 640 followers, give or take. Not really great. As of this writing, I have 715. Still not really great, but I'm edging ever closer to 1000, and I think with more concerted daily interactions with other users, I can get there soon enough.



The thing about social networks, and it doesn't matter which one it is in this instance, is that in order to receive its fullest benefits, you really have to engage with  it. You have to indicate an active presence so that others feel compelled to pay attention to what you have to say. In other words, you have to be SOCIAL. Go figure. I have found that by updating Twitter almost as much as I updated Facebook, things have improved exponentially. Though I intend to return to Facebook soon, I am pretty sure Twitter will remain my primary social network from now on. It's less addictive--I can't seem to spend more than a few minutes at a time there--and I've noticed fewer opportunities for personal drama. There are other ways to improve your exposure there, like the strategic use of hashtags and maybe using more visual media to catch eyeballs, but it still boils down to just one simple rule: use the damn thing.







Anyway, this leads me to my next topic: bad writing advice. It's always been a perennial thing on Twitter. Writers love writing blogs about writing. I've written a lot of them, mostly as a salve for my chapped ass after being exposed to writers who are dumb. It's not like the idiots who most need to read said blogs are actually reading them. In fact, due to the cognitive dissonance that's as prevalent in the author community as chlamydia in a low end fraternity, the idiots generally think you're not talking about them. But preach to the choir we must. Recently, someone posted a blog entitled something along the lines of "Bad Habits Writers Should Break."



Being of the mind that I might still have a few bad writer habits, and because I was curious whether someone had come up with something different from the standard fare, I took the clickbait. And initially, I noticed nothing new. Stop using so many adverbs, turn off your internet, don't leave projects unfinished, show don't tell, don't edit while you write. Blah blah blah. Anyone who's a writer has heard these things a million times, promptly convinced themselves that none of these things apply to them (even if they do) and moved on.



But there was one item on the list that stuck out like a bucket of farts at a perfume convention: the use of foul language. As in, using swear words in a story is a bad writer habit.



Cue the squealing tires or the needle being ripped across a record sound.



Huh?



I had to read it a couple times to make sure I was even understanding it right. Did the person mean writers themselves shouldn't cuss so much, or did he mean writers shouldn't write so many cuss words? Either way, I was pretty taken aback by the whole thing, so I left a comment asking for clarification. I said I hope he didn't mean writers shouldn't use foul language in their work, because it isn't supposed to be about what we the writers believe is right or wrong language. It's about what the characters would say given their backgrounds and peccadilloes.



The author responded that he was "old school" and didn't believe swearing was acceptable in any arena.





Again, I had to take a step back in order to keep my bulging eyeballs from hitting the screen. Was he really serious? Swearing is unacceptable in ANY arena? I wonder what Martin Scorsese would have to say about that? Most of his movies would be rendered silent if we removed all instances of the world "fuck." I wonder how a New York cabbie would respond. Would he tell this person to go fuck himself or to kindly engage in auto-relations with his hand? Would a high school delinquent tell him to eat shit or poo-poo? Does this author's own work read like a network television broadcast of The Big Lebowski where all the cuss words have been censored, leaving an angry Walter to tell young Larry what happens when he finds a stranger in the Alps?



The thing is, writers, you NEVER WANT TO DO THIS. I don't give a lot of emphatic writing advice these days. I've generally recused myself from the Great Adverb Kerfuffle, and as for other mechanical things, I think those can be addressed only after someone becomes a better storyteller first. Writers need an opportunity to find their art, and it's only after they've done that and feel comfortable with habitually creating things that I feel it's a good time to give some more technical direction. Do it too soon, and you can snuff out the spark. Too late, and you'd have better luck shaping rock with water from a dripping faucet.







But the best way to make sure you get comfortable with your voice is to actually USE IT, regardless of what it might sound like. And most importantly, do not EVER under any circumstance let your own personal views intrude on your story or your characters' actions if the story dictates they must do something that runs counter to them. You personally might not like swearing, but that doesn't mean some of your characters would agree. I personally don't like killing people, but some of my characters do that too. Your moral or linguistic predilections have NO ROOM on your manuscript page. None. If you're impeding your ability to tell the truth--the whole, real, unfettered, ugly truth--about the people in your stories, you should stop writing fiction right now, because no one wants to read a bunch of dishonest, self-censored, sterile tripe.



You will have characters who swear.



You will have characters who lie.



You will have characters who steal.



You will have characters who kill.



You will have characters who are annoying little assholes that no one likes.



As long as you have characters who do all these things, and they're fleshed out enough to make the reader latch onto them and go along for the ride whether they're likable or not, you're doing well for yourself. That's the hard truth of writing. Buck up, buttercup, because there is no room for weak stomachs in this business. And if a few readers complain that your language is foul (like has happened to me a few times)? Fuck em. The ones who will appreciate you told the truth, even if it was difficult to see or hear, will always outnumber the prudes.

J.A. Kazimer Answers 5 Quintessential Questions

It's Monday, which means it's time yet again to query another member of the indie artist community with 5 questions specially designed to attack the creative solar plexus. This week, we are sitting down with one J.A. Kazimer, author of CURSES! A F***ed Up Fairy Tale and its follow-up, Froggy Style. Her latest book, a sexy thriller called  The Assassin's Heart , is due out from Coffee Town Press on March 1st. She has a mile-long list of other writing credits too, all of which you should check out immediately. I met Ms. Kazimer at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference back in 2010, and she immediately impressed me with her dark wit, which is reflected in her writing as well as what you're about to read here. So let us delve deep into her mind, shall we?



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

My first thought was a fairly cheap bottle of wine, but after some debate, I decided to go with two bottles of Mad Dog 20/20. A windfall like that deserves two times the celebration.



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

Depends on the type of apocalypse. If we’re talking zombie, than I’m having toast with brain jam (which is a lot like toe jam). If we’re talking the standard four horsemen, then I’d head to my local catholic church for as many of those paste-tasting hosts as I can eat.



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?

Damn it. How did he find me? I’ve been hiding from the Penguin cartel for months. That’s the last time I courier questionable-fish from the South Pole.



Which super villain are you most like?

Dr. Horrible. I do like to sing, and who wouldn’t want to stare at Nathan Fillion in tights all day?



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

Um, hi, I’d like to tell you a little about my slash fiction novella or I guess a better term would be flash/slash. It starts with that chick from Twilight. You know, the annoying angst girl? Well, her dad does the smart thing, and tosses her ass into the wood chipper as soon as she arrives in town.






********

I wonder what would happen if one combined the Communion wafers with the MD 20/20. Sounds like a recipe for the apocalypse right there. Thanks, Julie, for stopping by! Now everyone go check out Julie's book as well as all her social media outlets!









J.A. Kazimer is a writer living in Denver, CO. Books include The Junkie Tales, The Body Dwellers, CURSES! A F***ed-Up Fairy Tale, Holy Socks & Dirtier Demons, Dope Sick: A Love Story, SHANK, Froggy Style, and her latest novel, The Assassin’s Heart, releasing on March 1, 2014.



http://www.jakazimer.com

http://jakazimer.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/JulieAKazimer

https://twitter.com/jakazimer

The Doctor Who Project: Ranking Series 3

Welcome yet again, Whovians! Time sure is flying by on this project (punny-wunny) of ours. We're more or less to the halfway mark as Jaime, Justin, and I rank each episode of Doctor Who, season by season. If you're just now joining us, feel free to stop by our compendium page and read our previous entries.





So far, both seasons one and two have been pretty equal, but I think the three of us have been looking forward to ranking this one the most, as a great many of our Top Ten picks came from series three. Who would have thought it possible to pick up the pieces so swiftly after the heartbreak of Doomsday?






Too Much Hotness


Martha, in many ways, was the rebound companion, and this created moments where I wanted to punch the Doctor in the nose. Even so, this season is when the show really hit its stride, and save for a few slow patches here and there, it's been on an upward trajectory ever since. But will the numbers bear that out? We shall see. As usual, there will be an average for each episode followed by a Best-Worst ranking and an overall season average at the end. I'm excited to see how the scores shake down, so let's get down to the nitty gritty, shall we?



Special Episode: The Runaway Bride






A young bride in the midst of her wedding finds herself mysteriously transported to the TARDIS. The Doctor must discover what her connection is with the Empress of Racnoss's plan to destroy the world. (IMDB)



Justin: As I stated before, I was pretty sure I knew who the next companion was, and when Donna Noble (the very funny Catherine Tate) shows up I was again lost. I enjoyed this episode. Donna was worlds away from being like Rose...and that's a good thing. Then, in the end, she's gone. My one drawback was (again) the villain. 6 Sonics



Jaime: Still reeling from the loss of Rose (both me & the Doctor), the humor in this episode is very welcome. Donna Noble proves to be just what the viewer and the Doctor need at this point. Her attitude and sarcasm are the saving grace of what otherwise was only an okay episode. This is due to the villains. I found both the robotic Santas and the Empress of Racnoss rather...cheesy, for lack of a better word. Given the option to travel with the Doctor, Donna declines but I think she is correct when she says he shouldn't travel alone. 6 Sonics



Allison: I'm with both the J's on this one when I say that Catherine Tate is amazing and the villains are dumb. The humor was very welcome, though, and I loved the chemistry between Tate and Tennant. This episode also did a good job of showing how dangerous the Doctor can be when he doesn't have a better angel traveling with him. Alas, Donna would not be that better angel (at least for now). The ending was quite poignant to that effect. 6 Sonics



Average Sonics:

 x 6





Episode 1: Smith and Jones





When the hospital where medical student Martha Jones works at is transported to the moon, only the Doctor can come to the rescue and face the might of the Judoon. (IMDB)



Justin: Super smart, adventurous, and love struck with a man that his mind on someone else = Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman--which sounds like the name of a Who character), the newest companion to the Doctor. This was an adventurous episode, and had me trying to figure out how the two met, met again and then met for the first time. 5 Sonics



Jaime: This is a good one. Lots of action, interesting aliens, hospital on the moon, the goofy humor of the 10th Doctor, and a new companion! The name John Smith is now becoming a familiar pseudonym of the Doctor, which will be common throughout Tennant's run. All around, a well put together episode.

7 Sonics



Allison: I loved the time-loopy aspects of this episode and the introduction of Martha. Freema Agyeman, as it turns out, played a minor character in Army of Ghosts. She was a Torchwood employee who ended up possessed by a Cyberman, but this show does like to recycle certain actors (cough) Capaldi (cough). The Judoon are an interesting race. They gave me a Douglas Adams/Vogon vibe. I was a tad disheartened to see Martha start in on the whole puppy love thing right off the bat. The show just didn't need that sort of pathos after the previous season, but it's forgivable, I guess. 6 Sonics




Average Sonics:






x 6







Episode 2: The Shakespeare Code






The Doctor takes Martha to 1599, to meet none other than William Shakespeare in the Globe Theatre...but can he stop the curse of the three witches? (IMDB)



Justin: When a Doctor has a new companion he ends up making his first trip in one or two directions. Since Rose went to the future (twice with two Doctors), it makes sense that Martha went to the past (it could have also been a budget issue). I like seeing companions experience their first travel through time. It's like taking your friend to a place you love but they haven't been. There were some funny moments, but alas a weak villain (or villains) for them to battle against. I'll rant about villains I do like when I get to them. 4 Sonics



Jaime: Another one that just barely missed making my top ten. I love everything about this episode. The Harry Potter references are abundant and actually pretty important to the plot. I also love that Martha inspires Shakespeare, and he adds a lot of laughs to this one. We start to see how much the Doctor misses Rose, and that Martha is obviously infatuated with him. I'm also a fan of witches, so I found the villains in this episode a good addition. Overall, one of my favorites. 10 Sonics



Allison: This one also narrowly missed my top ten. I loved everything about this episode, and as usual, I love when the Doctor goes into the past and starts fiddling around with established history. The production values were fantastic (according to David Tennant's extensive video diaries on YouTube, they actually shot this on location in the real Globe Theater, and in the town where Shakespeare lived), and all of the in-jokes about Shakespeare's writing and how both Martha and the Doctor influenced him were just very clever. I also loved the shades of Macbeth seen in the three witches, and the Harry Potter references were just icing on the cake. This one is on my "watch again and again" list. 10 Sonics




Average Sonics:






x 8







Episode 3: Gridlock 







The Doctor and Martha go back to New Earth were The Doctor will encounter the Face of Boe who will tell The Doctor "The Great Secret". (IMDB)



Justin: This was another episode I saw parts of before becoming a regular watcher. I--again--had no clue what was going on, and just as they were about to reveal what was at the bottom...I had to stop my lunch break. Luckily, it was a great episode. Wrapping up the future trilogy starting with episode two of season one. The Doctor is hysterical in it as he goes from car to car, and I apparently love cat people. This episode had a bunch of elements I enjoy in my Who viewing, and as long as you're paying attention the Face of Boe's comment "You are not alone." will--eventually--make sense. 10 Sonics



Jaime: An interesting premise. And overall I enjoyed the episode, but nothing about it jumps out at me. I liked the development of the relationship between Martha and the Doctor; hearing him talk about Gallifrey almost gives you goosebumps. And seeing the Face of Boe again was intriguing, especially with the message he gives the Doctor. But it kind of felt like filler to me. 6 Sonics



Allison: This is another one that narrowly missed my Top 10. Absolutely love the concept of a traffic jam that has been going on for decades, and the social order that takes place among these people who are trapped here and living out their lives but never moving more than a few feet. New Earth is also an everlasting fascination to me, and I am a fan of the Face of Boe and the cat people. 9 Sonics



Average Sonics:






x 8.3







Episode 4 & 5: Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks







The Doctor and Martha confront a host of surviving Daleks from the Canary Wharf battle. What are those creatures in the sewers? Who is Solomon? And why are the Cult Of Skaro attempting to create a Dalek/Human hybrid...? (IMDB)



Justin: A Dalek two-parter set in the 30s?!?? Pretty cool. Plus it stars a young Andrew Garfield (Social Network, Amazing Spider-Man) as a real tough chap ready to prove himself to his fellow depression era homeless. The really cool part is the hybrid. I think meshing things together can work--for the most part. The Grapple, Brundlefly, Reese's Cups. Sure he looked a bit silly, but he (like the Monster from Frankenstein...or even Bride) realized there was something beyond what he was made to do, and as in those movies, it was not taken well by the people around him. 5 Sonics



Jaime: The Doctor in 1930s New York City. Great setting. The Daleks are both my favorite and least favorite enemy of the Doctor. They are sometimes overplayed, like a popular song on the radio. Anyway, this is an exciting episode with a wonderful supporting cast. Martha is proving to be a great asset to the Doctor, she is quiet the clever girl. We see the Doctor trying to help the Daleks, which is a change from when the Ninth Doctor last saw them. I think the Doctor has softened a little, but his loneliness is becoming more evident. The pig slaves are a bit annoying, though. 6 Sonics



Allison: Let's start with what I liked: the setting. Depression-era is my thing. Also, I typically enjoy Daleks. I also enjoyed the Hooverville camp and the people who inhabited it. But then the pigs showed up. ARGH! NO MORE PIGS! There is nothing even remotely cool about humanoid swine. Can we please stop seeing them? Pretty please? Also the Dalek-human hybrid with the phallic-like appendages jutting from his head. Again, NO. As much as I liked certain aspects of this episode, they were completely drowned out by uber fromage. This pair of episodes symbolizes yet again everything I hate about the RTD era. 3 Sonics




Average Sonics:






x 4.6








Episode 6: The Lazarus Experiment







The famous Dr. Lazarus has appears to discover the secret of eternal youth - but do his experiments hide a sinister secret? (IMDB)



Justin: What I enjoyed; Martha's family. What I didn't: the rest. 2 Sonics



Jaime: An average episode. I like when the Doctor refers to experiences he had as a former incarnation of himself. Like always being slapped by the mother, Jackie Tyler and now Francine Jones. I liked the idea of this episode, and the name Saxon is heard again. Feels like we're building up to something big. Oh, and now Martha is officially the Doctor's companion. 5 Sonics



Allison: I'm pretty much in the same camp as my friends here. The family dynamic stuff was good. The rest of the plot was more or less forgettable with shallow villains and a monster for which I could not suspend enough disbelief to enjoy. 3 Sonics


Average Sonics






x 3.3







Episode 7: 42






On a spaceship headed straight for the center of the sun, The Doctor only has 42 minutes to save Martha and the rest of the ship's crew from an inevitable doom. (IMDB)



Justin: This is the second to last "seen before I started really watching" episodes, and I think it's wonderful. When the escape pod is launched out, and the Doctor screams (silently) the through space is when my lunch break was over. I figured the episode after that is when he ended up with a new companion. When I finally saw it (and finding out it had a different ending) I wasn't let down. Good stuff. 9 Sonics



Jaime: Very good episode. This one (almost) plays out in real time. It's well-written and very suspenseful. I liked the questions the crew had to answer to open the doors and there are some great lines by the Doctor in this episode. And when Martha is in the pod, well I think my heart was racing by that point. Something bigger is going on back on earth with Martha's family when we hear the name Saxon again. A bit of trivia: According to writer Russell T. Davies, the Doctor wears his blue suit in the future and his brown suit in the past. Not sure why but I find that very interesting. 7 Sonics



Allison: I have a thing for space crews being besieged by really creepy and silent killers. This one had kind of an Alien meets Sunshine (the Danny Boyle film) thing going on with it. Loved the idea of the sun being a sentient thing infecting people, and the supporting characters were all pretty great as well. 8 Sonics



Average Sonics:






x 8








Episode 8 & 9: Human Nature/Family of Blood






In 1913, Martha watches in jealousy from afar as The Doctor learns what it is to be human and to fall in love with the local school nurse, Joan Redfern. The Doctor must deal with the repercussions of his decision to become human, as the Family of Blood unveil themselves. (IMDB)



Justin: These were some sad episodes, because of all the emotions John Smith had to go through. They were also fun to watch Tennant play another character. Sometimes when you're going through a show on Netflix you might burnout a bit, or you go so fast you just need a break. This episode offered a break from the Doctor, and still let you watch the show. The Family are creepy, but what's really scary is how the Doctor jails them. 7 Sonics



Jaime: This is a fantastic pair of episodes. Seeing the Doctor really become John Smith is almost disturbing, he really is human. The episodes are rather sad in the aspect of John and Joan's relationship and the fact that falling in love never even occurred to the Doctor. I loved the journal John uses, again seeing bits and pieces of all incarnations of the Doctor. Both episodes are well-written and exciting, along with a little bit creepy. Martha again proves to be a great asset to the Doctor, sacrificing more and more for him the longer she is with him. Great cast, great acting, great lines. 9 Sonics



Allison: This probably stands as my second favorite two-parter of the show so far. There are heavy emotions involved in watching the Doctor become a human being, along with all the happiness and eventual heartbreak that it entails as he gains love and then loses it. Most difficult is when we watch him have to come to terms with who he really is (and all the loneliness waiting for him), and how hard he fights against it. We see the Doctor probably at his most vulnerable. Martha's feelings for him, unrequited, are particularly heartbreaking here. It's when we truly come to believe that she loves him and isn't just infatuated. I also really dug the villains (and the creepy scarecrows!) as well as the subplot with the young boy and the pocket watch and how it all comes together in the end. So much goodness here, and a true elevation of the show as a whole. 10 Sonics



Average Sonics:






x 8.7







Episode 10: Blink






"Don't Blink. Blink and you're dead. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't Blink. Good Luck." These cryptic messages left on 17 DVD's leave Sally Sparrow on a journey to assist the Doctor and Martha Jones, who are trapped in 1969. But Sally is in 2007, and they won't meet until 2008. Strange? Unusual? Not if you are the Doctor. (IMDB)



Justin: The Weeping Angels. There are some good villains. Simplistic, but driven. Beautiful, yet frightening. This episode is like a puzzle. As you progress it makes more and more sense. It also continues--when watched in order--a break from the Doctor. 10 Sonics



Jaime: "Don't blink. Blink and you're dead." Oh where do I start? If you've been following the blog, you know this is my favorite episode. And the Doctor is hardly even in it. There's so much to love here. Sally Sparrow is amazing. The Weeping Angels are terrifying. "The angels have the phone box." And the Easter egg on the DVDs? Brilliant. Some of the best lines ever are from this episode. "Big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff." Lots of time travel going on here, lots of action and suspense, plus the heart breaking meeting of Sally Sparrow and Billy Shipton. Again with the great lines! Billy: "It was raining when we met." Sally: "It's the same rain." Sigh. So much to love about this episode. 10 Sonics



Allison: Favorite episode. Bar none. Not only is this the most outstanding Doctor Who episode, but it's also just one of the best episodes of genre television, period. In fact, I would say if you are not a fan of Doctor Who, you should still watch this particular episode. It's completely standalone, and the Doctor is hardly in it at all. You don't have to know anything about previous Who lore to even get into it, and all of that is part of "Blink's" genius. The way Steven Moffat plays with time in this one, the function of the Weeping Angels being something of a "benevolent" killer, sending victims back in time and forcing them to "live to death" is so original. I bow down to the sort of imagination that could think up such a thing. Add in a superb Carey Mulligan, and I'd give this 20 Sonics if I could. 10 Sonics




Average Sonics:






x 10







Episode 11, 12, & 13: Utopia/The Sound of Drums/The Last of the Time Lords







Soon after bumping into old friend Jack Harkness, Martha and The Doctor head off to Malcassairo, a distant planet where an old professor will do anything he can to keep his people alive. The Doctor, Martha and Jack return to the 21st Century eighteen months after the Doctor and Martha left. They find they've missed the election, and the new Prime Minister, Harold Saxon, is someone they've met before by another name. It's been a year since The Master unleashed the mysterious Toclafane onto Earth. With the human race and The Doctor enslaved under The Master's control, Martha Jones is the only person that can help stop the evil Time Lord. (IMDB)



Justin: There are so many things going on in this three parter. It wraps up subplots from the season, and makes you keep wondering how the Doctor & friends will survive. I really liked Professor Yana, because I felt he was trying to help everyone. Things would have been fine if not for the Doctor and those meddling companions. Then you have the Master (John Simms) hiding as Harold Saxon (another plot point--like "Bad Wolf"--that kept popping up) who is the Moriarty to the Doctor's Sherlock. You have the return of Captain Jack and a goodbye to Martha. It's really quite an epic story. 8 Sonics



Jaime: Whoa. A lot to cover here. The first of the this three-parter is the best of the three. They went to the end of the universe! And I loved that the Doctor wasn't sure what to expect. Along with the return of Captain Jack, Utopia had a lot to offer. Then we have the Master, played brilliantly by John Simm. Finally, the importance of the name Saxon. We see the Doctor grow old. And once again, Martha proves her worth. In the end, it's too much for her and she chooses to leave the Doctor. I would have liked to see her hang around for another season or two. But on to the next. Oh and the reveal about the Face of Boe? Loved that little twist. Wait, is that the Titanic? 8 Sonics



Allison: A three-part episode is just this side of self-indulgent for any show, but despite the bit of bloat and fatigue I was feeling by the end, I enjoyed myself. Like Jaime, I think Utopia is the best of the three, where we see Harkness return, and I liked the way it all came together with Professor Yana in the end. When The Master was finally revealed and Saxon came to power, the show took on a whole different energy. I absolutely loved John Simm's performance, as it added an over the top Bond villain flair I'd never quite seen on Doctor Who before. I did feel like the whole resolution involving Martha's arduous trek around the world to spread the word of the Doctor to be a tad over-wrought with religiosity, though, and the ending just smacked of the sort of ham-fisted schmaltz that, again, hearkens to the RTD way of doing things that I've never quite loved. Martha's departure was bittersweet. I was sad to see her go, but happy that her character made the decision she did. Don't be wasting time loving someone who won't or can't love you back. 7 Sonics.




Average Sonics:






x 7.7







Episodes Ranked Best to Worst

1. Blink
2. Human Nature/Family of Blood
3. Gridlock
4. The Shakespeare Code
5. 42
6. Utopia/The Sound of Drums/The Last of the Time Lords
7. The Runaway Bride
8. Smith and Jones
9. Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks
10. The Lazarus Experiment


Overall Sonic Average for the Season









x 7.1







And there we have it! One more series down! Although there were a couple blah episodes, and we diverged in opinion on a couple, I think series 3 hit some really superlative notes that brought the overall average into the far more acceptable 7 range. Next week, we are graced by the wonderful Donna Noble, who remains my favorite companion of the whole lot. But it also means we have to say goodbye to Ten. Sigh. Luckily there are a lot of great episodes to discuss in series 4, and I'm very excited to get to them!



Until then, don't forget to sound off in the comments and let us know your favorite (or least favorite) episodes!









-- Jaime, Justin, and Allison

Got Any Questions About STRINGS?

Very soon on Creative Commoners, the podcast I co-host, we will be having a STRINGS "spoilercast," where we dish about everything in the book, and as the name suggests, we're not going to be protecting the uninitiated. Think of this as a book club type discussion, where we hash it all out.



In that vein, I want to ask you the readers if you had any questions about the book, the characters, or anything else about the story that intrigued you as you were reading. I'll be collecting questions over the next few weeks and will answer them on the air.




Just leave your questions in the comments down below! And if you haven't read the book yet, pick up a copy for your Kindle while it's still only a buck. You should have plenty of time to do some reading before the show airs.




And thank you again for reading!