Tansy Rayner Roberts's Blog, page 109

For Raeli: Van Gogh’s Starry Night in Dominoes

My daughter adored this vid, so I thought I’d better archive it on my blog so she can rewatch multiple (more) times. She loves Van Gogh’s work so much, and studies it about as intently as any seven year old possibly could – recreating his better known paintings in chalk and biro. Not sure if she’d quite go this far though…

Watching New Who: Utopia / The Sound of Drums / Last of the Timelords

“Utopia / The Sound of Drums / Last of the Timelords”

The Doctor – David Tennant

Martha Jones – Freema Agyeman

Captain Jack Harkness – John Barrowman

Professor Yana – Derek Jacobi

The Master – John Simm

TEHANI:

So, this feels like a bit of a cheat really, but the finale of season three is actually three linked episodes, so that’s how we’ll review them!

First up, JACK IS BACK! Woo! I had forgotten that he and the Doctor actually have a conversation about why the Doctor deserted Jack after he was killed and made immortal. In fact, there’s a lot I’d forgotten about the conversations in “Utopia” – there’s actually some quite revealing things said, which are important to both hindsight and for setting up what’s ahead, which was pretty cool second time around.

TANSY

I am watching this live with Tehani in my living room! Sorry, David. Obviously you need to come visit us too.

DAVID:

Haha maybe next time we need to skype or something.

TANSY:

That would be great fun, though only one step away from podcasting…

My honey is lecturing us on how far away the heat death of the universe will be, and suggesting that the Doctor has got his sums wrong. Surely not!

TEHANI:

Doctor Who science implausible? NEVER!

DAVID:

Yes, another humanity in billions/trillions of years…

TANSY:

It’s vaguely reassuring to know that even trillions of years in the future, actors from the Bill will be showing up in the human gene pool.

I remember the first time I saw this, I was so ready to see Jack return and his confrontation with the Doctor who so coldly abandoned him two years ago, especially after the angsty season one of Torchwood and the dizzying joy of that end of season cliffhanger.

Possibly a good point to ask: have either of you seen Torchwood season one? I think this episode will be experienced differently if you have or not. I do think the fact that Martha is new to Jack allows it to work effectively each way.

TEHANI:

I hadn’t seen it first time around, but have since glommed all the Torchwood! And I definitely agree, it adds a dimension it didn’t have before.

DAVID:

I haven’t yet, however this three-parter has made me curious enough that I will have to go and watch it now.

TEHANI:

You need to watch it David, you MUST!

TANSY:

If you want to avoid spoilers, you’re going to want to get through the first two seasons of Torchwood before you watch the next Doctor Who season finale…

Having Jack back is so revealing of the Tennant Doctor. You can see that there are many layers of tension there. Jack has waited more than a hundred years for this meeting, and the Doctor is kind of bitchy to him. Mean!

As you can tell this story is mostly about the main characters for me, and their banter. I’m not really attached to the other future humans. I do love the scene where they have to show their teeth to get into the camp, though – an unexpected moment of funny in between all the angst and anger.

TEHANI

Jack’s incorrigible, habitual flirting and the Doctor’s response to it is another funny bit for me. It’s quite cute actually!

DAVID:

I was actually expecting to hate the whole reunion thing, but I thought the chemistry was really good. Part of that was that, as we have talked about many times before, I much prefer the three person dynamic, but we had that before. It also throws into sharp relief the differences between Ten and Nine. He is much more … centred, if I can use that term, or at least definitely more adjusted than Nine who was incredibly damaged. Ten is much better at keeping Jack on a leash!

I did think the Doctor was being a bit nasty, and that is was a jealousy thing, but the idea of Jack being something against nature, something that offends Time itself and therefore the Doctor, neatly explains that. It’s a very clever little conversation they have about it actually, with its extra meaning!

TANSY:

I would have happily had a whole season of Ten, Martha and Jack. Jack adds a dimension to the team which lightens Martha’s jealousy, and offers a sense of humour about it all instead of Angsty McAngstPants. Also, he out angsts her by several centuries so, perspective! Plus the three of them work really well together. I love that Martha connects so easily to Jack on a friendship level, enjoying the flirting without being especially attracted to him (probably good for him, that)

The reveal of the hand in the jar is one of my favourite scenes in this! And oh, the look on Jack’s face when he has to admit that he’s had it all along, countered with Martha’s disgust and outrage. Do you get the feeling that Jack has been reading all the Jack/hand slash on Torchwood fansites?

TEHANI:

One of the lovely things about these episodes is the way things tie back and draw together. Not just Jack, but little flashbacks and throwaways about past events of New Who. Nicely done I thought.

DAVID:

And the references to Rose, which Martha loved!

TANSY:

Bleh, I hate the way they always edit in one of those ‘oh the blonde’ moments in practically every episode. So overdone. The idea that there has to be a rivalry between Martha and Rose really bugs me. Still. Always.

I do like that they remind the audience of Jack’s love for Rose, and how he’s been quietly mourning her all this time – I really liked the odd relationship they had, where they were attracted and flirty, but both basically slightly more into the Doctor than they were to each other, and NO JEALOUSY because obviously he was pretending to ignore them both. Man, I could have watched three seasons of Nine/Rose/Jack.

“I just have one question: can anyone else hear that mad drumbeat in the back of my skull?”

TEHANI:

I have a feeling that there’s a lot in this triplet that you two, as fans of Classic Who, will see that I won’t. I don’t know about the Master and his relationship with the Doctor, so I imagine there’s nuance and history that will affect your viewing.

One particular point for me was the drums – is this something from Classic Who? It seems like a really important part of who the Master is.

TANSY:

You’d think, wouldn’t you? And yet this was the first we heard of the Master’s incessant inner drum beat, and his deep and abiding obsession with Rogue Traders. It works brilliantly, but it’s one of those things where it doesn’t quite make sense if you look at it, and the classic series, too closely.

I want someone to make a fanvid of Roger Delgado and Anthony Ainley rocking out to Voodoo Child though. What am I saying, that MUST already exist. Right?

TEHANI:

The character of the Master was fabulous. I really liked Professor Yana (even second time around, when I knew what he was!) but the Master was like, well, I guess he’s like the Doctor on crack! He’s quirky, he’s insane, and brilliantly charismatic. A great counterpoint to the Doctor!

TANSY:

Casting Derek Jacobi was a great accomplishment – I’m only sad we didn’t get him for longer, especially when he became the really evil Master. The slow reveal of Professor Yana is a great aspect to this story, and it does make me wish I hadn’t been spoiled ahead of time as to who he was really.

TEHANI:

So I had no idea Derek Jacobi has actually done some Doctor Who tie in stuff until I looked him up – he’s already BEEN the Master, among other things! So cool.

TANSY:

Tying the Professor Yana reveal into the watch from “Human Nature” was so clever, a very nice touch which allows Martha and the audience to realise the connection in the same moment … assuming the audience have been paying attention!

But there are so many other clever bits in this script – the way that Yana and the Doctor connect as fellow genius scientists, bouncing and riffing off each other’s brains. The Jack banter. The respectful relationship Yana has with Chantho which mirrors the Doctor and his many companions (and comes to a horrible counterpoint later).

DAVID:

Yes! It’s like the Earth 2 versions of the Justice League!

I loved Professor Yana, brilliant performance. I was actually really upset when I realised that he was a bad guy, because I completely bought him as a noble scientist, doing his best to save the world, and I thought that his relationship with Chantho was beautiful (and how cute was her speech pattern?). That’s a mark of a great actor, that I sympathised with him completely and was so invested in him – and then he is the Master and I was devastated! And, didn’t he even say, “I am so sorry,” another echo of the Doctor?

TANSY:

The best Master stories were always the ones that showed how he and the Doctor were so similar underneath it all – a few key points of difference but ultimately they understood each other better than anyone else in the universe. You see it particularly in the Delgado/Pertwee pairing of course, but also between the Fourth Doctor and Ainley’s Master in Logopolis. Less so in the Davison years and beyond – I loved Anthony Ainley but I do wonder how beautifully Peter Davison might have riffed off a younger, more dynamic Master who was a better reflection of his own Doctor.

So yes it’s very clever that Yana and the Doctor are so similar and connect so beautifully – because it sums up the tragedy of their friendship, and sets everything up for Tennant/Simm fireworks.

DAVID:

When I realised that it was the Master I was incredibly excited. I knew he would have to make an appearance at some point in New Who. We’ve seen the Daleks and the Cybermen, after all. It is funny that you mention Roger Delgado, Tansy, because for me Anthony Ainley’s version is my definitive Master. “Your” Doctor is Three, right? It shows how where we started watching as children impacts us, I guess.

TANSY:

My Doctor is a complicated matter – I started watching during the Great Repeats Years so didn’t really distinguish between Pertwee, Tom Baker or Davison as having precedence over each other, chronologically or otherwise. Ainley was my first Master too, and I adore him. But Pertwee is very much “my” classic Doctor now, as an adult, and I have come to appreciate Delgado’s Master quite deeply as an adult.

Having said that, it’s hard to go past The Keeper of Traken, Logopolis and Castrovalva as the ultimate Master-Doctor battle, especially when you consider that the Master gets to win TWICE out of three stories, and he’s never scarier than in those stories. And I like very much that the Ainley Master in Survival is almost a reboot of the character, and that the older, more damaged version is such a good match for the Seventh Doctor with his machinations.

DAVID:

“The Great Repeats Years” is perfect. I love it! All that recycled BBC programming shaped my childhood in a very powerful way. And, I agree completely, that arc of stories is hard to beat in terms of the Doctor/Master conflict and still stands out with crystal clear clarity in my mind as some of my favourite Doctor Who. I was absolutely crushed when Four fell from the tower, and it still has a deep emotional resonance for me, almost three decades later!

Back to these episodes, sorry – I was a little disappointed that they regenerated him, I would have loved to have seen more of Derek Jacobi’s Master. I’m afraid that the my first thought with John Simm’s version was, “He is trying to out Tennant Tennant.” He didn’t really grab me at all.

TEHANI:

Whereas while I did really like Jacobi, Simm’s performance was for me quite riveting, and I thought he really brought the idea of the Master to New Who level.

TANSY:

*Clings defensively to Simm’s Master.* I will defend to the death your right to be wrong, David, but you are SO VERY WRONG. More on this later.

I really enjoyed the many ways of killing off Jack in this story. Yes, I’m STILL talking about “Utopia”. It’s done marvellously, the use of the deaths, the plot relevance of the deaths, and especially the scene where the Doctor and Jack finally get to talk. The Doctor can only open up to him emotionally when they’re separated by a glass door and Jack is about to be killed off again. And oh, he’s so harsh! The two actors have an amazing chemistry and it really shows in this scene – they go from intense to good-humoured and back again so many times.

Like, you’re breaking my heart, but you still make me laugh because we have so many shared jokes … sniffle.

Something I spotted this time that I didn’t on my previous watches is that Martha actually mentions The Face of Boe and his dying words in front of Jack! Which means that there is a reason for his apparently casual mention of his old nickname at the end of the story.

TEHANI:

I definitely didn’t notice that before! There are advantages to multiple rewatchings But it kind of ruins the way that final bit works for me!

DAVID:

Jack’s immortality is handled very well, the fact that throughout the three parter they use it as another tool is very clever. Having someone who can’t die is actually quite handy, and the Doctor is clever enough to see the possibilities.

TANSY:

And now we’re properly on to “The Sound of Drums”, which is quite dramatically different, introducing John Simm not only as the Master, but Harold Saxon. I love the whole idea of the Master setting himself up as Prime Minister of Great Britain – it’s the sort of thing I can totally see Roger Delgado doing in the old days. It’s not just Earth, the Doctor’s favourite planet, he’s stolen GREAT BRITAIN, the bit of it he visits most often!

And oh, John Simm. I loved the brief glimpse of Derek Jacobi’s old school sinister Master, but John Simm’s batshit crazy rockstar Master is extraordinary. Unforgettable.

The long scene where they talk on the phone after so long is quite electric. Even more than the Jack reunion in the previous episode – again the emotions are kept at arm’s length, the two scenes reflect each other quite well.

I actually really like the music arrangement in these episodes, too – the little stings of Torchwood theme, the Gallifreyan theme, and of course the drumbeat and the amazing use of HERE COME THE DRUMS as the final reveal of the episode – reminds me of the fantastic use of contemporary music in the End of the World, and how it felt to hear that for the first time – oh, THIS is what Doctor Who is now…

DAVID:

I am afraid we might have to agree to disagree here! There were some brilliant flashes here and there, where we see how much of a psychopath the Master really is, and the contrast of his manic personality makes it quite chilling at times. But, you can go to far with it and there were a few times where it was just annoying.

You can really pick the era these episodes come from, can’t you? Not much love for American Presidents. lol

I think the music suffered from the same problem as the Master. At times, it captured the mood perfectly, and I put Voodoo Child in that category, but at others it was far too dominating. It’s more the instrumental parts that I am talking about here. Some of it is beautiful, but it should complement what is happening on screen, not overpower it (but I am talking more about the last episode here, anyway so I will stop).

TANSY:

I suspect we will agree more once we get to the last episode…

TEHANI:

It’s very sweet that Jack still has his TARDIS key. The little touches in this episode are well done indeed.

TANSY:

I love the Valiant. The whole concept of the terrestrial flying saucer, or whatever it technically is. It reminds me of the UNIT years of Doctor Who in the early ’70s when contemporary Earth was presented as slightly more futuristic as the real thing – touches like Britain having a space program, or the Prime Minister being female. I also appreciated that the Master lightly dropping the detail that he was involved with the design of it (thus has been “helping” Earth science along).

Oh and can I just mention, the bit at the end where the Master suggests decimating the humans and then literally kills off one tenth of the population made me happy. Because as a Roman scholar it bugs me how often people misuse the term. The Master may be the villainously villain of them all, pure evil, but at least he knows his Latin.

DAVID:

It made me think of the Avengers (the 2012 movie), for obvious reasons, but you are absolutely right. I loved the UNIT stories of Classic Who, and the way that the Doctor and the Master using their alien technology had an impact on what was happening was often a major component of those stories.

“My coat is so hot for your coat right now.”

TANSY:

Ha, my brain totally went to the other Avengers movie (Rafe Fiennes and Uma Thurman doing horrible things to my beloved Steed and Peel, let us never speak of it again) and I was all ‘but that wasn’t 2012!’ Goes to show I’ll always be a Diana Rigg fan ahead of being a comics fan, though I love both kinds of Avengers now. Yes, ‘Helicarrier’ is the perfect term for the Valiant.

DAVID:

It also reminds me of the museum in “Dalek”. The idea that all the alien activity on Earth over the years would cause a degree of technological pollution is a compelling one.

TANSY:

In that case you really really need to watch Torchwood, which is all about that stuff! (and possibly the Sarah Jane Adventures).

Next episode, “Last of the Time Lords”! Martha has been walking for a year, and the Master and Lucy have been singing and dancing along to karaoke for the same length of time. No wonder she looks tired.

I was really excited when I first saw the beginning of this episode – the idea that the world had actually changed because of the Master, and maybe we’d be dealing with the consequences for a while. But of course … reset button at the end. Aargh! People need to not be allowed to rewrite time in stories. If you go around undoing things then there is NO DRAMA!

This last episode is so flawed. It has moments of awesome but, oh, I hate the old Doctor part.

TEHANI:

Kind of the equivalent of the literary device, “It was all a dream…” And yes, LOATHE the “old” Doctor.

DAVID:

The turning back time is what ruined the original Superman movie for me. You’re right, it should be banned, and any writer using it forced to do hard labour.

And the old Doctor was a bit much for me, too. I couldn’t stop thinking of Dobby and waiting for the Master to carelessly give him an item of clothing, accidentally freeing him!

TANSY:

You know fandom generally refers to this bit as the “Dobby Doctor?”

DAVID:

Haha I do now! And fair enough, too!

TEHANI:

The reveal of what, who, the Toclafane really are is one of the high points of the final episode. Creepy, but clever and well done.

DAVID:

You know, I really expected them to find a Dalek when they pried open the spheres? They got me there.

TEHANI:

The ending. Hmm. I dunno, second time around I’m even less sold on the resolution than I was first time. I loved that Martha is the one who saves the day (I love Martha, and she is brilliant in this episode) but the whole psychic network thing restoring the Doctor… Hmm. I’ve seen no evidence in any prior episode that this sort of thing is part of the Doctor Who universe, so it’s very convenient, very “wibbly wobbly”, for me!

Sadly, sitting watching this with Tansy and Finchy, we’ve actually picked a bunch of plot holes in this final episode – there’s way more flaws than I thought, which is really disappointing given that the first two of the three joined episodes were really effective. There are flashes of brilliance, but so many issues too…

As an interesting aside, the iTunes version of this episode seems to be missing several very short little scenes that aren’t necessarily crucial, but certainly do add layers to the story! Poor form iTunes, poor form!

And then the Doctor is deserted – Jack chooses the Torchwood team (and YAY for that clever little conclusion to the Face of Boe arc, which Tansy and I are disagreeing on!), and Martha leaves. On her own terms, and clearly not without regret, but she’s strong and awesome and leaves, letting the Doctor know all the reasons why. Despite what they’ve been through together, despite how she feels, Martha chooses her family, chooses a regular life, chooses Earth. I LOVE MARTHA! (side note: my six year old watching this with me said, “I’d just stay with the Doctor.” Oh dear!)

DAVID:

The ending was a bit disappointing. I thought the idea of Martha going away and coming back to save the day had a lot of potential and should have been made more of.

There is no doubt that Russell T Davies is brilliant, and every Doctor Who fan owes him an incredible debt of gratitude. But this three parter shows a lot of his flaws as a writer that I can see looking back over earlier episodes. There is a degree of silliness that sometimes gets out of control, one of the reasons I loathed the Slitheen. And, when he tries to evoke emotions he often goes over the top. If you look at episodes like “Father’s Day” or “The Girl in the Fireplace” they are intensely emotional and powerful episodes, but that emotion is done in a much more subtle way. I can see what Mr Davies is trying to do with the climactic scene where it is the world’s belief that empowers the Doctor, but it is pretty heavy handed.

I was a little disappointed with the idea that Jack is the Face of Boe, especially when you think about the millions of years of degeneration he would have gone through to get to that point, but the goodbyes are examples of how emotional moments can be done right. Rose’s goodbye was sadder, though, at least Martha got to go out on her terms, but that is a little weakened by her so obviously leaving a door open. But, we can see the Doctor has matured a bit since his last goodbye, is no longer as damaged, and handles it far better. They both recognise that it is the right thing for both of them.

I think we also see a “new” Jack who has, without losing all his charm, become a more responsible character with a new sense of duty, and I am much more inclined to watch Torchwood after this episode.

TANSY:

I like that Martha gets to go without it being overwhelmingly sad – I like the new focus on characterisation and satisfying narrative arcs for the companions in New Who, but I am a Classic Who girl at heart and I really dislike the idea that it must be utterly tragic every time a companion parts company with the Doctor. I’d like to see more companions who outgrow him, or find new passions, or simply decide it’s time to stop having TARDIS adventures because there are many other kinds of adventures in the universe.

Martha had such a tough gig, being the companion straight after the adored fan favourite Rose – I don’t know if either of you, coming retrospectively to the show, have any idea how HUGE Rose was to New Who fans back in 2005-6. I think on the whole it would have been nice if they had done a lot less meta discussion of how Martha measured up to Rose in the narrative of the show, and just got on with letting her be awesome.

DAVID:

Speaking of parting ways, as we discussed at the time I was very disappointed how they almost seemed to retcon this idea of leaving the Doctor as a complete tragedy that brings your life to halt into Sarah Jane’s backstory. To me, Sarah Jane went on to be a fearless reporter (the Lois Lane of Who?) with a fulfilling life of her own, and her time with the Doctor broadened her horizons, not limited them. I don’t care what the writers of “School Reunion” think, what would they know?

Perhaps it is the luxury of distance from when the series first relaunched, but I much preferred Martha as a companion to Rose. There were times when I found the dynamic between Nine and Rose almost creepy (part of that was his damaged nature, of course) and I liked the fact that, as much as any human could, Martha was much more capable of holding her own with the Doctor. Rose grew on me though, I will admit.

TEHANI:

I definitely preferred Martha too. Even though they wrote her in love with the Doctor, like Rose, she just was more mature and sensible and interesting!

TANSY:

Freema and Martha (and to some extent the performance of John Simm as the Master) are the saving graces for me of this final, utterly flawed episodes, but they don’t make up for my disappointment at such a dud conclusion to a fabulous storyline. Sadly, this won’t be the last time that RTD falls to bits at the finishing line.

Poor old Jack! I’d love to hear what you think of him as a character in Torchwood, David. I think they are able to convey a much greater sense of the historical weight to his story – and I find it fascinating how making Jack the lead character in a show subtly changes him, as compared to Doctor Who where he is always the sidekick.

DAVID:

I’d think it would take out some of the competitiveness, if nothing else. Okay, I’m sold on Torchwood!

TEHANI:

Oh dear, how we will keep up with the DW reviews if you’re inhaling Torchwood too! *shoos David away* Go on then, get watching!

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Watching New Who – in conversation with David McDonald, Tansy Rayner Roberts and Tehani Wessely

David is coming to New Who for the first time, having loved Classic Who as a kid. Tehani is a recent convert, and ploughed through Seasons 1 to 6 (so far) in just a few weeks after becoming addicted thanks to Matt Smith – she’s rewatching to keep up with David! Tansy is the expert in the team, with a history in Doctor Who fandom that goes WAY back, and a passion for Doctor Who that inspires us all (plus a seven-year-old daughter who is finding her own Doctors for the first time). We’re going to work our way through New Who, using season openers and closers, and Hugo shortlisted episodes, as our blogging points. Just for fun! We have already talked about:



“Rose”, S01E01

“Dalek”, S01E06

“Father’s Day, S01E08

“The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances”, S01E09/10

“Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways”, S01E12/13

Season One Report Card – David, Tansy, Tehani

“The Christmas Invasion,” 2005 Christmas special

“New Earth”, S02E01

“School Reunion,” S02E03

“The Girl in the Fireplace”, S02E04

“Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel”, S02E05/06

Army of Ghosts/Doomsday, S02E12/13

Season Two Report Cards: David, Tehani, Tansy

“The Runaway Bride”, 2006 Christmas Special

“Smith and Jones”, S03E01

The Shakespeare Code & Gridlock, S0302-03

Human Nature/The Family of Blood S0308-09

Blink S0310

Victoriana (with occasional Magic)

I’ve been in a complete Victoriana/Edwardiana mood lately, funnily enough considering my current project. So a lot of the culture I’ve been consuming has been along these lines.

I watched Season 2 of the 1970′s Upstairs Downstairs quite by accident – I had ordered Season 2 of the 2012 version on Fishpond and due to an error, received the old show instead. And it had PAULINE COLLINS AND JOHN ALDERTON on the cover, so who could reject such a beautiful thing? I realised when watching it that while I remembered elements of this season, it was pretty much the only one I hadn’t revisited over the years – I had watched most of Season 1 on VHS, and read novelisations covering both the early and later periods of the show, but had missed out on this one, which is COMPLETELY BRILLIANT.

It also carries on directly from the audiobook of season one’s novelisation, which I’d listened to recently, so was perfect. It’s still very much the original cast, before many of the actors were “sent to America” or killed off on the Titanic, but the stories are more complex and interesting than in the first season. We get Elizabeth’s failed bohemian marriage, the fallout from James’ affair with Sarah the former parlourmaid and her pregnancy, and a whole bunch of bankrupcy, bohemian parties and blackmail. The most fun addition to the regular cast is Thomas the footman/chauffeur (John Alderton), an ambitious and slightly sinister Welshman who displays criminal leanings, but isn’t very GOOD at being bad. Ultimately he is drawn to Sarah, the other “wicked” egg in the household, and the two of them fall into a relationship that’s half romantic, half partners in crime, and just a bit uncomfortable… (they leave the household together at the end of the season, never to return, and later got their own spin off series)

By far the most powerful and interesting (to me) episode of the series was “A Special Mischief” by Anthony Skene, which revolves around Lady Elizabeth’s flirtation with the suffragette movement. What starts out as a bit of a comic episode turns deadly vicious when maid Rose’s attempts to stop Elizabeth from getting into trouble lead to them both being arrested – and while Elizabeth is let off with a mild fine due to her aristocratic status (and the good word of the gentleman they attacked who has his eye on her) – Rose is sent to do hard time. Jean Marsh is extraordinary in this episode, as we see her innocent maid character put through the wringer, surrounded by women far more experienced at this than she is, and having to first starve herself along with the others in the hope of earning an early release… and then to be force fed by tube.

Elizabeth discovers what is going on in the prison and is horrified, searching desperately for a male ally to help her address the injustice, and eventually they get the women released, but it’s very clear that Rose, for all her loyalty, will never quite forget what she had to endure because of her mistress. The class divide is beautifully expressed in a final scene in which all Rose can do to express what she has been through is to ask for a cup of tea…

Next I read The Truth About Verity Sparks by Susan Green, a fun middle grade (maybe leaning towards YA) romp about a girl detective in Victorian London. For a minute I wondered if the author had watched the same season of Upstairs Downstairs as me, as she had the same subplot about a hat shop where the upper crust ladies refuse to pay their bills, but I guess this might be a common thing with hat shops?

In any case, the main story is about Verity’s mysterious ability to “find things” and how she is taken in by an eccentric family/investigation agency which leads her not only to solve a bunch of interesting mysteries, but also to discover her own true history and identity.

This was a fun, compelling story and while it was a fairly clean and tidy version of Victorian London, as might be expected considering the audience, I was glad to see that issue to do with class inequality and some of the other injustices of the era were addressed in the story. Also, Australian author, hooray!

Finally, I bought the first season of the ongoing Jago and Litefoot audio series from Big Finish – I had been meaning to for ages, and the recent super sale gave me the incentive I needed.

Jago and Litefoot are two supporting characters from a classic Doctor Who story, The Talons of Weng Chiang, generally regarded as one of the best of the 1970′s era stories, and also one of the more racially problematic ones to rewatch because of the fact that the Chinese characters in the story, especially the lead villain, are played by white actors in heavy makeup. Henry Gordon Jago, the bluff and hearty “theatrical impresario” who owned the theatre from which all manner of dastardly shenanigans took place in the story (set in a particularly Sherlock-Holmes-and-Jack-the-Ripper-peasouper-fog version of Victorian London) and Professor Litefoot, a gentle and chivalrous upper class pathologist who occasionally helps out the police, have been mythologised in Doctor Who fandom as the greatest of writer Robert Holmes’ legendary “double acts” despite the fact that the two characters only meet in the last third of the story. The entertaining performances by Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter were so good that a spin off series was even suggested at the time, though it came to nothing.

Thirty years later… Big Finish brought the two characters back together in Companion Chronicle one-act-play “The Mahogany Murderers” which was by far the fastest selling story in that range, and led to the creation of a fullblown series.

I thoroughly enjoyed the four stories in this first season, which feature the regular banter and deep friendship of the two men from opposite sides of society, solving crimes and downing pints in Merry Old London. Joining them is Ellie, a spirited barmaid (played by Lisa Bowerman, also the director of the plays) who is regularly pulled into their adventures. The first season involves werewolves, vampires, ghosts and spirit mediums, and mysterious illnesses… and while this is still obviously part of the Doctor Who universe, with a mostly scientific explanation behind many of the apparently magical happenings, there is less of a requirement to rationalise everything, with all the characters thoughly grounded in the Victorian mindset, in which there might well be real monsters who go bump in the night.

While not especially revolutionary from a gender point of view, this is a great series that revels in its source material, telling complex and interesting tales about characters that are steeped in Victoriana. As noted in the behind the scenes interviews, it’s rather lovely to have stories about men that aren’t about the usual macho ridiculousness, but instead about friendship, cleverness and comic banter. I am keen to listen to the next season now – they’re up to four already, with more to come, and I am very excited that Louise Jamieson will be joining the regular cast later on.

Elsewhere on the Internet: interviews, reviews & pinteresting

Quite a lot of these, because I kept forgetting to blog all the me-centric links – first the recent ones:

Rowena Cory Daniells interviews the Galactic Suburbia team, including our silent producer.

A lovely review of Love and Romanpunk at Goodreads that made me smile.

And a few older ones:

The Australian Spec Fic Snapshot roundup of links – amazing work we managed this year, thanks largely to a much bigger pool of volunteers, who donated massive amounts of time and energy to pull it off. Hooray, especially to Tehani & Kathryn for organisation.

I reviewed Cracklescape by Margo Lanagan over at Last Short Story.

For those who missed it, Kirstyn McDermott of the Writer and the Critic produced this brilliant Twelve Planets podcast at Embiggen Books during the Continuum 8 convention weekend.

Far more likely to have been missed is this article on gender & genre in Australian publishing – a bunch of us female writers & editors in the Australian spec fic scene contributed to the article, which then appeared right when most of us were at the convention and thus forgot to link to it or plug it to our readers.

Meanwhile, on Pinterest, I’ve been curating up a storm, and am particularly proud of these recent boards:

Witches

Rogues Gallery (Villains Galore)

Labyrinth

Houndstooth

Because Blake’s 7

and many more…

Clarion Write-a-thon Week 1 – the first 5000

Fountain of Love, or Fountain of Hate? Yes this is relevant to my novel.

Miraculously, I wrote exactly 5000 words of fiction this week. Well, not exactly miraculously, of course. It did require hard work and effort, and there were no magic wands involved.

But this, the first week of the Clarion Write-a-thon was going to be the hard one, because it overlapped with one of my two fortnights a year of actual paid-outside-the-house work (exam supervisions at the university). And that was before I had to juggle my whole work, already bursting at the seams with childminding favours, to incorporate an allnighter in Emergency with my Dad (who is now fine) and several days of dealing with the practical fallout of that.

So, yes. I wrote 5000 words because I’m bloody good, really. (I am often asked how I get my writing done while managing a family and I NEVER say it’s because I’m bloody good – maybe I should)

The supervisions I’ve been doing for most of this fortnight involve either scribing (where I physically write the exam for a dictating student) or managing small rooms of between 3-8 students either on computers or in smaller rooms because of special needs. Apart from the scribing exams where I’m busy the whole time, most of my work involves a lot of set up at the beginning, lots of stuff at the end, and several long hours in between where I need to be present and alert, but can read a book or check my email as long as I look up regularly. For most of this fortnight I have used the time to get through some of my To Read list, and still working on my read-three-for-every-book-I-buy system, I have almost managed to catch up from my many Continuum book purchases.

But this week it occurred to me that really, given that the Clarion Write-a-thon had started, and I had promised myself 30,000 words in 6 weeks, I should be writing. It occurred to me after I had already covered the only spare sheet of paper at the desk in tiny writing, on both sides. The next day, I bought a notebook.

I haven’t done that in years. I spend most of my creative time at home, with my laptop, and never draft anything long hand except occasional story notes. But I had been reading Stan Lee’s How To Write Comics and there are like two pages devoted to the importance of carrying a notebook (something I did obsessively in my teens, there are several huge plastic tubs of notebooks full of precious teenage words somewhere in my house, there’s a reason my daughters can’t use their wardrobes) and it made me feel all nostalgic.

Due to family complications and said Emergency visit, I missed one exam shift on Tuesday, but managed to get to work on Wednesday afternoon. And when I wasn’t dealing with the students, I wrote. A couple of pages of a children’s book I’ve been trying to get to for ages, but keep making false starts on. And then several scenes of my YA steampunk fairies and robots novel. That night, I went home and typed up some of those pages. Once I hit the day’s wordcount (1000ish) I stopped. I typed more the next day, and the next. Changing some of the words, but mostly just entering the text I’d already written.

I did the last typing on Friday, ran out of words in the notebook, and realised that between the original 2 pages I had scrawled in Monday’s exam, and the notebook pages from Wednesday afternoon, I had written exactly 5000 words. That to me is a stonking great sign that THE WORK METHOD, IT CURRENTLY FUNCTIONS.

No more exams for me (well one more but it’s a scribing one so no writing time for me) but I rather think that for this particular 6 week writing stretch, I might have to be utilising the notebook-to-laptop technique more extensively. New toy, people! New toy!

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Check out my Clarion Write-a-Thon page, and please consider sponsoring me for my 6 weeks of writing – or find someone else participating in the Write-a-Thon and sponsor them instead! All money goes towards funding Clarion, an amazing writing workshop. I’m pretty sure I’ll never be able to leave my life for 6 weeks to do nothing but WRITE (until maybe my kids have left home) but participating in the Write-a-Thon is my way of joining the fun (and harnessing all that creative power, yeehah!).

Friday Links Adds Frosting and Coconut

The awesome Terri started chronicling her crazy cupcake adventure from Continuum – she’s promised us a blog series about each Twelfth Planet Press book themed cupcake she made for the event, and starts here with Jason Nahrung’s creepy beach gothic novella Salvage, blue frosting and coconut.

Grant Watson aka the Angriest follows up on our Continuum panel “Where are all the wonder women?” by discussing Wonder Woman’s pants, and how it’s not actually the wardrobe that’s the problem.

A new Shortpacked comic addressing gender/feminist issues! This one is a mild but entertaining dig at the mansplainers of the world.

N.K. Jemisin takes on a topic dear to my heart, the over-regulation of magic in fantasy fiction. Considering how often things go wrong with technology and recipes in the real world, what makes people think that magic would always produce predictable results? (the answer of course is that like with creative writing, the methods that are easier to teach/communicate become prioritised over all the rest)

Hoyden About Town take on the idea of Shakespeare and the Bechdel test

The Mary Sue discusses a recent Kickstarter for Roominate, an inspiring toy/project designed to teach girls vital science/engineering skills.

Speaking of fabulous female scientists, I was very sad to hear about the recent death of Caroline John, who played Dr Liz Shaw in Doctor Who – in 1970 she wasn’t only the first companion in colour, but she was also the first companion to have a qualification that matched the Doctor’s own title, and her portrayal as an intelligent woman was inspiring to many – including me. Her snarky repartee with the Third Doctor and the Brigadier are part of what makes Season 7 one of the best seasons of the show in its 50 year history. In Spearhead from Space in particular, it’s important and kind of revolutionary that they have a character undercutting the show’s entire new premise right from the start, and that this characters is female. She was totally Scully 25 years before the X-Files, even down to the red hair!

Liz Shaw was one of my favourites when I was little, and having recently enjoyed some of her Big Finish work, I’m sad to say goodbye to Caroline. Many sympathies to her family. The staff of Big Finish themselves have posted a nice tribute to Caroline and how important she was to them.

Australian Women Writers Challenge: Walking Shadows by Narrelle M Harris

Just to make it all about me for a minute – this is exciting! I just added up some recent reads to discover that I have made my target of 10 books by Australian women read this year, mostly without even trying too hard. I’m going to keep going for the rest of 2012 because, well, it’s an awesome thing to do, plus I’ve already read one and a half MORE and it would feel sad to leave them out.

Walking Shadows by Narrelle M Harris is one of the bundle of books I acquired at Continuum last week and have been reading through in an attempt to actually read books when they arrive in my hot little hands, instead of hoarding them for three years. I was excited about this book being published because I’m very fond of Narrelle, and I know it’s been a long hard road for her with this book in particular. Very happy on a personal level that she’s now with a new publisher, ClanDestine, who are treating her books with respect.

And then I went to her book launch on the first night of the con, and it was quite a con for book launches! She had a smallish panel room but it was packed out, standing room only. Jason Nahrung gave a lovely speech, and Narrelle read a hilarious, horrible piece from her book that had her audience squirming and chuckling, sometimes at the same time. So basically I was primed to come home and read this book super fast, which I did.

Narrelle does so much that’s clever in these books. They have an intense emotional throughline between vampire and human, but it’s not romantic – the books revolve instead around the friendship between vampire Gary and human librarian Lissa, and how hard it is for a vampire to connect with human life or emotions. Gary’s quest is basically to live as ordinary a life as he can with what he’s got, and the narrative is constantly poking at him, showing the many ways in which it would be hard for a vampire who can’t get away with the glamorous black velvet look, and doesn’t want to hang out with other vampires cos frankly they’re all weirdoes.

There are no easy answers in Walking Shadows. Lissa has her problems too – she’s someone deeply bruised by the many ways death has intruded in her life, and now she has a dead best friend, which is less than convenient. But her fierce determination to keep Gary, and protect him, not only from vicious vampires and psycho vampire slayers, but also from her sister being mean to him, is adorable and compelling.

Walking Shadows, at its essence, is an entirely unromantic vampire romp, edgy and funny, painful and true. If there were Australian vampires, it’s all too easy to imagine this lot hanging around Melbourne in their squats and clubs, and it’s all too easy to imagine someone like Gary being baffled by technology, shuffling through life feeling old, and being utterly embarrassed by his fellow vampires. I’m excited to see where Narrelle takes this series.

Reviewed as part of the Australian Women Writers 2012 National Year of Reading Challenge

Tansy’s Australian Women Writer’s 2012 Reading Challenge.

1. Eona by Alison Goodman (fantasy)

2. Cooking the Books by Kerry Greenwood (contemporary crime)

3. Bad Power by Deborah Biancotti (spec fic, superhero, short story collection)

4. The Opposite of Life, by Narrelle M. Harris (horror, vampire, comedy)

5. Madigan Mine, by Kirstyn McDermott (horror, contemporary)

Opposite of Life & Madigan Mine reviewed at Galactic Suburbia podcast episode 55

6. Angel Arias, by Marianne De Pierres (YA fantasy, vampire, slightly science fictional)

7. The Getting of Wisdom, by Henry Handel Richardon (AUSTRALIAN CLASSIC, literature, boarding school story)

8. Ishtar, edited by Amanda Pillar & K.V. Taylor (historical, fantasy, science fiction)

(reviewed at Galactic Suburbia Episode 59)

9. Cracklescape, by Margo Lanagan (speculative fiction)

10. Walking Shadows, by Narrelle M Harris

Clarion Write-a-thon and the Victorian Robot Vengeful Fairies Novel

As I mentioned a little while back, I’m doing the Clarion Write-a-thon again this year! This is a writing challenge and fundraiser for the Clarion Writers Workshops – so if you like the idea of supporting the amazing institution that is Clarion, and the opportunities it offers to new writers to develop their craft, you can sponsor me or any of the other participants in the challenge.

Or if you’re a writer and you need something to kickstart your momentum, you can join up! Their goal is to have 200 writers participating this year. Check out Julia Rios’ post at the Outer Alliance which quotes many of the participating writers as to what their (self-chosen) goals are for the Write-a-thon!

And yes I am still writing my Victorian YA Gothic right now with fairies and steampunk robots. My goal for the 6 weeks of Clarion is to write 30,000 words of fiction, not necessarily on the novel, as I have a bunch of other projects on the go as well. I’m starting to suspect that actually what I need to be doing now is not drilling out wordcount, but editing and submitting and all that career stuff, but I was so determined to finish a book this year, so… wordcount it is. And then there will still be lots of the year left, right, right?

I’ll try not to bore you all with my Clarion metrics, but I’ll be posting weekly updates to keep my sponsors happy & to keep myself honest. 30,000 words here I come!

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Weekend Links Misses Friday Links By This Much

Tor.com on demanding female heroes in adult stories that are equal to the female heroes found in YA fiction.

The Mary Sue on Amy Mebberson’s Pocket Princesses – smart and adorable!

Cheryl Morgan reviews the gorgeous book Ishtar, by Australia’s own Kaaron Warren, Deb Biancotti and Cat Sparks.

Tor.com on Big Finish, how awesome it is, and how to get started on your own Doctor Who audio crack addiction.

The ever-fabulous Narrelle M Harris talks about all the spectacular things that have happened in her writing career so far this year.

DC Women Kicking Ass on Catwoman 0, that cover, and the general art surrounding Catwoman in the New 52 – as compared to the version of the character we’re going to see in the movie.

Body Impolitic writes with great compassion and outrage about the way that lesbian poet Amy Lowell was not only disregarded and mocked for her weight during her lifetime, but continues to be ridiculed even now, her physical appearance overwhelming so many critics and historians who should instead be letting her work stand for itself.

Felicia Day talks about the horrible response to her gamer girl song and analyses why she thinks this parody has been so threatening to a certain kind of male gamer, whereas her previous characters have not been.

Tansy’s Con Report 3: Night of the Squeaking Octopuses

the Chronos and Ditmar winning Mondy and Kirstyn with their richly deserved loot (photo taken by Rachel I think?)

It was a very social convention – which can often be a sideswipe sort of compliment, as the most fun and sociable cons are often the ones with, um, less inspiring programs. But that wasn’t a problem for Continuum 8! We all bonded a bit over the startling early hours of the bar, but otherwise there were no challenges to overcome, or blank spots to fill.

It was just rather lovely. I got to hang out a bunch with old friends I don’t see most of the year round, and chat to new people too. There were some happy reunions with friends I hadn’t met before in person, lots of trying to connect faces to Twitter handles, leisurely lunches and dinners in and around Lygon Street, brief chats in the overly intimate corridors, and when we were finally turfed out of the bar, long chats in those comfy chairs in the foyer. (check out Alisa’s happy post about the Twelfth Planet hour, with far more behind the scenes details than I was able to provide)

I kept finding myself remembering back to one of the other great Melbourne cons, Convergence ten years ago, at which we launched ASIM, and finally met people we had been talking to online for years such as Ben, Tehani and Terri, who are still very much in our lives today – that was the first time I really felt I was getting the hang of what a con was for, and had a posse to spend time with.

It all came to a head on the last night with the awards ceremony. I’d been looking forward to this one, mostly because of the promise of Mondy and Kirstyn hosting, and they did not disappoint. Kirstyn was garlanded in black feathers like Servalan in Blake’s 7, Mondy was in a suit looking all respectable, and they performed their usual casual but perfectly timed double act.

Though of course the timing went a bit haywire when they won both the Chronos and Ditmar for The Writer in the Critic, and ended up blinking in the headlights on occasion as they took that in, and still had to perform the hosting duties. Major kudos for that, Mondy and Kirstyn! We forgive you for not noticing that Galactic Suburbia gave you a standing ovation because you were too busy freaking out and not looking at the audience! Well deserved wins.

But then the whole awards ceremony, really, had that vibe to it. From Merv Binns and his emotional response to receiving the inaugural Infinity Award, and Anita Bell’s speech about her own disability as the inspiration for her Norma-winning series, and the many, many times we clapped for Paul Haines, there was a genuine feeling of community support and happiness.

Robin wears purple; Alex has orange

But mostly what will be remembered about that night was the plastic octopuses. After the first one had been presented (to Alex, accepting on behalf of herself and Tehani after winning the Atheling), it was explained that the real trophies had not arrived in the post on time and these were temporary placeholders.

But what awesome placeholders they were! Remembering my own time on a committee, I can only imagine how horrified and stressed they were when the trophies didn’t make it, and the discovery of these magnificent fluorescent creatures in the two dollar shop was a classy and memorable way to deal with what could have been a disaster.

Please take care of this octopus

I don’t think I will ever forget the moment when Mondy was in the middle of his heartfelt Ditmar acceptance speech, and Kirstyn discovered that the octopus she was holding had a squeaker. Alex immediately dove for her own not-Ditmar, sending up the reply with a squeak of her own. Thus the secret society of 2012 Ditmar winning Octopus holders was born…whenever one is in trouble, the others must come to their aid!

I was delighted to win an octopus of my own (green, to match my dress and handbag! Though I am jealous of Robin Pen’s purple one, I wouldn’t let him swap) for Best Short Story for the Patrician, and to be able to thank both my honey (who hasn’t been to a convention without childminding duties in more than seven years) and Alisa, one of the hardest working people in the Australian spec fic scene.

Also, and I don’t want to pre-empt the next Galactic Suburbia and our probably exhaustive awards coverage, but you have to be able to guess how delighted I was about Kim Westwood winning Best Novel, right?

Kathleen tries to link her octopuses together, monkey-style

After the awards there was the bar, thoroughly livened up by the presence of multicoloured octopuses, and the occasional squeak-and-response that continued through the evening. A common thread of conversation was the possible crafty use of the creatures – I’m thinking of putting mine on a handbag, Kathleen was a few stitches away from wearing hers as epaulettes (she has a pair of blue ones – I’m hoping she attaches them to shiny blue high heeled shoes), and Robin tried his out as a fascinator.

When Finchy and I returned home, finally, at lunchtime the next day, we introduced the girls to the octopus. So far neither of them have attempted to claim it as their own, though Raeli did subject the thing to an extensive photo session. Alex has since informed me that hers is called Octavia. Mine, therefore, must be Octavian, but if he is worthy of the name after many years of service, I might promote him to Augustus.

I’m happy to be home but a little sad it’s all over – the con is now nothing but a whirl of memory involving cake crumbs, champagne and many books. But thanks, Melbourne! This was a great one.

Full list of award winners from Continuum 8 can be found here.

The Galactic Chat team: Silent Producer, Tansy, Alisa & Sean