Tansy Rayner Roberts's Blog, page 92

The Shape of 2012 (how it was)

It’s been an odd sort of year, and one in which I have tended to forget to stop and count my successes. I planned for many things in my writing career, few of which came to fruition, and I ended up with a bunch of words written, but nothing (major) new and finished, for the first time in several years.

On the other hand, some massive personal achievements surely help to balance that out. In particular I have seen Raeli grow from being very timid and panicky a far more relaxed, confident and brave young person. She has conquered her terror (and I don’t use the word lightly) of cats, managed her even more extreme fear of dogs, as well as getting over the hurdles of learning to swim and to turn somersaults. It’s been a big year!

Jem meanwhile has stopped being the baby (she is a BIG GIRL), and it’s quite extraordinary to see our three-year-old become herself, taking on an at times stroppy but quite original personality. (she can be a thug but she’s cute with it) And boy, can she talk. You may all pause your reading to faint from surprise.

They’re really good at being sisters, which makes me very happy. And we’re only a year away from Jem starting school now which feels… exciting and terrible, all at once. But by gods, it’s going to be cheaper. And those tiny windows of writing time are shrinking and shrinking between then and now. Somehow, she manages to fill every available space, which is what children are best at.

What other milestones did I/we manage to clear this year? Well, there’s that little thing of Galactic Suburbia getting its first Hugo nomination, which was extraordinary, and means that we will always look upon the Best Fancast category with great fondness. Galactic Suburbia also received the Peter McNamara Convenor’s Award for Excellence at the Aurealis Awards this year which was an amazing honour and really made us feel like we have made a mark in the Australian SF community. And of course we produced 23 new episodes, bringing us up to 73. We’ll be soooo close to 100 by the end of next year!

It was like a million years ago, but I did have a novel out this year, Reign of Beasts, the final volume of my Creature Court trilogy. FINISHED TRILOGY, PEOPLE! There are many of you who have been around me since the early days and know or can guess how much it means to me to have the third book of a trilogy out. You can’t take these things for granted! It also helps that so many readers let me know that while they didn’t necessarily approve of everything that happened in the last book, it was a satisfying finish. I am so relieved! I was extremely proud of this book, but it takes readers to let you know that you’ve made a mark.

2012 also brought in a few reapable rewards from the previous year’s work, especially “The Patrician,” my most popular story from the Love and Romanpunk collection (which BTW has both sold out in print copy and EARNED OUT my advance, the first book that has ever done both for me). “The Patrician won the Ditmar for Best Novelette/Novella, and then startled me by also running away with the Washington SF Association Small Press Award against an incredibly strong ballot. It was reprinted in the Australian Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror and is about to be reprinted again in Apex Magazine. People kinda liked it!

But, sigh. The reason to keep reminding myself of all those good things is because I fell down on a lot of my plans and goals for this year, writingwise. I didn’t finish anything that I expected I would, and while my ‘write across multiple projects’ loose structure for the year allowed me to try a lot of exciting new projects and respond quickly to various opportunities, I ended up with a bunch of part-written projects, and nothing solid or substantial to show for the year.

The other big negative is that I haven’t sold my Nancy Napoleon urban fantasy novel, the work so promising that it attracted two major grants (and will substantially be funding next year’s trip to Brighton WFC). The part that makes me sad is not that the book hasn’t found a home (though, sigh!) it’s that I know that I didn’t try nearly hard enough. I allowed myself to get demoralised far too early, I failed to follow up efficiently on queries in order to turn it around faster, and I lost heart in a way that makes me deeply annoyed at myself. It’s a good book. It will, I hope, get published, though maybe not this time around. I am determined that I will at least make a good enough show at trying all the options before I give up on it, though. And I’m well aware that my heel-dragging and knock backs for this project may be a big part of the reason I lacked incentive to focus on and finish a big novel this year.

ENOUGH WALLOWING, TANSY, YOU’RE DOING FINE!

I’m still thinking over my plans for next year’s writing. They probably belong in a different post. The important thing is that I learn from what I didn’t get right this year, and don’t repeat the same mistakes. I used to be so hardened to rejection and setbacks, and somewhere along the line I went all soft and squishy. THIS IS NOT HELPFUL IN OUR INDUSTRY.

I did much better when it came to my reading goals – the To Read Shelf is not a LOT diminished, but I managed to whittle down some of the more teetering piles, and it certainly didn’t grow in 2012. My system of reading three books (2 of which had to be FROM THE SHELF) before I was allowed to buy one worked very well in making me stop and think before I ordered or bought new books and particularly helped me to curtail my online purchases, which had got massively out of hand.

It still wasn’t a perfect system, though, and I developed my own coda to it throughout the year as I realised that one of my other reading priorities was to read the books I bought while they were still recent and current purchases (and while I still retained the original excitement around them), and started keeping close track of that. I’m proud to say that of the 30 books I bought this year (yes, I read 175 books and bought 30, though worth noting the former number includes audio books and graphic novels while the latter doesn’t) I have read 25 of them, which feels like a massive achievement.

The not including graphic novels part was a massive indulgence based on the premise that I was reading those like gangbusters and didn’t have to give myself incentive to do so – and indeed this was the year that I managed to stockpile far too many graphic novels that I haven’t got around to reading. So next year I will count those too, as books bought AND books read. I’m also going to include books I have solicited but not technically paid for (review or blurb copies I agree to receive, birthday/Christmas presents I SUGGEST people get for me) because again that was a cop-out. I still won’t be including e-books, because it’s the SPACE rather than money I’m trying to save here, but if I end up with a Kindle full of books I’ll never read, I may change that.

The reason I am continuing with a ridiculously rule-heavy reading/book purchasing system is because I think I have to do this for at least three years before I have properly trained my brain to recognise the number of books I can technically read, rather than buying and hoarding books for someone else’s lifestyle, which is what I have been doing since I had kids. I really appreciate the fact that I now stop and think several times before committing to a book – am I going to read it this month? Can it wait?

Sustainable is the key, and even though it bugs me at times to not buy that book RIGHT NOW, it feels good to have read 5/6 of my book purchases this year, and I’d love to be able to top that statistic next year. It’s all about the statistics.

It’s been a good year. It would be crazy to not count it as a good year. The family all stayed pretty healthy, my honey and the girls make me proud all the time, I have made forward progress on my writing despite my ridiculously high standards, I earned a little (very little) money, I won some stuff, my average blog stats have more than doubled (waves to blog readers) and I wrote many things that I am proud of. I even got to be a real professionally paid Doctor Who critic. I got to go to some conventions and spent some serious in person face time with so many of my closest friends that are normally so far away. Particularly glad that Alex, Alisa and I got to hang out together at the AA’s, and that Helen agreed to be my room buddy at Genrecon. Oh, and that Tehani MOVED TO TASMANIA, of course, which is one of my favourite things that happened this year.

Also, the Doctor Who Christmas special rocked, and Amy Pond didn’t die young.

If I have half as good a year in 2013, I’ll be doing OK.

Thanks for reading my blog. Comments make me happy, but stats are forever, and it’s been stunning to see how much the numbers have risen this year. Readers are awesome, and that means you.

Hugs,

Tansy xxxxx

31 December 2012

2012: A Year in Reading

Trying something a bit different for my reading round up this year – I found this Annual End Of Year Book survey and decided to try out the questions for myself. Note I’ve already done a Pleasures of Reading etc. post over at Ambling Along the Aqueduct, and covered my experience with the AWW reading challenge. I talk about books a lot, all right?

At 175 titles, including graphic novels, audio books, ebooks etc, I’ve come the closest to my pre-motherhood reading levels than ever before! If nothing else, my ‘don’t buy without shifting books from To Read Shelf’ system seems to be guilting me into finding more reading time, which I am happy about.

Best In Books 2012

1. Best Book You Read In 2012? (You can break it down by genre if you want)

Best Fantasy Novel: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth

Best Science Fiction Novel: Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold

Best Collection: Cracklescape by Margo Lanagan

Best Anthology: Under My Hat, edited by Jonathan Strahan

Best Young Adult Novel: Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein, only just edging out The Diviners by Libba Bray and Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan.

Best General Fiction: Last Chance Cafe by Liz Byrski

Best Comic: Hawkeye & Captain Marvel

Best Graphic Novels: Astonishing X-Men #1-5 by Joss Whedon & John Cassaday

Best Doctor Who Book: Chicks Unravel Time! Yes, I’m in it. I still love it BEST!

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Marvel Heralds which came highly recommended but left me cold and a touch baffled, and The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012?

Discount Armageddon, by Seanan McGuire

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?

Probably Tiny Titans, though Bitter Greens would come close, as would What Women Want by Nelly Thomas.

5. Best series you discovered in 2012?

Cold Magic, by Kate Elliott

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?

Liz Byrski, Kelly-Sue Deconnick, Andrea Hairston, Kieron Gillen

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

Probably the Liz Byrski. I haven’t read general women’s fiction for a long time, and never thought I’d find an author who hit my buttons like, say, Mary Wesley did, but Last Chance Cafe is extraordinary – not only is it a book about women from the age of 40 something to 70 something, and not only does it take a bunch of characters whom I would normally dislike and make me deeply sympathise with them, but it’s also packed with really thoughtful, interesting discussion of feminism, the history of women’s lib (and what happened to the women who fought for equality in the 70′s), Australian culture and the way that girl children are now being encouraged (by media, retail and in many cases their own families and peers) to dress and behave in alarmingly adult ways. It’s such a CRUNCHY book, it made me cry and gasp and cling to it. I didn’t know women’s fiction could be so very relevant and so very smart and it makes me feel like an idiot and a bigot for never suspecting that there could be such wonders behind such bland covers.

Helen Merrick is owed many drinks for pushing me subtly in the direction of Liz Byrski. She only had to mention her about a million times before I gave in and picked up this title in an op shop.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?

Code Name Verity, one of my more recent reads, which I tore through on the Kindle shortly after Christmas. I knew it was YA, based around women (including women pilots) in WWII and had it on my ‘buy this soon’ list for months, but I had no idea what a gobsmacking book it was going to be.

9. Book You Read In 2012 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year:

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner because I want to listen to the audiobook version now!

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?

11. Most memorable character in 2012?

Abigail Brand

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?

Bitter Greens, by Kate Forsyth. Such a gorgeous structure as well as beautiful prose. But Cracklescape is also extraordinary.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012?

Again, Bitter Greens made me want to be a better and more ambitious writer. But Last Chance Cafe by Liz Byrski also blew my mind.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?

The Getting of Wisdom, by Henry Handel Richardson. A genuine Australian classic.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2012?

Some of my favourite quotes from various essays in Chicks Unravel Time:

“Received Fan Wisdom is wrong.”

“If we’re going to be pedantic, both Rose Tyler and Amy Pond have worn mini-skirts and screamed, and have also screamed while wearing mini-skirts. Which only goes to prove that a character is more than her fear response and clothing, and also that some clichés are too powerful to die.”

“Who decided that a bulging bicep was sexier than the ability to solve an equation? Who picked the AK-47 as a weapon of seduction over wide-eyed enthusiasm and affability? Who thought that the way to get women to let the protagonist into their heart or their bed was to strip them down to a wife-beater and cover them in a strategic layer of grease?”

“With these gothic sugar plums dancing in Hinchcliffe’s head, it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t notice or didn’t care about what was going on with the portrayal of women in these stories.”

“If you edited out the bits where a blob gets loose and starts transporting people to a parallel universe, you could show this on schools career days as a decent representation of the scientific working life.”

“No wonder Jackie slapped him. I’d slap him, too.”

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2012?

Goodreads tells me that The Diviners beat out Bitter Greens by about 20 pages – I wouldn’t have been able to guess which on my own. To Spin a Darker Stair was almost certainly the shortest.

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

Pretty much every other chapter in Code Name Verity, though I definitely came away from Last Chance Cafe desperate to talk it over with others who had also read it.

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

The friendship of Maddie and “Verity” in Code Name Verity, and the marriage between Tommy and Tuppence in Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie. Oh, and the two Hawkeyes in Hawkeye #2-6

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2012 From An Author You Read Previously

I should probably say Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth, though it felt so completely different to everything I have read of hers before that it may as well be by a new writer. Whereas The Diviners by Libba Bray and Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan are exactly the books I was hoping for from both of them, only slightly better. And an extra shout out for Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance, just because.

20. Best Book You Read That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:

The Last Chance Cafe by Liz Byrski. Most of the others required at least recommendations from more than one source.

Looking Ahead…

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2012 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2013?

Just the ONE? For Darkness Show the Stars by Diana Peterfreund, which I keep being thwarted about acquiring. Because, Persuasion in space. Also, the novelisation of Shada by Gareth Roberts.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2013?

I was greatly anticipating Perfections, the new Kirstyn McDermott novel, but then it unexpectedly appeared this year, which was a surprise! I am still anticipating it, even though it is currently available. Soon, it will be mine.

Also, Untold, the second book in Sarah Rees Brennan’s Lynburn Legacy contemporary gothic YA series, Neil Perryman’s Wife in Space book, and a whole bunch of other Doctor Who anniversary stuff that I don’t even know about yet!

I’ve probably forgotten some really important titles by friends there that I should know about. Just insert your book title here.

3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2013?

Keep up with my systems for training myself to only buy and hoard as many books as I can humanly read. Acquire every possible awesome Project Gutenberg title for my Kindle. Read at least 5/6 of every book I buy or solicit in 2013. Yes, that’s three things.

Read more old books. I am craving old, old books. Bring on the Victoriana and wartime epics. BE MINE, E.M. Forster!

My AWW Reading Challenge in 2012

Will you be doing the Australian Women Writers Challenge in 2013? I certainly will! I’ve enjoyed the community aspect of the challenge, and the focus on Australian women writers – while I tend to read a majority of women writers anyway, I do have a tendency to stay within certain genre comfort zones, and often to neglect Australian writers over international ones, unless they are very close friends. And while my list for this year’s reading definitely involved a bunch of books by my friends (did I mention how many talented friends I have? A WHOLE BUNCH) I also tried to challenge myself by trying new authors, reading some books that have languished on my To Read Shelf for too long, and in the case of Kate Forsyth’s Bitter Greens, NOT neglect a certain title that I know is going to be wonderful just because it’s the size of three regular books.

I met my own challenge parameters back in June (the Franklin – 10 books, review at least 6) but have continued to add to the list and was delighted today to count up and realise that I hit 25. Sounds impressive, though considering I read 175 books this year (including graphic novels & audio books), it’s still only a small proportion.

DEFINITELY coming back for more next year, at the same level. We have some great female writers in Australia and they really do miss out on the recognition that is due to them, in general book media.



“Four times as many living Australian male writers than female writers appear on First Tuesday Book Club’s list of Top 50 Aussie reads.”

On a personal note, I really think that the AWW has helped me as a writer, too – I noticed far more reviews going around of the Creature Court trilogy and Love and Romanpunk in 2012 than in previous years, and I think the Challenge has a lot to do with that.

What will you be reading next year? How will you be reading next year? What great books by Australian women can we look forward to next year?

Tansy’s Australian Women Writers 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

11. The Truth About Verity Sparks, by Susan Walker (children’s historical)

12. Medea, by Kerry Greenwood (historical/mythological fantasy – reread)

13. Besieged, by Rowena Cory Daniells (epic fantasy)

14. What Women Want, by Nelly Thomas (memoir/comedy/non-fiction)

15. Hoodwink, by Rhonda Roberts (time travel, Hollywood)

16. Team Human, by Justine Larbalestier & Sarah Rees Brennan (YA vampire)

17. Exile, by Rowena Cory Daniells (epic fantasy)

18. To Spin a Darker Stair, by Faith Mudge & Catherynne M Valente (short stories)

19. Sea Hearts, by Margo Lanagan (weird/historical fantasy, Lanagan is a genre right?) (reviewed in Galactic Suburbia Episode 69)

20. Sanctuary, by Rowena Cory Daniells (epic fantasy)

21. Midnight & Moonshine, by Lisa Hannett & Angela Slatter (short story collection, Nordic myth)

22. Bitter Greens, by Kate Forsyth (historical fantasy) (reviewed at Galactic Suburbia episode 72)

23. Through Splintered Walls, by Kaaron Warren (horror, short story collection)

24. Last Chance Cafe, by Liz Byrski (general/women’s fiction)

25. The Price of Fame, by R.C. Daniells

Friday Links is a Real Pixel-Stained Grown Up Geek Girl

The Mary Sue looks at the psychology behind the fake geek girl meme. At Tor.com, Liz Bourke looks at the boundary-policing aspect of the attitudes towards women in SF “geekdom”. She also rather generously linked to my Pratchett’s Women AND Xena series of posts, which has somewhat inundated this blog with new readers. Hi, new readers! *waves*

Diana Peterfreund looks at the ‘new adult’ genre/marketing category, and how it has developed since her first series, Secret Society Girl, was published.

Sarah Rees Brennan also has Opinions about New Adult, mostly about the criticisms that tend to get levelled at any media phenomenon (not just publishing) in which young women exert power over the marketplace.

Weird Fiction Review recommends 14 Notable Women Writers of Weird.

The Stranger With My Face Horror Film Festival (with especial focus on female filmmakers, writers and characters) has announced its return next year – 7-10 March 2013. Mark the date!

i09 writes convincingly about how Robotech is the greatest love story of the 20th century. I would not argue with that at all! Oh, Robotech, how I love you.

Deborah Biancotti on her year of reading and writing.

Gail Simone, talking at greater length about why and how she was convinced to come back to DC and the Batgirl title. I have to say, while I feel as invested in Simone’s return as the next Batgirl fangirl, I don’t think she’s obliged to explain the behind the scenes of this obviously sensitive issue, and I certainly don’t think she should have to justify taking her dream job back with both hands.

Cheryl Morgan on women and their book releases to watch out for in 2013.

A certain Lethe Press title is up for pre-order at Amazon! And I am in it. Where thy Dark Eye Glances: Queering Edgar Allen Poe is an anthology about, well, I’m pretty sure it does what it says on the tin. I submitted because I heard the editor, Steve Berman, lamenting the lack of female oriented stories in the book, and that just seemed to be a moral imperative to write a weird American Victoriana piece about awkward lady love and how being a genius writer’s muse is NEVER going to be a fabulous lifestyle choice. (did you notice my name was actually one of the 3 mentioned in the Amazon blurb? I NOTICED)

There have been many fantastic Doctor Who delights this Christmas, but The Gallifreycrumb Tinies is pretty close to being my favourite. It’s spoilerish for random DW stories including classic and new, but mostly it’s awesome and stylish.

Speaking of Christmas related adorableness, there’s also this:

WHO-50: The 1960′s

It’s a rather neat and lovely detail of Doctor Who production that the last black and white episode screened in 1969, and the first colour episode in 1970, and that the Second Doctor regenerated into the Third (offscreen) at the same time. This means that “Sixties Who” has a really strong tonal separation from “Seventies Who.”

And yes I did deliberately time this anniversary blogging project so all my Sixties/Black and White posts would be published in 2012, and the colour posts in 2013. I like things to be tidy, okay?

Here’s my links to the WHO-50 posts so far – click the pics!

Christmas Links (and Vids) for 2012

No, I still haven’t managed to watch the Doctor Who Christmas Special! We’re waiting for the ABC screening tonight. Oh, iView, where are you when we need you? In the mean time, to keep the Christmas flag flying until the main event appears on our TV…

Angriest on the best Christmas TV episodes.

Australian Women Writers on 12 Book Blogs of Christmas

Tor.com reviews Emmett Otter’s Jugband Christmas

Nicola Griffith on the art of blowing up Christmas

The Ood Cast Annual 2012 – an audio version of those books full of mini stories that don’t quite feel canon, puzzles and illustrations with wonky hair.

“The Ghosts of Christmas,” by Paul Cornell

An adorable Batgirl/Supergirl Christmas comic.

Our Christmas in Books

I got a Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas! I can’t stop grinning at it, especially as my honey managed to make me think it was an impossible dream – they’re only letting them into Australia two at a time or so. But it is MINE and so pretty. Have already been stocking up on books from Wizards Tower, Project Gutenberg and even (gasp) the Amazon store. And I’ve already read a whole novel on it (peeking at the ‘how many minutes to the end of this book’ feature the whole time) – the extraordinary, raw and compelling ‘WWII heroines’ novel Code Name: Verity by Elizabeth Wein which had me sobbing buckets over the leftover roast potatoes this morning.

In other news, the Very Grown Up Raeli received an iPod Touch and some snazzy yellow headphones which means she can play Angry Birds AND listen to Ood Cast music without begging for my phone, and also that little Jem can mainline her way through her Christmas DVDs without fighting with her sister for control of the remote.

But this was a Christmas of books, from extended family as well as each other (and of course, Santa). Let’s take a look at a sample of the dead tree hoard:

FOR HIM:

FOR HER:

FOR MS NEARLY EIGHT:

FOR LITTLE MS THREE:

Christmas is… Gingerbread Daleks

Jem and the Space Pirates [WHO-50—1969]

I bought the Lost In Time DVD (a bunch of orphaned black and white Doctor Who episodes from stories that no longer exist in full) entirely for this project, and then wrote up posts for 1963-1968 without even taking off the plastic.

Whoops!

So instead of writing a serious essay about the thematic significance of The War Games, I thought I’d better see what this set had to offer from 1969. Given that the final Troughton season is the one with the most existing stories (hooray!) there was only one Lost in Time episode that fit the bill – Episode 2 of the Space Pirates.

Not exactly inspiring. But I was ahead on my blog writing, I’d get around to it while I watched other episodes I was more invested in. Like the three extant episodes of the Daleks’ Master Plan!

The next day, three-year-old Jem found the DVD case lying out and insisted we watched one. Yes, really. I warned her that it was in black and white, remembering the mixed results of the experiment with The Chase.

“BLACK AND WHITE!” she replied in a ‘rock on’ tone of voice.

So I put on the Celestial Toymaker, figuring the games and toys aspects might appeal to her. It did.

Jem and the Celestial Toymaker

Later in the day, after kindergym and lunch out with friends, she demanded another one. Well, I wasn’t going to say no, was I? I gave her the option of the menu on disc 2 and she picked Evil of the Daleks.

Jem and the Evil of the Daleks

That had to be it, right? But she kept asking for ANOTHER one, and I couldn’t bring myself to stop this crazy rollercoaster ride because of the surreal joy that came from a three year old wanting to watch these with me. I picked the next one, following in the Victoria Waterfield theme: The Abominable Snowman.

Jem and the Abominable Snowmen

I figured that was enough, but Jem said “ONE MORE!” so I thought I should actually do my homework and put in The Space Pirates from 1969. Oooh, I’d forgotten this was by Robert Holmes.

Space Pirates is one of the very few Doctor Who stories that I knew absolutely nothing about, going in. I’d always bounced off the synopsis, I’d missed the Target novelisation, and hadn’t bothered to listen to the audio version.

It wasn’t very promising at first. Lots of long slow scenes in spaceship interiors, with odd men in various Accents talking to each other. This turned out to be the episode featuring the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe sprawled out unconscious together (yes, you might well say that this doesn’t narrow it down a lot) which I had seen immortalised in many snuggly GIFs. In fact, this happens twice in this episode, which would seem excessive if it wasn’t so adorable.

As for the main part of the story, I was vaguely reminded of the second ever episode of Blake’s 7 (the prison ship one) only a bit less interesting. This impression was helped by extensive spaceship model shots and some very Liberator-ish background music. The plot, something to do with mining and a particular precious mineral, also rang a few ‘Ribos Operation’ bells too, but only the dull ones.

Jem was basically sitting with her back to the TV at this point, turning a marshmallow into some form of rudimentary lip gloss. I couldn’t blame her.

Madeleine Issigri with her giant silver head was a rather intriguing character, and I liked her Jetsons fashions. I also liked that the Doctor plot, in which he tries to come up with a plan to solve their imprisonment in a piece of an exploded space beacon, involved Zoe patiently pointing out all the possible flaws in that plan. Her smarts, and the way she explains science things while the Doctor is busy screaming his head off, are fabulous.

It’s nice to see Patrick Troughton moving about, because he’s such an interesting performer, and his Doctor is easy to forget about unless he’s right there in front of you on a screen, being fascinating and funny and alarmed.

But what with one thing and another, it’s probably a good thing that this extant episode of the Space Pirates features two most excellent examples of the TARDIS crew cuddling while unconscious, because that’s pretty much the highlight of the story.

Given how many complete Two and Jamie and Zoe stories we have, though, I can’t be disappointed in the lack of this one. Sure, it was less interesting than the other three we watched that day (um, put together) but the important part is: I WATCHED FOUR ORPHANED BLACK AND WHITE DOCTOR WHO EPISODES FROM THE 1960′s WITH MY THREE-YEAR-OLD IN ONE DAY.

Worth the price of the DVD, absolutely.

Verity!

Sure, the stocking are hung by the chimney with care, the turkey is marinating nicely in the fridge and someone accidentally made the largest slab of peppermint brownies imaginable, but what everyone REALLY wants for Christmas is a new Doctor Who podcast, right?

Enter The Verity Podcast, an ensemble of six enthusiastic Doctor Who fans who all happen to be women, across four different countries.

And yes, one of them is me! The podcast will also feature Lynne Thomas of Chicks Dig Time Lords, SF Squeecast and Apex Magazine fame, Deborah Stanish & Liz Myles from Chicks Unravel Time, Erika Ensign from the Fangirl Knits Scarf blog, and Katrina Griffiths of the late, lamented Bridging the Rift podcast and the more recent Across the Planet Comics podcast.

So much talent in one podcast! Our production is of course named after the iconic Verity Lambert, original producer of Doctor Who back in 1963. We’ll be talking about Classic and New Who, behind the scenes stuff, episode reviews, merchandise, craft, and Liz’s alarming attachment to Patrick Troughton. But mostly it’s going to be a podcast that explores female fan perspectives (because of course we have many) and enables us to rant happily about our obsessions across Skype.

Check out our teaser promo here on our brand new website! It will be on iTunes soon, allowing you to subscribe. Our first episode will be up in early January.

In the mean time, the latest episode of Radio Free Skaro includes an interview at ChicagoTARDIS with four of the Verity team: Lynne, Erika, Liz and Deb, talking about how the team got together and what we’re hoping to achieve.

Squee! I’m so excited about this. Fun times ahead in 2013.

In the mean time, check out the website as it develops over the next couple of weeks, & follow us on Twitter at @veritypodcast