Doctor Who

[BatmAngelus]

I went to the Gallifrey One convention here in Los Angeles on Saturday.  I wasn't able to do all three days, though in hindsight I wish I had.  The guest Doctor was Paul McGann and his co-stars from the movie, Daphne Ashbrook, Yee Jee Seo, and Eric Roberts, were there as well.

It was rather fun.  My main regret was that my friend and I missed out on taking a picture with a replica of the 1996 TARDIS console, which would've been really cool.  The photoshoot was from 12-1 and we missed getting in the door by a good minute.

Attendees also had the opportunity to get free autographs from a select group of people, including McGann himself, so I decided to use this as an excuse to buy one of the Big Finish audios with the Eighth Doctor.  Due to the multi-Doctor nature of it, I picked up Zagreus (which also has Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy) so I could use it for future autographs in case I go to conventions that feature Davison, Baker, or McCoy (or even the companion co-stars).

McGann signed it (and was quite excited upon seeing it, proclaiming "ZAGREUS!"), along with Louise Jameson a.k.a. Leela, who asked if I had heard it yet.  (The others in the autograph group were Phil Segal, producer of the 1996 movie, and Yee Jee Tso, who was Chang Lee in the movie).

After the convention, I went on the Big Finish website and saw that Blood of the Daleks Part 1- McGann's first episode with companion Lucie Miller- was available to download for free until Sunday to lead into their big sale of the Eighth Doctor audios this week.  I couldn't resist, so I downloaded that and bought Blood of the Daleks Part 2 the next day to have the complete story.

Overall, I've liked what I've heard.  Definitely better Who stories than the 1996 movie to give McGann a chance to shine. 
Zagreus was a bit confusing at first since I hadn't listened to the previous episodes with Charley Pollard (I should've listened to Silver Nemesis here and heard these in order...), but the final disc, where the plot threads came together, was quite good and it was a treat to hear the 5th, 6th, and 7th Doctors interacting with the 8th.
I enjoyed Blood of the Daleks as well, though it was less of an epic story, and it was a bit of a treat to hear Hayley Atwell as the villain before she hit it big with Captain America last year.

Next up, I bought Neverland (yes, I'm going backwards since Zagreus is the sequel to this) and will be watching the webcasts of Shada (with the Eighth Doctor) and Real Time (with the Sixth Doctor) on the BBC website.  I'm most interested in the Big Finish/additional adventures of the Sixth and Eighth Doctors, since I know the Sixth Doctor gets better stories and a better characterization in the Big Finish audios and the Eighth Doctor got a proper set of adventures past the '96 movie.

[Silver Nemesis]

I remember reading about Gallifrey One conventions in the Dr Who magazine. They always looked pretty huge.

I never heard Zagreus though. The last audio drama I listened to before renouncing my fandom was Neverland. So I never found out what happened after the cliff-hanger ending.

That's awesome that you met Paul McGann. As you know, I'm an ex-Who fan. But of all the living Doctors, he's definitely the one I'd most like to meet. He was brilliant in Withnail & I. And Alien 3, while inferior to the first two films, is still a heck of a lot better than those dreadful Alien vs. Predator movies. Especially the extended cut, which features an interesting subplot about McGann's character trying to befriend the Alien. It's interesting that Eric 'Maroni' Roberts was there too. In the past he didn't attend conventions. He must've had a change of heart in recent years.

[Paul (ral)]

I was at a convention at the weekend too. I arrived late and missed out on meeting Colin Baker.

I did get to walk past Michael Biehn as he was leaving though 

[Silver Nemesis]

Michael "come with me if you want to live" Biehn?! That must've been awesome! I met Colin Baker when I was 10, and he and I were photographed and interviewed together for a newspaper article. Nice guy. But Michael Biehn! That man's a legend!

I'm disappointed he isn't appearing in The Expendables II though. There were rumours last year that he was going to be in it, but apparently Stallone never approached him. It's a shame, because between The Terminator, Aliens and The Rock, he's more than earned his dues.

[Paul (ral)]

I wish I had gotten to the convention earlier, it would have been nice to chat with Kyle Reese!

[BatmAngelus]

Well, Doctor Who has returned and the season premiere, Asylum of the Daleks, was...quite odd, but enjoyable (which is probably a good way of summing up the whole series).  Not the best episode, but certainly one of the better Dalek ones in Matt Smith's run.  I liked the ending but I doubt that will stay as the status quo with the Daleks.  Plus, I'm very curious what they have in mind for the next companion, post-Amy & Rory.  I guess we'll see.

[greggbray]

I'm an unabashed Series 6 Fan (or Series 32, if you prefer).  To be honest, I came to Who late--right after the Davies series began in 2005, though I didn't really grab it until a few years ago via Netflix.  Thankfully, Netflix streaming has quite a few Who episodes from the past, and I've seen quite a few.  Peter Davison's swan song, portions of 'The Key of Time,' the first Third doctor episode (sorry the titles aren't fresh in my mind) and The Pirate Planet.  While they were enjoyable, I will admit that the aesthetic took quite a while to warm up to.  I teach multi-camera video production, and the three-camera video aesthetic took a while to get used to.  Which is odd, as I love the BBC version of Sherlock Holmes with Wilmer/Cushing.  Anyway.

My 7 Year old's favorite Who seems to be Paul McGann (he loves the version of The Master who can posses people).  I like McGann very much, but I won't claim to find that particular outing to be strong either in terms of narrative or aesthetic values.   I know he found additional popularity through the radio programs and his likeness being used in any number of comic books and novels based on the Who-verse.

Of the recent Who series, Series 6 is my favorite, followed by Series 1, though there is a ton of excellent material in between.

Series 7 finally, finally, made the Daleks scary again (so far), something I haven't felt since we met the first Dalek in the NuWhoverse all the way back during S1.  I'm curious to see where they go with this.  Moffat tends to have more 'fun' than Davies with the program (ie Dinosaurs on a Spaceship next week), so as long as they tell cracking good tales without sacrificing strong characterizations I'm all in. 

[BatmAngelus]

What'd you think of Dinosaurs on a Spaceship?

I liked it better than I thought I would, since I wasn't sure how it would balance so many ideas and characters.  I will say that I give credit to Moffat for his ambition in making every episode of this season "feel like a blockbuster movie." (paraphrasing). 

But I can't help but feel that things have been a bit rushed and crammed in this season.

Rory's dad, for instance.  Did they forget that The Doctor showed up at Amy and Rory's wedding?  Was Brian Williams just not there to have seen The Doctor and the TARDIS? (Which is unlikely.  His relationship with Rory didn't seem THAT strained in this episode).

Anyways, it's still been a fun couple of episodes.

[greggbray]

Like you I enjoyed it quite a bit.  It's difficult not to be immediately sucked into such a concept though.  The delight both The Doctor and Smith (in the portrayal) expressed felt incredibly child-like, genuine, and infectious.  I also questioned Dad's Doctor Amnesia--but it wasn't much of a sticking point. 

I'm also enjoying the season, but I see the trepidation.  We want great stories and characters.  Effects are lovely and all, but Doctor Who is not an effect (so says the original 26 years).  But I'm all in.  My 7 and 5 year-olds love it.   

[greggbray]

Thought The Gunslinger was 'Cowboys and Aliens' done well.  It used several well known western plot devices and turned them in on themselves, but honestly could have gone a bit further with that.  I do like that there was a complex relationship between the Two Doctors as they are very much mirrors for each other, as well as the realization that The Doctor without companions is easily lost and reverts back to his more warrior Time War instincts.

A good episode, but not necessarily a great one.