Meewella | Fragments

The Life of P

Tag: doctor who

Dancing Doctors

Fast Dial for Firefox

The problem with attempting a world record for software downloads is that when inadequately prepared your servers go out and get trashed for several hours before staggering back in, announcing they are “absholutely frine”, and collapsing in a heap in the corner. Which is precisely (inevitably?) what happened to Mozilla. Nevertheless they managed an undeniably impressive haul with over 8 million downloads in the 24 hours. My build is much the same as before, although I have just added Fast Dial which mimics Opera’s speed dial feature, but with the option to use site logos instead of a thumbnail of the page itself.

Captain Jack

Kirsten and I have reached the first set of Doctor Who episodes that Adam highlighted for us, and I have to concur with his recommendation. The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances form a two part story set in London during the blitz. I was able to work out the ending but it was one of those satisfying experiences rather than feeling cheated, since it still unfolds neatly. The real draw, however, is the introduction of Captain Jack (Harkness, not the infamous pirate — although actually there seems to be a distinct correlation between the moniker and flamboyant scoundrels). Doing things in typically nonsensical fashion, I have watched the first season of Torchwood (the second just looked to have gone too far, a strange sublimation process from bizarrely camp to just plain silly) so it was interesting to see the character’s original introduction in Doctor Who. My feeling was that his personality bounces better off the Doctor than the characters of Torchwood.

The following episode, Boom Town, took a slower pace, revisiting the aftermath of an earlier story and forcing the Doctor to consider the consequences of his actions in returning someone to a planet where they would be executed. The discussion of the issues didn’t have the depth it might, but the change in pace and tone was welcome before the climactic final two episodes. I have seen the first (featuring some fantastic television parodies) which convinces me the series really found its footing about halfway through and is going to close very strongly. Unfortunately Kirsten has jetted of Grenada so it’ll be a week or so before we can finish it off…

Doctor (Blue Box)

With many of the TV shows Kirsten and I have been watching drawing to a close, some earlier than expected due to the writers’ strike, a void has been left. Kirsten is watching Bones which I’ve already seen, so I decided to pick up another show I haven’t been watching. It may surprise some of you to hear that it is Doctor Who. In some ways it seems like prime fodder for me (imaginative cult TV but with a decidedly British wit).

The short version is that I watched the first few episodes when the BBC decided to resurrect it but Eccleston’s interpretation of the good Doctor didn’t really gel with me. Arguably it was his appearance as much as anything. Conversely David Tennant seems like exactly how I would have imagined the role, so I always wanted to jump back in but it never happened.

I convinced Kirsten that since she loved Reaper she would enjoy this too (I think the campy monster link holds at least, and all Doctor Who fans ought to give it a whirl) and we are starting from the beginning with Rose. On second viewing I think I may have been overly harsh on Eccleston although he’s still not what I would have chosen. I may post thoughts about episodes that particularly strike me as we go along.

Meanwhile some people have also tried to see whether I can be tempted into seeing the Sex and the City film. The short answer is “no”. While I could comfortably watch an episode or two with Kirsten (who loves it), it was never a series I really enjoyed as such. The film appears quite evidently to be pure fan service — the equivalent of Serenity for us Firefly fans — and it is no surprise that I don’t know a single straight man who actively harbours any desire to see it, though many will be dragged along by their other halves. In fact the suspension of disbelief really requires being a fan in order to ignore the fact these are aging women (however good they may look for their ages), compared to the ludicrously young models they are supposedly dating. The necessary lack of evolution in the characters will further prevent outsider entry, coupled with the “here’s what you’re watching” narration that was already tired by the end of the series. In fact the only way I can see it drawing a wider  crowd is if the big reveal is that Samantha is a Decepticon. Actually that would explain everything

"Civilization now depends on self-deception. Perhaps it always has."

(CC) BY-NC 2004-2023 Priyan Meewella

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