Doctor Who

OK, now a few days have passed since the season finale of Matt Smith's first run as the Doctor, I have had enough time to mull it over, and here are my thoughts.

Firstly, very clever. Moffat's natural grasp of the whole concept of a time-traveller merged the usual Doctor Who approach (don't meet yourself), some paradox-threatening moments, and a good chunk of Bill & Ted for good measure ("leave the sonic in her top pocket") and you get a well thought out, if sometimes slightly confusing adventure.

And that, gentle reader, is the crux of my complaint as well. It *WAS* confusing at times, and if I (a hardened 30-something sci-fi nerd with a computing degree) found it so, how would some of the younger audience find it? (I'm not looking forward to explaining it to some of the family, I can tell you!) That's not to say that ALL kids couldn't enjoy it, or even follow it, but I suspect there are quite a lot of kids and adults alike sitting thinking "I really enjoyed that. Now, what just happened?" Still, I'd much prefer the show to challenge people like this than to dumb it down, so I suppose I shouldn't complain too loudly :)

Other thoughts...

I think I quite like that Moffat has introduced cliffhanger elements to the series, but only because he has done so quite cleverly. I hate series that end on a cliffhanger, especially in US shows where the chances of a second series seem to be practically nil these days. Where Moffat was smart was to tie up the whole series, mostly, so that the viewer felt satisfied by the end, and then make passing reference to the loose ends, before having the Doctor and companions summoned off on a separate adventure (hoping this will mean Orient Express at Christmas!). As long as the BBC give him plenty of notice should the series eventually get axes under his reign, Moffat can continue to hang me from cliffs in this way! (provided they are different cliffs; let's not have the Silence run for more than another series!)

I was a little disappointed that my theory about Rory being modelled on Kenny from South Park didn't pan out - http://twitpic.com/1z7ypd

One other note - the show explained how Amy remembered the Doctor in quite a logical way. But what about River? Why was she at the wedding? Did she remember him, and if so, how? If not, why was she there at all? Hopefully this will be explained in the near future, but that was one loose end I wished they had resolved - not the whole mystery surrounding River, just that bit which applied to that story. My guess is they couldn't without revealing more about her, but I really hope it's going to be worth the wait.

What am I saying? It's Moffat, of course it will be!

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Hung Parliament

OK, so everyone else has had their say, now it's my turn.

Let me start by explaining my historical political leanings. I have been a lifetime Liberal Democrat, and don't see that changing in the near future. I have always been opposed to the Nationalist views, believing Scotland would struggle to support itself (at least in the short term). I have always been staunchly opposed to the Conservatives (probably due to growing up under Thatcher's government). And I must admit to being something of a Labour sympathiser.

So bearing all that in mind, what happens if Clegg & Cameron reach a compromise?

What happens is that Scotland gets a government it didn't elect. Cameron received 16% of the Scottish vote, and claimed just one seat. How can a Government who came 4th in a Scottish election truly represent the people of this country?
We will end up being run by a government elected predominantly by middle & higher class English citizens in the Midlands and further south.

I don't agree with an awful lot that Alex Salmond and the SNP say. But I do believe one thing - they care about Scotland. They believe they are doing what is right for our country. Nothing the Tories say can convince me of that, because they almost don't exist north of the border.

So maybe, just maybe, now is the time for Mr Salmond to try and push through a referendum on Scottish indepenence. At the moment, I might actually agree with him.

As for Mr Clegg, I sympathise. He needs to be in power in some way, for the people that voted for his party. Nothing less would be acceptable. The larger number of supporters are south of the border, so assuming he can get certain agreements from them, the Tories are the sensible choice to get into bed with. If he does, though, he is turning his back on the Scottish voice. And in that case, my vote is quite possibly going to swing to the SNP.
Everyone is calling him Kingmaker, but I'm not sure that I would want Mr Clegg's job right now.

Renovation

We are finally getting our dining room and bathroom renovated. This involves removing and rebuilding a wall between the two rooms, replumbing so the new bathroom actually has water and drainage, and then get a toilet suite fitted.

I have to admit being rather in awe of people who can do stuff like that. With the DIY skills that I have, flat-pack furniture can be a struggle! I wish I could do stuff like building a wall, but it's just beyond me.

After day one, the new wall is up, another wall is down, and the dining room light switch has been moved.
Day two should consist of the remaining wall getting taken down, and if I'm lucky a new doorway cut out upstairs where we are going to put in a new toilet.

Updates as it progresses.

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TV Challenge

In line with my previous posts, I've decided to set myself a challenge. As of now, I am going to watch only shows made in Britain.

I'm making 3 exceptions - Flash Forward, cos I'm half way through and really enjoying it; Fringe, because I got the season 1 box set for free; and CSI:Miami, cos who in their right mind could abandon Horatio Caine?!

But with those exceptions, I plan to boycott all US shows.

Why? Well basically because I'm overloading. There are just too many shows I'm trying or want to watch.
24, Desperate Housewives, House, Caprica, CSI, Fringe, CSI:Miami, Flash Forward, True Blood, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, Glee, the list goes on and on, and there just aren't enough hours in the day. Or week. Or year.

I'll keep you updated on how I get on.

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That said...

...I will miss the little gems that you can occasionally stumble across on Sky, like watching Spaceballs on Virgin1 on Saturday night. Still a fab film. Must get it on DVD.
What other films are DVD-must-haves?
The obvious ones, of course - Star Wars (yes, all of them!), Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Harry Potters and pretty much any Disney animation. Then there's the obligatory TV shows (Babylon 5, Doctor Who).
But what else?
I have a few that others might not agree with. The Devil's Advocate is one of my all-time favourites. (Actually, I only had this on VHS but must get it on DVD soon!) Serenity is another must-see, along with it's Firefly tv series. V for Vendetta, Equilibrium and Reign of Fire are all fabulous. (to name but a few)
What do other people think are must-have DVDs?

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The Sky is Falling

So my significant other and I are thinking about getting rid of Sky and just sticking with standard digital telly.
Here's the thing: I'm a bit of a telly addict. I try to pick and choose my shows, but I do watch quite a lot. With all the choice Sky has to offer, how much of it is of a quality that I should really choose to watch?
For example, I'm a big Stargate fan. Stuck with Atlantis till the end. But is Stargate Universe worth the £20-odd we pay for Sky? On it's own, probably not. Add in 24 and House. Then turn to Living for Medium & Ghost Whisperer (the latter of which we have the entire last two seasons taped and haven't yet gotten around to watching them!)
We're lucky - we are on an old package with Sky that would probably cost us double for the amount of channels we have if we signed up for it today. But is that lucky, or just an extension of poor quality programming?
The one thing I will miss is Playhouse Disney - our daughter loves some of their shows. (I know some people have negative views about Disney from an educational/developmental stand point, but I would defy anyone to find fault with the fabulous Little Einsteins, especially compared to shows like Teletubbies or In the Night Garden)

So if the Sky falls, what am I left with? I've reduced my CSI viewing on Five down to just CSI:Miami (Horatio Caine should be in every show, but I just can't enjoy Laurence Fishburne after Grissom), and I'm looking forward to the remainder of Flash Forward. Closer to home good old Auntie is keeping me entertained with the enjoyable Being Human on BBC3 and of course I'm feeling a mixture of excitement and dread as the new series of Doctor Who looms on the Saturday night horizon.
The surprise in the bag for me was Channel 4's wonderful Shameless, which started back tonight. Only got into it last year, but definitely worthy of my couch time!
Beyond those, though, not a lot to write home about.
I'll miss Sky, but to misquote a famous UK kids show (from my era), maybe it's time for me to "turn off my tv and go and do something less boring instead".

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Avatar 3D

The missus and I went to see Avatar 3D at the weekend (the young 'un was visiting relatives!), and I have to say it blew me away. Absolutely awesome film.

This is the first 3D film I've seen in the recent batch, and I have to say I'm glad I chose that to be the first one. It just seemed to do everything right! What a fantastic movie. A definite for my DVD collection (although I doubt it will ever measure up to seeing it in 3D on the big screen!)

DunK rating: 5 stars!