I think I’ll have to agree with Mr. Burgess on this one and say the Cybermen. Even in the early days when you could tell they were blokes wearing army boots coated in silver spray paint. There is just something so fascinating about them, they have remained cold and creepy over all this time. I think the first story I saw them in was Age of Steel/Parting of Ways in series 2 of the new series, and even though the Cybus Cybermen were lame in comparison I still loved them. My favorites are probably from the Troughton era; when I think of Cybermen the first image that comes to mind is that iconic picture of them marching through London in The Invasion.

The Cybermen invading London

I definitely see them in a similar light to that of Tat Wood and Lawrence Miles: that sci-fi trope of reacting to emerging transplant technology. Bits of humanity put into different vessels. Here, using bits of human tissue to run a cybernetic body. And leave it to the Genius that is Teh Moff to take the Cybermen in a new and creepier direction in “The Pandorica Opens.”

Damn, another one of these?

Well, I guess I can talk a bit about our short lived run at attempting to get Doctor Who at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin.

There is a group in San Antonio that shows episodes of Doctor Who, and my friend Tara convinced me to get things going in Austin. Her husband owns Dragon’s Lair comics and they are an advertiser at the Alamo, so she tried to help us get something going. We met with the general manager and event coordinator, thought things would be groovy, and waited to hear back from the Alamo (who seemed super interested). From what we gathered, Doctor Who would be lumped in with their Weird Wednesdays thing they do. Which is fine by me.

Turns out they looked into it, and the BBC was not a fan. Apparently they are getting very strict about airing episodes of their products in the US.

Our rep checked into doing our proposed events and found out that BBC, apparently, has strict rules against issuing rights to play their content outside of an official BBC event. She also told me that they tried to do something like this a number for years ago and BBC wouldn’t authorize it and told them they would face legal trouble if they went on with the event. This hasn’t changed since. The programming people checked into it and she forwarded that information on to me. She said, in fact, that the event in San Antonio may be in danger because they are all merging and the programming people have to review all the currently running events at all the theaters since they will all be under one big roof now.

So not only will DW not make it onto the screens in Austin, but it sounds like the one in San Antonio may be in danger of shutting down as well. Which is a total bummer. Oh well.

Blast it all! It stipulates a choice by using the word “or.” fjdklsajfdklsa;. Hmm.

Well, I’ll choose my favorite series of the New Series (therefore, this is not my overall favorite, nor my favorite of the Classic Series … just of the New Series, meaning the series on BBC One starting in 2005).

Which is easy.

Series 5 x 8 billion. Matt Smith had me at “can I have an apple?” and continually impressed me throughout the entire series. He really made this series. Turns out Moff was totally right about him. And I admit that I was worried .. not because I thought he had “big shoes to fill,” but because Moff and the production team kept hyping him up so much.

I was worried that they were setting up these ridiculous expectations that could have never been met. But man, Matt Smith really is an amazing Doctor. I really loved Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor, but I think Matt Smith is the best of the revived series. Miles ahead of Tennant, for sure.

The series had its lowpoints, like “Victory of the Daleks” and “The Vampires of Venice,” but as a whole the series-wide plot was so much more well-formed, the companion much more interesting (except maybe when compared to Donna, who is super awesome), the TARDIS was full and happy (except when it ‘sploded), and
RIVER
F’N
SONG
Good lord, do I love River Song. I really liked her in “Silence in the Library”/”Forest of the Dead” (I’m one of a small minority that did, I feel) and I absolutely loved her this season. The showdown with the stone Dalek, writing “Hello Sweetie” on the face of a mountain, jumping out of a spaceship and knowing the TARDIS would be there … she’s just so fantastic.

And Rory! Oh Rory. Talk about a fantastic character. I think we see the most growth in his character out of all of the characters this season. And rather than just go along with the Doctor, and let himself be trampled, he researches things. He confronts new ideas and information head on, and finds out what he can about it. And he grows a rockin’ ponytail. He’s the Second Companion done right.

I think my only real complaint is that the end of the series was so open ended. I think we’re so used to closure from RTD that we have an expectation of something ending and something new beginning. But if you think about it, I think Moff needed to set things up that way. Because we have the same companions again next series, he has to give the audience some clue as to what’s coming up. What the drive of the next series will be. It won’t be introducing a new companion to traveling, as so many of the New Series episodes have been. It won’t be introducing a new Doctor, as pretty much half of the New Series years have been. So I think leading in with a problem already in place provides an interesting and evocative dynamic for next year’s production team to play with.

Oh, and the fez. And bowties.

Doctor: Oh, okay. I escaped then. Brilliant! Love it when I do that. Legs - yes. Bowtie - cool. I can buy a fez…

I think I’ll stop ranting now.

wtffffffffffffff??!?!?!??!!!?????

I’m sorry, but Tinkerbell!Jesus!Doctor is just about the most infuriating thing that has ever happened to Doctor Who.