Assorted Ramblings...

Having seen and been inspired by the housekeeping posts made by some of my f-listees, I thought I should probably have a look through all the fandom-related rambling I did in 2010 and see if it warranted organising. To my surprise, there was quite a lot of it.

Here, then are the thinky-thoughts, reviews, picspams, fanfic and meta that I posted last year:

( Doctor Who )
( Other Telly )
( Fandom-related memes )
( Picspams. Mostly David Tennant centric! )
( Fanfiction )

Wow. The penultimate day already?

Today's subject - My current TV obsession.

Is there anyone reading this who doesn't know the answer already?

It's Doctor Who of course. Although I have to qualify that a bit, because my obsession at the moment seems to be with working out why I'm not as in love with the current series as I was with the last one (or four) and with theorising and speculating with other like-minded obsessives fans as to what the hell is going on with all the cracks in the fabric of the universe and why the characterisation is so flat. Whereas before, it was because I looked forward to seeing the characters I loved and following their stories each week.

( da da da dum, da da da dum... oooowheeeeooooo!!!!!!! )

Today - The best Pilot episode.

This is going to come as no surprise. The first episode of The West Wing is, quite simply, perfection. In 42 minutes, we were introduced to a set of characters we were going to come to know and love over the next seven years, and each and every one of them (well, almost) was beautifully drawn and expertly played. These were people with baggage and flaws and Sorkin laid them out for us to see right from day one. That doesn't mean they didn't develop - of course they did - but in essence, what we got of them in the pilot was absolutely who they were.

The sequence where we meet Josh, CJ, Leo and Toby is masterful as in a few short moments we learn something about them which completely encapsulates them as people. CJ at the gym trying to make time for a personal life, Josh clearly not having one as he wakes up from his desk (not for the first time judging by the way the cleaners are just working around him), Leo being dapper, urbane - and a real stickler for the details, Toby's wonderful, gruff pedantry.

( I don't think it was the tie that got me into trouble )

Today's task is to post about a show I plan on watching (old or new).

Sadly, there are loads of these, and I probably won’t get around to any of them. Two that immediately spring to mind are Glee and Mad Men. Oh, and Damages, so that's three.

I have a feeling that although it's a 'musical' show, Glee might prove a bit too fluffy. Not that I object to 'fluffy' TV - I just find it doesn't hold my interest all that much these days. That's happened with Castle. I've watched a few episodes, but after about fifteen minutes of the last couple, I've picked the laptop back up and am only half watching it. (The fact that it's on at the same time as White Collar doesn't help.)

ETA Oh! I forgot a couple! Channel 4's Misfits - and I need to finish watching Being Human

Maybe over the summer.

And I say that every year.

Today's theme is - the most annoying character.

I can honestly say that I don't have a large number of characters to choose from for this one; in fact, I can only think of two or three who would merit that description. I'm also taking this to mean a character who isn't supposed to be annoying but who, for whatever reason, rubs me up the wrong way.

Right now, there's only one name that jumps out at me - Amy Pond.

We've repeatedly been told that we're supposed to find her "quirky" and "sassy" and lots of other words that indicate the same thing, but all I see is a self-absorbed brat with an overblown idea of her own importance.

And that's putting it nicely.

Today I have to post about my favourite 'ship. But as usual, it's turned into an essay. Oh well...

( Shippiness behind the cut )

Today on the 30 Day meme - The Best TV Show Cast.

There's only one possible answer to that:



Although I confess I do love zinke's answer, too!

I said when I nominated WW as my favourite show ever, that it was one of those happy accidents where everything just 'worked'. Other than one casting mistake in Season 1, this was an incredible team, from the President himelf down to the assistants, Margaret, Ginger and Bonnie. And it wasn't just because everyone - even Rob Lowe, who I don't think has ever been better - was a good actor. It was more than that - they all just 'gelled'.

Today - my favourite mini-series.

Most UK series could be termed “mini” up against the 22 episodes that usually constitute a US series. I mean, LoM was only 8 episodes a series, as is A2A… some series only have 6. But I guess that a mini-series is something which is self-contained, rather than something on-going as it were.

If I'm only supposed to be nominating one of everything, then I'm failing spectacularly aren't I? Whenever a kid at school asks me, "Miss, what kind of music do you like, then?" I have a hard time answering, because how can I pick Mozart over Mahler or The Beatles over The Who? It depends on so many things - what mood I'm in, what I've been listening to recently, what's caught my ear lately. My answer would be different each day, probably, and it's no different with books or films... or TV shows.

So here, once again, I fail at choosing, because there are several candidates for "favourite" mini-series. Bugger it. It's my meme, so I'm choosing more than one!

( It is a truth universally acknowledged... )

Today, it's the turn of my favourite female character.

I didn't have to think about this one at all really. Well, no, actually I did, because I had to make sure that I was choosing my favourite rather than the one that's currently on my mind.

But the answer was the same -

( The most important woman in the whole of creation )

Today, I have to post about my favourite childhood show.

Huh. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

Having reached my advanced age, it's a bit hard to remember what I used to watch as a kid other than Doctor Who, of course... and here I am, thirty-five-odd years later still watching it. The earliest thing I can EVER remember seeing on TV is Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines being chased through a disused underground tunnel by a Yeti! Three was my Doctor - until Ten came along - and Jo and Sarah-Jane were my companions.

There are two other shows that made an impression on me though - enough of one for me to remember them more than thirty years after I first saw them.

The first is a show - a sci-fi show, quelle surprise! - called The Tomorrow People. I think it ran from the mid 70s and it was about a group of kids/teens who had evolved beyond "homo sapiens" to become "homo superior". They were telepathic, were able to teleport around and do all sorts of other cool stuff. It ran for about 5 or 6 years I think - and it was revived in the 90s, although I didn't watch.

The other show I remember was a serial called Children of the Stones. The main character and his son moved to this rather creepy village in which there was a mysterious stone circle. I remember it was pretty scary, too - and there was timey-wimey stuff as well as a Village of the Damned thing going on with the locals.

I'd love to see it again - I'm sure that some of it won't stand the test of time, but I remember it was a bloody good story and that, at the end of the day, is the most important thing. Actually, I'm surprised it hasn't been re-made.

Oh - and special mention goes to Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet :-) I still watch 'em when they're on... oh, the nostalgia!