What to watch

So after 2 months I have finally watched Seasons 1-4 of Merlin. I have absolutely loved the entire journey that has been this show so far but now I have to wait until the fall for more episodes. In the meantime I have a whole list of shows I want to watch and I need you to help me decide what to watch next. Here are the options:
- Stargate
- Downton Abbey
- Dollhouse
- Battlestar Galatica

 Let the voting commence!

*update: Right now the voting is tied between Stargate and Downton Abbey. Such completely different shows! I'm excited to watch either one. I'll keep the voting open for one more day.

Update: So between this blog and Twitter it seems like my next show will be Stargate. Although there are A LOT of seasons of it and there was a strong showing for Downton Abbey so I may watch them simultaneously. 

Doctor Who Watch A Thon Season 1 Episode 9 "The Empty Child"

As an effort to justify our somewhat obsessive T.V watching Meghan (Of Coffee and Wizards and @MegTao on Twitter) and myself have decided to undertake a Doctor Who Watch-a-long. We'll be starting with the beginning of the 2005 relaunch and will be posting about one episode each Friday, on our respective blogs. We hope you'll join in – whether as a re-watch or to discover the Doctor for the first time!

*just a heads up each post may contain spoilers for that episode and then ones before it*

Episode Summary

Directed by: James Hawes
Written by: Steven Moffat

Rose and the Doctor find themselves in 1941 London when the TARDIS receives an emergency signal from another time-traveling vehicle. While the Doctor tries to determine where the object may have landed, Rose goes off in search of a child she can hear calling for help. When she gets herself into a precarious situation, she's rescued by the rather handsome RAF Captain Jack Harkness, who owns a time machine of his own. The Doctor meanwhile meets Nancy who has an interesting way of arranging meals for homeless children. They are also being chased by the child Rose heard calling. The Doctor determines that human DNA is being rewritten but it's not obvious why or by who.

Thoughts on the Episode

Love love love this episode. And for so many reasons too.

First of all The Empty Child is a down right creepy episode. The little masked boy wandering around calling "Mommy" is pretty much one of the most terrifying things ever. It gives me shivers and makes me not want to be alone in my apartment at night.Seriously how can this not freak you out?

However the creepiness factor isn't the only reason I love this episode. We also get the first appearance of Captain Jack, who make me swoon pretty much everytime he speaks. You gotta love a guy with a little bit of swagger. Don't get me wrong, I love the chemistry/relationship between Rose and the Doctor but there's just something epic and romantic about her and Jack.

In addition to Jack we also get introduced to some supporting characters, who really make this episode in my opinion. I often find the secondary characters get overshadowed and are frequently underdeveloped but not so here. Nancy is incredibly strong and brave. A total fighter that helps hungry children, even though she doesn't have to. Plus that creepy little boy in the gas mask is her brother, making her bravery even more profound.And then there's Giaus! Or at least the same actor who plays Giaus from the BBC's Merlin. And he's still a doctor! Like Nancy he's brave when he doesn't have to be and I really admire them both.

Overall this is an episode to love for many reasons, it's got great characters, it's creepy, the plot is intriguing, and it's well filmed. There are some interesting camera angles in this episode that kind of remind me of the X Files and similar shows and despite fake backgrounds, I still thought this episode was very visually pleasing.

Favourite Moment

What did you think of "The Empty Child"? And are you as in love with Jack as I am?

Doctor Who Watch A Thon Season 1 Episode 8 "Father's Day"

As an effort to justify our somewhat obsessive T.V watching Meghan (Of Coffee and Wizards and @MegTao on Twitter) and myself have decided to undertake a Doctor Who Watch-a-long. We'll be starting with the beginning of the 2005 relaunch and will be posting about one episode each Friday, on our respective blogs. We hope you'll join in – whether as a re-watch or to discover the Doctor for the first time!

*just a heads up each post may contain spoilers for that episode and then ones before it*

Episode Summary

Written by: Paul Cornell
Directed by: Joe Ahearne

In the TARDIS, The Doctor agrees to take Rose to the day her father died so that she can be there when it happens. They witness the accident but Rose is unable to move when The Doctor tells her to go and be with her dying father. After Rose recovers, she asks The Doctor if she can try again. The Doctor allows it, but warns Rose to not run until their former selves have left to prevent a paradox. As the accident is about to happen, Rose runs out and pushes Pete aside, saving his life, but her former self and The Doctor vanish. The Doctor angrily warns Rose about the damage to the timeline but Rose dismisses it, believing Pete to just be an average person. While Rose goes with Pete to the wedding, The Doctor storms back to the TARDIS, only to find that it is now an empty shell, and thus realizes something is very wrong. Elsewhere, strange flying beasts appear and begin consuming people.

My Thoughts on the Episode

Ahh this episode fills me with near irrational rage. 

Rose wants to go see her father because he died when she was a baby and she never knew him. She specifically wants to go to the moment that he dies, so that he won't be alone. Don't get me wrong I totally understand why she wants to do this but do neither her or the Doctor she how highly problematic this is? Not only could she potentially mess with the fabric of time (because who wouldn't when presented with the chance to save their parent's life) but wouldn't it also be incredibly traumatizing to watch your father die not once but twice?

And then when she does exactly what any sane person would do, the Doctor gets all pissed off,  but honestly he has no one to blame but himself. You've lived for 900 years! How did you not see this coming!

Then they have quite the lover's spat. Including such classic lines as “For once you're not the most important man in my life!” You tell him girlfriend! Although this is followed by “Why does everyone think we're a couple?” Well perhaps it's because you act like one? Just kiss already you crazy kids!

Oh and then despite being specifically warned not to touch baby Rose, she takes the baby when it's handed to her. Rose, this episode is not the best example of your strong reasoning skills. I still adore you but I'm just a little disappointed. 

So this really became more of a rant about this episode than anything else. Sorry about that! To make up for it I'd love to hear what you liked about this episode!

Favourite Moment
When Rose and her Father are in the car after she saves his life, the radio is playing "Never Gonna Give You Up". We've been Doctor Who Rick Rolled!

Doctor Who Watch A Thon Season 1 Episode 7 "The Long Game"

As an effort to justify our somewhat obsessive T.V watching Meghan (Of Coffee and Wizards and @MegTao on Twitter) and myself have decided to undertake a Doctor Who Watch-a-long. We'll be starting with the beginning of the 2005 relaunch and will be posting about one episode each Friday, on our respective blogs. We hope you'll join in – whether as a re-watch or to discover the Doctor for the first time!

*just a heads up each post may contain spoilers for that episode and then ones before it*

Episode Summary

Written by: Russel T Davies

Directed by: Brian Grant

The Doctor and Rose bring Adam in his first trip aboard the TARDIS into the future, arriving aboard Satellite 5, a space station orbiting Earth in the year 200,000. Rose escorts the bewildered Adam around the station, while the Doctor becomes curious as to the station's purpose. The Doctor meets with Cathica, a reporter, and discovers the station is a giant broadcast tower transmitting news across the globe, using special "ports" installed on the foreheads of the reporters to facilitate information transfer. The Doctor believes there is a malevolent purpose to the station that is holding back human development. The Doctor learns from Cathica that a select few are invited to "Floor 500", believed to be the highest promotion they can get, but they never return to the lower floors of the station.

My Thoughts on the Episode

I cannot talk about my thoughts on this episode before stating this: There are going to be 96 BILLION people?! As in 90 BILLION more than we have now? I'm a small town girl and I can't take that many people. I'm moving to Pluto and then I'm going to sit back and laugh at all you poor suckers.

Ok now that I've got that out of my system, let's move on to the episode itself. We've travelled along with the Doctor, Rose and now Adam to the year 200,000 but something is not quite right. For one thing people are drinking beef flavoured slushies. For another thing there is one space station that produces all of the news. Don't we have laws that prevent this type of monopoly? What happened to them? We're also told that "Once you go to floor 500 you never come back" and no one seems to think this is strange either. So in addition to monopoly laws we've also thrown transparency out the window. I can only agree with the Doctor when he says our race has been set back. 

Now let's talk about Adam. Adorable though he is, I continually wanted to shake this supposed genius. Oh Rose why do you pick the dorkiest guys? First Mickey, now Adam (also what about Mickey? Is he not your boyfriend in the future?). I'm not really complaining though because now that Adam's gone, Rose and the Doctor can get back to their compulsive sexual tension filled hand holding. 

There are some pretty strong political statements here, which really made me wonder what was going on in Britain in 2005. The Editor also posed the question “Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's a slave.” The Doctor was quick to say no and I totally agree that what they're doing in wrong. But is it really slavery? Or just an empire? And in that way its kind of history repeating itself (you know with the British empire and all). These questions demonstrate one of favourite things about Doctor Who - it's ability to be down right silly and hilarious while making you think of deeper political/philosophical implications.

Favourite Moment

Adam has brain surgery to have a computer chip installed in his head. As a special promotion they add on this extra feature to his throat that freezes his vomit. Apparently this is more convenient? It just made me burst out laughing for an inappropriate length of time.  But then when I was done laughing and really thought about it, I made this face

It's ok Adam. I don't understand either. 

What did you think of Adam and "The Long Game"? Thumbs up or down? And I have to know, would you opt for the frozen vomit promotion?