Doctor Who Watchathon: Season 2x4 "School Reunion"

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 every Wednesday and 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*

This is the last Doctor Who Watch a Thon Post I will be posting on Bibliophile's Guide. From now on the posts will be found on Hooked on Books. One blog is much more easy to keep up with than two! Now onto the episode!

Episode Summary

 Mickey Smith alerts the Doctor and Rose Tyler to a comprehensive school where strange things are happening, such as UFO sightings. At the school, the Doctor encounters his former companion Sarah Jane Smith and the robotic dog, K-9 Mark III, he sent her, who likewise were interested by the current events. Together, they discover the force behind the events, a race known as the Krillitanes, and work to prevent them gaining control of the universe.


Thoughts on the Episode


IT"S UTHER PENDRAGON!!!!

Back when I was just a casual, every now and then Doctor Who watcher (instead of the crazy fangirl I am now) I was an avid Merlin watcher. I'm talking 3-4 episodes a day. So anyway, it should be no surprise that I was instantly in love with this episode when he arrived on screen.

Buy anyways, onto the episode itself. 

The Doctor and Rose are back in present day England (surprise surprise) at the request of Mickey. He's noticed something weird and asked them to come back and investigate. Now they're undercover in a local highschool. David Tennant as a teacher (god he's sexy in those glasses) and Rose as a cafeteria lady (Jamie Oliver would have a field day in this place!). Strange crazy things begin to happen - like Uther eating somebody! - and then Sarah Jane shows up!

I loved the return of Sarah Jane and K-9. Not only because K-9 is the coolest robot dog ever, but because this definitely mixes things up between the Doctor and Rose. Rose is forced to confront the fact that the Doctor will live forever (and she won't) and that she's not his first companion. I think these revelations bring their relationship to an interesting place - but once again I wish that Rose would stop stringing Mickey along. If he doesn't have a chance with you tell him! It's just mean otherwise. 

There are some dark and human moments for the Doctor in this episode - particularly when Uther (sorry I can't refer to him as anything else) asks to join forces so they can bring back the Time Lords. You can't blame him for being tempted - it has to be lonely being the last of your people.

But all seriousness aside I loved to see the interactions between the various characters in this episode. There's a lot of great relationships and they all experience their ups and downs but for the most part I think all their relationships are built on love and that makes me happy (sorry for the sappiness).

Favourite Moment


When K-9 volunteers to sacrifice himself and save the day. Best dog ever. I definitely teared up during that part - and cheered wildly when he was ok!

Doctor Who Watch a Thon Season 2 Episode 3 "Tooth and Claw"

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 every Wednesday and 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: Euros Lyn

The Doctor attempts to take Rose to Sheffield in 1979 to see Ian Dury in concert, but ends up in the Scottish moors in 1879. They encounter a carriage carrying Queen Victoria, who has been forced to travel by roads to Balmoral Castle as a fallen tree has blocked the train line to Aberdeen, feared to be a potential assassination attempt. The Doctor poses as Dr. James McCrimmon using his psychic paper, and the Queen invites him and Rose to join her as she travels to the Torchwood Estate, a favourite of her late consort Prince Albert, to spend the night. The royal party is unaware that the Torchwood Estate has been captured by a group of monks from a monastery in St. Catherine's Glen led by Father Angelo, forcing its owner, Sir Robert MacLeish, to play into their ruse as they take the place of the house's servants and guards. The monks, having arranged for the fallen tree to force the Queen to the estate, have brought a man infected with a form of lycanthropy, hoping to pass its nature to the Queen and create a new "Empire of the Wolf".

Thoughts on the Episode
The beginning of this episode - when the monks invade Torchwood is like Merlin meets The Last Airbender. I love it! I was instantly paying attention. Although come to think of it those monks were freaky. Between this episode and Fringe I'm developing an irrational fear of bald men.

Queen Victoria is a significant character in this episode. There are a lot of references to her late husband, and other royal matters - which made me realize how little I know about British history. You think I would be better informed since we have a whole holiday dedicated to Queen Victoria but turns out I'm more than a little clueless. That being said when Queen Victoria pulled that gun out of her purse she became my favourite royal

Much of the episode seemed way over the top to me and I just couldn't get into like I do other Doctor Who episodes.  It was still fun and entertaining but there were a lot of quickly given explanations that I didn't quite catch and I think I need to rewatch it a couple times to really understand everything that was going on.

 However, despite the drawbacks "Tooth and Claw" is still amazing because of one moment in the library. The owner of Torchwood protests the Doctor's new plan by stating that they have no weapons. Then the Doctor whips out this line: "You want weapons? We're in a library! Books!" and then he puts on the glasses and they read. Amazing! This is truly the man for me.

SWOON!

Favourite Moment
At the beginning when The Doctor and Rose first emerge from the Tardis they are stopped by the Queen's men as she's traveling through Scotland. Upon hearing that they're no longer in England the Doctor quickly adapts his accent.

I love that this is David Tennant's real voice. I'm not usually one for Scottish accents but on him  <3

I also love when Rose finally gets the Queen to say "I am not amused"

Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 2 "New Earth"

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 every Wednesday and 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: James Hawes

The Doctor uses the TARDIS to take Rose to the farthest point he's ever taken her, to the year five billion and twenty-three in the M87 galaxy. Humanity, after the destruction of the Earth, settled onto a very Earth-like world, called "New Earth", and Rose admires its beauty. The Doctor is summoned to "Ward 26" in a hospital in New New York through his psychic paper, and while he travels to the Ward, gets separated from Rose. In the Ward, the Doctor meets several humanoid feline nuns of the Sisters of Plenitude who are overseeing the patients, all who have incurable maladies but are somehow being cured by the Sisters.

Thoughts on the Episode
Rose and the Doctor have travelled all the way to "New Earth". I have mixed feelings about the so called New Earth right off the start. First I thought it was kind of morbid, like stuffing your dead dog. Then I thought it was inspiring the way humanity rallied together and put aside  to create a New Earth. And then the pessimism kicked in and I figured future humanity would probably mess this one up too. What can I say? I'm complex.

Anyway once they're on the planet they make their way to a hospital run by cat nuns. Yes cat nuns. These cat nuns decided the Hippocratic oath was not going to be a part of New Earth and infected an entire warehouse of people with EVERY DISEASE. And I don't mean one person for each disease. I mean each person has ALL THE DISEASES! All of this just reaffirmed my belief that cats are not to be trusted.

This episode also see's the return of Cassandra (The Last Human from Season 1). Her return and subsequent taking over the bodies of Rose and the Doctor adds some fantastic humour to this episode. Like her attempt to speak with a Cockney accent. , or David Tennant pretending to be a woman living in a man's body. David Tennant you are foxy - even when your mind has been taken over by an evil crazy lady.

All craziness aside this is a good episode. It asks some good ethical questions. Like when does medical research serve the greatest good and when is it harmful? And how long should life last? And is it any wonder the Doctor has a god complex when he created an entire sub species of humans?

And the most important question of all - why can't I pull a Cassandra and put myself in this situation

Favourite Moment
It's a toss up between when the cat nuns realize they're caught and they whip out the line "who needs arms when we have claws!" and when the Doctor straps the antibiotics for every disease (?) to his chest and slides down the elevator shaft.

The Doctor is my superhero.

Doctor Who Watch A Thon Season 2x1 “The Christmas Invasion”

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 every Wednesday and 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: James Hawes

The newly regenerated Doctor travels to present day London and Rose is happy to be home. Her mother is happy to see her, her protestation to the contrary. The Doctor isn't well however suffering from what he describes as a surplus of energy. While he is in a coma-like state, the people of the Earth are threatened by the Sycorax who threaten to destroy one-third of the planet's population if they don't surrender. The Prime Minister, in the apparent absence of the Doctor, asks for assistance from Torchwood but it's slow in coming and the end is fast approaching.

Thoughts on the Episode

This episode has a very special place in my heart. It is the very first episode of Doctor Who I ever experienced. Back before I knew who Rose was, or how much David Tennant would rock my sock. Back before Tardis, Dalek and Sonic Screwdriver were a part of my regular vocabulary.

Beyond that, what this episode really comes down to for me is getting to know the new Doctor. He’s still the Doctor and there’s a lot of affirming that he hasn’t changed that much. He’s still very loud, very vocal and very honest  blunt. All characteristics that I love about him. But David Tennant brings some new qualities to the Doctor. Meg mentioned this in her post as well, but he’s very human. He can get way more emotional. Which I think can be a good thing, but it can also be a little too much sometimes. His decision to destroy Harriet’s career was pretty extreme but I understood where it was coming from.  

Also can we just take a moment to enjoy how nice to look at he is…

*Sigh* I will never get tired of looking at that face.

I swear I’m the only person that likes Mickey. Ok maybe like is a strong word, but I care about his character. And I was incredibly pleased with his actions in this episode. He’s a lot braver/smarter than Rose gives him credit for. So let’s all just give Mickey a pat on the back – because he never gets one! 

Anyway - new doctor, new season. I am very excited for the episodes ahead!

Favourite Moment

Obviously it would have to be the spinning Christmas tree.  This tree is spinning so fast it goes through walls. As I mentioned this was my very first Doctor Who episode so at the sight of this killer Christmas tree I may have burst out laughing – and my love of this brilliant show was formed.

Doctor Who Watch a Thon Season 1 Episode 13 "The Parting of Ways"

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: Joe Ahearne 

As the Dalek fleet approaches Earth, the Doctor and Jack land the TARDIS on the Dalek othership to rescue Rose Tyler, using the tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator to protect themselves from the Dalek weapons. The Dalek Emperor, who describes himself as a god, explains that he managed to survive the Time War in a crippled ship, and rebuilt the race by harvesting genetic materials from the humans such as those delivered from the Game Station. The Doctor observes that the Daleks have gained human traits and emotion by this process and have, because of their creed and resulting self-hate, become deadlier than ever. After bringing Rose aboard, the Doctor returns the TARDIS to the Game Station and works with Jack and the remaining humans aboard to prepare for the Dalek attack.

Thoughts on the Episode
I have so much love for this episode. I'm going to have to break it down into points.

1) Giant Emperor Dalek. Say what you will about this evil giant Dalek but part of me thinks he's totally awesome. He is a survivor. All his people died so what did he do? Got some new people! I can't say I approve of his methods but at least he didn't give up. Also his creation of a new race of Daleks brings to light some interesting questions about god, religion and beliefs. As a former Religious Studies major I was in philosophical heaven! (pun intended)


2) Jack being a hero. When we first met Jack he was an intergalactic cowboy. He had his own charm and charisma. He was amazing all on his own. But the last few episodes he's totally been living in the Doctor's shadow (to be fair it is the Doctor's show - but still). This episode however he really takes charge and is a hero in his own right. I was so proud.

And then they leave him there. But we'll talk about that later...

3) Rose saving the day (or refusing to be a bystander) When Rose got sent back to her own time and gave that speech about standing by and doing nothing while the world ends, I wanted to cheer. I love when Doctor Who touches on some more serious issues and this episode does it twice! Once with the Daleks and religion and now with Rose and the idea of standing by and doing nothing. This is where my love of Rose becomes set in stone. She goes back to the Doctor knowing full well she could die - but she goes none the less. If that's not bravery I don't know what is.

4) They finally kiss! After a whole season of sexual tension filled hand holding it was about time! "I think you need a Doctor" *fans self*

5) Mr. David Tennant I may have sushed everyone in the room when he started to transform. David Tennant is not only a talented and gorgeous man, but he is by far my favourite Doctor. I look forward to posting about him :)

Favourite Moment
All the moments! This episode is amazing. It's exciting, everyone is a hero, at times it actually breaks my heart.
I FEEL ALL OF THE FEELINGS!!

Doctor Who Watch a Thon: Season 1 Episode 12 "Bad Wolf"

As an effort to justify our somewhat obsessive T.V watching Meghan (Of Coffee and Wizardsand @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
Director: Joe Ahearne

The three TARDIS travellers find themselves separated, waking up with temporary amnesia in various reality television and game shows. The Doctor finds himself in a Big Brother house, Rose on the set of The Weakest Link hosted by the "Anne Droid", and Jack facing the female androids Trine-e and Zu-Zana who offer to give him a brand new image, à la What Not to Wear. All three find out that the shows are more fatal than their twenty-first century counterparts. On The Weakest Link and Big Brother, losing contestants are seemingly disintegrated, while on What Not to Wear, participants undergo major cosmetic surgery. Jack and the Doctor escape from their shows, the Doctor bringing along a contestant called Lynda, and discover they are on the former Satellite Five, which the Doctor previously visited in "The Long Game", now under the control of the Badwolf Corporation.  

Thoughts on the Episode

There is some bizarre stuff going on in this episode. All three characters, find themselves on some crazy adaptations of famous reality TV shows. I felt very thrown into this episode, as it immediately starts with the Doctor being thrown into the Big Brother house, but once I figured out what was going on it was a lot of fun.

Captain Jack as always is a joy to watch. Transported into What Not to Wear, he's in his element. Showing off in the different outfits they dress him in, pulling a gun out at the last minute (from where? Well that's better left to the imagination). Things are quite serious/dire for the Doctor and Rose, so it's nice to have Jack provide some comic relief and lower the tension of the episode. 

Was I the only one shocked by the return of the Daleks the first time they saw this? How did they survive? How did so many of them survive. Their voices are so creepy, they always give me the shivers. It's quite the elaborate plan they've orchestrated here, having the entire Earth be potential game show contestants, where losing means death. It also blows my mind how this has been hinted at so many times. I caught a few of the Bad Wolf references throughout the season but no where near all of them.

I'm super excited for next week to see how this all works out and what the Doctor intends to do to save Rose. Are they all going to make it? AHHH maddness!!

Favourite Moment
All the fabulous one liners throughout this episode. Especially when they're playing the games. Two of my favourites are:
" She was the weakest link - she got disintegrated."
"You have 10 second to say your farwells and then we're gonna get you!"

I know it makes me a little dark, but I actually laughed out loud at some of these lines. Those Daleks have a sense of humour ;)

Sailor Moon Photo Challenge (1)

It all started one night over some Bellinis...

My friend Angel (Of Mermaid Visions) and I share a love of Sailor Moon. In order to spread that love she dared me to take (and post) 25 photosin the Sailor Moon pose. And thus the Sailor Moon photo challenge was born.

My Goal: 25 photos, 25 locations, 6 months.

After being a total slacker for the first month, I realized I better get my butt in gear and take some photos. Fortunately this was right around the time I attended the Toronto Comic Art Festival, which was full of photo taking opportunities.

I took two pictures (thanks to Michele from Just a Lil Lost for being my awesome photographer), but I'm only counting it as one because they were in the same location.

In front of a crazy awesome 3-D comic rectangle

With this awesome pencil - who also look's like he/she is doing the pose!

1 down! 24 to go!

If you have any suggestions for locations for me, feel free to leave them in the comments!