Doctor Who-- Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

Okay, is it just me or are these 7B episodes just really sub par?
Journey was GREAT...amazing, fabulous, wonderful, magical...until that damn ending. Again! Like last week!
What the heck is going on?!
[Moffat] 'Lets use a crack in time to reset the universe--AGAIN--so that Clara, who now knows everything, INCLUDING the Doctor's name, forgets it all! Muahahahahaha!' [/Moffat]
Um. WTF?!

Argh.
So here are the notes I made--

Clara's wearing red again. Has anyone else noticed that she's always wearing/carrying something red?
Does it mean anything? I have no idea. :P

It was really cool to see the observatory, the swimming pool and the library. I feel like I've been waiting years for this episode. The TARDIS scenes didn't disappoint at all.

Didja all hear Nine? "The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get through those doors.."
Did I also hear One and Susan? It was so hard to tell.

What did Clara read in the Time War book?! "So that's who." Who what?! What is his name?!

This episode again reiterated to me that Clara IS scattered through time somehow.

And now a confession--
I honestly don't know how I feel about Clara. I know, I know, don't hate!
I'm just not feeling the chemistry between her and the Doctor. Not at all.
I wasn't a HUGE Amy fan, but I could easily see that chemistry.
And Clara is a bit annoying. And she doesn't follow the Doctor into trouble like, in MY opinion, a good companion should.
This is her fifth episode as companion, and it still feels like her first.
Am I alone in this?

Okay, so I'll be truthful here and say that I'm not expecting much from next weeks episode, The Crimson Horror. It looks like a 'Doctor-light' episode, and those have never been my favourite--aside from the amazing 'Blink'.
But the last two will MORE than make up for this crappy latter half of the series...right? RIGHT?!

What are your thoughts on 'Journey'? Any thoughts on the Doctor's name? Am I way off base in disliking these endings?
Let me know your thoughts here, on Twitter or Facebook!

Doctor Who--Hide

HOLY COW YOU GUYS, THAT WAS THE BEST EPISODE, RIGHT?!
Well, until we got to that crappy ending... ;)

I haven't been that creeped out by a Doctor Who episode since The Empty Child!
The monster was chilling, the 'ghost' was spooky and the scenes in the forest were scary as hell!

A few notes I made--

'A sliver of ice in his heart'. Yep, that's pretty accurate. Remember, this is the man who let Cassandra die, who questioned whether or not he should let Wilf die, who's committed genocide more times that I can remember, not to mention what he did to the Family of Blood.
A sliver of ice indeed.

Ten's spacesuit was nice to see, wasn't it? Aww, I miss him SO MUCH. I can' even wait to see him again in November! TOO EXCITED.

I wonder how many 'pocket universes' there are. There was one in The Doctor's Wife too.
But the scene between Clara and the TARDIS was great.
My theory on that-- It was written in to remind us that the TARDIS can do holograms. A good way to bring back classic Doctor's without having to age them, no? ;)

What was with the whole missing umbrella stand? That was odd. Will we be seeing what that was all about in an upcoming episode?!

It was good to hear Matt's 'Geronimo!' again! It's been too long!

But a weird thing--That crystal from Metebelis 3? Yeah, the Doctor MISPRONOUNCED Metebelis.
The Third Doctor pronounced it a completely different way.
Coincidence? Am I seeing things that mean nothing?
...probably. ;)

Clara is 'just an ordinary girl'. Which, in my opinion, means that whatever is going to happen to her hasn't happened yet.
Interesting...

Okay, now that ending. Ugh.
Yes, I get the metaphor. The similarities between the 'lonely monster needs a companion', like the Doctor--a lonely monster himself--needs his companions.
But man, that was just badly written, wasn't it?
"Okay, lets send him back to the pocket dimension--where the TARDIS could be killed within seconds--to find the monster there and bring him to his monster girlfriend--who we barely saw and never did get an explanation for--in 1974 (the year I was born, eff yeah! :P)."
Um. Wut?

But!
All in all a MUCH better offering from Neil Cross, who's first story, The Rings of Akhaten, was pretty horrible.

In closing, OMG DID YOU SEE THE NEXT TIME TRAILER FOR JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE TARDIS OMG AHHHHHHHH IS IT SATURDAY AGAIN YET???

Ahem!
So what did you think of Hide? Love it? Hated it?
And who the hell is Clara?!

Doctor Who--Cold War

Loved this episode! LOVED!
I didn't love it like I love Vincent and the Doctor or Blink or Midnight or Turn Left or...um, I should stop there. ;)
But Cold War reminded me very much of classic Who and it was just a fun old, non-thinking romp!

And because it was non-thinking, I don't have much to say! Ha!

One thing that I did make note of--Clara stays put. When the Doctor says, "Stay here.", Clara stays.
Unlike Amy. And Rose. And Donna. And Martha. And Sarah Jane. And...er....yeah, apparently every other companion he's ever had.
I found that very interesting.
Is it that she's more cautious than his other companions have been? Or that she's less trusting of the Doctor? Or is she just an obedient person?
Only time will tell, I suppose!

I thought the Ice Warrior was really cool--I loved that they kept the retro look and added that they wear armour--and I was so happy to see the sonic screwdriver go missing for this episode. He uses that thing entirely too much for my liking!

So how about you guys? Did you like Cold War as much as I did? Let me know here in the comments, on Facebook or Twitter!

Doctor Who: The Rings of Akahten

Y'know, I'm having a hard time with this episode.
On one hand, it was pretty bad. I mean, probably the worst episode since The Beast Below.
On the other hand, Matt was SO GOOD that I was moved to tears during his 'take it all!' speech. Like, literally moved to tears, sitting here on the couch, crying. He was THAT AMAZING.
Not to mention Jenna, who was also great during her big speech, right?!

I just...I'm not a big fan of child actors (sorry, sorry!), the songs were bad and the story was just silly.
But man, did Matt make up for all of that. Phew, I can't get it out of my head!

I DID like some of the aliens. They were cool. The barking one? Not so much.
The Susan mention was wonderful ("I came here a long time ago with my granddaughter.").

I DIDN'T like how, apparently, Clara and the Doctor can breathe in space while on a space-moped. Um. Wut?
Also, was the leaf completely different, or am I crazy? I could have sworn the leaf the Doctor took out of Cara's book was a maple leaf.
The leaf she gave to the God was NOT a maple leaf.

But the first few minutes before the opening was great, and the last few minutes as well...which brings me to my theory.
I mentioned it a few different places to a few different people, but never posted it here.
Tonight's episode really cemented in for me, so I think it's time I bring it up to you guys!

I think the Doctor is slowly going to lose his memory, which will lead us into the 50th anniversary special and the Fields of Trenzalore.
I think Clara is a kind of 'key'--possibly sent by the Doctor's future self--to help him remember who he is so that the ultimate question can be answered, "Doctor Who?"
To be clear, I DO NOT mean the Doctor's name. Your name is not who you are.
I mean his memories. His hearts. WHO he really is.

Oh, and a last note--
Clara's mother died on March 5, 2005.
Rose Tyler went missing in the episode 'Rose' on March 6, 2005, which means that the mannequins came to life and the building exploded on March 5, 2005.
Coincidence? When it comes to Moffat? Never. ;)

I'd love to hear your theories!
And what did you think of this episode?
Let me know in the comments, on Facebook or Twitter!

Doctor Who-- The Bells Of Saint John

We did it, you guys! We got through the long, hard winter and finally, FINALLY, welcome back another episode of Doctor Who!

I'm not going to do a full recap--you guys can find that anywhere and, also, you JUST watched it! You don't need me to tell you what happened! ;)

As a mid-season premiere, I thought it was just okay.
But as a basic episode, I loved it. It DID take me 2 viewings to figure that out, though! I was on the fence at first.

Here's a quick rundown of my thoughts--

I loved the beginning. Did it remind you guys of Sherlock? Me too! Tricksy Moffat!

What the heck was that 'say it again' thing all about?! Why did the Doctor make Clara say his name so much there? Was it just another nod to the whole 'Doctor Who' question?
Weird.

Two BIG questions--Who put that password into the families WiFi (Run You Clever Boy) and, even more important, who was the lady in the shop that gave Clara the TARDIS phone number?!
My guess about the latter? River.

Clara skipped age 23 in her book of 101 Places to See. Why?

What's the leaf all about?

How much did you LOVE that Amelia Williams wrote the book the young boy was reading? *sigh*, I miss you, Ponds!

Looks like the Great Intelligence is going to be the big bad for the second half of the series. Veeeeery interesting!

And did you notice that Clara is now a total computer genius? Familiar, no? Don't know about you, but that clinches to me that Clara and Oswin (Asylum of the Daleks) ARE the same person, and now we know how Oswin got to be as savvy as she is!

Oh, and off topic, because I've been asked many times today, OMG YES I'M VERY OKAY WITH TENNANT AND PIPER RETURNING FOR THE 50TH AHHHHHHHH!
I just REALLY hope it's Ten and not 10.5 (the DoctorDonna Doctor, remember?) returning.

Okay, your turn! Did you enjoy The Bells of Saint John? What are your thoughts about Clara? The GI?
I'd love to hear what you guys think!

The Best of 2012--My Thoughts

Before I get to my 'best of' post, I really owe you guys an apology and an explanation.

I haven't kept up with my blog in the last month, and for that I'm truly sorry. The truth is--I got completely burned out. It started to feel more like work, and that was not the goal that I had in mind when I started posting my thoughts here.

There's also just too much stuff going on right now in my real life to even consider keeping up-to-date on my TV shows...so I'm going to have to stop recapping OUAT. Sorry, guys.

I can't promise that I'll post here regularly, but I will do my best to post reviews of any movies I see, books I read or TV shows that I REALLY need to talk about--and that may include some OUAT episodes from time to time.

I really hope you all understand and I really hope you'll all stick around. I appreciate every single one of you for supporting me and my little blog!

Now, on to my Best Of 2012 post!

I'll start with my top book picks, because that was the toughest.
1) Ready Player One.
2) Westlake Soul.
3) The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen.
4) The Dark Side of the Glass.
5) Rift Healer.
Honourable mentions go to Starters, Partials and The Mine.

Next, movies. Another tough one! My top 3 are really too close to put in any order.
1) Avengers.
2) The Hobbit.
3) Les Miserables.
4) The Cabin in the Woods
5) The Grey
Honourable mentions to The Hunger Games, The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man.

And lastly, TV series! I'm doing this one in two categories. Recurring series and new series.
Recurring--
1) Once Upon A Time
2) Doctor Who
3) Fringe
4) Grey's Anatomy
5) The Walking Dead
Honourable mentions to Breaking Bad, New Girl and Supernatural.

New series--
1) Nashville
2) Elementary
3) Revolution
4) Arrow
5) Beauty and the Beast
Honourable mention to Chicago Fire.

There you have it!
Now, what did I forget? What would you add? What were YOUR faves in 2012?

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Wow. WOW.
Okay, to get this out of the way--Not a fan of 48FPS. Luckily, you'll mostly forget about it after the first ten minutes or so.
Growing up with Canadian TV, it reminded me very much of watching Littlest Hobo or Road to Avonlea. It's very much like watching a live show on a screen, if that makes sense....the rain doesn't touch the actors during the scenes! O.o

The movie itself is AMAZING. It's all I'd hoped it would be and more.
It's exactly like coming home again.
Freeman IS Bilbo. I was so worried because I really only see him as Arthur Dent or Watson...but he's the PERFECT Bilbo.

The beginning scenes are epic and amazing.
The first scenes in the Shire are quietly touching.
The troll scene is hilarious, the dwarfs are perfect and endearing (especially Aidan Turner, who has quite a few scenes!), but Andy Serkis as Gollum absolutely steals the show.
This is a much more Smeagol-y Gollum (er, does that make any sense?) than we saw in the LOTR trilogy, and Serkis plays the part brilliantly.
The whole theater was in stitches during the Bilbo/Gollum scene, which, by the way, was the first to be filmed and took about a week of filming!

There are a few surprise guests--I'm not naming names--but you'll be pleased to see them. ;)

Sylvester McCoy as Radagast the Brown is another highlight, and, man, Richard Armitage is a damn great Thorin Oakenshield.

Seriously, go see it....and do your best to get over the initial shock if you decide to see the 48fps version.
It's so, so worth it.

And the way it ends?!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
How am I going to wait a YEAR to see part 2?! (Which opens on my birthday next year!)

Did you see it? What did you think??