BSI vs the War Doctor

We discuss The Day of the Doctor.

I think you can actually hear my opinion of the episode changing as we talk.

Doctor Who Dat

The monkey's new Saints shirt:

Weeping Angel

At Mardi Gras World?:

Fathers Day Doctor Who

Holding a TARDIS while wearing a TARDIS while standing in front of a TARDIS:

TARDIS at The Crown and Anchor Pub in Algiers Point

Cyberman?

Doctor Who Poster

Neil Gaiman on Doctor Who

There’s a big blue box. It’s bigger on the inside than the outside. It can go anywhere in space and time, sometimes where it is supposed to go. Something will go wrong, and there’s some bloke called The Doctor who’ll make it all right because he’s awesome. Now sit down, shut up and watch Blink.

- Neil Gaiman on Doctor Who

Summary of Screenwriting How To

From James Moran (Doctor Who, Torchwood, Primeval):

Of course, people are still curious. They wonder if maybe the books have some secret, magic formula, a short cut to telling brilliant stories. So, to save you some time and money, here is a bullet-point summary of every screenwriting "how-to" book ever:

--1: Have a Beginning, Middle, and an End. In the Beginning, kick off the story in an interesting, exciting way, introduce all the characters (making sure they're interesting, flawed, with voices distinct from each other, snappy dialogue that sounds real, and their own specific goals and conflicts, especially the baddies), and show us what the main character wants, and the obstacles in their way. In the Middle, throw all the obstacles at them and see how they cope, while avoiding visible exposition ("As you know, my father, Dr Robert McFuckleberry, the eminent parapsychologist, went missing last year under mysterious circumstances"), working it into the dialogue and actions subtly, showing us what's going on instead of telling us. Similarly, don't tell us stuff in the action description that can't be seen on screen (Jack is a black belt in AssKickFu, and loves his mum), show it happening (Jack uses martial arts to kick a guy's ass for insulting his mum), because every scene should move the story on, or reveal character, preferably both. Halfway through the Middle, throw in a surprising twist that moves the story in another direction. In the final bit of the Middle, have everything go wrong, and make it look grim for the main character. In the End, show the main character summoning up their strength for one final battle, where they overcome all the obstacles, save the day (in a surprising yet inevitable way that was hinted at from the very beginning), and walk off into the sunset having learned something and grown as a person - that, or they tragically fail/die, but with a glimmer of hope for the future. Keep it all between 90 and 120 pages (a page is roughly equal to a minute of screen time), and make sure it's in the proper screenplay format (use Final Draft or Movie Magic Screenwriter if you have some spare cash, or the free CeltX or BBC ScriptSmart Word template).

--2: Er, that's it.

Doctor Who Human Quote

Nobody talk to me. NOBODY HUMAN HAS ANYTHING TO SAY TO ME TODAY!

- The Doctor
from The Beast Below

Doctor Who in 2010

The Box Part 2

Doctor Who Theme

More Doctor Who Art

From Ben Templesmith:






From Scott Kurtz at PVP:

The 11th Doctor

Matt Smith

All the Doctors - Current Wallpaper

Dr Who Children in Need Preview

Children in Need Charity

More Dr Who Comic Art

Found this one through Wired, from the 90's:



Something about looking at Dr Who art inspires me. Not sure why. Everything I am writing right now is more grounded. Maybe that is why, maybe my mind needs to see the fantastic as a release from the ordinary/real/gritty/dirty.

Grant Morrison talking about Dr Who:

If I was going to do it, I’d probably do the television version,” Morrison said. “That would be the thing to see. ‘Doctor Who’ for me was always about drama. It was about actually watching it on the television, and the fact that in Britain it was kind of a Saturday night ritual thing was a very primitive, sitting-around-the-campfire kind of feeling. I think that’s the aspect that I always liked: the fact that kids would be terrified, but at the same time, parents would watch it, and they would be able explain to the kids what it was they were terrified about. It was about the communal experience, and it’s become that again, since Russell T. Davies took over.”

“I love the character,” Morrison added. “Jon Pertwee [the Third Doctor], was my favorite, I was really fond of Colin Baker [Sixth Doctor], he was a great actor, a great Doctor, but he had a terrible storyline, which kind of killed that one. I like Christopher Eccleston [Ninth Doctor] as well. He didn’t get enough of a shot at it. But I’ve kinda grown fond of David Tennant [Tenth Doctor] now.

Ben Templesmith Dr Who Cover

Not sure why I am on such a Doctor Who kick lately. I was never a real fan when I was younger (I was more a fan of The Prisoner), and I know it is essentially a kid's show. But something about it has really clicked with me since it returned:

Today's Thread

Books stacked for me or what I am reading right now:

Around the World in 80 Days
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
In The Blink of An Eye
Sailing Alone Around the World

Saw a pic in Vanity Fair of some of the cast from RockNRolla in Victorian era garb. Cool pic, but I can't find a copy online.

Watch The Great Train Robbery last night:



Doctor Who on the brain today. First thing I saw that I really paid attention to this morning. Here are some images from the new comic:







Re-read Gotham by Gaslight last night. Good story, but it definately good have been longer. Makes me really want to read From Hell.

The book is almost always better than the movie. You could have no better case in point than FROM HELL, Alan Moore's best graphic novel to date, brilliantly illustrated by Eddie Campbell. It's hard to describe just how much better the book is. It's like, "If the movie was an episode of Battlestar Galactica with a guest appearance by the Smurfs and everyone spoke Dutch, the graphic novel is Citizen Kane with added sex scenes and music by your favourite ten bands and everyone in the world you ever hated dies at the end." That's how much better it is.

- Warren Ellis

Paul Pope also on the mind a lot lately. His artwork is pretty great. For some reason lately that messy, fuzzy line work comic art is really sticking with me a lot more than the traditional comic art. Doubt I could fit into any of his new Diesel line of clothes, but still love his work:

If I Ever Leave This World Alive - Flogging Molly

"If I Ever Leave This World Alive"

If I ever leave this world alive
I'll thank ya for all the things you did in my life
If I ever leave this world alive
I'll come back down and sit beside your
feet tonight
Wherever I am you'll always be
More than just a memory
If I ever leave this world alive

If I ever leave this world alive
I'll take on all the sadness
That I left behind
If I ever leave this world alive
The madness that you feel will soon subside
So in a word don't shed a tear
I'll be here when it all gets weird
If I ever leave this world alive

So when in doubt just call my name
Just before you go insane
If I ever leave this world
Hey I may never leave this world
But if I ever leave this world alive

She says I'm okay; I'm alright,
Though you have gone from my life
You said that it would,
Now everything should be all right

She says I'm okay; I'm alright,
Though you have gone from my life
You said that it would,
Now everything should be all right
Yeah should be alright

Dr. Who Test

David Tennant Theme