This looping story line thing that is evidenced by Listen, is definitely a thing. Jenna Louise Coleman called it the Moffat Loop and she should know. And over at iO9 there is a succinct summation, putting it all down to The Doctor basically inventing a monster and letting the logic of that play out through loop after … Continue reading Doctor Who: Chalk and Talk
Stuff I Like
Filled with references to stuff I like in music, film, tv, reading, writing, online etc.
Heroic Codes in Doctor Who
Cooking up a story Writers are like chefs. They have ingredients: pop culture tropes, personal influences, knowledge of their audience, big themes and little obsessions. They also have recipe rules they can choose to follow or ignore when they cook up a story. They chuck everything into a mixture, have it whiz in their brains for … Continue reading Heroic Codes in Doctor Who
Doctor Who & Hamlet: Are we who we say we are?
If you've yet to watch the 2014 Doctor Who episodes, then you probably should. Or you can enjoy this song Who Are You by The Who, which posits important questions thematically linked to Doctor Who and this post. Like: Well, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?). I really wanna know (Who are you? … Continue reading Doctor Who & Hamlet: Are we who we say we are?
Doctor Who: Inner Spaces
If you haven't seen Into the Dalek, then, to misquote the Spice Girls, stop right now, thank you very much. This blog post is about what it means to have a human touch. Some good hard SF concepts and special effects in Into The Dalek, in addition to some nice insights into Clara's world and how … Continue reading Doctor Who: Inner Spaces
A Deeper Breath – more on Doctor Who
The first viewing is raw, impressions are quick, and it's about trying to get the vibe of it, The Castle style. Later, on reflection, and upon a brief survey of what other people think (everything from deep love to resentment at this new guy and the title sequence), it's time for further analysis of Deep Breath. … Continue reading A Deeper Breath – more on Doctor Who
The Secret Museum – epiphany and review
I attended a book talk-launch type thing the other evening. It was for Molly Oldfield's The Secret Museum. It was a good talk. Oldfield was erudite - full of interesting and amusing anecdotes about meeting international museum curators and seeing first hand all the things they can't display. To her credit, she coped well with woolly … Continue reading The Secret Museum – epiphany and review
Fellowship of the Orb: Review of Guardians of the Galaxy
If you like Marvel films you'll like Guardians of the Galaxy. You may like it even more if you don't like everything Marvel has done. I liked it. It was smart and sweet and nostalgic, with some great performances from the cast, plus with added bonus surprise cameos and shout outs for long-term comic readers. … Continue reading Fellowship of the Orb: Review of Guardians of the Galaxy
Messages in the music
Being a person in the world, I have noticed, of late, that it isn't going well. The world, that is. Drought, ice melting, reefs dying, war, famine, poverty, burning this, flooding that, rampant terrible disease things, pillaging hordes of other things, like politicians and media barons, kids being shelled, torture, censorship, kidnapping, rape memes, repression, … Continue reading Messages in the music
Some thoughts on American Gods: a review
Since completing my studies I've got a lil bit more time for recreational reading. Thus, I've made a start on my precarious pile of unread novels. It's largish as there are several handy places to pick up second-hand books near where I live. A while back I started on Cloud Atlas but couldn't get into it. … Continue reading Some thoughts on American Gods: a review
On Being a Writer and a Reader
Been working on the thesis and it's nearing completion. I am both hopeful of and dreading the outcome. What it is forcing me to be is to be a writer and a reader. Mostly you'll say this is easy, writers and readers share things in common, like language, and perhaps a love of and ability to … Continue reading On Being a Writer and a Reader
Writing Bec 