strange and random happenstance

If you are a true Whovian you should have random Who ephemera strewn about your house. A sonic screwdriver in a drawer, a scarf in with your winter weather gear that is like the one Tom Baker wore... a Dalek on the windowsill, you get the idea. By creating this Doctor Who themed Christmas Tree you now have an excuse to pile all these together to add to the overall theme and give the tree and your Christmas a little something extra.

Thinking about tree skirts, well, sure you could go that extra mile and buy some Doctor Who fabric online and run up a skirt... or, if you have awesome friends like mine who knit you a 4th Doctor scarf one year for your birthday, you can artfully drape it around the base of the tree. If you sadly do not have awesome friends, do not worry, the pattern is an easy one and can be found on multiple sites all over the internet.

But, if you are a person like me with an extreme attention to detail, who wants integration between tree skirt and tree, there's an easy thing to do. Make a mini garland with the same yarn as the 4th Doctor's scarf! What I did was pick up the recommended yarn and just knitted an I-cord (ie, an idiot cord because it's that easy to make). Instead of having to count stitches, because I had the scarf, every so often I'd hold it up to the scarf to see if I needed to switch colors. This way I got some color into my predominately blue/white/silver tree and united the style from tree skirt to garland. It also gave the 4th Doctor a bit of a nod on the tree itself, like I did with 10 and 11.

Here's me just playing with the garland, but as you can see, it's like a mini-Tom Baker scarf.

As for those sonic screwdrivers you have laying around... artfully arrange them on the tree skirt! Psst... the top one is a real screwdriver!

And those old skool toys? Have K-9 thwarting a Dalek under the bows of the tree. Pretty spiffy Dalek eh? He's one of the Millennium Daleks from 1999, sadly he recently had an accident and his eye stalk no longer moves.

Also, don't forget those adorable little Adipose! They don't want to be left out with their adorable little fang. This one seems to be strongly in favor of the 10th Doctor...

And for this coming Christmas... I was recently at my local comic book shop and look what I found! TARDIS Christmas lights! This Christmas is going to be even more Doctor Who awesome then last Christmas! Also, I say Christmas... but really, this tree could conceivably stay up all year... or at least, like I did this year, till Easter, when the new season began. Truly, I wasn't lazy, it was all for Matt Smith. And now for the final unveiling!

And here is the final tree!

Mr. Smith... your close up! (You too Eccleston and Tennant.)

The tree at night!

And a close up at night. Whew! I hope you have had as much fun as I have had making this tree. Have a very Whovian holiday season one and all!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 1 comments  

Labels: Adipose, Christopher Eccleston, Daleks, David Tennant, Doctor Who, I-Cord, K-9, Knitting, Matt Smith, Sonic Screwdriver, TARDIS, The 10th Doctor, The 4th Doctor, Themed Christmas Tree, Tom Baker, Whovian

The obvious fact arises, when making a Doctor Who Christmas Tree is that, well, you can't get around this point, but, there needs to be a Doctor, preferably, all the Doctors. This really cute "Eleven Doctors Mirco-Figure Set" came to my attention sometime last year. I thought it was really cute, but couldn't really justify spending the $40 on it. But then my Christmas tree had this Doctor need... so, well, I bought the set.

I mean, look how cute they are in the box. Look at Tom Baker's scarf! How could you not want to own all of them! Plus, they do more characters then just The Doctor, so if I ever wanted more characters from the Whoverse... well I'm set. Though two of my friends have been buying those little mystery packs and they have an inordinately large selection of Amy Ponds now and I don't think I could handle that...

When I opened the box I was happily surprised to see all the mini little sonic screwdrivers, and look, Sylvester McCoy has his umbrella! Oh, vegetation on Peter Davidson! Yes, I'm a dork and I happily admit it!

So how to turn these little guys into ornaments? Well, it's easier then you'd think. First take your little Doctor and an ornament hook. Pop off his head and bend the hook as shown. Place hook over circular plastic spinal column... would you call it that? Sounds a bit creepy, but plastic exposed neck area. Pop head back on and viola! Doctor ornament.

Repeat 10 more times.

Then hang them in your tree. They provide a nice color pop, especially Colin Baker with his ludicrous outfit. Also, it becomes a game when your friends come over... can they find all 11? Oh, I do hope they come out with a 12th this year so I'm ready for this years Christmas special!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 12th Doctor, Amy Pond, Colin Baker, Doctor Who, Ornament, Peter Davidson, Sylvester McCoy, The 4th Doctor, The 5th Doctor, The 6th Doctor, The 7th Doctor, Themed Christmas Tree, Tom Baker

Last of the Gaderene by Mark Gatiss
Published by: BBC Books
Publication Date: January 4th, 2000
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Wing Commander Alec Whistler fell in love with the town of Culverton, as well as a young lady, when he was stationed there during the war flying spitfires out of the aerodrome. He might have lost the love of his life in an air raid, but thankfully he survived the war and went on to make Culverton his home. Though as the village fete approaches it is a sad day in Culverton because the Ministry of Defense has closed the aerodrome and sold it to a mysterious company, Legion International, "getting us where we want to go." When Legion International breaks the quite of this quaint town with their loud lorries and there black-shirted employees who are a little overzealous in meting out punishment on those that stand in their way, Whistler calls up an old friend with connections to get to the bottom of what is going on.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart is glad to help an old friend. Luckily The Doctor is still hanging around, though his imposed exile on 20th century earth, which included a forced regeneration, has blessedly been lifted, the Brigadier asks for him and Jo Grant to check out the situation in Culverton. The instant they arrive they know something is wrong. The head of operations at Legion International, Bliss, is an odd and secretive woman. Plus, when The Doctor sneaks into the air hangers he sees somethings that don't add up with the company's proposed purpose. Why a vertical wind tunnel? Then the very man they came to meet, Wing Commander Alec Whistler, disappears, and his young neighbor, Noah, who was doing some investigating with Whistler shows up in such a state of shock his life is feared for. Whistler isn't the only one who has disappeared... though some have returned. Different. Smiling. Strange. The Doctor calls in the Brigadier to come to Culverton. He needs his governmental clout, and if that doesn't work, he needs his weapons.

It is no surprise to me that when they chose the lineup of books to mark the 50th anniversary this year that among them was a Mark Gatiss book. Besides being one of the writers for the new series he is a fanboy extraordinaire through and through. Even if you haven't read the book's introduction, where he rhapsodizes about his new Zygon and his three different Jon Pertwee action figures, you just need to watch any one of his Doctor Who Confidentials to realize how much he knows about Doctor Who and how much he loves it. He fits into that rare category that David Tennant and Russell T. Davies occupied on Confidential, where he can just talk for hours on the subject but yet make it interesting. It didn't surprise me in the least when two of the three of these men left Doctor Who that Confidential wasn't able to endure. They were that show. In fact, Mark Gatiss can easily be credited with helping Doctor Who survive during its extended hiatus, during which time he wrote many Doctor Who books, Last of the Gaderene being one of them.

Though all these foreknowledge just made me leery that the book might not live up to the hype that I had created in my own mind. I mean, sure, Gatiss is a successful writer outside the sphere of Doctor Who, quite awhile before I even knew who he was I had picked up his first Lucifer Box book, The Vesuvius Club, based on a blurb on the cover by Stephen Fry, and I wasn't disappointed. In fact his fun camp series fits very well within the same genre as Doctor Who. But the fact has to be pointed out that while a gifted writer, he does have a tendency to stick to a proscribed series of tropes. Gatiss has a predilection for a period atmosphere, usually Victorian or WWII, and a desire to bring in the military... of course, the more I think about this, The 3rd Doctor being The Doctor of his formative years, perhaps these themes are actually a result of Doctor Who! The Doctor being stranded on earth in the 20th Century and having to work with UNIT... yes... this might explain a lot. But it also means that when asked to write a book for said Doctor, well, he didn't disappoint.

If you've picked up this book, you are obviously a Doctor Who fan. I can't really see anyone picking this book up on a whim, though I bet it would still work, but don't take my word for it. There is a chance though that you might not be too familiar with this Doctor. What Gatiss has done is given us a little glimpse, a vignette, of The Third to ease us into the story. While Last of the Gaderene takes place while The Doctor is still working with UNIT, he is no longer technically stranded on earth anymore. In a little side jaunt celebrating his freedom we get some classic Jon Pertwee moments as he races through a jungle in his puffy shirt and tight slacks, white hair haloing his head. A karate chop here and there, celebrating the "action Doctor" that he is with his cape flying behind him. In just this short little chapter you see not only his mannerisms and sartorial choices, but with his willingness to sacrifice himself for someone he barely knows, you see that compassion that is a hallmark of The Doctor. You can also feel the glee that Gatiss had in writing this camp Doctor in all his glory. A true passion for your subject can really go a long way to make the reader love the story as well.

But what made me fall for the book was it's pure Britishness. The real star of this book is the village of Culverton and it's beautiful English way of life that is shattered. The fact that the vicar and The Doctor show the most amount of concern for a tire track tearing up the edge of the village green just makes me giggle with glee, much the way I do for all of Hot Fuzz, which has a similar MO. What appeals to this yank about British television and literature is this quaint idealized way of country life. The village fetes and tombolas. The village green and the local pub. A place that is timeless whenever the story takes place. Yet it's the stories that take it one step further, the ones, like Midsomer Murders, that show us the evil that lurks beneath the surface. They break the sanctity of this idealized life. The calm that is broken with an alien invasion force in full black-shirt regalia. Yes please! I feel it in my bones that this level of campy satire with the dandy of a Third Doctor was perfectly realized with this book and is the first book in this select series which I would heartily recommend, despite the fact that oddly, yet again, we have a "legion" mind meld, telepathic thing going on, which I guess must be the theme... we'll have to see if Tom Baker stumbles onto it next...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: David Tennant, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Book Challenge, Hot Fuzz, Jon Pertwee, Last of the Gaderene, Lucifer Box, Mark Gatiss, Midsomer Murders, Russell T. Davies, The 3rd Doctor, The Brigadier, Tom Baker, UNIT, WWII

Dreams of Empire by Justin Richards
Published by: BBC Books
Publication Date: August 3rd, 1999
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

The Haddron Republic has just ended a mighty civil war. One of their leaders, Kesar, took it upon himself to make the Republic an Empire. His Empire. Though his dreams were destroyed by his childhood friend Trayx. They fought a mighty war and in the end Trayx was victorious. Kesar was sentenced to imprisoned exile among the stars. Kesar and his remaining loyal followers would live on Santespri with a garrison of Trayx's soliders. Though his exile isn't what truly brought Kesar low, it's the attack on him after his sentencing, he was disfigured so badly he now wears a metal mask while spending all his time playing chess with his second in command, Cruger. The hope is that chess will make the two of them see why their coupe failed as well as while away the hours.

The TARDIS materializes in a lower section of the castle on Santespri just as Trayx has come to visit Kesar and a murder has happened. At first considered persons of interest, The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria, soon are viewed as allies when The Doctor points out, not only can they not be the murderers, but that there's a ship, an unscheduled ship, heading straight for Santespri, and that they should marshal their resources and get ready for attack. But is the ship coming to rescue Kesar to lead him to the throne he once desired, or is it coming to kill him and make of him the martyr Trayx hoped Kesar would never be. A symbol to rally around and restart the civil war. Or is there more going on then any of them know?

Dreams of Empire is one of those books that struggles to get started. I just wasn't able to connect to this outer space Roman Empire redux with delusions of Napoleon's exile in Elba but peopled with robotic legionnaires. The empire didn't seem logical or even plausible, plus those Cylon wannabes (they are far more advanced then Cybermen, so I'm going with Cylon) being "Legion" well... the hive mind was a little too similar to the previous book about The Doctor I just read, seriously, whomever picked these books didn't really care about diversity of storytelling now did they? Doctor Who usually excels at combining the old with the new, but here it felt like a puzzle that didn't want to fit together right, like there was a piece missing. In his introduction, Justin Richards talks about ancient Rome in a very muddled way with a lot of what ifs. The fact that he seems muddled even in this story's inception I think makes it clear that he would have troubles pulling off this imagined empire. Plus, while I do have a basic grasp of Roman history, Richards seems to almost expect you to know the play by play of the senate and the consuls in order for you to make any sense of the politics. Also, are these people really wearing tunics but have advanced weaponry and bombs? Yeah... not feeling it.

Thankfully everything in the book changes once we get to Kesar's (Serisouly, Kesar? Is he the Quasar Caesar?) exile on Santespri (yep, another asteroid like the last book, sigh). Because then the book isn't about Empires and political backstabbing, then it's about people, people who you feel a real connection to, and lots and lots of chess games. But more importantly it's about The Doctor, and Jamie (woo hoo) and Victoria. The 1st Doctor book I read annoyed me because it could easily have been a book without The Doctor. He could have been omitted entirely and the book would have still worked. He was a background character used to tie up loose ends. Seriously, if you write a Doctor Who book it should have The Doctor front and center all the time. Dreams of Empire not only had The Doctor front and center but perfectly capture both who The Doctor is, but also really captured Patrick Troughton's Doctor perfectly. You could see him so easily in your mind's eye that at times it was a little eerie. Yet I think the true genius of this book relates to something I believe Neil Gaiman said. That while this is a second Doctor story, you could just as easily see Tom Baker or Matt Smith delivering these lines. Justin Richards has caught a hold of the elusive heart of The Doctor that I have felt missing in some of this past season of the show and made this book 100% Doctor.

In fact, The Doctor is able to carry the rest of the book despite its flaws. The book occasionally gets bogged down with technology and almost heist like antics with the security cameras working or being looped. The bad guy is laughably obvious, even how he's doing it is so transparent that you're just waiting for The Doctor to spring his trap. And the "twist" well, how should I put this... ah, I don't want to be rude seeing as I actually liked the book, but, well... it wasn't a twist, just something blindingly obvious. Like so obvious there was an arrow above it in neon going, here's the obvious. In the end, there's just too many historical and technological things vying against each other to make it a truly cohesive story, but somehow, it works. If you can make it a couple of chapters in you won't be disappointed, except perhaps in the fact that the title of the book is repeatedly said by the characters. Here's a good tip for authors, don't obviously use your book title in the book, it's a bit too meta and lame.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Chess, Cybermen, Cylons, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Book Challenge, Dreams of Empire, Jamie, Justin Richards, Matt Smith, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Troughton, Rome, The 2nd Doctor, Tom Baker

So who is my Doctor (the above picture should give you a clue)? If you aren't familiar with this idea, here's how it goes. Everyone has THEIR Doctor. This is The Doctor that made them a Whovian. The one who made Doctor Who an integral part of their lives. He is the first Doctor you think of when someone mentions Doctor Who. He might not even necessarily be your favorite Doctor, but you know that he is what defines the show for you. He is YOUR Doctor. For me, this is a concept that I have struggled with. Not because I didn't grasp it, but because I kind of wanted David Tennant or Matt Smith to be My Doctor. Until Matt Smith came around, I would have said that David Tennant was hands down my favorite Doctor, but there's something about Matt Smith, his raw acting ability, the fact that he can rise above sub-par writing and being labored with crappy companions to be this luminous, amazing Doctor makes me want to go, "There, that's him, there's My Doctor." Yet I know this would be a lie. I would just be tricking myself into what I wanted while all the while Tom Baker is My Doctor.

Why is Tom Baker My Doctor? Because he just is. This isn't something that can be easily explained, it's something you just know in your bones. But that goofy grin and that scarf are what is at the core of Doctor Who for me. Perhaps it's because he was The Doctor when I was born and PBS only showed his episodes when I was young and impressionable and sitting on my grandparents slightly gross shag rug (I mean, it started out brown and over time it became like orangey/red with hints of green... that is NOT right.) But he IS Doctor Who to me. So who's Doctor Who to you? Who is YOUR Doctor?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: David Tennant, Doctor Who, Doctor Who 50th Anniversary, Matt Smith, My Doctor, PBS, The 10th Doctor, The 11th Doctor, The 4th Doctor, Tom Baker

When I was just a little girl... (ok, now I have "Que Sera, Sera" in my head). But, seriously, when I was just a little girl I don't think I ever had a full weekend at home. My brother and I would be bundled into the car and would either head east to Milwaukee, where my dad would have work and we would stay with my Uncle spending vast periods of time at the Milwaukee Public Museum, or, which was more likely the case, we would head west to my maternal grandparents farm. They had a big old farm house out in the driftless region about half way between Spring Green and Lone Rock (the coldest place in the state with the warmest heart) out on Hwy. JJ. The house was huge, having been a mail order farmstead from Sears that was expanded on over the generations. Almost every Sunday this is where I was to be found, in the house, while my grandfather would always insist that we should go outside and play (rare photo of me "in the wild" flying a kite above). There were many reasons that I didn't like to go outside. One was my really bad allergies, two was it was usually hot or cold and I liked the standard temperature indoors, but three was because of Doctor Who.

I am a tv addict. I love television (though I am studiously ignoring it and obviously bored in this picture of my grandparents living room). I can honestly say that I came by this through genetics. My grandfather was a worse tv addict then me (notice, the tv is the center of the room). Not only did he have the tv on constantly, even eating his dinner away from the rest of the family watching tv, but when he got a VCR he would record everything he watched as well. Now there is only so much space for tapes of America's Funniest Home Videos... I mean seriously, that house was filled with them. At this time though, what was to be his favorite and most recorded show had not yet made it's debut. Instead he turned on PBS and left it on all day. No one was allowed to turn the channel because in the morning was This Old House, which being a constant remodeller in the most unique of ways (there was an outlet built into the top of the house to hang lights on the old satellite dish) he had to watch. Then at dinner time Are You Being Served? was on... which was his favorite comedy. So that there would be no interruption between the two shows the channel was never changed all day.

What was on PBS during the interval between This Old House and Are You Being Served? you might ask? The answer is Doctor Who. Doctor Who with Tom Baker. Now, I'm a little kid at this point, like 6 or 7, and, not wanting to go outside, well, that left Doctor Who. This show freaked me out on a regular basis. I liked the goofy man in the blue box who saved the day, but what I most remember is him being chased in gravel pits by evil monsters, notably, the Cybermen. Now to add to this story the crucial point. My grandparents farm had two big fields and then hills. In these hills were located two quarries. As in gravel pits. As in, the place where The Doctor always encountered his enemies. So after spending an afternoon seeing a show that clearly stated the dangers of gravel pits, my grandfather would tell me to go out and play in a gravel pit (in the photo above, the gravel pit is out of sight to the right). Now, at this point, you might be thinking that, oh, he didn't mean to scare me, this isn't his way. WRONG! This is just the sadistic kind of humor he had, which I have indeed inherited. This is a man who would hid peas in his blind cat's food to watch him sort it out in a little line on the side, laughing the whole time. So in other words, he knew exactly what he was doing.

Whenever I went to the lower gravel pit my parents always wondered why there was one section I would never go into. Well, in fairness, I spent so much time learning about the dangers of gravel pits, I knew that that little curve in the valley created by the gravel was where the Cybermen lived. I knew it in my heart. Years later, when Doctor Who had fallen out of my life, now that my grandfather had switched to watching ABC on Sundays, I would still get chills thinking about that lower pit. In fact, it wasn't until I started watching Doctor Who again that I remembered that this was the reason I was scared. I had totally forgotten about Cyberman and the goofy guy in the blue box, but I remember expecting to see a flash of silver if I where to turn round that corner. I still find it odd that years later I would look back on this time as a defining time in my life, despite the fear. Was a born to be a Whovian? Or did my grandfather make me into one?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: America's Funniest Videos, Are You Being Served, Cybermen, Doctor Who, Driftless, Farm, Gravel Pits, Lone Rock, Quarries, Spring Green, The 4th Doctor, This Old House, Tom Baker, Whovian

I think it can go without saying, but I'll say it anyway: I love Doctor Who. While I haven't been around nearly as long as The Doctor, growing up in the late 70s and early 80s thanks to PBS The Doctor has always been a part of my life. I can literally not think of a time when I didn't know who he was. Therefore, I couldn't miss this opportunity, this once in a lifetime chance to celebrate Doctor Who. The Doctor has been gracing our lives for fifty years! Just think of that, that's half a century. Sure, half a century is no time at all to a Time Lord claiming to be around 1200 years old. But to us mere mortals, us humans, this is a long time and our love for him just seems to grow and grow. Will this show go for another fifty years? I can't tell you, my guess would be no, but if it does, I plan on being around to see it happen. But for now, let us revel, let us take delight in the fact that he has been here this long and shows no sign of retiring the TARDIS.

So how does one mark fifty years? Isn't silver something something like the wedding equivalent? Yeah, you can really see I pay attention... or maybe it's diamonds... nope, totally wrong, it's gold. Moving on... for me, the marking of this occasion will be much watching of Doctor Who, much reading of Doctor Who, much thinking about Doctor Who and then, most likely, much crying once Matt Smith leaves (damn you Moffat). As for how I'm celebrating on my blog... well, I'll reminisce about The Doctor and my life, then I'm doing the Doctor Who Book Reading Challenge, you'll have to wait for an explanation if you don't know what it is, then I'll talk about how the Whoverse has expanded beyond just The Doctor and, seeing as this goes right into the holidays, crafty me (as in glue and yarn, not manically laughing and rubbing my hands) will show you how to do the holidays up in true Doctor Who fashion, on the cheap. So sit back, grab your sonic screwdriver, bundle up in an appropriate Tom Baker scarf, and let's get this party started*!  

*It starts with prizes!

The Prize:
A copy of Chicks Dig Time Lords edited by Lynne Thomas and Tara O'Shea which is a MUST for any Whovian, and in particular, any girl out there who loves The Doctor. Essay authors range from my most favorite of authors, Mary Robinette Kowal (she's a fan of the 9th), to Captain Jack's own sister, Carole Barrowman, who is pretty kick ass awesome in her own right.

The Rules:
1. Open to EVERYONE (for clarification, this means international too), just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter, you just get more entries and prizes if you prove you love me by following.

2. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if your name is drawn, either your blogger profile or a link to your website/blog or you could even include your email address with your comment(s) or email me.

3. Contest ends Tuesday, December 31st at 11:59PM CST (yes, I know it's New Year's Eve, so get those entries in early)

4. How to enter: Just comment in the space below!

5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:

• +1 for answering the question: Who is YOUR Doctor (as in 1-11, I guess you can have 12, though that would be a little silly now wouldn't it)?
• +2 for becoming a follower
• +10 if you are already a follower
• +10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @eliza_lefebvre), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link! There's a handy code on the side for your sidebars!
• +25 if you comment on any of the posts during the Doctor Who Celebration, with something other than "I hope I win" or a variation thereof.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 3 comments  

Labels: Captain Jack, Carole Barrowman, Chicks Dig Time Lords, Doctor Who, Doctor Who 50th Anniversary, Doctor Who Book Challenge, Giveaway, Lynne M. Thomas, Matt Smith, PBS, Sonic Screwdriver, Time Lord, Tom Baker

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: September 17th, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 128 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

There is no milk for the cereal. Fortunately Dad has gone to the corner shop. But he has been gone awhile... he probably ran into someone he knows. When he does show up though apparently it was running into a whole bunch of people he didn't know that detained him. Aliens set on redecorating the planet, pirates who don't know about walking the plank, and dinosaurs who have invented time machines that look like hot air balloons, but are NOT called that. Sure Dad claims to have messed with the space time continuum and is a little late and unbelievable, but fortunately, he has the milk.

For some reason, while I really really love Neil Gaiman I am very choosy about his books. I've never really bothered with his books for really young audiences and in a confession I am sure will shock some of you, I've never been a fan of The Sandman Comics, and I tried, I seriously tried to like those. I was likewise planning on giving Fortunately, the Milk a pass as well, even though this is one of his books that straddles the age gaps, much like The Graveyard Book, which is quite possibly my favorite of his books. I am very glad I didn't. The truth of things is that while books are put in genres and recommended to certain demographics, all books are for everyone and we shouldn't prejudge based on a kooky cover or a bad blurb foisted on the book by the publisher.

I have Neil himself to thank for making me want to read this book, more then just his writing it that is. Back in July of 2013 when I went to his "final ever book tour" he read a bit from this book. While he bemoaned about the hardship of trying to sell a kids book at the same time as an adults book, something James Patterson has mastered with ease, it was his reading of Fortunately, the Milk that made me realize that yes, I need to stop this prejudging of books. So very quickly, in a matter of seconds, I went from not wanting to read this book in the least to wanting to read it immediately. I was put in a situation in which I was exposed to something that I wasn't keen on and it opened my choosy little heart to enjoy this wacky and weird little book.

How can I explain what appeals to me about a book where a dad goes out for milk and ends up encountering pirates, dinosaurs, time-travel, volcano gods, and what have you in his quest for his children's breakfast? It's what would happen if The Doctor did your grocery shopping for you. Now, as you probably know, I'm not just plucking Doctor Who out of thin air or making some sort of weird connection out of nowhere, Neil has written two episode of Doctor Who so far and is a lifelong fan, so this isn't a stretch of the imagination. Add to that the illustrations by Skottie Young... well, the father is depicted as kind of a mash up of Tom Baker and David Tennant, Tennant's hair as it were with Baker's scarf. So Skottie obviously picked up on this Who vibe as well. But it's also the balancing of the totally absurd, Proffesor Steg and the Floaty-Ball-Person-Carrier, versus the totally mundane, picking up milk at the local shop, that is the hallmark of a great episode of Doctor Who.

I kept relating it to the two episodes of Doctor Who with Craig Owens played by the awesome James Corden, where we have the relatable world of Craig and the weird world of The Doctor that keeps seeping in despite him trying to live a life that's more human. But more importantly then all that is that this book is a celebration of dad's who are great storytellers and never let your refrigerator run out of milk so that you can always have your cereal. Thanks to my Dad who fits this unique mold and I am sure has probably referred to coconuts at some point as hard-hairy-wet-white-crunchers, but most likely because he forgot they were called coconuts.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Craig Owens, Dads, David Tennant, Doctor Who, Fortunately the Milk, James Corden, Neil Gaiman, Sandman, Skottie Young, The 10th Doctor, The 4th Doctor, The Graveyard Book, Tom Baker

So, for this Sunday's installment of questions, we go more cultish... meaning, it's time to discuss one of the many awesome things Paul does, which is Doctor Who!
  
Question: From being your friend on facebook I have noticed your decided lean to campy television and B-movies, aside from the obvious references in Helles Belles, how has this worked its way into your writing? 

Answer: I’ve always loved to mix high and low cultural points and I dread the kind of snobbery that separates these things out. I hope what I’m doing through my novels is constructing a kind of secret narrative history of recent centuries, told through various forms of cultural flotsam and jetsam. Soap operas; the Brontes; Shakespeare and the Fantastic Four, Dracula and H.R Pufnstuf – I like to mix it all into a reeking broth.

Question: Expanding on the previous question, your tastes seem such an obvious fit for Doctor Who, how did that writing job come about and do you ever dream of going beyond the books and audios and doing an episode of the show?

Answer: As a kid I wrote Doctor Who stories all the time. The first 30-page story I ever wrote long hand and then drafted and typed up was when I was twelve, and it was a Fourth Doctor story about giant bats in the Lake District. I always, always wanted to write a Doctor Who book. First of all I published some other novels – set in my own universe! – and then, when I had a bit of a publishing record – I approached BBC Books, who were then publishing original Eighth Doctor novels. After that came several others, and then several Big Finish audio scripts for the 5th, 6th and 8th Doctors, and then my adventures with Audiogo, Doctor 4 and Mrs Wibbsey. It’s been an amazing process. Of course I’d love to write for the TV show! But the people that do have big TV CV’s – which I don’t.

Question: Current favorite Doctor, given that this preference could change over time?


Answer: Tom Baker is always my favourite. To me, everyone else is an actor playing Doctor Who. Tom simply is Doctor Who.

Question: Sick Building was rumored to have had the working title of The Wicked Bungalow but was changed prior to release by Russell T Davies. Aside from the fact The Wicked Bungalow is a better title, how much creative interference do you encounter?

Answer: There are always compromises! On every single project that you do. There has to be. Everything is a collaboration – even a single-authored novel. You have to listen to your editor and agent and everyone else involved. They know about getting your stuff out to the audience and can help tailor what it is you’re doing. (I still don’t fully understand the Wicked Bungalow thing, though. I think it was thought to be too ironic-sounding. But that title wasn’t trying to be ironic – it really was a book about a bungalow that was quite, quite wicked.)

Question: You're in a completely hypothetical desert, walking along in the sand when all of a sudden you look down and see a tortoise. It's crawling towards you. You reach down and flip the tortoise over on its back, Leon. The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over. But it can't. Not without your help. But you're not helping. I mean you're not helping! Why is that, Leon?

Answer: I still don’t get this? Is it from Blade Runner…..?*

*I'll leave this up to my friend Aaron to explain, because he really wanted this question asked... if I remember right the reasoning is because all writers who have written in the sci fi genre should know Blade Runner, which this quote is indeed from. Hey, I took the effort to find a poster with Leon in it, so that's my standing. Also, I just realized Blade Runner is two words, how did I never notice that before? I even read the book... though in fairness, Blade Runner isn't it's title.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 1 comments  

Labels: Bladerunner, Doctor Who, Paul Magrs, Sick Building, The 10th Doctor, The 4th Doctor, The 8th Doctor, Tom Baker

Doctor Who: The Talons of Weng-Chiang
Release Date: February 26th, 1977 – April 2nd, 1977
Starring: Tom Baker, Louise Jameson, Christopher Benjamin, Trevor Baxter, John Bennett, Deep Roy, Michael Spice, Chris Gannon, Alan Butler,  Tony Then, Vincent Wong, John Wu, David McKail, Conrad Asquith, Judith Lloyd, Vaune Craig-Raymond, Penny Lister, Dudley Simpson and Patsy Smart
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

The Doctor brings Leela to Victorian Earth so that she can learn such things as how to wear real clothes and maybe even what silverware is for, and to see a Victorian stage magician at work. Sadly, they don't make it to Li H'sen Chang's show, being set upon by members of the Chinese Tong of the Black Scorpion, who worship the God, Weng-Chiang. Strange disappearances have been happening, centered around the Palace Theatre that Henry Gordon Jago runs and which is the venue for Li H'sen Chang. Early in the night a cab driver arrived accusing the theatre manager because the theatre was the last place his wife was seen alive. Could this cab driver be the man who the Tong where attacking when The Doctor and Leela interfered?

When the body appears in the river some time later, The Doctor's suspicions are confirmed. The Tong has, for some reason, silenced a man who could like Li H'sen Chang and the Palace Theatre to the missing women. At the autopsy, The Doctor strikes up a friendship with the good Professor Litefoot, who soon becomes a part of their investigations. Yet Professor Litefoot may be more important than any of them thought, what with being raised in China. Could the God Weng-Chiang really have returned? Or is it someone else cunningly using the Tong's devotion for his own means? It will take all of them to bring down this madman, for it is he who is responsible for the disappearances of the women as well as countless other atrocities.

I remember years and years ago watching this episode for the first time and being bored out of my mind. I don't know why I didn't connect to the episode, it has Holmesian elements, especially in Tom Baker's outfit, Jack the Ripper, Victorian London... yet, for some reason it bored me to tears and I just wanted it to end, which it didn't for a long time, being a six-parter. Going back to it now, I was at first rather apprehensive, I was expecting to be bored to tears. I wasn't! The only tears where the occasional tears of laughter from the lack of budget, mainly the Victorian ROUS (Rodents of Unusual Size) which where occasionally real rats in scaled down tunnels or men dressed like giant rodent stuffed animals, that where remarkably clean for living in the sewers. I'm saying, a little grease could have gone a long way.

Also, I loved that this evil genius villain who combines the horrors of Jack the Ripper and the chic of The Phantom of the Opera has so much trouble finding a box. I mean, really? The Tong and a midget, who is really a pig creature (more tears of laughter here, oink oink) can't get one box from an old man? Hilarious. Yet, it was so well acted, and just such Victorian Camp fun, I don't know why I didn't like it my first time around. I say for anyone looking for a true Steampunk episode of Doctor Who that is into old school Doctor, you need to check out this! Part Phantom part Jack part Sherlock part My Fair Lady and all Britishy fun and goodness. And don't discount Jago, that man look familiar? Christopher Benjamin should! He's Mr. Lucas from Pride and Prejudice, amongst countless other credits. Also, Mr. Sin is every Oompa-Loompa in the newest adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Another fun game to play is to watch how many times Li H'sen Chang blinks... he almost broke Rufus Sewell's record of six blinks total in all of Kenneth Brannagh's Hamlet, and dood, that movie was long. He could totally defeat the Weeping Angels!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Doctor Who, Hamlet, Jack the Ripper, Kenneth Branagh, Leela, Magicians, Oompa-Loompa, Pride and Prejudice, ROUS, Sherlock Holmes, The 4th Doctor, The Weeping Angels, Tom Baker, Tong, Victorian

Never judge a new doctor by his first episode, always judge them by their second. The first is all kind of new and maybe a little weird, the second is when they come into their own. I gotta say, I'm loving Matt Smith. Not my lustful worshipping of David Tennant, but in a quieter, he's goofy and works as a sort of Tom Baker Doctor kind of way. The second episode of a new companion always has to be a huge moment, the moment not when they meet the Doctor and deal with him on their turf, but the moment when he takes them out into his turf. His turf happens to be the British Isle floating in outer space. There are weird menacing mechanical carny booths, think Zoltar, in the 30s, but with a real hidden wicked streak and total control over the ships populous called Smilers. Theirs a complete distillation of all things British into one wickedly fun market, like Bladrunner with bunting. There does seem to be more of a children slant, could it be that they're actually going to not traumatize children forever? No, this episode would so have traumatized me. I already have an unnatural fear of elevators, if one of those Smilers went all evil and dropped me into the bowels of a ship for not doing my homework, I'm sorry, I would have totally lost it. It's that underlying menace of what the Smilers do and that no one stands up to them or even tries to change it that makes the Doctors arrival so important.

So we have an oppressed British people hurtling through space and a Queen, cause there always has to be a Queen, searching for a truth that she is not meant to find and when she does, it's a doozy. But it's the Queen that makes this episode the best. Sophie Okonedo as Liz 10 was a combination of Lara Croft and V. Flowing cap, guns at the ready, and lots of goblets of water laying about as if she were in the movie Signs. The eventual saving of the day happens, of course not from the Doctor but from Amy, who was very Arthur Dent and saved the world in her pajamas. But the Doctor being wrong, and not just slightly wrong, but majorly wrong, was interesting. This Doctor is willing to make harder decisions... he's willing to let there be a looser, versus all winners come hell or high water. But Amy tempers him. Too bad next week we have the stupid overused Daleks, because I like where Steven Moffat is taking us, new villains not the same old same old... well at least that's what I thought till I saw those freakin' Daleks!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 3 comments  

Labels: Amy Pond, Bladerunner, Daleks, David Tennant, Doctor Who, Lara Croft, Liz 10, Matt Smith, Signs, Smilers, Sophie Olonedo, Steven Moffat, The 11th Doctor, Tom Baker, V, Zoltar