So my flist is full of squee over the news of a new series of Torchwood, but I know I am not the only one making skeptical faces at my computer.
Who wants to be skeptical with me? :D
Who wants to be skeptical with me? :D
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I've been listening to a bunch of Doctor Who and Torchwood audiobooks since the semester started (there's a certain amount of time to fill) and am currently in the middle of Joseph Lidster's In the Shadows. I am enjoying it hugely so far for two reasons:
First, it is creepy as fuck and read by Eve Myles, who is really, really good at reading "creepy as fuck" (see also: certain segments of Border Princes - which, a quick Googling has told me, Lidster did the excellent abridgment of).
Second, it contains the following description of Jack: "He was indescribable, like a gay shampoo advert."
I kind of love Joseph Lidster right now.
(Now if only Eve would stop trying to do an American accent for Jack's dialogue. Oh my god. She didn't do one for Border Princes, and now I see why. And I want to know this: why is it that, when a Brit (from any part of the UK, apparently) fails epically at rendering a halfway decent American accent, it always sounds vaguely like the American stereotype of a leprechaun? It's highly unfortunate. And hilarious.)
First, it is creepy as fuck and read by Eve Myles, who is really, really good at reading "creepy as fuck" (see also: certain segments of Border Princes - which, a quick Googling has told me, Lidster did the excellent abridgment of).
Second, it contains the following description of Jack: "He was indescribable, like a gay shampoo advert."
I kind of love Joseph Lidster right now.
(Now if only Eve would stop trying to do an American accent for Jack's dialogue. Oh my god. She didn't do one for Border Princes, and now I see why. And I want to know this: why is it that, when a Brit (from any part of the UK, apparently) fails epically at rendering a halfway decent American accent, it always sounds vaguely like the American stereotype of a leprechaun? It's highly unfortunate. And hilarious.)
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O HAY Yuletide reveal. Yeah, that kind of got lost for me in the last few days. I wrote "All of Denmark", a modernized Hamlet AU set at the beginning of WWII and drawing a little on actual events in Denmark at the time. It was fun to write and I thank my recipient for explicitly giving me permission to go for AUs or modernizations, so that I felt comfortable getting a little out there and settling on a premise that was a bit of a reach.
In the spirit of the thing, have that fic meme that's been going around!
( Cut because I talk a lot. )
In the spirit of the thing, have that fic meme that's been going around!
( Cut because I talk a lot. )
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. . . so I got my usual monthly text telling me about how I have to pay my cell phone bill to continue receiving service and stuff, just in case that concept is beyond me. Usually, I don't look at those too closely, but right now I am writing a really boring paper so EVERYTHING that is not that paper is getting extra attention.
The From field, in its entirety:
"456."
YOU GUYS MY CELL PHONE SERVICE IS WITH THE 456. Now what do I do? Is the British government going to try to kill me? Should I keep a close eye on my eight-year-old brother?
More importantly: should I stick with the 456 or take my chances with the Archangel network?
The From field, in its entirety:
"456."
YOU GUYS MY CELL PHONE SERVICE IS WITH THE 456. Now what do I do? Is the British government going to try to kill me? Should I keep a close eye on my eight-year-old brother?
More importantly: should I stick with the 456 or take my chances with the Archangel network?
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OH MY GOD YOU GUYS. YOU GUYS. You know that fic I've been blathering on about wanting, the one where there's a crossover between The Thick of It and Torchwood: Children of Earth where Malcolm Tucker replaces John Frobisher and sorts out the 456 in no time flat?
Well. I just found out that somebody wrote it. Somebody wrote it AND they are cleverer than me and didn't even have to sacrifice Frobisher to do it. ♥ ♥ ♥
"Jamie, be nice to the twats, they don't know any better," said the other man in the door. Also Scottish, Jack observed, but leaner, grey hair neatly cut, and he sounded a little like - actually a lot like - Jack gaped. It was impossible. It was a joke, certainly.
"What are you trying to pull?" he snarled at the phone.
"Nothing of yours, I know the places you stick it," the other Scot at the door went on.
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degroove is a genius, with perfect characterization for Malcolm and Torchwood having no idea what hit them. Go read "Spinners of Earth" (spoilers for CoE, obvs, though no real spoilers for TToI) and share in my glee.
Well. I just found out that somebody wrote it. Somebody wrote it AND they are cleverer than me and didn't even have to sacrifice Frobisher to do it. ♥ ♥ ♥
"Jamie, be nice to the twats, they don't know any better," said the other man in the door. Also Scottish, Jack observed, but leaner, grey hair neatly cut, and he sounded a little like - actually a lot like - Jack gaped. It was impossible. It was a joke, certainly.
"What are you trying to pull?" he snarled at the phone.
"Nothing of yours, I know the places you stick it," the other Scot at the door went on.
degroove is a genius, with perfect characterization for Malcolm and Torchwood having no idea what hit them. Go read "Spinners of Earth" (spoilers for CoE, obvs, though no real spoilers for TToI) and share in my glee.Tags:
Everything I have watched this weekend was AWESOME. I did finally get hold of both parts of The Sarah Jane Adventures, and watched that, and it was awesome. I figured out how to watch the ready-to-burn-to-DVD conversion of the 2006 revival of Evita bootleg I've had for a while (turns out you don't need to do the actual burning to watch it with the DVD Player program, as long as you've got all the right files, which . . . duh, oops), and it was awesome. And I just watched 3x02 of The Thick of It, and it was FUCKING AWESOME.
And I have to read a huge chunk of Jude the Obscure today (I have a movie I am also going to watch, with Christopher Eccleston and Kate Winslet; it and Sparknotes are Plan B if I run out of time/brain/will to live), so it is obvsly very important that I tell you in detail about how awesome each awesome thing was.
( The Sarah Jane Adventures, 3x05 and 3x06: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith. With random Children of Earth spoilage toward the end, because I can never seem to leave that alone when I talk about SJA. )
*
( Evita! This is the production with Elena Rogers, Matt Rawle, and most importantly, Philip Quast. )
Man, I think I just depressed myself right out of an adequate discussion of The Thick of It. To say nothing of how long it's taken to write this so far, man, my brain hurts. (I refuse to proofread.) I'm not sure I'm up to it in general, anyway - the show has changed in really interesting ways with a new Minister, and a woman at that, and what seems to be a subtle difference in Malcolm Tucker's explosions. He's still funny as hell, but there's been a moment or two where Peter Capaldi's performance is more rawly furious than I recall it being before; it's much easier to see that Malcolm is going to give himself a stroke long before he has a chance to retire. I think I want to see how the show progresses for a couple more episodes, how the dynamic in the office firms up with the new member, and maybe rewatch the previous episodes before I go in depth. I do think that, so far, the show has only gotten better, and I will leave you with a Malcolmism that I choose to interpret as a subtle shout-out to Children of Earth (paraphrased a bit):
"Do you know, Malcolm? How to best clear up a paper jam?"
". . . do I know how to best clear up a paper jam? How about you try killing a kid an hour until it sorts itself out?"
(. . . I so badly crave a fusion crackfic with Malcolm replacing John Frobisher for the events of CoE. I cannot even.)
And I have to read a huge chunk of Jude the Obscure today (I have a movie I am also going to watch, with Christopher Eccleston and Kate Winslet; it and Sparknotes are Plan B if I run out of time/brain/will to live), so it is obvsly very important that I tell you in detail about how awesome each awesome thing was.
( The Sarah Jane Adventures, 3x05 and 3x06: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith. With random Children of Earth spoilage toward the end, because I can never seem to leave that alone when I talk about SJA. )
*
( Evita! This is the production with Elena Rogers, Matt Rawle, and most importantly, Philip Quast. )
Man, I think I just depressed myself right out of an adequate discussion of The Thick of It. To say nothing of how long it's taken to write this so far, man, my brain hurts. (I refuse to proofread.) I'm not sure I'm up to it in general, anyway - the show has changed in really interesting ways with a new Minister, and a woman at that, and what seems to be a subtle difference in Malcolm Tucker's explosions. He's still funny as hell, but there's been a moment or two where Peter Capaldi's performance is more rawly furious than I recall it being before; it's much easier to see that Malcolm is going to give himself a stroke long before he has a chance to retire. I think I want to see how the show progresses for a couple more episodes, how the dynamic in the office firms up with the new member, and maybe rewatch the previous episodes before I go in depth. I do think that, so far, the show has only gotten better, and I will leave you with a Malcolmism that I choose to interpret as a subtle shout-out to Children of Earth (paraphrased a bit):
"Do you know, Malcolm? How to best clear up a paper jam?"
". . . do I know how to best clear up a paper jam? How about you try killing a kid an hour until it sorts itself out?"
(. . . I so badly crave a fusion crackfic with Malcolm replacing John Frobisher for the events of CoE. I cannot even.)
From the userinfo description of a Torchwood/Doctor Who RPG:
This universe is starting out clean by being completely canon. [. . .] To get the game rolling, I'm going to start by saying Children of Earth never happened.
DOES NOT COMPUTE.
This universe is starting out clean by being completely canon. [. . .] To get the game rolling, I'm going to start by saying Children of Earth never happened.
DOES NOT COMPUTE.
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Sarah Jane Adventures!
( 3x01 - Prisoner of the Judoon, Part One. I wish the titles wouldn't be so obvious, I would have liked to have been surprised. Oh well. )
And because this doesn't need spoiler cutting unless you are hopelessly behind on your Whoniverse viewing:
* At one point in "Children of Earth," the question of why the Doctor hasn't come to chase off the 456 is raised (and dealt with stupidly, but whatever, I'm trying to keep it vague here). I know RTD probably felt like that question was the elephant in the room and had to at least be touched on or people would bitch. I am sure he was right, because Whoniverse fandom. My question is, why?
Look at the universe created by these three shows. The 456 were flashier than a lot of the things that threaten the Earth, but it's still nonetheless threatened constantly, and statistically, when you take into account the Whoniverse from 2005 and on, the Doctor doesn't even show up for most of it. People may as well ask where the Doctor was during "Sleeper" when scaryterrorist fighter alien cells were being activated, or "The Lost Boy" when the fucking MOON almost crashed INTO THE EARTH. I know Torchwood and SJA are very different-feeling shows - the threats on TW tend to be more intimate and localized because their incompetence would kill us all, where SJA's are more exaggerated because Sarah Jane can do anything as befits a kids' show, and comparing them seems a bit of a stretch. But: Doctor Who does both. It has "42," where the only thing at risk is a ship with a small crew, and it has "Journey's End," where the entire multiverse is almost destroyed. So, in-universe, why should anyone expect the Doctor to show up for the 456, when so much already happens on Earth that he's not there for?
Which is a weird tangent to go on in an SJA ep review, but watching the show and being reminded of how much happens in the Whoniverse all the time just made the idea that the Doctor "should have been" around for the 456 even more laughable than I thought it already was.
( Aaaand back to the cut for a future SJA casting spoiler that you probably already know. )
And they're airing two eps a week this season, so tomorrow shall be the conclusion! I am so happy this show is back. (Things airing Friday starting next week, for at least the next few weeks: SJA, Dollhouse, and The Thick of It. That's not going to be disorienting at all.)
( 3x01 - Prisoner of the Judoon, Part One. I wish the titles wouldn't be so obvious, I would have liked to have been surprised. Oh well. )
And because this doesn't need spoiler cutting unless you are hopelessly behind on your Whoniverse viewing:
* At one point in "Children of Earth," the question of why the Doctor hasn't come to chase off the 456 is raised (and dealt with stupidly, but whatever, I'm trying to keep it vague here). I know RTD probably felt like that question was the elephant in the room and had to at least be touched on or people would bitch. I am sure he was right, because Whoniverse fandom. My question is, why?
Look at the universe created by these three shows. The 456 were flashier than a lot of the things that threaten the Earth, but it's still nonetheless threatened constantly, and statistically, when you take into account the Whoniverse from 2005 and on, the Doctor doesn't even show up for most of it. People may as well ask where the Doctor was during "Sleeper" when scary
Which is a weird tangent to go on in an SJA ep review, but watching the show and being reminded of how much happens in the Whoniverse all the time just made the idea that the Doctor "should have been" around for the 456 even more laughable than I thought it already was.
( Aaaand back to the cut for a future SJA casting spoiler that you probably already know. )
And they're airing two eps a week this season, so tomorrow shall be the conclusion! I am so happy this show is back. (Things airing Friday starting next week, for at least the next few weeks: SJA, Dollhouse, and The Thick of It. That's not going to be disorienting at all.)
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So, every once in a great while, I will issue a request for fic challenges.
(This is not one of those posts.)
And then I will say, "And eventually I'll gather them all into one post!"
. . . a year later almost to the day counts as "eventually," right? Because last October, I asked for challenges for kiss fics. And have spent the intervening year reminding myself periodically to make that master post, and then not doing it, because I never get to every request and I hate being like, "Yeah, sorry about that."
. . . hey, at least by now some of you are new and haven't seen these yet?
( from sotto_voice: Shaun of the Dead - David and Dianne, theater production )
( from karaokegal: Torchwood, Jack and Owen, on the beach. )
( From ashen_key: Torchwood/The Fix - Jack Harkness and Cal Chandler, hall of mirrors )
( from joanne_c: Doctor Who, Nine and Jack - somewhere unexpected )
Yeah, I can totally see why I procrastinated on doing THAT for a year.
Next up: Crossover challenges from last April!
(This is not one of those posts.)
And then I will say, "And eventually I'll gather them all into one post!"
. . . a year later almost to the day counts as "eventually," right? Because last October, I asked for challenges for kiss fics. And have spent the intervening year reminding myself periodically to make that master post, and then not doing it, because I never get to every request and I hate being like, "Yeah, sorry about that."
. . . hey, at least by now some of you are new and haven't seen these yet?
( from sotto_voice: Shaun of the Dead - David and Dianne, theater production )
( from karaokegal: Torchwood, Jack and Owen, on the beach. )
( From ashen_key: Torchwood/The Fix - Jack Harkness and Cal Chandler, hall of mirrors )
( from joanne_c: Doctor Who, Nine and Jack - somewhere unexpected )
Yeah, I can totally see why I procrastinated on doing THAT for a year.
Next up: Crossover challenges from last April!
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New show I am in love with: The Thick of It.
It's a 2005 British comedy/satire about politics, following the Minister of Social Affairs and all the completely insane shit that goes on in his department. It first came onto my radar after Children of Earth, when people were suddenly interested in sharing things Peter Capaldi has done.
Then there was a movie, In the Loop, based on the show, and it somehow managed to make its little way up to Portland for a week or two. I was able to get out and see it, and it was brilliant. It was funny as hell, reasonably easy to follow despite that fact that I know fuckall about the structuring of British government, and did I mention funny as hell? I was thrilled that I'd gotten to see it, and reminded myself to check out the show.
The show is better.
I know this is kind of an awkward entry so far, without much information about what makes these things awesome, but it's kind of hard to get into it. What's so funny about a wall that's falling apart, or a politician owning an extra apartment? I can't explain it. You just have to see it for yourself. The other half of the appeal is the dialogue, which is partially improvised and as a result sounds really natural. And they had a swearing consultant, so you may rest assured that the swearing is authentic and truly quality. I just don't think the vast majority of it would be especially funny written out. It's a very "you have to be there" kind of show.
And yes, Peter Capaldi is fantastic in it. His character, Malcolm Tucker, is the polar opposite of John Frobisher. He's vicious and aggressive and swears constantly (the subject line? Malcolm) and will cut any throat he has to cut to keep things running smoothly. He is a magnificent fucking bastard, and I think the only thing that could stop him dead in sheer despair would be meeting meek little John Frobisher slinking around wearing Malcolm's face. And even then he'd find some way to turn this to his advantage that would make Frobisher positively long for more poisonous orders from PMHoratio Green.
Tragically, The Thick of It is not available on DVD in the States, though In the Loop will be released eventually, I'm sure. I mean, hell, if a limited release movie makes it to fucking Maine, it's done pretty well for itself. For the record, I am absolutely not planning to make TToI available in any way in the next week or two. Just making that clear.
It's a 2005 British comedy/satire about politics, following the Minister of Social Affairs and all the completely insane shit that goes on in his department. It first came onto my radar after Children of Earth, when people were suddenly interested in sharing things Peter Capaldi has done.
Then there was a movie, In the Loop, based on the show, and it somehow managed to make its little way up to Portland for a week or two. I was able to get out and see it, and it was brilliant. It was funny as hell, reasonably easy to follow despite that fact that I know fuckall about the structuring of British government, and did I mention funny as hell? I was thrilled that I'd gotten to see it, and reminded myself to check out the show.
The show is better.
I know this is kind of an awkward entry so far, without much information about what makes these things awesome, but it's kind of hard to get into it. What's so funny about a wall that's falling apart, or a politician owning an extra apartment? I can't explain it. You just have to see it for yourself. The other half of the appeal is the dialogue, which is partially improvised and as a result sounds really natural. And they had a swearing consultant, so you may rest assured that the swearing is authentic and truly quality. I just don't think the vast majority of it would be especially funny written out. It's a very "you have to be there" kind of show.
And yes, Peter Capaldi is fantastic in it. His character, Malcolm Tucker, is the polar opposite of John Frobisher. He's vicious and aggressive and swears constantly (the subject line? Malcolm) and will cut any throat he has to cut to keep things running smoothly. He is a magnificent fucking bastard, and I think the only thing that could stop him dead in sheer despair would be meeting meek little John Frobisher slinking around wearing Malcolm's face. And even then he'd find some way to turn this to his advantage that would make Frobisher positively long for more poisonous orders from PM
Tragically, The Thick of It is not available on DVD in the States, though In the Loop will be released eventually, I'm sure. I mean, hell, if a limited release movie makes it to fucking Maine, it's done pretty well for itself. For the record, I am absolutely not planning to make TToI available in any way in the next week or two. Just making that clear.
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You GUYS. "Second Look" has been nominated for a Children of Time award. I've never been nominated for a fic award before, and never cared much about it (it all seems to get so political, and I have the vague understanding that CoT is no exception), but it is a nice way to perk up the tail-end of a shitty week.
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So I am currently watching "Once More With Feeling," the BtVS musical ep, and I have two thoughts. (Well. More than that, but.)
A: Spike, even at his crappiest and most Flanderized (WARNING TV Tropes link WARNING), is still infinitely awesomer than John Hart.
B: If there had been a Torchwood musical episode (and oh god why wasn't there, it could have replaced "From Out of the Rain"), it would have required the presence of John Hart anyway. Because James Marsters can, in fact, sing.
Bonus thought: I refuse to believe this episode is almost eight years old. DOES NOT COMPUTE.
A: Spike, even at his crappiest and most Flanderized (WARNING TV Tropes link WARNING), is still infinitely awesomer than John Hart.
B: If there had been a Torchwood musical episode (and oh god why wasn't there, it could have replaced "From Out of the Rain"), it would have required the presence of John Hart anyway. Because James Marsters can, in fact, sing.
Bonus thought: I refuse to believe this episode is almost eight years old. DOES NOT COMPUTE.
Today, I relistened to the three recent Torchwood audio plays. (I was stocking the giant and vastly depleted soda cooler and needed something to do.) I never commented on them in here, so I thought I'd offer impressions on how well (or not) they held up to a second listen.
(Eventually I will do a proper reaction post to "Day Five," too. I've been putting off watching it again, partly because work has been kicking my ass the last few days, and partly because it turns out that that shit was a lot funnier drunk. I don't even know how much I want to watch it sober.)
( Spoilers for Asylum, Golden Age, and The Dead Line, as well as that one major spoiler for CoE that I think even things under rocks have heard about by now. )
Overall: I highly recommend "Asylum," "Golden Age" is as good a way as any (and better than some) of filling some empty time, and "The Dead Line" fails.
(Eventually I will do a proper reaction post to "Day Five," too. I've been putting off watching it again, partly because work has been kicking my ass the last few days, and partly because it turns out that that shit was a lot funnier drunk. I don't even know how much I want to watch it sober.)
( Spoilers for Asylum, Golden Age, and The Dead Line, as well as that one major spoiler for CoE that I think even things under rocks have heard about by now. )
Overall: I highly recommend "Asylum," "Golden Age" is as good a way as any (and better than some) of filling some empty time, and "The Dead Line" fails.
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Torchwood! Man, I haven't written an episode reaction since - uh, the last Doctor Who special.
( Children of Earth: Day One )
( Children of Earth: Day One )
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As I'm sure many of you have done, I have lost multiple chunks of my life to TV Tropes. The most recent chunk was at the Wild Mass Guessing page, which is a gathering of pages on different fandoms discussing fanon theories from the sensible to the insane. Many of them have an "X is a Time Lord" guess, and since Dollhouse, there are a lot of "X is a Doll" guesses popping up, too.
So! In my idleness, I have decided to pose this - I don't know, meme I just made up to you guys.
Name me a fandom I'm familiar with, and I'll tell you who's a Time Lord, who's a Doll, or both (probably both) and why.
Feel free to swipe and use this yourself, if you could stand to kill some time.
So! In my idleness, I have decided to pose this - I don't know, meme I just made up to you guys.
Name me a fandom I'm familiar with, and I'll tell you who's a Time Lord, who's a Doll, or both (probably both) and why.
Feel free to swipe and use this yourself, if you could stand to kill some time.
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My first non-Owencentric Torchwood fic is finally complete! Just in time to be completely contradicted in a few weeks.
TITLE: "Full Circle"
AUTHOR: Cathryn (catslash)
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: Approximately 1600
CHARACTERS/PAIRINGS: Rhys, Gwen, Jack. Gwen/Rhys, offscreen Jack/Ianto.
SUMMARY: Rhys had come to understand, after Tosh and Owen, that he had married into that family; now, while Gwen and Jack tried to keep each other from falling apart, he had to keep them from drowning. Near-future AU.
WARNING: Offscreen character death.
NOTES: I started writing this not long after "Exit Wounds" aired, so any resemblance to spoilers or speculation for series three is pure coincidence.
NOTES THE SECOND: Also, if you can spot the reference to one of the novels, you get an internet cookie of your choice.
DISCLAIMER: Torchwood was created by Russell T Davies and belongs to the BBC. I take no credit and make no money.
( Rhys Williams came home that day to find his wife on the floor, sobbing in her employer's arms. )
TITLE: "Full Circle"
AUTHOR: Cathryn (
catslash)RATING: PG
WORD COUNT: Approximately 1600
CHARACTERS/PAIRINGS: Rhys, Gwen, Jack. Gwen/Rhys, offscreen Jack/Ianto.
SUMMARY: Rhys had come to understand, after Tosh and Owen, that he had married into that family; now, while Gwen and Jack tried to keep each other from falling apart, he had to keep them from drowning. Near-future AU.
WARNING: Offscreen character death.
NOTES: I started writing this not long after "Exit Wounds" aired, so any resemblance to spoilers or speculation for series three is pure coincidence.
NOTES THE SECOND: Also, if you can spot the reference to one of the novels, you get an internet cookie of your choice.
DISCLAIMER: Torchwood was created by Russell T Davies and belongs to the BBC. I take no credit and make no money.
( Rhys Williams came home that day to find his wife on the floor, sobbing in her employer's arms. )
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Wow, I have been with the fail at posting lately. I'm getting back into the swing of working after the semester, and it's been tiring. Also my manager sucks at life, but I don't want to get pissed off all over again talking about it, so I'm not going any further into that.
Instead, I want to talk about the upcoming new series of Torchwood. (. . . Yeah, I know I quit the show after "Exit Wounds." I am continuing to watch it because SHUT UP, that's why.)
( Spoilers, complete with speculation based on the fact that I have watched television before. )
Instead, I want to talk about the upcoming new series of Torchwood. (. . . Yeah, I know I quit the show after "Exit Wounds." I am continuing to watch it because SHUT UP, that's why.)
( Spoilers, complete with speculation based on the fact that I have watched television before. )
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