Time Capsule: The Matt Smith Era, Part 4

 A deep, dark part of me wishes his hair had stayed this mental

for the rest of his time on the show.

See what happens when I take some time away from work?  All of a sudden I'm overwhelmed with the need to blog.

Time Capsule has been left to linger for a whole year, and while that's quite apt given the name, it does show just how little effort I've been able to put into this site recently.  But there's no time like the present to change that, so let's pick up where we left off with new-Who series 6, a.k.a series 32 in total.  Amy's been pregnant, then not, and has been getting taunted by a lady with an eyepatch who can open catflaps in reality, the Doctor remains unaware of the death he's marching towards, and Rory, well, Rory died again for a hot minute.  It's all getting so exciting!

Click ahead to see how quickly that excitement dies.

Time Capsule: The Matt Smith Era, Part 3

Forever of 2 minds as to whether this coat was an improvement on

the Geography-teacher jacket.  River needed a glitzier dress for sure, though.

Wow, is that the time?  Haha pun.  But it's been a while since the last Time Capsule post and...yeah, I may have been putting it off deliberately.  Matt Smith's first season is a joyride for me, but his second is much harder to sit through.  It's at this point that Steven Moffat gets fixated on his own long-term story arcs at the expense of individual episodes, and - well, we'll see how that turns out as I go over each one, piece by piece.

Put the kettle on and buckle up.

Time Capsule: The Matt Smith Era, Part 2

 Girl meets Boy meets Weird Disco Hall meets SPAAAACE

And back to Who.  When we left off, the Doctor and Amy had escaped from the Weeping Angels in the Maze of the Dead, and realized that the crack in time wasn't just a one-off; now it's time to get Amy 'sorted out' for her suddenly very important wedding day, which means big fish, lizard people and a flat that shouldn't exist.  Geronimo!

Time Capsule: The Matt Smith Era, Part 1

 The sonic's 762nd function is the JJ Abrams Effector.

Rarely used.

Doctor Who has been far too big a part of my life since its 2005 resurrection for me to ignore it on this blog, and a scathing (but completely accurate) review of a now-forgotten Wii game several years back seems insufficient.  So begins Time Capsule, which is/will be a series of mini-reviews (or capsule reviews) covering a large selection of Who stories (over the course of many years, hence time - see how clever I am with my title choices and weep) since trying to go full-depth with a show that's run this long will keep me busy 'til Doomsday.  Hell, by then I'd barely be up to the actual episode called 'Doomsday'.  Although it might be a gentle relief if the world ended before I had to watch that one again.

Since his time in the TARDIS ended last Christmas - and since I've basically got his whole run on shiny blu-ray for reference - I'm starting out with a look at Doc 11, Matt Smith, him with the bow tie and inexplicable wavy fringe.  Smith's run - especially the latter half of it - got to be very wearying for me, and I know I'm not alone in that, but it's been a while since I've ventured back to the start of his tenure, and I'm very excited to switch off the part of my brain that knows who River Song is and has so many conflicting ideas about the Silence I can't make heads or tails of them anymore.  Off we go then!

(one last note in advance: the series and story numbering I'm using here is cribbed from the Counter-X listing and extended to cover more recent fare, which means it might not fit with some other listings.  I'm also counting any new-Who 2-parters as single stories because, well, they bloody are)

Say Hello to my Future Favourite Show

I'm so used to disappointment with pilot season and most American TV networks' inability to pick things that are actually promising as opposed to just box-ticking bollocks that, on the occasions when they get something right, I fail to notice 'til much later.  This time?  Not so much.  ABC, smart people that they are, chose to greenlight what will doubtless wind up being my favourite TV show whenever it hits these shores.

And they greenlit 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' too.  What, you thought that was what I meant?  Nnnn-nope:

Killer Women, a.k.a. Tricia Helfer: Cowboy Cop.

Tricia Helfer.

Driving fast and shooting people.

Often wearing an awesome hat.

Sometimes wearing...very little (which is also awesome in a different sense).

Tricia.  Helfer.

Universe...however much stick I rightfully give you, for this I say thanks.  You done good.