ten in the journey’s end makes me so goddamn mad…rose punched through MULTIPLE dimensions, tracked you through all of time and space, single-handedly saved Donna while you were doing fuck all in a market, gave EVERYTHING to find you again and ALL. SHE. WANTS. IS. FOR. YOU. TO. LOOK AT HER!! WHY WON’T YOU LOOK AT HER ITS ROSE!! ITS THE HEART OF YOUR HEARTS!! YOU COULD EACH DIE ANY SECOND NOW HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU SPENT WISHING YOU ACTED SOONER HOW MANY YEARS HAS SHE WAITED FOR YOU, BURNED HOLES IN THE UNIVERSE FOR YOU AND YOU’RE STILL! LOOKING! AWAY!

Toonami Weekly Recap 9/18/2021

Fena: Pirate Princess EP#05 - The Burning Sea: Abel describes to Fena that the portrait of her mother was made by him and is lacking some colors to make it complete. As the Bonito II surfaces, the crew all decide to chase after Yukimaru and rescue Fena with him. Meanwhile, the Rumble Rose begins its attack run on the Blue Giant. Abel decides to test the "Wellington Cannon" that was supposed to be used during a siege on them, blowing up the entire pirate ship and its crew in one shot. Fena suffers from shellshock, the burning wreckage and the British sailors reminding her of the attack on her father's ship ten years ago which the British Royal Army was also involved in. As the Captain of the Blue Giant demands she be thrown in the brig, Fena cries out for Yukimaru who arrives in time to start attacking the sailors, but he is shot twice by Abel's tri-barrel gun. Yukimaru recognizes Abel from the attack on Franz's ship as he collapses from his wounds. Suddenly, the rest of the Goblin Knights arrive and manage to escape the Blue Giant with Fena and Yukimaru, but both are unconscious as the group retreats to the Bonito II.

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon EP#12 - Night of the New Moon and the Black-haired Towa: Konton tasks Nikosen, a sage-turned-apparition demon, of annihilating the Half-Demon Princesses and attaining their Rainbow Pearls. At the village, Towa and Setsuna accepts the mission of slaying Nikosen from Kohaku while Moroha helps local villagers in destroying the demon for his bounty. Towa and Setsuna come to join her but are attacked by Nikosen who demands the rainbow pearls they possess. Towa attempts to join her twin sister and cousin in battle, but her light blue energy blade does not form, which concerns her and puzzles Setsuna, as she can hear her heartbeat louder than she should. Moroha tries to use her Kurikaramaru but is unable to slice through Nikosen. In retaliation, Nikosen sends forth a stream of poison that affects and weakens Towa. Setsuna gives her a poison-shielding mask and tells Moroha to take care of Towa while she fights the demon. As Moroha helps an unconscious Towa across a bridge, she notices the change in Towa's hair color and length but is blocked by Nikosen's torso. In midair on Kiara, Setsuna attacks an illusion of Nioksen's head which is undo by the assistance of Hisui and his fellow Demon-Slayers. Finding shelter in a cave, Moroha is surprised that she smells the sent of human on Towa and learns from Myoga that Towa's predicament is because of the new moon which is different for every half-demon, with the exception of the late Naraku who was capable of choosing a night of his own free will. Towa is concerned that Setsuna has experienced the exact same transformation and wants to go find her. With Myoga's aid, Moroha infuses her spiritual powers into sutras to erect a blue sacred barrier to protect Towa. As Setsuna retains her full abilities, Moroha deduces that because her memories were taken from her by the Dream Butterfly, the laws of the new moon no longer apply to her. Taking advantage of this fact, Setsuna manages to hold off Nikosen who hopes to eat her and gain strength from her. Fortunately, daybreak comes and restores Towa's dog-demon abilities, ending in her using her charged sword to wipe him out completely. Having witnessed the whole battle in fire he created, Konton states how good a show it was and smiles in satisfaction, now aware of their weakness.

My Hero Academia Season 5 (My Villain Academia: Paranormal Liberation War Arc) EP#108 (20): My Villain Academia: Two months earlier, Gigantomachia appears before the League of Villains, declaring Shigaraki unworthy of being All For One’s successor. During the attack, the League is teleported to the lab of Doctor Ujiko, All For One’s assistant. The doctor intends to help Shigaraki in his goal of destroying everything that irritates him, but before Shigaraki can be granted power, he must defeat Gigantomachia. The League returns to Machia, while Dr. Ujiko asks Dabi to help him test out a High-End Nomu. A month and a half later, the League of Villains have made no progress in defeating Machia, but Shigaraki's strength and skill has been increasing. Intending to talk to the Giran, Twice is alarmed to find out that the League's Broker has been captured and tortured by Re-Destro, leader of the Meta Liberation Army. Re-Destro invites the League of Villains to Deika City to face an ultimatum. Shigaraki accepts, smiling at the prospect of Machia crushing his challenger’s forces.

Food Wars: The Fourth Plate (Promotion Exams Arc) EP#66 (05) - You're Done For, Fool: The judges find that Megumi hid an apple confiture in the center of her dorayaki. Despite this, the judges vote 2-1 in favor of Momo, citing that the bitter taste of the confiture overpowered the apple butter. However, Momo acknowledges Megumi's skill and potential. Meanwhile, Takumi decides to cook a pizza with shigureni beef. However, when Takumi puts his pizza in the oven, Eizan reveals his dish is a roast beef with cream sauce incorporating artichokes. He points out the cynarine in the artichokes will cause the judges' taste buds to react more violently to sweet flavors, which will ruin the taste of Takumi's pizza, as shigureni is naturally sweet. After the judges taste Eizan's roast beef, Takumi presents his pizza, which is separated into two halves; one side is purely cheese, and the other has shigureni. Takumi reveals that he predicted Eizan would try to neutralize the taste of his shigureni, so he adjusted his sauce to be more bitter to compensate. The cheese half of the pizza is made of a mix of four cheeses—mozzarella, parmigiano, gorgonzola, and ricotta—which further complements the taste of the shigureni. Impressed with Takumi's ability to make three different dishes complement each other, the judges unanimously declare Takumi the winner.

Black Clover: The Spade Kingdom and the Dark Triad Arc EP#166 - Captain: Yami Sukehiro: Megicula takes over Vanica’s body, shatters the eternal prison and captures Secre. Loropechika is overcome with fear when she realises Megicula has also cursed Undine, and her proximity to Megicula activates her own curse, crippling her with pain. Vanica decides to kill her but Noelle manages to fight back and stab Vanica through the chest. Vanica at first is able to withstand the attack and strike Noelle down but is actually injured from Noelle’s attack. Vanica is impressed and asks Noelle’s name, Noelle replying she is a Clover royal and a Black Bull. Yami and Dante continue their battle, with Dante explaining if they manage to open the tree of Qliphoth he will have access to all Lucifero’s powers, though he is unsure if the same applies to Asta who uses anti-magic. Yami is crushed under a giant boulder but survives and, deciding he must once again surpass his limits, condenses his entire mana zone to just the tip of his sword and creates Death Thrust, which obliterates Dante’s entire torso. Dante’s own Body Magic, boosted by Lucifero’s power, regenerates him in seconds and he reveals makes him incapable of dying. Asta struggles to stand, but to his surprise, Yami announces he cannot win without Asta’s help, and Asta finds the strength to stand beside Yami and they battle Dante together, as equals.

Slightly Damned Page 1025: https://www.sdamned.com/comic/1025

dude… i’m thinking about starting doctor who… give me your thoughts lmao

AAAAAAA

okay. okay. i'm gonna be reasonable about this. i'm not gonna bias you against perfectly good seasons.

I'M TRYING SO HARD HERE I'M GONNA TRY TO NOT HATE ON THINGS THAT YOU MIGHT ENJOY. most of this is under a cut because i apparently have a LOT of thoughts about this, the show i was hyperfixated on for two entire years. go figure!

okay. first thing: don't skip nine. some people might tell you to, and like, you do you and all, but s1 of nuwho is one of my favorite seasons and i don't think anyone should skip it.

(for clarity's sake -- you probably know all this, but you asked for my thoughts, so -- there are two "kinds" of doctor who. classic who is doctors 1-7 and mostly in black and white. it started in the 60s and it's wild and i haven't seen ANY of it, but i know a few people who are super into it, so it appeals! then the show got cancelled. then they did a few movies with the 8th doctor. then they rebooted the series in 2005 with the 9th doctor. that show is still ongoing and it's what i mean when i say nuwho. it's all i've seen, so it's gonna be what i have opinions on lol. nuwho starts on 1x01 "rose", so you can make sure you're watching the right season.)

PERSONALLY, my favorite era of the show is RTD's, which are the first four seasons of nuwho and showrunned by Russell T. Davies. my favorite companion is donna, because her dynamic with the doctor is PERFECTION, but i also really really love rose and martha. the season arcs are kinda all over the place but they're really fun! the show has HEART, okay, it's all about kindness and helping people and solving mysteries and i love it. it doesn't treat its characters of color (martha and mickey) very well, which is my main issue with his run. it makes it hard to enjoy whole episodes of s1, so just, be aware.

then there's the moffat era, from seasons 5 to 10. he. sure wrote a tv show. many people have written about how much they love that era, which i would direct you to rather than trying to write it myself, since i'm... not a huge moffat fan, lol. a lot of people liked how elaborate his plots were and especially how he wrote 11 and 12! (also the master during his era is super popular, but i don't want to spoil much so i'm trying to avoid talking about them lol.) (i will concede, he wrote "blink" in s2 and i LOVE that episode, it's one of the more famous ones for a reason.) bill potts, the fourth (and final) companion of his era, is the first regularly appearing queer companion, and i haven't watched all of her season but i love her.

and right now we're in the chibnall era, which has had two seasons (11 and 12)! honestly i can't articulate what he's about yet, since it hasn't been very long, but his doctor is a DELIGHT and i love her companions. also spyfall was literally everything i've wanted out of television, ever, so i'm kinda legally obligated to enjoy his stuff.

okay, that's eras down. now for shipping: i'm a huge doctor/rose shipper. i can't tell you how popular it is in the fandom at large, but a quick glance at ao3 tells me 10rose has more than two times as many fics as the second most popular doctor who ship (11/river). so do with that what you will! the age gap is weird in the first season, which is why i don't usually headcanon that they're together then, but in s2 it's much more of an... equal partnership? idk if i'm wording this right, i have SUCH a soft spot for 9rose that it's hard to strike the right balance lol. the point is: if 9rose doesn't appeal to you, don't write off doctor/rose entirely, at least not until you've seen s2.

(can you guess which part of the doctor/rose ship appeals to me the most. Can You Guess. hint: there's a reason why s4 is my favorite dw season, and possibly my favorite of television ever.)

i'm also a HUGE fan of random femslash ships between the companions. rose/martha has stolen my heart, but rose/clara is popular (and very sweet) and also What If Yaz And Clara Dated. literally pick two female companions' names at random and i will be extremely into whatever ship that makes.

(sidenote, i'm looking at the ao3 ships again and PROPS to 13yaz shippers for having more fics than doctor/master?? Good For Y'all.)

oh okay and also the master exists. uhhh without too many spoilers: the master is another time lord who grew up with the doctor, and they're kinda... best enemies? (ignore me, i spent two hours today watching sarah z's video on a certain webcomic.) there is one certainty in the doctor's life and it's that they will always have to kill the master one more time. obviously that's the kinda angst that appeals, and they always have Delicious tension when they're both onscreen, so just like. yeah. if you want tortured gay time lords, stay tuned, because that'll be there.

(RTD is gay, i believe, so his storylines are. queer. you will not be surprised that he created jack harkness. the doctor's first onscreen kiss in the reboot, ever, was with a man. Thanks RTD!)

uhhhh that was a lot of words. one more thing: people are gonna tell you you Have to watch This Episode, or This Season, or whatever, and here is my advice on that. do whatever you want! listen to whoever's recommendations you want. it is perfectly fine to skip episodes or entire seasons if you're just not feeling them. i stopped halfway through the s8 finale and still, to this day, have not started s9, and it's fine! watch whatever you want. skip s1 if you're not feeling it! the show is pretty disjointed between doctors, which is disappointing if you want them to reference a long-gone companion, but makes it super easy to skip around.

okay, NOW i'm going to wrap this up. i was hyperfixated on doctor who for YEARS so i have SO MANY THOUGHTS. i keep meaning to get back into it and... hmm, is this a sign? should i go rewatch doctor who? i'm crying PREEMPTIVELY about [redacted episode that features a white wall, for all the whovians reading this] so obviously that is a yes and i will get on it immediately. PLEASE PLEASE let me know how it goes, i'd love to hear your thoughts as you watch!! good luck and enjoy the ride!

Doctor Who Q&A!

Who is your Doctor?

Matt Smith! Funny story about him actually-he was the first doctor I ever watched-it was Time of the Angels, but at the time I watched that episode, Matt Smith’s run was over. I went back and watched Nine and Ten, and then rewatched Eleven before hitting Twelve up. Eleven has always had a special place in my heart

Your favourite Doctor?

Funnily enough, Twelve. He faintly edges out Eleven in this regard. I think I just really enjoy his humour, dry and sarcastic, and the character arc of wondering whether he’s a good person or not really spoke to me. Yeah, stinky eyebrow man wins in this regard

Least favourite Doctor?

Either Nine or Thirteen? I found Nine to be somewhat boring, I liked his humour, but most of the time was spent setting up his backstory, or that weird romance thing with Rose, and since romance has never interested me, except in certain areas *shrugs*

Thirteen isn’t anything to do with Jodie Whittaker, it’s just that the best moments of Doctor Who are when the Doctor is sad, or vulnerable or angry. The Oncoming Storm is a big part of it all. And it seems that she never really has the oppurtunity to be emotional in this yet. That’s the scriptwriters fault, not hers, and I’m happy they’re starting to change it with the new season.

Best regeneration?

Oh god, that’s actually a tie between Ten, Eleven and Twelve for me

Ten dies alone and it is awful. His last lines brought me to tears, and there’s something so sad about him being killed protecting one of his friends. 

Eleven had me sobbing. Out of the three, he’s the only one who met this whole thing with acceptance, and he’s the only one to not be alone when it happens. His was the nicest out of the three, but because he was MY Doctor, I was bawling like a baby. When Amy appeared I  b r  o k e

Twelve is heartbreakingly realistic. He’s not resisting change like Ten is, he just wants to rest, for once. Like Ten, he dies alone, with only memories to comfort him, and I remember tearing up when he told Thirteen what he told Clara

Who is the most human Doctor?

Either Ten or Twelve. Both of them are conflicted about their morality and whether they should do the right thing or not, both of them try and fail and try again. Twelve is just the one to realise he’s not good or bad, he’s an idiot.

Best Companion?

Donna Noble or Amy Pond and Rory. 

I am a sex repulsed ace-aro, this means I would rather stick my hand in a woodchipper than be in a relationship with someone. Platonic friendships and family have always been my bread and butter and these three are perfect for the Doctor.

Donna Noble? Bold, sassy, determined. Her mom is constantly putting her down, and yet she’s the saviour of the Universe. She doesn’t hesitate to call Ten out on his bullshit, and her departure hurt me on so many levels. I have loved her ever since Pompeii, and I will decry the erasure of her character as unfair until the end of bloody time

Amy Pond and Rory. I’m putting these two together, because I only really started to like Amy when Rory came in. I love their character arcs, growing and changing. Their relationship is also fun to watch, once you get over the drama. I like relationships like Chandler and Monica, natural, fun to watch, not Ross and Rachel, dragged out, on and off again, and after a brief buffer period, these two sorted out their differences and their banter was amazing to watch. Also, the fact that they’re the Doctor’s in laws? They are the epitome of found family and I am LOVING IT

Shoutout to Martha Jones btw, runner up as always. I wish we got to see more of her when she WASN’T enamoured with the Doctor, watching her call him out in the Poison Sky was magnificent.

Worst Companion?

The Companions relationships with the Doctor are the most important thing in the show; what they think of him, how much they trust him, what extent are their feelings towards them, and to me, none was quite as boring as Rose and the Doctor.

I HATE will they-wont they plots, and that basically sums up their entire run together, getting jealous of eachothers partners, vaguely alluding towards their attraction to eachother, but not saying it, it drained all of the fun out of Rose. Her making out with a clone of the Doctor, in front of the Doctor was the final thing for me.

And while I’m all for the return of a Companion, she seems to linger throughout Ten’s run. I can understand why for Martha’s; that was her entire character arc after all, learning to expect better of yourself, but she didn’t need to be there for Donna’s; they very easily could have thought of another way to create DoctorDonna. Her presence was everywhere throughout David Tennants run, and I found it annoying

Favourite Doctor Who Ships?

River Song with Eleven, Twelve or Thirteen. As I said, banter and comedy is how you establish a good relationship, it shows how relaxed two people are together, and River with whichever Doctor she’s with at the time always has this flirty back and forth going on between them. They’re very open about their attraction to eachother, and I love it. Also, Thirteen and River because if you don’t think Thirteen is a raging pansexual then I have news for you.

Amy and Rory for the reasons I listed above; they sort through their issues, have good repartee and are a very enjoyable couple to watch

(I briefly shipped Eleven x Amy x Rory before I found out they were in laws, so shoutout to that.)

Least Favourite Doctor Who Ships?

Rose x Doctor. It would have been fine if they ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING WITH IT INSTEAD OF JUST HINTING AT IT

Martha x Doctor. Martha’s whole arc is about learning that the Doctor is treating her badly and that she doesn’t need him. To go back to him would invalidate that whole thing

Controversial Thought?

I know a lot of people hate Clara, but to be honest, I’m more apathetic/warm towards her. I loved her relationship with Twelve, and how she was almost a caretaker towards him. She starts to act like the Doctor after a while, but then that’s what the Companions DO, they become more versatile, more able to handle tough situations. I’m not happy how they made her immortal and gave her her own TARDIS, but other than that, I’m pretty mild towards her

Best Two-Parter Episode?

Heaven Sent and Hell Bent. It was one of those episodes, ones that are genuinely, deeply horrifying. I got chills when I realised how long the Doctor had been trapped in the Confession Dial. I wasn’t really happy with how the brought Clara back from the dead, but I was okay with it, because watching her read the High Command the riot act for how they treated the Doctor was so, so worth it

Best Doctor/companion pairing?

Ten and Donna. Loved their brother-sister duo relationship

If Two Doctors could meet, who would you choose?

Thirteen and Four would be fun; they have similar energy and scarves after all. Think that would be fun to see. Thirteen and Twelve would also have a nice energy between them I think. Maybe throw in some height jokes.

If any Companions could meet, who would you choose?

Donna and Amy would probably end up flirting with each other. But, at the same time, I think Donna may help Amy come away from her hero worship of the Doctor. 

Martha and Rory would bond over how they sometimes feel like third wheelers and probably share medical knowledge. Martha and Clara would be fun, caring for the Doctor’s health.

If any Companions could meet any Doctor, which would you choose?

Martha meets Twelve. Twelve is actively trying to figure out whether he’s a good person, and I can see him trying to make amends for the way he’s treated her.

Thirteen meets Amy and Rory. She probably wouldn’t tell them who she is, but she would be so excited to see them again

Donna meets Nine. They would spend the entire time snarking at eachother

The Fam meets Ten. He would be so overwhelmed when he sees how many people are joining him right now

Occasionally, Dan Levy will pick up his phone and send a text: “Can you believe it?” These messages are sent to Annie Murphy or Noah Reid or Emily Hampshire or Karen Robinson, former inhabitants of Schitt’s Creek, titular town of the series Levy co-created with his identically-browed father, Eugene. What Levy can’t quite believe is that a CBC and Pop network show that aired in the U.S. after reruns of The Young and the Restless became a no-shit international phenomenon and won every major 2020 comedy Emmy from Outstanding Series to Outstanding Contemporary Costumes, plus awards for the show’s four main cast members: Levy, Levy the elder, Murphy, and Catherine O’Hara.

Not that Levy has any qualms about the best thing that’s ever happened to him. Or, more accurately, the best thing he’s ever made happen: In addition to creating, writing, and starring as skeptical scion David Rose on Schitt's Creek, Levy occasionally directed episodes and sourced many of the award-winning costumes. But the endless wretchedness of 2020 is perhaps an inopportune time to publicly garner good fortune.

“What this year has done has opened so many people's eyes to so much of the social unrest that is happening in America and really forced people to learn more,” Levy says, sitting in the bland Toronto apartment the 37-year-old is temporarily renting until he can head back to LA. “Read more. Educate themselves more. Check their privilege more. And yet…” Levy’s magnificent eyebrows unfold from a furrow of probity to an arch of delight, and his mouth into a crooked tilde of a smile. “There are moments when I think it is important for your sense of self to also be OK to say, ‘Something good happened to me this year, and I worked really hard for it.’ And so did a group of really talented people that I love. You're kind of caught in this place where only you can talk about it amongst yourselves.” Levy’s conversations with his co-stars are couched in language familiar to anyone who doesn’t want to give off the vibe of an Instagram caption on a pandemic birthday trip to a private island: "Well, obviously, you know, this is not of much significance" compared to everything else that’s going on. Still, Levy has to acknowledge that, yes, a good thing did happen; after all, he says, “You're talking about breaking records at the Emmys!”

Since he began social distancing, Levy has engaged in something like a fame-offset program, matching his good fortune by taking, publicizing, and raising money for University of Alberta’s online Indigenous Canada course. Levy’s queasiness about his success happening with a 2020 backdrop seems to stem from goodness so pervasive he’s caught himself thinking, Am I going to seem too, like, sincere? (When I ask if he believes he’s a good person, Levy frets, “Is being a good person something you can proclaim? Or is being a good person something that someone has to observe about you?”)

And Schitt’s Creek itself is an oasis of kindness — it doesn’t seem coincidental that after a slow five-season ascent, the show’s viewership exploded in its final year as we quarantined with our own bad thoughts. Levy has said that the arc of the Rose family — a “Balenciaga” to “consignment Balenciaga” to “back to current season Balenciaga” story — is based on the question, “Would the Kardashians still be the Kardashians without their money?” To Levy, the answer is obvious: Yes, and they would be better for it because, he says, “There is a love to that family.” So of course when the Roses lose the fortune amassed from a video rental empire and are forced to move to a Canadian town purchased as a novelty gift, they learn what truly matters.

Levy’s father and collaborator, Eugene, who co-wrote Christopher Guest films Best In Show and A Mighty Wind, says, “There are people who work in the world of comedy where they like to push envelopes in terms of what they can get away with, but that may come at the expense of other people. If it's at all important to you to avoid then you, you know, avoid it.” With the notable exception of programs like The Great British Bake Off — Levy, naturally, used to host the Canadian iteration — it is quite a bit more difficult to be entertaining and kind than entertaining and cruel. But Dan Levy attributes some of Schitt’s Creek’s success to what he calls “a purity to the storytelling and the show that caught people off guard because it was so unexpectedly sincere.” “There was something badass about the fact that it didn't have the kind of edge that people had often equated with cable comedies,” he says.

Making Schitt’s Creek a source of goodness and light was an unrelenting crush for Levy. “How much anger and rage do I have to repress in order to get the light out?” he says, laughing and stroking his elderly dog, Redmond, so vigorously I worry about ginger fur getting on Levy’s David Rose-appropriate black and white JW Anderson T-shirt. “Um, at times a lot.”

When Levy was working on Schitt’s Creek, he was picked up every morning at 5 a.m. and driven to set, where he would rehearse and rewrite scenes. Next was making decisions about sets and wardrobe fittings for cast members like O’Hara. Moira Rose, the actor mother of Levy’s character with a grandeur as flamboyant as her choice of syllable emphasis, might have to go to meet someone who makes her feel exposed. Levy would supervise an outfit selection that functioned as a billboard for her emotional state. “How do you express vulnerability?” Levy asks. “Well, you put more clothes on, and more aggressive clothes on, so as to armor yourself.” Levy needed to approve budgets, which didn’t increase even as the show gained more attention. He would act and sometimes direct, and then be back in wardrobe picking out the right statement necklaces for O’Hara to wear to buy a used car.

After filming ended, Levy went to the writers’ room to work for a couple more hours. He’d get home at 8 p.m., quickly eat dinner, and write until 2 a.m. on some nights. Then he’d sleep for two hours and get in the car to go back to work at 5 a.m. When shooting wrapped for the year, Levy went into post-production, spending months in windowless rooms. Once a season was finally completed, preparation would begin for the next one. Levy charged himself with making sure every detail connected to each other and tracked with the personal histories he and Eugene had written for each character before the series began. Eugene can remember only one deviation from those bios during the entire run of the show. Originally, the father of motel employee Stevie had been a roadie for Fleetwood Mac before receiving a restraining order from the band; the detail was later transferred to the father of diner waitress Twyla, who was played by Levy’s sister, Sarah. Several times during the run of the series, Levy developed anxiety so literally paralyzing that his neck would seize up, forcing him to wear a brace and receive chiropractic treatments between scenes.

“Through every phase of Schitt's Creek,” Eugene says, “Dan had a very strong sense as to what it was he wanted the show to look like and what he wanted it to sound like and what the tone of the show was going to be and what the message of the show would be. He certainly makes himself responsible to make these things happen. He doesn't go with the flow at all.”

Total control let Levy create a perfectly realized world, from the menu size in the Café Tropical to the caws in Moira’s comeback film The Crows Have Eyes III: The Crowening. But it’s perhaps not the healthiest arrangement when the confines of quarantine feel normal to you. “Over the past six years,” Levy says, “I really haven't been outside that much.”

When he was a boy, Levy became so anxious that he did not want to attend birthday parties. He did not want to go to summer camp. He did not, in fact, want to engage in any social situations. Levy’s anxiety physically manifested as iritis, an inflammation of the eye which doctors feared would eventually take his vision. It was as if the anxiety that drove Levy indoors had then decided to draw all the curtains.

“I think that came from a deep-rooted fear of knowing that I was gay and not being able to be free,” Levy says now. “By the time I got to high school, when your brain is starting to catch up to your physical impulses, it led to a very confusing time. Because on the one hand, you are now being introduced to things like self-awareness and anxiety. At the same time, you’re becoming more and more savvy when it comes to hiding it.”

The escape was theater. Levy began writing, directing, and performing in school plays, including a student-run stage adaptation of Clue produced during a teacher’s strike. “I was starting to develop a sense of confidence by way of being able to entertain people,” Levy says. “It was like a decoy version of myself that I was putting out there to not have to live with the reality that when the bullying was happening — if someone was calling me a f----t or whatever it was — they were speaking the truth.” What a cursed blessing to discover you have a gift but to understand it as a distraction from who you really are and not as a true part of yourself. No wonder that Levy says of creating a persona — naturally, in the self-distancing second person — “Your sense of self gets chipped away. You lose sight of your own value.”

Levy had a ticker of fears scrolling through his mind broadcasting what might happen if people knew who he really was: “Fear of being ridiculed. Fear of being othered. Fear of exposing something that I think a lot of high school students at the time didn't have the tools to process properly, to make it comfortable for me.”

Then, when he was 18, Levy came out. Actually, his mother, Deborah Divine, invited Levy to come out, over lunch. Levy accepted, and was accepted in return. It was one version of an inflection point that Levy has explored in some of his most impactful work. In Happiest Season, Hulu’s lesbian Christmas rom-com, Levy delivers the film’s high point in a monologue; filmmaker Clea DuVall tells me, “I cried during every take.”

“Everybody’s story is different,” Levy’s John says to Kristen Stewart’s Abby, who is planning to propose to a woman whose family doesn’t know she’s queer. “But the one thing that all of those stories have in common is that moment right before you say those words, when your heart is racing and you don’t know what’s coming next,” John goes on. “That moment’s really terrifying. And then once you say those words, you can’t unsay them. A chapter has ended and a new one’s begun, and you have to be ready for that.”

On the Schitt’s Creek episode “Meet the Parents,” David’s future in-laws discover their son Patrick is gay before he can come out to them. “Did we do something wrong, David?” Patrick’s father asks, inadvertently head-faking homophobia before saying, “The thought that Patrick was feeling like he couldn't come and talk to us about this…”

Obviously not everyone who comes out gets the response they’re hoping for. But like Patrick, Levy had a happy ending sitting in front of him: accepting and caring parents wondering when their son was going to tell them he was gay and trying to respect his timeline for doing so. When I ask Eugene if it’s painful knowing that he could have potentially alleviated the anxiety Levy was feeling by approaching him sooner, he concurs. “I would have done things so much differently, you know?” Eugene says slowly. “I would have gotten more involved in talking about what was going on.” But he doesn’t know that it would have changed anything — after all, the flow goes with Levy. “Not necessarily that we would have gotten any direct answers,” Eugene says. “You can only get back what you get back.” (Levy confirms he was not ready to discuss his sexuality before he was; despite his parents’ openness and love, he had created Schrödinger’s Eugene and Deb in his head, simultaneously welcoming him and rejecting him at the news.)

Newly out, Levy went to college and began dating. However, he says, “I was not in any place to be of great value in a relationship.” Like David Rose, Levy’s pitch tends to ascend on the back half of sentences, making him sound like he’s interrogating his own thought process. “You then get into these habits where you're dating people who are totally wrong for you because they're seeking out people who are a bit damaged,” Levy says, “and you're seeking out people who have one foot out the door so that you don't actually give yourself over in any kind of way.” (After I mention that while watching Happiest Season, I wanted Stewart’s character to dump her semi-emotionally damaging girlfriend and leave with Levy, he says, “In this conversation, I'm brought back to many a relationship [where] ‘RUN’ was just, like, the subtitle flashing for about a year and a half of my life.”)

Dating, then, became another way to keep people out. “I really got to a point where I felt like if I didn't make an active choice to pull myself out of this shell that was becoming such a comfort,” Levy says, “I would not be the adult that I want to be.” He spent a summer in England, answering phones at the ICM talent agency as exposure therapy for speaking, unscripted, to strangers. A month and a half later, he auditioned to be a host on MTV Canada. Levy says it was “the ultimate exercise in pushing myself and getting myself out there. If I could get a job on television asking other people questions — which had previously been on the top five things that I would never want to do — this could be the final kind of exercise in changing myself for the better.”

Like Levy’s high school theater work, his success as a host was a gnarled little monkey’s paw of unfortunate wish fulfillment. He was charismatic on screen and became famous enough to travel to New York on the weekends and get into the clubs he wanted to get into. Levy also pioneered the now-prevalent televised after-show with his The Hills discussion series, which exists in the same tonal universe as Schitt’s Creek: sharp enough to make you feel smart for laughing at it, but warm enough that Lauren Conrad herself was a guest.

But much of the work felt limiting. The questions he had to ask celebrities were pre-negotiated with publicists and written by producers — as Levy notes, “No one wants to sit down with someone from MTV Canada and have a revelatory chat about life.” One of his last appearances before quitting was the MTV Movie Awards red carpet. “You could see a kind of judgment in the people you're interviewing,” he says. “They're not rolling their eyes, but you can feel them thinking about rolling their eyes. And I know that a lot of the times they were questions I didn't necessarily want to be asked if I were in that situation.” Pretending to be the version of himself he thought people would accept, Levy says, “kind of just didn't feel worth it anymore.”

You know the next part. Levy realized he could keep the traits people had responded to when he performed — his charisma, his humor — add sincerity, and still be compelling. He spent half a decade grinding out something that was truly of himself. And through Schitt’s Creek Levy became, his father points out, “one of the top showrunners in the entertainment business right now.” Eugene says, “After the [Emmys] broadcast I think there were probably some executives who — if they even remember us going in to pitch the show — are probably kicking themselves.”

Based on what he does next, Levy is now in the unique position of being able to calibrate how famous he becomes. It’s evening in Toronto, and Levy mulls the question over what simply cannot be good wine; when I ask what kind it is, he says, “Red?” Levy knows he could choose to stay behind the scenes and work on the ABC Studios projects he has in development. But Levy is also in the early stages of a romantic comedy he would star in. He worries that he wouldn’t be able to handle uber-fame with the aplomb his co-star Kristen Stewart does. When they went out to a dive bar while filming in Pittsburgh, he says, “I was just so kind of in awe of her confidence and comfort in herself. She's so at ease — [I say that] as someone who I think will always be on their journey to have that for myself.”

“Dan’s assessment is actually incorrect,” Stewart says later. “But what I have done is try to keep that experience [of fame] fairly insular, not make other people I’m with take on the weight of my own self-consciousness — or, God forbid, have someone think I’m up my own ass and loving the attention. It’s easier for me to pretend [people noticing me] is not happening, even though on the inside I still feel like the world is a big school yard of giggling onlookers. Are they laughing at me? Yes, no… Who cares.”

If Levy ever does find himself in the position of being Stewart-famous, she thinks he’ll be fine. “What I did notice was how absolutely wonderful Dan is with everyone,” she says. “He is so loving and gracious towards people that recognize him. The positive force he puts out into the world is clearly reflected in how people come back at him.”

What Levy is putting out into the world next: “I would like to date more,” he says, shoulders bashfully rising ceilingward. “Circumstance plays such a huge part in what we accept for ourselves. When you're doing something that you love it’s like, ‘I have a full plate.’ Even though [Schitt’s Creek was] super intense and even though at times I need a neck brace, it was never not inspiring, and it was never not thrilling and exciting and totally satisfying. So to [want to] make space for someone else…in a way, it is the ultimate filter. You’re basically saying, do I want to carve out the space in an already full and fulfilled life for this person? And a lot of the time, the answer is no. But it only makes it that much better when the right person comes along.”

For now, Levy’s plate is full of his multiple simultaneous projects. (He says there are more than three but few enough that you could count them on both hands, though he doesn’t want to talk about them in detail until there’s actually something to talk about — if Levy follows the Schitt’s Creek model, he jokes, he’ll “get five seasons on television before anybody sees them.”) Before he begins writing, Levy must make sure his entire house is immaculate. Even today, months after the series finale of Schitt’s Creek aired, Levy is negotiating the length of the “fuck”-blocking bleeps of syndication. But as we have all learned this year, not everything is under our control, even if we are Dan Levy. Stewart remembers him panicking as he tried to decorate a new home and realized none of the furniture he bought made any sense together. “The idea of him left and right showrunning and developing and acting and writing — and then his sweater closet confounding him — was very cute,” she says.

A certain amount of acceptance will be useful as Levy figures out how to follow up a beloved hit show. “The goal was to make sure that the first season was exactly what we wanted it to be,” Levy says of his Schitt’s Creek thought process. “To use the resources that we have as best as we can to get that season out there, so that we can go to sleep at night knowing that if people don't respond to it and it gets pulled off the air, there was nothing more we could have done.” Levy leans forward with a sincerity he’d surely second-guess if he were writing this scene and explains the daunting task of living up to yourself. “That’s the goal of anything I'm gonna do from here on out. It's just, try and do the best job you can. Try to make sure that you're loving it.”

My Ryden Recs

not in any particular order

The Heart Rate of a Mouse Series (11/10)

~513k words

Ryan "Heterosexual" Ross and his incredibly popular prog rock band, The Followers, start their summer tour for their new hit album "Boneless" in June of 1974. However, Ryan begins to take a shine to their new roadie, the ever mysterious Brendon No-Last-Name-Given, who dodges questions about his past and flaunts his flamboyant homosexuality. After an assault by a member of the supporting act, Brendon and Ryan get their payback, and begin to bond. But much to Ryan's confusion and alarm, he starts to want something he can't let himself have, starts to feel something he can't let himself feel.

--Okay I kinda lied. This list is in no particular order EXCEPT for this one. This one is the best. Anna Green owns my ass. I'm not someone who's picky about first vs third person, but if you are, then just this once throw that out the window and read this utter masterpiece. Ryan's character development throughout is so touching, but my god he fucks up a lot. One of my friends who has gone through the process of buying the physical copies and annotating them says that Ryan majorly fucks up over 50 times. Emotional rollercoaster straight ahead!--

Freaks (7/10)

~45k words

Ryan's face was permanently disfigured when he was 12 years old, and since then, the only person who has ever stood by his side is his best friend Spencer. After earning the nickname "Freak" in high school, he finally accepts that nobody will ever want him, or ever treat him normally again. But after an accident that lands him temporarily in the hospital, he meets Brendon. They get along great, and Ryan begins to fall in love. One small problem though:

Brendon had been recently blinded. Neither of them know if it's permanent, and Ryan is sure that if Brendon knew about his face, he would leave him forever.

--I really liked this one. It makes you sit on edge and every single time you think that Ryan will finally confess and tell the truth, he blue balls you like an asshole. This story is so sad and so sweet, I definitely recommend. Also, there's some background Joncer, which is really cute. Definitely a worthy read if you're looking for some angsty fluff. Oh, and a little aside: the author, spazzyskittles on LJ, actually beta-ed a lot of Anna Green's Ryden fics, including THROAM! So do with that what you will ;)--

The Red Eyed Owl Series (10/10)

~403k words

As one of the best players of one of the best National Hockey League teams, the Chicago Hounds, Ryan Ross has everything he could ever want. Young, famous, and free to do whatever he damn well pleases, the world either wants him or wants to be him. But after a leg injury that could potentially ruin his career, Ryan begins to realise that perhaps he doesn't have everything. Perhaps some things can mean so much more than women throwing themselves at you every chance they get and receiving bottomless drinks at sports bars. Perhaps he could fall in love.

--This was actually recommended to me by @wandering-verses and it was 100% worth the read. I broke out crying in the middle of class during the second book, and I cried again at 3 am when I stayed up all night to finish it. It's one of those that fucks you up so bad that you can't read anything else for a little while after finishing. Now, both the authors are from Spain, so English isn't their native tongue, but it's so well written that I probably wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't read the notes at the very beginning. An all time Ryden fave.--

Missing In Action (10/10)

~204k words

In where the American Civil War goes differently, the nation once known as the United States of America is instead separated into two: DURA and Beauregia. The latter didn't change much in terms of their economy. Slavery is still legal, and the kingdom is ruled under a tight, Christian monarchy. Their king is Boyd Beauregard. His only son, crown Prince Brendon Beauregard, heir to the throne, resides in the highly respected Saint Francis' Academy. DURA on the other hand developed quickly, a democracy founded on new technology and equitable ideals.

Everyday, bipartisanship seems farther away from grasp, and DURA, realising that cooperation is impossible, creates the DURA investigative bureau. Identifying the crown prince as the Royal Family's weakest link, they realise that he could become an infinitely invaluable asset to them. Agent Ross, under the pseudonym "Ryan Hastings", is chosen to go undercover, enroll in Saint Francis' boarding school, infiltrate the Prince's friend group, and gain his trust by any means necessary.

--I'm ashamed to admit that I let this one pass me by for a while. I read the words "American Civil War" and I automatically assumed that this would be a mid 1800's Civil War fic about closeted gay soilders, and I'm not against that, but the premise didn't really interest me. But once I finally caved and started reading, I quickly realised not only was the premise entirely different, but it was really fuckin' good. Read this!!!!--

Esoteric Contagion (8/10)

~18k words

He wakes up with a note stuck to his forehead that reads, “You traded your memory in a spell. It was worth it.” The note is signed George Ross. He wonders if that’s his name.

In which things are lost and gained and remembered and forgotten, in that order.

--Despite being the shortest on this list, I loved it to death. You will cry so hard, I promise. This story is so sad. The author can deal so many shocking blows in less than 20,000 words, and you will be completely invested. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's massively underrated, and it will fuck you up.--

Two Vatos Locos Series (7/10)

~311k words

When you have your first dream with your soulmate, everything changes. But after years and years of watching all his friends have their dreams and fall in love, Ryan started to wonder if he would ever has his dream. At twenty, Ryan started to get desperate. He went to doctors, therapists, even a fucking palm reader. No one could tell him what was wrong with him. There was only one explanation: his soulmate had to be dead.

Ryan spent endless hours laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, begging, wishing, praying to have his dream and meet his soulmate. One day, with blood gushing down his face and vomit coating his tongue, his prayers were finally answered.

And now, as he stares at this scared, helpless boy, with bloodied rope burns around his wrists and tears staining his cheeks, he wishes that they never were.

--The title "Dos Vatos Locos Lleno de Carnalismo y Inamorates" roughly translates to "Two Crazy Dudes Full of Carnality and Infatuation," which is definitely accurate. I did enjoy this fic; it was cute, sad, and very interesting, but if you are interested in reading, you will need to be patient at times. Some passages seem like filler and the writing in a few places is kinda dry or cringey. But it's still overall a good story though. WARNING: Brendon is underage for most of this fic, but nothing sexual happens until he is of age.--

The Way Home From Nowhere Series (9/10)

~158k words

After his parents find out about his relationship with another boy, Brendon Urie makes a snap decision to flee from his abusive home. After a quick makeover to hide his identity, he decides to thumb a ride. He starts living the life he never even dreamed he could. Talking openly about things like sex, condoms, and homosexuality- he's happier then he's ever been.

There's one problem though.

His new roommates, Ryan and Spencer, have no idea that he is the missing Mormon boy from the nearby town of Summerlin.

--Ladies and gents, welcome to my first ever Ryden fic! This will always be a favourite of mine. Both Brendon's arc and Ryan's are are so heartbreaking, and there were so many times that I wanted to reach into the story and give Dallon a hug. So many tragedies in this story, and not all of them solved. I don't have any empathy for Brendon's parents in this story, but I feel so hard for his siblings, and for Marc. I just wish they knew. This story is so heartbreaking and yet so happy. Will play with your emotions like they're a shiny new toy.--

Filthy Lucre (10/10)

~362k words

Ryan Ross is living the American wet dream. He’s rich, he’s good looking, he gets paid just to turn up at parties and he spends his days drinking, doing drugs and climbing into bed with eager and willing boys and girls. His parents and PA beg him to quit, and his brother turns up his noise at his destructive lifestyle, but Ryan is desperate to sink into the void, escape the memories of what his father's friend did to him when he was fifteen.

Brendon Urie is a man bordering on desperation. He whores himself out to millionaire bankers and CEOs to fund his boyfriend's heroin addiction and pay off his ungrateful father's medical bills. Things could be worse, though. He's lucky enough to have a roof over his head, to be living with the love of his life, to no longer have to hook on the street, but instead be privileged enough to turn tricks in the wealthy circles of Wall Street and Goldman Sachs.

Where a broken boy meets another broken boy, and falls in love.

--Normally, I would never recommend an unfinished fic, let alone fic that hasn't been updated in four years, unless it was it was so good and so engaging that it made me literally scream. Trust me when I say that you have not experienced true hatred until you read this fic. I have literally never hated a character more in my entire life, and I know who Dolores Umbridge is, for reference. The best thing about this fic, in my opinion, is that the characters, whether good guys or bad guys, do evil. And they do it on purpose. Because the characters feel and act as though they're real, and real people fucking suck.--

The Black Rose Season (8/10)

~158k words

Ryan Ross' life is essentially over when his scholarship is inexplicably cancelled and he will be forced to pay his way through school. As a young, broke college student, Ryan is desperate to find cash fast, but to no avail. Just when he thinks all hope is lost, a mysterious benefactor promises to pay his tuition in full, on one condition: Ryan is infiltrate Sigma Chi Beta, the most prestigious and cultish fraternity that Swan University has to offer. And if, by some miracle, Ryan succeeds, his mission is clear:

Befriend Brendon Urie, fellow Swan Sigma, and, more importantly, alleged leader of Sigma Chi Beta's secret society, which might not even exist. He is to document his findings, and send them to his benefactor. One small problem though: Brendon fucking hates his guts.

--Did I mention that Anna Green owns my ass? Because Anna Green owns my ass. This one is so fleshed out, and there are some moments where it really spikes you in the chest. Every time that Patrick comes onto the page, my interest piques, and I remember That One Scene™ that completely changed my perspective of him (You'll understand once you read). Besides... college AU? Secret societies? Betrayal? Enemies to lovers? Sexual tension? Need I say more?--

I have more fics to recommend if you guys like this list, so tell me if you want more fic recs

A K N O T

Thank you for the ask, fren!! :DDD

A- Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

I… get emotional about a lot of relationships, so just for fun I’m gonna list a favorite friendship, pairing, and threesome from all four of my main fandoms. Ones I’m especially emotional about are italicized. :D

Steven Universe

-Friendship: Steven and Peridot-Pairing: Steven/Connie (The essence of childhood innocence. There’s such an open honesty to how they interact with each other that makes me really happy.)-Threesome: Buck/Jenny/Sour Cream

Doctor Who

-Friendship: Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble-Pairing: The Doctor/Clara. (Just like, in general. Doesn’t matter which Doctor. Although Twelve is my personal favorite when it comes to this pairing. It’s been literal years and I’m still not over them. Can’t believe series 9 was pretty much an entire love letter to these two’s relationship ;D;)-Threesome: Twelfth Doctor/Clara/River (I saw this in some fics a few times and it was sooo good oh my god)

Tales of Arcadia

-Friendship: Aja and Jim-Pairing: Blinky/Aaarrrgghh-Threesome: Jim/Toby/Claire (these kids are soooo goood and care for each other so much oh my god)

Gravity Falls

-Friendship: Ford and Dipper (they’re relatives, but it still counts as a sort of friendship, right??)-Pairing: Ford/Fiddleford. (Even though I’m not suPER active in this fandom atm I still think about these two a lot and I’ll also probably never get over them. Give it time and a rewatch, and I guarantee I’ll fall back kicking and screaming into being emotional over them.)-Threesome: Mabel/Candy/Grenda 

K- What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

Steven Universe. I didn’t notice the depth of his character development as starkly while catching the new eps over the years, but as I’ve started rewatching in order from the beginning it’s. Wow, it’s well done. I can easily track this kid’s growth in ability, maturity, leadership, and acceptance of himself from season to season. And then Change Your Mind goes and gives me just… the most satisfying end to a character arc I think I’ve ever seen, with that beautiful refusing scene. The sheer relief on his face as he finally understands who he is and who he isn’t, as he finally comes to fully love himself. RS always said this show was meant as a coming of age story, and it absolutely succeeds in being that.

As an honorary mention, the Twelfth Doctor also has suuuuch a good linear character development from s8-s10. He’s a rare Doctor honestly, in that he actually dies on a high note instead of after just… having the universe chip away at him until he’s nothin’ more but a depressed disaster alien. His development is positive, starting in s8 where he’s in a dark place and is re-evaluating who he is and what he values, and ending in s10 where he’s- by that point- figured out that what he’s all about is simply. Kindness. Laugh hard, run fast, be kind. I love this era for that.

N- Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

For Steven Universe…

More fics that deal with Pearl and Greg bonding. (as friends lol, just to clarify.) I just think there’s so much potential with these two coming to understand each other more, and growing closer as people. Maybe this is a sign that I need to write it? XD

It occurred to me today that I’ve never seen any art or fics about like… the angsty dark concept of Steven somehow getting accidentally corrupted, and hooo boy if you know of anything like this that exists please tell me so I can have Angst Tears thanks :DD

Give! Greg! A significant other! :DD I just think it’d be neat. 

O- Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

Putting my iTunes on shuffle gave me Wrong by Depeche Mode, which is absolutely a Stan and Ford song. I mean, hell, I’ve legitimately made an AMV to it. (it’s here)

T- Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

A fusion isn’t “controlled” mentally by the people who make up the fusion, and there’s never gonna be any “passing the wheel back and forth” sorta action when it comes to how a fusion mentally operates. Fusions are their own separate, unique individuals with their own unique personalities that become more defined and complex the more they exist as themselves. I cannot even count how many times I’ve… strangely… seen fics where they do the first thing. I’m not a fan of it because it strips away the fusion’s autonomy.

I also can’t believe I’m having to say this in the year of our lord 2019 but- FUSION IS NOT A METAPHOR FOR SEX, it is not a sexual thing it merely represents relationships! Of all kinds! Which do not have to involve sex!

On older Steven/Connie- Steven will have another growth spurt, (and finally stop being trapped in perpetual ten-year-old-face zone lmao), but so will Connie and thus he never quite gets to be taller than her. He is consistently the shorter of the two.

The Doctor has loved and will love many people over their long, long lifespan in a variety of different ways. None of these loves negates the other. So, just because the Doctor was in love with Rose at an earlier point in their life doesn’t mean that they didn’t also love River or Clara etc. etc. as well. Some of these loves were outright romantic. Some were more queer-platonic. Some were more like long-term arranged marriage scenarios, where they were practically thrown together by the universe and they grew to deeply love and care for each other over time despite their differences. All of them are very important to the Doctor.

Stan is aro-spec and Ford is ace-spec. Fiddleford is a trans man and bisexual. My sexuality and gender headcanons for Stan and Ford shift a lot to be honest, but in my mind, these things are always constants.

(Ask meme here)

Doctor Who: What Does the Second Coming of Russell T. Davies Mean For the Show?

https://ift.tt/39PJjBz

It was announced last week that Russell T. Davies is returning to show run Doctor Who for the show’s 60th anniversary series and beyond. If that’s news to you, I refer you to my previous sentence. All the information is there. After a weekend to absorb the news and read takes of various temperatures, there’s still plenty to be positive about. There are potential negatives though, so let’s examine these first.

It’s true that Russell T. Davies burnt himself out at the end of his initial run (2005 – 2010), and felt there was nothing more he could do on the show. Some elements of Davies’ writing are difficult to watch (the use of fat people as monsters and victims in ‘Aliens of London/World War Three’ and ‘Partners in Crime’ has a Roald Dahl nastiness to it, and I would be very happy not to see a non-consensual mindwipe on Doctor Who again).

Recent reports of inappropriate behaviour from actors on set during the tenure of Davies, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter have also raised questions regarding working practices and safety in the production. Assurances will be sought that there will be no similar behaviour this time around, and that if it does happen it will be dealt with at the time.

There’s also an undercurrent of disappointment that not only is the new showrunner another cis white man, but it’s someone who has run the show before. Ultimately Doctor Who needs new voices, it always has done (even when a showrunner or script editor has been popular they always need a break – Robert Holmes also burnt himself out in the Seventies). When RTD leaves again, we need someone else’s take on it.

What RTD’s presence suggests is that the BBC is not currently comfortable raising someone new to the position of showrunner, or that its attempts to do so have failed (it’s quite possible that someone new was asked but declined). The most positive interpretation is that the BBC is wanting to give the show a boost before committing to someone new, so that they don’t have the additional pressure of a new Doctor and the 60th anniversary to contend with. Less positively, if the BBC regards Doctor Who as a flagging show that people are turning down then RTD may be regarded as a safe pair of hands who can restore it before someone else takes over, again removing additional pressure.

And what of the impact on Series 13? We’re still waiting for its release date, and a monster reveal clip dropped recently but failed to make much of a splash while the focus was elsewhere. There are two years to wait for the anniversary series and Davies’ next script, and this will loom over Jodie Whittaker’s final series. Whittaker has been unlucky in many respects: while she has worked with Chris Chibnall before and trusted his take on the show, Chibnall’s approach to publicity is restrained and more secretive than his predecessors. With no broadcast date or full trailer for the expected Autumn/Winter airing, it feels like the current version of Doctor Who is treading water. Even the spin-off media for Doctor Who in recent years has focussed more on David Tennant than the current incarnation.

Indeed, there’s a dismissal of the Chibnall era as a hollow retread of the Russell T. Davies approach: there’s a sense of the Doctor being written in a similar vein to David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor, but also there are elements of Matt Smith’s Eleventh in there too. The influences on Chibnall’s vision for the show are from throughout its history, and Series 11 was notable for its lack of arc and finale. Comparatively, the current version of the show lacks the difficult choices and impactful deaths that gave it a strong identity upon its return.

Read more

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If anything, the show seems burdened by its past now in a way it simply didn’t in the 2005 series, where the decision to make a clean break allowed new fans a way in and to discover the backstory at their own pace.

The RTD era is now part of that burden, though. As discussed here, each of his four full series had a consistent pattern (Present Day/Historical/Future stories to start with, darker stories around the second two-parter), it generated its own tropes (more aliens that look like Earth animals, anyone?) catchphrases and mythology. What was a fresh approach is now a standard one (Steven Moffat tried to move away from the series structure but – for various reasons – ultimately returned to it) and proving another approach works would ultimately be beneficial. Russell T. Davies is now tasked with the more difficult challenge of refreshing a programme that has been on air for 16 years, rather than off it.

For all the criticisms you can level at Chibnall, his initial approach for Series 11 did seem to be the necessary clean break with Moffat’s style (before heading down the same inward-looking path). How easy it will be to make a separation remains to be seen, as Chibnall’s remaining episodes are yet to be broadcast. If it continues in its current trajectory, culminating in an arc about the Doctor’s history and another destruction of the Time Lords, then it should at least be easier to clear the decks before beginning again. Given that he’s already gradually reintroduced the mythology of the show once, it’s going to be hard for Davies to repeat that trick with anything remotely like the impact it previously had, so a different approach will have to be found.

Davies will also have to deal with even more hostility than initially faced in 2005. There’s a strange group within fandom who are hoping that the ‘Woke agenda’ of Chibnall’s approach will be gone when Davies returns, as if they have never read or watched anything he’s written. They presumably don’t remember the threads on Davies’ ‘gay agenda’ on Outpost Gallifrey, or when the simple act of casting a black man in a recurring role in 2005 led to irate posts on right-wing forums. The ‘political correctness gone mad’ buzzwords of yesteryear now mutated into complaints about ‘woke nonsense’. If you’ve read Davies novelisation of ‘Rose’ it’s clear that his approach to Doctor Who now will result in headlines about polluting our children’s minds with ideas of tolerance, acceptance and compassion woke zealotry. Russell T. Davies isn’t perfect, of course, but like Doctor Who itself, his storytelling is rarely without a political conscience.

One thing worth highlighting, raised initially by Alex Moreland on his blog, is that the show will be co-produced by Bad Wolf productions. This won’t have raised many eyebrows as it’s assumed to be part of the package of bringing in producers Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter. However, as Moreland points out, “changes to the BBC charter means it has to open up in-house properties to bids from external companies to produce them – this is the start of that.”

Either way, Doctor Who is no longer going to be produced entirely in-house by the BBC, and it’s possible that the same forces that complain about ‘wokeness’ in the show have driven the organisation to this point. Beneath the decisions over who gets to run a television programme are reflections of the current political situation, the endless churn of Interesting Times. Given this, then, it’s possibly a case of damage limitation by the BBC: if they have to pick an external company to co-produce, at least Bad Wolf can be relied upon to treat the property with respect and Davies has fiercely defended the corporation in the past.

Davies’ appointment can be interpreted as a conservation measure, both in the wider sphere of politics and regarding the show itself. Fan talk (at least in the circles I’m in) is dissatisfied with Doctor Who, seeing it as a show needing a rest or reinvention. Chibnall’s departure felt like a chance to try someone new, with names like Sally Wainwright and Nida Manzoor mentioned alongside former writers like Jamie Mathieson and Sarah Dollard.

The least positive interpretation of RTD’s return is that, for all its talk of diversity and inclusion, British television has failed to develop anyone new to a position where they could take over Doctor Who. Or even that they have done this, but then potentially ignored them for this role.

What we can be positive about, however, is that Russell T. Davies’ writing is better than ever. January’s It’s a Sin is widely considered his masterpiece, and he’s clearly still fizzing with ideas and passion. He loves Doctor Who, he’s hardly going to take this job just for the money. The hope is that this is a transitional period for the show, the passing from a period of uncertainty to an exciting, unknown future.

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Doctor Who Series 13 will air this autumn on BBC One and BBC America.

The post Doctor Who: What Does the Second Coming of Russell T. Davies Mean For the Show? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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My Top 50 OUAT Episodes

And now, as a final goodbye to OUAT, I give you this list of my personal picks for the 50 best episodes in the series, listed in order of airing. Two-hour broadcasts are counted as one here.

1. Pilot - 1x01. One of the best TV pilots of recent years due to how quickly it grabs you and emotionally invests you in its magical atmosphere and the plight of its central characters. 

2. The Thing You Love Most - 1x02. Best watched immediately after the pilot, as it deals with the same story but from the dark and twisted perspective of its villain, the Evil Queen.

3. Snow Falls - 1x03. Snow and Charming are, well, charming in their first adventure together and the start of their romance, as is sweet Mary Margaret in the present day.

4. That Still Small Voice - 1x05. Jiminy Cricket of all characters gets a surprisingly dark and emotional backstory that resonates with him in the extremely intense present-day scenario.

5. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - 1x07. Jamie Dornan gives an incredible performance as the tormented Sheriff Graham / Huntsman, all the way to the episode’s tragic conclusion.

6. Desperate Souls - 1x08. We get our first true insight into the backstory of the enigmatic Rumpelstiltskin, and Emma becomes sheriff, making this a truly pivotal episode for the show.

7. Skin Deep - 1x12. A truly subversive, twisted take on the Beauty and the Beast story, with some unexpected layers added to Rumple’s character and Robert Carlyle’s performance. 

8. Red-Handed - 1x15. Little Red Riding Hood IS the Big Bad Wolf. That is awesome.

9. Hat Trick - 1x17. One of the most terrifying, surreal episodes in the entire series, with the great Sebastian Stan knocking it out of the park as the deranged Mad Hatter, Jefferson.

10. The Return - 1x19. We learn why the curse was cast in a devastatingly emotional story that adds more to the characters of Rumple and August as the season enters its final stretch.

11. The Stranger - 1x20. August’s true identity is one of the best reveals in the whole series.

12. An Apple Red As Blood - 1x21. Part 1 of the season finale, as Regina in both the past and present gears up to finish off her nemesis, with the episode ending on a huge shocker.

13. A Land Without Magic - 1x22. Part 2 of the season finale, the best finale the show ever had, and quite possibly my all-time favorite episode. Almost everything about this episode is perfect and gives you the feeling of a story coming to its end as the threads come together.

14. Broken - 2x01. A solid season opener that sets the show on an exciting new course.

15. Lady of the Lake - 2x03. Things really pick up as Team Princess is formed, Cora is established as the new Big Bad, and we get some beautiful moments between Snow and Emma that make it all the more shameful that the show utterly ruins this dynamic later on.

16. The Doctor - 2x05. Dr. Whale is Victor Frankenstein. Did NOT see that coming!

17. Tallahassee - 2x06. The first adventure that “Captain Swan” (Emma and Hook) partake in together, while at the same time we finally learn about Emma’s sad past with her ex-lover.

18. Queen of Hearts - 2x09. A thrilling conclusion to the first arc of Season 2, where we finally learn Cora’s motivations and get an epic fight between the heroes and the villains.

19. Manhattan - 2x14. This episode is a real turning point, with Emma’s ex-lover being revealed as Rumple’s long-lost son, along with several new insights into Rumple’s past. 

20. The Queen Is Dead - 2x15. One of the show’s most emotional episodes, in no small part thanks to Bailee Madison’s truly amazing performance as young Snow in the flashback.

21. The Miller's Daughter - 2x16. We learn about Cora’s fascinating backstory and the true nature of her relationship with Rumple. But then she dies, and the season totally falls apart.

22. Second Star To The Right - 2x21. Finally it feels like shit is getting done, and the concept of a terrifying re-imagining of Peter Pan in the flashback is immediately captivating.

23. And Straight On 'Til Morning - 2x22. The mess Season 2 became gets cleaned up in this gripping finale, with a brilliant new story set-up laid out to be followed in Season 3.

24. The Heart Of The Truest Believer - 3x01. OUAT is truly back at the top of its game here, juggling four different plot threads perfectly and introducing its greatest villain, Peter Pan.

25. Lost Girl - 3x02. The flashback here is meh, but the present day stuff is nigh-perfect.

26. Quite a Common Fairy - 3x03. For the first time, Regina’s potential redemption feels good and genuine, and Rose McIver’s re-imagining of Tinker Bell is a delight from the start.

27. Good Form - 3x05. Hook’s backstory is amazing, and Captain Swan truly begins here.

28. Ariel - 3x06. JoAnna Garcia Swisher makes a truly perfect live-action rendition of Ariel, and the interactions between all the characters in Neverland take a truly engaging turn.

29. Dark Hollow - 3x07. Belle and Ariel, on a mission from Rumpelstiltskin, team up to fight John and Michael Darling who serve the villainous Peter Pan. Only on this show, people!

30. Think Lovely Thoughts - 3x08. The “Nevengers” truly show how far they’ve come working as a group here, and we get one of the show’s most shocking and twisted reveals.

31. Going Home - 3x11. The perfect series finale that isn’t a series finale, with the action increasingly slowing down so that you can fully appreciate the emotions. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if the show had ended right here, I’d have been completely satisfied. 

32. Witch Hunt - 3x13. Just plain fun and funny, with great dialogue and great character interactions that really get you re-adjusted to these characters and to life in Storybrooke.

33. The Jolly Roger - 3x17. Quite possibly the quintessential Hook episode, showing just what kind of a person he was and how he desperately wants to be a better man now.

34. Snow Drifts / There's No Place Like Home - 3x21 / 22. After the incredible letdown that was the climax of the Wicked arc, we get this two-part finale that really embodies the magic OUAT had and never quite will again, with Emma’s character arc coming to a fitting end.

35. The Apprentice - 4x04. “The Dark One lies. The Dark One tricks”. This episode does a perfect job at re-establishing Rumple as a true villain and a schemer to be reckoned with.

36. The Snow Queen - 4x07. Quite possibly the most heartbreaking villain backstory the show has ever had, plus riveting scenes between Elizabeth Mitchell and Jennifer Morrison.

37. Smash the Mirror - 4x08. It’s overlong and the Regina and Robin subplot is complete bullshit, but everything else in both the past and present is golden. The 4A arc peaked here.

38. Shattered Sight - 4x10. The boffo comedy in this episode is cringe-inducing, but all of the serious, emotional stuff centered around the Snow Queen and her family gets me every time.

39. Poor Unfortunate Soul - 4x15. Ursula’s backstory is kind of iffy, but the effect it has on Hook and his development here is really good, as are the villains and August’s return.

40. Sympathy for the De Vil - 4x18. “Evil isn’t born, it’s made”...except in this case, where it is 100% born and takes us on a twisted tale that could pass for a good Twilight Zone episode.

41. The Broken Kingdom - 5x04. The twist of the glorious kingdom of Camelot being a kingdom literally built on sand, and its monarch a disturbed megalomaniac, is a great one. Plus, Snow and Charming actually get do something heroic after a long period of inactivity! 

42. Nimue - 5x07. The actors portraying Merlin and Nimue really sell the doomed epic romance between the two, as we get the most far-back flashback in the show’s entire run.

43. Labor of Love - 5x13. This episode can be summed up as “The Nevengers are back.” That alone counters the disappointment of how blandly Hercules and Megara are portrayed.

44. The Brothers Jones - 5x15. A touching tale of brotherhood, good intentions gone wrong, self-loathing and forgiveness, plus giving Hook closure with his big brother. I just love it.

45. Firebird - 5x20. The flashback is utter tripe, but the escalation in the present-day story, the performances, and Captain Swan’s True Love test makes this episode well worth it.

46. Last Rites - 5x21. Aside from that moment with Robin, this episode is awesome, especially the Underworld scenes with the duo I never knew I wanted: Hook and Arthur.

47. The Other Shoe - 6x03. This episode embodies what the show SHOULD have become: a more light-hearted series with adventures-of-the-day starring Emma, Hook and Henry. 

48. A Wondrous Place - 6x15. Hook sails on Captain Nemo’s sub, the Nautilus, alongside Aladdin and Jasmine, meeting up with Ariel and facing down Jafar. Only on this show, people!

49. The Song in Your Heart - 6x20. Because really, who doesn’t love a Musical Episode? This one centering around Emma and her marriage to Hook makes it all the more special.

50. The Final Battle - 6x21 / 22. It’s got a LOT of problems, but the ending it reaches is truly one that fits the show, and we would have been better off if ABC hadn’t renewed it afterward.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

The Price of Gold - 1x04. Rumpelstiltskin’s first showcase episode, and he’s terrifying in it.

Dreamy - 1x14. Screw the haters, I really liked this episode! It was hilarious and sweet.

The Crocodile - 2x04. Our introduction to Killian Jones / Captain Hook. It’s a good one, and I’d have liked it better had Rumple’s role in both the past and present not been so disturbing.

Save Henry - 3x09. A tad anti-climactic and the Regina focus was misaimed, but still good.

New York City Serenade - 3x12. A damn fine start to a new beginning for the show.

Rocky Road - 4x03. Elsa and the Snow Queen are both fantastic characters, both shown well here. It’s held back by the introduction of Will Scarlet, who ended up being a waste.

Darkness on the Edge of Town - 4x12. This episode gives us the visual of villains on a road trip stopping at a drive-thru. You just gotta love that! Also, the Chernabog was awesome.

Operation Mongoose - 4x21 / 22. Despite Isaac’s (and by extension, A&E’s) terrible writing, the weird situations and performances from the actors makes this an entertaining finale.

Siege Perilous - 5x03. A good old-fashioned Camelot adventure is just what I wanted. 

The Bear King - 5x09. Again, screw the haters. The show needed more episodes like this, a standalone where the plot takes a pause and the side characters are allowed to develop.

Broken Heart - 5x10. The present-day plot is absolute crap, but the flashback in Camelot is really well executed, and Colin O’Donoghue is clearly having a blast playing Dark Hook.

Souls of the Departed - 5x12. Not ideal for the 100th episode, but a good start to the Underworld arc, with a lot of familiar faces returning and a great new villain introduced. 

Devil's Due - 5x14. Despite her fate in this episode, it’s great to see the writers presenting Milah more sympathetically than she was before, and Hades continues to be a delight.

Our Decay - 5x16. The first episode where Zelena feels truly human instead of the cartoonish psychopath she was before, with her and Hades’ romance being legit touching.

Sisters - 5x19. While I don’t much care for the subplot with Prince James, the main plot featuring the reconciliation between Cora, Regina and Zelena is great and beautifully acted.

Strange Case - 6x04. Oh, Mr. Hyde, you left us way too soon. The episode is sadly weighed down by Rumple’s textbook abuse toward Belle, which we now know is never truly punished. 

Dark Waters - 6x06. A good bonding episode between Hook and Henry, plus a great new character from the Land of Untold Stories who is actually faithful to his source material!

Heartless - 6x07. For once, Lana Parilla actually gives us an old-school Evil Queen performance, where she’s scary and truly malevolent rather than campy and over-the-top.

Mother's Little Helper - 6x16. I really like the Dark Realm, and wish that more was done with it. The reunion between long-time rivals Hook and Blackbeard is also a lot of fun.

The Black Fairy - 6x19. The retcon that Rumple was born a Savior is ridiculous, but the titular Black Fairy’s backstory actually makes her an interesting character for the first time.

A Pirate's Life - 7x02. It was nice to see Emma again, and even better to see that the Hook in this arc is actually Wish!Hook rather than the original, who is still living happily with Emma.

The Girl in the Tower - 7x14. Robin and Alice are beyond precious as a couple in both the past and the present, finally washing away the bad taste left behind by “Ruby Slippers”.

The Guardian - 7x18. It may have been late in coming, but Rumple / Weaver actually becomes interesting here as we get to explore his relationship with his newfound friends.

Homecoming - 7x21. It’s good to see several old characters again, and even better to see all the loose threads from that abominable Season 6 Wish Realm two-parter finally addressed. 

Leaving Storybrooke - 7x22. Except for Rumple’s end, most of what happens following Snow and Charming’s appearance is utter shit. But.....at least the show is finally over!

Has anyone asked you about Dr Who yet?

First of all, let me apologize for just how fucking long this has been laying around. But I have expected it to take… A While to answer. So, sorry for the wait.

I’m a Whovian. Which people who avidly read my PJatO fics probably know because I love to slip it in there.

Doctor Who ranks fourth on my fop five of all-time favorite TV shows.

I’ve only seen New Who though, to make that clear. I just… I dunno? I like color? I tried Classic Who, but I just really can’t go through the black and white - and the New Who does work so well on its own too, even though it factors in Classic Who.

So I will be only talking about New Who here.

I started to watch Doctor Who when it made its way into the Saturday morning program. It really didn’t impress me at all. Literally the only thing that stuck was Jack Harkness - back then, we only did get the first two series, mind you.

So when it just… stopped airing, I didn’t particularly care too much. Because they had written Jack out of the show a series ago and I was more than miffled by the concept of them constantly replacing the main characters. After all, it’s only been two series but I already had two Doctors. And? What? No. What? As a teen, I so did not have the patience for a show that changed main actors more often than some people change their socks.

So I put that out of my mind and actually kind of forgot about it. After all, it had stopped airing in Germany too, so, well, it was canned and done.

But then series 3 ended and I heard that Captain Jack actually made a return to the show. And that coincided with me getting invested in learning how to English. Literally, at the time I sucked. I only brought home 4s, 5s and 6s - Ds, Es and Fs. I copied all my homework from my half-American friend and couldn’t give less of a shit about that language. What would I even need it for? I live in Germany, we speak German, for heaven’s sake.

But I really liked Jack and I had been trying to better my English somehow. So, why not by watching this British TV show with German sub-titles? I started rewatching series 1 and 2 and then watched series 3.

I fell in love with Doctor Who with series 3. It is, to date, a masterpiece to me.

The main reason is the removal of Doctor Who’s most unlikable character. Rose. Good heavens above, I hate Rose Tyler.

Yes, she was a brilliant companion for the Doctor. Yes, she saved the world and galaxy and whatever. Yes, she was the companion the Doctor needed at the time.

But she was a shitty human being.

She was a good companion, because the Doctor was literally the only thing that mattered to this girl. And that’s a good quality in a companion. It’s a crappy quality in a girlfriend and daughter though.

The way she kept stringing Mickey along, even having the audacity to be jealous when he tries to move on but she goes out into the universe with a total stranger, was just petty.

But the one thing that I will never forgive her for and the main reason why I hate her is the way she literally disappeared for an entire year Earth-time - her boyfriend and mother and everyone believing her to be dead, Mickey even being accused of having killed her. And she just up and disappears again.

She didn’t take the time to go to the officials to clear Mickey’s name.

She didn’t even take the time to stay for one lousy dinner, or to say goodbye. Her mom believed her to be dead for an entire year and she can’t even stay one fucking evening to eat dinner with her mother? Or at the very least give her a proper, heartfelt goodbye? No, as long as I can run after the Doctor, I’m happy! I don’t need anyone else!

Not to mention that she’s a barely legal gal being shipped off with a 900 year old alien. It’s just creepy, is what it is. The fact that the Doctor and Rose were never explicitely together is one of my biggest blessings on this show. That he never even said the words had me cheering in my seat, to be honest. Because, no, Doctor, you do not need to fall in love with a 19 year old human, no. Just no.

So yeah, I fell in love with the show after Rose left.

Martha Jones is also my favorite companion. Yes, she is also in love with the Doctor - but she never turned her back on her family, she always had her priorities straight. And she was one-sided in love with him. If he had returned her feelings? Yeah, I’d be creeped out by that too then.

Not just Martha and the return of Jack though, also the plots are what made me fall in love with it.

I have to admit, the Bad Wolf plot of the first series was ,when I rewatched it, really cool. But the second series… still feels more like a filler-series, really. The plot was just so… meh. And the single episodes too - I consider “The Idiot’s Lantern” and “Fear Her” to be two of the show’s weakest episodes.

Martha brought something fresh to the table and I actually love the plots of most of her episodes. “Daleks in Manhattan” and “Evolution of the Daleks” was so cool. “Human Nature” and “The Family of Blood” are, to date, probably the creepiest episodes to me.

“Blink” is literally the most perfect episode of all in this entire show.

And I’ve rewatched just the three-parter of “Utopia”, “The Sound of Drums” and “Last of the Time Lords” more often than I care to admit or remember.

It introduces the Master to New Who and the Master is brilliant. A brilliant enemy.

I hate that Martha only stayed for one series, but her successor sure was worthy, because Donna Noble is my second favorite companion.

Her dynamic with the Doctor is probably the best dynamic written so far in New Who. They’re just friends, in a beautifully uncomplicated way where both of them are deeply aware of the pain in the other.

Not too many outstanding episodes, aside from “The Sontaran Stratagem”, “The Poison Sky” and “The Doctor’s Daughter”, but the pure dynamic of 10 and Donna totally made even the weird plots work well.

Not to mention Donna’s grandpa, who yes. All the yes for him. He was an amazing half-companion (never really know what to call the “male character who only tags along due to the female companion”),

And then the “Journey’s End”. It was such a pay-off. The way it brought everything of the past four series together was just intensely awesome. To unite all of his companions from those four series, to have even Sarah Jane back - I love Sarah Jane, I consider The Sarah Jane Adventures the best of the three Doctor Who spin-offs and her character is amazing. I didn’t even mind the return of Rose, because she was an important part of that life.

And then the entire show changed, because Russell T Davies was replaced by Steven Moffat.

Part of me was over the moon about Moffat at first, because he created Captain Jack Harkness, who is literally why I found my way to the show. And he wrote some of the best episodes of Doctor Who - “The Empty Child”, “The Doctor Dances” and “Blink”.

I have a deeply seated hatred for Moffat at this point, fyi.

I consider “The Girl in the Fireplace” to be the first warning-sign of things, really. Moffat’s intense need to ship people off. To ship the Doctor off.

I do not want my over a thousand year old alien to be shipped off with humans? Honestly, I don’t want him shipped off with anyone, at all, because I watch this show for the SciFi extravaganza and the scales, not the fucking romance.

River Song, close second after Rose on my list of characters I don’t like. Though I’ll get back to that later on when we discuss 12, because she’s currently being re-evaluated by me.

I didn’t like the 12/River plot that Moffat was hyping so hard, because… it completely hijacked the show.

Though, strike that, I didn’t like the River plot in total.

It was way too complicated. And I’m not just saying that because it was “a bit confusing”. I’m saying that because it all only fully fell into place after literally five years. That’s too long.

I do like a complex plot. I like when a plotline stretches out over a course of more than just one season. But if your plot is a messy knot of something that no one can quite figure out where it begins and makes sense until five years later, that’s just… a mess.

“Silence in the Library” aired in 2008 and the real pay-off for the River Song plotline and where it was coming from and going only aired in 2013 with “The Time of the Doctor”. I’m sorry, but that just doesn’t compute for me.

With the first four series, each of them could stand beautifully on their own too, even though in the end all four spanned together and had one pay-off.

Series 5 didn’t make a lick of sense, even after rewatching it two times. It started making a bit more sense with series 6, and then a little more sense with series 7, but come on, if you have to wait three years and then watch three series in one go to make actual sense of stuff you watched three years ago, that just can’t be it for a TV show. That’s ridiculous.

Getting a bit more into details instead of just critizing the overlaying plot, because for its sub-plots, I really did like 12′s arc.

Amy Pond is… an okay companion. She ranks among the six main companions New Who had so far - Rose, Martha, Donna, Amy, Clara, Bill - on a solid four. But the literal best thing Amy Pond did for Doctor Who was introduce Rory Williams to us.

Rory Williams is a national treasure and needs to be cherished.

Seriously, if there’s one thing I’m really-really hyping about 12, it’s Rory. He was so adorable, relatable, sweet, cute, caring, amazing. He was the best. I will forever live to regret that Rory and Jack never met, because the idea of Jack hitting on a totally confused Rory while Amy goes protective lioness over her husband is just beautifully hilarious.

Though, for me series 5 also marks the point of oversatuation on Daleks and Cybermen.

Daleks started out, in series 1, as those great enemies who were extinct and look there is only one left. And then there’s a fleet in the next series and it’s a shocker and really effective.

At this point, it has become an obligatory thing. “Ah, there’s this series’ Dalek-episode. Can cross that off my Doctor Who bingo then”. And, honestly, the Daleks are not that great as enemies? Like, they’re great foes, but they don’t do for the most intriguing plotlines because they literally just want to exterminate. An enemy with an actual goal and motivation makes for far better story-telling.

And while I understand that they are the most iconic Who villains and that we can’t get rid fo them entirely… Can we like, reduce them? Maybe have them not appear for one whole series? Because they stopped bringing something new to the table a while ago.

And this series also marks when Cybermen and even the Weeping Angels also just become… bingo-marks, really. It becomes obligatory from here on out that we have to have at least one episode featuring those particular villains. And that just becomes… so predictable.

Now that I complained again, let me return to the praising.

“Vincent and the Doctor” is one of the more emotional episodes of this show and I love it. I’ll never not cry during it.

But “The Lodger” is just plain awesome. “The Lodger” and “Closing Time” are my two favorite episodes for 12, because he had a brilliant dynamic with Craig and I also loved that Craig did get to return for a second episode. I’d love to see him again some time, maybe now that Stormageddon is older. It’d be amazing.

Series 6 was, aside from “The Lodger”, quite the let-down for me personally. I greatly did not care for “The Rebel Flesh”, “The Almost People”, “Night Terrors”, “The Girl Who Waited” or “The God Complex”. And that’s nearly half the series.

Series 7 was better again. Though I still feel conflicted about changing companions mid-series, to be honest.

Clara Oswald is a companion I have… conflicting feelings about.

I really liked her at first, but she definitely overstayed her welcome.

In series 7, she was very much welcomed. She was a nice change of pace, she was witty and I really liked the mystery of “How is Oswin still alive?”. The plot was cool; the pay-off of that was a bit ridiculous, but hey.

Oh, before I forget to mention it! I love Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax! And they deserve a spin-off so much. Honestly. I still don’t get why they green-lit the boring-ass premise of Class over a spin-off about that trio (note: Class is far better than its boring-ass premise and I enjoyed the show very much while it lasted, but that they got a show with such a lame premise green-lit over a more substantial spin-off is completely beyond me).

We gotta talk about “The Day of the Doctor”, of course.

John Hurt as the War Doctor was amazing, but I still hate that Christopher Eccleston didn’t return for that role. It think it would have weighted so much different if he did and if the plot could have continued as intended. But the War Doctor was a great way to fix the lack of 9.

And 10 and 11 playing off of each other will forever be the singularly best thing on this show, hands down.

The only real problem is that it was just Clara. This was so huge. The scales of it were so great and it was the damn anniversary. We managed to team up all the former companions for the series 4 ending, how did we not get a single additional companion for this huge-ass anniversary special? How did Captain Jack and Torchwood not show up? How did freelancer alien-hunters Mickey and Martha not help them? At the very least. That Rose and Donna and Sarah Jane and Amy and Rory couldn’t, yeah, obvious, but… At least some of the former companions should have been honored in this anniversary special.

I want to say that the pay-off for that was great, but… Honestly, it wasn’t so much a pay-off as more of a “tease for something that still hasn’t been cashed in four years later”. Gallifrey stays… but we kinda accidentally misplaced it.

Danny Pink and series 8 was what really ruined Clara as a companion.

She should have been written out with “The Name of the Doctor”, or at the latest after the anniversary episode considering that it’d have been troublesome to introduce a new companion there.

But when she started to prioritize her boyfriend over the Doctor and literally tried to murder the Doctor, that was just when her character needed to go.

Also, not to forget, series 8 features the singularly dumbest and worst episode of the entire New Who. “The Moon”. Fuck this episode, fuck it hard and square. The moon is an egg and it hatches and immediately lays a new “moon egg”. And literally everyone saw it but opted to immediately forget it. Fuck you. Just… really, were you drunk when you wrote this episode and high when you green-lit it?

And 12 did not make a good first impression in his first series either.

I saw a lot of memes of Classic Who fans pointing out how “other Doctors needed an adjustment phase too”. I get that. Yeah. 11 had that for one episode of finding himself and adjusting. But two entire series can not be the way to do it.

He had zero emotions and was thus zero relatable. 10 and 11 felt so much and so strongly, that is what made you grow attached to them. 12 couldn’t even grasp the most basic of human emotions and it wasn’t even in a funny running-gag kind of way either. It was just annoying and disorienting.

However, the pay-off for series 8 was good. The Master returning as Missy was awesome. Time Lords regenerating into Time Ladies too is awesome and also makes me think that maybe their race is called Time Lords because they are all primarily male and only have occasional female regenerations for reproduction purposes, but not as primary, designated genders. But that’s just me.

I feel similarly let down by series 9. Honestly, I can’t even really distinguish series 8 and 9. They both have the 12th Doctor who is unable to know how to human and Clara, who is growing more and more unlikable and unnecesary by the minute.

Granted, series 9 was a bit of a redemption arc for Clara, but she still felt… rather pointless, because by now she literally finished two story-arcs in this show. First through her original plot and then with the Danny plot.

I don’t like their solution for the “Three Peter Capaldis in this universe” that they came up with that series though. The whole “The face is a reminder” thing is just utter bullshit. I mean. He rescued so many people at this point of whom so many had more emotional value than Caecilius. Why the heck his face?

Honestly, if they’d just retconned it into “12 took a trip to Pompeii and was missing with 10″ it would have been a better solution that would have been more fun…

And I genuinely don’t know how I feel about Arya Stark. Her plotline is kind of intriguing, but she feels like another Captain Jack Harkness. That is to say; another immortal created by the Doctor who then gets abandoned by the Doctor and will be randomly forgotten at one point. Not to mention the cock-teasing of “There could be a spin-off about Me and Clara”, about which I still haven’t decided how I feel.

I adore Osgood. I do have to say that though and I love seeing her back, even though I’d still have loved for her to become an actual companion.

Now.

Now is the time to get back to River Song. Because the Christmas special “The Husbands of River Song” was actually the first time I truly liked River.

And it made me realize why I normally dislike her. She’s a badass and awesome, actually, but that has always been overshadowed by her school-girl crush on the Doctor and the way she’d bat her eyelashes at him and urgh, it was so annoying. In this special, she didn’t know he was the Doctor for half the time and her behavior was awesome. She was awesome. Until she realized he was the Doctor and went back to her school-girl-crush behavior and I went urgh again.

Not to mention - and this is my hardest knock on River Song and her plotline - you can’t keep writing heartfelt goodbyes. They lose all meaning.

“Forest of the Dead” had this grand, epic finale to her plotline before she was even properly introduced and that really pays off when rewatching it.

Then she was introduced.

Then we got a really heartfelt goodbye in “The Wedding of River Song” in series 6, where you thought “Wow, that’s it”.

Then you got a really heartfelt goodbye in “The Angels Take Manhattan” in series 7, where you weeped additional tears for Rory and Amy, but you’re kinda sure that this must be it now, right?

But it happens again at the end of series 7 with “The Name of the Doctor” - and this has to be it, right? It’s like the biggest goodbye yet and it has to be the final.

But oh no, look. Another heartfelt goodbye episode in the Christmas special “The Husbands of River Song”. And at that point, them saying goodbye really just made me roll my eyes.

You just… You can’t make epic goodbye episodes if you don’t plan on fucking finally writing the character off. Either stop pretending to say goodbye, or stop bringing her back, but you can’t do both, it’s just ridiculous and quite frankly also sad.

Now, moving on to series 10.

Series 10 made me fall in love with the 12th Doctor. Finally he was THE Doctor. Finally he started caring and being properly there, instead of requiring his companion as an emotional crutch. This series makes me mad that Peter is already leaving again. He barely to to actually be the Doctor as he ought to and now he’s already being replaced. Urgh.

Bill was actually a really cool companion. I didn’t undestand a single word she said for the first two episodes before I got used to her way of speaking, but after that, I fast grew attached to her.

Heck, I even grew attached to Nardole, and Nardole was the thing I hated most about “The Husbands of River Song”. But he had great character development over this one series.

I’m not sure how I feel about Missy, to be honest. Because I don’t want a redemption arc for the Doctor’s greatest foe. It was fun, but also really weird.

Now, before I wrap this up, I guess it’s impossible not to talk about the 13th Doctor.

I couldn’t give less of a rat’s ass about the casting. Literally.

I mean, as long as the actor does a good job and does the Doctor justice - not like Peter did in two out of three of his series - I couldn’t care less if the Doctor is male, female, white, black, Asian, for all I care they could have the Doctor regenerate into an agender green alien considering he doesn’t have to be human looking but humanoid. I just want an actor who captures the essence of the Doctor.

For that, of course, the actor is not the only one responsible.

The writing is too.

If they go an overly “We now have a female Doctor!!” route and start treating the Doctor different just because he is now a she, I will go batshit crazy.

If the Doctor now, all of a sudden starts actively persuading a male romantic interest (and I use the term “actively” here because the Doctor not limiting himself to females has been canon for a long time), just to keep things “straight looking”, I’ll be mad. How about we leave the romance just out? Something I’ve been pleading for for years now.

If the Doctor now, all of a sudden will for the first time in New Who take a male companion just to “keep it even”, I will also be mad. Because so far, the Doctor only took male companions as add-ons to his female primary companion. Have her take two companions, one male and one female, okay. That is what works best anyway, in my opinion.

But if the Doctor now takes a male companion and will require to be saved by The Man, then I’ll just be disappointed.

And I wish I wouldn’t have to worry about this, but I feel like… replacing Moffat and the Doctor and the companion all at once… Might change New Who completely and there’s no telling into what direction it’ll go.

So, for now, I’ll just be anxiously awaiting the new series and praying that the female Doctor will do the role justice, both as an actress and as its written part.

1-31. I have no chill.

listen. i love you.

1. Top 3 Doctors

twelve, nine, four

2. Top 3 companions

sarah jane smith, bill potts, river song

3. Favourite quote

can’t pick just one so you get three!

“When you love the Doctor, it’s like loving the stars themselves. You don’t expect a sunset to admire you back!” - River Song

“There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea’s asleep and the river’s dream; people made of smoke and city’s made of song. Somewhere there’s danger, somewhere there’s injustice, and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we’ve got work to do.” - Seventh Doctor

“We’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one.” - Eleventh Doctor

4. Favourite Dalek story

the magician’s apprentice / witch’s familiar

5. If you could pick any companion to travel with any Doctor, who would it be?

sarah jane with twelve

6. How much EU have you seen?

all of sja and torchwood, one doctor who audiobook, one tie-in novel, and two torchwood audiobooks

7. Favourite companion/doctor relationship

i love all of them SO MUCH it’s so hard to choose but i can narrow it down to sarah jane and ten, twelve and clara, and rose and nine

8. OTP?

vastra and jenny, my interspecies victorian lesbian moms

9. NOTP?

twelve and bill WHY DO PEOPLE SHIP THAT SHE GAY DUDE STOP IT LOL AND HE’S HER GRANDPA JESUS ! block me if you ship twelve and bill thank YOU

10. Any ships?

way too many to list like dude omg so many. i guess mains are rose/nine, twissy, twisswald, and kate/any woman at all

11. First Doctor you saw

fourth doctor in some old vhs tapes of my dad’s

12. Favourite Doctor

twelve

13. First story you saw on TV

school reunion during a vacation to my english cousins’ house

14. How long have you been a fan for?

since i was about four or five and my dad showed me his favorite fourth doctor episodes (which were basically anything with sarah jane or leela)

15. If you could travel with one Doctor, who would it be?

nine or twelve, i really can’t choose bc i love them both so much and i prolly trust them the most out of any doctors

16. Favourite TARDIS interior?

eleven’s

17. How much classic who have you seen?

one’s first three stories, everything with sarah jane, prolly about half of leela, everything with romana, everything with tegan, and everything with ace.

18. Favourite Cyberman story?

honestly don’t rlly like the cybermen woops

19. Favourite one off monster?

the vampires in vampires of venice bc helen mccrory is hot bless up

20. Least favourite story?

love and monsters, easily, which sucks bc rose is SO CUTE in that episode

21. Did you cry whilst watching any stories?

OH MAN i cry at EVERYTHING, lemme go through the episode list and get the things i remember crying at: the end of the world, school reunion, doomsday, voyage of the damned, journey’s end, vincent and the doctor, the doctor the widow and the wardrobe (every. damn. time.), the angels take manhattan, the time of the doctor, death in heaven, face the raven, hell bent, the husbands of river song, and the doctor falls. i know i’ve prolly cried at more and just don’t remember.

22. Least favourite Doctor (why?)

ten because of (YES I KNOW THIS IS THE ENTIRE POINT OF HIS ARC DON’T @ ME I’M STILL ANNOYED) the way he so easily believes he knows better than everyone else and doesn’t hesitate to manipulate time if that’s what he thinks is best (ruining harriet jones’s career and reputation over her legitimate concern for the safety of britain, thus robbing britain of its planned golden age and allowing the master to take over the world, torture the entire population, emotionally scar the jones family [I’M STILL SALTY]; saving adelaide brooks and ruining her legacy)

listen i still love him so much of course but he gets on my nerves

23. Least favourite companion (why?)

legit don’t think i have a least favorite companion i love all of them so much. maybe nardole at first cause he kinda got on my nerves but i love him now so ??

24. Any era’s that you would like to know better?

i haven’t seen any of two or six and i wanna watch more of three (especially with liz and jo)

25. Favourite EU companion?

i haven’t listened to/read any stuff with new companions but aimee has told me enough that i know my faves would be helen and liv from doom coalition

26. Favourite episode (or top 3 if that’s too hard)

zygon invasion / zygon inversion, the power of three, and the husbands of river song

27. Weirdest piece of merchandise you own

umm??? idk maybe the matching TARDIS shower curtain and bathmat?

28. Anything you want to see in the next season

thirteen kissing a woman pls for the love of sappho or even just having a lil flirting arc with a woman OR even better, bring missy or river or MISSY AND RIVER back to flirt with thirteen P L E A S E

29. Thoughts on the current Doctor

twelve, my boy, my mans, what a guy, what an A+ dude, i love him so much and would defend him with my life

30. In your opinion, will the Doctor ever be ginger?

i literally don’t know like i guess it would be funny if each regeneration complained about it a bit or maybe if they eventually did get to be ginger like idk mate it’s not a huge deal to me.

31. Thoughts on the sonic glasses?

so cute and cool!!! i love it so much, i think it’s a really cool thing to do because, like moffat said, it means any little kid with a pair of dark sunglasses can pretend to be the doctor, which is so much easier than actually having to go out and buy the props which can be quite expensive, so it’s just. a really rad thing to do.

Because I like shipping and statistics, I guess.

(Sort of prompted by this post. ...Or maybe it was this post.) So, here's me, looking at all my ships and deciding if they (and their canon relationship) count as the “emotional heart of the story”, OR if I were to reach in and rip them (primarily their relationship) out, would the story be torn apart? YES = they are necessary to the story! NO = the story would get on fine without their relationship UNCLEAR = their relationship has an uncertain importance to the plot Before you read the whole long list (and keep in mind, these are just my ships, and not even all of them, and just my opinions), have some statistics. TOTAL SHIPS = about 87 YES ships = 56 (m/m = 28, f/m = 28) NO ships = 15 (m/m = 9, f/m = 6) UNCLEAR ships = 16 (m/m = 8, f/m = 7, f/f = 1) and because the original intent of this post (as mentioned here) was to see if m/m ships tend to be the “emotional heart of the story” (aka do I mostly ship m/m and is that why?) : M/M ships = 45 (YES = 28, NO = 9, UNCLEAR = 8) F/M ships = 41 (YES = 28, NO = 6, UNCLEAR = 7) F/F ships = 1 ^^; (UNCLEAR = 1) And have one more set of stats, dealing with if these ships are canon or not. (“Mostly Canon” are ships whose canon status is debatable, like it was never explicitly stated, or it's an option, like in some games.) CANON = 27 (m/m = 5, f/m = 21, f/f = 1) Mostly CANON = 12 (m/m = 2, f/m = 10) Not Canon = 48 (m/m = 38, f/m = 10) So, I could probably stand to analyze these stats a little more, but the overall takeaways I'm getting are these: – My ships are fairly evenly SPLIT between m/m and f/m. – MOST of my ships are relevant to the overarching story of the series. --Most of my ships are NOT CANON, but not by a huge margin. --The “heart of the story” is SPLIT between m/m and f/m ships in my favorite series. Feel free to scroll through my 87 ships, if you want to see how I labeled them (“heart of the story”, versus not). Includes some reasoning, in most cases. Ships (or their series, in a few cases) listed under the cut: Killugon, Leopika, Oumugi, Cobymeppo, UsoNa, ZoLu, Hanna/Zombie, McHanzo, Reaper76, Roadrat, Promptis, Gladnis, DekuMight, Mammet, Genosai, Victuri, Destiel, Shakarian, Jaal/Ryder, Newmann, R/Julie, Kataang, Zukaang, Korrasami, Wuko, Gigolas, ZADR, Wolfstar, Fawkes/LW, Gob/LW, Nick/SS, Trying Human, Otasune, Bosselot, Torikoma, Noragami, Oremo, Gamako, JeanMarco, CLAMP, Taibani, Tiger/Bunny, Okabe/Kurisu, 93, 58, Otani/Koizumi, Doctor/Rose, Johnlock, Sterek, Hannigram, Rumbelle, Hopurai, Sorriku, Akuroku, Leo/Ezio, Haytham/Ziio, JakDax, Nate/Elena, Lutecest, GoldenHeart, Mitjo, Blackice, Felix/Calhoun, Om/Shanti, Grocket, Max/Furiosa, Capable/Nux, Seregil/Alec, Thom/Goran, Diana Wynne Jones, Robin McKinley, Jesse/Suze, Mabelmando, Muck, Vito/Wilhelm, Lewis/Vivi, Fry/Leela, Goliath/Elisa. Good lord I can't believe I typed those all out. Well, anyway. Now you don't have to bother clicking through just to satisfy your curiosity, if none of those piques your interest.

Hunter x Hunter: --Gon/ Killua : YES, Gon and Killua's relationship IS the heart of the story. Without their intense friendship, many of the plot points in the story would never have happened. While Gon may still have found his father, the whole story would be extremely different, perhaps to the point of unrecognizability. –Leorio/Kurapika : NO. Unfortunately, as much as I love them, their relationship is not strictly integral to the story. --Meruem/Komugi : (mostly canon) YES. While it's not the entire story, their relationship IS vital to the fate of both characters and that particular arc. One Piece: --Coby/Helmeppo : UNCLEAR. While Coby and Helmeppo are not main characters, Coby was a catalyst in the early part of the series, and will probably be important again towards the end. Also, while Coby could have gotten where he is without Helmeppo, Helmeppo would likely not be who he is now without Coby, making Coby integral to Helmeppo's story. --Usopp/Nami : NO. I love them a lot, and they're both important to the story in different ways, but their relationship is not strictly necessary. --Zoro/Luffy : UNCLEAR. Obviously, Luffy is the main character, and Zoro is also super important. The story probably could have gotten where it was going without Zoro's involvement, but there have definitely been several key points which would have been different without him. (Early one, especially, and the end of Thriller Bark.) This one might require more thought. Hanna Is Not A Boy's Name: Hanna/{Zombie} : YES. While the story may still have happened without {…} (Conrad still showing up that night), the entire story would have had a different tone, as {…} is the narrator, and certain key events would have played out differently. Overwatch: McCree/Hanzo : NO. Admittedly, they don't have a lot to do with each other in canon, no matter how much I like them. Soldier 76/Reaper : YES. Their story was vital to the formation of Overwatch as we know it. Roadhot/Junkrat : NO. Not exactly vital to the overall story, although they do seem fairly important to each other. Final Fantasy XV:   Noctis/Prompto and Gladio/Ignis : NO. I mean, I love the ships, but technically neither of these ships are really super important to the overall story. I would be willing to listen to arguments for this one though, since obviously the relationship between the four of them actually is super important. Boku no Hero Academia: Izuku/All Might : YES. Nothing would have happened in this series if it weren't for the relationship between these two. Not only would Izuku be lacking the power to succeed, he'd have been lacking the training and also possibly the inspiration. Likewise, All Might would likely have stagnated, instead of grown as a character. Back to the Future: Marty/Doc : YES. There would be literally no point to the entire series without either character or their relationship exactly as it is. One Punch Man: Saitama/Genos : YES. Although it may be debatable, I believe that Genos' involvement with Saitama is critical to the story. Is it, at very least, critical to Genos' growth. Yuri on Ice!!: Viktor/Yuuri : (canon) YES. Canon-gay main characters; kind of the point of the story. Supernatural: Dean/Castiel : YES. Though Dean and Sam's relationship is probably still more important, I would definitely argue that most of the plot from season 4 on could not have happened without Castiel's involvement with Dean. Mass Effect: Shepard/Garrus : (mostly canon) UNCLEAR. Garrus was fairly important to the story, especially early on, but even if he had never come around at all, the story would have been about the same. However, since you get to determine the story to some degree, you could say their relationship is about as important as you make it. Ryder/Jaal : (mostly canon) UNCLEAR. About the same as above. Their relationship was important, but not significantly moreso than other characters'. Pacific Rim: Newton/Hermann : YES. Without them working together, the plot would not have been resolved. (One could even argue their arguing was critical to the story.) Warm Bodies: R/Julie : (canon) YES. Like most of my other book ships, these two were written with each other in mind. Avatar/Legend of Korra: Katara/Aang : (canon) YES. Though the story could have got along without their romantic involvement, their general relationship was absolutely vital to the plot. Zuko/Aang : YES. Their relationship provided most of the conflict from the early half, and much of the character development from the later half. Korra/Asami : (canon) UNCLEAR. If they had been only acquaintances, the plot would likely have carried on mostly the same, however the ending would have been different, of course. Mako/ Wu : NO. Their relationship made a couple of plot points in the last season, but the story would have got by okay without it. The Lord of the Rings: Gimli/Legolas : NO, although I'd be willing to hear arguments to this one. I don't recall that their relationship was particularly necessary to the plot's resolution. Invader Zim: Zim/Dib : YES. Literally the entirety of the story would be pointless without their relationship. Harry Potter: Sirius/Remus : YES. Primarily in the 3rd book/movie, but the story would have gone drastically differently if not for their past friendship. It would likely have had a huge butterfly effect. Fallout 3: Fawkes/Lone Wanderer : YES. Fawkes was key in helping get the GECK, and also having LW, y'know, not die in the DLC. If Fawkes didn't massively respect the LW, the LW would just be shit out of luck. And also dead. Gob/Lone Wanderer : NO. Poor Gob's just stuck slaving away as a bartender. Hell I don't think you even have to talk to him once to advance the story. =[ Fallout 4: Nick Valentine/Sole Survivor : YES. Nick is instrumental in helping SS find their son, and if it weren't for his respect for them, SS would have a very difficult time with several legs of the journey. And don't get me started on how their backstories are a mirror of each other! Trying Human: Rose/Hue, Longus/Don, Philena/EBE1, Quazky/Gracelis, FJ12/Pigment : (canon) YES. The charm of a good webcomic, eh? =D Metal Gear Solid: Snake/Otacon : YES. Moderately important in MGS1, Otacon and Snake's relationship becomes crucial in 2 and 4. Also, “Can love bloom on the battlefield?” Yes, Otacon. Yes it can. (I'd write a manifesto about these two if I had the energy.) Big Boss/Ocelot : YES. Quite a lot of the entire series would never have happened if it weren't for Ocelot's hero-worship crush on Big Boss. It's pretty important. Toriko: Toriko/Komatsu : YES. To be fair, I haven't read/watch this series in years, but the earlier parts of the series put a lot of focus on the budding partnership between these two characters. Ugh, talk to me about the part where they climb a giant beanstalk in order to eat a heart-shaped vegetable in tandem to commemorate their partnership. Geez. It's a little hard to say if their relationship was vital to the actual plot, because I'm still not sure what the plot was, but it was definitely vital to the story. Noragami: Yato/Hiyori : (mostly canon) YES. As the main characters, the story revolves mostly around them, and if they didn't care for each other, there would be no reason for half of the events to happen. Kazuma/Bishamon : (mostly canon) UNCLEAR. At least one key backstory event only occurred because of their relationship, but the story might have happened similarly without it. Kofuku/Daikoku : (mostly canon) NO. I love them, but the story could probably exist okay without them. Ore Monogatari: Takeo/Yamato : (canon) YES, but obviously, as it's a romantic comedy. The story is literally all about them. Kill la Kill: Gamagoori/Mako : NO. Although they featured together in a few important scenes, the story could have progressed without them ever being in the same frame. Attack on Titan: Jean/Marco : NO. The entire story would have probably been just fine without them, although Jean might be a different person without Marco's influence. CLAMP: (mostly canon) YES. I'm just gonna go ahead and say that all of my ships from CLAMP series are vital to both the story and the characters' growth. This might be an exaggeration, but only slightly. Tiger&Bunny: Kotetsu/Barnaby: YES. Because, obviously, what's Tiger&Bunny without Tiger and Bunny? The story would have gone nowhere without either of them, and the focus on their growing relationship was super important. Steins;Gate: Okabe/Kurisu : (mostly canon) YES. The plot forces the relationship between Okabe and Kurisu in an interesting way, so it is sort of super relevant. Saiyuki: Sanzo/Goku : YES. Gojyo/Hakkai : UNCLEAR. To be honest, I just haven't watched the series in a while, so I'm a little cloudy on the finer points of this ship. I'd say they're important, and from what I remember they are important to each other's story, but I don't recall how vital their relationship is to the overall plot. Lovely Complex: Otani/Koizumi : (canon) YES, because it's a romantic comedy and these are the two main characters. Doctor Who: Doctor/Rose : (canon) YES. In love with two different Doctors, and (as far as I know) the only one to end up with one permanently! Their relationship was so damn important that it came back even after Rose retired as a companion! Sherlock: Sherlock/John : YES. The series wouldn't even remotely exist without their relationship. Teen Wolf: Stiles/Derek : NO. The necessity of either character to the overall plot is debatable; they certainly didn't have to interact in order for the series to continue, even if those were some of the best scenes. Hannibal: Hannibal/Will : YES. Though I never caught up with the series, it was clear even from the very start of season 1 that the relationship between these two was the drive of the whole story. Once Upon a Time: Rumpelstiltskin/Belle : (canon) UNCLEAR. Though they're both important to each other and other characters at multiple points in the story, their relationship is probably not all that important to the other characters. (To be fair, this is based mostly off of seasons 1 and 2.) Final Fantasy XIII: Hope/Lightning : NO? It's been a while since I played the game, and while I love Hope, I seem to recall that he wasn't terribly important? (Was anybody important in that game? What even was the plot??) Kingdom Hearts: Sora/Riku : YES. I mean, Sora did spend pretty much forever searching for Riku, and Riku did spend basically the whole time being a pain. Axel/Roxas : UNCLEAR. Roxas' existence and story probably could have happened without Axel. But to be honest, it's Kingdom Hearts; I could never remember all the fine details. Assassin's Creed: Leonardo/Ezio : UNCLEAR. I mean, Ezio would have died or failed several times without Leo's inventions, but Leo himself wasn't strictly necessary. Haytham/Ziio : (canon) YES. Well, Conner wouldn't exists without them, so. Jak and Daxter: Jak/Daxter: YES. There would have been literally no point to the series if it weren't for their relationship. Uncharted: Nate/Elena : (canon) UNCLEAR. A rare female love interest, Elena was there from the very beginning and throughout the whole series, kicking ass and helping the plot along. Could the series have gone on without her and Nate's intricate relationship? Probably. But who would have wanted that? Bioshock Infinite: Robert/Rosalind : (mostly canon) YES. Only because of their fantastic weird obsession with science and themselves was the cross-dimensional travel that made the plot happen even possible. Nimona: Blackheart/Goldenloin : (mostly canon) YES. Their relationship is central to the backstory, and the later parts of the story. Long Exposure: Mitchel/Jonas : (canon) YES. Again, because it is a webcomic, and they're specifically written with each other in mind. Rise of the Guardians: Jack/Pitch : UNCLEAR. While both are critical to the story, it probably could have gone on fine without their interactions. However, Jack's personal arc wouldn't have had the same emotion without Pitch's involvement. Wreck-it Ralph: Felix/Calhoun : (canon) UNCLEAR. Their relationship was a key point in the story, but the overall plot could have probably happened without it. Om Shanti Om: Om/Shanti // Om/Sandy : (mostly canon) YES. Without Om's love for Shanti, the entire second half of the plot wouldn't have worked out. Sandy's love for Om was also critical. Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket/Groot : YES. I think it's safe to say that the whole crew would have died if it weren't for Groot, and it's unlikely that he would have been there in such a capacity without his partnership with Rocket. Mad Max: Fury Road: Max/Furiosa : (canon) YES. Story couldn't go anywhere without them, and their relationship was important at certain points. Capable/Nux : (canon) YES. Though their relationship was not vital to the overall story, it played a huge part in the resolution. Nightrunner: Seregil/Alec : (canon) YES. Canon-gay main characters, obviously the story goes nowhere without them. HERO: Thom/Goran : (canon) UNCLEAR. Though the relationship between the characters is a key element in the story, it probably could have happened pretty similarly even if the two did not develop a romantic involvement. (Would've been a different story; still, Thom's other relationships are roughly as important.) Diana Wynne Jones' books: Howl/Sophie, Vierran/Mordian, Tom/Penny, etc : (canon) YES. All main characters, written with the intention of being involved with each other, they are vital to their stories. Robin McKinley's books: Narl/Rosie, Cecily/Little John, Beauty/Beast, etc : (canon) YES (mostly). Main characters written to revolve around each other, with the exception of Cecily and Little John, whose relationship was probably not strictly necessary for the overall story. The Mediator: Jesse/Suze: (canon) YES. Same deal with my other canon book ships: they were literally made for each other. Gravity Falls: Mabel/Mermando : (mostly canon) NO. Their relationship was only relevant for an episode, and had it not existed, most of the story would have been the same. Motorcity: Mike/Chuck : UNCLEAR. It probably ought to be a “no”, but the series didn't get that far, so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. XD; The Reward: Vito/Wilhelm: (??? canon?) YES. I mean, the story was 100% about their bromance. Mystery Skulls Animated: Lewis/Vivi : (canon) YES. Poor ghost man just misses his nerdy girlfriend. Futurama: Fry/Leela : (canon) UNCLEAR, since Futurama didn't really have an overarching plot for their relationship to be relevant to. But GOD did you see the last episode? I mean, they were definitely a central plot point of the story, even if they weren't strictly 'necessary' to it. Gargoyles: Goliath/Elisa : (canon) YES, hella yes. Their relationship (both platonic and romantic) was greatly important to the overall story, many times. Though the gargoyle characters could have existed without Elisa, the story would have lacked most of its emotional component. (And that’s just about that! I left off a bunch of old ships, because there’s just no way I have the time and energy to list stuff I haven’t been into in years. Also I probably forgot some, but oops?) 

Timestamp: Series Three Summary

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Timestamp: Series Three Summary

Doctor Who: Series Three Summary

  Tennant’s sophomore year is a winner.

The big arc for this series was the story of Martha Jones. She starts as a medical doctor and ends up saving the world, and I consider her one of the best companions in the history of the franchise. It’s easy to see her as the Rebound Rose, particularly since that’s how she feels for the entire run, but I think that her presence on the TARDIS is so much more important than that.

Martha is enamored with the Doctor, but she’s perpetually perplexed by the unrequited feelings. The Doctor doesn’t romantically love her, but I saw that he develops a different type of love for her over the span of adventures. Her journey starts as a thank you for saving the Doctor in Smith and Jones, but by the time that we reach Human Nature we see a different side of the Doctor. She’s gained his confidence and respect, and he trusts her with his life, even though guarding his identity will be one of the most trying things she’s ever done.

She faced abuse and racism because of the Doctor but she kept to her mission because she loved him. He loved her enough to place his life (and the fate of the universe) in her hands. It’s a good reminder that not all love is romantic and that platonic love can be a force far stronger than sexual attraction.

When we get to “the year that never happened,” he shows that trust and respect once again, and Martha comes through to save the universe one more time. Martha’s character grew even more when her family got involved with the Saxon campaign, providing her a choice between saving her loved ones or saving all of existence. It was a clever move from the Master, and a brilliant choice to present to Martha. The entire time, Martha remains Martha. She doesn’t change herself to win the Doctor’s love, and she has enough self-respect to walk away when she knows that her efforts are futile.

It’s a far better relationship than we saw with Rose, the woman who melted for the Tenth Doctor and changed course from the shop girl we met way back in Rose. I know that fans love her, and that’s their prerogative, but I felt that she became less of a companion and more of a groupie as she went on. Rose had an important role in helping the Ninth Doctor heal after the events of the Time War, but Martha definitively showed the Tenth Doctor that there was more to life than death.

  I don’t want to take away from Donna Noble’s debut in The Runaway Bride. She was amazing and took no nonsense from the Doctor. I’m glad that we get to see her again.

  Series Three comes in at an average of 4.3. That’s a tie for third with Series One, coming behind the Ninth classic seasons and the Eighth Doctor’s run.

  The Runaway Bride – 4 Smith and Jones – 5 The Shakespeare Code – 5 Gridlock – 4 Daleks in Manhattan & Evolution of the Daleks – 4 The Lazarus Experiment – 4 42 – 4 Human Nature & The Family of Blood – 5 Blink – 5 The Infinite Quest – 2 Utopia & The Sound of Drums & Last of the Time Lords – 5

Series Three (Revival Era) Average Rating: 4.3/5

  As the Doctor Who universe continues to grow, the path for the Timestamps Project gets a little wibbly-wobbly. Next on the agenda is the first series of the Sarah Jane Adventures. We get back to Doctor Who for a brief moment with Time Crash and Voyage of the Damned, but then dive into the second series of Torchwood before returning the Donna Noble in Series Four.

We also have a rapidly approaching holiday season on the horizon.

Allons-y!

  UP NEXT – Sarah Jane Adventures: Revenge of the Slitheen

  The Timestamps Project is an adventure through the televised universe of Doctor Who, story by story, from the beginning of the franchise. For more reviews like this one, please visit the project’s page at Creative Criticality.

As the theater awards season enters the home stretch – what’s left: Drama Desk Awards, Theatre World Awards, the Tonys – the question arises once again:How does one determine, or even define, excellence in theater?

“I’ve become increasingly convinced that as a field we do not have a cohesive definition of excellence,” Chad Bauman,  the managing director of Milwaukee Repertory Theater, wrote last year in American Theatre.

So he asked his colleagues across the country, and got some 50 responses – but the question he asked was about excellence in a theater as a whole (regional theaters in particular), not about individual shows. So the answers about excellence in individual shows didn’t get much more specific than “artistic quality.” All did agree that courage counts – such as not being afraid to play with form.

Five years ago, in an article titled Divining Artistic Excellence ,  theater artist and historian Lynne Connor pointed out that, while the concept of excellence can refer to something semi-tangible such as “the sophistication of a play’s dramatic arc,” more often people conflate excellence with taste, “something far less tangible and thus far less quantifiable.” And what determines taste? “Personal taste in everything from beer to Shakespeare comes about through a combination of biology, past experience, cultural norms, and individual predilections.”

She concludes: “We need to find productive ways to invite audiences of all tastes (and all economic and ethnic backgrounds) to join in the conversation about (the struggle over) meaning and value.”

Week in New York Theater Awards

Obie Awards

The 64th Annual Obie Awards, celebrating Off and Off-Off-Broadway Theater, was a New York Theatre Workshop lovefest, with Obies going to NYTW playwrights Heidi Schreck, Madeleine George, Marcus Gardley, and lighting designer Isabella Byrd, as well as a lifetime achievement Obie to NYTW’s artistic director James Nicola. It was also a tribute to the many women working in the theater in New York. But Obies like to spread the wealth, literally — Four theaters received grants.

Full list

  Terrence McNally was made an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts at New York University’s Commencement. NYU Prof (and playwright) Kristoffer Diaz read the citation:”  Terrence McNally, one of theatre’s greatest contemporary playwrights, you have created over the past half-century an eclectic and prolific body of work—literally scores of plays, musicals, opera libretti, and scripts for film and television. Your razor wit and complexities of character largely explain how you created theatre that functions as family, launched the careers of great actors, and helped audiences cope with the AIDS crisis that engulfed them. You placed your unique stamp on American drama by probing the urgent need for connection that resonates at the core of human experience. From an expansive mind and generous spirit, you have created masterful and enduring art and in the process have celebrated and uplifted humankind.”

The latest is a revival of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, which opens May 30th at Broadway’s Broadhurst Theater.

  Madeline Michel from Monticello High School in Charlottesville, VA was the winner of the 2019 Excellence in Theatre Education Award from the Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon

After the white supremacist rally in their city, Michel’s students wrote and performed original theater to address racial inequality, helping to elevated the conversation for a wounded community.

Some 2019 Outer Critics Circle Award winners accept their awards at a celebratory luncheon at Sardi’s

elia Keenan-Bolger, featured actress in a play, To Kill a Mockingbird

Amber Gray, featured actress in a musical, Hadestown

Andre De Shields, featured actor in a musical, Hadestown

Benjamin Walker, featured actor in a play, All My Sons

Bryan Cranston, lead actor in a play, Network

Stephanie J. Block, lead actress in a musical, The Cher Show

Santino Fontana, lead actor in a musical, Tootsie

  The Week in New York Theater Reviews and Previews

Brian d’Arcy James (Quinn Carney) and Holley Fain (Caitlin Carney

The Ferryman on Broadway with American cast

The Ferryman, a feast of Irish storytelling in a breathtaking mix of genres, opened on Broadway seven months ago, and since then it’s gotten nine Tony nominations, best play awards from the New York Drama Critics Circle, the Outer Critics Circle, AND the Drama League…and an almost entirely new cast, the original British and Irish actors replaced by Americans. Even Laura Donnelly has been replaced. She is the Belfast-born actress whose uncle’s disappearance, and the subsequent discovery years later of his murdered corpse, inspired playwright Jez Butterworth to write the play in the first place. Donnelly’s character Caitin Carney is now being portrayed by Holley Fain, an actress born in Kansas.

…Does this matter? It might in one way to those of us who saw the original cast. But to those theatergoers who have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing The Ferryman (which they have only until July 7th to do), the play is still a rich, sweeping entertainment — epic, tragic….and cinematic.

Lunch Bunch at Clubbed Thumb

n the first play of Clubbed Thumb’s 24thannual  Summerworks festival at the Wild Project – the first summer theater festival of the season — the cast faces us a la A Chorus Line, except instead of singing “I hope I get it,”they recite “Veggie enchiladas with Clementine” and “Rice, steamed kale, spiced tofu.”

It’s only after several such culinary recitations that we’re told these people are members of a lunch group, each member having agreed to make lunch for everybody else once a week.  It takes a little longer to figure out that they are lawyers in a public defender’s office, that it’s a taxing job – “Greg’s resilient,” says Tuttle (Keilly McQuail), “He never cries in the coat closet” – and that obsessing on food is what helps keep them going.

Loveville High

Two things distinguish Loveville High, a new musical that takes place on prom night in a high school in Loveville, Ohio. First: The cast of 13 is comprised of some of the most talented young theater stars in New York, several of them also currently performing on Broadway — Ali Stroker (Tony nominee for Oklahoma!), Kathryn Allison (Aladdin), Andrew Durand (Ink), Gizel Jiménez (Wicked), and Ryann Redmond (Frozen)  — and they sing the hell out of the lively, often witty songs  by David Zellnik (Yank!) and Eric Svejcar (Disney’s Peter Pan Jr.) How is it possible to be in two shows at the same time?  That’s the second aspect of this musical that’s unusual: It has no choreographer, no set designer…no stage. It’s a podcast.

Úna Clancy and Maryann Plunkett

  Sean O’Casey’s Dublin Trilogy

Sean O’Casey was 43 years old and had worked his whole life as a laborer, when he finally had a play accepted in 1922 by the founders of Dublin’s famed Abbey Theater, the dramatist Lady Gregory and the poet W.B. Yeats. That play, The Shadow of A Gunman, was set during the 1920 Irish War of Independence, and is the first play of what came to be called O’Casey’s Dublin Trilogy, a chronicle of Ireland’s violent struggle for independence from the British, set from 1916 to 1922.

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the Irish Rep is mounting all three plays in repertory,

  The Week in New York Theater News

Goodbye, Avenue Q

Marisa Tomei will play Serafina Delle Rose in the third Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams’ 1951 play “The Rose Tattoo,” opening October 15, 2019 on Broadway at Roundabout’s American Airlines Theater. .

Mary-Louise Parker as Bella Baird in “The Sound Inside” at Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Mary-Louise Parker will star in the Broadway premiere of “The Sound Inside”, written by Adam Rapp (Red Light Winter), directed by David Cromer Opens October 17, 2019 at Studio 54 Play debuted last year at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. “A tenured professor. A talented student. A troubling favor.”

Cast announced for @Alanis ‘s @jaggedmusical, opening at Broadway’s Broadhurst Dec 5: Elizabeth Stanley, @PattenLauren, @DerekKlena, Kathryn Gallagher, @SeanAllanKrill, & @celia_gooding

“The Healys appear to be a picture-perfect suburban family — but looks can be deceiving.” pic.twitter.com/0izIBUOWd7

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) May 23, 2019

.@RattlestickNY has a busy and exciting June, starting with #AlumniJam June 3, in which 5 playwrights offer sneak previews of their new plays — clockwise from top left @OhYeaDiana ,Jesse Eisenberg, @HalleyFeiffer , Ren Santiago, @SamuelDHunterhttps://t.co/jHtc8ihYKn pic.twitter.com/gF1RElEOyC

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) May 21, 2019

Immersive powerhouse Third Rail Projects will  stage “Midsummer A Banquet,” culinary version of Shakespeare’s comedy w/ a tasting menu July 15- Sept 8, a co-production with Food of Love Productions at Cafe Fae in Union Square

Third season of #NextDooratNYTW will offer 10 plays from The Penal Colony by @miranda__haymon, adapted from Kafka short story, July 2019 to “Raisins Not Virgins” by @sharbarizohra in June 2020 Also @michiMigdalia @missmillythomas @andybragen more!https://t.co/KomdhI7hAK pic.twitter.com/XPoTLOWaMc

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) May 20, 2019

  The real Lunt and Fontanne

After Fosse Verdon, What’s Next?

  EXTRAS NEEDED! Do u live in Washington Heights? Do u want to be in a movie?! How about a movie MUSICAL?!!!! We are doing an open call for Extras for our #InTheHeights shooting very very soon! Check out attached flyers 4details on how to submit. @Lin_Manuel @quiarahudes pic.twitter.com/j7oFk9wYIw

— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) May 25, 2019

.@LPTWomen‘s 7th Annual Women Stage the World March, June 11th, Times Square The march is “designed to educate the public about the role women play in creating theatre and the gender barriers they face as men continue to outnumber women by 4 to 1.” https://t.co/56VVv938kO pic.twitter.com/wQzOEmkAHh

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) May 23, 2019

Nik Wallenda and Lijanda Wallenda, seventh generation daredevils, will walk 25 stories above street level between 1 Times Square & 2 Times Square. Time Square is not for the faint-hearted, as anybody who’s tried to navigated around the Elmos and tourists can tell you

I’m so excited to announce that I’m returning to the highwire with my sister Lijana for a never before attempted walk across New York City’s iconic Times Square! Join me LIVE Sunday, June 23 on ABC. #HighwireLIVE pic.twitter.com/yVi9hqVHB2

— Nik Wallenda (@NikWallenda) May 23, 2019

Billboard above the Empire Diner in Chelsea:

A Mount Rushmore of avant-garde art. But isn’t that a contradiction?

Excellence in Theater…or Taste? Marisa Tomei, Mary-Louise Parker Back on Broadway. Third Rail’s New Immersive Shakespeare! #Stageworthy News of the Week As the theater awards season enters the home stretch – what’s left: Drama Desk Awards, Theatre World Awards, the Tonys – the question arises once again:How does one determine, or even define, excellence in theater?

#Richard #Burgi #family #jewelry #makeuplooks #modelo #motivation #naturephotography #rap #singer #viral #youtube

ICHARD was born on July 30, 1958 in Montclair, New Jersey. He is married to Lori Kahn, and they have two sons, Jack and Samuel.

For Richard, a strong interest in music and theater is in his blood. His parents and three siblings were interested in the performing arts and the Burgi home was a fertile environment.

Richard recalls, “…my brother and I had a detective agency when we were kids. We were really enamuch mored with these kids’ novels, the Brains Benton series. They’re rather obscure. They were, I guess, a thinking boys’ alternative to the Hardy Boys. Not that the Hardy Boys were idiots. But, I mean, these were really wildly constructed stories that these two junior detectives went through. So he and I had fashioned ourselves after Brains Benton and his partner, and had a laboratory and all these Erlenmeyer flasks – beakers and condensers. And we’d make this and boil that. And we had gunpowder, and we’d light fires in the basement. And it was total insanity. But the final straw, as far as my parents were concerned, was when… well, the house caught on fire one day. It got messy. So we had to retire early.”

After finishing school, Richard traveled throughout the U.S. and Europe. Though a career in acting was always one of Richard’s goals, it took a while for the goal to become a reality.

He finally ended up in New York City and began studying acting and gaining acting experience with commercials and cameos, which led to regular roles on several daytime dramas.

When Richard left Days of Our Lives, the co-executive producer said “Richard has such amazing timing, whether dramatic or comedic.”

A move to Los Angeles allowed him to read for different types of roles. A recurring role as Lane Cassidy in Viper led to a lead role in One West Waikiki with Cheryl Ladd.

His character, Mack Wolfe, was a man fighting demons, struggling to become a hero. “I think it was organic in that way to take him in that direction, because I think to watch people struggle through their dark ingredients is appealing. Going through it and out and up into a joyful, winning, positive, light area is appealing… and the possibility of sliding back.”

As Jim Ellison in The Sentinel, Richard played “a champion of the light, of the good, that’s where he is, that’s where I am in some way.”

Richard has been keeping busy since The Sentinel ceased production in 1998, beginning with a guest spot on the popular CBS drama Touched By An Angel as well as appearing on E! Entertainment TV’s Celebrity Homes feature. His character in the pilot of the short-lived 1999 FOX comedy, Action — action movie star Cole Riccardi — came back for a second appearance in the show’s controversial fourth episode, “Blowhard.” Richard guested on a 1999-2000 season episode of NBC’s comedy Veronica’s Closet as Veronica’s new beau Mark, as well as an episode of the popular NBC drama Providence as Dr. J.D. Scanlon. He also filmed a Fall 2000 episode of NBC’s Just Shoot Me, appearing as action hero Robert “The Nomad” Gallatin, and joined the recurring cast of the hit CBS drama, The District, in the role of Captain Vincent Hunter. He also appeared as the ill-fated Paul Donovan in the March 18th, 2001 ABC/Wonderful World of Disney feature “Bailey’s Mistake,” opposite Linda Hamilton .

Fall 2001 located Richard in the new FOX drama, 24, playing the part of Alan York/Kevin Carroll in the Golden Globe-winning drama’s first season. In addition to filming his eleven-episode story arc on 24, Richard entired filming the new “indie” feature film, “Wheelmen,” playing former hotshot ambulance driver, Nick Torino. “Wheelmen” is currently awaiting a distributor. Richard joined the recurring cast of the CBS drama Judging Amy in Spring 2002, playing the part of Judge Amy (Amy Brenneman) Gray’s ex-husband, Michael Cassidy. He spent most of May and June with the Matrix Theatre Company’s production of the Neil Landau-written “Johnny On The Spot,” playing dual roles, Fred and Sy. After appearing at the 42nd Monte Carlo Television Festival (July 1-6) in Monaco, Richard rejoined his “Johnny On The Spot” castmates for the July 20th Los Angeles finale.

Richard brought in Fall 2002 with an appearance in the season premiere of Judging Amy, once again in the role of Amy’s ex-husband, Michael. Head writer Barbara Hall revealed that the custody dispute between Michael and Amy would be a continuing theme throughout the season, which proved to be the case with three of his four episodes: “Lost in the System,” “People of the Lie,” and “The Best Interests of the Child” all dealt with and finally resolved the custody issue, while the most recent — “Marry, Marry Quite Contrary” — showed Michael and Amy as friends who still care for each other. In addition to his continuing association with Judging Amy, Richard returned to CBS’s The District in two episodes, appearing once more as Captain Hunter in “The Second Man” and “Good-bye, Jenny.” He has also filmed an episode of the “most watched” CBS show, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, playing paragliding instructor Rick Weston in “High and Low,” which aired December 12th. Richard closed out 2002 playing Lieutenant Womack in “The Message,” one of the final episodes of the FOX network’s Firefly, a sci-fi series from Joss Whedon, producer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Though FOX decided to cancel Firefly before airing all of the contracted episodes, the show was temporarily snatched up by the syndication market; ��The Message” aired on the UK Sci Fi Channel in July 2003.

Richard ushered in 2003 with his most recent episodes of Judging Amy and The District, and worked with producer Chris Thompson (Action) on a new pilot for the WB Network. The new show, a comedy titled Trash, was described as “Romeo and Juliet set in a trailer park,” with Richard playing Bud Blue, father of teenager Luna — the show’s Juliet. Unfortunately, Trash was not picked up by the WB for the Fall season.

In addition to his television work, Richard spent part of March and April in Ottawa, Canada, where he joined the cast of the Matt Hastings-directed “Decoys” as Detective Francis Kirk. Hastings described the movie as “‘American Pie’ meets ‘Species'” — a tongue-in-cheek sci-fi thriller set on a college campus. Next up was the long-awaited sequel to “Starship Troopers,” titled “Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation,” from producer Jon Davison, director Phil Tippett, and writer Ed Neumeier. Richard leads the cast as the “hero” mentioned in the title — a tough trooper named Captain V.J. Dax. Principal photography ran from May 14th through June 20th. The film premiered on the Encore Action Channel, part of the Starz! group of Cable channels, on April 24th, 2004, with DVD release starting in May.

Richard enjoyed a brief flirtation with summer vacation, but was at work on “Jack’s Back,” the Fall 2003 season premiere episode of The District by mid-July, after which he headed to Sofia, Bulgaria to shoot “Darklight,” a sci-fi thriller designed by UFO Films for the Sci Fi Channel’s 2004-05 roster of original features. The “Darklight” shoot ran from July 28th through August 20th. The last quarter of 2003 proved to be just as busy, with additional episodes of The District as well as a role in “Cellular,” a thriller from New Line Cinema starring Kim Basinger, William. H. Macy, Chris Evans and Jason Statham. Richard played Craig Martin, husband of Basinger’s character Jessica. Cellular premiered in theaters on September 10th ’04.

February 2004 found Richard once again at work on a major feature film — “In Her Shoes” from Fox 2000 and 20th Century Fox. The dramatic comedy stars Cameron Diaz (Maggie), Toni Collette (Rose), and Shirley MacLaine (Ella), with Richard playing the part of Rose’s love ’em and leave ’em cad of a boyfriend, Jim Danvers. The film is expected to premiere in 2005.

While waiting to film his remaining scenes for “In Her Shoes,” Richard worked on Point Pleasant, the pilot for a new “superall-natural” dramatic series. From producer Marti Noxon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, and 20th Century Fox Television, Point Pleasant has been described as “a kinder, gentler ‘Rosemary’s Baby,'” and “a cross between Peyton Place and ‘The Omen.'” Richard plays Dr. Ben Kramer, a fortysomething husband and father whose family takes in the show’s lead character, a mysterious young girl who washes up on the beach one day.

Point Pleasant was given a 12-episode order (13 including the pilot, portions of which have been re-shot) in late August ’04 and went into production in San Diego in November. FOX launched the show on January 19th and 20th at 9:00pm as a two-part premiere, with 9:00pm Thursday becoming its official timeslot following The O.C.

May 2004 found Richard in New Orleans working on a film for Lifetime Television titled “Torn Apart.” The thriller stars Tia Carrere as Vicki Westin, Dale Midkiff as Jerry Bender, and Richard Burgi as Billy Westin, and premiered in late September ’04. Tia Carrere plays a doctor whose husband (Burgi) and daughter are kidnapped by a man (Midkiff) whose wife and daughter Dr. Vicki Westin couldn’t save. Instead of a ransom, Jerry Bender demands that Vicki decide on whether her husband or daughter will die.

Richard brought in Fall 2004 with a guest role on the new ABC series Desperate Housewives, where he played Karl Mayer, the philandering ex-husband of series star Teri Hatcher’s Susan Mayer. Next came a five-week shoot on the new Jim Carrey comedy, “Fun with Dick and Jane.” The film, a remake of the 1977 original starring Jane Fonda and George Segal, stars Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni as Dick and Jane Harper. The Harpers are a young couple who turn to a life of crime to pay the bills after Dick loses his job. Richard plays a new character, Joe Kleman (we’re uncertain of the exact surname spelling). The movie is slated for a June 2005 release in the USA.

The last quarter of 2004 saw Richard working on a second episode of ABC’s breakout hit, Desperate Housewives, before starting production on his new FOX series, Point Pleasant. The episode of Desperate Housewives, “Move On,” premiered just over a week before Point Pleasant launched on FOX. Richard also filmed an episode of ABC’s midseason drama Eyes sometime in late 2004, roughly concurrent with his work on Desperate Housewives. The Eyes role was intended as a recurring character, but Richard’s commitment to Point Pleasant prevented his continued involvement with the show.

The first quarter of 2005 found Richard still hard at work on Point Pleasant. Though FOX decided to cancel the show in late March with five episodes unaired, 20th Century Fox kept the show in production and finished all thirteen episodes. With the complete season available for broadcast, Point Pleasant aired in a variety of international markets. FOX later released a Complete Series DVD boxed set, as was done with Firefly. Late March found Richard being featured in launch promos for ABC’s Eyes, which premiered on March 30th. (Sadly, ABC pulled the show before Richard’s episode could be aired).

The second quarter of 2005 saw Richard finishing the last episodes of Point Pleasant in mid April and, roughly a week later, returning to Wisteria Lane and Desperate Housewives, where he took part in the season finale episode, “One Wonderful Day.” As it turned out, the finale appearance also served to reintroduce the character to viewers — by July, Richard would be confirmed as a series regular for Fall 2005. Richard started a six week feature film shoot in Shanghai, China in mid-June, where he worked on “Shanghai Red,” a joint venture between MAR de ORO Films and Shanghai Film Studios. Richard costars with Vivian Wu, whose husband Oscar L. Costo is the writer, director, and producer of the film. Richard plays an expatriate American named Michael Johnson. As described for us by Oscar Costo, “‘Shanghai Red’ is a dramatic film about the journey of a young, modern Shanghai mother Meili Zhu (Vivian Wu) who suffers the loss of her husband and how she comes to terms with her state of depression. In her murderous journey of revenge, Meili meets Michael Johnson (Richard Burgi), an expatriate American from Chicago escaping his own dark past. Even though Michael’s motives for being with Meili are originally laced with deception, he ultimately finds hope, love and honor through her.”

Late July 2005 found Richard home from China and once again at work on Desperate Housewives, this time as a series regular. As suspected, Karl spent the Fall 2005 season stirring up trouble on Wisteria Lane by becoming romantically involved with neighborhood vamp, Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan) while still pining after ex-wife Susan (Teri Hatcher). By the end of the season, Karl had secretly remarried Susan to provide her with medical insurance coverage while still stringing Edie along with a sham engagement. He had also been hired by Bree (Marcia Cross) to serve as her lawyer in her son Andrew’s emancipation case. Richard’s work as Karl was often mentioned in the press as a highlight of the season. Sadly, a reorganization of the Desperate Housewives production and writing staff led to a reprioritizing of storylines for the Fall 2006 season, which led to Karl being sidelined and essentially excised from the ongoing saga.

While waiting for news of his fate on Desperate Housewives, Richard spent the summer of 2006 working on movies and making public appearances. “Firestorm: Last Stand at Yellowstone,” a telemovie for A&E, was filmed in May in British Columbia, Canada. After a quick June trip to Rhode Island and the Newport International Film Festival, Richard was once again in Canada — Ontario, this time — to work on “In God’s Country” for CTV and Lifetime TV. August found Richard at the All*Star Cup charity golf tournament in Newport, Wales, and by October, he was hard at work in Prague, Czech Republic, on “Hostel: Part II,” the sequel to Eli Roth’s horror blockbuster “Hostel.” In addition to “Hostel: Part II,” Richard filmed a short scene for a Sweeps episode of Desperate Housewives, “Children and Art,” which has been his last appearance on the show to date.

2007 found Richard working on a mix of television guest spots and movies, beginning with three back-to-back episodes of NBC’s Las Vegas, which were filmed in January and aired in late February and March. A fourth Las Vegas episode — the conclusion of the previous season’s cliff-hanger finale — was filmed in May, after which Richard was once more Canada-bound for another movie role. “Thomas Kinkade’s Home for Christmas,” scheduled for a Christmas 2008 release, found Richard playing Bill Kinkade, father of famous American painter Thomas Kinkade. Richard filmed an episode of the CBS legal drama Shark in July, playing an unscrupulous plastic surgeon. The episode, “Eye of the Beholder,” aired October 7th.

Richard’s last role before the WGA (Writers Guild of America) strike effectively shut down television production for the rest of the year was in ABC’s Big Shots, playing billionaire adrenaline junkie Gavin Carter. The episode, “The Way We Weren’t,” aired November 29th.

Thus far, 2008 has gotten off to a slow start for Richard, due largely to the strike-related industry shutdown. He filmed a commercial for the 2008 Cadillac DTS DeVille Touring Sedan in mid-January which, as of mid-February, has yet to premiere. Now that the WGA strike has been resolved and television production resumed, Richard and his peers should soon be back at work.

Right now, Richard cherishes his time with his family. Marriage and fatherhood agree with him; in fact, they “changed my life around,” he says. “I’m more in love than I’ve ever been. I can’t imagine anything that surpasses this.”

Time with family dovetails beautifully with Richard’s other loves — music, surfing, nature and bird-watching. Richard is the proud owner of a vintage Buddy Miles drum-set and enjoys playing it whenever possible; during a Spring 1999 appearance on Access Hollywood, he revealed that get-togethers in the Burgi household often turn into impromptu concerts, with adults grabbing instruments and children singing along.

An enthusiastic surfer and nature lover, Richard spends as much time outdoors as possible, either at the beach or hiking through the hills with his family. Introducing his sons to the natural world is an added pleasure. He feels a strong connection to nature and is an advocate of environmental protection and preservation.

Richard was involved for a time with the Yellowstone Ecological Survey,an organization devoted to educating the public on the delicate Yellowstone ecosystem. The Bozeman, Montana-based organization is best known for its part in the reintroduction of wolves to the Yellowstone ecosystem. Richard now supports the work of the Surfrider Foundation, a San Clemente, CA – based organization which works to protect and preserve shoreline and coastal environments. “Life comes and goes, and I think we require to save our planet and not hurt it,” he explains. “I like to be proactive, but at the same time I like to work in a grass roots way and impact my environment as best I can.”

Richard is also an avid bird-watcher, an interest he discovered as a ten-year-old. Sharp-eyed viewers of The Sentinel may have noticed a variety of bird-watching books and framed bird prints scattered throughout Ellison’s Loft; many, if not all, belong to Richard or were selected by him. Perhaps the most noticeable is a National Audubon Society print on the wall of Jim’s bedroom.

Richard’s interest in and commitment to preserving the environment for future generations, his preference for “grass roots” work, and his passion for and devotion to the sea and the marine mammals common to the waters of his California home led him to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, a Laguna Beach, CA – based, volunteer-run and funded organization which tends to the needs of sick or injured seals, sea lions, and other marine mammals. The RBFC is delighted to join Richard in his support of and interest in the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.

Name Richard Burgi Height 6' 1½” Naionality American Date of Birth 30 July 1958 Place of Birth Montclair, New Jersey, USA Famous for

The post Richard Burgi Biography Photographs Wallpapers appeared first on Beautiful Women.

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Remember when I did Reviews and posted them here?

DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL AIRED AND IM POSTING THOUGHTS HERE. LETS GOO

MAJOR SPOILER ALERT, YA HEAR? DONT READ THIS IF YOU HAVENT WATCHED TWICE UPON A TIME YET. DONT BE STUPID. Im serious.

I feel like Moffat wasted this idea. He had this great setup to do an episode about how the show has changed, and questioning if thats a good or a bad thing, but this was ultimately not that. 

Sure, there are a few jokes about how the Doctor has changed, and in the end we see the seeds of the older Doctor in the younger one, but ultimately that isn’t the focus. Which is kind of weird because, again, I feel like using this idea on a story that ISNT about that is a waste. 

But Im getting ahead of myself. 

It starts out by showing us scenes from the episode where Bill Hartnell’s doctor regenerates, and then cuts off, leading into where the previous episode ended. There’s some text narration that I dont like because it is 1- unnecessary and B- weird? When has the show ever done this? Why was it so obviously something done in post? And if it was written in, why’d they make it look like a last minute decision done in post? 

Anyways, the two Doctors themselves are both great. Or at least, the Actors are really great. They’re not written very impressively. This is not Moffat at his best. Which is a shame, because I loved the Moffat era and Im sad that it feels like the man himself was phoning it in at the end.

After the theme tune, we’re introduced to Mark Gatiss’s character, who is a WWI soldier, moments before his death. Time is frozen all around him, and then he’s transported to where the two Doctors are. 

His character isn’t bad. I didn’t mind him while I was watching, but looking back on the episode he was mostly there to serve the plot, which was ultimately pointless. So he does kinda bug me.  Anyways they all go into the TARDIS. Theres some jokes about the secret alchohol stache we saw a few Christmases ago which is fine. Some humor about the guitar, which I dont like. A Couple of the Doctors have played musical instruments. Having a personality trait thats consistent across Doctors be insulted by the original Doctor makes very little sense in my mind. And Capaldi is embarrassed of it? Capaldi’s Doctor is many things but embarrassed of one of the things that is legitimately cool? Weird conversation imo. 

Oh and here we’re reintroduced to the fact that First Doctor was a bit sexist. Which, fine. He kinda was. Its an area where the Doctor has changed with the times. Except that its implied in other Capaldi episodes that Time Lord society just is actually more progressive bc they can change from male to female with a simple regeneration. This is why I feel like this was such a waste of potential. A trait that they implicitly retconned to not have changed over time is one of the main differences between the two that they focus on. Why? Nothing interesting is really learned there. It just lets Moffat virtue signal which is unnecessary. 

Back to the plot, the TARDIS is captured by “The Dead” who dont explain whats going on, which is dumb of them, but offer to trade soldier Gatiss for Bill Potts, who is apparently among the dead. Nice. So glad they brought back a character whose arc ended with her getting a happy ending in order to show that it didn’t last long and that when they brought her back for an episode, it was for a plot related gimmick and she cant stay on the show still. I know they weren’t going to, but it still annoys me. I was ready for more Bill. I love Bill and this felt like a tease. Speaking of which, they let you think it really is Bill. Its not like in Day of the Doctor where you know that isn’t Rose the whole time. No, they let you think it maybe really is Bill. Why? 

After some banter, the four of them escape the glass dead people. Or, person. Who looks very fake and not very intimidating. Which makes sense considering SPOILER ALERT the glass dead person isn’t evil. She’s not evil at all. She’s the main antagonist and in the end of the episode the Doctor’s basically just like “Wow OK well thats fine keep doing what you’re doing”. Nothing really even comes of it. Its all just padding and setup for the episode to end in the way that we all know it will. 

Getting ahead of myself again. They spend some time on some Dalek controlled planet, where Rusty (The good Dalek that Doctor and Clara went inside back in season 8) sits in a tower and shoots at other Daleks all day. Rusty is old and cranky now. I guess. Actually he’s basically just a regular Dalek actually. But he will help the Doctor bc the Doctor convinces him it’ll hurt other Daleks. But actually all it does is reveal the twist I spoiled for you. 

That said the main point was to give the characters a backdrop other than the old TARDIS set while they interact. We get some stuff with not-Bill and the Doctor which is pretty good. Some stuff with not-Bill and Gatiss which is actually really really good. And some stuff with the two Doctors which was... fine? Again, my main problem with the episode was that the two of them could have been used so much better but they simply aren’t. The two actors are phenominal, but I just dont buy Moffat’s writing in this episode. Give them intersting stuff to say, geez. Its all just kind of... what you’d expect. 

Then we get the ending, which is again just nothing really unexpected. Doctor Capaldi changed stuff around so that when they unfroze time, it was right before the Christmas Armistice of 1914. Which is weird bc its like simultaneously showing that the world needs the Doctor to save people like Gatiss, but also showing that regular people, even soldiers in the midst of war, can be kind. Its a confusing message that tries to have its cake and eat it too. So see? This isn’t just me being upset that they didn’t focus on the stuff I would have. Its also me being upset with how they handled what they did choose to focus on. 

Capaldi’s last scenes, saying goodbye to the Testimony versions of his companions, and his last monologue, are as great as I could have wanted them to be. Both drag on for a bit and had some stuff that could have been left on the cutting room floor and we never would have missed it. Its very obvious that Jenna Coleman wasn’t able to be there on set with the other companions Capaldi says goodbye to. And the Doctor rambles a bit in his monologue about children being allowed to know his name, which isn’t very coherent. I guess that was the point. We’re not supposed to understand. But still. Cut that then. 

Then finally, Jodie Whitaker's first scene. Which is fine. Way too similar to Matt Smith’s first scene but with so much less dialogue. All she says is something like “Aw Brilliant!” which is instantly Doctor-ish. She’s great I love her. And then she stumbles around the exploding TARDIS set a bit before falling out of the ship entirely. Which again just makes me think of End of Time / Eleventh Hour. Like, I’ve seen this before but the character was given so much more room to breathe.  As I’ve said before, its not the female Doctor Im worried about, its Chris Chibnall not giving her anything interesting to do. This doesn’t change that at all. 

Small notes I didn’t know where else to put:

-I swear Capaldi gets emotional for a brief instant when First Doctor mentions Polly. Could be my imagination though since its not indicated at all by the dialogue he says.  -Gatiss getting sad when he’s told he’s from “World War I” is a nice touch. They really believed that their’s was the war to end all wars, the idea that humanity would do it again was so unthinkable and its depressing.  -I could be wrong but I dont think we’ve seen the date the Testimony was from before in Doctor Who, which is interesting because usually future humans with time travel tech coming back are usually from a specific time period in Moffat episodes. Weird that he didn’t stick to that in his last romp. -Rusty was kinda broken when the Doctor first found him. Howd he live for, what did the Doctor say? Thousands of years? MOFFAT JUST BC WE DIDNT SEE A CHARACTER DIE DOESNT MEAN THEY LIVE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS DANGIT. Also why was Rusty never a contender for the fulfillment of the Hybrid Prophecy if he lived that long? 

All in all, not the worst Moffat story, but far from his best. The message and point are obscured to the point of meaninglessness, but the emotion and characters are there, just not in as strong a force as they should be. :(