In Which Sassy Has a Good Old Ramble

Disclaimer: this Blog will have no specific news, but will mostly consist of random ramblings.

Parents, eh? You can't live with them, and you can't afford to live without them. Yesterday I went on a wee day out with my Dad, to cement the whole "Father-Daughter Bonding" thing. What a drag... Not that I don't love my Dad but he can be a bit of an old fart, as well as pretty damn embarrassing. Anywhoo, we headed to a bookstore.

I purchased the new edition of the Writer's Tale, a 700-plus tome, composed of correspondance between writer Russell T Davies and Doctor Who journalist Benjamin Cook. What a book! It really is freaking comprehensive... For example, I've learned that the Series 4 companion came perilously close to being Penny Carter, not Donna Noble! Who knew? And, if you want to hear the words Doctor Who and Primeval uttered in the same sentence, The Writer's Tale is the place to go. RTD is a fan of Primeval! This has shot him even higher in my estimation.

Talking of Primeval, amongst fans of the show it is pretty old news that it will be returning in 2011, but God, how I 'm missing it! I bought the last Primeval Book, to complete my collection - The Lost Island by Paul Kearney, if you're interested - and am now acutely aware that it's the last piece of new material I'll get for nearly a year. Ouch, that stings. Hurry back Primeval, I miss you - you were about the only thing worth watching on ITV!

Anyway, back to parents. D'you know what mine said to me? Not just once, but twice (in relation to Doctor Who and Primeval respectively):

"Aren't you getting a bit old for all that?"

I ask you! The obvious answer to that question is NO, and they know it. They ask, not because they genuinely feel I will grow out of this "phase", but because the fear I will not is growing in their hearts. I was joking about the idea of going on Mastermind - specialist subject: Doctor Who, 2005 to Present Day. I could answer every question they put to me, all bar one.

What IS the "T" in Russell T Davies, by the way?

I think what they fear is that I will be a horrifically stereotypical nerd - you know the type, spotty, messy, lonely and fat - when I am older. But truly, I don't think that's gonna happen. Scifi is a hobby, albeit a passionate one, and if New Who has proved anything, it's that Science Fiction can attract a wide range of fans and age-groups. Long gone are the days of spotty teens dressed up in makeshift Cybermen costumes. Let me have my passions - anything's better than the endless episodes of Coronation Street my Dad watches!

One last message, before I go - The Eleventh Hour? Loved! I literally applauded at the end. When I heard about all the changes ( The logo, title sequence, reset to "Series 1", TARDIS interior AND exterior, to say nothing of the Kissogram companion) I was a little apprehensive. I actually trusted Matt Smith to be a great Doctor, it was Stephen Moffat I was wary of - he seemed to be changing too much!

However, the new episode made me eat my words. Amy Pond was a great partner to the Doctor; the logo and title sequence were logical evolution, rather than a radical about turn; the new TARDIS complimented the new Doctor, and still held elements of the old (plus, let's be honest, who didn't love the "sexy thing"?) and, most amusingly, I noticed the BBC Iplayer have Doctor Who marked as Series 5. Guess the Moff can't get his way all the time!

Some have said that Matt Smith was trying too hard to be like the Tenth Doctor, and I did see some mannerisms that lingered at first. However, as the story progressed, it became clear (at least to me), that what Smith was doing was portraying a character regeneration as well as a physical one. By the time he had stripped off - yummily - and changed into his bow tie 'n' braces attire, he was very much his own man. This theory of mine was backed up in The Beast Below, in which, from the start, the Doctor felt like a very new character who we were getting to know. And I was loving it!

Keep that Blue Light Flashing
Sassy xx