I am going to try very hard not to crack any Semisonic-related jokes.

( Though, to be fair, the song lyrics are kind of appropriate . . .Collapse )

Abnormally quick download this week.

( Not really the creepshow I was expectingCollapse )

The problem with these episodes is they're so damn boring I can barely bring myself to recap them one at a time.

( I don't understand how a show can simultaneously be so competent and yet so terrible.Collapse )

Mercifully, there's only one episode left, and that's really all I have to say about that.

Mary sweet mother of mercy I have missed this show.

( And that is how one comes back from a summer break.Collapse )

Torchwood post coming tomorrow, provided I'm not too busy. We're having a fridge delivered.

Ugh. I've been having to psych myself up to talk about this one. It was so painfully awful, and my only consolation is that at least there weren't any cannibals or robots in bikinis around. My biggest problem is that it was SO. DAMN. TALKY, and 90% of the talk was either about boring stuff we don't care about, or it was boring and repetitive conversations about ground we've already covered. I guess this was meant to be another one of those philosophical breather episodes, and again I'll say: this show is not suffering for philosophy. We have been wallowing in philosophy since the second episode. What it needs is some goddamn action, and these philosophical episodes just kill the momentum.

Ugh. Ugh. Okay. Here we go, a liveblog of "The Middle Men." By which I mean mostly that I'm going to watch it and bitch about things in chronological order instead of my usual "have some random bullet points" approach.

( It's under here.Collapse )

So far overall I've been distinctly unimpressed. It's not been bad but it hasn't really been good; better than Series 2 but not even coming close to Children of Earth. Mostly it's just felt like there's been a lot more setup and a lot less action, even allowing for the fact that every two episodes of Miracle Day equals one episode of Children of Earth. I mean, hell, just watching the previouslies on "Day Two" drops more bombs (literally, in one case) than the entire aired run of Miracle Day.

( Hopefully things will pick up now that we're on the downhill slope of the season...Collapse )

Doctor Who returns August 27! I thought I was excited for Torchwood and then the trailers started coming out and I realized no, I was meh about Torchwood. I am EXCITED for Doctor Who.

Here, have the BBC trailer. The BBC America trailer is longer, yes, but I think this one's better cut. (And also covers the stuff I want to see more.)

I never really posted much about Torchwood while it was running in the UK. So for the record, here's what I thought about Torchwood up until now:

S1: Flaming heap of shit except for "They Keep Killing Suzie" which was actually not just a decent episode of Torchwood but a decent episode of television
S2: Vast improvement over the first series, still mediocre TV
"Children of Earth": The best work Torchwood had ever done and a genuinely good piece of TV

I was pretty meh on Miracle Day when it was announced; call me an Anglophile wannabe-Pom but part of what I like about Doctor Who and Torchwood is that they're not American TV, they may use American production techniques but they're very thoroughly British/Welsh and if I want to watch Americans running around America, I can just go flip on the TV anytime. Torchwood and Doctor Who are something special that only come round once a year. (Even if Torchwood is like your drunken uncle that you only see at Christmas.)

But then they bagged Jane Espenson to write for Torchwood, and Jane Espenson is my favorite writer to come out of Buffy and probably one of my favorite writers working in TV these days. So then I knew that despite whatever reservations I had, I'd be back.

This time I'll try to remember to post about it.

( And so, like a moth to the flame . . .Collapse )

I'm probably going to be late posting next week because I'm going to be on vacation starting next Saturday. Hmm. Come to think of it, maybe watching Torchwood won't be the best start to a vacation.

If you are watching on the American schedule and want to see what I had to say about "The Almost People", that's here.

Last week's warning still applies:

HERE THERE BE SPOILERS

( It's all spoilers from here on outCollapse )

Don't answer this question until you've seen the episode: Anyone else planning to watch Torchwood over summer? I figure it'll pass the time until Doctor Who returns nicely. (But no, seriously, don't answer that until you've seen the episode unless you don't mind spoilers. There are too many spoilers on here otherwise and What Has Been Seen, etc.)

Not much to say this week. Damned two-parters.

( I have an icon now!Collapse )

Fair warning: I'm watching on the UK schedule and "The Almost People" will be airing next Saturday. I hear it's not airing on BBCA? At any rate, it's going to be spoiler city up in here next week and the week after.

Confession time: This was actually the first major work of Neil Gaiman's I'd seen.

( I think I need to make an icon that says "This is my Eleventh Doctor icon" and leave it at that.Collapse )

Yes, I am WELL EARLY this week.

( Spoiler cut this wayCollapse )

Still need Eleventh Doctor-era icons.

I thought after two days I'd have something approaching coherency on this one, but mostly I just wind up writing down a bunch of questions, so this week's review is going to be a bit unusual.

( In which the 216 cribs from John Scalzi, a bit, and tries to discuss theories on what the hell happenedCollapse )

I mostly forgot to do these for S4 and S5, so let's see if I can get back in the habit.

( At some point I really need to update my Doctor Who icons.Collapse )

I have a Torchwood post-mortem planned, but every time I sit down to discuss it I end up yelling and frothing incoherently and I have to go sit someplace dark until I calm down again.

( Episode discussion under here.Collapse )

Start time: 1:10 pm
End time: 4:37 pm
Not bad. I'll reread it slower, though.

Non-spoilery review: Neither the worst book of the series nor the best one. It has the same problem as the last one did, that nagging feeling that you've read this before, only it was fanfic the first time and the fic author did it better. Also, I'm really not sold on the epilogue. I mean really.

( Spoilery review:Collapse )

Title: Five Phone Calls Martha Jones Made To The Doctor (And One She Didn’t)
Fandom: Doctor Who
Characters: Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones, cameos by others
Word Count: 4368
Rating: PG
Summary: Martha Jones promised to call the Doctor.
Author’s Notes: This pretty much fell out of my head whole after watching “Last of the Time Lords”. As such, spoilery for the entire third series. Doesn’t quite gibe with what we know about the fourth series, mainly because I started writing it before the BBC made all those announcements. Mostly unbetaed, but thanks to powerof3 for putting up with me testing dialogue on her. She also suggested a few things. This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by persons and entities included but not limited to the BBC, Russell T. Davies, Phil Collinson and Julie Gardner. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

( The phone calls start shortly after the Doctor finishes tidying up the mess aboard the Titanic.Collapse )

Reviews are always appreciated.

It may not be immediately obvious any more, what with the wide variety of public posts available, but my journal is still friends-only. I only unlock fandom-related posts; all personal content is still under lock. If you have friended me and would like me to friend you in return, please mosey over to this post and say hey (and take some time to admire the awesome, awesome banner, because it is very awesome.) I don't bite and I've never turned anyone down yet.

Disclaimer: None of my personal content is particularly interesting. I've heard people read portions of my journal to themselves to help them fall asleep.

I have a longer one in the pipeline, but it needs polish and love for great justice, so here is a weensy small one instead.

( This fic is so weensy it does not even have a title. Spoilers for S3Collapse )
The next one will make up for this one?

What. The fuck. WAS. that shit?

( no srsly WHAT THE FUCK.Collapse )

AGGH ZOMG I have to wait a whole week to find out how this ends?!?!?

( nuuuuuuuuuuuuu!Collapse )

eta: ( Oh, andCollapse )

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH.

( *wibbles incoherently*Collapse )

IS IT CAN BE NEXT WEEK TIEM NAO?

This is something new for me, I've never managed to write Whofic before and will probably never manage it again. (Also, I probably shouldn't be writing reams of Whofic as I have other, more pressing WIPs not to mention seven essays in the next eight weeks.) But! For the moment I am proud to present 470 words of exceedingly plotless and mostly useless Whofic.

Spoily if you're not up to date on watching Series 3. Also vaguely spoilery for That One Bit Of Speculation Everyone's Heard About. Can be read as shippy if you prefer. ( It is under here.Collapse )

A tip of the hat to nostalgia_lj, whose style was something of an inspiration, and to everyone who expressed a desire for post-"Blink" fic -- can't say as this is very satisfying, but the comments did at least drive me to attempt to write Whofic.

Holy coooooooooow that was a corker. Fucking awesome.

So episodes CAN be good without the Doctor in them. Eat that, "Love & Monsters".

♥♥♥♥♥!

eta: ( alsoCollapse )

double eta: ( keeping countCollapse )

Short review: I am really not sure I liked that one. I definitely didn't like it as much as the rest of fandom did.

( Long review:Collapse )

I want my 45 minutes back.

( eta:Collapse )

Watched this one twice and I still don't have much of an opinion on it.

( this way to meh-ness and grumblingCollapse )

Heroes finale on Monday. Bother.

"Oh, shit" count: 9

Next week is a long way off.

Dude, I think the intertubes just exploded.

( ZOMGCollapse )

ZOMGZOMGZOMGZOMGZOMG

This show so wins. I think I actually said "Oh, shit" like eight times during the episode because it just kept getting better.

( the really spoilery stuff is under hereCollapse )

Bonus points for the title. That's funny.

Goddammit I need Heroes icons.

I ♥ MARTHA

That is all.

( okay not really.Collapse )

Even after watching it twice I don't have much to say about this one.

( Traffic does not normally have me singingCollapse )

This icon is my new favorite icon. I've been using it everywhere.

eta: ( okay, one more thingCollapse )