beccaelizabeth: my Watcher tattoo in blue, plus Be in red Buffy style font (Default)
[personal profile] beccaelizabeth
Two adventures from the Monthly range with 6 and no regular companions.

Both of these are quite good, but today I wasn't concentrating well, so I often had to back up a minute when I realised I'd missed things, or pause things when I started inputting a character in Wrath of the Righteous (which didn't work out like I wanted because for some reason Mystic Theurge didn't work like I expected when input in that order). I couldn't keep my attention on just one thing at a time today, so I didn't give story the brain space it deserved.

Lure of the Nomad had the Doctor and a new companion arrive on an apparently deserted ship to answer a distress call, and then there's lots of running around finding things out and meeting the locals. Some of the locals are very unpleasant people, others are trapped, and one was an artist I thought the story might be making fun of but they seemed most sympathetic by the end. I didn't find it compelling but it did what it set out to do and had interesting corners in the ideas. I don't like the Myriad and have decided to believe they are lying or the future looks a but grim. It did a good twist, at least to me, and the Doctor got some good angst fuel. Pretty okay story.

Iron Bright was more interesting but also I was paying less attention. Not the fault of the story, I think. I was trying to figure out what spells to choose through much of the story, since getting a 40th level Legend statted takes ages. I thought I could do both but now I'm regretting not spending more brain on painting the story in my head. Excellent ideas, Read more... ) Lots of neat stuff. I should revisit the story some time I'm actually awake, alert, and focused.



I also finished listening to another Lost Story, Point of Entry with 6 and Peri, and I think it was quite good, but I also fell asleep listening to it twice and woke up to turn it off at some screamy bits and, also, empty the tumble dryer when it went beep. Probably not the story's fault this time, see also, didn't focus on the other adventures neither.


Honestly, filling up the time on days my sleep isn't cooperate is just awkward.

This attempt wasn't an unalloyed success and I shall return to the stories another time.

(no subject)

Jun. 4th, 2025 03:43 am
beccaelizabeth: my Watcher tattoo in blue, plus Be in red Buffy style font (Default)
[personal profile] beccaelizabeth
I think the reaction to the DW season finale elseweb can be best summed up by
I have now seen three entirely independent incompatible theories
explaining that it was Clearly All Because Of
behind the scenes Stuff
with no cited sources
just, you know, the writer thinks it is obvious.

Whatever was going on with the Watsonian level, I have seen so many people bounce straight to the Doylist for readings, I think it is safe to say many are Not Happy.



Being Not Happy at the unalterable things is exhausting though, I hope they find some Happy to hang out in as well.
beccaelizabeth: my Watcher tattoo in blue, plus Be in red Buffy style font (Default)
[personal profile] beccaelizabeth
This morning I watched Mark of the Rani while eating my soup. I watched it on the iplayer instead of getting my dvds down, on the vague theory that they might be counting how many people go 'hmmm, I wonder who that person in that episode was' and go to the iplayer for more, which might influence the general existence of future episodes. Don't know, but, figured it was the same thing so I might as well.

Only when it is on DVD I can play it faster. Playing it faster is preferred for older TV. For it is not fast.

I noticed especially with establishing shots. They spent like a minute looking at people covered in coal doing coal things. They weren't doing plot things or having lines yet, just walking around covered in coal. I think we'd get like six seconds of that in a newer show.

I've been listening to a lot of 6 in audios so I thiught I'd remember quite well what he's like, but I forgot quite how much he was like it back on the tele.

Also I found he moves around a lot more than my audio imaginary Doctor. I imagine them doing things that make the plot go, but actual live acting just has him moving around jumping down off things or looking at stuff in ways the audios wouldn't mention. My imagination has been leaving that out.

After watching the whole story I concluded that (a) that was a proper Doctor Who story (b) the one in my head was the Good Bits Version, even if the Good Bits were just it being faster, and somewhat augmented by owning the novelisation much longer than the recorded episode, and (c) I think some of the people complaining about Doctor Who in endless comment threads elseweb have only been watching the Good Bits Version in their heads for some time.

Not that Doctor Who is ever without flaw, but I think maybe some of them should try writing their good bits version and see what they come up with. Or try Yes And ing the show a bit.

... yes I know there is a place for critique but reading the comment threads all season I see people watching every episode to say the exact same thing and like, why? If they want to watch the old thing it is right there also.



ANYway



I also listened to three connected Big Finish Audios, The Helliax Rift, Hour of the Cybermen, and Warlock's Cross.
Three different Doctors meet the same man at three points in his life. It's also three UNIT adventures so you see assorted changes in UNIT across some years the TV didn't keep a close eye on them. Also going from a general UNIT attitude of 'oh it's him again, keep him out of the way' to 'who is the Doctor? find out later, too busy'. Interesting progression over not so many years.

Helliax Rift was a bit of a horror story but at rather more of a distance than a Torchwood story would have done. Read more... )

Hour of the Cybermen is the most adventure shaped, but the connection to recurring characters from the first one is mostly sad. Read more... )

Warlock's Cross seemed to me the strongest story of the three, because of how it used 7 and Klein and the idea of roads not taken and wanting so badly to change the past. There was a really good bit with 7 Read more... )

So the juxtapositions make you think instead of just keeping you jogging along the plot.


I thought the third story was strongest but by keeping some of the characters and setting but jumping the timeline forward you got interesting angles.


Not ones that made me like UNIT more.

But interesting.


Good stories, liked them as a set.

Plan to listen them again when I am better at concentrating and not actively doing other stuff at the time.

(no subject)

Jun. 3rd, 2025 12:00 am
beccaelizabeth: my Watcher tattoo in blue, plus Be in red Buffy style font (Default)
[personal profile] beccaelizabeth
My watch just challenged me to run 5km tomorrow and get a little badge.
My watch knows my exercise routine (clue: Not 5K, and that walking).
My watch is either taking the piss or attempting homicide...

The women of Andor - Bix

Jun. 1st, 2025 03:54 pm
nic: (Leia)
[personal profile] nic
I'll start off being honest: I did not relate to Bix. She's a great character and a complicated woman, but she wasn't my favourite.

That said, there is such awesome writing on this show because this was a different character yet again. An ordinary person who never signed up for the Rebellion, but got dragged into it because of who she knew. Tortured because of an ex. And then wanted to fight back.

Bix in Season 2 )

(A lot of this discussion is about my preference for the Jyn/Cassian 'ship.)

The women of Andor - Dedra

May. 31st, 2025 06:21 pm
nic: (Pirates)
[personal profile] nic
For an Imperial, Dedra is surprisingly popular in STAR WARS fandom. It's because she (and other Imps) were written as people first, with their own compelling motivations and plot lines. "Andor" truly showed how everyday people can be accessories to fascists even when they don't think they are. They think they're doing the right thing and by the time they realise they are oppressing others (do they ever realise?) they're so far in that this seems normal.

Where Dedra stood out is that she is the only woman we've seen with this rank, or level of power. High-ranking women in the Empire are few and far between.

Dedra in Season 2. )

Doctor Who The Reality War

May. 31st, 2025 09:52 pm
beccaelizabeth: my Watcher tattoo in blue, plus Be in red Buffy style font (Default)
[personal profile] beccaelizabeth
Back at the beginning of the season I think I predicted the ending would be an RTD special made of Big Feelings, and I certainly have Big Feelings about that episode.

But the ones I have at the minute are Angry Sad, which is not my favourite set, honestly.

So.

Read more... )

Big Feelings time wasn't fun this week.


I do however know I shall eventually have different feelings about a lot of it.

BFA Torchwood 93 & 94

May. 30th, 2025 03:08 am
beccaelizabeth: my Watcher tattoo in blue, plus Be in red Buffy style font (Default)
[personal profile] beccaelizabeth
93 Rictus

I wasn't entirely paying attention to this one because I started it, concluded the main characters were several kinds of awful and annoying, and went back to pulling numbers out of Pathfinder books to figure out the economic basis of studying wizardry given the local cost of living.

But it did keep bringing my attention back, and I absolutely did not see the ending coming.

Torchwood: implying terrible things about royalty since the very beginning.

I think it's probably a good story but I was having a not concentrating day because I listened to this second one first:


94 The Boy Who Never Laughed
Written by Joseph Lidster

This one is a very strong story.

Big Finish put trigger warnings at the beginning of it. Which is polite and helpful. But would be more helpful in writing before people buy it.

"Torchwood contains adult content and may not be suitable for younger listeners" is the usual bit.

"Trigger warning: this audio production contains references to substance addiction, sexual abuse, and drink spiking. Listener discretion is advised."

It is also a story with basically one character in it, so you know who all those trigger warnings apply to.

Tyler Steele Read more... )

Also depressing. I listened to the trigger warnings, I thought I was in a reasonable mental space to listen to a Torchwood story, but I went around afterwards with a set of feelings that reminded me of the time I picked up a plastic beer mug with dregs in people had been using for an ash tray and it turned out to have melted through and beer ash spewed out everywhere. It's sort of grotty. And there isn't much of a distancing or defamiliarising filter on it, it is just a story about ordinary bad things happening to Tyler when he was a kid.

And, also, about Tyler waking up to find apparently himself in the shower. But that got less weird and less the point as the story went along. So then it was just Tyler talking to himself about trigger warning things.

Very well done, but difficult.



The dtrength of the Torchwood range is you never know quite what you're going to get and it can play with format as it will as long as it fits on the disc. I think they used that well here.


I also think I need to go do something more sunshiney to bounce my mood away.

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