Please, please, please give me something to think about other than schmoopy B5 shipper fic?

Ask me my fannish Top Five [Whatevers]. Any top fives. Doesn't matter what, really! And I will answer them all in a new post.

Top 5s

ionlylurkhere asked for my top 5 Brax moments:

1. In the Life During Wartime short story collection, he becomes convinced that he's the secret manipulator behind the rise of the neo-Nazi Fifth Axis movement, and sets out to avert that timeline through a bit of murder-suicide. It's simultaneously noble and creepy, because on the one hand, he's horrified by what he might do, but on the other, he's more than aware of what he's capable of.

2. There's no particular moment, because it happens a lot, but there's something terribly touching about a guy who, on seeing Bernice Summerfield approaching, will put out the good alcohol instead of hiding it.

3. Killing Jason is seriously hardcore. Also a really difficult scene to listen to, but I, um, may have an extract of it on my iPod so I can listen to Jason die whenever I want. Actually, I do enjoy it when Brax makes Jason suffer, so let's include the whole of "The Crystal of Cantus" in this point. I'm not sure what drugs you have to be on before having your own army of Cybermen seems like a good idea (presumably the same drugs Miss Hartigan was on), but he's just lovely when he's being evil.

4. Four already? Oh dear. I'm going to have to cheat: the bit in "Mindbomb" where Brax returns to Gallifrey, destroys Pandora and then breaks Romana's hearts by not giving her the presidency. And the end of Gallifrey, where he's all, "Due to licensing restrictions I can't go into specifics, but I foresee a time when Gallifrey will be destroyed and early twenty-first century pop culture references abound. And there's something called a 'Torchwood'. Now I shall ensure that the most interesting people on Gallifrey are all saved from that!" Only, you know, he put it slightly differently.

5. Wait, wait, I can't be up to five! I need to smush two moments in here! The bit in "Pandora" (I think) where he admits to Narvin that he's been messing around with Romana's head since she was a mere centenarian, and -- as my favourite and ultimate Brax moment (today), his parting from Romana when she sends him into exile. "Sometimes, it's not what you want, but why you want it." Oh, Brax, you try so hard not to be an evil mastermind, and you fail absolutely. Maybe you should just give in and go into business with the Master.


bewarethespork wants my top 5 underrated moments in Who. Which is tricky, because who's to say something's underrated? Are we going by girl fandom, boy fandom or pro fandom? I just went with my own favourite moments that I think need more love.

1. "Journey's End", when Martha goes back to her mother. They seemed to have a slightly tense relationship in season 3, with Francine's high expectations, plus the pressure she put on Martha to deal with Clive, so it's wonderful to have that moment where they're together, and you see how fiercely Francine loves her. And it also says a lot about Martha's relationship with Tom, that she trusts him to be able to take care of himself. That independence, compared with her family (and the Doctor when she was with him) is, I think, something she values a lot. But it all kinds of gets lost in the general durm und strang of JE, plus, like most of Martha's character development, it's all delivered with subtlety. Which is to say, it's debatable whether or not it's intentional, but what the hell, I love her.

2. "Terror of the Zygons" really doesn't seem to get enough love. It's an especially good story for Sarah Jane -- she's proactive and clever, moreso than in a lot of her other stories with Four. But it also has the Four 'n' Sarah 'n' Harry combo, and the Brig and Benton, and men in kilts, and the Loch Ness Monster trying to mate with the Doctor. Really, that whole serial is an underrated moment.

3. It's really impossible to appreciate "The Horns of Nimon" enough.

4. Pretty much every single Gwen bit in CoE. I would like a spin-off about Gwen and Martha fighting crime. Alien crime.

5. I don't know if it's really underrated, but I simply love the scene in "Warrior's Gate" where Romana is thinking rings around the slavers, but then gets so caught up in the engineering problem at hand that she gets captured. It's just so ... her to be distracted by an interesting puzzle that she forgets who has all the guns. See also: "City of Death".


drho asked for my top 5 *facepalm* moments in Doctor Who. ONLY FIVE?

1. "Last of the Time Lords": Glowy Floaty Tinkerbell Jesus Fairy Doctor. And all the other moments of egregious Doctor-worship.

2. "Turn Left": It wasn't so much a facepalm as a violent headdesk. How the hell does that much racism make it to broadcast with no one noticing?

3. On a related note: "Talons of Weng Chiang". I feel like there should be some kind of Firefly joke to be had here, but I can't quite think of it.

4. The beach scene in "Doomsday". I get that it was meant to be moving, but it was like a perfect storm of overacting, overwrought scripting, and snot.

5. Most of Rose's scenes in "The Unquiet Dead". I know from his novel that Mark Gatiss can't write women, but it was particularly embarrassing there. I had to leave the room when Rose had her one on one with Gwyneth; bits of it were so ridiculous in their portrayal of what men think women talk about.


drho also wanted my top 5 cutest shoes in DW. BECAUSE THAT WON'T BE DIFFICULT TO NARROW DOWN AT ALL. I have provided helpful illustrations.

1.

Romana's red Mary-Janes from "City of Death". OBVIOUS CHOICE IS OBVIOUS. But nonetheless, I love these shoes, and I was quite irate the other day, when I found a pair just like them in every single size but mine.

According to the DVD, these shoes went missing en route to Paris, and Lalla Ward was, as the text commentary puts it, "not best pleased". Internet gossip has it that she terrorised the wardrobe guy to the extent that he quit. But look at those shoes! They're totally worth it.

2.

Amy Pond's blue Chucks. I do love a pair of Cons. Obvious, yes, but they're so comfortable, and they go equally well with dresses and pants. I have three pairs, but only one pair actually fits me. This is a source of much grief in my heart.

3.

Romana's HOLY CRAP THOSE ARE GORGEOUS white boots from "The Armageddon Factor". I've never been able to get a clear enough picture; these might be the same thigh-high boots she wears in "The Pirate Planet". They're really quite amazing, and add a bit of sex appeal to her virginal white costume.

4.

Rose's boots from "Boomtown". We never really got to see much of Rose's shoes, and it's quite possible that she wore these or something similar through most of the series (when she wasn't wearing trainers). They're just gorgeous. I'm always on the look-out for a new pair of ankle boots, and if I found some like this, I'd be a very happy Liz.

5.

Martha's COMMANDO BOOTS WITH WEDGES from "Last of the Time Lords". Because Freema is, like, the shortest human being alive, she spent a lot of time in wedges. They give you some extra height, but they're easier to run in than proper high heels. And obviously she was too short to get away with proper commando boots, so she had WEDGES. I lol. I lol so much.


And, finally, drho also asked for my top 5 childhood cartoons. But I can't actually answer that, because I wasn't really allowed to watch TV as a kid, so I can only name two:

1. Lady Lovelylocks. She has lots and lots of hair, right? And one of those locks is magical. And the eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil Duchess Ravenwaves (why yes, she's a brunette!) covets that lock, and will go to any lengths to steal it. There is probably some kind of subtext there. I tried watching it on YouTube, but it wasn't nearly as good as I remembered, and I had to stop.

2. Inspector Gadget. Penny was my heroine, and I could never figure out why the show was all about Gadget, when Penny was obviously the best character ever.


The rest of my top fives will be posted later.