lizbee: Colour still from "Marco Polo".  Susan leans back against the First Doctor. Word: "Family". (DW: Family)
So I was just talking to [personal profile] yiduiqie about Classic Who, and how our watching of it has always been a bit on the patchy side, and sometimes we want to sit down and watch the whole shebang from start to finish. But that's so intense, and so hard to do on your own. And since she's about to leave the country for a year, I said, "I'll totally start a Dreamwidth comm!"

So! [community profile] of_rassilon! It's basically exactly the same as [community profile] donebykorra, only reaching further back in time. One serial a week, give or take, in a laid-back, no pressure sort of way.
lizbee: (DW: Leela - warrior)
Lately I've been watching a lot of Fourth Doctor stories. Still couldn't finish "Robot", though -- I was going to try, but I seem to have misplaced my copy. Anyway, because I know you all care, here are my thoughts:

Revenge of the Cybermen )

Terror of the Zygons )

Image of the Fendahl )

Anyway, that was an enjoyable set, and I think I'm going to keep going with season 13. I have a new system: I can sit in my armchair and watch stuff on the monitor in comfort, and work on a quilt. Good times. Good, nerdy, crafty times.
lizbee: A sketch of myself (Random: Squid)
A bunch of people asked about my claim that Ace lost her virginity to Sabalom Glitz, and demanded to know my source.  Which was a book about the last years of Doctor Who, possibly written by Andrew Cartmel, I can't remember.

Anyway, the TARDIS Wikia confirms my memory: when Ian Briggs (not, as I'd misremembered, Cartmel) was creating the character of Ace and her background, he decided she lost her virginity to Glitz.  Obviously it was never even hinted at on screen, but it was in her character bio, which is where Paul Cornell got the idea from.
lizbee: A sketch of myself (Default)
I watched "Dragonfire" this evening, for the first time since 1989.  It wasn't the first Doctor Who serial I ever watched (that was "Paradise Towers"), but it was the first to make a profound impression on my juvenile psyche.  Mostly because of this scene:


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Twenty-year-old spoilers: 'I sympathise with your disappointment, but I'm about to plummet to my death' )

AND NOW, A MEME! [profile] peace_bloom asked me to discuss some icons:



I like all of Henry VIII's wives (except Jane Seymour -- no, I don't know why, she just annoys me), but Katharine Parr is my favourite.  She was the first Queen of England to become a published author, and encouraged Princess Elizabeth's intellectual pursuits.  She was sensible and clever, and survived a plot to dethrone her -- not to mention Henry himself.  Unfortunately, her next husband (whom she loved very much) was a douchebag who tried to seduce Elizabeth.  Katharine died in childbirth.  It's what you might call a monumental waste.



[personal profile] piecesofalice made this remark while we were watching "Warriors on the Cheap of the Deep".  Five's era is pretty beige.  It was the eighties, after all.  Beige broken up by big bright colours (Tegan's eyeshadow, usually). 

I like to joke a lot about Fivey being beige in personality, but he's actually quite complex.  Any decade now, I'll forgive him for not being Four.



This was made by [personal profile] derogative.  It's the most beautiful icon I have -- the colours are marvellous, and she looks imperious and a little sad, and very beautiful. 



This is from a Warren Ellis comic called Nextwave.  It only ran for twelve issues, and covers the, er, dubious adventures of a team of second-rate Marvel superheroes.  Ellis says: "It’s an absolute distillation of the superhero genre. No plot lines, characters, emotions, nothing whatsoever. It’s people posing in the street for no good reason. It is people getting kicked, and then exploding. It is a pure comic book, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. And afterwards, they will explode."

Anyway, my icon is a line from Dirk Anger, who is in no way a parody of Nick Fury.  He is over ninety years old, and once beat Winston Churchill in a hula hoop contest.  His psychological problems include misogyny, bulimia, alcoholism, nicotine addiction, depression, sadism, and a fixation on a flowery house dress that may have belonged to his mother (who may or may not have been Andrea Dworkin.) 

When he finally kills himself, he is resurrected as a zombie.



Someone said this on a messageboard, and it tickled my sense of humour.  I like to use it during very earnest ship debates.



From the Pigeon books by Mo Willems.  The Pigeon, for anyone who isn't familiar with this work of towering genius, is a bird with dreams and ambitions.  He wants to drive a bus, to eat a hot dog without sharing, to stay up late and have a puppy.  Because he is a simple pigeon in an unfair world, he is not allowed to do any of those things.  Look, you can make him a hot dog!
lizbee: A sketch of myself (Default)
Watching Classic Who on my iPod is great, because it's convenient (and flattering to not-so-special effects), but also annoying, because then I forget if I had anything to say about it.

So here's a catch up:

"Silver Nemesis" was nowhere near as terrible as I'd been led to believe.  Yes, it's basically the same plot as "Remembrance of the Daleks", but with extra lulz in the form of time travellers from the past, and also some very bland jazz.  It also confirmed my longstanding suspicions, that the Cybermen have been crap ever since the show went into colour.  I am lame enough in my love for Seven 'n' Ace that the bits I liked best were when they were sitting on the grass, hanging out.  I know, I'm so lame.

Also, just how many weapons of mass destruction did the Doctor take when he left Gallifrey?  I have this mental image of him going through the arsenals, "Hmm, yes, a Hand of Omega, yes, yes -- DON'T TOUCH THAT, SUSAN! -- a device to control the walls between dimensions?  Pah, what possible use could I have for it?"  And so on.

"Kinda" made me wish there was some kind of archive or index of meta, so I could just click on a couple of drop-down menus and have a list of "Kinda" essays before me.  It's like, yes, this is one of the high points of the Davison-era (if not '80s Who all together), and yet, wow, for an anti-colonialist story, we're really making free with the noble savage stereotypes, aren't we?  The problem with the Kinda is similar to the problem with the Hath in "The Doctor's Daughter": presenting a race that doesn't speak sends you right past othering and into infantilisation.  The Kinda were less offensive than the Hath, mostly because they were actually part of a good story.

In short: I wouldn't go so far as to join Stephen Moffat in saying this is one of the best Who stories ever, but it's up there.  Colonialist issues aside, the Kinda were more fleshed out and interesting than the average alien species.  And multiple strong female characters (of a wide range of ages) are always welcome.  The Doctor totally had a brief fling with Todd, and probably visits her once in a while, whenever he can actually operate the TARDIS.  (That actress also played Rhys's mother in Torchwood, but let's not go there.)

Oh yeah, and this really wasn't the time for Janet Fielding to fail at acting.  There were moments where Matthew Waterhouse was more convincing, and ... let's not even think about that.  We've always known that Fielding's a bit limited, but bits of this were just embarrassing.

I watched "Battlefield" (again) yesterday with [livejournal.com profile] suburbannoir and [livejournal.com profile] sajee, who was seeing it for the first time.  I think my overall impression is the same as [livejournal.com profile] sajee's: why hasn't New Who given us awesome female characters like Ace and Bambera?  We get glimpses, but they're rarely fleshed out, and they usually die or are evil (especially the older women).

Also, the best romantic pairing in Doctor Who, bar none, is Bambera/Ancelyn.  They come from two different worlds!  Literally!  But they just click so well.  And it's quite amazing how you feel like you know Bambera really well, within minutes of her first appearance.  I know everyone's hanging out for Lethbridge-Stewart to return to New Who, but I think I'd be satisfied with the other Brigadier.

And, finally, last night I watched the first episode of "The Mysterious Planet".  And, you know we're living in an age of horrors when you've seen teenage girls getting about in the same thing Peri was wearing.  (Yellow blazer -- very cute, yellow wrap top, shiny tapered pants...).  For a brief, shining moment, Nicola Bryant's American accent was perfect, but that quickly passed.  At least the Doctor has stopped calling her fat.  And Tom Chadbon's in it, which is a bit win.
lizbee: A sketch of myself (Default)
Back in the olden days, ie, the mid-to-late 1970s, various companies put out Doctor Who trading cards.  These cards were consistently uneven in quality and devoid of companions (except one, that had a photo of Sarah Jane).  But they were redeemed by the presence of Sea Devils, who make everything better.

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The House o'Squid is very pro-Sea Devil, so this post is dedicated to [livejournal.com profile] suburbannoir.

In addition to this fishy interlude, here is an awesome squid story.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?” asked the Commander with, all things considered, a reasonable tone of voice.
“It’s a tentacle sir.”
“PIE DOESN’T HAVE TENTACLES!”
“Normally you’d be correct. But this is a squid pie sir.”
lizbee: A sketch of myself (Default)
I AM SPAMMING YOU ALL WITH FANWORKS.


Four and Romana by ~lizbee on deviantART

I just uploaded a whole lot of sketches to my DevArt account, for I compulsively draw while I listen to audio stuff. Any decade now, I expect to master hands.
lizbee: A sketch of myself (Default)
100% guaranteed to be incomprehensible to anyone who isn't familiar with my passion for the more obscure end of canon!

Also, a bit large. )
lizbee: A sketch of myself (Default)

Title: Childish Things
Summary: Romana is sulking.  The Doctor is saying all the wrong things.  Go fish.
Notes: Set between "State of Decay" and "Warrior's Gate".


'Romana,' said the Doctor, without looking at her, 'might I trouble you for a Cardinal of Spades?' )

lizbee: A sketch of myself (Default)
At last! Delayed by RL, illness and procrastination.

The Crime of the Centuries

Written for [livejournal.com profile] cherryice, who requested: "Romana/Jack, alien cultures, and Ten being bamboozled." Although I fudged a certain amount on the last two...

Rated a lowly G; featuring Romana, Jack, Ten, Martha, some aliens, some Oods and a handful of humans.

Behind the cut )
lizbee: A sketch of myself (Default)
Summary: Ten and Romana have adventures together, and hang out, and do stuff.
Pairing: Ten/Romana
Rated: G
Endorsement: "This fic is the Burberry golf cap of Ten/Romana fic" -- [livejournal.com profile] cesario
Spoilers: "Doomsday" and Martha's name.
Disclaimer: *stares at the BBC*

An average day in the lives of the last Time Lords )
lizbee: A sketch of myself (Default)
Untitled, unworthy of a high rating, based roughly on the Gallifrey audios.

theirloveissoapolitical )

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