TV and Movie and Books
TV
Doctor Who Season 12
I enjoyed this season. Only one episode was a dud for me - the one with the Martian ice warriors. I was bored throughout and I think I'm just tired of stories about soldiers and all that. But the rest of the season was quite entertaining, although the finale was underwhelming. I'm not sure where the Twelve's desire to not regenerate comes from. I loved Bill and all her questions and trope knowledge. She and the Doctor had a fun dynamic. I'm glad she got a somewhat hopeful ending, although as many pointed out it was pretty similar to Claire's. I really liked Missy's arc of trying, sometimes very badly, to become good so she and the Doctor could be friends again. Was the show really trying to hide John Simms? It was so clearly obvious it was him from the moment the 'janitor' appeared. And we all knew he was going to be there. Really loved all Master and Missy interaction - I like it when this show is fun.
I really liked Twelve and will miss him after one more adventure. (I was not a big fan of Eleven or Amy and Season 7 was just pretty horrible and boring to me. I did like Rory a lot and River but the stories were pretty nonsensical then). I'm looking forward to the new female Doctor, though.
Defenders Season 1
I watched all of "Jessica Jones" and "Luke Cage", one episode of "Daredevil" and one episode of "Iron Fist." I wanted to watch the "Defenders" mostly for Jessica Jones and eight episodes seemed like a nice number for a season, for a tight story. I didn't really need to watch Daredevil S2 or all of Iron Fist to follow along, although the Defenders rely heavily on those seasons; the show did a good job at exposition.
Overall, I enjoyed the season - especially episode 4 where all four characters are getting to know each other. I absolutely loved every scene Jessica Jones was in, especially her snarkiness and rolling her eyes at all the stupid names like "The Hand" or "The Chaste". That was great. And the secondary characters talking to each other was the highlight. It was a bit silly not to have a scene where they all realize that Claire met every single one of them, but otherwise they did a great job highlighting all the characters and their strengths and weaknesses. I loved Luke schooling Danny on his privilege because someone should have called him out on it - and Danny was a bit stupid, which was used to drive the plot forward. I didn't quite buy Electra and her motivations in the last three episodes and her last "romantic" fight with Daredevil had me rolling my eyes.
But overall, I liked that the story fit into 8 episodes without distractions, and I really liked these heros talking to each other. So 4 out 5 for me for this show. I'm looking forward to the second season of "Jessica Jones"
Movie
Lion I wanted to see this since the awards season and it was on Netflix. I knew the general story and my in-laws who saw it last December spoiled one bit for me about the older brother. Still it was nice to finally watch it. I absolutely loved the first part of the movie about the little boy who gets on the wrong train and ends up thousands of miles away from his family. He is lost in the strange city of Calcutta where people speak a different language and he needs to survive at the age of 5. The actor who played the little boy was pretty amazing and that part of the movie worked well for me. The second part, which takes place in Australia, where the adult Saroo is searching for his village again using Google Earth didn't really work for me though. I just didn't buy all the contrived drama of the search or care about 'the romance'. So while the first part of the movie was award worthy the second part really wasn't. So in the end the movie ended up being just OK for me, but I'm happy I watched the first part of it.
Books
Way Station by Clifford Simak
My Dad loves Simak and recommended this book. Since it also won a Hugo award in 1964 and my goal is to read 5 Hugo winning books a year, I read it. It is...very clearly written in the 1960s. It is the kind of sci-fi that is philosophical and so the main character kept having these philosophical asides about war, humanity and its place in the world. This is a Cold War book in a lot of way and a book that worries about nuclear war. This book is a very old fashioned type of sci-fi, which was a tiny bit jarring. It has an interesting premise of a man, Enoch, who doesn't age because he is a keeper of a Way Station where galactic aliens pass through on their travels and inside the station time stands still for him in terms of aging. He is over 100 years old, product of the Civil War, living an existence isolated from most of humanity and learning a lot about aliens. A lot of the book is him thinking and while there is a plot, it feels like the plot takes a second seat. (As I typed that I figured out why this book bugged me and I think the secondary nature of the plot is it). The end also feels a bit too contrived. Some scenes felt unnecessary, like the hunting scene, but there was a reason for it. It just didn't feel very natural but stuck in for the later plot point.
I'm glad I read this book as it is a true representation of a classic sci-fi and I can see why it won a Hugo, but I didn't particularly love it. (It does reaffirm my decision to read all Hugo winners as I feel that will give me a good understanding of evolution of sci-fi over time and a broad selection of classics as well. I made myself a list of books in Excel with those read highlighted. I will aim for 5 a year, a goal I should reach in a week or two).
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
How did I not read this before now! This book was so much fun. It was pretty much perfect. It is a great homage to 'Three Men in a Boat' and mystery novels with a fun time travel twist and a very well crafted narrative where every detail matters. Plus it is hysterical in dialogue and situation. I really liked the matter of fact tone of Ned, the narrator, and his observations of history and his time as well and his comments on other characters. His time lag was hilarious. I figured out the secondary mystery of Mr C long before the characters did, and spent some time just being frustrated at the characters for not figuring it out and also wanting to read faster to see when they did. It also allowed for a nice understanding of the situation when the main characters were confused by it. This was most likely the authorial intent too. I also figured out about the kittens. I didn't guess the main mystery only because I peaked ahead at the last chapter trying to see when Ned and Verity will figure it out. It was fun to put together though - and fun time travel conundrums too. And the romance was so nice and low key too, just the way I like it; it wasn't in the way of the story and felt really natural. I just wanted to keep reading the book and enjoyed the lighthearted atmosphere of the Victorian times. And seances were very funny too. I can't wait to read Willis' other work. Fun is the best word to describe this book for me. Loved it very much.