Doctor Who, A Very Potter Musical and Christmas
"There will be a big November post soon".
So said I, more than a month ago... yep. I did well with that one, didn't I? :D Oh well - can't do much about it now. But still the last month and a bit has been absolutely INSANE...
First of all, NaNoWriMo. Was awesome. I'm really pleased with what I've written - ecstatic, in fact - now all I need to (ha!) is go back over the half-written prequel and finish that, repost it then edit the NaNo story itself... hmmmm...
But all in all, it was a great month and time well spent and I'm really pleased I did it. I'm looking forward to doing it again next year - I think I may have the beginnings of an original fiction plan, instead of fanfiction... then again, I have a Merlin epic-length story I've not written yet, so the possibilities are multiple.
Doctor Who! (spoiler alert). Oh, dear, MERLIN. I knew a little about it before the last two episodes aired - I knew he'd go to see the Ood, I knew the Master was coming back, I knew Wilf would be the companion - but other than that... I didn't know who would be playing the Master, I had heard a rumour that Jack and Donna would be in it, but I wasn't entirely convinced... and I thoroughly enjoyed both episodes! Regardless of what some Torchwood fans are saying, I thought Jack's reappearance was perfect. Nicely understated - the Doctor wasn't there long enough to be questioned (or not) about the events in Children of Earth, and given the way he appeared to all the others, he'd chosen to arrive at just the moment Jack needed him, several months maybe even a few years after Ianto's death, when Jack was emotionally ready to have another (albeit in all likelihood temporary) relationship with someone. It made me happy, anyway - not least because of the song playing in the background! :)
There were two things in the last episode that made my heart snap - Wilf's knocking on the door, and the Tenth Doctor's last words. Utterly, utterly breathtaking - David Tennant at his best. And John Simm was awesome, also. I find it very interesting that they chose to have John Simm's name appear with Tennant's and Bernard Cribbins, as though he was a companion instead of an enemy... odd, but interesting.
I loved Timothy Dalton as the Lord President of the Time Lords (I'll never watch Hot Fuzz in the same way again!), thought he was spot-on, as well as the twist-that-really-isn't-when-you-think-about-it: the Time Lords effectively turning evil. It adds a new dimension to Ten's reaction in Utopia when Martha tells him about the fobwatch... you think then when he says "depends which one" he's only thinking of the Rani and the Master, but looking back he was thinking of most of the race...
The only thing I really had a problem with was the woman in white. I figured out that she was a Time Lord pretty early on - did she look Romana-ish to anyone else? - and when my friend (hi Wootton!) suggested she was Susan, I was ecstatic. It made so much sense of the look she exchanged with Ten near the end, and being without words it didn't need any backstory to really explain it to newbies while those of us who know more Who backstory had something to cheer at. However, I was seriously miffed to find out that Julie Gardner has said that she was supposed to be the Doctor's mother.
Hold on a rel.
What!?!?!!?!
Susan would make sense - she doesn't need explaining. But the Doctor's mother? She's effectively a new character, if I'm right - we've never encountered the Doctor's parents before and there are quite a few debates about how he came into being even when you don't get into the Cartmel Masterplan. Being someone whose personal fanon is that he was a fluke of the Looms, with no known parentage, obviously I'm biased against this to begin with, but all the same. Mind you, given that she's not named in the episode or in the credits, I think it's reasonable enough to imagine her as anyone you like...
Moving away from the epicness that is Doctor Who for now, I have a new obsession. This new obsession is Harry Potter related, and is entitled A Very Potter Musical. It's been around for quite a while now, and I kept meaning to watch it but never had the time. I watched it for the first time a few days ago. Then I watched it again the next night. Then I downloaded all the songs to my iPod. I now know almost all the words... yes, I'm obsessed. It's well worth a watch (or two, or three, or four) regardless of how much a fan of Harry Potter you are. The songs are catchy and clever, the jokes are silly and wonderful, and I'm stuck trying to pick out my favourite performance: either Draco Malfoy (played by a girl, cowardly and in love with Hermione) Voldemort (who'd like to watch She's All That from the beginning some time) or Severus Snape ("I'll be in the drawing room, painting a picture of the stupid looks on your faces."). In fact, I may go watch a bit of it again now...
Christmas was crazy, but fun - saw the relatives, got presents, some great, some disappointing... not particularly extraordinary!
I go back to uni on Saturday, and we're going out tomorrow, so I'd best start packing. I'll aim to post more often, I like doing it, but I tend to forget.
Speaking of forgetting, I haven't watched the trailer for series five one Matt Smith's series, whatever it's called! I'd best get to that!
Hazel