Totally Sexy

The new season of Doctor Who has been on a roll so far, for the most part. The first two eps, "The Impossible Astronaut," and "The Day of the Moon" hit all the right notes. They've set up a couple of (most likely) season-long mysteries: the Doctor's death, and the little Time Lord girl. They were scary and funny. Plus, I'm officially in love with River Song and have completely gotten over my qualms about Matt Smith as the Doctor.

Now let's talk about this little girl for a second. I have several theories, and I'm not sure any of them actually make sense. Is she Amy's kid? That's certainly what we're supposed to think with the whole pregnant/non-pregnant Amy deal. But I can't help wondering if that's all a red-herring. Maybe she's River's daughter. Is she Amy/Doctor's? Maybe she's Amy's daughter with a "Time Head." And there's the theory floating around the internet that she is River, and River is Amy's daughter. After seeing this week's episode, my new pet theory is that, off-screen in "The Doctor's Wife," the Doctor and the TARDIS got it on, she got pregnant, and the pregnancy somehow transferred to Amy when she died. That's plausible, right?

I'm also worried about the eyepatch-lady that keeps showing up. If this season ends up being some sort of dream or delusion of Amy's I'll flip my shit--and not in a good way.

This lady terrifies me, and not in a good way.

“The Curse of the Black Spot” has been the season’s only real misstep so far. But even despite plot holes big enough—as one forum commenter put it—to drive a TARDIS through, it was still a fun episode. Not nearly as bad as, say, “Love and Monsters,” “Fear Her,” or “The Great Dalek Caper” episodes.

What I really want to talk about, though, is “The Doctor’s Wife.” I’ve been excited for this episode since I heard it was written by Neil Gaiman. My favorite comic writer and my favorite tv show? Yes, please!

With the title, I assumed this would be a River-centric episode, which is definitely no problem for me, but what we got was even better (Although there was that cryptic reference to River near the end—what was that about?).

I have this weird obsession with the TARDIS—she’s the last thing left of the Doctor’s home planet, and the two do seem to have a very intimate relationship. In “Parting of the Ways,” it always seemed like Rose and the TARDIS worked together to save the Doctor (“I looked into the TARDIS, and the TARDIS looked into me”), the man they both loved, and I always had the weird feeling that when Rose said,” I want you safe, my Doctor,” the TARDIS was speaking through her. Either way, Rose and the TARDIS seemed to have come to a mutual understanding. One reason Rose has always been my favorite companion is that she got to know the TARDIS on an intimate level and always respected and loved her.

That’s also why I was so offended when the Doctor snapped his fingers to open the TARDIS in “Forest of the Dead”—a lack of basic respect.

HATE!

Anyway, so I love how this relationship is basically this weird epic romance, and that the show acknowledges that in this episode. We get to know the TARDIS as a person—and she’s weird and wonderful and more than a bit crazy—kind of like our Doctor.

She also sort of looks like Helena Bonham-Carter, no?

And awesomely, we find that she chose him—she stole a Timelord and ran away with him. Her love for him, and the tragic nature of that love, is both beautiful and sad. In many ways, the story resembles “The Girl in the Fireplace”—a ship who’s a woman/ a woman who’s a ship—and the ending is just as sad and inevitable.

So I think my new theory about Amy’s pregnancy is totally plausible. It would definitely do some timey-wimey madness to a pregnancy, no?

Which reminds me:

Dear Writers, The Doctor never needs to use the phrase “spacey-wacey” again, is that clear? It makes him sound like a toddler—in an uncomfortable way, not a cute way. “Timey-wimey” is sort of cute—though not as cute as you clearly think it is. “Spacey-wacey” is just embarrassing for everyone involved. Thanks.

Misogynist Bastards and the Women Who Obsess Over Them

Okay, so I haven't been as good about updating as I thought I would, but that won't stop me from trying! Right now, I feel the need to talk about my latest obsession:

Yeah, a season and a half in and I'm still a little uncomfortable admitting this out loud.

However, it's actually a really good show. Definitely better than the average teen show. Yes, it lacks the sex and gore of True Blood and the... sparkliness of Twilight--actually I'm lying. This show is about 400% better than anything Twilight has to offer. And yes, it has serious issues in the race department--all of the people of color on the show are either cannon fodder or witches (the "magical Negro," anyone?)--but I'm hoping the writers will eventually listen to the critics and iron out these issues. Because despite its problems, The Vampire Diaries is definitely worth watching .

The writing and acting are surprisingly good, and it tends to be really fast-paced and exciting. The show's lead, Nina Dobrev, has turned out to be a promising actress, playing two completely different roles--sweet, determined high-school girl Elena and evil vampire Katherine--with skill.

And the titular vampires in question, brothers Stefan and Damon Salvatore, ably played by Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder, are both extremely likable characters in their own ways. Stefan, the less evil of the pair, is the love interest of Elena--the Angel to Damon's Spike, if you will. But unlike Buffy's Angel, Stefan actually seems like he'd be fun to hang out with, and is beginning to show an interesting dark side that could possibly rival his brother's.

And Damon? Well, we'll get to Damon in a minute....

This week's episode partially centered on my personal favorite character, Caroline, a stuck-up beauty queen turned badass vampire. Caroline's had a difficult time of it. She spent much of her human time on the show being used as a sex toy/snack by Damon. Then, when she was killed by Katherine/turned into a vampire, she was forced to compel her mother to forget she was a vampire and rejected her boyfriend, Matt, because she was afraid she'd accidentally hurt him. In the past couple of episodes, she's befriended newly-turned werewolf, Tyler, putting herself in immense danger, as one bite from a werewolf is fatal to a vampire.

So, in this past episode, some of Tyler's werewolf buddies kidnapped my Caroline to lure Stefan and Damon to them, keeping her in a tiny cage and torturing her in the process! Poor Caroline managed to escape with the reluctant help of Tyler, but it was obvious that the experience affected her deeply. Also, when Elena and Bonnie showed up for a sleepover at the end of the episode, I may have cried a little. Shut up.

So, with my love for Caroline in mind, one might be surprised to learn of my obsession with Damon Salvatore, no? So the guy's basically a rapist, definitely a psychopath, and also fits into my growing (and slightly alarming) list of favorite sci-fi characters who are misogynist bastards: Spike, Gaius Baltar, and the hero of Canton--the man they call Jayne. So what's with me and sci-fi assholes? Frankly, I don't know, except they often tend to be the most entertaining characters, and I'm also a sucker for a good redemption story, which is what Damon's arc (hopefully) is turning out to be. And another thing:

Yeah, so the other night's episode began in the shower, and ended in the bath. What else can I say, the writers apparently love him too.

Anywho, aside from the pretty, like I said, Damon seems like he's headed for some form of redemption, though it may be a long time coming. But this doesn't make him just another Spike. Though Spike, too, was a hottie, I was never a fan of how his story turned out. I was one of the few who didn't mind the chip-in-the-head storyline, and his subsequent crush on Buffy. I thought the chip was a nice device to make Spike just vulnerable enough to start realizing his true nature. What I took issue with was the restoration of Spike's soul.

I didn't buy the whole "soul" mythology of Buffy. Aside from being wildly inconsistent, it didn't make a whole lot of sense. Buffy's insistence that Spike was good "because he has a soul!" was patently ridiculous. Creatures with souls do terrible things all the time! Within the show, we had Faith, as well as Warren, Jonathan, and Andrew, for starters. Furthermore, it seems like when Angel was turned, he just became a more bloodthirsty version of his human self. But when he gained his "soul," he completely changed personality. It seems that Spike, when forced to stop killing for awhile, was much more similar to his human nature, even without this so-called soul.

Basically, I think his story would have been much more compelling if Spike hadn't gained a soul, but instead had his chip removed and decided to be a good(-ish) person anyway. The soul, within the weird mythology of the show, forced Spike to be good, taking the choice out of the equation. I think the questions that would have arisen from a "soulless" creature choosing the path of righteousness would have been fascinating and much more challenging for an audience and the writers.

Okay, where was I going with this crazy tangent? So the "soul" doesn't seem to really be an issue in The Vampire Diaries, which I like. Vampires can choose to do good or evil, though the impulse toward evil seems to be really strong. I enjoy Damon, because he has some definite preconceived notions about what a vampire is "supposed" to be, but it seems as if his "evil-ness" is mostly an act for his own and others' benefit.

Don't get me wrong, Damon does really horrible things (rape and murder, let's not forget). But it's obvious that, though he does his best to hide it, he really cares about other people. His behavior toward Elena and Rose, and even sometimes Stefan and Caroline clearly shows us this. However, Damon perceives these "human" emotions as weakness, and so pretends not to care. In the last couple of episodes, we've seen this more and more as he's beginning to unravel under the weird of all of his conflicting feelings. At the end of both of these episodes, he basically Hamlets out, using women as his own personal therapists before either killing or feeding on them. So I think he's definitely going to get worse before he gets better--possibly heading for a major breakdown in the near future. But I'm hoping he'll find his way somehow before the end.

Either way, I hope the writers don't screw up his character. Despite his despicable deeds, Damon is a fun character with some real emotional depth. He can piss me off one second, and make me cry the next (kinda like Gaius Baltar). Just please, writers, don't give him a soul!