Saturday 21 May 2011

Dr Who Overdose: The Rebel Flesh

I haven't posted for a week, there is good reason behind this, it's exam period and I'm too busy stuffing my brain full of covenants, easements, conveyancing etc to have the time to blog about anything remotely interesting. Well I did get a little too drunk with my study buddy, we thought wine would help the covenants go down better but we ended up dancing around her room and harassing people on the seafront. But besides from that I cannot remember enough of the night to talk about it. 
Amy Pond, looking peng.
 What I will say is this, I enjoyed this episode much more than last weeks. The episode opens with Super massive Black Hole by Muse, and suddenly you find yourself in an intergalactic Coronation Street, domestic bliss, Amy and Rory playing darts whilst the Doctor continues to surreptitiously scan Amy's uterus. And then we are transported to a Bruce Willis movie, asides from that, anyone who has seen the trailer has seen enough to know the fundamental storyline. The most disappointing part of the episode was that the "cliffhanger" was something we were already expecting, from last weeks teasers it showed the ganger Doctor and therefore I was left feeling slightly deflated. I can only assume the writers lost heart when they realised this would be aired on the day of rapture and therefore no one would ever see it. But it's like when you're on the edge of your seat wondering who is the baddie, then you hear the formidable "exterminate" and you just feel let down.

It was a quintessential and almost "textbook" Dr Who episode. Set in claustrophobic isolation, a small cast  enemies within, a dangerous environment, science turned against humanity and the ultimate question: who is the real monster? I cannot lie, my favourite part was the Doctors mickey take out of Northerners. As a patriotic Southerner it rather tickled my possum. Also Amy Pond looked exceptionally pretty, she's got the "glowing pregnancy thing" going on.

The biggest shocker was the revelation that Rory is a man whore. His new found lust for some fleshy floozy means the writers may have found a way to write Rory out the script (thus allowing the Doctor to get Amy up the duffer) without having to kill him off- again.  It would be nice for Rory to find someone who appreciates him finally, and to not have him die for the millionth time, like I said last week, each time he dies so does my empathy. And that was the other major plot twist, Rory did not die, what a refreshing change. Once again I am elated at the no show of River Song. I despise that woman. 

All in all, it was a good episode, it felt like a proper Dr Who again, which is odd when you consider the fact there were no aliens in this episode. Although the writers need to leave some mystery in the trailers, if it were not for the fact so much was shown last week, I think this would have been considered a very memorable episode. They really need to be more careful with the spoilers, and perhaps write out anyone who overuses the phrase "spoilers"? please?

The trailer for next weeks episode "the almost people" does leave alot more to the imagination. I'm excited to see how the mindless (yet occasionally faceless young ganger) will sexually assault Rory and more importantly it will be interesting to see the ganger Doctor. The last time we had a time lord double (oh David Tennant) it induced many illicit sex dreams, not just for Captain Jack, but for the entire female population, not excluding myself. So having two Matt Smith's on screen at the same time will probably have a similar effect. I do not believe these theories that the ganger doctor is the one that died, for a start this episode was written by a guest writer, and such a significant development in the overall plot line cannot be written by a guest. I still maintain the little girl is vital to that plot, and the crazy pirate lady (which for some reason Amy keeps neglecting to tell the Doctor about..)

I guess it's time to get back to the law of co ownership. Oh the joys.

Saturday 14 May 2011

Dr Who Overdose: The Doctors Wife.

This was a story about the Tardis, set largely inside the Tardis, with the Tardis as the female lead. You may need to sit down and rest a while to get your head around this. To add to your fragile cognitive state, I should warn you that the Doctor appears to suffer from a disorder known as Objectum Sexual- no I didn't make this term up. It's a genuine condition for people who have sexual desire for inanimate objects. Yes, the doctor wants to poon his tardis.


I cannot lie. I am very disappointed by this episode. It was very rushed, the storyline was very unpolished and far too ridiculous (yes even for Doctor who). It overcomplicated what was basically a simple love story between a man and his car. I personally felt very uncomfortable watching the human personification of the tardis flirt with the doctor. I don't know if this is because I want the Doctor for myself, but I feel there's more to my repulse than that. This storyline should have been dealt with much more gently and the relationship should have been much more platonic. Less sexual tension, more admiration. 

Surranne Jones, I prejudged harshly. I will admit I was not expecting great things about her. But she was actually quite brilliant. She had a Helena Bonham Carter playing Mrs Lovett quality about her which I found endearing. A particular favourite quote was:
"Biting's excellent. It's like kissing only there's a winner." 
 Which she delivered fantastically. And the poigniant moment when you remember it isn't just the time lords who have died out, it's also the tardis'. She managed to bring some depth to an otherwise badly drafted character. I did find myself entertained by the Amy& Rory vs Michael Sheen's voice- fatal cat and mouse game. The "Kill Amy" graffiti scene made me wonder what role Rory is playing in Amy's inevitable knock up. Will he simply get fed up of waiting for Mrs Pond? Will he walk? Will he die- for real? Just how long can a robot last anyway?

I'm very excited for next weeks episode. It looks positively terrifying and like we will finally get some answers, obviously I'm not foolish enough to expect them all in one episode. I have a good theory however. I was reliably informed that many years ago, pre Matt, Pre David, and Pre Chris even- yes i'm talking back in those days. One of the doctors died, properly, and another timelord did timelord magic to resurrect him. So what with the crazy regenerating child loose, and the doctors impending death... you know where i'm heading. Although I'm still dubious about Pond and the Doctor pooning. The sexual tension lessens every episode. And when the Rory asked "This time, can we lose the bunk beds?" it only serves to highlight the Dr's lack of sexual knowledge.

All I can conclude from this episode, is that Neil Gaimanis very a very overrated writer. I had high hopes for this episode and I was sorely let down. It had so much potential but ultimately failed to deliver. I can only hope next weeks lives up to the expectations I already have for it.


Wednesday 11 May 2011

Food Overdose! Yemista baby!

Okay, this is a slightly tipsy post. I'm currently celebrating the return of my boyfriend after he stayed at home extra long to uphold his football obsession- in particular his benevolent passion for Wrexham FC, in which he travelled all the way from North Wales to Luton to watch his team miss out in the playoff's. So we went for a lovely little meal at the Olive Branch in Aberystwyth and had a mandatory bottle of pinot grigio, therefore I apologise in advance for my incoherent illiteracy.

This is not my first visit to the Olive Branch, nor will it be my last. The location of this lovely little restaurant is pretty spectacular, it is right on the seafront and we were lucky enough to have window seats through which we could see the sun setting over Cardigan bay. There is a lovely bearded waiter every time we go. I normally associate bearded men with rapists thanks to a traumatic scene in "this is England '86" but this man is clearly an exception. He provided us with some lovely dipping breads in "authentic" greek olive oil. It had a lovely lemon twang to it. However I prefer softer dipping bread personally, and a little splash of balsamic vinegar would have made all the difference. On a happier note, the pinot grigio was lovely and chilled. It felt like toxic ice cubes were slipping down my glutenous pipes, just how I like it.

My main course was YEMISTA for £ 11.10. This was described on the menu as Oven baked green peppers stuffed with rice, pine kernels, sultanas and fresh mixed herbs; served with roast potatoes, garlic yoghurt and garnish. It was absolutely fantastic. I feel I have failed my two followers by not fulfilling my promise of a critical blog... I seem to love everything so far. I found myself unable to finish my food, which is a surprise cause normally I find the dishes here sparse. Perhaps the slightly gone off ciabatta bread had filled a void. 

The best part of my night was having philosophical conversations with the boyfriend. I can't quite remember what the depth of the conversation was, but we debated over which is better Mrs Dalloway or Macbeth. I still maintain that none of Shakespeare's tragedies can ever be beaten by a piece of pretentious psychoanalysis fiction. But then we quickly had to down our drinks because some nostalgic Greek music came on which reminded Jono of childhood nightmares- something about a man with spaghetti hair and a banjo. Thus ended a lovely first night back together in Aberystwyth, and probably our proper night out together last until exams are over.

So now I sit here, with a head not quite with it, listening to Glee volume five- because that's how I roll. Telling you that Yemista is rather tasty and that Shakespeare beats Virginia Woolf. It's been a productive waste of your time. :) 

xXx


ps. Oh my life this glee remake of the human league's "don't you want me baby" is pretty awesome fyi... 

Tuesday 10 May 2011

Zumba: Fitness Overdose!

Dance has always been a huge passion of mine. I started ballet when I was 3 and quit my dance school (which is the same one Billie Piper went to- there's my name drop for the day!) when I was about 17, but continued to demand dancing parts in my RAFTA stage club pantomimes until I left for uni. My biggest regret is quitting dance, my first year of uni I found myself battling with weight. However since the summer holidays after loosing about 1 and 1/2 stone, I am now a healthy 8st 10, I was determined to take up some sort of dance again to keep it off. However, I was most disappointed to find the ballet class at Aberystywth Arts centre was for advance standard only- I might have done ballet all my life but I would never consider myself "advanced" and having been out the game 3 years I was very reluctant. So I began an aerobics ballet based class. This has been great fun but I wanted to try something a bit more adventurous and more technical, so when a friend from my revision study group asked if I wanted to try Zumba I was pretty keen...

Zumba Fitness is a Latin-inspired dance-fitness program, you basically dance ferociously to club music, gyrate, jump, samba and sweat bucket loads whilst over the enthusiastic class leaders tell you "you look so sexy girls" but you can't help feeling no man will touch you with your lobster coloured faces and more sweaty than a greasy sumo wrestler post match. It was fantastic fun, I swear I gained abs within an hour! I would recommend it highly to anyone who wants a good aerobics work out. It is quite daunting at first, the coaches do not go through the dance moves prior to blasting the yoko's- worthy tunes, so you just have to watch and copy as you go along, which ends up with you inevitably ballsing up and making a total tit of yourself, but the sports hall was so crazy packed the laws of probability suggest I wasn't the only one.

So in conclusion, I have nothing to criticise. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be going again  this thursday. Hopefully this time I'll look less like a lumberjack and more like a latin goddess... ha.

Monday 9 May 2011

Wootton Bassett: The Town That Remembers.

Having lived in Wotton Bassett since I was four, I never expected my tiny little market town to ever become the centre of media interest. Since moving to Aberystwyth for university I've found myself appreciating the place even more so, partly due to being home sick and part of my reason for watching the BBC documentary was for nostalgic reasons. 

The TV documentary which aired 9pm BBC1 9th May 2011 did our town great justice. I was particularly pleased it showed just how far along the high street our community will line the High Street, it can be up to six miles, far far away from the camera eye, proving to all that we do not do this for the "fame" or the media circus. In fact we have been lining the streets to repatriate long before the media showed any interest. It is traditional to stop in the street, remove your hat and bow your head whenever any hearse passes, civilian or not. This is just on a much larger scale because of the sheer quantity of lost men.

The actual TV show was tastefully and sensitively done. Told through the story of one single repatriation, that of Ranger Aaron McCormick, 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, from County Londonderry. It makes the documentary feel much more personal, showing how the family was affected, visitors and residents too. A particularly poignant part for me was the Old Veteran who saves all the notes and cards left with flowers, he collects them and saves them in a book. It was heartbreaking to watch him read though personal messages of grief and love. My eyes were barely dry throughout the whole show.

The Reverend Woodhouse of Saint Bart's Church, as it's affectionately known, was interviewed and I couldn't help feeling his words were meant to be a backlash at the more pessimistic comments our town has received. He firstly stated whole heatedly and rather enthusiastically that our community spirit existed long before the repatriations  began. I however, was pleased at this snippet of voracious patriotism, as much negativity has tried to cloud the honourable act the town does.  Many people are probably hoping this documentary will stick two fingers up to Steve Bell from the Guardian and his vile "Royal Wootton Death fest" cartoon.

Praise for Mr Singer, who is known for making sensitive films, including the 9/11 Falling Man, a 2006 documentary which focused on the story and picture of a man photographed falling through the air from the World Trade Centre after the September 11 attack in 2001. His delicate perception of our town was both excellent and thought provoking. The vast amount of positive tweets has shown how this documentary has touched the nation. "Wootton Bassett" quickly became a top trend and rightfully so, I personally couldn't be more proud to be from Wootton Bassett right now. There were no fallacies or exaggerations in the documentary, the town of Wootton Bassett do not do this for media attention, we genuinely respect every fallen soldier, regardless of our own political affiliations or our opinions on the war, the loss of such young men touches everyone emotionally. If you are dubious, I suggest you come pay your respects yourself and simply feel the atmosphere. There really is a unified sense of sorrow and respect.

Dr Who Overdose: Curse of the Black Spot.

At the end of last week's Day Of The Moon, a young girl suddenly started regenerating. Like most of the Dr Who fan base I was left in shock and shouting at my television. Desperate for the week to roll on so I could find out what happened next, who is this girl? is Amy Pond the slut we all suspected her to be? What will Rory do if his wife and the Dr poon? All these questions were still spinning in my head as I settled down with a friend to watch Curse of the Black Spot. Then it suddenly dawned on me, the chances of said questions being answered any time soon was very unlikely. Writers these days seem to think it's perfectly acceptable to leave us on a gigantic cliffhanger then fill the following episodes with less interesting and irrelevant material. I hoped Dr Who wasn't going to do a "filler" episode, the cliffhanger was far too juicy, but alas, they did. 
Not that the episode was terrible. It's just some of us cannot cope having to wait a week to find out what happens next, then finding out we have to wait longer if simply what tips us off the edge. By the time we actually find out who this elusive child is I will most likely have bitten all my fingers off til they are tiny stubs and pulled all my hair out with frustration. 

I had a dawning feeling that the Curse of the black spot would be extraordinarily similar to a popular film known as "curse of the black pearl". Just with some spacey gadgets added in. I was half right, there was some very obvious copying, however this was probably intended as most of Dr Who's younger audience are probably fans of POTC as well, and there's nothing wrong with pleasing your audience. 

Lily Cole's CGI transformation from green sparkly temptress to crazy, hissing red devil was lame and I'm not sure if it was the casting of the useless entity that is Lily Cole which angered me or just her blatant inability to act but either way, a lesser known, cheaper but more talented actress would have been the better option.  Hugh Bonneville brought enough star attraction, another was not needed. 

Hugh Bonneville's performance on the other hand was wonderful, I found myself increasingly being attracted to him, he really worked that beard. But unfortunately for him, his character was underdeveloped and the father/son plot line was all too obvious. 

The worst plot line by far was Rory's near death. This has happened far too many times and by now I find myself bored by it. Don't get me wrong, I think Rory is a great character, but there's only so many times I can watch him die. When he inevitably dies for real (leaving Amy free to poon the Doctor and thus create mini Doctor-ette) I will be bored of the whole fiasco and have no care that a beloved character has died. The writers need to stop reusing said storyline. There is only so many times a man can die, other than the doctor of course. 

To summarise. This episode was well below par, compared to the last two episodes we joyfully watched. The best part of it was that the despicable River Song wasn't in it. I'm still unconvinced the Doctor really dies. I've had many theories swimming around in my head. Perhaps this elusive regeneration girl will use her regeneration powers to resuscitate the doctor? That's what I'm hoping, because to make Matt Smith the final doctor will be the most ridiculous plot line this show has ever had.