Here via the tumblr purge.

If you've found this, I'm guessing you clicked through from my tumblr blog. Other than that one Megamind post that got a jillion notes, I have no illusions of being a popular name, but if you'd like to keep up with my writing, my media obsessions, and the few details of my life that I share, this is the place.

I'm also on AO3 under the same name, and will be on pillowfort.io as soon as the maintenance period is over.

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The New Doctor Who

So I'm watching Doctor Who for the first time in a few years. I stopped partway through Matt Smith because of how fed up I was with episodes being resolved via the power of love. He stops that monster sun with the memories attached to a leaf, he turns a robot human in the churchill episode by getting the robot to believe in itself hard enough, and so on and so on. Added to the fact that Clara had been "the chosen one" like four separate times by the time I quit, and apparently that theme continued for the rest of her run...it wasn't my cup of tea, I guess is what I'm saying. It wasn't my Who.

But this new Doctor was new, and fresh, with new companions, and I figured why not give it a shot.

[VAGUE SPOILERS BELOW FOR THOSE NOT CAUGHT UP]

It is so amazing. I cannot even articulate how amazing, although I'm certainly going to try. From the conclusion of the first episode, where she tries to give the villain a chance but then kills him without hesitation when he refuses. To the fourth episode when she is 100% ready to break into the first spider victim's flat, but needs to make sure the bystander isn't going to hassle her for it. To the brilliant and incredibly irresponsible plan in the second episode where they dig shallow trenches with their feet and then set off a grenade. She is cheerful and scattered and ruthless and it is fantastic.

I am loving the callbacks to earlier Who, especially all the similarities to my favorite Doctor, Chris Eccelston. I'm loving Space Grandpa. I'm loving the environmentalism themes and anti-trump, anti-big-business themes, I'm loving the relationship between Ryan and Graham, I'm loving that none of the companions are in love with the Doctor like Rose, Martha, sort of Amy, and Clara. I love the paternal moment between Ryan and the pregnant man in episode five. I love all of the background lesbians, and then Yaz's mom suggesting she and the Doctor might be an item with no judgement. Any show, anywhere, can win me over with visible wlw content, and this show is doing amazing so far.

To be frank, I don't understand the critical articles regarding the script. Most I've seen said it wasn't compelling or exciting, but god I was so sick of every fight being the end of the universe ultimate fight. Having to save just one hospital ship from one small pest species is exaclty the kind of space vignette feeling I loved from Nine and Ten.

I don't have a neat and tidy conclusion to this series of thoughts. Maybe after I finish the series. For now, I'll just say that after probably three full years away I am fully back on the Doctor Who train.