Trying to be spoiler-less story notes:
He will knock four times and then the Doctor will die. SomeTHING, not someONE is returning today. Desperate times call for desperate measures. A song will end but the story will continue on. Geronimo!
Thoughts:
Whereas I had issues with the pacing of the first part, I have no such problems with this part. With the basic concepts put in place by Part One, the story flows on by here with 45 minutes disappearing before I knew it. The other half-hour or so is gone in another snap of the fingers. Big things are occurring here and the pieces fit together nicely.
With all that, there's still lots of time for the little moments. While there is this big science-fiction plot to tell, Russell T. Davies has never shown a great grasp of them. He does interactions of people, even alien people, much more effectively than, say, the machinations of the Daleks or whatever. The more important story thread is the Doctor's knowledge of his impeding doom and how that affects him. He is somber throughout much of the story, especially as certain events come and go. It's the story of a man, alien or not, who has been told his time is coming and what he might consider to stave it off. Will he remain true to himself or will he betray his core beliefs in the attempt to survive? Tennant's Doctor is here a man with a heavy weight on his mind and it shows.
When we get to the circumstances surrounding the regeneration, the reasons are again more important than the actual cause of the regeneration. The somber 'victory lap' that Tennant takes is more effective than the 'wrap-up' sequence at the end of Series Four, not feels so 'let me get these characters in place'. The moments surrounding the regeneration are very sad indeed for a number of reasons I don't want to spoil. There's also a weird moment that I'm not sure I grasp at this point. Whatever.
There are quiet moments. There are 'whoa, really?' moments. There are even a couple crazy action moments. It's a crackling good story that moves along at a good clip. It's good, it may be great, but it's still no 'The Caves of Androzani', which remains awesome.
It's a suitable end for a fantastic Doctor. Thank you David Tennant and I expect we'll see you in the coat again at some point.
It may be brief, but Matt Smith's few moments as the Doctor provide a lot of reason for hope. His surprise and concern about his longish hair ('I'm a girl?') is amusing and his post-regenerative euphoria is a bright dash of colour after the somber story we've been watching.
The man has work to do. Geronimo!
Thumbs up.
02 January 2010
01 January 2010
31 December 2009
Florida Trip Nov 2009 - Magic Kingdom
Just a note for the future - don't go to a theme park on Friday the 13th. It doesn't go well. We went to visit Pirates first as we've decided that's our tradition. Broke. Just as we were about to give up, it opened and we got to ride it. We were stuck at the top of Splash Mountain for at least a half-hour. And it just kept piling up. We had a running count of 'things not working' and it became a source of amusement. The 'creepy' Haunted Mansion was fine. That seemed oddly appropriate.
Walt Disney World Railroad - Once. You ride a train around the park seeing the sights as well as a few displays set up only for the railroad. The train stops at the main station at the front of the park, in Frontierland, and in ToonTown. I like trains. It is relaxing. If you're going to be at the parks for several days in a row, I'd recommend saving it for later in your trip as that's normally when you start to tire a bit. At that point, a brief ride on a train can be restful.
Swiss Family Treehouse - Once. You walk through the house that the Swiss Family Robinson set up. It looks like they just left it behind. Go through it at night and take in the view at the top. It's fun but it's not the sort of thing I'd visit a lot. There's just not that much going on.
The Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management - Once. You sit in a room that has a South Sea type decor to it. Once the doors close, the room comes alive, filled with singing birds and tiki gods. The fact that you feel like you're in the middle of the show, as opposed to being separated by a stage or water or a ride car, adds to the show's appeal. It's fun. Iago and Zazu have been added to the original Tiki room and their presence makes the show move quickly. I dunno that I'd want to sit through it multiple times on a trip, but it's very enjoyable. There's also sitting, which is nice.
Jungle Cruise - Once. Classic. Silly. Fun. Do it at night when the animatronics don't look so obvious.
Pirates of the Caribbean - 6 times. Still good stuff. Yo ho!
Splash Mountain - Once. You ride a log through Chikapin Hill and observe the story of Brer Rabbit. The ride is fascinating as it's based on a movie that hasn't been legitimately released in America in over a decade. Very colorful, lots of ups and downs until you get thrown into the briar patch near the end and drop 5 stories! Yipes! You will get wet. I'm not sure I liked the drop (they scare me!) but the ride is outstanding from a story perspective. Good stuff.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - 3 times. Fun coaster. Nothing too extreme, fast but not too fast. Beautifully lit at night.
Haunted Mansion - 5 times, including once on my own. Creepy but not so scary. The song is great. Narration is great. Love this. It just works.
'it's a small world' - Once. The show from the 1964 World's Fair still exists. It's cute. The song will get stuck in your head. It never leaves...
Peter Pan's Flight - 3 times. Riding in a Spanish Galleon or Pirate Ship of some sort, you fly through the Darling children's bedroom, out of the house, and high over London! As you pass the moon, you see Peter and the children's shadow and find yourself in Neverland! You fly over that, taking 'fire' from Hook's ship. Soon, Wendy is about to walk the plank and all looks dire, but Peter defeats Hook and saves the day. As we leave, Smee is trying to rescue his Captain from the ticking Croc. Looks of fun. Moves quickly. Still not sure why the line runs to 50 minutes on a slow day but there you are. Popular.
Mickey's PhilharMagic - Once. Why did we do this only once? 3D movie that bounces through Disney history. Fun.
Snow White's Scary Adventures - Once (at least that's what I have written down, I believe it was actually three times). A speedy ride through the first animated feature film. One of my favorite but simple tricks is in this ride. You approach the Wicked Witch from behind, seeing her glamorous reflection in the mirror. As she turns to face you (the reflection spins as well), we see her in her scary old lady form. Nice! It's a quick fun ride.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - Twice. Another speedy ride through the events of the story. Lots of great touches make this ride fun. As you speed through Owl's house, you see a picture of him receiving a deed from Mr. Toad, as the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was originally on this site. As you meet Tigger, the track is set up so that the car 'bounces' with him. The effect for Pooh's dream, as the animatronic falls asleep as its dream self floats away is impressive. The Heffalumps and Woozles that follow are suitably weird looking. I really enjoyed this ride.
Mad Tea Party - Once. Change places! We made it spin good. Lots of fun.
The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm - Once. A speedy coaster similar in style to the Woody Woodpecker coaster at Universal. Fun but it's over too fast.
Tomorrowland Speedway - Once. You drive a 'slot car' around a track. Fun for kids, not so much for adults that can already drive.
Space Mountain - 3 times. It was in test mode after being fixed up. The updated lighting is nice. The ride itself is the same. When my eyes weren't adjusted to the dim lighting in the queue, it was great, a smooth ride with awesome lighting effects. When my eyes were adjusted, I could see the track like last time and became aware of the track. I tensed up and it made my back hurt. It is fun but it is what it is.
Tomorrowland Transit Authority - Once. A futuristic 'train' ride around Tomorrowland, going through the buildings. It's very much a smaller version of the Railroad as you get a great view and see things you can only see on the ride. Fun. Weird.
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin - Twice. Target shooting. Fun but nothing too special.
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor - Once. An interactive show where the Monsters work to fill a canister with Laugh energy. The video screens show computer animation but much of it is set up to interact with the crowd in the theatre at the time. They quickly explain that you may get put on screen. So many people that wouldn't play along, so sad... until they put the camera on me. As they retold the story of the movie, I was cast as the bad guy, Randell. The only joke I remember was that they said I went invisible and, thinking quickly, I covered my face with my hands to order to be 'invisible'. I looked like I was playing Peek-a-boo. "Awww," the monster on screen noted, "aren't they cute at that age?" Another of those things I enjoyed but would probably only visit once a trip.
Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044688&id=1353274305&l=f87259cb85
And that's the end of that chapter.
Walt Disney World Railroad - Once. You ride a train around the park seeing the sights as well as a few displays set up only for the railroad. The train stops at the main station at the front of the park, in Frontierland, and in ToonTown. I like trains. It is relaxing. If you're going to be at the parks for several days in a row, I'd recommend saving it for later in your trip as that's normally when you start to tire a bit. At that point, a brief ride on a train can be restful.
Swiss Family Treehouse - Once. You walk through the house that the Swiss Family Robinson set up. It looks like they just left it behind. Go through it at night and take in the view at the top. It's fun but it's not the sort of thing I'd visit a lot. There's just not that much going on.
The Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management - Once. You sit in a room that has a South Sea type decor to it. Once the doors close, the room comes alive, filled with singing birds and tiki gods. The fact that you feel like you're in the middle of the show, as opposed to being separated by a stage or water or a ride car, adds to the show's appeal. It's fun. Iago and Zazu have been added to the original Tiki room and their presence makes the show move quickly. I dunno that I'd want to sit through it multiple times on a trip, but it's very enjoyable. There's also sitting, which is nice.
Jungle Cruise - Once. Classic. Silly. Fun. Do it at night when the animatronics don't look so obvious.
Pirates of the Caribbean - 6 times. Still good stuff. Yo ho!
Splash Mountain - Once. You ride a log through Chikapin Hill and observe the story of Brer Rabbit. The ride is fascinating as it's based on a movie that hasn't been legitimately released in America in over a decade. Very colorful, lots of ups and downs until you get thrown into the briar patch near the end and drop 5 stories! Yipes! You will get wet. I'm not sure I liked the drop (they scare me!) but the ride is outstanding from a story perspective. Good stuff.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - 3 times. Fun coaster. Nothing too extreme, fast but not too fast. Beautifully lit at night.
Haunted Mansion - 5 times, including once on my own. Creepy but not so scary. The song is great. Narration is great. Love this. It just works.
'it's a small world' - Once. The show from the 1964 World's Fair still exists. It's cute. The song will get stuck in your head. It never leaves...
Peter Pan's Flight - 3 times. Riding in a Spanish Galleon or Pirate Ship of some sort, you fly through the Darling children's bedroom, out of the house, and high over London! As you pass the moon, you see Peter and the children's shadow and find yourself in Neverland! You fly over that, taking 'fire' from Hook's ship. Soon, Wendy is about to walk the plank and all looks dire, but Peter defeats Hook and saves the day. As we leave, Smee is trying to rescue his Captain from the ticking Croc. Looks of fun. Moves quickly. Still not sure why the line runs to 50 minutes on a slow day but there you are. Popular.
Mickey's PhilharMagic - Once. Why did we do this only once? 3D movie that bounces through Disney history. Fun.
Snow White's Scary Adventures - Once (at least that's what I have written down, I believe it was actually three times). A speedy ride through the first animated feature film. One of my favorite but simple tricks is in this ride. You approach the Wicked Witch from behind, seeing her glamorous reflection in the mirror. As she turns to face you (the reflection spins as well), we see her in her scary old lady form. Nice! It's a quick fun ride.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - Twice. Another speedy ride through the events of the story. Lots of great touches make this ride fun. As you speed through Owl's house, you see a picture of him receiving a deed from Mr. Toad, as the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was originally on this site. As you meet Tigger, the track is set up so that the car 'bounces' with him. The effect for Pooh's dream, as the animatronic falls asleep as its dream self floats away is impressive. The Heffalumps and Woozles that follow are suitably weird looking. I really enjoyed this ride.
Mad Tea Party - Once. Change places! We made it spin good. Lots of fun.
The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm - Once. A speedy coaster similar in style to the Woody Woodpecker coaster at Universal. Fun but it's over too fast.
Tomorrowland Speedway - Once. You drive a 'slot car' around a track. Fun for kids, not so much for adults that can already drive.
Space Mountain - 3 times. It was in test mode after being fixed up. The updated lighting is nice. The ride itself is the same. When my eyes weren't adjusted to the dim lighting in the queue, it was great, a smooth ride with awesome lighting effects. When my eyes were adjusted, I could see the track like last time and became aware of the track. I tensed up and it made my back hurt. It is fun but it is what it is.
Tomorrowland Transit Authority - Once. A futuristic 'train' ride around Tomorrowland, going through the buildings. It's very much a smaller version of the Railroad as you get a great view and see things you can only see on the ride. Fun. Weird.
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin - Twice. Target shooting. Fun but nothing too special.
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor - Once. An interactive show where the Monsters work to fill a canister with Laugh energy. The video screens show computer animation but much of it is set up to interact with the crowd in the theatre at the time. They quickly explain that you may get put on screen. So many people that wouldn't play along, so sad... until they put the camera on me. As they retold the story of the movie, I was cast as the bad guy, Randell. The only joke I remember was that they said I went invisible and, thinking quickly, I covered my face with my hands to order to be 'invisible'. I looked like I was playing Peek-a-boo. "Awww," the monster on screen noted, "aren't they cute at that age?" Another of those things I enjoyed but would probably only visit once a trip.
Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044688&id=1353274305&l=f87259cb85
And that's the end of that chapter.
30 December 2009
Briefly in Time
For the un-clever out there, and there do seem to be a lot of you, the end of 2009 does not bring with it the end of a decade. That is the job of 2010. As there was no year 0 (our calendar went from 1 BCE to 1 CE or AD however you like), we count decades from 1 to 10.
If someone asked you to start counting, would you start '0, 1, 2, 3'? I'm inclined to think you'd say '1, 2, 3, 4'.
This is not complicated. I understand that the Y2K bug may have confused you. Please get this figured out by 2019/2020.
Yours in Time,
-SMW
If someone asked you to start counting, would you start '0, 1, 2, 3'? I'm inclined to think you'd say '1, 2, 3, 4'.
This is not complicated. I understand that the Y2K bug may have confused you. Please get this figured out by 2019/2020.
Yours in Time,
-SMW
28 December 2009
Doctor Who - 'Fire and Ice' Review
Before I dig too deeply into this, I want to point out that it's a fan-made production. While this means the production should be given some leeway, I still intend to be honest with my opinion.
Story in brief:
Alice is a normal enough college student in the US. Running late for class, she drives through the rain, gets distracted by something running across the road, and almost runs over a man, a man who seems to stare right through her before running off. The event haunts her and she later investigates the area. She gets lost in the woods. She gets found by the 'watch dog' that ran across the road earlier and is saved from it by the man she almost hit, a man she will find later is called the Doctor. Life gets much less normal after that.
Thoughts:
Let me get one this out of the way: I liked this. It was a good show in general. Let me nit-pick a bit for a while.
The sound is solid. I believe much of the audio was re-recorded in post and this makes it generally easy to listen to and make out the words being spoken. Unfortunately, the music (yes, it's got music) was often mixed a bit loud during dialog sequences and drown out some of that good work. The music is in the style of the new series and, to be honest, I didn't care for all of it. I didn't always think the music worked for the scenes, sometimes being too 'spooky' for its own good. It's also of the 'woman vocalizing randomly' style which is not my favorite. There is also one sequence that appears to have had an encoding problem as the audio and video don't match. It's a brief problem.
There are special effects. Some of them are quite good. The 'watch dog' is really not. A couple of sequences near the end are a little awkward as well but all credit for trying. One scene has effects missing but it is a brief moment.
There is a LOT of good in the story. Alice and her friend feel very natural in reacting to each other (apart from a sequence or two that feels awkward but, again, minor). This is important as the bulk of the first half or so of the episode is these two characters interacting. This is good and bad. It is good because there is great effort made to make their reactions credible, to show why they would start to believe that weird things are happening. It's bad because we only see the Doctor in passing during this part of the episode and the show is only named after the character. It's well constructed but it's too long.
The pacing of the episode is a bit off. The episode runs to about 70 minutes and probably should be ten minutes shorter. There are a few early sequences that don't add much and could be shortened or eliminated. Once the Doctor and Alice meet to become companions, the story shifts into exposition mode and all the weird things we've seen hints of through the episode to that point are explained. This gets a bit tedious. As some of this information gets repeated during a later sequence, it becomes more annoying. I understand that the crew was trying to get across why Alice would decide to accompany the Doctor at this point, trying to make her seem realistic, but it doesn't flow well. There is too much sitting and talking at this point.
While trying not to give away the ending, it's different and not so good at the same time. The downside to spending all this time with Alice and seeing the story from her point of view is that the ending is a bit rushed. We don't get to spend much time with the antagonists. Their point of view is laid out in a couple of lines and it's over.
I'm not so sure about the Doctor. There are attempts to make him interesting and his 'faux-hawk' is different but I'm not sure I liked him. There's not enough of him to make a decision on. His reaction to the events of the ending is either meant to be a character note or it's just poorly written. I'm not sure which.
Alice seems to be named such in order to use one line at the end of the episode. There's also an 'alternate' title mentioned during the story that's better than the actual episode title.
Grouching over, the acting is solid. The production is excellent for a fan video. They appear to have a physical TARDIS prop. The physical events in general are solid. Alice's friend is very cute (not that Alice isn't pleasant looking herself). It looks and sounds good. It looks like they shot most of it around their college and house and the woods near it so the locations look good.
Despite all my 'complaints', I enjoyed watching this and would watch another. I'm curious to see if they can generate another planet or have a space for sets. I haven't gone looking for more information on the group yet because I didn't want to color my opinions at this point.
Available to be downloaded from the Internet. Recommended.
Story in brief:
Alice is a normal enough college student in the US. Running late for class, she drives through the rain, gets distracted by something running across the road, and almost runs over a man, a man who seems to stare right through her before running off. The event haunts her and she later investigates the area. She gets lost in the woods. She gets found by the 'watch dog' that ran across the road earlier and is saved from it by the man she almost hit, a man she will find later is called the Doctor. Life gets much less normal after that.
Thoughts:
Let me get one this out of the way: I liked this. It was a good show in general. Let me nit-pick a bit for a while.
The sound is solid. I believe much of the audio was re-recorded in post and this makes it generally easy to listen to and make out the words being spoken. Unfortunately, the music (yes, it's got music) was often mixed a bit loud during dialog sequences and drown out some of that good work. The music is in the style of the new series and, to be honest, I didn't care for all of it. I didn't always think the music worked for the scenes, sometimes being too 'spooky' for its own good. It's also of the 'woman vocalizing randomly' style which is not my favorite. There is also one sequence that appears to have had an encoding problem as the audio and video don't match. It's a brief problem.
There are special effects. Some of them are quite good. The 'watch dog' is really not. A couple of sequences near the end are a little awkward as well but all credit for trying. One scene has effects missing but it is a brief moment.
There is a LOT of good in the story. Alice and her friend feel very natural in reacting to each other (apart from a sequence or two that feels awkward but, again, minor). This is important as the bulk of the first half or so of the episode is these two characters interacting. This is good and bad. It is good because there is great effort made to make their reactions credible, to show why they would start to believe that weird things are happening. It's bad because we only see the Doctor in passing during this part of the episode and the show is only named after the character. It's well constructed but it's too long.
The pacing of the episode is a bit off. The episode runs to about 70 minutes and probably should be ten minutes shorter. There are a few early sequences that don't add much and could be shortened or eliminated. Once the Doctor and Alice meet to become companions, the story shifts into exposition mode and all the weird things we've seen hints of through the episode to that point are explained. This gets a bit tedious. As some of this information gets repeated during a later sequence, it becomes more annoying. I understand that the crew was trying to get across why Alice would decide to accompany the Doctor at this point, trying to make her seem realistic, but it doesn't flow well. There is too much sitting and talking at this point.
While trying not to give away the ending, it's different and not so good at the same time. The downside to spending all this time with Alice and seeing the story from her point of view is that the ending is a bit rushed. We don't get to spend much time with the antagonists. Their point of view is laid out in a couple of lines and it's over.
I'm not so sure about the Doctor. There are attempts to make him interesting and his 'faux-hawk' is different but I'm not sure I liked him. There's not enough of him to make a decision on. His reaction to the events of the ending is either meant to be a character note or it's just poorly written. I'm not sure which.
Alice seems to be named such in order to use one line at the end of the episode. There's also an 'alternate' title mentioned during the story that's better than the actual episode title.
Grouching over, the acting is solid. The production is excellent for a fan video. They appear to have a physical TARDIS prop. The physical events in general are solid. Alice's friend is very cute (not that Alice isn't pleasant looking herself). It looks and sounds good. It looks like they shot most of it around their college and house and the woods near it so the locations look good.
Despite all my 'complaints', I enjoyed watching this and would watch another. I'm curious to see if they can generate another planet or have a space for sets. I haven't gone looking for more information on the group yet because I didn't want to color my opinions at this point.
Available to be downloaded from the Internet. Recommended.
27 December 2009
Quiz Time
You are on a two lane highway. You are in the middle of nowhere. Traffic is light. You are in the right lane and are traveling at a pace you find comfortable. There is no inclement weather to hinder your progress.
About a mile down the road you see a work truck, not a semi, not a pickup, but something that might have a plow attached or be a garbage truck. As it quickly becomes larger, you realize that it is traveling at a much slower pace than you are traveling.
What will you do?
1) Verify that the left lane is clear using your mirrors and checking your blind spot. Signal the lane change and change lanes while still a significant distance away from the truck. Pass the truck with care. Once safely ahead of the truck, signal your lane change and return to the right lane. Continue on your trip.
or
2) Continue driving until you are tailgating the truck and have to slow down to avoid hitting it. You are now in the truck's blind spot but that does not concern you. Follow the truck for another mile, becoming irritated by the fact that the truck has not sped up to meet your desired pace. Signal briefly a lane change and swing around the work truck. Travel blissfully in the left lane for multiple further miles, only changing lanes when another vehicle 'suddenly' approaches you from behind while traveling at a high rate of speed and is forced to pass you using the right hand lane.
Man I hate people.
About a mile down the road you see a work truck, not a semi, not a pickup, but something that might have a plow attached or be a garbage truck. As it quickly becomes larger, you realize that it is traveling at a much slower pace than you are traveling.
What will you do?
1) Verify that the left lane is clear using your mirrors and checking your blind spot. Signal the lane change and change lanes while still a significant distance away from the truck. Pass the truck with care. Once safely ahead of the truck, signal your lane change and return to the right lane. Continue on your trip.
or
2) Continue driving until you are tailgating the truck and have to slow down to avoid hitting it. You are now in the truck's blind spot but that does not concern you. Follow the truck for another mile, becoming irritated by the fact that the truck has not sped up to meet your desired pace. Signal briefly a lane change and swing around the work truck. Travel blissfully in the left lane for multiple further miles, only changing lanes when another vehicle 'suddenly' approaches you from behind while traveling at a high rate of speed and is forced to pass you using the right hand lane.
Man I hate people.
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