Nerd Birthday (x3)

I've had to put the blog on hiatus for a bit due to other obligations, but there are three birthdays that pulled me out of hiding for the day.

1) First, a very happy birthday to one Molly Lewis. I was first introduced to this young musician thanks to a few dozen w00tstock videos I trolled on the YouTubes. Anyone who follows her on the interwebs knows the trouble she has had with venues and such due to her being underage. Well, that won't be an issue after tonight (although her response to the most notable incident - SDCC w00tstock - was quite enjoyable. Ninja gig ftw!). Happy 21st Birthday, Molly!

2) Next, a very happy birthday to our Nerdist, Chris Hardwick. It is thanks to this guy that I waste countless hours on one of my favorite websites. He also is one of my favorite people to follow on the Twitter. Oh, and let's not forget the podcast and nerd social networking site he also runs, called Node. (Wow, I didn't realize how much of my life is connected to this one person. Kinda cool.) In addition to being a presence on the interwebs, Chris does some stand-up comedy as well. He's really funny and if you get a chance to see for yourself you really should (and I'm not just saying that because of the street team hat I occasionally wear for him). If you don't believe me, then see for yourself.

3) Last, but certainly not least, I would like to give a happy birthday shout-out to Doctor Who! That's right, the British sci-fi series turns 47 today. The first episode, An Unearthly Child, aired on this date in 1963. Since it's start on this date it has seen 11 different people play the lead role of The Doctor. The new Christmas Special is set to air on Christmas Day at 9pm on BBC America. If you've never watched this show then you are seriously missing out. It was one of the few things that can always make me smile when I'm down, and makes me think about the world in a whole new way. I love everything about it, and would love nothing more than to spread this love with the rest of the world. (Wow, that's a lot of love for one show).

That concludes another birthday edition of News on Shuffle. Hope all those celebrating have a wonderful time. Congrats to you all!

Doctor Who - Victory of the Daleks

*INSERT USUAL SPOILER MESSAGE HERE*

When last we saw The Doctor and his lovely companion, they were getting a phone call from Winston Churchill saying he might need their help. Apparently the TARDIS still has some kinks to work out yet, because The Doctor doesn't actually show up until a month after that call takes place. By that time, Churchill has already put into place a new secret weapon: the Daleks?

Wait, did I just see Winston Churchill working with the Daleks? That can't be right... can it?

That is how it in fact seemed to be. Except they weren't calling themselves "Daleks". Instead they were called "Ironsides" and were created by a Professor Bracewell. It is all very confusing for The Doctor, especially the part where AMY DOESN'T REMEMBER THEM?! You mean AT ALL?!

So that was another thing that seemed off about this whole situation.

Also, their new purpose was to win the war for Great Britain. The Doctor isn't buying any of this and even says to "Exterminate them" - Hey, Doc, that's their line.

Another great line from The Doctor - "What does hate look like? It looks like a Dalek, and I'm going to prove it." We all know The Doctor hates the Daleks, but for good reason. They destroyed his home and tried to destroy Earth (which is like his second home). You would hate them too, if you were him. Even still, it is amazing to see the level of emotion that they bring out in him (a combination fear, hate, and anger).

After enough words are shared between the two species, we finally get some explanation as to what is going on. It turns out the Daleks found this "Progenitor" that contained pure Dalek DNA, but did not recognize them as Daleks (because of mutations that happened in a previous episode). They needed The Doctor's testimony to get the progenitor working. This created a whole new race of Daleks. First task: exterminate the old "inferior" models. Next they turn their sights on their old enemy: The Doctor. How will he escape this time? With the help of Winston Churchill of course!

Churchill sends Spitfires to blast the Dalek ship. The Doctor lowers their shields long enough for the planes to get a clear shot. But there is a slight complication. Seems old Bracewell is really an android created by the Daleks as part of their plans, and he is set to self-destruct. The Doctor now has a choice: stop the Daleks from escaping or keep the bomb from going off and taking all of planet Earth with it. He chooses to save the Earth, which the Daleks criticize him for. "His compassion is his greatest weakness," they say. I disagree. I believe that is is actually one of his greatest strengths and what sets him apart from the rest of the world (besides, you know, the whole "Time Lord" thing).

The Doctor proves this in saving Bracewell. He tries to get Bracewell to remember how it felt to be human in an attempt to stop the bomb from going off. This is a great idea, but needs help from an actual human. Yet again we see the companion helping The Doctor in a crucial way. This time she asks Professor Bracewell if he has ever been in love with someone he shouldn't have been. As he starts telling the story of a girl he knew once, the bomb is deactivated, thus proving that love is our greatest strength. Unfortunately, the Daleks use this to complete their time jump and escape. When Amy proclaims that they won (because the Daleks are gone and nobody died), The Doctor questions this. Was it really the right thing to let them escape, considering how much harm they could do to the Universe? The phrase, "Live to fight another day" came to mind here, for me.

Things that still needed answering at the end of this episode: why couldn't Amy remember the Daleks? My second "open-ended" item might be connected to this - what is the deal with the cracks appearing everywhere? First we saw one in Amy's room, then in the side of the ship in "The Beast Below". Now we saw one in the wall as the TARDIS was disappearing. These are supposed to be cracks in time, so I am thinking this will be connected to Amy's memory being apparently altered. Maybe something happened to "break" time somehow and caused history to be altered. We will have to continue watching to find out more.

As always, after the episode finished we were treated to another edition of Doctor Who: Confidential. This week gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the Churchill cabinet war room. The writer (Mark Gatiss) went there for research purposes. We also see how the "Spitfire in space" scene worked. Some very cool stuff worth having a look at, if you haven't already done so.

Next week we get part 1 of the two-part episode with the Weeping Angels. This is the one I've been most excited to see, so you can be sure I will have lots to say once it's over.

Doctor Who - The Beast Below

The Doctor constantly has some tough choices to make in his travels, but "The Beast Below" may have given him one of his toughest yet.

*Spoiler time, kids*

At first all we know is something big and bad is happening on the Starship UK, but that is all. Oh, and it is something big and bad enough that Amy sends a message to herself telling her to stop The Doctor from investigating the goings on of the space-age British Empire.

Then we find what is at the center of it all, and it is rather quite sad.

It turns out there is a creature guiding the ship, and it is being tortured to keep it going.

Once The Doctor finds the Beast, he has to decide what to do with it. Does he let it keep being tortured to protect the people onboard, set the creature free and kill an entire civilization in the process, or lobotomize the creature so it no longer feels the pain it has to endure? The Doctor is ready to set into motion option number three, but in the final moments Amy gets a realization that changes everything.

"Open your eyes," The Doctor had told her when they first arrived in the ship. Thank God for everyone that she listened to him. For she was the one who noticed how the creature behaved around the children. And, looking at The Doctor, she remembered what Liz Ten said about when they first found the creature. And she was the one who realized that they didn't need to torture the Beast for it to continue moving the ship.

"If you were that old and that kind and the last of your kind, you couldn't just stand there and watch children cry," she told them. (Quote of the night)

This episode showed the hard choices The Doctor has to make in his life. It also reminded us that sometimes he doesn't have all the answers and needs someone to show him the right path. Funny that another red-head teaches him this lesson, as Donna was best at doing this for him (as demonstrated by the Series 4 episode "Turn Left"). This season looks to be just as much Amy's story as it is The Doctor's.

As always, BBC America gives us a behind the scenes look at the latest episode with Doctor Who Confidential. This gave us a behind the scenes look at everything from cast reactions to set design.




Next week we're going to get the return of the Daleks and... Winston Churchill? That should be interesting. So tune in next week at 9pm on BBC America for another great adventure with The Doctor and his companion, Amy.

How I Fell For the Doctor

I was going to title this post "Why You Should Be Watching Doctor Who" but I didn't want to presume to tell anyone what their television viewing habits should be. Instead I thought I'd regale you with a tale of my experience with The Doctor, and why I would describe it as love at first sight.

As a senior in college I have not had the experience with Doctor Who that, say, my father had. I can't say I grew up with him my whole life or anything like that. Likewise, I cannot talk about how it is an institution here, since the US is really playing catch-up to the level of fandom that the UK has for the show. For that matter, we may never reach the levels of attachment that its homeland has for the series. But that only seems fair.

No, I was first introduced to The Doctor 4 months ago. I met enough people who were obsessed enough with the show that I decided to give it a try during my winter break. Being a lover of sci-fi, I figured it was a good bet I would like the show as well. I was wrong.

I didn't just like Doctor Who; I loved it. From the moment The Doctor grabs Rose and tells her to follow him I knew this was going to become one of my favorite shows of all time. With each new episode I fell even more in love with every element of the show. The acting is superb, as is the writing. Russell T. Davies and Stephen Moffat never seemed to have a shortage of new and exciting adventures for the Doctor and his companion to enjoy.

Yes, from the moment I started my journey with The Doctor, I was hooked. Countless times the words "One more episode" would be uttered, only to be said again 50 minutes later. By the time I was finished, I had forgotten what a world before meeting the Doctor was like. It was as if I had known him my whole life.

It feels appropriate to share my love for Doctor Who now that the 5th Series premiere is scheduled for tomorrow (April 17th) on BBC America. Even if you haven't watched a single episode before today, I still highly recommend giving it a chance tomorrow. BBCA will be airing the second half of Series 4 all day tomorrow as well as the specials that aired in between seasons. If nothing else, try to watch The End of Time, as it leads in to the new episode (and is possibly one of the best stories in the series. Russel Davies definitely went out on a high note).

*if you don't have time to play catch-up, this scene is all you really need to know*



Now is the perfect time to start your adventure with The Doctor for a number of reasons. The show is seeing a new Doctor (Matt Smith), new companion (Karen Gillan), and new producer (Stephen Moffat). Moffat wrote one of my favorite episodes in the series (Blink), so I look forward to seeing what he does now that he is in charge of the whole thing. If I haven't convinced you Doctor Who is worth checking out, maybe Matt Smith can:

AVC: Doctor Who has always been more of a cult sensation here in the U.S. than in Britain. How would you describe the series to someone here who has never seen it before? What would you say it’s like?

MS: I’d say it’s about a 900-year-old alien who travels around time and space in a blue police box, which is called the TARDIS, having adventures, saving the world, and defeating evil. It’s not bound by space or time or logic or genre, and therefore creatively it can go anywhere and do anything. You can be in the past with dinosaurs one week and in the future the next week, as the world is about to explode. I think it’s full of heart and humor and wit and invention. I think Doctor Who improves your life. And I mean that. It’s not just, like, my mission statement. I do, as a man who’s come to it late on, as well. It’s never too late to get into it. I think we’ve got a new team and a new show, and I think now is the time to start watching.

-excerpt from an interview between AV Club and Matt Smith, the new Doctor (the rest of the interview is the title link for today)

If that doesn't convince you that Doctor Who is worth your time, then I don't know what will. I hope you will share in the magical journey with me. I will be posting reviews of the new series as it airs here in the US. I'm sure it will be brilliant.

Doctor Who Countdown

As the US premiere of Doctor Who comes ever closer, Americans everywhere are just trying to not get spoiled. BBC America offers a countdown widget to keep track of the date (as if we weren't doing that on our own anyway).



The widget also offers a videos, interviews, and a photo gallery to have fun with while you wait. Speaking of fun, did you hear about the new DW game that they are making? It's going to be four interactive episodes, the first of which will be available in June. Especially cool for those of us who ever wanted to be the Doctor (or his companion).

*Doctor Who Series 5 premieres April 17th on BBC America. Leading up to that all day will be the end of Series 4 starting with The Doctor's Daughter all the way through to Journey's End, followed by all the specials (The Next Doctor, Planet of the Dead, Waters of Mars, and The End of Time).*