All right then, take a deep breath because I'm going to explore one of the older alien races in Science Fiction. The Vulcans. Let's get something clear, I love the old vulcan culture that was created. It was interesting and utterly alien. What I want to do here is outline that culture and then explore where it all went wrong.
Very early on Gene Roddenberry realised that it would cost far too much, and would be impractical at the time, to make an actor physically alien enough to be both believable and reasonable. He needed alien crew members to help with the multicultural aspect of the Federation, a big part of the anti-rasism message of the show, but he had to do it cheaply and effectively. It was probably about then that it occurred to him; if culture was more important than aspect you didn't need the character to look alien. It just needed to come from a culture that was.
With that thought firmly in mind you can develop any number of races without much difficulty. Pointy ears, lumpy foreheads and wrinkled noses are Star Trek short hand for alien. Those features are a visual motif that lets the audience know someone is an alien, nothing more. It's supposed to be a sign that they are part of a culture other than human, without spending insane amounts on makeup. It's the creation of that culture that makes them alien and up to the actors to pull it off. That makes them interesting.
Episodes that explored the characters and the culture they came from and expanded their boundaries were among the best Star Trek had to offer. Often being the most remembered.
Vulcans were the first race we met and their culture was about as alien as they could make it. Humanity is passionate and driven by emotions, in fact if there is one single truth to our being it is that. Our hopes and dreams are at what drive us to achieve, what makes us want to reach for the stars. To find companionship; friends, lovers, family, whatever. It almost isn't possible to think of a more alien way to live than without hope. It's an emotion, the same as any other. Just like curiosity. The two reasons we wanted to go into space in the first place.
Vulcans have suppressed their emotions, they see them as dangerous and unpredictable. In fact it was only their "Awakening" that prevented their emotional outbursts from obliterating their race in a nuclear war. This is our first indication that Vulcans are a race of extremes, they went from extreme emotional turmoil to frozen logic. Logic itself is a series of positive and negatives. Black and white. Again extremes that are polar opposites.
Humans aren't anything like that, we live in a gray world and in someways that's a lot more difficult. We often get lost amongst the way but we stumble through. Vulcans are focused to the point of tunnel vision.
As such the Vulcan ideal is a wonderful foil for our own development. Now as most high art functions as a mirror for our own culture that just adds to the fun. In this equation The Vulcans become our mirror opposites, the "yin" to our "yang" as it were.
Summing up a typical Vulcan is easy, they're logical and very intelligent. Capable of making complex calculations and observations at fantastic speeds, however they are incapable of intuitive leaps. Without emotions they are unable to relate to meny other species, especially humans. Humans on the other hand are put off by the fact Vulcans never smile, tell jokes, or interact socially. This makes them a balanced creation that aren't perfect, it adds diversity and intrigue. Their very strength becomes a weakness in certain circumstances.
It was that dichotomy that lead to McCoy's continuous prodding of Spock. From a writers perspective it grounded the science officer, from a character perspective it helped them bond. It wasn't racism, even if it came close, but a friendly jibe. Spock's response to this was pure vulcan logic, delivering needle sharp observations that punctured the Doctors observations and comments. It was also this relationship, between the emotional and very much human McCoy and the cold logic of Spock, that helped make Kirk awesome.
Stick with me on this, Spock and McCoy were the angel and the devil on Kirk's shoulders. Advising him from opposing view points. It was Kirk's ability to carve a unifying perspective between the two that was the punch line of the whole show. The goal of the metaphor behind the Federation. We are better uniting in our differences than struggling against them.
Alright, now we've gotten to the bottom of that. lets move on to something more recent. Next Generation. Rather than re-tread over where the Original went with the Vulcans they focused on the Klingons (something I might go into later), but they didn't abandon Vulcans entirely. You would often see them walking up and down corridors. The occasional supporting role and guest also cropped up, most importantly Sarak, Spock's Father.
Building on the development from the original series next gen dealt with an unfortunate side effect of the Vulcan's abilities. As they were not only physically stronger but in possession of powerful mental abilities as well as their mathematical prowess it was perceived that they were superior to humans.
With a list of advantages like that they needed another flaw than, unimaginative and long winded. As such a number of uniquely Vulcan disorders were created. Not least Sarek's disability, a very vulcan problem that strips away their emotional control with advanced age. A few others turned up but it added to the people a roundness that wasn't explored very often in the original show, even if it was there
Then another facet came about in a two part episode from next gen's last season called Gambit. A Vulcan separatist movement, believing that contact with other species, including humans, was corrupting their pure vulcan culture attempted to gain control of Vulcan. With the aim to declare independence and leave the Federation. On it's own it's not that big an issue, but combined with a couple of other problems it sketches out a interesting issue.
Piecing together a lot of incidental evidence scattered across next Gen and the original series it's possible to deduce that Vulcans are very conservative. They appear hidebound to obscure customs and forms, their dress doesn't seem to change much from monk like robes and even their hair cuts are the same for more than three hundred years. This is a very interesting aspect, because once again the Humans of the Federation are liberals. Striving for the future while Vulcans are still buried in the past. Once again two opposing forces that counter act against each other, achieving a balance.
If the development of the Vulcans ended there that would have been enough, unfortunately it didn't.
To be Continued....
Monday, 30 August 2010
Monday, 19 July 2010
Special Effects Vs Plot
A long time ago, in a galaxy not that far away... Alright this one... A creative medium was devised. They called it writing. With it creators were able to translate their imaginations on to pages of paper. After years, dacades and even centuries the writers polished their craft. They began to write rules of storytelling, using them as crative ways to tell stories that taught valuable lessons. Morality tales reminding us how to act, giving us heroes to idolise and ideals to live up to.
After that things changed, we had comics, actors, radio and then moving image. All of them diluting the purity of imagination. Up until that point that was all we had, our own imaginations. Everything else is someone else's impressions of what is happening. This, by the way, is one of the problems with films adapted from books, but we're not here to rant about that.
Up until now those developments (radio, stage ect) had a valid goal. It brought the creative vision closer to what was intended. What it took from us with one hand it gave us with the other. This is where the arument about novel adapations gets interesting and I dodge that paticular bullet.
That's because the one I've got in my teeth at the moment is pointless effects. I'm talking explosions, flashing lights, useless 3D work and basicaly everything that happened to the Star Wars Special Editions. A good story doesn't need these, in fact all a good story needs is; well realised characters, a thought out plot and some thinking. Dreaming up an idea with a check list isn't creative, its a task.
Often whole senarios exist simply for the trailer, witty one liners and grandios vistas written for no reason other than trick bums on seats. The story is hurt by this.
Worst of all is the 3D effects. Its pointless, never worked right and as Avatar showed is often used as an excuse for lack of story
After that things changed, we had comics, actors, radio and then moving image. All of them diluting the purity of imagination. Up until that point that was all we had, our own imaginations. Everything else is someone else's impressions of what is happening. This, by the way, is one of the problems with films adapted from books, but we're not here to rant about that.
Up until now those developments (radio, stage ect) had a valid goal. It brought the creative vision closer to what was intended. What it took from us with one hand it gave us with the other. This is where the arument about novel adapations gets interesting and I dodge that paticular bullet.
That's because the one I've got in my teeth at the moment is pointless effects. I'm talking explosions, flashing lights, useless 3D work and basicaly everything that happened to the Star Wars Special Editions. A good story doesn't need these, in fact all a good story needs is; well realised characters, a thought out plot and some thinking. Dreaming up an idea with a check list isn't creative, its a task.
Often whole senarios exist simply for the trailer, witty one liners and grandios vistas written for no reason other than trick bums on seats. The story is hurt by this.
Worst of all is the 3D effects. Its pointless, never worked right and as Avatar showed is often used as an excuse for lack of story
Monday, 5 July 2010
Dune The film
And again I reply to a video review from one of the team over at TGWTG, still no one reads this and I need a place to vent!
Lindsay Ellis, otherwise known as the nostalgia chick, has posted a review of Dune. Reviewing Dune is sort of like clubbing a starving seal to death with a frozen, week old, dead fish. You know it stinks from a mile away, but you can't help but be drawn to the spectacle. David Lynch is very good at directing his own works. Seriously, go and watch the disturbing Blue Velvet if you don't believe me. It's beautifully strange, with moments that range between pure madness and terribly serene. On the other hand Dune, train wreck that it is, is unique in sci-fi.
Every scene is unique, and not because of bad pacing but from it's own goals. Never before (and not until Farscape) had a science fiction universe been so richly portrayed. The imagery and vision behind it required just the sort of madman that David Lynch is. Even the clunky acting and stilted dialogue (the latter unavoidable, but I'll get to that) can't detract from the fact there is still nothing like Dune out there.
Neo-gothic and post modern architecture. Impossibly realised ships and hideous navigators are all included to flesh out the over all impression. The goal of this film, as with all of Lynch's work, is to immerse the viewer in the world created and if you can spare the effort to accept that its not that bad.
Now on to what galls me the most, her views on the Spice. it isn't a Macguffin. That's reserved for things like the money in Psycho. It gets the plot moving and provides a goal for a few characters but can be completely forgotten in the overall plot. The Spice is a vital art of the film. First of all it is the main reason Arakis is so important, second it is what helps bond the Fremin with the Worms, making them desert survivalists. It's what the whole story revolves around. A macguffin has no bearing on the plot, Spice is the whole point of the movie and the book.
Right here we get to the main problem with the film. The book is a text medium, is designed to be read, not watched. Your supposed to have time to understand and absorb what is presented to you. More importantly it takes longer to read because there is more to it. Instead of forcing a viewer to watch it in a couple of hours you can spend days reading a book. The reader can put the book down, have a cup of tea and let things settle in. They can re-read paragraphs and ponder their meaning. Most importantly there is more room to develop characters. As I alluded to earlier a great deal of dialogue was forced simply to cover up massive plot holes generated by chucking whole chapters of the book into the bin. A lot of plot points and plot holes were addressed if you took the time to read the novel and it's sequels.
Concepts that were glossed over (Paul Atreides existence as the second coming or "the voice of God" Muad'Dib) actually make sense if you read the books. Lynch knew this and that what was behind the Alan Smithee moniker.
A bit of back story Ellis missed was just why Lynch agreed to direct this film. Originally the studio snapped up the rights to produce the film without a director or script. Panicking that they had the rights to an award wining book but nothing else they approached a popular art director of the time (Lynch having won praise for his work in The Elephant man and Eraserhead as an art film producer/director) to do the award winning novel justice. Lynch agreed, but only if he could produce Blue Velvet. That's right the whole reason he was attached to Dune was so that he could get the budget required to make Blue Velvet.
After spending untold millions on Dune Lynch ran out of money. He was trying to produce a true and honest adaptation (making the film five or six hours according to some reports) but the studio simply could not afford to pay for something that long. Whole acts were simply thrown away before they were filmed and in the end of the day the studio released the film without Lynch signing off on it. Incomplete, half edited and ridiculously over budget. Lynch is still not happy with the results today and even after being given the go ahead for a directors cut years ago deliberately removed his name from the production.
So why does it have such a cult following. Like a train crash, or a horribly disfiguring incident with a wood-chipper and a cement mixer it's morbid curiosity. You can't help but love the honest failure that is Dune. Everything that could go wrong did on a project that was doomed from the start. It should never have been made, the novels are far to complex to be condensed into a film, or even a series of films
Lord of the Rings, perhaps the best conversion from novel trilogy to film franchise, cut whole characters from the plot. Chapters of character development was either removed or cut and paste elsewhere for pacing and because of this it succeeded where most failed.
Still Dune is entertaining, simply because it is so bad. It's flaws make it great. Like the Rocky Horror Picture Show if it was perfect it wouldn't be as entertaining. This is a film you should watch with your mates and a few drinks. Doing a serious review of this isn't worth it. When fans, like myself, quote it it's out of celebration of it's bad dialogue.
And with that I end this. "Long live the fighters!"
Lindsay Ellis, otherwise known as the nostalgia chick, has posted a review of Dune. Reviewing Dune is sort of like clubbing a starving seal to death with a frozen, week old, dead fish. You know it stinks from a mile away, but you can't help but be drawn to the spectacle. David Lynch is very good at directing his own works. Seriously, go and watch the disturbing Blue Velvet if you don't believe me. It's beautifully strange, with moments that range between pure madness and terribly serene. On the other hand Dune, train wreck that it is, is unique in sci-fi.
Every scene is unique, and not because of bad pacing but from it's own goals. Never before (and not until Farscape) had a science fiction universe been so richly portrayed. The imagery and vision behind it required just the sort of madman that David Lynch is. Even the clunky acting and stilted dialogue (the latter unavoidable, but I'll get to that) can't detract from the fact there is still nothing like Dune out there.
Neo-gothic and post modern architecture. Impossibly realised ships and hideous navigators are all included to flesh out the over all impression. The goal of this film, as with all of Lynch's work, is to immerse the viewer in the world created and if you can spare the effort to accept that its not that bad.
Now on to what galls me the most, her views on the Spice. it isn't a Macguffin. That's reserved for things like the money in Psycho. It gets the plot moving and provides a goal for a few characters but can be completely forgotten in the overall plot. The Spice is a vital art of the film. First of all it is the main reason Arakis is so important, second it is what helps bond the Fremin with the Worms, making them desert survivalists. It's what the whole story revolves around. A macguffin has no bearing on the plot, Spice is the whole point of the movie and the book.
Right here we get to the main problem with the film. The book is a text medium, is designed to be read, not watched. Your supposed to have time to understand and absorb what is presented to you. More importantly it takes longer to read because there is more to it. Instead of forcing a viewer to watch it in a couple of hours you can spend days reading a book. The reader can put the book down, have a cup of tea and let things settle in. They can re-read paragraphs and ponder their meaning. Most importantly there is more room to develop characters. As I alluded to earlier a great deal of dialogue was forced simply to cover up massive plot holes generated by chucking whole chapters of the book into the bin. A lot of plot points and plot holes were addressed if you took the time to read the novel and it's sequels.
Concepts that were glossed over (Paul Atreides existence as the second coming or "the voice of God" Muad'Dib) actually make sense if you read the books. Lynch knew this and that what was behind the Alan Smithee moniker.
A bit of back story Ellis missed was just why Lynch agreed to direct this film. Originally the studio snapped up the rights to produce the film without a director or script. Panicking that they had the rights to an award wining book but nothing else they approached a popular art director of the time (Lynch having won praise for his work in The Elephant man and Eraserhead as an art film producer/director) to do the award winning novel justice. Lynch agreed, but only if he could produce Blue Velvet. That's right the whole reason he was attached to Dune was so that he could get the budget required to make Blue Velvet.
After spending untold millions on Dune Lynch ran out of money. He was trying to produce a true and honest adaptation (making the film five or six hours according to some reports) but the studio simply could not afford to pay for something that long. Whole acts were simply thrown away before they were filmed and in the end of the day the studio released the film without Lynch signing off on it. Incomplete, half edited and ridiculously over budget. Lynch is still not happy with the results today and even after being given the go ahead for a directors cut years ago deliberately removed his name from the production.
So why does it have such a cult following. Like a train crash, or a horribly disfiguring incident with a wood-chipper and a cement mixer it's morbid curiosity. You can't help but love the honest failure that is Dune. Everything that could go wrong did on a project that was doomed from the start. It should never have been made, the novels are far to complex to be condensed into a film, or even a series of films
Lord of the Rings, perhaps the best conversion from novel trilogy to film franchise, cut whole characters from the plot. Chapters of character development was either removed or cut and paste elsewhere for pacing and because of this it succeeded where most failed.
Still Dune is entertaining, simply because it is so bad. It's flaws make it great. Like the Rocky Horror Picture Show if it was perfect it wouldn't be as entertaining. This is a film you should watch with your mates and a few drinks. Doing a serious review of this isn't worth it. When fans, like myself, quote it it's out of celebration of it's bad dialogue.
And with that I end this. "Long live the fighters!"
Sunday, 4 July 2010
The Last Airbender Film
If anyone read my post on Avatar; the Legend of Aang they would know... who am I kidding no one read it.
Lets put it simply, I liked it and still do. It's one of the best and most creative animated shows of the past ten years. The best thing is that even though it was supposed to be written for children it doesn't talk down to the viewer, meaning that you can enjoy it whatever your age. It's a source of annoyance to me that producers think that because it's for younger people they can get away with crap. The "Oh they won't notice, they're kids" attitude isn't good. It encourages people to not think, which is wrong on every level.
Another attitude that I don't like is the "Quick pull out a pointless adaptation to get more money in. Forget creativity." Now I'm not so naive to think that money isn't important but there is a point where you can re-imagine and recreate something which doesn't insult the original. For example Evil Dead II was basically a remake of the first film, but with a budget. The V for Vendetta film, if separated from the comic that spawned it, is a reasonable film with some solid performances.
Given the cult success of the cartoon amongst adults as well as the children it was only a matter of time before some greedy producer green lit the film. The first warning came when I thought:- 'How are they going to condense such a broad series into three relatively short films' The answer was obvious. Butcher it like cattle being slaughtered for Macdonalds burgers. Then I heard who the director was and that was the last nail in the coffin for me
Well I planned to avoid it like the plague and from the reviews that was the right choice. Every review I've read or seen has torn it apart. There isn't much doubt this is a contestant for worst movie of the year, but if I've not seen it why am I reviewing it.
Well I'm not, I'm just saying to the world, if anyone will listen, forget the film and pick up the show. Please don't let this awful money grubbing attempt distract from a worthwhile and clever show.
Lets put it simply, I liked it and still do. It's one of the best and most creative animated shows of the past ten years. The best thing is that even though it was supposed to be written for children it doesn't talk down to the viewer, meaning that you can enjoy it whatever your age. It's a source of annoyance to me that producers think that because it's for younger people they can get away with crap. The "Oh they won't notice, they're kids" attitude isn't good. It encourages people to not think, which is wrong on every level.
Another attitude that I don't like is the "Quick pull out a pointless adaptation to get more money in. Forget creativity." Now I'm not so naive to think that money isn't important but there is a point where you can re-imagine and recreate something which doesn't insult the original. For example Evil Dead II was basically a remake of the first film, but with a budget. The V for Vendetta film, if separated from the comic that spawned it, is a reasonable film with some solid performances.
Given the cult success of the cartoon amongst adults as well as the children it was only a matter of time before some greedy producer green lit the film. The first warning came when I thought:- 'How are they going to condense such a broad series into three relatively short films' The answer was obvious. Butcher it like cattle being slaughtered for Macdonalds burgers. Then I heard who the director was and that was the last nail in the coffin for me
Well I planned to avoid it like the plague and from the reviews that was the right choice. Every review I've read or seen has torn it apart. There isn't much doubt this is a contestant for worst movie of the year, but if I've not seen it why am I reviewing it.
Well I'm not, I'm just saying to the world, if anyone will listen, forget the film and pick up the show. Please don't let this awful money grubbing attempt distract from a worthwhile and clever show.
Saturday, 26 June 2010
The Big Bang, Doctor Who series 5 final episode
"This is where it gets complicated!"
That wasn't an understatement, but there is a much better one right from the start. "Here we go". Speaking of the start that is where we go, right from the very first scene. Both in this episode and the story as a whole. It has long been a belief of mine that each series of new who has been one single adventure, but never before has this been so true. Up until this serise it's only ever been a single theme, or handful of words. Like "Bad Wolf" they cropped up in every episode like sign posts to the grand finale but that was it.
Russel T. Davis was wonderful at pulling plot develoment out of his arse. It was up to the Doctor to fire exposition at warp speed to cover the plot holes. It was fun but irritating in the long run. Steven Moffat has learnt from this mistake and crafted the whole series to the final moments.
Technology, like the Daleks robot professor in their episode and the faux top floor in the Lodger filler episode, relyed on intentions as much as actions. Ideas and concepts that have been brewing all year pay off in under an hour. Moments that made no sense at the time (the episode Forest of the Dead if you want to look one of the biggest up) were all set up to pay off in one epic episode.
We got it. No cheap ending or magic plot set macguffin. Yes there was a reset button, but it came from the story. It had a reason and made sense. It worked because of that. There was a deep understanding of the charicters. All of them, not just the Doctor.
Oh this was fun, not just good but fun. Entertaining, a whole series where you could be moved and enjoy events as they happened. It taxed your mind in ways other shows can't.
Ohh this was too good. Impossibly good. What a great show and a fantastic serise, it just gets better and better.
Though the best thing it's open ended. Like all good stories it leaves you asking what's next? What took control of the TARDIS? and just who is River Song?
Indiscraibably awesome. Now if you excuse me I have to watch it again!
That wasn't an understatement, but there is a much better one right from the start. "Here we go". Speaking of the start that is where we go, right from the very first scene. Both in this episode and the story as a whole. It has long been a belief of mine that each series of new who has been one single adventure, but never before has this been so true. Up until this serise it's only ever been a single theme, or handful of words. Like "Bad Wolf" they cropped up in every episode like sign posts to the grand finale but that was it.
Russel T. Davis was wonderful at pulling plot develoment out of his arse. It was up to the Doctor to fire exposition at warp speed to cover the plot holes. It was fun but irritating in the long run. Steven Moffat has learnt from this mistake and crafted the whole series to the final moments.
Technology, like the Daleks robot professor in their episode and the faux top floor in the Lodger filler episode, relyed on intentions as much as actions. Ideas and concepts that have been brewing all year pay off in under an hour. Moments that made no sense at the time (the episode Forest of the Dead if you want to look one of the biggest up) were all set up to pay off in one epic episode.
We got it. No cheap ending or magic plot set macguffin. Yes there was a reset button, but it came from the story. It had a reason and made sense. It worked because of that. There was a deep understanding of the charicters. All of them, not just the Doctor.
Oh this was fun, not just good but fun. Entertaining, a whole series where you could be moved and enjoy events as they happened. It taxed your mind in ways other shows can't.
Ohh this was too good. Impossibly good. What a great show and a fantastic serise, it just gets better and better.
Though the best thing it's open ended. Like all good stories it leaves you asking what's next? What took control of the TARDIS? and just who is River Song?
Indiscraibably awesome. Now if you excuse me I have to watch it again!
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Imaination
Alright As you probably know I spend a lot of my time watching online reviewers. I love the amount of effort, planning and work these guys put in to it. For some people, like Spoony (AKA Noah Antwiler) and the Nostalgia Critic (Doug Walker) it's their jobs. week in and week out they produce these things. Some are funny, some are thoughtful but most of all they are honest creative endeavours.
I enjoy their work immensely, so much so that every so often I try my own take and if you look hard enough you'll even find my prototype video here. The thing is among these people there is James Rolf, AKA the Angry Video Game Nerd and I occasionally watch his video's too. On monday he posted this and it reminded me of something. I've always been able to remember my first nightmare, and much like his it's inspired my creativity. Mostly through writing opposed to his video out put but it's on the same wavelength.
It was the first night in my own room, I have no idea how old I was at the time, I was so exited. I had a bed rather than a crib, I could stretch, throw myself about, roll, jump and do whatever I wanted. Naturally I conked out before five minutes passed by. The dream was absolutely uninspired, at the start, I just dreamed that the room was bigger. A lot bigger, like the walls had retreated away from me. The half light from the street outside my window cast orange shadows across the room and I began to see things moving in them. Dark terrible things clawing their way out of some unimaginable black void. Gargoyles warped and twisted out of the walls like monstrous cracks in the wall.
There I was, nothing but a blanket between me and stone faced minions of hell. I ran, I ran out of my room and into the hall but it wasn't my house anymore. I could still see the familiar familiar bookshelves and the stairs, but they had moved. Like a jigsaw puzzle that had been put together wrong. The imps and daemons came closer, pouring into existence like a disease. Their shadows in the half light withering paper and ageing it like the passing of aeons.
My parents room was gone, the only hope was to escape, but before I could one of the shadows touched me... and I woke up.
Needless to say I didn't get any more sleep that night.
It wasn't as impressive as Rolf's dragon, but it had a hell of an impact on me. I've grown to love that sort of imagery, the stuff that goes beyond what CGI can do and talks directly to your imagination, tapping into that primal thought deep within you. Not locked on the other side of the screen or imaginary pixels dancing to some program running across a hard drive. There always is and always will be something more physical about books and their connection to the reader.
I enjoy their work immensely, so much so that every so often I try my own take and if you look hard enough you'll even find my prototype video here. The thing is among these people there is James Rolf, AKA the Angry Video Game Nerd and I occasionally watch his video's too. On monday he posted this and it reminded me of something. I've always been able to remember my first nightmare, and much like his it's inspired my creativity. Mostly through writing opposed to his video out put but it's on the same wavelength.
It was the first night in my own room, I have no idea how old I was at the time, I was so exited. I had a bed rather than a crib, I could stretch, throw myself about, roll, jump and do whatever I wanted. Naturally I conked out before five minutes passed by. The dream was absolutely uninspired, at the start, I just dreamed that the room was bigger. A lot bigger, like the walls had retreated away from me. The half light from the street outside my window cast orange shadows across the room and I began to see things moving in them. Dark terrible things clawing their way out of some unimaginable black void. Gargoyles warped and twisted out of the walls like monstrous cracks in the wall.
There I was, nothing but a blanket between me and stone faced minions of hell. I ran, I ran out of my room and into the hall but it wasn't my house anymore. I could still see the familiar familiar bookshelves and the stairs, but they had moved. Like a jigsaw puzzle that had been put together wrong. The imps and daemons came closer, pouring into existence like a disease. Their shadows in the half light withering paper and ageing it like the passing of aeons.
My parents room was gone, the only hope was to escape, but before I could one of the shadows touched me... and I woke up.
Needless to say I didn't get any more sleep that night.
It wasn't as impressive as Rolf's dragon, but it had a hell of an impact on me. I've grown to love that sort of imagery, the stuff that goes beyond what CGI can do and talks directly to your imagination, tapping into that primal thought deep within you. Not locked on the other side of the screen or imaginary pixels dancing to some program running across a hard drive. There always is and always will be something more physical about books and their connection to the reader.
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Doctor Who:- The Pandorica Opens...
Well as much as I'd like to hide the spoilers I guess the cat's out of the bag for the first half end of the season two part-er. Hell, if I know about it you can be sure everyone else has heard. Being the last to know just about everything has some advantages.
Well to sum up: the Pandorica was a great big mouse trap, with Amy's memories, including Rory, as the bait. Fearing the greatest warrior and trickster in the known universe the Doctor's enemies have allied together to defeat him once and for all. Ironically it is his very incarceration that lets a mysterious force take control of the TARDIS and destroy it. Taking every star in the universe with it in a massive shockwave.
Oh and Amy's dead.
Yep that sums up the cliffhanger at the end of the twelfth episode the internet has been awash with speculation. Ideas range from "It's all a dream, it has to be the work of the Dream Lord!" to "Amy regenerates, she's really the Doctor's daughter!" and even "It's all a plan by the Master!" Quite frankly I'll be surprised if it's any of those. First of all it isn't going to be a dream. No chance, this isn't Battlestar Galactica or Lost, we're going to get a explanation that makes sense and isn't a total cop out. On that note Amy's still got a role to play, she might be resurrected somehow, but that's not what I mean. The fact her life has so many unanswered questions is going to be VERY important. I just don't know what and that's what I'm waiting for.
This was, yet again, a fantastic episode, yes I do wonder how long Cybermen have been able to spit knock out darts and that whole sequence did feel like padding, but that was the only speed bump. What more than makes up for that is the wonderfully dark moment where the Doctor truly falls into the trap.
With all the ships of his greatest enemies flying around Stonehenge the Doctor, in an epic show of bravado, stands unarmed and alone slap bang in the middle of the greatest armada in all the universes. He forces them all to back down and retreat. Only the Doctor could do that and it's an epic moment. Right up until the twist ending, alright it wasn't much of a twist as even I saw it coming, but what I didn't see was the alliance. The Doctor isn't forcing them to back off, they're just waiting for the pandorica to do it's job. It's an epic moment that upon re-watching becomes a pivotal one, for all the wrong reasons.
One of the few complaints I've heard about the episode comes from how the Doctor finds out about it. We get a fun little opening where we visit all the Doctors previous encounters. Starting with Vincent VanGogh painting a warning, that's the key. The Alliance sends the message and while the TARDIS doesn't detect it the Doctor's friends do and they get it to him, but why doesn't he hear it earlier? Answer:- because the transmission happens as part of the Doctor's own timeline, and we follow that timeline. Simple, sort of. It is the same with Torchwood, it didn't happen or exist until it happened in the Doctor's timeline, even if that took him into the past. Time travel does that.
Another complaint is why some races, that don't really have a problem with the Doctor directly (Judoon and Silurian's for example), are involved. Sorry, but the universe is in danger, not just the Doctor's opponents. Of course they're going to do something about it. Like unite and use their combined knowledge and skill to build the ultimate prison. Don't forget the line about the amount of fear that went into building the Pandorica.
I won't go into Amy's death, mostly because I don't think it's the end of her story just yet and I'm going to do a massive review later, after season's end.
Which is next week, so roll on Saturday!
Oh...edit
I'm a bit irritatted that they used Pandoras Box to referance tha Doctor. I did that in Fan fiction three years ago!!!!!
Well to sum up: the Pandorica was a great big mouse trap, with Amy's memories, including Rory, as the bait. Fearing the greatest warrior and trickster in the known universe the Doctor's enemies have allied together to defeat him once and for all. Ironically it is his very incarceration that lets a mysterious force take control of the TARDIS and destroy it. Taking every star in the universe with it in a massive shockwave.
Oh and Amy's dead.
Yep that sums up the cliffhanger at the end of the twelfth episode the internet has been awash with speculation. Ideas range from "It's all a dream, it has to be the work of the Dream Lord!" to "Amy regenerates, she's really the Doctor's daughter!" and even "It's all a plan by the Master!" Quite frankly I'll be surprised if it's any of those. First of all it isn't going to be a dream. No chance, this isn't Battlestar Galactica or Lost, we're going to get a explanation that makes sense and isn't a total cop out. On that note Amy's still got a role to play, she might be resurrected somehow, but that's not what I mean. The fact her life has so many unanswered questions is going to be VERY important. I just don't know what and that's what I'm waiting for.
This was, yet again, a fantastic episode, yes I do wonder how long Cybermen have been able to spit knock out darts and that whole sequence did feel like padding, but that was the only speed bump. What more than makes up for that is the wonderfully dark moment where the Doctor truly falls into the trap.
With all the ships of his greatest enemies flying around Stonehenge the Doctor, in an epic show of bravado, stands unarmed and alone slap bang in the middle of the greatest armada in all the universes. He forces them all to back down and retreat. Only the Doctor could do that and it's an epic moment. Right up until the twist ending, alright it wasn't much of a twist as even I saw it coming, but what I didn't see was the alliance. The Doctor isn't forcing them to back off, they're just waiting for the pandorica to do it's job. It's an epic moment that upon re-watching becomes a pivotal one, for all the wrong reasons.
One of the few complaints I've heard about the episode comes from how the Doctor finds out about it. We get a fun little opening where we visit all the Doctors previous encounters. Starting with Vincent VanGogh painting a warning, that's the key. The Alliance sends the message and while the TARDIS doesn't detect it the Doctor's friends do and they get it to him, but why doesn't he hear it earlier? Answer:- because the transmission happens as part of the Doctor's own timeline, and we follow that timeline. Simple, sort of. It is the same with Torchwood, it didn't happen or exist until it happened in the Doctor's timeline, even if that took him into the past. Time travel does that.
Another complaint is why some races, that don't really have a problem with the Doctor directly (Judoon and Silurian's for example), are involved. Sorry, but the universe is in danger, not just the Doctor's opponents. Of course they're going to do something about it. Like unite and use their combined knowledge and skill to build the ultimate prison. Don't forget the line about the amount of fear that went into building the Pandorica.
I won't go into Amy's death, mostly because I don't think it's the end of her story just yet and I'm going to do a massive review later, after season's end.
Which is next week, so roll on Saturday!
Oh...edit
I'm a bit irritatted that they used Pandoras Box to referance tha Doctor. I did that in Fan fiction three years ago!!!!!
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