The Name of The Doctor: Review

That actually wasn't revealed to the audience in Saturday's episode. It was revealed in a whispered aside  by River Song, so we still don't know the Doctor's name.  Wouldn't it be funny if it's John, or Fred or Henry? Something surprisingly ordinary.
 
But we did solve the riddle of the "impossible girl," but not until the last few minutes of the episode.  "I was born to save the doctor," Clara starts.   She's born, lives, and dies over, and over again.  And she gets to save "Doctor," something that's a little bit mind-blowing of itself; the Doctor needs saving?! Who knew.  This time was no different.

This episode started off with Clara psychically consulting with Trax, Madame Vastra, River Song, and Jenny through a communal dream.  Madame Vastra had just met with a prisoner who told her that the Doctor's greatest secret has been revealed.  The conference didn't get very far before the whisper men interrupted to tell River and Clara, 'killed' Jenny, and awakened Madame Vastra: "Tell the Doctor his friends are lost forever more unless he goes to Trenzalore."

When Clara tells the Doctor his reaction is unexpected.  He sits on the sofa, and cries.  Then he goes off to the Tardis' underbelly eventually programming the coordinates to Trenzalore.  Trenzalore is... the location of the Doctor's grave site.  The Doctor must never go there because he's crossing his own timeline- a big no-no for time travelers.  Remember the first half's finale when Amy dies- she reveals her own grave stone and the doctor couldn't save her.

The TARDIS knows this and initially refuses to land of its own accord.  The Doctor forced it to fall to the ground.  The scene reminded me of something out of a Christmas Carol- the part where Ebeneezer Scrooge is with the ghost of Christmas future walking through a cemetery.  The Doctor meanwhile sees the graves of his friends; River Song- ("River's not buried here," he says).  River appears to Clara, and they have a little conversation; her grave is actually a tunnel to the Doctor's grave.  Of course, The Doctor and Clara follow it.  Clara remembers the "forgotten day (Journey to the Centre of the Tardis), and starts asking him about it. The Doctor lets slip the little detail River is his wife.

A vine-wrapped TARDIS interior is the stage for the final battle.  Everyone's there looking at the Doctor's corpse; a blinding blue light made of frayed threads. Dr.  Simeon (aka The Great Intelligence) announces: "The doctor's life is an open wound, and an open wound can be entered."  There's nothing left to do following that statement but enter it, which, is exactly what he does.  The Doctor falls to the ground writhing in pain; all of his good work is undone. 

The stars begin going out, Jenny dies again;"The silence will fall, and darkness will reign..." I digress.  Enter Clara who comes up with the idea of jumping into the time stream to save him.  "The time winds will tear you apart," warns River.  That explains why the Doctor keeps running into her; each version of her life will be lived to save him.  Clara doesn't heed the warning of course, and jumps into the time stream anyway, and everything is set to rights.  It's kind of the ultimate expression of love; living your life unconditionally to save just one person.  "Run you clever boy, and remember.." were her last words.

The Doctor wakes up, has a little exchange with River which ends with her saying enigmatically: "Spoilers," when he asks her why she hasn't faded yet. Maybe season 8's mystery??

The Doctor enters his own time stream to save Clara.  They meet up in a post-apocalyptic type of place, where John Hurt.  "I didn't say he was "The Doctor," I said he was me," The Doctor informs Clara.   And that's where it ends.  I can just hear Clara asking John Hurt the next question: "What am I to call you?" Which is probably going to reveal to the audience The Doctor's name.

I think John Hurt's going to be some version of the Doctor.  Perhaps the one who destroyed Gallifrey? It would fit with his seemingly world-weary attitude; lonely bitter, resigned to his fate.  And Clara- still a mystery; is this the real Clara? and what happens when she crosses her own timelines?

I can't wait for November.

While we're waiting below is the trailer for the 50th anniversary special from BBC One.

Scandalous Cliff Hanger

Scandal ended its second season last night with its usual amount of fast-talking twists and turns.  The mole turned out to be the former chief-of-staff to the Vice President, and Jake turned out to be working  for Olivia's dad;  David turned out to have busted the Defiance mess wide open, and managed to play it for a big pay-off 

I loved the Fitz/Olivia moments.  The chemistry between them has always been obvious and very well played by the actors but their whole together/ not together storyline is getting really tedious.  Last night for the second time Fitz confessed his love to Olivia,  and his willingness to do whatever it takes, and what does she do? Send him back to Millie. Of course he was aided significantly by a graphic sex tape uncovered by Cyrus thanks in part to Jake- he bugged Olivia's apartment earlier in the season. 

I get the "wanting to be together no matter what" thing. She loves him even  though Fitz killed Velma, he loves her even though Olivia kept Defiance from him.  If I don't get some kind of huge pay-off soon, I may have to reconsider my Thursday night viewing options.  Why not let Mellie play the wronged woman for a while? she can make political capital out of that. I think Fitz even learned a thing or two in the art of cruelty from her.

Quinn completely crossed to the dark side.  The moment she took the drill from Huck I thought 'oh no, she isn't' and she did.  What's worse is judging from her reaction is she liked it, and wanted to do it again.  Huck had a 'what have I created' moment as he slammed the door in her face.  How he'll sort her out next season will probably be a plot for next season.

The ending was the best part. Olivia blissfully distracted with her music opens the door to go for a run, and cameras, and microphones are shoved in her face.  She takes her ear buds out to be greeted by questions about being the President's mistress.  She's pulled into a limo and greets "Miles" with "Hi dad." 

Does this mean Olivia's dad blabbed to the press about with Fitz? If so why? Where does he fit in with the Defiance plot? Does he have any ties to this so-called 'secret' C.I.A. division Jake works for?

Scandal  returns to answer these questions, Thursdays this fall on ABC. 

 

Arrow: For Whom The Bell Tolls

I loved it.  It combined action, drama and a true cliff hanger. For whom the Bell Tolls followed Oliver/ Arrow as he tried to stop a manically evil Malcolm Merlin (John Barrowman) from using his earthquake device to destroy Starling City.

He succeeded in a way; Detective Lance diffused the bomb before it went off thanks to Felicity's help.  "If I learned anything as a successful businessman it's redundancy," Malcolm said to Oliver. 

Translation; there was another bomb, which, went off causing death and destruction in its wake.  The episode's title refers to the ending.  Who lives? Who dies? It's obvious that Laurel, Detective Lance, and Oliver all live.  But what about Thea, Moira, Diggle, Roy and even Walter? What about Malcolm and Tommy?

I'd love to see them both live.  I was starting to get into the darker, grittier Tommy (Colin Donnell) as he dealt with the fact his best friend killed people as the vigilante.  I would've loved to see the dynamic between him and Malcolm as well after Malcolm's reveal as Dark Arrow.  That would've really messed Tommy up.

 But if I had to pick between them, I'd say Malcolm lives- he was in the 'panic room' for a while, he had an escape plan in place. Besides redundancy, I'm sure as a successful businessman he always had a contingency plan.  Character aside, I love John Barrowman, and if I can't have him  as Jack Harkness on Torchwood, I'll take him as Malcolm Merlin on Arrow.  I also hated that line... Writers: You  can think of better final words writers than that!

I was back and forth on Laurel for the whole season.  The last few episodes I found her annoying. I wouldn't care if they revealed in the season 2 premiere a piece of debris fell on top of her and she died of her injuries.  I am curious as to what they're going to do with that character to make her less annoying. 

There have been hints Oliver's going to be completely honest with her.  How will she deal with the fact her boyfriend has killed people? That he's been lying to her since he returned from the island? That the presumed dead Tommy knew? So much drama to play out in that relationship.

Is it Season 2 yet?

Jolie's actions speak louder than words

I just read Angelina Jolie's column "My Medical Choice" in today's New York Times.  When I first heard the story this morning I thought: Why? Just because you're at risk to develop cancer doesn't mean you will.  Doctors can't predict the future.  Wouldn't it be better not to know; to do as the poet's say and live life to its fullest?

Then I gave it some more thought.  And I think I understand now, and probably would react the same in her position.   The fear factor that I wouldn't be able to grow old with my partner, or watch my kids grow up would be huge.  If there's a way to eliminate the fear; to spare my loved ones the pain of watching me die then why wouldn't I do it?

Jolie's decision to have the double mastectomy isn't a brave one in the medical sense.  The surgical techniques, and methods are state-of-the art.  It's brave because potentially it redefines beauty.  Here is one of the most beautiful women on the planet, and through her actions has demonstrated she values more than just superficial looks.

A woman's breasts can define her; they're often the first thing people notice, and comment on.  How many of us have watched Hollywood actresses wondering if "they're real?" I admit, I'm guilty of this one.  Jolie instead of keeping quiet has revealed why she has implants. 

The brave part wasn't the surgery but coming forward.  Her actions are speaking louder than her column; defiant, refreshingly honest, and beautiful.  That's the kind of role model I'd choose for my daughter.  Bravo Angelina.

Job Hunt and Google

"You're all over the Internet" someone once said to me. I looked at them worried about the potential meanings of that statement, and they replied: "Don't worry, that's a good thing."  And looking at it in a professional sense for the media business, it is a good thing.

It could also be a bad thing.  I'm start to look seriously again for a part-time job in order to suplement my freelance income.  It could be retail, it could be office work as long as it brings in a regular pay cheque.  My resume contains all of my media-related positions, and reads like someone waaay over qualified for retail, or without enough administrative experience for office work.  Naturally a hiring manager looks at it and thinks "this person is gone the moment she gets a media job.

 It isn't just me that's running into this.  A lot of people my age are either unemployed or under employed and looking for work.  The question we all face is how to tailor our resumes.   Do we simply do it by re-order and condensing my positions? Or do we hit the delete button on a couple of our  positions to make it seem like we're qualified?

The problem with that, is if you google my name you're going to come up with my twitter feed (third one down, page one), my facebook page- I often use it for promotion.  Then there's my LinkedIn profile as well; containing details to pretty much every position I've ever held.  If some of these details aren't on the resume is it considered tailoring? Or is it considered lying? Google could end up killing my shot at a job. 

 

My Saturday with Space: April 27

Doctor Who took us to the centre of the TARDIS this week, as it got pulled on to a salvage vessel.  The Doctor had to trick the three salvage workers into helping him look for, and eventually find Clara.  The episode was very Clara-centric following her on a journey through a parallel TARDIS, including a stop at the library where she poked through a book, and may have seen the answer to "The Question."  The Doctor saved the TARDIS by throwing them back in time to re-live the day and fix the tear. 

The Doctor let her in on part of a secret; that she was the girl who died twice.  He didn't know how that happened; he didn't know who she was.  It's still this question hanging out there; the one that guides this season.  And the Doctor is for once as clueless as we are, and figuring it out as we are.  My money's still on her being some kind of family; a daughter or grand-daughter maybe.  A little sound advice from the Doctor: "Don't get into a space ship with a mad man, didn't anyone ever tell you that?"  Does anyone think Clara might end up remembering what she read?

Orphan Black focused on Paul this week.  Did he have anything to do with the clones? Did his place of work? Sarah ended up spying on Paul putting listening devices in his offices and overheard him meeting one of his co-workers.  Sarah also got time with her daughter walking her home and spending time with her. She tried to get some answers on her past  from Mrs. S.  I still haven't figured out if she had anything to do with it; if she's good or bad.

The part that left me cursing was the ending.  Paul confronted Sarah; admitting he was there when doctors told  Beth she couldn't have children.  And if she couldn't have kids then who was Sarah? Before she answered the ending credits played.  It was the ultimate cliffhanger.  Will Sarah talk her way out of this one? Or will she tell the truth, playing on their growing relationship?

In other Orphan Black news: it's been renewed for a second season.

Smash's crash

Tv Guide has a story out about an email exchange between Smash Creator Theresa Rebeck, and Buzzfeed Journalist Kate Arthur.  Rebeck is taking issue with Arthur's piece blaming the show's bad second season on her.

There's a lot more wrong with Smash than just the fact the show's creator left.  Let's start with the storylines.  There's no flow to it. In season one's finale you saw Julia's marriage breaking up, and hints she was pregnant... you could've mined that drama for at least four or five episodes.  And what exactly was the point of her re-writing Bombshell? A plus with her character have been the scenes between her and Jesse L. Martin's character.

Then there's the Jimmy and Kyle characters coming out of nowhere without purpose most of the time.  I'm starting to see Jimmy is supposed to be a younger version of Derek; if they'd made it a bit clearer sooner that would've been great.  What's the purpose of "Hit List?" Karen was never to supposed to have her own musical.  I understood the key to this concept was the rivalry between her and Ivy. It's a little hard to have that when they're not often in the same episode.

There's a failure to commit on the writers' part to Derek. Either he's a flirt, and a cad,  or he's a one-woman guy.  The scenes between him and Ivy are pretty sweet, I wouldn't mind seeing them hook up.  Tom deserves to be a bigger player as well, and explore his love life a little more; he's not just Julia's sidekick.   What's this big shared past between Tom, and Derek? There's another story line that could be mined for a few episodes.

Next is the acting.  Katherine McPhee is a great singer; can likely sing the phonebook.  But she can't act.  Either minimize her character, give her someone to play off of, or get rid of "Karen" entirely.  And I think the show is underusing the good actors; I would love to see more of Angelica Houston- maybe see a different side of  Eileen.  And Julian Ovenden who plays J.F.K. in the Bombshell musical doesn't say a word.  I think he deserves a few lines every so often; he's not just a pretty face.

Stunt casting this season has been a bit of a red flag for me.  So far we've had Jennifer Hudson, Sean  Hayes, Bernandette Peters, Liza Minelli and Rosie O'Donnell.  Big names, and well respected in the Broadway community.  But aside from Bernadette Peters, and maybe Liza Minelli, what was the point?  Rosie O'Donnell had one line to say; it was a waste.

Yes when Theresa Rebeck left the show it probably hurt the show in terms of continuity.  But bad writing, and needless characters since then have likely doomed it to cancellation.