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.

My Saturday with Space: April 20, 2013

This week's episode found Doctor Who and Clara in 1974 at a haunted castle with a former W.W. II spy- Alec Palmer (Dougray Scott)  and an empathic psychic Emma Grayling (Jessica Raine).  "Help me," the ghost cried.  The Doctor gleefully took to ghost hunting sneaking off with Clara to catch sight of her.  The ghost however turned out to be a time traveller trapped in a pocket universe; Doctor Who and the TARDIS to the rescue! 

The Doctor continuously tried to push Palmer and Emma together.   "Blood calls to blood," he says explaining the connection between Emma and the time traveller a woman who ends up being revealed as the couple's multiple great granddaughter.   "Am I a ghost to you?" Clara asks the Doctor.  "You are the only mystery worth solving," he answers her.  Maybe there's a familial relationship between the Doctor and Clara? She's his great... etc. granddaughter.  It would explain the "twice dead" idea, and the fact he always seems to find her.  The Doctor as a father... hilarious.

Orphan Black was sinister.  It put Sarah/Beth firmly in a killer's sights this as she and her partner raced to solve a murder.   The killer; a religious zealot was sent to kill the orphans viewing them as abominations.  It took another turn as the innocent Beth was accused of killed turned out to be attached to the killer. 

The episode put Sarah's relationship with her daughter Kira in jeopardy as she missed another chance at spending time with her daughter.  However, Alison stepped in, complete with a fake British accent.  Kira saw right through it saying right out, but Mrs. "S" didn't. 

This show continues to puzzle me, and I have no theories yet as to who might be involved.  But I love it that way, and it makes me want tune in every week and unravel  the mystery.

My Saturday with Space: April 13

 

I found last week's episode of Dr. Who boring.  Clara and the Doctor trapped on a Russian sub in the middle of the cold war; trying to stop a martian ice warrior from detonating a nuclear missile.  This is after one of the Russian sailors shot him of course, so the warrior had a good reason to be ticked off. 

The storyline sounds exciting, but I just wasn't feeling it.  I don't know if it was the lack of characters- there are always a few more colourful characters on this show than just the Doctor and his companion.  Or the fact they were confined to the "one space" and "one time," but it was a real yawn for me.  I'll give them this one, after all they can't all be as exciting.  And it probably added something to the season's overall story- there was a tie in with the Christmas special in the ice warrior.  That Christmas special is going to play a lot more into this season than they usually do.

Meanwhile Orphan Black took a few more turns but at the same time the pace slowed down a lot as they developed the characters.  Sarah continued settling into "Beth's" life, and continued developing a relationship with her partner.  Alison taught Sarah/Beth how to shoot a gun, and laid down some ground rules with regards to her family. 

The funny part was Felix and the kids.  Felix had to babysit Alison's kids while she went with Sarah to the gun range.  By the time they got home he had them  playing around cross-dressing.  Alison was not impressed.  The episode ended with Beth/ Sarah chasing a suspect who eventually is revealed to be yet another clone with potentially some kind of powers maybe? You'd have to quickly heal from those scratches.

Saturdays with Space: April 6

 

In  Doctor Who we followed Clara on her first adventure with the Doctor to the rings of Akhaten.  She met what we took to be a six-year old girl named Mary who was known as "The Queen of Years complete with her people's myths and legends.  Mary's role was to sing a song that would put a God back to sleep- instead it ended up awakening the God.   She was transported to the temple, and kept there.  Cue the rescue: "We do not walk away," the Doctor told Clara.  They managed to get to the Temple, and rescue the girl from having her soul eaten.  The Doctor had Clara back home in time for dinner.

The mystery behind Clara's identity continues unfolding.  "You can't be real," The Doctor said in the opening moments of the episode.  At this point my theory is that she's The Doctor and River Song's daughter.  What other person could die twice in two different times and still live? The way she looked at the world so full of awe, and curiosity very similar to Matt Smith's version of the Doctor.  Or maybe she could in some alternate universe be The Doctor in some sense?; Maybe at some point she absorbs bits of the Doctor's essence? What's your theory? 

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Orphan Black slowed down a lot over last week's episode.  I guess the sense was 'we've established the characters, and premise now let's play it out a little bit.  It started just moments after the shooting that ended the previous week's episode.  Sarah/Beth desperately called someone wanting to know what to do with the body. Why she didn't burn it/ drown it; get rid of it in some way that would erase any sign she'd touched it? Anyway.  This episode centred around a suitcase at the dead woman's hotel; Sarah had to get the case and take it to suburban soccer mom clone.




I get the sense Sarah hates soccer moms.  She was desperate to know more about how this was even possible that three (including Katia) other women looked like her that existed. "I just want some answers," she said at least once during the episode  Sarah also was desperate for her daughter to know she was still alive, a fact that didn't seem to surprise the mysterious Mrs. S very much.  Could she be involved as someone who was in on the cloning operation? At this point I don't think she's a "bad guy," but I could be proven wrong.

My Saturday with Space

Saturday Night I spent watching Space.  They showed the second half season Premiere of Doctor Who and premiered a new show: Orphan Black. The Doctor was up to his old tricks; searching for the answer to the "twice dead girl," in a monastery in 1207 he gets a call from Clara trying to figure out what happened to her Internet connection.  The premise for this one was really interesting; a computer virus swept the world, and when people clicked the link they would be uploaded.  This reminded me of a few earlier episodes where the Doctor, and Rose spent time on this space station where people pretty much lived in reality shows. From the first episode it has a clear overarching storyline this season, if you were watching there were a couple of ties to the Christmas episode.
Quote from the night: "3 hours ago you knew nothing about computers, and now you just made a joke about twitter."  The Doctor to Clara.  

Orphan Black I found kind of jarring.  I tuned in thinking; great another British Sci-fi series.  I'll give it a try.  Little did I know it opened with a scene that ends on top of a very familiar train platform at Union Station- one that I've crossed a few times as well on my way out of the station, and the train that hit a main character looked just like a GO Train. And that's just the start.  In one part of the episode, the character Sarah pulls out Canadian $20 bills, and an Ontario drivers license from the dead girl's wallet.  More scenery- the glass tower condos towering over Downtown Toronto; alleyways that look suspiciously like  the ones Rick Mercer delivers his famous rants in.  Added to that the two main characters Felix and Sarah both have British accents (both incidentally are Canadian actors).

Maybe the 'jarring' feeling is on purpose.  Maybe it, is meant so the audience get a feeling for these two characters who have fallen into a situation they have absolutely no idea what to do in.  I'm going to give this another couple of episodes because I'm a sucker for a good mystery.  

Doctor Who airs Saturdays at 8pm on Space, and Orphan Black airs at 9pm.  Catch up on both right now by visiting Space