Blue Monday: Here Comes December!

Wow, it's been a couple of months since I posted anything here at joysweb! And now it's already December!!! How did that happen?

We've been busy, but probably not a lot busier than normal. Just haven't been able to find time to concentrate on blogging, although I have been reading other people's blogs. Also had a few minor medical issues that have sort of detoured me. Nothing dire — just niggling things that keep drawing my attention away from the stuff I'd rather be doing.

So, anyway...here we are with the first Blue Monday of the month. And since we've been having really awful weather here lately (cold, rainy, gray), I thought I'd post a photo from a couple of weeks back when we were still enjoying our long, lovely, summer-y autumn.

Sorry it's a little grainy. Think I need a cell phone upgrade. Gosh, I really miss that blue sky!

We've got most of the holiday decorating done, although we seem to add a bit to it everyday. I'm sure I'll be posting more photos of the decorations, but for now I'll just include a shot of our most recent addition. For some reason, the hubby decided it might be nice to add Doctor Who to our seasonal trappings. So we've added the Doctor and his (blue) Tardis to the fireplace display, up there on the mantel with a mini nutcracker — who sort of looks like he might be a Dalek in disguise!

So, have a great week! More to come....

Blue Monday was originally hosted by Smiling Sally.
Now that Sally has left us,
Jeanne at Backyard Neighbor is doing the honors.

To see more offerings, or to participate yourself,
please head on over to her blog.

Random Photo Monday: TV Musings

Well, this is a not terribly good snap of me, taken sometime in the mid-1950s. I'm not exactly sure where I'm doing my TV watching in this photo. Possibly at my Aunt B's house. Or possibly at my grandparents' – they all had much bigger sets than we did at the time, and they let me get much nearer the screen than my mother did. She was convinced that sitting any closer than halfway across the room was guaranteed to make me go blind overnight. I guess that's why she never really approved of Winky Dink.

This past weekend was a big TV weekend around here for some reason. Lately I've been trying to wrench myself away from the tube, and doing a pretty good job of it, so far. But Friday evening there were new episodes of Monk and Doctor Who! Two of my favorite shows. Then late Friday night on the Sci-Fi channel there were re-runs of two episodes of Stargate SG-1 I hadn't seen. And Saturday night was Charlie Chaplin night on the Turner Classics movie channel. And even though M and I both really don't care for Chaplin, they were showing Monsieur Verdoux, which neither of us had seen before – so, of course, we had to watch.

I wasn't terribly impressed with "Mr. Monk Gets Lotto Fever." Although Captain Stotlemeyer had some nice scenes – especially the one where he thinks he's the winner of the multi-million dollar Lotto jackpot. ("The next time you call me 'Captain,' you'll be on my boat!") I love Captain Stotlemeyer and Randy. But I'm a little bothered by the way the Natalie character seems to be taking over the show. Traylor Howard is extremely cute and I like her in the role, but she can be a little grating when she's given too much to do. I'm happier when the show keeps the focus on Mr. M. and his crime solving escapades.

In the same way, I really preferred the "old" Doctor Who formula – when the companions really were sidekicks and not guest stars. Goodness knows, David Tennant is talented enough to carry the show on his own – I'm not sure why the BBC thinks he needs such a ton of backup. But at least last Friday's episode ("Journey's End") seems to have provided a final farewell to the dreaded Rose Tyler and her annoying family and friends. Unfortunately, it was also apparently the last of Donna Noble, a character I had really gotten to like – even though I was only ever able to understand about every fourth word Catherine Tate uttered. And when she got really wound up, I was doing good just to pick up a few intelligible parts of speech here and there.

Of course, "my" Doctor was Tom Baker – he's the first Doctor I watched, back in the 1970s and he's still my favorite, the one I think of as THE Doctor ("The definite article," as he once said). I also liked the pace of those older shows. They were exciting and held your interest without being so frenetic and action-packed that you needed a hit of oxygen when they were over.

Doctor Who (The New Doctor Who): "Forest of the Dead"

For the 42 Challenge
(TV Series)
Season 4, Episode #408 (Part 2)
Written by: Steven Moffatt
Directed by: Euros Lyn
Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Alex Kingston (Professor River Song), Colin Salmon (Dr. Moon), Eve Newton (The Girl), Mark Dexter (Dad), Jessika Williams (Anita), Steve Pemberton (Strackman Lux), Talulah Riley (Miss Evangelista), O.T. Fagbenle (Other Dave), Harry Peacock (Proper Dave)

As the shadows rise and march, the Doctor forges an alliance with the mysterious River Song. But can anyone stop the Vashta Nerada? While the Doctor discovers long-buried secrets and revelations about his own future, the sinister Nodes declare that Donna Noble is doomed. [BBC]

Doctor Who (The New Doctor Who): "Silence in the Library"

For the 42 Challenge
(TV Series)
Season 4, Episode #408 (Part 1)
Written by: Steven Moffat
Directed by: Euros Lyn
Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Alex Kingston (Professor River Song), Colin Salmon (Dr. Moon), Eve Newton (The Girl), Mark Dexter (Dad), Jessika Williams (Anita), Steve Pemberton (Strackman Lux), Talulah Riley (Miss Evangelista), O.T. Fagbenle (Other Dave), Harry Peacock (Proper Dave)

One hundred years ago, the universe's greatest Library was sealed off but now, the shadows are moving again. The Doctor and Donna must uncover the terrible truth behind the Nodes and the horrifying Data Ghost, to find the Library's secret. [BBC]

Doctor Who (The New Doctor Who): "The Unicorn and the Wasp"

For the 42 Challenge
(TV Series)
Season 4, Episode #407
Written by: Gareth Roberts
Directed by: Graeme Harper
Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Fennella Woolgar (Agatha Christie), Felicity Kendal (Lady Eddison), Tom Goodman-Hill (Reverend Golightly), Christopher Benjamin (Colonel Hugh)

The Doctor and Donna join forces with the world's most famous crime novelist, to encounter a body in the library, poisoned cocktails, and a Vespiform seeking revenge. In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared for 10 days. Was it amnesia? A nervous breakdown? Or a giant alien wasp? [BBC]

Since I'm a huge Agatha Christie fan, I had really high hopes for this episode. It also had the presence of Felicity Kendal going for it. And the 1920s setting seemed promising, too.

So, did it live up to expectations? Well, yes and no. Overall, I enjoyed it. I thought it had a very "Old Doctor Who" feel about it, which I liked. It reminded me of the kind of stories they used during the Peter Davison era.

The Cluedo game (or Clue, as we Yanks would say) aspects didn't grate with me the way they seem to have done with some of the critics. And I actually liked the shtick of Donna giving away details and titles of Christie works that hadn't been written yet – obviously planting the ideas in Agatha's head. So we really have Donna Noble and the Doctor to thank for the invention of Miss Marple!

On the other hand, I thought the cgi wasp looked a little too Disney-cute to be really frightening – like something from a Mary Poppins nightmare. And I could have done without the manic charades scene when the Doctor rids his body of poison by turning into Jerry Lewis. That wasn't a pretty sight.

So I'd say not exactly full marks, but more of a hit than a miss for this one.

Doctor Who (The New Doctor Who): "The Fires of Pompeii"

For the 42 Challenge
(TV Series)
Season 4, Episode #402
Written by: James Moran
Directed by: Colin Teague
Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble)

The Doctor and Donna travel back to the year 79 A.D., where they discover psychic powers and beasts of stone running riot in the streets of old Pompeii. The time-travelers face their greatest challenge yet: Can established history be safely changed, or must the Doctor let everyone die? [BBC]

This was the first of the New Doctor Who shows I've watched this season. No, wait a minute. I did watch the one with Kylie Minogue. But I don't think I watched any episodes from season three. After the first two seasons of the New Doctor, I got so turned off by the Rose Tyler character and all her baggage that I finally just couldn't take it anymore. And Christopher what's-his-name wasn't really my idea of a good Doctor anyway – much too frenetic, he was always jumping all over the place.

But it was the companion that really drove me away. It seemed every episode was devoted to Rose and her bleedin' family and friends. Like East Enders in Outer Space. Sorry, but I think Doctor Who should revolve around the Doctor, not his companions. The companions are just supposed to stand around and say, "What do we do now, Doctor?" They're not supposed to flirt with the Doctor or upstage him or have their own story lines. And he's most definitely not supposed to fall in love with them.

Donna Noble (played by Catherine Tate) is a much more satisfactory companion, even if she does rake the Doctor over the coals a little too often. I do have a bit of trouble understanding what she's saying – the accent is a little thick. But, so far, she's not too off-putting. A little chunky though, isn't she?

Now David Tennant, however, is a much more likely Doctor – definitely in the same vein as Tom Baker (my fave Doctor) and Sylvester McCoy (another one I liked). Funny and a little bizarre. And he's cute, too. Which is not a requirement, but always a nice plus.