Ramble, Ramble, Doctor Who, Ramble

I know I have been pretty absent lately. Maybe it's because I just haven't felt like writing. Maybe it's because I've been spending all my free time discovering that falling for Battlestar Galactica was NOT, in fact, the last step into total geekdom, but that instead the BBC cult series called Doctor Who claims that honor.

It's not like there's a absence of things to blog about. There's the recent, polarizing Lost series finale. There's my constant worry over what I'll fill all my free time with now that all my shows are off the air until this fall. Oh, and as I mentioned above, there's my last step into what I will now refer to as Level 1,000,000 Geekdom; my surrender to Doctor Who and consequently my surrender to the lovely, charming and wholly miraculous David Tennant. So, to keep this blog afloat, some bullet points. Because honestly, who doesn't love bullet points?

• Let's start with Lost and let's be sweet and simple. I loved it. Yes, I'm one of those. Call it denial or whatever you wish but I thought the finale, though not totally flawless, was still a great finale. I didn't watch it and immediately regret spending six years of my life theorizing and discussing the grand and oftentimes headache-causing mythology of show. Even if the finale did end up being less than great to me, I would still look upon the last Lost years as mind-blowing, eye-opening and generally a fun and educating experience. For The End, the writers obviously made the decision to sideline the Island mythology and instead focus on the characters, which, yes, did leave the fans with many Dharma notebooks full of unanswered questions but left us also with an intensely emotionally and spiritual finale. I know many fans feel differently, but that was a satisfying choice for me. Lost changed the face of television. It opened a door for epic series, showing the networks that high-concept shows can and will attract a large and devoted audience, depending on the quality of the writing behind the show.




• Legend of the Seeker was cancelled. The series finale aired last weekend and I could not be more disappointed with the decision to end the series. For a syndicated show, it was extremely well done. The beautiful location (New Zealand) and the magnificently choreographed fight scenes were only a couple of the great aspects of the show. The main actors were brilliant in their roles and watching Craig Horner slowly become the Richard we know and love from the books was always thrilling. Of all the cancelled shows, this one hit me the hardest. I believe it's a horrible waste of potential, seeing as there were several more books of material to work through.





• On the other hand, Chuck was renewed!!! This was actually very unexpected and I could not be more happy. Chuck is one of my favorite shows and Zachary Levi is slowing becoming one of my favorite actors to follow and watch. He's been touring around Europe all summer and his pictures and videos from the trip and absolutely priceless. The fact that he is obviously a huge nerd only makes me adore him all the more.




• Now, to the most important and life-changing news. Doctor Who. Yup. I fight and I fight and I fight against it but there's just no helping it. I'm not just a Level 1 nerd. I am so far past that, it's not even funny. Akin to my slow acceptance of BSG, I finally gave in and watched the first episode of Doctor Who. And then I watched the next one. And the next one. And so on. I love it. I loved Christopher Eccleston as the first Doctor. So much so that when David Tennant took over the role for Season 2, I was not happy. Not at all. Of course, it took all of two episodes to change my mind. He was brilliant and wonderful and he made the character his own in such a way that when I stopped watching, even for a couple hours, I missed him. The character of the Doctor is such a intoxicating idea, as if Russell T. Davies looked into the heart of a regular, everyday woman and saw the one man that would be worth an eternity (literally) of trouble and sacrifice. And then he wrote him out and the Doctor was created. And then he decided to create a different version of that same man, and Captain Jack Harkness was created. I watched Torchwood before I saw even one episode of Doctor Who, so when John Barrowman started his run as Captain Jack in the first season of Doctor Who, it was the first time that I realized I could actually miss a television character. Watching him being introduced for the first time was like a soothing balm to my soul, something I didn't even realized I needed until that moment. There's just no other way to describe it. This is such an amazing show, filled with such unique and layered characters and focused so keenly on our subconscious fears and desires it feels like the writers know you better than you know yourself. Like Battlestar, the alien worlds and impossible technologies, the spaceships and the time-travel, are not what the show focuses on and they are not the aspects that keep you watching. This is a show about being human, from the point of view of an ageless alien. And it's REALLY good. I dare you to try it and not love it.






• On a similar note and due to my adoration of David Tennant, I have been working my way through the BBC TV adaptation of Hamlet. Working my through, because it's a 3 hour modern production so it's taking me awhile to get through it. Nevertheless, it's breathtaking and groundbreaking. David Tennant is mesmerizing in his turn as Hamlet and I've never enjoyed watching this tragedy as much as I am now, with Tennant starring. I've always been a big Shakespeare fan, but this version certainly takes that fandom to new levels. I'm now of the opinion that David Tennant should play in EVERY Shakespeare play. In fact, he should just play every character in every play. No joking.

Well, all this David Tennant talk is making me miss watching Doctor Who, and seeing as I still have half of the fourth season to go through, I think I'll get back to it. The lord of daydreams is calling my name...

San Diego Comic-Con - Day 3

Our third day, Saturday, was a doozie. The girls had one panel that was non-negotiable and I had two panels that were non-negotiable. Can you guess our day's targets? Let's pretend you guess correctly...Good job! You are correct! They were Lost and True Blood. You're so good it's scary! You just won a years supply of turtlewax! Now, aren't you glad you played?

Anyhow, back to the blog at hand...

The final Lost Comic-Con panel was at 11am Saturday morning. Apparently people started lining up the night before (lucky ducks got to meet Damon and Carlton!) but since I'm only half a loony-toon, I got up at 6am Saturday morning (Tina and Katie aren't Lost fans, so they got to sleep in) and was in line by 7am-ish. I had a few hundred people in front of me but overall, I liked my seating chances. From what I had heard, Hall H could hold about 6,500 people. I knew it would be a madhouse, but since I was only one person, I knew I could probably sneak to the front and find a single seat that was pretty close to the stage. The four-hour line wasn't that bad actually. We were lined up in a grassy area and the weather was cool and beautiful, so most people just plopped their rumps down, brought out a book or comic, and enjoyed the scenery. I thought it was a swell idea, so I did the same (and called Corrie and my mom to fill them in on all the days activities) and before I knew it, we were being moved into the Hall. I didn't know it at the time, but as I walked in and chose what direction to take (this was seriously the BIGGEST room I had ever been in - it was like the size of a baseball field), I was choosing whether I would be right next to the fan questions line, and therefore right next to, as yet unknown, awesomeness, or on the opposite side of the room from said awesomeness. Fate took me to the opposite side and therefore hates me for no reason at all that I can tell. Later I would pout when Jorge and Michael Emerson showed up on the otherside of the room for the (fake) fan questions. Still, I was able to get a pretty close seat, if a little off-center from the stage. By 11am, I was in heaven. I figure that most of you have probably already seen most of the panel online, so I won't waste everyone's time by doing a in-depth run-through. Instead, here are a few tidbits that you may not know about:

- When walking into the Hall, we were given small posters. They were very simple - all white with the LOST logo and "The Final Season" written on them. I was sneaky and grabbed two. One is now hanging on the last available wall space in my room and the other is somewhere in Brett's new apartment.

- Each actor was introduced in a unique and fun way. No other panel I saw was anything like this panel. Jorge Garcia (Hurley) was in line for fan questions and was then joined in line by Michael Emerson (Ben). The part you may not have seen was the introduction to Nestor Carbonell (Richard Albert):

Fan question: Does Richard Albert wear eyeliner?

Damon and Carlton: Well, since you mention it - we have another guest joining us. Let's go backstage and have him come out and join us.

A cameraman goes backstage and we watch as the camera peeks around a corner, showing Nestor Carbonell at a vanity table, staring at himself in the mirror and pumping himself up for his walk onto the stage. He grabs some eyeliner and starts gingerly applying it to his beautiful eyes. After a second he stops, having noticed the color isn't the one he requested, goes into a fit (something about "amateur hour"), discovers the camera and cameraman, goes into another fit, rushes the cameraman and ends up running onstage.

It was AWESOME!

- Josh Holloway (fake) tazers Damon to get a hold of the (fake) final script pages of the final Lost episode. Michael Emerson reads it for the audience (because Josh can't read) and it turns out to be a really crappy Heroes script. Laughs all around.

- The final video brought tears to my eyes. It was a montage of all the dead of Lost. The last bit was long and torturous, showing our favorite, Charlie. As it ends, Dominic Monaghan walks onstage! He's up there for only 30 seconds, waving to the screaming crowd and then the panel is over.

Favorite Moment:

When Josh Holloway (fake) tazers Damon and then a minute later finds him up and drinking his water. Josh says something like "You better go back to sleep! I will tazer you again!". Priceless.

Scoop/Spoilers:

- We were shown a couple videos - one was a commercial for that chicken joint that Hurley owns, showing Hurley and him saying "I've had nothing but GOOD luck since I won the lottery" and another commercial for Oceanic, promoting "30 years of perfect flying" or something like that. End theory: The bomb DID restart the timeline, where no crash occurred.

- The arrival of Dominic at the end pretty much confirmed that he would be in some episodes next season and that was all later confirmed again. The same goes for Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet), Ian Somerhalder (Boone) and Jeremy Davies (Faraday). Woo and HOO!

Panels missed for Lost:

- Chuck (so sad, I heard it was an awesome panel). Also, later I saw the whole cast signing autographs, but more on that later.

- Eastwick - It was a screening of the pilot for the new show and also a Q&A panel. Not a big loss, but I was curious to see the pilot.

So, after wandering, awed and fulfilled, away from Hall H, I realized had a good hour to walk around before I expected Tina and Katie to arrive. I hadn't had nearly enough time to look around the Exhibition halls and seeing how I was the only one of us that could stand the hall (seriously, it was totally worth the crowds), the unexpected time alone was a boon. I excitedly made my way back to the always teeming, always bright and loud and overwhelming and wondrous Exhibition Hall. As I mentioned before, even four whole days wouldn't be long enough to see everything and so one hour was barely enough time for me to walk the first quarter of ONE of the halls (I think there were two or three big ones). Once again, all I could do was stare and bump into people. I was able to see Jon Favreau as he was being interviewed and that was pretty cool. As I wandered closer to the WB booth, the crowds got completely unmanageable. I went in a different direction to avoid those crowds and eventually looped back to find the WHOLE cast of Chuck lining the square WB water tower. I made like a ridiculous, obnoxious fangirl, raised my camera as high as I could hold it and got some pictures. My main target was actually Adam Baldwin (he of Angel and Firefly fame) and I got a couple pictures but I was so focused on getting the pictures that I didn't actually get to see that much of him.

Less than an hour after I stepped into the Hall, Tina called me to tell me she was getting into line for the 5:15pm True Blood panel. Keep in mind, it was only about 1pm or so at this point. It's almost impossible to sneak into line to join anyone (I was able to do it about two times, using the bathroom as an excuse. Seriously, what are they gonna do?!) since the line goes outside and then back inside again and all the doors are guarded. So, instead of staying in the hall as I longed to do, I joined Tina in line and later Katie was able to sweet-talk her way outside to join us. In line, we passed Eric McCormack doing an interview in an odd, shaded area at the side of the building. I wanted to tell him I was sorry about Trust Me, but we were inside before I could express my condolences or even snap a picture.

By 2:30pm we were in the room, sitting out the last 15 minutes of the Simpsons panel. I understood about .05% of what they were talking about. *Shrug* After that panel, we moved closer and sat through the pilot screening of the new show "V". It wasn't bad and it had a lot of familiar faces. After the screening, Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet from Lost), Scott Wolff, Morena Baccarin (Firefly, Serenity) and others came onstage for the Q&A. Scott Wolff's dimples were, as Michael Ausiello later put it, "a force of nature" and everyone else was very charming and they all seemed genuinely excited about the show. Another plus - Alan Tudyk guest stars in the pilot and its always lovely to see his face.

After V was the Fringe panel, which I was excited about, if only to get to see Joshua Jackson. This ended up being a great panel. Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble and Jasika Nicole joined the panel, along with J.J. Abrams collaborators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. John Noble and Joshua Jackson could not stop smiling and since it was Joshua's first time at Comic-Con, he was overwhelmed by the amount of people and the support for the show. He was absolutely adorable and seemed totally excited about being there. John Noble also seemed excited and couldn't say enough good things about his co-stars. Anna Torv was, well...Anna Torv. Sorry guys, my mind was thoroughly engaged with the boys. It really turned into the Josh and John show and I don't remember a whole lot about what was talked about.

Favorite Moment:

When Joshua realized that the crowd pretty much screamed at anything they would say, he says, "Let me try one thing...RUTABAGA"! The crowd roars and he just cannot stop grinning from ear to ear.

Scoop/Spoilers:

Like I said, I don't remember much but...it seems like next season will only touch on TWO universes, our own and the one that Olivia walks into at the end of last season (the one with the Twin Towers still standing).

Sidebar: This is how much of a nerd I am - I actually typed Two Towers (as in Lord of the Rings) before I realized I meant Twin Towers. Oy.

So finally, we come to the non-negotiable Saturday panel. Katie put down her Harry Potter novel (which she had been reading through the last two panels), Tina and I wiggled to readjusted our numb butt-cheeks and we were ready for one of the hottest casts on television. As each cast member was introduced and walked onstage, the room got louder and louder. Alexander Skarsgard (Eric), Deborah Ann Woll (Jessica), Sam Trammell (Sam), Nelsan Ellis (LaFayette), Charlanne Harris (the author of the book series), Rutina Wesley (Tara), Michelle Forbes (Maryann), Alan Ball (the creator), Stephen Moyer (Bill) and Anna Paquin (Sookie). It was the largest panel we attended the whole of the Con (I think) and it was AWESOME. I really need another word for awesome, I think I am using it too often...

Anyway, I honestly can't remember most of the details, there were just too many people on the panel, but I do remember that Alexander had to apologize to Stephen for openly admiring Anna's "good looks" and hoping for a Eric/Sookie romance due to said "good looks" in answer to a fan question. Anna and Stephen were cute (and aware that everyone in the room was focused on them) but even though they sat next to each other, there was no obvious PDA. But I would bet my left ankle that they were playing footsie under the table. We got to watch a special Comic-Con preview of upcoming episodes and I cannot express how excited everyone got after watching it. Most of the fan questions were aimed at Alexander (mostly the gals, duh), Nelsan, Alan Ball and Stephen Moyer (again, the giggling girls). However, it was Deborah who stole the audience's hearts. She was the cutest thing imaginable. Tall, skinny, beautiful pale skin with that red hair, and sweetest thing you'll ever meet. Which leads me to my favorite moment...

Favorite Moment:

Deborah Ann Woll (in the cutest little sundress) sweetly says, "This is my first time here and I'm sorry if I'm a little nervous...". Everyone claps at her to show their support and Alexander, who is sitting next to her, puts his arm around her, pats her shoulder and smiles reassuringly at her. The moderator says to Deborah something like, "Every girl in the audience wishes she were you right now". Alexander smiles humbly and Deborah laughs in delight as the female members of the audience roar in agreement. I'm not at all ashamed to say that I screamed right along with them. Alexander is most definitely swoon-worthy.

Scoop/Spoilers:

In an unexpectedly direct answer from Ball, he bluntly says "yes" to a fan who asked if the Bill/Sookie/Eric love triangle would unfold in the show like it does in the books. I have no idea what that means, but I'm thinking Eric might eventually get what he's secretly wishing for...Hummmmm.......

Panels Missed for True Blood:

- Bram Stoker: The Joss Whedon of His Day? Come on, that had to have been an awesome panel!

- Glee (sad, but not a terrible, terrible loss)

- Sony Pictures - Zombieland and 2012. Could care less about Zombieland, but wouldn't have minded seeing 2012. Just another movie panel sacrificed for television.

- Heroes. This was a BIG ouchie. BIG BIG.

- The Boondock Saints II. With Julie Benz. Would have been cool to check out.

- Iron Man 2. Another BIG ouchie. I heard the footage shown was pretty awesome. I was not at all happy about missing this one.

- The Vampire Diaries. Yikes, another one I hated to miss. It included a screening of the pilot, which I am really curious to see. But True Blood vamps trump Vampire Diaries vamps. Sorry Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder!

And there ended our third day at Comic-Con. We left the convention center after the True Blood panel and made our way back our hotel to spend WAY too much money on WAY too much Italian food for three girls. And at the same time, we missed all the coolest parties. Lame!

Day 4 coming soon!

Love Letter to Chuck

Dearest Chuck,

Before you geekily stumble off into the sunset, now officially spy-like with your new Matrix-y uploaded kung-fu skills, please allow me to thank you for a couple things. It is sad, yet highly probable, that I may never see you again and I couldn't bare to let you go without expressing a few parting intimacies.

Thank you, Chuck, for reminding me that life is nothing without risks and dreams. We can all float through life, never taking the time to better ourselves beyond the minimum that is required from society, or we can take up the beat of Mr. Roboto and, with or without guns blazing, we can leave behind "life as we know it" and steadfastly step towards the unknown. True, we don't all have such as Casey and Sarah to catch us if that step ends up being over a cliff, but we can hope for the best. You showed me that nothing can come from being idle and complacent, with no dreams to speak of, and that risking everything is the only real option we have if we wish to have a regret-less and worthwhile existence.

Also, thank you for being such a strong part of the Nerd Movement, adding your considerably loud and widespread voice to the international memo to all persons that geeks (both the meek and the less meek) will in fact inherit the Earth. We heartily appreciate your support.

Though I am still slightly teary-eyed from the heartbreaking death of Agent Larkin (honestly, who wouldn't weep at the death of something so beautiful), I am optimistic regarding your future. You finally accepted your hero calling and you can now spend your days saving the world, now with actual spy skills and less with luck, along side your one true love. Oh, and also with Sarah too, I guess. Did I mention Casey is extremely sexy? Maybe not as sexy has Jayne Cobb, but still pretty devilish. Maybe you can introduce me....?


Holding Out Hope,
Lauren