Doctor, Doctor! Doctor Who?

So, as I am still recovering from the revelations in The Name of the Doctor, the finale episode of season 7 of the new Doctor Who series, I find myself both enthralled and somewhat confused over the introduction of one of Britain's greatest character actors, John Hurt, as The Doctor.

 

To say I was totally blown away, and very emotional, over the possibility of John Hurt taking on the role of one of the most iconic and beloved characters in British science-fiction is an understatement. John has proven himself a master of his craft since the early 1960's, but really came to prominence for his portrayals of Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant - a ground-breaking expose of homosexual lifestyles in the '30's-'50's - and the insane but omnipotent Caligula in I, Claudius.  The power of these roles stamped him as one of the most accomplished actors in the British pantheon, and won him admiration around the world.

And now, after decades of achievements and accolades, this enigmatic icon is going to play The Doctor!! How spine-chillingly wonderful!!

 

And then the questions started! Having not been following any prior anticipatory announcements, pronouncements and limitless speculations by the myriad of bloggers and critics, I had not even heard or read any of the rumours about John Hurt being involved in Doctor Who in any capacity. So now my mind started running overtime!

• How will the transformation between Matt and John occur?
• Does this mean Matt's time as The Doctor is over? It seemed rather short!

But then I read some of the background materials rapidly appearing on the internet, which spawned even more questions!

• John will be the 9th Doctor? How does that impact the "current" 9th Doctor's reign?
• If he is not allowed to call himself The Doctor because of his transgressions against The Doctors' prime directive (very Star Trek 2nd Gen, I must say!), what will he be called, if his "real name" is still to be kept secret?
• If Matt is now the 12th (and therefore the Last?) incarnation, does this mean we are in the end game of Doctor Who as a whole, 50 years on?
• Will we now see the transformations between Paul McGann and John Hurt, and John Hurt and Christopher Eccleston? Are these even being contemplated?
• Now that the concept of retro-active storylines - going back to a new 9th Doctor timeline - have the BBC opened the door to resurrect stories for Paul McGann (yes, please!!) and the shortened life of Christopher Ecclestone?

I know I am far from alone in wondering about all of these, and many additional, impacts from the revelations so far, and I am also sure that the BBC will be planning a whole series of enticing announcements, leaks and cast interviews to keep us all on the edge of our seats until November 23. And could this be the most anticipated episode and series of Doctor Who ever??  You had better believe it!!

 

It is going to be a long and inquisitive Summer!!

Margaret Thatcher - R.I.P.

I heard the news today - oh boy!

I can hear the mindless rhetoric of the Twitterverse already, denigrating and ridiculing "The Iron Lady"! Sad - so, so sad!

 

Personally, I happen to think Margaret Thatcher was the greatest post-World War 2 leader Great Britain ever had, and the second greatest Prime Minister, after the great ol' bulldog himself, Winston! So put that in your pipes and smoke it!

 

Yes, I can hear the grinding of teeth and fits of mindless rage from the bovver boys in the great North-East of England, my homeland. They will be saying the same old BS - she destroyed the shipyards, she destroyed the steelworks, and, worst of all, she destroyed the mines. All those people out of work. Whine, whine, whine! But, let me tell you - I was there - and she didn't have to do that, because the Trade Unions had already made those industries so unprofitable with their outrageous practices and malicious and, let's face it, purely greedy demands, they were doomed anyway. And, if the North-East couldn't see that, through their far-left socialist conditioning, then they deserve as much of the blame over what happened to them as any Conservative government. And they will never recover, because there's just not enough "service industry" available in those small towns to replace those heavy industries.

 

Of course, when it was time to save the Falklands from the invading Argentinians, she was the greatest leader and admired beyond reason then, even by the North-East! Our nationalist jingoism couldn't have been stronger, nor the entire country prouder of our Iron Lady then, could they? How fickle their beliefs and fervour were!

 

Such is the life of a politician and world class leader.  Maggie could hold her own with the biggest and best of them, and was a damn sight more intelligent and capable than most! And, once they'd unceremoniously bundled her off into so-called retirement, she held her head up high, and continued to advise and assist leaders all over the world. Now that's class!

 

So, Rest In Peace, Margaret Thatcher - you deserve it.

 

At least until the bovver boys and vandals deface your tombstone and destroy your epitaphs!

UPDATE - April 9, 2013:

Alas to be proven right already! It was saddening and sickening to watch the news last night and see the thickies celebrating Margaret Thatcher's death with champagne and parties.  How absolutely demeaning to Britain, and what a perfect example of the pathetic, peurile socialist proletarian behaviour I have come to expect from the British Working Classes!
 

 

 

The Best Gift Ever??

Like the majority of the male sex, I have to admit to not being very good at buying gifts for my wife. It's not that I am not romantic - although I am sure there could be some discussion about that - nor is it that I don't care. I just seem to get so involved in the other aspects of life that personal matters are not top of my priority list - even when they should be. Added to that, again like most males, I am a world class procrastinator outside of the work regime, so personal things tend to get left to the last minute - or even later!!

Sure, you may say, that makes me such a bad husband, but, in my defence, as weak as it is, I am not alone!!

Then, even if you do get something in time for the big event - whether it's a birthday, Valentine's day, Easter, Christmas, an anniversary, etc, there's the dilemma over what to buy! Diamonds might be forever, or be a girl's best friend, but you don't get much for a large amount of money! Lingerie, while good for you, is frowned upon as sexist or chauvanistic - apart from often being downright uncomfortable. Then there's the size issue - when is an 8 not and 8? When it's a 6 or a 10, or any other number you care to choose from! And clothing is just as fraught with quandaries! Apparently, I have the knack of being able to buy the fuddy-duddiest of styles that not even my grandmother would be seen in! Gift cards indicate a lack of imagination and an abdication of responsibility! Make her buy her own gift, that's right! Chocolates and candies are a dietary no-no, indicating you want to make your beloved wider, while buying anything to do with the household or the kitchen indicates your belief that a woman's place is slaving over a hot stove, or vacuuming and dusting, or washing and ironing your clothes!

And, of course, flowers wither and die, despite their temporary beauty! And who can trust restaurant food any more, let alone find a decent, romantic eatery?

In recent years, though, I do have to admit, to having bought for my wife what I consider to be the best gift I have ever bought her.  "What is this wonderous item?" I hear you ask with baited breath! What marvel have I uncovered that has achieved such a pinnacle of success?

A laptop computer!

That's all? A laptop computer!!

Yup! So, you may ask - and I know you will - what makes this laptop computer so much more successful as a gift than any of those other items listed above?

It's really quite simple. My wife has used that laptop every day since the day I gave it to her, over 3 years ago! How many dresses get worn every day for over three years? Unlike men, women don't wear the same pair of shoes everyday. Jewellery is kept for unusual and/or special occasions, and food and chocolate would have long been flushed away down the proverbial you-know-where!! Lingerie would have worn out, or been thrown out, and kitchen and household utensils would have been thrown back at you - and deservedly so!

Sure, the laptop is far from perfect! It has its moments and weaknesses - crappy power supply, memory-hungry software, filthy viruses spread by small-minded malicious morons, etc, etc, etc! But, nevertheless, it has been resorted to every day as often as possible, whether for research in home decor, utensils, appliances, design, or communications with long-lost friends and social networking, or just playing games for light relief, or finding a myriad of childhood and teenhood tunes on Youtube - it's ability to satisfy requirements is endless!

It is, beyond doubt, the best gift I have ever bought for my wonderful wife, who deserves so much more from me than I tend to give! (That's her being nibbled by that giant serpent behind this posting!!! ;>) And I know how much she appreciates it, because she still uses it every day! Who knows - maybe as a thank you, I can get her to use that cat-o-nine-tails on me I bought last Christmas, hmm? ;)

And now all I have to do is find a new gift for her upcoming birthday that will be every bit as popular and useful as her laptop!!

Fat chance of that!!!

Happy New Hobbitry to 2013!!

So - I went to see the Peter Jackson version of The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey a few days ago, and have to say that, overall, I am very impressed and highly pleased with the result.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have been a HUGE Tolkien fan for the best part of forty (yes - forty!) years, and I always approach these film versions with a critical eye toward the poetic license they will undoubtedly take.   They did it with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and some of that did not work as well as it should have done.  And, having read or listened to many of the preambles leading up to The Hobbit, I knew there were going to be aspects of the adaptation I would not like or find difficult to accept.  And there are, but, overall, the package seems to have worked so far!

 

Yes - I wasn`t too keen on the inclusion and representation of Radaghast the Brown, and the reincarnation of Azog the Terrible, alive and well and masquerading as The Pale Orc!  Not really necessary to the storyline.  However, the inclusion of the The White Council meeting helped build the link between The Hobbit and LOTR, as did the appearance of many of the cast members from LOTR in the introduction.

 

But, for me, the biggest pleasers are the majestic representations of the Middle Earth kingdoms, countries and vales, along with the creatures that Tolkien populated his world with.  The additional time provided to the director and producers by stretching the relatively small book into three three-hour films allows them to lavish more time to display these lands and creatures in even greater detail than in the LOTR films, and makes the journey even more worthwhile.

 

Of course, what they fill out with scenery makes the plot even thinner and more tenuous, hence the need to fill the gaps with parts of the Untold Stories and pure fabrications, such as the meetings of The White Council, the trip of Radaghast and his Rhosgobel Rabbits to Dol Guldur, the fabrication of the Morgul Blade of Angmar, and the resurrection of Azog.  But, to a student of JRR such as myself, seeing some of these things included gladdens me, but others detract from the tale, and are more of a distraction.  But, as I already said, all-in-all, I find the whole package very entertaining and very enjoyable, and not only am I looking forward to Part 2, I am also looking forward to seeing Part 1 again!

 

Ah, yess, my Preciousss, I want to see that nasty little Hobbitses again!

And I hope you see it too, if you haven't already!