NaNoWriMo Update

23,584 And I switched stories too. Now I'm working on an AU of  "The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith"

NaNoWriMo Update #3

Doctor Who is a great motivator:
21, 018

NaNoWriMo Update 2

11,745. Not bad. And I figured out why Joel ran away and had my first death--in the backstory, so I'm not sure how much it counted.

NaNoWriMo Updates: Two options

I will be posting word count updates on this blog, but will also be posting in-story updates at "Notes from Naveyl." Here's the first one.

NaNoWriMo, Day One

Word count: 5031

Wizards vs Aliens: Dawn of the Nekross, part 2

Well, after a rather lengthy search for this episode—finally pulled it up on watchseries—I sat down for a lovely time with Tom, his friend Benny, and his grandmother Ursula. I do hope “Old Mark”—the prematurely aged boy played by Brian Miller—returns, and not just because he’s Elisabeth Sladen’s husband. There’s so much potential in that character, especially if the ring can’t heal him completely. The goblin Randell Moon is great comic relief with extra potential, and  Tom’s dad Micheal has definite depth already, beyond just the muggle-in-the-family role. He kind of reminds me of Alan in SJA. 

And the visuals—WOW! The sequence where Tom, Benny, Ursula and Micheal escape from the Necross ship was stunning, absolutely gorgeous. Maybe the CBBC put some of the money saved from less aliens and used it for other special effects. I also love Benny and Tom’s arguments about magic vs science…I’d love to see Benny meet up with Clyde Langer, or maybe swap places. That would be hilarious.

I’m definitely watching next week’s episodes “Grazlax Attack.”

Wizards vs Aliens: Dawn of the Nekross part 1

Since the untimely death of Elisabeth Sladen in 2011 and the finale of the Sarah Jane Adventures,  I've sorely missed my light-hearted sci-fi fix. As much as I love my other fandoms, SJA hit a sweet spot with the character relationships, lack of romance, and medium-level intensity. Episodes like “Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith,” had their place, but so did lower-stakes episodes like “Secrets of the Stars.” 

So I was really excited to hear about “Wizards vs Aliens,” a new Russell T Davies show combing sci-fi and magic. The opening scene is amazing—a wizard and his dad are enchanting a healing ring, but are interrupted by a glowing alien spaceship. 

In several ways, this show is intended as a “spiritual successor” to the Sarah Jane Adventures. The production staff shares several members, an episode in season two is adapted from a SJA script, and Elisabeth Sladen’s husband played a minor role in the pilot of Wizards vs Aliens.

One episode in, I’m happy to report that WvA continues several SJA traditions, including protagonists getting covered in gunge, arbitrary skepticism, a geeky boy, and a seriously protective grandma. And a quick look on the Wikipedia page suggests the Necross will become primary antagonists, instead of the monster-of-the week format of SJA. 

While nothing can replace the Sarah Jane Adventures, I’d definitely recommend giving this show a shot to anyone who misses that “tone” of adventures.