The Missus and the Ex: Tennant and Piper in the 50th Special

Well, "The Bells of St. John" is airing in Britain, but I have to wait until iTunes has the episode tomorrow. And even if we did get BBCA (which we don't), it's off to a hockey game tonight....sigh. In the meantime, I'm going to muse over the latest announcement regarding the 50th anniversary.

Billie Piper and David Tennant are returning for the 50th anniversary special, 

confirmed by the BBC here. And there was much rejoicing online. Well, much rejoicing tempered with concerns about Moffat writing Rose. On the other hand...I have a feeling I'll be flooded in hate once I post this on Tumblr.
None of what follows is a judgment on Tennant or Piper. They're fine actors, with outstanding roles outside of Doctor Who as well as their significance within the fandom.  I may not like certain aspects of the characters they played, but I have nothing against them. Also, I have seen all but one season of Classic Who, so what follows is said as a fan of ALL the Doctors, not just NuWho.
I have concerns about the length and number of the specials, though I won't go into them here. In my opinion, the purpose of a 50th anniversary special is to commemorate the entire history of the show, not just the revived series.  Therefore, the characters and monsters should be iconic--the things people think of when they say "Doctor Who," not just one-off enemies, no matter how well-liked. For Moffat's era, that would be Ponds and Weeping Angels.
Therefore, I think that Sarah Jane Smith or the Brigadier would have been the most appropriate characters for a return--which is impossible, sadly. Both appeared with multiple Doctors and spent multiple seasons in the show. I'm not sure who I'd pick as a runner-up, but I have dramatic issues with Rose.
The announcement didn't say that Piper and Tennant are reprising their roles as Rose and Ten(Two?)--I think it'd be cool if they weren't, but I'm going with the obvious assumption. So either we have Rose and Ten from season two, or Rose and TenToo from the alternate universe.  I'm not thrilled with either option, but again,  the latter seems more likely.
I didn't like Rose's return in Journey's End--it cheapened her departure in Doomsday. I mean, we're told both universes could collapse if they were breached, so how did Rose make it back?  The stars were going out, but I would think that would only increase the problem, not let her come through.  Flashbacks and clips are one thing--I was fine with the cameos in Let's Kill Hitler, even the End of Time moment--but her story has reached a satisfactory conclusion. So has the Ponds. I love them, I'd love to see them again, but the Doctor can't. Period.

Les Miserables

To love another person is to see the face of God

---Les Miserables. 

After putting up with my roommate's obsession for months--she had  "Red and Black" as her ringtone until even she got fed up with it and put it on vibrate--I have finally watched the 2012 film adaptation.  And my opinion?

Well, I really liked the first half, with Valjean fleeing Jarvert (Do not forget his name!). I think I saw one of the old film adaptations, or at least the candlestick part--and I dimly remember reading it at the school library, though it must have been an abridged version. Anyway, I liked seeing Valjean's transformation and his care for Fantine. Especially since the opening of "Lovely Ladies" reminded me of nothing so much as maggots crawling from a corpse onto a fresh body and transferring infection. Ewww! Definitely not rated PG, especially since the bed at the end of the scene strongly resembles a coffin.  After that nightmare, his kindness must have been so surprising, especially since Fantine believed he'd consented to her canning.

The second half, on the other hand....I couldn't keep the barricade boys straight in the least. Their plan didn't make sense to me either. Okay, so you hijack the parade of a national hero and build barricades from everybody's furniture--and this is supposed to accomplish what, exactly? It's as odd as the Occupy Wall Street protests, except there's guns involved and almost everyone dies. Maybe it's because I like character development, but I couldn't really see any development in any character besides Jarvert , Valjean, and (more passively) Fantine. Cosette is Marius's blond sweetheart, while Eponine is the unlucky first girl and the guys are handsome canon fodder. Gavroche was cute, but given what happens to him...

I think I'd like the film better if I had the author's original backstories in mind, which means...a lot of reading

Clever Title Loading--Insert Something About Clara Here

I'll admit it---as the new season of Doctor Who draws nearer, I'm worried about it. Okay, I'm excited too, but mostly worried. This is the first change of companions since I've started watching in 2010,  and one of my other shows is getting wibbly, so I'm just on edge about fandom things right now. The main thing I want to see in this season is the Doctor's smile--a real one, not a half-smile of remembrance or distraction. I want this companion (who I'll be calling C3 to distinguish her from Clara and Oswin) to help Eleven heal from ---but not forget. He can't ever forget them) the Ponds.
When I thought about this, I came up with three character traits that I think C3 needs.
1.  Most of all, C3 needs to be a good listener.  More than that, she needs to be a meta-listener, understanding all the things he doesn't say, all the times he stops himself from mentioning a name or looks at her with distant eyes. This might mean drawing him out on occasion, but mostly it means paying attention to him. He doesn't look back, it hurts too much, and if she ignores what he does say, he'll bottle it all up and we know where that leads....
2. Because he's sulking, C3 needs to be enthusiastic about life. Not necessarily an optimist--sarcastic would be fine--but someone who grabs his hand and drags him out of the TARDIS to meet Geronimo or visit the planet where all the ballpoint pens go. Eleven said in a season five extra scene that he brings people with him so the universe is not just "stuff," but something exciting.
3. C3 needs to care about him. Well, she should be compassionate in general, but she especially needs to care for him. He's convinced that the universe doesn't care, that it doesn't matter how many times he does good things, it will always go unnoticed--and since we're not sure where River is*, that job falls to C3. I just wish I could be there to give him a hug, but since I can't,  I'm counting on C3 to remind him that he's not alone.
 (And a bonus:  C3 MUST get along with River) They don't have to be buddy-buddy or anything like that--it might hurt too much,  now that I think of it.  Oh, mah Pond girls!--but if she tries to belittle or diss River, it will not end well. If River doesn't claim revenge, all her fans will be lining up for a shot, and I'll be at the head of the line.

The only other major concern I have is that Clara might be a lesbian. Not that I think they'd show anything more than flirting or a kiss on family TV, but it would still be awkward with my family, especially the little brother. Don't want her crushing on the Doctor, either...




*Still wish Sarah Jane could show up and remind him "You've got the biggest family in the whole of creation."

I HAS STUFF

Look at the pretties that came in the mail today! And you don’t even see the mini-posters—one of Four, one of Death of the Doctor, and one from The Next Doctor. I squeed so loud when I got the notification, then took off running to the mail center! HAPPINESS! 

Surprisingly, I actually found the Christmas issue to be more exciting--there were interviews with Tom Baker and Kathy Manning, and a comic story that had Eleven meeting the Inklings, and reviews of audio adventures I'VE ACTUALLY HEARD*

*This is big. Unlike the old novels, most of the audios aren't available online.  Back at the beginning of January, BBC Radio 4 Extra aired Big Finish's aired the Eighth Doctor's (audio) season four (except for An Earthly Child), so I know things about Tamsin and Lucie Miller. It makes me feel superior.  

Contest thing

Guys, figment is holding a contest for Doctor Who fanfic. Please click and vote for my story “The Never-Weres of River Song”

The Never-Weres of River Song

figment.com

"Apparently you used up all your remaining regenerations in one go." When River gave up her regenerations for the Doc...

Fanfiction Contest

Guys, figment is holding a contest for Doctor Who fanfic. Please click and vote for my story “The Never-Weres of River Song”

The Never-Weres of River Song

figment.com

"Apparently you used up all your remaining regenerations in one go." When River gave up her regenerations for the Doc...

Twilight Zone

Snow on the first day of classes after spring break is a little weird,  although normal for this region of the country. First day of spring today? In my dreams, sweet summer child.  We're probably the only people to understand the phenomenon of "second winter"--such as last year, when we had an 80 degree week in March followed by 50s and 40s.  

But what's even weirder is the effect of Daylight Savings Time.  It got kind of trippy to begin with, since I was down at my grandparents' that weekend, and we went to their church...which happened to be just inside another time zone. So I'm not sure what that did to my body clock, but...

It's still light out till, like 6 pm! Left for Awana the other night and it felt so off driving to church in daylight. I don't think my mental clock is comfortable with this yet. And that's not even counting food schedules...yeah, I have no idea about time anymore.