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shadowkatHalf-watching Lady Gaga's Monster Ball and she reminds me a great deal of Madonna. Same out-there showmanship on and off stage. Apparently Gaga studied the psychology of fame at NYU and focused on singers like Elton John, Madonna, etc and then developed her own act after doing a series of lounge acts (this according to 60 minutes interview not the tour). Seeing her get made up - you realize how much of it is makeup, wigs, costume but there is raw talent underneath. She can sing and play the piano really well. But in the makeup room you see the insecurity, the fear that she's just a loser in high school and no one will like her, then you see the confident act, where she wears almost nothing on stage. Not sure which is real, perhaps both. Shocked kidbro once stating I'd dreamed of being a rock star as a kid. I did. But I'd hate it. I despise being exposed like that. But watching her - I don't think she's any more exposed than Madonna or Elton John is - they put on the costume and perform. It's not them on stage - it's the role they play. At any rate - this doesn't sound like her Fame album but the Born This Way album, which I don't have and am not that found of. But like Madonna her stage concert is theme related with a story and about kicking traditional cultural norms about gender and sexuality - Gaga's theme is non-exclusivity, everyone can be who they want to be, which come to think of it - was the exact same theme as Madonna's. Although it feels more hetersexual female/gay male oriented than well pro-female again much like Madonna. Also both are into outlandish sex kitten costumes and incredibly sexually explicit songs and dance moves. She's in this really interesting plastic see through nurse outfit with crosses covering her nipples. I wonder what Madonna thinks of Gaga? I oddly like them both for the same reason - ballsy women, who were told they couldn't do it. But did anyway. Although she seems to be doing a lot more talking and gyrating than actual singing. At least she's not boring, and I agree with what she's saying more or less.
Finished watching tonight's Doctor Who - which is the typical stand-a-lone. I think I saw the same plot done on some other show, possibly Star Trek the Next Generation twenty years ago. The plot felt very familiar. That said, it was quite funny in places and far more entertaining than I expected. I went in with low expectations.
Best line:
The Doctor: "Hmmm. The Tardis just took off on a trip all by itself. That's new. Didn't know it could do that."
[ROFL! I couldn't stop laughing for ten minutes. Matt Smith's Doctor makes me laugh a lot more than the previous one's did, he has excellent comic timing and delivery.]
Amy and Rory: What? Wait! You mean we're stuck here?
The Doctor: Well, for the time being at any rate. Just go with it. I certainly am. It's likely to appear again at some point.
[As an aside, from his heartfelt relief when it does reappear (or rather when he finds it on the other side of the mirror) - to the point that he actually gives it hug (Matt Smith is adorable) - I'm guessing he wasn't entirely sure it would reappear and feared it had actually abandoned him.]
At the end, just in case we forgot about it, they reminded us of the two cliff-hangers from last episode - Amy's Schroidner's Cat Pregnancy and the Doctor's Death at the hands of the mysterious astronaut. I still think the two cliffhanger mysteries are connected. Moffat's tales often have that type of symmetrical structure. Or rather the answer to one answers the other or resolves the other. It's how Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead worked. It's also how Study in Pink worked. I actually like inter-connecting puzzle plot-lines. I also think who/what River Song is may hold the key to it. Which is a three part interconnecting puzzle mystery. Those are hard to pull off well, because you have to keep track of all the plot-threads and where they connect.
Not sure he's doing it or not. But it would be wickedly cool if Moffat was doing it and could pull it off. But I'm really not sure at this point.
The best part - was that the demon siren wasn't really a demon siren. It's what the Doctor says at the beginning, you think it's a demon or siren because you haven't thought it through and realized there might be another explanation. In science-fiction - there's usually an explanation for supernatural phenomena. It's the main difference between fantasy and sci-fi, sci-fi has a rational explanation or scientific one. This by the way may well be a clue to resolving the two mysteries. The Doctor's Death by The Impossible Astronaut, and Schroediner's Cat pregnancy. What scares us sometimes isn't scary, and what doesn't sometimes is. The Silence - we forget them. And they destroy people in the way that we see the Siren do it. They also emit a siren like sound when they do it. Except the Siren doesn't destroy them she transports to a hospital, she's an artificial doctor construct that is trapped in a parallel universe (okay it's not Star Trek, it's Farscape that it reminds me of - they did the exact same thing two space ships parked in the same spot. The problem with watching a lot sci-fi shows is you spot recurring themes in them too easily.) Not a siren or monster at all - a protector and healer, but she can't figure out how to heal the humans.
The pirates end up volunteering to take over the ship and steer it back to space. Jumping from past to future and earth to space. The ship itself is stuck in time and space stasis and has to be removed from it.
As the Doctor notes, while the healing construct or technological "Doctor" is trying to be helpful, we can't allow it to get near land - it will try to heal all of humanity and we'd have a problem. Doctor. Another interesting theme. In tv shows like this...often the stand-a-lone problems are reflections on the protagonist's central problem. The villain or as it is here, the obstacle they must overcome is a direct reflection on either an obstacle that the hero must overcome or a reflection of the obstacle/problem the protagonist himself has become. Think about it for a minute - the Siren is a "Doctor", just as Who is a Doctor. Both are benevolent and want to help. But instead of helping the Siren is hurting people, because she's in the wrong time and space - where she should not be. The Doctor wants to do good, but is he? Yes and no, just like the Siren - she heals the men, but she can't let them go, they can't leave her ship.
The other reflection is the Pirate Captain and his son. The Pirate wants to protect his son, leave him behind where he is safe, but as The Doctor points out that is lonely for both. Traveling by oneself can be a lonely trip after a while. Better to take the risk and bring him along. Which the Doctor chose to do with Amy and Rory. As Amy says in the intro - she met the Doctor and he asked her to run away with him and they've been running ever since. Traveling through time and space.
Reflections. The Siren appears through mirrors and calm surfaces. The mirror leads you into a parallel world. The reflection is deadly - but it's not - it transports the men to a safer world and a new adventure. The aliens in the trapped ship long dead from disease, while the humans with typhoid stay on the ship and survive.
The Schroediner's Cat dilemma - the cat inside the box - moves one way it dies, the other lives. Don't know until you open the box. You can crush it because you have the power in your hands, you can crush the box. Or you can choose not to.
Is Amy pregnant or not. The Tardis can travel by itself. The Doctor doesn't appear to know how to drive it - perhaps because he tries to control the ship, instead of merely steering it. [ There's a rather funny sequence between him and the pirate captain as he tries to figure out how to work the Tardis and the Captain seem to be a bit ahead of him. Well it's more complicated, he tells him. No, says the Captain, it has a compass, a steerage, same as any ship. ] Treating it as it's own entity. The Doctor treats the Tardis as he is treating each problem...he tries to fix it with screwdriver in hand. But like the healer is fixing the problem a good or bad idea? One of the hazards of time-travel. The Doctor is always trying to outrun it, death. The trickster playing death for a fool. Siren's call is death...to sailors, but also a doctor healing the ill. Amy wants to tell the Doctor how he dies, but as Rory states you can't do that - you will change his future. No spoilers. Spoilers unravel the puzzle too early. You can't see the puzzle, until you see the whole story. Each jigsaw piece revealed. Bit by bit.
Hmmm, more interesting episode than I originally thought once I apply the analysis. Doctor Who is one of those tv shows that becomes actually better after you analyze it. If you think about it, you see the hidden gems in what is on its face a rather simple story, with the typical emotional ups and downs. Even though I didn't think they'd kill off Rory, I did worry about it for a minute. They let the mislead go on rather long - like they always do. And it's not like they didn't kill him before. Hmm. I'm hoping they don't do this in every episode. Note to writer's - you can fool your audience once or twice with that gag, but sooner or later they going to figure out that you are just teasing. Whedon did this with Spike - he kept teasing that he was either going to kill him or change him into an evil villain again and we couldn't trust him, after about the second attempt, I caught on...and started thinking, yeah right. Vamp Diaries is trying it with Damon now...how stupid do they think we are? So, no, it doesn't work after about the second or third try. Although the thing about Doctor Who - is Who has been known to kill off major characters or leave them behind when you least expect it. This is a show that has changed the lead actors and writers so many times...anything is possible. So, yes, it's possible they'll kill off Rory, only to have us meet him again in another time or parallel universe. Remember Mickey? Quite relieved they didn't. Since I'm rather found of Rory - got a huge crush on the actor at the moment.
Overall rating? B+
Oh, they are re-running Doctor Who at 4pm during the weekdays on BBCAmerica - so I'm DVRing my favorite episode - Silence in the Library, with Forest of the Dead next week. I love those two episodes. Want to re-watch. Particularly now. Actually all the Doctor River Song episodes are top-notch. Great villains, really scarey ones, and great lines. Time of Angels was amazing as well. Doctor Song is like my fantasy heroine come to life - at the age of sixteen I wrote a character that was a lot like Doctor Song and about the same age - 30-40. A female Indiana Jones.
If you are confused by River Song's time line - someone online did a nifty chart, although I'm not sure I agree with it. They appear to have left out the opera, where he gives her the screwdriver - which I think would have been much later in the Doctor's timespan.
But their timechart does in some respects lend credibility to the theory that Doctor River Song kills Doctor Who - because she is in the Stormcage for killing a very good man. But you'd think she'd know that at the time he dies, and she doesn't...which means no, unlikely. Time travel stories can be incredibly confusing.
Here: http://i.imgur.com/Keuc9.jpg
Finished watching tonight's Doctor Who - which is the typical stand-a-lone. I think I saw the same plot done on some other show, possibly Star Trek the Next Generation twenty years ago. The plot felt very familiar. That said, it was quite funny in places and far more entertaining than I expected. I went in with low expectations.
Best line:
The Doctor: "Hmmm. The Tardis just took off on a trip all by itself. That's new. Didn't know it could do that."
[ROFL! I couldn't stop laughing for ten minutes. Matt Smith's Doctor makes me laugh a lot more than the previous one's did, he has excellent comic timing and delivery.]
Amy and Rory: What? Wait! You mean we're stuck here?
The Doctor: Well, for the time being at any rate. Just go with it. I certainly am. It's likely to appear again at some point.
[As an aside, from his heartfelt relief when it does reappear (or rather when he finds it on the other side of the mirror) - to the point that he actually gives it hug (Matt Smith is adorable) - I'm guessing he wasn't entirely sure it would reappear and feared it had actually abandoned him.]
At the end, just in case we forgot about it, they reminded us of the two cliff-hangers from last episode - Amy's Schroidner's Cat Pregnancy and the Doctor's Death at the hands of the mysterious astronaut. I still think the two cliffhanger mysteries are connected. Moffat's tales often have that type of symmetrical structure. Or rather the answer to one answers the other or resolves the other. It's how Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead worked. It's also how Study in Pink worked. I actually like inter-connecting puzzle plot-lines. I also think who/what River Song is may hold the key to it. Which is a three part interconnecting puzzle mystery. Those are hard to pull off well, because you have to keep track of all the plot-threads and where they connect.
Not sure he's doing it or not. But it would be wickedly cool if Moffat was doing it and could pull it off. But I'm really not sure at this point.
The best part - was that the demon siren wasn't really a demon siren. It's what the Doctor says at the beginning, you think it's a demon or siren because you haven't thought it through and realized there might be another explanation. In science-fiction - there's usually an explanation for supernatural phenomena. It's the main difference between fantasy and sci-fi, sci-fi has a rational explanation or scientific one. This by the way may well be a clue to resolving the two mysteries. The Doctor's Death by The Impossible Astronaut, and Schroediner's Cat pregnancy. What scares us sometimes isn't scary, and what doesn't sometimes is. The Silence - we forget them. And they destroy people in the way that we see the Siren do it. They also emit a siren like sound when they do it. Except the Siren doesn't destroy them she transports to a hospital, she's an artificial doctor construct that is trapped in a parallel universe (okay it's not Star Trek, it's Farscape that it reminds me of - they did the exact same thing two space ships parked in the same spot. The problem with watching a lot sci-fi shows is you spot recurring themes in them too easily.) Not a siren or monster at all - a protector and healer, but she can't figure out how to heal the humans.
The pirates end up volunteering to take over the ship and steer it back to space. Jumping from past to future and earth to space. The ship itself is stuck in time and space stasis and has to be removed from it.
As the Doctor notes, while the healing construct or technological "Doctor" is trying to be helpful, we can't allow it to get near land - it will try to heal all of humanity and we'd have a problem. Doctor. Another interesting theme. In tv shows like this...often the stand-a-lone problems are reflections on the protagonist's central problem. The villain or as it is here, the obstacle they must overcome is a direct reflection on either an obstacle that the hero must overcome or a reflection of the obstacle/problem the protagonist himself has become. Think about it for a minute - the Siren is a "Doctor", just as Who is a Doctor. Both are benevolent and want to help. But instead of helping the Siren is hurting people, because she's in the wrong time and space - where she should not be. The Doctor wants to do good, but is he? Yes and no, just like the Siren - she heals the men, but she can't let them go, they can't leave her ship.
The other reflection is the Pirate Captain and his son. The Pirate wants to protect his son, leave him behind where he is safe, but as The Doctor points out that is lonely for both. Traveling by oneself can be a lonely trip after a while. Better to take the risk and bring him along. Which the Doctor chose to do with Amy and Rory. As Amy says in the intro - she met the Doctor and he asked her to run away with him and they've been running ever since. Traveling through time and space.
Reflections. The Siren appears through mirrors and calm surfaces. The mirror leads you into a parallel world. The reflection is deadly - but it's not - it transports the men to a safer world and a new adventure. The aliens in the trapped ship long dead from disease, while the humans with typhoid stay on the ship and survive.
The Schroediner's Cat dilemma - the cat inside the box - moves one way it dies, the other lives. Don't know until you open the box. You can crush it because you have the power in your hands, you can crush the box. Or you can choose not to.
Is Amy pregnant or not. The Tardis can travel by itself. The Doctor doesn't appear to know how to drive it - perhaps because he tries to control the ship, instead of merely steering it. [ There's a rather funny sequence between him and the pirate captain as he tries to figure out how to work the Tardis and the Captain seem to be a bit ahead of him. Well it's more complicated, he tells him. No, says the Captain, it has a compass, a steerage, same as any ship. ] Treating it as it's own entity. The Doctor treats the Tardis as he is treating each problem...he tries to fix it with screwdriver in hand. But like the healer is fixing the problem a good or bad idea? One of the hazards of time-travel. The Doctor is always trying to outrun it, death. The trickster playing death for a fool. Siren's call is death...to sailors, but also a doctor healing the ill. Amy wants to tell the Doctor how he dies, but as Rory states you can't do that - you will change his future. No spoilers. Spoilers unravel the puzzle too early. You can't see the puzzle, until you see the whole story. Each jigsaw piece revealed. Bit by bit.
Hmmm, more interesting episode than I originally thought once I apply the analysis. Doctor Who is one of those tv shows that becomes actually better after you analyze it. If you think about it, you see the hidden gems in what is on its face a rather simple story, with the typical emotional ups and downs. Even though I didn't think they'd kill off Rory, I did worry about it for a minute. They let the mislead go on rather long - like they always do. And it's not like they didn't kill him before. Hmm. I'm hoping they don't do this in every episode. Note to writer's - you can fool your audience once or twice with that gag, but sooner or later they going to figure out that you are just teasing. Whedon did this with Spike - he kept teasing that he was either going to kill him or change him into an evil villain again and we couldn't trust him, after about the second attempt, I caught on...and started thinking, yeah right. Vamp Diaries is trying it with Damon now...how stupid do they think we are? So, no, it doesn't work after about the second or third try. Although the thing about Doctor Who - is Who has been known to kill off major characters or leave them behind when you least expect it. This is a show that has changed the lead actors and writers so many times...anything is possible. So, yes, it's possible they'll kill off Rory, only to have us meet him again in another time or parallel universe. Remember Mickey? Quite relieved they didn't. Since I'm rather found of Rory - got a huge crush on the actor at the moment.
Overall rating? B+
Oh, they are re-running Doctor Who at 4pm during the weekdays on BBCAmerica - so I'm DVRing my favorite episode - Silence in the Library, with Forest of the Dead next week. I love those two episodes. Want to re-watch. Particularly now. Actually all the Doctor River Song episodes are top-notch. Great villains, really scarey ones, and great lines. Time of Angels was amazing as well. Doctor Song is like my fantasy heroine come to life - at the age of sixteen I wrote a character that was a lot like Doctor Song and about the same age - 30-40. A female Indiana Jones.
If you are confused by River Song's time line - someone online did a nifty chart, although I'm not sure I agree with it. They appear to have left out the opera, where he gives her the screwdriver - which I think would have been much later in the Doctor's timespan.
But their timechart does in some respects lend credibility to the theory that Doctor River Song kills Doctor Who - because she is in the Stormcage for killing a very good man. But you'd think she'd know that at the time he dies, and she doesn't...which means no, unlikely. Time travel stories can be incredibly confusing.
Here: http://i.imgur.com/Keuc9.jpg
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no subject
Date: 2011-05-09 12:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-08 08:36 am (UTC)As far as I could tell, it was actually the 'Siren' taking it across, since it was feeling unwell. But then it's been malfunctioning for centuries, so it probably needed a bit of TLC. ;) (Also, yes, Matt's Doctor is TERRIBLY adorable.)
Don't really have time to comment on the rest, but just wanted to show my appreciation - you've voiced a lot of my own thoughts! :)
no subject
Date: 2011-05-08 04:00 pm (UTC)"Doctor Who is one of those tv shows that becomes actually better after you analyze it. "
I think this is why shows like Doctor Who (and Buffy) survive for so long: because they actually have something to say over and above the basic story line. It is worth thinking about... it makes it memorable.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-11 03:24 pm (UTC)