ghost2

A while ago, misscam posted her own list of fandom pet peeves, and I finally got around to putting mine together. Some of these things are specific to Doctor Who/Torchwood. Others are, sadly, universal. YMMV, naturally.

( TARDAS, TARDUS, TARDES )

I know Chicago TARDIS isn't until November, but I'm thinking things through well ahead of time. I've never been to a convention, and I'm sick of saying, "Maybe next year." At that rate, I'll never get anywhere. I live only a few hours from Chicago; getting there is an attainable goal. It still might not happen, but I'm at least going to try this time.

So... I'd love to hear from anyone who went to Chicago TARDIS in previous years and/or plans to go there this year. What it's like? Do you recommend it? Anything special to keep in mind?

Happy birthday, wiccagirl24!

Since I insist on returning to Fanfiction.net time and time again, I probably was asking for this. That fact doesn't make it any less painful, though.

I just read this reaction to the Eleventh Doctor's outfit: ... also the new Doctor has a great outfit. One thing confuses me though. I read someone saying she liked his braces. It doesn't look like he has anything on his teeth and isn't kind of old to still wear braces anyway?

Excuse me. I'll be across the room headdesking for the next hour or so.

Signed,
An American Who Knows the British-English Meaning of Braces

(P.S. It doesn't help that the [Canadian] author of the story in question incorrectly used both pants and suspenders within her fic. I may end up with a concussion after all the headdesking I see myself doing.)

I posted my review of this audio over at hex_rated, if anyone wants to look at it.

Happy birthday, neutralalienist!

Has been merged with the main lists:

Doctor/Doctor, Doctor/Master, Master/Master lists
Doctors One-Five pairings
Doctors Six-Ten (or later) pairings
Non-Doctor pairings A-G
Non-Doctor pairings H-L
Non-Doctor pairings M-Z, crossover stories

I think the pickings this summer are far worse than they were last year. :( As usual, I've been checking out many of the new shows, at least on the major networks, and am very underwhelmed.

Merlin: NBC has aired four episodes so far. This show sure isn't finding much of an audience. The first two episodes had mediocre ratings, then the pair last night shed a lot more viewers to end up at just over a puny four million. That's opposite reruns, which makes it even more pathetic. Of course, I don't think the quality is very good so far. The younger cast members are uniformly horrible actors, and the dialogue is pretty bad. Still, it's watchable enough, for summer fare, and I'm desperate for new episodes of almost anything. Will give it more time to see if it picks up.

Mental: That guy who was Whistler on Prison Break is a psychiatrist here. Again, not a very good show and I have a feeling this one doesn't have much potential to improve anytime soon. It's like a really watered-down House. It's also not finding much of an audience.

The Philantropist: Rich guy with tragic past decides to help those who need it. Broken record time: The pilot was not good. OTOH, it wasn't that dreadful. One TV reviewer suggested that this series is the worst show ever. What, he's never seen Dollhouse, Cop Rock, The Bedford Diaries, or Head Cases (the gloriously awful Chris O'Donnell series that aired all of two episodes)? Shows that burn in the memory like those disasters come along only every so often. The Philanthropist doesn't even come close to being in their league. So, I will check it out again.

So You Think You Can Dance: I was always mildly interested in this reality series and watched it during the summer because of lack of options, but I finally stopped this season. Why? Because of judge Mary Murphy. Simply put, she laughs too damn much and has one of the most annoying laughs ever. It sounds something like this: HAW, HAW, HAW, HAW, HAW! I used to grit my teeth and tolerate her whinnying with poor grace, but this summer it wore me down. In a last-ditch attempt before quitting the show, I tried to hit the mute button at moments when she might potentially let loose with another loud cackle. The problem was, she laughed in the middle of dancers' auditions; she laughed when other judges gave their evaluations; she laughed when stating her own opinions. In short, she didn't know how to friggin' shut up! Thank you, Mary Murphy, for ruining the show for me.

Happy birthday, purple_bug!

NBC cancelled Medium (apparently over a dispute involving how many episodes they wanted to order for next season); CBS, which owns Medium and thus profits from DVD sales/syndication money, promptly picked the show up and will air it on Fridays following Ghost Whisperer. That's really a very compatible pairing of programs.

Cancelled: My Name is Earl (low ratings), Privileged (low ratings), Reaper (low ratings), Eleventh Hour (average ratings, and evidently CBS was not pleased with the creative direction of the show), Without a Trace (below-average ratings for a CBS show, expensive to produce), The Unit (below-average ratings for a CBS show, also relatively expensive). Earl is the only one of the lot that I think has much chance of moving to another network. It might not, though.

I'm most sad about Eleventh Hour, a show I liked, but I'm sure I'll like a bunch of the new shows, too.

Most of my favorites, like Amazing Race, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, and Gossip Girl, are safe. :) fall schedule, as it currently stands

Here's a handy page telling which shows have been renewed/cancelled. As I type, it hasn't yet been updated with the news about Medium going to CBS.