Ladies and gentlemen, if you are reading this the day it goes up, we have exactly two weeks until the first day of November. If it's after October 18th for you, that makes it even MORE pressing. And if it's before, well...maybe message me so that we can talk about your glorious time machine.
November is kind of a big deal. First and foremost, it is the month of my birth - let's never forget that. It's usually when the weather starts to get fiercely autumnal and awesome. Thanksgiving pops up, if you're in the U.S. Good movies always come out (Thor: The Dark World and Catching Fire, guys, I die). This year will bring us the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special (I am revived, that I may die again). As if all of this excellence wasn't enough, November also happens to be National Novel Writing Month.
Showing posts with label Doctor Who. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doctor Who. Show all posts
Friday, October 18, 2013
Friday, December 2, 2011
CDog's Guide to Holiday Programming, Day 1 (Or, Rude and Not Ginger)
Happy December, friends!
It's been awhile. Over a month, in fact. I'm going to skip the super long explanation by simply telling you that I spent my November doing this for the 3rd year in a row and that the idea of writing any extra words over here in addition to the 50,000 I committed to there would have given me a case of the crazies.
However, now it's December, and with it comes Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the solstice, and I'm sure plenty of other holidays I don't even know about. Regardless of what you believe or how you worship, there's a little something extra in the air this time of year - a magic that makes you happy to be alive and thankful for who and what you have. Of course, there's usually something a little extra on the airwaves too, and with that horrible play on words, we've reached this month's theme.
Most television shows roll out a holiday episode at least once. Some warm the heart, some turn the stomach, and others are simply forgettable. Over the next 25 days (well, 24 - I'm a little late to the game, but I'll double up one day), I'll share my personal favorite holiday-themed small screen adventures. If you're lucky, I may also give some tips on what to avoid.
Let's get started, shall we?
25. The Christmas Invasion -Doctor Who, 2005
After the thrilling events of the first season finale of the beautifully revamped British sci-fi classic Doctor Who - an episode that gave us the answer to the Bad Wolf mystery and bid a sad goodbye to Christopher Eccleston's battle-scarred but brilliantly goofy northern Ninth Doctor - viewers had to wait just over 6 months to meet the skinny brown-haired fellow who had dramatically appeared in his place. Even then, it would be almost another 40 minutes before they'd get to know him properly.
Though The Christmas Invasion is the debut of a Doctor, the episode really belongs to Billie Piper's Rose Tyler. As the last of the Time Lords lies unconscious, recovering from his recent regeneration, his companion is left alone to try and make sense of what's happened. When an alien threat emerges on Christmas and there is no Doctor to save the day, it's Rose who has to decide to rise to the occasion, making a last stand that, while futile, is no less bold. It's a huge turning point for the character as she actively decides to stop being helpless and start being the stuff of legend.
And then, right at the 39 minute and 30 second mark, the doors of the TARDIS swing open and there stands a man, asking, with a smile, "Did you miss me?" Within minutes, it became clear that Ten would be my Doctor, and I've yet to love a single season of Who more than his first.
The Christmas Invasion sets up the dynamic of the second season very nicely. Rose needed to realize that she could stand on her own without the Doctor so that she could evolve into being more of his equal, and allowing that to happen before we met the new old man in the TARDIS was a smart decision. It also marked the beginning of a new tradition: every year since, there has been a Doctor Who special on Christmas Day.
Highlights:
1) The opening shot of the episode echoes that of Rose, the first episode of the first season of new Who. A nice welcome back.
2) Jackie wistfully sitting with the present she's gotten for Rose. The last time she saw her daughter, she was headed to what very likely could have been her death. A simple moment that reminds us just how strong and devoted Jackie is, something she proves again and again.
3) The gleeful, "London! Earth! The solar system! I did it!"
4) Killer Santas. Somehow creepy and hilarious all at once. Not the first time we'll see them, but
definitely the best.
6) Rose's simple, "Help me!" in the Doctor's ear being enough to (temporarily) revive him, and Ten's two minutes of badassery before he passes out again - a sign of things to come. It's a moment that really drives home who these people are to each other, in case there were any lingering doubts.
7) Harriet Jones. Everything about you, the good and the bad.
8) Ten. From 39:30 on, everything is gold. From, "Am I ginger?" to "I DON'T KNOW!" to the Lion King reference and the threatening button moment, he dominates and lets us know exactly who we're going to be spending our time with for the foreseeable future.
9) The Doctor, newly dressed, stepping through the Tylers' front door and joining Jackie, Rose, and Mickey. This is something that Nine never would have done, and it was the one thing about him that bothered me - the moment, at the end of World War Three in the first season, when he blows Jackie off. I understood why he did it, but I never liked it. This is a Doctor that has healed enough to sit down with a family and be a part of things - or, at the very least, sit down with this family.
10) The shy exchange between the Doctor and Rose as he wonders if she still wants to travel with him while she wonders if he still wants her to. The hand hold. The echo of Nine's, "Fantastic." The plans for the future. All a good start to a brilliant season.
You can currently stream The Christmas Invasion on Netflix under Doctor Who, Season 2.
It's been awhile. Over a month, in fact. I'm going to skip the super long explanation by simply telling you that I spent my November doing this for the 3rd year in a row and that the idea of writing any extra words over here in addition to the 50,000 I committed to there would have given me a case of the crazies.
However, now it's December, and with it comes Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the solstice, and I'm sure plenty of other holidays I don't even know about. Regardless of what you believe or how you worship, there's a little something extra in the air this time of year - a magic that makes you happy to be alive and thankful for who and what you have. Of course, there's usually something a little extra on the airwaves too, and with that horrible play on words, we've reached this month's theme.
Most television shows roll out a holiday episode at least once. Some warm the heart, some turn the stomach, and others are simply forgettable. Over the next 25 days (well, 24 - I'm a little late to the game, but I'll double up one day), I'll share my personal favorite holiday-themed small screen adventures. If you're lucky, I may also give some tips on what to avoid.
Let's get started, shall we?
25. The Christmas Invasion -Doctor Who, 2005
After the thrilling events of the first season finale of the beautifully revamped British sci-fi classic Doctor Who - an episode that gave us the answer to the Bad Wolf mystery and bid a sad goodbye to Christopher Eccleston's battle-scarred but brilliantly goofy northern Ninth Doctor - viewers had to wait just over 6 months to meet the skinny brown-haired fellow who had dramatically appeared in his place. Even then, it would be almost another 40 minutes before they'd get to know him properly.
Though The Christmas Invasion is the debut of a Doctor, the episode really belongs to Billie Piper's Rose Tyler. As the last of the Time Lords lies unconscious, recovering from his recent regeneration, his companion is left alone to try and make sense of what's happened. When an alien threat emerges on Christmas and there is no Doctor to save the day, it's Rose who has to decide to rise to the occasion, making a last stand that, while futile, is no less bold. It's a huge turning point for the character as she actively decides to stop being helpless and start being the stuff of legend.
And then, right at the 39 minute and 30 second mark, the doors of the TARDIS swing open and there stands a man, asking, with a smile, "Did you miss me?" Within minutes, it became clear that Ten would be my Doctor, and I've yet to love a single season of Who more than his first.
The Christmas Invasion sets up the dynamic of the second season very nicely. Rose needed to realize that she could stand on her own without the Doctor so that she could evolve into being more of his equal, and allowing that to happen before we met the new old man in the TARDIS was a smart decision. It also marked the beginning of a new tradition: every year since, there has been a Doctor Who special on Christmas Day.
Highlights:
1) The opening shot of the episode echoes that of Rose, the first episode of the first season of new Who. A nice welcome back.
2) Jackie wistfully sitting with the present she's gotten for Rose. The last time she saw her daughter, she was headed to what very likely could have been her death. A simple moment that reminds us just how strong and devoted Jackie is, something she proves again and again.
3) The gleeful, "London! Earth! The solar system! I did it!"
4) Killer Santas. Somehow creepy and hilarious all at once. Not the first time we'll see them, but
definitely the best.
6) Rose's simple, "Help me!" in the Doctor's ear being enough to (temporarily) revive him, and Ten's two minutes of badassery before he passes out again - a sign of things to come. It's a moment that really drives home who these people are to each other, in case there were any lingering doubts.
7) Harriet Jones. Everything about you, the good and the bad.
8) Ten. From 39:30 on, everything is gold. From, "Am I ginger?" to "I DON'T KNOW!" to the Lion King reference and the threatening button moment, he dominates and lets us know exactly who we're going to be spending our time with for the foreseeable future.
9) The Doctor, newly dressed, stepping through the Tylers' front door and joining Jackie, Rose, and Mickey. This is something that Nine never would have done, and it was the one thing about him that bothered me - the moment, at the end of World War Three in the first season, when he blows Jackie off. I understood why he did it, but I never liked it. This is a Doctor that has healed enough to sit down with a family and be a part of things - or, at the very least, sit down with this family.
10) The shy exchange between the Doctor and Rose as he wonders if she still wants to travel with him while she wonders if he still wants her to. The hand hold. The echo of Nine's, "Fantastic." The plans for the future. All a good start to a brilliant season.
You can currently stream The Christmas Invasion on Netflix under Doctor Who, Season 2.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Comprehensive Guide to Who, Part 2 (Or, Old Stuff Is Awesome Too)
Classic Who: US Releases (last updated: 10/3/11)
Not included: Titles whose US release dates have not been announced, as well as the episodes from the Hartnell and Troughton eras that were destroyed.
NOTE: I have not cross-referenced this list with what is available on Netflix, either via Instant or on disc. It is highly possible that a number of these titles are DVD only, or not available at all.
NOTE 2: The years listed after each actor mark the duration of their time as the Doctor. I feel this is fairly obvious, but would not want to leave you with the impression that the performers were both insanely young and quite ill-fated. As it stands, all Doctors are currently living, save for the first three: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, and Jon Pertwee.
So ends my very official, fact-filled message.
First Doctor – William Hartnell: 1963 - 1967
An Unearthly Child
The Daleks
The Edge of Destruction
(Note: Netflix has these in the “Beginnings” boxed set. Be warned: Disc 1 is “The Daleks” and disc 3 is “An Unearthly Child.” No, I don’t understand why either.)
The Keys of Marinus
The Aztecs
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Rescue
The Romans
The Web Planet
The Space Museum
The Chase
The Time Meddler
Lost in Time: William Hartnell – contains surviving parts of:
- The Crusade
- The Daleks’ Master Plan
- The Celestial Toymaker
The Ark
The Gunfighters
The War Machines
Second Doctor – Patrick Troughton: 1967 - 1969
Lost in Time: Patrick Troughton – contains surviving parts of:
- The Underwater Menace
- The Moonbase
- The Faceless Ones
- The Evil of the Daleks
- The Abominable Snowmen
- The Enemy of the World
- The Web of Fear
- The Wheel in Space
- The Space Pirates
The Tomb of the Cybermen
The Dominators
The Mind Robber
The Invasion
The Seeds of Death
The War Games
Third Doctor – Jon Pertwee: 1970 - 1974
Spearhead From Space
Doctor Who and the Silurians
Inferno
Terror of the Autons
The Claws of Axos
Day of the Daleks
The Curse of Peladon
The Sea Devils
The Mutants
The Time Monster
The Three Doctors
Carnival of Monsters
Frontier in Space
Planet of the Daleks
The Green Death
The Time Warrior
The Monster of Peladon
Planet of the Spiders
Fourth Doctor – Tom Baker: 1974 - 1981
Robot
The Ark in Space
The Sontaran Experiment
Genesis of the Daleks
Revenge of the Cybermen
Planet of Evil
Pyramids of Mars
The Brain of Morbius
The Seeds of Doom
The Masque of Mandragora
The Hand of Fear
The Deadly Assassin
The Robots of Death
The Talons of Weng-Chiang
Horror of Fang Rock
The Invisible Enemy
Image of the Fendahl
The Sunmakers
Underworld
The Invasion of Time
The Key to Time – set includes:
- The Ribos Operation
- The Pirate Planet
- The Stones of Blood
- The Androids of Tara
- The Power of Kroll
- The Armageddon Factor
Destiny of the Daleks
City of Death
The Creature From the Pit
The Horns of Nimon
The Leisure Hive
Meglos
The E-Space Trilogy – includes:
- Full Circle
- State of Decay
- Warriors’ Gate
The Keeper of Traken
Logopolis
Fifth Doctor – Peter Davison: 1982 - 1984
Castrovalva
Four to Doomsday
Kinda
The Visitation
Black Orchid
Earthshock
Time-Flight
Arc of Infinity
Snakedance
Black Guardian Trilogy – includes:
- Mawdryn Undead
- Terminus
- Enlightenment
The King’s Demons
The Five Doctors
Warriors of the Deep
The Awakening
Frontios
Resurrection of the Daleks
Planet of Fire
The Caves of Androzani
Sixth Doctor – Colin Baker: 1984 - 1986
The Twin Dilemma
Attack of the Cybermen
Vengeance on Varos
The Mark of the Rani
The Two Doctors
Timelash
Revelation of the Daleks
The Trial of a Time Lord – set includes:
- The Mysterious Planet
- Mindwarp
- Terror of the Vervoids
- The Ultimate Foe
Seventh Doctor – Sylvester McCoy: 1987 - 1989
Time and the Rani
Paradise Towers
Delta and the Bannermen
Remembrance of the Daleks
Silver Nemesis
Battlefield
Ghost Light
The Curse of Fenric
Survival
Eighth Doctor – Paul McGann: 1996
Doctor Who: The Movie
Comprehensive Guide To Who (Or, Here's All You Need To Live A Happy Life)
I'm a fiercely devoted Whovian.
No, I'm not even going to do that thing where I pretend like I'm sharing a secret that's actually a thing I openly admit to, because it's not even pretend secret. I have TARDISes everywhere, I rarely leave the house without at least one of my sonic screwdrivers, and there's at least a 75% chance that my
shirt boldly and loudly proclaims my alliance with the Doctor on any given day.
I once took four days off of work and took Amtrak down to L.A. to see Karen Gillan on Craig Ferguson. Our shoulders brushed in the hallway outside of the studio. Totally worth it.
I donated blood at Gallifrey One last year to thank the universe for allowing me to be the last person to get in to meet Peter Davison before the autograph line closed. A Dalek came in and started exterminating people while I was on the table. It was the best day ever.
Matt Smith gave me a burrito after the Nerdist Podcast Live in San Diego. It was every bit as awesome as it sounds.
There's a cardboard cutout of the 10th Doctor in my room, staring happily back at me at this very moment.
Don't be scared, stranger/casual acquaintance (folks who know me, carry on). I'm not a stalker. As I've mentioned before, I feel that would be terribly impolite. I'm just an enthusiast, and the only thing that brings me greater joy than celebrating my own love of the magic that is Doctor Who is sharing it with other people. So I made some lists to help new viewers, because I'm both very nice and more than a little insane. You're welcome.
What follows is my comprehensive, chronological guide to new Who, including some shorts that were filmed in between series. I'll post my guide to classic Who separately, as it's lengthy. If you're just starting out, I suggest you go with new first, then backtrack.
Doctor Who (2005-Present)
Series 1
THIS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZK8tPwA0Ro
Series 2
Series 3
THIS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0cyxb2kG9E
Series 4
Now, here's where it gets a little tricky. DO NOT go straight from Series 4 to Series 5. There was a year off between the two, during which there were four specials that are vital to continuity.
4 Specials (Netflix now includes the first special, The Next Doctor, at the end of Series 4): The Next Doctor, Planet of the Dead, The Waters of Mars, The End of Time (Pt. 1 and 2)
Series 5
A Christmas Carol
THESE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51JtuEa_OPc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkmiefoRcfU&feature=relmfu
Series 6
No, I'm not even going to do that thing where I pretend like I'm sharing a secret that's actually a thing I openly admit to, because it's not even pretend secret. I have TARDISes everywhere, I rarely leave the house without at least one of my sonic screwdrivers, and there's at least a 75% chance that my
shirt boldly and loudly proclaims my alliance with the Doctor on any given day.
I once took four days off of work and took Amtrak down to L.A. to see Karen Gillan on Craig Ferguson. Our shoulders brushed in the hallway outside of the studio. Totally worth it.
I donated blood at Gallifrey One last year to thank the universe for allowing me to be the last person to get in to meet Peter Davison before the autograph line closed. A Dalek came in and started exterminating people while I was on the table. It was the best day ever.
Matt Smith gave me a burrito after the Nerdist Podcast Live in San Diego. It was every bit as awesome as it sounds.
There's a cardboard cutout of the 10th Doctor in my room, staring happily back at me at this very moment.
Don't be scared, stranger/casual acquaintance (folks who know me, carry on). I'm not a stalker. As I've mentioned before, I feel that would be terribly impolite. I'm just an enthusiast, and the only thing that brings me greater joy than celebrating my own love of the magic that is Doctor Who is sharing it with other people. So I made some lists to help new viewers, because I'm both very nice and more than a little insane. You're welcome.
What follows is my comprehensive, chronological guide to new Who, including some shorts that were filmed in between series. I'll post my guide to classic Who separately, as it's lengthy. If you're just starting out, I suggest you go with new first, then backtrack.
Doctor Who (2005-Present)
Series 1
THIS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZK8tPwA0Ro
Series 2
Series 3
THIS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0cyxb2kG9E
Series 4
Now, here's where it gets a little tricky. DO NOT go straight from Series 4 to Series 5. There was a year off between the two, during which there were four specials that are vital to continuity.
4 Specials (Netflix now includes the first special, The Next Doctor, at the end of Series 4): The Next Doctor, Planet of the Dead, The Waters of Mars, The End of Time (Pt. 1 and 2)
Series 5
A Christmas Carol
THESE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51JtuEa_OPc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkmiefoRcfU&feature=relmfu
Series 6
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Thank You, Jewel Staite (Or...No, That's It)
I'm a nerd.
Take a moment to work through your shock. I'll wait.
...
Really, though. I'm sitting here in my Cardiff Rugby TeeFury shirt, listening to the Doctor Who score, spinning my Supernatural salt shaker in one hand, thinking about the stack of comics at my house that will take me at least 5 solid hours of reading to get through since I fell behind last month, and admiring the placement of my Dr. Keller action figure below my Malcolm Reynolds here in the office. And the thing is, I didn't have to make one part of that up to prove my point. I love the things I love. I study them, I'm inspired by them, and sometimes I can't help feeling like I've kind of been saved by them.
So it won't come as a shock when I say that I frequent fan conventions. These conventions almost always have signings and photo ops, which are great. I'm a big supporter of the official meet and greet, because I'm not the type of person who'd approach somebody out in the real world. In my mind, that's everybody's life living time, and it would be rude to interrupt. So rest easy, folks. I'll never stalk you. It'd be impolite.
Anyway, as a result of these events, I've had the wonderful and terrifying opportunity to meet a lot of the creators and performers that I've spent years admiring. Now, when I say terrifying, I'm not referencing the popular, "Never meet your heroes," adage. In the early days, there was a little bit of trepidation, because you do hear the horror stories. What if this person who has meant so much to me, whose character helped me through whatever life struggle, is actually a total tool, and this encounter forever taints everything I believe in? (That actually sounds like a lot of trepidation.) However, I can honestly say that I have never, ever had a bad experience at a signing. Ever. All the people I've met have been so incredibly generous and kind that I'm pretty much permanently inclined to trust that I have really excellent taste and should just expect the best.
No, terrifying, for me, is living up to the moment. It's picking something decent to say for my 30 seconds of face time so that an hour later, when the adrenaline rush is finally starting to ebb, I won't look back on the encounter and have to resign myself to feeling embarrassed for the rest of my life. 'Cause here's the thing, guys. I'm terrible at meeting people. All people. Give me a couple minutes, maybe a drink (fewer minutes if said drink is loaded), and we'll probably be okay. Throw me into the path of a stranger and yell, "Go," and I'll smile too much while secretly trying not to vomit all over myself. As the youngest of three girls, my running theory is that my older sisters both sucked all natural ability to carry on a casual conversation out of the womb, leaving only social awkwardness and an affinity for sci-fi and musical theatre behind for anybody else who had to room there.
When I go to a signing, the ultimate goal is to say something decent without gushing like a douche and to say thank you. Not just "thank you" for the time that person has taken to look me in the eye and be awesome, but "thank you" for whatever they've given me through their work. There's never really time to go into all of that, because you don't want to take away from other people's turns, but I try to communicate it as best I can. Still, a lot of the time, I wish I could've done better or said more. Which brings me to the title of this post ("Finally," you say, taking a sip of what I imagine is a frosty Coke because I don't know how old you are and let's keep things legal, shall we?).
Last month, when I was at Comic-Con, I had the ridiculously fantastic opportunity to attend the Firefly conversation at Nerd HQ with guests Alan Tudyk, Jewel Staite, and Adam Baldwin. This was all thanks to the magic of Twitter, which allowed me to connect with fantastic fellow Browncoat @TamelaBuhrke, who generously sold me her spare ticket at face value. It was a really fun hour that felt more like hanging out with friends than a convention event.
The post-panel signing was a big deal for me. Besides being a staple of my youth on Space Cases and Flash Forward, Jewel Staite gave me the first two female characters I really saw myself in. For someone who spent the first 8 years of her life wanting to grow up to be a boy or a dog (if I couldn't wear pants all the time, I was going to get a tail, damn it), and several years after that trying to define what being a girl meant if you didn't relate to anything girls were saying, this was huge. A little bit of this came out of me in the moment, but then I got a bit deer-in-the-headlightsy, so I'm just going to put it down here. Not really in the hope that it'll be read, though I'll throw it onto Twitter, because hey, why not? More to just put the positivity out into the universe.
Thanks, Jewel Staite. Thanks for Kaylee, who helped me believe I could be unabashedly cheerful in the harshest of times, let me know that I could be unconventionally feminine, and proved that intelligence and cynicism don't have to go hand in hand. Thanks for Dr. Jennifer Keller, who showed that courage didn't always mean running in with guns blazing. The honesty and sincerity you brought to these particular roles helped me understand myself better. They admitted when they were afraid, dared to show it, and didn't seem weak because of it. Instead, they seemed real, and that made their triumphs all the more inspiring to a shy girl trying to find some self-confidence.
Thanks for being so nice to me at that signing, 'cause I'm sure I was shaking and sweating and sounding crazy in an effort to not sound crazy.
Oh, and thanks for your blog. Though I've been a vegan for just over a year, which means that at this point engaging in any of your particular brand of gastronomic adventures would shock my system so much that I'd probably die, I read it religiously and usually laugh loud enough for people to start staring at least once during each post. Plus, wine is vegan. Thank the good Lord.
So there it is. Thanks for being awesome. It means a lot, to way more than just me.
And thank you, friends/family/strangers who got here through a random Google search. This is the end of my gushing. Next time, I promise to tell you about all the times I've been hit in the face by stuff while riding the bus.
Not a joke. You're welcome. In advance.
Take a moment to work through your shock. I'll wait.
...
Really, though. I'm sitting here in my Cardiff Rugby TeeFury shirt, listening to the Doctor Who score, spinning my Supernatural salt shaker in one hand, thinking about the stack of comics at my house that will take me at least 5 solid hours of reading to get through since I fell behind last month, and admiring the placement of my Dr. Keller action figure below my Malcolm Reynolds here in the office. And the thing is, I didn't have to make one part of that up to prove my point. I love the things I love. I study them, I'm inspired by them, and sometimes I can't help feeling like I've kind of been saved by them.
So it won't come as a shock when I say that I frequent fan conventions. These conventions almost always have signings and photo ops, which are great. I'm a big supporter of the official meet and greet, because I'm not the type of person who'd approach somebody out in the real world. In my mind, that's everybody's life living time, and it would be rude to interrupt. So rest easy, folks. I'll never stalk you. It'd be impolite.
Anyway, as a result of these events, I've had the wonderful and terrifying opportunity to meet a lot of the creators and performers that I've spent years admiring. Now, when I say terrifying, I'm not referencing the popular, "Never meet your heroes," adage. In the early days, there was a little bit of trepidation, because you do hear the horror stories. What if this person who has meant so much to me, whose character helped me through whatever life struggle, is actually a total tool, and this encounter forever taints everything I believe in? (That actually sounds like a lot of trepidation.) However, I can honestly say that I have never, ever had a bad experience at a signing. Ever. All the people I've met have been so incredibly generous and kind that I'm pretty much permanently inclined to trust that I have really excellent taste and should just expect the best.
No, terrifying, for me, is living up to the moment. It's picking something decent to say for my 30 seconds of face time so that an hour later, when the adrenaline rush is finally starting to ebb, I won't look back on the encounter and have to resign myself to feeling embarrassed for the rest of my life. 'Cause here's the thing, guys. I'm terrible at meeting people. All people. Give me a couple minutes, maybe a drink (fewer minutes if said drink is loaded), and we'll probably be okay. Throw me into the path of a stranger and yell, "Go," and I'll smile too much while secretly trying not to vomit all over myself. As the youngest of three girls, my running theory is that my older sisters both sucked all natural ability to carry on a casual conversation out of the womb, leaving only social awkwardness and an affinity for sci-fi and musical theatre behind for anybody else who had to room there.
When I go to a signing, the ultimate goal is to say something decent without gushing like a douche and to say thank you. Not just "thank you" for the time that person has taken to look me in the eye and be awesome, but "thank you" for whatever they've given me through their work. There's never really time to go into all of that, because you don't want to take away from other people's turns, but I try to communicate it as best I can. Still, a lot of the time, I wish I could've done better or said more. Which brings me to the title of this post ("Finally," you say, taking a sip of what I imagine is a frosty Coke because I don't know how old you are and let's keep things legal, shall we?).
Last month, when I was at Comic-Con, I had the ridiculously fantastic opportunity to attend the Firefly conversation at Nerd HQ with guests Alan Tudyk, Jewel Staite, and Adam Baldwin. This was all thanks to the magic of Twitter, which allowed me to connect with fantastic fellow Browncoat @TamelaBuhrke, who generously sold me her spare ticket at face value. It was a really fun hour that felt more like hanging out with friends than a convention event.
The post-panel signing was a big deal for me. Besides being a staple of my youth on Space Cases and Flash Forward, Jewel Staite gave me the first two female characters I really saw myself in. For someone who spent the first 8 years of her life wanting to grow up to be a boy or a dog (if I couldn't wear pants all the time, I was going to get a tail, damn it), and several years after that trying to define what being a girl meant if you didn't relate to anything girls were saying, this was huge. A little bit of this came out of me in the moment, but then I got a bit deer-in-the-headlightsy, so I'm just going to put it down here. Not really in the hope that it'll be read, though I'll throw it onto Twitter, because hey, why not? More to just put the positivity out into the universe.
Thanks, Jewel Staite. Thanks for Kaylee, who helped me believe I could be unabashedly cheerful in the harshest of times, let me know that I could be unconventionally feminine, and proved that intelligence and cynicism don't have to go hand in hand. Thanks for Dr. Jennifer Keller, who showed that courage didn't always mean running in with guns blazing. The honesty and sincerity you brought to these particular roles helped me understand myself better. They admitted when they were afraid, dared to show it, and didn't seem weak because of it. Instead, they seemed real, and that made their triumphs all the more inspiring to a shy girl trying to find some self-confidence.
Thanks for being so nice to me at that signing, 'cause I'm sure I was shaking and sweating and sounding crazy in an effort to not sound crazy.
Oh, and thanks for your blog. Though I've been a vegan for just over a year, which means that at this point engaging in any of your particular brand of gastronomic adventures would shock my system so much that I'd probably die, I read it religiously and usually laugh loud enough for people to start staring at least once during each post. Plus, wine is vegan. Thank the good Lord.
So there it is. Thanks for being awesome. It means a lot, to way more than just me.
And thank you, friends/family/strangers who got here through a random Google search. This is the end of my gushing. Next time, I promise to tell you about all the times I've been hit in the face by stuff while riding the bus.
Not a joke. You're welcome. In advance.
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