#Peter used to be a fan and would follow Piper in the news but when he met him he's like:

[escapaldi]

So… I followed you a long time ago, and then I left tumblr. I can’t remember if we interacted much back then, but since you’re also active here I have to ask: what did you think about the specials as a Capaldi fan?

Hello! I know I've seen your name around before, so welcome back! Even when I wasn't posting on this blog specifically, I was still on tumblr posting fic and stuff, so even though there is a gap I've always been here.

Now, as far as the 60th anniversary specials: I haven't watched them and don't plan to for a long time. A long-winded and salty rant by me is under the cut.

To be honest, I haven't felt the need to watch any new Doctor Who since Capaldi and Moffat both left because it all sounded like boring and cringey fan fiction (derogatory) I wasn't really jiving with. If that makes sense? Then RTD came back on as a showrunner and I was severely disappointed because it felt like such a step backwards. Plus that Tennant was going to be in it? No thanks.

Like... I get that to a lot of people, his return makes these specials "feel like Doctor Who again". I've seen that statement a lot from both randos and people I know. Which, fine, whatever, I'm not begrudging people for it, but for a lot of folks saying that, the statement includes a bunch of the show that doesn't feel like Doctor Who to me. I came in w/s5 because of a series of events that turned me off to the show early on. I was nearly sixteen when s1 premiered in the UK. That should have stuck me in the prime demographic to not only love s1-4, but have a sort of nostalgia filter over it to help facilitate excitement over the 60th specials. Well, there's some problems with that.

I can't stand Rose Tyler and any reference to her as something positive makes me cringe. Doctor/Rose in any form makes me viscerally nope out of anything. She was not as likeable as people lead others to believe.

I've been Pavloved into disliking Tennant due to the oversaturation of his interpretation of the Doctor in the series and the fandom as a whole, despite the fact he's just meh. The Doctor is not his best role and in general he doesn't do it for me in the looks department, especially as the Doctor. Which, it's fine if you like watching him (I'm sure Georgia loves watching him and she is a very good sport about a lot of shit) and I know my DW experience has been enhanced by watching the pretty but I am a demographic outlier lol.

What I did see of s1-4 before I got into s5 was Rose being an idiot, getting a deeply unsettling feeling over Jack Harkness, being pissed off for Martha and Mickey and livid about Donna, being irritated by the Master and the angsty space Jesus shite, and thinking Ten and Donna would make a good couple actually.

Oh yeah, and very specifically I'm mad because I watched The End of Time Part 2, like, almost soon as I could, and knew immediately that Martha/Mickey was Pair the Spares Race Edition even though at that point I hadn't watched all of s1-4 and for all I knew they hit it off in an unseen-by-me episode for a reason that wasn't getting drunk over their mid-tier white exes hooking up. Like, I clocked that shit back in 2009. There was a lot of shit I was not clocking in 2009, but I caught onto that, which should be an embarrassment.

...and, like, I'm on the internet, so I've seen spoilers. It's difficult to not see spoilers. Some of the spoilers I love to see hello Fifteen's THIGHS we love us a good slutty Doctor and I do have one UK-based friend specifically whom I've talked to at length about the specials. My fiancé also has been watching this entire time w/o stopping since 2005 (bc he caught it all as it premiered here in the US and at least he got to watch s1 Billie Piper; I fault him for nothing), so he's been giving me updates on what's going on as well. He is a good man who has done saintly things like drive me across three state lines to meet Peter Capaldi at a Doctor Who convention, so... he's generally trustworthy, but also a lot more forgiving than I am. But he was also the one who broke to me the news about Rose Noble because he knew I'd get upset that she's not Donna Jr. So I've got some good fonts of information. They tell me that I'd like the second and third more than the first, that we've just got some extra Ten-Donna adventures, and that generally everything's stepped up a bit from Thirteen.

...but to me, a step up from Thirteen is still not a step towards where we need to go.

You can't go from Eleven and Twelve, an ancient eldritch god trapped in a body with the grace of a baby giraffe and a legit punk who punches diamond walls for his wife and racists for his daughter, respectively, to a Tory apologist who never really got a scary "I am the Doctor and you're stuck here with me now what a shame :)" moment like Nine through Twelve got and think that "a step up" from that is going to catch me. I'm not enticed by the prospect of another Ten-Donna adventure done by the man whose writing and showrunning kept me away from Doctor Who for so long. I. could. not. care. less. There is literally no nostalgia filter making this okay to me. I cannot see what other people see.

I don't want to be an anti, I don't want to be a NMD, but they keep pushing my fucking hand and now I'm sitting here having not watched new episodes of what is literally one of my favorite shows since before the pandemic, watching from an arm's length as it sort of caves in around itself, going and absolutely pissing away their chances at having a really cool, massive-multi-Doctor bonanza like no other. You could have twelve Doctors. TWELVE DOCTORS. Eleven if our most venerable just kinda taps out like nah I'm done unless you give me Bill's job from the Three Doctors special. Like, the fuck, y'all. That got whizzed right down the fucking leg. Did they even try? Did they get rebuffed? Whose decision was the 60th specials? Do they even like Doctor Who? Or are they part of the set that thought that Tennant's Doctor would never be topped?

So... yeah... that's the gist of it. I'm sure it's gonna take being sat down for a marathon by Mr. Nehs before I get into Doctor Who again, which is honestly sad. The BBC has hated this show and been visibly trying to run it into the ground since they decided to make the divisive decision of casting Matt Smith (which worked out great in the long run but having been on the internet at the time as that announcement I can assure you it was not received well) and now they've got Mouse Bucks and some straight-up boring as sin seasons/series under their belts and idk what in the hell's coming for us now.

[undxroos]

» black  widow  movie  quotes. ⤻ / @unpaidpiper​ “ we’re both upside down. ”

The lenses on his mask widened and he stared at the other before him. Karen supplied the guy’s name as well as a Daily Bugle blog post about him but that didn’t explain ━━  ❝ why are y o u here, ❞ he asked thinly between his teeth.

[helpimobsessedwithpercyjackson]

What do you think would've been happening if the PJO/HOO/TOA and MCU were happening in the same universe?

Ugh pure chaos

Tony adores Leo and Blitz he even makes a workspace for Leo near his so he can advise him (and get advised by him)

Leo’s fascinated with Vision, the only thing stopping him from taking Vision apart and figuring out how he works is his fear of Wanda’s wrath

Percy loves Peter’s energy, although Peter’s a little too perky for them to be besties

Percy’s taking a walk with Annabeth and he sees Doc Ock or someone wreaking havoc, then he sees Peter running past “is this one yours?” “Yep, wanna help” “nah I’m good you got this”

Annabeth confides in Nat that she feels useless sometimes without any special powers, Nat assures her that the group would be lost without her, she knows from experience

Frank adores Hawkeye, he follows him around asking all these questions about archery and one day Clint gives him some of his arrows as a gift and Frank faints

Hearth and Clint discuss being deaf and how they can use it to their advantage, they love using sign language in front of people who refuse to learn it and make fun of them

Jason and Cap are besties, Leo and Piper joke that they could be twins, Steve argues that he would never wear those glasses (“you would wear a gift from a God” “not true Thor gave me the ugliest socks for Christmas, I’ve never worn them once”)

There are actually two sets of Norse Gods in this scenario, Magnus is super jealous, he complains to Alex about it all the time (“why do they get the good ones?” “I know, it’s okay” “their Thor is hot” “I know, just breathe”)

Hazel loves Wanda, she knows a bit about having an unwanted power that she struggles to control. They talk about what they’ve been through and the grief they’ve caused and help each other recover in ways that their friends can’t

The Kanes, Hearth, and Dr. Strange all hang out, Strange is fascinated that Sadie and Carter channel the gods to perform magic (“what do you do with your gods?” “Fight them usually”)

Hearth loves the way Strange performs magic, he and Sadie get annoyed that Strange doesn’t get exhausted the way they do when he does things though.

Apollo doesn’t like any of them (“they’re all so egotistical! I don’t know how you all stand them! Just because you save the world a few times doesn’t mean you should have a big head about it”)

Meg helps Shuri develop farming tools that helps increase agricultural production (Shuri doesn’t really care about it but Meg is so into it that she works really hard on it)

Shuri loves Blitz and helps him with some designs for Blitzen’s Best and she puts some of his ideas into new suits for T’Challa

Nico’s a big fan of Bucky, he has just the right amount of angst that he’s looking for

Will hangs out with Sam purely so they can make fun of Nico and Bucky, their insult game increases by 20 when they’re together

Anubis talks to Thor about being a god (“you’re the god of death? Well for me that would be my sister Hela! She tried to kill me, she took my eye and destroyed my home... but I’m sure you’re very nice” “um, I pinky promise I won’t do that?”)

Piper and Sam are obsessed with Valkyrie , Piper because she’s a badass and Sam because she wants to know more about other valkyries. Valkyrie loves Piper’s story about blasting Hercules with the Cornucopia

Bruce and Halfborn talk about everything they can think of, from quantum physics to their favorite movies. Mallory doesn’t understand what they’re saying and instead goes knife throwing with Nat

Reyna loves Carol, they talk about leadership and the difficulties of having to stay stoic and strong for everyone around them

Percy and Scott have the same sense of humor, Annabeth and Hope consider locking them in a room together until they get all their jokes out of their system

Loki’s disgusted to hear about the mcga Loki (“I would have done it with much more flair... not that I would have of course... I’m on your side!”). Alex hates him, understandably

Zia talks to Bucky and Cap about how weird modern society is (“Carter took me to a mall, it was so strange” “I went to a mall once... I almost got murdered”)

A door in Valhalla leads to the Avengers base for some reason. TJ accidentally walked in on Tony showering once. There was a lot of screaming and a minor attempted stabbing.

Real estate prices go way down since everyone wants to get the hell out of New York

[snazzyjazzysjacksonville]

The best dog names, and how to name your puppy

Naming your family pet is one of  the most beautiful moment when owning a pet. Petbacker has been committed to help pet owners to decide how they should name their pets, and it took Petbacker more than 2 years to conduct a comprehensive surveys and gathered information from 400,000 pet owners in regard to the questions of “why you give this precious name to your dog” , “does the dog name match your character of your pet”, as well as “do you name your dog based on their breed”.

Based on our surveys, we want to share with all pet’s owner some inspiring and fun ideas that are relevant to giving names for your fur babies! 

For instance, we found that many owners named their pets after childhood movie characters, famous celebrities, their human friend, different seasons of the year etc. It is amazingly shocking to note that there are even pet owners who named their pets based on numerological method. 

Method that owners use to name their pets.

Less than 4.5% of owners named their Pets based on Seasons of the year

Each season represents its special meaning. Some owners love to name their dogs based on the seasons and months which they were born such as spring, summer, autumn and winter. For example, babies who were born during spring season can be named Haru, in Japanese, ha ru は る) means spring. Some babies who are brought home by their owners in summer are directly named as summer. For babies born in the cold winter, they can be named as winter. 

From the above ideas, the following are some of the names which you may take into consideration:

Spring - Asher, Abril, Lily or Spring rolls

Summer - Sunny, Lia, Lilac or Summer ball

Autumn - Pablo, Raven, Mooncake or Cinnamon

Winter - Polar, Santa, Sparkle or Gabby

More than 55.2% of owners named their Pets based on Human Names 

Human names make great and meaningful names for dogs and puppies too. If your dog loves running, you may consider one of the suggested human names below to give him or her some cool attitudes.

Female dogs can be named as Anne, Anna, Angel, Alice, Lucy, Emily, Juliet, Amy, etc. Alternatively, the owner can use the characters from TV series as reference. Male dogs can be named as Jack, Nick, Mike, Peter, David, Henry, Irwin etc.

Less than 4.1% of owners named their Pets based on Foodie Name

Food naming method is also a very popular naming method. The pet owner can base on food names according to their pets’ fur colours or their own favourite food.

White fur – Tofu, Cauliflower, Onion, Garlic

Yellow-ish fur – Milk Tea, Coffee, Potato, Banana

Black fur - Cola, Sesame, Pepper, Seaweed

You can also call these little guys directly with your favourite snacks, such as pudding, buns, milkshake, noodle, cheese, cupcake, dumplings and other food. 

To our surprise, about 30.3% of owners named their Pets based on Numerology method

Pet owners can actually name their pets using numerology naming method, owners will count the number belonging to their pets by deriving it from the dates of birth of their pets, and put a name that matches the pet birthday so the pet will have the character they want to have. 

This can be done by finding the pet Life Path number, these Number can be obtained by adding the birthday numbers together until you get a single digit, for an example, a pet was born in November 14th, 2018, it would be = 1+1+1+4+2+0+1+8 = 18 = 1+8 = 9 …, So their Life Path is a “9”.

With the life path number, they will then decide what name to give so the number changes slightly to what they wanted. How to count a name with number so they add together to become single number. 

For an example EDDY, E= 5,D=4,D=4,Y= 25 =2+5=7

Birthday date + Name = 9+7=16 

The final digit would be, 1+6=7

Here you go ! Your best friend Life Path Number is a “7” .

Here are some of the attributes of the different Numbers :

Number 1, is a number that represents Self, and it brings a very independent character. If your pet has a name that reduces to “1”, you expect them to be more independent, this pet will probably be headstrong! Your best friend is going to do what it wants to, so be patient. They can make excellent guard dogs or protective animals. 

Number 2, this is a Number of Cooperation and Relationships. This is the pet that will be happiest sitting in your lap! They will also like company, other pets, and humans. They don’t do well alone for extended periods. They can be naturally shy, and will dislike fireworks and thunderstorms.

Number 3, this is a Number of Creativity and Communication. With humans, they are likely to be on stage and often have a good sense of humour. They are quite social, and hyperactive, they love to be out & about, meeting new humans and other pets.

They are sometimes difficult to be trained due to a short attention span. They can be talkative too, so expect a lot of barking! They are typically good with children as they enjoy the busy energy that children brings.

Number 4, is a Number of Structure. Pets or animals with this Energy do best in structured environments. They like routines, such as feeding and training or exercise at the same times each day. 

Number 5, This is a Number of High-Energy, Chaos and Adventure. These animals love adventure! They don’t like to be cooped up too. They love riding in cars, going for walks at the park. They might not be the best choice for small children, but they will be entertaining!

Number 6, This is the Number of The Nurturer. Ideally suited to home and family, this is a very devoted and loving animal. They love affection and are quick to give it too. They love to sleep in bed with you and will love cozy warm places to snuggle in. These dogs also make for the best service animals and can be trained to help a human who has disabilities.

Number 7, This is a Number of Intelligence and Curiosity. Your best friend would probably like games or toys that challenge them …plus learning Tricks too! But they often need their own space and time. They probably have their own favourite place, and it will probably be away from everyone else. They need space, so I hope your bed is big, or they will try to dominate the space! 

Number 8, This is a Number of Abundance and Prosperity. They love studded collars, luxurious bed, even those animal-outfits! They love attention, and can be demanding. They are usually high-energy, be prepared to be lead around!

Number 9, This is a Number of The Philanthropist, Old Soul, Wisdom. They are Natural Leaders, but do not have a competitive streak, so not the best choice for a show animal. They are extremely sensitive. They know when you are hurting and when you are happy. They like a lot of physical contacts to assure that everything is alright.

Less than 3% of owners named their Pets based on Movie Character

Many young owners have their favourite cartoon characters, comic protagonists and so on. Hence, they can name their dogs by their favourite characters. For example, One Piece's Luffy, Qiaoba, Naruto, Kakashi, Doraemon etc.

About 2.9% of owners named their Pets based on Celebrity name

Pet owners do have their own favourite celebrities who they like and admire. Therefore, it’s pretty cool to name their pet according to the celebrity name, or the name of their fan club.

Imagine when he is running around on the street, and you call his name, people who passes by will think that there is a big star coming!

How to make your pets remember their name fast?

Giving a name to your pet is easy, but how do you want your pet to remember the name you gave or effect the change of name ASAP? We provide below some methods which you may adopt to make your pets remember their name.

1. Food temptation: After giving your dog a name, you need to patiently let him remember his name. One of the best ways is giving them food and treats!

2. Changing of tone: Under different circumstances, use different intonations to call the dog's name.

3. Name Tone: Calling names is limited to giving instructions and compliments, to give the dog a good impression. The next time you call its name, it will run to you right away.

After all the above suggestions, if you are still not sure of what name you give your dog, we would want to inspire you of what others named their dogs by sharing the names of the list below.

Top 20 types of dog breeds on Petbacker with the list of names that PetBacker owners have named their dogs

Chihuahua

(Male)Bella, Coco, Daisy, Nini, Chloe, Gigi, Ajax

(Female) Bella, Coco, Daisy, Nini, Peanut, Jesse

Jack Russell Terrier

(Male) Zeus, Bolt, Lucca, Steven, Jack, John

(Female) Hershey, Juno, Audrey, Bambi, Anthea

Toy Poodle

(Male) Louis, Alex, Maison. Jackson, Bleu

(Female) Cookie, Ginger, Nancy, Aries, Sandra

Shih Tzu

(Male) Micky, Charlie, Max, Patches, Rudy

(Female) Chewie, Nala, Madison, Rosie, Nemo

English Cocker Spaniel

(Male) Goofy, Stephen, Lucas, Loca, Lucca

(Female) Stacey, Zoe, Nancy, Zoella, Sandy

Yorkshire Terrier

(Male) Sydney, Elfie, Gatsby, Kingston, Logan

(Female) Zoe, Victoria, Sophia, Isabella , Arica

Dachshund

(Male) Felix, Frank, Ida, Billy, Fifi, Pippin

(Female) Piper, Nora, Rosa, Julie, Chilly

Pomeranian

(Male) Noah, Jose, Richie, Nugget, Marshall

(Female) Bubble, Fluffy, Buttercup, Blossom

Maltese

(Male) Oscar, Riley, Max, Harry, Rocky, Zeus, Zach

(Female) Sammy, Ladybug, Samantha, Katie, Rina

Beagle

(Male) Bagel, Gus, Hank, Winston, Harper

(Female) Mia, Belle, Shiloh, Ella, Emma

Crossed or Mixed Breed (Cavoodle, Mongrel , Singapore Special)

(Male) Sam, Finley, Scout, Roy, Russel, Lucky, Goodie, Baby

(Female) Sadie, Misty, Fenella, Luna, Marie, Mimi. Piper 

Shiba

(Male) Hanako, Haru, Kiko, Mio, Shinju

(Female) Kitsune, Foxy, Hiro, Akira, Aki

German Shephard

(Male) Max, Kaiser, Roxy, Louis, Tiger 

(Female) Erma, Ethel, Giltha, Ida, Jolie

Husky

(Male) Jet, Bolt, Alpha, Hunter, Wolf, Blackie

(Female) Xena, Mulan, Belle, Elsa, Tanya

Corgi

(Male) Junior, Peewee, Mike, Smalley, Shorty 

(Female) Pippa, Princess, Queenie, Winnie, Twiggy

Labrador

(Male) Henry, Buster, Louie, Olive, Oakley

(Female) Olivia, Sammy, Winnie, Lucky, Brandy

French Bulldog

(Male) Brewster, Brody, Corky, Buddy, Ernie

(Female) Bella, Cookie, Jenny, Chewie, Sophie

Pug

(Male) Lulu, Bentley, Dexter, Jack, Buster,Pepper

(Female) Ollie, Sandy, Mia, Piper, Peppa,Snow White

King Charles Spaniel

(Male) Henry, Hopper, Rowley, Doodle

(Female) Berry, Holly, Nancy, Chucky, Winter

Schnauzer

(Male) Anot, Cosette, Bangle, Spark, Atlanta 

(Female) Cherry, Lizzy, Lucy, Frida, Bella

   Still need more suggestion for naming your pet?

 Feel free to post a picture of your pet at the comment section below, and let other pet lover's to suggest a great name for you!

  More Details: 

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[gramilano]

Jennifer Check as the Governess in The Turn of the Screw, photo by Angela Gaul

On Site Opera will present Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, at Wave Hill, a stunning 28-acre historic estate and now public gardens in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, from 25 to 27 October 2019.

This operatic ghost story is perhaps the perfect piece to benefit from an immersive production. Its story will unfold in various locations around the estate, both indoors and outdoors, with the audience following the characters from place to place.

I asked On Site Opera’s director, Eric Einhorn, how the project came about.

The Turn of the Screw is a piece that Geoff McDonald (our music director) and I have wanted to produce for several seasons. As with all of our productions, we take our time scouting venues and finding the right partners. When we entered into a partnership with Wave Hill, we knew we had found a wonderful venue and collaborator.

The grounds and historic mansion provide the perfect setting for Britten and Piper’s psychological drama of ghosts, paranoia, and possible violence. All of the space at Wave Hill inspired our creativity and lead to a production plan that takes audiences on a literal journey around the grounds, just as the Governess experiences.

Jennifer Check

The Governess will be played by soprano Jennifer Check. It will be her role debut.

It’s been a role on my radar for a very long time and is on the bucket list of roles for me.

Einhorn says,

I first met Jennifer in 2009 when she sang the role of Madame Lidoine in a production of Dialogues des Carmelites that I was directing for Austin Opera. I still remember vividly the first time she sang through her aria in rehearsal. It was an incredibly moving experience. Jennifer and I then had several occasions to work together at the Metropolitan Opera, further cementing her place on the list of artists I wanted to bring to On Site. When Geoff McDonald and I were casting, both of us were very excited about the idea of casting Jennifer in the role.

It’s not her first brush with Britten, having sung both Lady Billows and Mrs Wordsworth in Albert Herring. However, Britten is never an easy sing. Check says,

The Governess, and really the entire opera, are perfectly written. Britten gives you everything on the page. Dramatically, she is complex. The trick is not letting the drama take you away. I have to remember to stay grounded and not get too hysterical. There is drama in the stillness. We have found something really special dramatically and it has changed my feelings about her.

Audiences will gather outside by lantern light before the opera begins, then several characters will accompany them to Wave Hill House, where the story will unfold in three different locations. I asked Einhorn how that functions with musicians in tow.

Geoff has done some fantastic planning regarding how and when various combinations of the orchestra are featured before audiences are treated to Britten’s full orchestration.

I wondered if Check was preoccupied about confronting her first ‘on site’ opera, away from a traditional performance space?

I have seen their work and have worked with Eric and Geoff in other houses. There are always certain difficulties that come up in a non-traditional setting, but if I’m being honest, they don’t matter as much as you would think. It opens us up to use the entire space. I can actually look out a window at the surroundings. It heightens the drama for everyone.

But there must be differences?

The biggest challenge so far has been remembering that I don’t have to turn out and sing to the front of the house. The audience still has contact even when our backs are turned!

Wave Hill House

Wave Hill House gardens

Check will find that she’s singing to a ‘full house’ as the performances are sold out, though Wave Hill does have a waiting list.

We are extremely lucky to have such amazing, loyal patrons who create sold-out performances – says Einhorn – We are working to adjust our producing model to allow for more performances. Our revival of Amahl will play six times (rather than four as it did in 2018) and our new production of the musical Das Barbecu will have nine performances.

Who are your loyal patrons?

Our audiences represent a wide cross-section of people, from experienced opera-goers to fans of the venue to people just looking for something new. No matter what brings people to OSO productions, the reactions are always very similar. People are blown away by the power of intimate, immersive, site-specific opera. The proximity of the performers and the incredible venues add to the audience’s positive experience. It’s been wonderful to see familiar audience faces return show after show. We truly have a wonderful patron family!

Is it just that audiences are looking for something new, or is there perhaps a deeper motive?

I think both artists and audiences are looking for more engaging models of performance. The artists involved in On Site shows frequently speak about the incredible opportunity intimate productions create for connecting with audiences. There is something uniquely thrilling about being so close to the audience, to the point where the music literally vibrates in their bodies. Likewise, audiences are looking for more experiential performances. Providing an opportunity to see riveting opera in amazing, non-traditional spaces gives audiences another layer of engagement with the material that you can’t find anywhere else.

You must be gratified to see your productions sold out, but as there are obviously a limited number of places for such an event, how do the economics of the venture pan out?

On Site Opera operates like most non-profit arts producing organisations in that ticket sales represents a relatively small percentage of income. The majority of our funding comes from donations from our fantastic patrons, as well as from many generous foundations and government organisations.

I wrote about you production of Portugal’s The Marriage of Figaro three years ago.

The Portugal Figaro took the level of immersion to new heights. Audiences entered the venue to find the world fully alive with the opera’s characters and could interact with all of them before the opera began. Audiences responded really well to this, which allowed us to continue to explore new immersive techniques for subsequent productions.

And last year there was Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors in a soup kitchen.

That production proved to be more powerful an experience than anyone anticipated. The production marked our first collaboration with a community partner in the social service sector: Breaking Ground – NYC’s largest provider of supportive housing. Together with Breaking Ground, we created a community chorus from their resident population of those impacted by homelessness. The participation of the chorus connected directly with our modern retelling of the story, which was set in the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen. The production was so well-received we decided to revive it this season!

On Site Opera obviously aim for the spectators to have shivers running up and down their spines during The Turn of the Screw. Will Check feel the shudders too?

When we sing roles, we become those characters for that period of time. We live the drama just like the audience does.

And now that the Governess can be ticked off your bucket list, are there any other Britten roles to add?

Absolutely! Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes and Female Chorus in Rape of Lucretia.

But now, after The Turn of the Screw, what’s next for Jennifer Check?

Lots of notes! A Donizetti Queens concert, Fiordiligi at the Met, Maria Stuarda and some Verdi Requiem and Beethoven 9th thrown in for good measure.

In bocca al lupo!

On Site Opera presents Britten’s The Turn of the Screw at the stunning Wave Hill estate in the Bronx On Site Opera will present Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, at Wave Hill, a stunning 28-acre historic estate and now public gardens in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, from 25 to 27 October 2019.

[themadlostgirl]

Not Dead Yet (Part 56)

*A wild Baelfire appears*

Pairing: Reader x Peter Pan

Warnings: none

When Peter said someone had entered Neverland I believed that it was one of Wendy’s brothers come with the shadow. I was partially right. The shadow had returned but there was no boy with it. Apparently he had been dropped into the sea just as Wendy had. At that revelation we rushed to the beach but there was no sign of someone in the water.

“What do we do? Can you sense him?” I asked Peter.

“It’s muddled, he’s in the east. That’s all I can figure.” Peter sighed, “If it is the boy I need…”

“We’ll get him,” I assured him, “He’s in the east. The Jolly Roger is anchored in that region. Perhaps they got ahold of him before the mermaids.”

“Would certainly be lucky for us. Take a few boys and the row boat. Get to the Jolly Roger and see if the pirates have him.”

“What are you gonna do?”

“Go to my Thinking Tree. I can sense anything when the entire island is before me. Now be quick.” Peter teleported away and I turned to the boys that had followed. Devin, Felix and Curly.

“You heard him, grab the boat and get it in the water. We’re losing time!” I shouted at them. Devin and Curly ran to pull the boat into the shallows.

“This should be fun. Confronting pirates in the dead of night. We never do anything together, Felix.” I grinned and he knocked me in the side of his head with his club. “That seemed uncalled for.”

“Cry about it,” he muttered, “let’s go.”

We got into the boat and Devin and Curly started rowing towards the Jolly Roger. It took a while but we got to the ship and crawled up the side.

“Hello Hook,” I beamed at his annoyed face. “Having a nice night?”

“I was before you and your imps stormed my ship.”

“Oh hush, we’ll be out of your greasy hair soon. We’re looking for a boy that was dropped near here. Seen him?” I asked.

“Then I'm afraid I'll have to send you away disappointed. As you can see, we're only men here.” he gestured to the crew.

“Then you won't mind if we search your ship.” Felix said.

“Be my guest.” Hook granted and the boys fanned out. I climbed up into the rigging in case they had him in the crow’s nest. It was empty save for a few nesting seagulls. The others returned with the same news. The boy wasn’t on the ship.

“Told you lass. No one here but me crew.”

“So it seems.” I nodded and the boys climbed back into the boat. “Just know that if you are lying then I will find out and we both know what I can do.”

“You mean what your demon bed mate can do?” he had the gall to smirk.

“Oh captain,” I swiped his legs out from under him and pressed my dagger to his throat, “Still underestimating me after all this time. I thought we were past all that. You may be a pirate but I’m a Lost Girl with much more blood on my hands. You think yours will stand out amongst all the different shades of red?”

“Get off my ship!” he growled pushing his hook harder into my flesh.

“Fine,” I stood up, “Have a good night, Hook.” I jumped over the side of the ship back into the row boat. Disappointed we rowed back to shore. Peter met us on the beach and confirmed that the boy was still out in the sea somewhere but he couldn’t pinpoint where.

“This cannot be happening,” I groaned and started to pace the sand, “What if the mermaids get him? What if it is the boy we need? If he dies before we can get his heart--”

“Pet,” Peter grabbed me by the shoulders to stop my pacing, “Calm down. You’re more worried than I am.”

“How are you not worried?! If it is the boy we need and he is killed by mermaids or drowns then we’re going to have to find another way to break the curse and who knows how long that will take. Tigerlily’s waning magic can only hold off the hourglass for so long and--”

“Shh, breathe, it is going to be fine,” He held my face rubbing his thumb along my cheek, “I promise. My word is my bond.”

“Need I remind you the last time you said that you ended up nearly dying in the Black Fairy’s mine.” I muttered.

“But I didn’t break my promise,”

“I suppose not,” I pressed closer so my face was buried in his chest, “This has been a long day. I think I’d like to just go to bed.”

He brought the both of us back to camp and settled down in his tent for some well deserved rest. The next couple of days there was no news about the boy the shadow had lost. Peter assured me he was still alive and in the ocean. Either this boy was the best swimming combatant in all the world or Hook had managed to hide him on his ship. The latter was looking to be the more likely option. If that slimy pirate was keeping the boy then there would be hell to pay.

Peter and I stood on a cliff overlooking the island. I was beside myself wondering if the boy we needed was the one missing in the sea. Nevermind the guilt of it being one of Wendy’s brothers. She hadn’t made much mention of her family other than she had some brothers and parents.

To take my mind off such troubling thoughts Peter took me for my first flying lesson. I was keeping back from the edge too scared to move closer. Peter and I at cliffs never ended well before.

“You’re shaking like a leaf, this is supposed to be fun,” he chuckled seeing my fright, “It’ll be alright.”

“I don’t believe you,” I looked over the cliff and my vision tunneled. I feel like I’m gonna be sick.

“Smart girl,” he pulled a vial of pixie dust from his pocket. Before he could uncork it Ben came running up the hillside out of breath.

“Ben, what’s going on?” I asked. He looked manic.

“Pirates...came to shore...said they had the boy,” he explained through his panting.

“I knew it!” I started storming back down the hill, “I am going to skin that pirate alive!”

“Y/N! Wait a moment! Y/N!” Peter ran to catch up to me. “I love the bloodlust as always and yes the pirates are going to pay for lying to us but you cannot go charging head first onto a pirate ship.”

“I can handle them,” I told him.

“I know that and they know that but you are a little too close to this situation.”

“What?”

“I don’t want you going back to the ship. I’ll have some other boys retrieve him tonight. Okay?”

“But I--”

“Need to relax. Go back to camp and take out whatever frustrations you have on someone else. I’ll deal with Hook.”

“Fine,” I grumbled and returned to the camp. I pulled Nick aside to spar with and work out all my residual anger. I was still mad Peter was refusing to let me collect the boy but maybe he did have a point. This was one of Wendy’s brothers and if it was the boy we needed and Hook had purposely kept him from us there was no telling how I would repay the pirate.

So I waited for night to fall. Felix and some boys left to collect the boy from the Jolly Roger and I waited on the beach with the scroll containing the image of the Truest Believer. I wasn’t exactly sure what to think. It was Wendy’s brother so I wanted to keep him safe out of obligation to her but if it was the boy we needed to save Peter then my loyalties were set.

Peter offered to wait with me but I told him I’d rather be alone. After what felt like forever the boys came back to shore with the boy and a sack over his head. Felix and the others pulled him from the row boat and uncovered his mask. A quick look between him and the sketch confirmed that he wasn’t the boy we were looking for. I was relieved I didn’t need to kill Wendy’s brother but also disappointed yet again that the only cure for Peter’s curse still eluded us.

“It’s not him,” I told the boys, “Take him back to camp.”

“No! I’m not going anywhere with you!” the boy shouted digging in his heels and trying his best to escape.

“Sorry about this,” I hit him in the head with my club only hard enough to knock him out. Dead weight was easier to drag along then a thrashing teenager. “Okay, now you can take him back to camp.”

I followed the boys back. Peter was waiting by the bonfire. I shook my head and his features darkened. “Can’t say I’m surprised but I was rather hoping…” he looked closer at the boy we dragged back, “Wait a moment,”

“What is it?” I asked but he didn’t answer. The boy was starting to come to again and Peter’s face split into a sadistic smile. Something good was happening but I wasn’t sure what.

“Not as good as the Truest Believer but a wonderful prize nonetheless,” he grabbed a handful of the boy’s hair tugging his head up. “Hello Baelfire.”

“No…” the boy, or Baelfire, was still groggy but had enough sense to try and rip himself free from the people holding him. “Let me go!”

“Is that anyway to talk to an old friend?” Peter tsked. “I would have thought all these years would have given you better manners.”

“We are not friends! We never were! You only wanted to hurt my father by taking me!” Baelfire was more alert and tried to lunge at Peter.

“Will someone explain what is going on here?” I snapped walking between Peter and Baelfire. “How do you know one of Wendy’s brothers?”

“This is not one of our departed bird’s brothers,” Peter reached for my dagger. “This lad right here is the son of a very old friend of mine. Should be a dodgery old man given the year we picked you from but I believe that is a story for another time.”

“Old friend?” I was going to ask him what in the world he was going on about when he flashed the R carved into the bottom of my dagger. Rumplestiltskin. “Wait, you mean to tell me that this is the Dark One’s son?”

“That he is. Met him many years ago when I was still playing the piper. I made a promise I would have him for a Lost Boy and here he is. Much later than I intended but good things come to those who wait, don’t they?” he grinned victorious. “Go lock him up in the cages. Can’t have him running off.”

“Pan, I swear if you don’t return me to the Darling’s--”

“You’ll what? Have your dear daddy come to Neverland and curse me? Considering you were living with an entirely knew family I’d say he’s out of the question as far as you’re concerned. I’ll let you tuck in for the night and we’ll talk to you again when you’ve simmered down in the morning.” Peter handed my dagger back to me, “Sleep well,”

“No! Let go of me! Pan! Get back here--” Baelfire was finally silenced by someone stuffing a gag in his mouth. The boys hauled him towards the cages.

Peter tugged on my hand bringing me back to his tent so we could speak in private. Once inside away from listening ears I found myself at a crossroads. What should I think of this boy? The son of the Dark One but also one of Wendy’s brothers (in spirit at least). Should I hate him? Protect him? Play along with this game of Peter’s? It was all very confusing.

“Care to share your thoughts?” Peter asked.

“I’ll let you know as soon as I settle on one.” I muttered sitting down and drawing my knees to my chest. “How come you never told me about the Dark One’s son?”

“Didn’t see the point to be honest. It was well before your time and I thought the boy dead before he was brought to our shore.” Peter sat down next to me.

“Alright...what should I be thinking? Do we hate him? Do we have a purpose for him? Are we killing him? Converting him into a Lost Boy? What?”

“We’re not killing him and we do have a purpose for him. Whether we hate him or not is up for debate but we should be working to turn him into a member of our ranks.”

“Okay, I can work with that.” I relaxed, “And Hook? He lied to us.”

“But he returned the boy. We’ll let this one pass.”

“You are going to let him get away with--”

“Y/N,” Peter pinched my arm silencing me, “I’ve made my decision. Besides, one petty lie doesn’t warrant a personal punishment. If I gave some grandiose punishment every time Hook lied to me then he would be dead right now.”

“He lies to you a lot?”

“From time to time but he always makes up for it in one way or another whether he wants to or not.” He stood up again hauling me to my feet alongside him, “Come on, the night is young and so are we. Let’s have some fun.”

“I’m not in the mood for fun. I think I’m just gonna go back to my tent.”

“As you wish,” he left the tent and I followed a moment later. I made sure he was preoccupied with the others and left towards the cages.

No one was around. Isaac was swinging in one keeping quiet and still as he always did. Baelfire was not being as complacent. He was swinging back and forth wildly most likely trying to break the rope suspending him from the ground.

“If you think that’s going to work you’re going to be sorely mistaken.” I told him.

“Leave me alone,” he snapped at me.

“Nah,” I came closer lowering the cage to the ground.

“You’re letting me go?” I could see his eyes peeping through the slits in the wicker.

“No, I just needed to ask you something and figured it’d be easier if you weren’t tossing yourself around like a puppet on a string.” I sat down across from him.

“Whatever you want to know you can forget it. I am not helping someone who aligns themselves with Pan.”

“Your courage is admirable but can we drop the blind hatred for two seconds. You were staying with the Darling’s weren’t you?”

“Yes...I swear if you even think about going back for more of them--”

“Hush!” I kicked the cage, “You want the entire camp to come charging over here? I’m not interested in bringing any more of them to the island. I only came to ask about Wendy.”

“What about her? You stole her then sent her back for another sibling. What should you care?”

“I care more than you realize.” I sighed touching the golden flower crown she had made me, “I liked her. It was nice having her around but she didn’t want to stay. I understood that. I let her go without a fuss but I never got to say goodbye either.”

I scooted closer to the cage. “How was she? When she returned? Was she alright?”

“You…?”

“Just answer the question.”

“Physically she was fine. Mentally she was worried because she said that you people would be returning for one of her brothers. I couldn’t let magic tear apart another family so I went in their stead.”

“That’s all I wanted to know.” I stood up to suspend him back in the air when a thought entered my mind, “One more thing, does this look like either of Wendy’s brothers? Know that if you are lying to me I will find out.”

I showed him the sketch of the Truest Believer. He studied it for a moment before shaking his head. “No. I promise.”

“Okay. I believe you.” I got the rope and hauled him back off the ground.

“Wait, before you go,” Baelfire called as I started to leave, “Who are you? Are you the only girl on this island?”

“I’m Y/N and I am the only Lost Girl, yes. Is that so shocking?”

“I suppose not. But what of your relationship with Pan? I could tell you knew more than the others did when he spoke of my father.”

“It is a long complicated story. Don’t worry yourself over it. Best get some rest. Tomorrow Peter is going to put you through the ringer and you’ll need all the energy you can get. Sleep well.”

I returned to my tent and laid down careful to set my crown where it wouldn’t be crushed while I slept. I still wasn’t sure what to make of this Baelfire. An enemy of Peter’s but a friend of Wendy’s. How much simpler all this would have been if we had returned that little bird as soon as she arrived.

(First) (Previous) (Next)

[wazafam]

One of the most popular shows that FX created was the motorcycle drama Sons of Anarchy. Based on Shakespearian tragedy, and specifically set up like Hamlet, the series lasted for seven seasons and showed the rise and fall of the favored son, Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam), in a series created by Kurt Sutter.

RELATED: Sons Of Anarchy: 10 Hidden Details About The Characters' Wardrobe

Sutter, who had worked on The Shield with Shawn Ryan before taking on his own show, had a monster success. The series was FX's highest-rated series and was even more popular than The Shield and Nip/Tuck for a time. This meant that several high-profile actors wanted to appear on Sons of Anarchy. While some stood out, others had small roles that some fans might have already forgotten about.

10 Michael Chiklis

Kurt Sutter worked with Shawn Ryan on The Shield before he created Sons of Anarchy. That show was about corrupt police officers in the LAPD, specifically based on the real-life Rampart police scandal. The star of the show was Michael Chiklis, who played Vic Mackey, the head of the corrupt Strike Team.  Chiklis also had a small role in Sons of Anarchy in the final season. He is a truck driver Gemma meets who drives the truck that killed Jax in the finale.

9 Robert Patrick

Robert Patrick plays an important role in Mayans, M.C., as Les Packer. He played the same role in Sons of Anarchy, but it is often easy to forget that Patrick was in that earlier role. He mostly kept his face covered and rarely looked like the actor fans have grown to know from roles like the villain in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. In Sons of Anarchy, Patrick was the President of the San Bernardino chapter of Sons of Anarchy in Season 6.

8 David Hasselhoff

David Hasselhoff gained worldwide fame for his role as a lifeguard in Baywatch, and before that, as an action hero in the TV show Knight Rider. He is also a musician with major hits in Germany. Marvel Cinematic Universe fans got to know him thanks to Peter Quill's obsession with him in Guardians of the Galaxy. In Sons of Anarchy, Hasselhoff showed up in the fourth season episode titled "Brick" as a porn producer.

7 Lea Michele

There are a few actresses not known for gritty movie appearances that showed up in Sons of Anarchy. The most notable one was High School Musical star Ashley Tisdale, who appeared in the fifth season as an escort named Nero Padilla. However, another shocker was Glee actress Lea Michele.

RELATED: Sons Of Anarchy: Most Popular Actors, Ranked By Instagram Followers

Michele appeared in the seventh season in one episode, titled 'Smoke 'em if You Got 'em'. She starred as a waitress who listened to Gemma talk about how Jax just lost his wife, Tara.

6 Joel McHale

Joel McHale is a comedian best known for his role in Community. However, he took on a very different role in Sons of Anarchy. McHale made his debut in Sons of Anarchy's fifth season episode, 'Small World', and is a man who flirted with Gemma on the show. However, he made a drastic mistake when he stole Gemma's car and money. This led to the next episode, where Jax, Nero, and other SAMCRO members chased him down, attacked him, and got the money back.

5 Charisma Carpenter

Charisma Carpenter made her name thanks to her role as Cordelia on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel. Since then, she has mostly taken on small movie roles and guest appearances on various TV shows. This includes a turn on Sons of Anarchy in the event season episode 'Red Rose'. She had a minor role, playing a character named Carol, a conservative administrative director that Gemma spoke to when visiting her father at his care home facility.

4 Stephen King

Stephen King never hid the fact that he was a huge Sons of Anarchy fan. When Kurt Sutter learned about how big of a fan the Master of Horror was, he reached out to see if King would like to appear in the series. King said yes, but he had one request.

RELATED: Meet Mr. Mayhem: 10 Unique Sons Of Anarchy Terms & Their Meanings

King appeared as Bachman in the third season episode 'Caregiver'. He was a cleaner Tig hired to dispose of the body of Gemma's father's former caretaker. Bachman was a fun name since that was a pseudonym King used at one time, and the only thing King asked in return was to ride a motorcycle in the episode.

3 Taryn Manning

Taryn Manning is best known for her lead role in the hit Netflix drama series Orange Is the New Black. Manning played Piper Chapman in the series. However, before this, she had a small role on Sons of Anarchy.  Manning took on the role of Cherry in the first season of the series, and her final appearance was in Season 3. Her character met Half-Sack and started to date him. When the ATF tried to force her to rat out SAMCRO, Jax helped her escape the country.

2 Derek Mears

Derek Mears has mostly worked as a stuntman, but he is also well-known as the last person to take on the role of Jason Voorhees in the 2009 Friday the 13th reboot. He also appeared in several other horror and sci-fi movies, with his most high-profile performance in the DC Comics series Swamp Thing as the Swamp Thing. Mears played the character of Plow, a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, and died in his only appearance in "Wolfsangel."

1 Doug Jones

Doug Jones is someone that most people wouldn't recognize if they saw him. This is because he mostly works under prosthetics. He portrayed Abe Sapien in Hellboy, The Pale Man in Pan's Labyrinth, The Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four and the Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Amphibian Man in The Shape of Water. In Sons of Anarchy, he appeared in the Season 6 episode titled "The Mad King." Jones played the character of Officer Crane.

NEXT: Sons Of Anarchy: 10 Guest Stars Fans Would Have Loved To See More Of, Ranked

10 Actors You Totally Forgot Were In Sons Of Anarchy | ScreenRant from https://ift.tt/3eNRgcE

[writer59january13]

Donald Trump must be permanently barred and furloughed from Whitehouse

While figuratively (yet electronically) rifling thru bajillion documents, I came across one written four plus years ago and slightly modified today January ninth two thousand and twenty one at approximately 9:42 PM, when Hillary Clinton Democratic contestant chose Tim Kaine of Virginia as her running mate and former forty second first lady got thoroughly thrashed during debates with he who must NOT be named.

Little did yours truly (me) intimate what horrific state of affairs the forty fifth president would wreak (his latest gig desecrating sacred government enclaves housed within Capitol Hill), although keen political prognosticators foresaw calamity plain as day. If only said metaphorical crystal ball gazers ominous premonition heeded and/or brave soul(s) with chutzpah (think yours truly) raised a ruckus to oust the newly anointed commander in chief.

Hindsight always 20/20!

Egg gads, I ham aghast,

(and turning green with disgust)

at increasing popularity

witnessed by Donald Trump,

hence aye aerate thoughts,

how ass a nine his banal, demoniacal,

egomaniacal, fanatical, guttural, and hurtful

culling frightening insight, where

portentous Portuguese Man 'o War debacle

doth crowdsource, Flickr, Snapchat,

Twitter and indeed long foster

my plenti full overactive imagination

to induce writhing expressions of fearfulness

proportionate burst of haughtiness)

while he doth stump

would animate mine rear

i.e. rather noxious flatulence

expelled from outward doppelganger of rump

pull stilts skin cuz this chap haint Noah fan,

but wood vouchsafe

tub be a Jimmy Neutron

n Spongebob Squarepants

Ark n saw wing enemy against

da dull don dat does pumps

swaggering bravado with fist swelling ego

analogous to his body infected

with severe case of mumps

that brazen denizen hurling

and spewing volcanic fiery spittle

with incense against others –

to him mere lumps

of protoplasm heckled as inferior to himself

boasts as proof of favoritism,

that enervating, fawning,

gabbling feverish arrogant mania for him jumps

higher than expected,

while he commits faux paws which bumps

his ratings higher, he gleefully endorses

pandemonium toward gloating gumps

shun from the uproarious querulous

and populous madding crowd

regarding return of native son.

Throughout launch of his campaign,

banally, devilishly, and fiendishly

character assassinating those opposed to his views -

inducing me to harrumph and dump faith

in humanity, wondering what ruse

smart democratic pol mongers can conjure up

while pacing in soft shoes

woeful sentiments sans his attempt did render

competitors to drop out in ones n twos

whom he purportedly considers apostates,

and heathens cons heed Make America Great use

all manner of bullying

(determination whose occipital pupils

coalescing into searing

grape nut size wrath poisonous daggers)

forcibly silencing any jeers

when necessary plagiarizing neo Nazi playbook -

with trophy wife eliciting "who cares"

attitude closing in on pinteresting

for United States chess board foursquare,

which deliberate intent

to foment n wrought prostrate -

music to those hoteliers billion dollar ears

sans defeated apprenticing contestants

hearing sobbing tears

with vitriolic violent bilious

inducing jabs of his will full brittle spears

reputations of personalities

(men and women politicians

his especial flavor of scathing,

scandalous, scabrous sordidness

spewed squeamishly to grab

by the figurative crotch (ala Michael Jackson)

the hello kitty 2016 presidential election),

whether liberal, conservative,

heterosexual or queers

thus tis find this muddling middle-aged mwm

abject psychic fractal shears.

The following poetic addendum composed way buff fore this (in my mind) atrocious, cretaceous, enormous, ferocious, garrulous, hellacious, indecorous, malicious nemesis, pernicious, querulous, rapacious, specious, tedious, unrighteous, vicious, dangerous demon must BE STOPPED IN HIS TRACKS ASAP!

DONALD TRUMP – RE: DUCKS --

this portion dashed off

(while driving an open white hearse slay

so many months back before sale him

slotted the most coveted

Casino biggest win -

before the political imbroglio

much more upsetting than today

Axe the old don

A trump peter n piper

of incredulous hellish crud - be gone

With the ha airbrushed pompous arse

so the Macy jackal hound doth run

After public outcry yelps

for his hide and proletarian discord won.

Donald Duck Trump ™!$ - a pompous ass

makes war with his big brass

knuckles and bucket of crass

maligns vis a vis character assassination

with soundcloud of broken glass

inciting banal deathly

hallowed expletives toward lass

sees – especially Fox Television

news anchor woman Megyn Kelly

inducing said personality

to bear the brunt of brutish mass

of vitriolic n vile insults

from incriminating verbal pass

so…ex post facto

viz mine NO VOTE from me

thus this digital screed to disallow him

to accept the oath of office,

cuz he will hurrahs

from such a snooty arrogant

simian with sass.

I van a try to describe while sitting on me rump

How he oh bomb in lee rages with gnashing teeth

while back a slump

blasting Democratic nomination as a sham –

from special interest bro and sis turn pump

he, the epitomy of crass bloviation,

a malignant lump

whose rants sans presidential outcome

a sham rocking red bull

in a China shop with his millions beds this,

that and another woman to bareback jump

disseminating gene pool –

Obama null lee birthing

more quackers and additionally doth hump

the mass media as some foolhardy charade

and caricature of a frazzled grump

this arboreal clothed ape

erecting taj mahal phallic symbol

where players dump

and gamble away hard earn cash

for his (hmm... mew zing) hello kitty,

as if that cachet to grind and bump

lambasting with that maniacal leering pout while hair rum runs rampant with red bulls

in a china shop atop his bulbous aerosol

sprayed heady measly shaped

ulterior motive aimed his sights

to become pastor of muppets

dis eased cranial hologram

of a cretaceous, facetious and insidious mump.

By: Baron Von Ivan Mal N. Ya.

[the-desolated-quill]

The Day Of The Doctor - Doctor Who blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

50 years, huh? Extraordinary.

Going into The Day Of The Doctor, I was already lowering my expectations. Not just because Steven Moffat was writing it, but also because multi-Doctor anniversary specials are generally never very good. Once you get past the novelty of Doctors meeting each other, you quickly realise that the stories are often weaker than a nun’s piss. While The Day Of The Doctor does fare slightly better than previous multi-Doctor stories, there are still a ton of problems with it.

Let’s start with the Doctors themselves. I was a little bit cross that there were no classic Doctors coming back (and no, the Curator doesn’t count). I wouldn’t have minded except apparently Moffat never even asked any of them. Some fans have given the excuse that you can’t use the original actors because they’re not as young as they were, which caused me to scoff and roll my eyes. Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee were both considerably older when they returned to play their respective Doctors in The Five Doctors over a decade after they left the role, but nobody batted an eyelid. It was just really cool to see them again. There’s no reason why you couldn’t have brought the classic Doctors back. Okay Tom Baker and Colin Baker have both put on a considerable amount of weight since the 70s and 80s, and neither Peter Davison nor Sylvester McCoy are as young and spry as they used to be, but once they’ve got the costumes on, nobody’s going to care about that. Ever heard of suspension of disbelief?

So the Doctors we end up getting are Eleven, Ten and Eight And A Half, aka the War Doctor. (The Ninth Doctor was originally intended to appear, but Christopher Eccleston turned it down, hence the creation of an all new Doctor. Why Moffat couldn’t have just used Paul McGann, I don’t know). It’s about what you’d expect. Three Doctors coming together and criticising each other’s attitudes and tastes in clothing, and admittedly it’s fun for about five minutes before you start getting bored and want Moffat to get the fuck on with it. I think I’ve mentioned numerous times now how annoying I find Matt Smith to be, so i don’t think I’d need comment on that further. While I don’t like Ten as much as everyone else does, it is good to see David Tennant again after all this time. It’s like he’s never been away. He’s got that same boundless energy and enthusiasm that you can’t help but find endearing. This story does however play at odds with where Ten is in his story. Remember for Ten this takes place between The Waters Of Mars and The End Of Time Part 1, where Ten is running from his own impeding death. Surely seeing his future self would affect him somewhat, right? Perhaps that was what all that ‘some new man goes sauntering away’ stuff in The End Of Time with Wilf was about.

As for the War Doctor... I must confess I’m slightly torn. I’ve mentioned before how I really don’t like the idea of a War Doctor that Eleven can conveniently blame so that he can stay as the pure saint with the unsullied past because it just simplifies the character to an insulting degree. And it’s funny because if you stop to think about it, outside of the big decision he has to make with the Moment, the War Doctor doesn’t actually have a character. We never really learn anything significant about him or what really differentiates him from his other incarnations. And yet I can’t help but find myself really liking the War Doctor. And I think that’s for two reasons. One is because of the late, great John Hurt. He gives an extremely good performance and he’s the one that keeps you engrossed in the character even when the writing doesn’t. And the second is that... Look, I have quite a few issues with New Who, and one of them is the more manic interpretations of the Doctor. And yes I know the Doctor has always been an eccentric, but it feels as though New Who have been pushing it to its absolute limit and beyond, to the point where we’ve now got Matt Smith’s Doctor who is just the most obnoxious character I’ve ever come across (in fact there’s a scene where the War Doctor pretty much sums up all my problems with Eleven by asking him “why are you so ashamed of being a grownup?”). And I recognise this is more of a personal taste issue. If you like that kind of manic Doctor, more power to you. I honestly don’t mind it in small doses. The thing is I grew up with the classic series (I used to watch them on old VHS tapes when I was a kid) and while I recognise the War Doctor isn’t very well written and that the reasons for his inclusion are incredibly stupid, I can’t help but instinctively be drawn to that kind of witty, reserved Doctor who can be a bit serious at times, but his hearts are always in the right place. That kind of Doctor just resonates with me more somehow and it’s a kind of Doctor that I really wish we could see more of in New Who.

Plot-wise, it’s all a bit so-so. Let’s start with the B story. Out of all the monsters Moffat could have picked to bring back for the 50th anniversary, why in God’s name did he pick the Zygons? I know classic series fans really like the Zygons, but for the life of me I can’t see why. They’ve only ever appeared in one story, Terror Of The Zygons, which, lets be honest, wasn’t really very good. Yes I know David Tennant loves the Zygons and I’m sure he was pleased as punch to get to work with them, but for the 50th anniversary? Are you fucking joking?

For the benefit of @captainivyb and others who are unfamiliar with the classic series, here is what the original Zygons looked like:

And now here are the new and improved Zygons:

It’s funny, isn’t it? State of the art special effects and a slightly bigger budget, and yet somehow the new Zygons look just as shit as they did back in 1975. I’m going to choose to believe that these new Zygons look deliberately shit so that they could pay tribute to the rubber latex monsters of Who’s past because if I have to accept the possibility that the New Who team honestly thought these new designs were good, I may have to sit in the corner and have a little cry.

I do like the idea of the Zygons hiding inside paintings. Wouldn’t it have been cool if maybe the Doctors went inside the paintings and had a bit of a gander? But no. Instead we get the really bizarre twist that the Zygons, a race of shapeshifting aliens, destroyed a bunch of statues and ground them into dust so they could hide underneath large sheets when UNIT arrives. Yeah, it’s a bit hard to be scared of monsters that have the same mindset as a child who think they’re invisible just by covering their eyes.

And why are the Zygons inside the paintings? Because they want to invade the Earth. Why they don’t just invade medieval Earth, I don’t know. Surely that would be easier than invading present day Earth. Less guns and nuclear bombs for one thing. Elizabeth the First (or at least a version of her that has been Pompadoured into the sassy, flirty woman that exists in all of Moffat’s stories) says that the Zygons are used to a certain level of comfort, but that’s bollocks, isn’t it? What could the super advanced Zygons with their biotechnology possibly want from present day Earth? It can’t be the Black Archive. How would they even know it exists before taking Kate Stewart’s memories? Do they want to borrow our Wi-Fi or something?

Cut to present day Earth and there is a genuinely good moment where Kate stands toe to toe with the Zygons and threatens to destroy the whole of London to prevent them from using the Black Archive. Jenna Redgrave gives a great performance here, channelling the Brigadier very effectively. It’s such a shame Moffat doesn’t do more with her character. (You may have noticed I haven’t mentioned Osgood yet... Well spotted). Then the Doctors show up to chastise Kate for her actions, using their own experience in the Time War to explain why before using the memory eraser thingy to make everyone forget whether they’re human or Zygon, forcing both sides to form a peace treaty. Yeah, because evil aliens hellbent on taking over the world are bound to stick to that once they get their memories back. (Also there’s a major continuity blunder here. Earlier we see a Zygon attack Osgood and assume her form, stealing her asthma pump. Osgood manages to escape and steal the asthma pump back. But at the end, Zygon-Osgood gives the asthma pump back. Huh?).

All of this is meant to cack-handidly tie into the Time War storyline and the Moment, which admittedly is slightly better. But first... is that it? Is that the Time War? Remember all the references that were made in the RTD era? The Jaws of the Nightmare Child. The Could Have Been King and his Army of Never Weres. People trapped in time loops, forced to relive their own deaths over and over again for all eternity. What do we end up getting? Some spaceships, a few lasers and explosions, and some screaming civilians. The Last Great Time War. The war to end all wars... and this is the best they could come up with? Sigh. I guess some things are best left to the imagination.

Also I could have done without Rose. Well... except she’s not Rose. She’s the Bad Wolf. Well... except she’s not the Bad Wolf neither. She’s the same Moffat female we’ve seen millions of times before (Has Moffat only ever met one woman is his life? That’s the only explanation I can think of for why all his female characters sound and behave the fucking same). Billie Piper does an okay job with the material she’s been given, but really, you could have picked anyone to play the Moment. Billie Piper is really only there for fanservice. (Moffat reportedly did not want to bring the Rose character back because he felt her story was wrapped up and he didn’t want to add anything to RTD’s arc. I want you to remember this people. It’ll become relevant later on).

The Day Of The Doctor is really about the redemption of the War Doctor. Him standing at the brink, prepared to make a terrible choice and is shown the consequences of his choice, whilst his future selves learn to accept and finally come to terms with the horrible decision they made. This aspect at least is done reasonably well. I liked the scene with the sonic screwdrivers and the ‘same software, different case’ metaphor. And by far the most powerful scene is when Ten and Eleven arrive to help the War Doctor push the button. It was incredibly moving and actually made me really emotional because it shows the Doctor at his core. It’s something I’ve been saying for years. He’s not a soldier or a hero or a warrior. He’s just some guy. To make the decision to destroy his own species in order to save the rest of the universe would be incredibly traumatising even for a trained soldier. For a simple traveller like the Doctor, it’s practically unbearable. So to soften the blow by allowing his future selves to come along and help him press the button so he doesn’t have to suffer alone is extremely touching. Plus the War Doctor is now reassured by the fact his future selves will do everything in their power to make things right and not allow others to make the same terrible choice.

...

How does Moffat fuck it up?

Oh yeah. You knew it was going to happen. Moffat is so insecure and so determined to trick his audience that he’s prepared to butcher perfectly decent stories in order to shove in some bullshit twist. And this is no exception. Rather than allow The Day of The Doctor to end on a sombre, but powerful note, Moffat decides to do the unthinkable and takes a great big shit all over it. Thanks to an intervention from Clara (ugh), the Doctor changes his mind and decides to use a stasis cube to trap Gallifrey inside a pocket universe, causing the Daleks to destroy themselves in their own crossfire, saving the Time Lords and everyone gets a happy little ending. Now look, I’m not necessarily angry that the Time Lords have been brought back from the dead. I’ve suspected the whole last of the Time Lords thing wasn’t going to be permanent since way back in 2005. What I am angry about is the insulting way in which Moffat does it. Remember when Moffat said he didn’t want to add to RTD’s arc? Well he seems more than happy to undo it completely just because it doesn’t fit with his vision of who the Doctor is. A vision that is utterly warped. Moffat has deluded himself into thinking the Doctor is this all powerful saint that can do no wrong and would never dream of doing something like destroy his own race, even though the show itself completely contradicts that. The Doctor has made morally dubious choices before. The Doctor has resorted to violence before. Okay he’ll always try to find a diplomatic and peaceful solution when he can, but when push comes to shove, he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. The Time War is just the most extreme example of that. Yes it’s a horrible choice, but what’s the alternative? Letting the whole of time and space burn? As Eleven himself said, it wasn’t possible to get it right. And the psychological ripple effects of this choice makes the Doctor a far more interesting character. By erasing all of this, all of that complexity and character development as a result goes with it. Moffat tries to cover himself by saying that none of the past Doctors will remember this because of Moffat logic, but that just makes it worse because now Nine and Ten are suffering from PTSD and psychological trauma for no reason.

What The Day Of The Doctor proves without a shadow of a doubt is that Steven Moffat doesn’t in any way understand the show he claims to be a fan of. And if you need further proof of that, in the final monologue where we see Matt Smith standing in front of a really bad photoshopped ensemble of previous Doctors, the Doctor talks about how he dreams about going home. That has got to be the most unDoctorly thing I’ve ever heard.

War Doctor: “If I grow to be half the man that you are, Clara Oswald, I shall be happy indeed.”

Oh go fuck yourself Moffat!

[ramajmedia]

Doctor Who: Why Each Doctor Regenerated | Screen Rant

Here are all the monsters, injuries and mishaps that have caused the Doctor to regenerate in Doctor Who. Recasting a title character can be risky business for most TV and film franchises, but for Doctor Who, it's an integral part of the mythology. In a unique trick, Time Lords have the ability to cheat death, renewing every cell in their bodies when they are gravely sick or fatally wounded. From a real-world point of view, regeneration provides Doctor Who with a legitimate way of continuing the show when the lead actor has had enough or, in some cases, is given the boot.

The rules and lore surrounding regeneration have changed and evolved over the years, with the term itself not introduced until the era of the Third Doctor. A Time Lord can regenerate a total of twelve times, but can also be afforded a brand new regeneration cycle by the Time Lord council - a gift bestowed upon the Doctor in Matt Smith's final episode. More recent additions to the regeneration concept have shown that the process can alter gender and skin color, and Time Lords also have the option to refuse regeneration, should they wish.

Related: Doctor Who: How Jack Harkness Becomes The Face Of Boe

Regeneration is one of Doctor Who's most innovative and useful concepts, but the process has been wildly different on almost every occasion. The Doctor's regenerations have also been caused by a wide variety of different threats, some considerably more dramatic than others.

Doctor Who's early creative team cooked up the idea of regeneration after William Hartnell, the original actor to bring the Doctor to life, began to struggle with memorizing scripts and delivering lines. Seeking to continue the show with a younger star, the Doctor would "renew" himself and transform into a completely different man. Throughout the First Doctor's final adventure, "The Tenth Planet," the Time Lord appears weakened and frail, sometimes being forced to rest as he battles the Cybermen for the first time.

After helping save Earth from the deadly emergence of the Cybermen's home planet, the Doctor wearily returns to his TARDIS and collapses, regenerating into his Second form. Although not explicitly addressed, the generally accepted reason for the First Doctor's regeneration is old age. The Doctor is already several hundred years old before the start of Doctor Who and his recent adventures have evidently taken a toll on his ailing body.

When it came time for Patrick Troughton to move on from Doctor Who, the "old age" excuse wasn't going to work, with the Second Doctor not only younger and more cheerful than his predecessor, but far more sprightly. Instead, Doctor Who introduced another element to the mythology that would form a core part of the franchise for decades to come: the Time Lords.

Although clearly of alien origin, the Doctor's background had never been previously addressed, but "The War Games" revealed his heritage and established the Time Lord code of non-interference. The Doctor was wildly in violation of said code, but a dire situation forced him to call for aid from his Gallifreyan kin, even knowing that punishment inevitably awaited. Charged with various counts of meddling, the Doctor was forced to give up his current regeneration and was exiled to Earth. Most heartbreakingly of all, the Second Doctor's companions were forced to completely forget their adventures in the TARDIS.

Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor was the most human version yet, driving a jaunty car, joining U.N.I.T. and taking down baddies with his Venusian aikido. However, the Third Doctor's eventual regeneration was definitively alien in nature. Having previously stolen a blue crystal from the planet Metebelis 3 for study, the Doctor discovers that a race of mutated giant spiders have taken over and are seeking the return of their crystal. While this sounds like a reasonable request, the spiders seek to use the crystal as part of a larger plan to dominate the galaxy.

Always a step ahead, the Doctor knows that the crystal's overwhelming power will kill, not enhance, the spiders' leader, and handing back the stolen crystal will therefore save the day. Problematically, the spider's cave is teeming with lethal radiation but, in a noble effort to protect the universe, the Doctor ventures into the cave of the Eight Legs and hands over the crystal, defeating the spiders. Upon exiting, Pertwee's Doctor barely has enough strength to pilot the TARDIS back to Earth and regenerate.

Related: Doctor Who: River Song's Timeline Explained

Tom Baker's regeneration into Peter Davison is unique in that it requires the cooperation of a mysterious third party. In "Logopolis," the fabric of reality is beginning to unravel and the Doctor is forced to team up with the Master to save the universe. Although the unlikely duo succeed, the always-opportunistic Master threatens to restart the collapse unless control of the universe is handed over to him. Ascending a high radio tower, the Doctor manages to disconnect the dish broadcasting the Master's ultimatum. With the Master tilting the tower's gantry, however, the Doctor falls to the ground below, triggering his next regeneration.

Having been followed by a strange white figure known as "the Watcher" for the entire story, the dying Fourth Doctor reveals his stalker to be his own future incarnation, and the two Time Lords merge together during the regeneration process. Why the Watcher is a necessary component of this particular regeneration isn't clear, but wider Doctor Who media suggests that seeing a Watcher is an occasional phenomenon that befalls Time Lords who are nearing a regeneration.

In his final story, Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor stumbles across a battle between various political and military factions for a valuable natural mining resource called Spectrox on the planet Androzani. While inspecting the Caves of Androzani, the Doctor's assistant, Peri Brown, becomes entangled in an unknown sticky substance that is later revealed to be unrefined Spectrox. Both Peri and the Doctor make skin contact with the Spectrox and soon begin to exhibit symptoms of poisoning. The Fifth Doctor embarks on a mission deep into the caves to find the only known antidote to their condition and although he succeeds, he can only retrieve a single dose, curing Peri at his own expense.

Colin Baker's departure from Doctor Who and the BBC was an acrimonious one, and this resulted in the most abrupt regeneration sequence ever seen on the series. At the very beginning of the season 24 premiere, "Time And The Rani," the TARDIS comes under attack from the planet Lakertya at the Rani's command. After a barrage of energy blasts, the TARDIS is caught and boarded, where the Rani witnesses the Sixth Doctor regenerate into the Seventh.

The exact cause of Colin Baker's regeneration isn't made clear, and fans can only assume that he sustained severe injuries following the assault upon his ship, although subsequent audiobooks have sought to fill in the gaps of the Sixth Doctor's demise.

The classic series of Doctor Who was cancelled while Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor still held the keys to the TARDIS, but his story continued in the 1996 TV movie, which offered a regeneration sequence grounded in stark realism. Thanks to the Master, the Doctor's TARDIS unintentionally materializes in 1999 San Francisco, right in the center of a shootout between two rival gangs. The Doctor's sudden appearance spares the life of a young man named Chang Lee, but the Time Lord himself takes a barrage of bullets.

With dual hearts and Gallifreyan physiology, the Doctor actually survives the shooting, but is killed by well-meaning surgeons as they attempt to open the Doctor up and save his life. Aimlessly fiddling in a Time Lord's body, Dr. Grace Holloway kills the recovering Doctor and he later regenerates in the building's morgue.

Related: Doctor Who Has Different Opening Credits In The US To The UK

With his only appearance coming in the ill-fated movie, fans were left guessing as to how Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor regenerated. Answers finally arrived in time for Doctor Who's fiftieth anniversary in the short film, "The Night of the Doctor." Written by Steven Moffat, "The Night of the Doctor" sees the Time Lord desperately trying to avoid partaking in the burgeoning Time War spreading across the universe.

Travelling alone, the Doctor comes across Cass, the pilot of a doomed ship, and attempts to save her life. Unusually for Doctor Who, Cass refuses, not wanting to be saved by one of the Time Lords currently destroying galaxies with their endless war against the Daleks. For his part, the Doctor refuses to leave and with both passengers remaining stubborn until the end, the ship crashes, killing both. Fortunately, the Doctor seems to have landed on Karn, a former colony of Gallifrey introduced in the Fourth Doctor's era. The planet's natives, known as the Sisterhood, give the Eighth Doctor an elixir that will supposedly allow him to fully control the characteristics of his next regeneration.

Appearing in the 50th anniversary special, John Hurt's War Doctor was a fleeting but welcome addition to Doctor Who canon and was seen regenerating at the end of "The Day of the Doctor." Making reference to his body "wearing a bit thin," the War Doctor's regeneration can be attributed to old age, for the first time since 1966. However, it could also be argued that the War Doctor's function was merely as a soldier in the Time War, and once that conflict was over, so was the War Doctor himself.

For the second time, the Doctor sacrifices himself to save an assistant. Under assault from the Daleks, the Ninth Doctor sends his assistant, Billie Piper's Rose Tyler, away in the TARDIS for her own safety. Rose refuses to accept being unable to help the Doctor and strives to find a way back to him, eventually absorbing the heart of the TARDIS and gaining God-like abilities. Rose saves the day but is rapidly becoming unstable, forcing the Doctor to absorb the power himself via a painfully cheesy kiss.

After restoring the TARDIS energy back to its original location, the Doctor begins to feel the effects of saving Rose, later claiming that no Time Lord is supposed to take in that much power. He promptly regenerates into David Tennant.

David Tennant's demise was a long time coming in Doctor Who, with the "he will knock four times" warning coming well in advance of the Tenth Doctor's final episode. Viewers were misled into believing this prophecy would be fulfilled by the Master or Rassilon but, in the end, it was Bernard Cribbins' Wilf that heralded the end of the Tenth Doctor's reign.

Related: Doctor Who's Dalek Redesign Is Perfect For The Jodie Whittaker Era

During the dramatic final confrontation of "The End of Time," Wilf selflessly frees an innocent worker from a two-man radioactive chamber, locking himself in until another person can take his place. When the dust settles, the Doctor hears the gentle knocking and realizes he must sacrifice his own life to save Wilf, absorbing a deadly dose of radiation in the old man's stead. After a whirlwind tour of his old friends, the Tenth Doctor delivers an emotionally devastating final line and regenerates in explosive fashion.

For the third time in his life, the Doctor died of old age when his Eleventh incarnation resolved to protect the planet of Trenzalore for hundreds of years, guarding a crack that separated the hidden planet Gallifrey from the amassing Dalek fleet waiting to resume the Time War. And since the Tenth Doctor had avoided a regeneration through the use of a preserved severed hand, Smith's Doctor was already out of lives.

After deterring the potential conflict for the remaining years of his Eleventh iteration, the Doctor consigned himself to a death of the permanent kind, but was spared this fate by the Time Lords, who granted him a brand new regeneration cycle.

Peter Capaldi's regeneration was special in the sense that it was triggered by damage accumulated throughout the Twelfth Doctor's final adventure. Coming up against a powerful army of Cybermen and two incarnations of the Master, the Doctor's first major injury arrives in the form of Cyberman electrocution. Although the Doctor survives, he spends several weeks recovering from the attack and is unable to heal a cut on his forehead, with golden regeneration energy beginning to brew from his hands.

Delaying his forthcoming renewal, the Doctor later engages multiple Cybermen in combat and endures several energy blasts before detonating an explosion that not only wipes out his mechanical enemies, but puts paid to any chance the Doctor had of recovering from his previous wounds. Capaldi's regeneration marks a rare occasion in Doctor Who history that a major villain has succeeded in directly killing the Doctor.

More: Doctor Who Season 11 Saved The Show From Steven Moffat's Mistakes

Doctor Who season 12 premieres in 2020 on BBC and BBC America.

source https://screenrant.com/doctor-who-every-regeneration-reason/

[allthingsberena]

An interview with the Independent 2013

The last time Jemma Redgrave gave a proper, full-on newspaper interview was in July 2010, just a couple of months after the deaths of her aunt Lynn Redgrave and her father Corin Redgrave and just over a year after the skiing accident that killed her cousin, Natasha Richardson – an awful succession of loss that the interviewer described as giving her face "the look that grief gives, as if a layer has been washed away". Three years later, and Redgrave appears outwardly restored – friendly, warm and unpretentious, with an unexpectedly hearty laugh that wouldn't disgrace Basil Brush. If she remains huddled under her coat in the well-heated bowels of the Soho Hotel in London, then it's because today she is sniffing her way through a cold. "It was a couple of months after he [Corin] died, so I was quite raw," she says of that 2010 interview. "I still feel the same now, just not with the same intensity." We talk more about her father and other relatives later, and not altogether mellifluously when I reveal that some of my research came by way of a biography of the Redgraves despised by her family. First and more happily, however, we discuss her work. Since leaving drama school, Redgrave has been a regular on television, most prominently as the titular Victorian doctor in ITV's Bramwell. Thanks to its huge global fanbase, however, her role in Doctor Who, in which she debuted last year as Kate Stewart (the daughter of the much-loved Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, played by the late Nicholas Courtney from 1968 to 1989) is set to eclipse all that has gone before, when she returns in the 50th- anniversary episode "The Day of the Doctor". So far we know that this "love letter to the fans" has been filmed in both 2D and 3D, and will see the return of David Tennant and Billie Piper alongside Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman, as well as John Hurt as a previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor, plus Daleks, Zygons and a visit to Elizabethan England. Otherwise, a strict omerta prevails around the 75-minute episode that will be shown simultaneously around the world as well as in cinemas. That's next Saturday – quite the event. "What can I tell you about the 50th anniversary? Practically nothing," she says, giving me a first taste of her pleasingly full-throttle laugh. "When the job offer came in my agent said, 'You mustn't tell anybody about this,' and I thought, 'What am I going to tell the kids?' It's like joining M15." The cat finally exited the bag when scenes were filmed in Trafalgar Square. "The news hit the Twittersphere and within half-an-hour of our being there, there were people with Tom Baker scarves on… people with Tardis safety covers on their iPhones," she says. "It was a huge relief to be able to tell people." Redgrave's peak Doctor Who-viewing years were the early 1970s, when, classically, she'd watch from behind the sofa. "I would then have terrible nightmares," she says. "My dad said he would take me to the BBC studios so I could see the Daleks – and that frightened me even more." Does she meet one in the anniversary special? "Can I tell?" she asks the publicist sitting in on the interview, who signals her assent. "In that case, yes, I come across a Dalek. There was no acting required. It was a scarifying moment." Anything else she can tell? "I work with more than one Doctor… oh, and I worked with more than one Tardis as well." Intriguing, or at least it will be to Whovians. "The community of Who fans have been very kind to me," she says. "Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart was such a loved character and I think people were very open to his daughter making an appearance and, hopefully, touch wood, making more appearances in the future." So, she'll be back? "I think Peter Capaldi is a very exciting prospect as the new Doctor, so that would be wonderful." Born in January 1965, Redgrave is five days younger than her cousin Joely Richardson, whose parents are Vanessa Redgrave and the film and play director Tony Richardson; Joely's sister, Natasha Richardson, was born two years earlier. In the flesh, she bears a far more striking resemblance to her late cousin than she does when photographed – or, at least, I'd never noticed such similarity before. Her paternal grandparents were the actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, an acting dynasty, if you like… although Aunt Vanessa doesn't like, insisting that "dynasty implies power – we're a family of professional actors. It's like coming from a family of carpenters or plumbers." "I think that's about right," agrees Jemma (née Jemima). "I associate dynasties with huge corporations… the Murdochs… it feels like a family and quite a few of us are actors." When did she first become aware that she belonged to this extraordinary clan? "I remember one of my teachers at primary school used to call me Vanessa by mistake, and I couldn't understand why and then, of course, later it became clear," she says. "It just seemed very normal to me – like everybody's family seems normal until you realise no one else's family is like that." Was it inevitable that she would follow in the family profession? "No, not at all. None of my brothers are actors – I've got three brothers – Luke is a cameraman, Harvey is a civil servant and Arden is training to be a primary-school teacher. A mixed bag. "I remember once on my grandmother's birthday, my dad was filming In the Name of the Father (the 1993 Daniel Day-Lewis film about the Guildford Four) in Ireland and my aunt and my brothers… a big lot of family… were driving round from here to there in a minibus, having a lovely time and breaking into songs, and my brother Luke heard Harvey mutter to himself, 'I was born into the wrong family.'" Her own sons with barrister husband Tim Owen, Gabriel and Alfie, are aged 19 and 13; Gabriel has just started an English degree at Sussex University. Are there any signs of a new generation of thespians? "There are going to be one or two more… possibly… but I think it's important that they speak for themselves," she says – a statement in stark contrast to Laurence's Olivier's very public announcement of the birth of Vanessa Redgrave, after a performance of Hamlet at the Old Vic, that "Laertes [played by Michael Redgrave] has a daughter." Vanessa could hardly grow up to be an accountant after that. It was Jemma Redgrave's grandmother, Rachel Kempson, who took her – aged five – to her first play, Peter Brook's RSC production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, followed by more Shakespeare, watching her father in Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra. "Complicated theatre really… not Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which I took my children to see." Her parents, Corin and former fashion model Deidre Hamilton-Hill, divorced when Redgrave was nine, by which time her father, like her aunt Vanessa, was deeply involved in far-left politics in the shape of the Workers Revolutionary Party (WRP). "We'd been taken to demonstrations when I was very young," she recalls. "This was the late 1960s, early 1970s, and everybody was demonstrating about something. "It's difficult to explain it now… you know the whole Ed Miliband thing with the Daily Mail and 'it's very important to know where he comes from… very, very left-wing views were expressed round his breakfast table'… well, they were discussed round the breakfast tables of a lot of people who grew up at that time. The children of those people weren't brainwashed." Certainly this child isn't without her own political causes: Redgrave was a prominent member of the Stop the War movement protesting at Blair and Bush's 2003 invasion of Iraq. ("There's no joy in being proved right.") She also helps at a Red Cross refugee centre in Islington, north London. What she can't stand is that any political movement would espouse a cause to the detriment of family life. "I resented the WRP, because my dad was unavailable to me and to my brother because there were such extreme demands made on everybody who became a member of that party," she says. In her book, To Be a Redgrave, her mother recalls Jemma and her cousins Natasha and Joely sitting round the kitchen table discussing how much they hated the WRP. "Vanessa was involved in the WRP for a while so we did have a similar experience, yeah," she says. I add that I'm surprised that she has stated that she has never read her mother's autobiography. "My mum was very angry with my dad for a very long time and I didn't really want to divide my loyalty," she explains. "The least complicated path through that particular difficulty was not to read it." Another contentious book is one that I had blithely borrowed from my local library, The House of Redgrave by Tim Adler, unaware that it had been lambasted by the family for an outrageous false claim that Vanessa Redgrave had once come home to find her husband, Tony Richardson (director of the original Royal Court production of Look Back in Anger and Oscar-winning British New Wave film-maker), in bed with her father, Sir Michael Redgrave. "You can't libel the dead so [Adler] can make up what he likes… I don't even want to comment on it," she says, before adding: "That book was written by a man who got in touch with my cousin Tasha and said that he wanted to write a book about her dad and that he was a huge fan. She did a bit of investigating and she said that she wasn't going to help him. He wasn't a huge fan of Tony's. This is a man whose work was groundbreaking and changed the landscape of theatrical and cinematic culture in this country. And to reduce him to his sexuality… it's… yeah." A long silence follows and we talk about other things to get the conversation flowing again – of her recent house move across north London, her cottage in Wales and her pet Labrador. And then our time is up and she is whisked off for a photo-session with the marvellous Dan, who soon has her booming with laughter again. After the shoot, I tell her that I will return the despised book to the library forthwith. "Or burn it," she says. "No we can't start burning books. Oh, all right – perhaps just this once."

[coolbrotherzine]

THE LIBERTINES. WHAT BECAME OF THE LIKELY LADS?

The Libertines are the perfect band for a bored teenager. Or a bored 12 year old for that matter. Forget the music – the whole ethos of the band alone is enough to giddy a child. The definition of  libertine is a free thinker who freely indulges in sensual pleasures without regard to moral principles. A perfect name, then, for such a band as they would mirror this image to a T. They were reckless and they were unstoppable. Renowned for their habitual use of  Class A drugs, they became a Rock ‘n’ Roll cliché. Pathetic and prewritten, perhaps to somebody with a few more wits about them. But for me? Well, I was on the edge of my beanbag. There was not a book unread or an unreleased demo unacquainted to my keen, budding ears. I’d discover track after track and I would dig every one. It’s fair to assume this speaks for a lot of fans during this time.

The band was formed by frontmen, Peter Doherty and Carl Barât, who began their rickety road to success in 1997. Bass players, guitarists and drummers (including the likes of Johnny Borrell of Razorlight) would come and go like the shedding skins of a snake, but the backbone and ethos of the band would remain the same. That is, just as long as the boys continued to stay true to their moral. Doherty explains this during an interview for MTV’s Gonzo. “We could be signed or unsigned – as long as we’re together then Arcadia still exists. As long as we’ve got what we set out with, which is the dream.”  Explaining the Arcadian dream, he goes on to elaborate: “[It’s] an enclosed libertarian worldwide commune of the soul.” This bohemian attitude to life gave The Libertines a quality that guaranteed authenticity. And this caught the fancy of many.

In 2001, they signed to Rough Trade, which propelled the band’s fan base all the more. Followers of Britpop lad culture, wearers of the bucket hat and White Hart regulars would unwind their hard demeanours, delving deeply into more sensitive subjects. Oscar Wilde became a halls of residence-hold name. Dog-eared diaries and quills would make their way onto WH Smiths’ stock list. The band was becoming enormous. One of the reasons for this magnetism was the barrier between the band and their followers. There wasn’t one.

Creating chat rooms, Peter would message fans to arrange meet ups and free gigs. Acting as a half Fagin, half pie-eyed Pied Piper character, he would gather strangers and arrange guerilla gigs at their flat in Bethnal Green, affectionately nicknamed the Albion Rooms. Never had meeting your idols been so easy. Fans would huddle in awe for a night of tunes, jams, police visits and probably a snog. At the end, they’d be told to take whatever they could find as a souvenir. “It’s either the top of the world, or the bottom of the canal,” Barât would famously say to Doherty. This summed the band up perfectly.

But it wasn’t just the Albion Rooms that The Libertines would mark as their own. The Boogaloo, Filthy McNastys, Rhythm Factory, alley ways all had a part to play in creating the most hedonistic game of  Monopoly yet. Exclusive to the East End, the band made their own mark in history. And in sharing this experience with anyone that would let them, The Libertines would inspire a generation.

However, by 2004, they became less of a band and more a soap opera. Addiction and bad relationships clogged up the clockworks of the band and they split. Peter would start new band, Babyshambles. The messy left overs became Dirty Pretty Things. A snowball of alarming adjectives, snow and an ever-growing fan base was heading for the cliffs. Luckily it hit water.

In 2010, the band claimed to have buried the hatchet. A thrill for all fans too young to see the band the first time round, they did a one off reunion gig at Reading and Leeds. But the emotionally entwined relationship “like ivy in a tree” that Barât once described was still amiss. All four members seemed like strangers, forced together on stage – much like a rendition you might see on the X Factor (except somehow less heart felt and somehow more awkward.) This was a money making scheme. It was a publicity stunt. Barât and Doherty still didn’t get on – frailties between them were ripe as ever. They admitted this to be the case in There Are No Innocent Bystanders – the DVD that exposed the build up to their Reading and Leeds gigs, and the DVD that was costing each and every needy fan a tenner a pop just to buy it. The term libertine and Arcadia suddenly began to appear a make shift fantasy, used as a farce to swerve away the debt collector. But something eventually clicked.

In July 2014, the band reunited yet again, scheduled to play their biggest gig yet of 60,000 people in Hyde Park. Colossal. With slurs and urghs, out they strolled, not a second late. Doherty was violently intoxicated, as always, but they seemed happy. That chemistry that Libs fans rant about, that was beginning to seem a myth, was once again alive and kicking and more fiery than ever. Grimace faces and expressions of release from the crowd splurted out lyrics, while tears of joy danced off the cheeks of others. There was an energy in the crowd which is always present when I see Peter and Carl play. They mean a fucking lot to an absolute fuck load of people. And if you can’t feel it at a Libertines gig, you can at least always see it.

They’ve come a long way since their split in 2004. Doherty is clean, having spent 3 months at Hope rehab centre in Thailand. Carl has his own side project, Carl Barât and The Jackals. The Libertines are back in the game (for good this time.) Signed to Virgin EMI Records, a new album is in the pipeline. And with smoothed over friendships and lifestyles anew, who knows? Maybe this will be their best album yet. Strike a light, raise your glasses, drink a toast to the boring classes, because exciting times are ahead. The world is ours once again.

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1245

Monday, January 14, 2019

 Sorry this is going out later than usual. It's freezing outside this morning -18 degrees C (or 0 degrees F for all you non-metric folks). A good reason to stay under the flannel sheets and down comforter a couple of hours longer.

 We had a National Geographic moment here yesterday when a hawk managed to capture a male cardinal right at our bird feeders. They are both beautiful birds and the hawk was only doing what comes naturally but it's still traumatic to witness the circle of life being played out right outside your window. Penny saw the raptor fly off with its bright red meal clutched in its talons.

 X-23 #8 - Mariko Tamaki (writer) Diego Olortegui (pencils) Walden Wong (inks) Chris O'Halloran (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). X-Assassin part 2. Laura and Gabby rescue their "sister" from the bad guys. Whether the X-Assassin appreciates it is still to be determined. I like this straight forward story where the girls are trying to do the right thing and the villain is clearly defined.

 Thor #9 - Jason Aaron (writer) Mike del Mundo (art) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). This lead up to "The War of the Realms" features Roz Solomon and it's great. Sometimes I'll read a comic book with a lot of writing and wonder partway through when is it going to finish? This time each word balloon and caption just carried me along as Roz fights a frost giant and gathers important intel as an Agent of Wakanda. I loved the little scene with ex-boyfriend Thor.

 Domino #10 - Gail Simone (writer) David Baldeon, Michael Shelfer, Alberto Alburquerque & Anthony Piper (art) Victor Olazaba, Ed Tadeo & Michael Shelfer (inks) Carlos Lopez (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Soldier of Fortune conclusion. The team up with Longshot ends, tied up with a big fat bow. I found the pacing of this story to be too fast. The good guys go to the Mojoverse to see if they can heal Longshot, fight through an army of guards and get into the hospital where a doctor cures their friend. Then it's back to their own universe and a long nap. All in 20 pages. They glossed over the fact that both Domino and Longshot have a luck power, which was what made me want to keep reading this story. I would have liked more depth. I'm also not a fan of art by committee. I don't mind a couple of artists working on an issue but four different styles is too jarring visually for me.

 Young Justice #1 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Patrick Gleason (art) Alejandro Sanchez (colours) DC Lettering (letters). Yay Young Justice. When I saw the ads for the new Bendis books I was most excited to see this teen team. I loved the old series written by Peter David. I am so happy to see Impulse/Bart (RIP Mike Wieringo), Robin/Tim, Superboy/Conner, and Wonder Girl/Cassie back on the racks. It's going to be neat to see how Amethyst, Jenny Hex and Teen Lantern fit into the team. This intro is a pulse-pounding fight between the teen heroes and warriors from Gemworld. I probably would have read this no matter who drew it but Patrick Gleason makes this new book an automatic add to my "must read" list.

 Criminal #1 - Ed Brubaker (writer) Sean Phillips (art & letters) Jacob Phillips (colours). Meet lowlife Teeg Lawless fresh out of prison and already in the hole for 23 K. How's he going to pay that off? You'll find out if you stick with this story of a hardened criminal. I love how Ed Brubaker writes about these extraordinary ordinary people and Sean Phillips is perfect for this slice of noir life.

 Captain Marvel #1 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Carmen Carnero (art) Tamra Bonvillain (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Yep, it's another number one for Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel and you can jump right in and follow her new adventures without missing a beat. You know there's a Captain Marvel movie starring Brie Larson hitting the big screens in March right? I've followed Captain Marvel ever since she was a he in 1967 wearing the green costume with the fin on his helmet. Carol is my favourite character to use the moniker. This first issue is a standard introduction with the requisite super hero fight where Carol saves the city from a giant monster with the help of another of my favourite super heroes, Spiderwoman. Nice to see Jessica back on the racks. The twist at the end will surprise fans expecting another boring super hero comic book as Captain Marvel finds herself leading a whole new crew of do gooders. I'm going to stay tuned.

 Batman #62 - Tom King (writer) Mitch Gerads (art) Clayton Cowles (letters). Knightmares part 2. This is a very intense fight between Batman and the villain Pyg. The last two pages makes this issue more than what it seems.

 Die #2 - Kieron Gillen (writer) Stephanie Hans (art) Clayton Cowles (letters). Die is not just the singular for dice but it's also the name of the place that five former Dungeons and Dragons players find themselves trapped in. It's a very scary place and I think their quest to get home will ultimately fail. I'm sure some of them will die in Die. I wish I liked this more but none of the characters appeal to me and I find the story depressing. This fantasy with real life characters can go on without me.

 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1 - Tom Taylor (writer) Juann Cabal (art) Nolan Woodard (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). I was hooked on this new Spider-Man book as soon as I saw the names in the credits. Tom and Juann are in my top five list of writers and artists and they didn't disappoint me. Check out their X-23 story that just hit the racks as a trade paperback. Everything you need for a good comic book is here. You've got a little bit of super heroic action, mysterious bad guys, a damsel in distress and two little kids with glowing eyes on the last page to make you want to read the next issue right away. You have to wait until January 23 for that though. I know some Marvelites have complained that Marvel's new number ones are priced higher at $4.99 US but this one has a back-up story worth the extra buck. Peter Parker's Aunt May has been around since day one and has faced many threats. This latest one by Tom Taylor (writer) Marcelo Ferreira (pencils) Roberto Poggi (inks) Jim Campbell (colours) & VC's Travis Lanham (letters) might just break the two of them. If you've stopped reading Amazing, Friendly Neighborhood is a good replacement.

 Prodigy #2 - Mark Millar (writer) Rafael Albuquerque (art) Marcelo Maiolo (colours) Peter Doherty (letters). I love this kind of pure fantasy where the hero is a super intelligent guy with unlimited resources and the bad guys are pure evil. Showing the villains hunting children with rifles leaves no doubt. The threat is pure science fiction and the stakes are impossibly high. This is the kind of story that keeps me wanting to read every issue.

 Man Without Fear #2 - Jed MacKay (writer) Stefano Landini (art) Andres Mossa (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Oh, so that's what happened. Matt was hit by a truck while saving a kid. That's why he's lying in a hospital crippled to the point where he has decided to retire Daredevil. This issue's narrator was a surprise and made me wonder if they're going to resurrect this character again. Jed has done a good enough writing this weekly mini so that I want to keep reading to see how Matt recovers to don the devil costume again.

 Avengers #12 - Jason Aaron (writer) Ed McGuinness & Cory Smith (pencils) Mark Morales, Karl Kesel & Scott Hanna (inks) Erick Arciniega (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone. Now we have the Agents of Wakanda. This issue introduces some of those agents. They're a mix of misfits and oddballs. I like the I.T. guy and the guy out in space. Ka-Zar is a surprise but I like him too because I hope to see Zabu soon. These Avengers are dealing with Namor and his Defenders of the Deep but also another threat coming out of Transylvania. I like who they recruit to deal with the vampires but I thought he was in prison. Nope, just checked. He got 3 years for tax evasion and was released in April 2013.

 Miles Morales: Spider-Man #2 - Saladin Ahmed (writer) Javier Garron (art) David Curiel (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I love the cover showing everything this young man has to juggle while living a dual life. Imagine trying to do it without a smart phone? I like that the Rhino doesn't have one just like me. So Miles and Rhino are trying to find some missing kids. The trail leads them to an old warehouse where they fight the bad guy but lose him. The good guy showing up on the last page will help them continue the search. Saladin must have gotten some writing tips from Brian Bendis to keep the audience panting for more.

[fandomtrash4]

Spiderman’s Secret {2}

Word count: 1,657

Part 1  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8  Part 9  Part 10  Part 11  Part 12  Part 13  Part 14  Part 15

The next day, Peter and I return home to find a man in a black suit waiting outside the apartment. Peter opens his mouth, but I stop him. Shutting the door, he turns on me.

"What was that about?" He demands.

"You don't know him. You can't just talk to strangers. I don't care who you are, that's how you get killed," I defend. Just then, the door opens, and the man in the suit enters. "Who are you, and what are you doing in our apartment?"

"I thought you said don't talk to strangers?" Peter questions.

"That doesn't count when they just walk into your house, Pete." He nods in understanding, and the man takes a step forward.

"Tony sent me. I'm here to take you to the airport, so get ready." The man walks to the door and elects to stand right next to it. Peter follows me into our room, grabbing two duffle bags along the way. I shove a bunch of clothes and my phone charger, shoving them into the duffle. I zip it up, looking over to see Peter putting his suit into his duffle, and I decide to do the same, just in case. Who knows when Tony will be done with our suits.

"Alright, let's catch our flight." I tell Peter to be ready. This guy could be anyone. How do we know if Tony actually sent? He glances questioningly, but agrees to follow my lead. The man walks towards a car, opening the door, but I hold Peter back. "We don't even know who you are," I state.

"That may be true, but you know who I am," another voice says. Tony. "I am glad to see that you don't just blindly trust someone who says I sent them. That's a good reaction to have. I am a bit surprised you didn't do anything, though."

"Well, I was waiting until I had a little more evidence because maybe he did know you. I definitely wasn't going to get in that car until I knew, though. Peter, on the other hand, needs a little help in these situations. He is entirely too trusting," I rat.

"Piper!" Peter whines.

"What? It's the truth," I defend. "Besides, maybe now you can have someone other than me help you with these things." Peter and I finally get in the car when Tony makes an impatient noise. "So, what is it exactly that you need my brother and I for?"

"Captain America's gone rogue," Tony replies.

"What do you mean 'rogue'?"

"He's gone crazy. He thinks he's right, but he doesn't know how wrong he is. He's turning the rest of the Avengers against each other," Tony explains. "This is Happy, by the way. He'll be taking care of you guys while we're in Germany." From what I can see of Happy's face, he doesn't look like he's happy about being put on babysitting detail.

The hotel room is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Peter and I have our own rooms, side by side. Happy's is on the other side of Peter's. I take out my phone, hopping onto the bed. I want to know the Captain's side, so I hack Tony's phone remotely. I am even more surprised than before when I actaully pass through his firewalls. I search through his contacts and write down Steve's number. I call, and the phone rings twice before he answers.

"Hello?"

"Hi. Is this Steve Rogers?" I wonder.

"Yes. Who is this?" He asks.

"Just someone with a question. Someone contacted me about you, and I wanted to hear your side of the story before I made my decision. I don't know much, actually. This person likes to keep information to themselves."

"They think my friend bombed the Vienna International Center during a UN meeting, but it wasn't him. He was nowhere near Vienna. I'm trying to save him and clear his name at the same time. It's not really working too well."

"This person said you were turning the Avengers against each other," I state.

"They chose their side. I did not force them. In fact, I warned them about the dangers this would entail, but they decided to help me. They wouldn't leave even if I asked them too." Steve laughs a little, and then silence remains for a few minutes. "Did you learn what you need to pick your side?"

"Maybe. Until next time, Captain." I hang up, deciding my next move. If I go to Peter and he doesn't agree, he'll probably tell Tony, and I'd most likely be sent back home. If I start asking Tony questions, he ight get suspicious and figure out what I did, and he'll send me home. The only option is to stay where I am, gathering as much information as I can. After all, intel is one of the best things to have.

Someone knocks at my door, and I look through the peep hole. Seeing Happy, I unlock and open the door. I block the way in, not wanting a male in the first place I had that was completely my own, even if just for a short while.

"Suit up," is all he says, pointing in the direction of the briefcase I spotted yesterday. I didn't want to open it then. When Happy leaves, I walk towards the briefcase, unlatching it and pulling the top up. I gasp when a red and blue suit appears. I put it on as quickly as I can, wanting to see how it fit. Surprisingly, it fits perfectly. The mask even fits in a way that guaranteed none of my hair would be stuck in my face. Peter walks out of his room when I walk out of mine.

"Your suit looks just like mine!" Peter shouts, ecstatic. I roll my eyes, grabbing his arm, and follow Happy to the car. Tony is already waiting for us, and he decides that now would be a good time to tell us a little more about what we're here for.

"Captain America has been aiding a known terrorist. It's our job to take him down and bring him in," Tony says.

"I'm pretty sure that you're capable of taking him down yourself, so why do you need us?" I question.

"He's less likely to hurt you guys because you're so young. You'll use that to your advantage. He's going to try to tell you that you don't understand. He's trying to get you to change sides. You need to stay back and web up the other team. Go for Cap's legs. The shield doesn't protect them, and that's how you get him down. Your coms are in your suits. Listen carefully and do everything I tell you. Understand?" Peter nods excitedly, but when I don't agree right away, Tony looks at me. "Understand?" He repeats.

"Not really. Why did Captain America go off the rails and start protecting bad guys?" I wonder.

"The terrorist is an old friend of his from before he was frozen. The Winter Soldier. Now, if you do not agree to follow my orders, I will send you home right now," Tony threatens.

"Okay, okay. I'll listen." I cannot leave my brother here all alone. I might have a chance of convincing him to join the right side. I really hope he sides with me.

Peter and I stay hidden while the Avengers talk outside the airport. We have to wait for our signal before we can be seen. Sadly, Peter's signal comes first.

"Underoos!" Tony shouts. Peter swings in, grabbing Captain America's shield and webbing his hands together, and lands on the roof of a car. "Nice job, kid."

"Thanks! Well, I could've stuck the landing a little better, it's just the new suit. Wai- it's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's perfect thank you," Peter rambles.

"Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation."

"Captain. Big fan. I'm Spiderman."

"Yeah, we'll take about it later. Just, good job," Tony says, trying to shut him up.

"You've been busy," Steve remarks.

"And you've been a complete idiot," Tony counters. "Dragging in Clint, 'rescuing' Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave, a safe place! I'm trying to keep- I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart."

"You did that when you signed," Steve says. Tony then whistles, which is my signal. I don't know why I'm the one who had to get the whistle, but here we are. I swing in, landing right next to my brother, having nothing else to do.

"There's another one?" This question came from everybody except for Tony, Peter, and I. Looks like he didn't tell his team about me.

"Captain," is all I say, knowing better than to ramble like Peter. Tony tries convincing Steve to leave with us, but I can tell he won't. Steve then raises his webbed hands, and an arrow cuts right through the webbing.

"Alright, Lang," Steve orders. Then I see something small right before it grows, kicking Peter as it backflips away.

"I believe this is yours, Captain America." The now normal-sized man hands the shield over to Steve. Tony flies off to get Wanda, Rhodey sees two in the terminal, and the guy in black says he wants Barnes.

"Hey, Mr. Stark? What should I do?" Peter asks.

"What we discussed. Keep your distance, web them up," Tony answers. Captain America moves to stop the guy in black while Peter and I swing to the terminal. Peter lands on the glass and starts running before kicking through the glass.

[mavwrekmarketing]

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Media captionSee how Jodie Whittaker was revealed as the next Time Lord

Jodie Whittaker has been announced as Doctor Who’s 13th Time Lord – the first woman to be given the role.

The new Doctor’s identity was revealed in a trailer broadcast at the end of the Wimbledon men’s singles final.

The Broadchurch star succeeds Peter Capaldi, who took over the role in 2013 and leaves in the forthcoming Christmas special.

Whittaker, 35, said it was “overwhelming, as a feminist” to become the next Doctor.

She will make her debut on the sci-fi show when the Doctor regenerates in the Christmas special.

All the Doctors so far, from Hartnell to Whittaker

Time Lord’s new gender splits Doctor Who fans

The Huddersfield-born star, who was a late favourite to become the Doctor, will find a familiar face for her on set – Doctor Who’s new showrunner is Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall.

Whittaker said: “I’m beyond excited to begin this epic journey – with Chris and with every Whovian on this planet.

“It’s more than an honour to play the Doctor. It means remembering everyone I used to be, while stepping forward to embrace everything the Doctor stands for: hope. I can’t wait.”

The actress also shares another Broadchurch link with Doctor Who – co-star David Tennant was the 10th Doctor.

Analysis

By Lizo Mzimba, BBC entertainment correspondent

It was always unlikely that the Doctor would continue to be white and male, especially as the BBC has committed itself to greater diversity on its programmes.

Casting the first female Doctor is something many viewers have been calling for. And strong female-led stories have been successful on the big and small screen in recent years, in films ranging from The Hunger Games and Star Wars to Wonder Woman, and in TV series like Game of Thrones.

The BBC will be hoping today’s announcement will not just excite viewers, but will also demonstrate that the time travel show has firmly moved into the 21st century.

Whittaker said it felt “incredible” to take on the role, saying: “It feels completely overwhelming, as a feminist, as a woman, as an actor, as a human, as someone who wants to continually push themselves and challenge themselves, and not be boxed in by what you’re told you can and can’t be.”

And she told fans not to be “scared” by her gender.

“Because this is a really exciting time, and Doctor Who represents everything that’s exciting about change,” she said, adding: “The fans have lived through so many changes, and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one.”

Whittaker said she had used the codename “Clooney” when discussing the part with her husband and agent – as actor George is “an iconic guy”.

Image caption Peter Capaldi will bow out in this year’s Christmas special, featuring David Bradley as the First Doctor

Chibnall said the 13th Doctor was always going to be a woman.

He said: “I always knew I wanted the 13th Doctor to be a woman and we’re thrilled to have secured our number one choice.

“Her audition for the Doctor simply blew us all away. Jodie is an in-demand, funny, inspiring, super-smart force of nature and will bring loads of wit, strength and warmth to the role. The 13th Doctor is on her way.”

Chibnall is taking over from Steven Moffat, who leaves the series at the same time as Capaldi.

Capaldi, who had said he wanted to see a woman replace him, said: “Anyone who has seen Jodie Whittaker’s work will know that she is a wonderful actress of great individuality and charm.

“She has above all the huge heart to play this most special part. She’s going to be a fantastic Doctor.”

Image copyright Twitter/billiepiper

Image copyright Twitter/FreemaOfficial

Former companions Billie Piper and Karen Gillan had called for a female Time Lord, while Doctor Who and Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss said it was the perfect time for a woman to take the lead role.

After the announcement, Piper tweeted the word: “YES” with a red rose emoji, while fellow former companion Freema Agyeman tweeted: “Change isn’t a dirty word!!!!”

‘It’s about time’

Image copyright Getty Images

Dedicated Whovians were quick to react to the news of Jodie Whittaker taking over the Tardis.

On social media, some said it would encourage them to watch the show for the first time – but others said the casting meant they would be switching off, and that the Doctor should be played by a man.

Carla Joanna tweeted to say that she would be tuning in and that the trailer “made me choke up a little”. Another tweeter, Ayad, said: “I don’t even watch Doctor Who but a woman doctor is so cool.”

But Samantha Melton said: “I am a woman and a feminist but I don’t want a female Doctor. To me it’s trying too hard to tick the boxes.”

Doctor Who writer Jenny Colgan, who has written for the series’ books and audio dramas, said: “I am of course incredibly excited the new Doctor is a woman; Steven Moffat has been paving the way for this for ages and it is absolutely about time.

“I can’t imagine what it’s like for Jodie: she must be so scared and excited all at once, but I couldn’t be happier, and 100% can’t wait to write for her.”

Will Howells, who writes for the Doctor Who magazine and has been a fan for 25 years, said: “In 2017, there shouldn’t be anything major about a TV series changing from a male lead to a female one. We’ll also maybe see a solo male companion as a regular feature for the first time.

“I don’t think it’s a risky choice at all – but if a show that can go anywhere and do anything can’t take risks, what can?”

Science fiction and fantasy author Paul Cornell said: “It’s always been time for a woman Doctor and it’s great we got there.

“Well done to Steven Moffat for laying the groundwork. She’s going to be amazing. And that first episode of hers is going to get a lot of new people watching.”

Actress Olivia Colman, who starred in a Doctor Who episode and was one of the possible candidates for the role, said it was a “classy decision”.

“The creatives made the right decision that the part should be a woman and it’s about time,” she told BBC News. She added that those unhappy about Whittaker being the new Time Lord should “leave her alone and let her do her job brilliantly”.

Whittaker starred as Beth Latimer in the three series of the ITV crime drama Broadchurch, as the mother of a murdered boy.

As well as TV work, Whittaker has appeared on the big screen, in One Day, Attack the Block and St Trinian’s. She made her film debut in 2006’s Venus, opposite Peter O’Toole.

Traditionally, each Doctor has their own distinctive look, raising questions about the cloak Whittaker wears in the trailer. However, she has said it is not part of her official Doctor Who outfit, and that she does not yet know what she will wear.

Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

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The post Jodie Whittaker: Doctor Who’s 13th Time Lord to be a woman – BBC News appeared first on MavWrek Marketing by Jason

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[floridageekscene]

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Alterna Comics is #BringingBackNewsprint

With issues priced between $1.00 and $1.99.

  Now entering their 11th year, Alterna is rolling out a single issue lineup that will feature throwback style covers, a new logo, bi-monthly release schedules, prices between $1.00 to $1.99 an issue, and the nostalgic feel of newsprint.

Alterna publisher Peter Simeti explains, “When I fell in love with comics, it was an entire experience: the stories, the imagery, and the paper. There’s a whole generation of comic book creators and readers that had the same exact experience. I’ve talked to hundreds of people over the years and the consensus was all the same – comic books just don’t feel like comic books anymore. The smell and feel of the pages is something that no longer occurs on the new comic book day release wall, yet it’s prevalent in back issue bins across the country. Our goal is to create comic books that “feel” like they came straight out of yesteryear but with stories and art that appeals to readers of all generations.”

Known for producing the FUBAR series, THE CHAIR (which has been adapted to a film that stars the late Roddy Piper), the IF anthology, NOVO, LILITH DARK, MOTHER RUSSIA, CROAK, and many more. Alterna’s lineup has been an eclectic one over the past eleven years, filled mostly with horror, sci-fi, and fantasy graphic novels and digital comics. Alterna’s 2017 plans will expand their focus with the extremely affordable newsprint line at the forefront.

A generation of comic creators are also thrilled to see their books looking just like the ones they grew up with. Alterna creators had this to say:

“For me, this is coming full circle. When I started doing my own comics we were in the era of the graphic novel so this format was going out of fashion. When I was growing up, all the comics I read were on newsprint and they looked, felt and even smelled a certain way, so this format will appeal to people like me! Big nostalgia factor! For others this line’s price point is pretty appealing too. I can’t wait to see my book printed like this.”

– JEREMY MASSIE (AMAZING AGE, ALL MY GHOSTS, THE DEADBEAT, BEE STING)

“When I first started collecting comics, they were printed on newsprint, and I fell in love with them. ‘Lilith Dark’ is largely a love letter to all the stuff I loved as a kid. Monster movies, He-Man cartoons, and comics. Now the book itself will embody that era. The thought of some kid picking up ‘Lilith Dark #1’ and falling in love with comics just like I did, is pretty cool!”

– CHARLES DOWD (LILITH DARK)

“I started reading comics as a kid when they were still common sights in supermarkets and gas stations. The selection wasn’t exactly expansive, but it was enough to start. This was after the days of newsprint, but the cover prices then were all around $1.25 and I’m thankful for that, since I wouldn’t have been able to explore enough to find the wheat among the chaff if they were any more expensive. I think it’s important for the industry to bring in new blood, and a big part of that is making sure there are affordable, quality starting points. I’m excited that new readers might be getting their first taste of comics with the Alterna newsprint line and that I can offer TRESPASSER for a price I wouldn’t think twice about paying.”

– JUSTIN M. RYAN (TRESPASSER)

“I got into comics later than most, so I never got to experience newsprint comics on the new release wall. My mom used to tell me stories about how my uncle would go to his local comic shop and pick up as many books as he could. This newsprint line allows reader to give books a chance. To go out of their way to experience an old school theme with new creators for a low price. As a fan of comics -–independent, mainstream, or whatever — it’s something I’m 100% behind and I wish was around when I started reading.”

– CODY ANDREW SOUSA (CROAK)

“For me the Alterna Newsprint line combines some very exciting possibilities. Firstly, I think the inexpensive cover price will find a lot of readers giving Alterna’s line up a shot. As a creator, that’s all I can ask. If I’ve done my job, the readership will follow and Peter has come up with a great way to make that a reality. Secondly, as a long time comic book reader I love the idea of picking up comics that feel like the books that first got me into comics. I find it very hard to pass up a comic with a $1-2 price. Hopefully I’m not the only one. Finally, I’m very proud of all the FUBAR PRESS graphic novels that we’ve published in partnership with Alterna over the years, but I’m thrilled to see MOTHER RUSSIA run on good old newsprint as a mini-series. I conceived the story as a pulpy WWII zombie book and now it will be so, not just thematically, but in the look and feel of the series. In my opinion nothing grows a readership or generates buzz like the comic book. I think both retailers and readers will really enjoy Alterna’s new line of pulp comics.”

– JEFF McCOMSEY (FUBAR, MOTHER RUSSIA)

“This newsprint line is just what the comic world needs right now. The nostalgic aspect will appeal to older fans and the low price point will bring in newer readers. It’s a win-win. We knew this was a perfect fit for “Amazing Age” since our book centers around a classic comic feel, while being accessible for anyone, age 6 to 106. We hope that old school silver age comic fans will find the fun in our book, printed on that good smelling newsprint, while the younger readers, who are gaining interest in comics thanks to all the movies and shows, will enjoy the retro feel to a fresh take on superheroes.”

– MATTHEW SMITH (AMAZING AGE, BEE STING)

“It’s so exciting that we can make comics like this again, comics that kids can also afford, enjoy, and follow. I’m excited for that to come back for my daughter’s generation. The fact that my book is a part of that is really special! There is nothing better than the smell of newsprint with comics all over it. I hope that more affordable, newsprint comics open people up to trying a larger variety of comics that experiment with styles, genres, and characters that we don’t get to see enough of in mainstream comics.”

– MICHAEL S. BRACCO (ADAM WRECK, NOVO, THE CREATORS)

MARCH PREVIEWS LINEUP

ADAM WRECK #1 of 3 – MAR171248

AMAZING AGE #1 of 5 – MAR171249

CROAK #1 of 3 – MAR171250

LILITH DARK #1 of 4 – MAR171251

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Alterna Comics is #BringingBackNewsprint Alterna Comics is #BringingBackNewsprint With issues priced between $1.00 and $1.99. Now entering their 11th year, Alterna is rolling out a single issue lineup that will feature throwback style covers, a new logo, bi-monthly release schedules, prices between $1.00 to $1.99 an issue, and the nostalgic feel of newsprint.