#WAS IT ENOUGH FOR THEM TO CAST DAVID TENNANT

[the--highlanders]

CHARACTER CALLED JAMIE IN THE ARK ANIMATED SERIES. FROM 1746. WHAT IF I EXPLODED MYSELF.

[thedreadvampy]

Btw in all the chat about Dot & Bubble and racism has anyone like. acknowledged that it's kinda weird that in the series featuring the first ever Doctor of colour we have seen uhhhhh:

3 specials in which the new Black doctor appears at the end of the last one for like 5 minutes after being replaced with a previous (white) Doctor for the big event episodes (a thing that has never happened before)

3 regular episodes

Episode in which the Doctor is mostly tangential to the plot except as a bomb

2 extremely Doctor-lite episodes, which are a common feature of Doctor Who but are pretty much never stacked back to back

FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT. I like all these things:

Russell T Davies' work on Doctor Who

Ncuti Gatwa's fucking masterful acting

Doctor-lite and companion-centric episodes (which honestly are some of the best New Who episodes. Turn Left? Human Nature?)

but. it is notable that this series - which I would consider so far to be 9 episodes in which Ncuti Gatwa has had a reasonable cut of screentime in like... MAYBE 4? - is a) by far the least Doctor-focused episode ratio that I've ever seen, b) the only one where an actor's actual onscreen regeneration has been pushed back by the return of an old actor, and is c) COINCIDENTALLY the first ever season starring a Black Doctor 🤔

(because like. this could be a coincidence. there are often Doctor-light episodes to give the actor a break, for plot reasons, etc)

(buuuuut. two in a row? and they're both genuine Doctor-light episodes, ie one which is Turn Left style where the Doctor only appears to bookend the episode and is otherwise taken out of the universe, and one which is Blink or Love and Monsters style where the Doctor only appears in brief bursts, on screen, through the episode, with one monologue near the end, while we follow another character around for the bulk of the time. I can't think of many series of New Who with 2 Doctor-lite episodes, especially not in the first half of a season. In Davies' original run there were what, 4 Doctor-lite episodes in 5 years (and that's IF you count Fathers Day which I kinda don't)? and we've had half that many in one season, back to back, only 4 episodes after we DIDN'T SEE THE NEW ACTOR FOR ALMOST 3 FULL SPECIALS?)

(and I do know that Gatwa had shooting commitments with Sex Education but the thing is. back to back in the first 5 episodes???? it's not a good look! it's just not! you don't have to shoot in series order, you can literally space them across the series if you need to work with his shooting schedule! like I am sure it's not intentional but COME ON.)

[so-make-the-moon]

you're trying to tell me these

aren't the same person

[intenseperpetualbrainrot]

The casting of Michael Sheen and David Tennant for good omens was artful, and not just in a "they did a real good job" way.

The thing about queer media is that it's not just the film. When an actor does a queer film, regardless of whether they're queer themselves, they're somehow taken as a Representative Of The Alphabetti Spaghetti. So, to star in queer media you have to be morally rock solid, unable to be found fault with, or it seems to set queer people back? Which is ridiculous.

David Tennant is SUCH a household name, literally has been Doctor Who, and doesn't use the internet enough to care about some transphobes on shitter sorry twit sorry xitter. For him to do gomens is wild but also meant that my father, who wasn't homophobic but apathetic, has now watched queer media and vaguely understood queer issues. (This may in part be because of his queer daughter, but regardless.)

Michael Sheen is an actual angel in real life. "I give all my profit to charity" right Sheen, give the rest of us a bit of generosity- oh, and he's sold his house. For him to do queer media means nobody's finding faults in his character. For him to do queer media means it's not just another excuse for people to discriminate against queer people. Also, for him to do so well at it? Like yes, you stare at David Tennant with lovesick eyes (I mean we're all doing it, but none of us TO HIS FACE ON CAMERA WHEN WE STILL HAVE TO WORK WITH HIM-)

Anyway just a few thoughts. They rattled around my brain for a bit like tumbleweeds and I might not have expressed this well but have them.

[mizgnomer]

Behind the Scenes of The Giggle - Part Three

From Entertainment Weekly (Dec 2023 by Clark Collis):

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies tells EW that the American actor was completely unfamiliar with the beloved science fiction series when the executive producer approached Harris about playing a villain called The Toymaker on this Saturday's final 60th anniversary special episode, "The Giggle." "He’d never heard of it in his life, bless him," Davies says with a laugh. "I was lucky enough to work with the great man on a show called It’s a Sin, about the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, and working with him was such a joy. The Toymaker, he's kind of the god of games, so he shuffles cards, he does magic tricks, and all of that fits Neil Patrick Harris. If you go through agents, they often tell you to go away. I was able to send just a text saying, 'Do you fancy reading this?' He read it and literally phoned me up going, 'Let me get this right, so the Doctor’s an alien, right?' I was like, 'Oh my god, you really have never heard of Doctor Who!' But he couldn’t resist it, and he came to Cardiff, and we had the most spectacular time." Davies explains that, "it's very hard to find the villain who can match David Tennant and Catherine Tate. To have a character who can be in danger of defeating those two is very hard to find. Sometimes on Doctor Who, you need armies of a thousand robots who could do that. This is just one person, so casting them was absolutely crucial and this becomes a pivotal event in the Doctor’s life. We needed that man, and, god, we had a glorious time. It’s so lovely working with Neil. When I text him now, [we ask], what’s our third project together? We’ve got to keep going!"

With huge thanks to all who shared set photos (including @TomWrenPhoto on Twitter)

For other posts in this set, please see the #whoBtsGiggle tag. The full episode list is [ here ]

[ghost-bison]

a christopher eccleston appreciation post

i will never say this enough because i don't know enough words, nor do i think such words exist, that could even begin to summarize how much i love christopher eccleston, but... i love christopher eccleston. and, more importantly, i have a deep-rooted respect for that man.

i started doctor who as, let's be honest, a sci-fi hater, forcing myself because i was obsessed with david tennant, and i was kind of dreading the first series because of this. but i was dead wrong.

he broadened my mind, gave me so many laughs, and so many cries, and i'm not the first to say that whenever eccleston is on the screen you just can't take your eyes off him, even when he's not supposed to be the main focus of the scene.

the way he can switch from silly goose to traumatized soldier in a matter of seconds will never cease to amaze me. or how he can play with both like he's on a swing by balancing it out with sarcasm?

i think whoever doesn't give him the title role in their shows/films is either an idiot, or they know the main character just isn't always the best.

i think it's downright idiotic and shameful that he gets rejected from ever playing some shakespeare just because of his northern accent (they're just posh elitist pos). now that he's older, and that times are evolving (i mean, i hope the world of theater is vibing with this evolution, but i'm not delusional), i hope we get to see him portray a character like leontes in winter's tale cause i know he'd be absolutely perfect for the role, and who better than shakespeare (this character especially, with his nuances and highs and lows and breakdowns and breakthroughs) to match acting like his?

saw an article where eccleston talked about how the moment he really knew he wanted to be an actor was when he had to wear mascara for a play, and had enjoyed it. i think he talks about it in his autobiography too (you should read it, btw, it's frankly affordable, and he happens to be a marvelous writer as well).

eccleston knows he is mistakenly type-cast, because of his background, as macho men and tough blokes in general. he's aware that it's kind of a big part of his culture. again, he talks about it i think in the very first chapter, how for instance he used to dress up as james bond, the pinnacle of "masculinity", which i think was a disguise in the metaphorical sense of the term, to mask his delicacy and femininity (or at least, that's my interpretation of it).

in his biography, eccleston talks about the differences between him and his dad, ronnie: he was surprised, as a child, whenever his father's affection manifested as a kiss or a hug, cause that usually wasn't his father's way of doing things. he compares it to how he, in contrast, has the habit of kissing his own son, albert, and telling him he loves him.

you can find it as well in how he talks about his anorexia, his body dysmorphia and, i think we can call it that, gender dysphoria. he's from a time when those concepts didn't even exist, they weren't a thing to the public eye. my father and my step-father, both feminine men in their own way, and both around eccleston's age, both told me about the struggle that it represented, not being the stereotype of the macho tough guy, and being surrounded by boys who didn't struggle with that issue. it made my dad a junkie, my stepdad a depressive artist, and, apparently, it made eccleston an anorexic actor.

i think it takes a lot of courage for people that age (the boomer generation as we call them), especially men, from whom we expect toxic masculinity, masculinity pushed to an extreme, to be able to openly call it out and dissect it into what it is: a ridiculous standard. but to be a PUBLIC FIGURE, in his 60s, and still find the strength to express it? damn. takes guts, i think.

most of us on this website, we're babies. most of us are at most in their thirties. the millenials and the gen z, and now the gen alpha, we take that for granted. or get offended and scandalized that being able to express oneself isn't yet a basic standard.

but then, i talk to my mum, and i realize that she had to stray from her catholic, sexist education, she had to make up her own mind about things in order for me to be born a free spirit. and that's just considering my mum's a cishet.

christopher eccleston expressed in other words that he doesn't fully consider himself to be cisgendered. i have mad respect for the way he talks about it, and for even talking about it at all.

then, there's his honesty. the more interviews i watch, the more it impresses me. he knows honesty goes hand in hand with dignity. i'm sorry but i'm tired of people who are nice all the time. you never know when they're being honest, and maybe some of them are, who knows. but i'm not stupid enough to think that so many people are just pure sunshine all the time (respect for tennant for lashing out publically about transphobia, i think he passed the test).

eccleston? he knows how to be both brutally honest and yet respectful at the same time. no ukulele apology from this man and holy fuck, it feels good!

i've seen him call russel t davies out for his lack of professionalism on the set of doctor who, and then list him amongst the great writers he's worked with. which makes me want to believe eccleston's side, because, if you're always either too polite, or too full of spite about eveything, who's to say you're not the problem? i've got way less trouble believing you if you can stay unbiased about a person you're having beef with than if suddenly everything said person does turns into shit just cause you don't like them. that's just maturity and wisdom.

one last thing i love about eccleston is that he is interested in other people's lives. there's a critic by marcus berkmann in his book that perfectly expresses my point: "you know what to expect from the autobiographies of most actors, i think: anecdotes, charm, more than mild self-satisfaction and faux-modesty by the bucketload. but christopher eccleston is not most actors".

and that's it. watch him in interviews and at convention panels, where he lets his younger co-stars speak before himself, and seizes the occasion when journalists ask him questions that are meant to make him talk about himself to praise his writers and other actors instead.

read his autobiography, which is both a love letter to his dad and a big let's-be-honest about the struggles of growing up poor and his personal struggles, because he thinks raising awareness is just as important as protecting himself.

look at his instagram posts where he unabashedly disses the monarchy and stays true and loyal to his background even after getting a taste of money. and his other posts where he shares his love for acorns and spending time with his kids.

i've seen him nearly break down in shame and regret on television for having stolen a kid's crisps in primary school. and not trying to find lame excuses for his behaviour. no ukulele apology, just facts, just christopher eccleston showing us what masculinity in its purest, most beautiful form should be about

[not-she-which-burns-in-it]

I finally FINALLY started listening to the Magnus Protocol this evening.

I took over a MONTH to listen through all of the bonus content, and generally just let my absolute heartbreak and obsession with Jon and Martin ease before diving in to a new cast of characters.

I didn’t wanna repeat of what happened all the way back in 2009, where I resented Matt Smith’s 11th doctor for simply existing and not being David Tennant. I didn’t want to resent the OIAR for not being my beloved Archival team. I spent a MONTH being worried because I like Jonny and Alex as voice actors so much and my ears are very picky. I listened to the whole NineIIMidnight group critiquing the different vocal performances, and how difficult it is to hit the right tone when telling a scary story that doesn’t make me think “you sound bored “or “you sound like you’re doing a commercial this isn’t scary” or “you’re doing a silly voice”. (though the process of critique at least made me feel better that a year and a half away from professional podcast producing has not atrophied my ears) (also many of them were really good I’m not shitting on those other podcasts to be clear). For fucks sake, some of the rusty fears didn’t even hit quite right, depending on who was doing the read that day (I love the cast so much, but not all “statement” voices are created equal).

But I was FINALLY ready today. And even though I’m picky, I trusted and believed that Alex‘s vocal direction, and his and Jonny’s combined writing, and the team’s brilliant sound design would be enough to fill the hole in my heart that the ending of Archives left.

AND THEN GUESS WHOSE VOICE CAME ON FOR THE FIRST STATEMENT sorry INCIDENT

You all know if you’re in these tags. But I didn’t because I wanted to go in fresh.

Thank God, I was driving down the highway where no one could hear me because I started SCREAMING. Surprise? Joy? Indignation? SCREAMING. Just AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

AND WHAT STORY ARE YOU TELLING ME ALEX? Oh it’s about missing your dead husband and going to extreme and spooky lengths to get him back. It’s about gay yearning and trauma OK COOL COOL OK OK COOL

ALEX WHEN I CATCH YOU ALEX. ALEX WHEN I CATCH YOU ALEX. ALEX WHEN I CATCH YOU. Or did Jonny write this one? Either way. What if this was my last straw hmmmm? What if I lost my mind because I KNOW Jonny is gonna be the other “frequent” voice, Chester. I knew it as if Beholding airdropped it into my brain.

SO YOU’RE TELLING ME that 1 year ago these two mysterious voices appeared in your computer systems to read *some* incidents. The true ones. AND YOU EXPECT ME TO BE NORMAL ABOUT THIS. NO IM SCREAMING. JONNY DID YOU INVENT THIS CONCEPT JUST TO HURT ME.

TLDR: I guess I’ll be listening to all of Protocol in time for season 2. 

[fellthemarvelous]

The Giggle is a true work of art

It's a love letter to humanity, but everyone has to be willing to listen for it to work.

I love this gif. Think about it. The MCU has a LARGE audience base and Tony Stark is the face of the MCU and is one of the richest men alive. It is no accident that UNIT looks like a tower that was erected by a a white male American narcissist who sacrificed his life to save the entire universe. Love him or hate him, Tony Stark gets your attention. And so does Iron Man. And so do the other Avengers. You know who else has a tower? Batman. (Right?). He's DC. Some people like both. I don't know enough about the DC characters.

And think about RDJ who is trying to step away from the Tony Stark image. It's a character he loved, a character that changed his life after he got out of prison, and he will always love Tony Stark, but he and Tony Stark are not the same person.

https://www.thestreet.com/media/vintage-video-of-robert-downey-jr-visiting-wall-street-resurfaces-goes-viral

Robert Downey Jr told us what was up in the 1990s.

This is meant to connect to the people who love superheroes and superhero movies. To see that Robert Downey Jr is the way he is because he's seen the ugly side of humanity and he has always told us what he really thinks. People look up to him.

This is meant to catch their eye, to say THIS IS WHAT WE ARE DOING. Please listen to our message.

Nerd culture is beautiful art.

And if you don't spend your time asking yourself how often Neil Patrick Harris is bullshitting us because I refuse to believe that he had never heard of Doctor Who before joining the cast. I think he just threw 100% of his "please" attitude into Barney Stinson.

Remember when Neil Patrick Harris played Doogie Howser, MD? The 14 year old Doctor?

Oh, he was a Doctor too! So let's not forget this other cult classic Doctor character he played. If you haven't seen Doctor Horrible and His Sing-along Blog you are missing out.

He was once listed as one of Times' 100 Most Influential People in 2010.

He's charismatic and is openly affectionate with his husband and their children.

Love him or hate him, he has a large fanbase. And he is an AMAZING actor. And a really good magician too.

And they used his skills as a magician on Doctor Who, took us to Soho in 1925, and the Good Omens fandom arose from our slumber severe hyperfixation and meticulous meta analysis to dig into a fandom where David Tennant is the most popular incarnation of a particular character, so we are already doing nonstop detective work.

The Good Omens fandom LOVES David Tennant. He is our favorite rebellious demon.

He played the MCU's most terrifying villain (there is not one single MCU villain that has ever terrified me as much as Kilgrave because that fucker uses his powers of mind control to force Jessica Jones into being in a relationship with him...among other things). As a character though, he was fucking fascinating despite the fact we have met so many men who act just like him, and we hate all of them.

Side note: When I typed "Doogie Howzer" into the gif search, this is the most popular image that came up. I consistently get Howser and Howzer confused.

Now I've got the attention of the Star Wars fandom! Howzer rocks.

You know who else appeared on a Star Wars show (again) this year?

This entire episode was crafted in a way that it formed as many connections as it could with other fandoms.

And not just that. It made sure to include as much representation as possible. Was it perfect? No, but the point is that Doctor Who is telling the world that it is moving on. It is ready to grow and it is ready to be a mainstream voice for everyone whose existence is being threatened by unjust laws.

The new Doctor defied expectations. This Doctor is a breath of fresh air, and a reminder that we will all be okay, but change is inevitable and this sci-fi show about an alien who is either 2,000 or 4,000,000,005 years old. I can't keep up anymore. It doesn't matter because he's a Doctor free from the confines of societal expectations.

Nerd culture is vast, and I know I've left out fandoms because I don't really have all day nor do I know all the fandoms, so I'm just giving you a taste of what I do love.

This episode is meant to be for everyone who needs a place to call home.

And the old Doctor finally gets to retire to make way for the new Doctor.

And as a reward for longtime fans, the retired Doctor has found a place to call home on Earth with his best friend. David Tennant will always be Doctor Who because the old Doctor was allowed to live.

And for the Staged fandom, you know what that means, Michael?

[consanguinitatum]

Hiya!

I've been keeping up to date with your substack for a while (I absolutely love seeing your posts!) and I know you do lots of research on David Tennant's early career in Scotland, so I think you're the best person to help a problem I'm having. But this is a bit of a story, so bear with me. After seeing Takin' Over the Asylum, I've become obsessed with Donna Franceschild's writing and I've been wanting to see more of her work (I've been somewhat successful). It just so happens that at the same time I have an acting exam coming up and I have to find material to perform. I then find out about Donna Franceschild's play "And The Cow Jumped Over The Moon". It's a play about about the experiences of a women's ward in a Glaswegian hospital (basically TOTA but more feminist!) and also found out it had a TV adaptation! (which would be helpful for me, since it would give more material to base my acting on, and therefore I would find my exam easier.) I'd completely love to see that play and be able to perform it! But here's where we get to my dilemma. I have not been able to find this play anywhere. I have scoured the internet and have only found references saying that it exists - not any archive of the script or videos of the play itself. The TV adaptation was done for The Play On One - which I know you resurfaced one of the episodes for - so that's one of the reasons why I'm asking you if you have any clue what has happened to this play. I know it's somewhat out of your area of expertise since this doesn't involve David Tennant, but I do know that you've already done a lot of research on Donna Franceschild, Scottish theatre in the 80s/90s, and The Play On One! This is a bit of a reach asking you, but if you do know anything about this play, I'd love to hear about it! :D

First off, thank you for following my posts about David's early career on A Tennantcy To Act, and I'm really glad you find them worthwhile. I also appreciate it that you think I'm knowledgeable enough to help you out. I hope you don't mind that I put your question and my reply to this out in public, because I thought you might not be the only one interested in Donna Franceschild's And The Cow Jumped Over The Moon. When I spoke to David Blair, the director of Takin' Over The Asylum, he mentioned the play as a vital element in ToTA's eventual development. He said:

The BBC – not myself – then commissioned Donna to adapt a stage play she’d written called “And The Cow Jumped Over The Moon” to fit a play strand we were doing at the time.

On the day of the studio, the Producer overseeing the project was taken ill and they asked me to fill in for her ‘in the gallery’. (This was an old TV play where you worked in a rehearsal room for, say, three weeks then shot the whole thing – multi-camera – in a matter of days). Of course as a result, I became familiar with the material and was indeed taken by this minor character – Eddie – who was a hospital radio DJ.  After that, I asked Donna if she felt there might be mileage in creating a serial based around this character.

So for anyone who digs Takin' Over The Asylum, watching this play should be a must-do - since without it, we almost certainly wouldn't have had our Campbell, Eddie, Francine, and Fergus!

And The Cow Jumped Over The Moon was originally completed in 1989 and became a play which premiered at the Traverse Theatre in 1990. Donna wrote a playscript from it for the BBC which was broadcast on BBC One on 15 Aug 1991 as part of the last series of its 'The Play On One' series. The TV broadcast is archived at the British Film Institute on VHS, and here's a small article I've located about the plot and cast of the TV version:

I didn't find much mention of the character of Eddie in the TV version of the play, but I did find this about him from the stage play - and he doesn't seem like a pleasant fellow. Perhaps Franceschild created a different version of him for the short film, enough that Blair thought him worthy of his own drama?

I don't know.

But I soon will! Because as I come to the point of your post...which is do I know where to find And The Cow Jumped Over The Moon...the answer is a resounding yes! Because I haven't seen this, either (and I haven't looked for it for about a year, when I did all the research on it that I posted above.)

But I went looking again after I got your ask, and it turns out someone's done us a serious solid and has uploaded it to the Internet Archive!

So there you have it.

I know what I'm watching tonight - and @lemonycheesecakes, a huge thanks for asking!

PS: I just tried to access the video file on the Internet Archive and it says "This video file cannot be played". I'm seeing if I can download it, and hopefully I'll know soon. I'll update as soon as I know for sure!

PSS: I downloaded it via the "Torrent" link under the Download Options (I think you could also do the H264 IA download, too) and it worked - I can see it. So if you plan to access the file, that's the way to go! PPS: I think I might use this as a basis for my next post at A Tennantcy To Act...you made me wonder how many others don't know about how And The Cow Jumped Over The Moon inspired the creation of Takin' Over The Asylum. So I owe you even more thanks!

[denimbex1986]

'Call it How Neil Patrick Harris Met Your Favorite British Time Travel Show.

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies tells EW that the American actor was completely unfamiliar with the beloved science fiction series when the executive producer approached Harris about playing a villain called The Toymaker on this Saturday's final 60th anniversary special episode, "The Giggle."

"He’d never heard of it in his life, bless him," Davies says with a laugh. "I was lucky enough to work with the great man on a show called It’s a Sin, about the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, and working with him was such a joy. The Toymaker, he's kind of the god of games, so he shuffles cards, he does magic tricks, and all of that fits Neil Patrick Harris. If you go through agents, they often tell you to go away. I was able to send just a text saying, 'Do you fancy reading this?' He read it and literally phoned me up going, 'Let me get this right, so the Doctor’s an alien, right?' I was like, 'Oh my god, you really have never heard of Doctor Who!' But he couldn’t resist it, and he came to Cardiff, and we had the most spectacular time."

The Toymaker first appeared on the show back in the '60s, when the character was portrayed by Michael Gough and the Doctor was played by William Hartnell. This time around, Harris' villain will face off against David Tennant and Catherine Tate, who are reprising their respective roles of the Doctor and Donna Noble for the three anniversary episodes after many years away from the show. Davies explains that, "it's very hard to find the villain who can match David Tennant and Catherine Tate. To have a character who can be in danger of defeating those two is very hard to find. Sometimes on Doctor Who, you need armies of a thousand robots who could do that. This is just one person, so casting them was absolutely crucial and this becomes a pivotal event in the Doctor’s life. We needed that man, and, god, we had a glorious time. It’s so lovely working with Neil. When I text him now, [we ask], what’s our third project together? We’ve got to keep going!"

Tennant agrees that Davies made the right choice in casting Harris as the episode's villain.

"Oh, he’s good," the actor says. "I don’t quite know if he knew what to expect, but he dived in with such gusto and brio. This part requires a lot of skill sets and Neil turns up with them all. I don’t want to give away too much about what might be required of the Toymaker, but you need a sort of an all-round entertainer to play that part and a very good actor, so there aren’t a lot of people who could have ticked all the boxes required. We were really excited when Neil said 'yes,' and actually it’s impossible to imagine who else it might have been. He’s a sort of theater animal, so he’s got that bit of graft about him that my Scottish Presbyterian soul rather enjoys being around. And he’s got a twinkle in his eye, which is sort of the combination of elements that you need for Doctor Who, I think."'

[theuntitledblog]

Ahsoka (2023) - REVIEW

It's a polarizing time we're living through right now where discord has become so incredibly toxic that it seems like very little room is left for civilised discussion. Star Wars has not escaped this either with the reactions to both The Last Jedi and the Rise of Skywalker leaving such a bad taste in my mouth that I found myself not particularly excited for anything that was to come next for Star Wars. Thank the maker for what did come next. The Mandalorian's simplicity rekindled my passion, Andor's ambition and complexity gave me hope for what could be possible while Ahsoka has left me feeling excited for what's to come next for Star Wars. That's quite a turn around from where I was in 2019 and it's the best compliment I have for this series.

Ahsoka is an especially rewarding experience for me as I am a huge fan of The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels animated shows for which this is a continuation. There is a joyous thrill for me in seeing these characters rendered in live action for the first time with my awareness of their backstories giving the series more of a presence and importance than what a completely original cast of characters might've been. How well this show does and how these characters are perceived with those unfamiliar with these shows is difficult for me to judge. There are moments throughout where the writers try to give some snippets of these characters histories and what they've been through, but the only way to really grasp where these characters have come from is by watching those shows. Whether that is a realistic expectation for the audience is highly questionable for me but at the very least, this series has enough qualities without this to make an impression. Ahsoka is visually impressive with a cinematic quality, has some outstanding set pieces, promising new characters and for the first time in a long time, seems to have given Star Wars a sense of direction again.

Yet for a show titled 'Ahsoka', I was surprised by how this never truly felt like Rosario Dawson's show. Episode five's 'The Shadow Warrior' delved deepest into the psyche of Ahsoka and her past, but otherwise Natasha Liu Bordizzo's Sabine Wren is as much, or arguably more so, of a lead than Ahsoka herself. The emotional stakes of the story feel more entwined with Sabine's search for Eman Esfandi's lost Jedi, Ezra Bridger than Ahsoka's quest to prevent the return of Lars Mikkelsen's Grand Admiral Thrawn. But it is the complicated Master/Padawan relationship between Ahsoka and Sabine that remains the most prominent character based thread of the show and one of the few to not have been inherited through Rebels.

Not everything in this show is a call back as it introduces some new characters with the most impressive of them being Ray Stevenson's Baylan Skoll. Skoll impresses from the outset with his imposing presence, mysterious demeanour and, throughout the 8 episode run, you get a sense there's more to this character to be explored. Stevenson's sad death casts a sadness over the proceedings and it's truly regrettable that we won't see more of Stevenson's stand out take on this original character. Other notable additions include Ivanna Sakno's Shin Hati and Jeryl Prescott Gallien, Claudia Black and Jane Edwina Seymour's Great Mothers who bring another aspect of Star Wars lore into live action for the first time. But this is a series that should satisfy fans with the live action debut of the world of Lothal, The Ghost, Chopper, Hera Syndulla (a sadly underused Mary Elizabeth Winstead), the Purrgil and of course, Huyang (an outstanding David Tennant).

VERDICT

Ahsoka is a welcome addition to the Star Wars Saga and is the most exciting entry since The Mandalorian. Whilst certain to resonate with fans of the extended Star Wars Saga, those unfamiliar may have more of a mixed experience as this first season sets up more than it resolves. But it is so entertaining, visually rich and leaves things in such an interesting position that the prospect of what comes next is an exciting one.

4/5

[thealogie]

I’ve read Good for a uni course twice, and remember it being quite uneven. It felt tonally disjointed, and like it dragged in places while leaving important things out as well. First reading was ok because of all the emotional impact, but second time it felt really murky and not that well-constructed to me.

Now I watched it on BBC and idk if it was significantly trimmed or what, but it felt much more concise and solid. I read a couple of reviews while it was running, because I thought I might be able to go, and they seemed not excessively enthusiastic about the staging and direction, like they were not clear enough. I thought the opposite! Yeah, maybe the reduced cast plays better in close up than in a big theatre where at least nuances in Sharon Small’s acting might be lost, but overall I really thought it made the play much more understandable and impactful.

Acting was really on point, and it felt so well constructed between the three of them, for lack of a better word.  Like, they all had different ‘jobs’ to do in the play, different challenges, beautifully tuned into each other’s. Sharon Small had to be this incredible chameleon and provide some air to the show, which could’ve felt too tight and claustrophobic with only 3 player, I think. Elliot Levey was absolutely the heart of the whole thing, he provided the immediate emotional impact and he got to be as touching and vulnerable as any actor could be on stage, he was the one who made you tear up. And Tennant had the overarching job to show this steady, nuanced, slow descent into moral hell, which was the one that made you think. He was the chilling one. I thought it was so well shared between the three of them, kudos to the director who thought of that, and of course, to the company who managed to become so attuned to each other and do such a wonderful collaborative job!

This is the type of theatre review I eat up with a spoon. I genuinely love when a play is kind of eh on paper but then a smart director is able to cut and reshape it into something with intent and a smart cast is able to bring different angles to it. Elliot Levey/Sharon Small/David Tennant is such an insane cast. I feel like they could breathe life into anything. Cannot wait to watch it.

[borrowedtimeandspace]

The Act of Untying

AU: A Patient, and Time (Donna AU); aftermath of The Question, and a conclusion...?

Note: It's David Tennant's birthday! And once again I'm posting the last chapter of one of my stories... I promise I'm not doing this on purpose.

This chapter is designed to be the last one of A Patient, and Time. I almost guarantee I'll add bits and pieces here and there in the middle of the story, but no matter what, this is where it ends.

...Or is it?

~~~

Zepheera was everywhere and nowhere.

The bright blue light that consumed her was all around, and it sent her careening. Like someone had picked her up and tossed her at full strength, and it just kept going on and on without end.

Until it ended.

The ground found her immediately. Even once she landed on her face, everything continued to spin– though that was based on feeling more than sight. Zepheera's vision was blown out from the brightness that seemed to last an eternity and an instant all at once. She very nearly vomited from the motion sickness.

Cheap and nasty, the Doctor had always called time travel of this sort.

Wait…

That device… the temporal what-was-it? Edwin had been going on and on about it, and had it pointing at Zepheera just before…

Zepheera’s next breath was deep, like she'd just emerged from underwater. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear away the blue and take in the world around her. 

Where was she? When was she??

It was all so overwhelming and distant at first. Her senses struggled to catch up. Most prominent and alarming was a sensation Zepheera was terribly familiar with. Vibrations in the ground– constant and all around, at steady intervals.

Footsteps. Far too many of them for a borrower’s comfort.

And behind (or more accurately, above) it all, the murmur of voices like distant thunder making conversation. Zepheera's blood ran cold. Wherever she was, it was somewhere out in the open, with people much larger than her around. 

Not ideal at all.

She suddenly became aware of a closer rumble in the ground that was increasing in intensity behind her, and her head whipped around. Her vision had cleared just enough to take in a sight that dropped ice into her stomach. 

Massive hooves crashed heavily against the cobbled stone of the street, marching the attached titanic horses and the further looming carriage behind them ever closer to Zepheera, who was right in their path!

Very, very bad!

Zepheera's body moved on its own, instinct carrying her out of harm's way and pressing her to a damp curb. She watched, bewildered, as the monumental vessel passed her by and briefly cast her in its shadow.

Her heart pounded against her ribcage, but she was determined to not let panic override her. She needed to figure this out. Violet eyes darted in every direction to take in every important detail.

The sky was grey, full of clouds that had recently rained and were on their way out. Between them, Zepheera could make out a sliver of familiar blue. The people walking along the pavement, the edge of which the borrower was pressed against, looked like the people she'd spent her whole life living alongside. Human beings. Speaking English, and her own dialect of the language. Even the architecture, despite being a little archaic to her memory, was familiar.

Despite how lucky it was, Zepheera was hard-pressed to feel relief to reasonably assume that she was at least on Earth, and in England to boot.

A stray newspaper lay in the curb a few meters away, with just enough room underneath to act as a lean-to for a borrower. Zepheera ignored how sore her entire body felt as she hurried towards it. Even if it was old, it could give her an idea of just where and when she had ended up. And offer a bit of shelter while she worked out next steps. 

Ducking underneath the dampened paper, Zepheera managed to find the top of the page, and it finally gave her the terrible clarity she'd been looking for.

July 21st, 1889.

~~~

“Come on, come on!”

It was over. Alaric Edwin and his plots were no more. That didn't matter.

“There's GOT to be a trace! There's ALWAYS a trace!”

The Doctor had every wire he could find pulled out from or around the TARDIS console, all of them attached to the temporal displacement weapon. His fingers flew across every keyboard, every button and switch and control available to him. Frantic brown eyes flicked constantly around the various machinery that now filled the floor of the room, and the monitor that lit up with even more functions at once than usual.

“Come on, find it, FIND IT! No WAY you are going to out-clever ME and MY TARDIS!!”

A whirring buzz intensified from the sonic screwdriver in the Doctor’s white-knuckled grip. Its pitch and volume heightened, and its light glowed brighter as it, like the Time Lord and everything else at his disposal, was pushed to its absolute limits.

The console sparked and popped violently. Even the interior lights of the room and the central column itself flickered. The heat and plasma flying up finally forced the Doctor back from it all, and he stumbled into the old seat nearby. 

The screwdriver clattered to the floor. 

His chest heaved underneath his tight suit jacket, and his eyes continued to burn.

“No. No, no no no NO!”

In a blind rage, the Doctor threw himself back to his feet, stomped forward and ripped the weapon out from the nest of wires and cables.

“Stupid… stupid, stupid WHEEL!!”

The Doctor hurled the infernal machine straight into the doors of the TARDIS, where it came completely undone and fell into an unceremonious pile of useless electronics.

And that was that.

Like a puppet with cut strings, the Doctor slumped to his knees. His hands just barely reacted quick enough to keep him from teetering forward, fingers tingling with pins and needles under his weight.

Not again… not now, after all they'd been through!

A roar erupted from the console room, reverberating through the entire ship. Frustration and fury. Guilt and grief. All of it and more bubbled up from the Doctor’s chest and tore its way through his throat on the way out.

The Doctor didn't save her. Too slow, too cocky. And with no means of narrowing down the search, there was no chance of tracking down a single borrower who could be anywhere.

Zepheera was gone. Lost somewhere in time and space. 

~~~

By the end of the day, Zepheera’s situation became dreadfully clear.

She looked out at the now darkened and empty street, curled in a ball against the wall of an alley that had kept her hidden from the towering pedestrians.

Now they were gone, and Zepheera was alone with her thoughts. 

For hours, she’d sat there straining her ears to listen for the one sound she needed to hear most in the universe. She’d watched the street at all times in case she could make out something blue appearing in the distance.

She never saw or heard it.

Surely, she thought, if the Doctor could find a way to track her down, he would. But the way that Edwin was talking, it seemed like that wasn't possible.

Her eyes closed and she hugged her knees tight. Deep breath in… In a little more, and out slow…

Zepheera didn't want to give up hope. Didn’t want to believe the words of a horrible man. After all, if there was anyone she knew who did the seemingly impossible on a regular basis, it was the Doctor. 

Then again, she also knew the TARDIS wasn't always the most accurate ship to pilot at times. 

Regardless, facts had to be faced. She was stranded in a time unfamiliar to her, with no way to contact her friend or make herself known without risking her safety and that of any other borrowers that might be found. 

With a shaky sigh, Zepheera pushed herself to her feet. Her best bet, for now, was to find a way indoors. Stay safe and under the radar, like a borrower should. Survive.

She wouldn’t stop looking out for signs of the Doctor. If there was even the slightest chance that he might be able to find her, then she couldn’t just walk away.

And if he never came… Well, she'd figure that out when she needed to.

Tentatively– even reluctantly– she backed out of the moonlight and disappeared into shadows.

[indigovigilance]

I was just reading through some of your meta, and was thinking about your one about Maggie being possessed by an angel. I was wondering if the fact that Nina is played by Nina Sosanya, who also played Sister Mary in season one, might be connected. I'm a bit late to the Good Omens series, has that ever been addressed? Seems odd to recast an actress as a different character in the same show, especially a show so detail orientated. Seeing as Maggie and Nina are mirrors for Aziraphale and Crowley, I'm idly wondering if they being secretly an angel, and former demon worshiper would simply would be to add an extra dimension, or if there is something more sneaky afoot. Like spies for each side watching the shop or some such.

Oh, my dear friend, it goes much deeper than that! Do not be bashful about arriving late to the game: I also did not watch S2 until about a month after it dropped, and didn't arrive on Tumblr until a month after that (literally made an account for the first time to join this fandom). The fact that I'm getting these asks at all is evidence enough that anyone can catch up. So here we go!

read on Ao3

(forgive the quality of some of these screengrabs, I'm having internet issues and Amazon is taking it out on the quality of my video)

Nina is played by Nina Sosanya, who in season 1 played Sister Mary Loquacious (I still love that name):

...and Maggie is played by Maggie Service, who in season 1 played a satanic nun as well, Sister Teresa Garrulous (inspired):

But the recycling of the first season's cast doesn't end there!

Shax is played by none other than the illustrious Miranda Richardson, returning after her delightful season 1 portrayal of Madame Tracy:

Reece Shearsmith plays Shakespeare in Season 1 and Furfur in Season 2:

Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss who plays Mr. Harmony, and Steve Pemberton who plays Mr. Glozier, the [zombie] Nazis in both seasons,

worked together on the award-winning show League of Gentlemen. An article about it even appears on David Tennant's website (which I just found today, doing research for this response!). It's a fun little read, I recommend it for anyone who's interested in "the making of" type stuff.

Gatiss was also involved in Doctor Who, which is of course was (per my humble opinion) the crowning glory of David Tennant's career until he stepped into the snakeskin boots. The article indicates that all these actors have prior relationships with David Tennant and Michael Sheen and were very pleased to be cast for this show.

But notably, only Nina and Maggie are named after their actors. Given that they also play out a whole slew of fanfiction tropes (I don't think this connection has ever been written out in meta format but it is alluded to in various YouTube clipshows) it seems to be a Doylian *Clue* that something is a little bit wrong about these characters and their alleged romance.

Other than that, I think the fact that cast is being reused only tells us two things: First, these are wonderful actors and why go looking for new talent when you already have the best? Second, they love this work and they love working together on it, and the actors wanted to return just as much as Neil wanted them to continue bringing his vision to life.

I'm glad you enjoyed Maggie is Possessed, one of my very first metas! I can see that you are going in order along my meta index. If you would like to keep reading on this topic, others have contributed their thoughts on the subject, and I've linked some choice readings below:

Can't You Hear Them? by @vidavalor The Grand Unified Theory by @noneorother which addresses the slew of purportedly human characters that have oddly angelic/demonic traits What's Up with Maggie? - a chain started by @iammyownproblematicfave that I and others have contributed to

I hope that this line of inquiry gets more attention in the future. If you haven't already, the docs below are great resources to bookmark as they are constantly being updated by teams of dedicated clue-searchers:

Good Omens Crackpotting Theory Tracker Hunting for Clues

~~~

I love getting asks like this, thanks for giving me something to do while I wait for my laundry to finish. I'm so so happy that more people are arriving in this cuddly communal crucible of creativity, it's been a great community for me and I hope you join us on this whirlwind adventure of piecing together the million-piece jigsaw puzzle that Neil left for us to play with as we await Season 3!

[mamuscript]

They Had To

After we watched the season finale - and then rewatched it, then rewatched both seasons, then watched about a hundred hours of YouTube edits (that last one may have been just me) - we had an hours-long argument about who was “at fault.” After the last ten agonizing minutes of GO2, my hubba was very anti-Aziraphale.

I can’t really blame him for feeling that way - that “I Forgive You” is seared into my soul in a way I’m not ready to forgive Mr. Gaiman for, yet. It was crushing, and the way you could see the hope draining from Crowley is a study in expertise by David Tennant.

I heard someone say recently that you know a storyteller has done their job when you get to the end and, however much you never saw it coming before, once you arrive there, it seems as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning. 

This is the beauty, the agony, and the absolute mastery of the final fifteen minutes of GO2.

Because neither Crowley or Aziraphale could have done anything else in that scene. 

Crowley was cast out of Heaven for what we have reason to believe was a minor infraction. He’s spent millenia witnessing the cruelty, unfairness, and incompetence of Heaven. He looked into Gabriel’s face as the archangel told (who he believed to be) Aziraphale to shut his stupid mouth and die, already. In the deleted scenes, we see that he witnessed Heaven giving a demon permission to humiliate Aziraphale, just for fun, before they killed him - which is the height of cruelty; cruelty for cruelty’s sake. There is no question in Crowley’s mind that Heaven are the bad guys just as much as Hell - possibly more so, since they wear a cloak of righteousness while they commit their atrocities. At least Hell is honest about what they’re doing.

There’s no world in which Crowley could ever agree to go back to working for Heaven, and part of the pain of that scene is that if Aziraphale had taken a moment to really think about it, he would have realized that.

But.

First (and I identify with this way too strongly), Aziraphale is a company man. He knows that there are problems in middle management, but he still believes in the rightness and goodness of God. As far as he’s concerned, Heaven isn’t the archangels or the Metatron; Heaven is God. And while God, as far as he knows, is responsible for the eviction from Eden, and for the flood, and for allowing humans who start off in abject poverty to be judged by the same standards as those who are given more advantages, he also truly believes in the ineffability of God. He was told, long ago, that all of these things are part of the Ineffable Plan, and Aziraphale would never think to believe that anybody was deceiving him - either intentionally or otherwise - without being explicitly told so.

And crucially, he hasn’t seen what Crowley has seen. He didn’t witness - and hasn’t been told about - whatever transgression Crowley committed that resulted in his fall, and however much he has grown to love Crowley for who the demon has become alongside him, he doesn’t have enough information to know that Crowley didn’t deserve to be cast out at the time. And Aziraphale was not there when Gabriel told him to die; he didn’t look into Gabriel’s face and see the pure, cold malevolence there, the proof that however much goodness there may still be in God, She isn’t actively calling the shots, and the beings who are are ruthless and capable of malevolence. He hasn’t had that experience and doesn’t have that depth of understanding.

But most importantly, Aziraphale is, at his core, a being of justice, of love, of goodness. He has seen things like the flood, he knows there are problems, and he has been powerless in the face of them - but now, he can help. “I can make a difference,” he says. Aziraphale, because of his core nature, cannot see an opportunity to make the world and Heaven a better place and not seize it. 

He can’t have made any choice other than the one he made. And if Crowley had taken a moment to really think about it, he would have known that he was asking the impossible.

So, for my money, the tragedy of that scene didn’t begin when Crowley said, “And you told him just where he can stick it, then?” even though that was the beginning of the most painful moments of the series, perhaps of all of television (at least for me). All of that - Crowley’s rejection of Heaven, Aziraphale’s rejection of Crowley’s declaration of love, their brutal separation - was inevitable the second the Metatron put the offer on the table. 

(Which, among other things, means that the Metatron is a deeply manipulative villain.) That’s what makes the final scene so riveting, so painful. It’s not only that we want these two beings to be happy and in love and together, and due to pride and miscommunication they aren't. It’s that with who each of them is in their soul, as things currently stand, they are incapable of being together.

[astro-duck]

Not enough people discuss the cast of DuckTales 2017, and so I think I should. Almost every single casting choice is perfect, and I am going to gush about them a little bit.

DANNY PUDI!!!- I freaking love him. I started watching this show because Danny Pudi was in it. Him as Huey is so perfect because Pudi does decent in to madness so well. Also Autism. My Community era bled perfectly in to this.

Ben Schwartz and Bobby Moynihan- Less to say about these too, but they absolutely slay as well. They were also perfect casting choices, because Schwartz does Dewey’s hyper-chaos so well, and Moynihan can do Louie’s smugness perfectly.

Kate Micucci- Absolutely. That is exactly how Webby is meant to sound. High pitched and over excited. Webby isn’t my favorite character but she may be the voice that I could never see replaced.

David Tennant- I was literally shocked to find out that he was Scrooge. He does the accent so well, for a very overdone Scottish accent. This was such a funny role for him to take, because it’s not at all like what he usually does (serious live action stuff) but he still put his whole Tennussy in to it.

Jim Rash- He has a very distinct voice, so even though I didn’t know he was in the show I immediately knew who he was. Usually this would take me out of it a little, but Rash was a really good choice for this character so I didn’t even mind. He does “mildly insane guy” very well, and that’s exactly what Gearloose is.

John Gemberling- A weird one that you may not recognize, but he plays Doofus Drake. And he is really good at being Doofus Drake. Another one that I probably couldn’t imagine with a different voice.

Beck Bennet- He always sounds like an idiot, and usually plays one in SNL. So he was a good choice for playing an idiot. Perfect for Launchpad.

Lin-Manuel Miranda- Similar to Bennet, his voice just sounds like he’s meant to play that character. I don’t know, and maybe it’s from Hamilton, but Miranda’s voice just sounds really pathetic. Pathetic in a wet cat sort of way. He’s perfect to play a guy who has really know idea what he’s doing being a superhero, and also just a nerd ass science guy.

Finally: Tony Anselmo- He is Donald Duck in literally everything, so this is less about good casting and more about appreciation. Anselmo nails it. Absolutely perfect. I don’t know what he sounds like when he’s not doing the Donald Duck voice, but I have to assume he really works hard on voice acting. He slays, and I only wish that they hadn’t covered up his voice in certain episodes, because I genuinely enjoy listening to it for some reason. It grew on me. He can also do different emotions very well, from fury to love and appreciation. Which is most impressive because he sounds like he’s speaking through a kazoo. 10/10 would Tony Anselmo again.